India Basmati Rice exports to grow by 10% in
2017/18
December 06 2016
India’s Basmati Rice exports is expected to
grow by 10 percent to Rs 25,500 crore in 2017/18, mainly due to China's
decision to open its market to India, according to rating agency ICRA. In FY17,
Basmati Rice export value is expected to remain in line with the FY16 levels,
it is expected to grow by 10 per cent to Rs 25,500 crore in FY18, they added.
China has agreed to import Basmati Rice from 14
companies in India and in the ongoing harvesting season the volume of Basmati
paddy is expected to be lower than last year. Opening up of China as an export
destination is a positive for the Indian Basmati Rice industry.India and China
together contribute around 40 per cent of the global Rice production, which is
estimated at around 740 million tonnes.
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/india-basmati-rice-exports-to-grow-by-10-in-201718/12725
Lawmaker eyes special fund
for rice farmers
December 6, 2016
A vice
chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs on Tuesday called for the
creation of a special fund for rice farmers to ensure their survival after the
rice-import quota is removed next year.Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato of the Lone District of Occidental Mindoro said in a statement that a special fund is needed to ensure sustainable rice production with the impending lifting of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice by 2017.
“The revenue to be collected from rice-import tariffs should be used to ensure a healthy rice economy that leans toward helping our farmers cope with the worst-case scenario once the rice quantitative restriction is lifted next year,” Sato said.
She added that concerned government agencies should put in place sufficient safety nets for rice farmers to protect them from the removal of the QR, a nontariff trade barrier.With the lifting of QR, Sato said resource-poor farmers, particularly rice producers, would not be able compete once imports start to flood the market.Sato added that she is worried the lifting of the QR on rice would force farmers to shift to planting other crops, or worse, give up farming, which would affect the government’s goal of making the country self-sufficient in rice.
“The unrestricted or unregulated importation of rice would not only affect farmers, but would also slow down agricultural production, affecting the country’s economic growth,” she said.
While the Philippines is a net importer of rice, it is also the eighth-largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8 percent of global rice production, said Sato, citing the 2009 crop production statistics report of the Food and Agriculture Office.According to Sato, the DA should come up with ways to make the business of rice farming more profitable.
Citing inputs from local farmers in the province, Sato said many rice farmers remain landless and have to cope with the challenges posed by excessive rice importation.“The government should put in place necessary measures as safety nets in the form of direct support to the farmers, particularly those with small landholdings, such as seed and fertilizer subsidies and free irrigation,” she added.
Occidental Mindoro is one of Mimaropa region’s top rice-producing provinces but, she said, farmers there remain poor because of the high cost of production, such as seeds, fertilizers
and pesticides
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/lawmaker-eyes-special-fund-for-rice-farmers/
FA says rice supply adequate, no need for
further imports
The Philippines has the authority to import
250,000 metric tons more worth of rice, part of the 500,000 standby authority
approved by the previous government.The full quota has not been tapped after
the dry spell’s impact was not as severe as expected. The 250,000 MT portion of
the authority that was tapped was awarded to the world’s top rice exporters on
Aug. 31, with Thailand and Vietnam providing 100,000 MT and 150,000 MT,
respectively, under a government-to-government purchasing agreement.
In addition, the grains agency in September
opened up to private traders the importation of additional 805,200 metric tons
of rice under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme. The MAV rice importation
program allows private traders to apply for the delivery of 293,100 MT each
from Thailand and Vietnam. Under the omnibus origin scheme, importers can also
buy up to 50,000 MT each from China, top supplier India and Pakistan, up to
15,000 MT from Australia, up to 4,000 MT from El Salvador, and 50,000 MT from
any other country.All rice under this importation scheme is expected to arrive
in the country not later than Feb. 28 next year and is levied a 35% tariff. -- Janina
C. Lim
Removal of rice import quota seen to lower rice
prices
Inflation in November 2016 slightly rose to 2.5
percent from 2.3 percent in the previous month due to the increase in the
prices of major non-food commodities.
“The increase in inflation can be attributed to
the increase in domestic prices of petrol products, which comprise the bulk of
the non-food commodity basket
usually purchased by the average Filipino household,†added
Pernia.Non-food inflation increased due to the uptick of prices in all major
non-food items such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.3
percent from 0.9 percent), and transport (0.5 percent from 0.2 percent).
