India's pursuit in expanding its overseas market for world famous Basmati brand rice has been hit hard after several US-bound consignments were rejected due to the presence of banned pesticide residue, an exporter said Friday.

Rice exporters said the consignments were rejected because they had traces of pesticides such as Bavistan, Isoprothiolane and Tricyclazole that have not been registered with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Without USFDA approval, the chemical present in rice consignment have been considered as 'illegal and not safe' for human consumption.

India exported 1.24 lakh tonne of aromatic long grain Basmati rice to the USlast fiscal year. The exports value was in excess of 9 billion rupees ($164 million).

Tricyclazole is a widely used pesticide in many rice-growing countries, including India, Thailand, Japan and China.

Indian commerce ministry officials said while the European Union and Japan allow minimum residue limit (MRL) of as high as 1 and 3 parts per million (ppm), the US has a pesticide norm of 0. 01 ppm. The presence of Tricyclazole in aromatic grain is within safety levels of 0.02-0.04 ppm set by the Indian government.

"We have been discussing the issue of pesticides in the rice consignment with FDA and hope to find a solution soon," an official with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said.

Even last year, many Basmati shipments were stopped at US ports because of pesticides.

In June 2010, a Hamburg-based lab issued reports to buyers objecting that organic Basmati rice imported from India had elevated levels (0.03 percent) of Carbendazim and Isoprothiolane. This stalled the export of 20,000 tonne of organic rice from India.

Exporters acknowledge that awareness of pesticide residue is ' low' among the farmers which is expected to put hurdles in agricultural and processed food products exports.

"Farmers need to be linked to the rice exports' chain so that pesticides are used judiciously in the country," Vijay Setia, former president of All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) and leading exporter of Basmati rice said.

Many exporters say indiscriminate and callous use of pesticides has far reaching consequence that affects farmers, exporters and consumers.

Meanwhile, the rice exporters association in India are organizing series of interaction with farmers and other stakeholders to educate them about the prudent use of pesticides.

While Europe and the Gulf countries, the key export markets for India's Basmati rice, are putting in place stringent safety norms for ensuring that pesticide residue in agricultural crop remain below prescribed limits, aromatic rice exporters have urged the agriculture ministry to ensure that farmers use less pesticide.