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    Govt tells basmati exporters to stick to EU’s pesticide rules

    Synopsis

    India’s basmati exports to the EU had declined around 60 per cent from a year earlier.

    Govt tells basmati exporters to stick to EU’s pesticide rulesGetty Images
    Tricyclazole is a fungicide used by farmers, particularly in basmati varieties PB1 and Pusa 1401.
    NEW DELHI: The government has asked rice exporters to conform to the pesticides standards of the European Union for shipments to the bloc, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

    The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority asked exporters and laboratories to ensure that the rice samples are drawn in accordance with internationally accepted methods for the determination of pesticide residues.

    India’s basmati exports to the EU had declined around 60 per cent from a year earlier to 1.62 lakh tonnes during April-December 2018.

    The agri-export promotion body, in its notification for the online registration of basmati export contracts, asked exporters to get the tests done at NABL-accredited laboratories for obtaining registration-cum-allocation certificates.

    The European Commission had reduced maximum residues level for Tricyclazole to 0.01 parts per million (ppm) from 1 ppm for all crops effective January 1, 2018. Import of any agricultural product with a higher reading would not be permitted in the EU.

    Tricyclazole is a fungicide used by farmers, particularly in basmati varieties PB1 and Pusa 1401, which have the highest share in the export basket to European Union.

    As per Dow Chemicals, the producer of Tricyclazole, this is the only effective fungicide to control rice blast disease (which are found in PB1 and Pusa 1401 varieties). Exporters said farmers prefer Tricyclazole because it is cheaper than other options.

    “For exporting rice to the EU, farmers will have to adhere to the norms. There will be no relaxation,” said a senior agriculture department official.



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