Saturday, December 19, 2015

18th December,2015 Daily Global Regional,Local Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine-Latest Rice News Updates

Today Rice News Headlines...

§  کھانے کے علاوہ چاولوں کے 7ایسے حیران کُن فوائد جو آپ کو معلوم نہیں

§  NEDA cuts planned riceimports by 25 percent

§  River salinity from sea badly hits Mekong Delta rice crop

§  Nigeria: Agents Back Lifting of Ban On Rice Importation

Through Land Borders

§  Strategies sought to boost rice production

§  Study determines rice co-products valuable sources of amino

§   acids in pig diets

§  Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-December 18

§  Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

§  Omnibus Spending Bill Approved: Congress Cool with

§   COOL Repeal  

§  Tax Extenders Package Provides Permanent Credits for

§   Agriculture    

§  USA Rice Christmas Billboards Connect with Consumers in

§   Ghana  

§  CME Group/Closing Rough Rice

§  A taste of Arkansas Just in time for the holidays

§  Millstone around food security

§  Govt-trader ‘nexus’ looting them, claim farmers

§  Strategies sought to boost Nigeria rice production

§  Climate change to positively impact rice, tea in northeast'

News Detail…



کھانے کے علاوہ چاولوں کے 7ایسے حیران کُن فوائد جو آپ کو معلوم نہیں

 18 دسمبر 2015 (20:46


نیویارک(نیوزڈیسک)دنیا بھر میں چاول انتہائی مرغوبیت سے کھائے جاتے ہیں لیکن یہ ایک ایسی غذا ہے جسے کھانے کے علاوہ دیگر کاموں کے لئے بھی استعمال کیا جاسکتا ہے۔آئیے آپ کو کھانے کے علاوہ چاولوں کے 7ایسے حیران کُن فوائد بتاتے ہیں جو شاید آپ کو معلوم نہیںہوں گے۔
الیکٹرانک اشیاءکو خشک کریں
استعمال ضرور کریں
 










اکثر لوگوں کے موبائل فونز پانی میں گر جاتے ہیں یا بارش میں بھیگ جاتے ہیں لیکن اگر انہیں چاولوں والے جار میں رکھ دیا جائے تو وہ جلد خشک ہوجاتے ہیں۔اسی طرح اگر آپ گیلی الیکٹرانک اشیاءکو خشک رکھنا چاہتے ہیں تو چاولوں کے جار کا
گرائنڈر کو صاف کریں
اگر آپ گرائندڑ میں کوئی چیز پیسنا چاہتے ہیں لیکن مختلف سبزیوں جیسے پیاز،ادرک یا لہسن کی خوشبو اس میں سے آرہی ہے تو چاولوں کو گرائنڈر میں پیسیں اور تمام خوشبویات سے نجات حاصل کرلیں۔

نمک دانی کے لئے
اکثر برسات کے موسم میں نمک دانی میں نمی کی وجہ سے نمک جڑ جاتا ہے لیکن اگر اس میں چاولوں کے چند دانے ڈال دئیے جائیں تو نمک الگ رہے گا اور اس میں ڈلیاں نہیں بنیں گی۔

گلے سڑے پھلوں کے لئے
اگر آپ کسی جار میں گلے ہوئے پھلوں کے ساتھ چاول ڈال دیں گے تو وہ پھل ٹھیک ہوجائیں گے۔

چاولوں کے بیگ دردوں کے لئے
اگر آپ کی گردن،کمر،بازو،ٹانگوں یا جسم کے دیگر حصوں میں درد ہوتو چاولوں کو ایک بیگ میں ڈالیں اور اسے گرم کرکے درد والی جگہ پر لگانے سے درد میں خاطر خواہ کمی ہوتی ہے۔

چاولوں کا سکرب
لیموں کے رس میں بیکنگ سوڈا ڈال ان میں چاول شامل کریں۔اب اسے محلول کو سکرب کے طور پر استعمال کریں گے تو آپ کا چہرہ شاداب اور روشن ہوجائے گا۔

گھر کی ڈیکوریشن کے لئے
آپ چاہیں تو چاولوں کو مختلف رنگوں میں رنگ کر ان سے کئی طرح کے ڈیکوریشن کے پیس بناکر گھر کو خوبصورت چیزوں سے آراستہ کرسکتے ہیں۔
Daily Pakistan Urdu News
NEDA cuts planned riceimports by 25 percent

MANILA -- The government will reduce by roughly one-fourth its planned additional volume of rice imports for the first semester of 2016 meant to boost buffer stocks and keep local prices stable amid the prolonged drought due to El Niño.Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the country may need to import only an additional 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons of rice, much lower compared to earlier estimate of 1.3 million MT.“The expected (rice) production for the first quarter of next year and harvests for this year would be higher than was initially estimated… We don't feel that we need to import much now,” he said in a press briefing.

