Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Jun 11
Nagpur, June 11 Gram and tuar prices showed weak tendency in Nagpur Agriculture
Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on lack of demand from local millers amid poor high
moisture content arrival. Downward trend on NCDEX in gram, good overseas supply, easy condition
in Madhya Pradesh pulses and release of stock from stockists also pushed down prices, according
to sources.
* * * *
FOODGRAINS & PULSES
GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor.
TUAR
* Tuar gavarani quoted weak in open market here in absence of buyers amid increased
supply from producing belts.
* Udid varieties reported strong in open market here on good seasonal demand from
local traders amid thin supply from producing regions. Reports about weak production
in this season also activated stockists.
* In Akola, Tuar - 7,300-7,700, Tuar dal - 10,100-10,500, Udid at 9,100-9,600,
Udid Mogar (clean) - 10,700-11,100, Moong - 9,000-9,200, Moong Mogar
(clean) 10,700-11,100, Gram - 4,200-4,500, Gram Super best bold - 6,100-6,300
for 100 kg.
* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in poor trading
activity, according to sources.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 3,600-4,525 3,650-4,525
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction 6,500-7,130 6,500-7,240
Moong Auction n.a. 6,000-6,300
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Gram Super Best Bold 6,200-6,500 6,200-6,500
Gram Super Best n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.
Gram Mill Quality 5,500-5,650 5,500-5,650
Desi gram Raw 4,550-4,650 4,550-4,650
Gram Filter new 6,000-6,100 6,000-6,100
Gram Kabuli 5,400-6,900 5,400-6,900
Gram Pink 6,400-6,600 6,400-6,600
Tuar Fataka Best 10,500-10,800 10,500-10,800
Tuar Fataka Medium 9,900-10,300 9,900-10,300
Tuar Dal Best Phod 9,500-9,700 9,500-9,700
Tuar Dal Medium phod 8,800-9,300 8,800-9,300
Tuar Gavarani New 7,350-7,450 7,400-7,500
Tuar Karnataka 8,000-8,100 8,000-8,100
Tuar Black 11,000-11,300 11,000-11,300
Masoor dal best 8,000-8,200 8,000-8,200
Masoor dal medium 7,500-7,900 7,500-7,900
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold 10,800-11,000 10,800-11,000
Moong Mogar Medium best 10,000-10,500 10,000-10,500
Moong dal Chilka 9,500-9,800 9,500-9,800
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 9,600-9,900 9,600-9,900
Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 11,500-11,750 11,400-11,700
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 10,600-10,800 10,500-10,800
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 8,900-9,200 8,800-9,100
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,400 4,200-4,400
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,300-3,350 3,300-3,350
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,500 3,400-3,500
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,150 3,100-3,150
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,600-4,500 3,600-4,500
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600
Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,550-1,650 1,550-1,650
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400 2,200-2,400
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,600 3,100-3,600
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,900 2,700-2,900
Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,500 1,400-1,500
Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100
Rice BPT New(100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,850 2,700-2,850
Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,850 1,600-1,850
Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,450 2,100-2,450
Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,800 2,500-2,800
Rice HMT new(100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,600 3,100-3,600
Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,200 3,800-4,200
Rice HMT Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,500 4,100-4,500
Rice HMT Shriram old (100 INR/KG) 4,500-5,000 4,500-5,000
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,200-10,200 8,200-10,200
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,000-7,200 6,000-7,200
Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG) 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900
Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,500-6,000 5,500-6,000
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,450 2,200-2,450
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600 2,500-2,600
WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 42.9 degree Celsius (109.2 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
26.8 degree Celsius (83.8 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : nil
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely towards evening or night. Maximum
and minimum temperature would be around and 42 and 28 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but
included in market prices.)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/06/11/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL3N0YX3K620150611
Excessive metallic contaminant
found in rice sample imported from Japan
Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Centre for Food Safety (CFS)
of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 10) announced that
a sample of pre-packaged rice imported from Japan was detected with excessive
cadmium, a metallic contaminant. The trade should stop selling the affected
product immediately.
Details of the product are as follows:
Product name: Rinse-free Yamagata Tsuyahime
Place of origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Iris Ohyama Inc
Importer: Mineichi (Hong Kong) Industries Limited
Best before date: March 19, 2016
Net weight: 1.8 kilograms
"The CFS collected the sample at import level
for testing under its regular Food Surveillance Programme. Test result showed
that the sample contained cadmium at a level of 0.19 parts per million (ppm),
exceeding the legal limit of 0.1 ppm.According to the information provided by
the importer, the import quantity of the affected Japanese rice was seven
cartons with a total weight of about 50 kg, of which five cartons were sold to
'YATA Department Store' in Sha Tin and 'YATA Supermarket' in Kwun Tong, while
the remaining two cartons were stored in the importer's warehouse. The CFS has
informed the importer concerned of the above irregularity and instructed it to
stop the sale and remove from shelves the affected batch of product.
The importer has voluntarily recalled the affected
batch of product and the Centre has marked and sealed all recalled product and
the remaining stock.Prosecution will be considered," a CFS spokesman
said."Based on the level of cadmium detected in the sample, adverse health
effects will not be caused by normal consumption," the spokesman
said.According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations
(Cap 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the
legal limit is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for
six months."The CFS advises the public to maintain a balanced and varied
diet and consider complementing rice with other cereals (for example noodles,
oatmeal and bread) as part of the diet so as to avoid excessive intake of
particular chemicals or contaminants because of picky eating," the
spokesman added.The CFS will inform the Japanese authorities and the local
trade, closely follow up the incident and take appropriate actions to safeguard
food safety and public health. Investigation is ongoing. Source: HKSAR
Governmenthttp://7thspace.com/headlines/510498/excessive_metallic_contaminant_found_in_rice_sample_imported_from_japan.html
2.7 metric
tonnes of paddy procured
Updated: June 11, 2015
05:47 IST
The East Godavari district
administration has procured 2.7 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers
through paddy procurement centres for the Rabi season. The centres will remain
closed from June 20, according to S. Satyanarayana, Joint Collector. Reviewing
the procurement process with officials and rice millers, Mr. Satyanarayana
asked millers to complete the custom milling process at the earliest and hand
over rice to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). He said the FCI would soon
provide warehousing facilities.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/27-metric-tonnes-of-paddy-procured/article7303572.ece?ref=tpnews
Weak
rainfall could hamper paddy yield
KATHMANDU,
JUN 11 - Just as the country is reeling under severe heatwave, meteorologists
have forecast a second consecutive year of weak rainfall. The deficient rains
could hit farmers, particularly those growing paddy in the Tarai districts, and
could adversely affect the country’s economy already shattered by the April 25
earthquake and its powerful aftershocks.The four-month long monsoon season 
normally
starts from June 10. However, no rainfall activities have been recorded
throughout the week.The continued dry conditions and lack of soil moisture due
to absence of any rainfall activities during the pre-monsoon days has already
hit the farmers as they have not been able to sow paddy seeds, something that
should have been done a week ago.“Farmers have not been able to sow paddy seeds
that should have been planted a week ago,” said Nawal Kishor Yadav, coordinator
of Dhanusha-based National Rice Research Centre under the Nepal Agriculture
Research Council (NARC).Paddy sowing period in most of the Tarai districts
starts in early June and stretches until the end of the same month. After
sowing period ends, paddy transplantation starts from June 30 in many Tarai
districts.“However delay in sowing paddy seeds could affect the paddy
transplantation. The deficient rains in districts with poor irrigation
facilities will further aggravate the farmers’ woes,” Yadav said. “There is
still time for sowing seeds if the soil gets some moisture.
