Contrary to the earlier apprehensions, basmati rice production in the country is unlikely to decline in the current fiscal due to the recent floods in north Indian states.

Basmati acreage, which was earlier expected to dip by 5 per cent this year, is likely to remain at the last year's level as farmers in flood-hit Punjab and Haryana are replanting with premium rice variety, according to the industry associations. "Floods in some districts of Punjab and Haryana has washed away the recently sown regular grades of rice. As basmati rice can be planted late, farmers are opting for it," All India Rice Exporters Association Vijay Sethia told PTI Economic Services.

He said basmati rice -- grown mainly in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh -- can be planted up to the end of current month and in some cases up to August first week.

"With no time left for them to sow the normal variety for paddy, flood affected farmers are sowing basmati grade in their fields," he added.

Sethia noted there was possibility of a 5 per cent decline in basmati sowing area because of better monsoon this year but on account of recent floods the area under premium rice would go up to the last year's level.

Basmati rice, although can be planted much later but it producesless yield as compared to the regular grades of rice. Sethia said the total area under basmati was around 14 lakh hectare last year. In Punjab, the area under coverage for basmati was 7 lakh hectare, while it was 3.9 lakh hectare in Haryana and 3.2 lakh hectare in Uttar Pradesh.

On an average, the basmati yield per hectare is around four tonnes and the total production in the country was around 56 lakh tonnes. At present, export of basmati rice is allowed but that of non-basmati rice is banned.

According to official data, the country is estimated to have harvested 89.13 million tonnes of rice in the 2009-10 crop year  (July-June), as against a record 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year.

Rice exporters also indicated the country could export up to 5 lakh tonnes of superior-variety non-basmati rice in the current fiscal if the Centre partially lifted the ban on shipment of the commodity, an industry body today said.

Earlier, Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar had said the government would consider allowing export of some particular varieties of non-basmati rice this year.

"If the government allows the export of non-basmati superior varieties of rice like 'Sharabati' and 'Sugandha', the country can export up to 5 lakh tonnes, as there is a great global demand," Sethia said.

The industry associations also suggested that the government may fix the minimum export price (MEP) at USD 800-850 per tonne for shipment of superior varieties of non-basmati rice. India had banned export of non-basmati rice in April, 2008, to check inflation.

However later, the government allowed export of basmati rice with certain conditions that by fixing the MEP at USD 900 per tonne.Pawar had said the issue of allowing export of some non- basmati rice varieties would be discussed in the forthcoming meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The minister had said that some states had requested the government to allow the export of a particular variety of riceproduced in Kerala, as there was a high demand for the same in Gulf countries.

Sethia said the ban on the export on non-basmati rice had allowed rival Pakistan to emerge as the largest exporter of rice in the world. "Pakistani traders have advantages, as they can offer both basmati and non-basmati varieties of rice. However, if India allows export of some non-basmati rice varieties, then it will benefit both traders and farmers," Sethia said.

Data released by the government also indicated increase in acreage as sowing of Kharif crops such as paddy, soyabean and pulses would now pick up as monsoon rains, crucial for the farm sector, had covered the entire country, experts said.

"The wide-spread monsoon will boost all Kharif crops. Sowing of basmati and non-basmati rice will start picking up in Punjab and Haryana. The government had discouraged early sowing in these two states due to delayed monsoon," the industry association said. Paddy sowing is gaining momentum in West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, he said.

In Punjab, farmers had transplanted paddy sprouts using irrigation and monsoon would aid their growth, Adhya added. So far, paddy has been sown in about 4.64 million hectare, which is slightly higher than 4.54 million hectare in the year-ago period, according to the official data.

The government has kept a target to cover paddy in 40 million hectare during the 2010-11 Kharif season, against 36 million hectare in 2009-10.

Sowing in the Kharif season begins with the onset of southwest monsoon in June and continues till September. Paddy sowing in the Kharif season is crucial as more than 80 per cent of the country's rice is grown in this period.

Sethia had earlier said that rice production would touch a record 100 million tonnes in 2010-11 if there was a favourable monsoon this year. Output declined to 89.31 million tonnes in 2009-10 from record 99.18 million tonnes in the previous year.

(PTI)