Sierra Leone wooed by local rice
Sum Manet / Khmer Times Share:
A government delegation from
Sierra Leone is now in Cambodia to explore partnership opportunities,
particularly in the agriculture sector.
As expressed during a meeting on
Monday between the Cambodian Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon and his Sierra
Leone counterpart Joseph J. Ndanema, the Sub-Saharan African country is
interested in importing Cambodian rice.
Mr Ndanema said during the
meeting that now is the right time for both nations to engage in comprehensive
cooperation.
He praised the local agriculture
sector for its swift development in recent years, and added that his country
can learn from what Cambodia has achieved.
“The success that Cambodia enjoys
today, especially in rice production, is widely recognised worldwide. Its rice
is consider to be high quality and delicious, which is why it is being exported
to markets all over the world,” he said, adding that Cambodian rice is now
ranked number one in the world.
Mr Ndanema was likely referring
to this year’s World Best Rice competition in Hanoi, Vietnam, where local brand
Malys Angkor took home the award for best rice.
“Sierra Leone has been building
and developing gradually, however, rice production is facing problems that
affect food security,” he said.
“This is the main reason the
delegates decided to visit the Kingdom of Cambodia today to study the signing
of a memorandum of understanding on the import of milled rice from Cambodia,”
Mr Joseph said.
Mr Sakhon said that rice is not
the only area where Cambodia has seen impressive achievements. The Kingdom has
also been praised for its excellent cassava, mango, and cashew nuts, he said,
adding that these crops offer tempting investment opportunities in processing
and export.
“We exchanged experiences
regarding training and skills development, organising and managing farmer
communities, applying agricultural extension services, as well as collecting
market information such as the price of agricultural products, especially
vegetables.
“We have agreed to strengthen and
expand agriculture cooperation between the two countries in the future,” Mr
Sakhon said
“Meanwhile, the government has
now set out strategic plans and policies on the development of major supporting
infrastructure such as roads, ports, and the power supply.
“In particular, the ministry has
been promoting human resource development, diversifying agricultural
commercialisation by modernising agriculture and promoting packaging and
processing to increase Cambodia’s agricultural exports in the future,” he
added.
According to figures from the
Ministry of Agriculture, Cambodia exported 389,264 tonnes of rice in the first
nine months of 2018, a drop of 8.4 percent. China continues to be Cambodia’s
top export market
Initial rice import shipments of 47,000 MT arriving by Dec. 1
October 31, 2018 | 7:09 pm
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PHILSTAR
THE 47,000 metric tons (MT) of
rice awarded to bidders in the latest import auction will arrive by Dec. 1,
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.
The 47,000 MT shipment represents
the volume awarded to bidders at the auction for the first batch of 250,000 MT
out of 750,000 MT authorized for import this year by the National Food
Authority (NFA) Council.
The government failed to make a
full award of the volume authorized because many bids failed to meet the posted
reference prices.
“The first arrival will be the
volume bid out under the G2P (government-to-private) arrangement of 47,000
(MT). [NFA Officer-in-Charge] Tom Escares said deliveries are expected between
Nov. 15 and Nov. 30,” Mr. Piñol told reporters.
He said the new auction for the
unawarded 203,000 MT is scheduled for Nov. 6. Volumes awarded at that re-bid
will arrive “between Nov. 30 and Dec. 16.”
He added that shipments from the
remaining 500,000 MT will be arriving starting the end of 2018 until February,
in time for the lean months.
“We will have enough buffer
stock,” Mr. Piñol added.
The 203,000 MT will be imported
through government-to-government (G2G) agreement.
“By the end of 2018, the expected
buffer stock is 134 days… or over four months’ demand,” he said, adding that
the calculation includes rice held by households.
He added that the Department of
Trade and Industry plans to oversee the import of a further 80,000 MT.
The DA, along with the DTI and
NFA, have implemented a suggested retail price (SRP) scheme covering
well-milled, regular-milled and premium rice.
“There are fears it might affect
the prices of palay (domestically-grown unhusked rice) but you have to
understand that the NFA is ready to procure… We would prefer if traders not
corner the palay market because the government will be able to build up its
inventories for 2019,” Mr. Piñol said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
RECOMMENDED
Indonesia Building Rice Data System
Posted On 31 Oct 2018
By : Leo Jegho
President
Jokowi wants to make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice production
A rice paddy field in
Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo source: GIV/MB)
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The government is taking special steps to produce correct data
about local rice production and consumption. With such data the government can
decide whether the country has to import rice and if it is the case, by how
much.
President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said last Thursday (25/10) that
rice imports over the past years have been based on inaccurate data provided by
the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).
For this reason, the President said, the government has now
decided to produce a Single Reference Data (DAT) based on Area Sample Scheme
(KSA) in cooperation with the BPS, Technology Development and Assessment Agency
(BPPT), the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), the Geospatial
Information Agency (BIG), and the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning.
The government’s move followed a
previous brouhaha between government agencies over Indonesia’s rice imports
this year. Based on BPS data that Indonesia’s rice production would be about
32.4 million tons in 2018, which is 32 percent lower than the Ministry of
Agriculture’s estimate, the Ministry of Trade decided in January of this year
to import 500,000 tons of rice through an open tender. But, due to a reportedly
declining domestic rice production, in March of this year the government
decided to import an additional 500,000 tons. Then again, in April the
government decided to import another one million tons, also due to a reported
fall in domestic production. This is according to a Cnnidonesia.com report.
State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
Chief Budi Waseso, who took up his post in April of this year, was against such
rice imports. He argued that Bulog would be able to manage up to three million
tons by the end of 2018 and that the country would not have to import rice
through June 2019. The former three-star police general said Bulog would buy
4,000 tons of unhusked rice from farmers every day. As reported by Thejakartapost.com,
Budi Waseso said Bulog has formed a special team of experts to help make this
happen. He expressed his stance when Indonesia was struggling to reduce its
trade deficits.
Despite Budi Waseso’s claims, it seems impossible that the
government would revoke its rice importation plans for this year. Minister of
Trade Enggartiasto Lukito insisted that he had no authority to do so since the
rice importation plans had been made in a cabinet coordination meeting.
Indonesia achieved self-sufficiency in rice production in 1984.
But, in 1997 the country started importing rice again due to a decline in
domestic production caused by climate problems and other reasons. Rice imports
then stopped in the 2016-2017 period.
President Jokowi, before and after taking up his post in 2014,
promised to make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice production. His assurance
went with many people’s question on why such a vast and fertile archipelagic
country has to import rice. In the past years Indonesia imported rice from a
number of countries like Thailand, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
You may also be interested in
this article: Is Indonesia’s Rice Production
Data Inaccurate?
Rice Prices
as on : 31-10-2018 11:42:10 AM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
|
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
|
Rice
|
||||||
|
Cachar(ASM)
|
40.00
|
-50
|
5482.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
9.09
|
|
Naugarh(UP)
|
25.00
|
25
|
975.20
|
2270
|
2255
|
9.40
|
|
Balrampur(UP)
|
20.00
|
-33.33
|
100.00
|
2250
|
2360
|
-
|
|
Champadanga(WB)
|
14.00
|
NC
|
576.00
|
3150
|
3250
|
14.55
|
|
Sahiyapur(UP)
|
13.00
|
13.04
|
2329.50
|
2235
|
2240
|
-
|
|
Vishalpur(UP)
|
12.00
|
-42.86
|
643.00
|
2400
|
2375
|
-
|
|
Vilthararoad(UP)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
411.00
|
2150
|
2150
|
NC
|
|
Paliakala(UP)
|
10.00
|
-9.09
|
1131.10
|
2300
|
2290
|
-
|
|
Fatehpur(UP)
|
7.30
|
-12.05
|
1016.30
|
2160
|
2175
|
-1.82
|
|
Ruperdeeha(UP)
|
6.00
|
20
|
266.00
|
1600
|
1600
|
-
|
|
Dibrugarh(ASM)
|
5.00
|
78.57
|
754.50
|
2920
|
2920
|
29.78
|
|
Tundla(UP)
|
4.60
|
206.67
|
180.50
|
2500
|
2455
|
-
|
|
Anandnagar(UP)
|
4.00
|
-50
|
88.00
|
2300
|
2100
|
-
|
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
3.50
|
-30
|
895.00
|
2225
|
2230
|
-
|
|
Sehjanwa(UP)
|
3.00
|
-70
|
183.50
|
2160
|
2160
|
-
|
|
Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)
|
3.00
|
-25
|
53.20
|
1835
|
1835
|
-
|
|
Jahangirabad(UP)
|
2.50
|
-28.57
|
196.00
|
2560
|
2560
|
8.94
|
|
Amroha(UP)
|
2.30
|
4.55
|
50.42
|
2600
|
2600
|
5.26
|
|
Doharighat(UP)
|
1.50
|
NC
|
33.00
|
2000
|
2000
|
-
|
|
Nautnava(UP)
|
1.00
|
-80
|
38.50
|
2200
|
2250
|
7.84
|
|
Jagnair(UP)
|
0.70
|
-12.5
|
81.80
|
2560
|
2570
|
0.79
|
Published
on October 31, 2018
Export
body pegs India 2018-19 basmati output 6% lower at 5.3 mln tn
Tuesday, Oct 30
By Shilpa Sharma
NEW DELHI – Agricultural and Processed Food products Export Development Authority has pegged India’s 2018-19 (Oct-Sep) basmati rice output at 5.31 mln tn, down 6% from 5.64 mln tn in the previous year.
At 5.31 mln tn, basmati rice output projection for 2018 is lower than the industry estimate of 5.56 mln tn.
According to a crop survey report, conducted by Agricultural and Processed Food products Export Development Authority, the fall in basmati rice output this year was because of a decline in acreage due to crop shift in key growing regions.
Basmati paddy is sown during Jun-Jul and harvested in Oct-Nov.
Total acreage under the notified varieties of basmati rice has declined around 2.48% on year to 1.52 mln ha, the report said.
Basmati growers have shifted to cotton, coarse cereals, sugarcane mainly in Haryana, Punjab and western parts of Uttar Pradesh, it said.
Growers have also shifted to non-basmati varieties of paddy as the government announced higher minimum support price for the 2018-19 kharif marketing season.
The Centre has announced a minimum support price of 1,750 rupees per 100 kg for common grade paddy for 2018-19 (Oct-Sep) marketing season, higher than 1,550 rupees set last year.
The minimum support price for A Grade paddy has been fixed at 1,770 rupees, higher than 1,590 rupees a year ago.
In Punjab, the top producer of basmati rice, growers have shifted to Pusa Basmati 1509 variety from Pusa Basmati-1121, it said.
The notified Basmati varieties comprise of Basmati-370, Basmati-386, Type-3 (Dehraduni), Taraori, Ranbir, Pusa-1509, Pusa Basmati-1, CSR30 and Pusa Basmati-1121, the report said.
According to the report, though harvest had started on time this year, but the pace has been slow because of untimely rains at the end September.
There are seven identified regions in the country where basmati is grown – Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Basmati rice grown in these regions has a geographical indication tag. End
Edited by Rashmi Sanyal
Cogencis Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@cogencis.com
This copy was first published on the Cogencis WorkStation
©Cogencis Information Services Ltd. 2018. All rights reserved.
Thailand expects more than 11 million
tonnes of rice exports
The
Thai Foreign Trade Department is confident that the country will sell no less
than 11 million tonnes of rice to foreigners this year. (Photo: Bangkokpost)Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Foreign Trade Department is confident that the country will sell no less than 11 million tonnes of rice to foreigners this year as demand for rice continues to increase.
Director-General of the department Adul Chotinisakorn said that Thailand is delivering the 6th batch of rice totaling 100,000 tonnes to the China Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) under the government-to-government deal between the two countries.
He added that the Philippines and Japan have been holding rice import auctions, so Thailand can expect more orders from both countries. Thailand and Japan have already agreed on an 87,000-tonne rice deal.
During January-October, Thailand sold 8.9 million tonnes of rice worth 4.6 billion USD, he said, expressing his belief that this year’s target of 11 million tonnes will be achieved.
The Ministry of Commerce said that it is keeping a close watch on fluctuations in the price of agricultural products to prepare special measures to maintain their value. It will work closely with relevant authorities to promote the selling of agricultural products in the last three months of the year. The focus will be given to coconut, palm oil, rice and pineapple which are facing excess supply.-VNA
Rice crop damage in CAR, C. Luzon due to ‘Rosita’ hits P112-M
October 31, 2018
MANILA — Damage to rice production in the Cordillera
Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 3 (Central Luzon) that were hit by
Typhoon Rosita reached PHP112.01 million on Wednesday, the Department of
Agriculture (DA) said.
In its report as of Oct. 31, the
DA-Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Operation Center said the
affected area is 7,429 hectares out of the total rice standing crop of 543,993
hectares, while the volume of production loss is at 6,560 metric tons.
“Most of the affected rice crops
are on their reproductive stage, which was reported as partially damaged,” it
said.
The recent typhoon affected 4,917
farmers in Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Aurora, Pampanga, Nueva
Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales, it added.
The report said rice contributed
to the largest share of damages and losses from Typhoon Rosita at 99.82
percent.
It said typhoon damage to
high-value crops amounted to PHP199,079, affecting 19 hectares of assorted
vegetables in the provinces of Ifugao, Benguet, and Mountain Province.
“This (damage) total to PHP112.21
million, affecting a total of 4,979 farmers and 7,448 hectares of agricultural
areas with an estimated volume of production loss at 6,564 metric tons. These
values are subject to validation,” it added.
“Rosita” has weakened to severe
tropical storm as it leaves the Philippine Area of Responsibility Wednesday
afternoon. (Leslie Gatpolintan/PNA)
Agriculture Minister
Celebrates Harvest of 32,000 Hectares of Rice Field in Central Sulawesi
Thursday, 01 November 2018 | 21:53 WIB
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman in Parigi Moutong, Central
Sulawesi
PARIGI MOUTONG, NNC -- Parigi Moutong Regency of Central Sulawesi Province,
which has just passed a difficult period, due to natural disasters, is now
beginning to look at the future, entering the harvest period, even though the
community has not recovered 100 percent. However, at the moment it starts to be
able to carry out daily activities, harvest and directly prepare planting land,
because this time the harvest season is during the rainy season, 32,000
hectares of yellowing rice plants decorate the entire rice field area, in 23
sub-districts of Parigi Moutong Regency.
Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman together with the
Regent of Parigi Moutong Syamsurizal Tombolotutu were present to witness the
harvesting by farmers in Palipi Village, Kesimbar Sub-district, Thursday
(11/1/2018).
As many as 429 hectares of farmers' rice fields turned golden
yellow, fostering a sense of enthusiasm for returning to work. Minister Amran
was also happy seeing the Parigi Moutong Regency farmers who were eager to
gather and convey various aspirations, which are not only related to farming
even education as well.
