He said rice is the staple diet of people of Mauritius. Mauritius is a peaceful country and open economy for the all countries and we believe in the rule of law as a business can only grow with the proper implementation of law. "We are facilitating, guiding and helping the business community to work in Mauritius", he said. He expressed his full support for the upcoming REAP delegation to Mauritius. Rafique Suleman while giving his welcome address said that Pakistan has the best quality Basmati and non-Basmati rice of the world. Pakistani rice is very much liked by the people of rice buying countries. State Trading Corporation (STC), an estate owned body annually issue tender for 6000 metric tons of Basmati rice. He said that this quantity must be increased. "We have the capacity to cater more quantity of Pakistani rice", he said.
He also highlighted about the growth of rice export trade in this fiscal year and informed that this fiscal year 29 percent growth was observed. He was hopeful to achieve the target of $2.0 billion. He appreciated the work done by ex Chairman REAP Abdul Rahim Janoo for the enhancement of rice export trade. He also informed that working is in final stage on the new seeds of Pakistani basmati rice, ie GSR-1 & GSR-2, which are sustainable in very less amount of water and give more yield. Sohail Yasin Suleman, Honorary Consult General of Mauritius also attended the reception. Irfan Shaikh, Ex Chairman REAP, Chela Ram, Haji Abdul Rauf Chappal, Abdul Qayyum Paracha, Anis Majeed, Ashfaq Ghafar, Fuad Garib and other leading rice exporters were present on this occasion.-PR