Demand for VN rice to be stable in
Q3: VFA
July, 31/2017 - 10:45
HCM CITY — Demand for Vietnamese rice is
expected to be stable in the third quarter of the year, Vietnam Food
Association (VFA) Chairman Huỳnh Thế Năng has said.Thus, rice traders will not
have to worry about finding consumption markets, he added.
The chairman made the statement after
Vietnamese rice enterprises won contracts to supply 175,000 tonnes (MT) of rice
to the Philippines through an open tender held by the country’s National Food
Authority (NFA) on July 25.
According to the association, in the bidding
for 2-per cent broken rice export to the Philippines, four Vietnamese traders
totalled 175,000 tonnes in the tender at different winning prices.
Specifically, Southern Food Corporation 2
(Vinafood 2) won a bid for 50,000 tonnes of rice at a Free on Board (FOB) price
of US$369.45 per tonne; International Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes for
$357 to $367 per tonne; Tân Long Group Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes of
rice for $354 to $359 per tonne; and Hiệp Lợi Joint Stock Company hit 25,000
tonnes with the best price of $370.9 per tonne.
This is the first time that private Vietnamese
rice exporters were allowed to participate in such a bidding, and they proved
they could meet the strict requirements put forward by the Philippines.
“Four enterprises among the total eight
businesses winning the bid is a clear demonstration of the capacity of the
Vietnamese rice traders,” Năng said.
The chairman said that the winning contracts
would partly help stabilise domestic rice prices soon.
In addition to the rice export contracts to the
Philippines, domestic rice exporters are also preparing to deliver goods under
the previously signed contracts to Cuba, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
“Therefore, from now until the end of the
third quarter of 2017, Vietnamese rice sector will not struggle with the
settlement of output for farmers.”
According to VFA, demand for rice in Asia
recently had positive impact on the rice exports of Việt Nam this year.
There are several new emerging needs that
motivate the market. For example, Bangladesh, after three rounds of bidding for
150,000 tonnes of rice and having bought 250,000 tonnes from Việt Nam, is also
negotiating 200,000 tonnes with Thailand and may continue to buy more from Việt
Nam.
Sri Lanka is also urgently importing 55,000
tonnes of rice from Pakistan and Myanmar, and seeking supplies from other
countries, including Việt Nam. Even the Philippines, in addition to the 250,000
tonnes bidding last week, may import more to shore up its stockpiles to ensure
its food security. In addition to this, the consumption demand of China and
India is expected to have an impact on the Vietnamese rice exports in the
future.
However, whether the Vietnamese enterprises
have access to these needs depends on their price competitiveness compared with
the other export competitors, as well as the summer-autumn crop harvest in
August and September.
Nguyễn Thanh Long, managing director of Việt
Rice Co Ltd, said that if domestic rice prices "turn up" too high,
Vietnamese rice exporters would find it hard to compete with foreign rivals
while negotiating commercial contracts.
Currently,
Việt Nam’s rice export prices are equal or a little bit higher than those of
Thailand. For example, Thailand’s 5-per-cent broken rice is being offered at
$395 per tonne, while that of Việt Nam is $407 per tonne, which will be
profitable. If Vietnamese rice prices are not adjusted according to the Thai
rice prices, it is difficult to attract demand and sign new contracts in the
future. According to the statistics of the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development, rice exports of the country in the first
seven months of the year is estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, earning a revenue
of $1.5 billion, up 15.7 per cent in volume and 13.7 per cent in value over the
same period last year.The rice export price in the first half of the year
averaged $444.6 per tonne, down 1.4 per cent year-on-year. - VNS
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/381089/demand-for-vn-rice-to-be-stable-in-q3-vfa.html#3S75xkdCqzsTmsUv.97
Pakistan ranked seventh among states
growing biotech crops
July 30, 2017
KARACHI: With the adoption of insect-resistant (IR) Bt cotton
rising to an optimum level in Pakistan last year, stakeholders now look forward
to the replication of the adoption percentage for IR biotech maize
varieties by farmers for economic gains.
Pakistan stands seventh among the 26 countries growing biotech
(Bt) crops in the world. The country had achieved optimal adoption of IR cotton
varieties last year, with the adoption reaching 2.9m hectares, equivalent to 97
per cent of the total 3m hectares cotton crop area.
These figures are part of a report recently launched at the
International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) of Karachi
University.
Titled Global Status of Commercialisation Biotech/GM Crops: 2016,
the report prepared by the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) contains latest information on the subject,
global database on the adoption and distribution of biotech crops last year,
country situations, trends in approval of biotech crops and future prospects of
the technology.
The report says around 725,000 small-holder cotton farmers in
Pakistan continued to grow IR cotton varieties in 2016, which was the seventh
year of commercial planting since 2010. “The adoption of IR cotton increased
from 75pc in 2010 to 97pc last year. This is indicative of farmer satisfaction
with Bt technology that may be replicated with the upcoming adoption of biotech
maize in the country,” the report adds.
It estimates that the economic gains from biotech crops for
Pakistan for the period from 2010 to 2015 was $4.3bn, while it was $398m for
2015 alone.
Identifying factors hampering Bt cotton growth, the report says
that supply of substandard and spurious IR cotton varieties and the continued
reliance on old IR cotton technology held back desirable cotton output.
The threat of bollworms, especially pink bollworms, the report
says, was growing due to farmer’s reluctance for timely insecticide
applications. The cotton gains remained low due to repeated infestation of
sap-sucking pests such as white fly and leaf hoppers spreading the cotton leaf
curl virus in the absence of control measures.
“Despite these, IR cotton has proliferated in cotton growing
provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and occupied
almost the entire cotton crop hectarage in Pakistan,” the report says.
Biosafety
committee
The National Biosafety Committee of the Federal Ministry of
Climate Change had last year approved 32 single biotech cotton varieties out of
119 pending applications.
For the first time, the report says, the committee officially
approved the commercial cultivation of single and stacked insect resistant and
herbicide tolerant maize varieties developed by Monsanto Pakistan, subject to
varietal registration by the Federal Seed Certification and Registration
Committee.
“Pakistan planted over 1.2m hectares of maize, roughly producing around
5m tonnes of maize. Adoption of hybrid maize reached 90pc and 10-15pc of total
maize area in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively,” the report says.
According to the report, the year 2016 was significant as Nobel
laureates released a statement for the first time in support of biotechnology
and condemning critics for their critical stance against the technology and
Golden Rice, a GM crop that had attracted major controversy in the past.
Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2017
Scientists
discover a second ocean garbage patch
Charles Moore
and his group of volunteer researchers discovered a second garbage patch.
(CHARLES JAMES MOORE VIA
RESEARCHGATE.NET)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, July 31, 2017, 4:17 PM
A team of scientists led by oceanographer
Charles Moore — the same man who also helped draw attention to the famous Great
Pacific garbage patch in the northern part of the ocean in the late '90s — has
discovered a second garbage patch made of mostly plastic debris in a largely
unstudied section of the ocean.
"We
discovered tremendous quantities of plastic," Moore told ResearchGate.
"My initial impression is that our samples compared to what we're seeing
in the North Pacific in 2007, so it's about ten years behind."
The latest patch was discovered as Moore and
his team of volunteer researchers, from the Algalita Marine Research
Foundation, sailed around Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island on a
six-month trip.
Garbage patches like the two Moore has discovered
happen when trash gets sucked in to gyres, or circular ocean currents. The
circular motion of the gyre draws in debris to its calm and stable center,
where it then becomes trapped.The newly discovered South Pacific patch is
comprised of extremely tiny pieces of plastic that are smaller than grains of
rice and nearly invisible to the eye.
The South Pacific gyre was previously studied
by marine pollution researcher Marcus Eriksen in 2011, though at the time, he
saw very little debris.
In the six years since, tens of millions of
tons of plastic are thought to have descended upon the oceans of the world.
"There's very little information on
plastic in the South Pacific," oceanographer Erik van Sebille told
ResearchGate. "Hardly anybody goes there, and it's really very poorly
studied."
The plastic
particles are smaller than grains of rice.
(CHARLES JAMES MOORE VIA
RESEARCHGATE.NET)
Sebille is currently working on a project to
help track the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean, but was not involved
in Moore's trip.
The patches pose a problem not only because of
their size, but because they're nearly impossible to clean up.
For
starters, the patches' locations in the middle of the ocean prevent any country
from laying claim to them, not that any would want to — committing to cleaning
a patch would likely "bankrupt any country" who tried, according
to National Geographic.
Additionally, attempts to clean the patches with nets would fail because the
nets would also scoop up small animals.The only solution is preventing them
from the get-go, says Eriksen.
