Nearly
six in 10 Pakistanis normally eat roti at lunchtime: survey
ISLAMABAD: According to a Gilani
Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, nearly
6 in 10 Pakistanis report that they normally eat roti at lunch time
exclusively.
According to a press release, a
nationally representative sample of men and women from across the four
provinces was asked, “What is eaten in your household for lunch as a matter of
routine?” In response to this question, 58 percent said roti, 14 percent said
rice, 22 percent said both roti and rice, while 6 percent did not know or did
not wish to respond.
The study was released by Gilani
Research Foundation and carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, the
Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The recent survey was carried out
among a sample of 1,142 men and women in urban areas of all four provinces of
the country, during 24–28 January, 2019. The error margin is estimated to be
approximately ± 2-3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
Should You Eat Dal Rice? Here's Why
Research Now Backs This Protein Mix That Aids Weight Loss And Gut Health
Dal
rice is a dish with a complete amino acid profie
HIGHLIGHTS
1.
Dal rice is a fibre rich meal
that can help in weight loss
2.
Dal rice is rich in protein
3.
Spices used in its preparation
can aid digestion
In numerous
of our previous articles, we have talked about how dal rice or a combination of
both in the form of khichdi, is one of the healthiest meals that exists today.
The combination of cereals and legumes for preparation of dal rice or khichdi
is in proportions that complement the amino acid profile of each other.
Nutritionist Pooja Malhotra advocates dal rice as a great healthy meal. People
who are on a weight loss diet, people with diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure... everyone
can have dal rice.
What's more
is that this humble dish has stood the test of time, and even got validation
from The Lancet. A study done previously mentioned how it is going to be
difficult to serve 3 billion people on Earth because of food crisis. However,
it said that resorting to staple Indian diet of dal rice can save us from
starvation.
So, all
those people who have been believing the myth that rice causes diabetes or dal
rice can make them gain weight, it's time you start trusting facts more
than the myths.
Here
are some health benefits of dal rice by Pooja Malhotra (as shared on her social
media)
1. While dal
and rice individually lack a few essential amino acids, the combination of the
two make for a complete amino acid profile. Pooja informs that rice contains
cysteine and methionine, both of which are lacking in lentils. Similarly,
lentils contain lysine, the amino acid which grains lack.
2. The joy
of eating dal rice is best with a lip-smacking tadka of ghee on it. Not only will ghee make the dish more
delicious, it will also help you absorb all nutrients from dal rice and from
spices like turmeric and cumin. However, you need to watch
for the amount of ghee you use. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar says that
you should add as much ghee to your food that enhances (and not kills) the
original taste of it.
Dal rice or
khichdi is a dish rich in fibre and antioxidants
Photo Credit: iStock
Photo Credit: iStock
3. The
beauty of dal rice and khichdi is that this simple dish can be prepared in
unique ways. To make it more wholesome and nutritious, you can add a variety of
lentils and grains (in your khichdi). And for the tadka, numerous spices can be
added. Hing and jeera, for instance, are commonly added to dal
and even khichdi. The two ingredients impart an earthy flavour to the dish and
are excellent for digestion at the same time.
4. Turmeric
is another essential ingredient in both dal rice and khichdi. This golden spice
has numerous health benefits. Read here to know all about them.
5. Dal rice
is high in fibre and antioxidants. You are likely to get Vitamin A, D, E and K all at once by eating this
very easy-to-prepare staple Indian dish. It is one dish which can aid digestion, improve your metabolism, reduce
inflammation in the body, promote weight loss and build immunity.
(Pooja
Malhotra is a nutritionist based in Delhi)
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https://doctor.ndtv.com/living-healthy/should-you-eat-rice-heres-why-research-now-backs-this-protein-mix-that-aids-weight-loss-and-gut-heal-1993575
PARC gauge 12
hybrid rice varieties in Pakistan
Hina Baloch February 15, 2019 PARC gauge 12 hybrid rice varieties in Pakistan2019-02-15T08:57:45+00:00
Pakistan Agriculture Council (PARC) setting new gauge for testing
of rice varieties in Pakistan. New hybrid rice varieties will be available to
farmers for cultivation of next Kharif crop season starting in July.Twelve hybrid varieties are chosen after reviewing twenty-six
proposals and can be imported from china. Research on these varieties was
carried out at the rice research laboratory of National Agriculture Research Centre.
Parc chairman explained the
committee about the forthcoming projects on rice under the Prime Minister’s ‘National
Agriculture Emergency Programme’.
Member Plant Sciences Division of
PARC, Dr Abdul Ghafoor emphasized the significance of quality seed for
productivity and profitability of farmers. Farmers can keep seeds
of pollinated rice variety, and the hybrid has to be changed after every crop.
Bangladesh's Crop
Scientists Find an Ally to Better Cope with Climate Change
14 Feb 2019
,
Climate change is expected to
take a strong toll in Bangladesh. Above, climate-resilient varieties are
planted for testing at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture in
Mymensingh (Photo: L. Gil/IAEA)
Mymensingh,
Bangladesh — Bangladesh, whose populous and
low-level delta region is expected to be severely affected by rising sea
levels, is using nuclear technology to adapt to this threat. Scientists are
looking for ways to protect the country’s agriculture against flood and
salinity, as well as drought and changing temperatures. With support from the
IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
they are developing climate change resilient crop varieties that will help feed
the country’s growing population.
“We are
in constant fight. We fight salinity in our soil, extreme temperatures, drought
and floods,” said Mirza Mofazzal Islam, chief scientific officer and head of
the Plant Breeding Division at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture
(BINA). “But, for all these problems, we have a solution — at least as far as
crops are concerned.”
Seeing
that crops can thrive here gives us hope, especially because we are expecting
rising sea levels and higher salinity in soil to be one of the biggest threats
to our agriculture. Mirza Mofazzal Islam, Chief Scientific Officer &
Head, Plant Breeding Division, BINA
Scientists
at BINA have been developing radiation-induced plant varieties that can resist
diverse climatic conditions. In the last decades, these plant varieties have
helped farmers increase rice production three-fold, ensuring food security and
giving this predominantly agricultural country an important economic push.
The more
than 60 plant varieties the scientists can offer to farmers today have been
developed through a process called plant mutation breeding (see Plant mutation breeding). These varieties of
rice, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, mustard, sesame, soybean, jute, tomato and
wheat have now become popular across Bangladesh, accounting for about 8% of its
crops, helping farmers produce a steady supply of these crops and improving
livelihoods.
“Irradiation
can be used to induce mutations in plants to produce varieties that display
improved product quality, have higher yields and yield stability, greater
resilience to climate change and tolerance to environmental stresses,” said
Ljupcho Jankuloski, plant breeder and geneticist at the Joint FAO/IAEA Division
of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. “The rice mutant varieties
developed at BINA have helped Bangladesh increase its rice production in the
last few decades.”
Salt, water, air
The
Joint FAO/IAEA Division, through the IAEA technical cooperation programme, has
been training scientists at BINA since the 1970s, establishing expertise and
setting the stage for the development of improved varieties with
climate-resilient traits. With the threat of putting 27 million people at risk
by 2050, climate change is expected to take a strong toll in this part of the
world. Sitting on low land and relying heavily on agriculture, the country
is especially vulnerable to climate change.
“It is
especially now in the face of increasingly extreme weather conditions and the
need for more yields that nuclear science and technology in agriculture has
become indispensable,” said Syahril Syahril, project manager at the IAEA
responsible for technical cooperation with Bangladesh.
One new
mutant rice variety, for example, needs less time to grow while producing more
rice, in comparison to local conventional varieties. Another, resistant to
salinity, is being deployed near the Bengal Bay, a one-million hectare spread
of saline soil. “Before, this area could grow no crops,” Mofazzal Islam said.