Minister Amran on the occasion of dialogue with the peasant
community provided rice seeds and coffee plant seeds, cocoa and oil palm
replanting funds for two provinces of Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi worth
IDR200 billion and various agricultural machinery, such as large 4-wheel
tractors, rice driyer, big excavator for Parigi Moutong Regency.
"Parigi Moutong must be grateful, in the midst of trials it
can still reap the rewards of hard work and good production. Life cannot stop,
it must be to work continuously, we are blessed by the Almighty with fertile
land, water and seeds, so there must be life. Destiny is the right of the
Almighty, but business and works is our duty," said Minister Amran via
written statement received by Netralnews.
"We have been destined to become minister of agriculture
for four years, and are grateful to be here with all the ladies and gentlemen,
even so, the assistance from Jokowi-JK [Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kall]'s government,
every year remains and this government assistance is truly extraordinary,"
concluded Amran.
Meanwhile, Regent Syamsurizal Tombolotutu expressed his respect
and gratitude to the central government, especially Minister Amran, who was
present at this year's harvest.
Regent Syamsurizal saw and felt the presence of Andi Amran
Sulaiman had grown a sense of confidence and gave more encouragement to the
Regional Government, especially farmers who had just passed a difficult time.
"Thank you Mr. Minister, respect for the Central
Government, which is very concerned about the needs of the people," he
said.
Govt to
provide cash for Deepavali instead Commodities for red colour ration card
holders
Puducherry, Oct 31
(UNI) The government would provide cash for Deepavali instead of commodities
like sugar, rice and cloth.
Minister for Cooperation M Kandasamy in a release on Wednesday said that the red colour ration card holders will get Rs 1000 into their bank account instead of free clothes distributed through the women and child development department.
For Adi dravidar people above 18 years, a sum of Rs 500 would be remitted into their bank account in place of free clothes provided through the Adi dravidar welfare department and the differently abled will get Rs.500 in their bank account instead of free clothes through the social welfare department.
Instead of free rice and sugar provided by the Civil Supplies Department, a sum of Rs 1275 will be remitted in the account of red colour card holders and Rs 675 for yellow colour card holders.
UNI PAB CS 1647
Minister for Cooperation M Kandasamy in a release on Wednesday said that the red colour ration card holders will get Rs 1000 into their bank account instead of free clothes distributed through the women and child development department.
For Adi dravidar people above 18 years, a sum of Rs 500 would be remitted into their bank account in place of free clothes provided through the Adi dravidar welfare department and the differently abled will get Rs.500 in their bank account instead of free clothes through the social welfare department.
Instead of free rice and sugar provided by the Civil Supplies Department, a sum of Rs 1275 will be remitted in the account of red colour card holders and Rs 675 for yellow colour card holders.
UNI PAB CS 1647
In addition to this, Karti also failed to disclose investments
made
by Chess Global Advisory, a company co-owned by him which
amounts to an offence under the Black Money Act, the department
said in its complaint.
by Chess Global Advisory, a company co-owned by him which
amounts to an offence under the Black Money Act, the department
said in its complaint.
http://www.uniindia.com/~/govt-to-provide-cash-for-deepavali-instead-commodities-for-red-colour-ration-card-holders/States/news/1393685.html
Environment Pollution
Control Authority shuts NCR rice mills
Nov 01, 2018, 11.28 PM IST
The measure will not only affect
NCR’s mills but also farmers in paddy-growing states as mills restrict purchase
of basmati to check losses in processing season.
CHANDIGARH:
Around 500 mills across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will have to stop
operations from November 4, under directions of the Environment Pollution
(Prevention & Control) Authority. EPCA
has asked all biomass and coal-based industries in the National Capital Region
to remain closed to help keep a check on air pollution.
The measure will not only affect NCR’s mills but also farmers in paddy-growing states as mills restrict purchase of basmati to check losses in processing season. Millers rued that the shutdown will affect quality of product and basmati exports. “Storing paddy stocks for several days will affect quality and market price, which branded players cannot afford,” said one miller.
EPCA has been advised by the task force on Graded Response Action Plan to shut construction activities, stone crushers and all industries using coal and biomass as fuel. Modern mills use rice husk as fuel in boilers for drying, powdering and other functions.
Millers have been caught offguard and are worried that EPCA may extend the shutdown beyond November 10 if air quality remains poor. “Rice processing is a seasonal business and it is the time when operations should be in full swing,” said Vijay Sethia, president, All India Rice Exporters Association. He maintained that most mills have installed modern mechanisms to maintain air quality standards approved by pollution authorities.
The measure will not only affect NCR’s mills but also farmers in paddy-growing states as mills restrict purchase of basmati to check losses in processing season. Millers rued that the shutdown will affect quality of product and basmati exports. “Storing paddy stocks for several days will affect quality and market price, which branded players cannot afford,” said one miller.
EPCA has been advised by the task force on Graded Response Action Plan to shut construction activities, stone crushers and all industries using coal and biomass as fuel. Modern mills use rice husk as fuel in boilers for drying, powdering and other functions.
Millers have been caught offguard and are worried that EPCA may extend the shutdown beyond November 10 if air quality remains poor. “Rice processing is a seasonal business and it is the time when operations should be in full swing,” said Vijay Sethia, president, All India Rice Exporters Association. He maintained that most mills have installed modern mechanisms to maintain air quality standards approved by pollution authorities.
A Sonepat-based rice miller said, “Paddy bought from farmers needs to be dried within 24 hours to maintain high quality as it is prone to fungus and discolouration. The moisture content is as high as 22-24%.”
“The austerity measures are part of checking air pollution around Diwali in NCR and rice mills come under the category of industry that uses biomass,” said S Narayanan, member secretary, Haryana Pollution Control Board.
Millers were able to stop similar action when they appealed to the National Green Tribunal in the previous year. “Succour from the Supreme Court will take time due to holidays in the coming days,” said an All India Rice Exporters Association official.
US
agrees to grant India waiver from Iran sanctions
By
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Nov 01, 2018, 07.54 PM IST
0Comments
NEW
DELHI: The US has broadly agreed to grant India a waiver from Iran sanctions, which
would allow Indian oil companies to continue
to import about 1.25 million tonnes of oil a month till March from Tehran,
sources familiar with the matter said, adding that an official announcement
could come over the next few days.
The US plans to re-impose oil-related sanctions on Iran on November 4 to choke the Islamic Republic’s biggest source of income and pressure it to renegotiate a new nuclear deal. Any country, or company, trading with Iran without US consent after sanctions kick off risks getting cut off from the American financial system.
The US has insisted all along that it wanted everyone to reduce oil imports from Iran to zero eventually, but was open to country-specific waivers that would allow limited imports by those pledging ‘significant’ cut. India and other key importing countries have been engaged for months with the US for a waiver.
“India and the US have broadly agreed on a waiver. India will cut import by a third, which is a significant cut,” a source said.
India had imported about 22 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2017-18 and planned to raise that to about 30 million tonnes in 2018-19. But, as a condition of waiver, Indian oil firms will reduce their imports significantly, the source said. Indian companies can import 1.25 million tonnes a month up to March 2019, the same as they ordered for October and November, the source said. State oil firms are yet to decide on how this quantum will be split between them. A waiver will come as a big relief to Indian Oil and MRPL, the two largest Iranian oil consumers.
How companies will pay for Iranian oil is still being negotiated between India and Iran, sources said, adding that it’s likely that the two countries will stick to the existing mechanism under which 55% of payment is made in euro and 45% in rupee through UCO Bank. Under this, rupee is used for import of rice, drugs, and other products from India while the balance proceeds in rupee and euro sit idle in the Indian bank waiting for sanctions to go.
The Indian side, while building its case for a waiver, assured the US that this payment mechanism ensures Iran can’t use oil money from India for any terror-related activity, a key American concern. During the negotiations, India also told the US that it would like to import more American oil if it came on competitive terms, sources said.
India and Iran still have to figure out shipping and insurance details for a smooth trade. Currently, Iran provides its tankers as well as insurance for oil cargoes to India. The US sanctions have driven away Indian and international shippers and insurers from extending their services for Iranian oil imports.
Refineries using Iranian oil have also faced insurance issues during renewals in recent months.
Indian and the US officials have been negotiating for months on terms of waiver from sanctions. India prefers Iranian oil as it comes cheap and suits many refineries' technical configuration.
The US plans to re-impose oil-related sanctions on Iran on November 4 to choke the Islamic Republic’s biggest source of income and pressure it to renegotiate a new nuclear deal. Any country, or company, trading with Iran without US consent after sanctions kick off risks getting cut off from the American financial system.
The US has insisted all along that it wanted everyone to reduce oil imports from Iran to zero eventually, but was open to country-specific waivers that would allow limited imports by those pledging ‘significant’ cut. India and other key importing countries have been engaged for months with the US for a waiver.
“India and the US have broadly agreed on a waiver. India will cut import by a third, which is a significant cut,” a source said.
India had imported about 22 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran in 2017-18 and planned to raise that to about 30 million tonnes in 2018-19. But, as a condition of waiver, Indian oil firms will reduce their imports significantly, the source said. Indian companies can import 1.25 million tonnes a month up to March 2019, the same as they ordered for October and November, the source said. State oil firms are yet to decide on how this quantum will be split between them. A waiver will come as a big relief to Indian Oil and MRPL, the two largest Iranian oil consumers.
How companies will pay for Iranian oil is still being negotiated between India and Iran, sources said, adding that it’s likely that the two countries will stick to the existing mechanism under which 55% of payment is made in euro and 45% in rupee through UCO Bank. Under this, rupee is used for import of rice, drugs, and other products from India while the balance proceeds in rupee and euro sit idle in the Indian bank waiting for sanctions to go.
The Indian side, while building its case for a waiver, assured the US that this payment mechanism ensures Iran can’t use oil money from India for any terror-related activity, a key American concern. During the negotiations, India also told the US that it would like to import more American oil if it came on competitive terms, sources said.
India and Iran still have to figure out shipping and insurance details for a smooth trade. Currently, Iran provides its tankers as well as insurance for oil cargoes to India. The US sanctions have driven away Indian and international shippers and insurers from extending their services for Iranian oil imports.
Refineries using Iranian oil have also faced insurance issues during renewals in recent months.
Indian and the US officials have been negotiating for months on terms of waiver from sanctions. India prefers Iranian oil as it comes cheap and suits many refineries' technical configuration.
Agricultural Combine Harvester Market
Research Report, Growth, Trends and Forecast Analysis 2018-2025
Agricultural Combine
Harvester Market Report with detailed market segmentation, The report also
includes the detailed company profiles of the key players in the market along
with their market strategies.
This press release was
orginally distributed by SBWire
Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/31/2018 -- Agricultural combine
harvesters are one of the most economically important labor saving inventions,
significantly reducing the fraction of the population that must be engaged in
agriculture.
Growing preference for
crawler type combine harvesters, particularly for harvesting rice, is expected
to create new growth prospects for crawler type combine harvester manufacturers
across the globe.
Agricultural Combine
Harvester is consists of Tractor Pulled/PTO Powered Combine Harvester and
Self-Propelled Combine Harvester. The self-propelled combine harvester segment
is expected to dominate the market, in terms of value and volume, during the
entire forecast period.
The Agricultural Combine
Harvester market was valued at xx Million US$ in 2017 and is projected to reach
xx Million US$ by 2025, at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. In this
study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the
forecast period to estimate the market size for Agricultural Combine Harvester.
This study focuses on the
production side and consumption side of Agricultural Combine Harvester,
presents the global Agricultural Combine Harvester market size by
manufacturers, regions, type and application, history breakdown data from 2013
to 2018, and forecast to 2025.
In terms of production
side, this report researches the Agricultural Combine Harvester capacity,
production, value, ex-factory price, growth rate, market share for major
manufacturers, regions (or countries) and product type.
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by regions and application. The key regions like North America, Europe,
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This report includes the
following manufacturers; we can also add the other companies as you want.
John Deere
CNH Industrial (Case IH
and New Holland)
Kubota
Claas
AGCO
ISEKI
Sampo Rosenlew
Same Deutz-Fahr Group
Yanmar
Pickett Equipment
Versatile
Rostselmash
Preet Agro
Tractors and Farm
Equipment (TAFE)
LOVOL
Zoomlion
Xingguang Agricultural
Machinery
Shandong Shifeng
Jiangsu Wode Group
Zhejiang Liulin
Agricultural Machinery
Zhong ji Southern
Machinery
YTO Group
Luoyang Zhongshou
Machinery Equipment
Wuzheng Agricultural
Equipment
Market Segment by Product
Type
Wheel Type Agricultural
Combine Harvester
Crawler Type Agricultural
Combine Harvester
Market Segment by
Application
Wheat Harvesting
Corn Harvesting
Rice Harvesting
Others
Buy Full Market Research
Report Now, Report delivery time within 24 hours @ https://www.qyresearch.com/settlement/pre/33b464c3f6c26148751f0b3808a5f4e7,0,1,Global%20Agricultural%20Combine%20Harvester%20Industry%20Research%20Report%252C%20Growth%20Trends%20and%20Competitive%20Analysis%202018-2025
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QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), expert's resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc.
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Minister
signs MoU to modernize agriculture
The MoU among
other things will help enhance the income of farmers in Northern Region
The Northern Regional
Coordinating Council (NRCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences(JXAAS), a Chinese institution, to help
modernize agricultural production in the Region.The focus of the MoU, signed in Tamale on Tuesday, is the production of vegetable and fruits, vegetable oils, flower varieties, animal husbandry, training of researchers and technicians in China and the Northern Region among others.
Mr Salifu Saeed, Northern Regional Minister, signed on behalf of the NRCC whiles Mr Yin Jianhua, Director of Rice Research Institute at JXAAS, signed on behalf of JXAAS.
In 2017, a similar MoU was signed between both institutions leading to the introduction of new rice seed varieties, which were tested and cultivated in the northern part of the country through the supervision of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI).
Mr Saeed said the northern part of the country was endowed with enough arable land, and water bodies to support large scale agricultural production, but the area lacked technology for improved production hence the MoU.
He expressed gratitude to JXAAS for its support for agriculture in the Region, assuring that the NRCC would continue to partner with it to help to improve on agricultural production in the Region.
Mr Jianhua, as part of the MoU, said JXAAS would work to help enhance the income of farmers in the Northern Region through the production of its new rice varieties.
He assured that JXAAS would offer technological and technical support to stakeholders in the Region to increase agricultural production.
Dr Wilson Dogbe, Principal Research Scientist at CSIR-SARI said through the partnership with JXAAS last year, CSIR-SARI had received equipment such as jab-type planter and a thresher to support the production of the new rice varieties.
Dr Dogbe said two out of the five rice seed varieties introduced by JXAAS last year, recorded higher yields compared to others.
Pakistan. Federal Govt Only Announces Support Price
Of Wheat
30.10.2018
Minister for National food Security and Research Sahibzada
Muhammad Mehboob Sultan on Monday said that federal government only announces
the support price of wheat, in consultation with provinces.
