Swedish limit on inorganic
arsenic "has not lowered levels in rice"
Analysis was
carried out on a range of products by the Swedish National Food Agency.
This article is
powered by EU
Food Law
·
27
Dec 2018
·
NEWS
·
A follow-up analysis of heavy metal contents in rice and
porridge by the Swedish National Food Agency shows that the new limit for
inorganic arsenic in rice and rice products does not seem to have led to lower
levels in rye and whole-grain rice.
Afghanistan’s rice
yield goes up by 4pc this year
Dec 27, 2018 - 13:18
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MoAIL)
says the production of rice has increased by four percent this year despite a
drought in the country.
A joint survey, conducted by the
Central Statistical Bureau and Agriculture Ministry using the geographic
information system (GIS), revealed the hike in rice yield.
Based on the survey, this year
the total area under rice cultivation was 117,540 hectares of land, which
produced 352,000 metric tons of rice. A seven percent increase was recorded in
the land under cultivation and a four percent surge in production.
A statement from the ministry
said the country’s annual demand for rice was 574,000 tons, while the domestic
yield amounted to 352,000 tons --leaving a shortfall of 222,000 tons.
According to the statistics,
total rice imports in the first three quarters of the year stood at 180,000
tons, worth $92 million.
Rice is cultivated in 81 district
of 17 province, included Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar,
Balkh, Herat, Badghis, Badakhshan, Khost, Paktia, Daikundi, Uruzgan, Kabul,
Bamyan and Sar-i-Pul.
Kunduz is the top rice-producing
province, with 48,229 hectares of farms yielding 3.36 tons of per hectare.
The ministry has spent 2.9
billion afghanis on implementing 235 projects and 1.2 million have farmers
benefited from irrigation water during the ongoing year.
Stock for P27/kg NFA rice still good for 8 months — DA
December 26, 2018 | 7:42 pm
“IN PREPARATION for the lean months, the NFA
has established a stock inventory of 750,000-metric tons of imported rice,” Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said. — PHILSTAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F.
Piñol said stock for the P27 per kilogram (kg) of rice from the National Food
Authority (NFA) will last for eight months.
“In preparation for the lean
months, the NFA has established a stock inventory of 750,000-metric tons of
imported rice which will ensure an 8-month supply of government subsidized rice
at 10% market participation,” Mr. Piñol said on a Facebook post.
“The 750,000-metric tons of
imported rice will be sold at P27 per kilo while the NFA will seek guidance on
the selling price of the locally procured paddy rice since this will be bought
at P17 per kilo plus P3.70 per kilo incentive,” he added.
The Department of Agriculture
(DA) chief said that by the end of 2018, the country will have a 134-day buffer
stock of rice in the warehouses of NFA and private traders, and household
storage facilities — the highest number of buffer stock in recent years.
Mr. Piñol also said that NFA has
given assurance of enough government-subsidized rice by next year with its P7
billion budget to be used for procurement from local farmers.
Last week, Mr. Piñol, citing
chair of the Senate committee on food and agriculture Cynthia A. Villar,
announced that the country will still have available government-subsidized rice
by next year even with the implementation of rice tariffication.
Under tariffication, with the
approved bill just awaiting the President’s signature, the NFA will lose its licensing
powers and will solely focus on buffer stocking of rice bought from domestic
farmers.
Under the new law, private
traders will be the only allowed importers of rice.
The selling price of local rice
then is expected to be at P35 to P36.
“I pointed out that unless
government subsidizes the NFA rice, it cannot be sold at P27 per kilo because
it would mean a loss of P9 per kilo for the government grains agency. However,
I clarified that the NFA could still sell rice at the current price if
government will subsidize it,” Mr. Piñol said.
