Rice
News Headlines...
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Slump in Basmati Rice Exports Causing Problems
for Pakistan
v
Mandatory use of jute bags—making the law
effective
v
WTO Authorizes Retaliation Amounts in COOL
Dispute
v
New Orleans Restaurants Proudly Serve
U.S.-Grown Rice; Welcome USA Rice Outlook Attendees
v
APEDA Commodity Rice NewsCME Group/Closing
Rough Rice Futures
v
Do We Really Want GMO Salmon Swimming into the
Food Chain?
v
12/07/2015 Farm Bureau Market Report
v
The path to rice perfection begins when you
start paying attention
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Indonesia launches trade, business fair
v
Rice import policy: Appraising the implications
for a groaning economy
v
Rice, wheat seized in raids
v
Rice Exports to Face Rising Competition
v
Rice farmers fighting debt and loss of land
again, group says
News Detail...
Slump in Basmati
Rice Exports Causing Problems for Pakistan
12.07.15
Tearfund
A slump in the export of basmati rice is having a damaging effect
on the Pakistani economy. It has exacerbated rural poverty with often
catastrophic consequences for small farmers. The causes of the slump are
complex and both national and provincial governments are facing criticism for a
failure to act.Pakistan’s exports of basmati rice have declined by 40% in the
past four years, from 1.1mn tons in 2011 to 676,630 tons in 2015. As a
consequence, the domestic market has been overwhelmed by an unmanageable glut,
with an accumulated surplus of 1mn tons. This has driven down the domestic
price of rice by 50%, from Rs4500 per maund (a measure equal to 40 kilos) in
2012 to Rs2200 per maund in 2015. If the surplus is not reduced, there are
fears of a further collapse in domestic prices, which would deter farmers from
growing basmati.
In Pakistan basmati has traditionally been an export crop. In
recent times, 60% of the total annual production of 2mn tons produce has been
sold abroad, generating around $2bn for the national economy, boosting foreign
currency reserves and contributing a healthy balance of payment (BoP). The
basmati trade has played a major role in the alleviation of rural poverty, so
much so that the rice crop is seen as too important to be left to the mercy of
market forces.In previous years, the Pakistani government gave the task of
removing the glut from the domestic market to the Pakistan Agriculture Storage
and Supplies Corporation (Passco) and to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan
(TCP). It seems, however, that neither organization is now fulfilling this
role, and the national government has been accused of neglecting its duty to
regulate the market, both in terms of inputs and export of the produce. The
responsible departments of the federal government, the Trade Development
Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Ministry of Commerce, have failed to act,
as has the provincial government agriculture department of Punjab, to which
responsibility for agriculture was devolved under the 18th constitutional
amendment.
In the same period that Pakistani basmati exports declined by 40%,
Indian exports increased by 50%. The export figures for India rose from 2.37mn
tons in 2011 to 3.45mn tons in 2013, an increase of 1.2mn tons that is
estimated to include 400,000 tons of exports won from Pakistan through
competitive advantage. The fact that India added a further 800,000 to its
exports clearly disproves any argument that basmati is losing its appeal in the
international market.
One of the main reasons for Pakistan’s loss of international
competitiveness is the low yield rates, which have been stagnant at 25-30
maunds per acre. The variety of seed used in Pakistan was developed in the
mid-1990s and is now susceptible to pests and diseases that decrease the yield.
This has reduced economies of scale, pushed up production costs and made the
export of Pakistani basmati uncompetitive. The research institutes (Pakistan
Agriculture Research Corporation, National Agriculture Research Corporation and
Rice Research Institute) have so far failed to develop a new variety of seed
that would increase yields.
Electricity shortages have also increased the cost of production
because some rice mills are operating at only half their capacity, and gas
shortages make the drying process longer. The deterioration in law and order in
Karachi, the major port city, has increased the cost of shipping and hindered
exports. Transporters have been targeted by criminal gangs who demand
protection money for every container and sometimes hijack transport vehicles.
The Rice Export Association of Pakistan (REAP) is seen as focusing
on maximizing short-term profits, rather than investing in the development of
exports. The Indian private sector, by contrast, has made long-term investments
not only in retail brand development, with aggressive marketing for exports,
but also in research and development of new seed. Two of its recently developed
seed varieties, which have increased production and exports, were produced by
the industry. In contrast, Pakistan’s exporters are more interested in maximizing
short-term profits and one way of doing this has been to dump basmati rice in
countries at the lower end of the market. The rice is then often snapped up at
a low cost by other nations, particularly India, thus strengthening their
retail brand.
Farmer displaced by flooding in
Jacobabad, Pakistan. (Russell Watkins)
Dumping rice in the international market results in a low price
for exports, while the domestic price of rice is high because of the high cost
of production and low yields. Exporters and domestic traders have been accused
of ensuring cheap supplies for export by manipulating the market and
engineering a domestic market crash. In 2008 the government tried to impose a
minimum export price (MEP), but within four months it had bowed to pressure
from the exporters and abolished the MEP. India, by contrast, has kept its MEP
and has seen exports double between 2007-2010, from 1.2mn to 2.4mn tons.
The inefficiencies in the rice trade make it crucial for the
government to regulate the market, instead of allowing prices to be manipulated
by a few players under the guise of free market forces.
Pakistani basmati rice has its niche in the world market because
of its natural taste and aroma, and the world is prepared to pay a premium for
this. It strengthens the case for the crop to be protected and exports to be
developed. Unfortunately, the market crash will discourage farmers from growing
basmati. This will diminish the area under rice cultivation with adverse
consequences for rural livelihoods and the economy as a whole.
Pakistani exports have suffered from bans by Russia, Mexico and
Iran in recent years. These were the result of failures to fulfill quality
standards, with pests being found at the initial monitoring stage or in
consignments. International market is an extension of domestic market,
improving the quality in the domestic market is fundamental to the development
of exports. Ensuring, for example, that seeds of different varieties are kept
separate and establishing proper quality standards is essential to ensure
long-term buyers’ confidence.
REAP has a monopoly for the export of rice and the government has
made membership of the body mandatory for rice exporters. But with the power of
monopoly comes the responsibility to develop exports and retail brands. Brand
development is an expensive exercise, but it benefits country, province,
farmers and the traders. Successful retail brand development can not only
increase the share of the market, but can also increase the value of exports by
up to 400%.
