ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: Pakistan will lose 400,000 tons of rice market in the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the proposed move to make DNA testing mandatory for clearance of rice shipments at Dubai ports.

Well-placed sources told Dawn on Monday that some UAE based millers were lobbying for promoting the UK branded DNA test to recapture their eroding market share of basmati in the Middle East following growth in export of basmati from Pakistan.

The DNA testing of UK is a type of non-tariff barrier (NTB). It was developed by UK scientists to tighten imports as per their local labelling requirements, the sources said and added that the Pakistani officials were again seemed ignorant as was in the case of Indian Pusa rice registered as basmati in the EU.

A leading rice exporter on condition of anonymity told Dawn that he had warned of this possibility and development long time back but the powers within Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) did not then pay heed to the warning and instead took a short-term political view on it. “Now unfortunately, it is possible that within a short time, the UAE could start demanding shipments that are DNA tested based on the controversial UK DNA testing system,” he added.

Pakistan unfortunately, despite the trade’s opposition, earlier adopted the DNA testing ‘as an interim measure’ for export of basmati to the EU. Adoption of this controversial test even as ‘interim measure’ gives it the stamp of Pakistan’s official approval, he said.

“If this happens our exporters will face serious impediments to their exports initially to Dubai and then to the entire Middle East, including Iran,” the exporter warned.

The exporter said that the government should not accept the UK DNA testing protocol for basmati as it was mostly based on samples of admixture unofficially and casually obtained by the UK authorities while putting together this testing protocol.

The UK test did not include all approved basmati varieties of Pakistan and it did include informal varieties that may or may not be in existence or from Pakistan. “We must emphasise that an indigenous Pakistan DNA testing protocol must be developed urgently,” he added.

“Our indigenous test must be based on all approved basmati varieties growing anywhere in Pakistan and with known approved non-basmati varieties as adulterants/admixtures”, the exporter added.