India: wider basmati reach, upstream strain

Madhya Pradesh says its basmati rice now reaches 47 countries, even as India’s farm supply chain is tightening upstream in feed and fertilizer. (thehindubusinessline.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (wwno.org) Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said at a farmer event in Raisen that district basmati is being exported to 47 nations. The state is still fighting in court to have its basmati-growing areas included under the geographical indication, or origin-label, definition for basmati. (thehindubusinessline.com) (supremecourtcases.com) That case has run for years. Court records say growers from 13 Madhya Pradesh districts challenged the exclusion of their areas from the basmati geographical indication application, and the Supreme Court in 2021 sent parts of the dispute back for fresh consideration. (supremecourtcases.com) (thehindubusinessline.com) At the same time, another part of India’s farm economy is moving the other way. The Soybean Processors Association of India said soybean meal exports fell nearly 63 percent in March to 60,000 tonnes, down from 1.62 lakh tonnes a year earlier. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (moneycontrol.com) The processors’ group said high domestic prices and the conflict in West Asia disrupted shipments to Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. Domestic consumption, driven by animal feed demand, rose to about six lakh tonnes. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (taxtmi.com) Fertilizer is under pressure too. Reporting from April 14 said shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had stalled after the Iran war began, deepening shortages in India, while the head of the United Nations trade agency warned fertilizer disruption was becoming a pressing concern for developing countries. (wwno.org) (usnews.com) (news.un.org) India’s government has said stocks remain adequate. In a written reply published in late March, the chemicals and fertilizers ministry said the country had 53.08 lakh metric tonnes of urea, 21.80 lakh metric tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate and 7.98 lakh metric tonnes of muriate of potash on hand as of March 23. (pib.gov.in) But import dependence has been rising. Official data cited in recent reports showed April-to-January urea imports at 89.30 lakh tonnes, up from 48.70 lakh tonnes a year earlier, and di-ammonium phosphate imports at 60.16 lakh tonnes, up from 43.09 lakh tonnes. (ddnews.gov.in) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The split is stark: one state is trying to turn basmati into a stronger export identity, while India’s feed and fertilizer lines are being tested by prices, court fights and shipping risk. What happens next will shape both what the country sells abroad and what its farmers can afford to put into the next crop. (thehindubusinessline.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (wwno.org)