SLAMABAD – Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for National Food Security, stated on Monday that the country had achieved a bumper crop of rice, estimated at over 9 million tonnes during the current season, compared to 8.4 million tonnes during the same period last year, due to policy interventions and incentivizing local farming communities.
During a news conference, he stated that last year’s rice output was 8.4 million tonnes, compared to domestic consumption of 3.5 million tonnes, and that there were carryover inventories of more than 2.5 million tonnes from the previous year’s harvest.
Carryover rice inventories have increased local rice output to 11.5 million tonnes vs 3.5 million tonnes of local demand, resulting in an export excess of nearly 8 million tonnes of rice for next year.
According to market research, Pakistan has the potential to earn $4.75 billion by exporting surplus output, he said, adding that the country earned $2.11 billion last year by exporting rice, including basmati and others, which added to producers’ farm income and encouraged them to grow more.
Despite having a large export potential, Pakistan has mostly exported rice to five countries in the last three to five years, including China, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that efforts would be made to increase rice exports to other African and Latin American countries.
The minister stated that Pakistan could meet its export targets of $4.75 billion by overcoming challenges, and that coordinated efforts from both the public and private sectors were required to accomplish this task, adding that it would also aid in the sustainable economic growth and development of the farming community.
Imam stated that government efforts were yielding considerable benefits, as output of all key crops such as wheat, rice, cotton, maize, and sugarcane had reached historic highs in the previous three years, and that over 87 million tonnes of sugarcane output was also predicted this season.
Cotton arrivals for the current month totaled 6.8 million bales, up from 4.1 million bales during the same period last year, he said, adding that cotton output objectives will be met, benefiting allied sectors as well.
We were importing around 90% of our edible oil to meet local demands, and increased cotton yield would help to create cotton seed oil and lessen our dependency on foreign oil, he said.
In response to a query, Imam stated that sugar prices had been decreasing as some people attempted to gain an unfair advantage by creating artificial scarcity and hoarding, and that the commodity’s prices would continue to fall once the crushing season began.