The offer may be described as a bold approach by the Indian manufacturers to promote prospects of joint ventures in specialised manufacturing facilities beginning with the manufacture of rice parboiling plants.
It may be noted here that despite a significant level of growth in engineering industry, the country lacks in the capability to manufacture rice parboiling plants, the usefulness of which is recognised by the rice exporters.
The demand for parboiled rice in the international market has been rapidly rising. Additionally, the parboiling process adds to the value of exportable rice by 15 to 20 percent, and yet the rice milling sector in the country did not so far think of installing parboiling facilities although Pakistan is one of the leading exporters of rice.
The exporters have acknowledged that the rice parboiling plant manufactured in India is considerably cheaper than the similar plants available from other countries. It is undoubtedly a welcome development that the Indian manufacturers have themselves approached rice dealers and exporters in Pakistan with an offer to manufacture 50 percent of parts and components of the plants in Pakistan.
The offer deserves a quick response from our rice exporters. In the long run, the collaboration in this field between Pakistani and Indian investors may ultimately lead to complete manufacture of the plant locally.
As many as fifteen plants built in India are reported to be already in operation in Punjab while one plant is located in Larkana, Sindh.
Since Pakistan is one of the leading exporters of rice, more parboiling plants would have to be established in Punjab and Sindh so that Pakistan's exporters could be able to compete successfully in the export market where parboiled rice fetches 15 to 20 percent higher prices.
Other important rice-based plants manufactured in India include a steaming plant which quickens the process of maturity in Basmati rice for the purpose of export, as against which the manual process takes six months.
With steaming plants the Basmati rice can be converted into ready cash flows by the farmers without having to wait for six months for its maturity.
At the same time, the steaming process adds to the value of the rice to the extent of 30 percent in the export market.
Yet another innovation in the rice related plants manufactured in India, is the extraction of oil which is said to be attracting a rising demand in Japan as compared to soyabean and sunflower oils.
Rice definitely offers a good potential for edible oil extraction in Pakistan as production of the commodity can be increased substantially if new avenues for by-products are explored locally on a commercial scale by rice dealers.
It may be pointed out here that the Irri rice usually comes under pressure from excess supplies in peak season in particular and consequently the farmers face declines in prices.
In case, oil extraction is successfully developed as an export industry, price stability may be achieved in respect of Irri rice.
This aspect needs to be examined closely by prospective Pakistani investors in co-operation with the plant manufacturers in India.
In the ultimate analysis, a sustained pace of co-operation between the business and industry of the two countries may open up ways for closer collaboration in several other fields.
One of the avenues is the possibility of urea fertiliser export to India after expansion of capacity in our existing plants, which will be a feasible step in view of the fact that gas production, the raw material for urea, has increased by 50 percent during the last two years, and further increase is also expected as a result of the ongoing process of drilling at various places in the country.