Pak rupee's appreciation has pushed rice exporters into a deep crisis, says Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan's (REAP) Senior Vice Chairman Chela Ram. Talking to Business Recorder here on Wednesday, he said that rice exports have almost come to a grinding halt as a result of this development which might cause a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer.
Showing concern, he said: "Government should formulate pragmatic policies to avoid this situation that has hurt rice exporters badly. "We value the Dollar depreciation which is good to make the Rupee stable in comparison to other currencies." He, however, criticised the sudden change in its policies. He demanded that the government should take the exporters into confidence and discuss the issue threadbare before taking such drastic measures.
"Government should stop giving us sudden shocks. It destroys the exporters and results in sleepless nights. The dollar slide has ruined our business and many exporters have started shutting down their factories," Chela Ram opined. A leading trader, Hashim Sharja Wala, said : "We have 2.5 million tons of rice in stocks, but millers are not exporting their stocks as they are not getting the right prices. We had calculated the payment at Rs 105, but sudden depreciation of dollar has caused great losses to everyone."
The international rate of rice has increased from $400 to $420 per metric ton. The importers are not in favour of buying rice from Pakistan as the rate of rice in Vietnam is $390, per metric ton and they are moving towards them, the exporters said. Chela Ram said: "We were not expecting this great depreciation and we were not mentally prepared for this shock."
Answering a question about the local market, the exporters said: "We have large stocks in pending, we will start selling in local market but the new crop will come in September and result decline in the selling price of rice in local market." "No one can predict what will happen in the next few days. Our industry is facing a great risk", Chela Ram said, adding that the sudden changes in dollar's rate has made the entire scenario look like gambling."