Chinese researchers create antioxidant-rich
purple rice to combat cancer, other diseases
Source:
Xinhua| 2017-07-03
03:00:35|Editor: Mengjie
WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in China have
successfully created genetically modified purple rice that is rich in
antioxidants and thus has the potential to reduce the risk of cancer and other
diseases, according to the study published this week in the journal Molecular
Plant.
The added health benefits of the new rice came from high levels
of anthocyanins, a group of antioxidant-boosting pigments that also provide the
purple, red or blue colors of many fruits and vegetables.
Consumption of rice rich in anthocyanins can benefit human
health, decreasing the risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, and other chronic disorder, said the journal Molecular Plant.
However, previous attempts to engineer anthocyanin production in
rice have failed because the underlying biosynthesis pathway is highly complex.
To address this challenge, Yao-Guang Liu of the South China
Agricultural University and his colleagues first set out to identify the genes
related to anthocyanin production in different rice varieties.
The team also pinpointed the defective genes in japonica and
indica, subspecies that do not produce anthocyanins.
Then, the researchers developed what they called "a highly
efficient, easy-to-use transgene stacking system" and used it to insert
eight genes needed to produce anthocyanin into the japonica and indica rice
varieties.
As expected, the resulting purple rice had high anthocyanin
levels and antioxidant activity.
"This is the first demonstration of engineering such a
complex metabolic pathway in plants," Liu said in a statement.
In the future, the researchers believed that their strategy
could be used for the production of many other important nutrients and
medicinal ingredients.
The researchers now planned to evaluate the safety of the new
purple rice as biofortified food, and they will also try to engineer the
biosynthesis of anthocyanins in other crops to produce more purple cereals.
"Our research provides a high-efficiency vector system for
stacking multiple genes for synthetic biology and makes it potentially feasible
for engineering complex biosynthesis pathways in the endosperm of rice and
other crop plants such as maize, wheat, and barley," Liu said
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/03/c_136411691.htm
Kashmiris’ Method of Cooking Rice: A
Potential Cause of Diabetes
By Hilal Ahmad Rather
Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized
by elevated levels of blood sugar. This, over time, leads to serious damage of
various body organs including the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and
nerves. Broadly, diabetes is categorised into three types which are diabetes
type 1, diabetes type 2 and gestational diabetes. However, type 2 diabetes is
the most common and occurs usually in adults when the body doesn’t produce
enough insulin or becomes resistant to insulin. As a result, sugar builds up in
the blood instead of being used as energy. In the past few decades, the prevalence
of diabetes has risen dramatically in the world.
About 90 per cent of people with diabetes have
type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes often develops in adults, but children can be
affected too.Diabetes is one of the major causes of death worldwide.According
to the World Health Organisation, the total global diabetic population in the
year 2000 stood at 170 million which is estimated to spike up to 366 million.
India itself is home to 63 million diabetics and the number is estimated to be
100 million by 2030.
The estimates depict that diabetes prevalence
has doubled and so far has grown by over 100% in the past 15 years. However,
patterns of diabetic incidences are related to the geographical distribution in
India.There are two categories of population based on the life styles in India,
urban population and rural population. Diabetes prevalence in rural populations
is one-quarter that of the urban population. The clear cause is the difference
of life style due to modernisation. Kashmir valley, which lies in the northern
region of the Indian subcontinent, has been undergoing similar changes on
account of modernity and sedentary lifestyles. However, the food habit of the
inhabitants might be the major cause of the diabetes.
White rice is the staple food of the Kashmiri people; most Kashmiris consume rice twice a day. Although, rice is pleasing to the palate of every Kashmiri, it significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes when eaten regularly. White rice has high glycemic index (GI), which is a number associated with a particular type of food to indicates its effect on the blood sugar level of a person. It indicates how fast a particular food can raise the blood sugar level. Diets with low GI indicates its moderate potential to rise the blood sugar level while the diets with high GI may cause blood sugar level to increase above the optimal level and leads to a greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Harvard researchers suggest that eating less white rice could make a difference.
