December 29, 2016
City District Government Lahore (CDGL) notified new rates for
essential edibles, including rice and grains and directed the price control
magistrates to ensure strict implementation of the new rates across the
provincial capital.Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) notified the new
rates on Wednesday. As per the notification, new rates of essential edibles
are: New Super Basmati rice (Rs90 per kg), old Super Basmati rice (Rs100/kg),
Erri rice (Rs32/kg), Daal Chana small (Rs155/kg), Daal Channa big (Rs162/kg),
Daal Masoor thin (Rs140/kg), Daal Masoor imported and thick (Rs115/kg),
imported and washed Daal Mash (Rs180/kg), imported Daal Mash with cover
(Rs165/kg), Daal Moong washed (Rs110/kg), Daal Moong with cover (Rs116/kg),
black gram thick (Rs150/kg), black gram thin (Rs140/kg), white gram thick and
imported (Rs152/kg), gram floor/Baisan (Rs160/kg), red chili (Rs210/kg), sugar
(Rs62/kg), Roti 100g (Rs06), Naan 120g (Rs10), Khamiri Roti (Rs08), Milk
(Rs70/litre) and Yogurt (Rs85/kg).Lahore DCO has directed all the price control
magistrates to enforce new rates across the provincial capital and adopt a
zero-tolerance policy towards shopkeepers involved in price-hike.
Innovative
way to reduce irrigation cost
A farmer holds a perforated plastic bottle, used to measure
requirement of water for plants, at his paddy field in Sutipara village under
Nilphamari Sadar upazila. PHOTO: STAR
In addition, the method
can increase rice production by 0.35 to 0.80 tonnes per hectare.The innovative
method using thrown away plastic bottles was introduced in 2009, after two
years of experiment by the officials of International Rice Research Institute,
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and Rural Development Academy.
However, the method
became popular only this year, thanks to its cost effective and user-friendly
modification by Hossain Mohammad Khaleduzzaman, assistant engineer of
Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) of Nilphamari Sadar
upazila.The original device requires a PVC plastic pipe or a hollow bamboo
around 30cm long and 10cm in diameter.
The pipes, two-thirds of
which should be perforated, are set in the paddy field with the perforated part
under the surface ten days after transplantation of paddy saplings, said
agriculturists.After the water level goes below the surface and reaches the
bottom of the pipe, the farmers should prepare for irrigation.
Developer of the cheap and user-friendly way to save irrigation
cost, BADC Assistant Engineer Hossain Mohammad Khaleduzzaman explains the use
of the method to farmers at Digholdangi village in Sadar upazila a few days
ago. PHOTO: STAR
Unlike in traditional
methods, farmers using AWD don't need to keep the whole field wet, and so, it
saves both water and consequent cost of fuel for irrigation, agriculturists
said, adding that the method can increase rice production by 0.35 to 0.80
tonnes per hectare.Despite such benefits, the system did not earlier become
popular among farmers as PVC pipe is a bit costly and it is difficult to make
holes in it.Against such a backdrop, Hossain Mohammad Khaleduzzaman modified
the method at his own initiative.“In Nilphamari, we experimentally used the
method, using thrown away plastic bottles with both ends cut and round holes
made on them with thin hot iron rod. Finding positive results, I distributed
around 1000 such tools free of cost to farmers and arranged 'farmers' irrigation
school' in 30 villages," said Khaleduzzaman.
BADC and BRRI have
approved the local method, said BADC officials in Rangpur.BADC officials in
Nilphamari said six to seven thousand farmers of Nilphamari Sadar upazila have
adopted this technology.Farmer Asimuddin of Sutipara village said AWD helped
him reduce irrigation cost by Tk 800-Tk 1000 per bigha.Prodip Roy of Kundapukur
village said he got additional two maunds of rice from a bigha of land in this
aman season by using the newly introduced method
North Korea
imports of Chinese grain soaring, data show
29.12.2016
North Korea's imports of grain from China are soaring, doubling in
November from a year ago.
It could be an indication the country cannot keep up with domestic demand despite an official policy of self-sufficient agriculture.According to Korea International Trade Association, a South Korean government agency, an analysis of Chinese customs data shows North Korea imported 3,400 tons of grain last month, Voice of America reported Wednesday.That amount is about $1.62 million worth of food, according to the report.
In November 2015, North Korea imported 1,742 tons of grain, or about half the volume of commodities Pyongyang recently shipped across the China border.Imported grains include rice, flour, corn, starch and beans.
Rice topped the list of imports. In November, North Korea imported 1,863 tons, or more than three times the volume of the same period last year.Imports of rice have fluctuated month to month. In September, rice accounted for 16,000 tons of imported food, an unusually high volume that surpassed total rice imports from January to August.
In November, a South Korean analyst said the value of the imported rice in September is about $990,000.
On Wednesday, Voice of America reported total grain imports from January to November was 48,805 tons, up 9 percent from the same time period in 2015. But South Korea's unification ministry stated the high volume of grain imports is not unusual.Unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told reporters North Korea "has previously imported as much as 100,000-200,000 tons of grains" annually.Jeong said Wednesday the more important change is the recent increase in fertilizer imports.North Korea shipped in 158,000 tons of fertilizer from China January to November, twice the amount it imported in 2015, according to VOA.
It could be an indication the country cannot keep up with domestic demand despite an official policy of self-sufficient agriculture.According to Korea International Trade Association, a South Korean government agency, an analysis of Chinese customs data shows North Korea imported 3,400 tons of grain last month, Voice of America reported Wednesday.That amount is about $1.62 million worth of food, according to the report.
In November 2015, North Korea imported 1,742 tons of grain, or about half the volume of commodities Pyongyang recently shipped across the China border.Imported grains include rice, flour, corn, starch and beans.
Rice topped the list of imports. In November, North Korea imported 1,863 tons, or more than three times the volume of the same period last year.Imports of rice have fluctuated month to month. In September, rice accounted for 16,000 tons of imported food, an unusually high volume that surpassed total rice imports from January to August.
In November, a South Korean analyst said the value of the imported rice in September is about $990,000.
On Wednesday, Voice of America reported total grain imports from January to November was 48,805 tons, up 9 percent from the same time period in 2015. But South Korea's unification ministry stated the high volume of grain imports is not unusual.Unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told reporters North Korea "has previously imported as much as 100,000-200,000 tons of grains" annually.Jeong said Wednesday the more important change is the recent increase in fertilizer imports.North Korea shipped in 158,000 tons of fertilizer from China January to November, twice the amount it imported in 2015, according to VOA.
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/north-korea-imports-of-chinese-grain-soaring-data-show
Typhoon ‘Nina’
farm damage hits P4B
BY JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ, TMT, LLANESCA T. PANTI, TMT AND PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY ONDECEMBER
29, 2016TODAY'S HEADLINE PHOTOS, TOP STORIES
DAMAGE caused by Typhoon “Nina” to the farm sector has reached
over P4 billion, affecting 65,247 hectares in two regions, the Department of
Agriculture (DA) reported on Wednesday.
DUTERTE WON’T DO IT Social Welfare
and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo takes the lead in distributing relief
goods to Typhoon ‘Nina’ victims in Pili, Camarines Sur on Tuesday. President
Rodrigo Duterte eschewed the distribution of relief goods to typhoon victims,
saying he hated using such occasions for ‘propaganda.’ MALACAÑANG PHOTO
In a report, Christopher Morales, head of the DA’s Field Programs
Operational Planning Division, estimated production losses at 268,355 metric
tons (MT) of rice, corn and high-value crops. A total of 66,963 farmers were affected
in Calabarzon and Bicol regions.
