LAHORE: “Rice exporters are hopeful to touch the USD 3 billion mark during the current financial year and are eyeing taking the figures to USD 5 billion by the year 2025, thanks to the higher productions, especially in the coarse variety available due to hybrid seeds”.

Shahzad Ali Malik (SI), former chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and member of the Export Advisory Council (non-textile) said this while talking to Business Recorder here on Wednesday. He said that rice exports alone could be taken to USD 10 billion by the year 2028 due to a continuous increase in rice production and the availability of exportable surplus.

He said in the initial meeting of the advisory council, he discussed a roadmap with the caretaker Federal Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz to increase rice exports and quoted the example of a quantum jump in rice production in Sindh which led to availability of more grain for exports.

He said that to date only Sindh had been cultivating the hybrid varieties while the whole of Punjab was still open and the promotion of extra-long grain hybrid varieties could provide a large export surplus to Pakistan.

Malik, who is also CEO of the Guard Agricultural Research & Services (Pvt) Limited (GUARD), throwing light on his recent visit to China with a government delegation said that Pakistan and China were set to further enhance their cooperation in the agriculture sector as memorandums of understanding (MoUs) had been between Pakistani and Chinese companies for the development of better yielding oilseed. He said that Pakistan was importing edible oil worth USD 4-5 billion per annum and there was a need to promote oilseed sowing in Pakistan to save this precious foreign exchange.

The delegation was led by Federal Economic Minister Gohar Ejaz and Shahzad Malik praised the way Pakistan’s mission in Beijing arranged business-to-business relevant meetings during this visit.

He said that under the agreement seed development companies of both countries would collaborate in developing hybrid seeds for canola and sunflower crops as well as for cotton crops resistant to heat stress with better yields.

Pakistan and China were already successfully collaborating in developing hybrid seeds of rice and green chilli. Hybrid rice has been sown in a large area in Sindh for the last many years, while hybrid chilli seed has been introduced only recently.

Malik further said that a hybrid Basmati variety had also been developed by his company which would be introduced for commercial sowing in the Punjab province during the next season having more per acre yield than the existing varieties.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

Published Date: December 21, 2023