Today Rice News Headlines...
·
UNISAME URGES MINISTRIES OF COMMERCE,INDUSTRY
AND OTHERS TO SAVE RICE INDUSTRY
·
Export earnings fall 6% in 2015, down 19% in
Dec: Stats
·
USA Rice Champions Birth Defects
Prevention
·
Tales of new beginnings
·
PDS rice scam draining State coffers
·
Creamy Indian cheese and peas from Indian cook
Mallika Basu
·
Rice not a problem – NFA-Iloilo
·
Egypt's poorest struggle to find rice amid
hoarding
·
03/04/2016 Farm Bureau Market Report
·
Rice Prices
News Detail...
UNISAME URGES MINISTRIES OF COMMERCE,INDUSTRY AND OTHERS TO SAVE RICE
INDUSTRY
Mar 5, 2016
| Thaver
The Union of
Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has invited the attention of the
ministries of commerce, industry, science and technology and agriculture to the
urgent need to join hands for the modernization of rice farming,
milling,processing and marketing and to enable it to meet the global
challenges.President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said it is very unfortunate that
rice industry which is ranked as the second biggest after textiles is left
mercilessly neglected. Regardless of the fact that it employs huge number of
entrepreneurs from farm land to factories. The SME rice farmers, millers,
processors, traders and exporters are in turmoil due to the step motherly
treatment of the government. The cost of production has gone high and this has
made the rice industry noncompetitive. The farm inputs have become costly. The
only answer to survival is value addition, quality bench mark and entering non
traditional markets.
UNISAME after
carrying out a study of the requirements for the uplift of the sector stated
that dedicated efforts are required from grass root level from modernization of
farming, milling, processing,packing and marketing.
The union
called upon the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA)
under the ministry of industries and the Pakistan Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (PCSIR) under the ministry of science and technology to
join hands for modernization of the rice industry.It also requested SMEDA and
PCSIR to take up the issues of paddy drying, parboiling, steaming and preparation
of iron and vitaminized rice and also pre-cooked rice. Various products can be
made from rice flour and rice grains if PCSIR could educate the sector on
increasing shelf life of the products. PCSIR is capable of doing great work for
the sector Thaver said.
The Rice
Research Institute under the ministry of agriculture also needs to do more and
develope new varieties.We have only a handful of varieties whereas our
neighbour India has many and we need to compete in the global markets.The
ministry of commerce needs to intervene in the basmati Geographical Indication
(GI) matter and also the basmati trade mark issue and resolve the matter with
the Intellectual Property Organization and the Registrar of Trade Marks in
national interest.
Another very
important aspect is the marketing, we have lost the markets of Iran, Gulf and
Middle East. Although we have never really entered Europe and USA, there is
scope as our super basmati rice is far superior to the 1121 non basmati rice of
India. The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (REAP) will need to make great efforts to popularise
our super basmati rice which is tasty, aromatic and cooks exceedingly well and
is undoubtedly the best rice in the world.Another very important facility
required for the exporters is the finance facility for export to third world
countries and to buyers who are banking with low rating banks. There is urgent
need for export credit insurance at low premium just like India has done to promote
exports to third world countries. The third world countries have rice as their
staple food. India has captured their markets and we are lagging behind. Same
is the case with Iran unless the facility for smooth transactions exist there
can be no break through. India developed the currency agreement with Iran long
ago whereas we were not yet ready to displease the sanction authors.
Now with the
re-entry of Iran in the SWIFT international currency exchange the possibilities
look bright nevertheless Pakistan will have to re-enter the Iranian market with
deligence to promote our super basmati rice
Export earnings fall 6% in 2015, down 19% in Dec:
Stats
By Azhar
Razak -
Mar 4, 2016
Sri Lanka’s earnings from exports
continued its downward trend for the tenth consecutive month in December 2015
recording an 18.7 per cent decline, year-on-year, to US dollars 817 million,
the Central Bank said today.
Releasing
the External Sector Performance statistics for December 2015, the Central Bank
said that expenditure on imports on the other hand weakened for the sixth
consecutive month in December 2015 by 8.5 per cent to US dollars 1,645 million,
year-on-year deviating from the normal seasonal trend of increased expenditure
on imports towards the end of the year.
