Saudi Arabia consumes more Indian rice these
days than Iran
By S V Krishnamachari
| Updated: November 30, 2015 17:48 IST
Labourers work at a rice mill on
the outskirts of Agartala, capital of TripuraReuters file
Saudi
Arabia continues to be the largest importer of rice from India, importing more
than Iran during the first six months of 2015-16, a trend that was first set
last fiscal.Saudi Arabia imported 598,001 tonnes of rice valued at $527.16
million during the April-September period, as against Iran which imported
361,474 tonnes of rice valued at $319.71 million.Till 2013-14, Iran was the
largest importer of rice from India, buying 15.32 lakh tonnes valued at $1.98
billion, but slipped to second position, importing 10.04 lakh tonnes valued at
$1.16 billion next year. Saudi Arabia bought 11.48 lakh tonnes valued at $1.29
billion.In terms of overall rice exports, India exported 55.26 lakh tonnes
valued at $ 3.17 billion, during the first six months of the current financial
year, with basmati accounting for $1.91 billion.Besides Saudi Arabia and Iran,
other rice importers include the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait.The details were given by
Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of state for commerce and industry, in the Lok
Sabha on Monday.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/saudi-arabia-consumes-more-indian-rice-these-days-iran-657363
Rice exports post 10.78pc growth in July-October
Friday, November 27, 2015 - From Print Edition
ISLAMABAD: Rice exports from the country during the first
four months of the current financial year posted 10.78 percent growth as
compared to the exports of the corresponding period last year, as per Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data published Thursday.
During the period from July-October 2015, about 898,603 metric
tons of rice worth $339.92 million exported as against exports of 657,420
metric tons valuing $306.89 million in the same period last year.According to
the PBS data, rice exports on month basis also grew by 24 percent during the
month of October as compared to the same month of last year. During
October, about 347,685 metric tons of rice worth $121.66 million was exported
as compared to 22,948 metric tons valuing $9.493 million of the same month last
year.However, the data revealed that exports of basmati rice decreased by 31.22
percent in the first four months of the current financial year and reached at
131,160 metric tons from 174,191 metric tons in the same period of the last
financial year.
During the period under review, the country managed to earn
$145.43 million by exporting the basmati rice as against $11.319 million in the
same period last year, the PBS data adds.Meanwhile, wheat exports registered
100 percent increase, as about 1,061 metric tons of wheat was exported during the
period from July-October 2015 and earned $0.220 million.The data revealed that
vegetable exports during the last four months also witnessed an increase of 89
percent, as the country was able to export 195,659 metric tons of vegetables of
different kinds and fetched $56.779 million for the country.The vegetable
exports during the first four months of the last financial year were recorded
at 85,420 metric tons, valuing $28.689 million, the data revealed.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-353576-Rice-exports-post-10.78pc-growth-in-July-October
Thailand, Iran target bilateral
trade of $1.2 bn within 3 years
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation November 27, 2015 1:00 am
Thailand and Iran are aiming at boosting
two-way trade to US$1.2 billion in three years, up from $300 million in 2014,
after the Thai government sent its first mission there to form closer economic
ties now that trade sanctions on that country have been lifted.After meeting
with key economic ministries - Trade, Petroleum, Roads and Urban Development,
and Industry - in Tehran, Deputy Commerce Minister Suvit Maesincee said the two
countries had great opportunities to strengthen trade and investment, and cooperate
in the tourism industry.
"Thailand is being considered as a source
of food for Iran and a gateway to Asean markets, particularly Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam, while Iran could be a gateway for Thailand to penetrate
the Middle East market," he said.
The two countries agreed to reorganise the
meetings of the Joint Commission between the two sides to drive closer
cooperation on various issues starting next February.Deputy Prime Ministers
Pravit Wongsuwan and Somkid Jatusripitak will lead Thai delegations to Iran
again in early February.Bilateral trade averaged about $600 million a year in
the past, but fell to about $300 million last year on lower oil prices. During
the first 10 months of this year, Thailand's exports to Iran were worth $181
million. With strong demand from Iran for many products and many investment
projects, Thailand will also have greater opportunities to strengthen bilateral
ties in promoting business-to-business, government-to-government and
government-to-private cooperation in investment and in service businesses.Iran
has shown strong interest in drawing more investment from Thailand in
infrastructure development projects.
The Thai government led by the National Housing
Authority and ItalThai has good potential to join G2G and G2P projects launched
by Iran's new town-development corporation.Iran also would like to form a
closer relationship with Thailand in promoting and developing its tourism
industry, as its sees that Thailand has high expertise in this field.Thailand
could invest in building hotels and shopping malls. It could set up a
hotel-management school.It will also encourage more Iranians to visit the
Kingdom, which is one of the desired destinations for Iranian tourists for
entertainment and medical services.
