Lahore: Experts say that despite India resuming rice exports, Pakistani rice exports will increase.
Experts have attributed the increase in rice exports to the excellent quality of Pakistani rice.
It should be noted that defying all concerns, Pakistani rice exports in November have increased by 17 percent in terms of volume. Non-basmati rice exports stood at 781,882 tons in November 2024, compared to 665,851 tons in November last year.
While basmati rice exports during the five months of July to November increased by 51 percent to 370,000 tons, compared to 244,664 tons during the same period last year.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Hamid Malik, an expert, said that based on the data of the last five months, we can say that the increase in rice exports in the first half of the current financial year will be 10 percent.
He said that this milestone has been achieved by Pakistani exporters after fierce competition with rice exporting countries, especially India, which has lifted the ban on its rice exports.
To increase its exports, India has not only abolished the minimum export price since the start of the new season from July 2024, but also devalued its rupee by 2.20 percent.
Currently, the price of brown basmati in Pakistan is $ 180 more than in India. He said that India is facing challenges in the World Trade Organization, where the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Paraguay have filed complaints against India, while Indian port authorities have also started an investigation.
It should be noted that Pakistani rice has shown excellent performance globally in 2024, while rice exports to countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines in the Far East increased.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, rice exports in the fiscal year 2023-24 reached $3.9 billion, an increase of 78% compared to the previous year, while during the first five months of the current fiscal year, rice exports have been $1.515 billion, an increase of 35% compared to the same period of the previous year, in which India’s non-export of rice and the high quality of Pakistani rice have also played an important role.
Hamid Malik said that although India has resumed rice exports at this time, we hope that due to the excellent quality, Pakistani rice exports will continue to increase.
He said that basmati exporters will have to face tough competition from India because the Indian government is providing subsidies, a minimum support price has been fixed, and subsidies have been given on fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds.