“Reflecting
the subdued global demand and lower commodity prices, earnings from exports
during 2015 decreased by 5.6 per cent to US dollars 10,505 million while
expenditure on imports declined by 2.5 per cent to US dollars 18,935 million,”
the Bank noted highlighting the summary of performance in the year 2015.
The
deficit in the trade account increased to US dollars 827 million in December
2015, compared to US dollars 792 million in December 2014. On a cumulative basis,
the trade deficit during 2015 expanded marginally by 1.7 per cent to US dollars
8,430 million over 2014.
Following
is the full statement on External Sector Performance issued by the Central Bank
today.
External
Sector Performance – December 2015
Overview
Sri
Lanka’s external sector showed a mixed performance in the month of December
2015 with a widened trade deficit, continued high growth in tourist earnings
and moderate workers’ remittances. On a cumulative basis, the trade deficit
widened marginally during 2015, while earnings from tourism increased
significantly. Meanwhile, workers’ remittances recorded a marginal decline in
2015. The major source of inflows to the financial account of the BOP during
2015 were the issuance of two international sovereign bonds and swap
arrangement of the Reserve Bank of India.
Export
Performance
Earnings
from exports continued its downward trend for the tenth consecutive month in
December 2015 recording an 18.7 per cent decline, year-on-year, to US dollars
817 million, led by textile and garments and tea exports. Export earnings from
textile and garments, which contribute nearly 48 per cent to the total exports,
declined for the third consecutive month by 12.8 per cent in December 2015,
reflecting low exports to both EU and USA markets. However, garment exports to
non-traditional markets such as Canada, China and UAE increased slightly by 1.7
per cent, year-on-year, during the month.
Lower
demand for tea exports continued throughout the year 2015 due to economic and
geo-political developments in the main tea export destinations. Accordingly,
earnings from tea exports in December dropped by 24.7 per cent reflecting
declines in both export volume and average price levels compared to the
corresponding month in the previous year. Further, transport equipment, rubber
products and gems, diamonds and jewellery exports also contributed
significantly to the drop in December exports. The substantial drop shown in
transport equipment was largely as a result of base effect due to the export of
a cruise ship in December 2014.
Earnings
from rubber product exports continued to weaken and recorded a 19.8 per cent
decline, year-on-year, in December 2015. However, petroleum product exports
recorded a 24.5 per cent increase as a result of a substantial increase in
bunkering quantity by 186.4 per cent, year-on-year, in December 2015. Adding to
that, earnings from chemical products also showed a growth of 10.5 per cent
while sub categories of cinnamon, woven fabrics and fruits showed a growth in
the month of December 2015, over the corresponding month in 2014.
Import
Performance
Deviating
from the normal seasonal trend of increased expenditure on imports towards the
end of the year, expenditure on imports weakened for the sixth consecutive
month in December 2015 by 8.5 per cent to US dollars 1,645 million,
year-on-year.
A
large part of this decline in growth was attributable to the drop in imports of
intermediate goods led by fuel imports, while the drop in imports of consumer
goods and investment goods also contributed.
In
December 2015, expenditure on fuel imports decreased by 15.5 per cent,
year-on-year, to US dollars 216 million mainly due to the considerable decline
in import prices. In line with the downward movement in international oil prices,
average import price of crude oil dropped to US dollars 41.21 per barrel in
December 2015, compared to US dollars 75.98 per barrel recorded in December
2014.
Consumer
goods imports decreased by 9.1 per cent to US dollars 384 million, in December
2015. Substantial decline recorded in imports of personal motor vehicles and
rice imports contributed largely for the reduction of expenditure on consumer
goods imports. Expenditure on rice imports declined for the eighth consecutive
month in December 2015 to US dollars 1.7 million compared to US dollars 50.0
million in December 2014, owing to the increased local production of rice.