"Gone are the silly notions that you can
put nets in the ocean and solve the problem," he said. "This cloud of
microplastics extends both vertically and horizontally. It's more like smog
than a patch. We're making tremendous progress to clean up smog over our cities
by stopping the source. We have to do the same for our seas."
Moore and his crew returned from their trip in
May, and are still processing their debris samples, but the captain said he was
more than ready to share at least some of his findings."There's a sense of
urgency to get information out about this area, because it's being destroyed at
an enormously accelerated rate," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/scientists-discover-ocean-garbage-patch-article-1.3372124
New urea spray
technique on paddy leaves proves appropriate, useful
Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, July 31: Use of
'Economy-Urea spray technique' on leaves of paddy plant has been proved
authentic and useful as an appropriate technology by the researchers of Faculty
of Agronomy and Agriculture Extension of Rajshahi University. The 'Economy-Urea spray technique' was invented
by agriculturist Arif Hossain Khan, Joint-Director of BADC Fertiliser
Management department.
The research has revealed during the current Boro season of
2016-17, even after applying 35 to 25 per cent less urea through spraying on
leaves of paddy plants, there was an increase of 6 to 11 per cent of
production.Researchers have also noticed an increase of protein content in rice
through using the technique.
Inventor of the 'Economy-Urea spray technique' agriculturist Arif
Khan informed, the success in production of paddy through using spray technique
of urea might be regarded as a milestone in rice producing country of the world
because no such successful method of paddy cultivation by using urea on paddy
leaves through spraying method has so far been invented in any country of the
world.
In this connection, he mentioned, such a successful new technique
of paddy production might be model in worldwide rice production and Bangladesh
might be a pioneer in this field. He sought government patronisation to spread
the urea saving technique home and abroad.Arif Khan said, after the invention
of the technique in 2012, it was applied on paddy plants on 6, 200 bighas of
land through 275 farmers and officials till 2015 and the technique proved
successful at the field level.
The technique would save some 5,00,000 tonnes of urea annually in
case of paddy production only and thus the government would save Tk 16,500
million while there would be an increase
of 15,00,000 tonnes of rice annually whose market value is Tk 37,500
million.Serajum Monira, an MS student of Rajshahi University who is conducting
research under the supervision of Professor Dr. Aminul Haque has found that
spraying nitrogen (urea) through leaves of paddy plant might be an effective
and alternative method of improved rice production. She conducted the research
on BRRI-28 rice during the current Boro season.
If the new technique could be reached to the farmers, they would be
able to tackle crisis like drought, water logging and shortage of urea paddy by using spray
method of urea successfully and would be able to save their crop by using a
little amount of urea through spraying method, informed Professor Dr. Aminul
Haque.
Arif Khan, Joint Director of BADC fertiliser department who is the
inventor of the technique informed, in case spreading of urea on soil, the
plant can absorb only 30 to 35 per cent of the fertiliser through root whereas
more than 90 per cent of urea can be absorbed by plant when it is sprayed on
leaves. He further said, the technique
will prove also successful during the Aman paddy season when due to want of
rainfall farmers failed to apply urea in their fields, they would easily apply
those through spraying method on leaves of the plant and thus need of nitrogen
in the tree will be covered. In this connection, he further said, the newly
invented technique will require 40 to 50 per cent less urea fertiliser and thus
the environment, soil and water will remain more safe and pure.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/78632/New-urea-spray-technique-on-paddy-leaves-proves-appropriate,-useful
SKUAST-J, NABARD organise training on leaf coloured chart in
rice
July 31, 2017
STATE TIMES NEWS
ARNIA: Scientists of SKUAST -J in collaboration with NABARD organised a programme on training and demonstration of leaf coloured chart in rice at Kool Kalan near Arnia. The training programme was attended by more than seventy five local farmers and farm women including ex Sarpanchs and Panchs of the area.
At the outset, Vishal Raina JAEO elaborated various schemes and programmes offered by the government for the welfare of farming community. Dr. Vivak M. Arya, Scientist and PI of the Project discussed about the importance of leaf colour chart and its usage in paddy. He advocated the adjustment of fertiliser doses with leaf colour chart for better yield. He emphasised that with the use of leaf colour chart farmers can reduce the excess usage of urea in paddy which is posing threat to ecology and environment.
Dr. Arya stressed upon the farming community
not to use the blanket dose of fertiliser which is causing damage to ecological
integrity and soil. Pardeep Anand JAEO gave a detailed overview of the paddy
husbandry. The programme ended with the vote of thanks by Subash Chander Saini
Ex. Sarpanch. Farmers thanked the university scientists and officers for
organising the progarmme at border belt
https://news.statetimes.in/skuast-j-nabard-organise-training-on-leaf-coloured-chart-in-rice/
Roll
back GST on branded rice’
CHENNAI
CHENNAI,AUGUST 01, 2017 00:51 IST
Consumers may ditch brands if they
have to pay more, say mill owners
If you are a consumer who buys
trademark registered branded rice packs, then you could easily be paying at
least ₹4 to ₹5
more per kg with the government imposing 5% of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“Around 17% of the rice in the
country is being sold using brands registered with the Government of India as a
trademark,” said D. Thulasingam, vice-president, Federation of All India Rice
Millers Associations.
Addressing a press meet here on
Sunday, office-bearers of the Federation said that the Centre should consider
withdrawing the tax as it would unnecessarily burden the consumer.
A total of 16 States produce rice
and among those Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Puducherry, Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh have the most number of brands. “If the government continues to impose
GST, consumers would soon give up brands that will stand to lose their market,”
Mr. Thulasingam said.
Federation of Tamil Nadu Rice Mill
Owners and Paddy-Rice Dealers Association secretary A.C. Mohan said there was a
misconception that branded rice was sold at a premium which was not correct.
“Only Basmati, which is not consumed
in large quantities by the common man is usually in the higher price bracket.
These registered brands that take about 20% of the rice market in the State
sell their products on a par with the non-branded ones. The names are there
only so that consumers can relate to their quality,” he explained.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/roll-back-gst-on-branded-rice/article19398524.ece
Texas rice
farmers hope China deal brings more than a grain of relief
Agreement
could lead to cushion for decimated industry
July 31, 2017 Updated: July 31, 2017 8:53pm
IMAGE 1 OF 15
Farm hand Oscar Ramos drives a combine as he harvests rice at Ray
Stoesser's farm Wednesday, July 26, 2017 in Raywood. Stoesser helped push for a
recent deal to allow U.S. rice exports to China.
RAYWOOD — Ray Stoesser
rumbled around his quiet green fields in a mud-caked SUV, noting the minute
gradations of the land, which is subtly terraced to allow water to flow
downhill, irrigating the fields in slow succession.
"We're going uphill, believe
it or not," Stoesser said. After more than a half century of farming, he
knows what each field needs and when, harvest after harvest. "Just like
taking care of your backyard," he said.
If Stoesser's land hasn't
changed, the economic conditions have. Rice prices have declined for several
years, averaging about 10 cents a pound last year, because of competition from
huge rice producers like Vietnam and Thailand as well as increases in
agricultural productivity that have boosted supplies. Over the past few
decades, hundreds of rice farmers in Southeast Texas have given up the crop
entirely.
But in mid-July, the Texas rice
industry — which is worth about $100 million per year to farmers — was
granted a reprieve: a deal to allow U.S. rice sales to China. The industry
estimates that China soon could buy 250,000 tons of U.S. rice per year, out of
the 9 million tons it produces, which could boost prices significantly.
Although trade between the two
countries had been liberalized when China entered the world trade organization
in 2001, trade in rice remained off the table. An agreement to allow exports
has been in the making for nearly a decade, with talks launched by George W.
Bush, continued under Barack Obama and ultimately concluded under President
Donald Trump. The deal sets complex safety standards to prevent pests from
entering China with rice imported from America, which, if met, opens a market
of more than 1 billion rice eaters to U.S. farmers.
The agreement comes at a critical
time as the Trump administration prepares to renegotiate the North American
Free Trade Agreement, potentially threatening agricultural exports to the rice
industry's biggest customer, Mexico.
For the Stoesser farm, selling to
China could mean a slightly bigger financial cushion in a business that can see
a year's income decimated by floods or drought or both.
"If we could get to 16 cents
instead of 10 cents a pound, it would take a lot of risk out," Stoesser
said. "Trade is the answer to our problems."
Family business
The last few decades have left the
Stoessers feeling isolated.
The flat, humid counties east of
Houston used to be full of rice fields — in 1968, 70 square miles of Liberty County were planted
with the crop. Growing up in the area, Ray's son, Neal, always saw the rice
business as his future, and he didn't finish college.
