Japan's
price-conscious consumers turn to foreign rice
Australian and other imports find
their way into homes and restaurants
May 07, 2018 15:30 JST
With no brands of Japanese rice that sell for 300 yen
or less per kilogram, one Japanese supermarket chain has turned to Australian
rice.
TOKYO -- Prices for domestic rice are rising in Japan, driving
consumers to cheaper foreign-grown varieties, the imports of which are still
strictly regulated. But as more supermarkets and restaurants offer low-cost foreign rice,
straining import caps, foreign rice producers are expected to call on the
country to open its rice market wider.
In late March, supermarket operator Seiyu began selling
Australian rice for the first time in five years, touting its low price. A
4kg-bag goes for 1,180 yen ($10.79), 20% cheaper than Japan's popular
Nanatsuboshi variety. Seiyu is offering the Australian grain at all of its
144 stores in the Kanto region and other parts of the country.
Japan has long protected its rice farmers by restricting
imports. But after policies that reduced rice acreage for nearly 50 years
through 2017 and encouraged the growing of feed rice, annual production of
domestic rice for direct consumption has dropped 11% over the past five years
to 7.3 million tons. This has pushed up prices for the third straight
year, with retail prices about 10% higher than last year.
Seiyu worked with trading house Sumitomo
Corp. and rice wholesaler Yamatane on
pricing for the Australian import. "There were no brands of Japanese rice
for 300 yen or less per kilogram, and Australian rice satisfied Seiyu's
demand," said Yamatane President Motohiro Yamazaki.
Foreign rice producers view the price surge as an opening to
lobby Japan to accept more imports. In early April, Australia's ambassador
to Japan, Richard Court talked to Japanese rice distributors, outlining the
history of Australian rice and saying some of it is similar in taste to
Japanese varieties.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership signed in March allows Australia
to export up to 8,400 tons of rice to Japan annually. The imported rice is
expected to go directly to market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. decision to withdraw from the TPP under the
administration of U.S. President Donald Trump disappointed American rice
farmers. The trade pact would have allowed them to export up to 70,000 tons to
Japan. In 2016, the U.S. Trade Representative said that TPP benefits to the
U.S. grain market would come mainly from Japan.
In 1993, Japan was forced to open
its rice market and now imports
up to 770,000 tons annually under a minimum-access quota system, with rice for
direct consumption limited to 100,000 tons. The remaining imports are earmarked
for processed foods or animal feed.
Overall, 60% of imported table rice comes from the U.S., 30%
from Australia and the remainder from other countries.
Imported rice for direct consumption accounts for only about 1%
of Japan's total consumption. But the recent price hikes caused demand for
imports to hit the 100,000-ton limit for the first time in five years during
the fiscal 2017 rice auction.
Fast-food operator Yoshinoya
Holdings started using U.S. rice at its beef-bowl restaurants
about a year ago. Restaurant chains Kourakuen
Holdings and Saint
Marc Holdings have also begun serving U.S. rice, and the USA
Rice Federation is trying to have sushi restaurant operators do the same.
"Japan should not be content growing brand-name rice
alone," said Makoto Hirayama, president of rice wholesaler Kitoku
Shinryo. Several types of high-grade rice costing about 3,000 yen
per 5kg have been on the market for years, but with real wages in Japan marking their first on-year decline in
two years in 2017, consumers are becoming more price-conscious. Many households
apparently prefer to spend less than 2,000 yen for the same amount.
Prices for domestic rice are also rising as more production is
diverted to feed markets, and the amount available for direct consumption is
falling. The production of feed rice now nearly equals 10% of that for table
rice. With increasing amounts of domestic rice destined for the high-grade and
feed sectors, the low-price category is opening up to foreign rice growers. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Trends/Japan-s-price-conscious-consumers-turn-to-foreign-rice
Dayton threatens to veto bill to nullify wild
rice water standard
Gov. Mark Dayton has warned
lawmakers he’ll veto a bill to nullify the state’s wild rice water quality
standard if it reaches his desk without changes.
The governor said in a letter
Thursday he recognizes it’s not technically or economically feasible for the
mining industry or municipalities to comply with the existing standard, which
limits discharges of sulfates into waters where wild rice grows to 10
milligrams per liter.
But he says the bill as written is
an “extreme approach that removes important protections for wild rice,
conflicts with federal law and guarantees ongoing litigation.”
The bill has cleared a conference
committee and is headed back to the House and Senate for final votes. It’s
supported by mining backers and wastewater plant operators, but opposed by
tribal and environmental groups.
Is tobacco the
next ‘miracle crop’?
CITY OF THE SAN FERNANDO — Tobacco has been a vilified plant and
was certainly not regarded as a miracle crop, but all this is about to change
as more practical and commercially viable uses are being discovered from this
high-value crop.
And much of it is for agricultural use which means that the crop will no longer be the exclusive darling of cigarette manufacturers but of groups as diverse as agri-entrepreneurs, fishpond owners, fertilizer manufacturers and organic farmers.
The sight of green and healthy tobacco leaves under the noonday sun is enough to excite any tobacco farmer about high yields. But for agriculture researchers, tobacco could be so much more that is now becoming an emerging miracle crop and for good reason.
Tobacco waste like dust, tobacco stalks and discarded tobacco leaves are now promising components for various agricultural applications.
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said that tobacco is grown in 23 provinces spanning about 30,352 hectares. And with industry data showing that tobacco has recently emerged as one of the country's fastest growing crops, this means that there is enough tobacco for such agricultural applications.
Tobacco soil conditioner
Tobacco dust, which is generally produced during the commercial processing of tobacco, is now seen as a viable alternative soil conditioner and as an additional component to organic fertilizer. Tobacco dust, an agro-industrial waste, can be applied to the soil to recycle and replenish essential nutrients that have been depleted.
Such is the viability of tobacco dust that the NTA, in collaboration with government agencies, rolled out processed tobacco dust under the name Tobacco Dust Plus (TDP) as an environment-friendly pesticide and organic fertilizer. In 2014, the NTA started to commercially manufacture TDP in a plant in Sto. Tomas town in La Union.
Applied as a fertilizer, tobacco dust, in combination with organic compost, can serve as soil conditioner. A study by Sarah Shakeel of the Kinnaird College on tobacco dust showed that when applied to the soil, tobacco dust reintroduce nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium back into the soil that plants have consumed from the soil.
The study showed that tobacco dust is rich in nitrogen. Potassium and phosphorous which can provide essential nutrients to the soil and plant. Local data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) also showed that tobacco dust, when mixed with organic compost has positive effects on the growth of vegetable and house-plants due to its nitrogen content.
Studies showed that use of tobacco dust is an eco-friendly management strategy for soil management with negligible impact on the environment as it is organic and leaves no chemical residue.
Tobacco insecticide
The use of a tobacco as an insecticide is not a new thing. For hundreds of years, water-based solutions made from tobacco had been used to kill insects.
Tobacco’s herbicide potency is due to its nicotine content. Among the three types of tobacco plants grown in the country, Virginia tobacco has the lowest nicotine content. Burley tobacco comes higher in terms of nicotine content followed by the native tobacco which has the highest.
The DA confirms that nicotine in tobacco deters garden pests and is very potent against creatures such as slugs and aphids. Tobacco tea, made from tobacco leaves and stalks, is used by gardeners to kill garden pests. Tobacco tea, used as spray against insects, is processed from boiling dried tobacco materials.
The DA however cautions the use of tobacco on tomatoes (Lycopersiconesculentum), potatoes (Solanumtuberosum) and peppers (Capsicum spp.) as this may transmit the tobacco mosaic virus and cause more problems for these plants. But all beneficial use considered, tobacco insecticide is still an environment-friendly and cost efficient alternative to synthetic pesticide.
Tobacco pond sterilizer
Almost a decade of research done by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Resources Research and Development (PCAMRRD) and the NTA have proven the effectiveness of tobacco for sterilization of fishponds.
Field tests conducted in Pampanga, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur all showed positive results. Today tobacco dusts is popularly used by pond owners in Pangasinan and La Union.
The application is simple, when the ponds are cleared of water, tobacco dust is applied to kill predators that would harm the stocked fingerlings. Eliminating the predators would ensure the healthy growth of the stocks as well as the availability of the natural food in the pond. In the past, farmers actually use dried and sometimes crushed tobacco leaves and spread these on the pond bottom. The availability of TDP helps greatly in the making the process efficient.
Tobacco dust is preferred by pond owners as it reduces the organic waste from tobacco and does not leave any chemical residue on the pond. Tobacco dust has also been found to promote the proliferation of lablab (plankton) that serve as natural food source for fish stocks.
However, after being introduced in in 2012, tobacco dust is still yet to be introduced extensively for commercial use especially outside the tobacco producing regions especially in Central Luzon, a major center of the aqua-culture industry.
Central Luzon’s was ranked fifth in terms of fish production in 2015 accounting for 39.2 percent (or some P31-billion worth) of the country’s production. While only placing fifth, Central Luzon had the highest value of harvest with 41.3 percent for its aqua-culture harvest for 2015.