“Seeing that crops can thrive here gives us hope, especially because we are
expecting rising sea levels and higher salinity in soil to be one of the
biggest threats to our agriculture.”
Scientists
have also developed rice varieties that can do better in flood-prone areas. “In
general, crops can survive even when completely submerged, but only for three
to four days,” Mirza Mofazzal Islam added. “But with modern breeding, the new
rice varieties can live underwater for more than three weeks.” At the same
time, a new rice variety developed by New Rice for Africa, or NERICA, in Uganda can thrive under drought
conditions.
“We have
gone from worrying about hunger to focusing on nutrition,” Mirza Mofazzal Islam
said. “From food security to nutritional security. This means we are not only
interested in ensuring access to food, but to healthy, nutritious food. Our aim
is to be self-sufficient by 2021 with the help of these new varieties.”
THE SCIENCE
Plant
mutation breeding
Applied
since the 1930s to accelerate the process of developing and selecting new
valuable agronomic traits, mutation breeding uses a plant’s own genetic
make-up, mimicking the natural process of spontaneous mutation. The mutation
process generates random genetic variations, resulting in mutant plants with
new and useful traits.
The
process consists on exposing plant seeds or plant explants to radiation, such
as gamma rays or x-rays, and then planting the seeds or cultivating the plant
explants in a sterile medium, which generates a plantlet. The individual plants
are then screened (or phenotyped) for their traits. Individual plants with
improved agronomic traits are selected and multiplied. Molecular
marker-assisted breeding, often referred to as marker-assisted selection, is
used to accelerate the selection of plants with desired traits, carried by
genes of interest.
Plant
mutation breeding does not involve gene modification, but rather uses a plant’s
own genetic resources and mimics the natural process of spontaneous mutation,
the motor of evolution. By using radiation, scientists can significantly
shorten the time it takes to breed new and improved plant varieties.
Arkansas Sate turns up the heat on
rice crops
·
·
Feb
11, 2019 Updated Feb 11, 2019Top of Form
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A group of
Arkansas State University educators and students are studying effects of heat
on rice crops in a three-university project aimed at discovering plants that
can withstand global warming.
Scientists at the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln and Kansas State University are also looking at creating a
heat-resilient variety of wheat. The five-year, $6 million project is funded by
the National Science Foundation through its Established Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research program.
Argelia Lorence, director of
ASU's phenomics facility and a Vaughn Endowed Professorship of metabolic
engineering, is heading the ASU study with Wency Larazo, a rice agronomist.
She said climate data has shown
that during the past 40 years, the average night time temperature in areas that
produce rice have increased by 5 degrees. That's indicative, she said, of
continued rising temperatures that are putting stress on important crops.
"This isn't a political
issue," she said to The Jonesboro Sun. "It's a
food issue."
Lorence and seven ASU students
will construct six greenhouse tents at a newly opened University of Arkansas
rice research center at Harrisburg in March. The team will plant 400 various
breeds of rice in each of the tents and raise temperatures in three of the
tents to see how resilient they are. Each plant is photographed daily to see how
the increased climate may affect it.
The plants will also be taken
back to the Arkansas Biosciences Institute on the ASU campus in Jonesboro where
they will be further tested for size, color, the amount of chlorophyll they
contain and their leaf temperatures.
When Lorence and her team find
the most resilient brands of rice, they will present their findings to rice
breeders who can then attempt to crossbreed brands for a more heat-resilient
form of rice seed.
Lorence, who has been at ASU for
14 years, was raised in Mexico City, Mexico. She earned her doctorate in
biotechnology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Cuernavaca,
Mexico.
She worked on projects in Mexico
until a change in the country's government took science funding decisions from
the National Council on Science and Technology and gave it to politicians
instead.
"Instead of the (council)
deciding what was best, they let the politicians decide," she said.
"It was about who you knew. I knew no politicians."
She decided to move to the United
States and began working at labs at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.
While at Virginia Tech, she was
part of a team that published the discovery of a new biosynthetic pathway for
vitamin C in plants.
She sent 25 applicants to
research institutes across the country and was offered three jobs, including
one at ASU.
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Breaking News
The Arkansas Biosciences
Institute attracted Lorence, and she accepted the position. In addition to the
rice study, she is also leading a team in understanding how vitamin C delays
aging and contributes to plant tolerance to stresses.
Lorence's rice-studying team is
an international group of students. Along with Larazo, who is from the
Philippines, the team is made up of doctoral students Kharla Mendez and Cherryl
Quinones, both of the Philippines; master's student Shannon Cunningham of the
Bahamas; post-doctorate student Karina Medina-Jimenez of Mexico; and
undergraduate student Lilian Aniemena of Nigeria.
She is also working with Arlene
Adviento-Borbe, a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Delta
Water Management Unit.
A team at the University of
Nebraska at Lincoln that is conducting similar greenhouse tests with wheat is
led by Harkamal Walia, an associate professor of agronomy and horticulture.
"We are excited about this
project," Lorence said. "The amount of land for crops is decreasing,
but there are more people. We need to eat. The only way to do this is to make
the crops more productive. I love coming to work," she said. "This is
my passion. We're working as hard as we can."
———
Information from: The Jonesboro
Sun, http://www.jonesborosun.com
DA’s Piñol warns against heavy dependence on rice imports
February 14, 2019 | 10:03 pm
A worker looks up at the batch of imported Vietnamese rice being
unloaded at a port in Manila on August 18, 2014.
-- REUTERS
AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F.
Piñol warned against heavy reliance on imported rice amid plans to liberalize
imports and doubled down on his earlier support for rice self-sufficiency.
“It is as certain that 10 years
from now, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and India will no
longer be able to export the same volume of rice that they ship out today. They
have to feed their growing population as well,” Mr. Piñol said in a social
media post on Thursday.
“The point I am raising here,
which I have raised in many occasions in the past, is: Yes, let us allow
imported rice to come in to fill up the supply shortfall. But the policy to
just rely on imported rice and ask our rice farmers to diversify to other crops
is a death trap. This is a shortsighted view which will kill the rice industry
and drive away farmers from the rice fields,” Mr. Piñol added.
Mr. Piñol said El Niño can hit
any country without warning, and every country needs to be prepared.
“What if Vietnam, Thailand and
Cambodia suffer from harvest losses because of climatic disruptions including
El Niño?” Mr. Piñol said.
“Even if we have the money to
buy, there will be no available rice supply on the world market and assuming
the availability of supply, can we outbid China?” Mr. Piñol added.
He called proposals to rely on
imported rice as a “Short-sighted view which will kill the rice industry… The
next generation of Filipinos will surely curse us for this misjudgment prompted
by a myopic view which focuses on fleeting and changing economic numbers,” Mr.
Piñol said.
University of Asia and the
Pacific (UA&P) Center for Food and Agribusiness Executive Director Rolando
T. Dy said that even with the removal of quantitative restrictions (QR) in the
country in line with the implementation of the upcoming rice tariffication law,
farmers will continue to plant rice.
“Most rice farmers will continue
to plant rice under with income support. Some will eventually diversify,” Mr.
Dy said in a mobile message.
“Rice farmers comprise 30% of the
total rural folk. We have coconut, fisherfolk, upland farmers. They too need
poverty alleviation attention. Coconut farmers and fisherfolk have been
neglected for decades,” Mr. Dy added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio
In the Philippines, where 'rice is
life,' a move to allow more imports signals change
Jaquelin Marsan feeds her son rice outside their home in a Manilla
neighborhood called Del Pan Binondo, a slum of scavenged wood and corrugated
sheet metal homes. (Paul Benzi Florendo / For The Times)
The Philippines has long touted the idea of self-sufficiency in
rice, an essential staple here at the heart of every breakfast, lunch and
dinner.
