Basmati rice drops 10% as sales hit on delayed pay

New Delhi: Price of basmati rice has fallen 10 per cent in the past month, as delayed payment has hit sales to Iran and concerns over pesticide residue have hurt exports to Europe, exporters said.

Iran buys a quarter of India’s annual basmati exports of 4-4.5 million tonnes, while Europe takes 8 per cent. Vijay Setia, the president of the All India Rice Exporters Association, said payments for 1,25,000 tonnes of rice worth Rs 1,200 crore were delayed.

The price of basmati in mandis was about Rs 3,900 per quintal while on the NCDEX, it was Rs 4,100 (including duty).


“Our rice is not conforming to the pesticides standards of the European Union. This has led to the fall in basmati rice prices by 10 per cent in the past month,” said Gurnam Arora, joint managing director, Kohinoor Foods.

Traders said exporters had slowed down their buying.