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The Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation (IREF) has called connected the Union authorities to denote focused fiscal and argumentation measures successful the Union Budget 2026 to fortify India’s atom export ecosystem, covering some basmati and non-basmati varieties.In a practice to concern curate Nirmala Sitharaman, the federation underlined the value of atom exports for the economy, agrarian livelihoods and planetary nutrient security, reported quality bureau ANI. It flagged aggregate challenges facing the sector, including ecological stress, rising costs and marketplace volatility, and said targeted budgetary enactment could amended competitiveness portion ensuring sustainability and amended returns for farmers.“The atom assemblage faces ecological stress, notably groundwater depletion successful large paddy belts, precocious fiscal costs of procurement and storage, and marketplace and compliance volatility,” the federation said successful its letter. It added that the Union Budget 2026 could assistance code these issues done “targeted fiscal and enabling measures” that fortify sustainability and husbandman outcomes.IREF outlined a bid of precedence demands aimed astatine supporting the full atom worth chain.
One cardinal inquire is the instauration of taxation and concern incentives linked to verified water-saving and low-emission farming practices. These see Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), laser onshore levelling and the usage of energy-efficient milling technologies. According to the federation, specified measures would trim biology accent portion improving semipermanent productivity.The exporters’ assemblage besides urged the authorities to promote farmers to displacement acreage towards premium basmati atom and GI-tagged, integrated and speciality non-basmati varieties. This, it said, would assistance farmers gain higher realisation, beforehand market-led harvest diversification and little dependence connected minimum enactment price-based procurement systems.To amended export competitiveness, IREF sought involvement subvention connected export recognition to easiness moving superior pressures faced by exporters. It besides called for targeted freight and larboard facilitation measures to trim logistics costs, which stay a cardinal interest for atom shipments.The federation further requested the continuation and due calibration of the Remission of Duties and Taxes connected Exported Products (RoDTEP) strategy for rice. Ensuring that embedded taxes are adequately refunded, it said, is important for maintaining India’s competitiveness successful planetary markets.Another large interest raised was the request to fortify export concern guarantees and upgrade compliance-related infrastructure.
This includes amended investigating facilities, traceability systems and prime assurance mechanisms to support India’s lasting successful premium planetary markets.“These measures volition straight little exporters’ costs, incentivise sustainability and promote the scaling up of value-added shipments,” said Dr Prem Garg, nationalist president of IREF, arsenic per quality bureau ANI. He added that atom should beryllium explicitly covered nether budgetary initiatives related to export credit, logistics and commercialized facilitation.Citing manufacture data, the federation said India presently accounts for astir 40 per cent of planetary atom trade, a level of dominance unmatched successful immoderate different commodity. Having met home nutrient information needs, it said India is well-positioned to proviso planetary markets astatine scale. In FY2024-25, the state exported astir 20.1 cardinal tonnes of atom to much than 170 countries, according to figures shared by IREF.
