PH to boost rice production
Villar said that once the facility becomes
fully operational it would enable to nurture and study plants, particularly
rice, in a wide range of environment, controlling for temperature, relative
humidity, light intensity, photo period systems, water management systems, and
the precise control of atmospheric gases.She described the entry of Llyod Evans
Plant Growth Facility as a “welcome development” at the latest IRRI facility.She
braces for what the facility can develop that will help sustain rice production
even during difficult climate conditions
Source with thanks: http://www.tempo.com.ph/2015/02/03/ph-to-boost-rice-production/
The ban on forex for rice importation
With the
collapse of world oil prices, it was only a matter of time before Nigeria
tightened up its finances. It was, therefore, no surprise that the
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced last
week that the Federal Government would no longer make foreign exchange
available to rice importers in the country. He also rightly deplored the
expenditure of so much foreign exchange on importation of rice and other goods
that could be produced locally. The importation of these products, he
said, puts severe pressure on the Naira and depletes the nation’s scarce forex
reserves.
In
addition to rice, Emefiele lamented Nigeria’s dependence on imported
toothpicks, tomato paste, furniture, fish, sugar, and petroleum products, which
he described as misplaced and a waste of national resources. The apex
bank has already banned the use of dollars purchased at its bi-weekly auctions
for the importation of electronics, telecommunications equipment and
generators. It maintains it would, however, not ban the importation of rice but
would not provide the foreign exchange for it in order to stem the rising tide
of speculative dollar demands.The CBN’s decision restricting access to forex
for certain categories of imports is timely and well thought out. It rhymes
with the Federal Government’s policy on encouragement of investment in domestic
rice production.
The
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has a goal to
achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by the year 2017.The Federal
Government has also been encouraging investors with sweet deals like the
preferential duty rates by which investors with verified domestic rice
production plans would enjoy import duty of 10 per cent and import levy of 20
per cent. Rice traders, on the other hand, would be liable to 60 per cent
levy in addition to the 10 per cent import duty.
Nigeria
spends a whopping N1 billion daily on rice importation. The imports
regime is embroiled in controversy as the Federal Government is now trying to
recover some N36.5 billion from rice importation companies being duty for
excess rice imported in violation of their approved quota. The government had
approved importation of 223,902 metric tons of rice by the companies in order
to bridge the gap between domestic production and national consumer demand but
the companies went ahead to import 732,555 metric tons, which is
508,653.55 metric tons in excess of government allocation.The government is,
indeed, right in its bid to recover the duties that ought to have been paid on
the rice imported in excess of approved allocations.
It is
important to recover this money to send a strong message that there will be
inescapable consequences when government’s policies are flouted with impunity.We
urge the Federal Government to be steadfast on this new rice policy because it
is right. Commodities that can be produced locally ought not to be
allowed to constitute a drain on our foreign exchange. With more than 82
million hectares of arable land and millions of capable hands, there is no
doubt that the country can grow enough rice to meet local demand and have some
to spare for export.
In
addition to encouraging our local and small-scale farmers to do more, the FMARD
must continue to liaise with the Dangote Group to be sure that there would be
no delay or administrative bottlenecks in the company’s $1 billion rice project
for which it has acquired 150,000 hectares of land across five states for the
commercial production of rice paddy.The Dangote project is clearly the
arrowhead of the country’s drive for self-sufficiency in rice production and
must be encouraged and helped to succeed. Not only is it going to be the
single largest investment made in Africa for rice production, its mill
has a massive 960,000 metric tons capacity or about 46 per cent of rice
imported into the country.It is gratifying to note that investment in rice
production has grown significantly in the last few years. The new rice policy
should engender even greater increase in local production.
Although
it will, in the short term, likely make imported rice more expensive in the
country, the increased local cultivation and processing of the product will
ultimately bring down the price and serve Nigerians better in the long run.We
enjoin the government to remain committed to this policy and ensure that it
achieves the desired objective. The stoppage of access to forex for rice
imports, however, calls for close monitoring of the pricing of the product in
the market by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. This is to ensure that
the cost of rice, which is a local staple, does not go beyond the reach of
ordinary Nigerians. It will also help the government to predict and, if need
be, pre-empt scarcity of the product.