Replaying to a question in the National Assembly during a question hour, the minister said that sugarcaneprices are announced by Provincial governments under Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950.
He said the price of rice is not announced by the federal and provincial governments adding that federal and provincial governments announce only the prices of wheat and sugarcane crops. The price of rice crop is determined by the market mechanism, he said.
The Minister said that consultations with the provinces for announcement of support price of wheat are in process, three provinces including KPK, Punjab and Balochistan have given response while federal government is waiting response of Sindh province in this regard.
Replaying to a question in the National Assembly during a question hour, the minister said that sugarcaneprices are announced by Provincial governments under Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950.
He said the price of rice is not announced by the federal and provincial governments adding that federal and provincial governments announce only the prices of wheat and sugarcane crops. The price of rice crop is determined by the market mechanism, he said.
The Minister said that consultations with the provinces for announcement of support price of wheat are in process, three provinces including KPK, Punjab and Balochistan have given response while federal government is waiting response of Sindh province in this regard.
Indonesia Building Rice
Data System
Posted On 31 Oct 2018
By : Leo Jegho
President
Jokowi wants to make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice production
A rice paddy field in
Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo source: GIV/MB)
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The government is taking special steps to produce correct data
about local rice production and consumption. With such data the government can
decide whether the country has to import rice and if it is the case, by how
much.
President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo said last Thursday (25/10) that
rice imports over the past years have been based on inaccurate data provided by
the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).
For this reason, the President said, the government has now
decided to produce a Single Reference Data (DAT) based on Area Sample Scheme
(KSA) in cooperation with the BPS, Technology Development and Assessment Agency
(BPPT), the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), the Geospatial
Information Agency (BIG), and the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning.
The government’s move followed a
previous brouhaha between government agencies over Indonesia’s rice imports
this year. Based on BPS data that Indonesia’s rice production would be about
32.4 million tons in 2018, which is 32 percent lower than the Ministry of
Agriculture’s estimate, the Ministry of Trade decided in January of this year
to import 500,000 tons of rice through an open tender. But, due to a reportedly
declining domestic rice production, in March of this year the government
decided to import an additional 500,000 tons. Then again, in April the
government decided to import another one million tons, also due to a reported
fall in domestic production. This is according to a Cnnidonesia.com report.
State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
Chief Budi Waseso, who took up his post in April of this year, was against such
rice imports. He argued that Bulog would be able to manage up to three million
tons by the end of 2018 and that the country would not have to import rice
through June 2019. The former three-star police general said Bulog would buy
4,000 tons of unhusked rice from farmers every day. As reported by Thejakartapost.com,
Budi Waseso said Bulog has formed a special team of experts to help make this
happen. He expressed his stance when Indonesia was struggling to reduce its
trade deficits.
Despite Budi Waseso’s claims, it seems impossible that the
government would revoke its rice importation plans for this year. Minister of
Trade Enggartiasto Lukito insisted that he had no authority to do so since the
rice importation plans had been made in a cabinet coordination meeting.
Indonesia achieved self-sufficiency in rice production in 1984.
But, in 1997 the country started importing rice again due to a decline in
domestic production caused by climate problems and other reasons. Rice imports
then stopped in the 2016-2017 period.
President Jokowi, before and after taking up his post in 2014,
promised to make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice production. His assurance
went with many people’s question on why such a vast and fertile archipelagic
country has to import rice. In the past years Indonesia imported rice from a
number of countries like Thailand, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
You may also be interested in
this article: Is Indonesia’s Rice Production
Data Inaccurate?
Rice tarrification can help ease rising
inflation — gov’t execs
By Jose Santino S. Bunachita|October 30,2018 - 09:17 PM
Central Visayas Trade Director Asteria Caberte discusses the
price of basic goods situation and the country’s rising inflation rate in a
forum in Cebu City on Oct. 26. CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
GOVERNMENT officials are pushing
for rice tariffication as a bid to help temper the country’s high inflation
rate.
Department of Trade and Industry
in Central Visayas (DTI-7) Regional Director Asteria Caberte said that it is
important to address the high cost of rice which is one of the major
contributors to the country’s inflation.
“Based on estimates by the
central bank, allowing cheap rice imports with tariffs will immediately lower
the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage points,” she explained.
The Duterte administration wants
to amend the two decade-old Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996. The
amendments will pave the way for the lifting of quantitative restrictions that
have allowed Philippine authorities to limit the volume of rice imports ever
year.
Aside from lowering inflation,
Caberte said another potential impact of more rice imports is that prices of
rice can fall between P2 to P7 per kilo.
Caberte said that the rice
tariffication bill, which is currently pending in Senate, would mean more
importers will bring in imported rice into the country in order to flood the
market with rice supply.
“As long as they pay the right
tariff and import legally and sell it, they can import. The tariff revenue is
to improve productivity of agriculture,” Caberte said.
She added that while the
quantitative restriction on rice importation will be lifted once the bill is
passed, this does not mean that anyone can just import rice.
Importers will also have to
follow regular importation guidelines and follow standards on quality.
The Senate has already started
deliberations on proposed rice tariffication bill.
According to Senator Cynthia
Villar, even if the bill will mean more importation of rice, the government
continues to look out for local farmers as tariff revenues will be used to help
them.
“All the proceeds of the tariff
will go to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) which will amount
to P10 billion a year. And then we will give that to the rice farmers so they
can mechanize and improve their seeds,” she said in an earlier interview.
Under the bill, of the P10
billion RCEF, P5 billion will be set aside for mechanization efforts of
farmers; P3 billion for seeds; P1 billion for training; and P1 billion for
credit.
She added that the government has
already identified the 57 provinces in the country and 1,110 towns whose
farmers can be eligible for the RCEF.
“This is to help them compete
with Vietnam because the competition with Vietnam is quite strong. So we have
to tariffy and give them a fund so we can hasten mechanization and improvement
of seeds which are very necessary for them to be competitive,” Villar said.
The bill will also mandate the
Department of Finance (DOF) to implement a National Single Window System to prevent
illegal smuggling of rice.
The Senate has already started
deliberating the rice tariffication bill but could not pass it before they went
on recess.
Villar said there were a lot of
questions and amendments suggested by senators which was why the Senate could
not approve their version right away.
Iran makes
first export of rice since 1979 Islamic Revolution: IRNA
Tue Oct 30, 2018 01:14PM
Farmers harvest their rice crop
in Mazandaran, Iran in this photo dated Sept. 1, 2016 by Mizan news agency.
Iran
has sold 74 tonnes of rice to Canada, marking the first export of the crop
since the Islamic Republic in 1979, state news agency IRNA has reported.
The
indica grade of type Tarom Hashemi was shipped in three consignments by the
private sector, commercial director of Mazandaran Agriculture Jihad
Organization Soleiman Hatamnejad told the agency.
The
Tarom Hashemi cultivar is especially valued for its aroma and Hatamnejad
said it had been selected for export because of its nutritional value and
distinctive taste.
While
the volume is relatively minuscule in global trade terms,
it is a significant watershed in the country's long-term food
security program.
Rice
is mostly produced in northern Iran, in Mazandaran and Gilan provinces on the
Caspian shores. Annual production stands at around 2.2 million, with another
million tonnes imported.
Mazandaran,
with 230,000 hectares of paddies, produces about one million tonnes of
rice a year, or 42 percent of the country's total.
According
to secretary of Iran Rice Association Jamil Alizadeh Shayeq, irregular imports
by some profiteers are becoming a headache for local farmers.
The
country is also facing the problem of continued rice cultivation in the
provinces which are facing a drought, such as Isfahan and Shiraz.
Last
year, the government banned growing rice anywhere outside Gilan and Mazandaran
but officials say some farmers do not observe the regulation.
A rice grower harvests his crop
in Mazandaran, Iran. (Photo by Mizan)
The
government also imposes seasonal import ban on rice to support local prices
during the harvest season, but there are regular complaints of import quotas
being breached by some traders.
Food
security
Iran's
food security index stands at around 96 percent but US sanctions and a
protracted drought are affecting the country’s inflationary trends and
impacting access to food and its affordability. As a result, Iran is facing
challenges for long-term food security.
In
2016, Iran’s ambassador to Kenya said the country was looking to lease land in
Africa for large-scale food production to serve local and export markets.
About
a dozen Iranian companies had expressed interest in growing and processing
rice, corn and wheat in East Africa, Hadi Farajvand said then.
Agriculture
Minister Mahmoud Hojjati has said the government had envisioned investment on
500,000 hectares of farmland in a number of countries to produce food.
Water-intensive
rice and corn crops as well as oilseeds and livestock inputs have been cited by
Agriculture Ministry officials as the target products which Iran seeks to grow
on farmlands overseas.
Iran
is also witnessing a change in dietary habits. While the traditional diet is
based on wheat, fruits and vegetables, Iranians now consume more sugar, fat and
oils.
Self-sufficiency
plans
Since
1979, Iran has put self-sufficiency at the heart of its policies, especially in
wheat which is the country’s staple food.
According
to the United States Institute of Peace, Iran imported 65 percent of its food
in 1979, but it now produces 66 percent of its food basket.
In
doing so, the country has managed to reverse the upward trend of import
dependence, but it still needs to import a significant amount of its food.
A traditional rice grower
harvests the crop on a field in Mazandaran, Iran. (Photo by Mizan)
With
US sanctions reimposed in August, Iranian shipments might be headed for choppy
waters.
Foodstuffs
are purportedly not restricted by US sanctions, but banking sanctions and asset
freezes are making it difficult for trading houses to do business with Iran.
Last
week, an official said the Iranian government needs no more wheat imports thanks
to favorable crop harvest and procurement from local farmers at a time of
diminishing grain stocks around the world.
Wheat
is the dominant cereal crop accounting for almost 70 percent of the aggregate
cereal production in Iran.
Japanese farmers
worried over effects of trans-Pacific trade pact
Oct. 31 04:03 pm JST 
A farmer plants saplings in a rice field in Satsumasendai,
Kagoshima Prefecture. Photo: REUTERS filePolitics
TOKYO
Japanese farmers expressed concern
Wednesday about an expected influx of imports and other effects of a
trans-Pacific free trade agreement led by Japan that is set to enter into force
on Dec 30.
Australia said earlier in the day
it has become the sixth nation to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive
Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, fulfilling the requirements for the
11-member tariff-cutting framework to take effect.
Reaching the required number of
states to have ratified the deal occurred "rather fast," said
60-year-old Tatsumi Dejima, who runs a farm in the village of Sarabetsu in
Hokkaido, known for producing half of Japan's raw milk.
"If cheap dairy products start
coming in from overseas, consumers will probably choose the imports. I fear it
would be too late if countermeasures are taken after we start to be
affected," he said.
Japan, the leading economy in the
deal, is one of the five other countries to have ratified it, along with
Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand and Canada.
The members yet to finish domestic
procedures are Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam.
In the southwestern prefecture of
Kagoshima, which raises the largest number of pigs in Japan, Michio Ushidome,
the head of an association of black-pig producers, expressed doubts about the
touted benefits of the pact.
"Small farmers like us are
unlikely to enjoy benefits from it," he said, adding he hopes the rift
between the pact's signatories and the United States, which pulled out of the
framework in 2017, would not grow to affect exports of Japanese farm products.
"We want (the government) to
make sure it takes support measures if pig-farming businesses begin to feel the
crunch," Ushidome said.
Other farmers, including rice
producer Mitsuo Ota in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, also worry about lower
tariffs.
"It is something the
government decided in consideration of the country's trade overall. No matter
how much we farmers oppose it, we have to follow the decision in the end,"
said Ota.
Japan's business sector, in
contrast, welcomed the pact's expected entry into force.
"It is an enormous
achievement. We, as corporate managers, very much welcome the move," said
Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of Japan's largest business lobby the Japan
Business Federation, commonly known as Keidanren.
Nakanishi said that even though he
can understand the reasons behind the United States' withdrawal from the
framework, Japan needs to promote free trade deals.
"People should understand each
country has its own circumstances to consider," Nakanishi said.
Philippines
inflation expectations high despite easing rice prices: Citi
NOVEMBER 01, 2018 - 2:32 PM
Though retail rice prices have
started to fall in several regions of the Philippines, increased inflation
pervasiveness and high inflation expectations suggest that inflation may not
return to the policy target quickly, said Citi analyst Nalin Chutchotitham in a
Philippines Economics Flash release on Oct 31. Despite noting dovish remarks
from policymakers recently, Citi expects another 50bp rate hike for the fourth
quarter of 2018, with possibly another 50bp hike in the first quarter of 2019.
Rice prices
easing
Retail rice prices -- which have
a 9.6 per cent weight in the consumer price index -- have fallen in several
regions, though they remain significantly above early-2018 levels. This could
be due to new harvests, orders to release government stocks in September, and a
possible reduction in hoarding after official signals on import liberalisation,
said Citi, noting prices might have fallen faster if not for delayed imports.
"Planned rice imports could
bring down inflation by 1 percentage point over time by reducing supply
constraints, but there could still be bureaucratic delays, as well as
uncertainty on local production (6.8% import dependency in 2013-17) due to
natural disasters," said Citi.
Inflation
outlook
The central bank has forecast
October inflation to come in between 6.2 and 7 per cent year-on-year, citing
lower food and electricity costs despite higher petroleum prices and water
rates. The Department of Finance expects the CPI to rise 0.5 per cent
month-on-month, due to higher crude oil prices and a weaker peso. Citi's
estimate is for inflation to ease to 6.6 per cent in October, compared to 6.7
per cent in September, partly due to energy price base effects.
However, upside inflation risks
remain, including pressures from wage and transport fare hikes. Recently approved
were a 4.9 per cent minimum wage hike in Manila and a one-peso increase in the
minimum fare for jeepneys in Manila, central Luzon, and Calabarzon, as well as
in the minimum bus fare in metro Manila. Effective in November, road transport
could contribute 0.2 percentage points to inflation, said Citi.
Inflation pervasiveness is
growing, with more items in the CPI basket recording inflation of over 4 per
cent. Inflation expectations also remain high -- "likely still too high
for (the central bank's) comfort", said Citi -- with the Bloomberg
consensus in October standing at 5 per cent for 2018, significantly above the 3
per cent mid-point of the central bank's target.
Unstoppable
inflation sees Philippines cap rice prices
The Philippines set suggested retail prices (SRP) for
rice this week in an attempt to combat soaring inflation, with a top
official warning that violators could face up to four years in jail.
The joint move by the Department of Agriculture, National Food
Authority (NFA) and Department of Trade and Industry also instituted reforms in
the rice trading and retailing industry. It comes as inflation in the
Philippines reached its highest point since February 2009.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was quoted by news website Rappler as
saying that those found violating the guidelines will face imprisonment of up
to four years, a fine of up to $18,700 and the possible revocation of operating
permits under the Price Act of 1992.
Originally due to be implemented on October 23, the measure was
delayed for four days at the request of the rice industry. Stakeholders have
been given two weeks to adjust their prices, with the SRPs applicable at this
stage to Metro Manila and it’s suburbs only.
