The part of rice we don't eat may be highly nutritious
June 1, 2017
Rice bran, the outer covering of
the rice grain, has high nutritional value and is a rich source of proteins,
fats, minerals and micronutrients such as B vitamins, according to a study
published in the open access journal Rice. Researchers at Colorado State University suggest that rice bran,
which is removed from whole grain rice during processing and used as animal
feed, could have benefits for human health and nutrition.
Professor Elizabeth Ryan, the
corresponding author said: "A single serving of rice bran - 28 grams according to USDA - delivers more than half of a
person's daily requirements of important vitamins such as thiamine, niacin and
vitamin B6. Traditionally, rice bran is thought to be a cheap fiber source and
only considered useful as a source of lipids, for example as cooking oil. It
has not been used much in human
health and nutrition because it is
considered an animal feed but its high nutritional value
warrants greater public health attention."
The researchers used an approach
called food metabolomics, or "Foodomics", which uses a sophisticated
biochemical technique, called mass spectrometry, to identify and measure the
abundance of many different molecules present in a food. Assessing three U.S.
rice varieties that were previously used in human dietary intervention trials,
the researchers found 453 metabolites, including 65 that had been shown to have
potential medicinal and health promoting attributes and 16 that had not been
reported for rice bran before.
Professor Ryan said: "We
investigated the amino
acids, vitamins, cofactors and secondary metabolites that can be
found in rice bran, as we suspected that they contribute to its medicinal and
nutritional benefits. We were surprised to find that cofactors, vitamins and
amino acids make up almost 50% of the total small molecule content."
A literature search conducted by
the authors showed that some of the compounds they identified in rice bran had been shown in previous studies to have anti-inflammatory,
anti-microbial and anti-hypertensive properties, among others. Rice bran also
has a protein content of 12-15% that deserves attention as it could help tackle
nutrition shortages that are a major global health concern.
Professor Ryan said: "Rice is
an essential staple food for more than half of the world's population. It is
grown in more than 100 countries. Rice bran as a food ingredient could deliver
more than 400 individual compounds when consumed and it is likely that many of
them function in a teamwork manner to deliver health benefits."
She added: "Although only
limited information was available on how well individual compounds will be
usable by the human body after ingestion, the biochemical composition of rice bran merits further investigation for nutritional therapies and medical
food applications."
More information: Iman Zarei et al, Rice Bran Metabolome Contains Amino Acids,
Vitamins & Cofactors, and Phytochemicals with Medicinal and Nutritional
Properties, Rice (2017). DOI:
10.1186/s12284-017-0157-2
https://phys.org/news/2017-06-rice-dont-highly-nutritious.html
WWF-Pakistan
and SNGPL sign MoU to provide cheap, green fuel source
ISLAMABAD – World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan)
and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) signed a MoU to provide
alternate means of energy to rural communities in cotton and rice producing
areas of the country.
The formal agreement was signed by Hammad Naqi Khan, Director
General WWF-Pakistan, and Amjad Latif, Chief Executive/ Managing Director,
SNGPL at a ceremony held at SNGPL head office on Friday. The MoU forges a
partnership of a year between the organisations, starting from July 2017 and
ending in June 2019.
WWF-Pakistan with the financial support from SNGPL will
implement the project titled Agro-waste community enterprise for the provision
of alternate energy for households and small businesses (AWARE) which will
provide clean-burning cooking stoves fuelled by agro-waste as an alternate
means of energy to rural communities.
The project will promote eco-friendly, alternative energy
sources among rural households and small businesses through training, awareness
raising and dissemination of 525 gasifiers units using agro-waste as fuel; a
low-cost, simple, user friendly yet clean source of energy for cooking with
great potential for wider dissemination among rural communities where different
agro-wastes are available in abundant form.
Hammad Naqi Khan, while welcoming the opportunity of teaming up
with SNGPL said, “With this partnership we have an opportunity to promote
renewable energy technologies, particularly harnessing the true potential of
agro-waste in order to ensure that the rural and less privileged areas of the
country keep pace with the growing energy demands in a sustainable manner.
This project will not only improve rural livelihoods by ensuring
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy but will also help
in promoting environmental stewardship and encouraging climate change
mitigation.”
Speaking on the occasion, Amjad Latif, said, “We as an
organisation are committed to the conservation and protection of the
environment, to achieve this purpose we have worked with WWF-Pakistan in the
past and will continue to work with the organisation in future. Recognising the
measures being taken by WWF-Pakistan in tackling the catastrophic impacts of
climate change, together we will promote activities to protect and preserve the
environment—conservation is at the heart of SNGPL Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) policy.”
Agricultural waste such as rice husk, cotton gin waste, and
bagasse have the potential to generate energy, which otherwise becomes a
problem for disposal. In the context of rural communities, which do not have
access to energy, agro-wastes can be used as an energy source to reduce the
dependence of households on fuelwood and meet their energy needs.
The use of agro-waste is an efficient fuel source compared to
conventional methods, which burns rapidly and emits excessive smoke and
particles causing indoor pollution and respiratory diseases. There is potential
to replicate the use of agro-waste as alternate energy in both cotton and rice
growing areas of Pakistan due to the availability of agro-waste from each crop.