“Overall we expect the full year inflation for
2016 to be well within the government’s inflation target band of 2 to 4 percent. The
overall balance of risks is tilted on the upside, with supply-side factors as
the main contributor to price adjustments,†added Pernia.He explained that international
and domestic risks are tilted upward from a possible rally in oil prices,
depreciation of the peso against the United States dollar, and pending
petitions for electricity rate increases.
Special fund to support rice farmers
Meanwhile, a lawmaker at the House of
Representatives is pushing for the creation of a special fund for rice farmers
to ensure sustainable rice production amid the imminent lifting of the QR on
rice by 2017.
“We need to create a special fund for rice
farmers. The revenue to be collected from rice import tariffs should be used to
ensure a healthy rice economy that leans toward helping our farmers cope with
the worst-case scenario once the rice quantitative restriction is lifted next
year,†Occidental
Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sato made the call after meeting with Pernia,
who assured her that the Duterte administration intends to use revenues from
the planned imposition of tariff on imported rice to support rice farmers.
Sato expressed concern that resource-poor
farmers, particularly rice producers, would not be able to compete once
imported rice start to flood the market.She said many rice farmers remain
landless and had to cope with the challenge posed by excessive rice
importation.
“The government should put in place necessary
measures as safety nets in the form of direct support to the farmers
particularly those with small landholdings, such as seed and fertilizer
subsidies, free irrigation; training to improve production, packaging of rice
products, and access to emerging market chains,†she
reiterated.
She said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and
other agencies involved in promoting food self-sufficiency and security should
come up with programs that would boost local rice production and allow farmers
to compete against cheaper, imported rice.
The Occidental Mindoro solon said that while
consumers would generally benefit from the expected flood of imported rice, the
scenario would surely “kill†rice farming, which is the way of life for
many farmers in the countryside.Sato is also worried that the lifting of the QR
on rice would force farmers to shift to planting other crops, or worse, give up
farming, adversely affecting the country’s rice self-sufficiency goals in particular and
food self-sufficiency in general.
“The unrestricted or unregulated importation of
rice would not only affect farmers, but would also slow down agricultural
production, affecting the country’s economic growth,†she
said.
Federal Government predicts
record 52.4 million tonne grain crop
Nigel Austin, Rural Editor, The Advertiser
The Australian Crop Report, released today, forecasts
a record national wheat crop of 32.6 million tonnes and a record national
barley crop of 10.6 million tonnes.Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics and Sciences acting executive director Peter Gooday said
above average rain in September and mild spring conditions had ensured good
soil moisture for the critical grain development period.“Across the nation,
total production is forecast to be higher in every state,” Mr Gooday said.
The national canola crop is forecast to reach
3.6 million tonnes, the third-highest on record.“Chickpea production is also
forecast to reach a record high of 1.2 million tonnes this year — a rise of 21
per cent that reflects an estimated increase in planted area and a forecast
rise in the average yield,” Mr Gooday said.The bureau is predicting a record
9.8mt winter crop in South Australia, driven mainly by large increases in
expected yields, although it is below the SA Government forecast of 10.5mt.ABARES
SA forecasts include a 6.2mt wheat crop yielding an average of 3t a hectare and
a 2.3mt barley crop, yielding virtually 3t a ha.
Mr Gooday said that total summer crop
production is forecast to increase by 21 per cent to about 4.6mt in 2016-17.It
includes large rises in the cotton and rice crops in response to an increase in
the supply of irrigation water.But the area planted to grain sorghum is
forecast to fall by 31 per cent in to 471,000 hectares, the lowest in 24 years.
FG stops 571,000 tonnes of
rice from entering Nigeria
Bags of rice
Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja
It also stated that Nigeria recently took
delivery of 110 rice mills in its bid to enhance local production so as to
commence the exportation of white rice from next year.The Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who disclosed these in Abuja,
stated that some of Nigeria’s neighbours, particularly the Republic of Benin,
were not moving goods within the region as required by relevant treaties.He,
however, stated that the Federal Government would henceforth check all illegal
movements of food and non-food items into Nigeria from the neighbouring
countries.
Ogbeh said, “What they do is that they import
goods, station themselves at our borders and then smuggle them into Nigeria.
For instance, the Republic of Benin doesn’t eat parboiled rice. They eat white
rice. But all the rice that comes from the borders into Nigeria is parboiled.