The researchers show that the more white rice
is eaten, the higher the risk of type 2 diabetes: they showed that on the
regular basis, each plate of white rice eaten in a day raises the risk of
diabetes by 11% (assuming 158 grams per plate). Furthermore, people who ate the
highest amounts of white rice had 27% higher risk of diabetes than those who
ate the least.
White rice contains about 90% carbohydrates, which could be the major cause of type 2 diabetes. However, the methods of cooking plays a major role in the maintaining the carbohydrate level of rice. Traditionally in each household, rice is cooked by boiling it till all the water is steamed out. However, with the advancement in life styles, the method of cooking rice has also seen its turn from the traditional ways to rice cookers. People find it easy because it saves time.
White rice contains about 90% carbohydrates, which could be the major cause of type 2 diabetes. However, the methods of cooking plays a major role in the maintaining the carbohydrate level of rice. Traditionally in each household, rice is cooked by boiling it till all the water is steamed out. However, with the advancement in life styles, the method of cooking rice has also seen its turn from the traditional ways to rice cookers. People find it easy because it saves time.
All they need to do is put the switch on after
putting the measured volume of water and rice. In both the methods, rice is not
drained with the water after it is cooked. By this method, the whole starch
content remains in the rice. It gets accumulated in the body once it is
consumed. Therefore, straining off the extra starch water from rice after being
cooked could be the potential solution to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
After cooking the rice in more volume of water than used in the traditional
methods, it should be drained with the running water. Hence, this method of
cooking helps to remove the starch from the cooked rice and more rice can be
consumed compared to rice cooked by traditional ways.
—The author is a Ph.D. Scholar at School of
Life Sciences, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. He can be reached
at: Hr7399@gmail.com
http://kashmirreader.com/2017/07/03/kashmiris-method-cooking-rice-potential-cause-diabetes/
Technology
discovered for rice cultivation without water
Lahore
Pakistani agriculture scientists
have discovered a technology through which rice can be cultivated without
water. Punjab Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mehmood said this in a statement issued here on Sunday. He said: “Our agriculture
scientists are fully capable who are proving their metal through hardwork”.
The secretary said the latest research of scientists would directly help poor farmers. A research wing of the agriculture department had given a message to the scientists across the world that they were not less than any one.—APP
The secretary said the latest research of scientists would directly help poor farmers. A research wing of the agriculture department had given a message to the scientists across the world that they were not less than any one.—APP
http://pakobserver.net/technology-discovered-rice-cultivation-without-water/
DALEX Finance empowers 10,000 Rice
Farmers
Friday 30th June, 2017
Accra, June 30, GNA - Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Limited has
rolled-out agricultural financing boosting package to empower over 10,000 Rice
farmers in Northern Ghana.The DALEX Agricultural Financing Boosting funds would
be used to provide farming inputs - fertilizer, improved seeds, and combined
harvesters to ensure prompt and efficient harvesting of the rice.Mr Kenneth
Kwamina Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of DALEX who unveiled the package
explained that DALEX would continue to explore profitable and sustainable model
for funding small-holder farmers who were the bedrock of Ghana’s agricultural
sector.
He further called on other financial institutions to follow the
example of DALEX to support the
Agricultural sector.
He said DALEX is working in partnership with Shinkaafa Buni Rice
Farmers Association (SHINKAAFA BUNI) “We are mining the value chain by also
engaging Avnash Rice Mill, who guaranteed to purchase the rice from the
farmers.”Mr Ken Thompson also called on the Ministry of Agriculture to expedite
action to avert the looming disaster posed by the Army Worm.He indicated that
the Army Worm had been found in the Eastern, Brong- Ahafo, Ashanti and Western
Regions, and since 2016, had destroyed more than 5,870 hectares of maize,
cowpea and cocoa. “The effect of these pests could be worse than the ‘biblical
plague of locusts’ if unchecked”.
Mr Nbanty Dagbanja, a rice farmer from Dagbanjado and beneficiary
of the DALEX Agricultural Financing Boosting package commended SHINKAAFA and
DALEX for providing the seeds that had improved their yields, for the chemicals
and fertilizers, and for the harvesting services which had improved the
prosperity of his fellow farmers.
