New
Reservoir to Help Downstream Rice Farmers
By: Alese Underwood
12/11/2014 04:20 PM
TWC News: New
Breaking ground for the Lane City reservoir is the first big break Haskell Simon has seen in a while.Like many in Wharton County, his rice farm was caught in the perfect storm of drought, legislation and water management.Since 2012, during one of the worst droughts in state history, waters from the Highland Lakes have not flowed to farmers downstream.
That's because the Highland Lakes
are the main source of water for Central Texas."We've had businesses that
have failed, we have farmers that are surviving just barely with some insurance
they had, but we have a lot of the aggregate businesses that are suffering or
actually have gone out of business," rice farmer Simon said.The LCRA's
planned reservoir will span more than 1,000 acres and will be 40 feet deep,
holding more water than Marble Falls, Austin and Lady Bird lakes
combined."That's a big project when you're looking at the plan this early,
it's a large project,” Bech Bruun with the Texas Water Development Board said.
“It's going to be important for this part of the state, but for the Highland
Lakes and Austin as well."By building it off the main channel of the
Colorado River, it will capture precious raindrops, which have previously gone
to waste.
"We had a huge flood event
in Austin, all the water from that flood ended up in the Gulf of Mexico,” Bruun
said. “There's millions of acre-feet of water in our basins that just flows
into the Gulf, so to be able to take that water and scalp it out of the river
during flood events when there's a plenty and to be able to take that water and
put it use makes a lot of sense."For Haskell Simon, he hopes what makes
sense on paper becomes a life-saving reality in 2017.We're hopeful that if
there isn't damaging legislation that's going to be coming out of the
legislature, that the droughts will be over some day and hopefully we can start
to recover," Simon said.The LCRA and the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality did not release water from the Highland Lakes because Lakes Travis and
Buchanan are only about 33 percent full right now.Both lakes are the primary
sources of water for many cities including Austin.
Source with thanks: http://austin.twcnews.com/content/news/317049/new-reservoir-to-help-downstream-rice-farmers/#sthash.kViNWCre.dpuf
Commerce to hold
fourth rice auction
Date : 12 ธันวาคม 2557
BANGKOK, 12
December 2014 (NNT) -- The Ministry of Commerce is preparing for the 2014's
fourth rice auction for over 400,100 tons of rice in its stockpiles. The
ministry will disclose regulations and other details on December 12, and he
bidding will be held at the Department of Foreign Trade on December 22, between
8.30 am- 11.00 am. Currently, there are 17 million tons of rice sitting in the
government's warehouses nationwide, 14 million of which are considered
sub-standard, according to the ministry. he ministry has come up with a plan
for 2015, releasing the entire stock as quickly as possible in order to prevent
further damage caused by deterioration as well as to increase the efficiency of
rice management. The plan will soon be submitted to the National Rice Policy
Committee for consideration and approval.
New levy policy gives more leeway to AP millers to
boost rice exports
KAKINADA, DECEMBER
12:
The rice market is witnessing a shake-up this year, especially
in the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh (the two Godavari districts and Krishna).
This is mainly in view of the new levy policy of the Centre, drastically
reducing the quantity they will have to give for the public distribution system
and buffer stocks.Earlier, millers used to buy paddy vigorously from farmers in
the two Godavari districts and supply rice to the FCI.They had to give FCI 75
per cent of what they bought from growers. In return, they were given permits
to sell the rest of 25 per cent in the domestic market or for exports.
From this crop season, the ratio has been reversed and millers
have to give only 25 per cent as levy and retain the rest can be sold in the
open market.Millers are finding the reversal disconcerting and many of the
millers even want the Government to buy the paddy from farmers at MSP and give
it to them for milling – the kind of custom milling prevalent in Punjab and
Haryana. Custom milling has never been the practice in AP in the past.Rice
exporters have reacted to the change in levy policy in a positive manner, as
there will be exportable surplus in the market, and it may lead to spurt in
exports.But exporters are also wary as millers in Andhra Pradesh have not yet
made the necessary adjustments.
AP Rice Exporters’ Association President Vinod Kumar Agarwal is
of the view that the Government should adopt a consistent levy policy and
encourage rice exports.“With this change in levy policy, it is now all the more
necessary to encourage non-basmati rice exports, as otherwise the farmers will
not get the MSP. It is a fact that many of the small millers do not have the
holding capacity and the problem is also compounded in the two Godavari
districts by the fact that the varieties grown here – 1001 and IR 64 – are
either given as levy to the FCI or exported to African countries.
They are not locally consumed. It is all the more difficult for
the millers to adjust to the new policy. Therefore, they should be allowed to
sell freely to the exporters. There should not be any curbs on the export
market,” he said.He said the Government should extend a helping hand to the
millers in adjusting to the new system and “it is no wonder that many millers
now want custom milling in AP also as in Punjab and Haryana.”BV Krishna Rao,
Managing Director of Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, a leading rice exporter, is
of the view that inspite of the transitional travails the new policy will be of
help to all in the long run.“Certain adjustments have to be made. Farmers have
all along been cultivating common varieties for the levy or for exports. Now
they have to grow fine varieties.
Exporters also have to search for new markets for these
varieties instead of relying on African countries alone. It is a fact that
right now rice millers are in a spot of bother because of the new policy. But
any change entails some difficulty,” he said.He expects that there may be
considerable spurt in rice exports through Kakinada port during 2015, by
roughly a million tonnes or so.During 2014, the rice exports totalled 2.4
million tonnes.
(This article was published on December 12, 2014)
India exports rice worth Rs
23,161.56 crore in Apr-Sep
12.12.2014
India has exported rice worth Rs
23,161.56 crore in the first six months of the current financial year,
Parliament was informed today.India has exported 16.41 lakh tonnes of basmati
rice in the April-September period of the current financial year, valued at Rs
13,846.95 crore.On the other hand, 36.56 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice was
exported in the same period, valued at Rs 9,314.61 crore.
In the entire 2013-14 fiscal,
exports of basmati rice stood at 37.54 lakh tonnes, valued at Rs 29,291.82
crore, while in the same period, outward shipments of non-basmati rice was
71.48 lakh tonnes, worth Rs 17,795.21 crore.Meanwhile, Iran, one of the largest
importers of rice from India, has imposed a temporary restriction on imports
from October 19 this year.
Rice exports: Why are Vietnam’s miracle-makers still poor?
VietNamNet Bridge - The biggest
risk for Vietnamese rice growers is not the weather or the market but policies,
from exchange rate policy to tax policy to a range of other policies.VietNamNet
would like to introduce the next part of the roundtable discussion on a quarter
century of rice exports of Vietnam, with the participation of Prof. Dr. Vo Tong
Xuan, Dr. Vu Trong Khai and Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi.
VietNamNet: There is a question that has not had a satisfactory explanation in
a long time: Why are Vietnamese farmers -- who created the miracle of turning
Vietnam from a hungry country into a rice exporter, who ended the period of
starvation and created a foundation for the rise of the country's economy
-- still poor?
From the left: Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi,
Dr. Vu Trong Khai and Prof. Vo Tong Xuan.
Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan: This is a paradox stemming from systemic weaknesses, with the root
being our education. In developed countries, those who are fully trained are
allowed to do agricultural production. But it is to the contrary in our
country, so our farmers are just happy with the experience. They produce not in
accordance with scientific recommendations, with high production costs,
poor product quality, and even unsafe food hygiene.Meanwhile, many of the participants
in the value chain of rice have privileges, and they use these privileges to
take the parts that would belong to farmers.
I still remember when Vietnam
resumed rice exports, I was invited to the United States and Europe to meet
with rice trading groups. They said frankly that Vietnam had just joined rice
exporters so it would not be easy for Vietnam to export rice like Thailand or
London. It was because the state-owned rice trading companies of Vietnam were
not trusted yet and the quality of Vietnamese rice was not assured, so rice
from Vietnam had to bear the risk cost of $40-50 per ton. That's why we have
long heard that the quality of Vietnamese rice is equivalent to Thai rice, but
the price is always $40-50/ton less than Thai rice.
