The European Union (EU) market is emerging as a growing challenge for Indian rice exporters, with several consignments of Indian rice failing to meet the bloc’s strict quality and food safety standards.
According to a working paper published in July 2026 by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), India exported around 4.74 lakh tonnes of rice to the European Union in 2025. During the same period, 52 consignments of Indian rice were flagged under the EU’s monitoring system. The main concerns involved pesticide residues and food safety standards.
Among major rice-exporting countries, 55 consignments from Pakistan were subject to alerts, while India ranked second with 52 alerts.
Based on the available data, approximately one Indian rice consignment for every 9,100 tonnes of exports was found to have an issue during regulatory scrutiny. In comparison, the number of such consignments from major supplier countries including Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand was considerably lower.
The figures are linked to the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), which is used to share information on potential risks related to food and animal feed. Such alerts do not establish that a country’s entire exports are unsafe, but recurring issues can remain a concern for exporters and regulators.
The ICRIER study has also raised questions about the roles of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Export Inspection Council (EIC) in India’s export monitoring system. APEDA plays an important role in promoting exports of agricultural and processed food products and in traceability-related systems. The EIC is involved in inspection and certification processes.
However, some responsibilities of the two institutions overlap. Their involvement in areas such as standards, exporter training and laboratory networks can create difficulties in clearly defining accountability. Exporters say they have to coordinate with multiple institutions to complete approvals and certification processes at different levels. This can make the export process more complex and increase the time and cost involved.
According to the ICRIER report, APEDA has authorised 126 laboratories across the country. Of these, only around 50 laboratories are capable of testing rice. Among them, 47 laboratories are notified at the level of India’s food safety regulator.
The report has suggested creating a nodal agency for monitoring rice exports. This could improve end-to-end traceability across the supply chain, covering production, processing, testing, certification and the final stage of exports.
The main reason cited for action against some Indian rice consignments in the EU is the presence of residues of pesticides that are subject to strict restrictions or lower maximum residue limits in the European Union, while their use continues in some cases in India.
In addition, shortcomings in storage, post-harvest processes and rice handling can lead to fungal or other quality-related problems. Exporters have continued to call for greater control over the use of such pesticides and the development of production processes aligned with European standards.
Basmati rice remains the largest component of India’s rice trade with the European market. According to available data, around 92% of India’s rice trade with the EU is linked to basmati rice.
Import duties in the European Union also vary across different varieties of rice. The duty on milled rice is around 200 euros per tonne, while the duty on non-basmati brown rice is reported to be approximately 30 euros per tonne. Basmati brown rice benefits from a separate arrangement in terms of import duties.