Source with thanks: http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=102973
Nigeria: 2015 -
Jonathan Has Failed in Agriculture - APC
Tagged:AgribusinessBusinessGovernanceNigeriaWest
Africa
The All
Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, APCPCO, has accused
the President Goodluck Jonathan administration of massive corruption in the
country's agricultural sector."President Jonathan has failed woefully in
the agricultural sector, and all the self-praise of the administration on
agriculture is simply a ruse," the APCPCO said in a statement released on
Sunday, February 1.The statement, signed by Garba Shehu, pointed out that
whereas President Jonathan had promised in 2010 to make Nigeria self-sufficient
in rice and wheat production by 2015, "the grim reality on the ground
today is that Nigeria emerged as the world's highest importer of rice in 2015,
and a whopping $11 billion is spent annually by Nigeria to import rice, wheat,
sugar and fish."
The
statement added that according to the former Acting Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, Sarah Alade, Nigeria as at 2014 spends $4 billion on rice
importation - that is about N600 billion annually on the importation of 2.1
million metric tonnes of milled rice."This is after the Federal Government
had approached the China Exim Bank for a loan of $1.2 billion for the financing
of 100 large-scale rice processing plants with a total capacity of 2.1 million
metric tonnes."The troubling truth today, is that Nigeria is nothing close
to self-sufficiency in rice production and what we have at hand is a close web
of corruption where government cronies stumble over each other to get import
licenses for rice."The statement also noted that a similar unacceptable
situation pertained to the importation of wheat.
"According
to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina,
Nigeria's wheat consumption as at year 2000 was about two million metric
tonnes. But, by 2010, wheat importation to the country had risen to four
million metric tonnes and Nigeria spends N635 billion annually on wheat
importation."Five years into the Jonathan's administration, Nigeria spends
even more than we did in 2010 to import wheat; yet the government continues to
brandish false achievements in the agricultural sector - a situation that is
completely at variance with what President Jonathan promised Nigerians in 2010,
saying that his government would make Nigeria save N635 billion annually on
rice and wheat importation.
"On
fertilizer accessibility to farmers, the APCPCO faulted the claim by government
that local farmers now have unhindered access to fertilizer through the Growth
Enhancement Scheme.On the contrary, Mr. Shehu says that what gets to each
farmer under the e-wallet arrangement, which he described as, "excessively
laborious and technically difficult for the farmers to work through" are
two bags of fertilizer throughout the entire farming season, "and
government has not come out in one instance to tell Nigerians how much it
receives as grants on fertilizer distribution to farmers from donor
agencies.""The government will want to give us the impression that
fertilizer is being given to farmers free of charge. But we know that what
subsists is a 50 per cent subsidy per bag of fertilizer.
Our farmers
are being shortchanged under this so-called e-wallet arrangement because of lack
of transparency."We may be looking at another subsidy scam over fertilizer
unless the Jonathan administration comes out clean to tell us how much it has
received as grants over fertilizer and how it comes about the 50 per cent
subsidy per bag of fertilizer," Shehu said.
The statement dismissed President
Jonathan's claims of achievement in the agricultural sector, pointing out that
"throughout the periods preceding the Jonathan's administration, the
contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at 7 per
cent, while under the so-called transformation agenda of President Jonathan,
agriculture's contribution to the GDP has been consistent at 5 per cent - an
all-time low.
"In any case, food commodities are
items Nigerians buy on a daily basis. If the Jonathan administration was
sincere with the statistics it reels out on agriculture, why would the
government buy pages of newspaper advertorials and TV commercials to force
bitter falsehood of its achievements down the throats of Nigerians? The
Jonathan administration has failed woefully in its agricultural policies and
the facts are self-evident out there at those food stalls in our markets."In
2015, Nigerians know they spend far more to buy food than they did in 2010.