Of the Central Luzon provinces, Pampanga, where tobacco dust was first tested, is known not only in the region but in the whole country as the Tilapia Capital of the Philippines. Using tobacco dust for pond preparation would mean a decrease in the use of chemicals for pond sterilization which means more savings for fish pond owners.
Tobacco molluscicide
Tobacco juice, tobacco dust juice and tobacco lime are not only for traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening but also for mainstream commercial agriculture.
Tobacco has been proven effective against a variety of snails like the brackish water pond snails (Cerithideacingulata Gmelin) which are usually pests in brackish water ponds and golden apple snails (Pomaceacanaliculata) that pester rice farms in the country.
Studies conducted by a team from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo under Dr. Joebert D. Toledo had proven tobacco dust to be effective against predatory snails and other creatures that exist in ponds and fish pens.
Parasitic trematodes, that are harmful against young fish stocks, require an intermediate host like snails to thrive. And since tobacco dust is toxic to pond snails, parasites that harm fish stocks are effectively controlled.
Tobacco also has positive uses in rice cultivation. A research of James, et al. from PhilRice-Batac demonstrated the use of tobacco scrap before and after transplanting to control harmful snail populations in rice fields. The field test was done in seven municipalities of Ilocos Norte.
The research revealed that weekly use of tobacco scraps significantly reduced the population of golden kuhol from 60 to 90 percent.
"The affected area was minimized by 80 percent and damaged hills by 84 percent. Where farmers' practice and no treatment were employed, an average 23.39 percent and 4 percent reduction in population were observed, respectively," the research said.
Rice plants treated with tobacco scraps had better crop stand, greener leaves, and taller plants, the study added. The study also showed that fields treated with tobacco scraps produced the highest yield per hectare (7.37 t/ha) compared to farmers' practice (6.38 t/ha) and no control (6.19 t/ha).
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also recommends the use of tobacco leaves, heartleaf pickerelweed, and citrus leaves in strips across the fields as these plants are toxic to snails. If uncontrolled, the IRRI said that snails can destroy 1 m2 of field overnight. This damage could lead to more than 50 percent yield loss.
Impacts on agriculture
While government had been actively promoting the use of tobacco dust, the issue of adequate promotion and availability of tobacco material are the main reasons why tobacco is still not actively used for agricultural application.
Tobacco can virtually offset the need for synthetic chemical pesticide. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said that pesticide on farmlands usually cost farmers some P1,827 per hectare each cropping season.
The use of tobacco for aqua-culture both helps tobacco farmers increase their yield and fishermen increase their catch. The study conducted by th Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center showed that fish mortality decreased from 20 percent to 5 percent, saving fish farmers of at least P20,000 on production cost per hectare each grow-out cycle when tobacco was used to control pond pests and parasites. And since tobacco is organic, it breaks down completely and leaves no residue on fish unlike chemical pesticide.
All these mean that tobacco could be used as a cheaper alternative to various agricultural applications and that no part of the tobacco plant would go to waste.
The use of tobacco for agricultural applications may increase the benefits for tobacco growing areas, and may serve as source of additional income and provides a safety net for farmers who continuously suffer from government’s anti-smoking campaign
And much of it is for agricultural use which means that the crop will no longer be the exclusive darling of cigarette manufacturers but of groups as diverse as agri-entrepreneurs, fishpond owners, fertilizer manufacturers and organic farmers.
The sight of green and healthy tobacco leaves under the noonday sun is enough to excite any tobacco farmer about high yields. But for agriculture researchers, tobacco could be so much more that is now becoming an emerging miracle crop and for good reason.
Tobacco waste like dust, tobacco stalks and discarded tobacco leaves are now promising components for various agricultural applications.
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said that tobacco is grown in 23 provinces spanning about 30,352 hectares. And with industry data showing that tobacco has recently emerged as one of the country's fastest growing crops, this means that there is enough tobacco for such agricultural applications.
Tobacco soil conditioner
Tobacco dust, which is generally produced during the commercial processing of tobacco, is now seen as a viable alternative soil conditioner and as an additional component to organic fertilizer. Tobacco dust, an agro-industrial waste, can be applied to the soil to recycle and replenish essential nutrients that have been depleted.
Such is the viability of tobacco dust that the NTA, in collaboration with government agencies, rolled out processed tobacco dust under the name Tobacco Dust Plus (TDP) as an environment-friendly pesticide and organic fertilizer. In 2014, the NTA started to commercially manufacture TDP in a plant in Sto. Tomas town in La Union.
Applied as a fertilizer, tobacco dust, in combination with organic compost, can serve as soil conditioner. A study by Sarah Shakeel of the Kinnaird College on tobacco dust showed that when applied to the soil, tobacco dust reintroduce nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium back into the soil that plants have consumed from the soil.
The study showed that tobacco dust is rich in nitrogen. Potassium and phosphorous which can provide essential nutrients to the soil and plant. Local data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) also showed that tobacco dust, when mixed with organic compost has positive effects on the growth of vegetable and house-plants due to its nitrogen content.
Studies showed that use of tobacco dust is an eco-friendly management strategy for soil management with negligible impact on the environment as it is organic and leaves no chemical residue.
Tobacco insecticide
The use of a tobacco as an insecticide is not a new thing. For hundreds of years, water-based solutions made from tobacco had been used to kill insects.
Tobacco’s herbicide potency is due to its nicotine content. Among the three types of tobacco plants grown in the country, Virginia tobacco has the lowest nicotine content. Burley tobacco comes higher in terms of nicotine content followed by the native tobacco which has the highest.
The DA confirms that nicotine in tobacco deters garden pests and is very potent against creatures such as slugs and aphids. Tobacco tea, made from tobacco leaves and stalks, is used by gardeners to kill garden pests. Tobacco tea, used as spray against insects, is processed from boiling dried tobacco materials.
The DA however cautions the use of tobacco on tomatoes (Lycopersiconesculentum), potatoes (Solanumtuberosum) and peppers (Capsicum spp.) as this may transmit the tobacco mosaic virus and cause more problems for these plants. But all beneficial use considered, tobacco insecticide is still an environment-friendly and cost efficient alternative to synthetic pesticide.
Tobacco pond sterilizer
Almost a decade of research done by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Resources Research and Development (PCAMRRD) and the NTA have proven the effectiveness of tobacco for sterilization of fishponds.
Field tests conducted in Pampanga, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur all showed positive results. Today tobacco dusts is popularly used by pond owners in Pangasinan and La Union.
The application is simple, when the ponds are cleared of water, tobacco dust is applied to kill predators that would harm the stocked fingerlings. Eliminating the predators would ensure the healthy growth of the stocks as well as the availability of the natural food in the pond. In the past, farmers actually use dried and sometimes crushed tobacco leaves and spread these on the pond bottom. The availability of TDP helps greatly in the making the process efficient.
Tobacco dust is preferred by pond owners as it reduces the organic waste from tobacco and does not leave any chemical residue on the pond. Tobacco dust has also been found to promote the proliferation of lablab (plankton) that serve as natural food source for fish stocks.
However, after being introduced in in 2012, tobacco dust is still yet to be introduced extensively for commercial use especially outside the tobacco producing regions especially in Central Luzon, a major center of the aqua-culture industry.
Central Luzon’s was ranked fifth in terms of fish production in 2015 accounting for 39.2 percent (or some P31-billion worth) of the country’s production. While only placing fifth, Central Luzon had the highest value of harvest with 41.3 percent for its aqua-culture harvest for 2015.
Of the Central Luzon provinces, Pampanga, where tobacco dust was first tested, is known not only in the region but in the whole country as the Tilapia Capital of the Philippines. Using tobacco dust for pond preparation would mean a decrease in the use of chemicals for pond sterilization which means more savings for fish pond owners.
Tobacco molluscicide
Tobacco juice, tobacco dust juice and tobacco lime are not only for traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening but also for mainstream commercial agriculture.
Tobacco has been proven effective against a variety of snails like the brackish water pond snails (Cerithideacingulata Gmelin) which are usually pests in brackish water ponds and golden apple snails (Pomaceacanaliculata) that pester rice farms in the country.
Studies conducted by a team from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo under Dr. Joebert D. Toledo had proven tobacco dust to be effective against predatory snails and other creatures that exist in ponds and fish pens.
Parasitic trematodes, that are harmful against young fish stocks, require an intermediate host like snails to thrive. And since tobacco dust is toxic to pond snails, parasites that harm fish stocks are effectively controlled.
Tobacco also has positive uses in rice cultivation. A research of James, et al. from PhilRice-Batac demonstrated the use of tobacco scrap before and after transplanting to control harmful snail populations in rice fields. The field test was done in seven municipalities of Ilocos Norte.
The research revealed that weekly use of tobacco scraps significantly reduced the population of golden kuhol from 60 to 90 percent.
"The affected area was minimized by 80 percent and damaged hills by 84 percent. Where farmers' practice and no treatment were employed, an average 23.39 percent and 4 percent reduction in population were observed, respectively," the research said.