“Senator Villar, however, issued
the assurance that even with the passage of the rice tariffication, Government
will still ensure the availability of government subsidized rice in the
market,” he added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
Afraid of potential EU
tariffs, exporters and millers buy less rice
Local rice exporter and millers will buy significantly less paddy
rice this year as they await the European Union’s final decision on whether or
not to impose tariffs on Cambodian rice, industry insiders say. Chan Sokheang,
chairman and CEO of Signatures of Asia, told Khmer Times that his company will
purchase between 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of organic and fragrant paddy rice
from Cambodian farmers from now until April, a sharp decrease from previous
years, when it bought between 40,000 to 45,000 over the same months. He said
his firm is not the only one reluctant to buy as per usual, with many exporters
and rice millers fearing the effect on the market of an EU decision to activate
the safeguard clause that would enable bloc members to tax Cambodia’s and
Myanmar’s rice. “We don’t know what to do with regards to exporting rice to the
EU,” he said. “We don’t know whether they will impose the tariffs on our rice
or not. We don’t know how to prepare for this scenario,” Mr Sokheang said.
“Sales thus far are normal, but we are not purchasing paddy as before. Last
year, we bought a lot of paddy rice for processing, as we rely mainly on the EU
and the Chinese market, but now we don’t know what’s happening with the European
market, so we are hesitant about buying too much. “On top of that, some
commercial banks have cut lending to rice exporters by about 60 percent,” he
said, adding that, “All rice millers and rice exporters are facing the same
issues, so it affects the whole production and value chain.” In March, the
European Commission launched an investigation to see if imports of semi-milled
and milled Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar resulted in serious
difficulties to EU producers of similar or competing products. On December 4, a
vote on whether to impose tariffs on Cambodian and Burmese rice was held, with
EU members failing to come to a consensus. As a result, the European Commission
was task with issuing a final decision on the subject by early next month. The
EU is looking at imposing tariffs over the next three years: 175 euros ($199.5)
per ton during the first year, 150 euros ($171) in the second year, and 125
euros ($142.5) in the last.
CRF secretary-general Moul Sarith
told Khmer Times that Cambodian exports of milled rice will experience a
significant drop in 2018 due to this issue. “From October to December, rice
exports, particularly to the EU, will drop because exporters are waiting on the
EC’s decision. “Our exporters are reluctant to buy rice until they hear the
decision,” Mr Sarith said.
“We ask the EC to consider their
decision carefully, and call on our members to continue exporting and
strengthening the quality of our paddy rice,” he added. Kann Kunthy, vice
president and managing director of Amru Rice, posted on his Facebook profile
that rice exports in 2018 will amount to just 560,000 tonnes, a 12 percent drop
compared to last year. He blamed the decrease on the potential EU’s tariffs as
well as Vietnam’s decision to put more stringent customs measures in place for
transshipments that go through Vietnamese ports. From January to November this
year, China bought 137,866 tonnes of Cambodian rice, making it the biggest
buyer. It was followed by France (73,669 tonnes), Malaysia (37,289 tonnes), Gabon
(25,335 tonnes), and the Netherlands (23,643 tonnes), according to data from
the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
Evolving global demand &
geopolitical relations driving new avenues for Indian rice exporters: Report
Evolving global demand & geopolitical relations driving new
avenues for Indian rice exporters: Report
New Delhi, Dec 27 (KNN) Despite, rice being exempted from GST, exporters are unable to
access the credit they need to finance their workings, said Drip Capital report
on ‘Rice Commodity Insights’-outlining the evolving dynamics in the Indian rice
export market in 2018.
It said “While GST has had
minimal impact on rice exports (courtesy rice being exempt from GST), exporters
are still facing credit issues, potentially affecting their future growth.”
The report said “Evolving global
demand and geopolitical relations driving new avenues and growth for Indian
rice exporters.”
It said that the fresh markets
are also opening for Indian rice exporters, with China being touted as a major
opportunity.
However, Drip Capital’s research
shows exporters will start seeing benefits from Chinese trade only in the
long-term.
According to the findings of
report, India exported 26.3% of the world’s total rice exports, valued at
US$5.5 billion, in 2017 alone.
