Beetle menace forces US toban rice carried in air baggage

Chennai: Atlanta-based Ms Lakshmi Soundarjan's first reaction to the recent US ban on import of rice in air baggage was a howl of “ayyo” (alas!). She visits India twice a year and in return takes back nearly 30 kg of rice.
But this time she cannot carry rice as luggage following a recent ban by the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), which notified a new phytosanitary regulation for the entry of rice from various countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The restriction was on commercial and non-commercial shipments of rice into the US from countries where the Khapra Beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is prevalent. Non-commercial quantities are defined as amounts of rice for personal use and not for resale, including those transported in international passenger baggage.
The Indian Customs too recently issued a circular asking people not to carry rice in air baggage.
Ms Lakshmi says the cheapest rice variety in Atlanta is $13.99 (Sona masoori) while it costs one third in India.
25/09/11 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

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Categories: Cargo Sep 2011, Foreign Sep 2011