Mr Akshay Sharma, Chairperson of SHINKAAFA BUNI and Head, Northern
Region, Avnash Industries outlined some of the challenges of Milling Rice in
Ghana.He noted: “The local paddy (raw material) prices are too expensive, as
the yields per acre achieved by the farmers generally in Ghana was as low as
800 Kg/ acre compared to minimum of 2.4 MT / acre internationally in Thailand,
Vietnam, India, USA, and Pakistan.
“The prices of local rice therefore becomes uncompetitive with
imported rice.”Mr Sharma supported the “One village - One Dam” proposal because
of the potential of irrigation in raising even higher the yields of the local
rice farmer.Mr Samuel Sarpong, Executive Director of SHINKAAFA explained that
the company had strengthened the rice sector by engaging the farmers at
community level.He said the partnership with DALEX was part of their mission to
develop sustainable models for finance to assist the smallholder farmer.
The DALEX Agricultural Finance Boosting package offered credit
facilities to farmers over the innovative Dalex SWIFT mobile platform
(*721#).The SWIFT platform gave subscribers access to investment and savings
services.Farmers received their payments through mobile money and then can make
deposits into their investment accounts and have real-time access to their
account balances whiles SWIFT provided call centre support in Dagbani.
GNA
Pakistani scientists discover
ways for rice sowing without water
June 30, 2017 Latest, Sci & Tech, Top
Stories Leave a Commenton Pakistani
scientists discover ways for rice sowing without water
MULTAN – Punjab secretary
agriculture Muhammad Mahmud said on Friday that Pakistani scientists have
successfully developed a technology that will help farmers sow rice without
water.Rice is sown with water in abundance in the field, however, the recent
development would be helpful for the farming community facing water shortage
problem.
“Our scientists are among the
world’s best and they have achieved a milestone in a short span of time,” said
the secretary agriculture. Referring to use of high flying bird falcon in his
poetry by the Poet of East, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Mahmud said: “Our
scientists are Shaheen (Falcon) of Iqbal.”In this world of research, our
scientists have made their presence felt, he added.The new development has put
a new life in the agriculture sector, concluded the release quoting Mahmud. –
APPhttps://www.pakistantribe.com/63196/pakistani-scientists-discover-ways-rice-sowing-without-water
Study on how
to boost rice storage
A feasibility study into the
possibility of establishing a series of warehouses and kiln for rice farmers is
exploring how to improve the quality of storage in the industry.The study will
be conducted by the Cambodia Rice Federation, Soma Group, and two companies
from China’s Jilin province.
Hun Lak, vice president of CRF,
said the research is the first stage of developing the rice sector in Cambodia
by establishing standardised warehouses and kilns.
The new facilities will enable
Cambodia to collect paddy rice for long-term storage and will stabilise
supplies of the grain, he said.
“We will be able to store rice
until in the market price is right and there is high demand. This will ensure a
stable income for suppliers all year long,” Mr Lak said. “We will be able to
eliminate losses in harvest season.”
However, Mr Lak said it is still
not known how much money will be invested into the warehouses and how many will
be built.
“The capital is not yet
finalised,” Mr Lak said. “Detailed studies must be conducted before we can finalise
the project.”
In the past, Cambodian farmers
were forced to sell quality paddy rice to neighbouring countries at low price
because of a lack of storage facilities, he said.
Last year, the government asked
China to provide loans for building warehouses and kiln. China also agreed to
increase its quota of rice imports from Cambodia from 100,000 to 300,000
tonnes.
The budget for this project
however will be provided by investors from Jilin province in China.
Mr Lak could not confirm where
the first warehouse and kiln will be located, but according to Jin Yu Hui, vice
governor of Jilin province, Battambang is the priority area.
CRF president Sok Puthyvuth, who
is also CEO of Soma Group, said the project will benefit the entire rice
sector, including farmers, rice millers, and rice exporters.Bangladesh
plans to import one to 1.5 million metric tons of rice from abroad in the
current fiscal year to cut the food deficit as well as to check skyrocketing of
the staple food price in the country."Primarily, we had a plan to import
600,000 MT of rice ... but the amount will be increased to one to 1.5 million
MT to reduce the food grain deficit," Badrul Hasan, the director-general
of the Department of Food, told state-owned BSS.