They said at the time that it would
be best if Vietnam produced rice at their quality standards and then it would
be reserved and sold in Europe and they would only collect 2% of the cost. Then
I returned home and proposed the idea with a central body but it was not accepted,
because they required export contracts and L/C for rice exports.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi: In my opinion, Vietnam does not have a specific agricultural
management strategy: who are our customers, what are the good prices, who sells
the rice, what will the farmers earn each year, and for each ton of rice
increase ... Instead, we completely rely on "familiar markets" and
"business routines" as our forefathers did hundreds of years ago.
Recently I have heard of "restructuring" but it seems that it has not
moved.We have exported rice to low-quality rice markets such as Indonesia, the
Philippines, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Cuba where the market is covered by
state-owned food companies and the rice is supplied to the poor. In the past,
thanks to the monopoly factor and sometimes corruption the rice business was
smooth and profits were shared between two sides. Our farmers earned very
little benefit, while under the government’s policy, the "required minimum
profit for farmers must be 30 percent".
Since those countries changed, that
kind of business was not maintained and our rice could not compete. Even in
traditional markets like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia ... we have to
seek export contracts through tenders.People say doing business needs partners,
but now when we no longer have partners – state-owned firms – how can our
state-owned rice traders do their business?
Nearly all my life I’ve supported
the state-owned economy, especially in the food business, but with the current
rice trading policy, only farmers and the government are the losers.Our way of
management is in heaven and it does not fit with reality. In 1992, I went to
Taiwan and I saw that state-owned firms also held a monopoly in rice, sugar,
salt, alcohol, tobacco trading but their farmers were extremely happy.For our
farmers, they are very lucky if they earn a profit of 30 percent.VietNamNet: What could we learn from the inadequacies of life of farmers, with
the policies as the main cause?
Dr. Vu Trong Khai: Firstly, in the past 25 years we have exported rice on a small and
fragmented scale, rather than a fundamental change in nature. If there has been
a change, it has been just in the varieties and cultivation techniques. Over
the past 25 years we still have based rice growing on household production and
raw material processing enterprises.
That is, we only rely on the
availability.Even the progress of science and technology that we have,
including new varieties, new farming techniques, are also difficult to apply.
In fact, each farmer has only several thousand of square meters of field land
on average.Therefore, farmers cannot get rich in this scenario. We should
remember that the "untie" policy (Resolution 10 issued in 1988
considering farmer households as autonomous units) was only valuable for a
short time because it did not create new elements.Secondly, we have not looked
at the world in order to reposition ourselves, thereby reorganizing production
in an appropriate and prudent way.
The annual total value of rice
exchange is many times lower than the exchange of fruit and vegetables. We have
a huge advantage of tropical fruits and vegetables but we have not realized it.
Many Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, northern China, etc … have a long
winter when they cannot grow vegetables, not mentioning Europe.We should also
talk about the role of the entrepreneur. We do not have powerful forces of
entrepreneurs who are aggressively seeking world markets. For example, looking
to China, their traders go around the world to buy raw materials and sell their
products.
Dr. Vu Trong Khai: Commercialization of products is the responsibility of business.
Businesses must do two functions of processing and consumption. If we had the
right investment policies for businesses, and not just rely on state
corporation as the Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood 1) and the Southern Food
Corporation (Vinafood 2), the situation would have been different.Generally,
Vietnamese businesses don’t dare to accept risk. Why? There are two
elements:Firstly, so far we have not formed a strong team of entrepreneurs,
since the appearance of big names in the early 20th century as Bach Thai Buoi,
the family of musician Doan Chuan (with fish sauce firm Van Van) and especially
Mr. Nguyen Son Ha, a businessman and one of the first National Assembly deputy
of Vietnam. As an NA deputy, he proposed to put the line "All Vietnamese
citizens have the freedom of doing business" into the Constitution of
1946.
Unfortunately we did not maintain
that atmosphere. The new generation of businessmen look at the context of
general economic institutions and they see too many risks. The biggest risk in
Vietnam is not the weather, not the market but the policies, from the exchange
rate policy to tax policy to a range of other policies. Businesses are afraid
of the changes because many of them “died” of that change. Bureaucracy and red
tape also contribute to stamp out the will and aspirations of
entrepreneurs.Secondly, the traditional elements of history, culture and
mechanisms in Vietnam do not encourage businesses to take risks, do not create
the environment for them to engage, to take risks. Therefore, the majority of
our businesses accept to do business that is above average.These problems
cannot be solved overnight. And it must begin with economic institutions.
VNN
Myanmar's
rice export earning grows sharply in 8 months
2014/12/12 15:08:24
YANGON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) --
Myanmar earned 300 million U.S. dollars through export of rice in the first
eight months (April- November) of fiscal 2014-15, up 118 million dollars or
64.8 percent from a year earlier, sources with the Ministry of Commerce said on
Friday.A total of 799,600 tons of rice was exported in the eight months, an
increase of 343,800 tons or 75.4 percent.Myanmar's rice is mainly exported to
the neighboring Chinese market.According to official statistics, the rice
export in the last fiscal year reached 460 million U.S. dollars, down by 15.4
percent from the previous fiscal year's 544 million dollars.
India exports rice worth Rs
23,161.56 crore in Apr-Sep
Press Trust of India
| New Delhi
December 12, 2014 Last Updated at 16:50 IST
India has exported rice worth Rs 23,161.56 crore in the first six
months of the current financial year, Parliament was informed today. India has exported 16.41 lakh tonnes of basmati rice in the
April-September period of the current financial year, valued at Rs 13,846.95
crore. On the other hand, 36.56 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice was exported
in the same period, valued at Rs 9,314.61 crore. In the entire 2013-14 fiscal, exports of basmati rice stood at 37.54 lakh tonnes, valued at Rs
29,291.82 crore, while in the same period, outward shipments of non-basmati
rice was 71.48 lakh tonnes, worth Rs 17,795.21 crore.
Meanwhile, Iran, one of the largest
importers of rice from India, has imposed a temporary restriction on imports from October 19 this year. "Iran has imposed a temporary restriction on import of rice w.E.F
19th October, 2014. The government engages with its trade partners in an
institutional basis and taken up all trade related issues from time to
time," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written
reply to Lok Sabha. The Minister added that Iran has increased
customs duty on import of rice from 22 per cent to 40 per cent in view of the
domestic crop season, which will continue till January 21.
New levy policy gives more leeway
to AP millers to boost rice exports
RS.
KAKINADA, DECEMBER
12:
The rice market is witnessing a shake-up this year, especially
in the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh (the two Godavari districts and Krishna).
This is mainly in view of the new levy policy of the Centre, drastically
reducing the quantity they will have to give for the public distribution system
and buffer stocks.Earlier, millers used to buy paddy vigorously from farmers in
the two Godavari districts and supply rice to the FCI.They had to give FCI 75
per cent of what they bought from growers. In return, they were given permits
to sell the rest of 25 per cent in the domestic market or for exports.
From this crop season, the ratio has been reversed and millers
have to give only 25 per cent as levy and retain the rest can be sold in the
open market.Millers are finding the reversal disconcerting and many of the
millers even want the Government to buy the paddy from farmers at MSP and give
it to them for milling – the kind of custom milling prevalent in Punjab and
Haryana. Custom milling has never been the practice in AP in the past.Rice
exporters have reacted to the change in levy policy in a positive manner, as
there will be exportable surplus in the market, and it may lead to spurt in
exports.