”
NARC has been promoting the dry direct seeded rice practice in some Tarai
districts.The direct seeded rice requires 35 to 40 percent less water than the
normal paddy sowing and plantation process, according to NARC.“Similarly, NARC
has released around 74 varieties of improved paddy seeds, of which 62 are used
widely by the farmers,” Yadav said. Some of these seeds are tolerant to extreme
climatic changes and stresses such as drought, flooding and submergence.The
government has already decided to distribute 423 tons of improved varieties of
paddy seeds for the farmers in 14 earthquake-affected districts and also
provide 25 percent subsidy while purchasing seeds for farmers in other
districts.Shiva Nepal, a senior meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology
and Meteorology (DHM), said that as per the prediction of the South Asian
monsoon prepared by a group of weather experts across the world, except for few
places in the Eastern hilly districts and Western Nepal, the monsoon is
expected to be ‘below average’ across the country.
“There
are chances of short to long dry spells along with extreme rainfall events
during this monsoon, both likely to cause impact on overall agriculture
sector,” said Nepal. The information about the possible dry spells and extreme
rainfall events has been shared with the policy makers, agronomists along with
the farmers so that appropriate measures could be taken to help the farmers to
deal with dry conditions, he added.Last year, the unexpected wet spell caused
by heavy rains and thunderstorms during the rice harvesting period in October
affected the farmers a lot. The projected growth with average monsoon rains
last year went down due to the ‘unexpected’ weather condition, Yadav added.
Brief
showers bring respite from heat
Cloudy
weather with brief thundershowers in some parts of the Central and Eastern
regions on Wednesday brought some respite from the continued rise in
temperatures and heat wave conditions in Tarai districts.According to the Meteorological
Forecasting Division (MFD), the sudden change in weather condition is likely to
persist until Thursday evening but heavy rains are very unlikely in the same
period.
Normal
life in many western Tarai districts and some parts of Central and Eastern
regions has been affected owing to the rising temperatures and heat wave
conditions in the past two weeks. The heat wave also claimed three lives in
Tarai districts where the temperature rose between 42 and 44 degree Celsius in
the recent days.“Strong thunder clouds developed locally in the western region
is further intensifying and moving towards east. This local disturbance is
further supported by the moisture inflow from the cyclonic movement developed
along the Arabian Sea, “said Shanta Kandel, a meteorologist at the MFD.
She
said the system will result in thunder shower activities in Kathmandu as well
as some eastern districts. She, however, added that the sudden rainfall
activity on Wednesday is not connected to monsoon rains and the Far-West Nepal
would witness heat conditions for next couple of days.Usually the rain-bearing
monsoon enters the country on June 10 from the eastern region and takes almost
a week to spread throughout the country. Weatherpersons have predicted that the
monsoon is likely to be delayed by a couple of days this year. On Wednesday,
Dharan, among the 19 meteorological stations of the MFD, recorded the highest
rainfall measuring 19.8 millimetres, followed by Pokhara at 7.3 millimetres and
Kathmandu at 6 millimetres.
Posted on: 2015-06-11 07:49
http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/06/11/capital/weak-rainfall-could-hamper-paddy-yield/406413.html
PH cuts
estimate for Q2 rice output due to dry weather
Reuters
Posted at 06/11/2015
11:30 AM
MANILA - The Philippines, one of
the world's top rice importers, has made a slight cut to its estimated output
of the staple grain in the second quarter of 2015 due to dry weather and
worries over crop disease.Unmilled rice output in the April-June period is now
expected to reach 3.898 million tonnes, the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA) said in an updated production report.That is down from the 3.902 million
tons predicted in April and a January forecast of 3.96 million tons.Philippine
farm officials are closely watching the impact of dry weather from an El Nino
weather pattern as they consider importing more grain to boost buffer stocks.
Demand for more cargoes could be
good news for key regional exporters Vietnam and Thailand.The Philippine state
grains procurement agency, the National Food Authority (NFA), has imported
650,000 tons of rice so far this year after purchases in 2014 totaling around
1.7 million tons, the biggest in four years.The NFA already has government
approval to buy another 250,000 tons if drought brought on by El Nino hurts its
harvest. It also has the option to import 100,000 tons not allocated in a
tender held last week.On top of that, the government is ready to allow traders
to bring in up to 805,000 tons more, with tariffs, in the third quarter.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/11/15/ph-cuts-estimate-q2-rice-output-due-dry-weather
UNISAME SENDS SOS TO MINCOM TO SAVE RICE INDUSTRY
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME)
thanked the government for giving income tax relief to the rice millers in the budget
but regretted the dis-concern of the government to the real impediments being
faced by the rice industry and urged the Trade Development Authority of
Pakistan (TDAP) to play its role and save the rice industry.President UNISAME
Zulfikar Thaver said the rice millers are facing bankruptcy and are unable to
repay the loans of the banks due to lack of demand from overseas buyers. He
recommended easy repayment facilities for the millers to overcome the
difficulties of cash inflows.Thaver said we had predicted long ago and kept
reminding the ministry of commerce (MINCOM) to work in this direction to
overcome this anticipated adverse situation. It was very necessary that the
government should have worked on reducing cost of production by removing taxes
on farm inputs. Secondly it is also very important for the exporters to enhance
sales by promoting brands in global markets.
Thirdly it was required that our exporters should
have entered new markets and promoted different varieties of rice.The SME rice
exporters who added value to the grains were eliminated by the big rice
exporters who supported the Quality Review Committee (QRC) and made
transactions difficult for the small to medium sized exporters scaring them of
QRC rejection of cargo.The TDAP needs to act fast and take positive concrete
steps to revive the rice industry on war footings. The SME rice exporters must
be facilitated, supported and encouraged to re-enter the rice business and
re-open their units.
The parboiled units in Sindh need to be revived. The
situation can only be saved by vigorous efforts of the TDAP to offer free
services to SMES who wish to promote their brands in non traditional markets.
The SME exporters are unable to export to third world countries and for this
the cover of export credit guarantee insurance (ECGI) is urgently required at
affordable premium. The banks are not discounting letter of credits of low
rating banks and this aspect is very discouraging and again the ECGI could
facilitate transactions.Thaver said the TDAP had formed a steering committee to
establish an SME Export House to promote the SMES to sell their goods in
overseas markets but shelved the plan for reasons best known to them. All over
the world the SMEs are encouraged to sell their goods on the internet and
UNISAME had suggested to Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority
(SMEDA) and TDAP to join hands and establish an SME Gallery to exhibit the
products and brands of the SMES.
The lethargy of the authorities is proving injurious
to the cause of the sector.The other most important aspect which has given a
setback to the rice industry is the decline in orders fro Iran. The MINCOM
needs to take up the matter with Iran and establish framework for payments to
and from Iran for mutual benefit.UNISAME thanked
the MINCOM for finally disbanding the QRC and also the ministry of finance for
granting relief to the rice units in the budget.
Rice exporters
protest against massacre of Rohangya Muslims in Burma
Members of the Rice Exporters Association hold signs that say
"Stop killing Muslims," and chant slogans against the massacre of
Rohangya Muslims in Burma, in Karachi, Pakistan.
Members of the Rice Exporters Association held a protest and
chanted slogans against the massacre of Rohangya Muslims in Burma, in Karachi,
Pakistan.Please note: the text contained in "Rice exporters protest
against massacre of Rohangya Muslims in Burma" has not been corrected,
edited or verified by Demotix and is the raw text submitted by the
photojournalist.
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http://www.demotix.com/news/7823962/rice-exporters-protest-against-massacre-rohangya-muslims-burma#media-7823937
Rapid groundwater
depletion threatens Pakistan food security: officials
By Aamir SaeedJune 10, 2015
6:48 AM
PAKPATTAN, Pakistan (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Until recently,
Ghulam Mustafa made a living growing sugarcane, rice, barley and wheat on his
10-acre farm in Punjab province.But these days he is struggling. The water
available in wells in the area is dwindling, and the cost of pumping it to
his crops is rising. Like many other farmers in the area, Mustafa, 51, now
plans to cultivate only half his land and leave the rest for his livestock."The
groundwater level in our area has gone down around 15 to 20 feet in the last
five to six years," he said.