“I have a list now of all the ships that left
Thailand in the last seven weeks and they’ve arrived; 571,000 tonnes of rice
waiting to enter Nigeria for Christmas. But we won’t allow that. We have to
review the treaty in the region, because we are at the losing end. Why are we
doing this? It is because this rice is not definitely grown in the Republic of
Benin.”He added, “They bring tomato paste and chicken not produced in the
Republic of Benin and because the Nigerian market is so huge, that they want to
exploit it. But no economy out of sympathy should damage our own and we should
not out of sentiment allow anybody to do things to us, which we can’t do to
them.
“When Dangote was trying to ship his cement
through the Republic of Benin to Togo, it took him one year to persuade them.”Ogbeh
reiterated that the country would start exporting rice from next year, as he
stated that 110 mills had been acquired to make this a reality.He said, “We can
make it happen. We have just brought in 110 rice mills of different capacities.
Some can do 100 tonnes, others 50, 40, 20 and 10 tonnes. We are going to give
them to cooperative organisations and rice millers all over the country to
enhance their milling capacities.
“We have another 12 rice mills to come in maybe
next year so that the milling capacity is strong enough for us and we too will
begin to export white rice to West Africa.”
On the issue of possible famine in Nigeria from
January next year, the minister stated that the government was prepared and
promised that the country would not experience such.The minister stated, “We
want to put it quite clearly that there is no danger of famine in the country,
because the government will not allow that to happen. We are already taking
steps to make sure that Nigerians don’t go through any such harrowing
experience. There has been some panic over the massive purchase of grains from
many of the big grain producing fields in some parts of the country.
“This fear was heightened by emirs and chiefs
in the North, who met with us on Tuesday last week and raised the same anxiety.
It is true that for the first time in our history, we are witnessing an
extra-ordinary purchase of our grains from the West, North and Central Africa.
We are even getting demands from as far as Namibia; they are asking for grains
in large quantities of up to 37,000 tonnes of maize.”
http://www.nigeriannewspapers.today/2016/12/05/fg-stops-571000-tonnes-of-rice-from-entering-nigeria/
Memphis Restaurants Proudly Serve U.S.-Grown Rice
MEMPHIS, TN -- Each year, USA Rice teams up with restaurants in the host city
of the USA Rice Outlook Conference to promote local establishments that serve
U.S.-grown rice. This year, members can again look forward to an
expansive selection of highly-rated restaurants that will satisfy every palate
and price point. The twelve restaurants participating in this
year's promotion will display "We Proudly Serve U.S.-Grown Rice"
window clings provided by USA Rice. Many restaurants expressed a desire
to keep the emblem up year-round to support U.S. rice farmers. "I love seeing to see so many restaurants
committed to using locally-sourced ingredients like rice," said Katie
Maher, USA Rice's director of domestic promotion. "We hope those
attending the USA Rice Outlook Conference will visit these restaurants that are
actively supporting the U.S. rice industry."
Maher said the annual promotion helps increase awareness of U.S.-grown rice on several levels."We use this program as an opportunity to talk about U.S. rice with chefs and managers, and they in turn educate their staff - both in the kitchen and on the floor," she said. "It brings us new rice ambassadors and gets people talking about U.S. rice - even after Outlook is gone."
Maher said the annual promotion helps increase awareness of U.S.-grown rice on several levels."We use this program as an opportunity to talk about U.S. rice with chefs and managers, and they in turn educate their staff - both in the kitchen and on the floor," she said. "It brings us new rice ambassadors and gets people talking about U.S. rice - even after Outlook is gone."
"We use tons of U.S. rice because gumbo and Yazoo Creole Rice with crawfish and shrimp are two of our most popular dishes," said Wes Walker, a manager at B.B. King's Blues Club, one of the participating restaurants on nearby Beale Street. "Tell everybody to stop by B.B. King's! We love a crowd and we're all hands on deck, ready, and waiting.
The push to sell Arkansas
rice and chicken in China
. Published
ben@noblestrat.com
Editor’s note: Ben Noble is president of Noble Strategies, a consulting firm
based in Little Rock that represents Arkansas Rice and Tyson Foods.
–––––––––––––––
While we’ve made progress in expanding our trade relationship
with China, significant hurdles remain for two of Arkansas’ most valuable
exports: rice and poultry.