Rice plants treated with tobacco scraps had better crop stand, greener leaves, and taller plants, the study added. The study also showed that fields treated with tobacco scraps produced the highest yield per hectare (7.37 t/ha) compared to farmers' practice (6.38 t/ha) and no control (6.19 t/ha).
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also recommends the use of tobacco leaves, heartleaf pickerelweed, and citrus leaves in strips across the fields as these plants are toxic to snails. If uncontrolled, the IRRI said that snails can destroy 1 m2 of field overnight. This damage could lead to more than 50 percent yield loss.
Impacts on agriculture
While government had been actively promoting the use of tobacco dust, the issue of adequate promotion and availability of tobacco material are the main reasons why tobacco is still not actively used for agricultural application.
Tobacco can virtually offset the need for synthetic chemical pesticide. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said that pesticide on farmlands usually cost farmers some P1,827 per hectare each cropping season.
The use of tobacco for aqua-culture both helps tobacco farmers increase their yield and fishermen increase their catch. The study conducted by th Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center showed that fish mortality decreased from 20 percent to 5 percent, saving fish farmers of at least P20,000 on production cost per hectare each grow-out cycle when tobacco was used to control pond pests and parasites. And since tobacco is organic, it breaks down completely and leaves no residue on fish unlike chemical pesticide.
All these mean that tobacco could be used as a cheaper alternative to various agricultural applications and that no part of the tobacco plant would go to waste.
The use of tobacco for agricultural applications may increase the benefits for tobacco growing areas, and may serve as source of additional income and provides a safety net for farmers who continuously suffer from government’s anti-smoking campaign
Diet linked to menopause timing
May. 4, 2018, 2:01 PM
By Shereen
Lehman
(Reuters
Health) - A UK study suggests that diets rich in certain foods may be a factor
in the timing of menopause.
Researchers
who studied more than 14,000 women found that those whose diets included lots
of fish and legumes entered menopause years later, on average, than women who
didn't eat much of these foods.
Conversely,
eating more refined carbohydrates, including pasta and rice, was tied to
earlier menopause, the research team reports in Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health.
"Evidence
shows that while an earlier menopause increases the risk of cardiovascular
diseases, osteoporosis, and depression, it also protects against breast,
endometrial and ovarian cancer which makes it interesting to investigate
whether diet, which is one of the modifiable behavioral factors, is linked to
the onset of natural menopause," lead author Yashvee Dunneram said in an
email.
"Several
studies have looked into the association between socio-demographic factors such
as smoking, socioeconomic status, ethnicity as well as reproductive factors
(parity, age at first pregnancy) and age at natural menopause," said
Dunneram, a researcher at the University of Leeds.
"Evidence
shows a link between diet and timing of natural menopause as well," she
added. However, very few studies have investigated this association and the
findings are also contradictory. "Our findings show that diet can be
linked to the timing of natural menopause," she said.
At the
beginning of a long-term study in the UK, researchers examined health and diet
information for 14,712 women ages 35 to 69, including 1,874 who were
premenopausal and 914 who entered menopause during the next four years.
The
average age at menopause, defined as going 12 months without a period, was 50.5
years, and half of women were 51 or older at natural menopause, researchers
found.
After
accounting for weight, smoking and other factors, each additional average daily
portion of legumes was tied to nearly a year's delay in onset of menopause,
while each additional portion of oily fish was tied to a three-year delay.
More
vitamin B6 and zinc in the diet were also tied to slightly later onset of
menopause, while each additional average daily portion of rice or pasta was
linked to onset 1.5 years earlier.
The
study wasn't a controlled experiment and can't prove whether or how eating
particular foods might have influenced menopause timing. The authors speculate
that antioxidants in certain foods could offset aging of ovaries, and different
diets' effect on body fat and insulin levels could also affect estrogen levels.
"Since
this study does not prove any causality, we would not expect women to change
their diet based on these findings," Dunneram said.
"In
my opinion, the study is very well done because it includes a large population
and accounts for an important number of cofounders," said Sandra Arevalo,
a registered dietitian at Montefiore Hospital in New York City who wasn't
involved in the research.
"However,
the quality of the food can change from region to region and I feel that it is
necessary to extrapolate the research to other territories that include
different foods origins and ethnicities to learn if the same results prevail
for different populations," Arevalo said in an email.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2FAAuu9 Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, online April 30, 2018.
Delays push farmers to distress sale of
paddy
KARIMNAGAR , MAY 05,
2018 22:50 IST
A farmer waiting with his paddy produce at the agricultural
marketyard in Karimnagar town. | Photo Credit: ByKMDayashankar
Unseasonal rains heightened their
fears of loss of harvest
Delay in the procurement of paddy at the IKP procurement centres
and also non-procurement at the agricultural marketyards, was forcing farmers
to resort to distress sale of paddy fearing damage to their hard-earned produce
due to the expected unseasonal rains.
Following the arrivals of large quantities at the marketyards
the officials have temporarily stalled the procurement till they clear the yard
and send the procured crop to rice mills and or godowns. Further, procurement
was delayed at IKP and PACS (primary agricultural cooperative societies)
procurement centres due to shortage of labour and lack of storage space.
Following unseasonal rains that drenched the stocked paddy at
the market yards many farmers resorted to distress sale to rice mills instead
of waiting for three to four days for the procurement of their produce at the
IKP and PACS centres. “If we wait at the IKP centres, we are not sure when the
rains would come and damage our crop. Hence, we approached the millers directly
instead of losing the crop in the rains,” said Mudiganti Venkat Reddy, a farmer
of Challur village of Veenavanka mandal.
He sold 250 quintals of paddy to the miller in the process
suffering a loss of ₹ 20,000, which includes transportation, labour charges and
deduction of 2.5 kilograms weight per quintal by miller on the grounds of
foreign bodies and moisture content, among others.
Similarly, several farmers approached the millers for selling
their produce for a lesser amount than the minimum support price fixed by the
government. Sadasiva Reddy of Manakondur mandal said that he resorted to
distress sale apprehensive of the loss of the crop due to the delay in the
procurement at the marketyards and the IKP procurement centres.
On the other hand, the officials have opened only 172
procurement centres against the announced 187 centres. The centres have so far
procured only 5.68 lakh quintals during the last 20 days.
Who
benefits the most from Gov’s decision to stop importing rice
By
Keshala Dias
04
May, 2018 | 9:57 PM
COLOMBO (News
1st) – On Thursday (May 3rd) the government reached a decision to control rice
imports. Who is the ultimate beneficiary of such a move?
The inclement
weather experienced in 2016 had a serious impact on rice cultivation in 2017.
It was in 2017 that Sri Lanka recorded it’s lowest rice harvest. As rice
produced in the country could not meet the local demand the Ministry of
Industry and Commerce took measures to import rice from India, Pakistan,
Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Thereby, on
several instances, the import tax on rice was also reduced. According to
records from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, during the previous year, 800,000
metric tonnes of rice had been imported to the country.
However, at
the recent Maha Cultivation Season, the farmers reaped a massive harvest.
Therefore, the Cost of Living Committee that convened on May 1 decided there is
no need to import rice any further. The 25% tax which was imposed on rice imports
was returned to its previous state, and from April 30 rice imports to Sri Lanka
was controlled.
The Cost of
Living Committee states, under this system traders will have to incur a cost of
over Rs. 70 to import a kilogram of rice. However, there are some who believe
that some who believe that such changes are being prompted by a handful of
large companies who want to monopolize the rice trade in the country
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/05/who-will-benefit-from-suspending-rice-imports/
Bulacan markets start selling P39 per kg rice
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:19 AM May 07, 2018
CITY OF MALOLOS — Markets in Bulacan
province have started selling commercial rice for P39 per kilogram to provide
low-income families access to the staple usually supplied by the National Food
Authority (NFA).
The Bulacan Rice Millers Association (BRMA)
on Friday shipped the affordable rice to the NFA Bulacan office for
distribution to local outlets.
Millers from Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and
Isabela initially shipped stocks of affordable rice to Metro Manila to
stabilize prices of the grain when NFA stocks disappeared last month. Supply of
NFA rice keeps commercial rice prices at bay.
But Bulacan millers redirected their
supplies to the provincial market to move volumes of rice stored in local
warehouses.
Manila retailers, who normally transact
directly with millers in the Bulacan towns of Bocaue and Balagtas, have reduced
their purchases due to the high cost of fuel, said Delanie Dinong, BRMA member
and owner of Gold Rust Rice Mill.
More than a hundred BRMA members agreed to
sell rice at P39 per kg, according to BRMA Vice President Roderico Sulit, but
local demand has not been high so far.
Elvira Cruz Obana, Bulacan NFA Manager said
only about 10 percent of 3 million Bulacan residents purchase NFA rice.
Sulit said an initial 10,000 bags of rice
being sold for P39 per kg were available at the NFA Tikay outlet, the InterCity
milling center in Bocaue and the Golden City millers district in Balagtas.
Bulacan’s affordable rice initiative would be sustained until rice imported by
the government arrive to replenish NFA stocks.
“But we
could never afford to sell at the NFA rates of P27 to P32 a kg,” Sulit said. —Carmela Reyes-Estrope
Don't miss out on the latest news and information.
