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Fragrant rice among premium sectors in global rice mkt
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Wednesday, 01 August, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Prashant Sahni and Anuradha Pandit
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Rice is an integral part of our age-old tradition. Every part of Indian subcontinent is consuming rice in one or the other form, may it be the aromatic Hyderabadi Biryani or a plate of Rasam Sambhar or the holy Payasam of temple.
So, rice is undeniably gracing our plates in one or the other form. This close association of rice with an Indian tradition reminds me of an anecdote of a special bond of two foodies, one from north and another from south. Being with the south Indian friend made me explore the diverse rice-based cuisine. Roaming from one restaurant to other in search of best quality of curd rice and one day this exploration came to a conclusion when we ended up eating one of the tastiest curd rice at one of the restaurants. That intoxicating scent of curd rice still slips me into grogginess of appeasement. Being a food technologist it really made me ponder that what actually made that rice so aromatic? Was that some spice or some essence? On diving deeper, I realised they were using fragrant variety of rice for their preparations. So, it is evident from this anecdote that I learnt two very important things, first was to order curd rice from that particular shop and second one was the existence of fragrant rice. On exploring more about fragrant rice, I found that fragrant rice is one of the premium sector of rice market worldwide.
Assessing the quality of rice
The worldwide production of rice accounts about 481 million metric tonne, out of which 7.1% is in trade. Interestingly fragrant rice market accounts for a significant portion of the rice market that is reaping highest prices. Also, it has been observed that fragrance of rice is considered as one of the important determinant in assessing the quality of the rice.
Moreover, this peculiar feature is also associated with a particular rice variety belonging to some geographical area. Besides the attractive aroma of fragrant rice, the other two important features of fragrant rice are its appearance and taste. The aroma of fragrant rice varies according to variety. Some varieties have very mild flavour whereas some of them are characterised by strong aroma. Therefore, varieties of fragrant rice can be utilised for different culinary preparations.
Basmati and Non-Basmati
The aromatic rice of India may be categorised into two broad types, Basmati and Non-Basmati. Basmati rice are characterised by long, slender grains having kernel length of 6.61 mm and more, length to breath ratio of 3 and above.
The grains of Basmati cultivars are pointed at both ends with gradual tapering at the end opposite to the germination end and uniform breath between the tapering. These grains also exhibit high kernel elongation after cooking.
Non-Basmati aromatic types also have one or more of the basmati characteristics, but not all of them. Usually, they have small (5.5 mm or less) and medium (5.5-6.6mm) kernel length, although they may have similar length to breadth ratio or kernel elongation rate as high as of Basmati, or even more. But, overall kernel elongation after cooking is much higher in Basmati types than in Non-Basmati types. Also, some varieties of Non-Basmati fragrant rice is superior to Basmati in terms of aroma, taste and expansion.
75% of world’s Basmati rice
Basmati rice has a quite early existence in India since the early days of 19th century. It is believed that the genesis of name Basmati has Hindi origin and is made by the conjugation of words ‘Bas’ meaning ‘aroma’ and ‘Mati’ referring ‘to full of.’ So, the word Basmati means ‘full of aroma’. ‘Basmati’ is protected under “The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999” of India, which prevents any rice grown outside of the Indo-Gangetic area from being called Basmati. India produces 75% of the world’s Basmati rice and the rest is produced by Pakistan. Basmati supply has increased about 12% in the last 10 years.
Basmati rice is mostly grown in the traditional areas of north and north western part of Indian sub-continent for many centuries. The super-fine best quality of Basmati rice is produced on either side of Indus valley in India. The main states growing Basmati rice in India are Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
As aforesaid, the aroma of fragrant rice is a key determinant in detecting its market value, therefore varieties of fragrant rice is also being imported. Jasmine rice from Thailand along with Basmati from India is the major players that are occupying international market shelves. Besides these varieties, there are a large number of premium short-grain aromatic rice varieties cultivated by farmers in India and South-East Asia that have not been fully explored on commercial scale. The key driving force for the expansion of Basmati rice is the utilisation of Basmati rice as staple food in the southern states of Indian subcontinent. Therefore, India along with other Asian countries is supporting the global Basmati rice significantly.
Worldwide market for Basmati rice
The worldwide market for Basmati rice was US$10.51 billion by 2017. Global rice production and trade are forecasted to be increased by 2.11% and 5.56% respectively. The world consumption is also anticipated to increase with slight increased in global carry over stock. The market is further expected to rise to US$17.74 billion by 2022, proliferating at a robust CAGR of 11.0% during the period from 2017 to 2022.
The worldwide Basmati rice market is also classified on the basis of the geography. Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Japan, and Latin America are the main regional segments of this market. APEJ has acquired the leading position in the global market. APEJ market for Basmati was occupying significant position in the market in 2017. Indian fragrant rice market has a considerable share in the export as well. India was largest exporter of fragrant rice in 2015-2016 and Saudi Arab was leading importer of Basmati rice from India, followed by Iran.
Safer food security system
The premium price which is being offered for fragrant rice attracts many players and increases competition between domestic and trade markets. The World Trade Organization (WTO) recognises that governments see rice as a sensitive and special commodity. Governments are able to control, and sometimes stop rice trade through taxing, governmental distribution agencies and price regulation. This exception regime is said to be leading to a safer food security system by providing lower rice prices for local populations in developing countries where authorities pay attention to rice availability for their own inhabitants.
Fragrant rice is an oligopsony market in the farm gate. The yield from fragrant rice is independent of farm size as it is not responsive to fertiliser. Because yields are low, such rice is cropped in marginal small farms in central India. Most districts of ancient Punjab are reported to be in the Basmati belt. All these regions are located in Himalayan foothills with peculiar pedo-climatic conditions and specific knowledge on traditional cropping of Basmati rice. Meanwhile, the influence of Basmati on fragrant rice market might be a concern for biodiversity. A well-documented study of fragrant rice history in India, identified 316 Indian scented cultivars, most often erased by Basmati salience in cropping, and scientific works. Attractive to traders, because of its price premium, Basmati rice is sown on extended acreage. Consequently, it contributes to erasing other scented cultivars which are not sold for trade. Therefore, Basmati continues to dominate the fragrant rice market in India.
(Sahni is PhD scholar and Pandit is project fellow, department of food science and technology, Punjab Agricultural University)
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