West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him for exemption of 20 per cent customs duty on the state's famed Gobindobhog rice similar to the one given to Basmati.

In the letter, Mamata said the Centre's decision to impose 20 per cent customs duty on premium rice varieties such as Gobindobhog has badly affected its export.

"Unfortunately, the Government of India has imposed a 20 per cent customs duty on rice, as a result of which the export business of the premium 'Gobindobhog' variety has been badly affected with a negative impact on the demand and domestic price of the paddy, and hence on the income of farmers," Banerjee wrote in her two-page letter to Modi on Wednesday.

"It is appreciated that Basmati, another popular high value aromatic rice variety, has been exempted from the 20 per cent customs duty. It is, therefore, requested on the same logic by which Basmati has been exempted, the premium aromatic variety, Gobindobhog rice should also be exempted from such 20 per cent customs duty on export at an early date to avoid loss of business and depriving benefits to our farmers," she added.

Gobindobhog is grown in a few districts of the state and it has been awarded geographical identification tag in October 2017, she said.

"May I request you, Sir, to kindly issue necessary instructions for extending a similar exemption of the duty on export to the premium aromatic variety, Gobindobhog rice at the earliest," she added.