Rice: An important staple food in Pakistan

Rice is an important staple food in Pakistan and is considered a crucial part of the country's agriculture and food industry and is widely cultivated in the country. Rice is grown in various regions of Pakistan, such as the Indus Delta, the Punjab, and the Sindh provinces. It is an important source of food for the majority of the population and is also a significant export crop for the country.

The government of Pakistan has implemented various programs to promote the growth and export of rice, including the development of high-yielding varieties, improved irrigation systems, and the establishment of rice research centers.

Despite these efforts, the rice industry in Pakistan faces various challenges, such as inconsistent quality, low productivity, and limited access to modern technology. However, the country continues to play a significant role in the global rice trade and remains a major producer of the crop.

Here are some reasons why rice is important in Pakistan:

Diet: Rice is a staple food for many Pakistanis and is a crucial component of the country's diet. It is consumed by people of all ages and is widely used in a variety of dishes, such as biryani, pulao, and kheer.

Agriculture: Rice is one of the most important crops grown in Pakistan and is an important source of income for farmers. Rice is grown in many areas of the country, particularly in the Indus River delta, and is a major contributor to the country's agricultural sector.

Exports: Pakistan is one of the largest exporters of rice in the world, and the export of rice is an important source of foreign exchange for the country. Rice is exported to many countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, and is an important part of Pakistan's export economy.

Food security: Rice is a key food staple in Pakistan and plays a critical role in ensuring food security for the country's growing population. By growing and consuming rice, Pakistan is able to ensure a stable and reliable source of food for its people.

Overall, rice is an important food crop in Pakistan, and it plays a crucial role in the country's diet, agriculture, exports, and food security.

Nutritious benefits of rice

Rice is a staple food for many people around the world, and it is a nutritious food that provides several important health benefits when consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet. Here are some of the nutritional benefits of rice:

Heart health: Some types of rice, such as brown rice, are high in fiber, which can help to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Weight management: Rice is low in fat and calories, making it a good food for weight management. It is also a filling food, which can help to reduce overall calorie intake.

Digestive health: Rice is easy to digest and can help to regulate the digestive system, particularly when consumed as a porridge.

Source of vitamins and minerals: Rice is a good source of essential vitamins and minerals, including thiamin, niacin, and iron.

Energy: Rice is a good source of carbohydrates, which are the body's primary source of energy. It provides the body with the energy it needs to perform physical activities and helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Fiber: Rice contains a small amount of fiber, which is important for maintaining good digestive health and preventing constipation.

Vitamins and minerals: Rice is a good source of several essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B3 (niacin), and iron.

Low in fat and calories: Rice is a lowfat and low-calorie food, which makes it a healthy option for people who are trying to maintain a healthy weight.

Gluten-free: Rice is naturally glutenfree, making it a suitable food for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Versatile: Rice is a versatile food that can be used in a variety of dishes, making it a convenient and easy-to-prepare food option.

Overall, rice is a nutritious food that provides the body with energy, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and is low in fat and calories. It is a versatile food that can be used in a variety of dishes and is a healthy option for people of all ages. It is important to note that consuming too much rice can lead to weight gain and other health problems, so it should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet. Additionally, consuming brown rice instead of white rice can provide additional health benefits, as brown rice is a whole grain that retains the bran and germ, which are rich in fiber and nutrients.

Worldwide rice production

Rice is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed staple foods in the world, and the production of rice is a major part of the global agricultural sector. Here are some key points about worldwide rice production:

Major producing countries: Some of the largest rice-producing countries in the world include China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Thailand. These countries account for the majority of the world's rice production.

Importance of rice production: Rice production is an important part of many countries' agricultural sectors, providing food for their populations and supporting the livelihoods of millions of farmers. Rice production also contributes to national economies through exports, job creation, and rural development.

Technological advances: In recent years, advances in rice cultivation technologies have helped to improve the efficiency and productivity of rice production. These advances include the use of high-yielding rice varieties, improved irrigation systems, and better farm management practices.

Climate impact: Rice production is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, changes in precipitation patterns, and rising temperatures. Efforts are underway to develop rice varieties that are more resilient to climate change and to adopt farming practices that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Challenges: Despite its importance, rice production faces many challenges, including declining soil fertility, water scarcity, and the spread of pests and diseases. In addition, many rice-growing regions are facing population pressures and urbanization, which can lead to the conversion of farmland to other uses.