The 18th constitutional amendment made the provincial governments
solely responsible for the agriculture sector, and the Government of Punjab
needs to learn lessons from the federal government’s failure to develop the
export of rice. If REAP is failing to invest in brand development, the
Government of Punjab should develop its own brand. This would foster positive
presentation of the trade and bring long-term benefit to both the province and
the country.
The rice crop roughly utilizes approximately 17 million acre feet
(maf) of water, which agricultural economists value at $34bn. The consumption
of precious natural resource on such an enormous scale demands that particular
care be paid to water planning, to the impact of the rice trade and to the
responsibility of government and exporters to fully capitalize on rice exports.Unfortunately
this has not been the case in recent years. Instead of taking responsibility,
exporters and traders blame the government and the farmers for using archaic
seeds and production methods. They have opposed official intervention in the
trade cycle, claiming that setting an MEP subsidizes inefficiencies. For their
part, farmers blame the traders for pressurizing the government to abolish the
MEP and to procure rice to clear the glut.
All this is in sad contrast to what has been happening in India.
One might conclude that Pakistan could learn useful lessons from India’s
success in creating a win-win situation for farmers, exporters and the economy.
The first step would be to expand the share of rice going to the export market,
which demands a multi-pronged strategy starting from reforms in the domestic
market to a specialized approach to marketing in the international market.
Special thanks to Mr. Ahmad Fraz Khan for his valuable insight.
Mandatory use of jute bags—making the law effective
Syed Jamaluddin
Published
: 07 Dec 2015, 22:21:28
A
law was passed long ago making use of jute bags compulsory. It was also amended
later. The government has recently taken a firm decision to implement the law.
It has banned export of raw jute. Use of jute bags for paddy, rice, wheat,
maize, fertiliser and sugar have been made binding. Licenses of those who are
not following the government instructions will be cancelled. They will also not
be given bank loans. Mobile courts have been activated from November 30.
Publicity campaigns have been geared up. Businessmen and entrepreneurs have
been alarmed because of the government's decisions.The law was passed in 2010
to compel businessmen to use jute bags. This law was partly amended in 2013. But
its implementation did not proceed due to various reasons. A number of ministries recently held
consultations to decide the course of
action for effective implementation of the law.
The
government has taken a number of decisions in this regard. The decisions
include ban on production of plastic bags for packaging of the selected items,
imposition of a condition for using jute bags for rice and husking mills at the
time of giving licence and mandatory use of jute bags by producers and
suppliers of six items at the time of giving bank loans and so on.Several
ministries will work together for making the campaign successful. The ministry
of commerce has informed that licences of the organisations under their control
will be cancelled if they do not use jute bags for packaging of their products.
Letters of credit of those who will import and export six products but will not
use jute bags will be cancelled. Plastic product manufacturers will have to
give an undertaking to the department of environment that they will not produce
plastic bags. Instructions have been issued to rice mill owners and aratdars
(stockists) under the ministry of food in this regard. The ministry of shipping
will provide assistance for implementation of the law in respect of river and
land ports and ferry ghats while loading and unloading the products. The
Bangladesh Bank has issued a circular that businessmen dealing with the six
products will not be given loans unless they use jute bags for packaging.
It
has been ascertained from businessmen that they spend Tk18/22 for buying a
plastic bag. Private sector entrepreneurs offer jute bags at Tk 50 per unit.
But they will have to pay Tk 70 per bag if they procure this from the
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). This will increase cost for the
users. As a result, prices of the six products will increase and the burden
will fall on the consumers.The state minister for textiles and jute has said
the government has taken the initiative in the interest of public health for
using jute bags as well as for stopping the use of plastic bags which is not
environment-friendly. All public sector jute mills are now busy in producing
jute bags. Price of such bags has been reduced by 10 per cent.
This
year alone 500 million bags will be needed. But the 22 public sector mills have
the capacity to produce 250 million bags. These jute mills are producing
5,00,000 bags per day, If the jute bags are successfully used for six products,
more products may be brought under the scheme gradually.Jute ministry officials
are facing obstacles in implementing the Mandatory Packaging Act. Sixty-two
mobile courts are in operation throughout the country. But the six products are
still found in plastic bags in many shops. These are also found in godowns and
showcases. Doubts have been expressed about the effectiveness of the campaign.
Hartals
are being observed in many places for stopping the mobile courts in case of
jute packaging for fertiliser transport. The agriculture minister has written a
letter to the jute minister for relaxing the use of jute bags for fertiliser.
But the jute minister has said that the Jute Packaging Act will be implemented
at any cost.
The
government has now put a ban on export of raw jute for an indefinite period
with a view to ensuring adequate supply of the fibre to local mills for making
bags for packaging. The decision has been taken in the wake of the shortage of
jute bags. Most of the rice millers, businessmen and traders did not use jute
bags for packaging essential commodities like paddy, rice, wheat, maize,
fertiliser and sugar on the plea of high prices and non-availability of jute
bags.
According
to the department of jute, a total of 724 cases were filed by 329 mobile courts
between November 30 and December 01 and Tk 3.39 million was realised as fines
during the period. The millers were in trouble as the government was conducting
the drive without ensuring supply of adequate jute bags. The government should
immediately appoint agents in all districts for smooth supply of jute bags as
the private jute mills are not supplying jute bags at all.
The
writer is an economist and columnist.
jamaluddinsyed23@yahoo.com.au
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/12/07/4484
WTO Authorizes Retaliation Amounts in COOL Dispute
WTO
Building
GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced today that Canada
and Mexico can move forward with a combined $1.01 billion in retaliatory
tariffs in response to U.S. noncompliance on Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)
for muscle cuts of beef and pork. A WTO
arbitration panel said the two countries' previous requests for a combined $3.2
billion were too high and instead authorized Canada and Mexico to increase
duties on imports from the United States by $781.77 million and $227.76
million, respectively. Canada has U.S.
rice on its retaliation list; Mexico has not yet published a list.
