Indian rice will have to be certified beetle-free to go to US

28-Aug-2011 - Last updated on 15-Mar-2017 at 18:56 GMT

A new regulation in India would mean that exporters of rice products to the US will have to get a new pest-free certification for them, an official at the government's food exports body said.

According to the official, who works at the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA), the new regulation asks for rice exports from India to be certified as free from the Khapra beetle.

This regulation has come about as a result of a draft Work Plan Agreement that the two countries signed for exports of rice to the US, said the official, who requests anonymity, as he is not the official spokesperson.

The agreement came about after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) imposed restrictions on commercial and non-commercial rice from India in order to protect its resources from the Khapra beetle. These restrictions also apply to other Asian countries including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

“The contamination from the pest was found in certain batches of Basmati and Sona Masuri variety of rice that was being exported from India to the US,” he said.

Under the agreement, rice processing units and millers would have to be registered under a system jointly developed by the two signatories – the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and India's National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO).

“From then on the processing or milling unit will be subject to audits by a NPPO team, that will have members from other departments in APEDA as well,” he said.

According to the official, the khapra beetle thrives in moisture and as such, the NPPO would enforce certain requirements, which include not using burlap bags or used bags for export to the US.

“Containers would need to be vacuum-cleaned before loading of rice and the loading would need to be done in isolation from other commodities at the processing unit to avoid cross-contamination,” he said.

Inspection would happen at the post-packaging phase too as the NPPO team will conduct spot sample checks before the products are shipped off to the US, he added, after which the consignment would be certified as per USDA norms.

“A phytosanitary certificate would be issued to indicate that the product shipment was processed by an approved unit and was free from the pest,” he said.