That reality, in itself, is President Jonathan's scorecard in
agriculture," the APCPCO concluded.
Garba Shehu
Directorate of Media & Publicity
APC Presidential Campaign Organisation
Source with thanks: http://allafrica.com/stories/201502020714.html
About 5000
workers left jobless as over 300 rice mills stop operation in Rangpur
Our
Correspondent
RANGPUR,
Feb 2: Around 5000 workers turned jobless as more than 300 rice mills and
boilers have been closed at Mahiganj area under Rangpur city as supply of paddy
to the mills remained suspended due to transport problem amid prolonged
blockade and shutdown enforced by BNP led 20 party alliance.Besides, a good
number of rice mills at different upazilas in the district were also compelled
to stop or lessen production owing to difficulty in sending rice to the capital
city and other parts of the country, leaving thousands of workers unemployed.According
to sources usually during this time the rice mills in the district remain busy
husking paddy and the workers are engaged in boiling and drying of paddy.
During this
time a huge number of trucks loaded with rice are sent to Dhaka and other parts
of the country from this region everyday. But the ongoing political turmoil
like blockade and shutdown made the mills idle and as a result the workers are
passing tough time amid uncertainty of income and the mills owners are
incurring huge losses.Owner of Rafiq Rice Mill at Mahiganj area Rifiq said, his
rice mill has been closed for more than a
couple of weeks due to scarcity of paddy which forced the labourers
working in his mills jobless.
He has
already suffered huge losses and if the situation continues for long he will
have to incur more losses, he apprehended.Sakina Begum (38), a worker of the
mill told the Financial Express that she has been passing hard days with her
family in near starvation as presently she has no work. She blamed the
political parties for the situation saying they do not care to think about the
misery of the poor people. "If the situation continues we will have to
die", she lamented
Talking to
The Financial Express a number of rice mills owners expressed their
disappointment over the prevailing situation saying the rice millers of the
region generally procure paddy from
Bogra, Pabna,Sirajganj Joypurthat, and
Dinajpur. After husking the rice in
their mills they supply those to Dhaka and some other districts. But presently both procurement and supply
works are seriously being hampered on account of political turmoil.They also
expressed their apprehension about paying labourers' wages, electricity bills
and interest of bank loans. They urged the political parties to give up tough
political programmes such as shutdown and blockade.
sayedmofidulbabu@gmail.com
Source with thanks: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/02/03/79034
Rice Millers Fail to Meet Centre
Target
By
Published: 03rd February 2015 06:00 AM
Last Updated: 03rd February 2015 04:28 AM
BHUBANESWAR: Even as
the Centre has set a deadline for delivery of custom milled rice to the Central
pool, rice millers of the State have failed to meet the target due to their low
milling capacity.The State Government has asked district managers of Food
Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department to take necessary steps for
expeditious delivery of custom milled rice (CMR) to Food Corporation of India
(FCI).The State had set a target for the millers for delivery of 10.58 lakh
tonnes of rice to FCI by January 21.
But the
millers have delivered only 1.45 lakh tonnes to the Central pool and another
25,000 tonnes to Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation for distribution under
PDS.Though the rice delivered to the Government is only 16 per cent of the
target, the performance of the millers is better compared to the corresponding
period of last kharif marketing season (KMS). Only 38,701 tonnes of CMR were
delivered by January 20, 2014.The Government agencies procuring paddy directly
from the farmers had procured 15.60 lakh tonnes of paddy equivalent to 10.58
lakh tonnes of rice till January 21.
As the KMS starts from October 1, delivery of
CMR to FCI should be completed before September 30. The Ministry of Food had
directed FCI not to accept CMR delivered beyond December 31.With limited
storage and milling capacity, the State Government has sought more time from
the Centre to complete the delivery of CMR.
