With Saudi Arabia easing residue rules India’s basmati export expected to boost

The basmati rice exports from India is expected to increase, as chief importer Saudi Arabia is set to espouse easy residue parameters to take delivery of consignments.

As India is taking steps to decrease the deposit of harmful chemicals on rice, local authorities hope that the European Union also increases imports from the country.

Shipments from India to the Arab nation have taken a hit after Riyadh asked for undertakings from exporters on minimum residue levels (MRL). In addition, Saudi Arabia had refused a few consignments of Indian rice from a Singapore-based company. As the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) haven’t defined MRLs, the customs authorities discarded the consignment which was based on the strict lowest limit of analytical determination criterion followed by the US and EU.

Trade executives said that the SFDA is now planning to formulate its own, easier MRLs for the near future. They added that with India taking up the matter with Saudi authorities, exports to that country have already enhanced.

The Basmati Export Development Fund, an arm of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) also mentioned that “The latest dialogue with Saudi authorities has resulted in an optimistic outcome and exports have normalized to the country”.