"I went to the University of
Rice Farming, I guess," he said, while piloting a giant combine around the
field, gobbling up stalks with a 40-foot-wide reaper and separating them from
the grains.
The Stoessers have owned land
since Neal's great-grandfather came to the area from Germany in the late 1800s,
and Neal has been driving a combine since he was old enough to climb up into
the cab, as his 8- and 4-year-old sons do now. Over that time, the Stoesser
farm has grown to cover several thousand acres as the family bought out
surrounding farms.
The rest of Texas' rice industry,
however, has shrunk to 187,000 acres from more than 600,000 in the 1950s. In
Liberty County, the 70 square miles of rice fields is now eight.
"I hate to say it, but when
I was in high school, there were 70 farmers," Neal said. Now there are
just three in Liberty County — Neal, his father and his brother, Grant.
Several reasons are behind the decline, including the
encroachment of suburban housing developments, which raised land prices to the
point where it made more sense to sell than keep farming. Today, Texas accounts
for about 6 percent of U.S. rice production, far behind the leader, Arkansas,
which accounts for about half.
Source: USDA
But Texas rice farmers have a few
things working in their favor. New seed varieties allowed them to nearly double
the yield per acre, with the assistance of experts from Texas A&M's field
offices. And federal crop subsidy programs have kept them afloat through thin
years, paying out $1.8 billion to Texas rice farmers between 1995
and 2014, according to a database maintained by the Environmental Working
Group, an advocacy organization that opposes farm subsidies.
Meanwhile, the rice industry has tried
to expand its market by boosting Americans' rice consumption. Stoesser runs the
Texas Rice Council, which collects payments from the state's rice farmers for
joint marketing efforts, such as one that produced a bumper sticker on his
Yukon SUV. "Eat Rice," it reads. "Potatoes make your butt
big."
In one regard, they've made
progress. Americans now eat 26 pounds of rice per year on average, which is
nearly triple their consumption in the 1970s. But that increase is driven
largely by immigrant communities that favor jasmine and basmati varieties,
mostly imported from Thailand, India and Pakistan, over American medium and
long grain rice.
'Selling ice to Eskimos'
Back in 2005, Greg Yielding took
a trip to China.
Nothing terribly official for the
executive director of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association - just a few visits
with people like the U.S. Department of Agriculture's representative in China
and the office of COFCO, China's state-owned food importer. At that
point, the prospect of selling rice to China seemed like a hopeless quest
— "The ultimate example of selling ice to the Eskimos," as
one California official put it.
But Yielding heard differently.
Chinese supermarket executives, he said, thought they could market American
rice as a high-end, safer alternative to their own crops, which had suffered
waves of contamination. On successive visits, funded by grants from the USDA,
Yielding engaged a market research company to have young women hand out samples
of U.S. rice at luxury supermarkets in big cities.
"I couldn't tell you that
there was something better about it, but they tried it, they liked the taste of
it, they liked the cooking quality," said Yielding, who soon started
working for the U.S. Rice Producers Association, a Houston-based trade group.
"I just kept making contacts and finding out that the Chinese wanted to
buy U.S. rice."
And at the time, China was about
to undergo a much larger shift.
For decades, in the name of
national security, China had maintained a goal of producing 95 percent of its
grain domestically. Around 2012, rocked by food safety scandals, China backed
off that target, allowing it to slip to 85 percent. The U.S. went from
exporting about $100 million in grain and feed from the U.S. in 2007 to a peak
of $4.9 billion in 2015.
"That 10 percent is big for
agricultural exporters," said Luis Ribera, an agricultural trade expert at
Texas A&M.
Rice, however, was still barred
entirely, since the two countries hadn't agreed on a common food safety
protocol. So, a few years ago, the USDA started facilitating trips by Chinese
scientists to visit U.S. farms and rice mills. Ray Stoesser helped shepherd
them around in Arkansas.
"The Chinese were optimistic
about what they saw," he said, extolling the quality and sanitation of
U.S. facilities.
The Rice
Producers Association, of which Stoesser is a member, wasn't the
only group working for market access — the U.S.A Rice Federation,
a coalition of farmers and millers, was sponsoring exchanges as well. Rice
mills remove the tough husk from rice grains to make it edible. The millers
were particularly keen on the Chinese market, since all the rice going there
would be milled in the U.S., in contrast to the largely unmilled
"rough" rice that goes to Mexico and South America.
Two years ago, USA Rice's executive
director, Betsy Ward, said she thought U.S. negotiators had a deal with China.
But they could never get it signed by the Chinese, which Ward thinks may have
had to do with the Obama administration having other trade priorities
— such as the massive Trans Pacific Partnership, which pointedly didn't
include China.
After Trump's agriculture
secretary, Sonny Perdue, took office, Ward said her group met with him four
times about getting the rice agreement done. Only a few weeks after Perdue
visited China to celebrate a deal allowing exports of beef, the rice deal was
finally signed.
It was a relief, after more than
a decade of work. But the road forward may not be easy.
"It's a very complex
agreement and gives them room to find problems when they decide they want
to," Ward said.
If China, why not Cuba?
Whatever the Chinese demand, the
Stoesser family stands ready to satisfy it. And the local economy in Liberty
County has a stake in their success as well: More acres of rice planted mean
more seed and fertilizer ordered, more storage used, more people employed (the
Stoesser farm employs about 20).
But even China may not be enough,
if trade deals with other countries go south. Ray Stoesser is exasperated over
the failure of successive White Houses to allow rice exports to Cuba, which was
the largest buyer of Texas rice before trade was embargoed in the 1960s. The
Trump administration recently rolled back the small steps that Obama had taken
to liberalize trade.
"That's a no-brainer,"
Stoesser said. "If we can trade with China, why can't we trade with
Cuba?"
And now, there's a new worry: The
reopening of negotiations with Mexico and Canada over NAFTA. If Trump chose to
put tariffs on Mexican manufactured goods, as he's threatened, Mexico could
retaliate by limiting its imports of U.S. agricultural products — like
rice.
"We've got to have
that," Stoesser said, of NAFTA. "I don't see Trump taking that away.
If he did …" he trails off, and looks out the window of the truck, as the
fields roll by, one freshly tilled under.
"Get a whiff of this
dirt," he said. "It just smells good."
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Texas-rice-farmers-hope-China-deal-brings-more-11721801.php
Demand
for VN rice to be stable in Q3
Demand
for Vietnamese rice is expected to be stable in the third quarter of the year,
Vietnam Food Association (VFA) Chairman Huynh The Nang has said.
Thus,
rice traders will not have to worry about finding consumption markets, he added.The
chairman made the statement after Vietnamese rice enterprises won contracts to
supply 175,000 tonnes (MT) of rice to the Philippines through an open tender
held by the country’s National Food Authority (NFA) on July 25.According to the
association, in the bidding for 2-per cent broken rice export to the
Philippines, four Vietnamese traders totalled 175,000 tonnes in the tender at
different winning prices.
Specifically, Southern Food Corporation 2 (Vinafood 2) won a bid for 50,000 tonnes of rice at a Free on Board (FOB) price of US$369.45 per tonne; International Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes for $357 to $367 per tonne; Tan Long Group Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes of rice for $354 to $359 per tonne; and Hiep Loi Joint Stock Company hit 25,000 tonnes with the best price of $370.9 per tonne.
This is the first time that private Vietnamese rice exporters were allowed to participate in such a bidding, and they proved they could meet the strict requirements put forward by the Philippines.
“Four enterprises among the total eight businesses winning the bid is a clear demonstration of the capacity of the Vietnamese rice traders,” Nang said.The chairman said that the winning contracts would partly help stabilise domestic rice prices soon.
In addition to the rice export contracts to the Philippines, domestic rice exporters are also preparing to deliver goods under the previously signed contracts to Cuba, Bangladesh and Malaysia.“Therefore, from now until the end of the third quarter of 2017, Vietnamese rice sector will not struggle with the settlement of output for farmers.”
According to VFA, demand for rice in Asia recently had positive impact on the rice exports of Viet Nam this year.There are several new emerging needs that motivate the market. For example, Bangladesh, after three rounds of bidding for 150,000 tonnes of rice and having bought 250,000 tonnes from Viet Nam, is also negotiating 200,000 tonnes with Thailand and may continue to buy more from Viet Nam.Sri Lanka is also urgently importing 55,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan and Myanmar, and seeking supplies from other countries, including Viet Nam. Even the Philippines, in addition to the 250,000 tonnes bidding last week, may import more to shore up its stockpiles to ensure its food security. In addition to this, the consumption demand of China and India is expected to have an impact on the Vietnamese rice exports in the future.