The report said 168,581 MT of palay were lost, amounting to P2.36
billion, while corn posted 24,071 MT of losses worth P312.91 million. Damage to
high-value crops amounted to P1.25 million.
Morales said drones were deployed to take photos of agricultural
areas damaged by Nina. “This is to picture the magnitude of damage using
unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, and to validate damage and losses,” he
said.
The National Irrigation Administration reported that irrigation
covering 3,540 hectares of land and 3,818 farmers in Calabarzon, Mimaropa and
Bicol were affected.
Also, P83.5 million worth of damage to infrastructure (road and
river control facilities) were reported in Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro.
In its Wednesday update, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC) said 132,908 families or 602,770 persons were
affected by the severe weather conditions brought by Nina during its onslaught
on December 25 and 26.
These individuals came from 785 barangays (villages) in
Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas, NDRRMC executive director
Ricardo Jalad said.
Strong winds and rains damaged a total of 30,897 houses.
Nine road sections and three bridges were still impassable due to
debris and flooding in Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern
Visayas.
P500M in assistance approved
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol announced
that President Rodrigo Duterte had approved the allocation of an initial P500
million for the rehabilitation of the agriculture and fisheries sectors in
typhoon-hit areas.
Of the total amount, P300 million will come from the Office of the
President and P200 million from the DA.
About P55 million will be used for the immediate rehabilitation of the abaca industry in Catanduanes, the release of rice seeds and fertilizers for about 5,000 hectares of rice land, and repair of fisheries infrastructure.
About P55 million will be used for the immediate rehabilitation of the abaca industry in Catanduanes, the release of rice seeds and fertilizers for about 5,000 hectares of rice land, and repair of fisheries infrastructure.
In Catanduanes on Tuesday, Duterte eschewed the distribution of
relief goods to typhoon victims, saying he hated using such occasions for
“propaganda.”“Thank you for your warm welcome. There’s a peculiar government
practice that I don’t like. That thing when I was supposed to distribute
aid…ceremonial gift-giving. I detest that,” Duterte said
http://www.manilatimes.net/typhoon-nina-farm-damage-hits-p4b/304172/
Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relationship marked in HCM City
The 56th anniversary of
Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relationship and Cuba’s 58th National Day were marked
with a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on December 28.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/government/170367/vietnam-cuba-diplomatic-relationship-marked-in-hcm-city.html
VN earns $2.2b from rice export
this year
Update: December, 29/2016 - 11:28
|
The decline in rice export is attributed to
the prolonged El Nino phenomenon in the central and Central Highlands, saline
intrusion in the Mekong Delta and flooding in the north, central and Central
Highlands. — Photo doanhnghiep.vn
|
This was revealed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In December alone, 399,000 tonnes of rice worth $181 million were shipped abroad. China remains the largest rice importer of Việt Nam with market share of 35.9 per cent. In the past 11 months, Việt Nam shipped 1.61 million tonnes worth $722.2 million to China, down 20.5 per cent in volume and 11.7 per cent in value from 2015.
Ghana is Việt Nam’s second largest rice importer with an 11.1 per cent market share. Markets with strong drops in Vietnamese rice imports are the Philippines (down 65 per cent), Malaysia (48 per cent), the United States (33 per cent) and Singapore (30.7 per cent), as well as Indonesia (22 per cent), the Ivory Coast (21.5 per cent) and Hong Kong (19 per cent).
The decline in rice export is attributed to the prolonged El Nino phenomenon in the central and Central Highlands, saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta and flooding in the north, central and Central Highlands. Rice production this year decreased in both cultivation area and output, particularly in the south. Total rice output is estimated at 43.6 million tonnes, down 3.3 per cent from last year. — VNS
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/348892/vn-earns-22b-from-rice-export-this-year.html#MzhKbFgZ9UeDSvuM.99
Gov`t Claims Success in Reducing Rice Imports in 2016
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government claims that it has successfully
reduced rice imports in 2016.
The Agriculture Ministry
spokesman Agung Hendriadi said that high volume of rice import in the first
quarter of 2016 was attributable to agreements carried over from the previous
year.
Data from the Central Statistics
Agency (BPS) show that the first quarter of 2016 saw rice import realization of
982,000 tons. Meanwhile, Indonesia continued to import rice from April to
November, albeit on smaller volume of 17,000 tons to 38,000 tons.
“[Indonesia] did import rice in
2016; it was attributable to import decision in 2015, in September to December,
to be exact, which include import recommendation of over 1 million tons that
were carried out in the first quarter of 2016,” he told a press conference on Thursday
at BPS office in Jakarta, as quoted by Bisnis Indonesia.
According to him, the success was
made possible by rice cultivation management in the past couple of years in a
bid to boost food production.
Sasmito Hadi Wibowo, BPS’s deputy
for statistics distribution and services, said that rice imports between April
and November were not carried out to meet national demand.
He explained that from January to
October 2015, monthly small volume of rice imports was made to meet premium
rice demand from Middle Eastern and Japanese restaurants. He, however, said
that the government decided to import around 1.5 million tons of rice to
bolster national rice stock.
The decision caused rice imports
to jump in November 2015 to 318,920 tons and that of December 2015 to 291,890
tons. The increase continued until March 2016
http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/12/30/056831326/Govt-Claims-Success-in-Reducing-Rice-Imports-in-2016
Vietnam earns $2.2 billion from rice export this year
Vietnam exported an estimated 4.88 million tonnes of rice this
year, earning 2.2 billion USD, down 25.8 percent in volume and 21.2 percent in
value year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
In December alone, 399,000 tonnes of rice worth 181 million USD
were shipped abroad. China remains the largest rice importer of Vietnam
with a market share of 35.9 percent. In the past 11 months, Vietnam shipped
1.61 million tonnes worth 722.2 million USD to the country, down 20.5 percent
in volume and 11.7 percent in value from 2015. Ghana is Vietnam’s second
largest rice importer with an 11.1 percent market share. Markets with
strong drops in Vietnamese rice imports are the Philippines (down 65 percent),
Malaysia (48 percent), the US (33 percent), Singapore (30.7 percent), Indonesia
(22 percent), the Ivory Coast (21.5 percent), and Hong Kong (19 percent). The
falling rice export is attributable to prolonging El Nino phenomenon in the
central and Central Highlands, saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta, and
flooding in the north, the central and the Central Highlands. Rice
production this year decreased in both cultivation area and output, particularly
in the south. The total rice output is estimated at 43.6 million tonnes,
down 3.3 percent from last year
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/170351/vietnam-earns--2-2-billion-from-rice-export-this-year.html
Thailand, Vietnam's rice dull amid year-end holidays
UPDATED :
12/29/2016 08:14 GMT + 7
Rice markets
in the world's biggest exporters of the grain saw barely any deals amid
Christmas and New Year holidays, traders said on Wednesday.Prices in Vietnam, the world's third-biggest rice exporter, were
little changed from last week, with Vietnam quoting 5-percent broken rice
RI-VNBKN5-P1 at $335-$345 a tonne, FOB basis, compared with $335-$350 a week
earlier.
"Market is just quiet during
this Christmas and New Year holiday; there's only a few traders selling
domestically as they have some stockpile left, but no exports," said a Ho
Chi Minh City-based trader.
