JEDDAH, 25 May — Buoyed up by a very encouraging response, Pakistani rice exporters exuded confidence yesterday that they would be able to increase their share in the Saudi market. The exporters were in Jeddah, on the last leg of their visit to the Kingdom.
The delegation members who met Saudi businessmen in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah admitted that poor marketing strategy hindered the growth of rice exports to the Kingdom.
Talking to newsmen at Marhaba Restaurant here, the leader of the six-member delegation, Mazhar Vakeel Malik, said their visit which was aimed at exploring the market for exporting rice had been successful and would go a long way in boosting the export of the commodity. He said Saudi rice importers conceded that Pakistani rice was superior in quality and competitive in price, but was not properly introduced here. The market share of Pakistani Basmati rice, one of the best in the world, dwindled when Indian exporters pushed through their products with aggressive market strategy. He was upbeat about the outcome of his visit and said the delegation members were better informed now about the requirements of the Saudi market and would try to cater to its needs.
Malik attributed the decline of rice export to the nationalization policy of the governments — from 1972 to 1988. The export of rice plummeted in the late seventies when the government took control of rice export. In 1988, the private sector was allowed to export rice and the export gradually picked up and “we started making inroads into the international market,” Malik said. “In the Kingdom, however, we had lost our major share in the market. Pakistani exporters did not pay due attention to regain the lost share in the market with the result that our competitors gained the upper hand and our exports continued to fall.”
During the past three years, the Rice Export Association of Pakistan, an organization of exporters adopted an aggressive marketing strategy and succeeded in capturing rice markets in Europe. Its exports to Europe increased from a meager 800 tons a year earlier to 75,000 tons now. He said Pakistan held 60 percent share in Gulf markets in rice exports. Malik said another factor that proved an obstacle in rice export growth to the Kingdom was the demand for parboiled rice. Pakistan mainly exported Basmati or brown rice. Parboiled rice is the processed rice that Pakistani exporters have not been dealing in generally. But, he said, Pakistani exporters had the capability to cater to the requirements of the Saudi markets. “We shall be able to export parboiled rice, because we have the capability,” he said.
