Rice mill owners cry for help to avoid bank default

ISLAMABAD: The rice mill owners on Monday requested the prime minister to direct TCP or Passco to purchase 450,000 metric tons of rice lying in their stocks otherwise they would face default on bank loan worth Rs100 billion after expiry of June 30 deadline.
“India has captured our export markets through decreased prices so Pakistani government should explore opportunities in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to export rice otherwise they will default on their outstanding loans of Rs100 billion,” Chairman Pakistan Rice Mills Association Mukhtar Khan Baloch and Secretary Faisal Maqsood Cheema said during a joint press conference here on Monday.
They said that the other option was purchasing the rice lying in stocks through government institutions like TCP or Passco and if the government remains unmoved then they would default on their loans.
“Another crisis for farmers is brewing up as they will not purchase upcoming paddy crop from them,” they added.In this situation, they said that 3,000 rice mills and thousands of farmers would be forced to launch protest campaign in front of Parliament.
They said that Pakistan’s research center had failed to develop any new seed in Pakistan. India, they said, captured exports market of rice and without exploring markets they would be forced to take to streets. India’s rice brand ‘super kainat’ has captured our markets and there is need of intervention from government to save our rice market on immediate basis.
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), they said, were asking the government to provide them subsidy for exporting rice because prices of rice in international market had declined significantly.
“When the government can provide subsidy on sugar, cotton and wheat then why it cannot be provided on rice?” they raised a question and added that in last 50 to 60 years the rice millers had never demanded subsidy but the current situation demanded immediate solution to avoid bankruptcy of the entire sector.
They said that the cost of production of rice stood at Rs6,000 per 40 kg but its international price has come down to around Rs2,500 per kg. “In this situation, the government has failed to explore new markets after Iran started purchasing rice from India,” they added.
Iran, they said, is our brother Islamic country and the government should take notice at the highest level to convince Tehran to resume purchasing of rice from Pakistani market.In the emerging scenario, they said that they would not be able to purchase paddy from farmers in the upcoming season. The PM should take notice to safeguard rice market from total collapse, they added.
To another query, they said that the existing stock stood at 450,000 tons having 4.5 million bags with estimated cost of Rs250 billion. The government in the budget, they said, provided them tax relief but they termed it peanuts keeping in view gravity of the prevailing crisis. “If the government lifts our stocks then we are ready to pay our due taxes,” they concluded.