State to Centre: Lift ban on export of non-basmati varieties

The Punjab government today urged the Union government to immediately lift the ban imposed on the export of all non-basmati varieties and categorise PUSA-1121 as a basmati variety.

In a communication sent by Punjab Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon to the Union Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath, it was requested that in view of the ongoing procurement of paddy in the state, the Centre should lift the ban so as to enable the rice millers purchase superior grade ‘A’ non-basmati varieties. “This step will, on the one hand enable the farmers to get higher prices for their produce, and on the other help the millers to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country. This will give the much-needed impetus to the industrial economy of Punjab in the times of recession,” Kairon said.