Utility Stores: Reap to provide 200,000 tons of rice on affordable prices

Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) is going to finalise a programme with the government of Pakistan to ensure provision of 200,000 tons of rice on affordable prices through Utility Stores.
For this purpose Reap Chairman Muhammad Azhar, Vice-Chairman Abdul Baseer, Former Chairman Najaf Hussein Shah and former Vice-Chairman Tariq Aziz will hold negotiations with the Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar on Monday. The meeting will finalise the details in this regard.
This was disclosed at a meeting of the Reap members here on Saturday evening. The Reap Chairman Muhammad Azhar, Syed Najaf Hussein Shah, Mian Haroon-ur-Rashid and others apprised the members of their efforts to avoid a ban on rice export and association strategy to facilitate the domestic consumers. Muhammad Azhar briefed the members about hectic efforts and meetings with different official quarters to avoid a ban on rice export as being proposed by certain quarters to arrest the rising prices of rice.
He said that after hectic efforts he succeeded in convincing the government that we had surplus rice and for a consumption of 200,000 tons we should not damage export of 3.3 million tons.
He said that they had proposed government some suggestions to facilitate the local demand as well as continuing with the export and they would be having final negotiations with the government on Monday.
He demanded a go-ahead from his community to finalise the programme being chalked out in this regard, which was granted by the rice exporters at the meeting.
Muhammad Azhar said that the exporters would provide 200,000 tons of rice through utility stores. While the government would also keep another 300,000 tons of rice in the ware-houses of exporters as strategic reserves. He said that while the exporters would also keep 500,000 tons of rice in their stock. These 500,000 tons of rice would be arranged by the government for the exporters so as they could meet their exports' targets also and maintain the stock as well at this limit.
He urged the to launch crack down against those who have no concern with rice trade or export and holding rice in their stocks. He said that the government had already started chalking out a strategy to curb the smuggling. He said that they submitted their problems with the government which include convincing the growers to grow more rice, continuing with the rice export which would help meet the foreign exchange requirements of the country, no disturbance in the rice trade etc.
He said that by implementing this programme, they could avoid ban on imposition of any regulatory duty on rice export. He said that they had also talked to the government for announcing a Minimum Export Price (MEP) and ensuring that all the rice export should be through QRC in order to document it. Former Vice-Chairman Reap, Tariq Aziz later talking to newsmen said that they would give the qualitative rice, which would be the requirement of the Utility Stores.