Replication potential exists in south Punjab and central Punjab, where cotton
and rice processing mills are in abundance.-PR
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/business/wwf-pakistan-and-sngpl-sign-mou-to-provide-cheap-green-fuel-source/
Philippines’
300 heirloom rice varieties and their Hong Kong fans eager to serve them to
diners
Biodynamic and organic rice varieties are more expensive than
the polished grains most of us eat, but their intense flavours and chewy
textures are increasingly drawing chefs and consumers in the Philippines and
overseas
PUBLISHED
: Friday, 02 June, 2017, 7:45am
UPDATED
: Friday, 02 June, 2017, 7:45am
“The grains are not polished, so they have a chewy texture and
more intense flavour, very nutty,” he says of the black, brown and red
Philippine rice he’s tasted. Fellow chef Margaret Xu had given him samples to
try and now Lau is keen to add them to the “rice menu”, or to use them as
stuffing for some traditional dishes.
“The rice I’ve tried is biodynamic and while it is more
expensive, I think it’s part of the diners’ education to understand the true
cost of food,” he says.
Lau’s desire to use Philippine rice in Hong Kong is good news
for Bernadette Romulo Puyat. She is undersecretary of the Philippine Department
of Agriculture and regularly visits farmers to promote best practice in rice
growing and cultivation.
She also collects rice seeds to distribute in the aftermath of
typhoons, and helps collect samples of heirloom varieties for the International
Rice Research Institute, which has its headquarters in the Philippines.
“We have over 300 varieties of heirloom rice that are indigenous
to the Philippines,” she says during Madrid Fusion Manila, an annual food trade
show that was held in April. “The heirloom rice is organic and takes about nine
months to grow on rice terraces.”
While rice is the number one crop grown in the Philippines,
Puyat says the output only covers 90 per cent of the country’s consumption,
with the remainder imported from Thailand and Vietnam.
Rice is served with every meal, and carbohydrate alternatives,
including noodles, aren’t considered even a close substitute. Many Philippine
dishes are strongly flavoured with ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce
and vinegar, and these sauces are best soaked up by rice.
Puyat cites 2015 government consumption figures of 112.26kg of
rice per capita – more than 2.6 times the amount consumed in Hong Kong, at 43kg
in 2015 and 2016.
Heirloom rice makes up less than five per cent of total rice
production in the Philippines, primarily because its price deters consumers and
also because growing it is labour intensive.
“Only in the past few years has there been an interest in
heirloom and organic rice,” Puyat says. “But if we don’t eat it, heirloom rice
will disappear.”
Madrid Fusion Manila, now in its third year, showcases
Philippine ingredients for local and international chefs.
“In the first year, we showed foreign chefs that we have good
quality food. At first local chefs weren’t interested in local ingredients, but
then they realised that they are good quality and now they want to meet the
farmers,” Puyat says. Consumer interest is spurring farmers to continue growing
and harvesting this kind of rice.
The Agriculture Department stall displays more than 40 small
glass jars of different kinds of rice, in various shades of beige, red, brown
and black.
There’s lantiko, grown in a mountainous area and described as a
red short grain, kabal from Benguet that looks like brown whole flaxseed, the
black-grained ominio from the mountains, and innawi from Ifugao, a
corn-coloured short grain rice.
To promote locally grown varieties, Puyat gives samples to chefs
to taste and experiment with, hoping they will place big orders.
Chefs such as Margarita Fores, named Asia’s Best Female Chef in
2016 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, is grateful to the agriculture official for
raising awareness of indigenous rice among local chefs. “It helps create a
market for farmers and encourages the younger generation to choose farming,”
she says.
Fores, chef and owner of such restaurants as Grace Park, Cibo
and Café Bola, says she uses black rice in her cooking, and says it is much
healthier than polished rice.
“It has an earthy, nutty
flavour and it can be used in modern ways to make it crispy, a puff, wafer,
crackers, and you can ferment it to make the flavours more complex,” she says.
She recently cooked for a special dinner for Christie’s clients
in New York, where she used black rice that she made into a cracker topped with
kinilaw, a Philippine indigenous dish similar to ceviche.
Another young chef experimenting with rice is Jordy Navarra of
Toyo Eatery, who uses local ingredients to cook traditional Philippine dishes
in creative ways. One is called lugaw, a traditional congee dish usually served
for breakfast that’s on a tasting menu at his restaurant. Navarra uses
short-grain rice that he flavours with crab roe and burnt kalabaza, or squash,
and dresses with coconut vinegar.
“Before, rice production
was more about quantity than quality,” says the 31-year-old, who did a year-long
stint at Alvin Leung’s three-Michelin-star Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. “But in
the past five years, the quality of the rice has improved a lot.”
At trendy restaurant Hey Handsome, chef Nicco Santos also says
if it weren’t for Puyat, he wouldn’t be as interested in local rice.
“It was eye-opening because I never thought there were so many
varieties of rice in the Philippines. It’s way too many. I try to taste as many
as I can,” the 32-year-old says. “Heirloom rice can be more expensive, but it’s
more rewarding because you know how it’s grown and where it’s from.”
Bangladesh firm to get hybrid rice
seed from Philippine company
A Bangladeshi firm will introduce soon hybrid rice which could
withstand both dry and wet climate.
Philippine-based rice research company SL Agritech Corp. Wednesday
signed a collaboration agreement with Bangladesh firm EnP Solutions Ltd. for
the seed production of the SL-18H variety of hybrid rice.
