Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain in the main rice-growing areas of Sindh province in Pakistan has ruined nearly 20 per cent of the standing rice crop.

According to sources, the damage due to floods caused by heavy rains is also expected to hamper rice production by nearly 100,000 tonnes this year and the estimate might swell.

Irri-6 rice variety, mostly sown in the current flood hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan are exported to Iran and some African nations as well.

Pakistan’s rice export in 2006-07 was $1.3 billion while it exported about 3.6 million tonnes of rice in 2005-06 worth $1.1 billion.