Pakistan is the world's 10th largest producer of rice. Pakistan's exports make up more than 8% of world's total rice trade.
It is an important crop in the agriculture economy of Pakistan. Rice is an important Kharif crop.
Rice is grown in fertile lands of Sindh and Punjab region where millions of farmers rely on rice cultivation as their major source of employment.
Among the most famous varieties grown in Pakistan include the Basmati, known for its flavour and quality. Pakistan is a major producer of this variety.
Basmati rice is believed to have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. The earliest extant work to mention basmati rice by name is Heer Ranjha (1766).
The roots of word basmati comes from Sanskrit words namely vas (aroma) and mayup (ingrained). While combining mayup changes it mati making it vasmati.
According to Oxford English Dictionary, the word "basmati" derives from Hindi b?smat?, literally meaning "fragrant".
Many countries use domestically grown basmati rice crops; however, basmati is geographically exclusive to certain districts of India, Nepal and Pakistan.
As of 2018–19, India accounted for 65% of the international trade in basmati rice, while Pakistan accounted for the remaining 35%.
In the year 2019, Pakistan produced 7.5 million tonnes of rice which was mainly exported to neighbouring countries, the Middle East and Africa.