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LONDON (UK): Pakistan has got back the European Commission's (EC) abatement on Pakistan Super Basmati rice as before till March this year following acceptance of the review petition filed by Pakistan High Commission London to the EC.

Pakistan High Commission here under the instructions of the High Commissioner Dr Maleeha Lodhi took up the issue with European Commission (EC) by submitting a review petition on the unilateral decision by EC to withdraw its abatement on Pak Super Basmati.

It was after an effective pleading of the country's case that the EC decided to rescind its earlier decision to withdraw the abatement, official sources said here on Friday.

The European Commission, it must be recalled had unilaterally withdrawn the abatement given to Pakistani Super Basmati on Dec. 23 and said it would levy 264 Euro per ton on the rice being exported from Pakistan to the European countries.

It has raised some questions on the quality and price of the rice. About eight per cent of this brand of Basmati is exported from Pakistan to EU countries.

The review petition was filed on Jan 13 and the European Commission in Brussels was convinced during a meeting that its objections were misplaced hence the abatement on Super Basmati rice was restored.

EU defers duty abatement on super basmati

The European Union (EU) has temporarily deferred its decision to withdraw duty abatement of 250 euros per ton on Pakistan brown super basmati till June 30, 2004 with the condition that sales contracts must have been concluded before December 31, 2003.

Vice Chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Sheikh Arshad Mahmud told APP that Pakistani super basmati brown rice will get the full duty abatement (250 euros per metric ton) from this temporary concession. He said credit goes to chairman REAP Barrister Syed Najaf Husain Shah who was able to convince EU authorities to restore abatement on Pakistani rice.

He said that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has intimated to REAP that Cereals Management Committee of EU in its meeting held on January 22, 2004 has made a temporary amendment to the Regulation 2294/03 of December 2003.

The amendment has provided that variety of super basmati from Pakistan to benefit from full euro 250 per tons duty abatement from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2004, provided that sales contracts were signed prior to December 31, 2003 and "certificate of authority" are issued by the authorities in Pakistan by June 30, 2004.

Sheikh Arshad said that this decision will allow Pakistani exporters to ship 93,000 tonnes of super basmati brown rice to EU. He said that another milestone has been achieved by the rice industry as EU has included Pakistani basmati rice in the true line basmati family.

Earlier, EU was insisting that Pakistan basmati should have two parents instead of single parent. Sheikh Arshad said that REAP has successfully convinced EU that all basmati varieties have single parent. To a question, he said that REAP has issued a show cause notice to a former member managing committee of REAP last month for not responding to EU's letter on abatement issue last year. He pointed out that this former official had not responded to the show cause yet.