The country also has a massive
competitive advantage in the international rice trade, it added.
The report further pointed that
the current decline in rice exports over the last few months is part of a
regular annual cycle.
It said “Overall export volumes
of rice have also improved compared to last year- by end of Q3 2017, there had
been 58,736 shipments, valued at US$5.8 billion; the calendar year 2017 saw
78,300 rice export shipments overall, valued at US$7.39 billion.”
In comparison, by the end of
September (Q3) 2018, 62,112 shipments had been logged, with a value of US$6.875
billion, report added.
Thus, there seems to be little
need for panic, as demand and export volumes should continue rising into 2019.
Further, report highlighted that
the Punjab is top rice exporter, contributing over 30% of country’s exports.
Exports to Bangladesh have seen stellar
growth, despite a slump in April-September this year; overall shipments to
Bangladesh in the first three quarters have grown $91.7 million year-on-year,
said report.
Based on heavy increases in
demand, the research report also suggests six other potential market
opportunities for Indian exporters – Qatar, Yemen, Israel, the Philippines,
Kenya, and Ukraine.
Rice is the most widely consumed
staple food in the world and the third-most-produced agriculture commodity in
the world (over 740 million tonnes as of 2016).
One of the rice exporter from
Mumbai said “India, as an agricultural country, is getting more educated [sic],
as farmers are starting to grow products specifically aimed to meet consumption
patterns and tastes of different markets.”
He said that the Chinese rice
tastes are very different given their preference for sticky rice, but with the
potential for more trade in the future, there is a possibility farmers will
start growing those varieties to meet demand.
Hence, China could pan out as a
viable export market, but only in the long term, he added.
Co-founder and Co-CEO, Drip
Capital, Pushkar Mukewar, added, “As per Drip Capital data, the top 100 rice
exporters from India have exported shipments worth over $183 million so far in
this quarter (as of November 2018).”
As the annual seasonal demand
from the Middle East picks up, and more non-basmati rice gets shipped to China,
Indian rice exporters can expect business to pick up in the coming months, he
added.
However, he said that the
exporters are unlikely to see the due benefits from this increased opportunity
if they are unable to access the credit they need to finance their workings.
Drip Capital is a US-based trade
finance company, leveraging technology to provide collateral-free post-shipment
finance to SME exporters with instant approvals and minimal documentation.
Rice industry aims to
boost China sales
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Japanese
public and private sectors are redoubling their efforts to sell Japan-made rice
to China. Teaming up with Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture-based rice wholesaler Shinmei
Co. and other parties, the agriculture ministry is promoting a campaign to
encourage Japanese companies operating in China to present Japanese rice to
clients and employees ahead of Chinese New Year next February. The rice brands
covered by the campaign include Koshihikari from Toyama and Kyoto prefectures
and Nanatsuboshi from Hokkaido. For the campaign, a Japanese-style package
featuring the color red to celebrate the turn of the lunar year is available.
On Dec. 1, Zensho Holdings Co. launched 12 types of gyudon beef-on-rice bowl
using Japanese rice at 216 Sukiya chain restaurants in Shanghai. The special
gyudon menu, which is available for about a month and costs 50 percent more
than gyudon using Chinese rice, is attracting local customers, the company
said. House Foods Group Inc. is holding sales events that allow Chinese
consumers to try just-cooked Japanese rice and curry using its Java Curry roux
at supermarkets and department stores. Japanese rice producers as well as the
ministry hope to expand rice exports amid a decline in consumption at home.
Scientists fight ‘biopiracy’ with genetic
data
By Chris Arsenault / Thomson Reuters Foundation,
TORONTO
From the rubber in car tires, to cosmetics and medicines, genetic
material contained in the Amazon region has contributed to discoveries worth
billions of US dollars.
However, communities living there have rarely benefited from the
genetic wealth extracted from their land — a form of theft that legal experts
call “biopiracy.”