"And unfortunately it continues to decline each
year."Across Punjab province and two districts of neighboring Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province, groundwater supplies are depleting at 16 to 55
centimetres (6 to 21 inches) a year, according to a study carried out by the
International Waterlogging and Salinity Research Institute (IWASRI), part of
the Pakistani government's Water and Power Development Authority.Efforts by
farmers to find more water are only exacerbating the problem. Muhammad Saeed,
director at IWASRI, said that 42 percent of the land in Punjab is irrigated
using wells and the excessive pumping of groundwater is quickly lowering the
water table.
Mustafa, for instance, said he must deepen his well in Pakpattan
district almost every year to get enough water for irrigation. The deeper his
well gets, the harder his generator has to work to pump out the water – and
that uses more diesel fuel.The farmer's monthly fuel bill for his pump has
increased from 5,000 rupees ($49) to 7,000 rupees ($68) in just the last
year."Pakistan lacks a water recharge system in the area, as we cannot get
water from the Sutlej and Beas rivers under the Indus Water Treaty with India,”
Saeed said. That water-sharing treaty, signed in 1960, divides the Indus River
system equally between India and Pakistan, giving each country exclusive use of
three of the river's tributaries."In the near future, farmers will no longer
be able to grow water-intensive crops like sugarcane and rice,” Saeed
predicted.
THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY
According to the 2010 agricultural census carried out by the
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, almost 64 percent of the country's population
lives in rural areas and earns a living from agricultural activities such as
crop cultivation, livestock rearing, and transportation of agricultural
products to market.At present, half of Pakistan’s population is food insecure
and if the current trend of water depletion continues in Punjab and parts of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — two regions that are home to 80 percent of Pakistan's
farming population — food production and farming income will suffer, said Abid
Qaiyum Suleri, executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy
Institute, an independent non-profit organization in Islamabad.
"The availability and accessibility of food may become
difficult for over 60 percent of the populace in the next 10 years if immediate
steps aren’t taken to recharge the aquifer,” he said.According to the IWASRI
study, about 145 million acre-feet of water flows through Pakistan each year,
but the country's existing storage capacity is only 14 million acre-feet,
meaning it can only store enough water to last 30 days. The international standard
is 120 days.
LESS WATER, MORE FOOD?
Improving water storage will be important. But Suleri believes
another way to combat the growing water shortage is to teach farmers how to
effectively irrigate crops with less water."The government should
introduce water-efficient seed varieties in water-stressed areas and train
farmers on using drip irrigation and sprinkle irrigation to save the scarce
resource,” he said.Pakistan's wheat farmers have lost over 1.5 million tonnes
of their crop this year due to erratic rainfall, hailstorms and water
shortages, said Pervaiz Amir, country director for the Pakistan Water
Partnership.He suggests the government should work to artificially recharge
groundwater in water-short areas by building structures to capture water during
the flood season and hold it in place, allowing it to percolate into the
soil.Like Suleri of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Amir also
believes the government needs to help show farmers how to more efficiently use
limited water, to boost food production while protecting water sources.
"The government should regulate indiscriminate groundwater
extraction by creating water (protection) zones and introducing water-saving
technology in the agriculture sector to boost food security,” he said.For
farmers like Mustafa in Pakpattan, solutions to Pakistan's shrinking water
supply cannot come soon enough. He worries he will lose everything if levels of
canal water and groundwater in the area keep decreasing."I fear that my
whole farm may turn into a desert in next 10 years if the water scarcity
continues at the same alarming pace,” he said.(Reporting by Aamir Saeed;
editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson
Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers
humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and
corruption. Visit www.trust.org/climate)
http://news.yahoo.com/rapid-groundwater-depletion-threatens-pakistan-food-security-officials-104814109--sector.html
Anis Majeed,
chairman of Karachi-based food commodities firm Bombi’s Group, said the country
was estimated to produce 25 million tonnes of wheat this year versus around 24m
tonnes last year. Domestic wheat consumption was pegged around 22-23m tonnes,
he said. —AFP/File
LONDON: Wheat
surplus in the country is likely to mean little appetite for imports this year,
although it will purchase more oilseeds due lower crop prospects, a leading
local trader said.In November last year, the country imposed a 20 per cent
import duty on wheat to help protect local farmers from imports, leading to the
cancellation of some of the import deals.
Anis Majeed, chairman of Karachi-based
food commodities firm Bombi’s Group, said the country was estimated to produce
25 million tonnes of wheat this year versus around 24m tonnes last year.
Domestic wheat consumption was pegged around 22-23m tonnes, he said.“This year,
Pakistan will not make big imports because we have the crop and there is a
surplus,” Majeed said on a visit to London this week.The International Grains
Council estimated Pakistan’s wheat production in 2015-16 at 25m tonnes, versus
25.5m tonnes in 2014-15.
In contrast,
the country was expected to import higher quantities of oilseeds including
canola, said Majeed, who is also chairman of the wholesale grocers’ association
of Karachi.“If you calculate (oilseeds) ... altogether this year, we are
expecting to import about 1.5 to 1.6m tonnes,” he said. “Last year was a little
less — about 1.2m tonnes and our crop was better than this year.”
Majeed said
Pakistan expected a good rice crop although exports were likely to be tempered
by slower demand.“Pakistan’s production is around 6.5m tonnes annually — out of
which 3.5m tonnes we export,” he said. “Prices have come down as the
international market has come down,” he added. “Therefore, there could be a little
less (exports) this year.”Majeed said rice exporters were looking to boost
sales to Iran, a major consumer of Basmati grade rice.Iran and six world powers
are seeking to overcome remaining differences with a looming self-imposed June
30 deadline to reach a deal over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme. The
timing of sanctions relief for Iran are among the disputes holding up a nuclear
accord.
Published in Dawn, June 11th,
2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1187584/who-needs-men-kamila-shamsie-wants-only-women-writers-published-for-a-year
California rice
farmers find Japanese trade negotiators a bit starchy
Charley Mathews Jr., a
fifth-generation farmer in Marysville, surveys his rice paddies in the
Sacramento Valley.
(Don
Lee / Los Angeles Times)
California rice farmers are hoping to export more to
Japan but are making little headway in trade talks
For
years Charley Mathews Jr. has exported tons of his best Sacramento Valley-grown
rice to Japan, but it grates on him that very little of that has ever ended up
on the tables of sushi restaurants or Japanese households.Instead, the Japanese
government, which controls rice imports under a 2-decade-old quota system, has
given away most of his and other foreign rice as food aid or sold it
domestically as animal feed and an ingredient for rice crackers."We want
recognition," said Mathews, 48, a fifth-generation California farmer whose
great-grandfather began planting rice 80 years ago. He insists that California
rice is as good as Japan's, if only Japanese consumers had a chance to try it.If I eat California rice immediately after it's cooked, I can't
tell the difference. But if I taste it after long hours, I can tell the
difference.
Expanding U.S. rice shipments to Japan is one of the most
contentious and last remaining issues in talks over the sweeping Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade accord. The 12-nation deal is expected to be concluded this
summer if American lawmakers give President Obama authority to speed passage of
trade agreements.The legislation cleared the Senate last month. And although a
clutch of House Republicans has joined many wary Democrats in opposing the
bill, the GOP leadership in the House has indicated it could take a vote on the
measure Friday, suggesting that it believes there is enough support to hand
Obama an important and rare legislative victory.Rice growers and others in the
U.S. agricultural industry stand to be among the biggest winners should the
Pacific trade accord go through.
American providers of pharmaceuticals, software, films and other
internationally traded services also would benefit.On the other hand, U.S.
makers of cars, textiles and other light industrial goods could lose more
market share to imports from Japan as well as Vietnam and possibly others.Yet
even as California farmers eye what could be a lucrative expansion into the
world's most discriminating rice market in Japan, their ambitions have been
complicated by the state's severe drought and the surge in the dollar.The U.S.
last year exported $269 million worth of rice to Japan, most of that coming
from California.