Balisacan said the government is also undertaking a roadmap to address the impacts of El Niño, part of which is increasing rice production in drought-affected areas where there are inadequate supply.“With those interventions, we would expect to generate 200,000 to 300,000 metric tons (of rice) so that in effect, reduce substantially the need to import,” he added.The country has already an approved provision of 500,000 MT of rice for the first quarter, bringing total imports to about 900,000 MT next year.

Balisacan, who is also National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general, bared that President Benigno S. Aquino III last week approved a Php19-billion budget to deal with the negative impacts of El Niño.The NEDA chief identified El Niño-spawned dry spell among the risks on missing next year's 7-percent economic growth target.Citing the weather bureau, Balisacan said the weather phenomenon was expected to peak in March to May next year.“We are already programming. We are already taking the worst assumption or worst (case) scenario,” he added.*PNA
           
www.businessmirror.com.ph
River salinity from sea badly hits Mekong Delta rice crop
Thanh Nien News

BEN TRE - Friday, December 18, 2015 15:23
A rice farmer in the Mekong Delta has lost all his winter crop to salinization. Photo: Tan Thai/Tuoi TreMany rice farmers in Ben Tre Province have started harvesting their immature rice plants after little rainfall and no flooding for the first time ever exposed their crops to river-borne salinity early.Without water, the rice seeds cannot grow any bigger, they said.“It’s my worst year ever,” Nguyen Van Nhan, who has been growing rice for dozens of years, told Tuoi Tre newspaper.

The Hau and Tien Rivers, tributaries of the Mekong and the main source of fresh water in the region, have become unfit for irrigation after salinity levels – due to encroachment by seawater -- exceeded 5‰, way above the level of 1-2‰ at this time last year.Many farmers have left their fields fallow since they were not able to get much freshwater during what has been the strongest El Nino year in two decades, even stronger than in 1997 and 1998.Meteorologists have warned that the intense conditions will continue into spring next year and could wreak havoc, especially in East Asia-Pacific countries.Nhan said he only managed to harvest a 10th of the normal crop.

Pham Thi Thiet, 80, of Tien Giang Province said she has never seen such early or severe salinity in the area.This level of salinity is not reached until March or April, she said.She might harvest just 40 kilograms from her 7,000-square-meter field this time, less than a 20th of the normal yield, she said.Nguyen Tan Hung, the chairman of a commune in Tien Giang, said farmers in his commune have planted 620 hectares of rice, but 400 hectares have dried up or been destroyed by salinity, and the rest could go the same way.

Freshwater is gold

People living in coastal areas in the delta are worried they might not have enough freshwater for a long time since the next rainy season is at least another five months away.The Southern Institute of Water Resources Research has said salinity in the area could persist until June.Ben Tre residents said while the water shortage is not a new story, it has been unusually intense this year.One woman said that during the dry season, her family usually has to buy fresh water from boats at up to VND400,000 a cubic meter, or more than 20 times the price of tap water in Ho Chi Minh City.“There’s little rain for us to store this year. We’re not sure we’re going to survive the coming drought.

”An official in the Ben Tre agriculture department said more than 345,000 people in the province lack freshwater since salinity has affected supply to water pumping stations.Dr Le Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Climate Change Research Institute at Can Tho University, said the delta has not adopted long-term measures to deal with drought and salinization, which are expected to worsen due to global warming.People should save freshwater for their own use first before irrigating rice fields, and consider switching to plants that survive dry conditions better.He said in the long term authorities should allocate more funds for research into water-saving measures in cultivation.“You need to save water as it is no longer a blessing from the sky,” Tuoi Tre quoted him as saying.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/river-salinity-from-sea-badly-hits-mekong-delta-rice-crop-57092.html

