Oman delegates visit REAP office, keen to import Pak rice

KARACHI: Oman government has expressed significant interest in procuring Pakistani rice to meet the domestic demand.

An official delegation of Oman government met Pakistani rice exporters on Monday at the office of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and discussed the rice procurement opportunities.

The delegation was led by Engineer Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari, Consul General of the Sultanate of Oman in Karachi along with Abdullah Jumah Al Harbi Vice Consul of Oman and Delegate Members from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Water Resources, Sultanate of Oman.

While, from Pakistan side the meeting was attended by Chela Ram Kewlani Chairman REAP, Muzzammil Rauf Chappal Member Managing Committee REAP, Dr Muhammad Hafeez, Yasmeen Ismail ex-senior vice chairman REAP, Muhammad Raza ex-MC Member REAP, Farooq Chaudhary, Abdul Rauf, Faisal Masood Chaudhary, Kazim Khandwala, Member REAP, Faisal Anis, Farhan Garib, Salar Ghouri, Saqib Masood Chaudhary, Owais Farooq Chaudhary, Saad Imran and others.

During the meeting, Omani delegation expressed significant interest in procuring Pakistani rice and discussed their market's demand for rice.

Taking full advantage of ban on rice exports by India, Pakistan’s rice exports have already shown robust growth and surpassed the $ 3 billion mark during this fiscal year.

Chela Ram Kewlani said that Pakistan and Oman have enjoyed a very friendly & brotherly relationship for the past many years and Oman is a very potential market for Pakistani rice.

He informed that overall Oman has annual import demand of 0.25 million tons and Pakistani share in this import is about 35 percent.

“It’s a good opportunity for Pakistani rice exporters that an official Omani delegation is visiting Pakistan and expressing interest in Pakistan rice. We can enhance our share in rice exports to Oman by supplying quality rice,” he added.

He informed that the currently, Omani government is looking for opportunities to import Basmati and PK386 rice from Pakistan and hopefully the deal will be matured as Pakistani rice quality is much better than other competitors.

Chela Ram said that the Omani delegation will also visit several rice mills of Pakistani rice exporters as well as laboratories to formally place the rice import order.

Consul General of Oman Engineer Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari thanked chairman REAP for the warm welcome and expressed interest in procuring Pakistani rice for local consumption. He hoped that Pakistani rice exports to Oman will increase in the future.

The CG also assured full cooperation to resolve the issues and challenges being faced by Pakistani rice exporters. The delegation also expressed interest to work together to increase bilateral trade between both countries.

On the occasion, Muzzammil Chappal Member MC REAP also highlighted some issues related to trade with Oman and requested the Consul General of Oman Engineer Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari to resolve these issues on priority basis.

Muhammad Raza gave a vote of thanks and Chela Ram Kewlani and other REAP Members presented REAP’s Shield and souvenirs to the honorable guests.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024