The second day of the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2025 commenced with renewed enthusiasm and purposeful dialogue, bringing together global experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to advance discussions on India’s rice ecosystem. Building on the momentum of Day 1, today’s sessions focused on quality Certification, innovation, sustainability, and global trade opportunities in the rice sector.
The second day of the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2025 commenced with Technical Session 5, focusing on “Quality Certification and Food Safety”.
Moderated by Prateek Parija from Bloomberg, the discussion emphasized the growing importance of Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), quality certifications, and international traceability systems in maintaining India’s credibility as a trusted rice exporter.
Dr. Tarun Bajaj, representing APEDA, highlighted that India not only leads in export volumes but also matches global benchmarks in quality standards. He shared that India exports over 21 million metric tonnes of rice annually, with rejection rates as low as 0.01%, demonstrating India’s strong compliance with importing nations’ regulations.
Taking pride in the nation’s accomplishment of launching the first web-based traceability system , enabling international buyers to check which farm the product was grown on and the quality parameters used.
Highlighting the importance of quality certifications he further said “Quality is the best investment — it always pays back,” Dr. Bajaj remarked, stressing the long-term benefits of maintaining high export standards.
Among the speakers, Dr. Priyanka Sankar also underscored the need for continuous monitoring through a regulatory framework to ensure all quality parameters are checked at every stage of the export process. The panelists including Soumik Mandal, head SGS India Pvt. Ltd discussed how certifications can be made more farmer-friendly and affordable, recommending the need to begin standardization at the domestic level. Tarun Bajaj highlighted the efforts of government by providing subsidies and initiatives by APEDA which are are helping laboratories and exporters upgrade infrastructure to meet compliance requirements.
The session further explored India’s alignment with global norms, with experts agreeing that despite challenges from importing countries, India continues to export high-quality rice that meets stringent global standards.