By | Arvind Jadhav
Mumbai: Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Vice President and Thane District Wholesale Traders Welfare Federation President Sureshbhai Thakkar has revealed that Indonesia has suspended groundnut imports from India citing quality standard issues and high aflatoxin levels.
The Indonesian Quarantine Authority (IQA), through a notification issued on August 27, announced that the suspension will come into effect from September 3. Shipments with a bill of lading dated within seven days will be allowed, but only after strict inspection and re-testing.
India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has clarified that all groundnut shipments headed to Indonesia within the next seven days will undergo “stringent checks.” Any shipment failing quality tests will be rejected outright. This arrangement will remain until IQA introduces a new inspection system.
Earlier this year, APEDA had already instructed testing laboratories to strictly follow sampling, analysis, and shipment stuffing guidelines. In April, IQA had also registered 17 Indian labs for agri-product testing purposes.
Indonesia is India’s largest groundnut buyer, accounting for nearly one-third of total exports. India exports around 2.25 lakh tonnes of groundnuts to Indonesia annually, valued at approximately $274 million. Notably, in 2022, Indonesia had imposed a similar ban on Indian agri-products due to aflatoxin concerns and lab registration issues.
Trade sources indicate that the main problem lies in the quality of testing labs in India, with many operating in small spaces lacking proper equipment. Indonesian officials had raised this concern during their Chennai visit earlier this year.
Indonesia has set the aflatoxin limit at 15 ppb, in line with Codex Alimentarius Commission norms, and relatively lenient compared to the European Union’s limit of 4 ppb. Aflatoxins, produced by fungi in hot and humid conditions, are considered a major health risk and have been linked to liver cancer.
Experts warn that India has already lost a significant share in the EU groundnut market and faced similar setbacks in basmati rice exports in 2017 due to aflatoxin issues. They stress that APEDA must strengthen monitoring mechanisms to safeguard India’s agri-export credibility in global markets.
