Floods cause 16% drop in rice exports
Top exporters shift to wheat for better profits.
ISLAMABAD:
Rice exports fell nearly 16 per cent in the first eight months of the 2010-11 financial year because of last year’s floods, according to a top industry official on Friday.
As the world’s fifth largest exporter of rice, Pakistan exported 2.38 million tons between July and February, down from 2.82 million tons in the same period last year, according to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap).
The export of non-basmati rice dropped 25 per cent from 2.22 million tons to 1.66 million tons in the period under review. However, the shortfall was marginally offset by a 19 per cent rise in the export of basmati rice to 718,187 tons, up from 603,389 tons.
“The shortfall in exports of non-basmati rice is mainly due to flood damage to the crop,” said Reap Chairman Irfan Ahmed Sheikh, referring to the floods that began in late July last year and inflicted $10 billion in losses.
Basmati-growing areas were largely safe from the floods. The country had a bumper crop of 6.7 million tons of milled rice in 2009-10 and exported the surplus of 4.5 million tons.
Sheikh said the rice harvest this year would be nearly six million tons, though the government has said the harvest would be about five million tons. The industry had set a four million tons export target for fiscal 2011, but Sheikh said that may be difficult to achieve now as many top traders have switched to exporting wheat for better profits.
“Our top 10 exporters are now concentrating on wheat instead of rice as they are making greater profits,” Sheikh said. He said many traders lacked the logistical capacity to deal in more than one commodity at a time and limited capital encouraged trading in higher profit wheat.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2011.
Rice exports fell nearly 16 per cent in the first eight months of the 2010-11 financial year because of last year’s floods, according to a top industry official on Friday.
As the world’s fifth largest exporter of rice, Pakistan exported 2.38 million tons between July and February, down from 2.82 million tons in the same period last year, according to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap).
The export of non-basmati rice dropped 25 per cent from 2.22 million tons to 1.66 million tons in the period under review. However, the shortfall was marginally offset by a 19 per cent rise in the export of basmati rice to 718,187 tons, up from 603,389 tons.
“The shortfall in exports of non-basmati rice is mainly due to flood damage to the crop,” said Reap Chairman Irfan Ahmed Sheikh, referring to the floods that began in late July last year and inflicted $10 billion in losses.
Basmati-growing areas were largely safe from the floods. The country had a bumper crop of 6.7 million tons of milled rice in 2009-10 and exported the surplus of 4.5 million tons.
Sheikh said the rice harvest this year would be nearly six million tons, though the government has said the harvest would be about five million tons. The industry had set a four million tons export target for fiscal 2011, but Sheikh said that may be difficult to achieve now as many top traders have switched to exporting wheat for better profits.
“Our top 10 exporters are now concentrating on wheat instead of rice as they are making greater profits,” Sheikh said. He said many traders lacked the logistical capacity to deal in more than one commodity at a time and limited capital encouraged trading in higher profit wheat.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2011.