Ministry of Commerce & Textile has constituted a five member committee, with Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce & Textile as its chairperson, to dilate upon the issues confronting the rice export growth and suggest the way out.
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Chairman Samee Ullah Naeem, Director General PD-I Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Food Security Commissioner-I, Ministry of National Food Security and Research are the other three members. While Joint Secretary (Exim), Commerce Division will be the fifth member and would also act as Secretary to the committee.
As per the notification issued by the Ministry, the committee can also co-opt any other member to develop a way forward. Chairman Reap Sami Ullah Naeem talking to Business Recorder here on Monday said that the main issue of the rice sector is that it is not considered as an industry rather counted under the agricultural sector.
This is why fragmentation in supply chain partners including farmers, millers and exporters pose a bigger challenge. The issue at farm levels poses threat in Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) at export destinations while the local millers, that handle 70 per cent of paddy, are ignorant of good milling and storage practices, which deteriorates the grain quality and add pain to the agony.
He informed that competitor countries including Thailand, India, USA and Brazil recognize their Rice sector as Industry that benefits with formulation of policies to increase yields at Farm Levels and improvement in quality for exports.
Samee said that the committee had a preliminary discussion on the issues recently and the response from the Chairperson was very encouraging and positive, who committed to convince the Ministries concerned on the issue. He said that the current fragmentation of sector is a barrier to development of this sector.
'Declaration of Rice Sector as Industry will benefit formation of consolidated policy that will benefit integration of all supply chain stake holders into one chain. The Ministry of Industry will in turn help Government with relevant policies to add value to rice supplies from farms to fork, REAP Chairman concludes.
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