But exporters are also wary as millers in Andhra Pradesh have
not yet made the necessary adjustments.AP Rice Exporters’ Association President
Vinod Kumar Agarwal is of the view that the Government should adopt a
consistent levy policy and encourage rice exports.“With this change in levy
policy, it is now all the more necessary to encourage non-basmati rice exports,
as otherwise the farmers will not get the MSP. It is a fact that many of the
small millers do not have the holding capacity and the problem is also
compounded in the two Godavari districts by the fact that the varieties grown
here – 1001 and IR 64 – are either given as levy to the FCI or exported to
African countries.
They are not locally consumed. It is all the more difficult for
the millers to adjust to the new policy. Therefore, they should be allowed to
sell freely to the exporters. There should not be any curbs on the export
market,” he said.He said the Government should extend a helping hand to the
millers in adjusting to the new system and “it is no wonder that many millers
now want custom milling in AP also as in Punjab and Haryana.”BV Krishna Rao,
Managing Director of Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, a leading rice exporter, is
of the view that inspite of the transitional travails the new policy will be of
help to all in the long run.
“Certain adjustments have to be made. Farmers have all along
been cultivating common varieties for the levy or for exports. Now they have to
grow fine varieties. Exporters also have to search for new markets for these
varieties instead of relying on African countries alone. It is a fact that
right now rice millers are in a spot of bother because of the new policy. But
any change entails some difficulty,” he said.He expects that there may be
considerable spurt in rice exports through Kakinada port during 2015, by roughly
a million tonnes or so.During 2014, the rice exports totalled 2.4 million
tonnes.
(This article was published on December 12, 2014)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/new-levy-policy-gives-more-leeway-to-ap-millers-to-boost-rice-exports/article6686690.ece
Rice case against Yingluck postponed
Published:
12 Dec 2014 at 18.46
Online
news: General
Writer:
King-oua Laohong
Additional evidence is still needed to round out the case before a
decision can be made on the indictment of former prime minister Yingluck
Shinawatra over the loss-ridden rice-pledging scheme, the attorney general has
ruled. Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, centre, samples the rice at a bagged rice company in 2013 to
boost public confidence in packed rice amid concerns that chemicals were being
used to preserve the huge government stockpile of rice.
Surasak
Trirattrakul, director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General's
litigation department, and Kosolwat Inthujanyong, deputy OAG spokesman,
announced the decision at a press conference.They said attorney-general Trakul
Winitnaiyapak had accepted the finding of an OAG working group that the case in
its present form was not complete.Mr Surasak said the attorney-general ruled
more evidence was needed from the NACC and some more people still needed to be questioned about the
government-to-government (G2G) rice trades before a decision could be made on
whether there should be an indictment.
Mr
Kosolwat said there was conflicting evidence about whether G2G rice deals
really happened. Some witnesses had insisted G2G rice deals were made, but
other witnesses denied this.Information on G2G rice deals from the NACC was
still incomplete, Mr Kosolwat said.Representatives of the NACC and the OAG
would this month discuss what further inquiries were needed. The matter should become clearer in January,
as only a few more witnesses had yet to be questioned, Mr Kosolwat said.
The
NACC accused Ms Yingluck in her past capacity as the ex-officio chair of the National
Rice Policy Committee of dereliction of duty and abuse of authority for failing
to halt or review her government's
loss-ridden rice-pledging scheme, and the alleged corruption in it.It
also proposed impeachment and her retroactive removal from the prime minister's
position.The Finance Ministry has estimated the country faced a total loss of
682 billion baht from implementing rice-subsidy schemes over the past 10 years,
of which 518 billion baht occurred under the Yingluck government while it was in
office from 2011 to 2013.
Her
government bought rice from growers at prices up to 40% higher than market prices, resulting in a
major slump in exports as Thai rice priced itself out of the market.Much or the
previous government's excessive stocks of rice that could not be sold have
degenerated because of poor storage, posing quality problems for sellers and
buyers.
(Photo
by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
New levy policy gives more leeway
to AP millers to boost rice exports
RS.
KAKINADA, DECEMBER
12:
The rice market is witnessing a shake-up this year, especially
in the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh (the two Godavari districts and Krishna).
This is mainly in view of the new levy policy of the Centre, drastically
reducing the quantity they will have to give for the public distribution system
and buffer stocks.Earlier, millers used to buy paddy vigorously from farmers in
the two Godavari districts and supply rice to the FCI.They had to give FCI 75
per cent of what they bought from growers. In return, they were given permits
to sell the rest of 25 per cent in the domestic market or for exports.
From this crop season, the ratio has been reversed and millers
have to give only 25 per cent as levy and retain the rest can be sold in the
open market.Millers are finding the reversal disconcerting and many of the
millers even want the Government to buy the paddy from farmers at MSP and give
it to them for milling – the kind of custom milling prevalent in Punjab and
Haryana.
Custom milling has never been the practice in AP in the
past.Rice exporters have reacted to the change in levy policy in a positive
manner, as there will be exportable surplus in the market, and it may lead to
spurt in exports.But exporters are also wary as millers in Andhra Pradesh have
not yet made the necessary adjustments.AP Rice Exporters’ Association President
Vinod Kumar Agarwal is of the view that the Government should adopt a
consistent levy policy and encourage rice exports.“With this change in levy
policy, it is now all the more necessary to encourage non-basmati rice exports,
as otherwise the farmers will not get the MSP.
It is a fact that many of the small millers do not have the
holding capacity and the problem is also compounded in the two Godavari
districts by the fact that the varieties grown here – 1001 and IR 64 – are
either given as levy to the FCI or exported to African countries. They are not
locally consumed. It is all the more difficult for the millers to adjust to the
new policy. Therefore, they should be allowed to sell freely to the exporters.
There should not be any curbs on the export market,” he said.He said the
Government should extend a helping hand to the millers in adjusting to the new
system and “it is no wonder that many millers now want custom milling in AP also
as in Punjab and Haryana.
”BV Krishna Rao, Managing Director of Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt
Ltd, a leading rice exporter, is of the view that inspite of the transitional
travails the new policy will be of help to all in the long run.“Certain
adjustments have to be made. Farmers have all along been cultivating common
varieties for the levy or for exports. Now they have to grow fine varieties.
Exporters also have to search for new markets for these varieties instead of
relying on African countries alone. It is a fact that right now rice millers
are in a spot of bother because of the new policy. But any change entails some
difficulty,” he said.He expects that there may be considerable spurt in rice
exports through Kakinada port during 2015, by roughly a million tonnes or
so.During 2014, the rice exports totalled 2.4 million tonnes.
(This article was published on December 12, 2014)
Odisha govt to
expedite paddy procurement
Total procurement is 172,000 tonne so far against 4.45 mt target
BS Reporter | Bhubaneswar
December 12, 2014 Last Updated at 20:32 IST
The state
government today asked 24 districts collectors to take steps to expedite paddy
procurement as the collections have fallen far behind the target due to
disputes over purchase target and payment issues.For 2014-15 kharif marketing
season, the government had decided to procure paddy equivalent of 3 million
tonne (mt) rice. However, total paddy procurement has been just 172,000 tonnes
since the process started on November 14, against the target of 4.45 mt.
“The
chief minister today asked the collectors to take steps for smooth functioning
of the marketing yards by making surprise visits. He also asked them to take
action against millers procuring paddy lower than the fixed rate,” said Sanjay
Dasburma, minister for food and civil supplies after attending a video
conference meeting with the district collectors along with the chief
minister.The direction from the government follows complaints related to
non-payment of procurement prices to farmers in some areas.
Earlier
this week, the paddy purchase programme was stalled at 118 procurement yards of
key rice producing district Bargarh as the online server meant for direct cash
transfer to farmers’ account failed to function.“The CM has ordered to make the
payments through account payee cheques wherever possible,” Dasburma added.In
south Odisha, procurement has been halted as farmers protested against the
purchase target fixed by the government as per yield capacity of farm land.
According to guidelines for food grain procurement, the government will buy
1,200 kg per acre from non-irrigated land and 1,800 kg from irrigated land.