Under the new SRPs, imported ‘well-milled rice’ will be capped
at PHP39, or about $0.73, per kilogram (about 2.2lbs). Imported premium grade 1
rice will be sold at PHP43 ($0.81) per kilogram and imported premium grade 2
rice has a ceiling price of PHP40 ($0.75). Local well-milled and local premium
grade rice were capped at PHP44 ($0.82) and PHP47 ($0.88) per kilogram
respectively.
The Philippines has set a suggested
retail prices for rice at a range of P39/kilo to P47/ kilo to combat inflation
Special rice varieties such as red and black rice, Cordillera
Heirloom rice, organic brown, and other indigenous rices are excluded from the
SRPs. Fancy names, however, are not excluded.
Under the new rules rice nicknames such as ‘Super Angelica’,
‘Yummy rice’, ‘Sinandomeng’, and others are banned, with those continuing the
practice face jail and other penalties.
“Though SRPs in Metro Manila will serve as a basis, there will
be separate regional SRPs for Negros Occidental which will depend on the cost
structure analysis”, said Mr Piñol, adding that figures are not constant. “It
may be lower or higher depending on the transport cost”.
Rice shortage,
roaring inflation, Presidential denials
The new rules comes amid rising prices for consumer goods,
alleged malfeasance in the NFA, and rice shortages in Zamboanga City. In late
August rice prices there soar to as much as PHP70 ($1.31) per kilo and a state
of calamity was declared. (See: Typhoon Ompong
threatens to deepen Philippine rice crisis).
According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, inflation has
increased for nine consecutive months, hitting 6.7 per cent in September, from
6.4 per cent in August. The food and non-alcoholic beverages index increased by
9.7 per cent alone in September, and many economists are expecting it to have
hit 7 per cent last month, with no end in site.
In September the cost of fish reportedly increased 12 per
cent, while meat and vegetables increased 7 per cent and 20 per cent
respectively.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier denied there was any rice
shortage in the country, saying, “we have lots of rice… there’s even an
excess”.
The Philippines’ roaring inflation appear unstoppable
The Philippines has imported one
million tons of rice so far in 2018, with the the NFA announcing approval for
the import of an additional 750,000 tons. Mr Piñol said approval for one
million tons of rice imports in 2019 has also been given.
According to the guidelines the
rice can be sourced from any country, with those from Asean member states
attracting a 35 per cent tariff and those from elsewhere 50 per cent.
Traders and importers are able to
import a maximum of 20,000 tons. Rice must be imported within 90-days of
approval. While the rice can be discharged at any Philippines port, importers
must agree to immediately transfer stock to Zambasulta province if instructed.
Rice
floodgates not opened
On August 14, House of
Representatives approved lifting quantitative restrictions on rice imports,
which some critics warned would allow entry of cheaper and/ or inferior rice
that could hurt local farmers or consumers. Proponents of the move said that
lifting the restrictions would raise revenues, enhance competitiveness in the
agricultural sector, and improve farmers’ revenue.
It’s not open slather though.
Claims at the time by former presidential spokesperson Harry Rogue that Mr
Duterte had ordered ‘unimpeded importation’ of rice have proved to be fake news.
According to Mr Piñol “The
President never used the word ‘unimpeded importation’ because that would be a
disservice and injustice to the Filipino people. He directed us to ensure
sufficient rice supply”, he said.
Special status
for rice sector proposed to boost exports
November 01, 2018
Rice sector fetches $2 billion per annum in foreign exchange and
is the second largest export commodity. — File
KARACHI: The commerce ministry has
prepared a proposal to include rice in the list of sectors under special
incentives to promote exports and earn foreign exchange, said the ministry
officials on Wednesday.
The ministry will put up the
proposal before Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in the next meeting.
Rice sector fetches $2 billion per
annum in foreign exchange and is the second largest export commodity. The
country is net exporter of rice and produces 60 per cent more than domestic
demand.
Currently, five sectors enjoy
government incentives to promote exports. These export-oriented sectors are
exempted from sales tax, electricity load shedding, and gas load shedding — for
period between December to February — in addition to enjoying reduced
electricity tariffs.
Exporters have time and again urged
the government to include rice among export-oriented sectors and the issue was
also raised by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) in a recent
meeting with Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile Industry and
Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.
REAP Chairman Safdar Hussain Mehkri
also took up the issue with Finance Minister Asad Umar who agreed to include
rice sector among export-oriented sectors after Mehkri highlighted that rice
make ups for almost 10pc of country’s total exports.
Talking to Dawn, Mehkri said that
successive governments have repeatedly asked rice producers to increase exports
but were reluctant to offer incentives.
He said that rice exporters face
tough competition from India and after recent devaluation of Indian rupee, the
situation has worsened. He also said that rice crop yield in India is higher
than in Pakistan due to cheap farm inputs.
Published in Dawn, November 1st,
2018
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- NOV 02,
2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 / 1:09 PM
·
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices –
APMC/Open Market-November 2, 2018 Nagpur, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar
prices moved down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) on
poor buying support from local millers amid good supply from producing belts.
Weak trend in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and release of stock from stockists
also pushed down prices. About 400 bags of gram and 150 bags of tuar reported
for auctions in Nagpur APMC, according to sources.
GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in
open market here on subdued demand from local
traders.
TUAR
* Tuar varieties quoted static in
open market here but demand was poor.
* Wheat varieties reported higher
in open market here good festival season demand
from local traders.
* In Akola, Tuar New –
3,900-4,000, Tuar dal (clean) – 5,800-6,000, Udid Mogar (clean)
– 6,800-7,800, Moong Mogar
(clean) 7,700-8,600, Gram – 4,150-4,250, Gram Super best
– 5,700-5,900 * Wheat, rice and
other foodgrain items moved in a narrow range in
scattered deals and settled at
last levels in weak trading activity.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC
auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices
Previous close
Gram Auction 3,400-4,100
3,500-3,200
Gram Pink Auction n.a.
2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction 3,500-4,030
3,550-4,030
Moong Auction n.a. 3,900-4,200
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Wheat Mill quality Auction
1,950-2,020 1,900-2,000
Gram Super Best Bold 5,600-6,000
5,600-6,000
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,300-5,500
5,300-5,500
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 4,000-4,150
4,000-4,150
Desi gram Raw 4,150-4,250
4,150-4,250
Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000
8,300-10,000
Tuar Fataka Best-New 6,100-6,300
6,100-6,300
Tuar Fataka Medium-New
5,800-5,900 5,800-5,900
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New
5,500-5,750 5,500-5,750
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New
5,000-5,400 5,000-5,400
Tuar Gavarani New 3,950-4,050
3,950-4,050
Tuar Karnataka 4,450-4,550
4,450-4,550
Masoor dal best 5,200-5,400
5,200-5,400
Masoor dal medium 4,700-4,900
4,700-4,900
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New)
7,800-8,800 7,800-8,800
Moong Mogar Medium 6,800-7,500
6,800-7,500
Moong dal Chilka New 6,200-7,400
6,200-7,000
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 7,500-8,500
7,500-8,500
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG)
(New) 7,000-8,000 7,000-7,800
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)
5,500-6,500 5,500-6,500
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)
4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200
Batri dal (100 INR/KG)
6,000-6,200 6,000-6,200
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)
4,000-4,100 4,000-4,100
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)
5,400-5,500 5,400-5,500
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)
5,800-6,100 5,800-6,100
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)
2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200
Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG)
2,150-2,200 2,150-2,200
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)
2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)
2,500-2,800 2,400-2,600
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)
2,350-2,450 2,250-2,350
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)
n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)
3,400-4,000 3,200-4,000
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)
2,500-3,000 2,400-2,800
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)
2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200
Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)
3,200-3,800 3,200-3,800
Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG)
2,700-3,100 2,700-3,100
Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG)
2,900-3,000 2,900-3,000
Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)
2,650-2,750 2,650-2,750
Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG)
2,500-2,600 2,500-2,700
Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,500
4,000-4,500
Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)
3,600-4,000 3,600-4,000
Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG)
4,800-5,200 4,800-5,200
Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG)
4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)
9,000-14,500 9,000-14,500
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)
5,000-7,500 5,000-7,500
Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG)
6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800
Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG)
6,100-6,400 6,200-6,400
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)
2,350-2,550 2,300-2,500
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)
2,050-2,250 2,000-2,200 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 31.2 degree Celsius,
minimum temp. 18.5 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Mainly clear sky.
Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 32 and 19 degree Celsius
respectively. Note: n.a.—not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded
from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices)
Asia Rice: Thailand eyes deals with Philippines, China; India demand
tepid
NOVEMBER
1, 2018 / 6
BENGALURU
(Reuters) - A weaker baht pushed rice export prices in Thailand lower this
week, although there were expectations of new deals with the Philippines and
China, while rates in India languished at the 21-month lows hit last week due
to sluggish demand.
Farmers
plant saplings in a rice field in Srinagar June 5, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Ismail
In
Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $380-$400 per
tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, dropping from $400-$402 last week.
The
weakening of the baht against the U.S. dollar was the main factor behind the
drop in prices this week, Bangkok-based traders said, adding that overseas
demand for Thai rice remained flat and the market also expected additional
supply from the new crop.
“The
end of rainy season means rice from the new harvest will enter the market and
this has led to a slight price drop but it is seasonal,” a Bangkok-based rice
trader said.
However,
Thai rice exporters are expecting a deal with the Philippines before the end of
the year and a possible government-to-government rice sale to China, another
Bangkok-based trader said.
The
Rice Exporters Association of Thailand this week said it expects Thailand to
meet the 11 million tonne rice export target before the end of the year.
In
top exporter India, the 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around
$361-$367 per tonne this week, unchanged from last week, when it hit the
lowest since January 2017. [RIC/AS]
Supplies
from the new crop will rise in coming weeks, but demand could also improve as
Indian shipments are cheaper than other origins, said one exporter based at
Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Government
buying of local paddy rice could limit the downside to export prices, the
exporter said.
The
government has raised the prices paid to local farmers for common grade paddy
rice by 13 percent from a year ago to 1,750 rupees per 100 kg for the new
season crop.
Neighbouring
Bangladesh, which became a major importer in 2017 due to depleted stocks and
record local prices after regional flooding, will procure more rice locally
after output revived.
“We
are getting a good response in our local procurement drive and will continue
it,” a food ministry official said.The government has already procured around
1.4 million tonnes of rice locally.
In
Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice were unchanged from a week earlier at
$410-$415 a tonne.“Exporters haven’t clinched any new deals recently as
domestic supplies are so low now, despite prices remaining attractive,” a Ho
Chi Minh City-based trader said. Traders said domestic stockpiles now
total around 300,000 metric tonnes. Vietnam’s rice exports in
January-October were forecast to rise 3.4 percent from a year ago to 5.24
million tonnes, government data showed.
Additional imported rice to arrive on
November 15
November 1, 2018, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
Additional imported rice of about
47,000 metric tons (MT) should start arriving in the country by November 15, a
top agriculture official insisted.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol
It was just two weeks ago since
the NFA failed to secure suppliers for most of the first 250,000 MT of rice it
has been authorized to import for the remainder of the year.
During such bidding process,
foreign companies found it too hard to meet NFA’s buying price of US$428.18 per
ton, with only three of 20 bidders being able to secure import contracts with
the country under this particular importation.
These companies are Thai Capital
Crops Company Limited, Vietnam Northern Food Corp. (VINAFOOD 1), and Vietnam
Southern Food Corp. (VINAFOOD 2).
Combined, they offer to supply
the country with only 47,000 MT of rice.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel
Piñol said the Philippine government wants to see some of these stocks
delivered here in 15 days.
“Delivery will stretch bet
November 15 to November 30 for the 47,000 MT,” Piñol said.
In the meantime, the NFA is set
to bid out on November 6 the import contracts for the remaining 203,000 MT of
rice. This will be done through a government to government importation.
This will be followed by a
government to private importation for another 500,000 MT.
“After a week, everything will be
arranged and the shipment will start,” Piñol said.
Piñol said he is not worried
about imported rice flooding the market amid harvest season.
If anything, he said this will
make the country ready if ever another typhoon hits the country before the end
of the year.
By the end of the 2018, the expected
buffer rice stock for NFA, household, and commercial would be around 134 days.
Meanwhile, the price of both
milled and unhusked rice went down on a weekly basis as harvest season peaks.
A data from the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that during the second week of October, the
average farmgate price of palay went down by 3.16 percent to P21.17 per
kilogram (/kg).
Year on year, this is still
higher by 13.03 percent from the price level of P18.73/kg.
https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/11/01/additional-imported-rice-to-arrive-on-november-15/
Rice prices continue
to ease
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:18 AM November 01,
2018
Rice prices
continued to decline as of the second week of October, although by a modest
amount from the first week, as the harvest season and the arrival of cheaper
rice imports continued to help stabilize prices.
The latest
price monitoring report of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the
farm-gate price for palay declined by 3.16 percent from the previous week to
P21.17 a kilo, although still higher by 13.03 percent from the average price a
year ago.
Average
wholesale prices of regular-milled and well-milled rice also decreased by 1.03
percent and 0.64 percent, respectively, to P42.20 a kilo and P45.16 a kilo. Compared
to prices a year ago, these were higher by 18.34 percent and 15.38 percent.
Retail
prices also declined, although at a slower pace from last week.
A kilo of
regular-milled and well-milled rice were sold at P45.72 a kilo and P48.83 a
kilo, respectively. These were lower by 0.33 percent and 0.35 percent from a
week ago but higher by 20.22 percent and 15.68 percent from last year.
The
departments of agriculture and of trade and industry have imposed suggested
retail prices (SRPs) on rice starting last weekend and rice prices are expected
to drop further thereafter.
Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on his Facebook page that the implementation of
the SRPs would effectively solve rice hoarding and market speculation—two
reasons that were seen as the major drivers for prices to spike as they
resulted in the volatility of supplies and prices of the staple in the market.
Rice has
been one of the major drivers of the country’s inflation this year with its
contribution rising 10 times to 1 percentage point of the inflation rate,
according to the Department of Finance.
Economic
managers said the deregulation of rice imports was expected to tame prices
further and reduce the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage point.
‘SRP eased pressure on govt to sell cheap rice’
November 1, 2018
THE National Food Authority
(NFA) will soon reduce the volume of state-subsidized rice it sells in local
markets as prices have started to decline, according to Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel F. Piñol.
From the current 20 percent,
Piñol said the NFA’s market-participation rate would revert to 10 percent. He
said the suggested retail price (SRP) imposed on rice has effectively reduced
the price of the staple to P43 per kilogram, from as high as P70 per kg.
Because of this, the agriculture
chief said the pressure on the NFA to sell more affordable rice has eased.
“Unlike before, where so much
pressure was placed on the NFA rice stocks because of the huge difference in
prices between commercial rice and NFA rice, right now the NFA could just limit
market participation to 10 percent because of the availability of cheap rice,”
he said in a recent interview with reporters.
