New Delhi: With aromatic basmati rice from India kept out of the supermarkets in Germany for the last few months, following reports of the presence of high levels of pesticide residue, exporters are urging the government to hold discussion with the European Union for bringing in uniformity in the norms concerning the minimum residue limit (MRL).
New Delhi: With Europe and Gulf countries, putting in place stringent safety norms for ensuring that pesticide residue in agricultural crops remain below prescribed limits, basmati (aromatic rice) exporters from India have urged the Union agriculture ministry to ensure that farmers use less pesticide.
Panchkula Following the rising awareness about organic food, the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (Hafed), will now be producing desi organic wheat and CSR-30 basmati rice. After coming up with organic wheat around three years ago, the state is now experimenting with these crops.
Punjab farmers have been struck a double blow on the eve of the paddy transplantation season, which starts tomorrow. Reliant on migrant labour to transplant paddy on 26 lakh hectares, they are witnessing a few arrivals on trains coming in from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
IARI's new basmati varieties are better than Pakistani ones - this will fetch higher prices and a greater market share
Surinder Sud / New Delhi May 18, 2010, 0:31 IST
EGoM On Prices May Agree Today To Hike Minimum Export Price; Pricey Sugar Too Seen On Agenda
Prabha Jagannathan NEW DELHI
A MEETING of an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on prices scheduled for Tuesday is likely to give its nod to hike the minimum export price (MEP) for basmati by $200 per tonne to the previous level of $1100 per tonne.
THE All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) has urged the government not to hike the minimum export price (MEP) for basmati, arguing that not only would a higher price hit export volumes but also impact farmers in Punjab and Haryana, who have planted more basmati this year.
Coarse or fine, paddy is the king of crops in Punjab. This has more than been proved again with farmers who had banked heavily on PUSA 1121 basmati deciding to move away from it. However, they will not be going in for any diversification but moving back to a coarser variety albeit a new one --- PAU 201--- which has been a hit this year with farmers.
