Pakistan targets $10bn rice exports with port reforms push

Pakistan has set an ambitious new goal for its rice sector, with Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry urging exporters to work toward $10 billion in rice exports and promising official support to help the industry expand. The message was delivered during his visit to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, where officials and industry leaders discussed how port reforms, better logistics and stronger coordination could lift one of the country’s most valuable export sectors.

The minister framed the target as a serious national opportunity rather than a rhetorical figure. According to the official account, he told exporters that the government wanted to move beyond routine trade management and actively help unlock growth in sectors capable of earning foreign exchange at scale. Rice already holds an important place in Pakistan’s export basket, and the government now appears to be treating the sector as a priority area where faster port handling and lower transaction costs could directly translate into higher overseas sales.

During the meeting, REAP Chairman Malik Faisal Jahangir described the current rice industry as a roughly $4 billion sector and said exporters were aiming first to reach $5 billion. He also highlighted longer-term plans to bring nearly 30 million acres under cultivation in order to strengthen production and support a much larger export base. That means the discussion was not limited to shipping alone; it linked farm output, trade infrastructure and market access into a broader strategy for export-led growth.

Chaudhry said changing regional conditions were opening space for Pakistani ports to capture more trade, and he argued that the state must respond by making facilitation the priority. He pointed to a series of measures already introduced at ports, including roll-on and roll-off services, permission for bulk cargo shipments, changes in rules governing old consignments and the waiver of demurrage on auctioned containers to reduce congestion. He also said feeder vessel services had been launched and that transit trade rules had been amended to improve cargo movement.

A major part of the government’s case rests on efficiency gains. The minister said port operations continued through Eid and handled 16 vessels during the holidays, which he described as a first for Pakistan. He also pointed to the introduction of less-than-container-load handling and the start of bunkering services at Karachi Port for large vessels in deep-sea waters. In his telling, those changes are meant to transform ports from bureaucratic chokepoints into competitive trade gateways that can attract regional business rather than lose it to faster hubs elsewhere.

Officials also presented specific economic promises. The minister said vessel turnaround time could drop from seven days to just two once the current measures are fully implemented within three months. He estimated that the improvement could generate an economic benefit of Rs30 billion to Rs40 billion for the business community. The chairman of Karachi Port Trust added that port charges had been cut by 60 per cent and demurrage fees removed, steps intended to ease cost pressures on exporters already dealing with global competition and volatile freight conditions.

The background to the announcement is important. Pakistan has long struggled with logistics bottlenecks, slow clearances and infrastructure inefficiencies that often reduce the competitiveness of exporters even when the country has production capacity and market demand. In that context, rice offers a practical test case for whether trade facilitation reforms can produce visible results. If exporters can move shipments faster, face fewer storage penalties and rely on smoother port operations, the gains would not be limited to one commodity alone but could influence broader confidence in Pakistan’s trade environment.

For Pakistan, the significance of the push goes beyond agriculture. Higher rice exports would mean stronger foreign exchange earnings, more activity for ports and transport networks, and greater pressure to modernise trade handling systems. It could also support farmers, millers, traders and shipping-related businesses across the supply chain. Yet the size of the target means execution will matter far more than announcements. Production expansion, quality control, stable policy support and credible logistics reform will all need to move together if the sector is to scale meaningfully.

The next phase will show whether the government can convert ambition into delivery. Exporters will be looking for sustained reductions in port delays, predictable regulatory treatment and practical support rather than one-off assurances. If the promised reforms take hold and cultivation expands as planned, Pakistan may be able to reposition rice as a flagship export growth story. If implementation slows, however, the $10 billion target could remain aspirational. For now, the government has made clear that it wants rice to become a far larger pillar of Pakistan’s export economy.