Expenditure
on importation of personal motor vehicles dropped significantly by 41.1 per
cent to US dollars 66 million in December 2015, reflecting declines recorded in
all sub categories including motor cars and motor cycles. Expenditure on
transport equipment such as trishaws, buses and agricultural tractors,
categorized under investment goods, declined significantly by 49.8 per cent,
year-on-year. However, import expenditure on vegetables, textile and textile
articles and machinery and equipment, which is categorised under consumer
goods, intermediate goods and investment goods, respectively, increased
significantly during the month.
Trade
Performance for the year 2015
Reflecting
the subdued global demand and lower commodity prices, earnings from exports
during 2015 decreased by 5.6 per cent to US dollars 10,505 million while
expenditure on imports declined by 2.5 per cent to US dollars 18,935 million.
Lower performance in tea, rubber products, textile and garments and seafood
exports contributed mainly for the drop in exports. Significant decline
recorded in fuel import bill due to lower oil prices and lower thermal power
generation caused for the decline in import expenditure.
The
leading markets for merchandise exports of Sri Lanka during 2015 continued to
be the USA, UK, India, Germany and Italy accounting for about 51 per cent of
total exports, while the main import origins continued to be India, China,
Japan, UAE and Singapore accounting for about 60 per cent of total imports.
Trade
Balance
The
deficit in the trade account increased to US dollars 827 million in December
2015, compared to US dollars 792 million in December 2014. On a cumulative
basis, the trade deficit during 2015 expanded marginally by 1.7 per cent to US
dollars 8,430 million over 2014. Earnings from Tourism
Workers’
Remittances
Workers’
remittances declined by 12.7 per cent, year-on-year, to US dollars 618.5
million in December 2015 from US dollars 708.8 million in December 2014. This
substantial decline in the growth rate may be partly attributable to the base
effect as workers’ remittances increased at a record high rate in December
2014.
On
a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances decreased marginally by 0.5 per cent
to US dollars 6,980.3 million in 2015 compared to US dollars 7,017.8 million in
2014. This marginal decline of workers’ remittances during this period could be
partly attributable to the continued decline in international oil prices and
the stagnating growth in the Middle Eastern countries.
Financial
Flows
Foreign
investments in the government securities market recorded a net outflow of US
dollars 118.3 million in January 2016 compared to a net outflow of US dollars
29.5 million during the corresponding month of 2015.
The
Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded a net outflow of US dollars 18.8 million
up to end January 2016, which comprised net outflows of US dollars 19.0 million
of foreign investment from the secondary market and inflows to the primary
market amounting to US dollars 0.2 million. The long term loans to the
Government registered a net inflow of US dollars 463.1 million in 2015, compared
to the net inflow of US dollars 645.7 million recorded in 2014.
Overall
Balance of Payments (BOP) Position
For
the year 2015, the overall BOP is estimated to have recorded a deficit of US
dollars 1,489 million compared to a surplus of US dollars 1,369 million
recorded in 2014.
International
Reserves and Exchange Rate Movements
Sri
Lanka’s gross official reserves as at end December 2015 amounted to US dollars
7.3 billion, equivalent to 4.6 months of imports while total foreign assets
amounted to US dollars 9.3 billion, equivalent to 5.9 months of imports.
During
2016 up to end February, the rupee depreciated by 0.2 per cent against the US
dollar. Based on cross currency exchange rate movements, the Sri Lankan rupee
appreciated against the pound sterling by 6.8 per cent, the Australian dollar
by 2.3 per cent and the Indian rupee by 3.3 per cent, while depreciating
against the Japanese yen by 6.1 per cent and the euro by 0.3 per cent during
this period
http://nation.lk/online/2016/03/04/export-earnings-fall-6-in-2015-down-19-in-dec-stats.html
USA Rice Champions Birth Defects Prevention
As
a result, Dr. Keith-Thomas Ayoob, a pediatric nutritionist, recommends U.S.
rice to his patients, saying: "All enriched grains are now fortified
with folic acid but I am partial to enriched rice because rice is such a great
vehicle for adding other nutrient-rich foods to the diet. It's a great
way to get vegetables, lean meat, and even fruit into kids - and expectant
moms. These foods can also contain folic acid and most people need more
fruits and vegetables in their diets anyway, so a meal that contains enriched
rice can be a real win-win."
