Exporters risk losing traditional
rice markets
Salman Siddique
Saturday, November 22, 2014
From Print Edition
KARACHI: Rice exporters on Friday warned Pakistan could lose its
traditional rice markets if the government buys the commodity from farmers to
guarantee them high prices.
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has also asked
the government to avoid buying rice from farmers, as it may destabilise the
private sector.The association, however, said the government should provide
direct subsidy to farmers in order to support them.“The government’s
involvement in such business activity (procurement) will be harmful to the
private sector, which has invested billions of rupees to build an
infrastructure and human resources,” Rafique Suleman, chairman of REAP, said in
a statement.“In case of the government’s involvement in rice business, we will
lose huge foreign exchange, as well as the credibility, which the rice
exporters have earned after long hard working.
”Suleman demanded the government to give due consideration to the
grievances of the rice industry and give free hand to the private sector for
playing their positive role, boosting the economy, which is badly affected due
to a number of reasons.He said the international market is depressed and all
the rice exporting countries are facing tough competition and prices are on the
decline. “This is the market phenomena and due to the demand supply aspect, we
see such trend in times and have to cope with it,” Suleman added.The price
issue highlighted following reports of a pick-up in paddy harvest that has
weakened its prices to at least 40 percent this season.
The price of paddy – raw
rice – has dropped by Rs1,000/40 kilogram to around Rs1,500-1,600/ 40 kilogram
against the last year’s price of Rs2,500-2,600/40 kg.Growers, who lack the
storage facility, have no other option, but to sell it, but buyers — notably
the mill-owners and middlemen — are deliberately delaying the buying to
pressurise the growers sell the crop at throwaway rates.Farmers have asked the
government to immediately announce subsidy to them through providing subsidised
fertilisers, seeds and diesel for the next crop. They also demanded the
government to fix a minimum export price at the previous year average export
rate of $1,153/ton.
This will help avert such price crisis at the growers end.The
government should also not intervene through the Trading Corporation of
Pakistan and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies Corporation.Suleman
recalled PASSCO, in the year 2008, procured 200,000 tons of rice at a premium
price and “even after six years they could not disposed of those stocks and
ultimately government had to face losses of up to Rs24 billion.”The RECP
chairman also quoted the example of Thailand, where government procured the
rice with higher prices, but the move damaged 17 million tonnes of rice in the
absence of proper storage and warehouse facility and finally.
“The Thai government suffered a loss of $30 billion.” Suleman
said.He advised the government to support farmers, but “this should be done
through a proper mechanism”.The government should compensate farmers in the
shape of free seeds, free pesticides, free water, free fertiliser, free
electricity and other facilities. “As farmers are not equipped with the latest
machinery and due to the mishandling, every year we have to see crop loss,
further we could not get the right quality of rice,” Suleman added.
Protectionism vs
rent-seeking
In view of trade surpluses, the
federal government has levied a duty on wheat and sugar imports to protect
farmers and sugar millers. Such temporary measures may be called for in times
of stress originating from both domestic and international surpluses, or from
market volatility.
However, these ‘relief measures’
should serve as a breather without slackening national efforts to improve
productivity and quality and making goods and services globally competitive
price-wise. Quite often, this does not happen, perpetuating inefficiencies in
the economy by the permanent embedding of subsidies and protectionist measures
taken from time to time.
It can be argued that selective
and temporary protectionism has picked up worldwide after the global financial
turmoil of 2007-8 and the Great Recession that followed it. This has provided
more sovereign space for national economic decision-making, as countries are
focused on tackling domestic issues with shrinking global trade and business
opportunities. Many states also tend to develop free trade within national
frontiers, with restrictive international trade practices.
While such practices may appear
to be a need for the argument for ‘infant industry’ moving to a higher stage of
productivity and economic development, it cannot be denied that protectionism
breeds inefficiencies and often leads to rent-seeking and predatory practices,
which are now visible on a global scale.
In case of the 30pc duty on wheat
import, it may be advocated that agricultural produce is heavily subsidised by both
Europe and the US — the world’s most developed economy — even though only
around 3pc of the American population is engaged in farming. This protects
western farmers from cheaper imports from developing states and emerging
markets.