Rs 1 crore worth mirchi, cotton
gutted in fire at Mahbubabad
DECCAN CHRONICLE.
PublishedMay 7, 2018, 3:05 am IST
UpdatedMay 7, 2018, 3:05 am IST
Some passers-by called up the fire department when
they saw flames and thick smoke gushing from the storage unit.
There was only one fire tender available in Mahbubabad town
and the fire station too had limited staff.
WARANGAL: A fire broke out in a storage facility due to short
circuit, burning 6,000 bags of cotton and mirchi worth about Rs 1 to ashes at
Mahbubabad on Sunday.
The storage facility which
belongs to private rice millers is situated on the outskirts of Mahbubabad town
on the Yellandu road. As it was Sunday, the mill was closed. With not many
houses in the vicinity, the fire could not be noticed early. Some passers-by
called up the fire department when they saw flames and thick smoke gushing from
the storage unit.
There was only one fire tender
available in Mahbubabad town and the fire station too had limited staff. With
the fire spreading to the entire building by the time the fire brigade arrived
at the scene, it became difficult for the firefighters to put out the blazing
flames.
In addition, the burning mirchi
made things worse as the firemen could not enter with their eyes open. The
firefighters put out the flames by about 2 pm but not before the entire stock
was burnt down.
The owners of the mill claimed
that the cotton and mirchi belonged to several farmers who had stored their
stock there after the sudden thunderstorm on Thursday. However, the police said
that they had not received any complaint from farmers claiming their cotton or
mirchi was gutted in the fire.
Growers Advised To Cultivate Rice From May 25 To June 20
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point
News - 6th May, 2018 ) :Rice experts on Sunday suggested
growers to cultivate rice crop, between May 25
to June 20. According to a Agriculture department
sources, the growers were directed to cultivate the rice varieties ARI-6,
KS-282, KSK-133 and NIAB ARI-9, between May 25
to June 7, whereas Super Basmati
can be cultivated from May 25
to June 20.
Member Plant Science, pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Dr Anjum Ali
also said that June 1 to 20 is the best time
for cultivation of Basmati-370, Basmati-385, Basmati Pak, Basmati-2000 and
Basmati-515.
Rice Research Institute, Lahore sources
said that Basmati-198 could be cultivated in the area of Sahiwal and Okara from June 1
to June 15. It may be
mentioned here that a group of Chinese hybrid-rice
researchers and experts, visited more than 100 rice fields and farms of the
country, last year.
They submitted their findings to
the local scientists, who also recommended the local growers to adopt
modern Chinese Hybrid-Rice,
techniques. APP/saa-xl/bl
Growers Advised To Cultivate Rice From May 25 To June 20
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point
News - 6th May, 2018 ) :Rice experts on Sunday suggested
growers to cultivate rice crop, between May 25
to June 20. According to a Agriculture department
sources, the growers were directed to cultivate the rice varieties ARI-6,
KS-282, KSK-133 and NIAB ARI-9, between May 25
to June 7, whereas Super Basmati
can be cultivated from May 25
to June 20.
Member Plant Science, pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Dr Anjum Ali
also said that June 1 to 20 is the best time
for cultivation of Basmati-370, Basmati-385, Basmati Pak, Basmati-2000 and
Basmati-515.
Rice Research Institute, Lahore sources
said that Basmati-198 could be cultivated in the area of Sahiwal and Okara from June 1
to June 15. It may be
mentioned here that a group of Chinese hybrid-rice
researchers and experts, visited more than 100 rice fields and farms of the country,
last year.
They submitted their findings to
the local scientists, who also recommended the local growers to adopt
modern Chinese Hybrid-Rice,
techniques. APP/saa-xl/bl
Scientists
in China Race to Edit Crop Genes, Sowing Unease in U.S.
Chinese-owned Syngenta makes strides in new technologies to alter plant
DNA, as U.S. farmers worry that cutting-edge agricultural science is shifting
East
By Jacob Bunge and
Lucy
Craymer
May 6, 2018 9:00 a.m. ET
China is seeking a lead in editing plant genes, potentially
shifting the epicenter of the emerging agricultural technology toward the East.
Syngenta AG, the seed and chemical giant now owned by
state-owned China National Chemical Corp., is building up a Beijing hub for
developing new gene-editing technologies like Crispr-Cas9, which enable new
ways to alter DNA.
Scientists
in China Race to Edit Crop Genes, Sowing Unease in U.S.
Chinese-owned Syngenta makes strides in new technologies to alter plant
DNA, as U.S. farmers worry that cutting-edge agricultural science is shifting
East
By Jacob Bunge and
Lucy Craymer
May 6, 2018 9:00 a.m. ET
China is seeking a lead in editing plant genes, potentially
shifting the epicenter of the emerging agricultural technology toward the East.
Syngenta AG, the seed and chemical giant now owned by
state-owned China National Chemical Corp., is building up a Beijing hub for
developing new gene-editing technologies like Crispr-Cas9, which enable new
ways to alter DNA.
Rice Scandal:
Obaseki’s Chief Of Staff Sues Newspaper N2.75 Million
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The last might not have been
heard of the scandal that rocked Edo State Government recently over the rice
allocated to the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs in the State, as Mr Taiwo
Akerele, Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki, dragged The Guardian before
a Benin High Court.
Akerele, in the suit filed on his
behalf by his lawyer and twin brother, Kehinde Akerele, is seeking what he
called “general and/or exemplary or aggravated damages for libel” over a
publication by the newspaper with the title, “Probe of alleged diversion of
relief materials begins in Edo.”
According to the publication,
which was also reported by many local and national dailies, 4, 781 bags of rice
out of the 6,822 ostensibly approved for the IDP’s Camp at Uhogwa in Ovia North
East Local Government Area of the State by the Federal Government, was reported
missing.
Following the controversy
generated by the rice scandal, the Edo State Command of Nigeria Police invited
the Chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP),
Chief Dan Orbih, for questioning, following his insistence that the state
government must account for the missing bags of rice.
But the state government insisted
that the rice was judiciously disbursed, saying that all the bags of rice and
other items, including shoes, were distributed to the IDPs and other orphanage
homes in the State, apart from the ones that were damaged in storage before
they were allocated.
Mr. Crusoe Osagie, the Media
Adviser to Obaseki, had responded that “the allegation is laughable and
completely false and is a design of detractors to smear the image of a
performing government. They have tried and failed on all other fronts, now they
have stooped lower to a commodity as cheap as rice.”
However, Akerele in his
four-paragraph claims, is praying the court for an order for the newspaper to
pay him a the sum of N250 million as general and/or exemplary or aggravated
damages for libel and another N2.5 million as costs.
In addition, Akerele is asking
the court for an order to compel The Guardian to publish a “well-worded”
retraction and apology in a similarly conspicuous manner, which must also be
published in another newspaper.
Hearing in the case has been
fixed for June 19, 2018.
Governor
threatens to veto bill to repeal wild rice standard
Saturday, May 05, 2018 8:13 a.m. CDT
Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Gov. Mark
Dayton has warned lawmakers he'll veto a bill to nullify the state's wild rice
water quality standard if it reaches his desk without changes.
The governor said in a letter
Thursday he recognizes it's not technically or economically feasible for the
mining industry or municipalities to comply with the existing standard, which
limits discharges of sulfates into waters where wild rice grows to 10 milligrams
per liter.
But he says the bill as written
is an "extreme approach that removes important protections for wild rice,
conflicts with federal law and guarantees ongoing litigation."
The bill has cleared a conference
committee and is headed back to the House and Senate for final votes. It's
supported by mining backers and wastewater plant operators, but opposed by
tribal and environmental groups.
Is tobacco the
next ‘miracle crop’?
CITY OF THE SAN FERNANDO — Tobacco has been a vilified plant and
was certainly not regarded as a miracle crop, but all this is about to change
as more practical and commercially viable uses are being discovered from this
high-value crop.
And much of it is for agricultural use which means that the crop will no longer be the exclusive darling of cigarette manufacturers but of groups as diverse as agri-entrepreneurs, fishpond owners, fertilizer manufacturers and organic farmers.
The sight of green and healthy tobacco leaves under the noonday sun is enough to excite any tobacco farmer about high yields. But for agriculture researchers, tobacco could be so much more that is now becoming an emerging miracle crop and for good reason.
Tobacco waste like dust, tobacco stalks and discarded tobacco leaves are now promising components for various agricultural applications.
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said that tobacco is grown in 23 provinces spanning about 30,352 hectares. And with industry data showing that tobacco has recently emerged as one of the country's fastest growing crops, this means that there is enough tobacco for such agricultural applications.
Tobacco soil conditioner
Tobacco dust, which is generally produced during the commercial processing of tobacco, is now seen as a viable alternative soil conditioner and as an additional component to organic fertilizer. Tobacco dust, an agro-industrial waste, can be applied to the soil to recycle and replenish essential nutrients that have been depleted.
Such is the viability of tobacco dust that the NTA, in collaboration with government agencies, rolled out processed tobacco dust under the name Tobacco Dust Plus (TDP) as an environment-friendly pesticide and organic fertilizer. In 2014, the NTA started to commercially manufacture TDP in a plant in Sto. Tomas town in La Union.
