Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has appreciated Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production and Investment, Abdul Razzak Dawood for his efforts towards lifting ban on rice imports from Pakistan by Qatar State Company. In a letter to the Advisor, Chairman REAP Safdar Hussain Mekhri said that rice exporters are indebted to Dawood and the Commerce Division's team for their focus and commitment towards rice export sector.

During the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 21-22, the Qatari government agreed to include Pakistan origin rice in the tender documents of the Central Trading Committee which falls directly under the purview of Qatar's Ministry of Economy and Commerce. As a viable solution, a third-party inspection for supply of rice through CTC tenders will be offered to take strict action against those found involved in supplying substandard rice and ensure that quality rice are being exported to Qatar in future.

The lifting of ban is expected to provide additional $ 40-50 million rice exports to Qatar if quality is maintained. Qatar annually imports 200,000 tonnes of rice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019