Nigeria: Agents Back Lifting of Ban On Rice Importation Through Land Borders


By Sandra Ukele
Licensed customs agents in the country have hailed the decision of the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) to lift the ban on rice importation through the land borders.Describing it as a "welcome development", the customs licensed agents said the move would help Nigeria curtail the losses arising from the old policy.They, however, stated that rice millers are now importing the staple commodity into the country instead of producing it.
The agents, under the auspices of the Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme Chapter told journalists in Seme that the idea behind the new pronouncement by the CGC should be encouraged.They argued that the move was a way of creating the needed job opportunity in the country and boost the nation's economy through farming in this sector besides helping to diversify the economy from depending on oil.
According to the agents, the only way to stop smuggling of the product was to stop the millers of the same staple food from turning themselves into importers rather than concentrate on their milling business.One of the agents who did not want his name in print said: "I think we should not look at this issue from any sentiment but from logical point of view. My view is that I do not think anybody will go through the borders to incur extra cost unless there is an intention to defraud government. I think as of now this process of going through the land borders does not do that. "We must support our local farmers. We strongly advise the Customs to suspend the lifting of ban on rice through land borders and continue to operate through the sea borders.
" Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PAKRISTO Maritime Company Limited Mr. Patrick Ozobialu said: "When you talk about rice production in a country, it is not something you start today and tomorrow you start getting result. It is a gradual thing. It takes over a ten years planning."But now you cannot say because you want to stop the importation of rice through the land border. That means they should be coming in through the sea.
And through the sea you know that it is only one man that is licensed to bring rice through there So what they are saying is that rice should not come through any other source except through the sea and we know that it is only one man that is importing rice through the sea and now he is using a proxy in the senate to champion this his course.

"Ozobialu added: "I it should not be sold more than N6,000. So you see when one a civil servant collects N18,000 minimum wage, he goes to market to buy a bag of rice at either N9,800 or N11,000 how would the person buy other things needed in the house and does such worker meet up with other necessities of the family? But normally with crayfish and pepper you can prepare this staple food for the family but if we are paid such ridiculous amount as wages and we buy rice at N11,000 then how much would be left for other expenses?"
AllAfrica.com
Strategies sought to boost rice production
From EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria

ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIA has been urged to devise strategies to enhance the domestic production of rice.According to analysts, the country was capable of sustaining local demand but lack of support for farmers was stalling production and putting pressure on the imports bill.“To ease pressure on the foreign exchange reserves, and create employment, the Federal Government needs to employ effective import substitution strategies to boost domestic production,” said First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Capital said in its latest market update on Friday.

It noted rice was a staple food in Nigeria and consumed by individuals across all income levels.The steady rise in demand is due to increasing population growth in addition to its ease of preparation and storage.The country remains the second largest importer of rice globally.The total demand for milled rice in Nigeria is estimated at 5,3 million metric tons (mmt) annually, with 3, 3mmt produced locally resulting in a shortage of 2 mmt.Industry sources estimate annual average spending on rice importation at US$2 billion.Currently, Nigeria has no fewer than 24 integrated rice mills across the country capable of bolstering the production process.

Approximately, 8mmt paddy rice was harvested last year.In November the Central Bank of Nigeria launched an anchor borrowers’ programme for rice and wheat farmers across 14 states.Under this programme, N40 billion (US$200 million) from the N220 billion in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund will be disbursed to farmers at single digit interest rates annually.This initiative aims to boost output by raising the capacity utilisation of integrated mills.“With the current macro challenges, there is an urgent need to address the domestic production constraints across the agric value chain as a whole,” FBN Capital said.

http://cajnewsafrica.com/2015/12/18/strategies-sought-to-boost-rice-production/


Study determines rice co-products valuable sources of amino acids in pig diets

Dec 18, 2015Source: University of Illinois
The global demand for meat is expected to continue to increase rapidly as populations grow and incomes in developing countries rise. Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, and the production of rice for human consumption yields over 200 million tons of co-products per year. Those co-products can be fed to livestock and thus help meet the demand for animal protein.“Different procedures used in rice milling may negatively affect the digestibility and availability of amino acids,” says Hans H. Stein, professor of animal sciences at the University of Illinois. Stein and his team recently published the results of an experiment to determine the digestibility of amino acids in several rice co-products fed to growing pigs.

Stein and his team tested broken rice, two sources of full fat rice bran (FFRB-1 and FFRB-2), and one source of defatted rice bran (DFRB). Rice bran is the outer layer of the rice grain, which is removed to make polished white rice. Broken rice consists of polished white rice kernels that are too short to be sold for human consumption.The standardized ileal digestibility of crude protein was 97.2% in broken rice, 83.9% in FFRB-1, 79.8% in FFRB-2 and 78.7% in DFRB. For all amino acids, values for standardized ileal amino acid digestibility were greatest in broken rice.

Digestibility values for most amino acids were the same for the two sources of full fat rice bran, but digestibility was greater in FFRB-1 for some amino acids, including lysine, methionine and histidine. Digestibility values were greater in both FFRB-1 and FFRB-2 than in DFRB for most amino acids.“Full fat rice bran has more fat and less fiber than defatted rice bran, and both of these factors improve amino acid digestibility,” Stein says. “But digestibility is greatest in broken rice because it contains virtually no fiber.”


Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-December 18
 
Nagpur, Dec 18 Gram prices moved down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing
Committee (APMC) here on lack of demand from local traders amid high moisture content arrival.
Fresh fall in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and release of stock from stockists also pushed down
prices in thin trading activity, according to sources. 
 
               *            *              *              *
 
    FOODGRAINS & PULSES
    GRAM
   * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor.
 
     TUAR
   * Tuar gavarani reported down in open market on poor buying support from local traders 
     amid good supply from producing regions.   
 
   * Wheat mill quality recovered in open market on renewed seasonal demand from local 
     traders amid tight supply from producing regions like Punjab and Haryana.    
    
   * In Akola, Tuar - 10,300-10,600, Tuar dal - 15,900-16,200, Udid - 
     13,600-13,900, Udid Mogar (clean) - 17,000-17,600, Moong - 
     9,100-9,400, Moong Mogar (clean) 10,500-10,700, Gram - 4,400-4,500, 
     Gram Super best bold - 6,300-6,500 for 100 kg.
 
   * Other varieties of wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market 
     in dull trading activity. 
       
 Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
 
     FOODGRAINS                 Available prices     Previous close   
     Gram Auction                4,000-4,425         4,100-4,650
     Gram Pink Auction            n.a.           2,100-2,600
     Tuar Auction                n.a.                8,200-10,500
     Moong Auction                n.a.                6,000-6,400
     Udid Auction                n.a.           4,300-4,500
     Masoor Auction                n.a.              2,600-2,800
     Gram Super Best Bold            6,400-6,800        6,400-6,800
     Gram Super Best            n.a.            n.a.
     Gram Medium Best            6,000-6,100        6,000-6,100
     Gram Dal Medium            n.a.            n.a
     Gram Mill Quality            5,000-5,100        5,000-5,100
     Desi gram Raw                4,650-4,750         4,650-4,750
     Gram Filter new            5,400-5,600        5,400-5,600
     Gram Kabuli                5,900-7,900        5,900-7,900
     Gram Pink                        6,400-7,300        6,400-7,300
     Tuar Fataka Best             16,100-16,700        16,100-16,700
     Tuar Fataka Medium             14,900-15,200        14,900-15,200
     Tuar Dal Best Phod            14,100-14,600        14,100-14,600
     Tuar Dal Medium phod            12,600-13,100        12,600-13,100
     Tuar Gavarani New             8,700-10,200        8,800-10,300
     Tuar Karnataka             11,500-12,000        11,500-12,000
     Tuar Black                 17,200-17,600        17,200-17,600 
     Masoor dal best            7,250-7,650        7,250-7,650
     Masoor dal medium            6,600-7,200        6,600-7,200
     Masoor                    n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Mogar bold            10,500-10,800       10,500-10,800
     Moong Mogar Med            9,600-9,800        9,600-10,800
     Moong dal Chilka            8,400-9,500        8,400-9,500
     Moong Mill quality            n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Chamki best            8,800-8,700        8,800-8,700
     Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)    16,700-18,000       16,700-18,000     
     Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)    14,200-16,000        14,200-16,000    
     Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)        10,000-11,200        10,000-11,200     
     Batri dal (100 INR/KG)        5,300-5,700        5,300-5,700
     Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)          4,600-4,700         4,600-4,700
     Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)            3,000-3,200        3,000-3,200
     Watana White (100 INR/KG)              3,000-3,200           3,000-3,200
     Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)    3,200-3,700        3,200-3,700   
     Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)        1,600-1,700        1,600-1,700
     Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG)    1,850-1,900        1,800-1,850   
     Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)         1,600-1,800        1,600-1,800
     Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)    2,000-2,400        2,000-2,400    
     Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)   1,850-2,100        1,950-2,100
     Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)    n.a.            n.a.
     MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)    3,200-3,800        3,200-3,800    
     MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)    2,400-2,800        2,400-2,900           
     Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)        3,000-3,300        3,000-3,300    
     Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG)        2,600-2,800        2,600-2,800    
     Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)         1,800-2,000        1,800-2,000
     Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)      2,200-2,550        2,200-2,550   
     Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG)      1,900-2,300        1,900-2,300   
     Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG)        3,600-3,900        3,600-3,900    
     Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)        3,200-3,400        3,200-3,400    
     Rice HMT Shriram best(100 INR/KG)    4,300-4,800        4,300-4,800    
     Rice HMT Shriram med.(100 INR/KG)    3,800-4,200        3,800-4,200    
     Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)    9,800-11,900        9,800-11,900     
     Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,800-8,100        7,800-8,100    
     Rice Chinnor best(100 INR/KG)    5,300-5,800        5,300-5,800    
     Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG)    4,700-5,400        4,700-5,400    
     Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)        1,800-2,200        1,800-2,200    
     Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)         1,700-1,800        1,700-1,800
 
WEATHER (NAGPUR)  
Maximum temp. 31.0 degree Celsius (87.8 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
16.6 degree Celsius (61.9 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : n.a.
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 29 and 14
degree Celsius respectively.
 