Forest communities often remain impoverished, which can drive them
to find other ways to make money, such as illegal logging, said Dominic
Waughray, who heads the Amazon Bank of Codes project for the World Economic
Forum.
“At the heart of the conservation debate is: How do you find a way
for a person in the forest to get more cash in their hand right now from
preserving that habitat rather than cutting it down?” Waughray said.
One solution involves compelling investors to pay royalties to
local communities when using genetic sequences from organisms extracted from
the forest, he said. The Amazon Bank of Codes would facilitate those payments.
Yet those genetic sequences first need to be mapped and stored
online, which is what the project backers aim to do as early as 2020.
The Amazon is home to 10 percent of all known species on Earth,
the WWF says.
That makes the region vulnerable to biopiracy, which is the
unlawful appropriation or commercial use of biological materials native to a
particular country without providing fair financial compensation to its people
or government.
“The history of biopiracy runs deep in the Amazon basin,” Waughray
said, citing early colonialists taking rubber trees from the region to create
lucrative plantations in Malaysia.
In a more recent case, Brazilian prosecutors launched an
investigation into a California-based company earlier this year, accusing it of
using genetic components of the tropical acai berry in its nutritional
supplements without paying for them.
In India, attempts to patent products such as basmati rice and
properties of turmeric for medical use have sparked protests.
“The phenomenon has given rise to a huge outcry to have a more
ethical approach to the use of biological resources,” said Ikechi Mgbeoji, a
professor of intellectual property law at Toronto’s York University.
Internationally, the Nagoya Protocol, which came into force in
2014, governs how companies and researchers should equitably share benefits
from genetic material, UN Convention on Biological Diversity official Valerie
Normand said.
The agreement was “implemented precisely because developing
countries, which are largely hot spots for biodiversity, were concerned about
the misappropriation of their genetic resources,” Normand said.
The Amazon Bank of Codes would use blockchain — decentralized
digital technology allowing users to track the origins and transfers of
information — to catalogue specific pieces of genetic material.
If a company or researcher wanted to use a piece of genetic code
for a new medicine, study or product, they could access the bank and see
exactly where in the Amazon it came from, Waughray said.
Governments, indigenous groups, non-governmental organizations and
others are discussing how the fees paid to use a genetic sequence would be
distributed, Waughray said.
However, critics worry the project could actually make it easier
for companies to steal genetic material.
Rice Commission to hold grower meetings
·
By Jake Abbott /
jabbott@appealdemocrat.com
·
Dec 26, 2018
The
California Rice Commission organizes annual grower meetings to update rice
farmers on the biggest issues facing the industry each year. Next year’s
meetings will be on the same day in January in Yuba City and Colusa.
“Farming
today involves so much more than what’s happening in the field. This meeting is
a great way for rice industry members to find out the latest on key issues
affecting our industry,” said Jim Morris, communications manager for the
California Rice Commission. “We will have experts covering water, international
trade, the Farm Bill and activities at the State Capitol.”
The
meetings will be on Jan. 24. The first meeting will be at the Colusa Casino
Resort Community Center in Colusa from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The second meeting will
be at Hillcrest Plaza Room (201 Julie Drive, Yuba City) between 1-4 p.m.
Speakers
will include Tyson Redpath of The Russel Group and Louie Brown of Kahn, Soares
and Conway, who will provide updates from Washington, D.C. and the State
Capitol.
There
will also be presentations from David Guy, president of the Northern California
Water Association, on water issues and Sarah Moran, vice president
international for USA Rice, on international promotions opportunities.
Doors
will open 30 minutes before each meeting begins.
