ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: Brown rice exporters have sought government intervention to stop the Trading Corporation of Pakistan from direct purchase of a rice variety what they termed an 'illegal variety' for its subsequent export to Sri Lanka.
Consortium of Basmati Rice Exporters (CBRE) President Zahid W. Khawaja in a letter to the commerce minister, a copy of which was made available to Dawn on Monday, said the TCP had no jurisdiction to provide legitimacy to an 'illegal variety' under any circumstances and, therefore, tender for the variety might be cancelled.
"We are sad and most disturbed that a respectable federal organization under the ministry of commerce that is also the official inspection agents for rice export to the European Union is writing the misleading and probably illegal words Russi basmati (D-98 quality) in an official invitation to bid," he said.
Unless immediately withdrawn, he said, this tender bid would destroy the prime objectives of the "geographic indications" movement for which a committee had been constituted by the commerce secretary and of which he was also a member.
When contacted, TCP Chairman Syed Masood Alam Rizvi told Dawn that the brown rice exporters had not updated the corporation about the issue. He said the TCP issued the tender on the directive of the commerce ministry to help the Sindh-Balochistan Rice Millers Association who were demanding of the government to seek market access for their surplus stock of 100,000 tons of Russi basmati (D-90 quality).
Mr Rizvi said the corporation made the tender in a hurry because the Sri Lankan government needed rice to meet their domestic consumption. "I will certainly look into the issue for reviewing the decision in case the brown rice exporters informed us in time," he added.
According to the letter, Mr Khawaja said that there was no variety approved by this name in Pakistan by the Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, that was the sole and exclusive home of basmati rice varieties in Pakistan.
"We request that the invitation to bid be scrapped immediately for this illegal variety. You may kindly obtain an opinion from the ministry for food, agriculture and livestock in this respect."
He said with great difficulty and painstaking effort correction was done at the GAFTA level and then at the European Union level. "The EU recognizes the TCP as their sole inspecting agent for all rice export to the EU.
Please consider the damage... this move can do to the image of the TCP in the EU and how our opponents in the EU can misuse this development against us," he added.
Mr Khawaja said this tender was akin to the revival of the RECP era by the TCP purchasing rice in the market. It was also going back from the principle of private sector rice exports being promoted as opposed to the government entering actual trading rather than facilitating export.
It also reverses from the precedent set when the TCP facilitated a government-to-government deal for Iran, which could also be done in the case of Sri Lanka, he added.
"We request that the decision to make direct purchase may please be reviewed and corrections done in order to promote the private sector instead of becoming a competitor. Government bodies should be facilitators and not traders," he added.
