Pakistan Expecting Bumper Crop This Year

The Pakistani government is expecting a higher rice output of about 6.3 million MT for the current year 2008-09, up from 5.561 million MT produced last year.

The domestic consumption of rice in Pakistan is about 2.2 million MT and if the target of 6.3 million MT were to be achieved, the country would be able to export 4.1 million MT of the staple food.

However bumper rice production might badly affect the farmers, hence in order to safeguard them, the government has directed the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supplies Corporation (PASSCO) for the procurement of paddy if prices of the commodity fall in the domestic market.