Rout admits loan
suicides
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First published
on 14-Dec-2017
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SUBRAT DAS
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Bhubaneswar: Odisha
agriculture minister Damodar Rout on Wednesday finally admitted that 14
farmers had committed suicide unable to withstand loan burden in the state
this year.
However, he stopped short of
admitting that the suicides were caused by crop loss. Of the 14, six were
from Bargarh, three from Ganjam, two from Sambalpur, and one each from
Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Rayagada districts, he said. Rout also informed the
House that the suicide of eight farmers were caused by loan burden.
He, however, reiterated that
Brunda Sahu, a farmer from Bargarh whose suicide had snowballed into a
political controversy, had no loan burden. "Those who were sharecroppers
might have committed suicide after being harassed by their respective
landowners," Rout said.
The minister also told the
Assemnly that crop loss compensation would also be extended to the
sharecroppers.
Stating that paddy cultivation was
not remunerative as Rs 35,157 was required for paddy cultivation on an acre
of land, Rout said the Centre had been asked to raise the minimum support
price (MSP) for paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal.
The Opposition - Congress and BJP
- on Wednesday continued its attack on the BJD over farmers' issues, stalling
Assembly proceedings over the distress sale of paddy even as the state
government said it had set up squads to launch crackdowns against rice
millers.
Earlier, talking to reporters
outside the Assembly after the adjournment of proceedings, Leader of
Opposition Narasingha Mishra lambasted both the Centre and the state for
neglecting Odisha' farmers. He said that while the Centre was not hiking the
MSP for paddy, the state government agencies were forcing the farmers into
distress sale.
"These agencies were refusing
to purchase the paddy from the farmers on the pretext that they were not up
to fair average quality (FAQ) standard and deducting 5 to 10 kg per quintal.
This is sheer exploitation of farmers by the government agencies, forcing
them to sell their produce to private rice-millers and middlemen at throwaway
prices," said Mishra.
BJP MLA Pradip Purohit also
accused the state government of neglecting the farmers. "That's why it
is avoiding discussions on farmers' issues," he said.
Food supplies and consumer welfare
minister Surya Narayan Patro said the Opposition were just making generalised
allegations to "create a storm in the tea cup". "They should
come up with specific charges against an individual or agency," he said.
Patro said his department had set up squads to conduct raids on the millers.
Raids were going on in Bargarh, Sambalpur and other districts, he said.
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Millers hand-in-glove with public distribution system dealers
THE HANS INDIA | Dec 14,2017 , 04:10 AM IST
Srikakulam: Rice millers are colluding with fair price shop dealers in the district
to reach their rice levy target. They are purchasing public distribution system
(PDS) rice from the ration shops dealers and rice traders who are purchasing
PDS rice from white ration card holders.
In turn, the PDS rice will be handed over to the Andhra Pradesh
State Civil Supplies Corporation (APSCSC) by the millers and sell the original
paddy rice at a higher price in the open market.
Millers reportedly purchasing PDS rice from dealers and traders by
paying Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kg and after polishing it, they are mixing it in
normal rice which is being sold at Rs 40 to Rs 42 per kg.
Every miller has to handover 67 per cent rice to APSCSC out of the
procured paddy from Paddy Purchasing Centres (PPC). Millers have to clear
previous years’ levy targets till 2015-16, and 2016-17 rice levy target is also
pending for a quantity of 184 tonnes which is worth Rs 40 lakh.
To meet the levy conditions, PDS rice is being used by the
millers. About 30 per cent of PDS rice is being diverted and mixed in the millers’
target.
Most of the white ration card holders are not consuming the PDS rice and after
purchasing it, they immediately sell to the dealer or a trader in the village
for Rs 8 to Rs 10, in turn, they sell the rice to millers for Rs 10 to Rs 12 by
getting Rs 2 as profit.
“After re-cycling of PDS rice, we cannot found that it is PDS rice
and millers claimed that it as rice milled from common paddy variety”, district
civil supplies officer (DSO) G Mohan Babu told The Hans India. “To prevent
misuse of PDS rice, we are making surprise checks of stocks at fair price shops
across the district with 16 civil supplies deputy tahasildars (CSDT) by forming
them as Task Force team,” the DSO elaborated.
“To prevent this practice, we are making surprise checks of stocks
at rice mills and tallied stocks by comparing paddy procured from PPCs and
available stock at the rice mill for every 15 days”, civil supplies district
manager R Venkateswar Rao explained.
Rice prices go up again
Iftakhar Mahamud | Update: 15:11,
Dec 14, 2017
Just after the price of rice dropped for a
month, it has soared again, increasing the woes of people in the low income
bracket.
The
price of rice at the outset of the year was Tk 40 a kg, in May it was Tk 50.
The
price decreased to Tk 42 after the government took few measures, , but the
price once again increased last week by Tk 2-3 a kg. The current price is Tk
45.
The
price of low grade coarse rice in the markets of Kazipara, section-6 of Mirpur
and Karwan Bazar in the capital, is Tk 45-50.
Market
supply of coarse rice has fallen while supply of fine and medium grade rice is
on the rise.
Most of
the shops were selling rice at a price between Tk 50-65.
Price on the rise despite stock
The
total amount of rice currently in government, non-government and farmer-level
stocks is around 4.5-5 million tonnes. According to the food ministry, the
amount of rice stocked in the government warehouses is about 460,000 tonnes and
the traders have imported 1.4 million tonnes.
According
to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, overall
rice reserves in the country in November were about 7 million tonnes. The
people consume about 2.2 million tonnes of rice per month.
The food
ministry also said that the government has fixed the target of Aman production
in this season at 15 million tonnes. Of the amount, farmers have harvested 30
per cent or about 4.5 million tonnes.
But, the
government has signed agreements with 5,000 millers to procure only 300,000
tonnes of rice so far.
Based on
the information on previous reserves, Aman produce and imported rice,
economists said there should not be any shortage of rice reserves in the
country.
Food
minister Quamrul Islam said to Prothom Alo, “You are free to write whatever you
want about the rice price. I’m not going to say anything. I’ve nothing to say.”
Meanwhile,
traders blamed the hike of paddy price for the increased price of rice. They
said paddy prices soared after the government had fixed procurement price of
paddy at Tk 39 a kg.
Paddy
price has increased by Tk 100-200 per maund in the wholesale markets of
Naogaon, Dinajpur, Kushtia and Thakurgaon in the last few days.
Rice
Millers Association general secretary AKM Layek Ali said paddy price hike is
damaging for the businessmen as they will be able to make marginal amount of
profit.
He
warned rice prices might go up more in the coming days. The chance of decrease
of rice price before the next Boro season is slim, he added.
Palli
Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) chairman economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad
said traders will increase rice price on any excuse and will not decrease it
easily.
He
further said whenever the media talks about rice price various government
organisations take steps to show their activities, which renders the market
further unstable.
The
government should monitor the market regularly and continue the open market
sale (OMS) till the price comes down to Tk 40 a kg, he observed. Otherwise, the
poor will face dire situation, he warned.
Shrinking social safety net
The
government increases sale of rice for poor people under social safety net
programme whenever its price crosses Tk 40 a kg. The OMS was resumed in
September. People could get rice at Tk 30. But that programme saw a hitch. Most
of the dealers were sent ‘atap’ rice, which does not go with the food habit of
the people.
The
consumers and dealers demanded ‘shiddha’ rice but the food directorate, without
paying heed to the demands, decided to close down OMS from 15 December.
Kazi
Nurul Islam, supply, distribution and marketing director at directorate general
of food, said they supplied a tonne of ‘atap’ rice to 2,105 dealers each but 30
per cent of that rice remained unsold.