"There's some private
contracts with the Philippines about to be shipped and there's barely any order
from China," said another trader in Vietnam.Vietnam is estimated to ship
4.88 million tonnes of rice in 2016, down 25.8 percent from a year earlier, the
agriculture ministry has said.Thailand is also expected to have no new rice
order until after the New Year holiday."It's quiet... prices are the same
in Thai baht, but the depreciation of Thai baht made them look less in dollar
terms," said a Bangkok-based trader.The trader quoted the benchmark
5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 at $355-$360 a tonne on Wednesday, compared
to $360 a week ago
http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/38780/thailand-vietnam-s-rice-dull-amid-yearend-holidays
Paddy production in Morang
highest in five years
BIRATNAGAR,
Dec 29: Paddy production in Morang has hit a five-year high of 418,200 tons in
Fiscal Year 2016/17.According to District Agricultural Development Office, Morang,
paddy production in 2016/17 increased by 100,000 tons compared to 2012/13 when
the district had produced 318,841 tons. Paddy was planted in 97,860 hectares in
2012/13.Paddy has been planted in 92,300 hectares in 2016/17, according to the
office.
Though
paddy cultivation area has declined by 5,500 hectares compared to 2012/13,
production has been satisfying, according to the office.Cultivation area is
decreasing with every passing year due to conversion of farmland into
residential plots. According to the office, more than 20,000 hectares of
farmland has been converted into residential plots in the past five years. Manoj
Kumar Yadav, chief of the office, said that paddy used to be cultivated in
112,000 hectares five years ago. “Now, paddy farming is done in only 92,000
hectares,” he added.
Despite
shrinking cultivation area, paddy production has been increasing. In the last
fiscal year, 382,713 tons of paddy was produced in 93,850 hectares. Paddy
production in 2016/17 is up by 14 percent compared to 2015/16.According to the
office, paddy production grew this year as farmers got fertilizers, inputs and
improved seeds in time. “Sufficient rainfall is the other reason behind
significant rise in paddy production,” Yadav said, adding that the number of farmers
using System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technology has increased in recent
years. According to Yadav, use of SRI technology has helped to increase paddy
production.
PADDY PRODUCTION
UP IN
BARDIYA
Paddy
production in Bardiya has increased in 2016/16 compared to last fiscal year.According
to District Agriculture Development Office, Bardiya, paddy productivity
increased by 4.05 tons per hectare, compared to 3.09 metric tons per hectare in
the last fiscal year.Paddy production increased to 202,000 tons in the current
fiscal year compared to 195,302 tons in 2015/16, according to the office. Paddy
farming was done in 50,000 hectares this year, compared to 50,072 a year
earlier.
http://www.myrepublica.com/news/12042
Nigeria imports rice, wheat with
N1tr annually, says CBN
“Indeed, dependency, especially on commodities
that have advantage, is not acceptable and sustainable either fiscally,
economically or politically.“Increasing rice production is a necessity as rice
importation proffers no future for any nation in the long term.“Nigeria cannot
afford to continually depend on imported rice,” he said.He said the Federal
Government banned food importation to boost farming and diversify the nation’s
economy.
The governor said that the government had
mapped out strategies to reduce its import bill on identified commodities by at
least 10 per cent annually.“I firmly believe that Nigeria will no longer be one
of the world’s highest importer of rice.“It will become an exporter of
commodities in medium terms,” he said.
He added that no fewer than 219,837 farmers in
17 states are participating in the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the CBN
Emefiele said 246,837 hectares had so far been
cultivated under the programme.He said the programme was aimed at supporting
farmers with agricultural inputs to enhance productivity, create job
opportunities and diversify the country’s economy.He said the CBN had linked
more than 120,000 rice and wheat farmers with reputable millers.
According to him, the CBN had set aside some
funds from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development
Funds (MSMEDF) in furtherance of the Anchor Borrowers Programme.Beneficiaries
are to pay 9 per cent interest.Emefiele said the CBN would also empower at
least 600,000 farmers in the rice, oil palm, wheat, cotton and fish value
chains in the next five years.Bank of Agriculture (BOA) Managing Director Prof.
Danbala Danju, said the bank had so far disbursed N22 billion as loan to
farmers to boost productivity and ensure food security.
Danju, represented by Alhaji Muhammad
Babangida, said the bank would continue to support farmers with loans to
encourage all-year-round farming in the country.
He said all-year-round farming would create job
opportunities and diversify the country’s economy.
The Anchor Borrowers Programme was launched by
President Muhammadu Buhari in Kebbi State in 2015, with a view to boosting rice
and wheat production.
http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-imports-rice-wheat-n1tr-annually-says-cbn/
100,000 MT of rice to be imported
12/29/2016
Daily News (Sri Lanka)
Daily News (Sri Lanka)
Sri Lanka, Dec. 29 -- Finance State Minister
Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said that 100,000 MT of rice will be imported to the country by January 16, 17 as a remedy to
the scarcity of rice and to bring down the price of rice.
He added that the process of registering rice importers will be completed by January 4.
After that suitable parties for rice importation will be selected. Then the selected parties can import rice under the direct supervision of the
government. The decision on rice imports is jointly taken by a committee of Trade Ministry
and the Committee appointed on the Cost of Living.
It is up to the joint committee to take measures
on rice importation including calculate the volume of rice to be imported.
The State Minister added that of 800,000 acres of
paddy lands, only 240,000 cares could be cultivated this season due to the drought
and scarcity of water. This is the main reason for the price hike of rice.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from
Daily News Sri Lanka. For any query with respect to this article or any other
content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
http://www.world-grain.com/news/news%20home/LexisNexisArticle.aspx?articleid=2699140272
North Korea
imports of Chinese grain soaring, data show
29.12.2016
North Korea's imports of grain from China are soaring, doubling in
November from a year ago.It could be an indication the country cannot keep up
with domestic demand despite an official policy of self-sufficient agriculture.According
to Korea International Trade Association, a South Korean government agency, an
analysis of Chinese customs data shows North Korea imported 3,400 tons of grain
last month, Voice of America reported Wednesday.That amount is about $1.62
million worth of food, according to the report.In November 2015, North Korea
imported 1,742 tons of grain, or about half the volume of commodities Pyongyang
recently shipped across the China border.
Imported grains include rice, flour, corn, starch and beans.Rice topped the list of imports. In November, North Korea imported 1,863 tons, or more than three times the volume of the same period last year.Imports of rice have fluctuated month to month. In September, rice accounted for 16,000 tons of imported food, an unusually high volume that surpassed total rice imports from January to August.
In November, a South Korean analyst said the value of the imported rice in September is about $990,000.On Wednesday, Voice of America reported total grain imports from January to November was 48,805 tons, up 9 percent from the same time period in 2015.But South Korea's unification ministry stated the high volume of grain imports is not unusual.Unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told reporters North Korea "has previously imported as much as 100,000-200,000 tons of grains" annually.
Jeong said Wednesday the more important change is the recent increase in fertilizer imports.North Korea shipped in 158,000 tons of fertilizer from China January to November, twice the amount it imported in 2015, according to VOA.
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/north-korea-imports-of-chinese-grain-soaring-data-show
Plastic Rice,
Indian Jollof, And Adeboye’s Gift To Fayose By Azu
Ishiekwene
Superstition is the common
thread. And that’s a commodity that’s never in short supply around here, even
in a time of recession. When I first saw the headline on social media, it
didn’t make sense. How could it? To suggest that Nigerians had become so
rice-crazed that some folks were now importing plastic rice was beyond me. I
thought it was just another social media fantasy. Nonsense.
BY AZU
ISHIEKWENEDEC 29, 2016
Superstition is the common
thread. And that’s a commodity that’s never in short supply around here, even
in a time of recession.When I first saw the headline on social media, it didn’t
make sense. How could it? To suggest that Nigerians had become so rice-crazed
that some folks were now importing plastic rice was beyond me. I thought it was
just another social media fantasy. Nonsense.
For decades now, rice has become
the most rebellious item on the family menu, upending traditional staple and
firmly embedding itself in our culinary experience. But I never knew the day
would come when our desperation for this grain will create a market for the
plastic variety.
