LAHORE: Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has launched a series of seminars and interactive sessions in the core Basmati growing areas of the Punjab province to sensitize the growers and other stakeholders about the responsible use of pesticides.

REAP Senior Vice Chairman Haseeb Khan disclosed this here the other day while speaking at an awareness session arranged for the exporters and other stakeholders on ‘Import of rice into Europe-Opportunities and Challenges’.

He said two programmes had already been held in Narowal and Hafizabad while others will be arranged shortly to create awareness among the farmers as they were more prone to the side effects of pesticides than the consumers who consume the end product.

A large number of rice exporters including REAP former chairman Sami Ullah Naeem, Pir Nazim Hussain Shah, Taufeeq Ahmad Khan, Abu Bakar Farooq Mirza, Hamid Malik, Ali Narang and others attended the session.

Haseeb said the European Union has strict rules in place regarding the import of rice, including regulations on pesticide usage. Rice imported into the EU must comply with EU standards for food safety and pesticide residue levels. He called upon the exporters to make their consignments EU-standards compliant to cash the opportunities of increasing rice exports to the European region.

Senior Consultant Eurofins Dr Werner Nader speaking on this occasion threw light on technical aspects of EU law which requires all food products, including rice, must be safe for human consumption. This means that they must not contain harmful substances, including excessive levels of pesticide residues. The EU has established Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides in food products, including rice, to ensure that they are safe for human consumption.

He said Pakistan was the largest organic basmati rice exporter to EU and if exporters wanted to maintain this status they should be compliant to EU standards regarding prudent usage of fertilizer. He termed the pesticide usage, authenticity, GMO and Mineral Oil standards as biggest challenges for Pakistani Basmati rice to EU.

To various queries, he said that excessive usage of pesticides was not only harmful for the end consumers but also for the farmers, farm labour and other stakeholders. He said various diseases were result of usage of pesticides on different crops.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023