India's Rice Exporters Regain Access to Chinese Market

India now has new opportunities of trade, as China lifted the restrictions related to the exports of non-basmati rice. China granted export approvals to 14 Indian non-basmaty rice companies, located in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. These companies include Kohinoor Foods, Best Foods, Amira Pure Foods, Nature Bio Foods, DRRK Foods,  Sunstar Overseas,  Ebro India, SSA International, Pari India, United Exports, MR Overseas,  Sarveshwar Foods and KRBL. It should be mentioned that China is one of the world's major rice importers.

Bans were lifted as a result of the fact that a team consisting of 19 Indian rice millers visited China in September to address their concerns regarding the issue. Following the visit, China announced that it has accepted 14 out of the 19 rice companies to furnish the Chinese market with non-basmati rice. The quality of rice and the methods used by the Indian millers in making the product safe were inspected by several officials from China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The rice exporting companies which plan to ship goods to China have to be registered with India’s National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), as China had restricted imports of non-basmati rice of Indian origin because of the presence of khapra beetle in India’s crop.

Despite the fact that India's rice exports declined in the past few years, the country continues to be a major exporter of basmati rice to China. The International Grains Council (IGC) estimated China to import about 4.1 million tonnes of rice in 2016-17. India’s rice exports fell to $5.79 billion in 2015/16 compared with $7.84 billion in 2014/15, but rice exports still accounted for 18% of country’s total agricultural exports last year.

Source:
https://www.thedollarbusiness.com/news/china-lifts-restrictions-on-imports-of-nonbasmati-rice-from-india/48768