The OMS
however will resume in March, he added.
Senior
researcher of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Nazneen
Ahmed said, “People are not buying atap rice as it doesn’t go with their food
habit. The government should increase the supply of rice in the OMS and other
social safety net programmes to ensure their security.”
*This piece, originally published in the
Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza
Elephant
Group to flood market with local rice
December 13, 2017
Rice
The Managing Director (MD) of
Elephant Group of Companies , Mr Tunji Owoeye, on Wednesday said the company
would soon flood the market with its local rice known as the Elephant Pride.
Owoeye said this in a statement
after his company took possession of the Elele Alimini Rice Processing Mill in
Rivers.
The statement was signed by the
group’s Media Consultant, Mr Babatunde Ajibola.
The News Agency of Nigeria
reports that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) concessioned
the rice mill in Rivers to the group on Dec.1.
The statement quoted the managing
director as saying at the occasion that the mill had the capacity to
process 210 metric tonnes of paddy rice per day.
“Elephant group is ready to make
effective use of the mill and it will be producing our own brand of local rice,
Elephant pride.
“We will get our supply of paddy
rice for the mill from the surrounding communities.
“This will encourage the local
communities to grow more rice through the out-growers scheme, thereby,
expanding the agricultural value chain.
“There will be direct and
indirect job creation and it will also increase the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of the country,’’ he said.
Owoeye also said that the
development would make positive impact on the Nigerian economy.
He added that it would also
guarantee food security and support the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure
agricultural sustenance and food sufficiency.
The Elephant group is a
multinational group in the business of imports, exports, production,
processing, marketing and distribution of agro-commodities throughout the 36
states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The group is popularly known for
its cement known as the Elephant Cement; other products include Elephant
Fertiliser and Elephant Gold Rice.(NAN)۔
http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldstagenew/index.php?active=news&newscid=41556&catid=36m
GMT | Views: 87
Rice
The Managing Director (MD) of
Elephant Group of Companies , Mr Tunji Owoeye, on Wednesday said the company
would soon flood the market with its local rice known as the Elephant Pride.
Owoeye said this in a statement
after his company took possession of the Elele Alimini Rice Processing Mill in
Rivers.
The statement was signed by the
group’s Media Consultant, Mr Babatunde Ajibola.
The News Agency of Nigeria
reports that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) concessioned
the rice mill in Rivers to the group on Dec.1.
The statement quoted the managing
director as saying at the occasion that the mill had the capacity to
process 210 metric tonnes of paddy rice per day.
“Elephant group is ready to make
effective use of the mill and it will be producing our own brand of local rice,
Elephant pride.
“We will get our supply of paddy
rice for the mill from the surrounding communities.
“This will encourage the local
communities to grow more rice through the out-growers scheme, thereby,
expanding the agricultural value chain.
“There will be direct and
indirect job creation and it will also increase the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of the country,’’ he said.
Owoeye also said that the
development would make positive impact on the Nigerian economy.
He added that it would also
guarantee food security and support the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure
agricultural sustenance and food sufficiency.
The Elephant group is a
multinational group in the business of imports, exports, production,
processing, marketing and distribution of agro-commodities throughout the 36
states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The group is popularly known for
its cement known as the Elephant Cement; other products include Elephant
Fertiliser and Elephant Gold Rice.(NAN
Nathan Childs, USDA Economic Research Service, discusses
domestic and global rice outlook at the USA Rice Outlook conference in San
Antonio
Tight supplies and higher prices expected for 2017-18 rice crop
Tight supplies indicate higher rice prices for 2017/18; building
stocks will mean lower prices for 2018/19
U.S. rice farmers can expect
tight supplies and higher prices for the 2017-18 crop year and will respond
with increased acreage and anticipated higher production, assuming normal
conditions.
The latest World Supply and
Demand Estimate report, released Dec. 12, indicates U.S. rice acreage will be
up 17 percent in 2018, up to 2.9 million acres. Estimates show a 3 percent
yield increase — assuming normal growing conditions. Carry-in for both long-grain
and medium-grain rice shows a sharp decline from 2017-18 and below recent five
term averages.
Production will increase almost
24 percent from the 2018-19 crop, up to 224 million hundredweight, mostly from
long-grain rice at a 28 percent increase to 161 million hundredweight. Medium-
and short-grain estimates show a 13.5 percent jump to 59 million hundredweight.
Imports will increase slightly,
up 0.8 percent, from Asian aromatic rices. Total U.S. rice supplies are
expected to increase more than 10 percent, which sets up a likely price
pullback for 2018-19.
Lower Prices for 2018-19
Prices could decline by 20 cents
a pound, for the 2018-19 crop. “Farm prices for both classes of rice in the
South and in California are projected to decline in 2018-19, mostly due to the
much larger U.S. supplies,” says Nathan Childs, Economic Research Service,
USDA.
Childs, speaking at the closing
session of the USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Antonio, Dec. 12, reporting
on numbers fresh off the World Supply and Demand Estimates report released
shortly before he spoke, said U.S. ending stocks are expected to show a
substantial increase in 2018-19, with long-grain accounting for most of the
production increase.
Global supply also increases,
Childs said, in spite of some production setbacks. “Global supplies increase to
a record 621.5 million tons, a result of a 4 percent larger carry-in,” he
explained. Global production was down 0.7 percent from the 2017-18 record, at
483.5 million tons (milled basis).
Production shortfalls occurred in
Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and the
United States, and more than offset larger production in Burma, China, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, Childs said.
Harvested area is projected down
by 600,000 hectares from 2017-18 to 160.2 million hectares. Bangladesh, Egypt,
India, Philippines, and the United State all harvested less area, which “more
than offset expanded rice area in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.”
Weather and Other Factors
He cited several reasons for
reduced rice area, including low prices at planting for U.S. growers, followed
by weather issues — heavy rain and flooding early and a hurricane on the Gulf
Coast late. Other countries lost production to flooding and drought; strict
area controls in Egypt resulted in a switch to corn and cotton, and expectation
of increased imports precipitated a decrease in the Philippines.
U.S. production dropped by 20.4
percent. Sri Lanka increased production by 45.2 percent. China is up 0.8
percent.
Thailand, Sri Lanka, China,
Burma, and Cambodia are increasing rice production area.
Childs said global rice supplies
for 2017-18 are expected to be a record high, supporting prediction of lower
prices. “Continued high producer price support in China increased area 4,000
hectares, despite huge stocks and record imports.”
Global consumption is also down,
Childs said. “At 480.8 million tons, global consumption (including a residual)
is 600,000 tons below the 2016-17 record and 2.7 million tons below 2017-18
production. Indonesia, Thailand, and the United States account for most of the
expected decline in global consumption (including a residual component) in
2017-18.” China, Egypt, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Vietnam will increase
rice consumption.
Global ending stocks for 2017-18
will rise 2.7 million tons from 2016-17 figures and will be the highest since
2000-01.
The China Syndrome
As with other commodities, China
is the overriding dynamic, holding more than two-thirds of the global ending
stocks for 2017-18. Ending stocks for the top five exporters, India, Thailand,
Viet Nam, United States and Pakistan, are down.
Childs says Nigeria, Sri Lanka
and Iran are expected to import less rice in 2017-18.
The export market is significant
for rice with 9 percent of global production traded annually. “That’s double
the share of 25 years ago,” Childs said. Thailand and India are expected to be
top rice exporters in 2017 and 2018, and Burma is back in the export business
with the highest anticipated rice export since before World War II.
