The head of a Pakistani rice-producers delegation has said that “unethical practices” damage his country's produce exported to the Kingdom, saying that some companies surreptitiously market inferior types of non-Pakistani rice to the Gulf and Saudi Arabia. Malik Jehangir, speaking to Okaz at meetings held on Wednesday between Pakistani companies and Saudi businessmen at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce, said that last year's meeting resulted in raising Pakistan's rice quota to the Kingdom, and that new factories producing the “Sela” type of rice in high demand in the Kingdom have been opened. Jehangir invited Saudi businessmen to visit Pakistan and see the new technology at work in the factories first hand. The deputy head of the delegation, Abdulrahman Janu, said that Pakistan's current output capacity stands at 6.5 million tons per year, but that the figure would rise to 8 million tons of rice within two years. “We export 3.5 million tons a year to 102 countries,” Janu said. Rice prices are expected to rise by 15 to 20 percent over the coming year due to the poor global harvest, he added. Pakistan is the world's third largest rice producer after Thailand and Vietnam. India occupies the fifth spot.