But rice growers like Efraen Serrano know that dream is falling
further out of reach. The country’s geography doesn’t provide enough suitable
land for the crop as the population swells. Urbanization and the pull to work
in cities has reduced the number of farmers.
“More farms are being converted to factories and homes,” said
Serrano, who farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly urbanizing
province north of Manila. “Nobody wants to buy land and use it to farm.”
The 66-year-old says he’s now resigned to the fact that less and
less of the rice Filipinos eat will be grown by farmers like him.
“Imports are a necessity,” he said.
In the clearest sign yet that he is right, the country is on the
verge of ending a two-decades-old cap on private-sector imports of the grain.
The move marks a radical change for a nation whose obsession with rice is
ordinarily matched by its protection of domestic producers.
“Importation is always sensitive because rice is the No. 1
agricultural sector,” said Ramon Clarete, a professor of economics at the
University of the Philippines Diliman.
But resistance to buying more of it abroad has lifted over the
last several months following a bout of severe inflation that sparked long lines in the streets for
government-subsidized rice.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of rice in the Philippines.
The country of 105 million is the world’s sixth-largest consumer
of rice on a per capita basis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Rice is life in the Philippines,” said Nicholas Mapa, a senior
economist in Manila for ING. “Almost everything comes from rice. Even our
delicacies are based on the grain.”
When politicians want to curry favor in poor neighborhoods, they
come bearing sacks of rice. Gas stations offer
free bags of it with any purchases of about $10. And one of the nation’s most
popular restaurant chains, Mang Inasal, is famed for its “unlimited rice” — a menu
option better known as “unli” (Filipinos have a penchant for shortening words.
McDonald’s, for example, is simply called McDo).
One of the most legendary varieties of rice, IR8, was developed at
the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Dubbed “magic
rice,” the high-yield strain is credited with fending off famine across
Southeast Asia and India starting in the 1960s.
Jacquelin Marsan and her family of eight children eat dinner
outside their home in a Manilla in a neighborhood called Del Pan Binondo. (Paul
Benzi Florendo / For The Times)
“Even if you have no ulam,” said 36-year-old Jaquelin
Marsan, using the Tagalog word for a dish of meat or vegetable, “you have to
have rice. It’s a priority.”
She lives with her husband and their eight children — aged 7
months to 19 years — in a ramshackle Manila slum of scavenged wood and
corrugated sheet metal homes called Del Pan Binondo.
Two-fifths of their meager income is spent on rice. During the
surge in rice prices last year, she had to cut back the family’s consumption by
a quarter.
“The children complained,” Marsan said. “So my husband and I ate
less.”
Sacks of rice being carried to a truck for delivery. (Paul Benzi
Florendo / For The Times)
Sacks of rice for sale in Manila. (Paul Benzi Florendo / For The
Times)
Economists blamed the crisis on new taxes, costlier fuel and a
failure on the government’s part to restock rice reserves in time.
As criticism mounted about
his administration’s handling of the shortage, President Rodrigo Duterte
deflected blame and trained his scorn on other players such as rice traders.
“I now ask all the rice hoarders, cartels and their
protectors,” the president said with a menacing
glare during his State of the Nation address last year. “Stop
messing with the people.”
The crisis harked back to a more severe shortage in 2008 in
which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo deployed armed soldiers to watch over
rice distribution and ordered fast-food chains to reduce their rice portions by
half.
Prices today have since tapered. But fearing a repeat, the
Philippine Senate passed a bill in November lifting the import cap and
providing funds to cushion the blow on the shrinking domestic rice farming
industry. Unless Duterte vetoes it, which is not expected, the bill is set to
become law Friday.
Economic reformers and the country’s central bank have long
championed lifting the import quota, which was supposed to protect farmers but
instead led to rampant smuggling and left the country vulnerable to price
manipulation by domestic rice traders.
Under World Trade Organization rules, the Philippines was
obligated to eventually eliminate the cap — which stands at about 888,000 tons,
or about 6% of the nation’s annual consumption. But the country had been
winning waivers to keep it by arguing for more time to reach self-sufficiency.
Resistance to the change came from vested interests in the
agricultural sector and parts of the powerful National Food Authority, an
agency charged with importing and maintaining the country’s rice reserves for
the poor — a mandate that put officials there in an ideal position to accept kickbacks.
The agency did not respond to an interview request. A spokesman
for the president’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Even with the cap still in place, the Philippines is the world’s
second largest importer of rice after China, giving it the power to move global
grain markets.
Now major rice-producing nations such as Vietnam and Thailand
stand to benefit immediately from the lifting of the quota, even with the
Philippines’ 35% tariff on Southeast Asian rice imports.
The move to increase imports could also bolster Duterte’s
PDP-Laban political party heading into midterm election in May. Rice prices disproportionately
affect the poorest Filipinos, a crucial voting bloc. Nearly half their food
expenditures go toward the staple, according to the Philippine
Statistics Authority.
“You can raise the price of gasoline, water and electricity, but
not rice,” said Jorge Tigno, a professor of political science at the University
of the Philippines Diliman. “It’s the only commodity politicians are not
allowed to sacrifice.”
The crisis last year tested the political power of the nation’s 3
million farmers. They lost.
“The president’s political strength will not be based on rice
farmers, but more on workers and the urban poor,” said Clarete, the economics
professor.
Back in Bulacan, Serrano said his crop has dwindled since a
shopping center started siphoning water away from his land a few years ago. And
even when rice prices soared last year, he saw none of the extra profits
returned to him.
“There’s so many middlemen who make the money,” said Serrano, who
earns about $3,800 a year.
Unless one of his grandchildren chooses to takeover his rice
fields, Serrano may be the last generation in his family to farm. His four
children have all left Bulacan to work in factories closer to the city.
“I have no one to take over,” he said.
Efraen Serrano farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly
urbanizing province north of Manila. (David Pierson / Los Angeles Times)
Focus on Nigeria
02.14.2019
By Chris Lyddon
Nigeria imports large quantities of
grain to feed its big population. Wheat is important to the diet of many
Nigerians, but the country is dependent on imports to produce the wheat flour,
pasta and other products consumers require.
The International Grains Council
(IGC) puts Nigeria’s total grains production in 2018-19 at 19.1 million tonnes,
up from 18.9 million the year before. The figure includes an unchanged 11
million tonnes of corn and 6.5 million of sorghum, up from the previous year’s
6.3-million-tonne crop.
Total imports of grains in Nigeria
(which comprises wheat and coarse grains) are forecast at 5.6 million tonnes in
2018-19, up from 5.5 million the year before. Most of the country’s imports are
wheat, with imports forecast unchanged at 5.2 million tonnes. Nigeria is also
forecast to import 110,000 tonnes of durum wheat, up from 100,000 in 2017-18.
The IGC puts Nigeria’s rice crop in 2018 unchanged at 3.8 million tonnes, with
rice imports also at 3 million tonnes, up from 2.4 million the previous year.
In an update issued on Dec. 18, the
USDA’s attaché in Nigeria forecast the country’s 2018-19 wheat imports at 5.4
million tonnes, up from a figure of 5.2 million the year before, attributing
the increase to “millers’ greater access to foreign exchange.”
“Food import bans are the
cornerstone of the Nigerian government’s agricultural development and food
security agenda,” the update noted. “Nigeria imposes a 10% tariff and a 60%
levy (totaling 70%) on imported rice (arriving by sea), when it authorizes the
import.
The attaché also said there is a
ban on rice imports through land borders, but that it is difficult to control.
The attaché’s forecast for Nigerian rice imports in 2018-19 is 2.5 million
tonnes, up from 2 million in 2017-18.
The official ban on rice imports
through land borders remains but is reportedly difficult to control. Post
forecasts Nigeria’s rice imports in MY 2018-19 at 2.5 million tonnes, up 25%
compared with the MY 2017-18 figure of 2 million tonnes.