Childs said China had backed out
of the rice export market for about a decade but has re-entered, “and now China
exports more than 1 million tons of rice, and is also expected to remain the
largest rice importing country, followed by Nigeria,” which is a distant
second.
Childs says the U.S. faces
difficulty trading with Asian countries because of the price differential,
about $150 a ton, with other exporters.
Latin America Top Market
The Western Hemisphere is the
U.S. rice market. “Latin America typically accounts for about 60 percent of
U.S. rice exports.” The figure would be higher, Childs said, if he included
Canada.
Exports are projected to decline
in 2017-18. “Through Nov. 30, U.S. all-rice exports were 9 percent below a year
earlier, with rough-rice responsible for most of the decline. U.S. long-grain
exports were 9 percent above a year earlier, with milled rice accounting for
all of the increase.”
Childs sees some good news from
exports estimates. “Through Nov. 30, U.S long-grain sales and shipments to
Iraq, Haiti, and Mexico were well ahead of a year ago,” he said. “But medium-
and short-grain sales were well behind last year to northeast Asia, north
Africa, and the Middle East.”
Other factors affecting 2018-19
markets include:
• Big increase projected for
total domestic and residual use, mostly due to a larger crop.
• Long-grain accounts for the
bulk of the expected increase in domestic use.
• Increased exports of both
classes of rice, with medium- and short-grain increasing at the fastest pace.
• A substantial increase in U.S.
ending stocks, with long-grain accounting for the bulk of the increase.
• Farm prices for both classes of
rice in the South and in California are projected to decline in 2018-19, mostly
due to much larger U.S. supplies.
Childs says several factors could
affect U.S. rice exports, including:
• Will Venezuela remain a top
buyer of U.S. rice? Venezuela has been a critical market for U.S. rice in
recent years, despite political turmoil.
• Will competition from South
American exporters in Mexico and Central America increase?
• Any additional U.S. sales to
Iraq?
• Any U.S. sales to Iran?
• U.S. sales to China?
• Will Turkey and Libya return as
buyers of U.S. rice?
Childs and other market observers at the conference say
overproduction from the 2018 crop could have an even greater negative impact on
prices.
Rice
Scholarship Winner Shows Versatility of Rice
By Meghan Mahoney
USA Rice's Betsy Ward and Dow
AgroSciences' Zach Lopez present the big money to grand prize winner Jared
Fitton
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Copious research. Tedious work.
Contemporary thinking. It's a
winning combination both for rice production and for the National Rice Month
Scholarship Contest grand prize entry.
Jared Fitton, winner of the 2017 Dow AgroSciences-sponsored
scholarship, received a $4,000 scholarship and a trip for two to the awards
ceremony at the 2017 USA Rice Outlook Conference here Monday.
This year's competition was fierce with 68 entries - more than
three-fold over last year - from all six rice producing states. Fitton's winning entry was a stop-motion
video created to help promote, and increase awareness of, U.S.-grown rice.
"I wanted to think outside the box and be interesting and
entertaining," says Fitton, a self-proclaimed computer science nerd, who
attends Santa Barbara High School Computer Science Academy in Santa Barbara,
California. "I decided that a
stop-motion video would help show the versatility of rice by changing shapes
created out of grains to tell the story."
Stop-motion is an animation technique to make static objects, in
this case rice, appear as though they are moving. To create the video, Fitton made a camera
mount in his garage so he could shoot pictures directly over a table covered
with a black paper backdrop. From there,
he slowly moved the rice around the table into different images, capturing
every small movement with a picture and repeating the process.
"It took around seven hours, but my little brother helped out
and kept me entertained," he says.
"It was a good bonding experience."
The pictures then went into a program that greatly increases the
speed at which the images are viewed to give the illusion of movement, and
Fitton recorded voiceover that paired with the video.
"National Rice Month is a time to celebrate the hard work that
rice farmers put into making one of American's favorite grains," Fitton
says in the video introduction. And to
truly appreciate rice, he helped viewers understand how rice is produced, harvested,
and milled; the environmental benefits of rice; and, the positive economic
impacts of rice.
Fitton's personal takeaway from the project is the positive impact
rice contributes to his home state.
"To put it into perspective for the average teenager, with the
$500 million rice contributes to California's economy, you could buy
1,113,585,000 chicken nuggets," Fitton says.
Go to thinkrice.com/scholarship for more information on USA Rice
and the scholarship sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and to view Fitton's video,
titled Rice in Motion.
This year, Olivia Davis of Shreveport, Louisiana, was awarded
second place and a $3,000 scholarship for her video, Celebrate Rice! The third place award of $1,500 went to Jessa
Goodeaux of Lonsdale, Arkansas for her video, Rice Unites Us!
Urgent
action needed to reduce arsenic in infant rice cereals, says study
By Gill Hyslop
12-Dec-2017 - Last
updated on 12-Dec-2017 at 12:19 GMT
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Infant
rice cereals account for 55% of the total inorganic arsenic infants ingest,
according to a 2016 study. Pic: ©GettyImages/ChristinLola
Healthy
Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), an alliance of scientists and child health
advocacy organizations, is calling for urgent action by cereal makers, the FDA
and parents to remove high-arsenic cereals off store shelves and out of
infants’ diets.
The HBBF
has lashed out at the US FDA for “falling short of protecting infants”
after a
study found infant rice cereals contain six times the level of arsenic than
other grain cereals on the market.
The study tested more than 100 types of
infant cereals, including 45 products made by nine different companies,
including Beech-Nut and BioKinetics, sold at stores around the US.
Results found one third of the brands
tested contained levels of 90 parts per billion (ppb) or higher of inorganic
arsenic (the most toxic form of arsenic).
The FDA has no limit for arsenic in rice
cereal, but issued draft
guidance of 100 ppb of inorganic arsenic last year.
Averaging
all the samples together in the HBBF report, the rice cereals contained 85 ppb
of inorganic arsenic, but several samples came in with 90 ppb or higher.
|
Brand
|
Cereal
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Grains listed
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Inorganic arsenic
levels
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Beech-Nut
|
Rice
Baby Cereal
|
Rice
flour
|
Ranging
between 67-102 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
Complete
Rice Single Grain Baby Cereal
|
Rice
flour
|
Ranging
between 65-78 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
DHA
Probiotic Rice Cereal
|
Rice
flour
|
Ranging
between 79-86 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
Organic
Rice Cereal
|
Organic
rice flour
|
Ranging
between 28-47 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
Rice
Cereal
|
Rice
flour
|
Ranging
between 59-112 ppb
|
|
BioKinetics
|
Brown
Rice Sprouted Baby Cereal
|
Organic
sprouted brown rice flakes
|
Ranging
between 128-235 ppb
|
|
Earth's
Best
|
Whole
Grain Rice Cereal
|
Organic
whole grain brown rice flour
|
Ranging
between 65-109 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
Organic
Brown Rice Cereal
|
Organic
whole grain brown rice flour
|
Ranging
between 72-109 ppb
|
|
Gerber
|
Rice
& Banana Apple Cereal
|
Whole
grain rice flour
|
Ranging
between 92-107 ppb
|
|
HappyBABY
|
Organic
Probiotic Baby Cereal - Brown Rice
|
Milled
organic whole grain brown rice
|
Ranging
between 51-123 ppb
|
|
Healthy
Times
|
Brown
Rice Cereal for Babies
|
Organic
whole grain brown rice flour
|
102
ppb
|
BioKinetics’
Brown Rice Sprouted Baby Cereal contained the most arsenic in the testing, with
samples ranging from 128-235 ppb.
However,
BioKinetics president Robert DenHoed said the company does not intend making
any changes.
