Pakistan's rice export has come under further pressure due to the current political turmoil in the Middle Eastern and Gulf countries, former chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) Azhar Akhtar told Business Recorder here on Tuesday. Akhtar said, "We are not getting many export orders from our traditional buyers of rice from the Middle East and Gulf countries that are facing serious internal disturbances."
Pakistan exports rice to Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in large quantity as hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis work in these countries. Akhtar said that currently per ton price of Basmati rice was $100 more than the last year. "Therefore, we expect our annual rice exports would be around $2 billion by the end of FY 2010-2011," he added.
According to official sources, Pakistan rice exports have fell by nearly 16 percent in the first eight months of the 2010/11 as it exported 2.38 million tons between July and February, down from 2.82 million tons exported in the same period of the previous year.
President Basmati Growers Association and well known agronomist Chaudhry Hamid Malhi said Pakistan's international rice marketing was very poor as attitude of both the government and the Reap is lukewarm and non-serious. "India has almost doubled its rice export from 12 million tons to 24 millions tons whereas we are loosing even our traditional markets," he added.
He said that Pakistan rice exporters had not even branded their exportable Basmati rice whereas trade development bodies and Pakistan's embassies abroad were not playing any role to find new markets for Pakistan's agriculture products, which are of fine qualities.
Malhi regretted that though huge quantities of exportable Basmati and other non-Basmati varieties of rice were lying with the rice exporters, yet the top exporters were now engaged in export of wheat instead of rice as they were getting more profit in that business.
Reap sources say that Pakistan is losing its rice export market in Iran due to non-availability of banking channels between the two countries as trade is being done on primitive cash transaction basis. Due to non-existence of banking channels, India has grabbed the rice export market of Iran over the last few years.
Agronomists say Pakistan being an agro-based economy has natural abundance of all agricultural products including food items. Rice is the third largest crop after wheat and cotton. It is grown over 10 per cent of the total cropped area. Rice is highly valued cash crop and is also major export item. It accounts for 6.7 per cent in value added in agriculture and 1.6 per cent in GDP. Pakistan grows enough high quality rice to meet both domestic demand and allow for exports of around one million ton Basmati rice and 3.3 million tons other varieties.