In an annual report on the Nigerian
grains sector, published in April, the USDA said Nigeria’s animal feed sector
has attracted local and foreign investment over the previous five years and is
expected to remain the country’s leading grain user.
“Analysts project Nigeria’s poultry
meat consumption will increase 10 times by 2040, assuming moderate feed costs,
while domestic poultry production is expected to increase by 8 billion eggs and
100 million kilograms of poultry meat per annum,” the report said.
The report also points out that
Nigeria’s annual consumption of fish is estimated at 2 million tonnes, with
more than 20% coming from land-based aquaculture.
The attaché did not expect grain
production in Nigeria to expand significantly.
“Nigeria grain producers are
predominantly subsistence farmers with very limited financial resources and
access to inputs and storage facilities,” the report said. “Moreover,
increasing production costs for farming inputs such as fertilizers, labor and
agro-chemicals have continued to limit the size and scope of the farms.
“Nigeria continues to employ trade
restrictive measures, including high tariffs, forex control, levies and import
bans, and other measures to protect its domestic agricultural production,
despite the country’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Levies
imposed on essential grains (rice, corn and wheat), as well as restrictive
import permits limit grain imports.”
The country also has problems with
conflict affecting grain supplies.
“The Boko Haram (BH) insurgencies
and the pastoralist-farmers conflicts in the northeast and north-central
regions of Nigeria have continued to escalate,” the attaché said.
“Consequently, population displacement, trade restrictions, limited market
access, and an influx of refugees, especially in the northeast region, have
continued to cause severe acute food insecurity in the areas.”
Over 2 million people in the region
are now depending on food assistance, the report said.
“Although FAO and other
humanitarian agents are supporting the farmer-dominated population, mainly with
fertilizer and seeds for vegetable and rice production, fears of attacks have
continued to constrain access to farms in the regions,” the attaché said.
Flour milling
In a report on supply chain
management in the food and beverage industry in Nigeria, Dr. M.E. Njoku of the
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, and Kalu Alexanda of Ebonyi
State University, Abakaliki, point out that “only four companies (Honeywell
Flour Mills Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc
and Lafarage Dangote Flour Mills Plc) control 50% of the entire flour milling
market. The 22 mills in the country are owned by 11 companies. They recommend
that “Production firms, most especially the flour millers, should integrate
their supply chain management operations efficiently in such a way that it
enhances their sales and profitability.”
The attaché puts Nigeria’s domestic
wheat production at around 60,000 tonnes.
“Locally produced wheat is not
economically suitable for milling wheat flour for producing bread, spaghetti,
etc., consumed in Nigeria’s urban areas,” the report said. “Traditionally,
Nigeria’s wheat is mostly utilized for specialized local meals consumed mostly
in northern Nigeria and the neighboring Sahel countries.”
The highly urbanized nature of
Nigeria’s population, with more than half the country’s residents living in
urban areas, contributes to demand for wheat products.
“Bread, semolina, pasta and other
wheat products remain major staples in Nigeria,” the report said. “Generally,
consumers’ incomes have remained low and wheat products such as bread, doughs,
noodles and spaghetti, are also expected to remain readily available and
affordable in the more populated urban areas.”
The report also explains that
compared to major domestic staples such as “garri” (a local cassava product),
millet, yam, plantain and others, bread and pasta are more convenient and less
expensive staples in Nigeria.”
Rice consumption
Consumers prefer imported rice from
Thailand and India to the Nigerian product, according to the attaché.
“Nigeria’s increasing rice
consumption is mostly driven by population growth, increasing urbanization as
well as substitution away from traditional coarse grains,” the report said.
“The consumption of traditional cereals, mainly sorghum and millet, has dropped
significantly, and their share in cereals used as food also decreased, while
the share of rice consumed has grown over the last four decades.”
A report published by Food Business
Africa on Jan. 9 bemoaned the amount spent by Nigeria on imports of grains in
2018.
“The country spent $1.1 billion to
import 5.5 million tonnes of wheat in the period as production remained static
at 60,000 tonnes, which constituted 99% of wheat consumed,” Food Business
Africa said. “Rice imports amounted to 3 million tonnes, equivalent to 44% of
rice consumed in the country valued at $1.2 billion, while domestic production
rose to 4.78 million tonnes in 2018.”
The 400,000 tonnes of corn imported
cost $146.8 million, Food Business Africa said.
The report also said there were 21
large integrated rice mills running, with a total capacity of 1.22 million
tonnes yearly. Owners of rice mills include Dangote, Stallion Group, Olam,
Milan, Golden Penny Rice and Wicklow Group.
“Nigeria seems to have become a
massive market for wheat, serving some flour milling companies such as Flour
Mills of Nigeria, Honeywell Flour Mills and Dangote Flour Mills as they prefer
to import the grain where they can obtain higher returns,” the report said.
According to a summary published by
the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, an annual report by the attaché in
Nigeria on biotechnology told readers that “recent campaigns/activities of some
anti-biotech groups are beginning to negate earlier positive perceptions of
Nigerian consumers about genetically engineered (GE) products.”
“GE promoters in Nigeria will need
to engage Nigerians through sustained promotional outreaches espousing the
benefits of biotechnology to negate anti-GE campaigns,” the FAS said. “Bt
Cowpea, Bt Cotton, Africa Bio-fortified Sorghum and Nitrogen Use Efficient,
Water Use Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) Rice are already at different
stages of field and confined field trials in Nigeria.”
ASIA
RICE-PRICES LANGUISH AS TOP EXPORTERS HARVEST, DEMAND STALLS
2/14/2019
* New supplies from winter crop hit Indian prices
* Vietnamese harvest likely to peak at month-end
* Philippines buys about 20,000 tonnes from Vietnam
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri and Swati Verma
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Rice export prices fell in top Asian hubs this
week on slow demand and rising supply following a quiet start to the year,
while limited interest from the Philippines failed to spur a Vietnamese market
reeling from Chinese import restrictions.
In top exporter India, 5 percent broken parboiled variety
<RI-INBKN5-P1> eased to $380-$385 per tonne from $383-$388 last week as
supply from the winter crop poured in.
Demand from Asian and African buyers was subdued, an exporter
based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh said.
India's rice exports between April and December dropped 10.2
percent from a year earlier to 8.46 million tonnes, a government body said last
week.
In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1>
prices fell to $382-$398 a tonne, free on board Bangkok, from $390–$402
previously.
"The market has been really quiet and new supply of rice is
coming out now," a Bangkok-based trader said.
A weaker domestic currency was adding further pressure to prices,
traders said.
"More supply will lower prices further but exporters are
still looking for buyers because it has really been quiet since the start of
the year," another trader said.
Thailand is the world's second biggest rice exporter followed by
Vietnam, where rates for benchmark 5 percent broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1>
fell to $340 a tonne from $350 two weeks ago before the markets closed for the
Lunar New Year holiday.
"Trade has resumed and we have seen more buyers from the
Philippines placing orders," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said,
adding that private buyers from rice-scarce Philippines purchased about 20,000
tonnes this week.
However, China has been imposing stricter conditions for rice
imports from Vietnam, traders said.
China will likely cut rice shipments from Vietnam to
500,000-600,000 tonnes this year from around 1.5-2 million tonnes a year in the
past, another trader said.
"We think the government will likely buy rice this year for
stockpiling, giving a support for domestic prices."
Export prices, however, will be under pressure as the major
winter-spring harvest peaks by month-end, traders said.
Elsewhere, Bangladesh, which saw imports surge in 2017 after
floods wreaked havoc on local crops, will procure more rice locally as output
has revived, a food ministry official from the country said.
"We are getting good response in our local procurement drive
and will continue it," the official said.