The temporary
‘relief’ in adverse circumstances may seem to be inescapable, but it should not
be converted into rent-seeking
However, this is not a good
example to follow. Subsidies can only be justified in very adverse
circumstances, where there is also a strong determination to promptly remove
the crutches when they are not needed. There is a strong evidence that subsides
linger on and often get entrenched in the system.
The import duty on sugar may not
be as justifiable as that for wheat, because the sugar industry has failed to
develop in the direction where sugar could be a byproduct rather the core
product of millers.
Sugar, like textiles, is a
traditional industry that tends to thrive in ways that may often said to be
questionable, such as by not making prompt payments to cane growers. It’s clout
with the government comes under criticism from growers, particularly when cane
crushing is delayed, which delayssowing and impacts the output of other major
crops.
The country’s agriculture suffers
from low productivity. That is the core issue. It is also true that the
unabated flow of resources from rural to urban areas denies farmers the
earnings, savings and investment needed to modernise agriculture. As soon as
the support price for wheat goes up, the suppliers of farm inputs increase the
prices of their products which significantly denies the farmers the full
benefits of the increase in support price.
The 20pc import duty on wheat
will no doubt help farmers and so would exports of sugar (plus 30pc import duty
on sugar imports). Such measures, repeated over time, have not helped improve
farm or millers’ productivity, which is among the lowest in the world.Latest
reports show that the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has
endorsed Rs32bn in cash assistance for growers to compensate them for the crash
in prices of basmati rice. This one-off relief may help check any trend among
farmers to reduce their area of cultivation in the next basmati season, as
normally happens when the price of a crop drops sharply. Rice is an important
export earner.
The temporary ‘relie’ in adverse
circumstances may seem to be inescapable, but it should not be converted into
rent-seeking. In these times, no economy can progress with crony capitalism,
which has to be rooted out lock, stock and barrel to build a globally
competitive national economy.It is time to primarily focus on the domestic
market, with the top priority on food processing and exports; a sector in which
the country has immense national advantage and an area that has been long
neglected owing to erroneous policies.
The current global economic
situation has provided more space for sovereign economic decision-making, and
the opportunity should be seized to build a self-reliant, sustainable and
inclusive economy. Capitalism needs to be further democratised in an
environment of surging self-determination between and within nations, and
growing pluralism.
Published in Dawn, Economic &
Business, November 24th, 2014
Hard for
Bulog to buy rice from farmers
Senin, 24 November 2014 15:16 WIB | 465 Views
Palu, C Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The Central Sulawesi
branch of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) finds it more difficult to buy rice
from local farmers, because the price continues to edge up following the fuel
price hikes.Local Bulog spokesman Maruf stated here on Monday that despite the
ongoing grand harvest, Bulog is still unable to buy rice from the farmers.
"It is very difficult to get the rice at standard price set by the government, but we will continue to make every effort to buy it from rice mill centers in every district and city in the province," he said.Maruf noted that the price set by the government is Rp6,600 per kg, but Bulog has to buy it from the farmers at Rp7,500 per kg as the impact of the increase in subsidized fuel oil prices.
Consequently, he said the target of Bulog to procure 47 thousand tons of rice this year would not probably be met, because to date Bulog has just absorbed only 19 thousand tons, or 40 percent of the target.(*)
"It is very difficult to get the rice at standard price set by the government, but we will continue to make every effort to buy it from rice mill centers in every district and city in the province," he said.Maruf noted that the price set by the government is Rp6,600 per kg, but Bulog has to buy it from the farmers at Rp7,500 per kg as the impact of the increase in subsidized fuel oil prices.
Consequently, he said the target of Bulog to procure 47 thousand tons of rice this year would not probably be met, because to date Bulog has just absorbed only 19 thousand tons, or 40 percent of the target.(*)
Raw
rice drops by Rs1,000/40kg to Rs1,500-1,600/40kg
“The
government’s involvement in such business activity (procurement) will be
harmful to the private sector, which has invested billions of rupees to build
an infrastructure and human resources,” Rafique Suleman, chairman of REAP, said
in a statement.“In case of the government’s involvement in rice business, we
will lose huge foreign exchange, as well as the credibility, which the rice
exporters have earned after long hard working.”The price issue highlighted following
reports of a pick-up in paddy harvest that has weakened its prices to at least
40 percent this season. The price of paddy – raw rice – has dropped by Rs1,
000/40 kilogram to around Rs1, 500-1,600/ 40 kilogram against the last year’s
price of Rs2, 500-2,600/40 kg.
