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WEEKLY
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| Rice exporters to buy Irri at Rs600 a maund |
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009
By our correspondent
KARACHI: After extensive talks on the support price of rice with officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has agreed to buy Irri-6 paddy at the new support price of Rs600 per 40 kg.
Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal held a high-level meeting with those associated with rice trade at the REAP House here on Monday. Sindh Minister of Agriculture Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, Federal Secretary Food and Agriculture Zia-ur-Rehman, Sindh Secretary Agriculture Agha Khan Akhtar, Managing Director Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (PASSCO) Major General Anwer Saeed Khan, President Sindh Abadgar Board Abdul Majeed Nizamani, Chairman Basmati Growers Association Hamid Malhi, ex-chairman REAP Abdul Rahim Janoo and other representatives of the association attended the meeting.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, the federal food minister said REAP had given a positive response to his request to support paddy farmers. Besides, the association offered the government maximum funds for research and development of rice varieties.
However, owing to difference in prices of basmati, he said, no agreement could be reached for its purchase. He said PASSCO had started unlimited procurement of basmati rice in Punjab in an attempt to ensure payment of support price to the growers.
Earlier during the meeting, the food minister asked REAP representatives to provide incentives to the farmers and said until and unless the farmers produced the commodity, how it would be possible to make exports.
Sindh Abadgar Board President Abdul Majeed Nizamani said farmers, processors and exporters or traders were three major stakeholders in rice trade and they should be treated equally. He said rupee depreciation had pushed up the input cost of rice by 28 per cent and despite the increasing support price of rice the government had reduced the rate of paddy.
Irri-6 price was reduced to Rs600 from Rs700 per 40 kg and Basmati price was curtailed to Rs1,250 from Rs1,500 last year. “There is a need for timely intervention, but unfortunately the intervention comes at a time when a larger portion of paddy with the farmers is sold.”
He said around 70 per cent paddy in lower Sindh had been sold and the situation was almost the same in Punjab and Balochistan. PASSCO should step in the market in July and August which would help the growers, he added.
Basmati Growers Association Chairman Hamid Malhi said if competitive prices were not sought by the exporters from the international market, there would be a low crop in the country next year. He said government intervention was around 6 to 7pc last year and that was not going to increase this year.
REAP ex-chairman Abdul Rahim Janoo said the association was not a charitable organisation and when prices were lower in the international market they would not give high prices to the growers. The exporters asked the minister if the government wanted to provide relief to the growers, it should help them in purchase of seeds and fertilisers.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
