Business

Indian exporters fear Pakistan could seize control of basmati rice market

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

India maintains $1,200 a ton MEP for basmati rice.
Millers fear decision will hamper overseas sales.
India and Pakistan are the only growers of basmati rice.

NEW DEHLI: Indian exporters have criticised their government for maintaining the current floor price for basmati rice, saying the move will allow Pakistan to capture the market.

India and Pakistan are the only growers of basmati rice. New Delhi exports more than 4 million metric tons of basmati – the premium long-grain variety famed for its aroma – to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

New Delhi set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a ton in August. It was expected to cut this MEP but the government on Saturday said it would maintain the floor price until further notice.

“Farmers find themselves in a frustrating predicament,” said a leading exporter who asked not to be named.

“We are empowering Pakistan to seize control of the basmati rice market in the short term.”

India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has also curbed exports of non-basmati rice varieties in an attempt to keep a lid on domestic prices ahead of key state elections.

“We are staring at massive losses,” said Sukrampal Beniwal, who grows basmati varieties in the country’s north. “We have harvested our crop, but there are no buyers.”

Farmers plant summer-sown rice varieties in the rainy months of June and July and start harvesting their crops in October. As the new harvest trickles in, prices start to fall.

Farmers, millers and exporters had believed the government would lower the MEP, which they consider too steep, as the new-season crop comes to market.

“The decision to continue with the $1,200 MEP is a big blow to us,” said Vijay Setia, a leading exporter from the northern state of Haryana, one of India’s breadbaskets, adding that the government needed to cut it to $850-$900 a ton with immediate effect.

Basmati rice farmers are struggling to sell their produce because millers and traders have stopped coming to dozens of wholesale markets to buy, Beniwal said.

Paddy prices of basmati varieties have fallen more than 20% since the government imposed the MEP, traders said.

Basmati is not widely consumed in India and the government doesn’t buy the variety to build state reserves.

Business

February 7, 2025: The value of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in relation to the US dollar is unchanged.

Published

8 hours ago

Farwa

KARACHI: The open market exchange rate between the US dollar and the Pakistani rupee (PKR) was Rs279.4 on February 07, 2025, with a selling rate of Rs281.1. The interbank exchange rate between the US dollar and the Pakistani rupee is Rs 278.45, according to Interbank.

There was no movement in the US dollar (USD) from the previous closure of Rs278.

Business

The NORINCO Group is invited by CM Sindh to explore opportunities.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Chinese companies have been invited by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to visit Karachi and other regions of Sindh Province in order to observe the quickly growing businesses and investigate prospects in fields like clean energy, infrastructure development, and public transit projects.

Speaking in Beijing to a delegation headed by the chairman of NORINCO International Co., Ltd., he stated that all facilities required would be provided by the governments of Sindh Province and Pakistan.

With assistance from NORINCO International, the Sindh Chief Minister stated that the Provincial Government will firmly urge North Vehicle and BeiBen to think about setting up a Vehicle Assembly Plant in the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone.

Business

A deal with Pakistan to fight financial crimes has been approved by the Saudi cabinet.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

In order to strengthen collaboration in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and associated crimes, the Saudi Press Agency announced this week that the Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).

Due to its severe money laundering and terrorism funding issues in recent years, Pakistan was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in June 2018.

The nation was taken off the gray list in October 2022 after enacting extensive measures to fortify its financial system.

The FMU is Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, created under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 and tasked with collaborating with foreign partners and evaluating reports of suspicious transactions.

According to the SPA, “the cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in exchanging investigations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes between the Financial Monitoring Unit in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the General Department of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The MoU is an indication of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s growing strategic partnership. A significant Pakistani diaspora resides in the Kingdom, and numerous Pakistani businesses have established a presence there.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Pakistan’s economy, bolstering its reserves with substantial deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan and offering deferred oil payment facilities.