The state's rice planting this year, however, is expected to be
the smallest in about a quarter century. Overall, U.S. farm goods represented
$13.2 billion of the $67 billion in total merchandise exports to Japan in
2014.Despite their relatively small value, rice and some other agricultural
goods are usually among the most sensitive in trade talks because of their
industry's enormous political clout in many countries. The U.S. and Japan
locked horns over beef and pork last year, and the fight over rice is even more
delicate in Japan, where political and demographic forces are pushing against a
further opening of that market.
If the USA protected its trade interests as well as
the Japanese do - there would not be a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Agreement. If you think that the Japanese government is going to change
anything about its trade practices, you are sadly mistaken
Given
the size of the California congressional delegation and the potential
importance of their votes to the trade pact's approval, the state's 2,000 rice
farmers may have an outsized influence on the outcome.In addition to the
symbolism of the small family farm that is part of America's history,
"rice has become an iconic image of America's problems of opening up
overseas markets," said Jock O'Connell, a trade economist at Beacon Economics
in Sacramento.And that's true especially in trade relations with Japan, where
the U.S. has long complained about non-tariff barriers for foreign cars,
electronics and other goods.With more than 2 million farmers working on mostly
small paddies, Japanese rice farming is widely considered inefficient. But
farmers represent a core constituency for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his
Liberal Democratic Party, and Japanese negotiators have been reluctant to give
much ground when rice consumption continues to shrink with the nation's aging
population.
It's a hot-button issue in the U.S. too. The lack of access to
Japanese markets for U.S. rice and other farm goods, as well as for
automobiles, has long been seen by many Americans as emblematic of Japan's
reluctance to open trade.Japan allows imports of 770,000 metric tons of rice,
about 9% of annual consumption. California farmers account for the lion's share
of that amount, and many of them want Japan to increase its rice imports by
200,000 metric tons or so. The Japanese have been reported to be offering
50,000, which is less than 1% of the total consumption.
"From the beginning, we never sought a total opening
because of the sensitivities," said Bob Cummings, chief operating officer
at the USA Rice Federation in Arlington, Va. "But when you're looking at
less than 1%, that's unacceptable."The high end of that range could add
tens of millions of dollars to California's annual rice exports, valued at more
than $600 million last year. About a third of that goes to Japan. But experts
warn that even a significant increase in the import quota may not help
California farmers as much as they hope.One big stumbling block now is the
California drought, which has reduced the acreage of rice planted in the last
two years about 25%, according to the California Rice Commission. Given the
past and likely future water constraints, economists on both sides of the
Pacific wonder whether California farmers can ramp up production even if
American officials succeed in breaking open Japan's rice market.
"Unless farmers figure out more ingenious ways to irrigate
their lands, we may not be able to take full advantage" of the trade deal,
said O'Connell, the trade expert in Sacramento.In nearby Yuba City, Jon Munger,
operations manager at Montna Farms, hops into his red pickup and drives along
the dirt road that bisects a large field. On one side are lush green paddies,
inundated with waters from the nearby Feather River. A white-faced ibis, stilts
and other birds dance on the surface. On the other side, the square plots are
bone dry, covered with browning weeds."People from the highway think we've
got wall-to-wall watered fields," he said, alluding to the sensitivities
stirred by drought-induced ordinances for consumers to ratchet back water use.
But he said about 40% of Montna's entire 4,000-acre farmland was left unplanted
this spring for the second year in a row because of water restrictions and
costs."It's the most they've ever fallowed," said the 38-year-old.
"It's definitely not sustainable.
We need some help from
Mother Nature."Sure, Munger said, increasing the Japanese rice market
would be great for California farmers, especially for operations such as his
that specialize in premium short-grain rice used for sushi. But at the moment,
he isn't thinking about that potential benefit.Another challenge is that the
price of Japan's domestically grown rice has fallen sharply in recent years as
production and supplies have outstripped consumption.At the same time, the
value of the Japanese yen has plunged against the dollar, largely reflecting
the weakness of Japan's economy versus America's, making U.S. exports much more
expensive. Since fall 2012, the yen has lost nearly 60% of its value against
the dollar.
The upshot is that California exporters of short-grain rice, the
sticky variety favored in Japan, have lost practically all of the price
advantage they once enjoyed in Japan, said Kazuhito Yamashita, an agricultural
policy expert at the Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo.Ten years ago,
he noted, Japanese rice was triple the cost of California's, and even two years
ago, it was 50% more.With the price gap now gone, Yamashita said, some Japanese
trading companies are even thinking about exporting Japanese rice to
California.
"It's very amazing,"
he said.Many Japanese also question whether California rice can compete on
quality. Foreign rice generally doesn't have a good reputation among Japanese
consumers."If I eat California rice immediately after it's cooked, I can't
tell the difference," said a Japanese government official, who asked for
anonymity given the sensitivity of the trade talks."But if I taste it
after long hours, I can tell the difference," he said. A colleague nodded
in agreement. "The Japanese rice, even after long hours, is still
sticky."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rice-trade-20150611-story.html#page=2
Rice hopes pinned on China
By Htin Linn Aung | Thursday,
11 June 2015
Rice exports are set to continue rising on the back of increased
shipments to China, according to U Ye Min Aung, general secretary of the Myanmar
Rice Federation.
Rice farmers may
receive a higher price if exports grow, though domestic consumers may suffer.
Photo: AFP
Myanmar launches its first official rice exports to China in May,
and aims to export the next portion of its 100,000 tonne quota at the end of
June, he said.Rice exports to China have generally been illegal from China’s
point of view, until the two sides reached an agreement last year to begin
legal shipments.With the start of the official trade with China, Myanmar
exports have to meet certain health standards and
can now be shipped by sea, rather than the informal trade which generally goes
overland past Muse in northern Shan State.
“Official exports to China are
succeeding,” said U Ye Min Aung. “The next round of official exports will start
this month and in July. In the meantime, we are also expanding in African
markets, so we expect next year’s exports to be stronger.The price of 1 metric
tonne of emahta rice is from US$330 to $350, an increase from about $320 last
month. Rice prices traditionally climb the furthest in the year from the
November-to-December harvest.A total of 29 companies now have permission to
legally sell rice to China.
Nine companies were initially approved for the trade earlier this
year. At the time, industry insiders questioned the fairness of some of the
firms, which have to meet China’s stringent health standards, saying many of
the selected companies were small or not yet formed.Myanmar hopes to export 2
million tonnes of rice this year. The country had previously average over 2
million tonnes of exports a year until World War II, before steadily declining
until the 1990s, according to a World Bank report last year. Rice exports have
since been steadily increasing, it added.Much of the recent growth in exports
has come from Chinese demand. It went from insignificant in 2011 to 747,000
tonnes in 2013, more than half of the total 1.277 million tonnes traded that
year, the report said.
U Ye Min Aung said domestic exporters see bigger opportunities
from growing demand along the Chinese border, even though it does not official
recognise the trade.Growing exports have been blamed for putting upward
pressure on domestic prices, but U Ye Min Aung said there is still room for
both exports and domestic consumption.“High prices in the domestic market are
not good for consumers,” he said.“It is hard to handle, but we need to find
ways to lower the gap between wholesale and retail prices.”U Chit Khine, a
prominent businessperson and official with the Myanmar Rice Industry
Association, said prices surges do not always end up with farmers.“Rising rice
prices increase the price for paddy.
When this happens, it’s good for farmers. But if there are
restrictions by way of price controls, farmers don’t receive the benefits,” he
said.“Instead of the old method of restricting price rises, we should seek more
exports and find other ways to import for domestic consumption, such as
importing cheap rice from Thailand.”Thailand has been attempting to sell off
its buffer stocks of rice following a failed attempt to corner the global
market by its previous government.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/14987-rice-hopes-pinned-on-china.html
Gov’t-to-gov’t talks
slated for remaining rice imports
THE NATIONAL Food Authority
(NFA) will resort to negotiated procurement next week for the balance of the
250,000-metric ton (MT) rice imports needed to further boost the country’s
buffer stock in the face of increasing production uncertainty this quarter, an
official said yesterday.