Suleman
demanded the government to give due consideration to the grievances of the rice
industry and give free hand to the private sector for playing their positive
role, boosting the economy, which is badly affected due to a number of reasons.He
said the international market is depressed and all the rice exporting countries
are facing tough competition and prices are on the decline. “This is the market
phenomena and due to the demand supply aspect, we see such trend in times and
have to cope with it,” Suleman added.Growers, who lack the storage facility,
have no other option, but to sell it, but buyers — notably the mill-owners and
middlemen — are deliberately delaying the buying to pressurise the growers sell
the crop at throwaway rates.
Farmers
have asked the government to immediately announce subsidy to them through
providing subsidised fertilisers, seeds and diesel for the next crop. They also
demanded the government to fix a minimum export price at the previous year
average export rate of $1,153/ton. This will help avert such price crisis at
the growers end.The government should also not intervene through the Trading
Corporation of Pakistan and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies
Corporation.
Suleman
recalled PASSCO, in the year 2008, procured 200,000 tons of rice at a premium
price and “even after six years they could not disposed of those stocks and
ultimately government had to face losses of up to Rs24 billion.”The RECP
chairman also quoted the example of Thailand, where government procured the
rice with higher prices, but the move damaged 17 million tonnes of rice in the
absence of proper storage and warehouse facility and finally.
“The
Thai government suffered a loss of $30 billion.” Suleman said.He advised the
government to support farmers, but “this should be done through a proper
mechanism”.The government should compensate farmers in the shape of free seeds,
free pesticides, free water, free fertiliser, free electricity and other
facilities. “As farmers are not equipped with the latest machinery and due to
the mishandling, every year we have to see crop loss, further we could not get
the right quality of rice,” Suleman added.
Government jumps to cushion rice price fall
Published on Saturday, 22 November 2014 17:58
To prevent rice prices from
plummeting due to limitations on trade with China, the Myanmar Rice Federation
(MRF) will consider buying three million bushels of rice from the Ayeyarwady
Region, according to General Secretary Ye Min Aung.
“We’re now talking with Myanmar Oriental Bank to buttress the
rice price. There’s a rice surplus of three million bushels in the Ayeyarwady
Region and 1.5 million bushels in the Bago Region. Someone must purchase them
all to prevent the price from falling,” said Ye Min Aung.Rice prices are likely
to continue to fall unless Chinese buyers resume their trade and, meanwhile,
the MRF is trying to agree official rice exports for December.
“I’m sure there is demand in China,” said Aung Than Oo, the
deputy chairperson of MRF.Officials from China’s Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Agriculture Ministry visited in
September and signed the memorandum of understanding with Myanmar’s Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation to secure an official rice trade.An agreement for
rice exports for January and February next year has already been reached with
official exports starting next month.Currently, the government is planning to
purchase unsold rice and the military will buy stocks in December while the
Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (Mapco) is also considering buying up
stocks.Ye Min Aung said: “We find it difficult to buy reserved rice and store
it in warehouses.
I don’t want to encourage the purchase of reserved rice. I want
the millers and merchants to buy more as that is more beneficial in the long
term but they need financial support to do so. They also have the
responsibility to pay back that support. So we’ll buy it. The Mapco also plans
to buy approximately 300,000 bushels of rice.”Rice millers and merchants are in
discussions to acquire three million bushels of rice from the Ayeyarwady
Region.
Finance Minister says rice price in
line with government's goal Date : 24 พฤศจิกายน 2557
BANGKOK,
24 November 2014 (NNT)-Finance Minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devagula says the
current price of rice is in line with the goal set by the government. Following
calls from rice farmers to have the government raise the subsidy price, the
Finance Minister said the ongoing 8,000 baht per ton is a suitable rate. The
government also has other programs that allow rice silo owners to take out
loans from commercial banks at an annual interest rate of three percent, which
the government would shoulder. e said he did not think the Commerce Ministry
would release rice from its stocks at this time.