Yet, it was all there in the
story; shared so extensively I was forced to call on my faith to believe it is
what they said it is: plastic rice.
Journalists serving the news on
Christmas Eve fell over themselves to report that the Nigeria Customs had
impounded 2.5 tonnes or 102 bags of 25kg each of plastic rice imported by
“unscrupulous” business people to ruin our celebrations.
A Customs spokesperson was
actually on record but neither the name of the importer nor the source of the
import was mentioned. And journalists, all too eager to spread the bizarre
news, did not bother to ask.
Readers were expected to accept,
by faith also, that some nameless saboteurs had once again colluded with China,
the world’s capital of adulteration, to undermine our health and safety.
Before China, it was India. The
week before the plastic rice scare, the press had reported that some
unidentified persons had imported a 20-feet container of “ready to
eat”egusi soup, jollof rice, ogbono and yam porridge from India.
None of the reports indicated that the journalists actually saw the food packs
or that the items had been referred to the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for testing.
Since nothing good can come out
of China or India and there are lots of business people who would do just
anything for money, the news of food adulteration mixes very easily with our
faith and superstition. We don’t have to think to believe that China is at it
again.
Reports of the Minister of
Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, having responded that his ministry had
conducted tests that showed no evidence of plastic materials in the so-called
plastic rice, failed to stem the rumour. We were too far-gone in our superstition
and love of spreading the bizarre to stop and think.
Perhaps part of the problem is
that we don’t trust our institutions. Or we believe that regulators will join
providers of goods and services to kill us if the price is right. But can we
just stop for a moment and think about the sense or nonsense of this plastic
rice hoax, which first surfaced last year in Indonesia and Malaysia?
How did rice and plastic mix?
Rice is the seed of a species of
grass, while plastics include materials composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, chlorine and sulfur. Yes, synthetic plastic may imitate the qualities
of natural materials, but that’s as far as it can go. It can’t pass for the
original anymore than stone can turn to bread. You only need to pour a handful
of rice grains and a handful of plastics into water to find out.
But that seems to be a hard thing
to swallow. It’s not as cool as hitting the Share button and spreading
superstition and ignorance to a list-serve of 1,000 netizens. Yet, if you think
of the cost to China of dicing 2.5 tonnes of polymer into rice grains, then
bagging and shipping them thousands of miles, when thousands of paddies all
around China are producing relatively cheap rice, you would wonder why they
would prefer to bag polymer.
But that is what we have chosen
to believe – that polymer grows on trees and that egusi for all its
tendency to decay, can be preserved for 40 days on the high sea from Banglore
to Apapa Wharf all the way to Oyingbo market in Lagos, where it is supposed to
topple the real stuff from the menu.
There’s nothing that superstition
– or its cousin, foolishness – won’t do to us. And that’s true about foodstuff
as it is about holding public officers and persons in positions of authority
accountable.
I’ve been shocked how many people
will not say a word about Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s endorsement of Governor
Ayodele Fayose’s style, because they think that doing so will offend God.
I’m not interested in Fayose’s
politics with Abuja or even the allegations of the blood money bazaar that
allegedly funded the governor’s reelection. We’ll wait and see how that
plays out in court.
I’m saying that I’ll be shocked
if Adeboye does not know of police, SSS and court records linking Fayose with
the deaths of Tunde Omojola, Ayo Adaramola and Kehinde Fasuba, whose families
have yet to get the justice they deserve. Or were these citizens also murdered in
defence of the rights of the Ekiti people?
If it’s what comes out of a man
that corrupts him and not what he consumes, then evangelical misstep is just as
deadly if not more so than plastic rice from China or egusi from
India.
Sure, we need to pay attention to
the quality of what we eat and drink. But we must also hold our leaders –
clergy, laity and apostates – accountable for what they do or say.
-Ishiekwene is the Managing
Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview and a board member of the Paris-based
Global Editors Network.
Azubuike
Ishiekwene
http://saharareporters.com/2016/12/29/plastic-rice-indian-jollof-and-adeboye%E2%80%99s-gift-fayose-azu-ishiekwene
Forex, import ban threaten N1trn
customs revenue target
By Simon Echewofun Sunday |
Publish Date: Dec 30 2016 2:00AMThe year 2016, for the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) may not
have been a thriving one as its revenue generation drive has been greatly
impacted by economic issues ranging from foreign exchange (forex) scarcity and
import restriction on some 41 items, among others.
Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali
(Rtd)
The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Col.
Hameed Ali (Rtd) at the International Customs Day on January 26 said the
Service had targeted a one trillion naira revenue generation in 2016.“We
normally set a target for ourselves and we are looking at and hope, working and
blocking all leakages and making sure that our system work perfectly and
hopeful the polices of government will also be in our favour, we hope to cross
the N1 trillion mark,” he had said.To drive this, Col. Ali at the start of 2016
said he would improve the revenue generation mechanism, block leakages in the
system and improve the digital aspect of its operations.
The Customs boss was hopeful that the decline
in 2015 would not happen in 2016. The Service targeted N954billion for 2015 but
fell short of that by N54billion as it generated N903billion. Ali then blamed
the shortfall on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy that banned 41 items
from being imported.Although the Service is yet to declare its total revenue
generation for the year 2016 that will end in two days’ time, there are
pointers that the Service may hardly hit the N1trillion target for the year.In
August, the Customs Public Relations Officer (PRO), Wale Adeniyi said the
Service generated N385.7billion in the first six months of 2016. In the same
period of 2015, Customs generated N438.2 billion.
In the interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN), Adeniyi said the service generated N197.7 billion from import
duties in cash and generated N203 million from import duty in non-cash receipts
as Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC).He said N21.8 billion was
generated from excise duty; N910.9 million from fees; N41. 418 billion from
federation account levies and N49.3 billion from non-federation accounts
levies.
Mr. Adeniyi said the service generated N74.2
billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) during the period.
He had clarified that the decrease of N525.5
million in the revenue generated was due to economic recession. “Access to
foreign exchange and the drastic fall in the value of naira have also affected
the service’s revenue generation,” Adeniyi had said.
Although it said the 41 restricted import items
still affected its revenue drive, the Service was hopeful of a rebounding
economy in this last quarter of 2016 that could have a positive impact on its
N1trillion earnings target.Besides the revenue target, the Service took
critical decisions that have had huge on Nigerians and the economy in the year
2016. One of such is its decision to ban the importation of rice through the
land borders, a policy it said has given value to home grown rice and given
farmers value for their labour.
The Service declared the ban on rice imports at
land borders in March 2016 after it had reversed the ban in October 2015. After
a review session with Comptrollers of Border Commands and Federal Operation
Units in Abuja, Customs said there was declining revenue from rice imports
through the land borders which did not match the volume of rice landed in ports
of neighbouring countries.
In a statement, Mr. Adeniyi had said: “Reports
from border commands indicated an upsurge in the tempo of rice smuggling.
Implementation of the restriction order got off to a smooth start, with a high
level of compliance in October 2015. However, revenue started dwindling from
January 2016, with importers blaming access to forex as major impediments.“During
the five-month period when the importation was allowed, October 2015 to March
17, 2016, a total of 24.992 metric tons of rice valued at N2.3billion were
imported through the land borders.”
“Revenue generated amounted to N1.6billion,
which is considerably lower than the revenue projected to be generated with the
removal of import restrictions,” he said.
The upsurge he said was evidenced in the
seizures made by January 2016. In the first two months of the 2016, 9,238 bags
of rice were seized, with Duty Paid Value of N64.6million.Meanwhile within the
year, the Service said 117,034 bags of rice were seized between January and
September. The seizures it said had a duty paid value of N774.2million.
