With Vietnam showing more interest for non-basmati rice, Odisha will be exporting more rice to Vietnam through the Paradip International Cargo Terminal (PICT) during the next three months.
Earlier this month, a consignment of rice with 20 containers was exported to Vietnam from the PICT.
This was for the first time in recent years that non-basmati rice was exported from the Paradip Port. About 500 more containers would be dispatched in next three months to Vietnam, said sources.
And Paradip will soon emerge as one of the major rice-exporting ports of the country, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) sources said. The APEDA is working with various stakeholders such as farmers, entrepreneurs, exporters and importers across the globe to harness India’s non-basmati rice exports potential. It has promoted rice exports through collaborations with various stakeholders in the value chains.
During 2020-21, the shipment of non-basmati rice witnessed an impressive spike. The non-basmati rice exports were Rs 35,448 crore (4,796 US$ Million) during April-March, 2021 against Rs 14,400 crore (2,020 US$ Million) reported during April-March, 2020 period.
The exports of non-basmati rice have witnessed a growth of 146 per cent in Rupee terms and 137 per cent in Dollar terms in 2020-2021. In March, 2021, the first consignment of ‘red rice’ from Assam was exported to the USA. Iron rich ‘red rice’ is grown in Brahmaputra valley of Assam without the use of any chemical fertiliser. The rice variety is referred to as ‘Bao-Dhaan’, which is an integral part of the Assamese food.
