According to official data, India’s rice exports from Lebanon during April-December of the current financial year stood at 13,842 tonnes of basmati rice worth $12.42 million and 2,221 tonnes of non-Basmati rice worth $1.1 million, compared to 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. Rice was exported. show. | Photo Credit: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Amid reports of some rejections of the grain, the government has advised India’s rice exporters to be cautious in sending consignments to Lebanon, which has imposed European quality standards.
“It is advised that exporters may implement risk mitigation measures or avoid exporting consignments of rice containing residues higher than the MRL permitted under EU rules,” APEDA general manager Vineeta Sudhanshu said.
India’s agricultural export promotion body APEDA said in a notice that it received a letter from the Lebanese government’s agriculture ministry on January 22, informing it that it has established specific requirements for imported rice with regard to pesticide residues, in line with European standards.
Sudhanshu said that last year, several consignments of imported rice were rejected due to contamination with pesticide residues exceeding the maximum residue levels (MRL) allowed under EU rules. However, he also clarified that no notification/communication has yet been received from the Lebanese authorities on the said rejections.
According to official data, India’s rice exports from Lebanon during April-December of the current financial year stood at 13,842 tonnes of basmati rice worth $12.42 million and 2,221 tonnes of non-Basmati rice worth $1.1 million, compared to 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. Rice was exported. show.
India’s total exports to all countries during April-December this financial year stood at 4.7 million tonnes of Basmati rice worth $4.1 billion and 10.52 million tonnes of non-Basmati rice worth $4.21 billion. Compared to the same period in 2024-25, total exports of rice are 12 percent higher in quantity but 5 percent lower in value.
Published on February 23, 2026