Overall, rice production is a critical part of the global agricultural sector, providing food and support for millions of people around the world. Efforts are underway to improve the efficiency and sustainability of rice production, while addressing the challenges and impacts of climate change.

Rice exports around the world

Rice is one of the most widely consumed staple foods in the world, and it is also a significant global commodity, with rice exports playing an important role in many countries' economies. Here are some key points about rice exports worldwide:

Major exporters: Some of the major rice-exporting countries in the world include Thailand, Vietnam, India, the United States, Pakistan, and Brazil. These countries collectively account for the majority of the world's rice exports.

Importance of exports: Rice exports are an important source of foreign exchange for many countries, particularly those in Asia and South America. The export of rice provides income for farmers and can help to spur economic development in rural areas.

Global demand: Rice is in high demand around the world, with many countries importing large quantities of rice to meet the needs of their growing populations. The increasing demand for rice in developing countries, particularly in

Asia, has led to an increase in global rice exports.

Competition: Rice exports are a competitive market, with countries competing for market share and trying to maintain their position as major exporters. In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards rice exports being made in the form of value-added products, such as ready-to-eat rice dishes and flavored rice.

Overall, rice exports are a significant and growing part of the global economy, with many countries relying on rice exports as an important source of income and foreign exchange. The increasing demand for rice around the world is expected to continue to drive the growth of the rice export market in the coming years.

Since 2010, the global rice export market was dominated by a few countries, with the top exporters being Thailand, Vietnam, India, and the United States. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, these four countries accounted for more than 60% of the total global rice exports in the year 2010.

In particular, Thailand was the largest rice exporter in 2010, with exports of around 10 million metric tons, followed by Vietnam with exports of over 6 million metric tons. India exported approximately 5 million metric tons of rice, while the United States exported slightly less than 2 million metric tons. It's worth noting that these figures are subject to fluctuations from year to year, based on factors such as weather conditions, government policies, and global demand.

Rice exports since 2020

The rice export market in 2020 was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted supply chains and led to changes in global demand. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, global rice exports in 2020 decreased by about 4% compared to the previous year.

However, some countries were able to maintain or even increase their exports despite the pandemic. Vietnam, for example, became the largest rice exporter in 2020, with exports of over 7 million metric tons, followed by Thailand with exports of around 6 million metric tons. India's rice exports also increased in 2020, to over 7 million metric tons, while the United States' exports decreased slightly to about 1.5 million metric tons.

It's important to note that the exact figures for 2020 are still being compiled and may be subject to revision. The impact of the pandemic on the global rice trade is ongoing, and the situation continues to evolve.

Ingredients And Flavors For Food And Beverages

Tell us about the vision and the core strengths of ADM that give it a unique competitive advantage?

ADM has been on a journey since 2014 after we acquired Wild Flavors. This development allowed us to diversify our portfolio away from the traditional business of grain trading and commodities into something that added more value to our customers in the nutrition space. We’ve continued to build on this over the last decades and expanded our business across all categories that affect human nutrition.

In recent years, we’ve focused and invested in three main areas: alternative proteins, citrus and the microbiome. Most recently, we acquired SojaProtein and opened an extrusion facility in Serbia, which provides non-GMO soy ingredients and offers an alternative protein source for consumers embracing a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian lifestyle.

We’ve also expanded our capabilities in the citrus space with a major acquisition of Florida Chemical Company and the Ziegler Group, which provide natural citrus flavor ingredients and oils.

Specifically, at Gulfood Manufacturing, our senior flavorist has created a halalspecific section to demonstrate our citrus capabilities in various food and beverage concepts that are trending in the region and globally. We are now a major global leader in the citrus flavors space and are excited to show how we can continue to bring value to this space in the future across all categories and in different regions.

We’ve also invested in the microbiome and gut health category with the acquisition of two companies that provide biotic solutions: Biopolis and Deerland Probiotics and Enzymes. Both companies enhance the solutions we can offer that help support the gut microbiome at a time when consumers ae increasingly starting to understand the connection between the microbiome, gut health and how that affects overall and wider aspect of well-being.

As we start to come out of the global pandemic, we recognize that consumer needs and goals are evolving. We are continually learning what drives consumers and what they need. This helps us to develop new solutions and capabilities to support brands in bringing offerings to market that meet the ever-changing needs of consumers.

