Eight per cent decrease in the export of basmati rice has been registered due to non-competitiveness in prices in the international market. The National Assembly was informed this here on Wednesday during the Question Hour. The assembly was also informed that the exports have not been decreased due to quality issues.

Replying to a question, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Chaudhary Jaffar Iqbal informed the House that a number of dams are under construction across the country which will be completed next year. He said the under construction dams included 100 delay action dams in Balochistan, 20 small dams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, small storage dams and delay action dams in Sindh. He said these dams are at various stages of completion.

Pakistan is currently importing 74MW of electricity from Iran. He said a contract has also been signed with Iran for import of 100MW electricity for Gwadar, he said, adding the Kisan Package announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earmarked many concessions and incentives for the progress of the agriculture sector.

Replying to a question, Jaffar Iqbal said Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has registered more than 1,500 drug molecules with more than 70,000 registered products. He said the directions have already been given to the firms concerned for uninterrupted availability of life-saving and essential medicines. Parliamentary Secretary for Ports and Shipping Mian Imtiaz Ahmad said that the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation is intending to start passenger-cum-cargo ferry service within the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017