Basmati exports to the US are poised for a jump this year with the controversy over the pesticide residue coming to an end. After detecting traces of tricyclazole – a fungicide, the US had rejected consignments of Indian basmati since 2011.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has recently fixed the import tolerance for tricyclazole in Indian rice at 3 parts per million (ppm). This is much above the levels detected in Indian basmati consignments (0.12 ppm) in August 2011 by the US authorities.

Tricyclazole is a systemic fungicide used by all major rice growing countries including India to control ‘blast’, a disease that results in heavy yield loss. The safety profile of Tricyclazole, registered in 23 countries, is well documented. While the European Union has a maximum residue limit (MRL) of 1 ppm, Japan has allowed MRL of 3 ppm for the fungicide.

The US has fixed the MRL based on the review of the data generated and filed by Dow AgroSciences LLC, the owner of the molecule.

“We now expect basmati volumes to increase as more players will start exporting to the US,” said Rajen Sundaresan, Secretary of the All India Rice Exporters Association.

Tricyclazole traces detected in basmati were clearly well within the maximum and safety limits prescribed by other OECD nations such as Japan and the European Union. Yet, the US rejected shipments as the fungicide – meant to be used for rice in tropical countries – was not registered in that country and there was no minimum level(despite a US company owning the molecule).

Since the US did not have any maximum limit, it followed the Indian cap of 0.02 ppm which was set at a default value many years ago, to screen Indian basmati consignments into the US. But when the issue arose in 2011, the presence of tricyclazole residues in basmati grain was above this limit of 0.02 ppm.

Detection of tricyclazole traces resulted in losses for the Indian rice industry. Indian rice exporters took up the issue with the US authorities jointly with Dow.

On September 19, 2012, Dow submitted to EPA an Import Tolerance Petition comprising of over 12,000 pages of scientific and technical evidence supporting a tolerance level of 3.0 ppm of tricyclazole in rice. This data drew upon Japan’s experience with this fungicide. “Residue data from Japan was chosen because it has the most conservative good agricultural practices (GAP). By using the residue data from the most conservative GAP, Dow’s proposed tolerance supported the worst-case scenario for residues, and all other uses, as the expected residues will be well below the proposed tolerance,” said Suresh Ramachandran, Country Manager, Dow AgroSciences India Pvt Ltd.

Back in India, fresh data were generated in India by Dow, based on which the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) revised the MRL from 0.02 to 3 ppm in 2013.

Ramachandran said Dow's support to Indian rice industry was voluntary. Dow had previously volunteered and supported the registrations of Dicofol, an acaricide of choice for the tea planters as well, he said.

“Fixing MRL would encourage rice exporters to ship more basmati even as consumption is seen moving from the ethnic to mainline markets in the US,” said Jai Oberoi, Associate Director at LT Foods Ltd.

The US authorities had also detected traces of other fungicides such as isoprothiolane, buprofezin and carbendazium in the Indian shipments, though tricyclazole was the most visible of all. “We are looking forward to work with other chemical makers like Nichino and BASF in resolving the issue,” he said.

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