"The remaining option is to repeal the
COOL rule or face retaliation in the form of duties on U.S. rice exports to
Canada and Mexico," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings. "USA Rice calls on Congress to repeal
the noncompliant provisions of COOL."
Cummings
said the U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved repeal of
COOL but the effort has bogged down in the Senate where some favor a voluntary
labeling rule, which both Mexico and Canada have rejected.
Canada's
government issued a statement today which said, in part, "If the U.S.
Senate does not take immediate action to repeal COOL for beef and pork, Canada
will quickly take steps to retaliate."The United States has lost several
cases over the COOL rule in the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), which has
found that COOL discriminates against imports from Canada and Mexico. The United States has exhausted its WTO
appeals. The DSB is expected formally to
authorize Canada and Mexico to retaliate on December 18.
According to Cummings, USA Rice will continue
to press for repeal as part of The COOL Reform Coalition, representing more
than 140 companies and associations from a broad spectrum of industries. The group will also monitor closely actions
by Canada and Mexico and work with importers in those countries so as to
minimize any retaliation on rice.
Exports to Mexico ($325 million) and Canada ($185 million) accounted for
just over one-quarter of all rice exports in 2014.
Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
New Orleans Restaurants Proudly Serve U.S.-Grown Rice;
Welcome USA Rice Outlook Attendees
U.S. Grown Rice Label
"Ninety
percent of what we use comes from Louisiana and the surrounding states and
definitely the Gulf of Mexico. We have customers who ask where we get our
ingredients, and we are proud to tell them about our local ingredients like
rice. Ninety percent of the rice we serve here is popcorn rice and I would say
the other t1- percent is Jazzman, a hybrid rice that is produced at
LSU." "It's great to see so
many restaurants committed to using locally-sourced ingredients like
rice," said Katie Maher, USA Rice's director of domestic promotion. "We hope that those attending the USA
Rice Outlook Conference will visit these restaurants that are actively
supporting the U.S. rice industry."
Recognized globally for its
distinctive cuisine, New Orleans is the hub of the Creole and Cajun food scene
providing patrons with specialty dishes that move rice from a side item to the
center of the plate. Members can look forward to New Orleans classics like
jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, and many more dishes
that feature rice as a central ingredient.For a list of this year's
participating restaurants with contact information, meeting attendees can check
their conference guide, or
Contact: Colleen Klemczeski (703) 236-1446
APEDA
Commodity Rice News
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CME Group/Closing Rough Rice
Futures
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Do We Really Want GMO Salmon Swimming
into the Food Chain?
What's
the history behind the approval of genetically engineered salmon?
December 7, 2015
Photo Credit: © g215/Shutterstock.com
The recent approval of genetically engineered salmon for human
consumption by the FDA brought back my memories of the Golden Rice controversy.
It also raises a question, amid the conflicts of our world: who gets fed?
Golden Rice was initially developed by a research team led by two
scientists, Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, of the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology and Germany’s University of Freiburg, respectively. Their new GE rice variety, deep
yellow with beta-carotene, an essential vitamin A precursor, represented a
significant advance in bioengineering when introduced to the world in 2000. The
genes necessary for the complete synthesis of a required human
nutrient had been inserted into the rice genome, so that this nutrient was
newly available in the edible part of the rice, the endosperm. Golden Rice was
intended to improve human nutrition on a global scale by enhancing a widely
used staple crop of subsistence with the vitamin A precursor necessary to
prevent childhood blindness, one of many nutritional deficiencies still
affecting people on our planet. (WHO publishes a Vitamin A deficiencymap and there are plenty of hunger statistics.)
In April 2015, Potrykus and Beyer received the Patents for
Humanity Award from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They had released
their intellectual property rights in Golden Rice for the common good, without
profit. Their groundbreaking, bioengineered design of an enhanced staple food
used around the world was genuinely humanitarian.
However, from its introduction and to this day, there has been a
rejection of Golden Rice at the populace level, a social and cultural pushback:
many people of rice-based cultures in Asia do not want to eat yellow-colored,
foreign rice. White is an ancient, traditional rice color that historically
carries religious significance. For thousands of years rice has fed the many
and is culturally powerful, an inborn meme. In 2013, the destruction of a plot
at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) field trial of Golden Rice
in the Philippines, by a group of anti-GMO activists, made headline news. The
field ruin was hotly criticized, with many contentions that the anti-GMO side
just does not understand the science.
True, not every member of the general public understands and knows
how to interpret GMO data. Yet people in the Philippines also share the belief
that one must never destroy a green (growing) rice plant. Some reporters made
the point that many native farmers held back from the rice field “massacre” and
were horrified at the sight. But the farmers’ response to the massacre was not
because Golden Rice in an IRRI field was being destroyed; it was because rice
plants were being decimated, the symbol of life itself.
There was cultural horror in the crowd. Rice is
sometimes the only food there is to eat for the millions who live in poverty on
our planet, the people for whom Golden Rice was developed. A conflict of
choices remains.For now, I am anti-GMO, even though all food, when properly
digested, is reduced into its components. Proteins become amino acids, long
chain carbohydrates become short chain sugars, and precursors like
beta-carotene are processed in the human gut to become vitamin A, no matter
what the source. I can see why scientists in academia, government and industry
may state that GMOs are safe for human consumption. What harm could possibly
come from eating a GMO, when everything we consume is digested? We eat DNA
every day, from every once living organism in our diets, from rice to
caviar.
The introduction of food allergens is one example of a potential
problem with GMO consumption. Soybeans that have been genetically engineered to
contain Brazil nut proteins do trigger allergic reactions in people with Brazil
nut allergies, which is a good reason for labeling GE foods. Do we know what
other proteins made from lab-engineered genes may cause allergenic problems,
now or in the future? How stable are the genes of GMOs, and what are their
mutation rates, if any? What happens when they get into the wild and
cross-breed? Are these possibilities long shots, only remotely possible?
There are a number of other pressing issues around the industrial
production of GMOs, yet my intent is not to review all of them, and I direct
readershere for more information. One issue I
do wish to hone is the potential for gene flow, from engineered to wild, a
literal genetic contamination of the wild genomes of the species from which
GMOs are derived, if mating occurs of any kind between them. Farm-raised
Atlantic GMO salmon continue to escape into the ocean, and upstream into
reproductive proximity of their native, original species. Such gene flow is a
form of pollution and must not be allowed. That is because gene pollution will
alter our remaining wild diversity, and we cannot afford to lose any more.