Each year, about 100,000 Iranians travel to
Thailand. The Thai government will also speed up approval of visas for
Iranians. Visa applications run about 300-400 each day.To facilitate trade for
both sides, the Central Bank of Iran and the Bank of Thailand are developing
banking and financial-transaction systems. Payments should be easier to make in
the near future.Thailand will have a greater possibility of exporting rice to
Iran. Iran demands about 1 million to 1.5 million tonnes of imported rice each
year.Initially, Thailand through both government and private exporters should
be able to ship about 200,000 tonnes of rice to Iran next year. Iran has been
buying rice from India and Pakistan.After 53 Thai companies participated in a
business-matching function with Iran, $7.2 million (Bt260 million) worth of
immediate purchase contracts were clinched.
Asia rice prices high in Vietnam on tight
supply
Thursday, November-26-2015
Asian rice markets saw little
movement over the past week due to thin demand, while tight supply kept prices
high in Vietnam and purchases by China and some Middle East clients failed to
move up Thai prices, traders said on Wednesday.The rice export markets in
Thailand and Vietnam, the world's second and third biggest exporters of the
grain after India, could stay quiet until early 2016 as most demand has been
met before the holidays, traders said.
"Vietnamese prices are high
and they won't decrease as supply is tight," said a trader in Ho Chi Minh
City.Vietnam's 5-percent broken grain has been idle over the past month at
$375-$380 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Saigon Port, while the 25-percent broken
grain fell to $360-$365 a tonne from $362-$365 a tonne a week ago.The next
harvest is due to start in late February 2016 in the southern Mekong Delta food
basket.Prices have been firm due to tight supply, especially of the 15-percent
broken rice bought by Indonesia in a deal involving 1 million tonnes, traders
said.
Rising rice prices following
Vietnam's sales to the Philippines and Indonesia have contributed to a 0.31
percent gain in the country's November food prices, the first month-on-month
rise since February 2015, the government said.China, the biggest buyer of
Vietnamese rice, imported 199,350 tonnes from its southern neighbour in October,
up 81 percent from a year ago, Chinese customs data shows.This brought China's
total purchases from Vietnam in the first 10 months of 2015 to nearly 1.6
million tonnes, up 42 percent from a year ago.Overall, Vietnam's rice exports
in January-November rose 3.6 percent from a year ago to 6.24 million tonnes,
the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday.
China and several buyers in the
Middle East have also been buying small lots of Thai rice, traders said.Thai
5-percent broken grain was unchanged at $360-$365 on Wednesday, FOB
basis."All the rice needed for holidays like Christmas and New Year's Day
has already been bought months earlier," said a trader in Bangkok, adding
that the sale slump was expected to last until early January 2016.In another
development, Indonesia was expected to sign a memorandum of understanding soon
with Pakistan on rice imports, the Jakarta Post reported last Thursday without
giving any details on price or volume.
http://pakissan.com/english/news/newsDetail.php?newsid=30248
Additional rice imports now expected to be ‘much lower’ than
first estimated
THE PHILIPPINES’ imports of
additional volumes of rice in 2016 will be “much lower” than the initial
estimate of 1.3 million tons due to better-than-expected domestic output, the
country’s economic planning chief said on Thursday.
Lesser purchases by the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest
rice buyers, could dent export prices in Vietnam and Thailand, the country’s
main suppliers.The forecast for Philippines’ paddy output in the coming months
is “better than what we initially estimated,” said Economic Planning Secretary
Arsenio M. Balisacan, who heads the government’s food security council.
Earlier this month, Mr. Balisacan said he was recommending an additional 1.3 million tons of rice imports following crop losses from recent typhoons and dryness linked to an El Niño weather event.he government expects paddy output this quarter to hit 7.42 million tons based on standing crop, some 1.84% lower versus the harvest in the same period last year.
Earlier this month, Mr. Balisacan said he was recommending an additional 1.3 million tons of rice imports following crop losses from recent typhoons and dryness linked to an El Niño weather event.he government expects paddy output this quarter to hit 7.42 million tons based on standing crop, some 1.84% lower versus the harvest in the same period last year.
But unmilled rice output should recover slightly in the first
quarter of 2016 and grow a modest 0.31 percent from a year earlier to 4.38
million tons.The National Food Authority, the state agency overseeing imports,
has yet to approve any additional rice purchase on top of the 500,000 tons that
the Philippines has already bought from Vietnam and Thailand for shipment in
the first quarter, Mr. Balisacan said.“What we will have to worry about is the
second quarter,” he told reporters after announcing third-quarter economic
growth data. -- Reuters
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=Additional-rice-imports-now-expected-to-be-&145much-lower&8217-than-first-estimated&id=119321
Govt claims surplus in rice
production in 2015
Jumat, 27 November 2015 10:46 WIB |
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Ministry of Agriculture claimed that
Indonesia had achieved a rice production surplus in the October 2014 - October
2015 period because it did not import rice for public consumption during the
period."Rice production was surplus. This is the best achievement over the
past five years," Director General for Food Crops Plantation Hasil
Sembiring said here on Thursday evening.In October 2014, state logistics board
Bulogs rice stock was 1.7 million tons which was reached with imports of 800
thousand tons. But in October 2015, without optimal absorption during grand
harvest peak in the January - May 2015 period, Bulogs rice stock remained at
1.7 million tons, he said.
