No Saudi ban on cardamom import

The government has clarified that Saudi Arabia and Japan “have not banned import of cardamom from India” though the “Saudi Arabia Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) had detained four import consignments of cardamom (small) from India due to the detection of pesticide residue above the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) specified by

the SFDA in April-May 2018“.

Thereafter, the exporters have voluntarily stopped the export of cardamom to Saudi Arabia, fearing detention due to pesticide residue, union minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal informed the parliament on Wednesday.

The Spices Board is conducting a series of campaigns in the cardamom growing areas in India to popularize the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in cardamom among the cardamom growers and also promote the use of bio-control agents for managing pests and diseases in cardamom.

The delegation requested the Board to send the details of pesticides used in cardamom by the Indian farmers so that testing can be done for the same pesticides in cardamom before exporting to Saudi Arabia. The details were provided to the SFDA through the Indian Embassy on February 19, 2019. The Spices Board has been advised to draw up a work plan immediately to address the issue of pesticide residue in cardamom to resume the export of cardamom to Saudi Arabia.(TNA)