Pakistan seeks larger rice exports to Türkiye as India, Vietnam intensify competition

Pakistan has offered to match global rice prices through a government-backed support mechanism and supply both basmati and non-basmati rice to Türkiye at internationally competitive rates.

The development came during a high-level meeting between Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and the Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Irfan Neziroğlu, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to review and enhance bilateral trade cooperation, with a special focus on increasing Pakistan’s rice exports to Türkiye.

The meeting was held at the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has prioritised strengthening agricultural exports, particularly rice, amid intensifying global competition, read a statement on Wednesday.

During the discussions, the federal minister highlighted that Pakistan has recorded an excellent rice harvest this season, ensuring both quality and sufficient exportable surplus. However, he noted that aggressive pricing by competing exporters, especially India and Vietnam, has created challenges in global markets, exerting downward pressure on prices despite Pakistan maintaining strong export volumes.

Jam Kamal informed the Turkish side that the government, in close consultation with rice exporters and industry stakeholders, has developed a pricing support mechanism to ensure Pakistan remains competitive in international markets.

Under this mechanism, Pakistan is prepared to match prevailing global prices so that buyers do not face cost disadvantages when sourcing rice from Pakistan, he said.

The minister emphasised that Pakistan is fully prepared to supply both basmati and non-basmati rice to Türkiye at internationally competitive rates.

He urged Türkiye to consider increasing import volumes from Pakistan as a special case, stressing that Pakistan’s primary objective is volume enhancement rather than price maximisation, in order to safeguard farmer incomes and sustain the agricultural value chain.

To facilitate this objective, both sides discussed activating government-to-government (G2G) trade channels alongside existing private-sector mechanisms. Under the proposed framework, Pakistan’s state trading entities would coordinate with relevant Turkish public and private sector institutions, including state-owned grain procurement bodies, to enable bulk procurement where price competitiveness is ensured.

The federal minister also raised key market-access issues, including tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), import licensing procedures, and the possibility of zero or reduced tariffs on basmati rice.

He called for expansion and better utilisation of the existing TRQ of 18,000 metric tons under the Pakistan–Türkiye Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), noting that the quota had remained underutilised in previous cycles due to procedural constraints.

The Turkish envoy welcomed Pakistan’s proposals and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening economic ties with Pakistan. He noted that bilateral trade volumes remain below potential despite strong political relations, and recalled the jointly agreed target of achieving $5 billion in bilateral trade, set during the Pakistan–Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting.

Both sides agreed on the need for increased engagement between business communities, including trade delegations, exhibitions, and B2B interactions, to improve awareness of commercial opportunities. It was also agreed that technical delegations would meet in the coming weeks to advance discussions on rice trade, PTA expansion, and broader cooperation in agriculture, food processing, and value-added rice products such as parboiled rice.