China has finally given the thumbs-up for Indian basmati rice to be imported after long and hard six years of negotiations.
According to China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), Indian trade authorities have been told that the gates have been opened.
Discussions were given one final push when Chinese President Hu Jintao travelled to New Delhi last month for the BRICS Summit.
A spokesperson for the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) of India said that exports cannot begin immediately though as both countries must agree on a mutually satisfactory quarantine protocol.
He said: “Once agreed on, China will have to circulate the certificate to all its ports and customs authorities before imports can begin entering the country”.
The spokesperson also claimed that Chinese authorities are reluctant to allow agricultural and food products from India. He added: “India is still waiting for a nod to more than a dozen other agricultural products”.
Despite no official estimates being made recently, an APEDA report from 2007 is claiming that there could be trade worth $50m if China accepted Indian Basmati rice.