He
added that the government is currently developing another farmer assistance
program, which will be ready next month, to help them supplement their incomes
through other types of crop growing. The Finance Minister further added that
his Ministry has been trying to get large organizations involved in the loan
scheme for low income families. The interest rate would be around 3% per month,
or 36% per year. M.R. Pridiyathorn is scheduled to visit China on November 27th
to join Joint Trade and Investment Committee conference, where he is determined
to encourage Chinese investors to build rubber factories in Thailand.
Only zero-budget farming can double food production, says Palekar
M_A_SRIRAM;THE
HINDUFarmer Krishnappa displaying arecanut cultivated with
zero-budget farming. PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM
Advocate of zero-budget spiritual farming Subhash Palekar has
claimed that farmers’ suicide in the country was observed among those
practicing the chemical-farming methods.Making a plea for encouraging
chemical-free farming, Mr. Palekar said there were nearly 4 million farmers
practicing zero-budget farming in the country who were prospering. Mr. Palekar,
who interacted with media persons here on Saturday, said there was not a single
example of farmers practicing zero-budget farming committing suicide, due to
higher yield and low cost input.
Zero-budget agriculture entails no external chemical inputs like
fertilizers or insecticides.While chemical farming methods yield about 12 quintals
of basmati rice per acre, under the zero-budget farming method, yield was
observed to be as high as 18 to 24 quintals, according to Mr. Palekar.
Similarly, about 6 quintals of wheat per acre was the normal yield while it was
18 quintals under zero-budget farming.The country’s food output cannot be
doubled through chemically-intensive agriculture methods or even conventional
organic agriculture. Only zero-budget farming was could meet the country’s food
requirements.
Despite the obvious advantages of alternative methods, not many
farmers were switching over to it due to government policies which link all
credit, marketing, and insurance facilities to chemical-based agricultural
practices, said Mr. Palekar.
More popular
He noted that the alternative method of farming was more popular
in Karnataka, than in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.He came down heavily
on the organic farming policy of the State government on the grounds that it
was more expensive than chemical-based agriculture. In Mysore region, there
were nearly 400 to 500 farmers who had switched over to zero-budget agriculture
and Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Badagalpura Nagendra said the
organisation was working to create awareness among farmers about its benefits.
Rice
prices dip to year's low
Local rice prices have hit the
year's low at 28,900 baht a tonne for 100% premium Hom Mali variety this
month. The prices dropped by around 15% year-on-year, according to
commerce ministry data.Export prices also slipped by 18% to US$863 for Grade B
Hom Mali, compared to $1,053 in November last year.Vichien Phuanglamjiak,
vice-president of the Thai Rice Farmers Association, said the group would ask
the prime minister to help shore up paddy prices."Paddy prices for the
2014/15 crop year are now 50% lower than the pledging price of the previous
government.
Hom Mali paddy is sold at
9,000 to 12,000 a tonne from 16,000 while sticky paddy slid to 7,000-8,000 from
13,000 baht," he said.Pol Lt Chareon Laothammatas, president of the Thai
Rice Exporters Association, said his group had urged the commerce minister to
ask some 200 rice exporters to build their stocks now, a move that could mop up
100,000 tonnes of the glut and costs 2.7 billion baht.The 10 largest exporters
have also been asked to buy 300,000 tonnes of Hom Mali rice and expand their
stocks, costing 8 billion baht.
PhilRice celebrates innovations
November 24, 2014
QUEZON CITY, Nov. 24 -- The Philippine Rice Research Institute
(PhilRice) renewed its commitment to the Filipinos by inspiring innovations and
rural transformation during its recent 29th anniversary.Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco
Jr, PhilRice executive director in a statement, said that the Institute`s
advances in research and development show the rice workers` efforts in helping
the country provide enough rice and foster progress in rural areas.In 2013,
PhilRice released 10 new early-maturing varieties for saline, irrigated, and
rainfed lowland areas. NSIC Rc3442SR, an aromatic special that is moderately
resistant to green leaf hopper, was also released.