Applied as a fertilizer, tobacco dust, in combination with organic compost, can serve as soil conditioner. A study by Sarah Shakeel of the Kinnaird College on tobacco dust showed that when applied to the soil, tobacco dust reintroduce nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium back into the soil that plants have consumed from the soil.
The study showed that tobacco dust is rich in nitrogen. Potassium and phosphorous which can provide essential nutrients to the soil and plant. Local data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) also showed that tobacco dust, when mixed with organic compost has positive effects on the growth of vegetable and house-plants due to its nitrogen content.
Studies showed that use of tobacco dust is an eco-friendly management strategy for soil management with negligible impact on the environment as it is organic and leaves no chemical residue.
Tobacco insecticide
The use of a tobacco as an insecticide is not a new thing. For hundreds of years, water-based solutions made from tobacco had been used to kill insects.
Tobacco’s herbicide potency is due to its nicotine content. Among the three types of tobacco plants grown in the country, Virginia tobacco has the lowest nicotine content. Burley tobacco comes higher in terms of nicotine content followed by the native tobacco which has the highest.
The DA confirms that nicotine in tobacco deters garden pests and is very potent against creatures such as slugs and aphids. Tobacco tea, made from tobacco leaves and stalks, is used by gardeners to kill garden pests. Tobacco tea, used as spray against insects, is processed from boiling dried tobacco materials.
The DA however cautions the use of tobacco on tomatoes (Lycopersiconesculentum), potatoes (Solanumtuberosum) and peppers (Capsicum spp.) as this may transmit the tobacco mosaic virus and cause more problems for these plants. But all beneficial use considered, tobacco insecticide is still an environment-friendly and cost efficient alternative to synthetic pesticide.
Tobacco pond sterilizer
Almost a decade of research done by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Resources Research and Development (PCAMRRD) and the NTA have proven the effectiveness of tobacco for sterilization of fishponds.
Field tests conducted in Pampanga, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur all showed positive results. Today tobacco dusts is popularly used by pond owners in Pangasinan and La Union.
The application is simple, when the ponds are cleared of water, tobacco dust is applied to kill predators that would harm the stocked fingerlings. Eliminating the predators would ensure the healthy growth of the stocks as well as the availability of the natural food in the pond. In the past, farmers actually use dried and sometimes crushed tobacco leaves and spread these on the pond bottom. The availability of TDP helps greatly in the making the process efficient.
Tobacco dust is preferred by pond owners as it reduces the organic waste from tobacco and does not leave any chemical residue on the pond. Tobacco dust has also been found to promote the proliferation of lablab (plankton) that serve as natural food source for fish stocks.
However, after being introduced in in 2012, tobacco dust is still yet to be introduced extensively for commercial use especially outside the tobacco producing regions especially in Central Luzon, a major center of the aqua-culture industry.
Central Luzon’s was ranked fifth in terms of fish production in 2015 accounting for 39.2 percent (or some P31-billion worth) of the country’s production. While only placing fifth, Central Luzon had the highest value of harvest with 41.3 percent for its aqua-culture harvest for 2015.
Of the Central Luzon provinces, Pampanga, where tobacco dust was first tested, is known not only in the region but in the whole country as the Tilapia Capital of the Philippines. Using tobacco dust for pond preparation would mean a decrease in the use of chemicals for pond sterilization which means more savings for fish pond owners.
Tobacco molluscicide
Tobacco juice, tobacco dust juice and tobacco lime are not only for traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening but also for mainstream commercial agriculture.
Tobacco has been proven effective against a variety of snails like the brackish water pond snails (Cerithideacingulata Gmelin) which are usually pests in brackish water ponds and golden apple snails (Pomaceacanaliculata) that pester rice farms in the country.
Studies conducted by a team from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo under Dr. Joebert D. Toledo had proven tobacco dust to be effective against predatory snails and other creatures that exist in ponds and fish pens.
Parasitic trematodes, that are harmful against young fish stocks, require an intermediate host like snails to thrive. And since tobacco dust is toxic to pond snails, parasites that harm fish stocks are effectively controlled.
Tobacco also has positive uses in rice cultivation. A research of James, et al. from PhilRice-Batac demonstrated the use of tobacco scrap before and after transplanting to control harmful snail populations in rice fields. The field test was done in seven municipalities of Ilocos Norte.
The research revealed that weekly use of tobacco scraps significantly reduced the population of golden kuhol from 60 to 90 percent.
"The affected area was minimized by 80 percent and damaged hills by 84 percent. Where farmers' practice and no treatment were employed, an average 23.39 percent and 4 percent reduction in population were observed, respectively," the research said.
Rice plants treated with tobacco scraps had better crop stand, greener leaves, and taller plants, the study added. The study also showed that fields treated with tobacco scraps produced the highest yield per hectare (7.37 t/ha) compared to farmers' practice (6.38 t/ha) and no control (6.19 t/ha).
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also recommends the use of tobacco leaves, heartleaf pickerelweed, and citrus leaves in strips across the fields as these plants are toxic to snails. If uncontrolled, the IRRI said that snails can destroy 1 m2 of field overnight. This damage could lead to more than 50 percent yield loss.
Impacts on agriculture
While government had been actively promoting the use of tobacco dust, the issue of adequate promotion and availability of tobacco material are the main reasons why tobacco is still not actively used for agricultural application.
Tobacco can virtually offset the need for synthetic chemical pesticide. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said that pesticide on farmlands usually cost farmers some P1,827 per hectare each cropping season.
The use of tobacco for aqua-culture both helps tobacco farmers increase their yield and fishermen increase their catch. The study conducted by th Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center showed that fish mortality decreased from 20 percent to 5 percent, saving fish farmers of at least P20,000 on production cost per hectare each grow-out cycle when tobacco was used to control pond pests and parasites. And since tobacco is organic, it breaks down completely and leaves no residue on fish unlike chemical pesticide.
All these mean that tobacco could be used as a cheaper alternative to various agricultural applications and that no part of the tobacco plant would go to waste.
The use of tobacco for agricultural applications may increase the benefits for tobacco growing areas, and may serve as source of additional income and provides a safety net for farmers who continuously suffer from government’s anti-smoking campaign.
And much of it is for agricultural use which means that the crop will no longer be the exclusive darling of cigarette manufacturers but of groups as diverse as agri-entrepreneurs, fishpond owners, fertilizer manufacturers and organic farmers.
The sight of green and healthy tobacco leaves under the noonday sun is enough to excite any tobacco farmer about high yields. But for agriculture researchers, tobacco could be so much more that is now becoming an emerging miracle crop and for good reason.
Tobacco waste like dust, tobacco stalks and discarded tobacco leaves are now promising components for various agricultural applications.
The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said that tobacco is grown in 23 provinces spanning about 30,352 hectares. And with industry data showing that tobacco has recently emerged as one of the country's fastest growing crops, this means that there is enough tobacco for such agricultural applications.
Tobacco soil conditioner
Tobacco dust, which is generally produced during the commercial processing of tobacco, is now seen as a viable alternative soil conditioner and as an additional component to organic fertilizer. Tobacco dust, an agro-industrial waste, can be applied to the soil to recycle and replenish essential nutrients that have been depleted.
Such is the viability of tobacco dust that the NTA, in collaboration with government agencies, rolled out processed tobacco dust under the name Tobacco Dust Plus (TDP) as an environment-friendly pesticide and organic fertilizer. In 2014, the NTA started to commercially manufacture TDP in a plant in Sto. Tomas town in La Union.
Applied as a fertilizer, tobacco dust, in combination with organic compost, can serve as soil conditioner. A study by Sarah Shakeel of the Kinnaird College on tobacco dust showed that when applied to the soil, tobacco dust reintroduce nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium back into the soil that plants have consumed from the soil.
The study showed that tobacco dust is rich in nitrogen. Potassium and phosphorous which can provide essential nutrients to the soil and plant. Local data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) also showed that tobacco dust, when mixed with organic compost has positive effects on the growth of vegetable and house-plants due to its nitrogen content.
Studies showed that use of tobacco dust is an eco-friendly management strategy for soil management with negligible impact on the environment as it is organic and leaves no chemical residue.
Tobacco insecticide
The use of a tobacco as an insecticide is not a new thing. For hundreds of years, water-based solutions made from tobacco had been used to kill insects.
Tobacco’s herbicide potency is due to its nicotine content. Among the three types of tobacco plants grown in the country, Virginia tobacco has the lowest nicotine content. Burley tobacco comes higher in terms of nicotine content followed by the native tobacco which has the highest.
The DA confirms that nicotine in tobacco deters garden pests and is very potent against creatures such as slugs and aphids. Tobacco tea, made from tobacco leaves and stalks, is used by gardeners to kill garden pests. Tobacco tea, used as spray against insects, is processed from boiling dried tobacco materials.