Piñol also said there are “early
indications” pointing to the possibility that the SRP on rice would soon be
revised. “There are already indications that, after the first month maybe, we
may have to review the SRP, and we may even bring the prices down.”
Last month, the NFA Council
ordered the state-run grains agency to hike its market participation to 20
percent, from 10 percent, to make rice more affordable and ease high inflation.
The agriculture chief assured
that traders and retailers will not be able to take undue advantage of the
reduction in NFA rice sold in local markets due to the SRP.
Piñol said commercial rice
retailers cannot price the staple beyond the SRP, as they would face hefty
fines, which include revocation of their licenses and monetary sanctions.
“Traders and even big-time
retailers adjusted the selling prices of rice when they felt that the supplies
were limited, especially during the lean months of June, July and August,” he
said in a separate Facebook post.
“This was precisely what happened
this year, when the absence of the government-subsidized rice sold by the NFA
in the market resulted in a spike in the prices of commercial rice, both local
and imported,” he added.
Rice imports
THE NFA has released the terms of
reference (TOR) for its purchase of 203,000 metric tons (MT) of rice via
government-to-government (G2G) mode.
Under the TOR, the bidding for
the volume would be on November 6, and only countries with existing memoranda
of agreement with the Philippines can participate.
At present, only Thailand and
Vietnam could supply rice to the Philippines via G2G mode.
Udner the TOR, the rice imports
should be 25-percent brokens and must be harvested from June 2018 onward.
The rice imports must arrive to
their designated ports not later than December 15, according to the TOR.
The NFA has divided the 203,000
MT into 10 discharge ports with corresponding volume: Manila (65,000 MT), Subic
(55,000 MT), La Union (30,000 MT), General Santos (14,000 MT), Tacloban (10,000
MT), Davao (8,000 MT), Zamboanga (8,000 MT), and 5,000 MT each in Cebu, Surigao
and Cagayan de Oro.
Food prices dip in
October
from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
01
Nov 2018
Unloading maize in Ukraine.
Abundant export supplies for
key commodities more than offset jumping sugar prices
1 November 2018, Rome - International food commodity prices
dipped in October, as falling dairy, meat and vegetable oils prices more than
offset a surge in sugar prices, the United Nations said today.
The FAO Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change
in international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 163.5 points
in October, down 0.9 percent from September and 7.4 percent below its level a
year earlier.
The FAO Dairy Price Index led the overall decline, slipping 4.8
percent from the previous month and 34 percent below the peak reached in
February 2014. The weaker prices reflect increased export supplies across all
major dairy products, especially from New Zealand.
The FAO Meat Price Index declined 2.0 percent from September,
with ovine, pig, bovine and poultry meat all posting drops due mostly to
abundant export supplies.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index fell by 1.5 percent, its ninth
consecutive monthly drop, to reach its lowest level since April 2009. The
latest slide was mostly driven by sluggish global import demand for palm oil
and large inventories held by the commodity's major exporting countries.
International soy oil prices increased slightly.
The FAO Cereal Price Index rebounded, rising 1.3 percent from
September, mostly due to firmer maize quotations from the United States of
America. Rice prices, by contrast, fell, partly influenced by currency
movements weighing on Japonica and fragrant varieties.
The FAO Sugar Price Index surged 8.7 percent, mostly as a result
of negative climate-related production prospects in India and Indonesia as well
as indications of an increasing share of Brazil's sugarcane output being used
to produce ethanol.
World cereal output forecasts
raised
FAO has also raised its forecast for global cereal production in
2018 to 2 601 million tonnes, primarily due to higher estimates for wheat
production in Canada and China. Nonetheless, the new forecast remains 2.1
percent below the record level achieved in 2017.
Global rice output this year is
expected to surpass last year's all-time high by 1.3 percent, reaching 513
million tonnes, according to FAO's latest Cereal
Supply and Demand Brief, also released today.
World wheat production in 2018 is now forecast at around 728
million tonnes, marking a 4.3 percent decline from the previous year. Winter
wheat crops, to be harvested in 2019, are currently being sown in the Northern
Hemisphere, while in the European Union, the United States and India generally
remunerative prices are expected to stimulate an increase in plantings.
Worldwide output of coarse grains is forecast at 1 360 million
tonnes, a 2.2 percent drop from 2017. Coarse grain crops are currently being
planted in the Southern Hemisphere countries, and early prospects indicate an
expansion in maize plantings in South America.
FAO expects world cereal utilization to rise by 0.2 percent to a
record 2 653 million tonnes, spurred by higher feed and industrial uses of maize,
especially in China and the United States. The use of wheat for food
consumption is anticipated to rise by 1.0 percent, while that for rice to
increase by 1.1 percent.
Worldwide cereal stocks at the close of seasons in 2019 are now
forecast to reach almost 762 million tonnes, some 6.5 percent below their
record-high opening level.
Total inventories of coarse grains are expected to fall for the
first time in six years, while those of wheat are set to decrease by 4.5
percent, with drawdowns to be led by major exporters. World rice stocks, by
contrast, are expected to rise by 2.6 percent to 176.6 million tonnes.
International trade in cereals is now forecast to decline 1.1
percent from the 2017/18 record level, with trade in both wheat and rice
contracting. World trade in coarse grains is still forecast to remain close to
the previous year's record level, at around 195 million tonnes, with maize
volumes increasing while those of sorghum declining.
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/food-prices-dip-october
‘SRP eased pressure on govt to sell cheap rice’
November 1, 2018
THE National Food Authority
(NFA) will soon reduce the volume of state-subsidized rice it sells in local
markets as prices have started to decline, according to Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel F. Piñol.
From the current 20 percent,
Piñol said the NFA’s market-participation rate would revert to 10 percent. He
said the suggested retail price (SRP) imposed on rice has effectively reduced
the price of the staple to P43 per kilogram, from as high as P70 per kg.
Because of this, the agriculture
chief said the pressure on the NFA to sell more affordable rice has eased.
“Unlike before, where so much
pressure was placed on the NFA rice stocks because of the huge difference in
prices between commercial rice and NFA rice, right now the NFA could just limit
market participation to 10 percent because of the availability of cheap rice,”
he said in a recent interview with reporters.
Piñol also said there are “early
indications” pointing to the possibility that the SRP on rice would soon be
revised. “There are already indications that, after the first month maybe, we
may have to review the SRP, and we may even bring the prices down.”
Last month, the NFA Council
ordered the state-run grains agency to hike its market participation to 20
percent, from 10 percent, to make rice more affordable and ease high inflation.
The agriculture chief assured
that traders and retailers will not be able to take undue advantage of the
reduction in NFA rice sold in local markets due to the SRP.
Piñol said commercial rice
retailers cannot price the staple beyond the SRP, as they would face hefty
fines, which include revocation of their licenses and monetary sanctions.
“Traders and even big-time
retailers adjusted the selling prices of rice when they felt that the supplies
were limited, especially during the lean months of June, July and August,” he
said in a separate Facebook post.
“This was precisely what happened
this year, when the absence of the government-subsidized rice sold by the NFA in
the market resulted in a spike in the prices of commercial rice, both local and
imported,” he added.
Rice imports
THE NFA has released the terms of
reference (TOR) for its purchase of 203,000 metric tons (MT) of rice via
government-to-government (G2G) mode.
Under the TOR, the bidding for
the volume would be on November 6, and only countries with existing memoranda
of agreement with the Philippines can participate.
At present, only Thailand and
Vietnam could supply rice to the Philippines via G2G mode.
Udner the TOR, the rice imports
should be 25-percent brokens and must be harvested from June 2018 onward.
The rice imports must arrive to
their designated ports not later than December 15, according to the TOR.
The NFA has divided the 203,000
MT into 10 discharge ports with corresponding volume: Manila (65,000 MT), Subic
(55,000 MT), La Union (30,000 MT), General Santos (14,000 MT), Tacloban (10,000
MT), Davao (8,000 MT), Zamboanga (8,000 MT), and 5,000 MT each in Cebu, Surigao
and Cagayan de Oro.
Rice prices continue to ease
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:18 AM November 01,
2018
Rice prices
continued to decline as of the second week of October, although by a modest
amount from the first week, as the harvest season and the arrival of cheaper
rice imports continued to help stabilize prices.
The latest
price monitoring report of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the
farm-gate price for palay declined by 3.16 percent from the previous week to
P21.17 a kilo, although still higher by 13.03 percent from the average price a
year ago.
Average
wholesale prices of regular-milled and well-milled rice also decreased by 1.03
percent and 0.64 percent, respectively, to P42.20 a kilo and P45.16 a kilo.
Compared to prices a year ago, these were higher by 18.34 percent and 15.38
percent.
Retail
prices also declined, although at a slower pace from last week.
A kilo of regular-milled
and well-milled rice were sold at P45.72 a kilo and P48.83 a kilo,
respectively. These were lower by 0.33 percent and 0.35 percent from a week ago
but higher by 20.22 percent and 15.68 percent from last year.
The
departments of agriculture and of trade and industry have imposed suggested
retail prices (SRPs) on rice starting last weekend and rice prices are expected
to drop further thereafter.
Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on his Facebook page that the implementation of
the SRPs would effectively solve rice hoarding and market speculation—two
reasons that were seen as the major drivers for prices to spike as they
resulted in the volatility of supplies and prices of the staple in the market.
Rice has
been one of the major drivers of the country’s inflation this year with its
contribution rising 10 times to 1 percentage point of the inflation rate,
according to the Department of Finance.
Economic
managers said the deregulation of rice imports was expected to tame prices
further and reduce the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage point
Navy intercepts 257 bags of foreign rice
in Cross River
Mudiaga Affe, Calabar
The Nigerian Navy Ship Victory in Calabar, Cross River State, on
Tuesday, disclosed the arrest of four suspects in connection with the
smuggling of 257 bags of foreign rice worth N4.62m.
The smuggled bags of rice were shipped into the country in a
wooden boat from Cameroon via the Calabar waterways.
The Commander, NNS Victory, Commodore Julius Nwagu, made this
known at the command’s jetty in Calabar while handing over the four suspects
and the confiscated foreign rice as well as the wooden boat to officials of the
Nigeria Customs Service.
He said the boat was intercepted in the early hours of Monday,
October 29, 2018, while trying to navigate its way to Calabar.
Nwagu said, “In the early hours of October 29, 2018, our men who
were on patrol intercepted a wooden boat loaded with 257 bags of foreign rice
valued at N4.62m.
“The boat was brought to the base with the four men who were
arrested with the consignments. We are handing over the suspects and the
consignment to the Customs for further investigation and prosecution.
“The Federal Government has long ago banned the importation of
foreign rice into the country.
“The importation of such contraband is not a viable business.
When you invest your money in such business, you will not only lose the money,
you will also be prosecuted.
“We are by this arrest reiterating that the ban on foreign rice
is still in force.”
He added that between April and August this year, the command
confiscated over 10, 000 bags of foreign rice, adding that smugglers might have
started receding following the constant arrests.
Receiving the suspects, an Assistant Controller of Customs in
charge of the Eastern Marine Command base in Calabar, Mr Omachi Joshua, said
the items would be taken to the government warehouse and the suspects would be
prosecuted according to laid down rules.
Farmers, paddy purchasers at loggerheads
in Fazilka
Nov 2, 2018, 1:14
AM; last updated: Nov 2, 2018
The paddy purchasers’ union protests at the market committee office in Fazilka. Tribune photo
Praful Chander
Nagpal
Fazilka, November 1
Fazilka, November 1
The purchase of
basmati remained suspended in Fazilka and its adjoining Ladhuka grain markets
following a dispute between farmers and paddy purchasers.
The paddy
purchasers abstained from going to the grain markets today due to which no
basmati variety of paddy could be purchased. Notably, the purchasers buy paddy
on behalf of private traders, including rice millers and exporters.
Paddy Purchasers Union’s Ladhuka president Ram Singh said as
soon as they entered in the Ladhuka mandi on Wednesday to buy paddy, they were
allegedly abused and the farmers misbehaved with them. They then approached the
Fazilka purchasers’ union and boycotted the purchase of paddy today.
Notably, some
farmers under banner of Punjab Kisan Sabha Mandi, Lakhuka block, staged a
protest in the market against the alleged highhandedness of the private traders
and buying their produce at a lesser rate as compared to the market of
adjoining districts by making a cartel.
Kisan Sabha Ladhuka president and Ladhuka mandi sarpanch
Darshan Ram denied the allegation. He alleged that the private traders had made
a cartel to fleece the farmers to buy paddy at low rates and so the traders
were trying to presssurise the farmers by using the purchasers.
Purchasers’
union Fazilka president Surinder Sharma said they have been offering the price
of paddy, keeping in view the quality and moisture content in it. Hence no
question of fleecing the farmers.
When contacted,
Ajaypal Singh Brar, Secretary, Market Committee, said the purchaser had met him
today and have demanded security from the government. He expressed hope that
the purchase would start from Friday.
SINO-Pak Hybrid Rice Research Center inaugurated in China
BY STAFF
REPORT , (LAST UPDATED 19 HOURS AGO)
KARACHI: University of Karachi’s (KU) International Center for Chemical
and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in collaboration with the China National
Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) recently inaugurated SINO-Pak Hybrid Rice
Research Center (SPHRRC) in China’s city Hangzhou, it was learnt on
Thursday.
The purpose of the centre is to
attempt to carry out quality research and development for having different
kinds of quality rice through crossbreeding.
Higher Education Commission
former chairman Dr Atta-ur-Rahman China’s Federal Minister for
Science and Technology Dr Peisong Hu and General China National Rice Research
Institute (CNNRI) deputy director inaugurated the centre.
ICCBS Director Dr Muhammad
Iqbal Choudhary and China’s Department of International Cooperation (Division
of Asian, Americans and Multilateral Affairs) Director Lu Yexin also attended
the inauguration ceremony.
It is pertinent to mention here
that according to the bilateral agreement between the two institutes, two
branches SPHRRC had to be established in total, one in Pakistan and the
other in China.
It is also worth mentioning here
that the branch of the SPHRRC in Pakistan has already been opened at the ICCBS,
last year.
The ICCBS officials said that the
centre is the first hybrid rice research centre of Pakistan established in
collaboration with CNNRI with the objectives that it will provide suitable
numbers of hybrid rice seeds varieties for testing at different locations in
Sindh and other climatic zones of Pakistan during the next two years to
Pakistan.
The centre will also facilitate
the field trials process of these verities of hybrid rice in Pakistan and train
young Pakistani researchers in the field of agriculture so that they can
effectively utilize the modern agriculture techniques to improve their local
rice verities, it was said
Delhi-NCR
Air Pollution: Air quality inches towards 'severe', construction activities
banned till Nov 10
Acting on the
advice given by task force on Graded Response Action Plan, Environment
Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) moved to shut
construction activities, till November 10.
Edited by: India TV News Desk, New Delhi [ Updated: November 02, 2018 7:37 IST ]
Air quality in Delhi-NCR inches closer to severe.