In
Koraput and Nabarangpur districts, farmers demanded 2,000 kg procurement per
acre as they grow high yielding variety. However, no decision was taken today
on this issue in the meeting.The procurement plan is divided into two phases.
While the first phase began on November 14 in 24 districts, the next phase of
paddy procurement will begin in January in remaining 6 districts.Odisha
produces close to 8 mt paddy in a year, the fifth largest in the country. While
60 per cent of the total production is processed in the state, the rest amount
is exported to other states.
As the
state is surplus in rice requirement, the government has initiated steps to
attract investments in establishments of integrated rice mills. Under its food
processing policy, investors will get subsidy and interest rate subvention for
setting up of rice mill having facility to produce rice barn oil and rice husk
power along with rice processing facility.
Read
more on: Odisha | Rice | Kharif Season
| Rice Procurement | Rice Bran Oil | Bio Mass Power
Madhya
Pradesh CM Chouhan at meeting with representatives of traders and millers
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has
said that efforts should be made that minimum price of basmati paddy in the
state should not be less than other states. Safeguarding farmers’ interests is
in everybody’s interest. Shri Chouhan was addressing a meeting of traders and
millers in the context of recession caused due to fall in global demand for
basmati here today. Shri Chouhan directed that rates of basmati paddy
prevailing in all basmati producer states should be displayed daily in paddy mandis
of the state.
The meeting was informed that government has
decided that such paddy produced in the state, which is sold by farmers in
mandis and which is used in state’s rice mills for milling rice or for
exporting outside the state, will be exempted from Mandi Cess till March 31.
The Chief Minister said that the government has taken all necessary steps to
cooperate with farmers. The meeting decided that the minimum limit of exemption
from tax on paddy purchase should be increased from Rs. 10 crore per annum to
Rs. 50 crore per annum.
Tax will be payable only on purchase of paddy
above Rs. 50 crore in a year. Besides, it has also been decided to rationalize
rates of paddy storage. As a result, both processors and purchasers will face
no difficulty. The meeting was informed that the state government will make
initiative for branding and marketing of state’s paddy in Europe. Agriculture
Minister Shri Gaurishankar Bisen, Food & Civil Supplies Minister Kunwar
Vijay Shah, Chief Secretary Shri Anthony de Sa, Additional Chief Secretary
Agriculture Shri R.K. Swai, basmati traders and millers attended the meeting.
Source with thanks:
Rice and shine
The rice, originally is not white
in colour. It is light brown in colour and is considered to be healthier than
the white ones you eat
Rice is a grass that produces
several grains consumed by humans. It is believed that humans started consuming
and cultivating rice for more than 3,500 years in Asia before which it
gradually spread across the world. Today rice is a common food for almost all
humans on the planet except for those living in colder regions such as the Antarctica
where it is generally covered with snow all through the year.
Unlike trees which are planted
just once, rice needs to be resown every year.
It requires a lot of water and is
also called as water guzzler among plants.
It is usually grown in fields
which are partially submerged in water.
Seasons to sow
The plant has two seasons for sowing. These are the Rabi and Kharif.The Kharif crop is planted in early summer and depends on the summer monsoons for irrigation and Rabi during November – December.Official records say that there were more than 40,000 different rice varieties in India till 50 -60 years ago. Sadly much of these varieties have either been lost over time or have vanished since farmers are not so willing to grow them. And growing of many old and traditional rice varieties have vanished from our system and some rare varieties have been lost. The rice that you eat today is not what your grandparents ate.
If you ask them about
this they would have stories to tell you as to how the rice they consumed as a
kid was far more delicious and kept them healthy. Those days when pizzas or
fast foods were alien to our culture, it was simple rice porridge or overnight
cooked rice soaked in water gruel which your grandparents must have had for
their morning breakfast.There are certain varieties of rice that grow only in
certain regions.For example, Basmati rice used for making biryani and pulav grows well only in Himalayan regions like Uttarakhand. Sona Masuri is native to Karnataka, while
varieties such as Bapatla and Ponni to Andhra Pradesh.
Before it reaches your plate
The rice grains are processed before being packed and sold. The
rice, originally is not white in colour. It is light brown in colour and is
considered to be healthier than the white ones you eat.Once the rice is
harvested, it is milled in rice mills to remove the outer soft coating and
polished. This is called milling.Milling makes rice fluffier and gives it white
to light yellow colour. It is then sent to markets and department stores from
where you buy it.
Eating white polished rice must have become a habit some 50
years back according to well known rice researchers and historians because in
olden times the poor village folks seldom had the money or technology to mill
the harvested brown rice into white and had to consume only the brown rice.
Today there are some organisations and individuals across the country who have
been doing sterling work in preserving many of the rice varieties thought to
have been lost.
(M.J. Prabu is The Hindu’s Agriculture correspondent. He writes
the popular Farmer’s Notebook. Write to him at prabu.mj@thehindu.co.in)
Matco Rice represents Pakistan in
Canada Trade Expo
December 12, 2014
Pakistan's largest basmati rice
exporter, Matco Rice Processing (Pvt) Limited, represented the country's
highest quality rice at the 3rd Edition of Canada Pakistan Trade Expo in
Ontario, Canada. The exhibition was organized with Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and Consulate General of Pakistan in
Toronto, with the sole purpose of creating awareness about business opportunities
existing in Pakistan. Matco Rice displayed its Flagship
brand "Falak" which is one of the highest selling brands in Canada
and is available in all store keeping units.
Expressing his views on the
occasion, Jawed Ali Ghori, Chairman of Matco Rice said, "We at Matco Rice
strongly believe that the lifeblood of global market is trade. The Canada
Pakistan Trade Expo has given us the opportunity to display our top quality
rice brands and enhance the economic significance by creating more demand of our
brands globally." Responding to a question which was
put forward by a Canadian journalist interviewing him during the exhibition,
Jawed Ali Ghori said, "There is so much to be gained from improved
branding and marketing practices within the rice industry in Pakistan, our
competitors are selling our rice by developing them into their own brands
through value-addition and retail packaging.
Pakistan could easily double the
current amount of foreign exchange earnings by focusing on brand development
instead of exporting in bulk quantity." He emphasised on the need of
holding such exhibitions on regular basis in Toronto which can prove
significant in expansion of Pakistan's export to Canada.-PR
Time to revisit Pakistan-Iran economic relations
There should be no
embargo on Pakistan-Iran trade as other countries in the world are also
engaging in trade with Iran
December 12, 2014
Iran’s economic minister Ali
Tayebnia met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on December 9, 2014. Iran’s economic
delegation, led by Tayebnia, visited Islamabad to attend the 19th meeting of
the Iran-Pakistan Economic Commission (IPEC) to enhance bilateral trade and to
increase the pace of implementation of existing agreements. Earlier, Tayebnia
met Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar and said that Pakistan is a reliable
partner of Iran in all fields, including the economy and foreign policy. He
noted that the trade exchange between Iran and Pakistan stood at $ 893 million
during 2014 and that the two states should do their best for a 20 percent
increase.
Trade between Pakistan and Iran
peaked at $ 1.32 billion in 2008-2009 but subsequently declined and is
presently around $ 893 million. The elected governments of both countries want
to boost trade, which remained low due to international sanctions on Tehran.
However, several other countries like China, Russia and India have been able to
resist these sanctions and have maintained trade relations with Iran. The trade
volume between the two countries remained low despite the signing of a
preferential trade agreement on March 4, 2004, which became operational on September
1, 2006. Nevertheless, it is understood that the two countries have a much
higher trade volume through informal channels, such as through smuggling and
third country transactions.
Pakistan has identified five
places for the setting up of trading centres along the Pak-Iran border, i.e.
Taftan-Minjaveh, Ladgashtjalaq, Parome-Kuhak, Mand-Peshin and Santsar-Nobandan.