He said that the achievement was made even with an increase in the number of population by 3.7 million which consumed 460 thousand tons of rice. "Although Indonesia was hit by strong El Nino, rice increased to 1.26 million tons from that in 2014," he said. In 1998, with strong El Nino (1.9 percent intensity), Indonesia was forced to import 7.1 million tons of rice. At that time the number of Indonesia population was only 202 million. But in 2015, the number of population reached 252 million with an El Nino intensity of 2.4 percent. In such a condition, Indonesia should have imported 9.0 million tons of rice but instead it had a stock of 1.3 million tons, the director general said.(*)
Trade Ministry Orders Bulog to Stabilise Rice Prices
MONDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, 2015 | 19:28 WIB
Through the Decree,
government asks BULOG's deputies to work together with provincial and district
heads to coordinate the intervention, and to report the result of the
intervention to the Trade Ministry,the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy,
as well as the Agricultural Minister as the Head of the Food Security Council.
According to the Trade Ministry's Basic Goods Price Surveillance System on
Monday, November 30, rice prices have reached around Rp10,602.21 per kilogram -
up from last month's average that stood at Rp10,436.76 per kilogram.
227,000 Tons of Rice Imported from Vietnam
SUNDAY, 29 NOVEMBER, 2015 | 16:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Djarot Kusumayakti, president
director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), said on Sunday, November 29,
2015 that his institution had imported 227 tons of Vietnamese rice since
November 7, 2015.
Earlier, the state logistics company gained a license to import
1 million tons of medium-quality rice from Vietnam to anticipate famine that
was predicted to occur in early 2016.Djarot revealed that the rice was
distributed in several regions based on their demands.“In total, there are 16
ports handling the arrival of the rice,” Djarot said.However, the distribution
was hampered by infrastructure limitations and capacities at the ports. For
instance, rice that arrived in Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, was unable to be
distributed to East Nusa Tenggara since the port in the province could only
accommodate small vessels.
According to Djarot, such a condition would not occur if the
decision to import rice was made earlier. Therefore, Bulog would have more time
to plan the distribution.Djarot revealed that the rice imports had increased
Bulog’s stock to 1.3 million tons. However, the government was still concern
with crop failures caused by this year’s El Nino. Djarot added that the government
had considered importing more rice from other countries.“Rice imports from
Pakistan have been considered, but no agreement has been reached yet,” Djarot
explained.
http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2015/11/29/056723214/227000-Tons-of-Rice-Imported-from-Vietnam
Japan, VN developing new rice
resistant to disease, bugs
HCM CITY (VNS) — Vietnamese and
Japanese researchers have completed an international project to develop a new
rice variety that is disease- and insect-resistant with a high-yield, short-growth
duration.The rice variety was developed by using certain genes and the most
advanced molecular bio-technology.The project, called the "Development of
Crop Genotypes for the Midlands and Mountain Areas of North Viet Nam" was
implemented from December 2010 to November this year.
Financed by the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project was carried out by Viet Nam National
University of Agriculture (VNUA), Kyushu University and Nagoya University of
Japan.Dr. Pham Van Cuong, vice president of VNUA, said: "Plant breeding in
Viet Nam has for years not been based on rigorous science. It has had a lack of
scientific proof. But with the new technology transferred by Japan, we can make
long-selling products with authentic proof based on science, and we can
guarantee stable production and profit for producers."The improved rice
line has been well received because of its short-growth duration as it can help
farmers avoid the flood season, minimise damages caused by annual typhoons and
lead to more diverse cash crops during the winter crop season.More than 50
promising rice lines, which have been genetically guaranteed to have good
performances, have been developed.