“We test samples ourselves and send some
to an offsite lab in Toronto, and our readings are typically less than 10 ppb,” he
said in a statement to the media.
High
levels of arsenic were also found in Beechnut infant cereals, with a sample of
its Rice Baby Cereal brand ranging between 87-102 ppb.
In its
media statement, Beech-Nut reassured parents the company has rigorous testing
protocols in place to ensure it provides safe, nutritious food for babies.
“All of our currently available cereals
meet the FDA recommendation for inorganic arsenic. We buy our rice from
California, the rice-growing region with the lowest levels of arsenic and we
test every delivery of rice flour before we make our rice cereal as a standard
practice,” said the company.
The HBBF contends that – more than a year after the FDA issued its
draft guidance to cereal makers of 100ppb – the regulator has still not set a
final limit for arsenic in rice cereal.
Arsenic
levels of infant rice cereals vs multi-grain cereals
“It has failed to finalize the proposed
cap in its draft guidance, even though there is no known safe level of arsenic
exposure,” wrote Jane Houlihan, national director
of Science and Health, HBBF, in the report.
Arsenic
is strictly regulated in drinking water (with a limit of 10 ppb), but is legal
in any amount in infant rice cereal.
A cup of
prepared infant rice cereal has more than double the amount of arsenic allowed
in a cup of water, according to the report.
Rice
naturally absorbs more ten times more arsenic from soil and water than other
grains used for infant cereals.
High
costs of arsenic
Several studies – including those
conducted by the FDA – have found that inorganic
arsenic exposure in infants and pregnant women can result in reduce children’s
IQ..
The World Health Organization also foundlong-term exposure can cause cancer and skin
lesions.
According to the HBBF report, rice-based
foods are resulting in a loss of 9.2 million IQ points among 0-6 year-old
children.
The lower IQs will result in decreased
salaries for those children when they are adults, costing the US an estimated
$12-$18bn annually.
Call for action
The HBBF is calling upon the FDA to “act
immediately to set an enforceable, health-based limit for arsenic in infant
rice cereal and other rice-based foods.”
Although the study found cereal makers
have taken steps to limit arsenic in infant rice cereals – levels were reduced,
on average, to 85 ppb in 2016-2017 from 103 ppb in 2013-2014 – it urges cereal
makers to continue reducing these levels.
In the meantime, it is encouraging
parents to stop feeding children rice cereals altogether, and substitute them
with iron-fortified grain cereals such as barley, oat, and multigrain.
The HBBF also recommended avoiding
infant rice snacks, which contain high arsenic levels, too.
Study:
Arsenic in 9 Brands of Infant Cereal
Author: Jane Houlihan, MSCE, National
Director of Science and Health, Healthy Babies Bright Futures
Funded by the Forsythia and Passport
Foundations and The John Merck Fund
The study has not been peer-reviewed or
published in a journal, but is
posted on the HBBF website.
https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2017/12/12/Urgent-action-needed-to-reduce-arsenic-in-infant-rice-cereals-says-study
North Texas running back Jeffrey Wilson will not participate in
New Orleans Bowl
·
DEC
12, 2017 - 6:53 PM
Senior running back Jeffrey
Wilson was among the North Texas players who were
greeted with Mardi Gras beads and brass band music when he arrived for the New
Orleans Bowl on Tuesday.
But Wilson is only here in a
support capacity. He wore a walking boot as he made his way into the team
hotel, and Mean Green coach Seth Littrell said his star running back will not be available for
Saturday’s bowl contest against Troy.
“Jeffrey’s had a great career.
He’s one of our biggest leaders and he’s such a great person — I hate it for
him,” Littrell said. “He really wanted to go out and finish the season the
right way.”
Wilson was in the midst of a
breakout senior season, rushing for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns in the first
11 games before injuring his ankle in North Texas’ 52-49 win against Army.
He was held out of both the
regular-season finale against Rice and the Conference USA Championship Game
against Florida Atlantic.
Wilson finished his North Texas
career as the school’s fourth all-time leading rusher, gaining 3,205 yards in
his four seasons.
“He’s not going to be available,
which sucks, but at the same time I’m proud of what he’s accomplished,” Litrell
said.
Redshirt freshman Nic Smith earned the starting spot in
Wilson’s absence. Smith rushed for 228 yards on 40 carries in those games, including
a 178-yard performance against Rice.
True freshman Evan Johnson, a Loranger native, served as
the top backup, gaining 42 yards on 10 carries in the two games.
Though it's a small sample size,
the North Texas offense saw its overall numbers dip in two games without its
star running back.
Against Rice and FAU, North Texas
averaged 410 yards and 23.5 points per game, compared to 477.4 yards and 38.2
points per game with Wilson in the lineup.
Season of giving
Both teams arrived in New Orleans
on Tuesday evening and later in the week will enjoy one of the added bonuses of
making a bowl game: Gifts the players receive for participating in the game.
The bowl swag for North Texas and
Troy players at the New Orleans Bowl this season included a Fossil watch and a
gift suite — which essentially assigns a numerical value to a wide assortment
of gifts and allows players to spend their allotment on what they choose.
Record watch
Troy running back Jordan Chunn can etch his spot in
history with a big game Saturday.
The senior enters the New Orleans
Bowl with 47 career rushing touchdowns, putting him one behind
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Tyrell Fenroy for the conference’s career record.
North Texas has had difficulty
keeping opposing running backs out of the end zone this season. The Mean Green
has allowed 32 rushing touchdowns, which ties them for the sixth-worst mark
nationally.
On tap
Included in the festivities
leading up to Saturday’s bowl game are a luncheon and a fun run, both of which
will be held Friday.
The keynote speaker for the
luncheon is former pro bowl safety Darren Woodson, who serves on the board of the North Texas chapter of the Make
A Wish Foundation. Tickets for the luncheon are $65 and can be purchased
at NewOrleansBowl.org/luncheon
The Dashing Through the Dome fun
run will be held at 6 p.m. Friday. Participants will start outside the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, then weave through the concourses, finishing the
2-mile race on the Superdome turf.
Tickets cost $35 and include a
general admission ticket to the game.
Rice exporters' delegation from
Pakistan in Sri Lanka to promote and market Pakistani rice
Wed, Dec 13, 2017, 09:23 am SL
Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 13, Colombo: A 15-member
delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) is visiting Sri
Lanka to promote and market Pakistani rice, according to a statement.The
delegation held a meeting with Muhammad Rizwan Hameem, Chairman, Cooperative
Wholesale Establishment (CWE), which is the state body responsible for the
procurement of rice from various origins.CWE, under the purview of Ministry of
Industry and Commerce issued tenders in October to procure 500,000 metric tons
of rice.Leader of the Pakistani delegation, Acting chairman of REAP Rafique
Suleman held a discussion with CWE chairman for the possibilities to increase
rice imports from Pakistan.
Suleman also held discussion with
the Sri Lankan government officials to reduce heavy import duty imposed on
Pakistani long grain rice.According to the Minister of Industry and Commerce
Rishad Bathiudeen and his officials, domestic Lankan rice market has faced
supply pressures as three consecutive harvesting seasons (2016 & 2016/'17)
failed to produce usual paddy volumes resulting in a 50 percent fall in
domestic rice supply this year, thereby necessitating imports to the country to
sustain the market.
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17B/Dec13_1513137189CH.php
New dishes daily on WTC
delegates’ platter
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Hyderabad: The lunch menu for World Telugu Conference delegates will change
every day, with a variety of authentic Telangana delicacies on the table. A
statement from the Civil Supplies Department on Tuesday spelled out the details
of the strictly vegetarian lunch menu to be served at all of the conference
venues.
