"We anticipate 20 percent growth if the government patronizes rice exporting sector like other export-oriented sectors. He said rice is the second biggest exporting sector after textile but it is always ignored by the government. Given the required rebate on export, we can add another $200 million per annum in the already $2 billion rice exports," Samee said while talking to a group of journalists here on Monday.
He feared that the sector could face closure if no package is announced for it in near future. He said they are working on a proposal under which exporters showing 10 percent plus growth than the previous year should be offered financial support. Under the proposed formula, the branded exports should get 7 percent, white rice 5 percent and brown rice should get 3 percent rebate, he added.
He said the government will not have to allocate extra revenue for the proposed rebate rather it would issue vouchers against the export consignments which would be adjustable against withholding tax and the banks' mark-up. The financial institutions would charge on the credit facility for the rice exports. The proposal would not cost the government more than Rs 10 billion per year but it would yield Rs 25 billion more export revenue, he claimed.
Samee Ullah Naeem also announced that the Association is going to hold its export trophy in Lahore on November 25, 2017, to honour its members who have excelled in rice export. He said Federal Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik will be the chief guest on this occasion.
Answering a question, he said that paddy prices for the current season had opened on higher end and there was no backlog of rice stock. He said we have orders in hand and hopefully this would prove good for the farmers. He also called for adopting direct subsidy mechanism to bring down the input cost of the growers. REAP's Mentor Pir Nazim Hussain Shah, Executive Committee Member Ali Hussam and Secretary General Kashif-ur-Rehman were also present on this occasion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017