However, whether the Vietnamese enterprises have access to these needs depends on their price competitiveness compared with the other export competitors, as well as the summer-autumn crop harvest in August and September.Nguyen Thanh Long, managing director of Viet Rice Co Ltd, said that if domestic rice prices "turn up" too high, Vietnamese rice exporters would find it hard to compete with foreign rivals while negotiating commercial contracts.
Currently, Viet Nam’s rice export prices are equal or a little bit higher than those of Thailand. For example, Thailand’s 5-per-cent broken rice is being offered at $395 per tonne, while that of Viet Nam is $407 per tonne, which will be profitable. If Vietnamese rice prices are not adjusted according to the Thai rice prices, it is difficult to attract demand and sign new contracts in the future.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, rice exports of the country in the first seven months of the year is estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, earning a revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15.7 per cent in volume and 13.7 per cent in value over the same period last year.The rice export price in the first half of the year averaged $444.6 per tonne, down 1.4 per cent year-on-year.
Specifically, Southern Food Corporation 2 (Vinafood 2) won a bid for 50,000 tonnes of rice at a Free on Board (FOB) price of US$369.45 per tonne; International Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes for $357 to $367 per tonne; Tan Long Group Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes of rice for $354 to $359 per tonne; and Hiep Loi Joint Stock Company hit 25,000 tonnes with the best price of $370.9 per tonne.
This is the first time that private Vietnamese rice exporters were allowed to participate in such a bidding, and they proved they could meet the strict requirements put forward by the Philippines.
“Four enterprises among the total eight businesses winning the bid is a clear demonstration of the capacity of the Vietnamese rice traders,” Nang said.The chairman said that the winning contracts would partly help stabilise domestic rice prices soon.
In addition to the rice export contracts to the Philippines, domestic rice exporters are also preparing to deliver goods under the previously signed contracts to Cuba, Bangladesh and Malaysia.“Therefore, from now until the end of the third quarter of 2017, Vietnamese rice sector will not struggle with the settlement of output for farmers.”
According to VFA, demand for rice in Asia recently had positive impact on the rice exports of Viet Nam this year.There are several new emerging needs that motivate the market. For example, Bangladesh, after three rounds of bidding for 150,000 tonnes of rice and having bought 250,000 tonnes from Viet Nam, is also negotiating 200,000 tonnes with Thailand and may continue to buy more from Viet Nam.Sri Lanka is also urgently importing 55,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan and Myanmar, and seeking supplies from other countries, including Viet Nam. Even the Philippines, in addition to the 250,000 tonnes bidding last week, may import more to shore up its stockpiles to ensure its food security. In addition to this, the consumption demand of China and India is expected to have an impact on the Vietnamese rice exports in the future.
However, whether the Vietnamese enterprises have access to these needs depends on their price competitiveness compared with the other export competitors, as well as the summer-autumn crop harvest in August and September.Nguyen Thanh Long, managing director of Viet Rice Co Ltd, said that if domestic rice prices "turn up" too high, Vietnamese rice exporters would find it hard to compete with foreign rivals while negotiating commercial contracts.
Currently, Viet Nam’s rice export prices are equal or a little bit higher than those of Thailand. For example, Thailand’s 5-per-cent broken rice is being offered at $395 per tonne, while that of Viet Nam is $407 per tonne, which will be profitable. If Vietnamese rice prices are not adjusted according to the Thai rice prices, it is difficult to attract demand and sign new contracts in the future.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, rice exports of the country in the first seven months of the year is estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, earning a revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15.7 per cent in volume and 13.7 per cent in value over the same period last year.The rice export price in the first half of the year averaged $444.6 per tonne, down 1.4 per cent year-on-year.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/182951/demand-for-vn-rice-to-be-stable-in-q3.html
Trade between China and United States to take
front seat
By
JING SHUIYU and LI XIANG |
China Daily |
Updated:
2017-08-01 08:15
The United States is expected to overtake the European Union as
China's largest trade partner this year, a former vice-minister of commerce
said.
|
|
|
Wei
Jianguo, former vice-minister of commerce [Photo provided to China
Daily]
|
At the same time, China's trade structure will continue to
optimize, and private companies are likely to dominate the export sector, Wei
Jianguo, who is also vice-president of the China Center for International
Economic Exchanges, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.
Sino-US trade will continue to boom in the second half of this
year, "with China's imports from the US growing faster than its
exports". Therefore, the US trade deficit with China will decline, he
said.
Part of the reason why the US would surpass the EU, which was
China's number one trading partner for almost the past decade, Wei said, lies
in ever-strengthening Sino-US economic and trade ties.
In April, China and the US agreed to initiate a cooperation plan
to address the trade imbalance. Under the plan, China will resume US beef
imports, and allow rice imports for the first time.
Wei's predictions are in line with recent industry figures.Between
January and June, Sino-US trade reached 1.85 trillion yuan ($272 billion), up
21.3 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The growth rate is higher than that between China and EU members, which stood
at 17.4 percent in the same period. Sino-EU trade was 1.97 trillion yuan.
"With such a growth rate, it won't take long for China's
total trade volume with the US to exceed that with EU members", said Wei.China's
total trade volume was 13.14 trillion yuan in the first six months, up 19.6
percent year-on-year, according to the GAC. Specifically, exports grew by 15.0
percent to 7.21 trillion yuan, and imports surged 25.7 percent to 5.93 trillion
yuan.
Huang Songping, a spokesman for the GAC, said earlier that the
increase was mainly due to recovering external demand that pushed up exports.Looking
into the overall picture in the second half of this year, Wei said China's
trade would still gain momentum."The growth rate of China's trade with
economies along the Belt and Road Initiative would be 5 to 6 percentage points
higher than other regions."
Official data show trade between China and Belt and Road
economies posted double-digit growth year-on-year in the first six months.Privately
run companies, even some small and micro businesses, would dominate the trade
sector, with more high-tech products and self-owned brands being exported, Wei
added.
In the first six months, private companies' imports and exports
grew 20.6 percent year-on-year to 5.02 trillion yuan, show data from the GAC.
It accounted for 38.2 percent of the nation's total volume."The current
domestic and foreign environment is favorable to future trade flows… But it is
still an arduous tasks to maintain the uptrend for the rest of the year,"
Qian Keming, a vice-minister of commerce, said on Monday at a news conference.Qian
cited trade protectionism and rising costs as the major factors.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2017-08/01/content_30313013.htm
US to overtake EU as China's largest trading
partner
By
Jing Shuiyu | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-07-31 14:01
|
|
|
A ship loads containers at a terminal in
Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily]
|
The United States is expected to overtake the European Union as
China's largest trading partner this year, a former vice-minister of commerce
said.
Sino-US trade will continue to boom in the second half of this
year, "with China's imports from the US growing faster than its
exports". Therefore, the US trade deficit with China will decline, Wei
Jianguo told China Daily in an interview.
Part of the reason why US would surpass the EU, which was
China's top trading partner almost for the past decade, Wei said, lies in the
ever-strengthening Sino-US economic and trade ties.
In April, China and the US agreed to initiate a cooperation plan
to address trade imbalance. Under the plan, China will resume US beef imports,
and allow rice imports for the first time.
Between January and June, Sino-US trade amount reached 1.85
trillion yuan ($275 billion), up 21.3 percent from last year, according to the
General Administration of Customs. The growth rate is higher than that between
China and the European Union members, which stood at 17.4 percent in the same
period. Sino-EU trade was 1.97 trillion yuan.
"With such growth rate, it won't take long this year for
China's total trade volume with the US to exceed that with the EU
members", said Wei, also vice-president of the China Center for
International Economic Exchanges
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-07/31/content_30305572.htm
Deal with
Thailand this month to import rice
Talha Bin Habib
The government is set to sign an
agreement with Thailand in the second week of this month (August) to import
rice from the Southeast Asian country, officials said.The ministry of food
(MoF) will ink the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thailand to import
the main staple aiming to keep its prices stable on the local market.The MoF
has already finalised the draft of the MoU on rice import from Thailand, according
to sources at the state-run Directorate General of Food.
"We will sign an MoU with
Thailand on rice import at the 4th Bangladesh-Thailand joint trade committee
(JTC) meeting next month (August)," a high official of the MoF told the FF
on Monday.He, however, did not disclose the amount of rice to be imported from
Thailand, but hinted that the amount might be around 0.2 million tonnes. Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed
and Thai commerce minister Apiradi Tantraporn will lead their respective sides
at the JTC meeting which will kick off in Dhaka on August 09.Bangladesh food
minister Md Qamrul Islam and Thai commerce minister Apiradi Tantraporn will
sign the MoU at the meeting on August 10 on behalf of their respective sides.