S.Korea buys 120,889 T of rice for March-May arrival
DECEMBER 26, 2018 / 12:14 PM /
rice for arrival between March and May 2019 via tenders that closed on Friday,
state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp said on its website. (www.at.or.kr)
Details for the purchased products are as follows:
TONNES(M/T) GRAIN TYPE PRICE($/T) ORIGIN/SUPPLIER
20,000 Brown Medium 872.00 U.S./Philasun Co. Ltd
20,000 Brown Medium 853.20 CHINA/Posco Daewoo Corp
15,000 Brown Medium 874.00 CHINA/Sing Song Co. Ltd
11,111 Brown Medium 829.00 U.S./Philasun Co. Ltd
10,000 Milled Medium 975.00 U.S./The Ground Korea
10,000 Milled Medium 962.69 U.S./Sing Song Co. Ltd
10,000 Milled Medium 962.00 U.S./Philasun Co. Ltd
8,889 Brown Medium 829.00 U.S./Philasun Co. Ltd
8,889 Brown long 812.00 U.S./Philasun Co. Ltd
7,000 Milled Medium 963.09 U.S./Sing Song Co. Ltd
(Reporting by Wonil Lee; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Emmanuel Piñol: No rice shortage; supply good for 8 months 
Agriculture Secretary and National Food Authority Council
chairman Emmanuel Piñol said the P27 per kilo rice being sold by NFA will last
until September 2019 following the arrival of imported rice during the last
quarter of the year.
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star) - December 27, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Local
consumers are assured that there will be no shortage of cheap rice at the onset
of the New Year after the government maintained that supply of subsidized rice
is good for the next eight months.
Agriculture Secretary and
National Food Authority Council chairman Emmanuel Piñol said the P27 per kilo
rice being sold by NFA will last until September 2019 following the arrival of
imported rice during the last quarter of the year.
“There will be no repeat of this
year’s mistake when the NFA rice stocks sold at P27 in the market were depleted
because of delayed importation resulting in speculation, which sent rice prices
soaring,” he said.
Instructed by President Duterte
to flood the market and in preparation for lean months and any possible
calamity, NFA has established a stock inventory of 750,000 metric tons of
imported rice to ensure an eight-month supply at 10 percent market
participation.
This after several batches of
bidding happened starting October coupled with the procurement of local palay
at a higher price.
“The approval by the NFA Council
of the importation before the end of the year has assured that the market will
not see a repeat of what happened earlier this year,” Piñol said.
By the end of the year, the
Philippines will have a 134-day buffer stock of rice in the warehouses of both
the NFA and private traders, and in household storage facilities.
The country currently produces 93
percent of the national rice requirement and this is expected to increase to up
to 95 percent once the tariffication law is enacted.
At the start of 2018, prices of
commercial rice started to rise, reaching a high of P60 per kilo in the middle
of the year after NFA itself announced that its stocks had been wiped out.
NFA rice, which is bought by at
least 10 percent of the Filipino population, serves as stabilizer to avoid
jacking up of prices of commercial rice in the market.
The conflict resulted from the
disagreement of then NFA Council head Leoncio Evasco and the NFA management as
to the timing and mode of procurement.
“By the time the NFA imported
rice arrived, prices in the market had already reached the P60 per kilo level,”
Piñol said.
With the return of the NFA to the
DA, the NFA Council implemented suggested retail price, which set a cap on the
prices of rice.
Duterte also issued an executive
order easing the process for importation, which allowed the faster entry of
imported rice, thereby stabilizing price and supply in the markets.
Rice is no longer
considered to be simply a staple food. It has become more like a luxury
ingredient.
Dec.
26 05:30 am JST
Toyozo Nishijima, owner of
Suzunobu, a rice shop in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, that sells about 60 kinds of rice
from around the country. He says customers often shop as if they were buying
sake or wine, buying small quantities of different brands, according to the
store.
Dong
Thap’s rice output reaches over 3.3 million tonnes
Rice
production in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap in 2018 rose 120,000
tonnes to 3.32 million tonnes. (Photo: VNA)Dong Thap (VNA) – Despite a reduction of more than 17,000 hectares in cultivating land, rice production in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap in 2018 rose 120,000 tonnes compared to the previous year to 3.32 million tonnes.