At the same time, the government
decision to decrease import tariff on rice import would also help reduce rice
price in the country, said the official.Under the plan, Hasan said, around
250,000 MT rice will be imported from Vietnam under the government to
government (G2G) basis with per tonne price of US$430 to 470.
"The first consignment of the
imported rice will reach country by July 12," he said. Besides this, the
government has floated tender to import more 150,000 tones of rice, he said,
adding the rice will arrive in the country within stipulated time. Regarding 18
per cent import duty withdrawal on rice import, the chief food official said
that it would help slash rice price as only Tk 3.30 will be imposed on per kilo
rice import instead of Tk 9 earlier.
He said a food ministry delegation
will visit Thailand on July 5 for discussion with the Thai government on rice
import.Talking about rice import from India, Hasan said now the government is
considering importing rice from India as the rice production in the country has
exceeded to 110 million tonnes from the earlier production of 105 million
tonnes.
According to the latest report
compiled by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) shows the price of
coarse variety rice increased by 46.88 per cent in the last one year. In 2016,
the price of per kg coarse variety rice was Tk 30-35 while it rose to Tk 46-48
in the same corresponding time of this year. The country's current food grain
stock in public sector is around 384,000 MT of which rice is 165,000 MT and
wheat is 219,000 MT
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/02/75699/Govt-to-import-1.5m-MT-rice-in-current-fiscal
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/39870/study-on-how-to-boost-rice-storage/
Politicos may derail antipoverty
plans
By: Ben O. de Vera -
Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:04 AM July 03, 2017
Editor’s Note: Starting June
25, the Inquirer will run on its print, online, and social media platforms a
series of stories, reports and commentaries on the socioeconomic impact –
positive and negative – that President Duterte has made in his first year in
office. The articles will focus on how the former Davao City mayor has coped
with the challenges of the presidency in five major areas that Filipinos
consider most important in their lives: peace and order, traffic, economy,
governance and foreign policy. This evaluation of the administration’s
achievements and shortcomings will take into account what Mr. Duterte had
promised to do during last year’s presidential campaign, his June 30 inaugural
speech and his July 25 State of the Nation Address.
RICE IMPORTS The Duterte administration has
disallowed government-to-government rice procurement in favor of private sector
importation, but retained the quantitative restrictions. —INQUIRER PHOTO
(Last of three parts)
President
Rodrigo Duterte’s socioeconomic agenda shows signs of promise, but so far,
there have been no drastic reforms meant to cut poverty while sustaining
economic growth, economists told the Inquirer.
Gilberto M.
Llanto, president of the state-run Philippine Institute for Development
Studies, said the markets appeared to have discounted the President’s often
fiery and controversial statements because “what we are seeing is a prominent
display of the resilience of the economy and its capacity for stronger growth
in the near future.”
“If you go by the metric of macroeconomic
fundamentals, the economy is on the right growth trajectory, given the
so-called headwinds affecting it,” Llanto said.
But all the
administration’s plans to cut poverty could be derailed if traditional
politicians got in the way of growth and insisted on their agenda, Llanto
warned.
“A good
thing is the clear target on poverty reduction given by the administration.
Tying Odysseus to the mast is a good thing. This will put a strong focus on
inclusive growth and the requisite measure to achieve those targets,” he said.
Dutertenomics
Llanto said
the administration was doing fine with the proposed tax reforms, but it was
Congress that was attempting to water it down.
“This must
be stressed to the public,” he said.
While the
administration is sincere in its efforts, there is concern that certain
“politicos, who have the capacity to support or frustrate those efforts,” pose
a problem, Llanto said.
However,
Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) president Calixto Chikiamco said more
work would have to be done, citing the supposed underperformance by the
administration’s so-called “Dutertenomics.”
“Let me cite
some economic statistics: unemployment in January was 6.6 percent, the highest
in two years. Inflation last month was 3.1 percent, slightly down from 3.4
percent from April, which was the highest in two years.
