Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan is advancing efforts to expand rice exports to the Philippines and China through government-level negotiations and trade facilitation measures, according to an official document.

The document shows that a high-level meeting was held between the minister for commerce and the Philippine ambassador to Pakistan, with the import of rice from Pakistan as the main agenda item.

It said both countries are currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a government-to-government basis for the annual export of one million tons of rice over a five-year period to boost Pakistan’s rice exports to the Philippines.

Pakistan has shared a draft MoU, to which the Philippines has responded with a counterdraft, the document said, adding that both sides are aiming to finalize and sign the agreement on the sidelines of the second Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting scheduled for February 19-20.

The commerce secretary informed the ambassador during the meeting that Pakistan wants to finalize the MoU during the visit of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan team so that it can be signed and executed before the JEC meeting, enabling Pakistan to participate in tendering scheduled for February 2026.

On China, the document said the Ministry of Commerce has already engaged the Chinese side at the highest diplomatic level to explore free trade agreement options and trade facilitation measures to enhance Pakistan’s rice export potential.

The document said a detailed meeting was held with the Chinese ambassador on January 19, during which it was highlighted that despite the operationalization of both Phase I and Phase II of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), Pakistan’s exports to China have shown only moderate growth due to erosion of preferences arising from China’s trade agreements with other partner countries.

To address this issue, Pakistan submitted in December 2024 a list of priority items, including rice, for the unilateral grant of additional preferences by China, the document said.

Pending finalization of additional concessions under CPFTA, Pakistan requested interim measures, including waiver of the existing one percent import duty on Pakistani rice, grant of a special import quota similar to the 2019-2020 arrangement, and encouragement to Chinese state-owned enterprises, particularly China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation, to enter into long-term procurement arrangements with Pakistani rice suppliers to strengthen supply chains and help address the bilateral trade imbalance, it added.

Credit: INP-WealthPk