The purpose of these common border markets is to sell goods at concessional
rates of customs duty and other taxes in order to control growing cross-border
illegal trade. The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will further enhance economic
cooperation between the two countries. It would ensure the supply of 750
million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Pakistan, which is required to
keep our industrial and commercial wheel in perpetual motion.At present, major
commodities exported to Iran by Pakistan include rice, meat, paper, paperboard,
textiles, fruits (particularly mangoes and oranges), sesame seeds, chickpeas,
beans and surgical goods.
Rice enjoys the lion’s share of approximately
35 percent, followed by meat at 20 percent and paper and paperboard at 19
percent. The major commodities imported from Iran include organic chemicals,
plastic, minerals, oil, iron and steel. The two countries have agreed to open
up bank branches and facilitate a currency swap but the details are still
inconclusive. Iran had offered that Iran’s Bank Milli and Pakistan’s National
Bank open branches on a reciprocal basis but this process is taking time. The
mode of business transactions is through the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), which
is more time consuming than a normal letter of credit (LC).
Opening a LC through Iran’s
sister companies in Dubai also adds to the costs and it only benefits Dubai’s
banks. It would be far more profitable if trade were permitted in local
currencies instead of dollars.There should be no embargo on Pakistan-Iran trade
as other countries in the world are also engaging in trade with Iran. Pakistan
has banking channels with various countries worldwide and therefore there is no
reason that only Iran be excluded in this respect. Both Pakistan and Iran have
joint chambers of commerce with a number of countries. These forums, mainly
managed by the private sector, go a long way in facilitating the growth of
bilateral commercial relations. Pakistan needs to have a joint chamber of
commerce with Iran as well. It will facilitate greater interaction between the
private sectors of the two countries.
Moreover, both countries should
try to divert informal trade towards legal channels by checking ongoing
smuggling, a revision of trade policies and also a reduction of tariff and
non-tariff barriers. It is difficult to check smuggling through administrative
measures. The best way is through the elimination or reduction of tariff and
non-tariff barriers.Iran and Pakistan need to strengthen their economic
relationship in the face of the evolving regional situation and the depressed
global economic growth.
Trade is the best way to strengthen and
sustain mutual relations in the changing international scenario. The Iranian
economic minister’s recent visit to Pakistan is a breath of fresh air in the
otherwise stagnant geo-political environment, particularly after the tense
border situation between the two countries. His visit may enhance the pace of
bilateral projects, including the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, as he
stressed on implementation of bilateral agreements, including the Iran-Pakistan
gas pipeline and the export of electricity.
corporate corner
December 12, 2014
Chinese journalists team discusses
trade with SM Munir
KARACHI (PR): Liu Xing, Wang Yan & Wang Yuehua, Chinese Journalists of Guangzhou Daily Group called on S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive TDAP on 10th December 2014 at TDAP. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the trade matters between Pakistan and China and to highlight the same in Chinese media. S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive TDAP praised role of China and said that China is all weather friend of Pakistan. The Chinese journalists were communicated that balance of trade between Pakistan and China is in the favor of China and next week Chinese delegation is visiting Islamabad to talk on expansion of list of items in Pak – China FTA. It was also communicated that Pakistan has increased the participation in Chinese trade fairs due to encouraging response and increased buying power.
KARACHI (PR): Liu Xing, Wang Yan & Wang Yuehua, Chinese Journalists of Guangzhou Daily Group called on S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive TDAP on 10th December 2014 at TDAP. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the trade matters between Pakistan and China and to highlight the same in Chinese media. S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive TDAP praised role of China and said that China is all weather friend of Pakistan. The Chinese journalists were communicated that balance of trade between Pakistan and China is in the favor of China and next week Chinese delegation is visiting Islamabad to talk on expansion of list of items in Pak – China FTA. It was also communicated that Pakistan has increased the participation in Chinese trade fairs due to encouraging response and increased buying power.
Pakistani Yarn, Leather, Marble and its products and handcrafts of Pakistan are liked in China and exports of Pakistan in these products have increased considerably in last 3 – 5 years. Exponential rise in sea food exports of China has also been witnessed and Chinese companies are also investing in sea food sector to get the maximum benefit / profit from this sector. Chief Executive TDAP termed Kunming Fair of China a good fair in which Pakistani exporters desires to participate due to its trade and export potential. He further added that Pakistan is importing lot of products from China and Chinese government should encourage their importers to import from China for strong trade ties between both the countries. Mr. Javaid Akhter, D.G. Asia, provided them data related with trade related between Pakistan – China to them to highlight in the Chinese Media.
Dr. M. Yousuf Khan, D.G. Agro Food, briefed them about the Agro Food trade between both the countries and informed that there is no trade barrier as far as Pakistani agro food products are concerned, however, due to higher freight costs, it become difficult for the exporters of Pakistan to export their agro related products with China. In the last, Mr. S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive TDAP gave souvenirs to the guests.
Resource Academia event
LAHORE (PR): Resource Academia
hosted the CIE O-Level High Achiever Award Ceremony at the Senior Campus,
recognizing the alumni who achieved outstanding grades in the Cambridge
International Examinations 2014. The school also recognized the O Level faculty
members whose students achieved brilliant results in CIE 2014.
The Dean of University of Central Punjab, Dr. Mohammad Zafar Iqbal Jadoon presided over the ceremony as the Guest of Honour. He was accompanied by the Project Director of Resource Academia, Dr. Shahid Mahmood. The prestigious Chief Guests presented the awards to the students and faculty members.
The Dean of University of Central Punjab, Dr. Mohammad Zafar Iqbal Jadoon presided over the ceremony as the Guest of Honour. He was accompanied by the Project Director of Resource Academia, Dr. Shahid Mahmood. The prestigious Chief Guests presented the awards to the students and faculty members.
Punjab Overseas Commission lauded
LAHORE (PR): Pakistan Overseas
Alliance Forum Europe Ch Ejaz and PML N Youth Wing, Spain president Shehzad
Usman in a joint statement appreciated the Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif for
establishing the Punjab Overseas Commission that would help in addressing the
problems related to the overseas Pakistanis.PTCL to provide data centre
services to Soneri Bank
KARACHI (PR): PTCL has inked an agreement with Soneri Bank to provide Data Center hosting services.
KARACHI (PR): PTCL has inked an agreement with Soneri Bank to provide Data Center hosting services.
PTCL Data Center will serve
Soneri Bank’s integrated branch banking operations spanning over 250 branches.
Kamal Ahmed, Chief Digital
Services Officer said “We are pleased to extend cooperation to Soneri Bank.
PTCL business solutions are designed to enable growth and the company is
striving to empower organisations and improve efficiencies through its
end-to-end ICT solutions.”
“Our state-of-the-art Data
Centers offer optimum network security and profitability, thus helping
organisations to move up the value chain,” added Kamal Ahmed.
Muhammad Aftab Manzoor, President & CEO, Soneri Bank said at the occasion, “The synergy of PTCL with Soneri Bank is a welcomed combination to achieve our goal to deliver exceptional client experiences through improved operational efficiency.”
Muhammad Aftab Manzoor, President & CEO, Soneri Bank said at the occasion, “The synergy of PTCL with Soneri Bank is a welcomed combination to achieve our goal to deliver exceptional client experiences through improved operational efficiency.”
Senior management from both the
organisations including Kamal Ahmed, Chief Digital Services Officer, PTCL;
Muhammad Aftab Manzoor, President & CEO, Soneri Bank; Amin A. Feerasta,
Chief Risk Officer, Soneri Bank; Ahmed Saqib Asad, Chief Information Officer,
Soneri Bank; Noman Muzaffar, Head Infrastructure Services, Soneri Bank and Mirza
Sajid Baig, General Manager Corporate Services, PTCL were present at the
occasion.