“The latest self-rated poverty statistics of
Social Weather Stations showed an increase in the people describing themselves
as poor to 50 percent, or half of the population,” Chikiamco said.
Slight drop
in growth
He said
economic growth slightly dropped last year, disappointing some, while public
spending remained flat.
“One thing
to look out for is that consumption spending was down, which could have been
due to higher inflation or some other factor that worries about employment,” he
said.
He added
that while agriculture showed a robust 5-percent growth, it was merely a
rebound because the sector contracted by more than 4 percent from the year
before.
“Agriculture
was also helped by the lack of major typhoons and good weather. The environment
for mining was negative, due to the antimining policies of former Environment
Secretary Gina Lopez,” Chikiamco said.
Game-changing
reforms
He also said
the Duterte administration had simply not carried out game-changing economic
reforms in its first year.
He noted,
for instance, the lack of reforms in the rice sector.
“The administration
had a chance to make a major, consequential reform in rice policy, but it
lacked the courage to do it,” he said.
While
Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. and the economic managers finally
prevailed over the National Food Authority (NFA) and disallowed
government-to-government rice procurement and instead favored private sector
importation, they still retained quantitative restrictions.
This meant
that importation would still be capped and rice prices kept higher than it
should be.
It also allowed
the NFA to retain its legal monopoly and gave it the power to issue limited
permits to the private sector for importation, which could be a source of
favoritism and corruption, Chikiamco said.
Not to
mention that keeping quantitative restrictions would also be a violation of the
country’s World Trade Organization commitments, thereby courting possible
sanctions from the trade governing body.
The FEF
president said the ideal reform would have been to abolish the legal monopoly
of the NFA, liberalize the importation of rice and impose a reasonable tariff,
with the tariff revenue going to helping rice farmers to increase productivity
or to diversify.
Telco sector
Chikiamco
also lamented that “there has also been no movement with respect to improving
competition” in the telecommunication sector.
As for the
plan to lift foreign investment restrictions, he said “it has been all talk
with little concrete action,” as “there has been no movement to curtail the
foreign investment negative list.”
On foreign
aid, Chikiamco said the President’s rush to relying on Chinese official
development assistance (ODA) might make the Philippines more vulnerable to
pressure from China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.
While the US
economy has strengthened with its lowest unemployment in years, China has to
grapple with its “overleveraged economy,” he said.
Explore on our special anniversary site the Inquirer series of multiplatform reports
and commentaries on the gains and challenges during President Duterte's first
year in office. Daily content begins June 25 till July 24.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/910470/politicos-may-derail-antipoverty-plans
Space’ worry
for rice millers
By Express News
Service | Published: 03rd July 2017 02:23
AM |
Last Updated: 03rd July 2017 10:10 AM
JEYPORE: Over
two lakh quintals of rice, meant for Public Distribution System, have been
dumped at milling units in Koraput district in the absence of space at rice
receiving centres to store the stock. Only 60 per cent of custom-milled
rice of last kharif season has been supplied to the Food Supplies and Consumer
Welfare department so far.
The Civil Supply wing of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department had procured 16 lakh quintals of paddy from farmers of the district in last kharif season through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACs) and supplied it to 100 millers for custom milling. Around 11 lakh quintals of milled rice have to be delivered to the department by September this year but so far, only six lakh quintals have been delivered and another two lakh quintals are lying at milling units to be supplied to the department.
Sources said delivery of milled rice has been delayed due to lack of storage space at the rice receiving centres from where, the stocks would be sent to the department for distribution under PDS.
Koraput district has only three rice receiving centres in Koraput and Jeypore sub-divisions, which have the capacity to store only 1.76 lakh quintals rice each. Currently, the centres do not have any space to stock more rice as a result of which, collection of milled rice has been stopped. Custom millers, who have already completed milling, are running from pillar to post to submit their rice quota. Apparently, if the millers do not submit their rice quota on time, they would be debarred from participating in the milling process in the next season.
