New Delhi, Oct. 1 Basmati exporters have sought an official clarification from Iran on reports of rice shipments from India being detected with high levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead.
NOTHING IN WRITING
“Neither we nor the Indian Embassy in Tehran have received anything in writing from the authorities in Iran on the subject. Whatever we know so far is based on news reports and, as of now, there is no ban of any sort imposed by Iran on the import of Indian rice,” Mr R.S. Seshadri, Director of Tilda Riceland Pvt Ltd, said at a press conference here on Thursday.
Also present at the conference were Mr Gurnam Arora, Joint Managing Director of Kohinoor Foods Ltd, Mr Virkaran Awasty, Managing Director of Bush Foods Overseas Pvt Ltd, Mr M.P. Jindal, Chairman of Best Food International Ltd, and Dr V.P. Singh, breeder of Pusa-1121 basmati variety and currently consultant with KRBL Ltd.
The Institute of Standards & Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) had, earlier this month, tested samples of imported rice being marketed under 13 local brands. The lead levels in these branded samples ranged from 0.12 parts per million (ppm) to 1.51 ppm, while the arsenic and cadmium densities were between 0.16 to 0.56 and 0.02 to 0.07, respectively.
IRANIAN NORMS
As against this, Iran’s accepted standards are reported to be a maximum of 0.1 ppm for lead, 0.2 ppm for cadmium and zero for arsenic. “We are not sure whether the tested samples pertain to rice actually sourced from India. There is no official confirmation from their side and we have also not been informed of the test protocols employed by ISIRI,” said Mr Seshadri.
At the same time, the Indian rice industry is more than willing to discuss the issue with the Iranian Government as well as the trade.
DISPELLING CONCERNS
“They are welcome to visit our plants here and see for themselves the entire chain, right from the stage of paddy cultivation and marketing to milling and par-boiling. It is in our interest to dispel any concerns, more so when our rice is exported to the US, the EU and many other quality-conscious markets,” he added.
During the 2008-09 rice season (October-September), India is estimated to have exported nearly 10 lakh tonnes (lt) of rice to Iran, of which around 8 lt is constituted of the Pusa-1121 improved basmati variety. Iran produces 23-24 lt of rice annually and imports 13-14 lt, the bulk of which is supplied by India.
Value of exports
At an average realisation of $1,350 a tonne, Indian exports of Pusa-1121 to Iran alone are valued at over $1 billion. Iran accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the total market for Pusa-1121, which is sought after in view of its 30 per cent extra elongation over normal basmati varieties.
Going by the total area sown and the condition of the new crop due for harvesting in the next 10-15 days, the industry estimates 13-14 lt of Pusa-1121 shipments in the 2009-10 season, including 10 lt to Iran.
Varsity clarifies
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana has ruled out the possibility of any contamination of Pusa-1121 grains. The Head of PAU’s Department of Soils, Dr Yadvinder Singh, said the university’s scientists have been undertaking regular surveys and “heavy metal contamination has not been noticed so far”.
Dr P.S. Minhas, Director (Research) of PAU, noted that even if the soils were to contain heavy metals, the plants naturally filter these at the root and shoot level.
The heavy metals are retained in the roots and the grain will at the most contain trace levels. “The (ISIRI) report does not seem to be based on scientific facts,” he claimed.
Source : Business Line