By Mayank Bhardwaj
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India removed a floor price for basmati rice exports on Friday, according to a government order, to help farmers boost overseas sales of the premium grade just weeks ahead of the arrival of the new-season crop.
Last year New Delhi set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a metric ton and later cut the MEP to $950 a ton.
As supplies picked up since then, exporters urged the government to either cut or remove the MEP to ensure that farmers do not get saddled with large stocks when the new-season crop arrives in a month’s time.
India and Pakistan, the only growers of basmati, both try to promote the premium grade of rice in a manner similar to French Champagne or Darjeeling tea.
New Delhi exports 4 million to 5 million metric tons of basmati – the premium long-grain variety famed for its aroma – to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Europe is another big market for the rice.
(Reporting by Mayank Bhardway; Editing by Alison Williams and Jonathan Oatis)
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