LAHORE: China has emerged as one of the top destinations for Pakistani rice exports, as there has been 244 percent increase in rice exports to the country during the last 4 years.
Pakistan CHina Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President SM Naveed stated this on Friday while talking to a representative of a Chinese Import and Export Company.
He said that the dream of exporting around 10 million tons of irri-6 rice to China could turn into reality if sustained efforts to market Pakistani rice to China are pursued. He said that new hybrid rice varieties are being developed in Pakistan which would give maximum yield by utilising minimum input costs during water scarcity.
He said that Rice Research Institute has developed new techniques to cultivate rice through a broadcasting system instead of manual sapling plantation. Under this technique, if farmers succeed in setting up 80,000 plants in a field, they will get more production, besides saving input costs up to Rs14,000 per acre. He further added that this
Mr. Daud Ahmed, Senior Vice President PCJCCI said that the new technique of Rice production based on broadcasting system is not only cheaper but also helps to save 30-35% irrigation water. He suggested propagating this technique at a broader level in villages of Pakistan. He also urged to organize training programs for farmers in this regard.
Khalid Raffique Choudhry, Vice President of PCJCCI, said that the response of Chinese importers for Pakistani rice is overwhelming as compared to rice imported from Thailand and Vietnam. He said, “Our rice industry is not showing its full potential due to some internal barriers related to planning and strategic implementations.” He further said that rice exporters deserve the patronage of the government at par with the textile industry to develop rice export as one of the major foreign-exchange-earning sectors.
Speaking on the occasion, PCJCCI Secretary General Salahuddin Hanif shared his views by saying that, PCJCCI is going to launch a concrete drive to market Pakistani rice in China by creating a personalized demand among Chinese people. The body is exploring new techniques with China to improve the quality of rice.
He added that the Chinese buyers prefer to buy the rice with good milling quality. Hence, PCJCCI will manage match making of the Chinese and Pakistani entrepreneurs in this sector to increase the demand of Pakistani rice in the market. – TLTP