There will be no lunch on December
15 as the conference will be inaugurated in the evening. On December 16,
vegetable biryani and raita will be served for flavoured rice, bagara baigan
and pattu vadiyala pulusu for curries, and paneer butter masala for north
Indian curry.
On December 17, jeera rice will be
served with beerakaya, tomato soya kura and mentula pulusu curries. Those
preferring north Indian curries can opt for Aloo mutter.
On December 18, bagara rice will be
served with mirchi capsicum kura and sorakaya podi pappu, with mixed vegetable
curry from north Indian cuisine.
On the final day, delegates can
enjoy Tomato rice with chikudukaya tomato kura, vankaya pulusu and aloo palak
curries.
White rice, fruits, and pindi
vantala will be served daily.
Basmati Rice North America Industry 2017 Sales, Supply and
Consumption Forecasts to 2022
Wiseguyreports.Com Added New Market
Research Report On – “Basmati Rice Industry 2017 North America Production,
Supply and Demand Research Report to 2022”
Description
WiseGuyReports.Com adds” North
America Basmati Rice Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application,
Forecast to 2022 “Research To Its Database.
"Basmati is a variety of long,
slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally from the Indian
subcontinent.
Basmati rice has a typical pandan-like (Pandanus amaryllifolius leaf) flavour
caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. Basmati grains contain about
0.09 ppm of this aromatic chemical compound naturally, a level that is about 12
times more than non-basmati rice varieties, giving basmati its distinctive
spicy fragrance and flavour. This natural aroma is also found in cheese, fruits
and other cereals. It is a flavoring agent approved in the United States and
Europe, and is used in bakery products for aroma."
Scope of the Report:
This report focuses on the Basmati Rice in North America
Market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report
categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.
Market Segment by Manufacturers,
this report covers
LT Foods
Amira Nature Foods
Best Foods
KRBL Limited
Kohinoor Rice
Aeroplane Rice
Tilda Basmati Rice
Amar Singh Chawal Wala
Hanuman Rice Mills
Adani Wilmar
Galaxy Rice Mill
Dunar Foods
Sungold
Market Segment by Countries,
covering
United States
Canada
Mexico
Market Segment by Type,
covers
Indian Basmati Rice
Pakistani Basmati Rice
Market Segment by Applications, can
be divided into
Direct Edible
Deep Processing
Table of Contents -Major Key Points
1 Market Overview
1.1 Basmati Rice Introduction
1.2 Market Analysis by Type
1.2.1 Indian Basmati Rice
1.2.2 Pakistani Basmati Rice
1.3 Market Analysis by Applications
1.3.1 Direct Edible
1.3.2 Deep Processing
1.4 Market Analysis by Countries
1.4.1 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)
1.4.2 Mexico Status and Prospect (2012-2022)
1.4.3 Canada Status and Prospect (2012-2022)
1.5 Market Dynamics
1.5.1 Market Opportunities
1.5.2 Market Risk
1.5.3 Market Driving Force
2 Manufacturers Profiles
2.1 LT Foods
2.1.1 Profile
2.1.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.1.2.1 Type 1
2.1.2.2 Type 2
2.1.3 LT Foods Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market
Share (2016-2017)
2.1.4 Business Overview
2.1.5 LT Foods News
2.2 Amira Nature Foods
2.2.1 Profile
2.2.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.2.2.1 Type 1
2.2.2.2 Type 2
2.2.3 Amira Nature Foods Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and
Market Share (2016-2017)
2.2.4 Business Overview
2.2.5 Amira Nature Foods News
2.3 Best Foods
2.3.1 Profile
2.3.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.3.2.1 Type 1
2.3.2.2 Type 2
2.3.3 Best Foods Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market
Share (2016-2017)
2.3.4 Business Overview
2.3.5 Best Foods News
2.4 KRBL Limited
2.4.1 Profile
2.4.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.4.2.1 Type 1
2.4.2.2 Type 2
2.4.3 KRBL Limited Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market
Share (2016-2017)
2.4.4 Business Overview
2.4.5 KRBL Limited News
2.5 Kohinoor Rice
2.5.1 Profile
2.5.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.5.2.1 Type 1
2.5.2.2 Type 2
2.5.3 Kohinoor Rice Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market
Share (2016-2017)
2.5.4 Business Overview
2.5.5 Kohinoor Rice News
2.6 Aeroplane Rice
2.6.1 Profile
2.6.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.6.2.1 Type 1
2.6.2.2 Type 2
2.6.3 Aeroplane Rice Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and
Market Share (2016-2017)
2.6.4 Business Overview
2.6.5 Aeroplane Rice News
2.7 Tilda Basmati Rice
2.7.1 Profile
2.7.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.7.2.1 Type 1
2.7.2.2 Type 2
2.7.3 Tilda Basmati Rice Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and
Market Share (2016-2017)
2.7.4 Business Overview
2.7.5 Tilda Basmati Rice News
2.8 Amar Singh Chawal Wala
2.8.1 Profile
2.8.2 Basmati Rice Type and Applications
2.8.2.1 Type 1
2.8.2.2 Type 2
2.8.3 Amar Singh Chawal Wala Basmati Rice Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin
and Market Share (2016-2017)
2.8.4 Business Overview
2.8.5 Amar Singh Chawal Wala News
………..CONTINUED
Norah Trent
WiseGuy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349
Diabetes Quick Fix: Indian-Spiced
Chicken with Cumin-Scented Rice and Spinach
BY LINDA GASSENHEIMERTribune
News Service
DECEMBER
11, 2017 12:00 AM
UPDATED
DECEMBER 11, 2017 01:33 AM
Tandoori chicken, with its delicate
blend of spices and intriguing aroma, is one of my favorite Indian dishes. One
characteristic of the dish is it is cooked in a special tandoor oven in most
restaurants. Another important characteristic is the ginger, garlic, coriander
and cayenne yogurt sauce that it is cooked in. For this dinner, I have captured
the essence of tandoori chicken with this easy yogurt sauce. Although not made
in a special oven, the meal fills my requirement for some great Indian food
that can be prepared quickly.
All of the spices can all be found
in the spice section of the supermarket.
Helpful Hints:
– Chicken tenderloin can be found
in most supermarkets. If not available, use boneless, skinless chicken breasts
and cut into 2-inch by 5-inch pieces.
– Basmati rice is a type of
long-grain rice grown in the foothills of the Himalayas and is a popular rice
in India. It is fragrant and smells like popcorn while cooking. Long-grain
white rice can be used instead.
– Diced fresh onions can be found
in the produce section of the supermarket.
– A quick way to peel and chop
fresh ginger is to scrape the skin with the edge of a spoon and then scrape it
with a grater.
Countdown:
– Place water for rice on to boil.
– Prepare ingredients.
– Start rice.
– Make chicken.
– Finish rice.
Shopping List:
To buy: 3/4 pound boneless,
skinless chicken tenderloins, 1 carton plain non-fat yogurt, 1 bottle ground
coriander, 1 small bottle ground cumin, 1 small package basmati rice, 1 small
bottle cayenne pepper, 1 small box raisins, 1 small bunch fresh mint, 1 small
piece fresh ginger, 1 container fresh diced onion, 1 bag washed, ready-to-eat
spinach.
Staples: canola oil, minced garlic,
salt, black peppercorns.
INDIAN SPICED CHICKEN
Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer
1 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint
leaves plus 2 tablespoons, chopped
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and
chopped (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch cayenne
2 teaspoons canola oil
3/4 pound boneless, skinless
chicken tenderloins
1/4 cup fresh diced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Mix yogurt, 1/4 cup chopped mint,
ginger, coriander, and cayenne together. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet just
large enough to hold chicken in one layer over medium-high heat. Add chicken
and onion to the skillet. Brown chicken 2 minutes. Turn and brown 2 minutes.