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but
included in market prices.)

http://in.reuters.com/article/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL3N1473JP20151218


Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

Rice
High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids
- - -
- - -
Long Grain New Crop
- - -
- - -


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Jan '16
1117.5
1095.0
1108.0
-3.0
Mar '16
1144.0
1121.5
1135.0
-3.0
May '16
1167.0
1165.0
1164.5
-2.5
Jul '16
1193.0
1193.0
1191.0
-2.5
Sep '16
1187.5
-6.5
Nov '16
1187.0
1187.0
1189.5
-6.0
Jan '17
1189.5
-6.0

Rice Comment

Rice futures couldn't sustain yesterday's gains and ended a bit lower. January needs to break through resistance at last week's high of $11.22 1/2, while $11.50 is the target for March. Weekly export sales were uninspiring at 37,000 metric tons, which is down 29% from the prior four week average. Shipments were 55,700 metric tons, down 20% from the prior four-week average.
http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/

Omnibus Spending Bill Approved: Congress Cool with COOL Repeal  

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Earlier today, the Senate approved a package of legislation composed of the FY 2016 Omnibus spending bill and tax extenders bill following independent passage by each bill in the House.The Omnibus spending bill totals more than $1.1 trillion worth of appropriations for federal programs and agencies for all of fiscal year 2016, which began on October 1 and avoids a shutdown of the federal government pending the President's signature. The bill is overall supportive of agricultural program funding and does not include any provisions harmful to the United States-Cuba diplomatic relations.

The most important provision for the rice industry included in the bill repeals the controversial Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations. Earlier this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) authorized Canada and Mexico to assess up to 100 percent tariffs on imported goods, including rice, from the United States for more than $1 billion in damages due to the regulation's violation of international trade laws.Shannon Campagna, USA Rice member and director of federal government affairs for Mars, Incorporated was especially pleased by the bill's passage.

"As part of a broader industry coalition, we've been working with Chairman Roberts and Chairman Conaway to address COOL, and with renewed urgency since the WTO-approved the retaliation figures for Canada and Mexico earlier this month. We're glad to see that bipartisan leadership came together to support U.S. exports, particularly rice."Campagna added, "We're confident that the President will sign the Omnibus bill into law to avoid tariffs being assessed by our essential North American trading partners."USA Rice has been an active participant in the COOL Reform Coalition whose goal is to bring the United States into compliance with WTO decisions on COOL.

Contact: Peter Bachmann (703) 236-1475


Tax Extenders Package Provides Permanent Credits for Agriculture    

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch 
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, the House of Representatives easily passed legislation that would extend or make permanent a series of federal tax credits. The Senate passed a bill combining the tax extender legislation with the FY 2016 Omnibus spending legislation this morning.The "Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015" addresses a number of priorities supported by USA Rice, including the popular Section 179 and bonus depreciation credits.

The Section 179 provision permanently extends the small business expensing limitation and phase-out amounts in effect from 2010($500,000) to 2014($2 million). The provision modifies the expensing limitation by indexing both the $500,000 and $2 million limits for inflation beginning in 2016. The provision modifies expensing limitation with respect to qualified real property by eliminating the $250,000 cap beginning in 2016.The bonus depreciation provision is extended for property purchased and used during 2015 through 2019. That property will be eligible for fifty percent bonus depreciation during 2015, 2016 and 2017 and phases down to 40 percent in 2018 and 30 percent in 2019.

Ben Mosely, vice president of government affairs for USA Rice shared his enthusiasm for the House's approval of the bill. "We're glad to see some of the essential tax credits for farmers made permanent. USA Rice has been supporting this language becoming permanent for several years to provide rice farmers with certainty that purchasing new equipment will qualify them for certain tax credits."Mosely said that "It was important for Congress to finish and approve this legislation before going on recess until next year. The bill now heads to the President's desk where we expect it to be formally signed into law soon."

