Scientists on the Indian Agricultural Analysis Institute (IARI) and exporters have red-flagged the “unlawful” cultivation of its improved basmati rice varieties in Pakistan. The difficulty got here to the fore after the emergence of promotional YouTube movies, that includes recently-released IARI varieties, by Pakistani seed companies in locations equivalent to Multan, Bahawalnagar and Hafizabad.
Right here is why it is a downside, and what India ought to do to deal with it.
However first, how have India’s basmati exports fared of late?
Fairly effectively. India’s total merchandise exports have dipped by 5%, from $372.1 billion in April-January 2022-23 to $353.6 billion in April-January 2023-24. So have agricultural produce exports, by 9.7%, from $43.4 billion to $39.2 billion for this corresponding interval.
However the identical interval has been basmati rice exports bucking the pattern and posting a 20.2% soar in greenback worth and 12.3% in amount phrases. If present tendencies maintain, the fiscal 12 months ending March 2024 may see basmati shipments of near 50 lakh tonnes (lt), valued at $5.5 billion (or Rs 45,550 crore). These can be all-time-highs.
Desk 1 reveals basmati exports booming at the same time as export of non-basmati rice has slid. The present fiscal might find yourself with non-basmati rice exports of slightly below 110 lt value $4.4 billion, manner under the document 178 lt, and $6.4 billion achieved in 2022-23. This shouldn’t shock, because the Centre has banned exports of all white non-basmati rice. Solely parboiled non-basmati shipments are being permitted now, that too whereas being subjected to a 20% responsibility.
So, what precisely is the ‘neighbourhood risk’ that’s being talked about?
The risk pertains to the alleged seed piracy and illegal cultivation in Pakistan of improved high-yielding styles of basmati rice developed by IARI.
The New Delhi-based institute’s varieties lined practically 89% of India’s estimated 2.1 million hectares cultivating the fragrant cereal crop within the 2023 season (Desk 2). Recognized by the Pusa Basmati (PB) label, these varieties even have an over-90% share of the nation’s $5-5.5 billion annual basmati exports.
What’s so particular concerning the IARI-bred varieties?
Conventional tall basmati varieties — the likes of Taraori (HBC-19), Dehraduni (Kind-3), CSR-30 and Basmati-370 — have been low-yielding, producing barely 10 quintals of paddy (rice with husk) per acre over 155-160 days from nursery sowing to harvesting. IARI varieties, having shorter plant heights, yield extra grain, and in much less variety of days.
The primary IARI selection — PB-1, launched for industrial cultivation in 1989 — yielded 25-26 quintals/acre and matured in 135-140 days.
PB-1121, launched in 2003, yielded much less (20-21 quintals) with barely longer maturity (140-145 days). Its USP was the grain high quality — a mean kernel size of 8 mm (versus 7.2-7.4 mm for Taraori and PB-1) that elongated to 21.5 mm (versus 14-14.75 mm) on cooking.
This was adopted by PB-6 (a cross of PB-1 and PB-1121, launched in 2010) and PB-1509 (2013). The final one yielded as a lot as PB-1, however with a seed-to-grain length of simply 115-120 days. IARI subsequently additionally unveiled improved variations of PB-1121 (PB-1718 and PB-1885), PB-1509 (PB-1692 and PB-1847) and PB-6 (PB-1886), incorporating genes conferring resistance to bacterial blight and rice blast fungal illness.
PB-1121 was “launched” in Pakistan in 2013 — as PK-1121 Fragrant selection, and marketed as Kainat 1121 Basmati (‘Kainat’ being Urdu for ‘cosmos’). PB-1509 was, likewise, registered and renamed as Kissan Basmati in 2016. More moderen are YouTube movies of Pakistani seed firms and so-called analysis farms and agro consultants, discussing new IARI varieties — together with PB-1847, PB-1885 and PB-1886, which have been notified beneath India’s Seeds Act solely in January 2022. It’s the surfacing of those movies that alerted the authorities in India, particularly IARI scientists.
Is that this regarding?
On the face of it, not a lot. Pakistan’s basmati exports fell from 7.58 lt (valued at $694.55 million) in 2021-22 to five.95 lt ($650.42 million) in 2022-23. Though exports throughout July-February 2023-24, at 4.72 lt ($539.43 million), have been larger in comparison with 3.66 lt ($386.88 million) in July-February 2022-23, the numbers are a fraction of India’s.
That mentioned, India nonetheless has a number of causes to be involved.
To start out with, basmati rice is grown solely in India and Pakistan. Pakistan predominantly exports Tremendous Basmati, a high-yielding selection (much like IARI’s PB-1) bred by the Rice Analysis Institute at Kala Shah Kaku, close to Lahore. This selection, launched in 1996, has helped Pakistan achieve a 66-70% share within the European Union-United Kingdom marketplace for brown (unpolished/husked) basmati rice. That share has additional gone as much as 85% within the new advertising and marketing 12 months from September 2023.
Furthermore, whereas India is a transparent market chief in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates and different West Asian nations, it has largely to do with client desire there for parboiled basmati rice. This rice — the place paddy is soaked in water and partially boiled within the husk earlier than milling — has more durable grains, much less vulnerable to breakage after cooking for lengthy than common white rice. However with Pakistan mills more and more adopting parboiling know-how — and its farmers planting superior IARI basmati varieties — there might be challenges going ahead.
A weak Pakistani foreign money (Rs 279 to the US greenback, towards India’s Rs 83.5) solely provides to its aggressive benefit.
What ought to India do?
India enacted the Safety of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act in 2001. The IARI-bred improved basmati varieties are all registered beneath this Act, which permits solely Indian farmers to sow, save, re-sow, alternate, or share the seed/grain produced from them. Nonetheless, even they can’t violate the rights of the breeder — on this case, IARI — by promoting the seeds of the protected varieties in branded (packaged and labelled) type.
Furthermore, the IARI varieties are notified beneath the Seeds Act, 1996, which permits their cultivation solely within the formally demarcated Geographical Indication (GI) space of basmati rice inside India. This covers seven states: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh (west) and two districts of Jammu & Kashmir (Jammu and Kathua).
The sale of seeds and cultivation of the above protected basmati varieties in Pakistan would arguably qualify as an mental property rights (IPR) violation, which India can elevate in related bilateral boards and on the World Commerce Organisation.