Report

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which governs the National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP), has imposed fines on one exporter and temporarily suspended the accreditation of an organic certification company.

This decision followed a Business Line article that revealed discrepancies in the exports of organic rice from India after the government imposed a ban on white rice exports and a 20% tax on parboiled rice in the last fiscal year.

Sources confirm that APEDA suspended both Reliteaur Foods Private Limited and the Sikkim State Organic Certification Agency last week. Each entity received a fine of ₹10 lakh. Customs officials have held a shipment of rice from Reliteaur Foods since August. In response, the company has approached the Gujarat High Court, which will hear the case on October 17.

From April to July 2024, India exported 71,131 tonnes of organic rice, contributing to a total rice export peak of 146,585 tonnes during that period. This figure significantly exceeds the 107,727 tonnes exported in the entire fiscal year 2023-2024. The exports included over 8,000 tonnes of tukdi rice, 127,120 tonnes of white rice, and the remainder comprised sela rice, raising suspicions.

Decreasing Costs

During this time, the United States imported 13,626 tonnes of organic rice from India, while the Netherlands purchased 16,457 tonnes. Countries like Vietnam, Madagascar, Kenya, Mozambique, and Malaysia typically do not import organic rice. However, African nations have recently bought significant quantities of Sona Masoori and organic rice, despite not having previously imported these varieties in such volumes.

These inconsistencies have caused the cost of exporting organic rice to steadily decline since October 2023, coinciding with the July export restrictions on white rice. Prices dropped from $940 per tonne in September 2023 to $529 per tonne by June 2024.

Regulatory Violations

Shippers have violated the ban on white rice by exporting it as organic rice, even though the ban was lifted on September 28, 2024. Additionally, they have evaded the 20% export duty on parboiled rice.

Source: Food Tech News