Bangladesh has procured nearly 1.4 million tonnes of rice locally
so far in the current season to build state reserves. (Reporting by Rajendra
Jadhav in Mumbai, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Ruma Paul
in Dhaka; Editing by Arpan Varghese and David Evans)
PHL
braces for shift to open rice market
February 15, 2019
Prices
of assorted varieties of rice are seen at the San Andres public market in
Manila in this file photo.
Bernadette D. Nicolas &
Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
A DAY before a bill that will
open up the country’s rice market lapses into law, Malacañang said the proposed
Rice Tariffication Act is still on the desk of President Duterte.
The measure, which seeks to
convert the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs is set to lapse
into law on February 15 if it is not acted upon by the President.
Presidential Spokesman and Chief
Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a radio interview that he
also got word from Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on Wednesday that
the bill was “for signing.”
As of press time, the Malacañang
Records Office and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office also told the
BusinessMirror that they had yet to receive a signed rice tariffication bill.
However, the Office of the Deputy
Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs told the BusinessMirror that it has
already recommended the bill for the President’s approval on February 12 and
that it has forwarded the bill to the Executive Secretary’s office.
Rice, considered the staple food
of Filipinos, is the remaining crop that is protected by import caps allowed by
the World Trade Organization given its importance to the Philippines. Manila
converted most of the QRs and other non-tariff measures into tariffs after the
country joined the WTO in 1995.
Malacañang earlier said that the
President will not veto the bill even if the President acknowledged that it
will be detrimental to farmers.
Bracing for
change
Ahead of the possible enactment
of the rice tariffication bill, the National Food Authority (NFA) on Thursday
pronounced that it is already prepared for the necessary adjustments that must
be made under the measure that will liberalize the industry.
NFA OIC-Administrator Tomas
Escarez said the food agency has a marching order from Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel F. Piñol to ready the necessary facilities and manpower to fulfill its
presumed role under the rice tariffication bill, which is currently awaiting
the signature of President Duterte to become a law.
“We are already ready for our
buffer-stocking role [under the rice tariffication bill]. We have already
instructed all NFA warehouses nationwide to be open daily for seven days a
week,” Escarez told reporters in an interview.
“We have also prepared our
post-harvest facilities to assist farmers and formed teams for procurement. We
have an instruction from the DA [Department of Agriculture] to prepare [for
rice tariffication],” Escarez added.
He said the future of the NFA’s
role to sell rice in the market remains unclear until the implementing rules
and regulations (IRR) of the rice tariffication bill are finalized. The rice
tariffication bill has no clear language or provision on what will happen to
the NFA’s market power.
The rice tariffication bill,
which industry stakeholders described instead as a “rice liberalization”
measure, will convert the country’s two-decade long quantitative restriction
into tariffs and will also remove from NFA’s regulatory and trading powers.
“It is still possible for us to
continue to sell rice if it would be included in the IRR. It is really up to
the IRR,” Escarez said.
Nonetheless, Escarez said the NFA
would abide by the provisions of the rice tariffication bill once it is
enacted, either through Duterte’s signature or it lapses into law on February
15.
Provisions
A day after the rice
tariffication bill was transmitted to Malacañang on January 15, rice industry
stakeholders and even a top official of the agriculture department urged
President Duterte to veto the measure, particularly because of the provisions
that seek to deregulate the NFA.
This means that the measure will
strip the NFA of its power to control the volume of rice imports entering the
Philippine market, as well as of its capacity to license importers.
Under the proposed law,
interested importers will only need to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary
import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry as proof of the rice they
will bring in is safe for consumption.
They will also have to pay a
tariff of 35 percent if the imports are coming from a member-state of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while 50 percent if they are from
outside the region.
The proposed law will also create
the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), also called the rice fund,
which will consist of an initial P10 billion and all duties collected from the
importation of rice. As a safety net, the rice fund will be used to finance
programs —whether through direct support or research—for farmers.
Under the bill, 50 percent of the
RCEF is to be used for the purchase of rice farm equipment, such as tillers,
tractors, seeders, threshers, rice planters, harvesters, among others, for
purposes of improving farm mechanization.
Also, 30 percent of the rice fund
will be allocated for the development, propagation and promotion of inbred
seeds to rice farmers. The bill sets aside 10 percent for credit with minimal
interest to farmers and cooperatives.
The remaining 10 percent is for
research and education on rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques,
seed production, farm mechanization, as well as technology transfer through
farm schools nationwide.
Asking farmers
to abandon planting rice a ‘death trap’
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:26 AM February 15, 2019
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol
Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Thursday rejected as a “death trap” Budget
Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s opinion that local farmers should abandon planting
rice and instead focus on high-value crops.
In a post on
his Facebook page, Piñol said Diokno’s position was flawed because, among other
things, rice-importing countries focused on securing their rice requirements
first.
“It is as
certain as the sun will rise tomorrow that 10 years from now, Vietnam, Thailand,
Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and India will no longer be able to export the same
volume of rice that they ship out today. They have to feed their growing
population as well,” he said.
“The policy
to just rely on imported rice and ask our rice farmers to diversify to other
crops is a death trap. It is a shortsighted view which will kill the rice
industry and drive away farmers from the rice fields,” he added.
Agriculture’s
potential
Diokno,
along with other economists, have said that the shift to planting “remunerative
crops” will unleash the agriculture sector’s potential since these crops, when
exported, can be more profitable than rice.
High-value
crops include abaca, cacao, cassava, coffee, oil palm and rubber.
While Piñol
is not against importing rice, he said that imports should only be allowed to
fill the supply shortfall, not the country’s entire rice needs.
He said that
with the worsening effects of climate change, rice-exporting countries,
especially Vietnam and Thailand, where the Philippines source most of its
imported rice, may suffer from harvest losses and cut their export volume to
the detriment of nations that rely heavily on imported rice.
“Even if we
have the money to buy, there would be no available rice supply in the world
market. And assuming that there would be available supply, could we outbid
China in buying all the remaining rice stocks?” Piñol said.
The Duterte
administration originally intended to achieve self-sufficiency in rice within
the first two years of the President’s six-year term.
But Duterte
already admitted that the country could not achieve that in the near term, and
would need to import rice.
The
Department of Agriculture is projecting a record harvest of 20 million metric
tons of rice this year after posting 19.28 million MT in 2017.
Last year,
the country’s rice production reached 19.06 million MT despite a series of
typhoons that hit many of the country’s rice granaries.
Diokno has
been pushing for the liberalization of certain agricultural commodities like
sugar and rice to make the industry more competitive.
In an
interview on Wednesday, he said that since the agriculture sector had “zero
contribution” to the country’s economic growth, there was a need to put
pressure on the sector to improve its productivity.
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1086058/asking-farmers-to-abandon-planting-rice-a-death-trap#ixzz5fbUs8ta4
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1086058/asking-farmers-to-abandon-planting-rice-a-death-trap
File photo
New law will
restrict traditional ways: farmers
national February 15, 2019 01:00
By THE NATION
Concern over ban on uncertified rice varieties
and conflicts.
FARMERS are getting increasingly
worried about the Rice Bill, which drafters claim would improve their lives,
but is now causing huge controversy.
Researchers and senior government
officials have now joined farmers’ calls for the National Legislative Assembly
(NLA) to address their concerns and avoid triggering future problems.
Two major controversial points of
the Rice Bill, proposed by 25 NLA members, are the ban on uncertified paddy
seeds and the requirement that rice mills issue paddy-purchase papers clearly
specifying rice varieties, weight, quality and moisture content.
Offenders face a fine of up to
Bt100,000 and/or one year in jail, under the draft law.
While the controversial legal
clauses aim to boost rice quality and farmer incomes, they are viewed by
critics as threatening farmers’ way of life and hurting their ties to rice
mills. Farmers worry that the bill will force them to buy commercial varieties
of paddy rather than developing their own varieties.