The ecological adaptability of the
selected lines was proven in Thai Nguyen and Lao Cai provinces. The rice
varieties showed adaptability to not only the northern mountainous region but
also to other environments in Viet Nam.The enthusiastic investment by the
provincial government and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe
An (DARD Nghe An) has led to sustainable production of such improved lines and
provided a prototype for other provinces in the country for development from
promising rice lines from VNUA.The technology, which can be applied to other
crops such as soybeans, sorghum and maize as well as vegetables, helps to
improve the quality of agricultural products. — VNS
Scientists visit a new rice variety
field in Nam Dan District, Nghe An Province. Vietnamese and Japanese
researchers have completed an international project to develop a new rice
variety that is disease- and insect-resistant with a high-yield, short-growth
duration. — Photodangcongsan.vn
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/279221/japan-vn-developing-new-rice-resistant-to-disease-bugs.html
El
Nino Shrinking Rice Crop Worldwide to Spur Vietnamese Sales
November 27, 2015 — 11:14 AM PKT
First quarter shipments seen jumping 14% to 1.3 million tons
Global rice output forecast to drop in 2015-16 on El Nino
Rice exports from Vietnam may increase 14 percent in the first
quarter as the strongest El Nino in almost two decades shrivels crops in some
countries, spurring importers to build reserves.Shipments will jump to 1.3
million metric tons in the three months ending March from 1.14 million tons a
year earlier, said Tran Tuan Anh, Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and
trade. The world’s third-biggest exporter is already seeing a spurt in demand,
he said in an e-mail on Nov. 25. October rice shipments surged 43 percent to
859,000 tons from a year earlier, the highest level since July 2012, government
data show.
Indonesia and the Philippines are among nations importing rice
after dry weather induced by the strongest El Nino since the record event in
1997-98 hurts crops. Prospects for the event to further strengthen may prompt
buyers to secure supplies before prices run up as the United Nations’ Food
& Agriculture Organization predicts a decline in global rice output in the
2015-16 season with consumption surpassing production.“Rice supply and
stockpiles will decline, and demand for imports will rise because of
unfavorable weather conditions,” Anh said. “The El Nino event occurring this
year and prolonging into 2016 will affect production in many countries, especially
Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.”Rough-rice futures on the
Chicago Board of Trade have rallied 29 percent from the lowest level in more
than eight years in May on concern that the El Nino will shrink global harvest.
The contract for delivery in January closed at $12.13 per 100 pounds on
Wednesday.
Output Decline
Production in Thailand may decline to the lowest in 19
years as dry weather may prompt the world’s top exporter to further restrict
plantings to preserve water supply. The Philippines is monitoring rice
production closely to see whether there’s need to import more on El Nino after
purchasing 750,000 tons from Vietnam and Thailand for delivery from November to
March 2016. Indonesia this month agreed to import 1.5 million tons from Vietnam
and Thailand and is in talks with Cambodia and Myanmar for additional supplies,
according to state-run food company Bulog.
Vietnam’s paddy rice output may increase 0.3 percent to 45.1
million tons this year, VietnamPlus reported in September, citing the
Agriculture Ministry. Exports may climb to 7 million tons in 2016 from 6.2
million tons this year, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.Boosting rice exports will still be a challenge for Vietnam as
Thailand is looking to draw down the stockpiles it accumulated under a state
purchase plan, Anh said. Major importers, especially in Southeast Asia, are
also diversifying supply sources and boosting domestic production, he
said.Thailand has about 13.7 million tons of rice in state stockpiles after the
military government sold 5 million tons, Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent
secretary for commerce, said Nov. 16.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-27/el-nino-shrinking-rice-crop-worldwide-to-spur-vietnamese-sales
Over 1 million rai of off-season rice farming in Chao Phraya
River Basin
Over 1 million rai of
off-season rice farming in Chao Phraya River Basin
BANGKOK, 30 November 2015 (NNT)
– Water management for the Chao Praya River Basin continues to be challenging
with decreasing water inflows, while all sides have been urged to conserve
water consumption during this drought season.
The four major dams in the Chao Phraya River
Basin currently contain an accumulated water reserves at 10,891 million cubic
meters. The amount of water flowing into these dams has continued to decline,
with 7.35 million cubic meters inbound, against a consumption rate of 15
million cubic meters per day.Water reserves available for usage are reported to
be at 4,195 million cubic meters.From 1 November 2015 until now, 419 million
cubic meters of water has been used, with 13 percent allocated to the Chao
Phraya River Basin. This drought season’s water allocation plan dictates that
2880 million cubic meters can still be allocated for usage for the remainder of
the season.
Although the water consumption has proceeded
according to plan, farmers have cultivated a total of 1 million rais of
off-season rice, and are at risk of suffering water shortages in the near
future if off-season rice farming continues to expand.However, the Royal
Irrigation Department and related agencies have continued their task in
providing knowledge and understanding to the farmers and water users, so that
the limited supply of water is sufficient for consumption and ecosystem
conservation throughout the dry season; until the early rainy season next
year.All sectors have been asked to use water as sparingly as possible so that
this year’s drought crisis can be overcome.
http://news.thaivisa.com/thailand/over-1-million-rai-of-off-season-rice-farming-in-chao-phraya-river-basin/122907/
In rice-exporting Vietnam, consumers growing fond of Cambodian
grain
TUOI TRE NEWS
Updated : 11/26/2015 14:13 GMT + 7
While Vietnam is among the world’s top rice exporters, many
consumers in some southern markets now prefer several types of Cambodian rice
to the domestically grown produce.