Contact: Peter Bachmann (703) 236-1475


USA Rice Christmas Billboards Connect with Consumers in Ghana  

'Tis the season
ACCRA, GHANA - Rice always plays an important part in the daily diet here, but mid-November through mid-January is the peak sales season for rice thanks to family reunions, social events and parties, and feasts centered around the Christmas holiday and featuring rice dishes. To capitalize on this, USA Rice has launched a billboard campaign with a "Afehyia Pa ooo," or "Merry Christmas" theme.The campaign appropriates the warmth and friendliness of this period with the strong emotional bond between a mother and her daughter, emphasizing the need to make quality U.S. rice a part of sharing these special moments with loved ones. The messages are already resonating very well with the general public.

"U.S.-grown rice has lost significant market share here over the last two years thanks to cheaper Vietnamese, Thai, and Indian rice coming in," explained Jim Guinn, USA Rice vice president of international promotion. "However, the average Ghanaian consumer recognizes the superior quality of U.S. rice, and given a good price, will opt for it. This campaign is designed to give consumers a little extra emotional incentive to maybe spend a little more on food for their loved ones during this special time of year."The billboards are up in 15 prime locations throughout the highly populated "golden triangle" of Ghana - the three major cities of Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi - and will be in place through January 2016.

Contact: Eszter Somogyi 49 40 4503 866

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   


CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for December 18 
Month
Price
Net Change

January 2016
$11.080
- $0.030
March 2016
$11.350
- $0.030
May 2016
$11.645
- $0.025
July 2016
$11.910
- $0.025
September 2016
$11.875
- $0.065
November 2016
$11.895
- $0.060
January 2017
$11.895
- $0.060



A taste of Arkansas Just in time for the holidays

Make this holiday special with a Gifts From The Heart

Featured in the Washington Post as a top 50 gift to give in 2015 you won't be disappointed giving a taste of Arkansas to your loved ones this holiday.  Check out the full article/list here.Our line of gourmet rice and bean mixes and unique gift baskets are quality products that bring folks back time and again. When you need a special gift for someone, Gifts From The Heart are unique and support feeding the hungry.

Gifts From The Heart are gifts that give twice. Not only will someone special receive a wonderful gift, all proceeds help feed hungry children, seniors and families in Arkansas.Come visit our Gift Shop where we feature only Arkansas products. We have many one of a kind gifts including gourmet food items from around the state. Gift boxes are available that allow you to chose each individual product for a gift that is sure-to-please. Gifts From The Heart make wonderful presents, but be sure to buy a few of our gourmet mixes just for you.

At the end of a busy day, a hearty meal of Jambalaya can be on your table in less than 30 minutes, and you'll have a meal that looks and taste like you've been cooking all day.The best part of shopping our Gift Shop, on our website, or in our Giving Catalog isthat 100% of the proceeds go right back into feeding the hungry. That's food for you, and food for a needy family, and that is a bargain you can be proud of. #FeedArkansas #FeedLocal

Please note:
You can purchase online through noon central time for your order to be processed and shipped before Christmas.  The last day to shop our Gift Shop located at 3801 W 65th Street is Wednesday, December 23.  We close at 4:30 pm.  We won't reopen or process online orders placed after the 23rd until Monday, January 4.P.S. Don't forget to join us tomorrow for Christmastime in Arkansas with the Ned Perme Band and Arkansas' own country break out star Justin Moore.  Click here to get tickets

Millstone around food security

SAURABH YADAV
The Hindu Business LineCereal offenders?: Mill owners counter that they are operating at 20-year-old rates. Photo: K.K. Mustafah
A CAG report has laid bare the fact that rice millers have for decades reaped undue gains even as they failed to replenish the national food stock
Much like rice spilling out of a tear in the sack, the country’s food procurement system has been leaking crores of rupees every year and impoverishing the government.Last week, in a report presented to Parliament the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) has attempted to calculate the siphoned-off amount, although this was based on incomplete data.The report concluded that delays in price revisions, as also poor control (by State and Central governments) had over the years led to “undue gains for rice millers” and, more importantly, non-delivery of paddy and rice to the national food stock.Based on the conservative and incomplete figures given by the CAG, the total losses exceed 40,000 crore.

