New Delhi, March 20 Pakistan’s rice exports declined by over 35 per cent in February despite government subsidies, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the support measures, according to a report.
According to the report in Dawn, exporters said the subsidy programme had pushed up domestic prices, making Pakistani rice less competitive in global markets and undermining the intended benefits.
However, official data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that basmati rice exports fell 19.21 per cent in value and 27.98 per cent in quantity in February.
In addition, coarse rice exports also declined sharply, dropping 42.50 per cent in value and 32.94 per cent in volume during the same period.
The Pakistani government had announced a 3 per cent duty drawback on local taxes and levies for coarse rice and 9 per cent for basmati exports, with an allocation of around Rs 15 billion to support exporters.
Exporters said the decline was driven by higher domestic prices and hoarding, which weakened Pakistan’s competitiveness in international markets. They also noted that the sector has remained largely focused on commodity trading, with limited progress in developing value-added products.
"Our rice exporters have remained largely commodity traders over the past four decades, focusing primarily on meeting export refinance facility performance (ERF) targets rather than developing into efficient exporters like their counterparts in the region," an exporter was quoted as saying.
Industry participants further said that rebates offered under the duty drawback scheme are insufficient to offset structural challenges at the farm level.
They emphasised that sustainable export growth depends on improving agricultural productivity, lowering input costs and enhancing supply chain efficiency.
According to exporters, measures such as better seed quality, efficient irrigation and reduced fertiliser and energy costs are critical to boosting competitiveness. Without such reforms, subsidies at the export stage are likely to have only a limited impact.
They also called for a policy shift to redirect incentives towards value-added rice products and byproducts to strengthen export performance over the long term.
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