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Concerning signs of quality compliance mar spices and rice exports
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Thursday, 12 March, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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While India continues to strengthen its position as a global food basket, fresh data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry reveals concerning signs of quality compliance.
A detailed analysis of ‘non-compliance’ notifications between fiscal 2021 and 2025 shows that Indian agricultural exports, particularly spices and rice, are facing increasing friction in the international markets due to varying safety standards.
As per the ministry, rejections of agricultural products by importing countries are notified as non-compliances. The reasons for the non-compliances differ from product to product and are majority because of difference in standard limit of contamination.
As per the data, the spice sector has emerged as the most vulnerable category. In the United States, rejections surged from 93 in fiscal 2021 to an alarming 169 in the fiscal 2025. A similar trend was observed in the European Union (EU), where spice rejections nearly tripled from 25 to 73 over the same period. These non-compliances are primarily attributed to differences in standard limits for contamination, including pesticide residues and microbes.
The European Union remains the strictest regulator for Indian produce. Beyond spices, Rice rejections in the EU jumped from 10 in fiscal 2021 to 44 in the fiscal 2025. Other processed food products and peanuts consistently faced over 20-30 rejections annually.
The data indicates that it isn't just Western markets raising red flags. Besides, other destinations are also flagging Indian consignments wherein Australia reported 17 spice rejections and 5 for processed foods in 2025, Indonesia reported rise in peanut rejections, climbing from zero to 12 in five years while in the Southeast Asia region, Thailand and the Philippines have also begun notifying non-compliances for spices.
Meanwhile, as per Ministry’s data, the Government currently recognises 125 NABL/APEDA testing laboratories to ensure quality, but the distribution is heavily unbalanced, wherein Maharashtra -31, Tamil Nadu-15, Gujarat -13 and Haryana -11 labs, hold half of India's testing infrastructure, leaving several states with only a single facility to support the local exporter.
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