"As
you can see from the map above, rice from other origins is not likely to be
fortified," said USA Rice Director of Domestic Promotion Katie
Maher. "This is especially important for pregnant women to keep in
mind when they're grocery shopping and preparing meals. Rice grown and
milled in the U.S. is always enriched, and eating U.S.-grown white rice is an
easy, affordable way to increase the level of folic acid in your prenatal
diet."
USA Rice Daily
Tales of
new beginnings
News of
Syrian refugees arriving in Canada brings back memories for a first-generation
family of Canadians, writes Uzma Jalaluddin.
·
Share
on Facebook
By: Uzma Jalaluddin Special to the Star, Published
on Thu Mar 03 2016
Saturday night dinner at my parents’ house is a family ritual. It
doesn’t happen every week, but more often than not, that’s where you’ll find
us. The ritual starts when I drop my kids off in the afternoon to spend time
with their grandparents and uncle. I try not to whoop too loudly as I leave;
that sort of behaviour is unbecoming in a doting mother.When my husband and I
return, dragging our heels, to pick them up, we usually stay for dinner.
My mom is a good cook. She makes simple Indian dishes — basmati
rice, dhal, sautéed okra or beans, chapli kabob, chicken curry, biryani,
sometimes a roast. Her most common Saturday night meal is not Indian, but
Italian — spaghetti and meat sauce.
A good cook knows her audience.
We update each other on our week. We’re not a very interesting
bunch, so this is mostly relegated to work stories, gossip and current events.
If my parents are feeling nostalgic, they reminisce about growing up in India,
or their early years in Canada.
I’ve heard that memory is an imperfect thing. When you remember
something, you’re not actually remembering the thing that happened but rather
recalling the last time you remembered it. My parents’ stories have been told
and retold so often, they have the polished patina of antique silver. Sometimes
they feel like family legends.
My dad was quite embarrassed. “You know how to speak English!” he
said to her. “Did you forget already?”My mom is irate as she tells this part of
the story. “I was exhausted!” she says hotly. “I hadn’t eaten in two days
because I didn’t know if the airplane food was halal!” My dad just smiles at
her.They don’t have to tell me that those early years were hard. Still, they
found jobs, made friends, raised their family and put down roots.When I was a
new mother, I used to marvel at them — how did they do this all by themselves,
in a country so different from their own? I’m not sure I could have done the
same thing. I’m grateful I don’t have to.Dinner always ends with dessert. My
family has a sweet tooth. Today it’s pistachio ice cream, ice cream bars for my
kids.“It will be difficult for the refugees. They have so much uncertainty. I
had uncertainty too, but not like them. I had a place to live, and my husband
was working,” my mom says. “But I missed my family, my friends. It takes time
to get used to things. It takes time to get used to being alone. But they’ll
manage. This is a good place to live.”My parents have been married for almost
40 years. They have lived together in Canada for 39 of those years. A very good
place to live indeed.
Uzma Jalaluddin is a high school teacher in the York Region. She
writes about parenting, and other life adventures.
PDS rice scam draining State coffers
·
Fri,04
Mar 2016
·
Summary: Those who
purchase this rice are persuaded by ration shop dealers to sell the rice back
to them for Rs. Some employees of Civil Supplies Department, ration shop
dealers and millers had formed into organised gangs to divert the rice being
supplied through PDS. 2 kilo rice. This rice is sold by ration shop dealers to
businessmen who supply the same to poultry farms or roadside eateries for Rs.
Telangana government losing hundreds of crores of rupees every yearA scam of
diverting rice supplied through Public Distribution System with the nexus of
rice millers, ration shop dealers and businessmen is denting the Telangana
State exchequer to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees.Telangana
government losing hundreds of crores of rupees every year A scam of diverting
rice supplied through Public Distribution System with the nexus of rice
millers, ration shop dealers and businessmen is denting the Telangana State
exchequer to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees. Taking advantage of the
lacunae in PDS, the racketeers are minting money and ‘silencing’ the officials
concerned by greasing their palms. Sources said that even Chief Minister K.