Wild biodiversity cannot be created in a lab. Furthermore, there
is not survival without it. Ireland’s potato famine is a prime example of
the demise of an organism that occurred due to genetic paucity; insufficient
gene diversity to code for any effective plant biochemical or other defense of
the field pathogen. Potato blight killed one million people through starvation
and disease and displaced another million more, all because just one or two
potato plants were used to propagate the whole of Ireland’s crop. That “founder
effect,” the propagation of many from a genetically limited few, put all of the
potato plants into a survival bottleneck, a limited gene pool.
There are now only three white rhinos left in the world—this is genetic paucity. Genetic paucity easily
leads to extinction.On planet Earth, in our current era, there is no longer any
other way of conserving biodiversity in all of its forms, genetic, organismal,
species, wild population, and especially human and cultural, without first
conserving the diversity and ecology of all habitats and inhabitants still
alive. This means we must stop the loss of wild diversity in nature, in all of
its forms, and prevent further environmental contamination of any kind, not
just chemical, but also genetic. Is this stance idealistic and untenable?
I believe that for all of what we do as individuals, we who live
with comfort among the nations, there must now be global thinking in our
decisions; we must remember our inextricable connections to other life on this
planet as we make our way in our individual lives. Kofi Anan recently tweeted: “We are rapidly approaching the tipping
point beyond which climate change may become irreversible."
Climate is an integral sustainer of biodiversity.
We are at a tipping point. We can’t afford to fail, for we cannot
survive without our planet’s climate, or without its biodiversity. There
are new voices rising from the general public against GE salmon. Reviewing some
of the scientific rebuttal to prior anti-GMO free speech, I have to wonder why
so many critics assume anti-GMO scientists are not looking at the data, the
statistics, and asking good questions. The new GE salmon is a “triploid.”
Triploid often means an organism has three full sets of chromosomes, instead of
the normal two sets, which is termed “diploid.
” Humans are diploid, with 46 total chromosomes, having two
complementary sets of 23 chromosomes each. Triploid for humans would mean
69 chromosomes total, a genetic disaster. “Polyploidy,” this trait of
multiplied sets of chromosomes, is rarely found in animals, although there are
a few known species of beetles in which it occurs. The more widespread rule for
animals is that multiples over normal numbers of chromosomes lead to serious
problems. In humans, to make another comparison, even a single excess
chromosome or portion thereof can cause anomalies, like “trisomy 21,” which is
the term for three copies of chromosome 21, and the genetic cause of Down
syndrome.
The commercial GE salmon now approved is likely to be triploid
only in its X chromosome, rather than its full genome. This triple X genetic
trait, which confers sterility, has been commonly reported in the scientific
literature. Obviously, the details may be proprietary; note that sterility of
this nature may not be absolute.
Under the conditions of modern ocean farming, where brood eggs are
allowed to age after killing the females, diploid Atlantic salmon can undergo
the spontaneous development of triploidy. This has been scientifically studied
and is thought to be caused by the unnatural aging of the eggs under farming
conditions. Triploid salmon also suffer from skeletal abnormalities, so they
are fed a diet high in phosphorous to compensate for this lack of fitness.
Thousands of these fish escape from their pens into the sea every
year, and scientists acknowledge that they can interbreed with their wild
relatives. What is the rate of wild diploid Atlantic male salmon
fertilization of GMO triploid eggs in Norway? Has this instance of
interbreeding of GMO and wild been fully evaluated as a reference point? Wild
salmon genomes have been infiltrated with traits from an unfit, triple X
organism. Diploids and triploids can mate under some conditions; mis-division
in meiosis could yield another diploid from a triploid, and vice versa, by
random mutation.
These considerations are apart from other environmental issues of
aquaculture, which include antibiotic resistance, pollution and the
exploitation of wild, lower trophic fish for feeding.
One suggestion I came across in my research surprised me: the idea
that developing countries could farm low trophic fish, to be used to feed their
citizens and to sell, as an income stream, to “more wealthy countries.” These
countries, in turn, would use that fish, not for human food, but as feed for
farmed, high trophic fish, so that the wealthy citizens could continue
their more desirable farmed fish diet. Trophic refers to food chain position in
the web of life. Chinook salmon and cod are high trophic; sardines and
anchovies are low trophic.
In summation, we know that ocean-farmed Atlantic triploid salmon
have congenital skeletal abnormalities, can and do escape their pens, and can
breed with their wild relatives. The new FDA-approved GE salmon is an Atlantic
triploid with a punch: it also carries an extra gene for high trophic, Chinook
salmon growth hormone. That growth hormone gene is not authentic to the
original species from which the GMO was derived.
Given the public refusal to accept bovine growth hormone in cow
milk, how will (Pacific) Chinook growth hormone in Atlantic salmon be received?
And what happens when a land-locked aquaculture system, as proposed to contain
all of the fish and eggs of this big and fast growing triploid, fails by any
error? We need to understand what set of criteria have been used for the
decision that GE salmon is safe from a long-term ecological perspective.
For all of the reasons that the industry gives in defense of GE
salmon, I see reasons for corporate profit: less cost to feed the fish, quicker
growth, and lower shipping expenses. We are being sold the line that these make
the process environmentally friendly. This is a foreign fish with at least one
extra complement of the X chromosome, and which is, truthfully speaking,
“Franken." There is an alteration in the ploidy level which makes triploid
salmon essentially a new species, if reproductive barrier is the touted
rule. In addition to malformed skeletons, what other mutational effects are
there in GE salmon that we will not see in our filets? I am sorry to guess that
that information may be proprietary. And I wonder if the lower farming costs of
GE-salmon will be passed on as savings to consumers.
In addition to the possibility of contamination in the wild, we
already have problems with many invasive species, like the damaging Asian carp
predators of the Great Lakes, and now, the Eurasian ruffle, a small perch and a
new, European sourced, fish invader. Perhaps those examples are different and I
don’t understand, although I do think that the manner in which any foreign fish
is accidentally introduced into native environments is not the question. What
these fish do in overtaking native species’ habitats, and the potential for
damage to diversity of wild genomes, whether by genetic bottleneck due to
habitat loss, population demise or by hybridization, is a conservation problem
that was not fully addressed by the FDA decision.