Under the agreement, SL Agritech will sell 20 to 50 tons of SL-18H
hybrid rice seedlings to EnP Solutions annually.
This will cover 5 to 10 hectares of rice fields, according to a
report by http://news.abs-cbn.com."We are going to start around 5 to 10
hectares, but definitely after three years, this will go up to 200 (or) 300
tons per hectares," said Henry Lim, president of SL Agritech Corp.With
163-million population and decreasing scope of arable land, the rice hybrid is
expected to increase Bangladesh's rice production.
"Every year, we are losing our arable land to the demographic
pressure in terms of navigation, schooling, housing, infrastructure. So, for
Bangladesh, we don't have alternative other than hybrid production," said
Syed Mahmudul Hug, president of EnP Solutions.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/assets/images/news_images/2017/06/01/_72359.jpg
Arkansas flooding toll may not be
as bad as expected
Cooler
temperatures have helped keep rice losses to flooding at lower levels.
The Arkansas rice crop took a
major lick in late April and early May, but it’s beginning to look like the
flooding that occurred in the northeast portion of the state may not have
claimed as many acres as once feared.
When the remaining floodwaters
disperse and replanting is completed, Arkansas growers could still have more
than 1 million acres of rice, according to Jarrod Hardke, rice Extension
agronomist with the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart.“I do think
at this time we will have over 1 million acres of rice total in the state of
Arkansas,” said Dr. Hardke, who was a speaker along with Dr. Nathan Childs, a
USDA-ERS agricultural economist, during the University of Arkansas System
Division of Agriculture Rice Webinar on May 25.
Initially, Dr. Hardke and other
rice specialists with the university had estimated the state’s losses at
180,000 acres or more of rice to the floodwaters that began moving out of
Missouri and into north-central Arkansas in late April.
“The floodwaters, even as of today more than three weeks later, have not come
anywhere near subsiding,” he said. “But I will say that we have been pleasantly
surprised at some of the rice fields we are going to be able to keep.”
Below 1 million?
At one point, rice specialists
had said the state could drop below 1 million acres, which would have been the
first time acreage had fallen below that mark since 1983. That was based, in
part, on USDA’s March 31 Planting Intentions Report estimate of 1.1 million
acres of rice for the state in 2017.
“There has already been some
replanting of those areas that were lost,” Dr. Hardke said. “Some others are
certainly still up in the air and obviously a lot of the area that still
remains flooded is a huge question mark.”
In 2013, primarily due to high
soybean and corn prices, Arkansas rice plantings fell to 1.07 million acres, he
said. “That was the lowest since the late 1980s, and, if we fall below that
level, that will be the lowest since 1987.”
He said long-grain varieties will
account for most of the decline with medium-grain acres remaining in line with
USDA’s projections.
“Arkansas was already projected
to be down a good 20 percent compared to 2016, and it’s looking like we could
even push down even further below that to a 25 percent reduction or more,” said
Dr. Hardke.
90 percent planted
“To provide a little bit of
perspective on flooding events and what has occurred and expected yields to
come out of that, if you compare it to the flooding of 2011, which this is very
reminiscent of – that flood event occurred on almost the exact same date of the
year – we only had about 45 percent of the crop planted versus 90 percent this
year.
He said growers have lost a
tremendous number of levees in their fields. “We do seed those, and there will
be lost production associated with that with many electing to not reseed
levies. Those that have are moving to earlier maturing that are less productive
to account for the maturity difference and to get whatever rice they can off of
that crop.”
In 2011, when the flooding
occurred, Arkansas growers were projected to plant about 1.4 million acres of
rice. Although rice specialists thought they would lose 300,000 acres, the
final number was 200,000, giving the state 1.2 million acres that year.
“Hopefully, we'll keep more than
we thought in 2017, but we’ll have to battle around that,” he said. “So at the
moment we’re still juggling all of those numbers and where we're going to
settle out from there.”
Missouri’s rice acreage was also
reduced, but figures aren’t available yet. “Mississippi did drop their acres
tremendously so some of that seed came available to be moved over into Arkansas
to help bolster some of the seed limitations that had been there,” he said.
“Mississippi could be down to 120,000 to 130,000 acres.
Rice at mid-season
“And Louisiana was also having a
very, very good start to the year. They subsequently experienced flooding. But
the timing of their flooding could potentially be even worse and more
devastating because their rice was mid-season where it is much more susceptible
to the loss and plant death when you have submerged rice under those
conditions.”
Growers with flooded fields may
have benefitted from the cooler temperatures that have occurred during May.
“That’s one of the reasons a lot of the rice has probably survived a little bit
longer under those submerged conditions,” he said.
“While that has been effective in
helping the submerged rice, it’s also been to the detriment of the rice that’s
not submerged. A lot of it has struggled mightily with the cool conditions and
herbicide injury. Luckily, drift complaints have not caused too many problems, but
the rice needs what's expected after this rain – temperatures in the mid and
upper 80s and nights that are not too cool. Hopefully, we'll grow out of this.
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/arkansas-flooding-toll-may-not-be-bad-expected
U.S. Rice on
the Menu in Japan
By Sarah Moran
TOKYO, JAPAN -- Earlier this week, USA Rice
conducted a one-on-one taste-testing presentation for Cowboy Kazoku (Cowboy
Family) of Royal Holdings Company, one of the major foodservice companies
operating family restaurants and fast food chains in Japan.
