The Hindu Business Line : APEDA specifications for quality control -- Rice exporters told to fall in line

THE Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has expressed concern over the inadequate steps taken by rice exporters to implement its specifications for rice mills concerning quality control.

APEDA has drafted specifications for rice mills laying down the norms for maintaining various documentation and the quality control checks to be in place in order to prevent chances of impurities in the final product.

``In spite of several discussions with the exporting community, it has not been possible to ensure that the exporters implement the rice mills specifications. Keeping in view the decrease in the market share of Indian rice, there is an urgent need to upgrade the status of rice mills. If adequate steps are not taken immediately, there are chances that we may lose our market share further,'' the APEDA Chairman, Mr Anil Swarup, warned.

Currently, APEDA provides financial assistance of 50 per cent of total cost up to a limit of Rs 2 lakh for implementation of quality systems such as HACCP, ISO 9000, etc.

Besides, it also provides assistance of 50 per cent of cost up to a limit of Rs 5 lakhs for up-gradation of in-house laboratories set up by exporters to monitor quality at rice mill level.

According to Mr Swarup, most importing countries have now started laying more emphasis on the implementation of quality assurance systems in the supplier country as the final product testing in consignments is no longer seen as a reliable criteria to ensure compliance of a product with respect to the identified standards. In order to overcome this uncertainty, emphasis has shifted to implementation of adequate control measures, starting from the receipt of the raw material until its dispatch for export purposes.

``If we go through the data of (Indian) consignments rejected, one of the major causes is high level of impurities such as metal pieces, stones, etc. All these impurities can be removed easily by implementing stringent quality controls and improving the production and processing environment within rice mills,'' Mr Swarup pointed out.

On the overall rice export scenario, Mr Swarup observed that in the case of basmati rice, there had been a steady but progressive increase in exports all through the post-liberalisation period. From just 2,32,412 tonnes in 1990-91, India's basmati exports went up almost four-folds to touch 8,47,458 tonnes in 2000-01 (see Table).

But in the case of non-basmati rice, the journey has been one of stiff competition and ups and downs.

From a level of 2,72,702 tonnes in 1990-91, exports rose to 45,65,842 tonnes in 1995-96. But subsequently, there was a progressive drop to a mere 6,82,764 tonnes last year, with the only exception being 1998-99, which saw 43,65,842 tonnes being exported.

In both 1995-96 and 1998-99, the major cause was the huge imports by Bangladesh.

The country's exports of non-basmati rice have not picked up appreciably mainly because of lower prices offered by competitors such as Thailand and Vietnam.

However, in the current fiscal, the Government has sought to address the problem by releasing non-basmati rice from Food Corporation of India's (FCI) stocks at concessional rates of Rs 6,000 per tonne for par-boiled and Rs 5,750 per tonne for raw rice.

As a result, exports in 2001-02 are expected to recover to around 1.5 million tonnes.

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