In a fear to lose the domestic and international markets after trade liberalisation with India, Pakistani exporters have finally said no to imports from India. Recommending the government to include all kinds of rice in the proposed negative list of trade with India, the exporters have shown their serious concerns over the recent developments of importing the commodity from the neighbouring country. The imports of cheaper commodity from outside the border would not only cause us loss of domestic, but also international markets, including Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian states, Taufiq Ahmed Khan, former Vice Chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) said.
He said the association, as it had earlier suggested, has recommended the Ministry of Commerce to keep rice in negative list until a detailed study about the impacts of trade liberalisation with India on domestic market, growers and traders.
Earlier in a statement, Javed Islam Agha, Chairman REAP on Saturday said the decision of managing committee of REAP has unanimously decided that all kinds of rice varieties should remain in the negative list in the larger interest of rice industry and farmers, in general. He further said in this connection, the association had already sent a letter to the Ministry of Commerce.
Refrying to the news items appeared in media regarding the import of rice from India, he said the import of rice from New Delhi would badly hit local production, causing huge losses to both exporters/traders and farmers because cheaper import of agri-products from India will ruin agricultural production potential of the country.
Traditionally, the price of Indian basmati and other rice varieties used to be at least $100-300/MT higher than Pakistani rice varieties, but after the arrival of new crop in Oct-Nov 2011, India took advantage of its huge stocks, bumper crop and devaluation of its rupee by 15-20 per cent and reduced their prices by 20-30 per cent. Now they are selling $100- 300/MT cheaper than Pakistani basmati and other varieties, such as Kianat (1121). Recently the government of India reduced the MEP on basmati rice from $900 to $700/MT which is far below the Pakistani basmati rice prices of $900- 1100/MT. Earlier, the Indian government had lifted the ban on export of non-basmati rice and allowed export of Rs2 million tonnes of non-basmati rice.Consequently, Pakistan has lost its brown rice market of EU of nearly 170,000 tonnes to India and is facing great difficulties for export of its basmati rice to Middle East and other countries of the world. The prices of long grain Pakistan rice had gone down drastically which is hitting the farmers of Sindh who are demanding compensation for their losses.
Secondly, the free import of cheap Indian parboiled Pusa/1121 will reach the Afghanistan market by land route and ruin the little export that Pakistan is doing to Afghanistan and bring all the parboiling plants imported from India to a standstill. Once basmati and 1,121 sales are affected, it will indirectly hit the farmers who will not grow basmati rice in future and go for cheaper hybrid varieties threatening to close down the $2 billion rice export of Pakistan.
If the government allows the import of Indian rice into Pakistan, then our farmers should also be given the facilities matching with the subsidies being given to the Indian farmers, so that our farmers are able to protect their livelihoods. Indian government is giving about $30 billion in subsidies to its farmers. Whereas, the cost of urea and DAP is less than 50 per cent of the Pakistani prices and Indian farmers are also getting cheaper electricity and fuel. Therefore, no transit of rice from East to West borders should be allowed. It is therefore, strongly recommended to Ministry of Commerce to kindly include all varieties of rice in negative list, as requested earlier by REAP to avoid dumping of Indian rice in Pakistani market and losses to our farmers, traders, and exporters.