“We are worried that the draft law
will practically bar farmers from selecting their own rice varieties or force
them into seeking certification.
“That’ll be too much for farmers,”
|said Daoruang Puechpol, the chair of a community agricultural enterprise.
Even though his enterprise is not
likely to be impacted, Daoruang said he opposes certain sections of the bill.
“Farmers should not be forced to
change their way of life,” he said.
Ubon Yuwa, coordinator for the
Network of Northeast Alternative Agriculture, said the Rice Bill would place
power in the hands of the Rice Department as the certifying agency.
“In fact, the government should
create opportunities for farmers to manage their own affairs, such as improving
their own rice varieties,” he said.
Separately, Assoc Professor Nipon
Poapong-sakorn, a researcher at the Thailand Development Research Institute,
said that farmers have in the past successfully developed several high-quality
rice varieties and have a history of preparing their paddy seeds.
“But their development activities
are different from the methods used by private companies. If the current Rice
Bill becomes law, farmers will become discouraged. They will be too worried
about legal punishments to continue developing varieties,” he said.
Change will increase costs
Rice mills should also not be treated
as suspected criminals, said Nipon, pointing to a section of the Bill that
would allow officials to check paddy-purchase records at the mills without
prior notice.
Critics have said the
purchase-paper requirement, which is likely to raise operating costs for the
mills, could prompt them to offer farmers lower prices for crops and so incite
future conflicts between mills and farmers.
Jintana Chaiyawonnagal, vice
minister attached to the prime minister, said many farmers were also worried
that it would become tougher to get paddy seeds for their fields.
“Concerns are growing among
rice-seed distributors as well,” she said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity,
a rice farmer in Prachin Buri province complained that he and other farmers
should have been informed of the drafting of the bill and asked to comment
prior to the NLA introducing it.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister
Grisada Boonrach said he had expressed opposition to any restriction on farmers
developing rice varieties.
“We have already informed the NLA
of this in writing,” he said.
Grisada is hopeful the NLA will
heed his ministry’s concerns.
“But we will also make sure that
government representatives talk to the NLA’s ad-hoc committee on the Rice Bill
before it goes to the NLA for second and third readings,” he said.
BOX
Rice Bill controversy
Background
The National Legislative Assembly
is set to hold the second and third readings of the Rice Bill, sparking grave
concerns among farmers and academics.
Controversial points
- The draft bans the distribution
of uncertified paddy seeds.
- Offenders face up to Bt100,000 in
fine and/or one year in jail.
Drafters’ stated intention
To boost quality, yield and
farmers’ income.
Concerns
- It will discourage the
development of paddy based on local wisdom and affect farmers’ way of
life.
- The draft law requires rice mills
to issue purchase papers, specifying the variety of rice, weight, quality and
moisture content. Random checks will be conducted and offenders will face up to
Bt100,000 in fines and/or a year in jail.
Drafters’ stated intention
-To prevent rice mills from buying
rice at unfair prices.
Concerns
- Requirement for documentation can
mean extra cost and trigger conflicts between mills and farmers.
Source:The Nation
Thai
Farmers Raise Concerns Over Junta Rice Bill That Would Ban Non-Certified Paddy
Seeds
The draft law requires rice mills
to issue purchase papers, specifying the variety of rice, weight, quality and
moisture content. Random checks will be conducted and offenders will face up to
Bt100,000 in fines and/or a year in jail.
Rice farmers in Thailand are getting increasingly worried about
the Rice Bill, which drafters claim would improve their lives, but is now
causing huge controversy.
Researchers and senior government officials have now joined
farmers’ calls for Thailand’s Junta the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to
address their concerns and avoid triggering future problems.
Two major controversial points of the Rice Bill, proposed by 25
NLA members, are the ban on non-certified paddy seeds and the requirement that rice
mills issue paddy-purchase papers clearly specifying rice varieties, weight,
quality and moisture content.
Offenders face a fine of up to Bt100,000 and or one year in
jail, under the draft law.
While the controversial legal clauses aim to boost rice quality
and farmer incomes, they are viewed by critics as threatening farmers’ way of
life and hurting their ties to rice mills. Farmers worry that the bill will
force them to buy commercial varieties of paddy rather than
developing their own varieties.
“We are worried that the draft law will practically bar farmers
from selecting their own rice varieties or force them into seeking
certification.
“That’ll be too much for farmers,” said Daoruang Puechpol, the
chair of a community agricultural enterprise.
Even though his enterprise is not likely to be impacted,
Daoruang said he opposes certain sections of the bill.
“Farmers should not be forced to change their way of life,” he
said.
Ubon Yuwa, coordinator for the Network of Northeast Alternative
Agriculture, said the Rice Bill would place power in the hands of the Rice
Department as the certifying agency.
“In fact, the government should create opportunities for farmers
to manage their own affairs, such as improving their own rice varieties,” he
said.
Separately, Assoc Professor Nipon Poapong-sakorn, a researcher
at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said that farmers have in the
past successfully developed several high-quality rice varieties and have a
history of preparing their paddy seeds.
“But their development activities are different from the methods
used by private companies. If the current Rice Bill becomes law, farmers will
become discouraged. They will be too worried about legal punishments to
continue developing varieties,” he said.
Change will Increase Costs
Rice mills should also not be treated as suspected criminals,
said Nipon, pointing to a section of the Bill that would allow officials to
check paddy-purchase records at the mills without prior notice.
Critics have said the purchase-paper requirement, which is
likely to raise operating costs for the mills, could prompt them to offer
farmers lower prices for crops and so incite future conflicts between mills and
farmers.
Jintana Chaiyawonnagal, vice minister attached to the prime
minister, said many farmers were also worried that it would become tougher to
get paddy seeds for their fields.
“Concerns are growing among rice-seed distributors as well,” she
said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a rice farmer in Prachin
Buri province complained that he and other farmers should have been informed of
the drafting of the bill and asked to comment prior to the NLA introducing it.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Grisada Boonrach said he had
expressed opposition to any restriction on farmers developing rice varieties.
“We have already informed the NLA of this in writing,” he said.
Grisada is hopeful the NLA will heed his ministry’s concerns.
“But we will also make sure that government representatives talk
to the NLA’s ad-hoc committee on the Rice Bill before it goes to the NLA for
second and third readings,” he said.
By The Nation
Waste-To-Treasure: Porous Carbon
Sorbents From Sustainable Rice Husk Synthesized By A Direct Carbon Dioxide
(CO2) Activation
CO2-looping in Biomass Thermochemical Process
Thermochemical processes such as
pyrolysis and gasification have been recognized as the most promising fuel
processing technique that can utilize biomass for energy recovery. Pyrolysis of
biomass can produce biochar, bio-oil, and syngas. Moreover, the by-product
of biochar can be fabricated into various carbon materials (e.g., adsorbents,
catalysts) for sustainable applications. It was found that CO2, acting as an
agent, can participate in each stage (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification) through
the integrated thermochemical process, mainly including biomass pyrolysis,
biochar gasification, tar cracking/reforming, and gas upgrading (Shen et al.,
2017).
CO2-looping
in Biomass Pyrolysis or Gasification (Shen et al., 2017). Image republished
with permission from DOI: 10.1039/C7SE00279C.
Biochar By-product Utilization
Biochar by-product with large
specific surface area, porous structure, enriched surface functional groups,
and minerals make it possible to be utilized as a sorbent to remove pollutants.
The conversion of biomass wastes to biochar is a ‘‘win-win’’ strategy for both
improving waste management and protecting the environment. Because of its
economic and environmental benefits, biochar has become a promising resource for
the treatment of pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, organic pollutants) from aqueous solutions.
The properties of biochar mainly depend on biomass types and
pyrolysis conditions (e.g., residence time, temperature, heating rate).
