ISLAMABAD - Owing to bumper rice crop and its carry over stock, Pakistan Monday offered 8.03 million tonnes of rice for export with a projection of earning $4.85 billion for the economy.
“For Kharif 2021-22, the provincial Crop Reporting Departments have reported a bumper rice crop of 8.96 million MT. Therefore, the total available stock in December 2021 will be 11.43 million MT. Deducting 3.40 million MT for domestic consumption, 8.03 million MT is available as exportable surplus,” Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam said here at a news conference.
‘This is a breakthrough that we have achieved in a single commodity and is at same time is challenge to be exported,” he maintained. This year exportable rice is around 8 million tons with a worth of around $4.85 billion. “If we succeed in exporting this surplus rice, it would be a major breakthrough,” he added.
The minister said that over the last five years, China, Kenya, UAE, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia have been the major exports destinations for Pakistan. Apart from those, there are other countries where our commercial advisors/commercial attachés in our high commissions and embassies should be given this task. “We have also suggested for constitution of a committee/task force on national level under the supervision and monitoring of the Prime Minister to push this task and increase the exports to those areas, i.e. Africa, Latin-America, and in those five countries and others,” the minister informed.
Imam says if we succeed in exporting this surplus rice, it would be a major breakthrough
Fakhar Imam said that for Kharif 2021/22, the provincial crops reporting departments have reported a bumper rice crop of 8.96 million tons from 3.5 million hectares. In kharif 2020-21, Pakistan produced 8.41 million tons of rice. The government estimates that total available stock in December 2021 will be 11.43 million tons. Deducting 3.40 million tons for domestic consumption, 8.03 million tons is available as exportable surplus.
Of the total exportable surplus, approximately 30 percent is basmati (2.41 million tons). Currently, the average export prices of basmati and coarse rice are $870/MT and $490/MT, respectively. At these prices, Pakistan can earn $2.10 billion and $2.75 billion (total $4.85 billion) from the export of basmati and coarse rice, respectively.
According to the government’s statistics, in Kharif 2020-21, Pakistan produced 8.41 million tons, while adding last year’s (2019/20) carry over stock of 0.51 million tons, 8.92 million tons of stock was available for domestic consumption and export. Up to November 2021, approximately 3.1 million tons were domestically consumed and 3.34 million tons was exported. Currently, we have last year’s carryover stock of 2.47 million tons.
In FY2020-21, Pakistan exported 3.50 million tons valuing $2.11 billion. These rice exports were about 12 percent lower compared to those in the FY2019-20 mainly due to COVID-19 related disruption in shipments. In FY2021-22, our exportable surplus is 128 percent higher than that of last year. Now that the shipment disruption is easing, Pakistan should make every effort to export 8.03 million tons and earn $4.85 billion which will be $2.74 billion more than that of last year.
Since we have encouraged our farmers and supported, so we are getting record productions. We are getting record production in rice, maize and sugarcane. According to our assessment, sugarcane will give us record production of 87 million tons, last year it was 81 million tons.
Cotton production is increasing and last year till mid-November, its collection was 4.1 million bales and by this year 15 November, its 6.8 million bales. We expect a total 8.5 million bales this year.