After tasting 10 menu items prepared
using U.S. medium grain rice, Royal Holdings was persuaded to use U.S. medium
grain at Cowboy Family, their family style restaurant where staff members wear
bandanas and cowboy hats, and the restaurant is staged to make customers feel
as if they were invited to a party at a rancher's home.
"We first made contact with
Royal Holdings at FABEX in April where USA Rice hosted a preview taste-testing
session for them," said Jim Guinn, director of USA Rice Asia Promotion
Programs. "The Cowboy Family chain
has 36 restaurants and, as a major buyer of U.S. products including rice and
beef is a close partner of the Agricultural Trade Office in the U.S. Embassy
here."
During June, another Japanese
foodservice chain called Origin Dining, a "fast, casual" restaurant,
will be offering a Thai chicken and rice dish, "Khao Man Kai,"
prepared with U.S. Calrose rice.
According to a recent press release, Origin Dining said they chose to
use Calrose because it is better suited for this type of dish.
"Interest continues to grow in
both foodservice and retail sectors in Japan for U.S. rice due to a number of
factors, including versatility and price," said Guinn. "It seems Japan's domestic rice policy
which incentivizes production of super premium table rice and rice for
livestock feed is pushing the country's foodservice industry to look to imports
for their needs.
"Arrós passat,
per el gat. (Overcooked rice is for the cat.)"
-
Matt Goulding
Bottlenecks in rice production chain affecting market share
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s rice production is meeting
difficulties because of two bottlenecks at the ends of the production chain,
leading to a decline in market share.
According to IPSARD, the first bottleneck is related to supply. Two-thirds of the rice surplus is in the hands of 20 percent of the biggest farmers – producers with an average cultivated area of 2.74 hectares.
Of 9 million households that grow rice, rice productivity from the biggest 300,000 households accounts for the large proportion of rice exports.
The ‘bulge’ in the rice value chain is processing. While rice cultivation depends on a number of large households, the processing is carried out at over 300,000 factories, most of which are small scale.
|
Vietnam’s rice production is meeting
difficulties because of two bottlenecks at the ends of the production chain,
leading to a decline in market share.
|
There are only 1,000 processing factories in Thailand.
The second bottleneck lies at the end of the chain – exports. There are only about 100 exporters, and only 22 exporters have licenses to export rice to China.
A report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) shows that Vietnam’s rice exports in 2016 decreased by 27 percent in quantity and 23 percent in value compared to 2015, the lowest 8-year level.
The rice exports to China, Vietnam’s largest export market, have also decreased. The exports to choosy markets, including the EU, the Middle East and Sub-Sahara, account for only a few percent of total exports.
Rice demand to recover?
According to Sergio Araujo from FAO Rome, the challenges for Vietnam are that it needs to shift from low-cost to high-end rice and to distinguish between Vietnam’s rice and rice from other countries.In fact, the competition in the high-end rice market segment is very stiff. Thailand has increased its high-end rice standards and set up a research institute for added value in the rice sector. India is focusing on improving technical standards for basmati rice and making efforts to increase the production of organic rice.
The demand for rice is on the decrease as people want products richer in protein such as meat, seafood, eggs and milk. Meanwhile, according to Pham Kim Dung from IPSARD, Vietnam’s loyal markets are now applying necessary measures to ensure food security.
However, according to WB and IMF, the rice price still is moving up in the short term because of increased demand for storing rice. Malaysia has decided to increase the import volume to 950,000 tons. Bangladesh has announced it would import 600,000 tons, considering supply from Vietnam.
The second bottleneck lies at the end of the chain – exports. There are only about 100 exporters, and only 22 exporters have licenses to export rice to China.
A report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) shows that Vietnam’s rice exports in 2016 decreased by 27 percent in quantity and 23 percent in value compared to 2015, the lowest 8-year level.
The rice exports to China, Vietnam’s largest export market, have also decreased. The exports to choosy markets, including the EU, the Middle East and Sub-Sahara, account for only a few percent of total exports.
Rice demand to recover?
According to Sergio Araujo from FAO Rome, the challenges for Vietnam are that it needs to shift from low-cost to high-end rice and to distinguish between Vietnam’s rice and rice from other countries.In fact, the competition in the high-end rice market segment is very stiff. Thailand has increased its high-end rice standards and set up a research institute for added value in the rice sector. India is focusing on improving technical standards for basmati rice and making efforts to increase the production of organic rice.
The demand for rice is on the decrease as people want products richer in protein such as meat, seafood, eggs and milk. Meanwhile, according to Pham Kim Dung from IPSARD, Vietnam’s loyal markets are now applying necessary measures to ensure food security.
However, according to WB and IMF, the rice price still is moving up in the short term because of increased demand for storing rice. Malaysia has decided to increase the import volume to 950,000 tons. Bangladesh has announced it would import 600,000 tons, considering supply from Vietnam.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179362/bottlenecks-in-rice-production-chain-affecting-market-share.html
Ministers
assure rice prices to go down soon
Sun Online Desk 2nd June,
2017 09:28:06
The
government’s ministers on Friday assured that the soaring prices of rice will
be tamed very soon as the government have taken various steps in this
regard.Responding a volley of questions from journalists about the hike in the
rice prices government’s four influential ministers came up with the assurance,
UNB reports.The ministers were answering to the reporters’ questions at the
Finance Minister’s post-budget press meet in the capital's Osmani Memorial
Auditorium.
