“Our labs built expertise in pesticide residue and aflatoxin testing because that’s what most markets wanted,” he said. “China’s demand for GMO verification calls for a different scale of capacity.”
Only a limited number of facilities, concentrated in Delhi and Hyderabad, currently conduct the required protein analysis, forcing exporters in northern states such as Punjab and Haryana to send samples long distances.
Spices have also come under increased scrutiny. Hong Kong suspended several Indian spice products over pesticide residue concerns, while testing found quality deviations in nearly 12 per cent of samples. The European Union raised its inspection frequency for Indian cumin to 30 per cent in January 2025 after recording 312 spice alerts in 2024.
Food safety scientist Ananya Bose told Al Jazeera that India’s fragmented supply chain made it difficult to establish where problems originated.
“A farmer sells to an aggregator, who sells to a trader, who supplies a processor. Somewhere in that chain, the record of what was sprayed disappears,” she said. “The trail is detailed until the first sale, then it effectively ends.”
The challenges are compounded by limited export infrastructure. India has 207 registered pack houses, with 72 per cent concentrated in Maharashtra. Limited cold storage and logistics costs account for roughly 15 per cent of export value, while more than 86 per cent of India’s cultivators operate holdings smaller than two hectares, making standardisation across the supply chain difficult.
Agricultural economist Anil Gupta told Al Jazeera that India’s export strategy had traditionally focused on production rather than demonstrating quality throughout the supply chain.
“India built its strategy around producing more, while premium markets reward proving quality along the way,” Gupta told Al Jazeera.
There have been improvements. The number of recognised laboratories has increased from 22 to 89 over the past decade, while approved export certificates have risen from around 61,000 to more than 170,000.
“The progress is measurable, but so is the scale of the challenge,” Gupta said. “These improvements mark a beginning, well short of the finish line.”
The government says it is strengthening testing, inspection and traceability systems. Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, a senior official in the Department of Commerce, said funds had been allocated to upgrade laboratories and outlined measures aimed at improving food-safety compliance.
“The government is strengthening the system from testing to inspection and traceability. We are tightening controls on antibiotic and pesticide residues and aflatoxins, expanding laboratory capacity, introducing risk-based inspections and using digital systems and rapid screening to identify problems faster. The objective is to help exporters meet stricter global food-safety standards while protecting India’s access to international markets,” Ghosh said.
India remains the world’s second-largest agricultural producer but accounts for only 2.4 per cent of global agricultural exports. Processed products make up about 17 per cent of its agricultural exports, compared with 25 per cent in the US and 50 per cent in China.
The recent restrictions have already affected producers. Gujarat’s Kesar mango growers lost a major Japanese buyer, while a basmati rice farmer in Haryana reported an 8 per cent decline in local prices. A turmeric processor in Kerala said residue testing had cost Rs 15,000 in the previous quarter.
Gupta told Al Jazeera that the issue went beyond individual rejected shipments.
“This is about far more than a few rejected shipments,” Gupta said. “The countries that succeed will consistently meet the standards global buyers demand.”
The setbacks point to a wider challenge for India’s agricultural export ambitions: increasing production alone may not be enough as international buyers demand stronger food-safety controls, end-to-end traceability, reliable certification and better cold-chain infrastructure. Competitors including Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and Chile have invested heavily in these areas.
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