Earlier, the Directorate General of
Food under the food ministry had set a target to import 0.6 million tonnes of
rice from different countries.Under the move, import of 250,000 tonnes of rice
from Vietnam is now under way.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/78648/Deal-with-Thailand-this-month-to-import-rice
USA Rice Weighs In with "Performance Review" of U.S.
Trade Agreements
By Gil Thompson
WASHINGTON,
DC -- "Well negotiated and enforced trade agreements lead to increased
rice exports." That's the simple and key message from comments
submitted today by USA Rice to the U.S. Trade Representative's office
(USTR). The comments are in response to President Trump's Executive
Order requiring several government agencies to conduct comprehensive
performance reviews on existing bilateral and multilateral trade agreements
entered into by the United States. These performance reviews will be the
basis of a subsequent report to the president.
"If you look at the 15 largest export markets for U.S. rice last year, 65 percent of those sales were to markets where the United States has a trade agreement or access because of our membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings. "When looking at total U.S. rice exports, 57 percent go to markets where we have trade agreements."
The comments layout what many in the rice industry already know - NAFTA is responsible for Mexico being the number one market for U.S. rice, with sales last year of 863,000 MT or 22 percent of all exports. The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement opened a completely new market and established a long-term stream of funding for domestic rice research. Taken together, U.S. rice exports to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan were 568,000 MT in 2016, and rice, along with other agricultural products, is one of the bright spots in our trade relations with these markets. These markets would not exist today if not for the WTO.
"We also reminded the administration of what makes a 'good' trade agreement," continued Cummings. "From our decades of experience, a good trade agreement at a minimum must be comprehensive and with no product exclusions; provide for free trade in rice over the shortest period possible; contain meaningful and rising access through tariff rate quotas in exchange for any duty phase-outs and; provide a transparent and simple TRQ mechanism to maximize commercial opportunities for quota fill."
The comments noted that rigorous enforcement goes hand-in-hand with trade agreements, citing U.S. successes in the WTO on past cases against Mexico and Turkey, and our objectives in the U.S.'s current case against China over the level of China's domestic subsidies for wheat, corn, and rice.
"It's hard to underestimate the value of the WTO's dispute settlement provisions, if for no other reason than it is the only game in town to hold countries to their international obligations," concluded Cummings.
"If you look at the 15 largest export markets for U.S. rice last year, 65 percent of those sales were to markets where the United States has a trade agreement or access because of our membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings. "When looking at total U.S. rice exports, 57 percent go to markets where we have trade agreements."
The comments layout what many in the rice industry already know - NAFTA is responsible for Mexico being the number one market for U.S. rice, with sales last year of 863,000 MT or 22 percent of all exports. The U.S.-Colombia trade agreement opened a completely new market and established a long-term stream of funding for domestic rice research. Taken together, U.S. rice exports to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan were 568,000 MT in 2016, and rice, along with other agricultural products, is one of the bright spots in our trade relations with these markets. These markets would not exist today if not for the WTO.
"We also reminded the administration of what makes a 'good' trade agreement," continued Cummings. "From our decades of experience, a good trade agreement at a minimum must be comprehensive and with no product exclusions; provide for free trade in rice over the shortest period possible; contain meaningful and rising access through tariff rate quotas in exchange for any duty phase-outs and; provide a transparent and simple TRQ mechanism to maximize commercial opportunities for quota fill."
The comments noted that rigorous enforcement goes hand-in-hand with trade agreements, citing U.S. successes in the WTO on past cases against Mexico and Turkey, and our objectives in the U.S.'s current case against China over the level of China's domestic subsidies for wheat, corn, and rice.
"It's hard to underestimate the value of the WTO's dispute settlement provisions, if for no other reason than it is the only game in town to hold countries to their international obligations," concluded Cummings.
USA
Daily Rice
Major rice producers in recovery
mode – except for U.S.
Bobby Coats, left, University of Arkansas, and Nathan
Childs, right, USDA economist, visit with David Jessup, president and CEO of
DeWitt Bank and Trust in DeWitt, Ark., at the USA Rice Outlook Conference.
Low long-grain prices, adverse weather at planting have reduced
U.S. rice acreage by 20 percent.
The United States seems to be the
only major rice-growing country in the world that has seen a reduction in
acreage – and, thus, will produce less rice – in calendar year 2017.That means
there is likely to not be much draw down in the record world supplies that
currently exist and not much room for improvement in world rice prices,
according to Nathan Childs, agricultural economist with USDA.
“We’re
looking at record supplies; though they won’t be up by much from 2016-17,” says
Dr. Childs, a USDA’s rice analyst for more than two decades. “Many might
remember the big supplies at the turn of the century that we worked on several
years. It took several years to work those supplies down.”
The featured speaker during the
University of Arkansas’ System Division of Agriculture’s Food and Agriculture
Webinar on Thursday (July 27), Dr. Childs said producer support programs,
especially in China and India have kept rice acreage in those countries high.
“China's price support for rice
went up slightly, I think a little bit over 1 percent, not much, but just
a little,” he said, during the webinar moderated by Bobby Coats, professor of
agricultural economics and agribusiness at the University. “India's back up.
It's not a record area, but about 44.5 million hectares (10.99 million acres).
China's up fractionally, nowhere near record though.”
Thailand recovering from drought
Thailand also appears to be well
on the road to recovery from the woes that have beset its rice sector in recent
years. Abundant rainfall has boosted its reservoir levels and, thus, it’s rice
acreage is back to normal after severe drought two years ago.
In the Western Hemisphere, Brazil
is now the largest rice-producing country in the world outside of Asia. Dr.
Childs said USDA-ERS analysts see Brazil’s rice area increasing. “There’s more
use of rice as a second crop or as a first crop, but we see the crop coming
down as it returns to a more normal yield.” (Brazilian farmers can get two and
sometimes three crops a season depending on the region.)
“Look at some of the economic
rationale for contraction,” he said. “Remember we talked about global areas up
in 2017-18, but not everywhere. The U.S. harvested acreage will be down 20
percent from a year ago.”
Low prices for long grain and
heavy rainfall at planting reduced acreage – mostly in the South, but also
California had heavy rainfall in the winter – reduced the harvested area. “The
planted area didn't come down as much, but the abandonment is higher than
typical.”
Egypt, the largest growing
country in North Africa, is expected to see its acreage drop from a massive
record in 2016-17. The government is also imposing strict export area controls
that aren’t always evenly applied.
Skirting the export rules
“They are going to be stricter,
but they're often violated and then there was some shift in planting,” Dr.
Childs noted. “Egypt’s had restrictions on rice planting for decades and typically
grows far more rice than allowed under the government maximum.”
The Philippines, traditionally a
large producer and consumer of rice, is expected to be down about 3 percent.
Japan’s production is continuing to decline based on a long-term reduction of
its rice acreage. Indonesia’s is as well, but the decline is almost
inconsequential, according to Dr. Childs.
One of the biggest percentage
reductions could occur in Cuba where farmers are expected to harvest a 15
percent smaller rice crop this year due to the impact of negative weather the
last two seasons.
“I think it’s the lingering
effects of severe hurricanes that went through last fall,” he noted. “They had
come off a severe drought from El Nino. They are the major importer in the
Western Hemisphere.”
South Korea has stocks concerns
with consumption declining for food and food use declining.
To watch Dr. Childs’ presentation, click on https://youtu.be/A0wtzvmY0OM.
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/major-rice-producers-recovery-mode-except-us
Rajkot Foodgrain Prices- July 31, 2017
Reuters | Jul 31, 2017, 02:00 PM IST
Rajkot Foodgrain Prices Open-
July 31 Jul 31 (Reuters) - Market delivery prices of food
grains and pulses at Rajkot in India's western state of Gujarat opened on a mixed trend, traders said Monday.
