October 9, 2002	Wednesday	Sha’aban 2, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood on Tuesday left for Bangkok, Thailand, to attend five-nation international rice moot being held on Wednesday.

China, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Pakistan are participating in this moot.

Razak will pursue the participating nations for bringing stability in rice prices, and demand protection of patent rights of Pakistan in “Basmati” category of rice.

He will also be meeting with the trade ministers of China, Vietnam, and Thailand and agriculture minister of India.

Pakistan rice ranks seventh in terms of foreign exchange earning. Private sector has been allowed to export rice freely; Pakistan exports Basmati rice to Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UK, Bahrain, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Mauritius, Sharjah and Yemen.

Pakistan also exports other varieties of rice to Indonesia, Kenya, Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Iran, Dubai and Bangladesh. In 2001 Pakistan exported total of 2,456 tons of rice, worth of $526 million.

AFP adds: An official from the Thailand ministry’s department of foreign trade said on Tuesday, “the ministers are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on rice trade cooperation,” she told AFP without elaborating.

Such an agreement would likely be aimed at stabilizing rice export prices and promoting information sharing among the countries, local press reports have said.

Thailand is the world’s leading rice exporter, while India is set to edge Vietnam out of the number two spot this year, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization forecast in June.