Export Potential of Fine Rice From Pakistan

In recent years, rice has emerged as an important foreign exchange earner for Pakistan. All the rice exports since 1958-59 were supplied by West Pakistan, a surplus rice area under the present price and procurement policies. In spite of an overall rice deficit, due to deficiency of production in East Pakistan, high-priced fine varieties were exported at the same time that PL 480 food grains were being imported. The current thinking in and outside the government is to raise substantially the production and exports of fine rice (especially Basmati rice). In order to examine the rationality of increasing the production and exports of fine rice, certain basic information on world supply and demand are essential. This paper attempts to provide and build up some of the necessary infor¬mation on the supply of and demand for Pakistan’s fine rices. Moreover, the rationality of increasing the production and exports of fine rice and of continuing the present policy and institutional framework for the procurement and export of rice, is examined. The paper is divided into four parts (in addition to the intro¬duction and conclusion): i) supply potential of fine rices, ii) potential world demand for fine rices; iii) policy and institutional framework for the procure¬ment and export of fine rice; and iv) rationality of increasing the production and export of fine rice.