Rice exports grew by 18.02pc, reached $232.722mn in December

ISLAMABAD: Rice exports from the country during month of December, 2020 witnessed about 18.02 percent growth as compared the exports of the corresponding month of last year.

About 459,714 metric tons of rice valuing $232.722 million exported during the months of December, 2020 as compared the exports of 409,757 metric tons worth $197.188 million of same month of last year.

During the period under review about 63,449 metric tons of Basmati rice worth $66.192 million also exported as compared 84,078 metric tons valuing $65.547 million of same period last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The exports of Basmati rice witnessed about 0.98 percent growth during last months as against the exports of corresponding month of year 2019-20, it reveled.

In December 2020, country fetched $166.530 million by exporting about 396,265 metric tons of rice other then Basmati as compared the exports of 325,676 metric tons $131.641 million of same month of last year.

The exports of others rice recorded about 26.50 percent increase during the period under review as against the exports of same month last year, the data reveled.

However, exports of rice from the country during first half of current financial year registered negative growth of 6.74 percent as compared the exports of same period last year.

From July-December, 2020, 1,824,638 metric tons of rice worth $963 million were exported as compared the exports of 2,038,052 metric tons costing $1.0333 billion of same period last year.

In first half of current financial year, exports of Basmati rice decreased by 31.03 percent, where as exports of rice other then Basmati grew by 7.45 percent.

It is worth mentioning here that food group exports from the country during the moth of December, 2020 recorded growth of 11.83 percent as compared the exports of same month of last year.