The State Government had set a target to
procure 30 lakh tonnes of rice during 2012-13 KMS. The Government procured over
54 lakh tonnes of paddy which is equivalent to 36 lakh tonnes of rice. It
delivered 33.60 lakh tonnes of rice to the Central pool including 4.11 lakh
tonnes after December 31, 2013.Setting a target to procure 30 lakh tonnes
during the current KMS, the State Government has set an initial target of 17.69
lakh tonnes for the districts. Bargarh district, considered to be rice bowl of
the State, had procured over 5.6 lakh tonnes of paddy equivalent to 3.80 lakh
tonnes of rice. The district has so far delivered about one lakh tonnes of CMR.
Source with thanks: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Rice-Millers-Fail-to-Meet-Centre-Target/2015/02/03/article2650387.ece
2014 Farm Bill
Decision Aid Demos in Arkansas This Week
LITTLE ROCK
-- Farmers are racing to beat the clock and learn as much as they can about the
2014 Farm Bill in order to make critical decisions to meet upcoming deadlines.James
Richardson, a co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas
A&M and co-developer of a web-based tool to help farmers make these
critical decisions, will be in Arkansas demonstrating the program on Thursday,
February 5 in Stuttgart and Friday, February 6 in Jonesboro.
"The
2014 Farm Bill provides farmers three major farm program options: payment Yield Update, Base Reallocation, and
the choice between three safety net programs," said Robert Coats,
extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
"Time is running out for making these one-time, irrevocable
decisions."
Deadline for base acreage and yield decision
is February 27.
Deadline
for program election for agricultural risk coverage and price loss coverage is March 31.
The
demonstration schedule this week also includes two webinars on February 5,
starting at 9 a.m. Webinars will last
about 30 minutes and participants can register using this link:
https://uaex.zoom.us/webinar/register/c6ed14053234bd3e4ac87b605f06faf5.
There is no
cost to attend either the in-person workshops or the webinars.
For more information about the Farm Bill
series, contact your county extension office or visit www.uaex.edu/farmbill.
Contact:
Mary Hightower (501) 671-2126
Source with thanks: USA Rice Federation
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
Source with thanks:USA Rice Federation
USDA's February
10, 2015, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report to Incorporate
Changes to Rice Table
USDA Office
of Communications sent this bulletin at 02/02/2015 04:00 PM EST
You are
subscribed to USDA Office of Communications.
Release No.
0025.15
Contact:Brenda
Chapin (202) 720-5447
bchapin@oce.usda.gov
USDA's February 10, 2015, World Agricultural
Supply and Demand Estimates Report to Incorporate Changes to Rice Table
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2015 - The Feb. 10 World
Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, which will be released
at 12 noon ET, will include two new rice prices in the "Medium &
Short-grain" rice section of the table on page 14. USDA is forecasting
these two new additional rice prices that are part of the program parameters
introduced in the 2014 Farm Bill for the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and
Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
The two new
prices will be located directly under the "Average Farm Price" line
and will include:
California
Other
States
Two lines
have been added at the bottom of the rice table under the sub-heading
"Medium & Short-Grain Rice." The two new prices are a
sub-category of the combined medium- and short-grain average farm price. No
other lines were added or deleted from the table.The first publicly available
information for the 2013/14 "California" and "Other States"
prices became available in the January issue of USDA's National Agricultural
Statistics Service's Agricultural Prices report that was released on January
30, 2015.An example of the change is found on this sample WASDE page (PDF,
46KB).
Background
on USDA's WASDE report and past issues are available at:
www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/.
#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and
employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence
Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer
Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice
users).
Source with thanks: http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/bulletins/ee2a6e
Educational
seminars highlight 2015 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show
Jan 30, 2015Farm Press Staff | Delta Farm
Press
The show is sponsored by the Southern Cotton
Ginners Association and Foundation and Delta Farm Press.Ag Update Seminars are
scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in
the convention center’s lobby meeting room. Speakers will include Sledge
Taylor, incoming chairman of the National Cotton Council; Carl Brothers, Riceland
Foods; and Joe Nicosia, of Louis Dreyfus. Richard Brock, of Brock Associates,
will headline the Saturday, Ag Update seminar, providing his unique perspective
on grain marketing, as well as a market outlook.Plans are also being finalized
for the Mid-South Ag Forum, a seminar focusing on successful technology
adoption from research to the farm. Scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Friday
in the convention center mezzanine level meeting room, this seminar will
feature researchers and farmers who will explore irrigation innovations and
technology adoption on the farm.A special rice seminar, What the U.S. Rice Farmer Needs to Know to
Prosper, is set for
Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the mezzanine level meeting room. Milo Hamilton,
Co-founder and senior ag economist of First Grain, Inc., is the featured
speaker.
