LARKANA: Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has emphasised upon the agriculturists of remote areas to expand the cultivation of rice, improve its quality to international standards and increase its export for boosting the economy of Pakistan.
TDAP officials were speaking at a one-day seminar on "Export Potential of Rice" organised by TDAP in collobration with Larkana Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) and Sindh-Balouchistan Rice Millers and Traders Association (SBRMTA) Larkana. The seminar was held at Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library here on Saturday.
The speakers highlighted the various issues of rice crop cultivation, which they said is a major contributor to the economy of Pakistan.
Those who spoke on the occasion included Founder President of SBRMTA Gada Hussain Mahesar, Arif Mahesar, President LCCI Hafiz Mohammad Suleman Shaikh, Haji Munhammad Anwar Shaikh, Deputy Director Sindh Agriculture Department Ghulam Hussain Shaikh, Deputy Director TDAP Sukkur Ms. Benazir Chachar, Project Officer TDAP Ms. Sana Ali Khokhar, Assistant Director TDAP Jaffar Hussain and others.
The speakers said that there is an immense potential for value- addition in rice sector, in post harvest processing through development of storage facility.
Saudi Arabia and USA are big markets for Basmati par-boiled rice, they said.
They also said that recent exports of rice from Pakistan valued almost US $ 2.0 billion, which is around 10 percent of total exports of Pakistan while the domestic demand of rice in Paksitan is 2.2 million tons which makes 4 million tons of rice available for export.
Speakers said that Africa is a major rice importer in the world.
They said Irri-6 rice of Sindh is widely exported to the African countries. They informed that Pakistan exports 80 percent of Super Basmati Rice to European Union and the average price of Irri-6 is Rs 32 thousand per ton in Pakistan and its export price is US $ 625 per metric ton.
The speakers said that there are hundreds of varieties in rice, notable among them are Super Basmati, Super Basmati Shaheen Rice, Super Basmati Kainnat Rice, Super Basmati Fine Rice, 1121 Basmati Rice, Irri-6, D.R Long Grain Rice, C-9 Long Grain Rice, D-98 Basmati Rice and several others.
Seminar was largely attended by growers, traders, farmers and the business community.
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