However, the FDA may not be the proper jurisdictional body for
considering the long-term genetic impacts of non-native, engineered food
organisms released into our environment. As a conservationist, I ask, who
gets fed? I stopped eating salmon a few years ago, when I learned that
farm-raised fish swim in dirty water and antibiotics.
I also decided not to eat
the wild-caught alternative because there are no longer enough wild salmon to
feed the world. Salmon is a very good human food; I have enjoyed it, yet will
live without for as long as it takes to get fish and fisheries and the humans
who rely upon them back into balance again. I am a fortunate consumer with food
on my table, able to choose, hopefully so that there is more food for everyone,
and so that habitats can be conserved, one less fish dinner at a time. It
is not a sacrifice for me, but it would be for the indigenous peoples of the
world, whose ties to salmon and sustainable fishing are culturally ingrained,
not just a means for literal survival. Food is a part of culture, a part of
diversity, like white rice and its many native varieties, preferred by people
whose survival has long depended upon it, where it has been cultivated in cross
pockets of humanity for thousands of years.
GMO critics abound and I am one of them, but I think we also must
provide alternative and sustainable solutions for feeding the masses of people
now living on our planet. Everyone should be able to eat and to eat with
choice. One method to bring balanced diets to the people of developing
countries, a method which has been used successfully in Africa, is agroecology.
This is an approach to food and farming which balances agriculture with
ecological preservation. The flexibility of agroecology, which allows a custom
fit to micro-cultural farming practices, is one of its great benefits.
(The author Colin Todhunter
has more information on this practice.) I live in a rural area of the U.S. where
“locally grown” is both a major lifestyle and an economic movement. Sustainable
alternatives are out there, and I am fortunately living with some of
them.
The advent of genetically engineered salmon with fish growth
hormone is upon us. Who does not know that the fishing industry is in trouble?
If we all want a plate of salmon for dinner, we really do have to farm it. We
now produce enough salmon to bag and can for our pets. The new GMO has been
approved and will be disseminated commercially, ever so carefully, to give
consumers time to accept what it is.
Finally, I wonder about the food hopefully being shipped to South
Sudan, where a famine is currently unfolding, and if GE salmon will ever make
its way to the overpopulated and underdeveloped countries in need of essential
subsistence. Who will be enjoying GE salmon with a delicate rice pilaf and a
lovely glass of wine, while watching world events unfold on television? What is
at risk as we feed the few? What is a fair trade?
Part of the “inconvenient truth” is that while comfortable lives
have been sustained, too many of the people on our planet have lived in stark
poverty. We have all seen the photos of children collecting water in South
America where oil exploration and drilling have ravaged and polluted their
indigenous lands, in Africa amidst runoff from gold mines, children who are
hungry in so many countries: what are they eating? Is the U.N. there to help?
Can I buy my “Holland Orange Bell” pepper, and walk away from the
electrically cooled and misted vegetable counter, assuming the global hunger
problem will be solved?
Who gets fed? Many women still carry their cooking water in earthen
pots upon their heads. Will they be offered, for their children’s hunger,
salmon over rice? Golden Rice may be an emergency answer for developing
countries, one that was clearly conceived for overall good, yet clashed with
culture. GE salmon, I think, is a wealthy class, fish-for-profit story.
Kathy McKeown is a scientist, scholar and writer who specializes
in genetics, agriculture, biodiversity and conservation.
http://www.alternet.org/food/do-we-really-want-gmo-salmon-swimming-food-chain
12/07/2015 Farm Bureau Market Report
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Rice Comment
Rice
futures were lower across the board following other commodities lower. The
crude oil crash is impacting commodities across the board. Today's losses in
rice open the possibility for another leg down. There is little support seen
for January above the $10.50 level.
The
path to rice perfection begins when you start paying attention
Food and Dining Editor
Persian Rice With Black-Eyed Peas and Dill, served with the all-important crusted rice from the bottom of the pot. (Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post)
“I love
rice,” says chef Michael Solomonov. “But when you learn how to cook in fine
[Western] restaurants, nobody gives a [expletive] about the rice. Oh, sure, we
would cook risotto with truffles, or whatever, but nobody cared about the basic
pot of steamed rice.”Joe Yonan is the Food and Dining editor of The Washington
Post and the author of "Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single
Cook." He writes the Food section's Weeknight Vegetarian column.
That
changed for Solomonov when he started paying attention to the foods of the
Middle East. He was born south of Tel Aviv but has lived in Israel for just a
few years; he grew up in Pittsburgh. Now, at his acclaimed Philadelphia
restaurant Zahav, “we regard the rice as so special that we serve it with our
Mesibah (party) menu, to give you an idea of just how cool it is,” he writes in
his new cookbook, “Zahav.”In Persian cooking, rice is treated with the utmost
care. Solomonov writes about his half-brother-in-law Avi Mor, who grew up in
Iran (where “rice is the bright center of the universe”) and began helping his
mother cook at age 10. The boy wasn’t allowed to touch the rice until five
years later, once he had proved himself worthy.
“Rice is
[expletive] hard, dude,” Solomonov told me on a recent morning in my kitchen as
he showed me two of his favorite ways to prepare it. “It’s 50-50 whether this
even comes out,” he said, and I couldn’t quite tell if — or how much — he was
joking. The way he put it in “Zahav” is this: “Cooking rice is easy. Cooking it
perfectly is incredibly difficult.” He considers himself, like Avi, to be on
a never-ending quest for perfection.
Chef Michael Solomonov: “The feeling of exhilaration
when I nail a batch of rice rivals almost any feeling of satisfaction I have
ever had in the kitchen, and many outside of it.” (Steve Legato)
“Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking,” is the
Philadelphia chef’s first cookbook. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The
Persian method allows for more interaction and adjustment than does the typical
steaming. The rice is first soaked to reduce some of its starch, to help keep
the grains fluffy and separate rather than sticky. Next it’s boiled until al
dente, a process that offers the cook chances to sample and stop the cooking
when the rice reaches the right stage, then is drained and gently fluffed. Only
then is it combined with a little more water, closed up and slowly cooked.
