The government has, with immediate effect, withdrawn the minimum export price (MEP) of non-basmati varieties of rice. The Ministry of Commerce, through a public notice issued on August 23, announced that the export of super Basmati rice would be allowed at 1,500 dollars per metric tonnes and Basmati at the rate of 1,300 dollars per metric tonnes.
It has also been notified that export consignments of Basmati rice to all destinations will be inspected by Quality Review Committee, comprising members of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), who will issue a certificate accordingly.
Reap Chairman Haji Muhammad Azhar Akhtar told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the Reap had itself requested the government to waive the MEP from the non-Basmati varieties in the wake of expected bumper crop of rice in the coming season. So in the newly issued notice, there was no mention of the MEP on non-Basmati varieties, he added.