An all-India estimate is expected to show double the losses under all heads. To calculate the actual (and expectedly higher) loss to the exchequer, the CAG has recommended a thorough probe.This story of plunder is as much about corruption as it is about a few good men fighting the system for years and bringing this information into the public domain.From rural Orissa, Gouri Shankar Jain has been working to expose this loot and bring to account those responsible. The stacks of supporting documents he has secured through the Right to Information (RTI) Act prove that a problem exists. His relentless pursuit of the matter at the highest levels forced the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to forward the case to the CAG for an audit early this year.Jain has also forwarded the proof to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is now investigating the matter.During rice milling, husk, bran and broken rice emerge as by-products and these are sold by the millers. In the last decade, the rates for each of these items have increased, as have the profits for millers.Successive governments have ignored this revenue and failed to tax it. Based on partial data from four states over a two-year period, which covers just 15 per cent of the rice procured, the CAG pegs the loss at 3,743 crore.

When extended to the countrywide procurement, the loss could cross 23,000 crore.“The government has not revised milling charges for over 20 years; we are paid up to 25 for every quintal of rice, when we spend about 200 on milling and supplying it, says Tarsem Lal Saini, president of the Rice Mill Association of Punjab.“Over 300 rice mills have shut down due to losses, even as paddy worth over 10,000 crore has been sold to distilleries after rotting. The only reason we continue to work under the 20-year-old rates is because we earn from the by-products,” he adds.The day the CAG report was presented in Parliament, the Central government put out a statement that milling charges were decided after taking into account the prices of by-products of paddy. It however conceded that rates had not been revised since 2005 and a study by the Tariff Commission in 2012 had not made any recommendations owing to a lack of data.

As the government continues to turn a blind eye, the rot is eating into the country’s food security. Over the last 5 years, the subsidy bill of the Central Government has almost doubled, while the amount of rice procured has reduced.In Punjab, irregular expenditure on transportation cost the exchequer 164 crore; rice-mill owners pocketed more than 475 crore by supplying inferior quality rice, and another windfall gain of 160 crore from waiver of penal interest on delayed deliveries, according to the CAG report..Dubious claims of transportation charges led to a loss of 210 crore. More than 97 per cent of the registration numbers of vehicles that were allegedly used to transport paddy did not match the computerised data of the State Transport Authority. Those that did were found to be motorcycles, cars, taxis or buses.Some of the highest figures came from Andhra Pradesh — the release of VAT (value added tax) gave millers here an additional benefit of 1,024 crore, even as rice worth 1,195 crore was retained by them for undue profit.In Chhattisgarh, improper storage of paddy led to loss of 180 crore.

 The State government admitted to the charge that for the last four years it had purchased rice without any quality checks. “It is not clear how the State government ensured the minimum quality standard,” said the CAG report.“Chhattisgarh has had such a huge growth in rice production in the last 10 years that the system to check it has not kept pace,” Saini says. A demand from Punjab in 1998 for an extra one per cent ‘driage’ (compensation for loss of moisture) was converted into a countrywide policy without any expert consultation, leading to a payment of 952 crore from the exchequer.“On every 37kg bag of paddy that we get, we lose up to one kilogram to drying,” maintains Saini.
 According to a Central government directive, this ‘driage’ is taken into account when computing that 67kg of rice is produced from 100kg of paddy.Most importantly, about 17,985 crore was released as MSP (minimum support price) to farmers, but the recipients could not be verified as there were no identity documents in support. This raises a doubt as to whether the benefit of MSP did actually accrue to farmers,” the report states cautiously.“This is an issue that is close to the hearts of 70 crore farmers in India. I am fighting for them, this is just the beginning,” says Jain.Now that the information has been released to the people’s representatives, it remains to be seen whether they show the willingness to wage the long battle needed to return this money to the public and penalise the guilty.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/millstone-around-food-security/article8000669.ece

Govt-trader ‘nexus’ looting them, claim farmers

HT Correspondent, HindustanTimes, Amritsar
  
Updated: Dec 18, 2015 19:51 IST


The protesting farmers demanded that the Centre have an MSP for basmati in order to stop farmers from being looted by traders. (HT Photo )


The second Lalkar rally of farmer organisations and farm labour groups asked chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to put an end to his government’s “unholy nexus” with traders (arhtiyas) and rice mill owners, who had been looting farmers by not paying them the minimum support price (MSP) for the agricultural produce.“There is no direct purchase of paddy or wheat from farmers by government food agencies. Traders buy the produce from farmers by paying below the MSP fixed by the government, and in turn sell it to the agencies at the MSP, thus making a profit and causing losses to farmers,” claimed Border Area Kisan Sangharsh Committee president Rattan Singh Randhawa, while addressing a rally at the Company Bagh here on Friday.

He, along with other farmer leaders, demanded that farmers who had sold their paddy this season at below the MSP should be compensated by the government. The level of moisture content in foodgrains is often cited as the reason for not giving the farmer the due amount fixed by the government, farmer leaders said, while pointing out that the same foodgrain is later purchased by food agencies at the rate fixed by the government.