* * FOOD GRAINS & PULSES * Wheat prices eased due to increased arrivals. *
Gram prices improved due to retail demand. * Jowar prices moved up due to thin
supply. Prices of food grains and pulses in rupees per 20 kilograms, and
deliveries in 100-kilogram bags: Delivery Auction price Previous price FOOD
GRAIN Wheat Lokwan 00,300 320-360 320-370 Wheat Tukda 02,280 317-384 319-388
Jowar White 090 360-550 350-550 Bajra 0,055 215-265 210-251 PULSES Gram 00,650
0,915-1,041 0,800-0,980 Udid 0,200 0,735-0,950 0,650-0,930 Moong 0,200
0,690-0,860 0,617-0,880 Tuar 0,500 0,550-0,635 0,605-0,665 Maize 008 260-330
262-325 Vaal Deshi 025 0,475-0,710 0,450-0,650 Choli
0,025 0,755-1,400 0,810-1,400 Rajkot market delivery prices in rupees per 100
kilograms:. Today's Price Previous close FOOD GRAINS Wheat Mill quality
1,590-1,600 1,600-1,610 Wheat (medium) 1,750-1,775 1,775-1,800 Wheat (superior
best) 2,050-2,100 2,050-2,100 Bajra 1,360-1,370 1,360-1,370 Jowar 2,900-2,950
2,800-2,850 PULSES Gram 05,150-05,250 05,000-05,100 Gram dal 06,700-06,800
06,700-06,800 Besan (65-kg bag) 4,900-5,000 4,900-5,000 Tuar 03,700-03,800
03,700-03,800 Tuardal 06,000-06,100 06,000-06,100 Moong 4,400-4,500 4,400-4,500
Moongdal 5,500-5,550 5,500-5,550 Udid 05,200-05,300 05,200-05,300 RICE IR-8
2,350-2,400 2,350-2,400 Basmati Best 8,700-8,800
08,700-08,800 Parimal 2,400-2,450 2,400-2,450 Punjab
Parimal 2,700-2,750 2,700-2,750 Basmati Medium 6,000-6,100 6,000-6,100
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/markets-keep-rising-steadily-sbi-stock-surges-4/articleshow/59843573.cms
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- July 31, 2017
Reuters | Jul 31, 2017, 02:05 PM IST
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC/Open Market-July 31 Nagpur, July
31 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices
moved down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC)
here on lack of demand from local millers amid good supply from producing
regions. Fresh fall in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and high
moisture content arrival also pulled down prices here. About 500 of gram and
300 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources. FOODGRAINS
& PULSES GRAM * Desi gram and gram mill quality suffered heavily in open
market here on poor buying support from local traders amid increased supply
from producing regions. TUAR * Tuar varieties moved down in open market in
absence of buyers amid profit-taking selling by stockists at higher level. *
Masoor varieties and moong dal Chilka reported
down in open market on poor buying support from local traders. * In Akola, Tuar
New - 3,400-3,6500, Tuar dal (clean) - 5,100-5,400, Udid Mogar (clean)
- 7,200-8,200, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,500-7,200, Gram - 4,500-4,700, Gram Super
best - 7,400-7,700 * Wheat, rice and other commodities moved in a narrow range
in scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin trading activity. Nagpur
foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees
for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction4,500-4,990 4,600-5,000 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar
Auction 3,100-3,520 3,100-3,600 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
1,600-1,700 1,580-1,690 Gram Super Best Bold 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000 Gram Super
Best n.a. n.a. Gram Medium Best 6,700-7,000 6,700-7,000 Gram Dal Medium n.a.
n.a Gram Mill Quality 5,000-5,100 5,300-5,400 Desi gram Raw 4,700-4,900
5,000-5,200 Gram Yellow 7,100-8,100 7,100-8,100 Gram Kabuli 12,300-13,400
12,300-13,400 Tuar Fataka Best-New 5,400-5,700 5,800-6,000
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 5,200-5,300 5,400-5,600
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,000-5,200 5,200-5,400 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New
4,700-5,000 4,800-5,100 Tuar Gavarani New 3,650-3,750 3,800-4,000 Tuar Karnataka 3,750-3,900 4,050-4,200 Masoor
dal best 4,700-4,900 4,800-5,000 Masoor dal medium 4,400-4,600 4,400-4,700
Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold (New) 6,700-7,000 6,700-7,000 Moong Mogar
Medium 6,000-6,500 6,000-6,500 Moong dal Chilka 5,200-5,800 5,200-6,000 Moong
Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 6,900-7,400 6,900-7,400 Udid Mogar
best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,500-8,500 7,500-8,500 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)
6,800-7,200 6,800-7,200 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,900 4,400-4,900
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,550-4,850 4,550-4,850 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)
2,800-3,000 2,800-3,000 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,850-3,000 2,850-2,950
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,700
3,500-3,700 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,600
4,100-4,600 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000 Wheat Mill quality
(100 INR/KG) 1,750-1,850 1,750-1,850 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300
2,100-2,300 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400 2,200-2,400 Wheat Lokwan
medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a.
n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600
3,000-3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,700 2,200-2,700 Rice BPT
new (100 INR/KG) 2,700-3,300 2,800-3,400 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,500
3,300-3,500 Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,100 3,000-3,100 Rice Luchai
(100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,800 2,500-2,800 Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,400
2,300-2,400 Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600 2,500-2,650 Rice Swarna
medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,400 2,300-2,400 Rice HMT New
(100 INR/KG) 3,700-4,000 3,700-4,000 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) 4,400-4,800 4,400-4,800 Rice Shriram
best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800 Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG)
5,800-6,200 5,800-6,200 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-13,500
10,000-13,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,500 5,000-7,500 Rice
Chinnor New(100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700 Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG)
5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,600
5,400-5,600 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. 32.0 degree
Celsius, minimum temp. 24.5 degree Celsius Rainfall : 0.2 mm FORECAST:
Generally cloudy sky with light rains. Maximum and minimum temperature would be
around and 32 and 25 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/rajkot-foodgrain-prices-july-31-2017/articleshow/59844212.cms
Demand for VN rice to be stable in
Q3: VFA
According to the association, in the bidding for 2-per cent broken rice export to the Philippines, four Vietnamese traders totalled 175,000 tonnes in the tender at different winning prices.
Specifically, Southern Food Corporation 2 (Vinafood 2) won a bid for 50,000 tonnes of rice at a Free on Board (FOB) price of US$369.45 per tonne; International Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes for $357 to $367 per tonne; Tân Long Group Joint Stock Company won 50,000 tonnes of rice for $354 to $359 per tonne; and Hiệp Lợi Joint Stock Company hit 25,000 tonnes with the best price of $370.9 per tonne.This is the first time that private Vietnamese rice exporters were allowed to participate in such a bidding, and they proved they could meet the strict requirements put forward by the Philippines.
“Four enterprises among the total eight businesses winning the bid is a clear demonstration of the capacity of the Vietnamese rice traders,” Năng said.The chairman said that the winning contracts would partly help stabilise domestic rice prices soon.In addition to the rice export contracts to the Philippines, domestic rice exporters are also preparing to deliver goods under the previously signed contracts to Cuba, Bangladesh and Malaysia. “Therefore, from now until the end of the third quarter of 2017, Vietnamese rice sector will not struggle with the settlement of output for farmers.”
According to VFA, demand for rice in Asia recently had positive impact on the rice exports of Việt Nam this year.There are several new emerging needs that motivate the market. For example, Bangladesh, after three rounds of bidding for 150,000 tonnes of rice and having bought 250,000 tonnes from Việt Nam, is also negotiating 200,000 tonnes with Thailand and may continue to buy more from Việt Nam.
Sri Lanka is also urgently importing 55,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan and Myanmar, and seeking supplies from other countries, including Việt Nam. Even the Philippines, in addition to the 250,000 tonnes bidding last week, may import more to shore up its stockpiles to ensure its food security. In addition to this, the consumption demand of China and India is expected to have an impact on the Vietnamese rice exports in the future.
However, whether the Vietnamese enterprises have access to these needs depends on their price competitiveness compared with the other export competitors, as well as the summer-autumn crop harvest in August and September.Nguyễn Thanh Long, managing director of Việt Rice Co Ltd, said that if domestic rice prices "turn up" too high, Vietnamese rice exporters would find it hard to compete with foreign rivals while negotiating commercial contracts.
Currently, Việt Nam’s rice export prices are equal or a little bit higher than those of Thailand. For example, Thailand’s 5-per-cent broken rice is being offered at $395 per tonne, while that of Việt Nam is $407 per tonne, which will be profitable. If Vietnamese rice prices are not adjusted according to the Thai rice prices, it is difficult to attract demand and sign new contracts in the future.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, rice exports of the country in the first seven months of the year is estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, earning a revenue of $1.5 billion, up 15.7 per cent in volume and 13.7 per cent in value over the same period last year.The rice export price in the first half of the year averaged $444.6 per tonne, down 1.4 per cent year-on-year. - VNS
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/381089/demand-for-vn-rice-to-be-stable-in-q3-vfa.html#rWVsuGHjmayaSVLb.97
BUZZ-Thailand floods: no impact on rice exports, says export
body
by Reuters
Monday, 31 July 2017 09:25 GMT
BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters) - **
Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture says 2.83 million rais (400,000 hectares) of
rice fields in the north and northeast of the country have been affected by
floods which began in July.** President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association
Chookiat Ophaswongse says floods however have not affected rice exports.