Delhi's air quality on Thursday
inched closer to "severe" level with stubble burning and local
pollution sources being the major causes. The three cities of the National
Capital Region (NCR)- Gurugram, Faridabad
and Noida- figured on the list of the most
polluted cities.
Acting on the advice given by task force on Graded Response
Action Plan, Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA)
moved to shut construction activities, till November 10.
"All construction activities involving excavation, civil
construction (excluding internal finishing/work where no construction material
is used) to remain closed in NCR districts from November 1 to 10", said
the EPCA.
All stone crushers, hot mix plants generating dust pollution to
remain closed in the districts during the period, it said.
EPCA asked all biomass and coal based industries in the NCR
region to help contain the rising air pollution.
In view of the rising air pollution, EPCA has issued a directive
asking around 500 rice mills across Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to
stop operations from November 4 until the further orders.
Expressing displeasure with the move, Millers rued that the
shutdown will affect quality of the product and basmati export.
Pollution is set to worsen until at least November 4, with high
moisture trapping the pollutants and calm wind not allowing them to disperse,
according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research
(SAFAR).
“For the first time, EPCA members have been asked to visit at
least one hot spot such as Punjabi Bagh, DTU, Mundka and landfill sites of
Ghazipur and Bhalswa and submit reports on what is triggering pollution, and
suggest solutions,” said Bhure Lal, chairman of EPCA, who himself has taken
charge of Anand Vihar, one of the most polluted areas of Delhi.
The stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has about 30 per cent
impact on Delhi's air quality, say experts from Central Pollution Control Board
(CPSB).
The Air Quality Index (AQI) on Thursday was 393 in Delhi,
considered "very poor" or near "severe". Ghaziabad in Uttar
Pradesh saw a slight improvement with an AQI of 377.
Haryana's Gurugram had an AQI of 427, while Faridabad and Noida
had 407, making them the three most polluted cities in the country on Thursday.
“There is moderate moisture in the air. This is likely to
maximise by November 4 (Sunday), resulting in enhanced air holding capacity and
faster growth in pollution levels,” a SAFAR scientist said
On Thursday, business venture Blueair collaborated with East
Delhi Municipal Corporation to distribute 5,000 N-95 mask among the municipal
workers.
Delhi on Thursday saw a rise in particle pollutants with average
dispersion of PM2.5 and PM10, or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm and
10mm, being 241 and 437 microgrammer per cubic meters -- about 4 times the
permissible limit.
Chandni Chowk, Dwarka sub-city, Rohini, R.K. Puram, Narela and
Punjabi Bagh were among the 18 regions out of 36 which reeled under
'severe" air quality with PM2.5 above 400 units.
The permissible limit for PM2.5 and PM10 is 60 and 80 units by
national standards and 25 and 50 units by international standards.
Meanwhile, SAFAR advised people to avoid all outdoor physical
activities and those with asthma to keep relief medication handy.
https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-delhi-ncr-air-pollution-ban-on-construction-activities-478576
Doubling
farmers’ income: It’s possible! How much-needed policy can work; all you need
to know in 5 points
While the idea of doubling farmers' income talks about
using better seeds and enhancing productivity by using better
technologies, it can also be done by minimising the struggles
faced by small and marginal farmers.
Small Farmers, Large Field
(SFLF) model improved average per acre profit doubled as compared to the
previous year from Rs 12,130 to Rs 24,830
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the target of
doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. And it can be achieved even with
small landholdings. While the idea of doubling farmers’ income talks about
using better seeds and enhancing productivity by using better technologies,
it can also be done by minimising the struggles faced by small
and marginal farmers.
In an article in The Indian Express, agriculture expert
Samarendu Mohanty and Sampriti Baruah have said that using the “Farmer Producer
Organisation/ Company approach is one way to enable them (small and marginal
farmers) to improve their bargaining power, by pooling resources and linking
them to the market.”
Giving an example of Small Farmers, Large Field (SFLF)
model, which was conceptualised in Vietnam, and piloted in India
in 2016/17 rabi season, the experts said, it improved average per
acre profit doubled as compared to the previous year from Rs 12,130
to Rs 24,830.
Here’s all you need to know about the model in
5 steps:
First, 54 of the 90 farmers in the villages agreed to
farm on the combined landholding of 90 acres with the help of
an eight-member coordination committee. The farmers decided to grow a
single paddy variety and procure its seeds from a certified producer.
Second, the farmers set up mat nurseries to prepare paddy
seeling in 90 acres of land. Earlier, it was difficult as moving tractors in
small land-fields was tough and costly.
Third, the farmers’ group then placed a single order
with Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), which they got for
below retail price.
Fourth, local rice millers were appointed, who were ready
to pay a premium for the paddy produced as they were getting a single variety.
Fifth, the combined effect of less investment and more
return was seen. The estimate showed that the average per acre profit of
farmers was Rs 24,830, as compared to Rs 12,130 in the 2015/16 rabi season.
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https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/doubling-farmers-income-its-possible-how-much-needed-policy-can-work-all-you-need-to-know-in-5-points/1368947/
Nepal harvests
record-high paddy output by growing Chinese hybrid rice
Source:
Xinhua| 2018-10-30 18:54:25|Editor: mmm
KATHMANDU, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The total paddy production in
Nepal has reached 5.23 million metric tons this year, the highest harvest in
the country's history and the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
Development has attributed the record-high paddy output to cultivation of
Chinese hybrid rice.
Timely rainfall and availability of developed seeds and chemical
fertilizers have attributed to the rise in paddy production by nearly 30
percent as compared to the harvest of 2017-18 fiscal year, officials claimed.
Though the Nepali government had projected the paddy production
of only 5 million metric tons, the higher output has been regarded as a
significant contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country and
economic growth in overall. The agriculture sector constitutes 33 percent of
the total GDP in which paddy accounts for as high as 20 percent.
According to the agriculture ministry, the record harvest would
help cutting down the rice imports from different countries and contribute to
reduction of rice deficit.
The optimism comes at a time when the Chinese hybrid rice,
spreading over 300 hectares of land, is doing excellent performance in the
country.
On Monday, a team of government officials from both Nepal and
China, and research scientists and representatives of the World Food Program
(WFP) visited the high-yield demonstration field of Chinese hybrid rice located
within the premise of the National Agricultural Research Council in Lalitpur.
Noting that the performance of Chinese hybrid rice is excellent
in Nepal, the Nepali side expressed willingness to produce hybrid rice in large
scale to have large yields and resolve rice scarcity.
"The performance of Chinese hybrid rice is very nice and
exciting," Baidya Nath Mahato, executive director of the Nepal
Agricultural Research Council, told Xinhua.
Under the first phase of three-year long China-Nepal agricultural
technical cooperation project that started in February 2016, China has been
providing economic and technical assistance in the agricultural sector for
Nepal, especially for cultivating rice and maize.
The Chinese government has also been helping Nepal promote
adoption of hybrid rice varieties and conducting technical demonstration and
training on post-harvest processing technology, farm machinery operation and
maintenance technology.
For this end, Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co. Ltd, a Chinese
implementing agency, is working in cooperation with the Nepal Agricultural
Research Council.
According to the officials, in the past two years, 67 hybrid
rice varieties have been introduced from China and tested in various parts of
Nepal. Among them, one variety has already been approved by the Seed Quality
Control Centre under Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
Chinese hybrid rice has been popular among the farmers of the
country due to higher yield, strong tillering ability, straight leaves with no
drooping, more effective panicles per unit area, more grains and good taste,
among others.
Ananda Kumar Gautam, a senior scientist of the Nepal
Agricultural Research Council, told Xinhua that "we are very much
impressed by the performance of Chinese hybrid rice and the response from the
farmers is very positive."
In the budget for the current fiscal year, the Nepali government
has announced a plan to make the country self-reliant in food within next few
years. Experts believe that Chinese hybrid rice can resolve the food deficit
and help Nepal ensure food security.
Traditional
medicinal rice variety conservation gaining ground
October
31, 2018
Traditional
food and dishes have a historic precedent in national, regional or local
cuisine. However, the benefits of traditional food are fading away without any
trace due to the heavy influence of Western food.
Unfortunately,
the rich heritage of consuming various varieties of rice has been vanishing since
the green revolution. There were more than 3 lakh rice varieties in the country
and more than 5,000 varieties were available in Tamil Nadu, say agriculture
scientists. However, nearly 200 varieties of rice have been saved in Tamil
Nadu. Besides, nutritional and medicinal benefits, the by-products of rice are
equally important and beneficial, says expert, Menakathilarajan, owner of
Mannvasnai Organic shop
Each type of
rice has unique properties like taste, size and texture. Here is a guide to
some varieties of rice with its medicinal purposes.
1. Kala
Namak (Crop duration – 120 days)
It is one of
the finest quality rice in the country. It derives its name from black husk
(kala = black; the suffix ‘namak’ means salt). This variety is in cultivation
since the Buddhist period (600 BC). It is believed to be better than basmati in
all aspects except grain length and is considered the finest quality of rice in
international trade
Medicinal
properties: Cures diabetes, BP and problems related to kidney,
skin, blood, cancer and brain.
According to
farmer Mani: “Buddha is believed to consume only this rice and
even today Buddhist monks carry this wherever they go. The reason they live
longer is that they consume this rice.”
2. Tooyamali
(Crop duration – 140 days)
Thooyamalli,
also known as ‘Maapilai Samba’, is a traditional rice variety and gets its name
from its striking resemblance to jasmine buds. It used to be a tradition to
feed bridegrooms with this rice before the wedding. It is suitable for
preparing biryani.
Medicinal
properties: Increases nerves strength, improves digestion,
cures mouth ulcers and helps reduce diabetes.
3. Kullakkar
(Crop duration – 90 to 105 days)
Kullakkar,
is short red rice cultivated in summer. The crop is highly drought, pest and
disease-resistant and locally the straw is a preferred to thatch roofs. The
rice can be used in the preparation of idli, dosa, puttu or porridge as well.
Red rice varieties have antioxidant properties and a higher content of zinc and
iron than white rice
Medicinal
properties: Revitalizes and energizes the body, helps to bring
down bad cholesterol levels and controls blood sugar levels.
4. Seeraga
Samba (Crop duration – 120 to 125 days)
Seeraga
Samba is an aromatic rice. It derives its name because the small white ovular
fine grains resemble seeds of seeragam/Jeera/cumin. It is mostly cultivated in
the Samba season (August to January). The grains are much smaller than other
varieties and when cooked less ‘fluffy’ and loose in texture with a
starchy/corny flavour. Rich in vitamins, it is high in calorie. Traditionally,
it is used in the preparation of variety rice like biryani, tomato rice, lemon
rice and tamarind rice.
Medicinal
properties: Prevents colon and intestine cancer, reduces
cholesterol. It is rich in fibre. Hence, it reduces the LDL cholesterol and
increases HDL in the body.
5. Karung
Kuruvai (Crop duration – 110 days)
Karung
kuruvai rice has got a ‘kayakalpam’ property which will protect our body.
Siddha doctors use this rice variety to prepare medicines. According to farmer
Mani: “This rice helps dilute all the bad cholesterols in our body. It can be
consumed as rice and it is also very much suitable for idly and dosa.
Medicinal
properties: Helps treat people suffering from Elephantiasis.
6. Poongar
(Crop duration – 70 days)
Poongar is
also called as ‘Arubatham Kodai’. The crop can grow even during extreme
climatic conditions and can withstand floods and grow with less water. It is
also suitable for idly and dosa.
Medicinal
properties: Provides strength to the body. It is believed that
consuming this rice during pregnancy leads to normal delivery.
7. Kattuyam
(Crop duration – 180 days)
This rice is
very rich in minerals and used majorly as ‘kasayam’ and also good for making
rice, idly and dosa.
Medicinal properties: Helps
control diabetes, prevents heart problems.
8. Kavuni
(Crop duration – 130 days)
This rice
has been in existence from the Chola period. Red and black kavuni rice are
available in the market.
Medicinal
properties: Provides strength to the body. Black kavni rice is
used to treat dog bites.
Meneka also
added, “Kichadi Samba rice is good for preparing pongal and sundaram. Kichadi
samba rice has got high medicinal property and is good for treating skin
problems.”
Urbanisation
and hectic lifestyle have made people dependent on easily available fast food
items, resetting our taste buds. Institutions like Create and Ciks are trying
to save these traditional rice varieties. As citizens, it is our social
responsibility to save our traditional food, culture, including rice varieties
and pass the same on to the next generation.
ground/
Newly discovered toxic pollutant found in homes, environment
ByAllen Cone
(0)
Scientists found high levels of a previously
unsuspected pollutant in homes, in an electronic waste recycling facility and
in the natural environment. Photo by johnpotter/pixabay
Oct. 30 (UPI) -- People are likely being exposed to a
newly detected toxic pollutant by breathing contaminated dust or through skin
contact, according to a study.
Researchers at
Indiana University discovered high levels of the chemical,
tri(2,4-di-t-butylphenyl) phosphate, or TDTBPP, in homes, an electronic waste
recycling facility and in the natural environment. Their findings were published Tuesdayin Environmental Science
& Technology.
The compound
is part of the family of toxic organophosphates, which is the most widely used
class of insecticides, but is also used as a flame retardant, a plasticizer in
consumer products and can be formed when other chemicals degrade.
"We were
looking at flame retardants and found this compound for the first time,"
Dr. Marta Venier, a scientist at the IU School of Public and Environmental
Affairs, told UPI. "In all samples we looked for we found it in flame
retardants and as a plasticizer."
"This
compound is potentially a concern because of exposure in homes and occupational
settings," she added.
Environmental
chemists have had difficulty tracking down pollutants in the environment and
what kind of effects they might cause because common commercial chemicals,
including TDTBPP, are not subject to regulatory scrutiny under the U.S. Toxic
Substances Control Act unless they are used for new purposes.
"The fact
that this potentially toxic chemical is so abundant, but was previously
unknown, is another example of the ineffective management of chemicals in the
United States," Venier previously said in a press release.
Researchers
believe many chemicals go undetected until a general environmental scan is
performed.
This is what
Indiana University scientists performed using high-resolution mass
spectrometry. They studied dust samples from an e-waste dismantling facility in
Ontario, Canada. E-waste recycling facilities often include similar TDTBPP
chemicals used in the production of plastics, wires, printed circuit boards and
electronic equipment.
Researchers
also studied dust from 20 residential homes in Ontario, as well as outdoor
samples from the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, Indiana Harbor water filters
and filters from high-volume air samplers deployed in Chicago. They measured
amounts of TDTBPP in ambient air, water and sediment.
Especially
high levels of TDTBPP were found in house dust.
"Our
research is the first step," Venier said. "Now that we know that
TDTBPP is prevalent, especially in homes, scientists can flag it for further
study and focus on understanding the effects of TDTBPP on people."