There’s traditionally turmeric and oil on the bottom of the skillet, and a dish
towel tied around the lid to absorb any extra moisture as the rice cooks.
Even
with all his practice, Solomonov writes, “If I cooked rice every day for the
rest of my life, I would never outgrow the anxiety in that moment just before
lifting the lid off the pot. The feeling of exhilaration when I nail a batch of
rice rivals almost any feeling of satisfaction I have ever had in the kitchen,
and many outside of it.”
I had
bought Thailand-grown jasmine rice from a little Asian market that has a high
turnover, hoping that would help eliminate the age issue. And I had soaked it,
too — for about eight hours. Half of it went into the chef’s Persian Rice With
Black-Eyed Peas and Dill and the
other half into Pilaf With Carrots,
which, in pilaf tradition, is baked.
For the
Persian rice, Solomonov thought the initial blanching went a little long, and
the rice a smidge past al dente, so for its second round of slow cooking, in the
pot, he held back some of the liquid. And he touched and listened and smelled
and looked, finally opening the pot after about a half-hour to check for the
all-important crust on the bottom. Not quite there, so he continued cooking it
for another 20 minutes or so.
Then it
rested while we finished making the pilaf, toasting the soaked rice briefly
with cooked carrot, onion and garlic, then baking it in an aromatic mix of
carrot juice, saffron and cayenne. “There’s something about this combination
that tastes like shellfish, even though it’s completely vegetarian,” Solomonov
said.The moments of truth arrived. Solomonov folded fresh dill into the Persian
rice, then inverted it onto a plate, lifted the pot and unmolded it. Some
pieces of the crust — a delicacy much in the same vein as the socarrat at the
bottom of a well-made Spanish paella — clung to the pot, but it wasn’t anything
that a little pulling with a fork couldn’t remedy. He extracted it and set it
on top of the domed rice.
Solomonov
thought the rice was slightly overcooked; he’s still going for perfection,
after all, and this wasn’t quite there. But when I tasted it, I thought it
might be the best I had ever had. And then I tasted the pilaf, which was even
better. If this wasn’t perfect rice, then I can’t wait to get back into the
kitchen.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../the-path-to-rice-perfection-begins
Indonesia launches trade, business fair
December, 07 2015 08:20:00
The ambassador told the press that Indonesia has the
highest consumption rate in the world for rice. Some 250 million people in
Indonesia eat rice three times a day. Indonesia also imports steel, iron and
cement from Viet Nam.Indonesia also has great demand for Vietnamese coffee, the
ambassador said, adding that the country imported US$40-50 million worth of the
commodity in 2014 and the figure is expected to increase.He affirmed that the
trade fair and business forum, as part of the activities to celebrate 60 years
of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Indonesia, will be a valuable
opportunity for both nations' enterprises to set up business links.Trinh Xuan
Tuan, vice director of the Viet Nam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company
(Vinexad) said within the framework of the events, some 100 Indonesian
enterprises will showcase their high-quality products at the fair, including
automobiles and spare parts, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, food and
beverages, among others. — VNS
The ambassador told the press that Indonesia
has the highest consumption rate in the world for rice. Some 250 million people
in Indonesia eat rice three times a day. Indonesia also imports steel, iron and
cement from Viet Nam. — File Photo
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/279491/indonesia-launches-trade-business-fair.html
Rice
import policy: Appraising the implications for a groaning economy
For a
country like Nigeria with huge natural and human resource endowments needed to
produce agricultural commodities and feed her citizens, the raging
controversies on whether to ban or not to ban rice importation again reflect
one of sordid features of national development plans. In this analysis, TOLA
AKINMUTIMI appraises
the issues from stakeholders’ viewpoints and the implications for the economy
in the long term.
It is
indeed an irony that a country that in the early 60s prided itself as one of
the agro-based flourishing countries with prospect to become a leading world
power if her potential in agricultural sector is fully explored is today
sourcing over 70 per cent of her food needs through importation at huge costs
to its foreign reserves, other national savings, sustainable growth and
socio-economic well being of the people.This is even more worrisome when the
nation’s inability to feed itself is analysed within the context of the fact
that the just published Unemployment and Underemployment Watch report by the
National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, indicated that the economically active
population or working age population (persons within ages 15‐ 64)
increased from 102.8 million in the first quarter of this year to 104.3 million
by the third quarter.
A
cursory appraisal of Nigeria’s import bills over the past years indicated that
substantial part of the country’s foreign exchange earnings was spent on
importation of food items, which in most cases, as analyses by medical experts
confirmed, are harmful to consumers. The latest official figures showed that
about N356 billion is spent yearly on rice importation.The World Bank report on
the country’s merchandise trade volume for the period 2011-2013 showed that in
2011, food imports accounted for 31 per cent of the country’s import component
of the merchandise trade while in 2012 the figures dropped to 23 per cent. In
2013, food imports cost the country 18 per cent of the year’s import bill.
Although
the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported that the nation’s food imports
declined from N 1.1 trillion ($6.7 billion) in 2009 to N684 billion ($4.35
billion) in 2013 while 12 million metric tonnes (MT) of food were added to the
domestic food basket last year as a result of the successes recorded under the
Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), the truth is that Nigeria cannot
still feed her population through domestic farming programmes.
As it is
with other issues affecting sustainable national development policy thrusts,
analysts have blamed the failure to explore abundant country’s agro ecological
opportunities in the country, including very rich arable land across the
geopolitical zones, fauna-friendly weather and climate as well as huge labour
population, to the fullest to policy reversals in the agricultural sector.For
instance, in 2013 fiscal year, government raised the import duty on rice to 100
per cent with an additional levy of 10 per cent based on its believe that such
a fiscal regime would discourage import and encourage local production capacity
in furtherance of the ATA agenda. A year earlier, import duty on the commodity
was 50 per cent and 10 per cent levy bringing total tariff on its import to 60
per cent.The immediate fiscal and economic fallouts of the implementation of
the policy were that smuggling of the commodity increased, causing substantial
revenue to the economy and economic losses to importers and other stakeholders
engaging in rice business.For instance, at the ENL Consortium terminal at the
Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa, where at least 60 per cent of rice imported
into the country is discharged, available statistics indicated that the port
recorded nearzero import of the commodity in 2013.
