Over 400 organic rice containers have been detained by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) personnel at JNPT, Mundra and Kandla ports following businessline’s report of alleged irregularities in the shipments.

Trade sources said non-organic white (raw) and parboiled (boiled) rice were being exported in the guise of organic rice. As a result, shipments of organic rice during April-July 2024-25 fiscal (1,46,585 tonnes) exceeded the total shipments during the previous fiscal (1,07,727 tonnes).

These shipments (1,27,120 tonnes of white rice and 8,000-odd tonnes of broken rice) were made in violation of the ban on white (raw) and broken rice exports from India since July 2023. Unscrupulous shippers also dodged the 20 per cent export duty on parboiled (boiled) rice.

The duty evasion is reported to have exceeded ₹160 crore between October 2023 and July 2024. Trade sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said of the total shipments detained by the DRI, over 200 were at JNPT alone.The sources said that as per data, 22,126 tonnes and 16,547 tonnes of organic rice shipments had set sail for Vietnam and Kenya but hardly 2,000 tonnes reached the destinations.

A South India-based exporter said the Customs Department had stopped merchant vessel mv Della from setting sail on the issue of non-organic rice being shipped out as organic rice.

“Vietnam received less than 2,000 tonnes of organic rice shipments from India while Kenya did not receive a single tonne of organic rice. In Kenya, the rice consignments have been recorded as non-organic rice. The Vietnam consignments seem to have been diverted elsewhere or misdeclaration has been made,” a source said.

These purchases were made at $491/tonne by Vietnam and $475 by Kenya — at levels of non-organic white rice price quoted by competing nations such as Pakistan and Myanmar.

As per data, last fiscal, Vietnam bought 34,152 tonnes at an average $466 a tonne when even non-organic white rice prices ruled over $500 last fiscal due to a global shortage.

Kenya did not import a single grain of organic rice last fiscal. “These are some interesting data that the Centre needs to probe,” the source said.

A South India-based exporter said some of these shipments were shipped out as rice grown in Sikkim, a fully organic State.

Sources said the Commerce Ministry officials called up two certification bodies, which certify a produce to be organic for exports — based in Sikkim and Jaipur and questioned them.

More than two certification agencies are involved, they said.

 

Another South India-based exporter said these exports were made by “fly-by-night” operators.

“We were approached to ship out non-organic white rice as organic rice but we refused,” the exporter said.

The source with data said preliminary information suggested that the documents for the “fake” organic rice shipments “originated” from Bihar and Odisha.

The source said many in the trade wonder how officials of the Customs Department allowed the shipments. “But you have to bear in mind that Customs officials go by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda’s) provisional transaction certificates (TCs). Did anyone in Apeda check if the final TCs conformed to the volume of shipments?” the source asked.

 

The source said Customs officials cannot access Apeda’s Tracenet, which can provide details of the TCs issued. “Tracenet has provisions to show only final TCs. That could have been a handicap for the Customs. Apeda too has provisions to check only final TCs,” the source said. There was prima facie evidence, based on data, and this is being now supported by details from Vietnam and Kenya.