The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the government to set up a Rice Development Board to deal with issues of development and promotion of all varieties of rice in the country, especially the Basmati rice. In a letter to the Federal Ministers for Commerce and Food Security, Chamber Regional Chairman Khawaja Zarar Kaleem mentioned that rice exports on an average was stuck-up at around US two billion dollars per annum, mainly because of lack of knowledge of latest research and development in the field of new rice varieties.
"Our competitors have come up with such products due to market oriented or demand driven research in consultation with the rice growers, millers, exporters and traders. The formation of the proposed Rice Development Board based on the public-private partnership concept could transcend across all barriers both designed and unintended and would have two chapters: the Basmati and Paddy chapters. The board having technical experts from the public and private sector should be headed by a federal secretary as governor of the board with deputy governors one each for Basmati and Paddy chapters from the rice exporting body to better define market demand criteria, he added. The federation told both the ministers to extend their co-operation for formation of proposed board and direct officials of their ministries to co-ordinate with the federation for being the apex trade body.