High-quality rice varieties like OM 4900 and OM 6976 were grown in a combined 520,379 hectares this year, 469 hectares of which followed VietGAP standards. Total rice production is valued at 15.37 trillion VND (661.3 million USD), an increase of 562 billion VND (24.1 million USD) against 2017.
Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Cong attributed the good yield to advanced technology application in rice cultivation which helps reduce input costs and improve production efficiency.
Under the province’s agricultural restructuring project, organic rice farming is piloted in an area of 800 hectares while rice value chain has been set up to help increase local peasants’ profit by up to 4 million VND (172 USD) per hectare per crop.
Particularly, some 90 companies signed contracts with the province to buy more than 293,000 tonnes of rice.
Cong said that in 2019, the province will continue paying attention to improving rice quality and enhancing the use of machines in rice farming. Also, it will work to switch from agricultural production to agricultural economy.-VNA
Chinese to
invest in Kingdom’s rice
Cheng
Sokhorng | Publication date 24 December 2018 | 11:38 ICT
Share
Employees use a forklift to stack pallets of rice at a storage and
processing plant on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in 2015. Heng
Chivoan
China’s Henan Yuguang
International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co Ltd (HYIETC) has expressed
interest in investing in the Kingdom’s rice facilities – a move welcomed by the
government and the rice industry.
During a meeting with Minister of
Commerce Pan Sorasak on Friday, HYIETC’s board director unveiled a plan to
build one million tonne rice storage facilities. If realised, the project will
have the capacity to dry 100,000 tonnes of paddy rice per day, boosting
Cambodia’s rice exports to 500,000 tonnes per year.
The ministry welcomed the
project, saying it will boost the Kingdom’s milled rice exports and reduce the
outflow of paddy rice to neighbouring countries, while the Cambodia Rice
Federation (CRF) claimed the new facilities will be essential for the Kingdom’s
rice industry.
The minister encouraged HYIETC to
work with state-owned Green Trade Company to further research the plan and
gauge construction costs.
Demand not met
CRF vice-president Hun Lak said
current rice facilities are insufficient to keep pace with Cambodia’s
increasing production, adding that the sector can currently produce up to nine
million tonnes of paddy rice per year.
“It is a very good opportunity
for investors as our rice facilities still do not meet demand . . . Rice facilities
should have a clear mechanism for serving farmers and rice millers in order to
receive mutual benefit.”
Hun Lak said rice facilities
should provide better options for small rice millers, such as lower rental
costs for storage or drying machines.
With government support, via the
state-run Rural Development Bank (RDB), the rice industry has received $15
million to construct facilities in Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces.
Each facility will have a storage capacity of 500,000 tonnes of paddy rice and
will be able to dry 1,500 tonnes of rice daily.
Last year, the RDB awarded a $15
million low-interest loan to Thanakea Srov (Kampuchea) Plc, the operator of the
Cambodian Rice Bank, to expand its rice storage warehouse in Battambang
province and develop the country’s first privately-owned centralised storage
facility.
The facility opened on July 3 and
has a 200,000 tonne storage capacity for wet paddy rice and processes 3,000
tonnes of paddy rice daily.
In the middle of this year, the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries launched a rice storage
facility funded by the Korean government in Kampong Cham province’s Batheay
district. Costing $2.8 million, the facility can dry 80 tonnes of rice per day
and store 600 tonnes.
December 26, 2018
Afraid of potential EU tariffs,
exporters and millers buy less rice
Sok
Chan / Khmer Times Share:
Local rice exporter and millers will buy significantly less
paddy rice this year as they await the European Union’s final decision on
whether or not to impose tariffs on Cambodian rice, industry insiders say.
Chan Sokheang, chairman and CEO of Signatures of Asia, told Khmer Times that his company
will purchase between 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of organic and fragrant paddy
rice from Cambodian farmers from now until April, a sharp decrease from
previous years, when it bought between 40,000 to 45,000 over the same months.
