Date:26/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/26/stories/2006052603741400.htm

Back `Super Basmati' eligible for exports

Harish Damodaran

Originally a variety from Pakistan

New Delhi , May 25

Bowing to pressure from the trade, the Union Government has declared `Super Basmati' as an approved basmati rice variety for purpose of export.

The Commerce Ministry has issued a notification, dated May 24, amending the Export of Basmati Rice (Quality Control and Inspection) Rules, 2003 to allow export of `Super Basmati' from India as an evolved (hybrid) variety.

"It was a long pending demand. The exporters were keen to ship Super, but could not to so in the absence of it being certified as authentic basmati by the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC). With the latest amendment, it would be possible to export Super as an evolved basmati similar to Pusa Basmati-1," the Chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products' Export Development Authority (APEDA), Mr K.S. Money, told Business Line.

`Super' was originally developed in Pakistan as a cross between traditional pure line basmati cultivars and modern dwarf rice lines. Like Pusa Basmati-1, it was specially bred to combine the special grain traits of traditional basmati (aroma, non-stickiness and elongation upon cooking) with the high yielding, non-lodging attributes of modern semi-dwarf varieties. But `Super' has always fetched a premium in international markets over `Pusa Basmati-1', even if not over traditional varieties such as `Taraori', `Dehraduni' or `Basmati-370'.

In the kharif 2003 season, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana officially released `Super' after sourcing the seeds from Pakistan and working on it for about three years. Through scientific selection and screening, the seed was purified to suit Indian field conditions and released by the name `Shabnam'.

After its good performance in the field, the All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) had made concerted efforts to get it officially certified as `approved evolved Basmati' for export, which has now been granted. "We expect it to capture a price point between Pusa Basmati and the premium traditional basmati varieties," said the Secretary-General of AIREA, Brig. Anil Adlakha.