Pakistan, Turkiye discuss boosting rice trade with zero tariffs

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan held a detailed meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. İrfan Neziroğlu at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to review and enhance bilateral trade cooperation, with a particular focus on increasing Pakistan’s rice exports to Turkiye, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

During the talks, the commerce minister said Pakistan has recorded an excellent rice harvest this season, ensuring both high quality and sufficient exportable surplus. However, he noted that aggressive pricing by competing exporters, particularly India and Vietnam, has created challenges in global markets and exerted downward pressure on prices despite Pakistan maintaining strong export volumes.

Jam Kamal Khan informed the Turkish side that the government, in close consultation with rice exporters and industry stakeholders, has developed a pricing support mechanism to keep Pakistan competitive internationally. Under this mechanism, Pakistan is prepared to match prevailing global prices so buyers do not face cost disadvantages when sourcing rice from Pakistan.

The minister emphasized that Pakistan is fully prepared to supply both basmati and non-basmati rice to Türkiye at internationally competitive rates. He urged Türkiye to consider increasing import volumes from Pakistan as a special case, stressing that Pakistan’s primary objective is to enhance export volumes rather than maximize prices, in order to protect farmer incomes and sustain the agricultural value chain.

To support this objective, both sides discussed activating government-to-government (G2G) trade channels alongside existing private-sector mechanisms. Under the proposed framework, Pakistan’s state trading entities would coordinate with relevant Turkish public and private-sector institutions, including state-owned grain procurement bodies, to enable bulk procurement where price competitiveness is ensured.

The commerce minister also raised key market-access issues, including tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), import licensing procedures, and the possibility of zero or reduced tariffs on basmati rice. He called for expanded and improved utilization of the existing TRQ of 18,000 metric tons under the Pakistan–Türkiye Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), noting that the quota had remained underutilized in previous cycles due to procedural constraints.

The Turkish ambassador welcomed Pakistan’s proposals and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening economic ties. He noted that bilateral trade volumes remain below potential despite strong political relations and recalled the jointly agreed target of reaching USD 5 billion in bilateral trade, set during the Pakistan–Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting.

Both sides agreed on the need to enhance engagement between business communities through trade delegations, exhibitions, and B2B interactions to improve awareness of commercial opportunities.

It was also agreed that technical delegations would meet in the coming weeks to advance discussions on rice trade, PTA expansion, and broader cooperation in agriculture, food processing, and value-added rice products, including parboiled rice.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to fast-track technical consultations, improve quota utilization, and expand Pakistan’s presence in the Turkish and regional rice markets, including opportunities for re-exports to neighboring countries.