A 17-member delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) left for Saudi Arabia for promotion of Pakistani rice in the Kingdom. REAP senior vice chairman Ali Hussam Asghar is leading the delegation that will hold a number of events and business-to-business meetings (B2B) with rice importers during the 5-day visit to increase the share of Pakistani rice in that country.
Saudi Arabia was one of the leading importing country of Pakistani rice; however, during the last few years, Pakistan's share in the Kingdom's rice market has drastically declined. Therefore, REAP has sent the delegation for promotion of Pakistani rice, which is much better than Indian rice.
The delegation will visit several cities of Saudi Arabia, including Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah. A mega Biryani festival will be arranged in Jeddah where top rice importers have been invited to attend and taste some 15 different varieties of Biryani like Mutton Sindhi Biryani, Fish Bombay Biryani, Chicken Biryani, White Biryani, etc.
REAP chairman Safder Hussain Mehkri informed that Pakistan's rice share in Saudi market declined to 20 percent and now REAP want to increase share up to 80 percent. The higher rice export will also help earn more foreign exchange for the country, which is facing a balance of payment crisis and need massive foreign inflows, he said, adding that currently, Pakistan's rice export are about $2 billion annually and REAP is closely working with the federal and provincial governments to increase rice exports to $5 billion by 2023.
He said REAP has focused Research and Development (R&D) to get a better crop yield and as a part of these efforts, REAP organised a Rice Conference in Larkana, one of the major rice cultivation area, to discuss the issues being faced by farmers. Proposal and recommendation of this conference has already been sent to federal government for implementation, he said.