Growers worried as Iranian envoy says ‘no oil, no basmati’

CHANDIGARH: Iranian ambassador in India Dr Ali Chengeni, who was in Chandigarh on Tuesday, said If India does not buy oil from Iran, his country will not import basmati from Punjab.

“(If) no oil from Iran, then no basmati from Punjab,” Chengeni said when HT asked him about his country’s plans to import Basmati from Punjab.

The statement has mounted worries for basmati exporters and growers based in Punjab and Haryana. He made the statement in the backdrop of trade sanctions imposed by the US on Iran, which India is also following.

Terming the sanctions by the US as “illegal”, the ambassador hoped that India will bypass the sanctions, which have been imposed for 13 years.

Last year, Iran imported 16 lakh tonne basmati from India, worth Rs 14,000 crore, out of which 45% was from Punjab. “We would be not able to take (basmati) as much as we had during the previous season,” added the ambassador, who met basmati

exporters. He earlier met Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who also reportedly raised concerns over the exports of premium variety rice from the state.

The CM has invited Iran to take part in Invest Punjab summit planned by the state government in December.

This kharif season, basmati was sown over 6.29 lakh hectares in Punjab, one lakh hectares more than the previous season, and around 1.25 lakh tonnes of 1509 variety have arrived in the mandis of the state.

The premium quality paddy is fetching Rs 2,400 a quintal. The 1121 variety, which is sown over 60% of area, would mature in November. Then the actual basmati price scenario could be ascertained.

Basmati exporters, who were present in the meeting with the ambassador, raised concern over non-release of payment for the grains they have exported last year. SK Sharma of Karnal-based Shiv Shakti exports said huge payment of a number of exporters was pending from Iran.

Suresh Khatanhar, executive director of IDBI Bank which is a designated bank, along with UCO bank, to facilitate trade with Iran, was also present in the meeting with exporters.

According to him, funds in the corpus which is maintained for trade with Iran were depleting and the scope for export was limited at the current stage owing to the sanctions. The corpus buildup depends on oil import from Iran.