Total ban on rice imports loom
The Service is further looking at a total ban
of rice importation in 2017 to encourage local producers, it said in October.Reiterating
the ban of rice import through land borders, the NCS said: ”While this
restriction is in force, rice imports through the ports are still allowed,
subject to payment of extant charges. The service will therefore advocate a
total ban on rice importation into Nigeria with effect from 2017.”
The Service believes that the bumper harvests
expected from the efforts of Nigerian Rice Producers (NRP) will address the
supply gap in 2017.
Within its internal system, the NCS has shown
this year that it is not resting on its oars on the fight against corruption
and cutting cost. NCS under Col. Ali sanctioned about 51 officers in the last
quarter of 2016 with most of them dismissed.
He started with the junior officers when 17 of
them were fired for various offences that include drug addiction, certificate
forgery, theft and absence from duty between January and September 2016.
Few days after, it announced the dismissal of
29 senior officers, and the sanction of 15 others. Col. Ali who clarified the
process of the sanctioning at a management meeting convened to consider the
report of the Disciplinary Committee on the cases, said: “We will give all
officers fair hearing in line with the principle of natural justice. We will
however insist that sanctions be punitive, not only to match the offence
committed, but to serve as deterrent to others.”
The affected senior officers were sanctioned
for their involvement in improper examination and release of containers without
proper documentation and payment of duties, illegal release of goods in advance
before the arrival of vessels and collection of bribe to release prohibited
items.In November, NCS called for the bidding of two aircraft and one
helicopter. The Dornier 288-101 models with registration
5N-AUN and 5N-AUX, and a helicopter, an AS 355-F2 with registration 5N-ABP at
its Hanger in Kaduna airport in Kaduna state were described as unserviceable.
The bid submission had closed since December 7. Many stakeholders said it was
an apparent move by the Service to cut cost.
Land borders’ vehicles import ban starts by
Sunday
The Customs early this month announced the ban
of vehicles importation through the land borders beginning from Sunday January
1, 2017. It said the policy followed the success of the rice ban which came
into effect since March this year. It had given about 21 day grace period to
importers this month clear their orders before 2017.
Mixed reactions have continued to trail this
policy as a section of Nigerians say it will boost activities at the seaports,
promote local vehicle production and tackle vehicle smuggling.
www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/forex-import-ban-threaten-n1trn-customs-revenue-target/178323.html
Rice millers
protest demand of bribe by FCI officials
Thu,29 Dec 2016
Say they are being harassed as
they could not pay bribe after demonetisation Jaswant Shetra Jagraon, December
28 A high drama was witnessed outside the Food Corporation of India (FCI),
Jagraon depot, today when members of the Rice Millers Association, Jagraon,
held a protest outside it. While raising slogans against the FCI authorities,
the members of the association led by its Jagraon president Hari Om alleged
that the FCI officials demanded bribe from them for dumping their rice in the
depot. “Earlier, we used to pay bribe to the FCI officials but after
demonetisation, we are not able to pay bribe to them due to which we are being
harassed,” alleged Hari Om.
He also objected to the presence of RTI activist Kapil Bansal in the FCI office claiming that the FCI authorities accept bribes from rice millers through Bansal. Bansal, on the other hand, said he had sought information about some rice mills under the RTI Act due to which some rice millers were targeting him. “I visited the FCI office today to ask about the status of information I had sought under the RTI Act”, claimed Bansal
http://www.nyoooz.com/ludhiana/697059/rice-millers-protest-demand-of-bribe-by-fci-officials
Parastatal
head demands end to fake imported rice
FRIDAY DECEMBER 30 2016
Farmers deliver rice for milling
at Nice Rice Millers in Kirinyaga County on February 26, 2014. The industry is
battling importation of fake rice. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP |
In Summary
Mr Kang’ara called on the Kenya
Bureau of Standards and other relevant agencies to crack the whip on those
killing the industry.
By MARTIN MWAURA
A parastatal boss wants the
national government to block the importation of fake rice.Tana Athi Water
Services Board Director Muriithi Kang'ara said it is unfortunate that fake
plastic rice is being sneaked into the country.He said some people are bringing
in fake and cheap rice then packaging it to appear as if it is from Kirinyaga
County, which has caused loss of confidence in the farmers.
Mr Kang’ara called on the Kenya
Bureau of Standards and other relevant agencies to crack the whip on those
killing the industry.
He said rice farmers remain poor
due to smuggling despite bumper harvests.He said to motivate the farmers, the
State should provide water for irrigation.The national government had initiated
the Thiba dam project but has stalled.The project will be constructed along
Thiba River in Kabare and Baragwi locations in Gichugu constituency.Further,
the board director urged the government to fight deforestation, which is
adversely affecting water catchment areas such as Mt Kenya region.
He was speaking in Murang'a
County.
The parastatal is in charge of Mt
Kenya region: Kirinyaga, Embu, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi, Meru and Murang'a.
http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/Kirinyaga/Agency-boss-calls-for-war-on-fake-rice/3444752-3501180-l7otui/
20,000
Katsina farmers for CBN rice scheme
By Habibu Umar Aminu | Publish Date: Dec 29
2016 5:29PM
Emefiele who was represented by the Director
Development Finances, Olaitan Mudassir, noted that the scheme is a decisive
model that will boost the small farmers capability to transform the fortune of
the country.In his address the state governor Aminu Masari said the
administration has expended over N58 million for the repairs of the Dam's power
generating sets, purchase of water pumps and diesel for the smooth take off of
the scheme.
He said, other seven dams across the state are
been upgraded and rehabilitated to key into the scheme to enable more farmers
benefit. He said , a Rice research Center is to be established and a ware house
to add value to the scheme.Earlier, the state commissioner of agriculture who
is also the deputy governor, Mannir Yakubu the administration is committed to
the advancement of the agricultural sector which informed the setting aside of
N8 billion naira in the 2017 budget
Rice shortage:
Culprit could be a sibling of prez – Ajith
December 29, 2016, 10:26 pm
by Akitha Perera
Deputy Minister of Power and
Renewable Energy Ajith P. Perera has said that the person responsible for the
severe shotage of rice shortage is certainly not Rural Economic Affairs
Minister P. Harrison and the real culprit could be a brother of President
Maithripala Sirisena.Kalutara District MP was responding to Polonnaruwa-based
Araliya Rice proprietor Dudley Sirisena, who accused Minister Harrison of
releasing paddy stocks to middlemen from the Paddy Marketing Board.Comparing
what he described as ‘Diesel Mafia’ and ‘Rice Mafia’ , Deputy Minister Perera
said that the several big-time rice millers were responsible for the crisis. He
alleged those involved in the racket made public statements to deceive people.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=157987
Venezuela
military trafficking food as country goes hungry
6:05 PM Wednesday Dec 28, 2016
PUERTO CABELLO, Venezuela (AP)
" When hunger drew tens of thousands of Venezuelans to the streets in
protest last summer, President Nicolas Maduro turned to the military to manage
the country's diminished food supply, putting generals in charge of everything
from butter to rice.But instead of fighting hunger, the military is making
money from it, an Associated Press investigation shows. That's what grocer Jose
Campos found when he ran out of pantry staples this year. In the middle of the
night, he would travel to an illegal market run by the military to buy pallets
of corn flour " at 100 times the government-set price.
"The military would be
watching over whole bags of money," Campos said. "They always had
what I needed."
With much of the country on the
verge of starvation and billions of dollars at stake, food trafficking has
become one of the biggest businesses in Venezuela, the AP found. And from
generals to foot soldiers, the military is at the heart of the graft, according
to documents and interviews with more than 60 officials, business owners and
workers, including five former generals.