Conventional carbonization (i.e. slow pyrolysis), fast pyrolysis, and
gasification are the main thermochemical processes that are widely used for
biochar production. In general, biochar produced at relatively high temperatures
(e.g., 600-700 oC) shows highly aromatic with well-organized C layers, but has
fewer H and O groups due to dehydration and deoxygenation of the biomass,
potentially with lower ion exchange capacities. On the other hand, biochar
produced at lower temperatures (e.g., 300-400 oC) has more diversified organic
characters (e.g., aliphatic and cellulose type structures) and more C=O and C-H
functional groups. The complex and heterogeneous physicochemical composition of
biochar can provide an excellent platform for pollutants removal by sorption.
In spite of considerable scientific work on the utilize of biochar for
environmental uses, extensive attention has recently been concentrated on the
modification of biochar with novel structures and surface properties to enhance
its remediation efficacy and environmental benefits
Biochar to Activated Carbons
The effectiveness of biochar as an adsorbent has been limited by
its low surface area. The production of activated carbons from biomass or
biochar has used two activation methods of physical and chemical activation.
Physical activation uses oxidizing gases such as air, CO2, and steam, while
chemical activation uses chemical activators such as alkali hydroxides (e.g.,
NaOH, KOH), inorganic acids (e.g., H3PO4, HCl and H2SO4), or metal salts (e.g.,
ZnCl2). Physical activation is considered to be more environmentally friendly.
The carbon precursor is subjected to partial gasification using steam and CO2
as the activating agents. However, physical activation conducted at high temperatures
(normally above 900 oC) requires more energy consumption.
Some key points on activated carbons derived from biomass or
biochar are concluded: (1) Chemical activation under the inert environment
(e.g., N2) is widely used because of its efficient at relatively lower
temperatures; (2) Chemical activation contributes to a relatively high specific
surface area; (3) KOH is widely used as an activating agent due to its
excellent catalytic effect on carbon gasification; and (4) Activation of
biochar (i.e. two-step) is considered, since the initial pyrolysis of biomass
at a lower temperature causes a high yield of char. Subsequently, the char with
poor porosity can be gasified to form many new pores. However, the
low-temperature pyrolysis can also yield a high yield of tar. Thus, one-step
catalytic pyrolysis with KOH at relatively high temperatures may avoid this
problem.
Activated Bio-carbon for Sorption
Researchers from Nanjing University of
Information Science and Technology(NUIST) comparatively studied the
synthesis of activated biochars from rice husk (an abundant agricultural
bio-waste in China) via KOH-catalyzed pyrolysis under the CO2 atmosphere.
One-step pyrolysis can produce a higher yield of activated carbon compared with
two-step pyrolysis. Pore development in the biochar was significantly improved
by the de-ashing process integrated with the KOH activation. Additionally, more
pores with deep channels were formed on the surface of activated carbon via one-step
pyrolysis due to the K-catalyzed oxidation of carbon structure under the CO2
atmosphere. Therefore, one-step pyrolysis can produce a relatively higher
specific surface area (SBET=1836 m2/g) of activated biochar, which showed
better performance on the phenol adsorption. As the phenol concentration was 10
mg/L (low), the adsorption capacity of AB1 can reach 75% much higher than that
of AB2 (11%). It suggests that the AB1 is more benefit for the removal of phenol
with a relatively lower concentration compared with the AB2. However, as the
phenol concentration was 50 mg/L (high), the adsorption capacity of AB1 was
close to that of AB2.
The potential mechanisms have been proposed by researchers.
Biochar obtained at a high temperature is effective in adsorption of organic
pollutants by increasing specific surface area, microporosity, and
hydrophobicity, while biochar obtained at a low temperature is favored for
removing inorganic/polar organic pollutants by the oxygen-containing functional
groups, electrostatic attraction, precipitation, and pore-filling. As an
organic adsorbate, the phenol molecules are pass into the internal surface via
the liquid-film controlled diffusion, so the behavior of phenol adsorption onto
activated biochars was mainly controlled via the chemisorption. Biochars
normally contain many functional groups with N or O such as -NH2/-OH, C-O, C=O,
etc.
Also, the functional groups (e.g., carbonyl, pyrrolic-N groups)
on the outer surfaces of activated biochars can attract the phenol molecules
onto their internal surfaces via the “π-π dispersion interaction” and
“donor-acceptor effect” Hence, the aromatic rings of different phenol molecules
are easy to form the π-π stacking interactions. Accordingly, a multi-layer
adsorption system is formed. Compared with the Van der Waals force regarded as
the primary driving force in the adsorption of activated biochars, the chemical
interactions between the functional groups of biochar and phenol molecules are
more effective to enhance the adsorption capacity. In addition, the micropores
in the internal surface of activated biochar with high specific surface areas
host the adsorbed phenol molecules.
Mechanism
of phenol sorption with the activated biochars (AB1: one-step, AB2: two-step)
(Shen and Fu, 2018). Image republished with permission from
doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2018.07.005.
These findings are described in the article entitled
KOH-activated rice husk char via CO2 pyrolysis for phenol adsorption, recently
published in the journal Materials Today Energy. This work was conducted by
Yafei Shen, Yuhong Fu from NUIST.
References:
In Memory: Billy Long
February 14, 2019
USA
Rice extends condolences to the family and friends of Billy Murl Long, of
Tichnor, Arkansas, who passed away February 12, at the age of 82.
Billy graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1958 and
returned to Tichnor to work on his family's farming operation. He served on the board of directors of
Tichnor Drier, Grand Prairie Regional Water Distribution District, and Farm
Bureau. He also was one of the founding
members of the Tichnor Volunteer Fire Department. "Mr. Long was an
innovator in the industry and was willing to try new things before they were
widely accepted," said Robb Dedman, an independent rice consultant. "But most importantly he passed on that
legacy to his sons, Heath and Wes, and they are as passionate about the rice
industry as he was."
Funeral
services will be 10:00 a.m., February 15, at Gillett Methodist Church with
burial in Gillett Cemetery by Essex Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the
funeral at 9:00 a.m. Memorials may be made to the Gillett Methodist Church,
P.O. Box 88, Gillett, AR 72055, or Gillett Cemetery, c/o Jennifer Lowe, P.O.
Box 124, Gillett, AR 72055.
Out of Trade Conflicts Hafemeister Sees Opportunity
By
Michael Klein
WASHINGTON,
DC -- One would be hard-pressed to find a bigger supporter of U.S. agriculture
than USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. His
Trade Counsel, Jason Hafemeister, is probably the biggest booster for ag trade,
and last week in remarks to USA Rice's Government Affairs Conference here he
explained why.
Hafemesister
said the importance of trade cannot be understated; every sector exports, and
most have a trade surplus. He said the
current climate of trade conflicts is hurting the ag sector, but that as
always, these conflicts also present great opportunities.
"The
positive potential for this whole trade situation is that we are bringing
people to the table in a way that we haven't in the past, and we have a chance
for them to consider making reforms that will make it easier for us to export
there," Hafemeister said. "We've driven countries to the table in a
serious way."
But
there is no question that the trip itself, hurts. A growing and important market for U.S. ag
products since 2007, China had been the top destination for U.S. ag products
since 2010, but trade dropped precipitously in 2017 and is now behind Canada,
Mexico, Japan, and the EU. Of course
U.S. rice is not exported to China at all, however, that is something that
could change at any moment given the legal and technical hurdles that continue
to be cleared by the Chinese and U.S. governments.
Hafemeister
shared his thoughts on trade with the EU and Japan, both important markets for
U.S. agriculture, but spent most of his time discussing the importance of trade
with our two closest neighbors, and the number one and number four markets for
U.S. rice - Mexico and Canada, respectively.
He
explained that while the replacement for the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), will be a boon to U.S.
agriculture, the current retaliatory tariffs in place as a result of U.S.
tariffs on steel and aluminum are a drag on trade that will offset any gains
made under USMCA.