“Government-to-government negotiations will be
conducted next week for the 100,000 MT,” NFA Public Affairs Director Angel G.
Imperial, Jr. said via text when asked on the government’s plans after Vietnam
bagged a contract earlier this month to supply just 150,000 MT.Mr. Imperial
said Vietnam received the notice of award last Wednesday, adding that “60% of
the 150,000 MT will be delivered not later than July 15, while the remaining
40% will be delivered not later than Aug. 15.” Vietnam was the only country
that matched the $410.12/MT floor price set for 25% broken rice variety in the
June 5 auction.
Existing bilateral agreements allow the Philippines
to import rice from Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia through
government-to-government procurement mode. All three countries were invited
again for the negotiated procurement, said Mr. Imperial.NFA last month said it
was prepared to import an additional 250,000 MT should El Niño turn out to be
more intense than expected.
Last March, Vietnam and Thailand bagged contracts to supply a total of 500,000
MT in time for the three-month annual lean season that starts in July.All this
comes as the government has cut further its second-quarter estimates for grain
staples, citing an expected contraction of harvest areas due to “adverse
effects of dry spell, insufficient water supply, and incidence of pests and
diseases in some provinces.
”The Philippine Statistics Authority-Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics’ May update shows second-quarter palay production is
now expected at 3.898 million MT, compared to April’s 3.902 million MT estimate
and 4.3% less than the 4.073 million MT actual output in 2014’s comparable
quarter. For corn, production this quarter may total 997,000 MT against April’s
1.029 million MT forecast and 17% less than the 1.202 million MT actual output
in the same period last year. This is the second downward revision of
second-quarter estimates from the original 3.96 million MT and 1.25 million MT
respective forecasts last January.
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=Gov%E2%80%99t-to-gov%E2%80%99t-talks-slated-for-remaining-rice-imports&id=109598
PH cuts estimate for
Q2 rice output due to dry weather
Reuters
Posted at 06/11/2015 11:30 AM
MANILA - The Philippines, one of the world's top rice importers,
has made a slight cut to its estimated output of the staple grain in the second
quarter of 2015 due to dry weather and worries over crop disease.Unmilled rice
output in the April-June period is now expected to reach 3.898 million tonnes,
the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in an updated production report.That
is down from the 3.902 million tons predicted in April and a January forecast
of 3.96 million tons.
Philippine farm officials are closely watching the impact of dry
weather from an El Nino weather pattern as they consider importing more grain
to boost buffer stocks.Demand for more cargoes could be good news for key
regional exporters Vietnam and Thailand.The Philippine state grains procurement
agency, the National Food Authority (NFA), has imported 650,000 tons of rice so
far this year after purchases in 2014 totaling around 1.7 million tons, the
biggest in four years.The NFA already has government approval to buy another
250,000 tons if drought brought on by El Nino hurts its harvest. It also has
the option to import 100,000 tons not allocated in a tender held last week.On
top of that, the government is ready to allow traders to bring in up to 805,000
tons more, with tariffs, in the third quarter.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/11/15/ph-cuts-estimate-q2-rice-output-due-dry-weather
Modified rice may
help combat China’s smog problem, Chinese scientists claim
PUBLISHED : Friday, 12 June, 2015, 8:00am
UPDATED : Friday, 12 June, 2015,
11:04am
Scientists have cloned a gene from one strain of rice and inserted
it into another that requires less fertilisation, which causes smog. Photo:
Xinhua
Chinese scientists have found a way to change the genetic make-up
of a popular species of rice, a move they claim could ease the country’s
chronic smog problem by lowering the amount of fertilisers containing
nitrogen that farmers use.China suffers from more severe nitrogen pollution
than any other country.
Although it has just 7 per cent of
the world’s farm land, China consumes over one-third, or 35 per cent, of
the world’s nitrogen fertilisers. Such agricultural usage has led to massive
pollution of the country's soil, water and air.Many scientific studies had
warned that smog in China was being caused by this, in addition to industrial
activities.When nitric oxides are released into the atmosphere they
undergo a series of photochemical reactions that transform them into harmful
fine particulates, which in turn become smog.But it was difficult to persuade
farmers to scale back their use of the offending fertilisers. Chinese
rice, especially the japonica subspecies grown in northern provinces like
Heilongjiang, requires heavy use of fertilisers because of the poor rate at
which it absorbs nitride from soil and water. Plants need nitride in order to
grow healthily.
Now scientists claim to have unlocked the problem by cloning a
gene called NRT1 from indica rice and inserting it into the
japonica's genetic sequence. This boosts the rate at which the rice can
absorb nitride by more than one-third. The breakthrough, published in the
latest issue of the journal Nature
Genetics, was hailed as “a great discovery” by an anonymous peer
reviewer. It will have “enormous application value” in the fight against
nitrogen pollution, the authors wrote.The transplantation of the nitric booster
gene “had significantly improved grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency,” they
added.
During a series of field experiments in Beijing, Shanghai and
Changsha, the team found that the modified rice species only needed half as
much fertiliser to achieve similarly high grain yields as regular
japonica. The team was led by professor Chu Chengcai at the Chinese
Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology in
Beijing.Indica belongs to the same family as japonica but is grown mostly in
southern China as well as in tropical regions like Thailand and the
Philippines, as well as India. It can absorb nitrogen more easily that its
northern cousin.
Yet its area of cultivation is limited because it cannot survive
in northern China’s cold climate, despite this region serving as the country’s
largest rice production centre. Moreover, Chinese consumers prefer the rich and
sticky taste of japonica.In their paper, the scientists said the discovery also
represented an important milestone for the “green super rice
project," an international effort to develop new species of rice to
meet the growing global demand for food resources.
http://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/1820233/modified-rice-may-help-combat-chinas-smog-problem-chinese
BRRI-dhan 63 raises
optimism among farmers, scientists
SHERPUR, Jun 11 (UNB): Production of BRRI-dhan 63, a fine quality
high-yielding rice variety newly developed by Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute (BRRI), has raised high optimism among farmers in Sherpur as well as
agricultural scientists, after it has been released to farmers for growing in
Boro season.'Soru balam' or BRRI-dhan 63 is thin and long like miniket rice and
it has no aroma, BRRI sources said.The new high-yielding rice variety has
raised rays of hope among farmers and scientists after its production of eight
tonnes per hectare in the Boro session this year.The success will further
increase interests among farmers in the greater Mymensingh region in the next
Boro session, local farmers said.
Recently, the BRRI cultivates eight high yielding varieties of rice
on a test basis on three acres of land at Talki village in Nakla upazila of the
district. Farmers harvested the paddy from the eight plots on trial basis in
presence of high officials and agriculturists.Officials observed that the
BRRI-63 produced around eight tonnes of rice in only 148 days, which takes
little time than BRRI-28 and BRRI-29 and shows somewhat more production than
that of the traditional rice.Farmer Gaziul Islam of the village said the rice
of the BRRI-63 is fine and tall. Its price is more than coarse rice in the
market, he said. Julhas Uddin, another farmer, said, "Many farmers
expressed expectation to cultivate the paddy in the next session noticing my
success."The BRRI cultivators said the new high-yielding rice variety had
been officially released to farmers in 2013 for growing from the next Boro
season.
The BBRI-63 was invented as hybrid between BRRI-dhan 28 and Iranian
rice Amul-3 and it is possible to collect the paddy from the field within 145
to 148 days. It is highly productive in Boro season with an average yield
potential of 7 to 7.5 tonnes (MT) per hectare. The BRRI-63 is exportable for
being fine quality high-yielding rice.Its market price will be double than
coarse rice as the rice is beautiful and pearly-white, extra long and neat.