Some rice businesses in the southern province of Tien Giang have
begun sourcing rice from Cambodia to distribute to Ho Chi Minh City and
neighboring localities, instead of that grown in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, known
as the country’s granary.Trung, who runs a major rice firm in the province,
said he sells an average of 500 metric tons of Cambodian rice on a monthly
basis.He always comes to Cambodia to directly buy paddy there, and the rice
processing and packaging are done at his own facility.“So I can ensure
competitive prices and good quality for the produce,” he said.
Many Tien Giang-based rice businesses say consumers in southern
Vietnam are fond of four types of Cambodian rice, namely Sa Mo, Sa Ri, Mong
Chim and Soc Mien, even though there is nothing special about their flavor and
aroma.“Cambodian rice fetches stable prices, so you do not have to worry about
suffering losses,” Nguyen Thi Tim, a Tien Giang rice seller, said.“The demand
for Cambodian rice is also growing so it sells easier than the domestic
grain.”Kiet, who runs a rice-husking plant in Tien Giang, explains that the
four most popular types of Cambodian rice in Vietnam are winter rice, which
requires longer growing duration than the summer grain so “there are only two
crops per year.”“The short-grain Cambodian rice is less sticky when cooked, so
those who do not like sticky and aromatic rice will prefer it,” he added.
His explanation is supported by Do Thi Mui, who runs two rice
stores in Phan Thiet, the capital of the south-central province of Binh
Thuan.“The cooked Cambodian rice is soft and not sticky, which is easy to eat
and digest, therefore largely enjoyed by local eateries and those doing heavy
physical work,” Mui said.Many eateries that sell cooked rice in Long An
Province and Tien Giang admit that they can reap bigger profits by selling
Cambodian rice over Vietnamese grain, as most consumers prefer soft to sticky
rice.Nguyen Thi Kieu Nga, a rice seller in Long An, also located in the Mekong
Delta, said farmers usually do not use pesticide on the winter rice crops,
which helps the Cambodian grain to win new customers.Professor Vo Tong Xuan, a
seasoned rice expert, confirmed that many Vietnamese consumers are eating
Cambodian rice as the grain is ‘cleaner’ than that grown in Vietnam, thanks to
the sparse use of insecticides.
“Many officials in the Vietnamese provinces bordering Cambodia
have told me that they choose Cambodian or Thai rice for safety reasons,” he
said.“This illustrates the importance of growing rice under best practice
methods such as VietGAP or GlobalGAP.“People now eat for their health, not for
a full stomach.”Last year Vietnam exported 7.5 million metric tons, but the
figure this year is expected to be only 6.7 million metric tons, according to
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.In the Jan-Oct period, the
country’s rice export reached 5.03 million metric tons, according to the
Vietnam Food Administration.
tuoitrenews.vn/.../in-riceexporting-vietnam-consumers-growing-fond-of
Paddy growers await payment from procurement agencies
Govt yet to
clear Rs 70-crore dues, arhtiyas face problems
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, November 27
The farmers have been waiting for the payment
in respect of their paddy crop which they had sold to government procurement
agencies about 15 days ago in local grain market and nearby procurement
centres.It is learnt that the state government’s procurement agencies could not
make the payments to the arhtiyas during the past about 15 days as the Central
government has not released the funds for the purpose.As per information, all
five government procurement agencies, namely Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup,
Warehouse and Punjab Agro, have yet to make the payment to the tune of Rs 70
crore to the arhtiyas of the Sangrur district so far. During this paddy season,
these agencies had procured paddy worth over Rs 2,350 crore in Sangrur district
while the agencies had already made payments to the tune of over Rs 2,280 crore
to the arhtiyas.
Pardeep Singla, an arhtiya of Sangrur grain
market, said he was yet to receive the payment, worth Rs 95 lakh, from three
procurement agencies — Punjab Agro, Pungrain and Markfed — though his ‘Rupay
Card’ had been swiped about 15 days ago by these agencies to make the payment.
He said due to the non-payment of dues, the arhtiyas had been facing problems
as the farmers were demanding money from them.The accountant of an arhtiya of
Sangrur grain market said their firm was yet to receive about Rs 2 crore from
the procurement agencies for the paddy crop of farmers, sold to agencies more
than a fortnight ago. He said the procurement agencies had swiped their “Rupay
card” but amounts had not been credited into their bank accounts so far.The
District Food Supply Controller (DFSC), Sangrur, Manish Narula, said the
payments would be credited into the accounts of arhtiyas by Monday or Tuesday
as the Central government had released funds for the purpose. He said in
Sangrur district, the government procurement agencies had already made 97%
payment of the procured paddy to the arhtiyas.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/paddy-growers-await-payment-from-procurement-agencies/163864.html
Seoul seeks ways to deal with huge rice
stockpile
PUBLISHED
NOV 28, 2015, 5:00 AM SGT
Falling local
demand amid bumper crop = 1.36m tonne surplus
Chang May Choon South Korea Correspondent
In Seoul
Rice, which used to be a Korean staple eaten three times a day,
has lost so much of its appeal that South Korea is now stuck with a huge rice
surplus of 1.36 million tonnes after a record bumper crop this year.With South
Koreans eating less and less rice - only 9.6 times a week according to a recent
study - the government is now trying to create new rice-based products in a bid
to increase consumption.The latest is rice-based penne pasta, after rice bread
and rice noodles. But habits may be hard to change as people have become used
to eating such products made from wheat.
