Government lifts quality certificate condition for rice exports

KARACHI: The government has ended the condition of producing a certificate of quality from Quality Review Committee (QRC) for the export of rice, effective from August 2, a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
"The condition of preshipment inspection by QRC for export of rice has been withdrawn with effect from August 02," the notification by joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce Muhammad Ashraf said.
A leading rice exporter said the condition was withdrawn in the backdrop of closure of the Quality Review Committee on June 30.
He said, "The Committee was served one-month notice period on June 30 to close its activities.”
The committee was ceased on the request of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), which had taken up the issue with the Minister of Commerce Khurram Dastagir about three years ago, the rice exporter said.
“The committee used to make political discrimination at the time of issuing quality certificates,” they told the minister, “The practice was causing the export of low quality rice and at other times preventing export of quality rice.”
At least 15-20 percent consignments were being subjected to political discrimination by the QRC, the rice exporter said, adding that the practice was creating bad image of Pakistan around the world.
"The committee was lacking expertise and was mostly filled with some corrupt elements," he said.
The exporter maintained the existence of the committee had also become redundant, since importers have started nominating their own inspection firms including SGS and Cotecna for preshipment inspection of rice from Pakistan.