To ensure the competitiveness of India's precious Basmati rice in the international market, especially to meet Europe's increasingly stringent pesticide residue standards, the Uttar Pradesh government in India recently issued an important notification. It has decided to completely ban the sale and use of 11 specific pesticides in its major Basmati rice growing areas. This move echoes similar policies previously implemented by Punjab, jointly aiming to improve the export quality of Indian Basmati rice.

Uttar Pradesh officially announced on August 17th that, after a 60-day transition period, the "sale, distribution, and use" of 11 pesticides would be completely ceased in 30 administrative districts that are primary Basmati rice producers. Although the notification was issued on this date, the ban has been formally effective since August 1st.

The 11 pesticides included in the banned list are: Tricyclazole, Thiamethoxam, Acephate, Chlorpyrifos, Tebuconazole, Propiconazole, Thiamethoxam, Profenofos, Imidacloprid, Carbendazim, and Carbofuran. The scope of this ban is highly consistent with the pesticide ban implemented by the Punjab government in July, with the only difference being that Punjab's ban also included Hexaconazole.

It is understood that the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) had actively advocated for the implementation of such restrictive measures. APEDA emphasized that protecting the reputation of Basmati rice, a traditional Indian agricultural product, is crucial, and also vital to ensuring the smooth export of high-quality aromatic rice from Uttar Pradesh. Key importing markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and the United States all have strict maximum residue limits (MRLs) for chemical residues in exported Basmati rice.

All local agricultural offices in these 30 regions of Uttar Pradesh have warned pesticide dealers that severe penalties will be imposed if they are found selling restricted pesticides. To help farmers adapt to the new regulations, the state government has also attached a list of alternative pesticides in its order, providing 9 available products, although specific alternatives for Tebuconazole and Carbofuran were not explicitly mentioned. It's worth noting that Tebuconazole was suggested as an alternative to Propiconazole.

For the pesticide industry, some insiders point out that if the government intended the ban to be effective from August 1st, the notification was clearly delayed, as many pesticide companies had already supplied stock to dealers and related sales activities had occurred before that date. Meanwhile, local officials are actively advising farmers to exercise caution in pesticide use, warning them that if they continue to use banned pesticides, their Basmati rice products might face the risk of being sold at lower prices in the market.