Islamabad, Jan. 21 (TNS): Two Pakistani firms have secured an order to export 65,000 tons of white rice (non-Basmati) to Indonesia, said the Ministry of Commerce. This would be the first time Pakistan would be exporting white rice to Indonesia.
The two countries have recently agreed to revise their preferential trade agreement (PTA) to make it mutually beneficial and address the imbalance in bilateral trade. Pakistan-Indonesia’s bilateral trade volume increased from $1.23 billion in 2011-12 to $2.44 billion in financial year 2016-17.
However, ever since the PTA with Indonesia became operational in 2013, Pakistan’s exports have been on a negative trajectory, coming down from $196 million in 2012-13 to $138 million in 2016-17.