The loss
to other countries, as a result of the high tariff on rice was over N300
billion last year while in the first quarter of this year alone, both
government and private operators have lost a least N80 billion. Haastrup, who
is also the Executive Vice Chairman, ENL Consortium Limited, listed the revenue
losses associated with the 110 per cent rice policy to those that should have
accrued to the Nigeria Customs Service, terminal operators, dockworkers and the
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
While
absolving the Customs from blames connected with the huge revenue losses to the
country, the industry player explained that there was a lot of pressure on
Customs because the quantity of rice produced locally can only satisfy 30 per
cent of local demand.Apparently worried by the negative impact of the policy on
the economy, especially revenue losses, the former Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister for the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the occasion
of the Centenary Award held in Abuja, hinted of plans by government to revise
the policy in the 2014 budget.
She
said: “We increased the tariff to110 per cent, and it encouraged some people to
go and grow rice and we grew 1.1 million metric tons of the product. But it
also encouraged smuggling by neighbouring countries because they immediately
dropped their own tariffs to 10 per cent. For rice, we decided to bring it down
because we see that it is not working”, she said.To prove her point, available
revenue collections on imported items by the Customs of which rice imports
remained substantial showed that in first quarter 2014, Customs import duty
collections dipped substantially between January and March to N77.9 billion, a
far cry from the N400 billion target set for it by government during the
period. This represented a 19.5 per cent or a N322.1 billion loss and also less
than half of the N191.3 billion collected by the Service in the corresponding
period of 2013.
Apart
from the fiscal strains the policy was creating for government, another major
factor that undermined its feasibility is that local production capacity could
not meet demand, despite sundry efforts under the ATA to complement farmers’
productive activities with the dry season farming since 2013.Curiously, in the
2015 fiscal year, the controversies that characterized rice import allocations
for 2014 did not abate despite Federal Government’s downward review of import
volume from 1.5 million MT to 1.3 million MT.
Compelled
by the failure of the policy as well as the frustrations arising from the
dwindling revenue occasioned by whirlwinds in the global oil market where
prices of oil crashed by about 60 per cent since July 2014, the government
reversed the tariff regime on rice in the 2015 budget with a view to using the
revenue collections to augment revenue in the federation account in the fiscal
year.But then as with other policy measures in the public sector over the
years, the rice import policy regimes has again stoked the fire of controversy
with those given the task to generate more revenues from rice importation as
well as the fiscal authorities lauding the move while others, including the
Legislature believe full scale lifting of ban on the commodity requires some
caution.
In
October, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.), unveiled
plans by the Federal Government to lift the ban on rice importation through the
land borders to improve revenue generation and to curb unbridled smuggling of
the commodity into the Nigerian market.
In a
spontaneous reaction to the proposed measure, the National Rice Millers
Association of Nigeria, NRMAN, faulted the Customs boss stance and advocated
for he sustenance of the existing policy on land border restrictions on
imported rice.
The
Chairman of the association, Mohammed Abubakar, apart from saying that the NCS
acted out of its statutory mandate to have made the declaration, noted that
opening the borders would hurt the economy and rubbished the successes recorded
under the rice value chain so far.Abubakar, who is the Chief Executive Officer
of Umza Rice, said the decision was an attempt by the Customs to give official
backing to smuggling of rice. He said: “First of all, the customs does not have
the power to do that, it is a matter of national policy and customs does not
make national policy, it is an implementation agency.
This
will completely kill the rice value chain and everything concerning rice
production will stop; customs does not have the right to make such decision.
“This ban was placed six years ago and everybody knows that, so it does not
have any reason to say rice should be brought in through the land borders.Anyone
who gives such directive has smuggling intentions,” Abubakar added. He urged
government to be focused and ensure that the country becomes self sufficient in
rice production.However, barely a month to the implementation of the proposed
fiscal measure, the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Concessions
and Grants, chaired by Senator Adamu Aliero submitted its report after a review
of the policy. The Aliero-led Committee recommended that the Senate ask the Federal
Government to suspend the policy on the grounds that it would escalate rice
smuggling into the country.
The
Committee noted that the Customs lacked “the capacity to monitor and control
the flow of goods through the land borders”. Convinced of the logic in the
Committee’s stance, the Senate adopted the recommendation calling on the
government to suspend the policy.As expected, the proposal by the Customs and
the subsequent recommendations of the Senate have opened a new phase in the
unending controversies surrounding the importation of rice such that except the
government fully appraised the implications of the planned fiscal regime on
rice imports in the 2016 budget, the country may be the ultimate loser in the
medium and long terms.
In what
seems a direct reaction to the USDA’s stance but more particularly to his
conviction that Nigeria can do without massive importation of rice, the Vice
President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr Dele Oye, advised the Federal Government to
implement the proposed 2015 deadline for the ban on rice importation.
He
pointed out that Nigeria cannot be threatened by food insecurity in any form
given , the wide variety of food crops that are cultivated in the various agro
ecological zones of the country.
According
to him, even if there is any shortfall in polished rice and supply comes short
of demand, Nigerians have alternatives in other food sources with high
carbohydrates nutrients such as garri, yam, foo-foo and plantain, among others.The
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has also rued
the increasing rate at which rice was being smuggled into the country and urged
the National Assembly to help in curbing it menace He described the smuggling
of 300 trailers of rice through the Seme boarder as unacceptable and called for
strong measures to tackle the menace.
The
Minister, during an interactive session with members of the House of
Representatives Committee on Agriculture last Tuesday, cautioned that “if we
carry on like this for the next five months, the economy of Nigeria would
collapse” and solicited the support of the lawmakers in protecting the
citizens.
Ogbeh
expressed his desire to deal with import substitution in which he said $15
billion could be saved if the country explored the rice and wheat export
potential to other West African countries, hence the need to develop the small
scale industries to create jobs for the rural poor and develop the cotton
industry.
