APEDA advises caution after Lebanon aligns pesticide residue limits with EU standards, amid reports of some rejections of the cereal.

By BL New Delhi Bureau

The government has advised India’s rice exporters to be cautious in sending consignments to Lebanon which has put into place European quality standards, amid reports of some rejections of the cereal.

“It is advised that the exporters may implement risk mitigation measures or refrain from exporting the rice consignments containing residues exceeding the MRLs permitted under EU regulations,” said APEDA’s General Manager Vinita Sudhanshu.

India’s agri export promotion body APEDA said in a notice that it received a communication from the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Lebanon dated 22nd January informing that it has established specific requirements for imported rice concerning pesticide residues, in line with European standards.

Over the past year, several consignments of imported rice were said to have been rejected due to contamination with pesticide residues exceeding the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) permitted under EU regulations, said Sudhanshu. However, she also clarified that there is no notification/communication received yet from Lebanese authorities on the said rejections.

India’s rice export Lebanon stands at 13,842 tonnes of Basmati rice worth $ 12.42 million and lower at 2,221 tonnes of non-Basmati rice worth $ 1.1 million during April-December of this fiscal, compared with 13,077 tonnes of Basmati rice worth $ 12.83 million and 902 tonnes of non-Basmati rice worth $ 0.44 million in the year-ago period, official data show.

India’s total export to all countries stood at 4.7 million tonnes (mt) of Basmati rice worth $ 4.1 billion and 10.52 mt of non-Basmati rice worth $ 4.21 billion during April-December of this fiscal. Total export of rice is 12 per cent up in terms of volume but 5 per cent lower in terms of value from corresponding period of 2024-25.

Published Date: February 23, 2026