Finance
Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Industries Minister
Amir Hossain Amu and Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal came up with the
assurance.They attributed the hike in the rice prices to the damage of corps in
the haor regions by flashflood.
The
Industries Minister, however, found lack of patriotism and traders’ evil
intention to make hefty profits taking advantage of any bad situation the main
reason for ‘unnecessarily’ rise in the rice price.
On
Thursday, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed the biggest-ever national budget
of Tk 400,266 crore for fiscal year 2017-18, saying he was placing the budget
at a ‘historic juncture’ of economic development.
“The
rice prices have gone up following the devastating flashflood that hit the
country’s seven haor districts. I believe it’ll come down soon,” said Muhith.He
said the government has sufficient stockpile of rice to meet the market demand.
“We’re
increasing our stock further, and hope we’ll be able to influence the market to
reduce the rice price.”
Matia
Chowdhury said, “No one can deny that the rice prices have shot up as
two-thirds crops in the haor region were damaged by natural calamity. Besides,
a fungal disease known as Blast affected Boro production,” she said.
She
said the Food Ministry has already signed a deal with Vietnam and floated a
tender to import rice under the government-to-government arrangement to keep
the rice market stable.
Besides,
she said, the government has given focus on boosting the Aush production.
“There’ll be no rice crisis.” Matia said they have been providing
flood-affected haor people with food support through VGF and OMS, and will
continue it until the harvest of new crops.
Amu said though there is no crisis of rice in
the market, a group of traders is unnecessarily hiking its price. “I think some
businessmen in our country have instinct to increase the prices of essentials
whenever they get any scope. They’ve now increased the rice prices without any
reason.”
Referring to a media report that traders in
Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries do business in 11 months and serve
people during Ramadan, he said, “It’s completely reverse here. Our businessmen
have a tendency to raise prices of essentials during Ramadan.”
To
address the problem, Amu said, the government is enacting various laws as
people here lack patriotism.
He
urged the media to play an effective role in discouraging unscrupulous traders
to increase the prices of essentials by creating artificial crisis.
The
Planning Minister said the hike in the rice prices is a temporary problem
caused by the natural disaster. “Our Prime Minister is working sincerely to
resolve it. She is in business asking all concerned to make the market stable.
We hope we’ll be able to control the prices of rice and other essentials very
soon.
http://www.daily-sun.com/post/230910/Ministers-assure-rice-prices-to-go-down-soon
Recent
rains concern rice growers
Groth also spoke about those concerns at the field day held the previous day in Fenton.
Groth urged farmers to scout their fields and to use fungicides on time, usually at the boot stage with 2- to 4-inch panicles in the head. But a treatment for blast disease should be applied at heading.
“Once an epidemic gets going, it takes a lot more to stop it than if you catch it in the beginning,” he said.
Sheath blight is showing up in some fields, but occurrence is erratic. Fields where soybeans are planted in rotation with rice are more likely to have the disease than rice fields following crawfish, Groth said.
Blast disease has not been a problem so far.“If you see it, make sure everything is flooded,” he said.Fungicide applications should be avoided immediately after or before a rain, he added.
AgCenter rice breeder Adam Famoso said a new genetics lab funded by the Louisiana Rice Research Board is providing new benefits with improvements in the foundation seed program. Varieties grown for seed at the AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station can be screened to minimize off-types.
A Clearfield Jazzman line under development will have improved yield from previous versions of Jazzman. “I think this market will slowly continue to expand,” he said.
AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell said the rice crop got off to a good start this year with a warm winter and spring that allowed early planting.
This year’s crop of 400,000 acres in Louisiana is about 8 percent lower than last year.
“Everything was looking good until late April when we got significant rainfall,” he said.
About 4,000 acres of rice were lost in Louisiana because of floods, but rice acreage in Missouri and Arkansas had more significant losses, with more than 150,000 acres ruined in Arkansas.
Harrell said a new product to prevent nitrogen fertilizer losses will be available in 2018.
AgCenter entomologist Blake Wilson said a high percentage the for Louisiana rice acreage was treated with Dermacor, suggesting that heavy dependence on the product could lead to resistance problems.
No insecticides can be used in fields where crawfish are raised, but farmers can reduce stinkbugs by keeping levees and ditches mowed, he said.
The rice leaf miner is showing up this year, he said, but it poses little threat to yield.
AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster said the herbicide benzobicyclon could be available in Louisiana next year as Rogue. The product is good for controlling aquatic weeds, but it does not have the broad spectrum weed control of another new product, Loyant, he said.
AgCenter plant pathologist Boyd Padgett said this year’s soybean crop looks good so far. “I’m impressed with the crop overall,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 94 percent of the Louisiana soybean crop is planted, and 14 percent is blooming.
Farmers are concerned about how long soybeans can survive flooded conditions, Padgett said. Research indicates soybeans can survive 48 to 96 hours of flooding, but it depends on growth stage, temperature after drainage and water clarity.
AgCenter plant pathologist Trey Price said the soybean disease called taproot decline is caused by a fungus. LSU graduate students have several studies underway on the problem.
Taproot decline is unlikely in south Louisiana because the disease is found in fields where soybeans are planted in consecutive years, he said.