The cultivators expected that the BRRI 63 will capture the place of
BRRI 26, BRRI 28 and BRRI 29 in next Boro season as it has become popular this
season.Chief agronomist of BRRI's breeding department Dr Tomal Lata Aditaya,
also breeder of BRRI-63, said "Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has
given us some rice of Amul-3 of Iran.The BRRI -63 was developed with making
hybrid between BRRI-28 and Amul-3. We expect that it will contest with the
traditional rice."Nakla upazila agriculture officer M Ashraf Uddin said
the rice can be harvested seven days earlier than any other hybrid rice and its
production and quality is very good. It will be more popular in the next
season, he said.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/06/12/96241
LPN reinstatement lauded
BY ZAHRATULHAYAT MAT ARIF
11 JUNE 2015 @ 7:45 PM
ALOR STAR: The Malay Rice Millers’
Association lauded the government’s move to reinstate the National Paddy and
Rice Board (LPN) which they believe would protect food security in the country.
Its chairman Musonnef Md Radzi said the association had been discussing the
issue over 10 years and it was high time for the government to reinstate the
LPN’s role in order to monitor and control the paddy industry. Musonnef said
the government was the suitable body to look after the padi and rice production
instead of Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas) after it was privatised in 1995.
“Bernas has played the role of
regulator and distributor for the country’s rice industry as well as to ensure
the nation’s rowing rice demand be fulfilled through the management of the
National Stockpile and the Padi Price Subsidy Scheme. “However, since the
privatisation of Bernas, most of the Malay Rice Millers’ Association had gone
‘bankrupt’ as Bernas solely looked for profit instead of its farmers’ welfare
and the rice production,” he said here today. Musonnef said the Bernas should
have empowered Bumiputera farmers and rice distributions but everything went
wrong since its privatisation. “Citing an example, in 1985, a total of 103
Malay Rice Millers’ Association had registered but today, there are only 19
millers that are still operating.
“As such, this is about time for the
government to review the board and Bernas functions in order to help the
farmers as well as to scrutinise the padi industrial cycle,” he said. He added
that with the existence of the board, it could increase the padi yields and the
country will achieve its goals which no longer rely on imported rice by 2020.
It was reported on June 6 that the Agriculture and Agro Based Industries
Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will bring the matter to the cabinet to
reinstate the LPN in order to monitor the production of padi and rice.
http://www.nst.com.my/node/87953
South Bengal dry,
north too wet
- Panta bhat in Nadia hotels to beat the scorching heat
SUBHASISH CHAUDHURI
The Panta platter at Hotel Haveli. Picture by Abhi Ghosh
Krishnagar, June 10: As the mercury shoots up, a humble comfort
food is going posh.Panta bhat, or rice soaked in water overnight and served
with lime wedges, onion, pickle and chillis, has been a staple in Bengali
homes, especially in the villages, as a cooling dish. Now hotels in Krishnagar
are serving "Panta platters" to beat the heat.With the Tropic of
Cancer passing through a point close to Krishnagar, the town experiences
extremes of heat and cold.For the last 10 days it has been experiencing an
average of about 40°C.As a result customers at hotels on NH34, which passes
through Krishnagar, were refusing food. No one wanted the hot, spicy dishes
that are the trademark at such places.Then the owner of Hotel Haveli, Sanjoy
Chaki, had a brainwave. Early this month, the hotel, which has two units in the
town including a multi-cuisine restaurant, introduced two varieties of the
"Panta thali" - a veg thali and a "Panta with fried fish".
"The traditional veg Panta thali package includes panta bhat,
kasundi (mustard paste), sorsher tel (mustard oil), Gandharaj lebu (lime
wedges), kancha lanka (chilli), sliced onion, alur chokha (potato mash), fried
red chilli, posto bora (fires made with poppy seed paste), alu jhuri bhaja
(fried potato strips), mango chutney, sour curd and a sweet paan.This thali
costs Rs 70. The fish Panta package offers a choice from three kinds of fish
dishes and costs Rs 140."Most of the other hotels are offering "Panta
platters" with alur chokha and posto bora. Some customers may not like the
fermented flavour of rice soaked overnight, so Chaki soaks the rice in the
morning and refrigerates it for six hours. He uses Basmati rice.
"I have been selling over one hundred dishes daily," he says.
Rajiv Ghosh, who runs a roadside dhaba, has also introduced the Panta
varieties, but at a lower price.Panta is really cool. It is also what the
doctor orders.Himadri Haldar, superintendent of Saktinagar district hospital in
Krishnagar: "Taking Panta during lunch on a hot day is a good idea. In a
humid situation people generally suffer from digestion problems and
dehydration. Rice soaked in water can be digested easily and it provides energy
and fluids to the body to keep it cool, particularly for those who stay out in
the sun."Panta bhat also has more micronutrients than fresh rice,
especially sodium, potassium and calcium. It is traditional in some villages
for pregnant women to have Panta.Not only the passers-by on NH34, but the whole
of Krishnagar could have it.The rise in the mercury level has had an impact,
some say, on the attendance in some central and state government offices in
particular during May-June.
A central government official of the district administration said:
"Generally we record an average attendance of about 90 per cent every day.
However, during the past 30 days, a fall of about 10 per cent in attendance has
been recorded".However Nadia ADM(G) Utpal Bhadra did not agree."The
attendance is normal at the district administrative headquarters," he
said.But the Krishnagar district court was closed for about a fortnight owing
to the scorching heat. Secretary of Nadia district court bar association
Debasish Roy said: "We were compelled to take a break due to heat from May
18 to May 31. The court resumed work on June 1, but the attendance of lawyers
and clients is still very poor. The clients from distant areas like Debagram,
Plassey, Kaliganj are not coming due to the heat, as they have to travel about
60 km. This is a tremendous problem."
Barley inches up on
scattered demand
Thursday, 11 June 2015
New Delhi, June 11:
Barley prices were marginally up by Rs 10 per quintal at the
wholesale grains market today on increased demand from consuming industries.However,
other grains including wheat, moved in a narrow range on little doing and
settled around previous levels.Traders said increased demand from consuming
industries mainly pushed up barley prices.In the national capital, barley edged
up by Rs 10 to Rs 1,280-1,290 per quintal.
Other bold grains like, bajra and maize slipped to Rs 1,205-1,210
and Rs 1,225-1,230 from previous levels of Rs 1,220-1,225 and Rs 1,240-1,245
per quintal respectively.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) 2,300-2,650, Wheat dara (for mills) 1,520-1,525,
Chakki atta (delivery) 1,540-1,545, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) 220, Shakti Bhog (10
kg) 220, Roller flour mill 820-830 (50 kg), Maida 840-850 (50 kg) and Sooji
940-950 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 10,400, Shri Lal Mahal 10,000, Super
Basmati Rice 9,500, Basmati common new 4,900-5,100, Rice Pusa (1121)
3,900-4,900, Permal raw 1,750-1,800, Permal wand 1,900-1,925, Sela 2,300-2,400
and Rice IR-8 1,600-1,625, Bajra 1,205-1,210, Jowar yellow 1,490-1,500, white
2,550-2,650, Maize 1,225-1,230, Barley 1,280-1,290.
http://www.siasat.com/english/news/barley-inches-scattered-demand
Food Hospitality
World’s silver edition rolls out in Bengaluru
The 25th
edition of Food Hospitality World (FHW) 2015 exhibition kick-started today at
the White Orchid Convention Centre in Bengaluru
The 25th
edition of Food Hospitality World (FHW) 2015 exhibition kick-started today at
Bengaluru
The 25th edition of Food Hospitality World (FHW) 2015 exhibition
kick-started today at the White Orchid Convention Centre in Bengaluru. This
three-day exhibition being held from June 11-13, 2015, was inaugurated by Chef
Surjan Singh Jolly, director- F&B, J W Marriott Bengaluru; Bakkappa Kote,
chairman, Karnataka Wine Board, Government of Karnataka; KN Vasudeva Adiga,
honorary president, Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association; K Syama Raju,
president, South India Hotels & Restaurants Association; PK Mohankumar,
hospitality consultant and industry expert, and former managing director and
CEO, Roots Corporation; and Madhukar M Shetty, honorary secretary, Karnataka
Pradesh Hotel & Restaurants Association.