Working Together Brings Boat Load of Good News
By Kane Webb
LAKE CHARLES, LA -- Over the past week, Congressmen Clay
Higgins and Ralph Abraham who both represent the Louisiana rice producing
region, took the opportunity to see firsthand the results of recent rice sales
to Iraq.
"Congressmen Abraham, Higgins, and several of their colleagues made supporting the sale of U.S. rice to Iraq a priority, and what better way to say 'thank you' than to come and see the results for yourself," said Nick Bernhard, CEO of Farmers Rice Milling Company.
During separate visits to the Port of Lake Charles, Port Director Bill Rase thanked both Congressmen for their commitment in making this sale a reality.
"Congressmen Abraham, Higgins, and several of their colleagues made supporting the sale of U.S. rice to Iraq a priority, and what better way to say 'thank you' than to come and see the results for yourself," said Nick Bernhard, CEO of Farmers Rice Milling Company.
During separate visits to the Port of Lake Charles, Port Director Bill Rase thanked both Congressmen for their commitment in making this sale a reality.
 |
|
Rep. Clay Higgins
pitches in
|
|
"These shipments mean a lot to the Port of Lake
Charles," said Rase. "These four cargos equate to a value of
$17 million per cargo, and employ more than 90 longshoremen, working a combined
78,000 man-hours, to load these four vessels."
Todd Henderson, director of port operations, said, "This is the kind of cargo going through the port that we love to see. It means jobs and benefits, and that's good for the economy all around."
Bernhard and Phillip Bertrand, also with Farmers Rice Milling Company, Robert Bond, COO of the Powell Group, and rice farmer and NELA Rice Growers Association President Scott Franklin met Abraham and staffers from both offices at the Farmers Rice Mill facility, where a portion of the rice sold on the first vessel bound for Iraq is being packaged. The legislators were briefed on the many moving parts involved in getting this rice to the vessel and the several local companies that played a role in the process.
The enormity of the economic impact was obvious when Abraham and Higgins each entered the multiple warehouses, stocked with pallets of rice from one end to the other, and were told this was only enough rice to fill the first vessel.
Todd Henderson, director of port operations, said, "This is the kind of cargo going through the port that we love to see. It means jobs and benefits, and that's good for the economy all around."
Bernhard and Phillip Bertrand, also with Farmers Rice Milling Company, Robert Bond, COO of the Powell Group, and rice farmer and NELA Rice Growers Association President Scott Franklin met Abraham and staffers from both offices at the Farmers Rice Mill facility, where a portion of the rice sold on the first vessel bound for Iraq is being packaged. The legislators were briefed on the many moving parts involved in getting this rice to the vessel and the several local companies that played a role in the process.
The enormity of the economic impact was obvious when Abraham and Higgins each entered the multiple warehouses, stocked with pallets of rice from one end to the other, and were told this was only enough rice to fill the first vessel.
|
|
|
Rep. Ralph Abraham gets the
details
|
Abraham, surrounded by stacks of rice poised for
loading, said, "This is what makes it all worthwhile. What a great
day for rice!"
Upon entering the first warehouse, Higgins said, "What a beautiful sight! You realize just how much of an impact this has on the industry when you see it in person. All this rice came from Farmers Rice Mill, Supreme Rice Mill, and Beaumont Rice Mill, proving that when we work together, good things will happen."
Bond said, "The economic benefits start locally with the growers and the mills producing and providing a high quality product, then it continues with the purchase of bags to package the rice, hiring trucking to deliver it to the port, and labor to load the vessel. That's money that gets reinvested back into the local economy."
Upon entering the first warehouse, Higgins said, "What a beautiful sight! You realize just how much of an impact this has on the industry when you see it in person. All this rice came from Farmers Rice Mill, Supreme Rice Mill, and Beaumont Rice Mill, proving that when we work together, good things will happen."
Bond said, "The economic benefits start locally with the growers and the mills producing and providing a high quality product, then it continues with the purchase of bags to package the rice, hiring trucking to deliver it to the port, and labor to load the vessel. That's money that gets reinvested back into the local economy."
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/environment-pollution-control-authority-shuts-ncr-rice-mills/articleshow/66466931.cms
China to
open its USD 2 bn rice market to India
31 October, 2018 5:05 PM IST By: Sreeja
India has made a deal with China
to open up its 2 billion USD rice import based on an agreement signed between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China.
At Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation Summit a protocol on the exports of non-Basmati Rice was signed.
Later Chinese authorities visited Indian rice mills and out of that 24
Indian mills were approved for exports of rice to China.
Six out of 24 approved mills,
attended seminars and business to business meeting. In which 44 Chinese
importers including China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation
(COFCO) took part.
India has established itself as
the biggest exporter of rice in the world. Prashant Lokhande, Economic and
Commercial Counselor said that the bilateral trade has enabled prospects of
exports.
AK Gupta of the Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, added that before this
Indian rice variety has never reached China and also he appealed Chinese
importers to try rich varieties of Indian rice
5th
International Rice Congress - Singapore 2018
A deeper, more
meaningful worldview of RICE.
Want to know how your current work, research,
business, or partnerships could impact the world far beyond rice? Be among the
first to witness, experience, and interact with IRRI’s latest innovations,
services and products, and leading rice experts at the 5th International Rice
Congress -Singapore 2018.
For more information visit: http://ricecongress2018.irri.org
)
Basmati producers
allege harassment by pvt traders
Oct 31, 2018, 1:13 AM; last updated: Oct 31, 2018, 4:22 PM
(IST
Say being offered low price for popular aromatic Pusa 1121
variety
Heaps of paddy lying in the Fazilka grain market. Tribune photo
Our
Correspondent
Fazilka, October 30
Fazilka, October 30
Farmers
producing basmati have alleged that they are being fleeced by private traders
who are bulk buyers of the variety in the district.
“Farmers are
being offered low price for popular aromatic Pusa 1121 variety of paddy. They
are being paid Rs 3,100 to 3,200 per quintal, but it is being sold at Rs 3,300
to 3,400 in nearby markets,” said Vaneet, a farmer.
In the absence of any minimum support price, farmers are
compelled to sell their produce to private traders, including rice millers and
the exporters. “Traders have set up the cartel to keep the prices low,” said
block president Prem Chand.
“The government
has not made any concrete policy on basmati variety, which consumes less water
as compared to other varieties,” said Niab Singh, a farmer.
A deputation of the farmers led by Uday Singh Ghuriana,
district president, Bhartiya Kisan Union, (Ekta Sidhupur), met Deputy
Commissioner, Manpreet Singh today and gave submitted a memorandum in this
regard.
The farmers have
demanded that open auction should be conducted to buy the produce as only one
or two traders visited a shop to buy basmati.
Manjit Singh
Sandhu, district mandi officer, Fazilka, said the prices of the basmati variety
vary everyday and it was offered to the farmers as per the price of the rice
prevailing in the market.
Govt. moves to plug leakages in public
distribution system
VIJAYAWADA, NOVEMBER 01, 2018 07:49 IST
J.R. Pushparaj | Photo
Credit: arranged
Violators
alone will be targeted and FP dealers in general have nothing to fear, says
food panel chairman
The government has come out with
the Andhra Pradesh State Public Distribution System (Control) Order which
envisages strict action against not just the erring fair price shop dealers but
also against wholesale dealers, rice millers or even ration card-holders if
found guilty.
“Action will be taken only
against violators of rules and FP shop dealers who go by the book will not be
harassed,” said J.R. Pushparaj, Chairman of AP Food Commission, at a press
conference here on Wednesday.
He said the Commission had
reviewed key issues of ICDS projects, mid-day meal scheme, targeted public
distribution system and maternity entitlement under the Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana scheme. Mr. Pushparaj said the government was keen on improving quality
of food and nutrition levels for beneficiaries of PDS through fair price shops
but the result was not on expected lines at the ground level.
He said fortified rice was being
given to Anganwadi centres and for the mid-day meal scheme in the districts of
Krishna, Guntur, Kurnool and West Godavari. The Commission had also recommended
supply of unpolished rice (brown rice) as diabetes was rampant in rural areas
of Krishna, Prakasam and West Godavari districts. Similarly, red gram, sugar
and millets like ragi and jowar besides double fortified salt were being
supplied but the consumption was very low. The food commission chief said the
civil supplies wing should take up an extensive campaign to make people aware
of the significance of consuming food items with high nutritional value.
Aid
for Titli victims
He said the Civil Supplies
Department had distributed rice, dal, ragi, sugar, palmolien oil, potatoes and
onions to the 2.48 lakh cyclone-affected victims.
He said based on a recommendation
by the Food Commission, the government had asked for constitution of
district-level task force, a five-member body to prevent recycling of or supply
of inferior quality rice. “Many of the districts have not constituted the task
force till date,” he said. Following complaints of corruption in supply of eggs
to Anganwadi centres and mid-day meal schemes, the State had decentralised the
purchase system and had blacklisted the three suppliers, he said. Commission’s
member-secretary Ravi Babu said a legal cell had been set up to take action
against those resorting to malpractice.
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·
/ AUG 02, 2018
Gold-Palladium
Alloys Are Better For Hydrogen Storage, And Now We Know Why
New Type Of Gyroscope Is Smaller Than
Grain Of Rice
· /OCT 31, 2018
Primary tabs
How does your phone flip into
landscape mode or come alive when you pick it up? It has a gyroscope, which is
a particular type of sensor that lets electronic devices know which way is
'up!'
The gyroscope has had a long
history already, and this came from relatively humble beginnings. Now, at least
one of these is found in every high-tech gadget, including
smartphones, drones, and even spacecraft. Gyroscopes are likely to become so
extensive that even more sophisticated and streamlined devices will be needed
in the future.
These components will also need
to function at the nanometric scale, particularly in the case of
precision-oriented space-going vehicles and robots. In addition, current-day
gyroscopes will need to be robust against factors that could throw them off.
These include changes in temperature, physical damage, and manufacturing flaws.
Finally, they will also need to
be robust against factors that could throw them off. They include changes in
temperature, physical damage and manufacturing flaws.
A recently-developed invention could
address all these needs and take the gyroscope into the third decade of the
2000s.
MEMS Gyroscopes
The new type of gyroscope is a
nano-optical sensor, as opposed to their current state-of-the-art counterparts
of today. The latest ones are microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS),
which, unlike the wooden or metal wheel-form gyroscopes of olden times, are
extremely small devices that can fit into the average phone.
MEMS scopes contain two
equally-sized objects that move in relation to each other but in opposite
directions. The rest of the individual MEMS measure the forces acting on these
objects, and thus, its position in a three-dimensional space.
An-old-fashioned.jpg
An old-fashioned, simple metal gyroscope. (Source: Wikimedia
Commons)
Tiny beetle
half the size of a grain of rice trapped in amber 99 million years ago reveals
clues about how modern-day continents were formed from one giant supercontinent
·
Propiestus archaicus had long antennae,
a flattened body and short legs
·
It
lived during the time of the dinosaurs and survived in foliage and
rotten trees
·
It
was found in Myanmar and is related to modern-day animals in South America
·
Scientists
claim this huge geographical difference helps explain the rapid
continental movement after the break up of Pangaea
A tiny beetle that was first trapped in amber
99 million years ago has been discovered by scientists.
The diminutive specimen is only half the
length of a grain of rice and was unearthed in Myanmar.
Named Propiestus archaicus, the animal is a
distant relative of the Rove beetle that exists today in South America and
the southern part of Arizona.
Scientists claim that the huge geographical
difference between the two locations provides clues to explain how the Earth's
continents moved over time following the disintegration of the supercontinent
Pangaea.
Scroll down for video
+2
Named Propiestus archaicus, the tiny beetle
(pictured) measures only 0.1 inches long and it relied on its antennae,
flattened body and short legs to navigate through foliage and underneath rotten
trees
'This is a
very rare find,' said Shuhei Yamamoto, a Field Museum researcher and lead
author of the paper, published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
Researchers now believe the beetle existed on
Earth at a time when the super-continent Pangaea broke up and formed a land
mass called Gondwanaland.
'Like koalas and kangaroos today, certain
animals that we think lived in Gondwanaland are only found in one part of the
world,' Dr Yamamoto explained.
'Although Propiestus went extinct long ago,
our finding probably shows some amazing connections between Southern Hemisphere
and Myanmar.
'Our finding fits well with the hypothesis
that, unlike today, Myanmar was once located in the
The beetle existed during the late Cretaceous
at a time when dinosaurs dominated the world but the researchers say the
animal's elongated antennae allowed it to flourish.
WHAT IS
AMBER?
Amber has been used in jewelry for
thousands of years, and is often found to hold remarkably well-preserved
materials from eras long since passed.
The golden-coloured translucent substance
is formed when resin from extinct coniferous trees became hardened and then
fossilised.
Often insects, plant material, pollen and
other creatures became trapped in the resin, causing them to be entombed within
after it solidified.
Measuring only 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) long,
the beetle relied on its antennae, flattened body and short legs to
navigate through foliage and underneath rotten trees.
'The antennae probably had a highly sensitive
ability as a sensory organ,' Dr Yamamoto said.
'There wouldn't have been a lot of space
available in the beetle's habitat, so it was important to be able to detect
everything.
'This fossil helps us understand life in the
Mesozoic era,' he concluded. 'We need to think about everything from that time,
both big and small.'
Propiestus is just one of thousands of
Burmese amber specimens that entombed small insects that lived during the
Cretaceous era.
Originally a highly viscous tree sap it
hardens over time and eventually produces amber which preserves any organic
matter trapped within it.
+2
·
Propiestus is just one of thousands of
Burmese amber specimens that entombed small insects that lived during the
Cretaceous era. Originally a highly viscous tree sap it hardens over time and
eventually produces amber which preserves any organic matter trapped within it
An unremarkable object to begin with, the
amber looks like a normal rock to the untrained eye.
Experienced amber spotters can identify the
material and sell it to either jewellers or researchers.
This particular specimen was subjected to a
gentle sandpaper treatment to carefully polish the amber in order to make
the specimen clearly visible.
'It was very exciting, because the
cutting process is very sensitive,' Dr Yamamoto said.
'If you cut too fast or apply too much
pressure, you destroy the inclusion inside very quickly.'
Traditional medicinal rice variety conservation gaining ground
October
31, 2018
Traditional
food and dishes have a historic precedent in national, regional or local
cuisine. However, the benefits of traditional food are fading away without any
trace due to the heavy influence of Western food.
Unfortunately,
the rich heritage of consuming various varieties of rice has been vanishing
since the green revolution. There were more than 3 lakh rice varieties in the
country and more than 5,000 varieties were available in Tamil Nadu, say
agriculture scientists. However, nearly 200 varieties of rice have been saved
in Tamil Nadu. Besides, nutritional and medicinal benefits, the by-products of
rice are equally important and beneficial, says expert, Menakathilarajan, owner
of Mannvasnai Organic shop
Each type of
rice has unique properties like taste, size and texture. Here is a guide to
some varieties of rice with its medicinal purposes.
