Basmati rice exports soar, promise growth potential

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s raw food exports experienced a robust 8.17 percent increase, reaching $4.62 billion during the initial seven months of the current fiscal year. This surge, compared to $4.26 billion in the corresponding period last year, was primarily fuelled by a substantial rise in rice shipments.

Remarkably, this export growth has persisted for eighteen consecutive months, even amidst unprecedented food inflation within the country. Consequently, consumers across Pakistan are facing higher prices for food items, a direct consequence of supply and demand imbalances.

Official data, compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), underscores the significant contribution of rice to the overall food export performance. During the first seven months of the current fiscal year, rice shipments saw a 3.73 percent year-on-year increase in value, reaching $2.19 billion, up from $2.12 billion the previous year.

Breaking down the rice exports, the quantity of basmati rice shipments rose by 22.04 percent year-on-year, totalling 487,221 tonnes, while its value increased by 11.98 percent, reaching $511.59 million. Exports of non-basmati rice also saw growth, with a 1.46 percent increase in value, reaching $1.68 billion, and a 7.72 percent increase in quantity, reaching 3.15 million tonnes during the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Pakistan’s rice exports to reach all-time high

The rice sector is showing promising growth potential with new markets opening up, such as Bangladesh. This further solidifies its position as a key driver of Pakistan’s exports, especially within the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK).

The sustained export growth over the past two years has caused the average price of basmati rice to surge to Rs400 per kg, up from Rs150, limiting affordability for domestic consumers.

Sugar exports also demonstrated remarkable growth. According to the PBS data, in the first seven months, sugar exports reached 757,597 tonnes, a staggering increase of 2188 percent compared to 33,101 tonnes exported during the same period last year. Millers have primarily directed sugar exports to Afghanistan. This surge in exports has contributed to an unprecedented rise in sugar prices within the domestic market.

Meat exports experienced a modest increase of 2.60 percent during the first seven months of FY25 compared to the same period last year. This growth is attributed to the opening of new markets, the involvement of new companies in meat exports, and the approval of additional slaughterhouses. Domestic meat prices have also seen a significant increase in recent years. Over the past three and a half years, the average cost of buffalo meat has jumped from Rs700 per kg to Rs1,400. Chicken prices have also surged to their highest level in the last three years.

Conversely, exports of vegetables have shown a negative trend, declining by 18.14 percent in July-January FY25 compared to the previous year, mainly due to reduced exports of onions, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Fruit exports experienced a marginal decline of 0.24 percent during the period under review. Fish and fish products recorded a slight growth of 1.25 percent during the same timeframe.