All this
information, and more, is available on the updated Farm and Gin Show mobile
app, which can be downloaded from iTunes or from the Android app store. The app
features show schedules and updates, speaker biographies, and maps and
exhibitor information, all designed to enhance the showgoing experience. The
app has proven to be very popular. Regular updates to information will be made
to the app during the two days of the show.Those planning to attend the show
are encouraged to pre-register online, which speeds up the process of on-site
printing of name badges.
Go to
the show website (www.farmandginshow.com), click
on the “Attendee Registration” button, complete the form and print out the
confirmation. Bring that form with you to the show and staff on-site will help
you complete the process and get your name badge so you can quickly get onto
the show floor.Anyone who pre-registers for the show by Feb. 16 will be entered
into a drawing for $1,000. The winner will be notified Feb. 17, and must
collect the prize at the Registration Booth at the show.Show hours are 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. More information is
available at www.farmandginshow.com.
Source with thanks: http://deltafarmpress.com/markets/educational-seminars-highlight-2015-mid-south-farm-gin-show
Thai Junta to
Cut Rice Crop to Combat Glut as Reserves Sold
(Bloomberg)
-- Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, plans to cut production to
reduce a local surplus and boost prices, complementing a drive by the government
to sell record stockpiles that are clogging warehouses nationwide.Rough-rice
output may be cut to 33.73 million metric tons by 2016-2017, down from an
average of 35.11 million over the past six years, according to Apichart
Pongsrihadulchai, vice farm minister. Growers will be encouraged with
incentives including soft loans to shift from rice to sugar cane or to mixed
farming with livestock, Apichart said in an interview.
Thai
authorities, led by military-leader-turned-prime minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha,
are grappling with the legacy of the previous government’s rice-buying policy.
Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration paid rice growers guaranteed, above-market
prices for their crop, spurring increased production and the buildup of the
country’s biggest ever stockpiles. Prayuth’s government last week offered
almost 1 million tons for sale from the state reserves, which it wants to clear
over the next two years.“We need to restructure our rice production to solve a
surplus problem,” Apichart said in Bangkok on Jan. 30. “We aim to slash
production to be balanced with local consumption and exports. Hopefully, that
will boost prices.”Thai 5 percent broken rice declined 7.1 percent last year,
extending a 23 percent drop in 2013. The Asian benchmark price was at $422 a
ton on Jan. 28, the day before Prayuth’s government offered the 1 million tons
for auction. Rough rice futures fell as much as 0.6 percent to $10.505 per 100
pounds in Chicago on Monday, the lowest since August 2010.
Manage Risk
“The
plan will have more chance of succeeding if there are active extension efforts
to educate farmers about the best techniques for planting alternative crops,”
David Dawe, a Bangkok-based senior economist at the United Nations’ Food &
Agriculture Organization, said in an e-mail. It’ll also be important to provide
ways for growers to manage risk, as most crops are riskier to plant and market
than rice, he said.Over the next two years, about 700,000 rai (112,000
hectares) are targeted to be switched from rice to sugar cane, and a further
1.1 million rai will be switched to mixed farming, said Apichart.
The government also plans to eliminate rice
planting during the dry season across 400,000 rai, he said.Targeted output of
33.73 million tons would return Thai rice production to the same level as it
was in 2009-2010, according to the plan. The projected surplus -- the excess of
output over local demand and export needs -- will drop from about 1.1 million
tons in 2016-2017 to just 200,000 tons in 2019-2020. The policy to shift land
away from rice is subject to approval by a rice-policy committee, Apichart
said.