In the
final analysis and based on stakeholders’ perspectives it is only logical to
feel that outright ban on the importation of rice for now may be
counter-productive for the economy while prolonged delay in building the much
talked-about local production capacity will only expose government’s
insincerity to take the destiny of the nation in its hand by anchoring the
diversification the economy on agricultural sector.
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/rice-import-policy-appraising-the-implications-for-a-groaning-economy/
Rice,
wheat seized in raids
A huge quantity of rice and wheat
meant to be distributed under Public Distribution System (PDS) was seized
following raids at several godowns by city police.Acting on a tip off, the
Commissioner’s Task Force (West) raided two godowns at Kishanbagh and Mangalhat
area in the old city and seized nearly 120 quintals of rice and wheat.The
accused Syed Feroz (25), Mohd. Imran Khan (22), P. Om Prakash (30), Mohd. Abbu
Almas (24) Munawar (40) and Fareed (38) supplied the grains to different towns
in Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat at a lower price.The accused persons
purchased the rice from ration shops and kirana stores and supplied it to rice
mills.
The millers then polished the PDS
rice and wheat and sold it to wholesalers.“At every level the middlemen and
agents made a profit of Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 per kg and it results in heavy loss to
government,” DCP (Task Force) B. Limba Reddy said.One of the accused, Om
Prakash, runs a fair price shop at Mangalhat and directly bought the rice and
wheat from the beneficiaries, the official added.The police also seized a
four-wheeler from the accused persons.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/rice-wheat-seized-in-raids/article7960027.ece
Rice Exports to Face Rising Competition
Khmer Times/Sum Manet
Monday, 07 December 2015
Officials at the Industry Ministry say they are striving to make
Cambodian rice more competitive by improving its quality as well as farm
productivity, as rising supply is expected from new entrants to the market,
like Myanmar, and leading exporters like Thailand and India are fighting to
regain market share. Sat Samy, a secretary of state at the ministry, said
the private and public sectors have to work together to ensure rice exports can
compete.Myanmar will become a rice exporting country within five years and its
prices will be as low as those charged by Cambodian exporters, he said, adding
that like Cambodia it will enjoy duty-free access to markets like the European
Union.
Rising production prices cannot be prevented, Mr. Samy said.
This will also be occurring at a time when competition with Thailand for
fragrant rice exports and with Vietnam for white rice exports will intensify.
Moreover, India and Thailand are expected to export more rice, which will see
prices decline. Exports of Cambodian rice to the EU have already reached their
peak so Cambodia must increase its supply of quality rice for export to expand
to other markets, Mr. Samy said.
Ouk Maraka, a researcher at the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, said it was introducing higher-quality seeks for farmers to improve the quality of rice exports. “We introduced farmers to the best seeds in order to reduce losses in production,” he said. These seeds include phka romdul, phka rumdeng, phka rumcheck, phka romeat, and damnoeb sbai mongkul.
Chea Sivithyea, director of Kim Se Rice Mill, said it is necessary to have help at the national level to ensure Cambodian exporters can compete with neighboring countries.
“Cambodia produces less rice than neighboring countries and the production cost is high, so we have difficulty competing,” Mr. Sivithyea said. “However, our strength is that we have better seeds than neighboring countries... We need help from policymakers at all levels in order to be competitive,” he added. Exports of milled rice in the first nine months of this year, totaled 369,105 tons, up 37 per cent over the same period last year, according to data from the Agriculture Ministry. Rice exports reached about 370,000 tons for all of last year, worth $247 million in total, according to official figures.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18433/rice-exports-to-face-rising-competition/
Rice farmers fighting debt and loss of
land again, group says
PIYAPORN
WONGRUANG
THE
NATION December 7, 2015 1:00 am
MANY
rice farmers are facing the old problems of indebtedness and loss of farm
owner-|ship despite short-term gains from the former government's rice-pledging
scheme, accord-ing to research by a non-government organisation.Pongtip
Samranjit, executive director of Local Action Links, a non-profit think tank
researching government policies and farmers' problems, said farmers' quality of
life has plunged following the end of the rice-pledging scheme.Increased
indebtedness has led to the loss of farm ownership. Pongtip cited statistics
collected by the organisation over the past 10 years that the number of farmers
who hold less than six rai have increased, while those having to rent farmland
have also risen in the past few years.
Pongtip
said past and present government rice price intervention programmes, including
the last rice-pledging scheme, offered farmers quick benefits as money would
directly go to their pockets. But these were temporary, and never tackled the
roots of farmers' problems, namely accumulated debts and loss of farmland.Besides
land and equipment, farmers need to invest in pesticide and chemical fertiliser
to keep their crop safe from pest attacks.During the rice-pledging scheme,
farmers enjoyed a high guarantee price of up to Bt15,000 per tonne, but their
costs also rose, leaving them a smaller margin of profit."The rice price
now stands at around Bt7,000 per tonne while farmers' costs are up to Bt5,000
to Bt6,000 per rai (one rai generally yields around one tonne of rice). So, how
can they survive?"
"In
other words, they are being left to face the same old problems of indebtedness
and they have to help themselves survive," she said.Pongtip said the
current government had apparently taken the right approach to tackle farmers'
deep-rooted problems by cutting farming costs, but she has not seen any
concrete actions yet.Son Sukcharaen, a 66-year-old farmer from Khao Poon
village in Ratchaburi's Photharam district, recalled the time when he narrowly
obtained money from rice sold under the pledging scheme for the second and last
time last year. He had to go to the district police to file a complaint about
the delay in payment and it was the military government that cleared the money
for farmers like him.
Son
immediately used the funds to clear his debts and withdraw an amount to invest
in another crop. But this time, he no longer has any price guarantee, and has
to bet on the market, with the price currently offered at Bt7,000 per tonne.Son
said he could not do anything except try to reduce costs as much as possible.
But as he has to rent 20 rai of land and to pay off debts, he rushed to invest
more in fertiliser. He hoped his rice yield would be higher so he can earn
more.
"What
I can do now is to keep doing it because if I don't do it, somebody else will
take over the rented farmland and leave me with nothing to do or to eat. Can
farmers without education, like me, have a choice?" Son asked.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Rice-farmers-fighting-debt-and-loss-of-land-again--30274442.html
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