In the past, the district civic supply
officials had requested the Civil Supply Department to create more space at the
existing rice receiving centres, but that has not happened so far. There was
also a proposal to open rice receiving centres of five lakh quintal capacity in
every block of the district, but that too has been put in cold storage. Millers
fear that the milled rice would be damaged if the stock continues to be dumped
in milling units for long.
On Thursday, members of Koraput Millers’ Association urged the District Civil Supply Officer to sort out the space problem and extend the time limit for delivery of rice under custom milling system from September to December.District Civil Supply Officer Balava Chandra Dash said he has informed the higher officials of the department about space constraint at rice receiving centres and slow pace of rice delivery. The officer said he has suggested that milled rice be stored at godowns in neighbouring districts of Malkangiri and Nabarangpur.Meanwhile, procurement of rab.
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2017/jul/03/space-worry-for-rice-millers-1623519.html
Take this rice with a grain of salt
Sometime
ago, a friend sent a message on Whatsapp about plastic rice being sold in the
markets and served at restaurants. After that, I also saw such reports on the
social media and a television channel. Is this really true or is it just a
rumour? Has anyone investigated into these complaints?
This is
just a wild rumour because a number of state food safety authorities have
tested the samples of rice on the basis of such complaints and have not found
any trace of plastic. In Delhi for example, the food safety department said
that following consumer complaints, they lifted 20 samples of raw rice from
different markets and seven samples of cooked rice from hotels and restaurants.
Tests found no plastic content in any sample. In fact, the Delhi food safety
department also received complaints of plastic eggs. A number of samples of
eggs were also collected and tested, but there was no truth in any of those
complaints, the officials said.
In
Bengaluru, elaborate tests by the University of Agricultural Sciences, too,
found no trace of plastic in the samples of rice complained about. In fact in
Karnataka, this issue even figured in the state legislature, forcing the
government to investigate into the matter and clarify later that it was a
baseless, wild rumour.
In Chennai, the food safety department
officials said they inspected 74 outlets across the city and tested 14 samples
and they all turned out to be ‘real rice’. The food safety department in
Coimbatore inspected 200 shops across the district and tested 19 samples and
the only non-rice particles that they found were stones.
In
Haryana, too, the department of food and drug administration has categorically
stated that they have not come across any such plastic rice. In Andhra Pradesh,
Civil Supplies minister Prathipati Pulla Rao even announced a prize of Rs
50,000 to anyone who gave a lead to finding such plastic rice!
Most of
the videos that I have seen show rice balls bouncing like rubber balls. If it
is not plastic, how can it bounce like that?
It is
this bouncing of rice balls that has got many people believing that the rice
was made of plastic! In many restaurants, consumers have complained that they
have been served plastic rice after making a ball of the rice served to them
and bouncing it. However, food scientists say that it is not a peculiar
phenomenon, given the composition of rice. Dr Nagappa G. Malleshi, former head
of Grains, Science and Technology, Central Food Technological Research Institute,
Mysore, explained to me that rice is 80 per cent starch, which contains amylose
and amylo pectin. When you cook rice, these swell and leach out and make the
rice sticky.
And when you mash and make them into a ball,
these stick together and these also entrap air and therefore bounce. How bouncy
the ball is depends on the amylose content of the rice. Higher the amylose
content, greater the bounce, he says, explaining why some rice balls bounce
more than others. Japanese rice, for example, may not be as bouncy as Indian
rice because it contains much less amylose than Indian rice, he says.
Similarly, there would be difference in the bounce of different varieties of
rice sold in different parts of the country.
Dr V.P.
Singh, former head, division of genetics, Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, also de-mystifies the ball bouncing phenomenon on YouTube. Rice, he
says, has got adhesive and cohesive properties because of the high percentage
(80 per cent) of starch in it. So the ball formation is on account of this
adhesiveness. And when you throw this ball, it is bound to bounce on account of
its volume expansion and air entrapment, he says, dismissing fears of the
‘plastic content’ in the rice causing the bouncing effect.
Rice
mill owners and manufacturers have also been pointing out that the whole idea
of plastic rice grains is ridiculous because if you try to cook it, obviously
the plastic cannot absorb water nor can it ‘cook’. It will only melt and burn!