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/seoul-seeks-ways-to-deal-with-huge-rice-stockpile
India
exported 55.26 lakh tonnes of rice in April-September
By PTI | 30 Nov, 2015, 03.48PM IST
India has exported 55.26 lakh tonnes of rice,
valued at over $3.17 billion, in the first six months of the current financial
year.ET SPECIAL:
NEW
DELHI: India has exported 55.26 lakh tonnes of rice, valued at over $3.17
billion, in the first six months of the current financial year. During the
April-September period, the country has exported 20.84 LT of basmati rice
valued at over $1.91 billion and 34.42 LT of other varieties valued at over $1.25
billion. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also
informed that India exported 1.19 crore tonne rice valued at $7.8 billion in
the last financial year.
According to the data shared by the minister, the maximum quantity of 5.98 lakh tonnes was exported to Saudi Arabia, followed by 5.08 tonnes to Senegal and 4.15 lakh tonnes to UAE. In a separate reply, the minister informed that import of 'plastic rice' has not been permitted. Import of rice is allowed through Food Corporation of India ( FCI) and its import is also subject to clearance by FSSAI
According to the data shared by the minister, the maximum quantity of 5.98 lakh tonnes was exported to Saudi Arabia, followed by 5.08 tonnes to Senegal and 4.15 lakh tonnes to UAE. In a separate reply, the minister informed that import of 'plastic rice' has not been permitted. Import of rice is allowed through Food Corporation of India ( FCI) and its import is also subject to clearance by FSSAI
Economic
Times India
GRAIN
MARKETS OF HARYANA GET OVER 55.51L MT OF PADDY THIS YEAR
1
2
3
4
5
More than 55.51 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy have
arrived in the mandis (grain markets) of Haryana as compared to more than 44.90
lakh MT during the corresponding period last year.A spokesman of the Food and
Supplies Dept on Sunday said that of the total arrival, more than 42.43 lakh MT
paddy has been purchased by Govt procurement agencies and the rest has been
purchased by millers and dealers.
Giving further details, the spokesman said that more than 19.37
lakh MT of paddy have purchased by the Food and Supplies Department, over 14.96
lakh MT have been purchased by Hafed, more than 4.35 lakh MT have been
purchased by the Haryana Agro-Industries Corporation and over 3.73 lakh MT have
been purchased by the Haryana Warehousing Corporation.He added that while
Karnal has received the maximum amount of paddy at 12.07 lakh MT, more than
10.08 lakh MT paddy has arrived in Kurukshetra, more than 7.23 lakh MT in
Kaithal.
The spokesman said that farmers have been advised to clean and dry
their harvest properly before bringing them to the market so that they do not
have to face any problems in storage due to high moisture content.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/grain-markets-of-haryana-get-over-5551l-mt-of-paddy-this-year.html
Venezuela supports rice production in Guinea-Bissau
NOVEMBER 27TH,
2015
Venezuela will support the production of rice and other grains in
Guinea-Bissau, said Wednesday in Bissau the Venezuelan ambassador to
Guinea-Bissau, at the end of an audience granted by President José Mário
Vaz.Ambassador Eddy José Cordova Corcega gave assurances that Venezuela would
find mechanisms, which he did not detail, to support the production of rice,
maize and sorghum as well as other agricultural products, to improve the diet
of the Guinean population.Corcega said the issue of support to Guinea-Bissau
would be discussed further at the next Africa/South America summit, to be held
in May 2016 in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, which the Guinea-Bissau head of
state will attend. (macauhub/GW)
Price of rice declines in Ghanaian markets
Cassava (Gari) and Groundnut dropped by a percentage point each to close at GHS 4.40 and 12 .90 per olunka respectively. Esoko Ghana reported that tomato gained 4 percent to close the week at GHS 11.70 per “medium size tomato tin”. Cowpea followed with 2 percent gained to close the week at GHS 7.80 per olunka and Cassava (fresh tubers) also gained a percentage point to close the week at 3.60 per 3-4 tubers. The other commodity prices remained the same.On the various markets, the price for an “olunka” of maize dropped by 20 percent in Dambai to close the week at GHS 4.00, by 16 percent in Bawku to close the week at GHS 3.00 and by 2 percent in Kumasi to close the week at GHS 5.00; in the other markets the price remained the same.