Speaking at the inauguration, Chef Jolly stated, “It is an
honour to be at the FHW 2015 exhibition. This exhibition befits the
requirements of the hospitality industry for it provides exposure, a platform
to exchange thoughts and ideas, and bring creativity to life. It also provides
networking opportunities and enables the sharing and use of best practices.”Sharing
his perspective, Shetty opined, “The food industry in India is facing several
challenges and exhibitions like FHW helps to run our industry smoothly.
Presently, we need to have more modern technologies to run this industry.”
Adding to the same, Adiga stated, “FHW is running successfully for its 25th
edition. This exhibition is beneficial to the hospitality industry for it
showcases the latest technologies needed by the hospitality industry. It is
also encouraging to see that the state and central government are providing
support to the Indian hospitality and travel industry. International fast food
brands like KFC, Domino’s, etc, have taken over our market and we need to
promote Indian cuisine and hoteliers should focus on doing so by promoting it
across the world.”Giving a word of advice Mohankumar said, “The hospitality
industry is thinking about globalisation.
The Indian hospitality industry has reached a certain level of
maturity. During the initial stages of my career, we used to import all food
ingredients, but times have changed now. At present, the ancillary and the
hospitality industry needs to network as they are hardly networking. There
needs to be more awareness about international equipments in the Indian market.
South India is a powerhouse of the Indian economy and it is time that the
hospitality industry recognises this. There is also a huge tourism potential
down south and there is a need to improve connectivity among Kochi, Puducherry,
Chennai and Bengaluru. The south has a robust hotel presence with the highest
number of investments taking place across budget, mid and luxury segments. Big
strength is also coming from independent restaurants and people in Bengaluru
are dining out five days a week.
There is also a huge
opportunity in the breakfast segment. Presently, no brand in south India can
deliver like the QSRs; for example deliver breakfast at home. We need to
develop technology in this area.”The first day of the exhibition will witness a
special honours evening felicitating 15 Hospitality Trailblazers who have made
a unique distinction in the south Indian dining space. The second day will have
sessions such as the Hospitality Think Tank– GM’s Conclave, where general managers
from leading hotel brands from south India will speak about Bengaluru’s
potential as a MICE destination. The conclave will be followed by the CeBIT
Insight Series, a conference on leveraging the digital platform to enhance
customer experiences in the hospitality industry. The Power of Purchase, also
to be held on the second day, will focus on the new trends in purchasing, its
role and the challenges for hospitality purchasing professionals.
The concluding day will
witness Hospitality Knowledge Exchange on Green Housekeeping, and for the first
time Professional Housekeepers Association will be participating in this
session. The Baking Contest will be a first time inclusion at this exhibition.
It will have live demos by the Institute of Baking & Cake Art (IBCA) that
will be organised and overseen by one of India’s top baker, trainer, cake
decorator, consultant and food stylist, Chef Manish Gaur who is also the
director of IBCA. This baking contest will provide an opportunity to over 5000
professionals from the hospitality and F&B industry to showcase their
baking skills and talents. IBCA will provide live demonstrations on baking
various creative dishes throughout the three days of the show.The exhibition,
spread over a floor space of 6,000 sq mtrs, will witness a total number of 150
exhibitors. Some of the key clients will include: Amrit Group, Bunge India,
Amira Basmati Rice, ID Fresh Foods, Forstar Foods, VKL Spices, Williams, and
many more. This year’s exhibition will witness exhibitors coming from different
segments of the food and hospitality industry like F&B, interiors, kitchen
equipment, housekeeping, bakery and others, and will aim at providing solutions
to various industry-related problems.
Associations that have signed up for the exhibition include
South India Hotels & Restaurant Association (SIHRA); Bangalore Hotels
Association (BHA); HOTREMAI; Hospitality, Healthcare, Aviation, Travel and
Tourism (HATT); Hospitality Purchasing Managers’ Forum (HPMF); Kerala Hotels
& Restaurants Association (KHRA); Karnataka Pradesh Hotels &
Restaurants Association (KPHRA); Telangana Hotels Association (TGHA); Kerala
Bakery Association (BAKE); Hotel Association of Pondicherry (HAP); and Munnar
Hotels & Resorts Association (MHRA).The FHW exhibition is organised by
Global Fairs & Media– a joint venture between Hannover Milano Fairs India
and The Indian Express Group
Banks cut back on
export credit
Export credit saw the sharpest decline in deployment of gross bank
credit as on April this year
June 11, 2015 Last Updated at 17:10 IST
High interest rates have hit the
export credit portfolio of banks.
Reserve Bank data shows banks' export credit as on April had
fallen by 8.7% from the Rs 48,200 crore a year before to about Rs 44,000 crore.In
the same period a year before, export credit had shown 13.4% growth, from Rs
42,500 crore as on April 2013.Among all sectors, export credit saw the sharpest
decline in deployment of gross bank credit as on April this year.
After the government withdrew the 3% interest subvention scheme
for exports in April 2014, the cost of rupee credit has gone up significantly,
say exporters. The government withdrew rupee export credit to the MSME (micro,
small and medium enterprises) sector and from almost all engineering export
products.Getting bills discounted from a foreign bank which have a tie-up with
the importer's bank has become a much more viable option. However, the window
is available to only large export houses, based on their counterpart importer's
credit record with their respective foreign lender."We're getting rupee
credit at around 11% from domestic banks. However, if we get our bills
discounted from foreign banks which have a tie-up with importers, the rate of
interest is less than 2% per annum. In addition, we are getting payment in
dollars, a win-win situation for us from the point of view of the present rupee
pricing," said P K Shah, director, Nipha Exports.
"We have written to the government to introduce the interest
subvention scheme on rupee export credit, as the rising cost credit is a major
issue for exporters," said Rajan Sundaresan, executive director of All
India Rice Exporters Association.According to banks, the low offtake of export
credit is linked to production stagnation and rupee movement."Generally,
the cost of credit is coming down for all businesses. The real problem with
export is linked to the rupee, slightly overvalued at present," said
Sanjay Arya, executive director, United Bank of India.
"There has been a decline in export credit. We have also seen that in the
past few months, there had been some impact (of lower demand) on export of
basmati rice, iron and steel, and coal. There are also issues related to
dumping from the Chinese market, which has also taken a hit on exports,
particularly iron and steel," said an official of UCO Bank.
Recently, Arundhati Bhattacharya, head of State Bank of India, had
said dumping of foreign products in the iron and steel sector was an area of
concern for banks. "We see that of the total iron and steel demand of 21
million tonnes, nearly 12 mt is getting imported, and we believe dumping is going
on from China, Russia and Ukraine. That is an area of concern," she had
said here last month.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/banks-cut-back-on-export-credit-115061100683_1.html
USA Rice Testifies
on Implementation of Conservation Title of Farm Bill
Buddy Allen testifies
Buddy Allen (second from left) representing the rice industry.
WASHINGTON, DC
-- This morning the House Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on
Conservation and Forestry held a public hearing on the implementation of
conservation programs in the 2014 Farm Bill. Mississippi's Buddy Allen, a
member of USA Rice Federation's Conservation Committee, served as one of the
six witnesses offering testimony.As a rice farmer and chairman of his local
soil and water conservation district in Tunica, Allen was able to offer a
unique perspective on the implementation of the farm bill's conservation
programs. Allen praised the Committee's recognition of voluntary ag working
lands conservation.
"Working land programs not only address resource concerns,
they increase productivity yielding sustainability by making cropland more
diverse and efficient," he said. "The consolidation and streamlining
of the conservation title will make these programs more efficient and easier to
use for farmers and ranchers."
Allen also discussed the
Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), "Rice producers have put
years of work into finding new ways to reduce erosion and water usage, and to
address a number of other critical conservation priorities. Because of the
unique methods for farming rice compared to other commodity crops, sensitivity
of water quantity/quality and soil stability are particularly essential to
maintain operations. That being said, the RCPP is a natural fit for our
industry to further augment our already impressive conservation
platform." Allen and the other
witnesses thanked the Members of the subcommittee for their support of the 2014
Farm Bill's conservation title and praised the work that NRCS is doing to
implement the programs.