As a result, food is not reaching
those who most need it.The U.S. government has taken notice. Prosecutors have
opened investigations against senior Venezuelan officials, including members of
the military, for laundering riches from food contracts through the U.S.
financial system, according to four people with direct knowledge of the probes.
No charges have been brought.
"Lately, food is a better
business than drugs," said retired Gen. Cliver Alcala, who helped oversee
Venezuela's border security. "The military is in charge of food management
now, and they're not going to just take that on without getting their
cut."
"WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?"
After opposition attempts to
overthrow him, the late President Hugo Chavez began handing the military
control over the food industry, creating a Food Ministry in 2004. His
socialist-run government nationalized farms and food processing plants, then
neglected them, and domestic production dried up. Oil-exporting Venezuela
became dependent on food imports, but when the price of oil collapsed in 2014,
the government no longer could afford all the country needed.
Food rationing grew so severe
that Venezuelans spent all day waiting in lines. Pediatric wards filled up with
underweight children, and formerly middle class adults began picking through
trash bins for scraps. When people responded with violent street protests,
Maduro handed the generals control over the rest of food distribution, and the
country's ports.
The government now imports nearly
all of Venezuela's food, according to Werner Gutierrez, the former dean of the
agronomy school at the University of Zulia, and corruption is rampant, jacking
up prices and leading to shortages.
"If Venezuela paid market
prices, we'd be able to double our imports and easily satisfy the country's
food needs," Gutierrez said. "Instead, people are starving."
One South American businessman
said he paid millions in kickbacks to Venezuelan officials as the hunger crisis
worsened, including $8 million to people who work for the current food
minister, Gen. Rodolfo Marco Torres. The businessman insisted on speaking
anonymously because he did not want to acknowledge participating in corruption.
Last July, he struggled to get
Marco Torres's attention as a ship full of yellow corn waited to dock.
"This boat has been waiting
for 20 days," he wrote in text messages seen by AP.
"What's the problem?"
responded Marco Torres.
Although money was not mentioned,
the businessman understood that he needed to give more in kickbacks. In the
end, he told the general, the boat had to pull out because costs caused by the
delay were mounting.
Bank documents from the
businessman's country show that he was a big supplier, receiving at least $131
million in contracts from Venezuelan food ministers between 2012 and 2015. He
explained that vendors like him can afford to pay off military officials
because they build huge profit margins into what they bill the state.
For example, his $52 million
contract for the yellow corn was drawn up to be charged at more than double the
market rate at the time, suggesting a potential overpayment of more than $20
million for that deal alone.
The Food Ministry's annual report
shows significant overpayments across the board, compared to market prices. And
the prices the government pays for imported foods have been increasing in
recent years, while global food prices remain stable.
This spring, the
opposition-controlled congress voted to censure Marco Torres for graft. Maduro
vetoed it as an attempt to hurt the Food Ministry, and Marco Torres stayed on
as minister.
Internal budgets from the
ministry obtained by AP show the overpayment continues. For example, the
government budgeted for $118 million of yellow corn in July at $357 a ton,
which would amount to an overpayment of more than $50 million relative to
prices that month.
"What's amazing about this
is it's like a clean form of corruption," said Carabobo state lawmaker
Neidy Rosal, who has denounced food-related government theft worth hundreds of
millions of dollars. "It's like drug trafficking you can carry out in
broad daylight."
Marco Torres did not respond to
several requests for comment by phone, email and hand-delivered letter. In the
past, he has said that he will not be trapped in fights with a bourgeoisie
opposition.
"SCRAPING THE POT"
By putting the military in charge
of food, Maduro is trying to prevent soldiers from going hungry and being
tempted to participate in an uprising against an increasingly unpopular
government, said retired Gen. Antonio Rivero. Venezuela's military has a long
history of coups against governments, and Maduro has arrested several officials
for allegedly conspiring against him from within.
"They gave absolute control
to the military," Rivero said from exile in Miami. "That drained the
feeling of rebellion from the armed forces, and allowed them to feed their
families."
However, it also opened the door
to widespread graft and further squeezed the food supply. In large part due to
concerns of corruption following the government's takeover of the food
industry, the three largest global food traders " U.S.-based Archer
Daniels Midland Co., Bunge Ltd. and Cargill " have stopped selling to the
Venezuelan government.
One major scam involves the
strict currency controls that have been a hallmark of the administration. The
government gives out a limited amount of coveted U.S. currency at a rate of 10
bolivars to the dollar. Almost everyone else has to buy dollars on the ever
more expensive black market, currently at 3,000 bolivars to the dollar.
The holders of licenses to import
food are among the select few who get to buy dollars at the vastly cheaper
rate. Alcala, the retired general, said some officials distribute these
much-desired licenses to friends. The friends then use only a fraction of the dollars
to import food, and share the rest with the officials.
"We call it 'scraping the
pot,' and it's the biggest scam going in Venezuela," Alcala said.
In 2014, one general presented
Maduro with a list of 300 companies suspected of simply pocketing the cheap
dollars they obtained with their licenses and not importing anything. No action
was ever taken and the general was forced into exile, accused of corruption
himself.
Some contracts go to companies
that have no experience dealing in food or seem to exist only on paper.
Financial documents obtained by AP show that Marco Torres gave
Panama-registered company Atlas Systems International a $4.6 million contract
to import pasta. Atlas has all the hallmarks of a shell company, including no
known assets and the use of secretive shares to hide the identity of the
company's true owners. Another government food supplier, J.A. Comercio de
Generos Alimenticios, lists on its website a non-existent address on a narrow,
partially paved street in an industrial city near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The two companies transferred
more than $5.5 million in U.S. dollars in 2012 and 2013 to a Geneva account
controlled by two young Venezuelans, according to bank and internal company
documents seen by AP. The Venezuelans were Jesus Marquina Parra and Nestor
Marquina Parra, brothers-in-law of the then-food minister, Gen. Carlos Osorio.
Efforts to reach the brothers were unsuccessful.
Osorio is no longer food
minister, but has an even more important role in overseeing food. He was
promoted in September to inspector general of the armed forces, with the
mission of ensuring transparency in the military's management of the nation's
food supply.
Arturo Sanchez, a former supply
chain manager at a multinational dairy company, recounted unpleasant encounters
with Osorio. In one case, officers forced the company to buy fructose it didn't
need because they wanted to unload merchandise he suspected was ill-gotten.
Another time, he said, national guardsmen took four trucks of goods without
paying. Sanchez fled to Florida in 2014.
"I spent a year living in
the U.S. not being able to sleep remembering all the risky situations I lived
through," he said.
Osorio did not respond to
requests for comment. But in the past he threatened to sue opposition lawmakers
for staining his honor with false accusations of corruption. He blamed an
economic war for the food shortages.
The Defense Ministry and
presidential press office refused to answer repeated calls, emails and
hand-delivered letters requesting comment. In the past, officials have accused
the opposition of exaggerating the problem of corruption for political gain.
They have said that the military's hierarchical structure makes it ideally
suited to combat the real culprits: Right-wing businessmen trying to bring down
the economy.
From time to time, the government
carries out raids of warehouses holding smuggled goods and arrests
lower-ranking military officers accused of graft. For example, the night market
in Carabobo state where Campos bought his corn flour was eventually shut down
and 57 tons of smuggled food seized. Now Campos buys staples from
intermediaries he suspects are working with the same military officials.
In January, the government
quietly arrested 40 state employees for stealing large quantities of food from
open-air markets. One of those still in jail is a colonel who had been named by
Osorio to serve as president of a state agency that imported food.
"We have the moral fortitude
and the discipline to take on this task of protecting what belongs to the
people," the defense minister, Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez, said in
September. "The state has an obligation to root out corruption in all
levels of public administration."
