Iraq's rice imports are estimated at around 87,000 tonnes each month.
Other trade sources say Iraq has at least 100,000 tonnes of outstanding contracts since December last year that have not been delivered, including 60,000 tonnes of Thai rice and 30,000 tonnes of U.S. rice.
In Thailand, the market was mostly quiet as most buyers were sidelined by high prices.
"We have no other reason (for the higher prices) but the stronger currency. This is getting really bad for business," one Bangkok-based exporter said. In fact, local prices have remained stable over the last few weeks and are expected even to go down on an increase in supply as farmers are about to harvest a major crop.
"Many exporters have speculated that prices will go down with the arrival of a new crop. Instead, prices are higher," a second exporter said.
The notification of Super Basmati as "approved and evolved basmati" last year only to export and not for domestic trade or otherwise has evoked the ire of Islamabad since Super was a variety developed by Pakistan in as much as it has decided to contest India's claim legally here.
Since super basmati itself was the combination of Basmati 320 (traditional variety) and IRR 662 (non-basmati rice variety), APEDA is now notifying Basmati 320 as a land race variety or traditional variety after notifying its offspring as basmati last year.
Sources keen to keep the scientific and research interests of maintaining the pure brood stock of basmati told Business Line here that Basmati 320 has seldom been documented by the Biodiversity Management Committee charged with conservation of Land Races or in the Plant Varieties Registry maintained in line with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.
CSR 30 has only 80% of traditional Basmati aroma and is shorter and broader - but is as grainy and tasty when cooked. Its presence in Basmati export consignments to the EU was brought up in May by European Commission DG Jesus Zorrila, in a meeting with India's government-cum-trade delegation to Brussels.
EU laws take a stringent view of fraudulent activities on the Basmati front and the EC regulation No. 972/2006 provides for the introduction of a control system based on DNA analysis at the border and transitional arrangements for imports of Basmati rice pending that. In London, the
delegation had to countenance similar queries.
An alert on the Basmati hoax was put out by key world rice newsletters in June. "A DNA rice authenticity verification service in India has concluded that more than 30% of the Basmati rice sold in the retail markets of the US and Canada is adulterated with inferior quality grains," the June 19 Oryza newsletter said. It referred to a survey in public interest conducted by
Ricesearch, a state-of-the-art DNA testing facility set up by Tilda, exporter of premium Basmati that has a major footprint in the US, Canada,the UK and west Asian markets.
Ironically, BEDF and Apeda as well asExport Inspection Council, which issues the authentification certificate, are likely to be aware that CSR 30 now dominates Basmati area in key states. A November 2006 satellite-based acreage estimation by the Birla Technical Services annually for Apeda reveals that in kharif 2006, at 70,489 hectare, it covered 197% of the land
covered by HBC 19 in Haryana, where big exporters source a big chunk of their produce. That translated to 229% of the production (at 2,22,759 tonne) of notified varieties (97,365 tonne).
Overall, in the Basmati-growing regions of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu & Kashmir, however, CSR 30 accounted for a total of 2,59,181 tonne in 2006 compared to the traditional Basmati produce of 5,37,174 tonne, i.e., 48% of the total produce. This was sufficient to have raised alarm bells in official quarters who certify rice exports as Basmati.
The adulteration issue could, even while significantly downmarking the heritage association with Indian Basmati, impact attempts ostensibly being made by the Centre to register the Geographical Identification (GI) of Basmati. GI registration would allow all evolved varieties similar to the traditional Basmati and grown in the specified region (11 in all, with six
traditional and five evolved varieties) for similar duty exemptions. However, traders would have to pay the same price to the farmer here for all the varieties labelled Basmati. Currently, traders typically pay Rs 700 less per quintal of CSR 30 paddy to the farmer compared to the price for
traditional Basmati variety, even while passing off the two varieties as the same abroad.
