Mamata Banerjee battles for Bengali rice variety, asks PM Modi to do this ‘to avoid loss of business’

The Gobindobhog rice, also known as Govind Bhog, is very well-liked for presenting to the Almighty (Govind) both domestically and abroad, particularly in Europe and the Gulf regions, according to West Bengal’s chief minister.

In September, a 20% customs duty was imposed by the Centre. Because of this, the years of work that went into developing the premium Gobindobhog variety’s export market have been badly damaged with a detrimental influence on the demand and domestic price of the paddy and, consequently, on the income of farmers, said Banerjee.

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Banerjee compares Gobindobhog rice to Basmati rice, which is exempt from the 20% customs duty in a similar way, and says that Gobindobhog rice should enjoy the privilege “to avoid loss of business”.

Only a few districts in West Bengal grow pure Gobindobhog rice, which was given geographic identity in 2017. Compared to the MSP for rice, it brings in a substantially higher price, the Bengal CM said in a letter. Since 2011, as part of our efforts to increase the revenue of Bengal farmers, the Mamata Banerjee government has encouraged the development of the premium variety in appropriate locations in place of coarse-grain rice, she added.

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According to Banerjee, other nations – such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait among others in the gulf region, are in need of Gobindobhog rice. She claims in the letter that the state administration has encouraged exports of this premium kind of Gobindobhog rice in addition to expanding production in regions suitable for it in order to sustain demand for it abroad.

Gobindobhog rice is typically used in and around Bengal for making rice-based desserts. In addition, it is also used to make flavoured rice and pulao.

(With ANI inputs)