RICE EXPORTERS HOLD BIG CORPORATIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOWERING SUPPLY CHAIN STANDARDS

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has received serious complaints from SME rice exporters of lower standard supplies from the rice millers and hold the big corporations responsible for relaxing buying standards at their purchase points and spoiling the supply chain.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the big corporations are behaving like the abandoned Rice Export Corporation of Pakistan (RECP) and are purchasing paddy and rice without adhering to strict buying requirements and encouraging the farmers and millers to add contrast varieties deliberately on the pretext of farm mixtures.
He said besides their own easy buying methods even their procurement staff accepts gratification to relax the standards.

He lamented that the big corporations are doing business with either public money or borrowed funds from donors and not very particular to buy their money’s worth unlike the SMEs who check the goods at every stage.
On the other hand the SME rice exporters are very particular to ensure that they get the standard rice grains as they feel the pinch for every lost penny but because of the liberal and relaxed buying pattern of the big corporations the habit of the millers and farmers is getting spoilt and they are not bothered about supplying to the SMEs as they have ready buyers for their below standard rice.
As a result the immediate sufferers are the SME rice exporters and of course in the long run it will be damaging for all the rice merchants big or small as the overseas buyers will change their suppliers.

UNISAME has urged the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) to call an urgent meeting to impress upon the big corporations to restrict their buying from sources which respect the specifications and standards and also urge the big corporations to keep an eye on their procurement staff to ensure that they do not approve and accept the supplies which are not complying to the required standard.

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