The DA however cautions the use of tobacco on tomatoes (Lycopersiconesculentum), potatoes (Solanumtuberosum) and peppers (Capsicum spp.) as this may transmit the tobacco mosaic virus and cause more problems for these plants. But all beneficial use considered, tobacco insecticide is still an environment-friendly and cost efficient alternative to synthetic pesticide.
Tobacco pond sterilizer
Almost a decade of research done by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Council for Aquaculture and Marine Resources Research and Development (PCAMRRD) and the NTA have proven the effectiveness of tobacco for sterilization of fishponds.
Field tests conducted in Pampanga, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur all showed positive results. Today tobacco dusts is popularly used by pond owners in Pangasinan and La Union.
The application is simple, when the ponds are cleared of water, tobacco dust is applied to kill predators that would harm the stocked fingerlings. Eliminating the predators would ensure the healthy growth of the stocks as well as the availability of the natural food in the pond. In the past, farmers actually use dried and sometimes crushed tobacco leaves and spread these on the pond bottom. The availability of TDP helps greatly in the making the process efficient.
Tobacco dust is preferred by pond owners as it reduces the organic waste from tobacco and does not leave any chemical residue on the pond. Tobacco dust has also been found to promote the proliferation of lablab (plankton) that serve as natural food source for fish stocks.
However, after being introduced in in 2012, tobacco dust is still yet to be introduced extensively for commercial use especially outside the tobacco producing regions especially in Central Luzon, a major center of the aqua-culture industry.
Central Luzon’s was ranked fifth in terms of fish production in 2015 accounting for 39.2 percent (or some P31-billion worth) of the country’s production. While only placing fifth, Central Luzon had the highest value of harvest with 41.3 percent for its aqua-culture harvest for 2015.
Of the Central Luzon provinces, Pampanga, where tobacco dust was first tested, is known not only in the region but in the whole country as the Tilapia Capital of the Philippines. Using tobacco dust for pond preparation would mean a decrease in the use of chemicals for pond sterilization which means more savings for fish pond owners.
Tobacco molluscicide
Tobacco juice, tobacco dust juice and tobacco lime are not only for traditional organic insecticide used in domestic gardening but also for mainstream commercial agriculture.
Tobacco has been proven effective against a variety of snails like the brackish water pond snails (Cerithideacingulata Gmelin) which are usually pests in brackish water ponds and golden apple snails (Pomaceacanaliculata) that pester rice farms in the country.
Studies conducted by a team from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) in Tigbauan, Iloilo under Dr. Joebert D. Toledo had proven tobacco dust to be effective against predatory snails and other creatures that exist in ponds and fish pens.
Parasitic trematodes, that are harmful against young fish stocks, require an intermediate host like snails to thrive. And since tobacco dust is toxic to pond snails, parasites that harm fish stocks are effectively controlled.
Tobacco also has positive uses in rice cultivation. A research of James, et al. from PhilRice-Batac demonstrated the use of tobacco scrap before and after transplanting to control harmful snail populations in rice fields. The field test was done in seven municipalities of Ilocos Norte.
The research revealed that weekly use of tobacco scraps significantly reduced the population of golden kuhol from 60 to 90 percent.
"The affected area was minimized by 80 percent and damaged hills by 84 percent. Where farmers' practice and no treatment were employed, an average 23.39 percent and 4 percent reduction in population were observed, respectively," the research said.
Rice plants treated with tobacco scraps had better crop stand, greener leaves, and taller plants, the study added. The study also showed that fields treated with tobacco scraps produced the highest yield per hectare (7.37 t/ha) compared to farmers' practice (6.38 t/ha) and no control (6.19 t/ha).
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also recommends the use of tobacco leaves, heartleaf pickerelweed, and citrus leaves in strips across the fields as these plants are toxic to snails. If uncontrolled, the IRRI said that snails can destroy 1 m2 of field overnight. This damage could lead to more than 50 percent yield loss.
Impacts on agriculture
While government had been actively promoting the use of tobacco dust, the issue of adequate promotion and availability of tobacco material are the main reasons why tobacco is still not actively used for agricultural application.
Tobacco can virtually offset the need for synthetic chemical pesticide. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said that pesticide on farmlands usually cost farmers some P1,827 per hectare each cropping season.
The use of tobacco for aqua-culture both helps tobacco farmers increase their yield and fishermen increase their catch. The study conducted by th Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center showed that fish mortality decreased from 20 percent to 5 percent, saving fish farmers of at least P20,000 on production cost per hectare each grow-out cycle when tobacco was used to control pond pests and parasites. And since tobacco is organic, it breaks down completely and leaves no residue on fish unlike chemical pesticide.
All these mean that tobacco could be used as a cheaper alternative to various agricultural applications and that no part of the tobacco plant would go to waste.
The use of tobacco for agricultural applications may increase the benefits for tobacco growing areas, and may serve as source of additional income and provides a safety net for farmers who continuously suffer from government’s anti-smoking campaign.
OIC and Bangladesh
| Update: 11:24,
May 06, 2018
The
emergence of Bangladesh and the founding of OIC were very close. Bangladesh won
its independence on 16 December 1971 after nine long months of an armed
liberation war. And OIC began its official functioning through the summit
conference of the heads of state of 24 countries held in Morocco in 22-25
September 1969 and later the Foreign Ministers’ Council in 1970 and the
establishment of the OIC secretariat.
OIC’s
role was noticeable in the emergence of a Muslim populated state, that is,
Bangladesh. Malaysia’s prime minister at the time, Tunku Abdur Rahman, was
elected the first Secretary General of OIC. Just 28 days into the beginning of
Bangladesh’s independence struggle, the UN secretary general U Thant sent a
secret letter on 20 April 1971, to Tunku Abdur Rahman, requesting him to take
initiative to mediate a political understanding between the leadership of West
Pakistan and East Pakistan. Needless to say, that initiative bore no fruit.
Bangladesh
becomes OIC member
After
independence, Bangladesh’s government at the time particularly felt that it was
important to establish relations with countries of the Muslim world. Political
observer Abdullah Al Mamun said: “Post-liberation Bangladesh immediately faced
nation building as well as state building task, which was a complex and
multidimensional process and at the same time, the most cherished goal of any
nation state. Post-liberation Awami League government faced many formidable
problems such as the restoration of civil administration all over the country,
promotion of law and order situation, rehabilitation of war victims,
reconstruction of war-devastated economy, infrastructure and consolidation of
national independence and securing foreign recognition, which depended mostly
on socio-economic and political developments. To achieve these objectives, the
Awami League government formulated policies concerning foreign relations with
various countries as well as Muslim countries. The Mujib administration
launched a massive diplomatic campaign to achieve these goals and early
recognition by the world communities including Muslim countries for the greater
interest of newly emerged Bangladesh.”
After a
long span of time, on 22 February 1974, Pakistan gave it recognition to
Bangladesh. The governments of Turkey and Iran also granted their recognition
on the same day. It was announced that day at the one o’clock news of Radio
Bangladesh that Bangladesh would be attending the 23-24 February Islamic summit
in Lahore.
Bangladesh
gained membership to OIC in 1974. It established ties with the Muslim world and
steadily stepped up bilateral and multilateral relations.
OIC
education programme
OIC is
committed to work for international peace, solidarity, development and
advancement. Its charter states:
“To preserve
and promote the lofty Islamic values of peace, compassion, tolerance, equity,
justice and human dignity, to contribute to international peace and security.
To
create conducive conditions for sound up-bringing of Muslim children and youth
and to inculcate in them Islamic values through education for strengthening
their cultural, social, moral and ethical ideas.”
Many
countries around the world have adopted programmes to meet the above
objectives. The setting up of the international standard University of
Technology in Bangladesh strengthened and speeded up the process.
Bangladesh
University of Technology
Islamic
University of Technology (IUT) & subsidiary organ of the Islamic conference
(OIC) located at Board Bazar, Gazipur is the First International University in
Bangladesh, from 1978 to 1994 A known as Islamic centre for technical and
vocational training and Research (ICTVTR), then in 1994 was named as Islamic
Institute of Technology (IIT) and Finally in the year 2000 it flourished as
IUT.
Through
the foundation of ICTVTR was established in 1981, it only began fully
functioning in 1986. The IUT Vice Chancellor Dr Fazle Elahi said, “The long
regular classes started in December 1986 with 66 students from Bangladesh,
Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan, Tunisia and since then the academic programmes are
being held as per schedule.” Once its programmes began in full swing, this
institution became reputed not just among OIC countries, but in other countries
of the world too. It was said that the names of the institution should be
changed in keeping with its programmes. At the 22nd Conference of Islamic
Foreign Ministers held in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1994, ICTVTR’s name was
changed to Islamic Institute of Technology (IIT). It later further updated and
in 2000 became the Islamic University of Technology (IUT). The secretary
general’s report stated: “The long regular classes started in December 1986
with 66 students from Bangladesh, Jordan, Yemen, Pakistan, Tunisia and since
then the academic programmes are being held as per schedule.”
At
present the university has 770 students from 20 countries and about 140
teachers and officers, among whom are 50 highly qualified
teachers.
IDB-BISEW
After
its establishment, IDB took up significant programmes in Bangladesh. It worked for
the spread of education, particularly in the field of science and technology.
