DAMMAM, 30 December 2004 — A 16-member delegation of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) is on a ten-day visit to the Kingdom with a view to bolstering rice trade.

Pakistan had a complete monopoly of the Saudi rice market two decades ago, but due to poor business practices, in just 15 years the share went down to 9 percent of the total market and now stands at 14 percent.

“REAP is a new outfit with modern technology and fair trade practices. We are already doing very well in Europe, supplying 60,000 tons out of a total market size of about 120,000 tons and hope to turn the Saudi market around,” Muhammad Anwar Mianoor, vice chairman of REAP and head of the delegation told Arab News.

Saudi Arabia with a consumption of about 700,000 tons of rice is a lucrative market which is currently dominated by India. Interestingly, a lot of the rice is bought from Pakistan by Indian traders in Dubai, who repackage it under their own brand name and re-export to Saudi Arabia.

“We are not only here to sell rice. We are here to build confidence and Pakistan’s image. Unfortunately past business practices gave the rice exporters a bad name in the industry. We are here to show the Saudi rice buyers that Pakistan has changed for the better. We have the best rice, competitive prices and most modern ISO certified technology. REAP’s membership is now compulsory for all rice exporters and their products have to go through the Quality Review Committee, (QRC) which has the best quality control check in place.”

QRC inspections are so successful that we have not had any complaint since 1999 and not a single consignment of Basmati rice has been rejected since, by any international buyer,” Mianoor said.

Talking about the Saudi market, Mianoor said that they had learned some valuable lessons during REAP’s first visit in 2001. “Pakistan did not deal in parboiled rice for which there is a big demand here. This year, we have set up 15 parboiled units. In fact, now Pakistan has set up the biggest parboiled rice unit in Asia. This has a capacity of husking 15 tons per hour and parboiling 10 tons per hour.”

REAP also learned that brand name is very important in Saudi Arabia. The over 3,000 REAP members have improved their packaging and promotion and are brand-building. SALWA rice is one product which is currently being sampled and will be aggressively marketed in 114 of Kingdom’s 42,000 outlets.