We have achieved sustained
progress in rice production by providing Filipino farmers with new
high-yielding rice varieties. [Last year
was] also remarkable with the National Year of Rice campaign. [During this
campaign], we led many Filipinos in sending a unified message that each of us can
help attain rice sufficiency and this year, we [upheld] that message by
motivating everyone to be responsible rice consumers,” Rasco said.The
29-year-old agency spurred innovations such as the development of nutri-rice
milk, Metarhizium anisopliae in powder form, and hydrous bioethanol fuel injector
for spark-ignition engines.Nutri-Rice milk is a healthy drink made from
germinated brown rice containing Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, which improves brain
and cardiovascular functions and can slow down the effects of ageing.
On the other hand, Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungal microbial
agent that controls rice black bug – a pest that can reduce yield up to 80
percent and cause complete crop loss due to bug burn.“[Other than our
researches], we also launched an ambitious rural transformation campaign aiming
to reduce poverty through our Gusto namin milyonaryo kayo advocacy,” Rasco
said.Under the "Gusto namin milyonaryo kayo campaign", diversified
farming and agri-business ventures will be promoted through nucleus estates
across the country starting from 10 PhilRice stations. Nucleus estates will be
put up to give farmers access to support services including training, input,
custom services, modern support technologies, product development and
packaging, and marketing.
In preparing farmers for the ASEAN integration, PhilRice launched
the Palayabangan: The 10-5 challenge, a national competition, which aims to
find out technologies that will produce rice at the least cost without
sacrificing yield. Competition results
show that farmers can yield 10.54 t/ha for P4.94/k. Average input cost is at
P11/k.Aurelio M. Umali, Nueva Ecija governor, lauded the Institute’s
contributions in the country`s rice granary.“[While working with] PhilRice for
the past years, I have witnessed, with considerable pride, how your tremendous
and highly successful efforts in the field of agricultural research and
development [propelled] rural progress.
Truly, you are at the forefront of agricultural innovation. Your
work to boost agricultural productivity is integral in our efforts to secure
the welfare of our farmers and enhance Nueva Ecija`s reputation as the Rice
Granary of the Philippines,” he said.Meanwhile, Department of Agriculture Sec.
Proceso J. Alcala said that PhilRice was efficient and productive in addressing
the challenges in the agriculture sector. Alcala said that PhilRice helped the
country increased its local rice supply. In 2013, the Philippines produced
18.44 million metric tons of rice, making it the fastest growing rice-producing
country in Asia.
PhilRice, created through
Executive Order 1061 signed on November 5, 1985, also honored more than 100 of
its research and development workers.Honourees were led 2 international
awardees; 7, national; and 2, regional. Recipients of 3 international best
poster awards; 19, national; 7, best paper international awards; and 12,
national were also recognized.The institution also recognized 36 loyalty
awardees and welcomed 3 PhDs and 9 master`s
graduates.(PhilRice)
Student Chefs Demonstrate Versatility of Rice
MEXICO -- Last month, the USA Rice Federation conducted three
Student Chef Competitions in Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta. Competitors presented a variety of
avant-garde rice dishes and demonstrated first-hand that rice is the ideal
ingredient for restaurant-quality dishes.
Directors at the various culinary institutions were impressed with the
competition and, seeing the great benefit for the professional development of
their students, announced they would be conducting another rice cooking
competition on their own in December.
Additionally, they plan to hold a contest with all the universities
in the region that have culinary programs to increase awareness of the
versatility of rice.Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta are premier tourist
destinations and have some of Mexico's most luxurious resorts. The cities host renowned international
gourmet festivals with award winning chefs from around the world. "There is a high demand for gourmet
cuisine in Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta," said Sarah Moran, USA Rice
director of international promotions.
"Our goal is to encourage the hotel and restaurant industry in the
region to use more rice on their menus as a way to provide patrons with elegant
gourmet meals while increasing profits."
Contact: Deborah Willenborg
(703) 236-1444
|
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
No comments:
Post a Comment