The Islamic Development Bank-Bangladesh Islamic Solidarity Education Waqf
(IDB-BISEW) was established for such programmes. This was set up under an
agreement signed between the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and
the Bangladesh government. After the agreement was signed, Bangladesh
government provided a two-acre plot of land on Rokeya Sarani and IDB provided
Tk 13.2 million to construction a 21 storey building there. Later, from 2003,
in various courses, 5401 students were given scholarships. Of them, 3935 in the
Computer Fundamental Course and 2170 as Professional Course Graduates were
given jobs in 977 firms. It has thus been working to resolve the countries unemployment
problem and building a society dependent on information and technology. There
is a 13-member Islamic Solidarity Fund permanent committee.
IDB
programmes
In
accordance to a resolution taken at the Conference of Finance Ministers o
Muslim Countries in December 1973 in Jeddah, in August 1974 the Islamic
Development Bank (IDB) signed the Bangladesh Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
charter. With the approval of various states and organisations, it was
established as an international organisation and officially began its
programmes from 20 October 1975.
OIC’s
financial programmes are basically carried out through IDB. From the very
outset, IDB has been carrying out various development programmes in Bangladesh.
Its programmes from 1 January 1976 to December 2009 have been presented here.
In this span of time, 65 projects were granted funds of US$ 570 million, 8
projects were given technical assistance of US$ 42 million, 202 commercial
programmes were provided US$ 6953.7 million, 12 projects were given special
assistance of US$ 3.5 million.
The
quality seeds promotion project is a food security project under the Jeddah
Declaration. The main objective of this project is to enhance the competence of
three institutions in Bangladesh. These are the Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, and Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation. The objective of the project for the
development of the rural and small enterprises is to provide support to develop
and small and medium entrepreneurs in six districts of the country. IDB also
provides assistance at various times for humanitarian causes. In November 2007,
when the devastating cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh’s southern region, IDB
provided US$ 130 million for various projects at the time. Of this, 85% were
for various development programmes, such as construction of 700 schools/cyclone
shelter centres. The remaining 15% were used for emergency relief material.
After the founding of IDB, it has been providing technical and financial
assistance to firmly establish more OIC programmes in Bangladesh.
Islami
Bank Bangladesh established
The
first interest-free Islamic bank was set up in the sixties in Mit Ghamr, Egypt.
An active movement arose to set up such a bank in Bangladesh too. In August
1974, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman signed the Bangladesh Islamic
Development Bank or IDB charter.
In
November 1982 a delegation of the Islamic Development Bank came to Bangladesh.
They expressed IDB’s interest to set up an Islamic Bank in Bangladesh though
joint initiative in the private sector. As a result, on 13 March 1983, the
Dhaka International Islamic Bank Limited was established as the first
interest-free bank in Southeast Asia.
Islami
Bank Bangladesh Limited is the pioneer of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. It is
the first bank in Southeast Asia to be run in accordance to Sharia. It was
established as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1913 on 13
March 1983. It is a joint investment commercial bank, with 36.91 % local and 63.09%
foreign investment. It has become the country’s biggest private sector bank
with 322 branches. It is registered with the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the
Chittagong Stock Exchange with an authorised capital of Tk 20,000 million and
paid up capital of Tk 16,099 million.
The
Islamic banks in Bangladesh include:
1.
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL)
2.
Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd
3.
Social Islamic Bank Ltd
4.
Export Import Bank of Bangladesh (EXIM Bank)
5.
Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd
6.
ICB Islami Bank Ltd
7.
Union Bank Ltd
Foreign
Ministers’ Conference
The OIC
member state Foreign Ministers’ conference in held every year in any country.
The 14th Islamic Foreign Ministers’ conference was held in Dhaka on 6-19
December 1983. It was attended by delegates from 36 countries. Joining as
observers were representatives from Cyprus, Moro Liberation Front, Nigeria,
Rabeta Al-Alam-e-Islami, Jamiyate Dawa, Mu’tamar-e-Alam-e Islami of Pakistan, Arab
League, Organisation of African Unity and representative of the US Secretary
General.
Presently,
the OIC Foreign Minister’s 45th session is underway in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The
theme of this year’s meet is ‘Islamic Values for Sustainable Peace, Solidarity
and Development. The Rohingya crisis is receiving special focus at this
conference, along with other challenges faced by the Muslim world.
* Syed
Shah Amran is director, Islamic Foundation
Global Rice
Husk Ash Market Growth by 2023: Deelert Group, Jasoriya Rice Mill and Rescon
(India)
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Japan's
price-conscious consumers turn to foreign rice
Australian and other imports find
their way into homes and restaurants
May 07, 2018 15:30 JST
TOKYO -- Prices for domestic rice are rising in Japan, driving
consumers to cheaper foreign-grown varieties, the imports of which are still
strictly regulated. But as more supermarkets and restaurants offer low-cost foreign rice,
straining import caps, foreign rice producers are expected to call on the
country to open its rice market wider.
In late March, supermarket operator Seiyu began selling
Australian rice for the first time in five years, touting its low price. A
4kg-bag goes for 1,180 yen ($10.79), 20% cheaper than Japan's popular
Nanatsuboshi variety. Seiyu is offering the Australian grain at all of its
144 stores in the Kanto region and other parts of the country.
Japan has long protected its rice farmers by restricting
imports. But after policies that reduced rice acreage for nearly 50 years
through 2017 and encouraged the growing of feed rice, annual production of
domestic rice for direct consumption has dropped 11% over the past five years
to 7.3 million tons. This has pushed up prices for the third straight
year, with retail prices about 10% higher than last year.
Seiyu worked with trading house Sumitomo
Corp. and rice wholesaler Yamatane on
pricing for the Australian import. "There were no brands of Japanese
rice for 300 yen or less per kilogram, and Australian rice satisfied Seiyu's
demand," said Yamatane President Motohiro Yamazaki.
Foreign rice producers view the price surge as an opening to
lobby Japan to accept more imports. In early April, Australia's ambassador
to Japan, Richard Court talked to Japanese rice distributors, outlining the
history of Australian rice and saying some of it is similar in taste to
Japanese varieties.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership signed in March allows Australia
to export up to 8,400 tons of rice to Japan annually. The imported rice is
expected to go directly to market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. decision to withdraw from the TPP under the
administration of U.S. President Donald Trump disappointed American rice
farmers. The trade pact would have allowed them to export up to 70,000 tons to
Japan. In 2016, the U.S. Trade Representative said that TPP benefits to the
U.S. grain market would come mainly from Japan.
In 1993, Japan was forced to open its rice market and now
imports up to 770,000 tons annually under a minimum-access quota system, with
rice for direct consumption limited to 100,000 tons. The remaining imports are
earmarked for processed foods or animal feed.
Overall, 60% of imported table rice comes from the U.S., 30%
from Australia and the remainder from other countries.
Imported rice for direct consumption accounts for only about 1%
of Japan's total consumption. But the recent price hikes caused demand for
imports to hit the 100,000-ton limit for the first time in five years during
the fiscal 2017 rice auction.
Fast-food operator Yoshinoya
Holdings started using U.S. rice at its beef-bowl restaurants
about a year ago. Restaurant chains Kourakuen
Holdings and Saint
Marc Holdings have also begun serving U.S. rice, and the USA
Rice Federation is trying to have sushi restaurant operators do the same.
"Japan should not be content growing brand-name rice
alone," said Makoto Hirayama, president of rice wholesaler Kitoku
Shinryo. Several types of high-grade rice costing about 3,000 yen
per 5kg have been on the market for years, but with real wages in Japan marking their first on-year decline in
two years in 2017, consumers are becoming more price-conscious. Many households
apparently prefer to spend less than 2,000 yen for the same amount.
Prices for domestic rice are also rising as more production is
diverted to feed markets, and the amount available for direct consumption is
falling. The production of feed rice now nearly equals 10% of that for table
rice. With increasing amounts of domestic rice destined for the high-grade and
feed sectors, the low-price category is opening up to foreign rice growers.
ADB backs
Duterte admin’s tack to end QR on rice
By
May 7, 2018
In
Photo: Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corp. converses
with Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III at the Host Country Seminar:
Past, Present and Future of the World Economy during the 51st annual meetings
of the board of governors of the Manila-based Asian Development Bank.
Setting a tariff schedule on the
country’s rice imports could lead to more stable international rice prices
moving forward, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In an interview at the sidelines
of the recently concluded ADB Annual Meeting in Manila, ADB Philippines Country
Director Kelly Bird told the BusinessMirror that the Manila-based multilateral
development bank supports the government’s move to finally end its quantitative
restrictions on rice. The Philippines is converting its QR on rice into a
tariff schedule in compliance with commitments to the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
“By converting to a tariff, and
you’re allowing importation of rice, then you generally have more stable
prices. You have stable supply. And then I guess the tariff would be set so
that it also encourages the domestic price of rice. It is a much more preferred
approach to managing a part
icular sector, particularly the agriculture sector,” Bird
said.
Bird added a QR would cause more
volatility in the international market because it pegs commodity prices to a
certain level. This prevents prices from adjusting to the demand for certain
commodities.
