Pakistan Set for Bumper Rice Crop

The devaluation of the Pakistani rupee by 4-5 per cent since July has boosted the interest of prospective African buyers of rice, traders say. A surge of orders is expected from the second half of this month and it could not come at a more opportune time for Pakistan's rice farmers. They expect to produce up to 4.6m tonnes during the financial year to end-June 2005, up 15 per cent from last year's 4m tonnes.

Pakistan's rice traders believe they are well ahead of other prospective suppliers in the region, such as Thailand. The price of Pakistan's relatively coarse variety, known as IRRI-6, was this month quoted at $223 to $225 a tonne, which local analysts say is up to $10 less than the price offered by Thailand for similar rice.

The improved rice outlook has raised expectations of higher agricultural growth this year. Rice, where the year runs from May to November, is one of Pakistan's top four crops, along with cotton, wheat and sugar cane…