Work is ongoing to find a solution to Cercospora that is resistant to fungicides. “I think resistant varieties will be our ultimate solution to resistant Cercospora blight,” Price said.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2017/06/02/recent-rains-concern-rice-growers/365868001/
NFA rice stocks
in Davao Region in critical levels
Friday, June 02, 2017 SunStar file
photo. SunStar file photo. NATIONAL Food Authority (NFA) rice buffer stock in
Davao Region is on its critical stage and additional bags from Cebu, Iloilo,
and Bacolod are expected to arrive in the coming months to augment the region’s
rice supply, an official said. Currently, Davao Region has around 102,000 bags
in their storage facility.
According
to NFA Davao Regional Director Dianne Silva, depending on the population’s
daily consumption requirement, this amount would only be good for three days if
the region is solely dependent on NFA rice. But since most of the consumers opt
for commercial rice, Silva said the amount will probably last for 20 more days.
“We are on our critical stage (of
our NFA rice stocks) but we are thankful that we still have commercial rice
being sold. But even though this is our state now, we are asking for
augmentation stocks from regional offices in the country that still have stocks
to spare,” said Silva. She said last May 31, a vessel from NFA Iloilo
containing 33,000 bags of NFA rice arrived in Davao City. A number of these are
already included in the 102,000 bags rice stock record. Only last Thursday,
June 1, was the unloading completed and Silva said they hope to already finish
and finalize the record of the total rice bags stored for Davao Region. “We
asked help from Iloilo and they promised around 100,000 bags to be given to our
region.
The 33,000 bags have already
arrived. We received information today that they are again loading from Bacolod
towards here. The second vessel, which will carry around 30,000 bags, is
hopefully to arrive on the third week of June,” Silva said adding NFA Cebu also
promised to assist with 100,000 bags. Silva said, although the region has rice
producers, NFA could not necessarily just buy from the farmers and convert it
into NFA rice since the farmers sell them at P22 to P24 per kilo. When these
are sold into commercial rice, the prices double to P44 to 48 per kilo due to
milling and other processes involved, explaining the current commercial rice
prices. She then explained that the purchase for NFA rice, which is sold in
retail for P25, is different. With the NFA rice price expected to be lower than
commercial prices, Silva said the suggestion to just purchase rice from local
farmers would mean either NFA would increase the price of their NFA rice or the
farmers would lower their selling price. Both of which, according to Silva,
would affect the farmers and consumers negatively as price for NFA rice
increasing will also definitely cause commercial rice to increase as well.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2017/06/02/nfa-rice-stocks-davao-region-critical-levels-545358
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2017/06/02/nfa-rice-stocks-davao-region-critical-levels-545358
No change in
duty on rice import despite domestic price surge
FE Report
Published : 02 Jun 2017, 02:02:41
The government has kept the customs
duty (CD) on rice import unchanged despite a surge in the prices of the staple
food in the domestic market.The FY18 budget has proposed to keep the CD
unbothered to ensure fair prices of farm produces.The food minister last month
assured that the import duty on rice would be relaxed for the private sector,
which has not been reflected in the budget.
The CD on rice import remained
static at 25 per cent at a time when prices of the staple, especially that of
coarse variety, was showing an all-time high in the domestic market.The current
rate of coarse rice is also one of the highest in the globe, according to the
food ministry.
Prices of coarse rice have surged by
42-43 per cent in Dhaka and 69-70 per cent in rural areas in last six months,
the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and Department of Agricultural
Marketing (DAM) data showed.Coarse variety Swarna was selling at Tk 46-Tk 48 a
kg in Dhaka.
Medium quality Brridhan-28 were
trading at Tk 50-Tk 52 a kg and finer quality Miniket and Najirshail Tk 55-Tk
62 a kg in the city - 18 per cent hike in last six months.Agriculture economist
Prof Gazi M Jalil said poor people in Bangladesh were consuming coarse rice at
all-time high price.
He said the government's intention
was good for the farmers but it should also consider the interest of the 50
million ultra poor.He said the production of rice will decline this FY
considering the devastating flood in haor region and occurrence of rice blast
in a vast area.
"Import duty on off-season
coarse varieties like Swarna should be reviewed immediately till Aman harvest,
which will not affect farmers but would benefit the consumers," he
said. The government rice stock
reached a record low of only 0.213 million tonnes on Wednesday.
However, the food ministry is now on
a move to bring 0.9 million tonnes of rice from the global sources. The country has targeted to produce 34.98
million tonnes of rice in the outgoing fiscal year which would be tough to
achieve amid the flash flood and outbreak of rice blast, said experts.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/06/02/72412/No-change-in-duty-on-rice-import-despite--domestic-price-surge
Concerns over
rice stockpile release by Thailand
PHNOM PENH, BANGKOK (Khmer
Times/Bangkok Post) – Cambodian rice millers and exporters are strongly
concerned that Thailand’s plan to release 4.32 million tonnes of state rice
stocks by September, driven by a sharp surge in global rice demand, could
depress prices of the vital grain on commodity markets.
“When Thailand sells such a large part of its stockpile on the open market it will have a knock-on effect on prices and in turn also affect the price of Cambodian milled rice exports,” Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, told Khmer Times.
Mr Lak said that Cambodia, unlike Thailand, lacked large warehouses to store rice paddy and release the grain when market prices were high.“The longest time we can keep our stocks is three to four months and after that it gets spoilt,” he added.
