BCCI SET TO COLLABORATE WITH PAK RICE EXPORTERS

Pakistan has surplus rice and there are no export restrictions by the government

Manama

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has shown keen interest in collaborating with

the rice exporters of Pakistan in the near future.

“We will promote and connect them to the traders in Bahrain,” said BCCI Board member Khalid Al

Ameen yesterday while talking to the DT News after a meeting with the 14-member delegation of Rice

Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), headed by its chairman Rafique Suleman at the Chamber’s

premises. Head of Chancery Pakistan Embassy Muhammad Ahad, BCCI Food and Agriculture Committee

member Talal Almoayyed was also present at the meeting.

Al Ameen claimed that Pakistan had the best quality material rice in the world and they would try their

level best to promote it in Bahrain. He said that they were hoping to see an increase in rice imports from

Pakistan in the coming years.

He said that they wanted to work together to establish bigger business with the Pakistani traders and

would like to see that the chart symbolizing rice imports from Pakistan was climbing rather than

declining. “We look forward to have better trade and better relations with Pakistan,” he added.

“The purpose of our visit is to find out why Pakistan was losing its share in the Bahraini market as the

graph of Pakistani rice exports had started declining,” REAP Chairman Rafique Suleman told DT News.

Suleman said that rice was not the staple food of Pakistan, which makes the market free from

government intervention, and they could export as much rice as Bahrain demands.

“Pakistan is growing 6.8 million tonne of rice yearly, out of which 2.4 million tonne is sufficient for

Pakistani people. The Remaining 4.4 million tonne is for exports and there is no intervention by the

government at all,” he added.

He thanked the Ambassador of Pakistan Muhammad Saeed Khan and HOC Muhammad Ahad for their

support as well as chief patron Rahim Janoo who asked them to go and explore the opportunities.

Before their meeting in the BCCI, they had met with the Bahraini Pakistani rice importers at the

embassy premises. The meeting was chaired by the Pakistan Ambassador. Later, they also had a meeting

with the high officials of Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

During the meeting, Assistant Undersecretary Eman A. Al-Doseri offered the delegates to conduct a

Biryani Festival in Bahraian next year.