Record Crop
Under Yingluck’s rice-buying spree, production
climbed to a record in 2011-2012, while reserves expanded to 17.8 million tons
last year. That’s equivalent to more than 40 percent of global trade.Earlier
this month, Thailand’s junta-appointed legislature impeached Yingluck and
banned her from politics for five years for her role in overseeing the
rice-buying program. The Attorney General’s office said criminal charges will
follow.Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Petipong Puengbun Na Ayudhya
said in an interview in October that there would be incentives for growers to
switch crops to curb oversupply, notably from rice to sugar.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok atssuwannakij@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this
story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.netJake
Lloyd-Smith, Claudia Carpenter
Source with thanks: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/thai-junta-to-slash-rice-crop-cut-glut-as-stockpiles-sold-off
Declining exports of
basmati rice
Government to slash rice crop,
sell stockpiles to cut glut
Published: 2 Feb 2015 at
15.55
Online news: News
Writer: Bangkok Post and Bloomberg News
Thailand,
the world’s biggest rice exporter, plans to cut production to reduce its
surplus and boost prices, complementing a drive by the government to sell
record stockpiles that are clogging warehouses nationwide. Rough-rice
output may be cut to 33.73 million tonnes by 2016-17, down from an average of
35.11 million over the past six years, according to Apichart Pongsrihadulchai,
vice agriculture minister. Growers will be encouraged with incentives including
soft loans to shift from rice to sugar cane or to mixed farming with livestock,
Mr Apichart said in an interview.A Suphan Buri rice farmer tends to his crop in
this October 2014 photo. The government plans to cut production to reduce a
local surplus and boost prices as it tries to sell record stockpiles that are
clogging warehouses nationwide. (Bangkok Post photo)
Thai authorities, led by
military-leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, are grappling with the
legacy of the previous government's rice-buying policy. Yingluck Shinawatra's
administration paid rice growers guaranteed, above-market prices for their
crop, spurring increased production and the build-up of the country's biggest
ever stockpiles. The government last week offered almost one million tonnes for
sale from the state reserves, which it wants to clear over the next two years."We
need to restructure our rice production to solve a surplus problem," Mr
Apichart said in Bangkok on Jan 30. "We aim to slash production to be
balanced
with
local consumption and exports. Hopefully, that will boost prices."Thai 5%
broken rice declined 7.1% last year, extending a 23% drop in 2013. The Asian
benchmark price was at $422 a tonne on Jan 28, the day before the government
offered the one million tonnes for auction.Over the next two years, about
700,000 rai are targeted to be switched from rice to sugar cane, and a further
1.1 million rai will be switched to mixed farming, said Mr Apichart.
The
government also plans to eliminate rice planting during the dry season across
400,000 rai, he said.Speaking after Monday's meeting of the National Rice Police
Committee in Nakhon Ratchasima, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the
government and farmers need to work together to grow crops suitable for their
land."Farmers should focus on growing quality rice that matches the amount
of (available) water in order to fetch high prices. If some locations cannot
produce quality rice, farmers should be supported to grow other crops," he
said.A buyer looks at a sample of rice as he walks past stacks of the grain
during a pre-auction rice inspection at the warehouse of the Boonnapa rice mill
in Chok Chai, Nakhon Ratchasima province on Jan 26. (Bloomberg photo)
Smaller harvests
Targeted output of 33.73 million tonnes would
return Thai rice production to the same level as it was in 2009-10, according
to the plan. The projected surplus — the excess of output over local demand and
export needs — will drop from about 1.1 million tonnes in 2016-2017 to just
200,000 tonnes in 2019-2020. The policy to shift land away from rice is subject
to approval by a rice-policy committee, Mr Apichart said.Under Ms Yingluck's
rice-buying spree, production climbed to a record in 2011-2012, while reserves
expanded to 17.8 million tonnes last year. That's equivalent to more than 40%
of global trade.
Source with thanks: Bangkok Post
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