Contact: Peter Bachmann (703) 236-1475
116th RMA Convention
Focuses on Innovation, Trade, and Global Competitiveness
Aloha and welcome
WAILEA, HAWAII
-- The 116th USA Rice Millers' Association (RMA) Convention got underway
yesterday with a traditional welcome and blessing by Kainoa Horcajo, a Hawaiian
Cultural Ambassador.The general session and trade show highlighted markets,
trade, and new products and technologies. "With so much happening right
now on international trade, this year's convention content is right on target
when it comes to relevancy for our business," said RMA Chairman Chris
Crutchfield. "The educational program covers a variety of topics including
the world economy and its impact on agriculture, telling ag's story in the
digital age, and the current realities of the rice trade in China. Of special
interest will be the presentation by the U.S. International Trade Commission on
their recently concluded study on factors and policies affecting the global
competitiveness of the U.S. rice industry.
"Speakers
yesterday included William Juting Li, the director of imports for Shenzhen
Dragon Ocean Hing Cereals & Oil Supply Ltd, who gave an overview of the
China market. Li talked about the potential for U.S. rice in China, and how
factors like regional and socio-economic differences there come into play in
consumer preference for certain rice types. He said Chinese shoppers buy rice
in a variety of ways -- in bulk at grocery stores and in smaller packages when
purchasing premium varieties -- and because rice is such an integral part of
Chinese culture, they'll also buy rice at places like gas stations where
product kiosks are located right next to the gas pumps. Li also said there is
strong concern in China about food safety and Chinese consumers are looking for
"clean" rice they can trust making imported rice more popular.
Pay at the pump for food
and fuel
Half a world away, U.S. rice has reemerged on mainstream UK retail
shelves for the first time since 2006. Hartwig Schmidt, USA Rice's regional
director for Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, reported on this major
victory for the rice industry, saying the reappearance of U.S. rice in UK
retail stores comes after years of campaigning and promotional efforts by USA
Rice to assure suppliers that U.S.-grown rice is a high quality, competitive
crop free of GMO traits.Finally, conference attendees got a glimpse into the
future of food from Mike Lee, founder and CEO of Studio Industries. Lee's Brooklyn-based
food design and innovation company's goal is to help and empower the food world
to design better products and experiences.
His team wants to "raise the bar for innovation today by
thinking more ambitiously about the food products of tomorrow" and he
encouraged the rice industry to "take a cue from the tech and automotive
industries where big thinking energizes innovation" to find
"solutions that are better for people, the planet, and profit."Founded
in 1899, RMA is one of the oldest agribusiness trade organizations in America.
RMA membership, which includes farmer-owned cooperatives and privately-owned
mills, represents virtually all of U.S. rice milling capacity, with mill
members in Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and
Texas. RMA associate members include exporters, shippers and other businesses
allied with the rice trade.
Contact: Deborah Willenborg
(703) 236-1444
CME Group/Closing
Rough Rice Futures
|
CME Group
(Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for June 11
|
July 2015
|
$9.795
|
- $0.075
|
|
September 2015
|
$10.070
|
- $0.080
|
|
November 2015
|
$10.335
|
- $0.080
|
|
January 2016
|
$10.595
|
- $0.080
|
|
March 2016
|
$10.795
|
- $0.080
|
|
May 2016
|
$10.795
|
- $0.080
|
|
July 2016
|
$10.795
|
- $0.080
|
|
Ducks, geese and
rice -- the next victims of California's drought?
The marshlands, canals and culverts in Williams, Calif., north
of Sacramento, are temporary homes to geese and other migratory birds that use
the area as a stop on the Pacific Flyway.
(Mark
Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The next drought victims: Ducks, geese and rice
The nests of hundreds of thousands of birds and the food for
millions more could be imperiled this year because of fewer rice crops in
California – the latest symptom of the state’s historic drought. Only about 375,000 acres of rice are expected to be
planted this year, a 30% decrease from a typical year and the lowest in
California since 1991, according to a statement from the California Rice
Commission.
In summer, the rice is used as nesting for native mallards and
shore birds, said Mark Biddlecomb, director for the western region of Ducks
Unlimited, a wetlands conservation group.In the fall, after the rice is
harvested, the fields are flooded and the remaining grain becomes food for up
to 7 million ducks and geese in the Sacramento River Valley, he said. If the
crop is reduced, the feeding area becomes more concentrated, which makes the
population more vulnerable to diseases.
“I hate to say it’s cascading, but it kind of is,” Biddlecomb
said of the drought’s effects.The drought also annually costs the state
billions of dollars in economic activity and tens of thousands of agricultural
jobs, the commission noted.In 2014, about 408,000 acres of rice was planted,
which was also below normal, the group said.If not for a fortuitous spell of
strong winter storms in late December that expanded feeding grounds, an
outbreak of Avian botulism within the fowl population would have spread
further, Biddlecomb said.“This coming winter, if that doesn’t happen, and if we
don’t use our water resources wisely … we can really be in a world of hurt,”
Biddlecomb said.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-drought-rice-shortage-20150610-story.html?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+June+11%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
California’s rice crop predicted to
be 30 percent below normal
Written by Lesley McClurg - Capital Public Radio
Published: 10 June 2015
Sacramento, California - Because of California’s historic
drought, the state’s rice crop will be 30 percent below normal - at 375,000
acres. Experts say the smaller planting will hurt the economy and wildlife that
depend on shallow flooded fields.Tim Johnson, the President of the California
Rice Commission says the largest impact will be felt in the small towns like
Colusa, Marysville and Yuba City where farmers and workers depend on the rice
industry for jobs.“But, also in places like the Port of West Sacramento where
we export our rice internationally and the rice mills and rice driers you see
around the community,” says Johnson.The ripples will be felt statewide. Johnson
says the fallowed acreage will costs California’s economy hundreds of millions
of dollars.
Dry fields are also bad news for ducks and geese that depend on
flooded rice fields for food and breeding grounds. Mark Bittlecomb is the Ducks
Unlimited Western Regional Director.“We’re fearful that disease could happen.
Avian botulism outbreaks were just starting last December, and that could
happen again this year if (waterfowl) are concentrated,” he says. “And it
(disease) can go through the population rather quickly and you can see massive
die-offs.”Biologists and engineers are working with landowners to increase
water efficiency so more habitat is available using less water.This year’s
planting is the smallest since 1991
http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php/news/california-news/3732-california-s-rice-crop-predicted-to-be-30-percent-below-normal.html?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+June+11%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
Boonsong on B20m bail in G2G rice case
11 Jun 2015 at 19:30 1,526 viewed3 comments
WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS
Former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom has been granted bail
in the government-to-government (G2G) rice sales corruption case and ordered
not to leave the country without court permission, according to the Supreme
Court.Mr Boonsong applied for bail on Thursday and placed a savings account as
surety. The court approved it and set his bail at 20 million baht, said
Thanarirk Nitiseranee, president of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for
Political Office-Holders, who supervises the case. Former commerce minister
Boonsong TeriyapiromMr Boonsong is among 21 individuals accused of colluding to
help two Chinese firms not authorised by the Chinese government to undertake
G2G deals with the Thai government to buy rice from stockpiles generated by the
Yingluck administration's pledging scheme.
They were indicted on March 17 on charges of committing and
supporting malfeasance in violation of the Criminal Code and
competitive-bidding and anti-corruption laws.Mr Thanarirk said three other
defendants had been bailed under the same conditions after indictment. Other
defendants are required to submit bail applications before trial begins on June
29.The 21 defendants include three people who held political positions in the
Yingluck Shinawatra government, three civil servants and 15 individuals who
were authorised directors of companies and juristic persons. The accused each face maximum punishment of
life imprisonment and combined total fines of 35 billion baht.Get full Bangkok
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