Lower heat to medium. Add garlic to the skillet. Spoon yogurt sauce over
chicken. Cover with a lid and cook 3 minutes. A meat thermometer should read
165 degrees. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons chopped mint and serve.
Yield 2 servings
Per serving: 318 calories, 84
calories from fat, 9.3 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 4.3 g monounsaturated
fat, 111 mg cholesterol, 295 mg sodium, 13.4 g carbohydrate, 0.9 g dietary
fiber, 0.9 g sugars, 43.7 g protein
Exchanges: 1/2 fat-free milk, 1/2
carbohydrate, 5 lean meat
CUMIN-SCENTED RICE AND SPINACH
Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer
1/2 cup basmati rice
5 cups washed, ready-to-eat spinach
(5 ounces)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper
Bring a large saucepan filled with
water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and let roll in the boiling water
10 minutes. Add spinach and immediately drain the rice leaving 2 tablespoons
water in the saucepan. Add the oil to the saucepan and return the rice to the
pan. Add the raisins and cumin. Toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yield 2 servings
Per serving: 25 calories, 68
calories from fat, 7.5 g total fat, 0.6 g saturated fat, 4.4 g monounsaturated
fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 64 mg sodium, 47.1 g carbohydrate, 2.7 g dietary fiber,
5.7 g sugars, 5.8 g protein
Exchanges: 2 1/2-starch, 1/2 fruit,
1 vegetable, 1 fat
(From "Mix 'n' Match Meals in
Minutes for People with Diabetes" by Linda Gassenheimer, published by the
American Diabetes Association. Reprinted with permission from The American
Diabetes Association. Gassenheimer's latest book is "Delicious One-Pot
Dishes," published by the American Diabetes Association. To order either
book call 1-800-232-6733 or order online at www.shopdiabetes.org)
Tight supplies and higher prices expected for 2017-18 rice crop
Tight supplies indicate higher rice prices for 2017/18; building
stocks will mean lower prices for 2018/19
Nathan Childs, USDA Economic Research Service, discusses
domestic and global rice outlook at the USA Rice Outlook conference in San
Antonio
U.S. rice farmers can expect
tight supplies and higher prices for the 2017-18 crop year and will respond
with increased acreage and anticipated higher production, assuming normal
conditions.
The latest World Supply and
Demand Estimate report, released Dec. 12, indicates U.S. rice acreage will be
up 17 percent in 2018, up to 2.9 million acres. Estimates show a 3 percent
yield increase — assuming normal growing conditions. Carry-in for both
long-grain and medium-grain rice shows a sharp decline from 2017-18 and below
recent five term averages.
Production will increase almost
24 percent from the 2018-19 crop, up to 224 million hundredweight, mostly from
long-grain rice at a 28 percent increase to 161 million hundredweight. Medium-
and short-grain estimates show a 13.5 percent jump to 59 million hundredweight.
Imports will increase slightly,
up 0.8 percent, from Asian aromatic rices. Total U.S. rice supplies are
expected to increase more than 10 percent, which sets up a likely price
pullback for 2018-19.
Lower Prices for 2018-19
Prices could decline by 20 cents a
pound, for the 2018-19 crop. “Farm prices for both classes of rice in the South
and in California are projected to decline in 2018-19, mostly due to the much
larger U.S. supplies,” says Nathan Childs, Economic Research Service, USDA.
Childs, speaking at the closing
session of the USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Antonio, Dec. 12, reporting
on numbers fresh off the World Supply and Demand Estimates report released
shortly before he spoke, said U.S. ending stocks are expected to show a
substantial increase in 2018-19, with long-grain accounting for most of the
production increase.
Global supply also increases,
Childs said, in spite of some production setbacks. “Global supplies increase to
a record 621.5 million tons, a result of a 4 percent larger carry-in,” he
explained. Global production was down 0.7 percent from the 2017-18 record, at
483.5 million tons (milled basis).
Production shortfalls occurred in
Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and the
United States, and more than offset larger production in Burma, China, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, Childs said.
Harvested area is projected down
by 600,000 hectares from 2017-18 to 160.2 million hectares. Bangladesh, Egypt,
India, Philippines, and the United State all harvested less area, which “more
than offset expanded rice area in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.”
Weather and Other Factors
He cited several reasons for
reduced rice area, including low prices at planting for U.S. growers, followed
by weather issues — heavy rain and flooding early and a hurricane on the Gulf
Coast late. Other countries lost production to flooding and drought; strict
area controls in Egypt resulted in a switch to corn and cotton, and expectation
of increased imports precipitated a decrease in the Philippines.
U.S. production dropped by 20.4
percent. Sri Lanka increased production by 45.2 percent. China is up 0.8
percent.
Thailand, Sri Lanka, China,
Burma, and Cambodia are increasing rice production area.
Childs said global rice supplies
for 2017-18 are expected to be a record high, supporting prediction of lower
prices. “Continued high producer price support in China increased area 4,000
hectares, despite huge stocks and record imports.”
Global consumption is also down,
Childs said. “At 480.8 million tons, global consumption (including a residual)
is 600,000 tons below the 2016-17 record and 2.7 million tons below 2017-18
production. Indonesia, Thailand, and the United States account for most of the
expected decline in global consumption (including a residual component) in
2017-18.” China, Egypt, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Vietnam will increase
rice consumption.
Global ending stocks for 2017-18
will rise 2.7 million tons from 2016-17 figures and will be the highest since
2000-01.
The China Syndrome
As with other commodities, China
is the overriding dynamic, holding more than two-thirds of the global ending
stocks for 2017-18. Ending stocks for the top five exporters, India, Thailand,
Viet Nam, United States and Pakistan, are down.
Childs says Nigeria, Sri Lanka
and Iran are expected to import less rice in 2017-18.
The export market is significant
for rice with 9 percent of global production traded annually. “That’s double
the share of 25 years ago,” Childs said. Thailand and India are expected to be
top rice exporters in 2017 and 2018, and Burma is back in the export business
with the highest anticipated rice export since before World War II.
Childs said China had backed out
of the rice export market for about a decade but has re-entered, “and now China
exports more than 1 million tons of rice, and is also expected to remain the
largest rice importing country, followed by Nigeria,” which is a distant
second.
Childs says the U.S. faces
difficulty trading with Asian countries because of the price differential,
about $150 a ton, with other exporters.
Latin America Top Market
The Western Hemisphere is the
U.S. rice market. “Latin America typically accounts for about 60 percent of
U.S. rice exports.” The figure would be higher, Childs said, if he included
Canada.
Exports are projected to decline
in 2017-18. “Through Nov. 30, U.S. all-rice exports were 9 percent below a year
earlier, with rough-rice responsible for most of the decline. U.S. long-grain
exports were 9 percent above a year earlier, with milled rice accounting for
all of the increase.”
Childs sees some good news from
exports estimates. “Through Nov. 30, U.S long-grain sales and shipments to
Iraq, Haiti, and Mexico were well ahead of a year ago,” he said. “But medium-
and short-grain sales were well behind last year to northeast Asia, north
Africa, and the Middle East.”
Other factors affecting 2018-19
markets include:
• Big increase projected for
total domestic and residual use, mostly due to a larger crop.
• Long-grain accounts for the
bulk of the expected increase in domestic use.
• Increased exports of both
classes of rice, with medium- and short-grain increasing at the fastest pace.