"IT'S THE CUSTOMER WHO
PAYS"
And yet the corruption persists
from the port to the markets, according to dozens of people working in Puerto
Cabello, the town that handles the majority of Venezuela's food imports.
Sometimes the officials who
control access to the docks keep ships waiting until they are paid off, said a
stevedore at the port, who spoke anonymously because he feared losing his job.
The stevedore said clients give
him envelopes of dollars to pass on to officials. He described visiting the
sergeant in charge and making small talk while placing an envelope in the
wastebasket. Then he slides the basket under the table and leaves. That night,
his client's ships are allowed in, he said.
After ships unload their cargo,
customs officials take their share, according to four customs workers. They
said that without a payment equivalent to a month's minimum wage, officials
will not start the process of nationalizing goods.
Bribes are also required for any
missing paperwork, and can exceed $10,000 for a single shipping container,
customs worker Aldemar Diaz said.
"Sometimes you actually want
to do it legally, but the officials will say, 'Don't bother,'" he said.
Luis Pena, operations director at
the Caracas-based import business Premier Foods, said he pays off a long roster
of military officials for each shipment of food he brings in from small-scale
companies in the U.S.
"You have to pay for them to
even look at your cargo now," he said. "It's an unbroken chain of
bribery from when your ship comes in until the food is driven out in
trucks."
Worst of all, he added, is that
he is forced to pay to skip a health inspection. Officials make him buy a
health certificate and don't even open the containers to test a sample, he
said.
A version of this process also
takes place on the border, said Alcala, the retired general who was once in
charge of border control. He said officers allowed smugglers to pay bribes to
bring in food without proper health and safety checks. This year, Venezuelans
began posting photos and videos showing magnets pulling tiny iron shavings out
of freshly opened bags of sugar smuggled in from Brazil.
Pena said his contacts at the
port have offered to illegally sell him government-imported staples like sugar
and rice, complete with falsified papers and a military escort.
"The military was supposed
to step in and make sure the food got to the people, but it's been the exact
opposite," said Pena, sitting in his warehouse. "They've made it into
a business, and there's no one to appeal to. In the end, it's the customer who
pays."
If he tries to get through the
process without bribes, he said, the food sits and spoils.
Rotting food is a problem even as
90 percent of Venezuelans say they can't afford enough to eat. In some cases,
partners buy food that is about to expire at a steep discount, then bill the
government for the full price. The government has sometimes acknowledged that
food it imported arrived already expired.
The problem of rotting food got
so bad at Puerto Cabello that it drew rebuke in the most recent state
comptroller's report, which expressed particular dismay that thousands of tons
of state-imported beans had been allowed to spoil.
When the food is no longer
usable, the military tries to get rid of it quietly. Puerto Cabello crane
operator Daniel Arteaga watched one night last winter as workers at a state-run
warehouse buried hundreds of containers of spoiled chicken and meat imported by
the government.
"All these refrigerated
containers, and meanwhile people are waiting in food lines each week just to
buy a single chicken," he said.
Photos taken at the Puerto
Cabello dump last year show men in green military fatigues helping bury beef
and chicken. Residents at a slum down the hill said after the military visits
the dump, they dig up animal feed, potatoes, even ham to give their children.
The docks are hidden behind high
concrete walls, and guards watch every entrance. AP gained rare access in
November. The low-ranking military members assigned to guard the port can be
seen collaborating with thieves to steal what little food comes in, according
to eight people who work behind the walls.
"You see people making off
with whole sacks of flour or corn on their shoulders, and paying the guards on
their way out," logistics coordinator Nicole Mendoza said. "You see
the money changing hands, and you just lower your eyes and don't say
anything."
Lt. Miletsy Rodriguez, who is in
charge of a group of national guardsmen running security at the port, said
people are just looking to scapegoat the military. If her unit wasn't around,
looting would be even more widespread, she said.
"The majority of us are
doing our best. And sooner or later we'll catch people who are not doing the
job right," she said.
BRIBES ON THE ROAD
Just as bribes are needed to get
food into the port, they are also required to move food out, truckers said.
The roads near the port are lined
with trucks waiting to be let in. Drivers sling hammocks in their wheel wells
and sometimes wait several days in the thick tropical heat. Trucking bosses
recently banded together to stop paying bribes to port officials, and the officials
are now punishing them by delaying the movement of cargo onto vehicles, said
Jose Petit, president of the Puerto Cabello trucking association.
When the food is finally loaded
onto the trucks, soldiers come by to take a cut. Photos and videos taken by
truckers show officials taking sacks of sugar and coffee. As the trucks rattle
off down the highway, hungry women in clothes that no longer fit chase after
them to pick up anything that falls out.
Billboards lining the highway
feature a drawing of an enormous ant beside a nonworking phone number to
denounce corruption, and the warning, "No to bachaqueros." That's
what Venezuelans call people who make a living illegally reselling food, after
the leafcutter ants that haul many times their weight through the jungles.
On the roads, truck drivers face
an obstacle course of military checkpoints, ostensibly set up to stop
bachaqueros. Truckers say soldiers at about half the checkpoints demand bribes.
Some invent infractions such as an insufficiently filled tire, and take cash
along with sacks of pantry items, produce and even live chickens, the drivers
said.
"It used to be you'd go your
whole route and not have to pay any anything. Now at every checkpoint, they ask
for 10,000 bolivars," said trucker Henderson Rodriguez, who was waiting
for a third day to get into the port to pick up a load of sugar.
The surest way to move food
through the network of checkpoints is to transport it under military guard. For
a percentage of the product's value, military officers on the take will assign
a moonlighting soldier to ride along in the truck, according to five store and
restaurant owners.
Sugar and flour are among the
items most in demand because they have become virtually impossible to find
legally, and some businesses, like bakeries, cannot function without them. A
half dozen bakery owners across the country said in interviews that military
officials regularly approach them with offers to sell supplies in exchange for
a bribe.
In the city of Valencia, bakery
owner Jose Ferreira cuts two checks for each purchase of sugar: one for the
official price of 2 cents a pound and one for the kickback of 60 cents of
pound. He keeps copies of both checks in his books, seen by AP, in case the
authorities ever come asking.
"You make the legal payment,
and then you pay the kickback," he said. "We have no other option;
there's no substitute for sugar."
The theft extends to the very end
of the food supply chain, vendors said. At one market in Valencia, the military
members who were appointed in August to stop contraband confiscated vendors'
produce. They said the vendors did not have the right permits. The food was
piled in an olive green cargo truck.
In Puerto Cabello, hungry
residents said it feels like corrupt soldiers are taking food off their
children's plates. Pedro Contreras, 74, watched more than 100 trucks carrying
corn rattle onto the highway, and walked stiffly into traffic to sweep up the
kernels that had sifted out. He planned to pound them into corn flour that
night to feed his family.
"The military is getting fat
while my grandchildren get skinny," he said. "All of Venezuela's food
comes through here, but so little of it goes to us."
Associated Press writers Stan
Lehman in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed to this
report.
EXTRA: AP correspondent Hannah
Dreier has been living through chaos this year as Venezuela edges toward
collapse. This interactive collects her tweets to show daily happenings around
the country.
___
Hannah Dreier is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hannahdreier
. Joshua Goodman is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APjoshgoodman . More of
AP's reporting on Venezuela's problems can be found at
https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11773973
Foreign exchange:
Nigeria spends N1trn on rice, wheat importation annually — CBN
The Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said that importation of rice and wheat
gulped over N1 trillion in foreign exchange annually.Emefiele said this on
Thursday in Jibia, Katsina State, at the launch of CBN Anchor Borrowers
Programme and 2016/2017 Dry Season Farming.‘’Nigeria’s import bill is exceptionally
high; top four import commodities which include rice and wheat, consume over N1
trillion in foreign exchange annually,’’ he said.
