India is the world’s top rice exporter but the U.S. has rejected the majority of shipments since 2011 because of the presence of tricyclazole, a widely used pesticide in India that is not approved in the U.S. However, rice imports from India are set to jump, since in June the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a tolerance level for tricyclazole in Indian rice at three parts per million. Indian exporters have been lobbying the U.S. government to set a tolerance level for tricyclazole in rice noting that both the EU and Japan have done so. Following the decision by the U.S. EPA shipments of basmati rice to the U.S. are expected to increase by 50% in the short term.
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