PTCL is the leader in the corporate digital services that provide large network-based organisations with greater efficiency through its seamless ICT services.
PTCL is the leader in the corporate digital services that provide large network-based organisations with greater efficiency through its seamless ICT services.
Berger cricket tournament
AHORE (PR): Berger Paints
Pakistan Limited organised its 10th Inter Departmental Cricket Tournament. It
was a day & night event in which all departments from Berger participated
with great interest and excitement. Technical department won the tournament
after a very thrilling and impressive performance from both teams.
Matco Rice at Canada expo
KARACHI (PR): Pakistan’s largest
basmati rice exporter, Matco Rice Processing (Pvt) Limited, represented the
country’s finest quality of rice at the 3rd Edition of Canada Pakistan Trade
Expo in Ontario, Canada. The exhibition was organized with Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and Consulate General of
Pakistan in Toronto, with the sole purpose of creating awareness about business
opportunities that exist in Pakistan.
Matco Rice displayed its Flagship brand “Falak” which is one of the highest and most popular selling brands in Canada, and is available in all SKUs.
Matco Rice displayed its Flagship brand “Falak” which is one of the highest and most popular selling brands in Canada, and is available in all SKUs.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Jawed Ali Ghori, Chairman of Matco Rice said, “We at Matco Rice strongly believe that the lifeblood of global market is trade. The Canada Pakistan Trade Expo has given us the opportunity to display our top quality rice brands and enhance our economic significance by creating a more global demand of our brands”. Responding to a question which was put forward by a Canadian journalist interviewing him during the exhibition, Jawed Ali Ghori said, “There is so much to be gained from improved branding and marketing practices within the rice industry in Pakistan. Our competitors are selling our rice by developing them into their own brands
USA
Rice Outlook Conference Wrap-up
LITTLE
ROCK, AR - The 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference successfully wrapped up here on
Tuesday. The USA Rice Federation reports
attendance of 840, the second highest total on record, and the largest trade
show in USA Rice Outlook Conference history with more than 70 booths featuring
rice-related equipment, technology, products and services. Arkansas was the host state for this year's
conference and Governor-elect Asa Hutchinson
welcomed
attendees at the opening session. The
program included farm bill implementation, conservation, the Central American
market for U.S. rice, trade policy, research, and other issues that affect the
outlook for U.S. rice. The 2015 USA Rice Outlook Conference will be held
December 9-11 in New Orleans, LA.
For
more information, contact USA Rice at (703) 236-2300.
Crawford
to Lead House Commodities and Risk Management Ag Subcommittee
WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative Michael Conaway (R-TX), the next
chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, this week named Rep. Rick Crawford
(R-AR) as Chairman of the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
Subcommittee. Crawford is from Arkansas'
1st Congressional District and is a strong advocate for the U.S. rice
industry. Both Crawford and Conaway
received the USA Rice Federation's Friend of the U.S. Rice Industry Award
earlier this year.
"Congressman
Crawford understands the inherent risks associated with farming and the
importance of the farm safety net," said Ben Mosely, USA Rice's vice
president of government affairs.
"Rice producers in Arkansas and every other rice producing state
will be well represented with Mr. Crawford in this leadership role."The
Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee has jurisdiction over commodity
programs and the federal crop insurance program and was formerly chaired by
Rep. Conaway.
Contact:
Michael Klein (703) 236-1458
Thailand confident of regaining top rice exporter slot
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Industry remains in doldrums on
back of ongoing complications related to previous goverment's failed rice
subsidies-scheme
 BANGKOK - Thailand
is predicting it will regain its position as the world's leading
rice-exporter, even though the industry is still reeling on the back of
ongoing complications related to a failed rice subsidies-scheme.For decades
the Kingdom led the way, until then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
instigated a scheme in 2011 that saw farmers paid 30-40 percent above market
level for their rice.
With the government
unable to shift the grains at a profit, stockpiles have grown dramatically. Chookiat
Ophaswongse, the honorary president of the Thai rice exporters association,
told the Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the country could again surpass
India and Vietnam.“We are quite confident that, if our prices are not too far
apart from those of our competitors worldwide, we should be able to regain
and maintain the position of top world exporter from now on,” he said.Since
2011, total losses due to the scheme have risen to $5.8 billion, according to
Rangsan Sriworasart, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance.
Thailand is projected to export 9.8 million tons of rice this
year, compared to 6.5 million tons in 2013.It hopes that the
2014 figure will see it surpass India (8.5 million tons) and
Vietnam (6.5), but the country is still burdened by its excess.Of the 17
million ton stockpile, analysts, however, say only 10 percent is considered
of good quality.Somporn Isvilanonda, a senior fellow at the Knowledge Network
Institute of Thailand, told AA that around 14 million tons "is
substandard" and "needs to be milled again to be sold on the world
market.""The problem is that we don’t know exactly how large is the
loss of quality of the stored rice, we just have general data," he
added.
Despite the promise of a rise in exports, Thai rice has been
heavily penalized by a steep decline in price - mostly because of the massive
stockpile and efforts by the previous government to release it onto the world
market before it deteriorated.Ophaswongse said that Shinawatra was forced to
sell some of the pile from mid-2013, as the subsidies scheme was costing so
much."But it did not sell it on a tender-basis, but rather through
secret channels at very low prices under the guise of
government-to-government agreements,” he claimed.
In fact, he says, the rice was sold to some private companies
connected to the government at prices that allowed them to make a very large
profit.“The effect was that it depressed the market price,”
he underlined.Between November 2011 (the launch of the subsidies scheme)
and November 2014, the price of Thai rice fell by 30 percent.The current
military appointed government - which overthrew Shinawatra's May 22 - is
determined to unload the rice stock as the longer it is kept in warehouses,
the longer its quality deteriorates.
It has called for auctions and is trying to negotiate new
government-to-government agreements, with its price falling so low that it is
becoming attractive again for large buyers such as China, India and
Indonesia.Ophaswongse warned that such agreements should be done with extreme
caution. “The government must release the rice from warehouses
gradually, not in large volumes, and it has to monitor the market very
closely.""They can do it when the world market is short of rice,
for instance a few months after the harvest,” he added.The Thai commerce
ministry announced this week that it plans to sell 400,000 tons of rice
before the end of the year, after having sold previously 350,000 tons in
November.
Copyright © 2014 Anadolu Agency
UN
REPORT: 2014 A RECORD YEAR FOR WORLD CEREAL PRODUCTION
Dec. 12, 2014 Source: U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release Latest indications confirm that world cereal production will reach an all-time record of more than 2.5 billion tonnes in 2014. Buoyed by bumper crops in Europe and a record maize output in the United States of America, this year's cereal output should reach 2.532 billion tonnes, including rice in milled terms, or 0.3% higher than 2013, according to FAO's latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report.
The record global cereal harvest in
2014 will outpace projected world cereal utilization in 2014/15, allowing
stocks to rise to their highest level since 2000 and pushing the worldwide
stock-to-use ratio, a proxy measure for supply conditions, to rise to 25.2
percent, its highest level in 13 years, according to FAO. However, the report also warns that food
insecurity is worsening in a number of countries due to civil conflicts,
adverse weather and the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak.
Some 38 countries are at risk of
food insecurity, including 29 in Africa, 3 more countries than reported in
October. EVD triggered one of the biggest shocks to West
Africa's agriculture and food sectors, as it started to spread when crops
were being planted and expanded throughout the farming cycle, especially in
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. FAO warned that local rice prices and those
for cassava, the region's second staple food, showed notable increases in
Freetown and other cities in September. Adverse weather in the Sahel region is also
expected to result in a sharply reduced harvest - by as much as 38 percent
below average in Senegal.