Chandrasekhar Rao got wind of the sabotaging of PDS — meant for the poorest of
the poor. With a few days left for the Budget session to being in the Assembly,
Mr.
Rao reportedly directed the police of Hyderabad and Cyberabad to crack a whip on all the persons connected to the scam. “There is no single person or group responsible for this scam. It is more localised,” said a police officer. Some employees of Civil Supplies Department, ration shop dealers and millers had formed into organised gangs to divert the rice being supplied through PDS.
Rao reportedly directed the police of Hyderabad and Cyberabad to crack a whip on all the persons connected to the scam. “There is no single person or group responsible for this scam. It is more localised,” said a police officer. Some employees of Civil Supplies Department, ration shop dealers and millers had formed into organised gangs to divert the rice being supplied through PDS.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/pds-rice-scam-draining-state-coffers/article8314264.ece
http://www.nyoooz.com/hyderabad/378591/pds-rice-scam-draining-state-coffers
Creamy
Indian cheese and peas from Indian cook Mallika Basu
This recipe, also known as Malai Matar Paneer, is
a great mid-week fix
·
Wednesday
2 March 2016
Ingredients (feeds 4)
• Kasoori methi or garam masala
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 8 cashewnuts
• 3 tbsp Greek-style natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 225-250gm paneer
• 2 fat cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mild chilli/Kashmiri chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Handful of peas (frozen is just fine) • Salt to taste
Soft cubes of paneer, Indian cheese, nestling in a tomato cream
with peas, may look like it’s the result of hours of labour. But this recipe is
a quick fix that will hit a spot mid-week, as well as impress guests at the
weekend.
Malai is usually used to describe a dish with cream in Indian
food. I’ve used cashews, yoghurt and milk instead to give the dish the
necessary creamy texture without the heavy feeling you get after cream. Serve
this with a stash of rotis, or a dal and some steaming hot Basmati rice.
Bengali Cashew and
Coconut fish curry by Indian cook Mallika Basu
Method
If using Kasoori methi, soak a pinch in a tablespoon of warm
water. This is fenugreek and it balances the tomato beautifully.
Next, blitz the tomato puree, cashewnuts, milk and yoghurt
together in a hand blender or small smoothie maker until you get a silky paste.
Chop the paneer into even bite-sized pieces. Now bring the oil to
heat on medium in a sauté pan or large frying pan. Gently fry the paneer pieces
on two opposite sides to seal it. It will hiss and spit, so loosely cover the
pan with the lid and be careful. When done, remove them with a slotted spoon.
Now, peel and finely grate or chop the garlic and stir it through
the same oil the paneer was fried in. As it turns golden, mix through the
chilli powder and turmeric. Then pour in the tomato cream.
The tomato cream will split and this is perfectly normal, it will
reconstitute and give the dish its lovely texture and look. As oil oozes
through the pores in a couple of minutes, stir through the paneer and the peas.
Cover and simmer for a minute. You can add half a cup of water if you want more
curry.
Now stir through the kasoori methi with the water its been soaking
in, if using. If not, half a teaspoon of garam masala will do the job too.
Add salt to you taste to finish.
Mallika Basu is a London-based food writer, cookbook author and
cookery personality; quickindiancooking.com. Follow her on Twitter@MallikaBasu_ and find more of her recipes for the Evening Standard here
Evening standard
Rice not a problem – NFA-Iloilo
March 4, 2016
ILOILO City – “We have enough supply of rice in Iloilo despite
of the El Niño phenomenon,” said National Food Authority (NFA) provincial
manager Erna Abello.Abello, one of the panelists during the recent agricultural
information caravan on El Niño in Cabatuan, Iloilo, said NFA has a total of
buffer stock of 2,591,092 bags good for 121 days.“We are encouraging farmers to
avail themselves of our support price of P17.40 per kilo for clean and dry rice
delivered to NFA warehouses,” said Abello.Abello also said the province has an
allocation of 240,000 bags of imported rice from Thailand as part of the
contingency measures for El Niño and other natural calamities.The first
shipment containing 120,000 bags arrived on Feb. 20, 2016.The remaining rice
import was expected to arrive yesterday. This would be distributed to NFA
accredited rice retailers all over the province of Iloilo.
