ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The Indian government has allowed export of 300,000 to 400,000 tons of basmati rice named as 'super basmati,' which would take away 40 per cent of Pakistan's share in the traditional Middle Eastern markets.
Diplomatic sources told Dawn on Wednesday that following the official patronage in New Delhi, the farmers in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ropar and Hoshiarpur districts have pushed up their efforts to produce more than 400,000 tons basmati in the current season, which could be exported under the brand of Pakistani developed hybrid super basmati.
Pakistan exported 895,153 tons of super basmati during the year 2005-06 as against 814,857 tons during the previous year. This year it is likely that the super basmati production may not cross the last year's level due to some problems.
The sources said that Indian exporters would offer lower prices of super basmati grown in India deliberately, than what Pakistan offered in international market, for getting maximum market share and would squeeze market share for the original super basmati developed in Pakistan a decade earlier.
The sources said that the super basmati attracted a premium of about $60-70 per ton over the pusa basmati, of which about 500,000 tons was produced locally in India. This means that with the introduction of the so-called super basmati from India, New Delhi would increase its current export of basmati to 1.5m tons as against the previous 1.2m tons.
When contacted chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) Haji Abdul Majid told Dawn that once the growers in India got such legal backing, they would grow “our super”, seeds of which they had stolen from Pakistan in the year 1998.
"If we do not stop them now then we will have to compete against our own variety in the international market from the new crop in November, 2006 with possibility of about $300 million loss in our export sales," Mr Majid claimed.
He was of the view that India, being signatory to similar conventions and treaties like Paris Convention, and WTO etc., could not do this and also because Pakistan had notified super basmati in 1995 under the Seed Act 1976.
However, the chairman Reap was very critical of the poor handling of the issue by the relevant ministries. He said the delay in taking an appropriate decision would deprive the country of its heritage of enjoying sole monopoly of super basmati in international market.