Conflict seriously impacts on food insecurity The situation in Syria is particularly urgent, as a weak harvest is exacerbating strains due to worsening civil conflict. An estimated 6.8 million people - some refugees in neighboring countries - are facing severe food insecurity. FAO reports a notable production decline for the 2014 crop, due to abandoned land, scarce labor, damaged power stations and canals as well as drought conditions. The situation in Iraq is also acutely serious, where the number of people displaced due to civil conflict has tripled since last year to 2.8 million. One third of the population is in need of urgent food assistance in the Central African Republic (CAR), where this year's food crop production is estimated to be 58 percent below average despite improving on 2013, FAO said.
It noted an increase in violence
since early October in a country where one in four households has resorted to
negative coping strategies, including selling productive assets and
slaughtering livestock. Prices of agricultural commodities shot up as
much as 70 percent this year in the CAR. According to FAO, the decline in
cereal output was partially mitigated by a large 45 percent jump in the
production of cassava, which though less nutritious is less reliant on labor
and other inputs. Refugee movements - especially from Sudan's
Darfur region, northern Nigeria, the CAR and Mali - have put pressure on
local food supplies, notably in Chad, where more than 550,000 people need
food and livelihood assistance, according to the report.
While the recent harvest and
delivery of humanitarian aid has offered relief, more than 6 million people
in South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia are deemed to be in need of food and
livelihood assistance. Prices in those countries remain at high levels, with
sorghum prices running as much as four times higher in some of the most
conflict-affected areas, further deteriorating vulnerable people's access to
food.
Maize supplies stable in Southern and Eastern Africa
Elsewhere in Africa conditions were
better, especially in Southern Africa, where stable maize prices declined due
to ample supplies from this year's bumper output boosted food security. More
stable maize supplies also led to a 78 percent drop in the number of
food-insecure persons in Zimbabwe. Recent harvests and favourable prospects for
the second season crops helped push maize prices down in some countries of
East Africa. Meanwhile, 2014 cereal crop production was
slightly below average in North Africa, where Morocco suffered sharp
reductions due to erratic rains while the output in Tunisia recovered after a
poor 2013 harvest.
Dry conditions result in reduced Central American harvest Mexico is enjoying a bumper maize crop and its cereal output is expected to increase by 7 percent above last year's record harvest, FAO said. That may ease the production short-fall expected in Central America, where a drought earlier in the year pushed the maize output down by around 9 percent, resulting in 400,000 families in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala needing food assistance. Aggregate cereal output from Europe this year is estimated to be 5.6 percent higher than 2013, while the U.S.'s record maize output comes despite less acreage being sowed
Posted: Dec 11, 2014 11:43 AM PSTUpdated: Dec 11, 2014 11:53 AM PST
Rice farmers
harvest bountiful second crop this year
Johnny Saichuk
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Cook It At
Home: Chefs' Holiday Dinners
OPB | Dec. 12, 2014 midnight
CONTRIBUTED BY:
For our Cook it at Home series, OPB visits Portland-area chefs and food-industry
entrepreneurs to see how they prepare their favorite dishes in their home
kitchens. This month, we caught up with some of our Cook it at Home alums to find out how they celebrate the holidays.
Chef Mirna
Attar of Ya Hala restaurant
OPB: What do you cook for
holiday dinners?
Mirna Attar: I cook a Christmas dinner every
year for friends and family. We usually host about 45-50 people in our home on
Christmas Day. It is another chance for us to all get together and celebrate
each other’s company.
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
Kibbeh Neyyeh
Joyce Attar
MA: While we tend to have 10-15
dishes, I usually start with Brie canapés with a sundried tomato pesto as an
appetizer. This is usually wiped out within the first half hour. Another dish I
love to make is Kibbeh Neyyeh, a Lebanese take on steak tartare. We purée a
beef tenderloin and knead it with bulgar pilaf, allspice, mint and onion and
drizzle it with olive oil. Finally, we all love eating my stuffed Cornish game
hen which I fill with basmati rice, ground beef, chestnuts and herbs.
We always have a batch of fresh olives at the dinner table for Christmas. We cure the olives in September and October and they are ready for the holiday season. Salty and bitter, olives bring everyone around the dinner table before, during and after the meal.
We always have a batch of fresh olives at the dinner table for Christmas. We cure the olives in September and October and they are ready for the holiday season. Salty and bitter, olives bring everyone around the dinner table before, during and after the meal.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
MA: As a kid we visited family and
friends from home to home on Christmas Day. We were always given a Jordan
almond, chocolate and a shot of cognac in their homes. The family with the
finest chocolate and cognac would earn bragging rights that year.
Matt &
Chong Choi of Choi's Kimchi Company
John Kin / OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Chong Choi: You can find me in the kitchen cooking for just about every
holiday in the winter.
As the owner of a kimchi company
it’s kind of funny, but most people don’t think of kimchi as a holiday food.
But you can be sure there will be many different varieties of kimchi that sprinkle
our holiday spread. I cook a mixture of American and Korean food for the
holidays and am usually cooking for about 20 family and friends. Turkey, ham,
mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, japchae (sweet potato noodles,
vegetables, beef), bossam (sliced pork belly served with fresh kimchi and
garlic) and kimchi are almost always present.
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
Galbi Jjim
Courtesy of Matt & Chong Choi
CC: Galbi Jjim is probably the favorite dish during the holidays in
my household. It’s a Korean braised beef short rib dish. My kids can’t get
enough of it.
Sometimes we’ll play Yut Nori.
Especially around New Year’s. It’s a traditional Korean board game. Sebeh is
also a big Korean tradition involving the children wishing their elders a Happy
New Year by performing a deep bow and being rewarded with money.
My kids hated me for doing this, but I would gather all the kids and make them perform a mini talent show. My niece would play the flute, and my sons would play piano or guitar. They loathed it.
My kids hated me for doing this, but I would gather all the kids and make them perform a mini talent show. My niece would play the flute, and my sons would play piano or guitar. They loathed it.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
CC: The first year I came to the States, I was really shocked at how
different the holiday food was here. It was nothing like the food back home. I
didn’t know there were turkeys that big. I actually thought it was a giant
chicken! It piqued my interest and I learned how to prepare them from my mom
who moved here before I did.
Chef Jenn
Louis of Lincoln Restaurant and Sunshine Tavern
John Kin / OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Jenn Louis: I celebrate Hanukkah. I am Jewish. So for Hanukkah, I always
make a braised brisket and it’s different than a smoked brisket you typically
see at barbecue joints. It’s braised really, really slowly and it’s very
tender, and we serve that with traditional potato latkes. I always make either
an apple or pear sauce to go with it. I like an applesauce, but I usually use
pears and vanilla. We always have jelly doughnuts, which are the traditional
dessert for Hanukkah, called sufganiyot.
Potato
latkes & braised brisket
Jenn Louis
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
JL: My husband and I are both Jewish. We are both from different
kinds of heritage. My family is from Eastern Europe, and his family are Greek
Jews, so we kind of blend a little bit of the two traditions together for our
holidays.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
Bacon apple pie
Jenn Louis
JL: Christmas Day is really fun for
us because we don’t celebrate Christmas, but we always go out for Chinese food
for dinner later that evening. That’s pretty traditional. It’s kind of a joke
that it’s always the Jewish Christmas is Chinese food.
Another thing to add … I have a
really good friend who loves bacon, so I made him a bacon apple pie for
Thanksgiving one year as a treat.
Tyler Malek
John Kin / OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Tyler Malek: I love roasting the birds for each meal, typically turkey for
Thanksgiving and duck for Christmas. I’m not sure why I always try to sign up
for these. There’s something about the perfectly crispy skin and the joy people
have when you bring out the main course!
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
TM: My grandma has a pretty killer
oyster casserole recipe. Buttery, salty and pleasantly fishy! I remember
growing up and always looking forward to this casserole! After looking back on
it, the funny thing about our grandma’s famous oyster casserole was that we
were eating this ‘delicacy’ in rural Montana — not until I was in my 20s did I
realize that the oysters were all from a can.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
TM: My stepdad, although culinarily challenged, was the bearer of
warmed Parker House rolls. He used to buy WAY too many par-cooked rolls and
microwave them till they were WAY too undercooked. With a slab of butter, he
would pass the doughy doughnut-like rolls around between my brothers and me as
we all played games and watched football.