Thailand is the world’s second-biggest rice exporter after India and still has stocks of about 5 million tonnes left over from a rice-buying scheme under the previous government that paid farmers well above market rates.
The current military government has been trying to sell off stockpiles from the scheme through several state auctions since it took power in 2014.
It has so far sold 12.74 million tonnes, worth 114 billion baht ($3.31 billion), the Thai Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. It said it will be able to offload the remaining rice by the end of the year.Bangladesh wants to buy around 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of 5-percent white rice immediately for humanitarian relief efforts in the wake of Cyclone Mora that has inundated most of the country. It plans to increase rice imports to 500,000 tonnes by the end of the year and is looking at Thailand and Vietnam to meet its emergency needs.
Rice demand is similarly expected to go up in the humanitarian response in Sri Lanka, which is also reeling from the aftermath of Cyclone Mora that triggered floods and landslides.
Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice (Cambodia), said Thailand could afford to sell its rice stockpile when prices were high because rice farmers were given subsidies by the government to cover their production costs.
“Production costs in Cambodia are high because we are growing good quality rice,” Mr Saran said.Because of this, he said, Cambodia’s rice exports find it hard to compete in the commodities market.But not all of Thailand’s 4.32 million tonnes of state rice stocks are of good quality. About 2.5 million tonnes are mostly low-quality and decaying rice fit only for industrial use.
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said Thailand’s good-quality rice stocks in the state stockpile are about to be depleted.
Because of this, Amru Rice’s Mr Saran is urging the Cambodia Rice Federation to find more markets for kingdom’s high quality jasmine rice exports.
“Since our production costs are high and we should consider finding other markets which Thailand does not reach so that we can maintain our rice quality and get premium prices for it,” he added.
Cambodia’s milled rice exports were close to 170,000 tonnes in the first three months of this year, an increase of three percent over the same period last year, official figures showed. The rise came after exports in March fell by 16 percent and exports in January and February rose 10 percent and 17 percent respectively.
China is the biggest single-country market for Cambodia’s milled rice, and imported about 67,000 tonnes in the three months. France and Poland ranked second and third in Cambodia’s milled rice markets, importing 21,000 and 12,000 tonnes respectively
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/38983/concerns-over-rice-stockpile-release-by-thailand/
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- JUN 02, 2017
Reuters | Jun 2, 2017, 01.25 PM IST
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC/Open Market-June 2 Nagpur, June 2
(Reuters) - Gram prices moved down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) auction on lack of demand from local millers. Easy
condition in Madhya Pradesh pulses and release of stock from stockists also affected prices. Farmers organisations strike in all over Maharashtra has started showing its effects on arrival here. Only 1,050 bags
of gram and 1,200 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources. FOODGRAINS
& PULSES GRAM * Desi gram showed upward tendency in open market on good
seasonal demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing region.
TUAR * Tuar gavarani moved down in open market on poor demand from local
traders amid release of stock from stockists. * Moong Chamki firmed up in open market on increased buying support from local
traders amid thin arrival from producing belts. * In Akola, Tuar New - 3,800-3,900, Tuar dal
(clean) - 5,800-6,000, Udid Mogar (clean) - 9,200-10,000, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,800-7,200, Gram -
5,800-6,100, Gram Super best - 7,800-8,200 * Wheat, rice and other commodities
moved in a narrow range in scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin
trading activity. Nagpur foodgrains APMCauction/open-market
prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram
Auction 4,500-5,125 4,600-5,125 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction 3,350-3,700 3,400-3,800 Moong
Auction n.a. 3,900-4,200 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a.
2,600-2,800 Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,500-1,628 1,500-1,628 Gram Super Best
Bold 8,000-8,400 8,000-8,400 Gram Super Best n.a. n.a. Gram Medium Best
7,400-7,800 7,400-7,800 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a Gram Mill Quality 5,400-5,600
5,400-5,600 Desi gram Raw 6,400-6,600 6,350-6,550 Gram Yellow 7,900-8,100
7,900-8,100 Gram Kabuli 12,300-13,400 12,300-13,400 Tuar Fataka Best-New 6,000-6,200 6,000-6,200 Tuar Fataka Medium-New 5,500-5,800 5,500-5,800 Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,300-5,500
5,300-5,500 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 4,800-5,200 4,800-5,200 Tuar Gavarani New
3,800-3,900 3,900-4,000 Tuar Karnataka 4,000-4,150 4,000-4,150 Masoor dal best 5,400-5,600 5,400-5,600
Masoor dal medium 5,100-5,300 5,100-5,300 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold
(New) 7,000-7,500 7,000-7,500 Moong Mogar Medium 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800 Moong
dal Chilka 5,400-6,500 5,400-6,500 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong
Chamki best 7,000-8,000 6,900-7,900 Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New)
9,500-10,500 9,500-10,500 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 8,000-9,000
8,000-9,000 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Batri dal (100
INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,100-3,300
3,100-3,300 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,000 2,900-3,000 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,600
3,400-3,600 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,500 4,000-4,500 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)
1,950-2,050 1,950-2,050 Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,700-1,800
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,150-2,350 2,150-2,350 Wheat Lokwan new (100
INR/KG) 1,850-2,050 1,850-2,050 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,350
2,200-2,350 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,050 1,900-2,050 Lokwan
Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,500 3,100-3,500 MP Sharbati Medium (100
INR/KG) 2,300-2,800 2,300-2,800 Rice BPT new (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200
2,800-3,200 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,200 3,800-4,200 Rice BPT medium
(100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,400 3,200-3,400 Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,800
2,500-2,800 Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,500 2,300-2,500 Rice Swarna
best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,800 2,600-2,800 Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500
2,400-2,500 Rice HMT New (100 INR/KG) 3,600-3,900 3,600-3,900 Rice HMT best (100
INR/KG) 4,500-5,000 4,500-5,000 Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,300
4,100-4,300 Rice Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,000
4,600-5,000 Rice Shriram best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-7,000 6,500-7,000 Rice Shriram
med (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,200 5,800-6,200 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)
11,000-14,000 11,000-14,000 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,000-8,000
6,000-8,000 Rice Chinnor New(100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,000 4,600-4,800 Rice Chinnor
best 100 INR/KG) 6,000-6,500 5,800-6,300 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG)
5,500-5,800 5,100-5,300 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,200 1,900-2,200
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-1,900 1,800-1,900 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp.