They also point out that it does not make economic sense to adulterated rice
with plastic rice or sell plastic rice because usually the intent behind such
adulteration is to make money. But here, manufacturing a kilogram of plastic
rice is far more expensive than a kilogram of real rice, they point out. So it’s
time to put to rest all those rumours of plastic rice
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/spectrum/society/take-this-rice-with-a-grain-of-salt/429431.html
Ricegrowers'
Association of Australia to hold their annual conference in Leeton in 2017
2 Jul 2017, 10:30 a.m. 3
The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia last held
their annual conference in Leeton in 2010.AN
IMPORTANT commodity to not just Leeton, but the world, will take centre stage
in the town next month.The 2017 Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA)
annual conference will be held in Leeton on August 3 and 4. The event was last held in Leeton seven years ago in
2010 and there has been many changes in the industry since then. The
RGA represents farmers in the main rice growing areas of NSW and
Victoria. RGA president Jeremy Morton said the 2017 conference theme,
“Building Value – Rice and Beyond” would celebrated not only rice, but the
people, growers, systems and processes that play a vital role in all areas.“The
rice industry is a unique industry, with rice being an important crop within
our growers’ irrigation systems,” Mr Morton said.“This conference is an
opportunity to celebrate our people, growers, systems and processor, and to
challenge our industry to harness opportunities and be adaptable to remain
competitive.”
The conference theme will be
interpreted through a range of interesting topics during the event.
This will include addresses
from guest speakers – Foodbank Australia chief executive officer Brianna Casey
and Fisheries Research and Development Centre national carp control plan
co-ordinator, Matt Barwick.Murray-Darling Basin Authority chief executive
officer Phillip Glyde will also speak and no doubt be sought after by many in
attendance for a chat about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
There will also be a panel
session about water trade. The annual gala dinner will be held on the evening
of August 3 at Mia Function Centre, including an address from Rob
Cook, a fourth generation cattle farmer. A
post conference tour will be held on Friday afternoon, taking visitors
to Tim Commins’ property at Whitton.
The event will also provide
opportunity for members to discuss topics brought forward by their branches and
central executive.Thanks to sponsors of the event, RGA financial members can
register for the event for just $50. Non-members and non-financial members
can attend at a cost of $100 per person.
The closing date for
registrations is July 21. For more information visit www.rga.org.au or call 02 6953 0433.The rice
industry is a unique industry, with rice being an important crop within our
growers’ irrigation systems.
http://www.irrigator.com.au/story/4764924/future-of-rice-on-table-in-leeton/
Trading begins on dull note
THE HANS INDIA |
Jul 01,2017 , 11:14 PM IST
Vijayawada: Trading activity began
on a dull note in Vijayawada, the commercial capital of the state, on Saturday
after rolling out the GST by the Union government against the wishes of trading
community and the common man.
Highlights:
• Many
trade associations oppose GST
• Government
finally goes ahead with GST
• After
note ban, traders to suffer again due to GST
• Business,
largest employment provider in the city
Home appliances showrooms, gold
shops, furniture shops, footwear showrooms, textile retail shops, shopping
malls wore a deserted look in the city on Saturday after doing the brisk
business for the last 10 days due to discounts offered byvarious big companies
and showrooms, shopping malls in the city.
After witnessing hectic trading
activity, the business came to a standstill in the city. Most showrooms have
stopped discount offers and selling the products at normal price on Saturday.
Most big showrooms and shopping
malls in the city are not in a hurry to implement the GST from July 1 because
it will take some more days to install new software for billing.
Earlier, the shopping malls used to
give VAT based bills. Now, it should be changed to GST based bills.One of the
biggest shopping malls located at Governorpet has not installed new software on
Saturday and issuing the old bills. When asked, the staff said it will take at
least three days to change the software and generate new bills.
Many trade and chamber associations
have vehemently opposed the GST.Associations like Andhra Pradesh Textile
Federation, Vijayawada Chamber Commerce, Furniture Dealers Association,
Footwear traders Association, Vijayawada Hoteliers Associations and other
associations strongly opposed the implementation of GST.
