Daily Times

KARACHI: Steps taken by the current government to increase the country’s exports have begun to show results. Russia has increased the quantity of rice imported from Pakistan.

The Russian Ministry of Commerce, in collaboration with the Plant Production Department, will monitor more rice mills via a video link.

Pakistani exporters are allowed to export 150,000 tons of rice to Russia. Whereas, exports of fruits, including mangoes and oranges, have also increased.

Previously, Pakistan had about 34 rice export outlets in the Russian market. But now the number has increased to 53. Plant Production Director Sohail Shahzad added that several countries including Russia, China, Japan and Australia have lifted the import ban from Pakistan. They are also issuing online confirmation certificates to Pakistani exporters.

Sohail Shahzad said that by visiting the factories online through the Plant Production Department, several countries are releasing orders for rice and fruits.

It should be noted that Russia had banned the import of Pakistani rice in 2018. The efforts by the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of National Food Security helped in lifting the ban. And also through the efforts of trade wing of the Pakistani embassy in Moscow.

The trade attaché in Moscow had also persuaded the Federal Service for Veterinary & Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS), a federal executive body in Russia, to conduct a virtual inspection of other rice-exporting companies in Pakistan so that they may also export rice to Russia.