He said his firm is not the only one reluctant to buy as per
usual, with many exporters and rice millers fearing the effect on the market of
an EU decision to activate the safeguard clause that would enable bloc members
to tax Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s rice.
“We don’t know what to do with regards to exporting rice to the
EU,” he said. “We don’t know whether they will impose the tariffs on our rice
or not. We don’t know how to prepare for this scenario,” Mr Sokheang said.
“Sales thus far are normal, but we are not purchasing paddy as
before. Last year, we bought a lot of paddy rice for processing, as we rely
mainly on the EU and the Chinese market, but now we don’t know what’s happening
with the European market, so we are hesitant about buying too much.
“On top of that, some commercial banks have cut lending to rice
exporters by about 60 percent,” he said, adding that, “All rice millers and
rice exporters are facing the same issues, so it affects the whole production
and value chain.”
In March, the European Commission launched an investigation to
see if imports of semi-milled and milled Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar
resulted in serious difficulties to EU producers of similar or competing
products.
On December 4, a vote on whether to impose tariffs on Cambodian
and Burmese rice was held, with EU members failing to come to a consensus. As a
result, the European Commission was task with issuing a final decision on the
subject by early next month.
The EU is looking at imposing tariffs over the next three years:
175 euros ($199.5) per ton during the first year, 150 euros ($171) in the
second year, and 125 euros ($142.5) in the last.
CRF secretary-general Moul Sarith told Khmer Times that Cambodian
exports of milled rice will experience a significant drop in 2018 due to this
issue.
“From October to December, rice exports, particularly to the EU,
will drop because exporters are waiting on the EC’s decision.
“Our exporters are reluctant to buy rice until they hear the
decision,” Mr Sarith said.
“We ask the EC to consider their decision carefully, and call on
our members to continue exporting and strengthening the quality of our paddy
rice,” he added.
Kann Kunthy, vice president and managing director of Amru Rice,
posted on his Facebook profile that rice exports in 2018 will amount to just
560,000 tonnes, a 12 percent drop compared to last year.
He blamed the decrease on the potential EU’s tariffs as well as
Vietnam’s decision to put more stringent customs measures in place for
transshipments that go through Vietnamese ports.
From January to November this year, China bought 137,866 tonnes
of Cambodian rice, making it the biggest buyer. It was followed by France
(73,669 tonnes), Malaysia (37,289 tonnes), Gabon (25,335 tonnes), and the
Netherlands (23,643 tonnes), according to data from the Secretariat of One
Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
We Can Grow Our
Own Rice, Says Minister
While most people were rushing to do last minute Christmas shopping, Mr Allan, Dr Tejano, staff, and reporters were at the rice demonstration farm.
Amb Tejano operated the rice harvester with Mr Allan standing observed, to the delight of those present. Both men then assisted in filling up the bags with the harvested rice.
Dr Tejano said the rice harvest from the demonstration farm as more than what was expected and was confident the project will become successful.
After the brief rice harvest demonstration, both Mr Allan and Dr Tejano declared that PNG can grow its own rice and even export to overseas markets.
‘We can grow rice, we are proving that here at PAU. We will eventually move into large scale commercial rice production,” said Mr Allan.
“It’s now proven you have your own locally grown rice,” said Dr Tejano.
Both men thanked the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill for initially discussing the rice project with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and following up with the signing of an agreement.
Most recent signing of another agreement for commercial rice farming involving investors was done during the APEC Leader’s Summit between Mr Allan and his Philippines counterpart Emanuel Pinol.Mr Allan thanked all the stakeholders and partners in both government and private sector and the PAU for their cooperation in making the rice demo farm a success. He said 25 hectares of land has been planted with rice and the objective was to conduct hands on training for village farmers as well as encourage rice seedlings for distribution.He said PNG is seriously looking at growing its own rice for domestic consumption and eventually the surplus will be exported to countries like the Philippines. He said the aim was to improve food security and rice was becoming a staple food for many householdes throughout the country.Mr Allan also announced that Cabinet has approved K8 million to be used in funding the current rice demo project and to boost its expansion to other provinces.
