Some Indian exporters have sought unit-specific approval for exporters from other countries while permitting import of agricultural produce in the country.

This comes as they face rejection of rice consignments by China on the alleged presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). More countries are now regulating rice imports from India by granting rice mill-specific approval.

India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), though, routinely rejects consignments not conforming to Indian standards or containing harmful substances. However, it could not be ascertained whether such rejections led to suspension of permit.

Many rice exporters have voiced concern over importing countries deciding to issue permit to rice mill and want such measure should be reciprocated by India with similar action for importing products from those countries.

“If China can suspend an Indian company on alleged GMO rice contamination, India should also take action on their exporting firm after any item is rejected,” said a leading rice exporter of Haryana.

According to FSSAI’s Food Import Rejection Alert (FIRA) portal, as many as 411 items from 42 countries were rejected by India after laboratory tests, while the number surged to 619 from 57 countries in 2022-23, but dipped to 277 from 46 countries in 2023-24.

In 2023-24, India rejected 28 consignments from China (maximum from any country) in which the affected products included confectionery, dried papaya diced, dried plum, dried rosemary plum, Dehydrated Strawberry, Dehydrated Fruit peach, Roasted seaweed, Canned mushroom, Grapes, Flavoured drinks, Jam, Chillies, Seaweed and Sushi.

Similarly, in the same year, 27 consignments from Turkey covering died figs, decorations and fresh apples were rejected. In the list of rejections, there were also 19 from UK and 12 from the US.

Stressing that regulatory protection could assist to a limited extent, food policy expert S Chandrasekaran said that technology adoption could be the long term solution for food exports and imports.

“Internationally, critical thinking, methods of rationality, Rrisk optimisation and ethical reasoning has helped the food trade to overcome technical barriers to trade through creation of super-intelligence. India is a powerhouse for the technology and we have got selected example in food trade,” he said.

Earlier this month India’s agri export promotion body shared list of 778 rice exporters/millers as approved by Saudi Arabia. In the past few months some of the Indian companies were taken off from the list of approved entities allowed to export rice to China by its agency GACC.

When contacted, Mukesh Jain, president of The Rice Exporters Association (CG), suggested that the government should consider examining the feasibility of a reciprocal, transparent and risk-based registration framework for overseas agricultural and food-processing establishments supplying selected products to the Indian market.

Stressing that Indian exporters of rice and other agricultural and processed food products are required to comply with various registration, certification, testing, inspection and traceability requirements prescribed by importing countries, Jain said: “Our suggestion is not intended to restrict legitimate imports or create additional barriers to international trade. The objective is to encourage a balanced, transparent and scientifically grounded regulatory architecture that promotes food safety, quality assurance, traceability, reciprocity and fair trade.”

Agricultural market access today is increasingly influenced not only by tariffs, but also by technical standards, registration requirements, certification, testing protocols and traceability systems, he added.

Published on September 23, 2026