Kayo Lackey / OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Bonnie Morales: For Hanukkah: latkes, applesauce,
carrot tsimmes, apple cider doughnuts.
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
BM: Latkes are the only real
family/cultural tradition. I couldn’t imagine Hanukkah without them. Besides
being big on Hanukkah for most people, they are something that my
grandfather used to make year-round. He was famous for them (in the family,
that is). Belarus, where my family is from, is known as potato country, so
fried potato pancakes are just part of the daily fare. They are known as
Dryaniki. I think serving them with applesauce is something that was picked up
here in the States. Back in Belarus they were just eaten with sour cream
(smetana). I’d say the type of applesauce I make these days is somewhat unique.
A little smoother and brighter than the Motts variety.
As an adult, I’ve taken on making doughnuts on Hanukkah. Again, this is not a family tradition, but something that is common amongst American Jews. I press fresh apple juice for them and I think they are pretty tasty (though not all that unique, I suppose).
Carrot tsimmes is a dish that has no historical or family tie to Hanukkah, but I always crave it this time of year so I tend to make it for Hanukkah. I do know it to be a popular dish in the Jewish canon. It is a slow braise of meat (I bounce between short rib or chicken thighs) in a whole bunch of shredded carrots. Cooked carrots on their own are very one note, but the meaty braise transforms them to something craveable.
As an adult, I’ve taken on making doughnuts on Hanukkah. Again, this is not a family tradition, but something that is common amongst American Jews. I press fresh apple juice for them and I think they are pretty tasty (though not all that unique, I suppose).
Carrot tsimmes is a dish that has no historical or family tie to Hanukkah, but I always crave it this time of year so I tend to make it for Hanukkah. I do know it to be a popular dish in the Jewish canon. It is a slow braise of meat (I bounce between short rib or chicken thighs) in a whole bunch of shredded carrots. Cooked carrots on their own are very one note, but the meaty braise transforms them to something craveable.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
BM: In my childhood home, the menorah
was always on the kitchen table. I remember my brother and I getting in trouble
for using it to roast stuff while eating dinner. You know, potatoes or other
items off the dinner plate. We even got a marshmallow going before we were
busted. Real interactive dining!
Heidi Nestler and her husband,
Daisuke Fukushima, who makes natto at home
John Kin / OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Heidi Nestler: When our family lived in an old house in Kyoto without central
heat, the four of us would often huddle together in the winter and cook at the
table, in large part to keep warm! We love nabe (Japanese one-pot dishes) where
we cook vegetables and meat or fish in a broth. My favorite nabe in Kyoto was
made with thinly sliced duck meat. The broth at the end is so rich and fatty,
so good mixed with a little rice or noodles! Come to think of it, I always have
soup or nabe on solstice, going back to when the kids were little.
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or cultural traditions?
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or cultural traditions?
HN: On December 26th, we typically
take down all Christmas decorations and launch into preparations for Japanese
New Year’s. Basically we clean a lot, then cook a lot. A little before
midnight, we eat toshikoshi soba (“year-end noodles”). In Japan, we could hear
the temple bell start to toll 108 times around this time of the night. Each
ring represents an earthly temptation in Buddhist belief. It sounds corny, but
since living in Portland we will sometimes listen to a recording of a resonant
temple bell tolling while we slurp our noodles! Also, my German grandmother’s
tradition was to eat pickled herring at midnight, which goes surprisingly well
with soba.
Osechi
Courtesy of Heidi Nestler
Osechi, the New Year’s foods that we spend the last days of the year
busily preparing and procuring, are meant to last for a few days. Most of the
dishes have auspicious symbolism and we take care to arrange them in plates and
boxes that only get pulled out at New Year’s. My favorite osechi dish is
kazunoko, or herring roe. It is salty and crunchy like no other crunchy food I
know. We start New Year’s Day with saké infused with Chinese medicinal herbs,
toso. There are a few other favorite foods that are not traditional for New
Year’s, but which I make every year to have during the first couple of days of
January: chirashi, or scattered sushi; oden, a winter stew with fish cakes and
chikuzen-ni, a medley of wonderful root vegetables and chicken simmered in a
soy-based broth.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
HN: Growing up, Christmas Eve dinner meant something a little fancy. My father would always ask if we were having pheasant under glass, but we never did. I do remember small birds, though, like squab and Cornish game hens, and lots of stuffed mushrooms and Brie. My mom would also sometimes make pizza fondue to appeal to me. It’s still all about the melted cheese for me, I guess. These days our tradition is to serve raclette.
Christmas Day we always had a traditional meal which centered on ham or turkey. I grew up in upstate New York, where we would have big storms that would knock out the power for days sometimes. This happened one Christmas, and I will never forget my mom in her apron and snow boots carefully carrying the turkey in its roasting pan up a hill to cook in our neighbors’ gas oven. And then her deliberate steps back down the hill with our steaming turkey. I thought she was amazing because she didn’t drop it!
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
HN: Growing up, Christmas Eve dinner meant something a little fancy. My father would always ask if we were having pheasant under glass, but we never did. I do remember small birds, though, like squab and Cornish game hens, and lots of stuffed mushrooms and Brie. My mom would also sometimes make pizza fondue to appeal to me. It’s still all about the melted cheese for me, I guess. These days our tradition is to serve raclette.
Christmas Day we always had a traditional meal which centered on ham or turkey. I grew up in upstate New York, where we would have big storms that would knock out the power for days sometimes. This happened one Christmas, and I will never forget my mom in her apron and snow boots carefully carrying the turkey in its roasting pan up a hill to cook in our neighbors’ gas oven. And then her deliberate steps back down the hill with our steaming turkey. I thought she was amazing because she didn’t drop it!
John Rosman/OPB
OPB: What do you cook for holiday dinners?
Gabe Rosen: Ours change every year. Sometimes
we do things with our family, sometimes with our Biwa family, sometimes a
combination, and honestly we absolutely love to spend Christmas Day,
particularly just the two of us, at home, the restaurant is closed, everything
else is closed.
OPB: Are there any unique dishes you cook? Any family or
cultural traditions?
GR: I love to cook, for the two of us or a crowd, and over the
holidays I like to cook turkeys for a crowd or Dungeness crabs if it is the two
of us. Kina makes a very good cheesecake (for a crowd), and we also both really
like to come together on an afternoon for a long German-style Christmas Day
brunch buffet in our kitchen enjoyed in our pajamas. Kina makes biscuits, we
have real soft scrambled eggs, smoked fish, lots of tea (Earl Grey for Kina,
Pu-erh for Gabe), vollkornbrot from Fressen or spelt from Little T, little salads, cheese, endless butter, yogurt, some pastries
just to be safe (but less in recent years). We will gladly do this for guests,
but absolutely love to do it just the two of us and the cats. I also make and
we eat a lot of soup. Right now we are deep in a fish sauce/turkey soup that is
really hitting the spot.
OPB: Do you have any interesting memories about holiday food?
GR: I wouldn’t say that either of us
are particularly traditional about the holiday season. I like to get a present
from Kina. I grew up eating ‘Thanksgiving Dinner Part Two’ for Christmas
because my dad likes it and likes cooking it. We liked it, too. My dad has a
fairly ritualized holiday meal that I grew up eating that, among other
recognizable items (dressing, gravy, bird), also contains Japanese potstickers
(gyoza) that a restaurant owner/friend taught him to make and that we all like
and are somehow part of the Biwa story, too.
Source
with thanks: http://agriculture.einnews.com/article/239398472/FlCdzEfUXxDXtB8l
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