The government is planning to export 3 million tons of surplus rice during the current financial year to earn precious foreign exchange of $1.8 billion.
"Total exportable surplus from 2007-08 rice crop is estimated at 3 million tons", Qadir Bux Baloch, Agriculture Development Commissioner, told APP here on Wednesday. He said that out of 3 million tons exportable rice, there is one million tons Basmati and 2 million tons Irri.
This would earn foreign exchange of $1 billion and from basmati and $0.8 billion from other rice. Baloch said that rice was cultivated on about 2.5 million hectares land which would produce 5.5 million tons. He said that Pakistan produces about 2.5 million tons world class famous aromatic Basmati rice and, due to its superior quality, Pakistan's Basmati fetches the highest prices in the international market.
"The year 2007-08 is characterised by record high prices of rice fetched by Pak Basmati at $1100 per ton." He added that Basmati rice is a rich source of foreign exchange earning.
About policy issues and challenges being faced by the country, he said that increasing productivity to enhance export surplus and to reduce cost of production are a big challenge. He said that wide productivity gap between progressive and subsistence farmers, low plant population, unprecedented increase in DAP prices, unbalanced use of fertilisers, transfer of technology to all farmers, insect and pest attack problem, poor harvesting, threshing and processing, boosting rice export, compliance of SPS measures and malpractice's in trade are the policy issues being faced by the country.