–––––––––––––––
Both are banned from access to Chinese markets. China’s
government claims “phytosanitary issues,” essentially food-safety regulations,
are preventing Arkansas rice from reaching Chinese markets. At the same time,
China has established phytosanitary protocols with 11 different countries:
Cambodia, India, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand,
Uruguay, and Vietnam.If you’re like me, then you must be scratching your head
over such a list when “food safety” is the justification for a continued ban on
Arkansas rice. As the proud son and brother of rice farmers, I’d put Arkansas’s
food-safety protocols up against ANY country in the world.
On the poultry front, China continues to ban Arkansas poultry
products due to an avian influenza episode in Iowa. In other words, they have
banned our poultry for an issue that is completely unrelated and out of the
control of our state’s industry.
Arkansas farmers and exporters deserve better and our Governor
knows it. Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently led a trade mission to China, which I
was fortunate enough to be a part of, that secured new investments and jobs for
our great state. Of particular note is the signing of a memorandum of
understanding with Chinese sport apparel manufacturer Suzhou Tianyuan Garments
Company, which will invest more than $20 million and bring 400 jobs to
Arkansas. Progress was also made on the ongoing Sun Paper Project that is
valued at $1.3 billion and creates 250 jobs.
Along with these highly-publicized announcements, Gov.
Hutchinson has also made a personal appeal to the Chinese to take the actions
necessary to open their borders to Arkansas rice and Arkansas poultry. Recent
statistics from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture place the
economic impact of these industries in Arkansas at $4.9 billion.
Trade policy around the world is almost always contentious, but
one constant remains critical to success: relationships. Gov. Hutchinson
understands this and should be applauded for his efforts to strengthen existing
relationships, while forging new ones that can develop into future
opportunities.As for rice and chicken, Arkansas will continue to grow the best
in the world and hope that China soon opens their doors for business.We’re
ready to go to market
No millers,
procurement may grind to a halt
By Express News Service |
Published: 07th December 2016 01:53 AM |
Last Updated: 07th December 2016 04:40 AM | A+A A- |
JAGATSINGHPUR:
With just 20 days left for the paddy procurement process to begin and a
target of 5.88 lakh quintal kharif paddy to be lifted from rural areas of
Jagatsinghpur district, non-finalisation of rice millers has left the farmers
worried about their prospects.The paddy procurement will start from December 27
but the administration is yet to decide on the millers. In the absence of
millers in the district, the administration had invited applications from
millers of other districts to procure paddy. Though every year millers from
other districts participate in the process, this year there has been a delay in
the finalisation of millers.
Sources said as many as 24,527 farmers have registered online for the procurement process. A total of 99 paddy procurement centres will be opened at 99 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) and 30 rice millers will be pressed into service to lift paddy from the farmers. The minimum support price has been fixed at `1,470 per quintal for normal paddy and `1,510 for grade A variety.
District Civil Supply Officer Raghunath Gamango said against the requirement of 30 millers to lift the targeted paddy, only 10 from other districts have responded to the invitation of district administration and selection is yet to be completed.
Secretary of Live and Let Live (LALL), a research-based unit, Khetramohan Behera said a minimum of 220 days is required for a rice mill to make its business viable failing which it would not earn profits.But Jagatsinghpur district’s kharif paddy produce would provide only 150 days of work for the rice mill and due to this the millers are not coming forward.Sources said the millers from other districts are unwilling to participate citing losses due to transportation cost that they would have to bear for shifting the procured paddy.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2016/dec/07/no-millers-procurement-may-grind-to-a-halt-1546416.html
NFA says rice supply adequate, no
need for further imports
December 07, 2016
THE Philippines does not need to
tap its standby import authority for rice in the remainder of the year with
stocks judged to be sufficient, the National Food Authority (NFA) said.
