Guar gum exports to take a hit with no-pesticide condition

23 May 2011 Evaluate

Guar gum export to the European Union (EU) is set to take a hit as the commerce ministry has directed exporters that there should be absolutely no pesticide content in the product. Till now the commerce ministry had allowed a 0.01 milligram of pentacholorophenols (PCP), a pesticide, in a kg of food-grade guar gum.

The commerce ministry’s directive came at a time when the industry is flooded with orders from EU countries. The guar gum industry earned export revenue of Rs 2,000 crore in FY 2010-11 and this year the export trend is seen extremely positive.

This recent notification dated May 18, 2011 has created a lot of confusion among exporters who have taken up the matter with Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The exporters are expecting the things to be resolved soon and are worried about containers which are piling up at Kandla port.

The guar gum industry in India has been following the quality requirements as laid down by the EU commission directive (No 258/2010 of March 25, 2010) and DGFT notification (No 50/2009-14 dated July 6, 2010). There has been no case of dispute with the PCP presence limit of below 0.01mg/kg of guar gum.

India is a leading exporter of guar gum and it commands about 80% of the global production followed by Pakistan. Guar gum is derived from guar seeds (cluster beans), a legume crop that grows in semi-arid regions of the subcontinent. It finds its application in many places and is used as a thickening agent and as an additive in a wide variety of foods and dairy products such as yogurt, ice cream and soft cheese, bread, pasta ham, sausages, prepared fish and pastries. It is also used in animal feed. Guar gum tends to be preferred over other additives and is used as a food emulsifier, thickener and stabilizer.