Rice exports surge 32 percent in July-September

KARACHI: Rice exports increased 32 percent to $320.24 million during the first three months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed.

Rice exports amounted to $242.69 million in the July-September quarter a year ago. Export quantity stood at 0.621 million tonnes in the period under review as compared to 0.428 million tonnes a year earlier.

In July-September, exports of aromatic basmati marginally rose 2.43 percent to $90.93 million, while non-basmati exports climbed staggering 49 percent to $230 million.

Exports quantity of basmati rice also increased to 86,672 tonnes during the July-September from 92,321 tonnes in the corresponding period a year ago, while 0.534 million tonnes of non-basmati exports were exported as against 0.390 million tonnes.

PBS data further revealed that rice exports increased 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) and decreased 17 percent month-on-month (MoM) to $96.31 million in September.

The country exported 0.192 million tonnes of basmati in September as compared to 0.171 million tonnes in the same month last year and 0.227 million tonnes in August. Non-basmati exports quantity stood at 0.164 million tonnes in September as compared to 0.199 million tonnes in August and 0.138 million tonnes in September 2016.

In September, exports of basmati rice declined 12 percent YoY and fell 5.1 percent MoM to $28.19 million. Non-basmati rice exports surged 33 percent to $68.12 million in September over a year ago. They, however, slid 21.1 percent over the preceding month.

Rice exports, which account for eight percent of Pakistan’s $20 billion exports, continued to decline in the past couple of years due mainly to inability of local exporters to cope up with price competition in the international market. Alone, rice exports dropped 14 percent to $1.61 billion on 3.52 million tonnes during the last fiscal.   

Analysts said the decline was witnessed in non-basmati rice, which earned the country $1.17 billion in FY2017.

Government set rice production target at 6.82 million tonnes for the current crop year of 2017/18 as against 6.6 million tonnes in the preceding year. The key summer crop was projected to be harvested on around 2.786 million hectares.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations forecast that the country would have an estimated supply of 7.6 million tonnes of milled rice during the current crop year with an opening stock of 0.8 million tonnes.  

“On the supply side, ample exportable availabilities are predicted to boost shipments by Pakistan and Vietnam, possibly also aiding Thailand in regaining its position as the world’s leading supplier of rice after a six-year hiatus,” FAO said in its biannual food outlook report released in June.