40.8 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 28.2 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST:
Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 41 and
27 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport
costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/nagpur-foodgrain-prices-open-jun-02-2017/articleshow/58959293.cms
Vietnam rice export back on track
Vietnam’s rice export growth has regained momentum this year after
a year of slowdown, according to a report by the Vietnam Food Association
(VFA).Vietnam rice export back on track, vietnam economy, business news, vn
news, vietnamnet bridge, english news, Vietnam news, news Vietnam, vietnamnet
news, vn news, Vietnam net news, Vietnam latest news, Vietnam breaking news
Stevedores at work at a rice storehouse in the Mekong Delta.
Vietnamese rice export has regained growth momentum this year after a year of
plunge.
Vietnam
exported 2.3 million tons of rice worth US$1 billion in the first five months
of the year, up 1.6% in volume and 1.2% in value year-on-year. China remained
Vietnam’s largest rice importer, accounting for 47.5% of the nation's total
rice exports. More than 815,000 tons of rice costing over US$376 million went
to the northern neighbor in January-April, up 16.1% and 16.2% against the same
period last year respectively. Vietnam shipped 4.89 million tons of rice valued
at US$2.1 billion in all of 2016, a respective decrease of 25.54% and 20.57% against 2015.
China
was still Vietnam’s biggest importer of the food staple last year despite a 19.79%
decline. It purchased more than 1.8 million tons of rice from Vietnam last
year, 36.97% of Vietnam's total rice shipments. The domestic rice price has
improved by VND200-300 a kilo, supported by the recent signing of a memorandum
of understanding to export one million of rice a year to Bangladesh until 2022.
The South Asian country will import 300,000 tons at first.
In addition, the National Food Authority (NFA)
of the Philippines has announced to buy 250,000 tons of rice from Vietnam in
June. Nguyen Thanh Tho, a rice trader at Ba Dac wholesale market in Tien Giang
Province, told the Daily that IR 50404 rice is sold at VND4,350-4,400 a kilo,
an increase of VND200-300, helped by the Bangladesh rice deal. Besides, IR
50404 material rice is purchased at VND6,350-6,450 a kilo in the Mekong Delta,
up VND200. Major importing markets, especially Bangladesh and the Philippines,
have helped buoy the price. The Free On Board (FOB) price of 5%-broken white
rice from Vietnam is US$370-380 a ton, up US$5-10 compared to a week ago.
Millers reap benefits as paddy sold at low price
By Express News Service | Published: 03rd June 2017 02:58 AM |
Last Updated: 03rd June 2017 07:40 AM | A+A A- |
Farmers at a mandi in Jeypore | Express
JEYPORE: Unscrupulous rice millers are making a fast buck by buying paddy from farmers of Koraput district at rates below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). While the official rate is `1,470 per quintal, farmers are being paid `1,000 - `1,200 by these millers.
Sources said due to slow flow of paddy stock in Jeypore mandis, middlemen and millers have managed to get the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS)- listed farmers’ ID numbers and registered their names at the mandis. The millers then purchase the produce from registered farmers at a low price and sell it in the mandis at Government rate. Even the names of those farmers who have not cultivated rabi crops have been registered for procurement by the unscrupulous millers.
Out of 30,000 hectares (ha) of paddy crops cultivated in the district, farmers have harvested only on 5,000 ha. The threshing process is going on slowly due to unfavourable weather. Around 1,000 quintals of paddy are being brought to the mandis by farmers daily while the administration has set the procurement ceiling at 4,000 quintals per day.
The district administration had started paddy procurement from May 26 for the rabi season setting a target of 3.5 lakh quintals from about 10,000 farmers.
Earlier, the farmers had appealed to the administration to open the mandis in the first week of June as harvesting of paddy was delayed, but to no avail. They alleged that the names of farmers and their paddy stocks are being added in the transaction of mandis without physical verification by the officials concerned. The nexus between procurement officials and rice millers will later lead to distress sale of paddy in the district, the farmers said and demanded strict monitoring of the process by the district level civil supply officials.
Meanwhile, members of Koraput Millers’ Association have urged the farmers not to depend on middlemen and unscrupulous millers.
Contacted, district civil supply authorities said paddy procurement is going on as per the Government norms and the field officials are strictly monitoring the process at each mandi pointhttp://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2017/jun/03/millers-reap-benefits-as-paddy-sold-at-low-price-1612386.html
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