Basmati consumption rising

Basmati rice – widely known for its longer grains and aromatic flavour – is now a common sight in social events and gatherings, a welcome change for many delighted by the delicious taste of Basmati kacchi or pulao.

Once confined to the menus of the wealthy and upper middle class segments, Basmati’s appeal has since spread to the kitchens of common folk. Super shops and grocery stores are offering different brands of Basmati rice for sale to cater to this rising demand.

Nearly all big food processing companies are marketing their respective brand of basmati. However, Bangladesh’s Basmati market is completely dependent on imports, as this variety is not grown in the country.

According to the Department of Agriculture Extension’s quarantine department, Bangladesh imported 342 tonnes of Basmati rice in FY2020-21.

Al Amin, sales executive at super shop Shwapno’s Gulshan 2 outlet, said, “The demand for Basmati rice has increased, and it continues to go up day by day. This is why many companies are getting into the Basmati market.

“Customers buy Basmati rice mostly for preparing biryani or pulao, but some buy the variety to prepare plain rice as well.”  

Rupom Roy, in-charge at the Moghbazar outlet of super shop Meena Bazar, said, “Currently, there is a good demand for Basmati rice. Consumers buy this variety to prepare special items for their family.

“Sometimes, we sell a large amount to people holding a party or programme.”

What’s special about Basmati?

According to the Indian government agency APEDA, a rice variety is eligible to be called basmati if it has a minimum average precooked milled rice length of 6.61 mm and average precooked milled rice breadth of up to 2 mm, among other parameters.

“And the main characteristic of the original Basmati rice are that its length doubles after cooking, and it has a nice aroma,” said Khandakar Md Iftekharuddaula, chief scientific officer and head of Plant Breeding Division at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

He added that rice grains 6.1 millimeters long are called the long variety, and more than 7.5 mm are called the extra-long variety.

Basmati grains contain about 0.09 ppm of an aromatic chemical compound naturally, a level that is about 12 times as much as non-basmati rice varieties, giving basmati its distinctive fragrance and flavor.

Per hectare yield on Basmati in India and Pakistan is around 3 to 3.5 tonnes.

Why are the prices so high?

Basmati rice is only produced in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir of India, Punjab Pradesh in Pakistan, the Terai region and some parts of Kathmandu valley in Nepal.

The variety is not grown outside of those regions. Though some other countries have developed similar varieties, those are not considered Basmati. Industry insiders say Basmati’s special characteristics and limited cultivation regions make the rice significantly pricey.

Per kilogram price Basmati rice varies from Tk 300 – Tk 325 in the local retail market. Almost all the super shops including Shwapno, Meena Bazar, and Agora sell Basmati rice in their outlets in 1 Kg, 2 Kg and 5 Kg packets.

Both local and foreign companies are marketing Basmati in the local market, such as ACI, PRAN-RFL group, Bangladesh Edible Oil Company Ltd, LT Foods and many others.

ACI Agribusinesses President FH Ansarey said, “Basmati is not produced in Bangladesh, and its sourcing area is limited. Regular restaurants and caterers are not preparing biryani from Basmati, only some high class caterers can afford to add this variety to their menu.”

A 1kg packet of ACI Aroma Pure Basmati Rice is being sold for Tk 325, Daawat Biryani Basmati rice for Tk 350, Pran Basmati Rice for Tk300, and Fortune Biryani Special Basmati Rice for Tk 306. A 5kh packet of Kohinoor Extra Long is being sold for Tk 1,500, Kohinoor Gold Basmati Rice Extra Long for Tk 1,685, Daawat Biryani Basmati Rice for Tk 1,600, and Fortune Biryani Special Basmati Rice for Tk 1,410.

‘Banglamati’ a local alternative

Scientists of the BRRI have developed a rice variety similar to Basmati called BRRI-Dhan 50k, also known as Banglamati. BRRI officials say this variety’s paddy length is 7.4 mm and rice length is 6.1 mm. Banglamati has the aroma Basmati is famous for, but in a limited amount. Besides, Banglamati’s pre-cooking and after cooking ratio is 1:1.2, it is 1:2 for Basmati.

The local variety’s per hectare productivity is around five tonnes, and it needs 155 days to be ready for harvesting.

The Seed Board first launched the variety in 2008 during Boro season, and later released it commercially in 2010.

Providing more details, principal scientific officer and head of BRRI’s Agricultural Economics Division Md Saiful Islam said, “The country grows Banglamati on 1.68 per cent of its total Boro land (49.63 lakh hectares), which is roughly 83,000 hectares of land. “The variety is mainly cultivated in Jashore and Kushtia.” Like Basmati, Banglamati also has a high demand in Bangladesh, mainly for cooking pulao and biryani. Companies such as ACI, Pran and others sell this local variety in packets for Tk110-120 per Kg.

Meanwhile, BRRI’s Khandakar Md Iftekharuddaula said, “The main characteristics of Basmati are absent in Banglamati. Basmati rice’s length doubles after cooking due to its arrangement of carbohydrate crystals, which is not the case in our variety.

“Besides, Banglamati does not have the level of aroma that Basmati has. We have also developed another variety named BRRI Dhan 81 which expands in length by 60 per cent after cooking, but the rice is not aromatic.”

He pointed out that Basmati’s aroma is distinctive from other varieties such as Katarivog and Chinigura.

More varieties in the horizon

After Banglamati failed to deliver the expected level of aroma and length after cooking, the BRRI began developing another hybrid variety using Basmati. This variety’s paddy is over 9mm long and rice is longer than 7 mm.

The pre-cooking and after-cooking ratio of this variety is 1:1.6, and it is more aromatic than Banglamati. 

BRRI is thinking of opening a zonal office in Dinajpur-Panchagarh region to conduct further research, Iftekharuddaula said. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is working jointly with ACI on developing another local variety of
Basmati.

“We are developing our own Basmati rice variety, and the process is in its final stage. It will be released very soon,” said ACI Agribusinesses Managing Director and CEO FH Ansarey.