Indians travelling to the US will no longer be able to carry premium rice such as basmati and sona masuri for their friends and relatives there, with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) clamping down on the practice. The USDA has also imposed stringent conditions on rice imports from 22 countries including India following detection of a deadly pest called Khapra beetle in some consignments. The beetle, which can survive for long without food or much moisture, was found in many consignments from these countries during the last few months.
To counter the US move, the Indian government has introduced a certification process for rice exports to the US. India?s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (Apeda) under the commerce ministry in association with National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) would henceforth certify rice exports from India as ?free from Khapra beetle,? Asit Tripathy, chairman, APEDA told FE. ?We have signed an export protocol with the US for regulations of rice exports so that only registered exporters are allowed to send rice consignment after proper certification,? he said.
India exported around 1 lakh tonne of aromatic basmati and sona masuri to US last fiscal.
Sources said during the last few months, USDA?s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had found a couple of rice consignments to US from India containing traces of the deadly pest which destroys grains. This year, US Customs and Border Protection?s agriculture specialists have made close to100 Khapra beetle interceptions at ports in comparison to three to six per year in 2005 and 2006, and averaging about 15 per year during 2007-09.
According to a recent circular by the department of revenue under the Central Board of Excise & Customs, ?air passengers travelling to the US should not carry rice in their baggage and the prohibition would be also be applicable in dispatch of rice through other means such as courier or mail.?
Although curbs have been put in place by US officials for non-commercial rice shipments, all rice imports have been put through stringent conditions for controlling the spread of the deadly pest.
The US imported close to 5 million tonnes of rice in 2010-11 from close to 22 countries mostly in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The US restrictions require commercial rice shipments originating from the rice exporting countries to be inspected and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate or a phytosanitary certificate of re-export.
In addition, the certificates must include a declaration stating that ?The shipment was inspected and found free of Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium)?.
A leading Indian basmati rice exporter on the condition of anonymity said that small exporters do not often adhere to strict hygiene standards before a consignment is cleared for exports. ?We need to take stringent measures against the spread of this pest which may adversely impact India?s rice exports in the coming years,? an exporter said. Basmati rice is one of the biggest constituents of India?s farm products export. According to the Apeda, exports of the premium aromatic rice rose 35% to 2.2 million tonnes in 2009-10 from 1.6 million tonnes in 2008-09. In value terms, exports crossed R12,000 crore during 2009-10 against R9,476 crore achieved in 2008-09. Last fiscal, India exported basmati rice worth over R10,000 crore. Khapra beetles have become resistant to many insecticides and fumigants. Believed to be originally from India, the beetle is said to be one of the world?s most destructive pests of food grain.