Pakistan successfully grows Japonica rice

Pakistan has successfully grown Japanese ‘Japonica’ rice, the most expensive and consumed form of rice in the far eastern region, for the first time this year. Pakistan is a traditional exporter of basmati, the high quality rice known for its purity, flavour and length.

Trial basis

Japonica seeds were sown in the Gujranwala region on trial basis, and these products will be thoroughly tested for quality assurance in the eastern region. The new crop was successfully cultivated after the visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Japan in February 2011, when Japanese exporters provided the seeds to their Pakistani counterparts, said Tariq Puri, chief executive of trade development authority of Pakistan (TDAP), while talking to selected media personnel at the authority’s head office here on Friday. Japonica was successfully grown by Pakistani growers at METCO Farm Sadhoki, Gujranwala. The fresh product was cultivable in many parts of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, and the Japnese rice, if approved by the foreign experts, would be another important kind of rice after basmati. Puri said during previous visits to Japan, TDAP offered required land to the foreign country for growing Japonica rice in Pakistan, as agricultural products were damaged in tsunami-hit rice fields which may take long time to recover.

Mitigating tsunami damage

Under the buy-back mechanism, Japanese rice could be cultivated in Pakistan as it was expected that the damaged fields of rice in the tsunami hit areas could take long time to remove sea salt. Growing the same on Pakistani soil could be a safe way to ensure uninterrupted supply of rice to Japanese consumers. A Japanese expert, Mr K Tamaki said experts from his country could also be invited for informing the farmers/growers about how and where to grow the new crop in Pakistan. He said his country itself was importing almost 0.5 million tonnes of the same rice from other countries. He said it was a historic development that Pakistan would produce new expensive quality rice, after basmati.

Profit margins

If the drive proves successful in Pakistan, thousands of tonnes of the valued item could be exported to Japanand and other far eastern countries with comparatively more profit margins. Pakistan was not exporting rice to Japan despite the fact that its exports of rice to the world had reached around four million tonnes. The TDAP CE said Japonica, a non-flavoured, short-grain variety of , characterised by its unique stickiness and texture, was not genetically modified rice but Japanese rice, mostly consumed in Taiwan, China, Japan and other countries. According to sources, Japan being the world’s second largest market for rice, imports under WTO requirements, at least 770,000 tons of rice a year. Besides, the Japanese government also protects its farmers by imposing a 490 per cent import duty on rice, and also opposing duty lowering proposals in ongoing global trade negotiations on agriculture products.