Workers inside the NFA rice warehouse in Visayas Ave. Quezon
City. -- BW FILE PHOTO
The full quota has not been tapped after the dry spell’s impact was not as severe as expected. The 250,000 MT portion of the authority that was tapped was awarded to the world’s top rice exporters on Aug. 31, with Thailand and Vietnam providing 100,000 MT and 150,000 MT, respectively, under a government-to-government purchasing agreement. In addition, the grains agency in September opened up to private traders the importation of additional 805,200 metric tons of rice under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme. The MAV rice importation program allows private traders to apply for the delivery of 293,100 MT each from Thailand and Vietnam. Under the omnibus origin scheme, importers can also buy up to 50,000 MT each from China, top supplier India and Pakistan, up to 15,000 MT from Australia, up to 4,000 MT from El Salvador, and 50,000 MT from any other country.All rice under this importation scheme is expected to arrive in the country not later than Feb. 28 next year and is levied a 35% tariff. -- Janina C. Lim
Removal of rice
import quota seen to lower rice prices
Prices of well-milled rice varieties. (Bernard Testa,
InterAksyon)
MANILA, Philippines -- The lifting
of quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports next year can lower prices of
locally grown rice which may bode well for the country’s food inflation.In a
statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the
removal of QR for rice imports by July 2017 is expected to decrease prices of
well-milled rice by P7.00 and farm gate price by P5.00.“We must help our rice
farmers prepare for this and help them transition to higher value crops as we
ensure food security and make basic prices more affordable to the poor,” said
NEDA Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia.
This, after food inflation remained
unchanged in November 2016 at 3.5 percent, with rice prices breaking its five-month
long increasing trend and corn prices continuing in its downward trend since
August.Rice prices account for 38 percent of total food inflation.“The decrease
in rice prices signals the recovery of the rice sector from the devastation of
typhoons Karen and Lawin. We must foster technological advances in agriculture
to decrease the susceptibility of our crops to natural calamities,” said
Pernia.Inflation in November 2016 slightly rose to 2.5 percent from 2.3 percent
in the previous month due to the increase in the prices of major non-food
commodities.
“The increase in inflation can be
attributed to the increase in domestic prices of petrol products, which
comprise the bulk of the non-food commodity basket usually purchased by the
average Filipino household,” added Pernia.Non-food inflation increased due to
the uptick of prices in all major non-food items such as housing, water,
electricity, gas and other fuels (1.3 percent from 0.9 percent), and transport
(0.5 percent from 0.2 percent).“Overall we expect the full year inflation for
2016 to be well within the government’s inflation target band of 2 to 4
percent. The overall balance of risks is tilted on the upside, with supply-side
factors as the main contributor to price adjustments,” added Pernia.He
explained that international and domestic risks are tilted upward from a
possible rally in oil prices, depreciation of the peso against the United
States dollar, and pending petitions for electricity rate increases.
Special fund to support rice
farmers
Meanwhile, a lawmaker at the House
of Representatives is pushing for the creation of a special fund for rice
farmers to ensure sustainable rice production amid the imminent lifting of the
QR on rice by 2017.“We need to create a special fund for rice farmers. The
revenue to be collected from rice import tariffs should be used to ensure a
healthy rice economy that leans toward helping our farmers cope with the
worst-case scenario once the rice quantitative restriction is lifted next
year,” Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato said in a statement on
Tuesday.
Sato made the call after meeting
with Pernia, who assured her that the Duterte administration intends to use
revenues from the planned imposition of tariff on imported rice to support rice
farmers.Sato expressed concern that resource-poor farmers, particularly rice
producers, would not be able to compete once imported rice start to flood the
market.She said many rice farmers remain landless and had to cope with the
challenge posed by excessive rice importation.“The government should put in
place necessary measures as safety nets in the form of direct support to the
farmers particularly those with small landholdings, such as seed and fertilizer
subsidies, free irrigation; training to improve production, packaging of rice
products, and access to emerging market chains,” she reiterated.
She said the Department of
Agriculture (DA) and other agencies involved in promoting food self-sufficiency
and security should come up with programs that would boost local rice
production and allow farmers to compete against cheaper, imported rice.The
Occidental Mindoro solon said that while consumers would generally benefit from
the expected flood of imported rice, the scenario would surely “kill” rice farming,
which is the way of life for many farmers in the countryside.
Sato is also worried that the
lifting of the QR on rice would force farmers to shift to planting other crops,
or worse, give up farming, adversely affecting the country’s rice self-sufficiency
goals in particular and food self-sufficiency in general.“The unrestricted or
unregulated importation of rice would not only affect farmers, but would also
slow down agricultural production, affecting the country’s economic growth,”
she said
http://interaksyon.com/business/135005/removal-of-rice-import-quota-seen-to-lower-rice-prices
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