1. Kala
Namak (Crop duration – 120 days)
It is one of
the finest quality rice in the country. It derives its name from black husk
(kala = black; the suffix ‘namak’ means salt). This variety is in cultivation
since the Buddhist period (600 BC). It is believed to be better than basmati in
all aspects except grain length and is considered the finest quality of rice in
international trade
Medicinal
properties: Cures diabetes, BP and problems related to kidney,
skin, blood, cancer and brain.
According to
farmer Mani: “Buddha is believed to consume only this rice and
even today Buddhist monks carry this wherever they go. The reason they live
longer is that they consume this rice.”
2. Tooyamali
(Crop duration – 140 days)
Thooyamalli,
also known as ‘Maapilai Samba’, is a traditional rice variety and gets its name
from its striking resemblance to jasmine buds. It used to be a tradition to
feed bridegrooms with this rice before the wedding. It is suitable for
preparing biryani.
Medicinal
properties: Increases nerves strength, improves digestion,
cures mouth ulcers and helps reduce diabetes.
3. Kullakkar
(Crop duration – 90 to 105 days)
Kullakkar,
is short red rice cultivated in summer. The crop is highly drought, pest and
disease-resistant and locally the straw is a preferred to thatch roofs. The
rice can be used in the preparation of idli, dosa, puttu or porridge as well.
Red rice varieties have antioxidant properties and a higher content of zinc and
iron than white rice
Medicinal
properties: Revitalizes and energizes the body, helps to bring
down bad cholesterol levels and controls blood sugar levels.
4. Seeraga
Samba (Crop duration – 120 to 125 days)
Seeraga
Samba is an aromatic rice. It derives its name because the small white ovular
fine grains resemble seeds of seeragam/Jeera/cumin. It is mostly cultivated in
the Samba season (August to January). The grains are much smaller than other
varieties and when cooked less ‘fluffy’ and loose in texture with a
starchy/corny flavour. Rich in vitamins, it is high in calorie. Traditionally,
it is used in the preparation of variety rice like biryani, tomato rice, lemon
rice and tamarind rice.
Medicinal
properties: Prevents colon and intestine cancer, reduces
cholesterol. It is rich in fibre. Hence, it reduces the LDL cholesterol and
increases HDL in the body.
5. Karung
Kuruvai (Crop duration – 110 days)
Karung
kuruvai rice has got a ‘kayakalpam’ property which will protect our body.
Siddha doctors use this rice variety to prepare medicines. According to farmer
Mani: “This rice helps dilute all the bad cholesterols in our body. It can be
consumed as rice and it is also very much suitable for idly and dosa.
Medicinal
properties: Helps treat people suffering from Elephantiasis.
6. Poongar
(Crop duration – 70 days)
Poongar is
also called as ‘Arubatham Kodai’. The crop can grow even during extreme
climatic conditions and can withstand floods and grow with less water. It is
also suitable for idly and dosa.
Medicinal
properties: Provides strength to the body. It is believed that
consuming this rice during pregnancy leads to normal delivery.
7. Kattuyam
(Crop duration – 180 days)
This rice is
very rich in minerals and used majorly as ‘kasayam’ and also good for making
rice, idly and dosa.
Medicinal
properties: Helps control diabetes, prevents heart problems.
8. Kavuni
(Crop duration – 130 days)
This rice
has been in existence from the Chola period. Red and black kavuni rice are
available in the market.
Medicinal
properties: Provides strength to the body. Black kavni rice is
used to treat dog bites.
Meneka also
added, “Kichadi Samba rice is good for preparing pongal and sundaram. Kichadi
samba rice has got high medicinal property and is good for treating skin
problems.”
Urbanisation
and hectic lifestyle have made people dependent on easily available fast food
items, resetting our taste buds. Institutions like Create and Ciks are trying
to save these traditional rice varieties. As citizens, it is our social
responsibility to save our traditional food, culture, including rice varieties
and pass the same on to the next generation.
https://www.covaipost.com/tamilnadu-news/traditional-medicinal-rice-variety-conservation-gaining-ground/
SINO-Pak Hybrid Rice Research Center inaugurated in China
BY STAFF
REPORT , (LAST UPDATED
KARACHI: University of Karachi’s (KU) International Center for Chemical
and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) in collaboration with the China National
Rice Research Institute (CNRRI) recently inaugurated SINO-Pak Hybrid Rice
Research Center (SPHRRC) in China’s city Hangzhou, it was learnt on
Thursday.
The purpose of the centre is to
attempt to carry out quality research and development for having different
kinds of quality rice through crossbreeding.
Higher Education Commission
former chairman Dr Atta-ur-Rahman China’s Federal Minister for
Science and Technology Dr Peisong Hu and General China National Rice Research
Institute (CNNRI) deputy director inaugurated the centre.
ICCBS Director Dr Muhammad
Iqbal Choudhary and China’s Department of International Cooperation (Division
of Asian, Americans and Multilateral Affairs) Director Lu Yexin also attended
the inauguration ceremony.
It is pertinent to mention here
that according to the bilateral agreement between the two institutes, two
branches SPHRRC had to be established in total, one in Pakistan and the other
in China.
It is also worth mentioning here
that the branch of the SPHRRC in Pakistan has already been opened at the ICCBS,
last year.
The ICCBS officials said that the
centre is the first hybrid rice research centre of Pakistan established in
collaboration with CNNRI with the objectives that it will provide suitable
numbers of hybrid rice seeds varieties for testing at different locations in
Sindh and other climatic zones of Pakistan during the next two years to
Pakistan.
The centre will also facilitate
the field trials process of these verities of hybrid rice in Pakistan and train
young Pakistani researchers in the field of agriculture so that they can
effectively utilize the modern agriculture techniques to improve their local
rice verities, it was said.
Meet the Charles Rice post-graduate
research fellows
Alum Doug Hickey, ’15, will spend a year abroad helping veterans
struggling with their mental health, a topic he is deeply passionate about.
“Growing up in a small rural community with a strong culture of
service in the armed forces, I thought of the many classmates, friends, and
relatives who joined the service after turning 18,” Hickey said. Some of them
died, “[and] in over half of these cases, the fallen soldier had not died
overseas, but on the battlefield at home by their own hands.”
Hickey will travel to Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, South
Korea, and Vietnam. He will study the psychological effects of war on combat
veterans, according to the UC website. His travel is funded by The Charles Rice
Postgraduate Research Fellowship.
The new fellowship honors former Ursinus chaplain Rev. Charles
Rice’s passion for assisting students in their faith, lives, and careers, while
providing them tools to analyze social injustice. As a way to keep Rice’s
influence alive and inspire others to pursue justice in the world, the
fellowship granted two alumni $15,000 each to study abroad and research topics
of their choosing, and then publish a manuscript after their year-long
adventure ends.
The other recipient, Roseangela Hartford ‘18, will observe and
work with organizations throughout Peru, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic to
investigate how religious-affiliated institutions aid in the healing process
for women who have survived domestic and sexual violence, and their families.
Hickey discussed his undergraduate life at Ursinus and his future
plans for the project.He aims to discover the psychological impacts of war and
Moral Injury (MI) on combat veterans. “I plan to work with various institutions
and researchers to reconstruct the current conceptual models of MI to
adequately address the inherent spiritual component that is indivisible from
the condition,” Hickey explained.
Hickey said his main goals are “to refine the current
understanding of the spiritual component of MI, [and] under the tutelage of Dr.
Edward Tick, [he] will study and facilitate psycho-spiritual, cross-cultural, and
international community-based reconciliation practices.”
Hickey described the different types of work he would being doing
during his year.
“[I will be] facilitating various retreats, workshops, institutes
and programs with Soldier’s Heart, a spiritual faith-based nonprofit
organization whose mission is to ‘transform the emotional, moral, and spiritual
wounds that often result from military service,’ culminating in a humanitarian,
serviced-based journey of reconciliation and transformation through Japan,
Korea, and Vietnam,” he said.
In Australia and the Czech Republic, Hickey’s plans will be more
“research and academically based, while the Healing Retreat through Japan,
Vietnam and South Korea will be largely experientially based.”
Hickey was a Psychology and Philosophy double major and minored in
Neuroscience. He was “involved in a little bit of everything” at Ursinus, and
said that Rev. Charles Rice had a major impact on his life, like he did many
students. Through talking with Rev. and developing a relationship with him,
“every conversation [they] would have would circle back to social institutions
and systems of injustice.” When Hickey heard about the fellowship, he
“felt as though applying for it would not only allow [him] to pursue something
that [he is] very passionate about, but also to have the opportunity to honor
the impact that Rev. had on the Ursinus community.”
Given his childhood experiences, Hickey felt it was his duty “to
serve [wounded soldiers and those who passed] as they have served us—with
selflessness, honor and integrity.”
Hickey is excited to contribute to MI research about veterans and
to travel the world while also helping people, and the Ursinus community looks
forward to reading his manuscript on the journeys.
H still
Asia’s biotech leader – USDA
NOVEMBER 02, 2018
·
/
PH STILL
ASIA’S BIOTECH LEADER – USDA
The
Philippines continued to be Asia’s leader in biotechnology as sustained
developments in science and technology greatly contributed to the advancement
of its farm sector, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
In
the Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report made by its Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) in Manila, USDA cited the country’s lead in terms of
plant and animal biotechnology.
The
study recognized the Philippines as the first Asian country to allow the
planting of a genetically engineered (GE) crop and move forward on a regulatory
framework for GE animals.
However,
the USDA expressed fear a change in GE plant regulations, as embodied in
Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Order No. 8 (DA-AO 8) to the
Joint Department Circular (JDC) in April 15, 2016, may further worsen the slow
processing of biosafety applications.
“There
have been no major trade disruptions, but the delay in approvals has the
potential to disrupt U.S trade. It likewise may gradually erode the country’s
GE leadership status in the region,” the report said.
It
was in 2003 when the Philippines introduced its first GE crop–Bt corn. Since
then, GE corn area planted has reached over 5.9 million hectares.
From
April 2016 to March 2017, GE corn was planted on an estimated 655,000 hectares,
relatively flat compared to the previous year’s level.
Through
the years, the country has produced more Bt crops including the fruit and shoot
borer-resistant eggplant (Bt eggplant) from the Institute of Plant Breeding of
the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (IPB-UPLB), the
beta-carotene-enriched rice or Golden Rice (GR2E) from the Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice), the delayed ripening papaya with ring spot
virus-resistance from IPB-UPLB, and the Bt cotton which is currently being
promoted by the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Administration.
While
these developments are highly recognized worldwide, the USDA emphasized the
need for the government to closely look at plant biotechnology marketing issues
to keep the firm support of local farmers as well as consumers for GE products.
“Support
for GE products remains strong among local corn farmers, hog and poultry
raisers, feed millers, food processors, academe, and other end users. Although
supportive, large domestic food and agribusiness companies that are already
using GE products prefer to remain silent on the issue,” the USDA said.
“On
the other hand, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including environmental
groups, organic agriculture advocates, and other civil society groups represent
vocal opposition to agricultural biotechnology. The overwhelming majority of
Filipinos remain indifferent,” it added.
In
animal biotechnology, meanwhile, the USDA projected there would be no
Philippine genome-edited animals (clones) introduced in the market within the
next five years due to being stuck in the conventional techniques.
“The
Philippines uses conventional techniques to improve livestock, including
artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in-vitro embryo production, and
ovum-pick,” the agency said.
“There
is currently no legislation or regulations in place covering the development,
use, import, or disposal of livestock clones, GE animals, or products derived
from these animals or their offspring in the Philippines,” it added.
The
USDA recommended that for the Philippines to start progress in animal
biotechnology, the country must invest on a variety of studies and later on
work on market acceptance to increase revenues.
Earlier
this month, House deputy speaker Sharon Garin called on the government for the
passage of House Bill 7926, or the Modern Biotechnology Act of 2018.
The bill seeks the creation of a Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines (BioAP), which shall serve as the policy-making body on biotechnology in the country.
The bill seeks the creation of a Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines (BioAP), which shall serve as the policy-making body on biotechnology in the country.
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New
USA Rice Research Focuses on Infants and Toddlers
By Deborah Willenborg
WASHINGTON, DC -- Last week at the
2018 Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) here, USA Rice presented
findings on the Association of Rice Consumption with Nutrient Intake in
Infants/Toddlers. The research study,
funded by The Rice Foundation and rice research boards in Arkansas, Louisiana,
California, and Mississippi, was conducted and presented by Victor Fulgoni,
Ph.D., a scientist with the Campaign for Essential Nutrients, an industry group
providing education about the role daily vitamin and mineral supplements can
play in providing nutritional support.
Fulgoni studied National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to determine how the nutrient intake
of infants and toddlers who consume rice differs from non-rice consumers. NHANES is a program of studies designed to
assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United
States, and is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations.
The research indicates that infants
and toddlers (0-23 months old) who reported rice consumption had greater intake
of key nutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine,
zinc, and vitamins A, B6, and C. Rice
consumers also had lower intake of added sugar, cholesterol, sodium, and
saturated fats.
Overall, consumption of rice from
age 0-23 months is linked to better nutrient intake.
"The takeaways from this
research are significant as they demonstrate the link between rice consumption
and overall better nutrient intake in infants and toddlers," said USA Rice
Domestic Promotion Manager Cameron Jacobs.
"The fact that this research was accepted by the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics to be a poster session at FNCE is noteworthy because it
allowed that audience of dietitians, nutrition scientists, and policy makers to
be exposed to our research. Their
enthusiastic acceptance of the content bodes well for the future publication of
the research manuscript."
The research will now move into
manuscript development for publication.
During this process, further analyses on food sources of nutrients in
rice consumers and non-consumers along with additional analyses will take place
to provide even more understanding of the contribution of rice foods to the
diets of infants/toddlers.
No need to import rice: Bulog
News Desk
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
| Wed, October 31, 2018 | 01:31 pm
State-owned logistics company
Bulog president director Budi Waseso (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
The State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) says its rice stock of 2.4 million tons is adequate to
meet domestic demand. Therefore, the company assures that the country does not
need to import the commodity.
“It indicates
that we have strong stock,” Bulog president director Budi Waseso said in a
statement on Wednesday.
He said Bulog
was committed to implementing its main duties – purchasing rice from farmers,
carrying out market operations to stabilize prices and maintaining strong rice
stocks to assure the availability of the commodity.
The agency is
required to maintain between 1 and 1.5 million tons of rice that
should be ready to be distributed to Bulog’s warehouses across the country at
any time.
“As a price
stabilizing institution, Bulog continuously carries out market intervention.
With it, the commodity should always be available and of good quality,” Budi
said, adding that since January, Bulog had released 384,328 tons rice for
market operations, an average of 2,500 per day.
Bulog will
continue to monitor rice prices, said Budi.
Bulog purchases
3,000 tons of unhusked rice from farmers every day, he said, adding that with
the absorption of farmers’ rice, Bulog could also stock up until the end of
2018.(bbn)
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