Further, Bird said setting a
tariff would boost local production because there is more stability in the
global and domestic markets.
Ample supply is part of ensuring
food security. This is especially important because the Philippines is a net
importer of rice.
Promoting food security not only
in the Philippines but also in other developing member-countries (DMCs) is part
of the priorities under the ADB Strategy 2030.
“The ADB will focus on rural
roads, market infrastructure and agri-logistics centers to enable the
integration of more producers, agribusinesses and consumers into national,
regional and global food systems. Reducing postharvest losses and promoting
agricultural value addition will help increase rural incomes and enhance food
security,” the document stated.
The ADB said it would help the
DMCs increase agricultural productivity and reduce poverty by boosting farm and
nonfarm incomes.
This means, the ADB added,
promoting the adoption of advanced technologies, such as satellite and
drone-assisted applications, to increase irrigation efficiency and to ensure
the sustainable use of land and water resources.
It also said that the ADB would
promote the use of climate-smart agricultural practices, such as the
introduction of drought-resistant crop varieties and drip irrigation.
“The ADB support will improve
natural resource management standards by undertaking land reclamation, reforestation
and watershed-management projects to reduce soil erosion and improve
biodiversity,” the ADB stated in the draft Strategy 2030.
Strategy 2030, a new long-term
strategy seen released this year, renews the ADB’s commitment to eradicate
extreme poverty in Asia and the Pacific and expand its vision to achieve a
prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable region.
In his remarks, ADB President
Takehiko Nakao said Strategy 2030 will address existing and emerging
challenges. Strategy 2030 will be aligned with the international agenda,
including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate
change.
Strategy 2030 will have 10
priorities—tackle remaining poverty and increasing inequalities in Asia and the
Pacific; accelerate progress in gender equality; scale up support to combat
climate change; build climate and disaster resilience, and enhance
environmental sustainability; build livable cities that are competitive, green,
resilient and inclusive; and promote rural development and food security.
The priorities include
strengthening governance; fostering regional cooperation and integration;
mobilizing private-sector resources to meet the region’s huge development
financing needs; furthering strengthen the ADB’s role as a provider and
facilitator of knowledge; and pursuing a stronger, better and faster ADB.
Rice, corn output up in first
quarter of 2018
Ralf Rivas
Published 3:50 PM, May 07, 2018
Updated 4:48 PM, May 07, 2018
BAYANIHAN FOR THE STAPLE. A
community finishes a palay season dafter harvest, taking advantage of the good
weather in Pangasinan. Photo by Mau Victa/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) –
Rice and corn production improved during the first quarter of the year,
according to Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.
Some 4.7 million metric tons of
rice were produced between January to March of this year, up 6.8% from the same
period last year. Corn production was at 2.5 million metric tons, gaining some
4.2% year-on-year.
The Department of Agriculture
(DA) attributed the growth to farmers' increased adoption of modern
technologies.
“Farmers now use good quality
seeds. There is now greater awareness and they realize that using quality seeds
can increase their harvest two-fold,” said Piñol.
The DA is also confident that the
country is on track to hit the 97% target of rice sufficiency this year.
“We don’t want to go beyond that
because we don’t have a program on how to export our rice. Prices will fall in
the market, farmers could take a hit if we have an oversupply,” Piñol said.
Output figures may be stable, but
several factors in play have made life harder for farmers. For instance, the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) says farmers earned 10% less
because of the implementation of the tax reform law.
The agriculture chief says he is
in favor of increasing “to an extent” the farmgate price of palay.
"I favor increasing [the
farmgate price], but we cannot just carelessly bring it up to a level where
consumers will be affected," Piñol said.
According to the Philippine
Statistics Authority, the average farmgate palay price is at P20.79 per
kilogram, as of May 2, up 0.39% the average price two weeks ago.
Moreover, consumers still took a
hit despite the steady supply, due to the low supply of affordable rice.
Last week, the National Food
Authority awarded the supply of 250,000 metric tons
of rice imports to Vietnam and Thailand to remedy the issue.
To encourage farmers to sell
their produce to the NFA, the DA is planning to reward them with farm
implements and machinery.
"If they sell around 20
metric tons [of palay], you will have one power tiller," Piñol
added. – Rappler.com
Nitin Gadkari Grants Permission
to Bajaj, TVS to Make Bio-Ethanol Vehicles Using Rice and Wheat Straw
Gadkari suggested that
institutions engaged in agricultural research take up topics such as biofuel to
reduce dependency on oil imports.
May 7, 2018, 1:49 PM IST
File photo of union minister
Nitin Gadkari.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that his ministry has accorded
permission to automakers Bajaj and TVS for making vehicles that run using 100
percent bio-ethanol made out of rice and wheat straw. "I told the
management of Bajaj and TVS to make ethanol-based bike and auto rickshaws. They
made it. I am giving them permission and the auto rickshaws or bikes or
scooters will run on 100 percent bio-ethanol," he said.
The Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister was speaking during the launching ceremony of 'Vijaya Kranti', a Telugu news daily here. Gadkari suggested that institutions engaged in agricultural research take up topics such as biofuel to reduce dependency on oil imports. He said rice straw, as waste, is burnt in Punjab and Haryana, resulting in pollution in Delhi.
The Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister was speaking during the launching ceremony of 'Vijaya Kranti', a Telugu news daily here. Gadkari suggested that institutions engaged in agricultural research take up topics such as biofuel to reduce dependency on oil imports. He said rice straw, as waste, is burnt in Punjab and Haryana, resulting in pollution in Delhi.
According to him, 280 litres of ethanol can be produced from one tonne of rice straw. "We import Rs 40,000 crore worth of timber, Rs 4,000 crore worth of raw incense sticks, Rs 35,000 crore worth paper pulp and Rs 35,000 crore worth newsprint every year. So a total of Rs one lakh crore worth of imports related to wood.
He said the centre was encouraging farmers to
cultivate bamboo so that imports are considerably reduced. The government has,
for the first time, decided to declassify bamboo as tree, he said. Expressing
concern over 'political influence' of the media, Gadkari said people of the
country want the media to be independent and impartial.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the TRS government has been curtailing media freedom and journalists are working in fear and insecurity following 'threats' issued by the state government. Vijaya Kranti promoter C L Rajam and Telangana BJP president K Laxman were among those who spoke at the function.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the TRS government has been curtailing media freedom and journalists are working in fear and insecurity following 'threats' issued by the state government. Vijaya Kranti promoter C L Rajam and Telangana BJP president K Laxman were among those who spoke at the function.
Rice cultivation from 25th
LAHORE (APP): Rice experts on Sunday
suggested growers to cultivate rice crop, between May 25 to June 20. According
to a Agriculture department sources, the growers were directed to cultivate the
rice varieties ARI-6, KS-282, KSK-133 and NIAB ARI-9, between May 25 to
June 7, whereas Super Basmati can be cultivated from May 25 to June 20.Member
Plant Science, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Dr Anjum Ali also
said that June 1 to 20 is the best time for cultivation of Basmati-370,
Basmati-385, Basmati Pak, Basmati-2000 and Basmati-515. Rice Research
Institute, Lahore sources said that Basmati-198 could be cultivated in the area
of Sahiwal and Okara from June 1 to June 15. It may be mentioned here that a
group of Chinese hybrid-rice researchers and experts, visited more than 100
rice fields and farms of the country, last year. They submitted their findings
to the local scientists, who also recommended the local growers to adopt modern
Chinese Hybrid-Rice, techniques.
Government to support growing exports of precooked rice with
project
Government to support growing exports of precooked
rice with project to upgrade packaging
The agriculture ministry is set to introduce a subsidy
program aimed at helping improve plastic containers for cooked white rice, in
an effort to increase exports of the product, sources have said.
Many such prepackaged steamed rice products, consumed after being
warmed in a microwave or using hot water, have best-before periods of six to 10
months. The ministry hopes to extend the period to 12 months or longer
by improving plastic containers and packaging materials. Through the measure,
the ministry wants to see prepackaged domestic rice products displayed on
shelves longer in overseas markets and promote exports, the sources said.
Transportation by sea and customs procedures take about one-to-three months for
prepackaged rice product exports. As a result, the shelf life for the product
in stores is shortened when it is shipped overseas. If the shelf life can be
extended, “that will likely increase the number of stores handling Japanese
prepackaged rice, leading to an increase in sales abroad,” a senior ministry
official said. Entities including the National Agriculture and Food Research
Organization and a food-maker in the central prefecture of Niigata — a major
rice-growing area — will start to work jointly on improving the plastic
containers for such rice products as early as this month, aiming to deliver
results by 2021. Prepackaged rice products can be exported to almost all
countries as they are not subject to quarantine. According to the ministry,
cooked rice exports from Japan, including prepackaged steamed rice, totaled
some 658 tons in 2017. While no year-on-year comparison is available due to a
statistical revision, exports are steadily rising, mainly to Thailand and other
Asian nations, on the back of an increase in foreign visitors to Japan and the
growing popularity of Japanese cuisine abroad, ministry officials said.
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