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LAHORE: Pakistan expected to produce record 9 million tons of rice in the current fiscal year against the 8.9m tons produced in 2021-22.
Last year, Pakistan harvested a record rice crop of 8.9 million tons in the 2021-22 marketing year, up from 8.4 million tons the year before.
The US Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report for July 2022 forecasts a lower production at 8.4m tons in Pakistan.
However, local rice sector experts expect that Pakistan will harvest more than 9m tons of paddy in the forthcoming season because of weather conditions, increase in acreage and better availability of farm inputs.
The country has a carryover stock of around 1m tons but higher consumption of corn for animal feed purposes will leave more exportable surplus during FY23.
Due to these factors, global rice production will come down to 515m tons this year as against 519m tons last year leaving a gap of 4-5 million tons on the supply side, adding global average price is expected to be higher than that of the ongoing season.
The prices of rice varieties in the local market are expected be higher this year.
The agency noted that the Pakistan government’s policy of ensuring rice growers had adequate inputs also contributed to the record production.
Meanwhile, the country’s rice exports in 2020-21 (November-October) were stagnant at 3.8 million tons, virtually unchanged from the previous year, the report said. Supply chain disruptions, shipping container shortages, and high transportation costs negatively impacted rice exports.