For instance, we are excited to showcase our new solutions to returning and new customers alike and to demonstrate how ADM can bring value to their business with these capabilities. To do this, we are developing solutions that cater to the region itself. What this means is that we have offerings that are halal-compliant that meet local regulations and are developed locally. As a global company, we are in a unique position to tailor our approach to regional tastes and preferences and adapting what we have to meet consumer need states. You can develop and market a product that may work in Saudi Arabia but may not work as well in Jordan or Kuwait. However, having access to local facilities enables us to quickly adapt and address formulation or product challenges to make sure they fit local consumer tastes, demands and goals.

What key markets are covered by ADM?

What range of solutions does ADM offer to the industry?

ADM is a global company in human and animal nutrition and has offices in North America, LATAM, APAC and EMEA. Within our regional offices, such as those in Dubai and across the Middle East, we are able to bring our market knowledge directly to the customer and have greater customer intimacy to discuss what their goals and needs are as the market evolves. I’m a believer that as a company, we can only have real influence and understanding of our customers if we are based in the region itself. I support ADM’s efforts throughout the Middle East, from Yemen to Lebanon, as well as Iraq and Pakistan.

Tell us about your customers from Pakistan?

I’ve met many customers from Pakistan, and they all show an appetite for exploration and innovative product development. For instance, one concept we are sharing is our vegan protein shake for health-conscious and active consumers. The protein shake demonstrates many of our capabilities in a convenient, drinkable format and includes ingredients from our protein and alternative protein portfolio, sweetening solutions, as well as incorporates our vanilla capabilities and solutions that help support the gut microbiome, such as our soluble dietary fiber, Fibersol®. When combined, it creates a protein-packed, high-fiber and low-sugar beverage option.

What we try to do when we show solutions to customers is that we have different ingredients and a vast portfolio of ingredients, as well as a deep knowledge to formulate products as a solution.

Nowadays, the world needs all the new concepts and ideas. What new technological developments does ADM offer to customers?

Individualization is important to our customers. Our vast portfolio of ingredients coupled with our years of market knowledge and expertise ensures that we can tailor solutions to fit the exact needs of our customers. We know that customers like the ability to customize the solutions they incorporate into their products. We are constantly asking how we can build that kind of value chain and are investing in new and innovative research, companies and product development to bring this value to market.

It is a huge responsibility to provide quality ingredients that meet different needs. How is ADM successful in addressing this?

Our business and company is successful because we do not compromise on the quality of the ingredients we source and provide to our customers. We are conscious of consumers’ health goals and our customers’ needs and are aware of our responsibility to provide them with ingredient solutions that provide exceptional taste, texture and functionality.

In addition to the protein shake, how else do you provide ingredient diversification and add value for your customers?

For the first time at Gulfood Manufacturing, we’ve brought in an ADM chef to help us showcase all of ADM’s capabilities and ingredient portfolios. For example, he’s developed protein snack bites that contains ingredients from every portfolio we have to offer. We’ve thrown everything into one product to demonstrate not only our broad portfolio of ingredients, but also our taste capabilities, colors, flavors and more in one bitesized snack.

This concept includes pea, wheat and soy proteins from our protein and alternative protein portfolio, as well as black bean grits and a vegan caramel preparation. For flavor, we’ve included coffee from our flavor portfolio, and included masking flavors and flavor modifiers used to enhance the profile while also masking unwanted notes. Additionally, you’ll find natural sweeteners from our FruitUp® portfolio and microbiome supporting solutions such as our dietary fiber Fibersol® and our heat-treated BPL1™ (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT8145).

1SKIN™, a new packaging innovation, is the lightest plastic bottle. Sidel, the complete line solutions provider, has recently accomplished the installation of its Super Combi high-speed, flexible and digitally empowered packaging line at the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC). NBC is part of Coca-Cola Hellenic.

Tell us about the vision and the core strengths of Sidel towards sustainability that give it a unique competitive advantage?

Right now, sustainability is at the top of our agenda, and customers are also putting it high on their priorities. You also know the goals that are set by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other similar brands. We strive to achieve these goals, developing purposes regarding energy footprints and focusing on different sustainability issues. Side by side, we also deliver solutions that aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, so we set internal targets on this too. In terms of innovations linked to sustainability, we developed a design with a tethered cap attached to the bottle.

