India says rice safe, hopes Russia will lift ban soon

India's trade authorities Wednesday defended their agricultural exports to Russia and said they hoped to see Tuesday's ban on imported rice and nuts lifted as soon as possible. Nimish Rustagi, a spokesman for the Indian trade ministry, said New Delhi had resolved all safety issues with Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's agricultural watchdog.

Rosselkhoznadzor said Tuesday it had found insects, mold, and metal inclusions in the imported goods. The Indian trade ministry could not confirm the report, saying it had had "no problems" with exporting the same nuts and rice to other countries.

India exports about 50,000 metric tons of rice per year to Russia.