LAHORE: Rice exporters are eyeing the Saudi Arabian market as the Gulf kingdom is all set to follow in the footsteps of the European Union for banning import of the commodity from India because of use of tricyclazole pesticide.

An official of the Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) says the Saudi authorities have begun imposing the regulations that require that maximum residue level of tricyclazole pesticide is not more than 0.01 milligram per kilogramme. The ratio of the fungicide in the Indian basmati rice has been 10 times more than that inviting the EU ban early in the year.

New Delhi used to meet 80 per cent of the European market’s rice needs.

The TDAP official says that they are closely watching the developments so that local rice traders may be informed in time for clinching the export opportunity.

Rice Exporters Association Pakistan (REAP) president Samiullah Naeem Chaudhry says that local exporters have the capacity to meet Saudi market’s requirements as the Pakistani commodity is up to the international standards.

So far, the oil-rich kingdom has been meeting 78 percent of its over one million tone rice needs from India, 6.1 percent from Pakistan, six percent from the US and the remaining from other countries.

Mr Chaudhry says they are also increasing their presence in the EU market as the Pakistani rice exports to European destinations have registered 70 percent increase.

He discloses that Pakistan has also captured the new rice market of Indonesia as so far the country has bought 250,000 tonnes of long grain commodity, becoming the second largest buyer of Pakistani rice.

The REAP president called for enacting the Geographical Indication Law so that local rice and other food items may carry the mark of their geographical location or origin and feared that otherwise Indians may present their own produce as from Pakistan and thus damage reputation of the local basmati.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2018