It is very beneficial for us, because when the drink is open, the cap does not detach. What usually happens is that, when you open the bottle, you drink from the bottle and throw away the cap.

This means that the bottle can be recycled but not the cap, as the cap is thrown in the garbage or the sea, which fish and other small animals can swallow. The result is that an EU regulation has been introduced to ensure that a cap does not detach after using a bottle, and we are delivering those solutions in the market. We are doing this with our partners and our equipment. In addition, we’re also working on recycled PET (rPET) bottles and have machinery that can work effectively on these issues and process the bottle as per the customer’s requirements. Some norms related to recycling see 50% recycled, others recycle 75% and some recycle a total of 100%. We have machines that can recycle according to any regulations. We are also working on a separate agenda regarding food waste.

The aseptic technology with this mechanism is through which we convert perishable fruits into juices or sauces without preservatives, into aseptic containers with longer shelf life with ambient circulations, so you don’t need to put it in the refrigerator if it is at ambient temperature. We are also doing TCO on our machines, making ourselves more sustainable by reducing energy in our production process. We’re working on all aspects of sustainability, such as reducing reuse and recycling. We’re also improving the shelf life of a product by trapping the Co2. You can see, as soon as you open a bottle, that the shelf life is reduced once the carbon dioxide is released.

There is also the difference between the shelf life of a glass bottle and a plastic bottle, because glass is not porous, and plastic is. We have the technology to improve the shelf life of plastic bottles. Plastic is made up of carbon and hydrogen, so we use carbon to coat this bottle inside. Today, you make the borders of PET bottles with thick plastic to create a better shelf life, so this is another essential aspect for us to reduce PET consumed because, for better shelf life, you need to think of the walls being plastic. Another sustainability dimension is that you need to heat the bottle less for PET. A 750ml bottle heater can reduce the weight to around 7.5 grams a bottle. That’s a great thing because every gram of a bottle will save the use of plastics in millions of bottles.

What areas of activity are covered, and what range of solutions does Sidel offer the industry?

If you look at sustainability directly, people have different interpretations of, and in Europe they are looking at it in terms of the environment. If you are looking at developing nations, your cost competitiveness is significant, so developing economies interpret sustainability in terms of cost-effectiveness. I gave the example of reducing 7 grams of plastic from 27 grams a bottle, which means we are reducing hundreds of tons of plastic and saving thousands of euros in the process. Therefore, developing economies are viewing sustainability in terms of cost savings. Similarly, in this process, the energy bill will reduce by 20%, which can create an interest in working with us.

Sustainability also has some economic sense. It means we can make sustainability commercially viable. If it’s not commercially viable, its not the business for anybody.

We all know that business is business, and they all want to save money. Sustainability is saving money for the future. For example, the most expensive utility in the PET packaging line is highpressure compressed air, used to blow the bottle. We can reduce 22 bar pressure to 18 bar pressure, which is a massive achievement because it also provides another level of sustainability, as it consumes less energy and pressure. In return, the financial savings are huge.

Are you interested in having such a relevant story for our readers, primarily focusing on the Pakistani perspective? And how do you see the Pakistani market?

We’re very excited about the Pakistani market and see massive potential. There are some challenges in the market, and we are very focused on them. We also took some measures and aligned some set-ups to overcome those challenges. We want to bring all these innovations with sustainability or cost savings. It’s a vast market and always receptive and focuses on sustainability goals since they are linked with CocaCola and Pepsi Cola. These are global companies, international companies, when it comes to sustainability. It also makes economic sense.

We are building our resources in the region, and we are being the resources inside Pakistan to facilitate our customers. We are already in a very advanced stage, and many things will be done in future by us. We’re very excited to work in Pakistan.

How long have you been associated with Sidel, and where are you based?

Almost 26 years, so it’s been a long time. I started as a field engineer, fixing PLCs, and have been on a journey from RSM to VP. I have lived in Dubai for almost ten years.

How is Sidel serving the Pakistani market?

In Dubai, we have a number of Pakistani colleagues working with us, including our account manager and service account manager.

We are working with our partners in Pakistan to enhance our local resources. We learnt during COVID that it takes much work to transport people from one place to another when borders are shut down. Although we have augmented reality options such as video conferencing and other techniques, there is still a great significance to having a physical presence.