LAHORE: Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has launched efforts to get the Mexican rice market reopened for its members, closed for the last six years.

Mainly a non-basmati market, export to Mexico can add from 100,000 to 150,000 metric tons of additional export of the commodity in the present volume and earn precious foreign exchange for the country.

REAP Senior Vice Chairman Haseeb Ali Khan said that Pakistani rice was exported to Mexico till 2014 but the market was closed by the Mexican authorities due to ‘Khapra beetle’ issue. It remained the efforts of my predecessors and seniors to open the new markets and resolve the issues faced by the closed markets to push the exports, he said.

“We have already crossed the US$ 2.5 mark during the last financial year and eyeing to achieve the target of at least US$3 billion this year. So ensuring our presence in the traditional and non-traditional market is essential to achieve this target,” Haseeb said while talking to Business Recorder here on Saturday.

He said that the Association is having a meeting with the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) next week along with his colleagues to hammer out the issues pointed out by the Mexican authorities and DPP to ensure a smooth supply to this attractive market. He said this market was also closed for India and Vietnam and hopefully it will open for Pakistan too, once the issue is resolved.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022