Bumper year: Rice exports expected to grow 28%

ISLAMABAD: Overall production of rice has been estimated to reach 6.16 million tons during 2011-12; an increase of 28% over production in the previous year. “Following the remarkable increase in the production of the crop, rice exports from the country are expected to grow considerably during the current fiscal year,” said sources in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. They attributed the growth to prudent and pro-farmer policies of the government, and said rice exports from Pakistan have sustained over $2 billion for each of the last four years. The sources said that in the 2009-10, rice was cultivated on an area of 2.88 million hectares, which resulted in the production of 6.88 million tons of rice. In 2010-11, rice was cultivated on 2.37 million hectares, yielding 4.82 million tons; and similarly on 2.57 hectares in 2011-12, which yielded 6.16 million tons of rice.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2012.