ISLAMABAD, March 19: Federal Minister for Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood on Tuesday said that to capture the international rice market and ensure greater rice production, a proposal is under active consideration to establish “Pakistan Rice Board” as a separate entity, which will be run by private and public sector.

The minister was meeting the representatives of Rice Export Association of Pakistan (REAP).

He said the ministry of commerce will prepare a draft blue print for setting up this board under a resolution to be adopted by a government. He said that it has also been proposed that board should have a major share of representatives from private sector and a few from public sector.

Mr Dawood said that this board will be a statutory body comprising all stakeholders encompassing rice farmers, millers, exporters, research and development institutions and representatives from federal and provincial governments.

He said that main objective of this board would be to integrate all efforts of all these organs and chanalize them in line with the national export strategy. The government support and backing will be made available to achieve focused research, rice quality standards, export targets and ensure market driven policies.

Mr Dawood said that this board initially can start as lean organization, with specific functions and can expand its scope of gradually. He was of the view that good governance demanded that government should act as facilitator and allow the private sector to steer business activities. He particularly mentioned efforts being made by Export Promotion Bureau, R&D institutions, Commerce Ministry and Private sector but regretted that as a nation we are not getting the required “leverage” of all this effort and it needs integrated effort to achieve maximum benefit.

This board will provide a professional platform, and a reservoir of information and will also look into human resource body looking at export strength, development in the rice sector. The meeting also agreed that the board will take up developing of the rice vision.

The minister was hopeful that with proper function of this board it will stay the institutional arrangement for process of the rice sector, by having all the stakeholders on one platform. Functioning of the board will also be discussed with provincial governments before its final shape is developed.

The chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, Tariq Ikram and senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce were also present in the meeting.