• A substantial increase in U.S.
ending stocks, with long-grain accounting for the bulk of the increase.
• Farm prices for both classes of
rice in the South and in California are projected to decline in 2018-19, mostly
due to much larger U.S. supplies.
Childs says several factors could
affect U.S. rice exports, including:
• Will Venezuela remain a top buyer
of U.S. rice? Venezuela has been a critical market for U.S. rice in recent
years, despite political turmoil.
• Will competition from South
American exporters in Mexico and Central America increase?
• Any additional U.S. sales to
Iraq?
• Any U.S. sales to Iran?
• U.S. sales to China?
• Will Turkey and Libya return as
buyers of U.S. rice?
Childs and other market observers at the conference say
overproduction from the 2018 crop could have an even greater negative impact on
prices.
KARACHI: Rice exporters have urged the Sri Lankan
government to reduce import duty on Pakistani long grain rice.
A visiting delegation of Rice Exporters Association of
Pakistan (Reap) to Sri Lanka held several meetings with the government
officials, trade bodies and rice importers.
Reap Chairman Rafique Suleman informed the Sri Lankan
officials that there are two separate categories of Pakistani rice — basmati
and non-basmati.
Super Basmati, PK-385, PK-198/D-98 etc are included in
the basmati variety and these are premium quality rice and may be added to the
list of luxury item. Whereas Irri-6 and Irri-9 etc are coarse varieties and
called non-basmati rice which are cheaper and famous in Sri Lanka.
Average price of non-basmati stands around $325-400 per
tonne internationally.
The Reap chairman urged the Sri Lankan officials to
rectify the situation by reducing the duty in the larger interest of both the
countries.
https:// https://www.dawn.com/news/1376220 dawn.com/news/1376220
https://telanganatoday.com/new-dishes-daily-wtc-delegates-Pakistan counters India on trade issues at WTO
meet
Suresh
Prabhu. (TOI file photo)
NEW DELHI: "We don't want to dirty our hands
with genhu (wheat), chawal (rice) and chini (sugar). I wonder why your people
want to do it," said Syed Tauqir Shah, Pakistan's ambassador to World Trade Organization (WTO).
Shah's remarks came hours after commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu on
Monday told trade ministers from 164 countries that India did not envisage an
outcome at the WTO meet which did not result in a permanent solution to
its food security concerns. The government
believes the current rules may make it tough for many developing and poor
countries, including China, from procuring grains, oil seeds and pulses through
a regime similar to minimum support price in India.
While Pakistan is a member of the G-33 coalition seeking a permanent solution,
among other things, it has opted to take a stand opposed to India on food
security. "We have done away with ration shops and moved to cash transfers
through an ID-based progamme, like yours. We don't want to do it," Shah
said.
But has Pakistan abandoned procurement through an
MSP-like programme? "There is a problem in building massive stocks like India.
There are concerns about impact in third countries," the Pakistan
ambassador said referring to possible export of subsidised food stuff in global
markets.
Like in other areas, Pakistan has opted to take a
position diametrically opposite to India on trade issues. The only exception is
the demand that developed countries reduce subsidies to their farmers, a
subject where India and China have joined hands.
TOP COMMENT
bhikhari ko khane ke lale pade
he or khud ka pav tod raha ha. dusmani me pak pagla gaya he. and who listen pak
in WTOmanishpujara
pujara
On others, such as a global framework for e-commerce
and investment facilitation, being pushed by China, Pakistan's position is
backing its closest ally in the region. "Why should we only allow Ebay to sell
in our country when many of our small businesses can't register on Ebay or
PayPal?" Shah asked after a session addressed by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.
But how will investment rules help Pakistan? The Pakistan ambassador believes
it will not result in a competitive environment where countries battle it out
to attract investors. With Pakistan-based companies under the lens for possible
links to terror, Shah's stance is not surprising.
Minister of
Agriculture Urges Ministry Officials to Work Hard in Alleviating Poverty
Thursday, 14 December 2017 | 15:53 WIB
Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman (kementan)
JAKARTA, NNC – Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman has invited
Echelon I, II, III and IV officers of the Ministry of Agriculture to work hard
in alleviating poverty in Indonesia, and realize the dream of actualizing the
target of becoming a world food barn by 2045.
"Let's show the world that Indonesia is able to feed the
Indonesian people without importing rice," Minister Amran said during the
Leadership Meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture in Jakarta on Wednesday
(12/13/2017).
The Minister of Agriculture said that the dream is in accordance
with President Joko Widodo's promise to the people of Indonesia to realize rice
self-sufficiency in three years. Today, Indonesia does not import rice, corn,
onion and chili thanks to the performance of all employees of the Ministry of
Agriculture.
"The first onion import was in in 2014. Today we export to
six countries, as well as with chili," said Minister of Agriculture
On that occasion, The Minister of Agriculture also appealed to
all officials of Ministry of Agriculture within the next two years to do what
is important in alleviating poverty in Indonesia. The underprivileged in
Indonesia reach 27 million people, comprising of 17 million people in rural
areas, and 10 million people in urban areas.
The Minister of Agriculture added that the price of community
needs in 2017 is also relatively stable compared to previous years. This is
what distinguishes this year, that price stability can be realized without
importing four strategic commodities, namely rice, onion, corn, and chili.
"For three years the performance of our Ministry has
improved, and we have now exported four main commodities and maintain stable
prices,” Amran added.
http://www.en.netralnews.com/news/business/read/16291/minister.of.agriculture.urges.ministry.officials.to.work.hard.in.alleviating.poverty
Funding, timing will be critical issues for farm bill debate
USA Rice farm bill
panelists Jennifer Cervantes, Tom Sell, Reece Langley, Robert Redding, Dale
Thorenson, and Ben Mosley, discussed farm bill expectations at a breakout
session during the USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Antonio.
A
new farm bill will find challenges in funding, timing and legislators who have
never voted on a farm bill before. A united ag front will be crucial.
Holding on to the current farm
policy, with a few targeted tweaks, would suit most commodity organizations —
with the exception of cotton and dairy — but funding will be a challenge as
Congress begins debating the next farm bill.
Representatives for soybeans, sugar,
cotton, peanuts and rice offered their wish list for a farm program during a
farm bill panel, a standing room only break-out session at the USA Rice Outlook
Conference in San Antonio.
Tom Sell, co-founder and managing
partner of Combest Sell and Associates, moderated the panel, which included
Reece Langley, National Cotton Council; Jennifer Cervantes, vice president,
Florida Sugar Cane league; Dale Thorenson, associate at Gordley Associates,
representing the American Soybean Association; Ben Mosely, vice president, USA
Rice; and Robert Redding, president, The Redding Firm, Inc., representing the
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation.
Panelists agreed that a unified
front, across all ag commodities and interests, will be crucial when
making a case to Congress for necessary funding. “When farm groups start
fighting over funding, that’s when the wheels fall off the bus,” said
Cervantes. “We have to stick together.”
“It’s important that we don’t let
happen to this farm bill debate what happened in 2014,” Redding said. “We were
divided.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard,”
Thorenson said. “We’re not changing policy that much.”
Langley says cotton policy needs
more than a tweak, however. “With the 2014 act, Cotton has no access to ARC or
PLC. Our No.1 priority for the next farm bill is to realize an increase in our
safety net. STAX has not been sufficient to deal with multiple years of low
cotton prices.”
Redding says the 2014 farm
program has worked well for peanuts. “We like the PLC option. We want to keep
the reference price, the support for storage and handling costs, and the
separate payment limit for peanuts. This has been good farm policy for us.”