‘Fix MSP of basmati’
The protesting farmers demanded that the Centre have an MSP for basmati in order to stop farmers from being looted by traders. The government-trader-rice miller nexus led to a number of basmati-growers suffering huge losses as they were forced to sell their produce at low rates that barely covered their input costs, they added.“Traders and rice mill owners have been making huge profits at the cost of basmati-growers.

The basmati the traders purchased for Rs 1,500 per quintal this season was sold at double the price to rice millers later,” Kisan Sangharsh Committee president Satnam Singh Pannu claimed, while pointing to exploitation of farmers at the hands of traders.The Lalkar rally saw a participation by eight farmer organisations and four labour groups. A large number of women also participated.

Eviction notices

Referring to the women who were sitting in the front, Jamhuri Kisan Sabha chief Satnam Singh Ajnala said they belonged to those families who had received notices recently from the government, asking them to vacate the land they had been tilling since the early sixties. The government was laying claim to this land which these families reclaimed from the basin of the Ravi after the river kept changing its course.Ajnala said around 43,000 families had received the eviction notices. In one voice, the farmers demanded that the government take back these notices or an agitation would be launched in the affected areas.

The rally was held to protest against the alleged indifferent attitude of the state and central governments to the problems of farmers. Among the demands highlighted was compensation for those whose cotton crop was destroyed due to the whitefly attack and release of all outstanding payments of farmers by sugar mills that had purchased their sugarcane.

Call to reach Badal village
The farmers said if their demands were not met, they would reach Badal village and hold their protest there. The three-day protest at the ancestral village of the chief minister would begin on January 6.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/govt-trader-nexus-looting-them-claim-farmers/story-gp7UB6H5ixS8PvZk7QTGON.html


Strategies sought to boost Nigeria rice production


18 December 2015, 09:49Emeka Okonkwo

Abuja - Government has been urged to devise strategies to enhance the domestic production of rice.According to analysts, the country was capable of sustaining local demand but lack of support for farmers was stalling production and putting pressure on the imports bill.“To ease pressure on the foreign exchange reserves, and create employment, the Federal Government needs to employ effective import substitution strategies to boost domestic production,” said First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Capital said in its latest market update on Friday.It noted rice was a staple food in Nigeria and consumed by individuals across all income levels.

The steady rise in demand is due to increasing population growth in addition to its ease of preparation and storage.The country remains the second largest importer of rice globally.The total demand for milled rice in Nigeria is estimated at 5,3 million metric tons (mmt) annually, with 3, 3mmt produced locally resulting in a shortage of 2 mmt.Industry sources estimate annual average spending on rice importation at US$2 billion. Currently, Nigeria has no fewer than 24 integrated rice mills across the country capable of bolstering the production process.Approximately, 8mmt paddy rice was harvested last year.In November the Central Bank of Nigeria launched an anchor borrowers' programme for rice and wheat farmers across 14 states.
Under this programme, N40 billion (US$200 million) from the N220 billion in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund will be disbursed to farmers at single digit interest rates annually.This initiative aims to boost output by raising the capacity utilisation of integrated mills.“With the current macro challenges, there is an urgent need to address the domestic production constraints across the agric value chain as a whole,” FBN Capital said.
http://www.news24.com.ng/National/News/strategies-sought-to-boost-nigeria-rice-production-20151218


Climate change to positively impact rice, tea in northeast'

 

Last Updated: Friday, December 18, 2015 - 21:23
Kolkata: Climate change is going to "positively" impact rice and tea crops in northeast, ascientist said on Friday.According to Chandan Mahanta of the IIT-Guwahati, a modelling study carried out by the institute showed in the next 15 years (till 2030), rice and tea can actually have an advantage from climate change."Climate change is going to positively impact rice and tea in at least coming 15 years in the northeast. We have modelled that," Mahanta said here at the South Asia Water Dialogue, adding that scientists looked at climate data, such as temperature, humidity and precipitation in the region to study the changes on the two important crops.


Explaining the variation, he said: "Sometimes it's not just the temperature alone but also the rate of change of temperature or the rate of change of precipitation so it is not always very simple to say."In addition, the difference in growing times also has an influence."Tea is grown at three different times. Even rice is grown at different times. Maybe one particular rice variety may be less affected, others may be more affected," said Mahanta, a professor of the department of civil engineering.The Dialogue was organised by Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the German Embassy.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/climate-change-to-positively-impact-rice-tea-in-northeast_1836098.html

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