LAHORE, May 21: The Punjab government will destroy crop of 386 variety of rice for checking its mixing with Super Basmati at the export stage.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Khurshid Zaman Qureshi stated this at a meeting with the representatives of the Rice Exporters’ Association of Pakistan.

The minister assured them that India would not be allowed to capture the world rice market by exporting blended rice.

The low quality 386 variety of rice is mixed with expensive Super Basmati by some miscreants and exported. It has brought bad name to the country in addition to the loss of credibility.

The agriculture secretary said top priority of the Rice Research Institute was to produce high-yielding Basmati variety.

Earlier, the representative of REAP demanded the department to check mixing of both varieties so that export quality of the crop could be maintained. —Staff Reporter