Pakistan’s raw food exports rose by 1.62% to $5.75 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared to $4.66 billion in the same period last year. This increase is largely attributed to a surge in sugar and basmati rice shipments.
Despite the highest levels of food inflation in the country’s history, food exports have now grown for 20 consecutive months. Supply and demand imbalances have driven up domestic prices for essential food items such as sugar, meat, and poultry.
In June 2024, the government approved the export of 150,000 tonnes of sugar, on the condition that domestic retail prices remain stable. However, actual sugar exports significantly exceeded that limit, reaching 757,779 tonnes by March.
According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the monthly export figures were as follows: 39,158 tonnes in July, 46,990 tonnes in August, 51,452 tonnes in September, 49,643 tonnes in October, 166,283 tonnes in November, 279,273 tonnes in December, 124,793 tonnes in January, and 180 tonnes in February. However, no sugar exports were reported in March.
In FY23, the government permitted the export of 212,896 tonnes of sugar in three months.
Official figures compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that rice significantly contributed to food exports.
However, the overall rice shipments fell 5.91pc to $2.76bn in value during 9MFY25 from $2.93bn, mainly due to a decline in non-basmati rice exports.
The product-wise details show that the quantity of basmati rice shipments rose by 21.78pc to 663,980 tonnes year-on-year and its value by 8.78pc to $676.96 million.
Exports of non-basmati rice dipped 9.87pc in value to $2.08bn in 9MFY25. However, 0.14pc increase was recorded in quantity to 4.02m tonnes.
New markets like Bangladesh opened up for Pakistani rice, further underscoring the sector’s growth potential. The rice sector is a major contributor to exports, especially in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Due to sustained export growth over the past two years, the average price of basmati rice has surged to Rs400 per kg from Rs150, restricting buying from domestic consumers.
Meat exports increased by 0.99pc in 9MFY25 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The opening of new markets, participation of new companies in meat exports and approvals for additional slaughterhouses have contributed to this growth.
Source: Dunya News