Techiman
A “medium size tomato tin”, full of fresh tomatoes lost 11 percent in Techiman to close the week at GHS 11.50. The commodity however made some gains in Kumasi and Dambai.
Kumasi
In Kumasi, it gained 14 percent to close at GHS 9.10 and in Dambai by 76 percentage to close the week at GHS 7.90. In the other markets prices remained the same.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Price-of-rice-declines-in-Ghanaian-markets-396883
New Abu Dhabi rice mill to start operations
next year
Reuters
November 29, 2015 Updated: November 29, 2015 05:17 PM
A rice mill with a production capacity of 80,000 tonnes a year
will start operations in Abu Dhabi in the second quarter of 2016, a senior
executive said on Sunday.The Al Dahra Kohinoor facility, a joint venture
between Abu Dhabi’s agribusiness firm Al Dahra Holding and India’s Kohinoor
Foods, will be located in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad).“Al
Dahra Kohinoor facility will ensure the sustainable and undisrupted supply of
essential food commodities into the Emirate (Abu Dhabi) and we are eager to
launch operations by the second quarter of 2016,” Khadim Al Darei, vice
chairman and managing director of Al Dahra Holding said in a statement.Al Dahra
is the government’s strategic partner on food security matters. The UAE relies
on imports for 85 per cent of its food consumption.The facility will handle the
full production cycle from milling, storing, packing and distributing the rice
within the UAE and exporting to foreign markets via Khalifa Port.
The Dh140 million facility will have a storage capacity of 50,000
tonnes of rice, the statement said.
Apeda Rice Commodity News
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Skyrocketing Support for RCPP in Missouri
Blake Gerard
COLUMBIA, MO -- The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project,
Sustaining the Future of Rice, recently received further affirmation of its
popularity among growers when the November 20 EQIP application deadline for
Louisiana and Missouri saw more than 260 applications submitted across 63,800
acres for Missouri alone!
The project is sponsored by USA Rice and Ducks
Unlimited through their Rice Stewardship Partnership, along with more than
forty supporting partners. Covering the
six major rice-growing states, the project has been dubbed the "National
Rice RCPP project," funding approximately $10 million worth of conservation
improvements on ricelands using the Natural Resources Conservation Service's
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation
Stewardship Program (CSP).Project implementation began earlier this fall with
more than 300 EQIP applications collected in Arkansas and Mississippi. The tremendous turnout in Missouri
applications comes following the first Rice Conservation Field Day in
Portageville earlier this month.
Blake Gerard, Missouri rice farmer and chairman
of USA Rice Farmers, said, "The application numbers are overwhelming. Although everything can't be funded, I think
it speaks volumes about the demand for conservation funding to see hundreds of
applications come out of only seven counties in our state."
Gerard added, "Rice farmers in Missouri
are looking forward to working with USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited throughout the
coming years to continue funding these environmentally and economically
beneficial projects on their operations."
An EQIP application period for California and
Texas will be announced later this winter. The planning process is currently
underway and applications for CSP will be announced in late 2016.
Contact:
Peter Bachmann (703) 236-1475
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
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El Nino Shrinking Rice
Crop Worldwide to Spur Vietnamese Sales
November 27, 2015 — 11:14 AM PKT
First quarter shipments seen jumping 14% to 1.3 million tons
Global rice output forecast to drop in 2015-16 on El Nino
Rice exports from Vietnam may increase 14 percent in the first
quarter as the strongest El Nino in almost two decades shrivels crops in some
countries, spurring importers to build reserves.
Shipments will jump to 1.3 million metric tons in the three
months ending March from 1.14 million tons a year earlier, said Tran Tuan Anh,
Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and trade. The world’s third-biggest
exporter is already seeing a spurt in demand, he said in an e-mail on Nov. 25.
October rice shipments surged 43 percent to 859,000 tons from a year earlier,
the highest level since July 2012, government data show.
Indonesia and the Philippines are among nations importing rice
after dry weather induced by the strongest El Nino since the record event in
1997-98 hurts crops. Prospects for the event to further strengthen may prompt
buyers to secure supplies before prices run up as the United Nations’ Food
& Agriculture Organization predicts a decline in global rice output in the
2015-16 season with consumption surpassing production.
“Rice supply and stockpiles will decline, and demand for imports
will rise because of unfavorable weather conditions,” Anh said. “The El Nino
event occurring this year and prolonging into 2016 will affect production in
many countries, especially Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.”
Rough-rice futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have
rallied 29 percent from the lowest level in more than eight years in May on
concern that the El Nino will shrink global harvest. The contract for delivery
in January closed at $12.13 per 100 pounds on Wednesday.
