Pakistan’s rice exports set to reach 5 mil mt in FY 2023-24 on good crop output

Pakistan’s rice exports soared in the seven months to Jan. 31 owing to a good crop size and a jump in prices, with shipments expected to reach 5 million mt for the first time in history, said Chela Kewlani, chairman, Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan. “In terms of value, rice exports in seven months of the fiscal year have already reached what the country achieved in the last financial year,” Kewlani said in a telephonic conversation Feb. 18. Basmati rice exports during July to January rose 24% to 398,764 mt compared with 320,751 mt year on year, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Non-basmati exports rose to 2.924 million mt in the seven months ended Jan. 31, as compared with 1.661 million mt in prior-year period, a rise of 76%, the data showed. The country’s fiscal year runs from July to June. Global rice prices are up because of an export ban imposed by the Indian government in a bid to curb inflation, with the country’s market share previously around ...