The agricultural sector exported a large volume of raw food during the first half of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 25. According to reports, food exports surged to $3.96 billion from July to December 2024-25, representing a 13.83 percent growth from the same period last year.
Despite prices of raw food rising significantly, food export volumes have grown consistently over the past 17 months, with rice exports being the main driver of agriculture-based export revenue.
However, local consumers are suffering as they have to pay higher prices amid the existing gaps between the level of supply and demand. Recent trade agreements with Bangladesh have raised the level of demand for agricultural produce in Pakistan, causing prices to rise.
Reports have revealed that rice exports grew by 14.5 percent on a year-on-year basis to settle at a respectable $1.87 billion. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics revealed that higher rice shipments boosted food exports as farmers exported a staggering 416,491 tons of basmati rice alone during the first half of FY 25.
This represented a growth of 30.62 percent in the export volume of the commodity. Basmati rice also brought in a staggering $433 million, which translates into an 18 percent growth in export value.
Similarly, non-basmati rice displayed positive growth in terms of export value and quantity. As per reports, the export quantity of non-basmati rice grew by 17.35 percent to settle at 2.643 million tons. Rice export values over the corresponding period rose by approximately 14 percent, causing export revenues from the commodity to surge past $1.4 billion.
Pakistani exporters’ largest clients are markets in the European Union and the United Kingdom. However, with Commerce Minister Jam Kemal Khan working tirelessly to boost export revenues, new avenues for bilateral trade have opened up, resulting in Pakistani rice being sold in Bangladeshi markets as well.
While this spells great news for Islamabad, as export revenues stabilise the exchange rate, consumers are likely to suffer. As per reports, prolonged export growth has caused the average price of basmati rice to rise from just 150 rupees per kg to an astronomical 400 rupees per kg.
Experts are predicting that the gap in Pakistan’s trade deficit is expected to improve as rice is not the only commodity that has experienced a rise in export volumes. During the first half of FY 25, the volume of sugar exports rose from just 33,101 tons to a whopping 632,804 tons, representing a colossal 1,811 percent increase in sugar exports.