Output Decline
Production in Thailand may decline to the lowest in 19
years as dry weather may prompt the world’s top exporter to further restrict
plantings to preserve water supply. The Philippines is monitoring rice
production closely to see whether there’s need to import more on El Nino after
purchasing 750,000 tons from Vietnam and Thailand for delivery from November to
March 2016. Indonesia this month agreed to import 1.5 million tons from Vietnam
and Thailand and is in talks with Cambodia and Myanmar for additional supplies,
according to state-run food company Bulog.
Vietnam’s paddy rice output may increase 0.3 percent to 45.1
million tons this year, VietnamPlus reported in September, citing the
Agriculture Ministry. Exports may climb to 7 million tons in 2016 from 6.2
million tons this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Boosting rice exports will still be a challenge for Vietnam as
Thailand is looking to draw down the stockpiles it accumulated under a state
purchase plan, Anh said. Major importers, especially in Southeast Asia, are
also diversifying supply sources and boosting domestic production, he said.
Thailand has about 13.7 million tons of rice in state stockpiles
after the military government sold 5 million tons, Chutima Bunyapraphasara,
permanent secretary for commerce, said Nov. 16.
Drought-hit India's quest for water hampered
by thirsty crops
RAMPUR, INDIA |
A women uses a hand-pump to fill
drinking water on the outskirts of Amritsar in Punjab, India, November 15,
2015.
REUTERS/MUNISH
SHARMA
Pleas by local officials for farmers to switch from rice to
oilseeds and pulses and protect dangerously low water levels are falling on
deaf ears, and may be further undermined by government policies encouraging
cultivation of thirsty crops.Back-to-back droughts for the first time in nearly
30 years mean some rural areas in the north are running out of water for human
consumption and agriculture, prompting warnings of serious consequences if
urgent action is not taken.
"It is unlikely that India will have another drought next
year; three years in a row has never happened before," said Ashok Gulati,
a farm economist who advised the last government."But with extreme events
increasing due to climate change, you never know. If we don't wake up now then,
God forbid, people will leave farming to become labourers at railways
stations."With more than two-thirds of the 1.25 billion population living
off the land, water scarcity could affect the majority and hit long term food
supplies.
As world leaders meet in Paris next week to agree a deal on
cutting greenhouse gas emissions, India says climate change is already hurting
the agriculture and water sectors, and the impact is amplified by poverty and a
heavy reliance on farming.Locally, officials are trying to change farming
habits and enforce stricter rules on water usage."We are encouraging crop
diversification; we are going for pulses," said Amit Kishore, chief
development officer in Rampur, a farm belt city in Uttar Pradesh."We have
been trying to convince farmers to shift to horticulture as well, but the
uptake has not been satisfactory."Four out of Rampur's six administrative
areas are so-called "dark zones", with 80 percent or more of
groundwater exhausted. In those zones, the practice of boring wells has been
banned this fiscal year.Without urgent action, the region risks going the way
of Punjab and Haryana, two parched states where the groundwater has sunk even
further.Some farmers in those states now need to dig 300 feet (91 metres) for
water, compared to five feet (1.5 metres) in the 1960s, according to research
by a local government scientist.
"RICE SELLS"
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged farmers to use water
wisely, advocating a "per drop, more crop" approach that includes
water-saving methods like drip irrigation.Yet his 18-month-old government has
also boosted incentives to grow water-intensive rice, wheat and sugarcane that
India exports, at the expense of crops like oilseeds or pulses that it has to
import.Little wonder some farmers in the northern farming belt are ignoring the
advice of local officials."We grow rice because that is what sells,"
said Babu Ram Saini, standing by a pond in Jiwai Jadid village in Rampur.
"Productivity for
lentils is so low that we'll not be able to sustain ourselves without massive
government support," he said.Some experts are advocating tougher measures
to force more efficient use of water. Wastage is encouraged by the supply of
free or subsidized power which boosts politicians' popularity."We have
been trying to tell farmers that if you continue growing rice, more places are
going to become dark zones," said V.K. Mishra, a regional head of the
Central Soil Salinity Research Institute in Uttar Pradesh's capital
Lucknow."We should make a law that you can't grow rice in areas where the
water table is very low."Rice covers 62 percent of Punjab's area under
cultivation, up from 10 percent in 1970.
The expansion of rice has been similar in neighbouring
Haryana.Though the droughts have hit crops, India still produces more rice,
wheat and sugar than it consumes, drawing accusations from the World Trade
Organization that stockpiling to provide cheap grain to the poor unfairly
distorts trade."It is quite natural for our farmers to go for rice and
cane when both power and water are almost free," said economist Gulati,
adding that selling such produce abroad is like exporting "precious water
for free".
(Additional reporting by Mayank
Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/11/28/india-water-crops-rice-pulses-idINKBN0TG10S20151128
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