** Too early to assess damage as
rice crops in the affected areas could survive short-term inundation, Chookiat
says
** Out of 77 Thai provinces, 12
have been declared flood disaster zones, according to the Interior Ministry.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um,
Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and)
http://news.trust.org//item/20170731092945-0vtz3/
Rice
basmati remains weak on sluggish demand
Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,100-2,350, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,765-1,770, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,770-1,775, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 260-300, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 970-980 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,010-1,020 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,035-1,040 (50 kg).Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 6,200-6,400, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 4,900-4,950, Permal raw Rs 2,150-2,175, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,225, Sela Rs 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,825-1,850, Bajra Rs 1,180-1,190, Jowar yellow Rs 1,450-1,500, white Rs 2,900-3,100, Maize Rs 1,300-1,305, Barley Rs 1,465-1,475
China’s
CITIC, Myanmar Rice Federation partner for $400m agribusiness plan Bagan,
Myanmar.
Photo
by
The agricultural business centres will enable
farmers to buy equipment, use warehouse facilities and avail financial
services. “We are looking to get a development loan from the Chinese government
for the project,” Tun told DEALSTREETASIA. Working with the Chinese state-owned
firm will help the financing for the development of agricultural sector as
Myanmar looks to revitalise the agriculture sector which accounts for 38 per
cent of the national GDP and 23 per cent of exports.
Corporations like Myanmar Agribusiness Public
Corporation, which is planning to get listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange, is
also planning to set up agricultural industrial parks in the Delta Region to
provide better agricultural infrastructure. CITIC is also leading the Chinese
consortium that will develop the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone around 2019
https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/china-citic-myanmar-rice-fed-agri-plan-79074/
https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/china-citic-myanmar-rice-fed-agri-plan-79074/
80,000 acres of
paddy cultivation flooded
By Staff | Monday,
31 July 2017
The government has announced that
more than 80,000 acres under monsoon paddy were flooded out of which 20,000
acres damaged due to heavy torrential rains since the start of July.
Monsoon paddy have been damaged in
Yangon, Magwe, Bago, Sagain, Ayeyawady, Tanintharyi, Mon regions and Kachin State
due to the rain, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation
was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Myawady daily.More than 80,000 people from
19,000 households have been affected by the floods due to rising river levels
as of July 20, said the daily.Compared to the total area of more than 19
million acres under paddy, the flooded area due to recent rain was not of major
concern for Myanmar, which employs 60 percent of total workforce, and the
agricultural products constitutes 38pc of the country’s gross domestic product.Myanmar
exported 1.5 million tonnes of rice last fiscal year which ended on March 31.
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/27027-80-000-acres-of-paddy-cultivation-flooded.html
Fourth rice consignment from
Vietnam reaches Chittagong Port
Sun Online Desk 31st July, 2017 10:57:36
The
ship carrying the fourth consignment of rice imported from Vietnam arrived in
Chittagong Port on Monday morning.MV Asian Energy, carrying 25,300 tonnes of
rice, anchored at the outer anchorage of the port this early morning, Alhaz
Mohammad Abul Hossain, local agent and also managing director of Uni Ship
International said.
M
Jahirul Islam, controller of Movement and Storage Division of Food Ministry,
said the ship will be anchored at jetty immediately after sample collection and
completion of customs formalities.Previously, three shipments had reached
Chittagong port and the lightering of the rice is underway, he said.Vietnam’s
state-run Vinafood 2 will supply 60 percent of shipments through Chittagong
port and the rest through the Mongla port
Government
slams call for rice checks
Sansern says move is a bid to favour Yingluck
31 Jul 2017
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS
| WRITER: WASSANA
NANUAM & PHUSADEE ARUNMAS
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd has
accused politicians and rice mill owners who are calling for a new inspection
of rice stocks under the controversial rice-pledging scheme of being part of a
politically-motivated movement.Lt Gen Sansern said it was no coincidence the
movement comes just before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of
Political Positions is to hand down its ruling in the rice-pledging case
against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Aug 25.
"This
could be seen as an attempt to create some kind of impact on the case or a bid
to draw public sympathy for Ms Yingluck," he said."The Commerce
Ministry has already explained on several occasions its principles in releasing
the rice under the scheme," he added.He said some groups are still
attempting to claim that good-quality rice has been sold along with the
bad-quality stock, which made the rice prices drop."The irony is that most of these groups will actually be held responsible for losses associated with bad-quality rice kept at the scheme's warehouses," he said.Previously, the owners of eight rice warehouses had called on the government to conduct a new round of quality checks on rice under the scheme, saying they weren't confident in the results of past inspections conducted by officials.
According to warehouse owners, normal rice was auctioned along with rice used for producing animal feed, which is a waste of money.They claimed they weren't aware of the government's intention to sell the rice as ingredients in animal feed until the days on which the auctions were held.
They added their move should help prevent further losses that could be worth several billion baht.Itsaraphon Khongchawi, the owner of Worachot warehouse in Ang Thong, was the first to come up with a call for new inspection of the rice, saying she was confident the rice kept at her warehouse under the rice-pledging scheme was of good quality and was never intended to be sold as animal feed.She said she had not been aware that one stack of C-grade rice at the warehouse would be sold along with four other stacks of rice graded as A and B -- edible to humans -- as animal feed.
If this 6,000 tonnes of rice is sold as animal feed, the government will face a further loss of at least 30 million baht, Ms Itsaraphon said.
The owner of Thawon Chokchai rice warehouse in Saraburi said although one half of the stock at his warehouse is of good A-grade quality while the other half is of C-grade quality, a random test conducted in 2014 showed all the rice in this warehouse was of C-grade quality, which has to be sold as animal feed.
According to the owner of Kit Charoen Sap warehouse in Lop Buri, given the 5.7 million tonnes of rice already sold as animal feed, the government is estimated to have lost more than 2 billion baht.Wongwirot Palawat, the owner of Charoen Prapha warehouse in Lop Buri, insisted the move to call for a new inspection of the rice stock by the eight warehouse owners wasn't politically motivated."The Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) has always responded in a formal letter to every complaint by these owners of rice warehouses and mills as well as the surveyor companies contracted to handle rice quality inspections," DFP director-general Duangporn Rodphaya said.
"More importantly, these warehouses are the ones facing lawsuits lodged against them by both the Public Warehouse Organisation and the Marketing Organisation for Farmers over the substandard quality of the rice kept there under the rice scheme.
"Official results of the rice inspection that began in 2014 have been made public and used as evidence to pursue legal action against those who are held responsible for the damage in the rice scheme."At this point the eight warehouses have the right to make legal arguments and back their arguments with whatever facts they may have, but they won't be able to request for new inspection of the rice as that process has already passed."
"Nor do they have any right to suspend the government from selling the rice as the longer the rice sale is delayed, more damage will occur to the state," she said, adding that the sales of rice from the eight warehouses have been completed under the rice policy and management committee's resolution.
Tie-up for
Indian rice farming in Ghana
HYDERABAD, JULY 31:
After successfully cultivating desi
tomatoes on its soil, Ghana is set to grow Indian rice varieties and medicinal
and aromatic plants.Goodearth Global Ltd, based in Accra, Ghana, has inked an agreement
with the National Research and Development Corporation (NRDC) in this regard.
Deal inked
Goodearth is owned by
Hyderabad-based international commodity trader Ch Gopal. As per the agreement
signed between him and H Purushotham, Chairman and Managing Director of NRDC,
the rice and medicinal and aromatic plants will be grown on 3,000 acres, which
the company has leased for 50 years.
Goodearth has been present in Ghana
for the past five years and is expanding operations. “We have leased virgin
land near the town of Ho in the Volta (river) region, which is fertile. The
climate is also suitable for growing these crops. Access to the US and European
markets is easier from there,” Gopal told BusinessLine.
The company plans to grow
short-duration (125 days), fine-grained blast-resistant paddy variety called
‘Telangana Sona’. This variety can be grown both during rainy and winter
seasons.
Though rice is a staple food for
Ghana, where significant quantities are imported, especially from Thailand,
Vietnam and India. This offers good scope and opportunity for growing rice in
the African nation itself.
Goodearth also plans to lease
another 3,000 acres for growing tomato, cassava and seeds. NRDC will provide
the technical support, he said. According to Purushotham, the $2 million
Indo-Ghana pilot research project for tomato production, launched in 2015
successfully demonstrated the cultivation of high-yielding tomatoes on three
plots of five acres each.