These associations believe that the
prices of many consumer products will shoot up with the implementation of GST
and it will hit their business activity and turnover. Business is the largest
employment provider in Vijayawada for many decades and the city is known as
commercial capital of the state. Vijayawada is famous for wholesale
pharmaceutical business, furniture business, electrical goods, home appliances,
plastic goods, stationery, toys, automobile spares etc.
Now, the traders are concerned that
the GST will leads to rise of prices and it will ultimately affect the trade
and revenue. Hoteliers, too, are unhappy with the GST. Andhra Pradesh Hotels
Association president M Srinivasa Babu
expressed concern that the hotels would suffer a lot with the GST.
He said the hotels are recovering
from the losses, which suffered after the note ban and now again plunge into
crisis if the tax is very high.On the other hand, the Union government is
releasing full page advertisements in favour of GST and many government
officials working in both the State and Central government departments are
participating in many awareness programmes and been trying to create awareness
on the GST and trying to convince people it is people’s friendly and tax burden
will come down on people due to one country one tax system.
Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI), Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, Rice Millers Association and other commerce and chambers are
conducting meetings and trying to create awareness among the traders and
entrepreneurs on GST.
Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India (ICAI) Vijayawada chapter ex-officio and former chairman of South
India ICAI E Phalguna Kumar said GST is very useful to the country and it will
reduce the cascading taxes (tax on tax).
Speaking to The Hans India, he said
traders need not panic about the GST and asserted that 3,500 chartered
accountants working in the state would help and guide the traders about the
GST.He said chartered accountants are attending various awareness meeting
conducted in the state on GST and explaining the rules and regulations.
By Md Ameen
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2017-07-01/Trading-begins-on-dull-note-/309736
LT Foods sets up
plant in Europe to popularise 'Daawat' rice
In a
bid to popularise its 'Daawat' brand of rice in Europe, LT Foods on Wednesday
commenced operations of its first rice processing plant at Rotterdam,
Netherlands, which has been set up with an investment of $15 million."Company
plans to make its most popular 'Daawat' brand a household name in Europe using
raw material from India. The move will benefit 5,000 farmer families in India
with brown rice supply increasing from India," LT Foods said here in a
statement.
The
development comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to that
country, as part of his three-nation tour. Modi and his Dutch counterpart Mark
Rutte held talks on boosting bilateral cooperation during his visit to
Amsterdam.The plant has an initial capacity of 60,000 tonnes and scope for
further expansion in the future, it said.
"This
would be our first plant in Europe and we are very excited about the
opportunity. The plant would generate new job opportunities in the country and
help us expand our geographical footprint across Europe and UK," Vijay
Kumar Arora, Chairman and Managing Director, LT Foods said.Ashwani Arora, CEO
and Managing Director, LT Foods said, "Europe and UK are critical markets
for LT Foods for our future growth and we intend to make deep inroads in these
markets by making our most popular rice brand 'Daawat' a household name."
LT
Foods has collaborated with Rotterdam Partners, The Port of Rotterdam Authority
and Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) for this initiative.The
company has already launched 'Daawat' brand in six new countries this year and
plans to expand its product offerings and portfolio globally.
"LT
Foods plans to expand its geographical footprint in important markets of Europe
and UK through this plant by increasing its sales from the current 5,000 tonnes
to 60,000 tonnes over the next three years," the statement said.The
company would be manufacturing a wide range of rice, including popular
varieties like Basmati, Thai, Jasmine and American rice from the new plant, it
said.
"Rotte
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/lt-foods-sets-up-plant-in-europe-to-popularise-daawat-rice-117062801318_1.html
GST launch a
selfie moment for many MPs
PTI | Jul 1, 2017, 08.25 AM IST
HIGHLIGHTS
·
Hema Malini, many other MPs were seen taking photos from
mobiles.
·
The Central Hall, where the GST launch ceremony was
organised, was fully packed.
Some of them were seen taking videos as well from their mobile phones.
The Central Hall was
fully packed and many MPs had to squeeze together on fellow members' seats.
Some senior MPs were also seen dozing off during the midnight event.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/gst-launch-a-selfie-moment-for-many-mps/articleshow/59395616.cms
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