BEIJING, Jan 28: China will sign a formal protocol in April this year, paving the way for introducing Pakistani rice in the local market.

Officials told APP here on Friday that the protocol would be signed on the eve of forthcoming visit to Pakistan by Chinese Primer Wen Jiabao.

The export of Pakistani rice to China is likely to be a breakthrough in trading food items between the two countries. The Pakistani long-grain rice can find a big market in China, since its quality is much better than the rice that is currently being imported from Thailand.

"We are looking at good prospects especially for basmati rice," an official said, adding some Chinese companies had already shown interest to buy Pakistani rice. China purchased about 300,000 tons of Thai rice last year.

The Chinese government announced recently that the import of rice will increase, due to declining of its production in the past four years. The country's rice reserves have also dropped dramatically.

According to sources, China would encourage the import of rice and grain in the coming years while cutting down on export subsidies to local producers. China's total rice output had been falling since 1999, along with a drop in the per-hectare yield of rice paddies, said Cheng Shihua, head of the China Rice Research Institute.

Rice has remained a staple food for over 60 per cent of China's population and accounts for 40 per cent of the country's total cereals consumption. The sources hoped that the exporters would take timely measures for organizing exhibitions and other promotional activities for the introduction of Pakistani rice in China. -APP