Telangana: Agriculture Minister appeals to Centre to adopt export friendly rules for rice
Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageshwar Rao on Friday appealed to the Centre to support the rice exports putting in place export friendly rules and regulations so that the paddy growers in India would benefit immensely by fetching a remunerative price in the market. Inaugurating the Global Rice Summit, 2024 in the city, he called for steps to widen further the export market for rice in the world.
Highlighting Telangana’s position as one of the leading paddy-producing states and the progress made in resolving production-related issues, the Minister said the State government has been encouraging cultivation of fine varieties which enjoyed better market globally. Rice is being grown in over 12 million acres and the annual output is in the order of 26 million tonnes. Over 220 varieties of paddy is raised in the State.
As part of the initiative to encourage paddy cultivation, the State government has announced an incentive of Rs 500 per quintal for from the ensuing crop season. So far as the rice exports from the country concerned, Indian rice varieties enjoyed a better market in over 100 countries. The country had taken over 45 percent of global market share and in future India will have more surplus rice to feed many more countries by 2030.
Telangana rice was being exported to countries like Philippines, USA, Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates. Certain rice varieties from the state had become quite popular in different countries. Though issues related to rice produced were addressed effectively since Independence, the market related issues still remain a concern.
He thanked the organizers of the summit facilitating a global platform for sharing experiences and information related to the rice production and exports.
The Minister for Civil Supplies N Uttam Kumar Reddy said in his address , that Telangana has adequate stock of paddy and rice of both coarse and fine varieties for export. Issues coming in the way of rice exports could be ironed out by discussing with government of India. State was ready for any dialogue for exporting rice at a competitive price.
This article has been republished from the Telangana Today.