“Most people in the rice industry
have been pleased with the farm program and PLC,” Mosely said. “The mechanics
of the program are working; it just needs some tweaks.”
Cervantes says sugar does not
qualify for ARC or PLC but hopes to “maintain the sugar program we have. We
will fight tooth and nail to retain what we have. We are working to make people
understand the importance of sugar.”
She says sugar needs the support
of a farm program. “A free market for sugar does not exist. If we dismantle our
program, the rest of the world will not.” She said sugar will not add acreage
but will rely on increased yield and efficiency for growth. “Our footprint will
not be larger.”
Sugar creates jobs, she adds.
“Sugar is responsible for 142,000 jobs across the country, but sugar is not
produced in every state, so we have to educate legislators.”
That chore will be a big one with
the next farm bill debate. “We have 120 members of Congress who have never
voted on a farm bill. We don’t know how they will vote,” Cervantes said. “It is
important for us to explain the importance of sugar.”
Political action committees are
key, she adds. “A PAC doesn’t guarantee they will vote your way, but it does
gain access. We have to build long-term relationships.”
“That’s our weakest area,”
Redding said.
Thorenson added that if farm
organizations do not show up and make their case, other organizations will step
up and make theirs.
Sell said anti-ag groups are
well-organized and well-funded and have created a new force in Washington.
Money, a huge issue in the 2014
farm bill debate, will again dictate policy. “We’re all asking for more money,”
said Thorenson. “It’s a challenging time for agriculture, so we at least want
to keep our baseline and that will be hard.”
“Baseline reflects the amount of
money expected to be spent over 10 years if the policy in place now remains,”
Sell explained.
Baseline is a particular sticky
issue for cotton. Langley said cotton hopes to build its baseline before a new
farm policy is enacted.
Deep Cuts
Losing the Foreign Market
Development program has been a blow, Mosley said. “We had hoped for an
increase, now we just hope to get back to square one. It’s a tough environment;
we’re always facing cuts, and we continue to deal with cuts already in place.”
“We struggle with the
Congressional budget Office,” Redding added. “They don’t understand the peanut
industry.”
Timing of the farm bill is
another big question mark. “Everyone agrees that we want farm bill efforts to
begin quickly when Congress gets back in the new year,” Sell said
“We hope it’s enacted in 2018,”
Langley said. “Our worst-case scenario is a delay.” He anticipates the House
will move first and have something out by the end of the first quarter. If the
Senate acts quickly the two bills could go to conference by mid-term.
“The closer to the 2018 election
the bill is rolled out, the harder it will to pass it,” Thorenson said.
Timing could be a challenge,
Cervantes says, especially if the bill follows a promised executive order to
reform welfare. “That probably will not be helpful,” she said. “It will be
interesting to see what comes out of the executive order. We could see a work
requirement. That will tell us a lot about how the farm bill will roll out.”
Panelists expect bi-partisan
efforts in both the House and Senate agriculture committees, but Congress
overall is “getting more partisan, less cooperative,” Sell says. Panel
consensus indicated that passing the tax bill could improve that situation. “It
would take some pressure off Democrats to oppose anything proposed,” Redding
said.
“I yearn for the days when we had
more cooperation,” Sell added.
Panelists said generic acreage —
moved out of cotton in the 2014 program — will be an issue with the next farm
bill. They don’t expect more money to be allotted for farm programs.
The challenge ag commodities face
between now and when Congress rolls out a farm bill is to educate legislators
on what producers need to continue to produce affordable food. Grassroots
efforts are called for, Cervantes says.
“We’re trying to develop data to help put a farm bill together,”
Thorenson said.
Basmati
mandis to be set up across J&K: Hanjura
The minister, according to an
official spokesperson, was addressing the farmers and growers after
inaugurating 7th annual buyer-seller meet for traditional aromatic Basmati rice
at SKUAST-J. Agriculture Minister GhulamNabi Lone Hanjura today said the
government is working on a comprehensive plan to open up basmati mandis across
the state to give better marketing facilities to farmers. The minister,
according to an official spokesperson, was addressing the farmers and growers
after inaugurating 7th annual buyer-seller meet for traditional aromatic
Basmati rice at SKUAST-J. Vice Chairman Jammu and Kashmir State Board for
Development of Kisans, Daljeet Singh Chib, MLA R.S. PoraDrGaganBhagat, Vice
Chancellor SKUAST (J) P.K. Sharma, Secretary Agriculture Production Department
Showkat Ahmad Beig, Former Member Parliament Tirlok Singh Bajwa, Director
Agriculture Jammu, H.K. Razdan, Agriculture scientists, farmers and exporters
of Basmati rice were present on the occasion. The minister, while highlighting
the government’s initiatives in the agriculture sector, said that the
department will soon set up Basmati Mandies at several places where the buyers
and sellers will hold direct transactions to save the farmers from exploitation
at the hands of middleman. He said that it will immensely help the Basmati
growers get better and viable marketing support for their production.
New forum to tackle problems in
rice sector
Sum Manet / Khmer Times Share:
Next month the Cambodia Rice
Federation (CRF) will hold the sixth edition of the Cambodia Rice Forum,
bringing major stakeholders in the sector together to discuss the future of the
local rice industry and create a joint effort to ramp up production and
exports.
The three-day event, scheduled
for January 16-18, will open with remarks from Prime Minister Hun Sen on the
first day.
Riddled with sub-standard
infrastructure, high logistical and production costs and tougher competition
abroad, the local rice industry has been struggling to turn profits and remain
competitive.
During the forum, participants
will deliberate on which local rice brand should be pushed on the international
stage. One local brand will be selected and given priority in marketing
campaigns that seek to promote Cambodian rice to international buyers.
Representatives of companies and
farming associations will also discuss solutions to problems that continue to
plague the rice industry and devise long-term strategies to tackle them.
Hun Lak, the CRF’s
vice-president, said the main problems afflicting the industry are a lack of
adequate warehouses and an inefficient marketing system. He noted, however,
that storage infrastructure is slowly improving.
“We are sparing no effort in
boosting cooperation among stakeholders. They need to come together to ramp up
production,” he said.
“They must increase quality while
reducing expenses…production costs must be slashed to improve the production
chain.
“Our strategy is to strengthen
the quality of our fragrant rice and to find mechanisms that allow us to expand
our export markets. Cambodian rice still has a great deal of potential in the
global market.”
Mr Lak also commented on recent
efforts by Myanmar and Vietnam to increase their share of the European market,
with both Asean nations now negotiating trade agreements with the EU, and
restated the need to ramp up efforts at home to increase quality and keep up
with the competition.
“Cambodian rice is now competing
with the big players of the international market,” he said, “so we need to
believe in ourselves, in our product, while sparing no effort to produce the
best product we can.”
Mr Lak said local farmers do not
need to lose sleep over Italy’s recent request to reduce imports of Cambodian
rice to the EU, arguing that Cambodian rice still enjoys sufficient demand in
the Chinese and European markets.
During the first 11 months of
this year, Cambodia shipped more than 562,000 tonnes of rice abroad, an
increase of 17.2 percent compared with the same period last year, according to
a report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
Cabinet gives green light to import rice
·
·
·
The Cabinet has decided to
import more than 200,000 metric tons of rice to stabilise the price of rice
during the festive season.
The Secretary to the Industry
and Commerce Ministry, K.D.N. Ranjith Ashoka, said the imported rice stocks
would be issued through Lanka Sathosa and Co-operative societies.
However, retail prices of rice
are still high.
The Secretary further stated
that a controlled price will have to be imposed if the situation persists.
http://newsfirst.lk/english/2017/12/cabinet-gives-green-light-import-rice/178409