Agri scientists and geneticists, meanwhile, are worried that the high premium placed on the traditional Basmati by traders even while they pass of the extensive research-backed hybrids varieties as land race or pureline rain, will take away from decades of hard scientific work that went into ceation of the evolved varieties.
In Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta region on Tuesday, traders quoted indicative prices for high-quality 5% broken rice at $303 per metric ton, while the 25% broken grade was going for $285/ton, both unchanged from levels a week ago.
They said that prices of all varieties of Pakistani rice have become unaffordable in major international markets. Irri-6 25 percent broken, the cheapest variety of Pakistan's coarse rice, mainly exported to African countries, has now crossed the level of $295 per ton thus surrendering the market to Thai origin rice.
Local rice exporters pointed out that many rice importers in UAE have ceased placing new orders to their suppliers from Pakistan owing to high prices of non-basmati rice in general and Basmati in particular. As a result, exports of Pakistan's Basmati in particular and other rice in general have decreased considerably.
The UAE is one of the major traditional markets of Pakistani Basmati rice. It imported 231,056 tons, for $117,216,964, during 2005-06, while from July 2006 to May 2007 about 205,913 tons, worth $125,890,697, Basmati was exported to UAE.
As a result of sudden price increase in Pakistan's local market, export cost prices of Basmati rice have soared considerably, which is badly affecting sales in established Pakistani Basmati markets.
This price hike and costly imports of Basmati into UAE also affected this important market and forced the importers to raise their prices. The vigilance monitoring of local authorities alerted their high-ups to come into action and their local Municipality (Baldiya) issued directives to fix
ceiling prices in UAE market up to maximum level of UAE Dhs.115 per 39 kg bag which is far below the prevailing market price of Super Basmati rice in Pakistan at present.
This fixation of price ceiling has created panic among leading importers of Pak Super Basmati who have stopped placing further orders to their counterparts in Pakistan. This restriction of ceiling price is only on Pakistani Super Basmati rice largely being sold under 'Sinnara' brand, while such restriction has not been imposed on Indian Basmati.
According to market sources, Indian Basmati brands wholesale prices are for 'Tilda' 20 kg bag at UAE Dhs. 220 to 240, 'India Gate' 20 kg at Dhs.200, 'Kohinoor' 20 kg at Dhs.180.
This important issue was brought to the notice of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and relevant ministries in March 2007 but no tangible solution has been evolved yet. This price restriction is harming rice exports from Pakistan due to high prices here in Pakistan.
Shrewd importers have started playing with quality with the connivance of their suppliers, thus ruining the perception of Pakistani Basmati rice in consumers' mind at the one hand and providing chance to anti-lobby to speak ill against Pakistan Basmati, on the other. The tragic side of the story is that neither the government of Pakistan nor the Reap is prepared to cope
with the situation.
One of the leading exporters to UAE told Business Recorder that he was incurring huge financial losses owing to this price restriction as he has no option except to sell below cost just to keep alive the brand in the UAE market which has maximum market share.
Another leading rice exporter to UAE said that this ceiling price is a conspiracy against Pakistan Super Basmati rice which was dominating UAE market and decision has been imposed only on Pakistan origin while Indians are selling their brands at higher prices without any restriction. On the other hand, Indian government and the Indian rice exporters both are active in the UAE to defame Pakistani Basmati rice.
They are offering free testing of Pakistani blended rice - exported from Pakistan on the name of pure basmati rice on the directives of the UAE importers - just to influence on UAE government to ban the import of Pakistani Basmati rice in the UAE so that they could enjoy free market hold.
"This is another dilemma of price hike being faced by us", he said, and demanded that the Government of Pakistan should crackdown hoarders and speculators who have artificially increased prices in the domestic market which now creating problems for them in export sales.
"Our new crop of Basmati is 6 months away and if this price hike persists, we apprehend that we may lose important market share of Basmati owing to our higher local cost and resultantly steep decline in rice exports are expected in near future," another leading rice exporter said.