According to him, relying heavily
on food importation fuels domestic inflation and depletes the country’s foreign
reserves.The governor, represented by the Director, Development Finance, Mr
Olaitan Mudassir, said food importation had negative effects on local
production industries and created unemployment in the country.Indeed,
dependence, especially on commodities that have advantage, is not acceptable
and sustainable either fiscally, economically or politically.“Increasing rice
production is a necessity as rice importation proffers no future for any nation
in the long term.
“Nigeria cannot afford to
continually depend on imported rice,” he said.He said the Federal Government
banned food importation to boost farming and diversify the nation’s economy.The
governor said that the government had mapped out strategies to reduce its
import bill on identified commodities by at least 10 per cent annually.“I
firmly believe that Nigeria will no longer be one of the world’s highest
importer of rice.“It will become an exporter of commodities in medium terms,”
he said.The Nigerian Customs Service had announced a ban on the importation of
rice through the land borders.
The Comptroller-General of
Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali, said 99 per cent of rice smuggled through the
land borders is not fit for human consumption
M went for the Mowgli Chip Butty (£5.25) – known in Bold Street
as the Bombay Chip Butty. It’s one of Mowgli’s key dishes, and for good reason.
It’s got echoes of the same tea-smoked flavouring found in my
chickpeas, all dark and rich. But this one isn’t just about the flavours, it’s
about the textures. Each small spud is crispy on the outside and soft and
fluffy in the middle, while the onions and coriander provide a textural as well
as flavourful contrast.
The bread itself is thin roti, just enough to hold the spuds and
relish together.
And for those who need a bit more filling, it comes with a pile
of spuds on the side. Perfect for stealing.
M also went for a Green Ginger and Rhubarb Dhal (£4.50). With
plenty of green mung lentils, it was gently warm and sweet without challenging
the chip butty for spiciness.
As a child, M tells me, she used to eat sticks of rhubarb dipped
in caster sugar. The dhal was every bit as comforting as those childhood
memories.
And on the
side?
We shared the basmati rice that came with my tiffin box. And, on
our server’s recommendation, we also had a portion of Puri flatbreads (£1.95
for two). they were crisp and puffy, like thin savoury doughnuts, and were
great for mopping up spicy sauce.
Sweet finish
There’s a small but tasty selection of desserts on the Mowgli
menu.
The watermelon sorbet, which comes in a chunky handmade cone
(£2.40), was a refreshing finish to M’s meal.
By contrast, my Gulab Jamun (£4.50) was rich and indulgent –
three syrupy dough balls, sticky and heavy, with a scoop of the creamiest ice
cream I’ve had for years.
All in all...
Mowgli’s second Liverpool restaurant is bigger and grander than
its first, but it’ll be very familiar to Mowgli fans – and a great introduction
to the brand if you haven’t tried it before.
The food’s as good as ever, the neighbourhood is as buzzing as
Bold Street, and the more spacious venue suits Mowgli well.
This is one sequel that’s at least as good as the original.
Everything you
need to know
(Photo: Ian Cooper)
Mowgli
3, Water Street, Liverpool L2 0RD
0151 236 6366
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday: Noon-9.30pm
Friday and Saturday: Noon-10.30pm
Service: Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and
helpful
Price: Small plates mean you can make
your Mowgli visit as cheap or as indulgent as you wish
Disabled access: Yes
http://naija247news.com/2016/12/foreign-exchange-nigeria-spends-n1trn-on-rice-wheat-importation-annually-cbn/
REVIEW: Does Mowgli's new Water Street venue match up to the Bold
Street original?
We paid a visit to the latest in Nisha
Katona's growing restaurant empire
MOWGLI,
WATER STREET
·
11:41, 29 DEC 2016
·
UPDATED11:41, 29 DEC 2016
You can’t walk down Bold Street or Castle Street these days without tripping over a
whizzkid plotting a bijou eatery.And that’s a good thing too. Not so long ago
Castle Street was far too quiet when the offices closed for the night, while
the future of Bold Street looked rather uncertain after Liverpool ONE opened.
But Bold Street’s now a proper
food and drink hub, anchored by favourites like Indian street food restaurant
Mowgli.
Nisha Katona’s eatery swiftly
became one of the city centre’s most popular food and drink stops after it
opened in 2014. Some people I know still haven’t been because it’s always just
too busy – and you can’t book.
So now Nisha has opened a second
restaurant just off that other hotspot, Castle Street.
So can Mowgli Water Street match
the success of its Bold Street parent? I went to find out....
Welcome inside
First floor tables at Mowgli in Water Street (Photo: Andrew Teebay)
There’s still scaffolding around
the outside, but inside Mowgli is finished and very impressive.
We could walk in and get a table
for two straight away. The new Mowgli, by the way, does take bookings.
The first thing Bold Street
aficionados will notice is that it’s big – much larger than the first Mowgli.
The old banking hall has been
elegantly converted into an open and spacious dining area, with some more
intimate seating to the side and in a mezzanine above.
Some of the original decor has
been preserved among the familiar Mowgli touches, from the logo of the monkey
with a tiffin box to the ropes and cages that are also part of Bold Street’s
decor.
The two words I wrote down
immediately were “pastel” and “twinkling”. The colour is indeed gently pastel
below the gentle lights – and the place is packed with white fairy lights. It
took my eyes a while to adjust, actually – but luckily the menu is very
familiar.
What’s on
offer?
The menu at Mowgli in Water Street
Mowgli is all about the small
plates, which you can mix and match.
The menu is the same as Bold
Street, with a mix of dishes you’ll recognise from other Indian restaurants and
a selection of Mowgli specials.
There are plenty of items for
carnivores and a great selection for vegetarians – and there’s even a separate
vegan menu.
And if you can’t decide, you can
always order a tiffin box – a four-tier metal tin with three curries and a
rice.
Drinks-wise, there’s everything
from lassi yoghurt coolers to cocktails, wines and bottled beers. I went for a
Brazilian Devassa lager and a Curious IPA – which looked, curiously enough,
almost blood red under Mowgli’s atmospheric lighting.
An intro
The Bhel Puri, left, Basmati Rice and Puri bread
The food arrives as it’s cooked,
so there are strictly speaking no starters or mains
But if you order a Bhel Puri
(£4.10) from the Street Chat menu, it normally arrives pretty quickly as a
tasty appetiser with your beers.
It’s a tin of puffed rice with
peanuts, “gram threads” and a sweet and sour dressing. it doesn’t sound like
much, but it’s magnificent – tangy and crisp with a real bite from the chilis
studded through it. Perfect beer food.
What about the
mains... sorry, street food?
The contents of the Office Worker's Tiffin at Mowgli in Water
Street, Liverpool - Tea Steeped Chickpeas, top centre, Mowgli House Keema,
left, and the House Chicken Curry, bottom right
There’s so much choice on the
menu that I took the easy way out and ordered an Office Worker’s Tiffin (£14) –
which promises “food roulette”.
When it arrives your server tells
you what’s in it. So our server – who was, by the way, super-friendly and
enthusiastic about the food – told me I had the House Chicken, the Keema and
the Chickpeas.
The Mowgli House Chicken was
probably – just – my favourite. The tender chicken chunks come in a mellow and
sweet coconut sauce, aromatically flavoured with mustard seed and curry leaves.The
Tea Steeped Chickpeas come in a loose tomato chili sauce, rich and almost
smoky.The Mowgli House Keema was thick, sweet and earthy. The minced lamb has,
the menu says, been simmered for hours – it’s certainly deep and rich, with
lovely cumin and nutmeg spice.
What about the
veggie options?
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