KARACHI: The government is asking Türkiye to raise rice import volumes from Pakistan amid growing international price pressure, signaling a shift toward volume-led exports to protect farmer incomes and sustain its agricultural value chain, according to an official statement on Wednesday.
The issue came up for discussion between Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Irfan Neziroğlu to enhance bilateral trade cooperation, with a special focus on increasing Pakistan’s rice exports.
The two officials met amid Islamabad’s efforts to manage the impact of aggressive pricing by rival exporters, with Türkiye identified as a priority market where higher volumes could offset weaker prices.
The minister told the Turkish envoy the government had developed a pricing support mechanism to ensure Pakistan’s competitiveness in international markets.
“He urged Türkiye to consider increasing import volumes from Pakistan as a special case, stressing that Pakistan’s primary objective is volume enhancement rather than price maximization, in order to safeguard farmer incomes and sustain the agricultural value chain,” said the statement released by the commerce ministry.
Khan said Pakistan had recorded a strong rice harvest this season, ensuring sufficient exportable surplus.
“However, he noted that aggressive pricing by competing exporters — especially India and Vietnam — has created challenges in global markets, exerting downward pressure on prices despite Pakistan maintaining strong export volumes,” the statement added.
The discussions also covered the use of government-to-government trade channels alongside private-sector mechanisms to facilitate bulk procurement, as well as improving the utilization of tariff-rate quotas under the Pakistan-Türkiye Preferential Trade Agreement.
The Turkish ambassador welcomed Pakistan’s proposals and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening economic ties with Pakistan, the statement said.
He noted that bilateral trade volumes remain below potential despite strong political relations, and recalled the jointly agreed target of achieving $5 billion in bilateral trade, set during the Pakistan-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting.
