Government permits export of Kalanamak Rice
Agriculture
5 min read
The government of India has allowed the export of up to 1000 tonnes of Kalanamak rice from India. Until now the export of the Kalanamak was banned. The government of India also designated six customs stations through which the Kalanamak rice can be exported from India. In 2021-22, India exported around 21 tonnes of kalanamak rice before its export was banned by the government.
Notified Custom station for Kalanamak rice export
The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce has notified the following customs stations through which the Kalanamak rice can be exported.
They are Varanasi Air Cargo, JNCH in Maharashtra, CH in Kandla and land customs stations in Barhni, Sonauli and Nepalgunj Road.
The Director ,Agriculture Marketing and Foreign Trade, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has been designated as the certifying authority for the quality and quantity of kalanamak rice to be exported.
About Kalanamak Rice
Kalanamak is a non-basmati scented rice variety grown primarily in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh. The Kalanamak rice is also called Lord Buddha’s gift. It is said that Lord Buddha, when he visited the Sravasti region after enlightenment, gifted this variety of rice to the people.
The rice is called kalanamak due to its husk being black. The rice can grow in usar soil, which has a salt content. Hence the word namak which signifies this quality.
Unlike the Basmati and non-basmati-rice, which are susceptible to common rice diseases like panicle blast, stem rot and brown spot, the Kalanamak is highly resistant to them.
Kalanamak is a drought-tolerant rice variety which is grown in rainfed areas and the water requirement is comparatively low as compared to the Basmati variety.
Kalanamak Belt
The Kalanamak is mainly grown in the Terai belt of Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal. The Kalanamak rice variety grown in 11 districts of UP – Bahraich, Balrampur, Basti, Deoria, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Shravasti and Siddharthnagar are protected through Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The Kalanamak rice got a GI tag in 2013.
Restriction on Rice Export
The government of India has taken several steps since September 2022 to restrict the export of rice from India in order to keep the price of rice in the domestic market under check and to ensure food security. The government has already banned the export of non-white basmati rice from 20 July 2023. The government has imposed an export duty of 20% on parboiled rice. The government has also imposed a number of restrictions on the export of Basmati rice.
Rice can be exported only with the permission of the government of India .The government has allowed the export of rice on a case to case basis on the request of friendly countries.
India is the largest exporter of rice in the world since 2011-12.