India rice rates hit more than three-month high, Chinese rules
weigh on Vietnam
Posted by Edward Rupert on December 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Rice export prices in India rose to their highest in more than
three months as a key producing region hiked procurement rates for domestic
paddy. Top exporter India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted at
$375-$382 per tonne this week, the highest since Sept. 7.
The central state of Chhattisgarh, a leading rice producer, raised
the minimum paddy buying price to 2,500 rupees per 100 kg, from 1,750 rupees
earlier this week.
“Importers are not ready to pay a higher price. Exports are likely
to slow down in coming months,” said an exporter based at Kakinada, in the
southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Prices of Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice declined for the fifth
straight week to $385 a tonne as activity remained muted, traders said.
“Prices fell further because we are concerned that China’s move to
impose stricter conditions on Vietnamese rice will have a long-term impact,” a
trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
“It’s not clear if China is buying more from Cambodia and Myanmar
to compensate for the possible declining shipments from Vietnam.”
Another trader said supplies from Vietnam will increase from late
next month when the winter-spring harvest begins.
In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at
$390-$391 per tonne, free on board Bangkok, versus $385-$393 a week ago, as the
market is expected to remain quiet until well after the New Year period.
“This is a reasonable level as we’re nearing the end of the year.
There is not much overseas activity and we’re also in the harvesting season,” a
Bangkok-based trader said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh, which emerged as a major importer of rice in
2017 due to stock depletion following floods, has stepped up efforts to procure
more rice locally after output of the staple grain improved, a food ministry
official said.
“The response from farmers is very good and the procurement drive
will be continued,” the official said.
The country’s production for 2018/19 is expected to recover to 34.7
million tonnes, up 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to estimates from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture attaché in Bangladesh.
The South Asian country has procured more than 1.3 million tonnes
of rice locally so far in the current season to build state reserves.
NEWS
Nigeria Will Stop Importing Rice In 2019 –
Osinbajo
Published
on
By
FG Boosts
Local Food Production Through Anchor Borrowers Programme
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has declared that by next year, Nigeria will stop importing
rice as there will be enough local production to cater for the need of
Nigerians.
Osinbajo made the submission on
Sunday at the palace of Musa Dogonkadai, the Seriki of the Hausa community
in Agege, Lagos as confirmed by Mr. Laolu Akande, his senior special assistant on
media and publicity.
The Vice President added that the federal government, through
its anchor borrowers programme, had made soft loans available to over 760,000
farmers to produce rice, millet and sorghum.
This Osinbajo said, is in line with the federal government’s
efforts in improving the welfare of all Nigerians.
“Look at what is happening in
the north now because of the Anchor Borrowers Programme. We gave many of the
farmers, over 760,000 farmers, soft loans. So, now they are producing rice,
producing millet, producing sorghum,” Osinbajo said.
“We are not importing rice now.
We are bringing rice from Kebbi, from Sokoto, from all over the country. By
next year, we will not import rice. All our rice will be produced here. When
you do that farmers will be rich. Farmers in other countries they are rich
people. They are not poor. I’ve been to a country where farmers own airplanes.
Why? Because their leaders are not thieves. Their leaders help them so that
they can farm; they can expand their farms and they can earn money.
“I went to speak to them in
Kebbi. Two of the farmers came to me and said, since this our government (came
into power), they have been doing very well. One of them said, “now I have my
money, I can pay for my hajj.” Another one even told me that he has married a
second wife and I said no, no. I said don’t do that because one wife is enough.
He said since he is getting some money be can marry a second wife
“But the truth of the matter is
that there is enough money for us in this country. I believe that we must give
President Muhammadu Buhari enough votes to lead this country for four more
years. If he leads this country for four more years, you will see the
difference.”
https://www.naijanews.com/2018/12/25/nigeria-will-stop-importing-rice-in-2019-osinbajo/
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