Meanwhile Glenn Carbon, insurance underwriter II of Philippine
Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), encouraged farmers affected by El Niño to report
their farm damage to their municipal agriculturists or directly to PCIC 20 days
before harvest.PCIC Underwriters will assess all reported damage and recommend
insurance claims for processing and payment to the affected farmers, said
Carbon.Damage reported beyond 20 days and farmers not listed in the master list
under the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA) program will
not be eligible for insurance claims.RSBSA is a nationwide database of baseline
information of farmers, farm laborers and fisher folk, as well as geographical
coordinates of agricultural and fishery workers households. (JEE Ogatis, DA-6/PN
Egypt's poorest struggle to find rice amid hoarding
A farmer flattens the soil using a horse to prepare
his land for growing rice in the 6th of October village in the Nile Delta
province of Al-Baheira, northwest of Cairo, Egypt in this May 22, 2014 file
photo.
REUTERS/ASMAA WAGUIH/FILES
Egypt has more rice than it needs but little available for those
who need it most.The price the government pays for rice has surged by about 50
percent in the past two months because traders are holding back supplies and expect
prices to rise further following the government's failure to replenish its
stockpiles.Imported commodities such as cooking oil have been in short supply
for weeks at outlets that offer subsidized goods to poor Egyptians as a dollar
shortage makes it harder for state importers to secure regular supplies.
But rice is widely grown in Egypt and farmers are actually
producing a surplus.
Mostafa al-Naggari, head of the rice committee of Egypt's
agricultural export council, estimates the country produced 3.75 million tonnes
of rice in the 2015 season and carried over 700,000 tonnes from 2014. With
consumption at 3.3 million tonnes, that leaves a surplus of more than 1 million
tonnes.But the government's failure to stockpile rice has left it at the mercy
of traders, who are unwilling to sell when prices are rising daily, Naggari
said.With an eye to the overall rice surplus, the government has allowed
exports to resume, but its failure to accumulate its own stocks has encouraged
traders to hold back supplies in the expectation of rising prices while
discouraging exports.At the same time, the government has imposed a tariff of
2,000 Egyptian pounds ($255) per tonne tariff, which has kept exports
low."One of our vital recommendations to the government before opening the
door for rice exports in October was for it to stock up on around half a
million tonnes," Naggari said."But that didn't happen and hence we
find ourselves in the situation we are in today."
STOCKPILE
Previous governments have stockpiled between 200,000 to 500,000
tonnes of rice, but Naggari said supplies minister Khaled Hanafi had refused to
buy any reserves.Critics say Hanafi ignored advice to stockpile rice, saying it
was plentiful and he could buy it when he needed it.Hanafi and the Supplies Ministry
did not respond to calls for comment.Growing shortages and rising prices carry
immense political risk for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as tens of millions
of the country's poorest rely on state subsidies for their basic food. Economic
discontent helped stoke public unrest instrumental in unseating two presidents
in the last five years."This month I couldn't get any subsidized rice at
all," Cairo resident Sabrine said after returning from a government food
outlet empty-handed. "They said we can take juice instead of rice -- what
are we going to do with juice?"
"We've had several visits in the past two days," he
said. "They are just trying now to push you to sell or make some
movement."(Additional reporting by Ola Noureldin; Editing by Lin Noueihed,
Veronica Brown and Giles Elgood)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-rice-idUSKCN0W61BK
03/04/2016
Farm Bureau Market Report
Rice
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Rice Comment
Rice futures were mostly unchanged today. The market
continues to absorb disappointing export news. Weekly export sales of 91,200
tons weren't enough to generate any upward momentum. The loss of the Iraqi
tender, which had originally been for 90,000 tons US origin rice only, was the
impetus for the negative undertone this week. The market needs to see better
movement in order to gain any upward momentum. USDA pegged US acreage at 2.8
million acres, up from last year's 2.6 million. Depending on the weather,
though, that total could be even higher. May came within a penny of the recent
contract low of $10.43 before finding support and ending the day closer to the
middle of the day's trading range.
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