At a meeting in Ghana recently, both
the governments expressed interest in expanding cooperation in value-added
agriculture.
Millet cultivation
Ghana has also sought Indian help in
boosting its rice and millet crops, Purushotham said.
Millets, particularly sorghum and
pearl millet have potential in North, Upper East and Upper West Ghana to
increase income and food security through strengthened capacity to achieve higher
and sustainable yields in sorghum and pearl production.
BUZZ-Thailand
floods: no impact on rice exports, says export body
BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters) - ** Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture
says 2.83 million rais (400,000 hectares) of rice fields in the north and
northeast of the country have been affected by floods which began in July.
** President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association Chookiat
Ophaswongse says floods however have not affected rice exports.
** Too early to assess damage as rice crops in the affected areas
could survive short-term inundation, Chookiat says
** Out of 77 Thai provinces, 12 have been declared flood disaster
zones, according to the Interior Ministry.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N1KM2Q3
Bangladesh to
buy rice
Cambodia will reach an agreement with Bangladesh tomorrow for the
kingdom’s rice to be exported to the South Asian country, according to an
official in the Commerce Ministry.“Under the deal, Bangladesh will import 1
million tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia for 5 years,” said Soeung Sophary,
the ministry’s spokesperson yesterday.
“An agreement will be signed in Phnom Penh on Wednesday between the
ministry and representatives of the Bangladeshi government,” she added.Ms
Sophary said Bangladesh would take delivery of all types of rice from Cambodia
and the deal will not only focus on fragrant rice or white rice.
Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, welcomed
to the move, saying it was a positive move for the kingdom.“If we can negotiate
with Bangladesh on the prices and get favourable ones, that’s the outcome we
want,” Mr Lak said.In the first quarter of the year, Cambodia exported a total
of 288,562 tonnes of milled rice to 56 countries, up 7.6 percent compared with
the same period last year.
Farmer producer
firms in Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana
Farmer producer firms in
Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana considering agriculture trading
A 30-member team from farmer producer
companies was in Maharashtra to study the infrastructure in the state and the
establishment of logistics for a possible supply chain
Puneet
Singh, national director, who handles the North Indian operations of VGAI, said
that although Punjab and Haryana were known for the Green Revolution,
Maharashtra was very strong in agri business, trading and exports.
Farmer producer companies in Maharashtra,
Punjab and Haryana are considering the possibility of commencing trading in
grapes, potato seeds and basmati rice soon. A 30-member team from farmer
producer companies (FPCs) associated with the northern operations of the
Vegetable Growers Association of India (VGAI) and the Haryana horticulture
department was in Maharashtra to study the infrastructure of FPCs in the state
and the establishment of logistics for a possible supply chain.
Puneet
Singh, national director, who handles the North Indian operations of VGAI, said
that although Punjab and Haryana were known for the Green Revolution,
Maharashtra was very strong in agri business, trading and exports. “The North
is lacking in this aspect and there is more focus on MSP crops here. Therefore,
a team of FPCs decided to visit Maharashtra to study agri solutions and trading
between farmer producer companies,” he said. “The discussions have been very
positive and we are looking at the possibility of dealing in grapes,
pomegranates, basmati rice and potato seeds. Our FPCs have supplied potato
seeds to Maharashtra on a pilot basis and we are looking at taking this forward,”
Singh said.
According
to Singh, Punjab and Haryana have at least 50 FPCs each, of which 8 in Punjab
and 9 in Harayana are part of VGAI. Maharashtra and Karnataka are strong on
this front while FPCs are in the initial stages here and there is much to learn
from them, he said. Moreover, the farmer producer companies in Chandigarh have
a start-up which also has retail outlets. The objective is to explore
possibilities of beginning supplies of commodities that are not available in
these markets from Maharashtra and vice versa.
For
instance, there are plans to begin the supply of potato seeds from Punjab and
Haryana to Maharashtra from September and thereafter pick up winter fruit from
this state to the North, Puneet Singh said. This time apart from visiting food
processing facilities, the intention was to establish direct contact between
farmers and producer companies to form linkages for the future, he said.
Shriram Gadhave, president, VGAI, said that the teams from Punjab and Haryana
had visited Nashik, Pune and Narayangaon where tomato auction has become
common. They were keen on studying the cooperation system here and are looking
at replicating models from Maharashtra in their states.
Puneet
Singh agrees and pointed out that the Narayangaon tomato auction model could be
replicated for watermelons in Punjab and Haryana. In the Narayangaon open
auction, there are no agents or middlemen between the farmer and the buyer.
Tomato is the only item sold in this manner and the farmers decide the price
for their produce. The initiative, begun by Gadhave, earned him much
recognition and appreciation from farmers and governments who wish to replicate
this model in other states.
The
direct auction rooted out the agents and directed the money into the pockets of
tomato farmers. Around 1,200 -1500 tonne of tomatoes are sold here everyday,
with the turnover touching Rs 150 crore to Rs 170 crore during peak season.
This is also part of the initiative brewing among farmer producer companies
(FPCs) across the country. Several federations of these companies are trying to
enter into partnerships with federations of other states. This would not only
enable companies to learn from each other and share technical inputs but also
market products to different states.
Last year Gadhave was in Gujarat as part of
efforts to tie-up with the Gujarat pro agri business consortium producer
company. “The attempt is to be able to bring some 100-120 companies under the
umbrella of the federation gradually. The objective is to be able to service
these companies well and strengthen their marketing and help them market both
commodities and value-added products to sellers across the country”, he said.
Unwilling to discuss figures and the possible quantum of trade between the
states, Puneet Singh is hopeful that the effort should bear fruit and is
keeping his fingers crossed. So is Shriram Gadhave.
http://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/farmer-producer-firms-in-maharashtra-punjab-and-haryana-considering-agriculture-trading/788633/
India asks
European Union to allow duty free exports of all basmati rice varieties
In a move that is expected to give
boost to rice exports, India has approached the European Union (EU) and the
United Kingdom (UK) for allowing duty-free exports of all the 29 varieties of
basmati rice notified by the agriculture ministry.Trades sources told FE that a
zero rate of import duty is granted to eight varieties of husked basmati rice,
including 370, 386, 217, Ranbir, Pusa basmati and Super.
In a move that is expected to give boost to
rice exports, India has approached the European Union (EU) and the United
Kingdom (UK) for allowing duty-free exports of all the 29 varieties of basmati
rice notified by the agriculture ministry. At present, under a code of practice
and regulations signed in 2004, only eight varieties of basmati rice are
allowed duty-free exports from India to EU and UK while those varieties
notified afterwards, especially Pusa 1121 (2008) and Pusa 1509 (2013), which
constitute at least 70% of around 4 million tonne of aromatic rice exports
annually, are subject to a higher level of import duties. Trades sources told
FE that a zero rate of import duty is granted to eight varieties of husked
basmati rice, including 370, 386, 217, Ranbir, Pusa basmati and Super.
While
only 10% of India’s total basmati rice production is exported to EU including
UK, the realisation from shipments is much higher than the bulk of basmati rice
exports to Gulf countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates,
Iraq and Kuwait. “Currently, exports of basmati rice varieties which were
notified after 2004 attract a duty of €165 per tonne, which makes it costlier
against other rice,” an exporter said. India being the top rice exporters for
last many years, shipped 3.5 lakh tonne of basmati rice to EU valued at Rs
1,744 crore in 2016-17. Overall basmati rice export from India was Rs 21,605
crore for FY17.
“There
is ample scope of increasing shipment to EU and UK as code of practices and
regulations signed more than a decade back needs to be revised,” an official
said. He also said that they have received positive feedback from EU and UK
authorities. Out of the total annual value of basmati rice exports, five
countries – Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait — have
share of more than 68%. “EU and UK allowing more varieties of basmati under
import duty free regime would boost rice exports prospects,” an official said.
This follows EU’s recent decision to impose a stringent maximum residue limit
(MRL) for Tricyclazole, a fungicide used by farmers against a disease which
impacts basmati rice crop from December 31, 2017.
The exporters in the country have launched an
extensive campaign to educate the farmers in key growing states of Punjab,
Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh on the judicious use of pesticide. “Many a
times rice exports consignments were rejected because of detection of
pesticides residues and our focus would be to educate the farmers against use
of excessive pesticides which would lead to higher price realisation,” Vijay
Setia, president, All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) had said.
http://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/india-asks-european-union-to-allow-duty-free-exports-of-all-basmati-rice-varieties/788627/
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