Hafemeister presented analysis that
showed USMCA has the potential to grow U.S. ag export revenue by more than $450
million, but if the retaliatory tariffs remain in place even with USMCA, ag
revenue would drop by more than $1.7 billion.
And depending on the level of tariffs imposed by Mexico and Canada,
those losses could approach $8 billion.
He also stressed that NAFTA should
remain in place until USMCA is ratified, less ag export revenue decline more
than $9.3 billion.
"Counselor
Hafemeister's analysis confirms our own and we appreciate him not only coming
to share that with us, but also being a strong voice for agriculture trade in
this Administration and around the world in existing and potential markets for
U.S. rice," said Betsy Ward, president & CEO of USA Rice.
Rice millers
threaten stir over pending demands
Tribune News Service
Moga, February 14
Up in arms against the Centre, the Punjab Rice
Millers’ Association has threatened to launch an agitation if its long-pending
demands are not met.
The association
has been demanding a suitable milling policy for the rice industry.
Association president Tarsem Saini said the
milling charges fixed about 15 years ago should be reviewed and hiked to Rs 80
per quintal, keeping in view the huge escalation in cost of inputs such as
electricity, minimum wages and machinery, etc.
Saini alleged
that the field staff of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was exploiting the
millers on quality issues in the absence of any scientific technical standards
for the acceptance of custom milled rice. Most of the millers were giving hefty
bribe to the FCI staff, which needs to be stopped by setting up specialised
laboratories at the district headquarters, he added.
Besides this,
Saini has also urged the state to clear the pending paddy milling bills, gunny
bag charges and refund of securities lying with various government agencies for
many years.
On February 23,
the association will be holding a meeting of the state executive and all
district bodies in Patiala to press for these demands.
2018 Arkansas rice production marks
recovery from 2017 flooding
2018
Arkansas rice production was up 30 percent over previous year. Soybean
production was down slightly.
Even if the fall of 2018 marked the
“harvest that never ended,” Arkansas growers managed to pull enough rice from
the land to mark a 30 percent increase over 2017’s disastrous numbers, which
reflected the severe flooding of that year’s spring.
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released state-by-state
crop and stock reports Feb. 8, the first new data available from the department
since the 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government.
Not only was 2018 a strong year for
Arkansas rice growers, with a total production of 107 million cwt, but U.S.
rice as a whole, said Jarrod Hardke, Extension rice agronomist for the
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
“Arkansas rice
yield and acres came right in line with expectation,” Hardke said. “However, it
was surprising to see a substantial increase in overall U.S. yields, which
marks the second highest on record. Some individual state yields increased more
than 800 pounds per acre over previous estimates.”
Modest increases
Some Arkansas
crops saw modest year-over-year increases, including corn, which rose 7 percent
to 117 million bushels, and upland cotton, which also rose 7 percent to an
estimated 1.15 million bales, results that several Extension agronomists
described as unsurprising, and generally in line with annual averages.
The state’s No. 1
crop, soybeans, saw a 7 percent decline in production from 2017, falling to
about 165.2 million bushels. The dip was overshadowed by the increasing supply
on hand, accumulated in part due to the ongoing trade dispute with China.
Nationwide, total stocks of stored
soybeans rose 18 percent over 2017 numbers more than 3.7 billion bushels,
stored both on farms and off. Soybean stocks stored on farms, specifically,
totaled 1.94 billion bushels, up 30 percent from a year ago.
While the report didn’t make
numbers for Arkansas available, the national situation reflected what Arkansas
growers are dealing with, said Scott Stiles, Extension economist for the
Division of Agriculture.
“Normally, we use
the bulk of on-farm storage for corn and rice,” Stiles said. “Given the quality
issues, drop in soybean prices and weakness in the basis at harvest, my feeling
was that our growers would allocate a lot more bin space to soybeans following
the 2018 crop.”
Peanut production
in Arkansas dropped about 25 percent in 2018 to about 2.2 million pounds.
Travis Faske, extension pathologist and peanut agronomist with the Division of
Agriculture, said poor harvesting conditions and the abandonment of several
thousand acres in peanut production led to the lower number, although the
average yield “was positive, and among the best, compared to other peanut
producing states.”
The Feb. 8 report
also referenced winter wheat in the state, which is forecast to have the lowest
acreage since 1955, at about 120,000 acres. Jason Kelley, Extension wheat and
feed grains agronomist with the Division of Agriculture, said the numbers were
not surprising, “given the very wet fall that prevented most acres from being
planted.”
Finally, sorghum, which occupies relatively few
acres in the state, nevertheless saw a substantial increase in 2018 of 41
percent, with Arkansas growers producing about 770,000 bushels throughout the
year.
Japan's
rice finds fertile ground in China after 75% growth
Expanded shipments to mainland
drove record exports in 2018
HISAO KODACHI, Nikkei staff writerFEBRUARY
14, 2019 06:15 JST
China decided to allow rice imports from Japan's
Niigata Prefecture, a major growing area, in November.
TOKYO -- After growing tenfold in a decade, Japan's rice
exports are set for further growth, with an especially keen eye on the world's
largest consuming market, mainland China.
Japanese government data shows
that exports to China grew 76% year on year to 524 tons in 2018. The growth
rate towers over Japan's total outbound rice shipments, which grew 17% to a
record 13,794 tons.
China still accounts for only 4%
of Japan's exports, due to Beijing's strict rules of allowing rice
processed only at certain authorized facilities. Until last year, the only
Japanese port with China's green light was Yokohama.
But after a meeting between Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last May, Beijing
approved milling facilities in Hyogo and Hokkaido prefectures.
China consumes 20 times more rice
than Japan and is a crucial market for Japan's rice growers, as they hope
to sell more overseas this year.
JA Minaho, an agricultural
cooperative in the town of Nyuzen, Toyama -- a prefecture on the
coast of the Sea of Japan -- targets an 18% increase on the year to 1,000 tons,
reaching 31 countries through a partnership with leading rice wholesaler
Shinmei.
The coop's rice exports soared
from just 21 tons in 2009 -- the first year of overseas shipments -- to 850
tons in 2018.
"If we want to earn income
using our rice fields at a time when Japan's population is declining, we are
going to focus on exports, even if prices are a bit cheaper," said the
president of the organization.
JA Minaho is looking to take
advantage of the newly relaxed Chinese rules on ports, taking its rice to the
nearer port of Kobe, in Hyogo Prefecture, for quicker shipping than from
Yokohama, an official said.
For nearly half a century until
2017, Japan intentionally cut back rice production and slashed acreage
under a government program to prop up prices. Exports
remained less than 2,000 tons a year in the 2000s. Today, farmers are
eager to grow the staple food for foreign markets.
The top two markets are Hong Kong
and Singapore, which absorbed a combined 60% of rice from Japan. The value of
rice exports rose 18% to an all-time high of 3.7 billion yen ($33.4 million) in
2018, representing a 10-fold surge over the preceding decade.
In October, rice wholesaler Kitoku Shinryo and the Hokuren Federation
of Agricultural Cooperatives sent the first Shanghai-bound shipments of the
Yumepirika variety from a port in Hokkaido, the northernmost main island.
Exports are expected to keep
growing. China in November said it will give the go-ahead to rice from Niigata,
a major rice producer, partially lifting the suspension it placed on foods
from a wide zone around Fukushima following the 2011 nuclear disaster.
"We want to start with
Shanghai and market our rice to other cities as well," said Genichi Jinde,
the president and CEO of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative
Associations.
The growing international markets
for Japanese rice include Mongolia, which took in 336 tons last year, up
66%. Shipments to Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates doubled to 49 tons
and 37 tons, respectively.
Rice is still a minor export item
for Japan compared with such foods as scallops and beef, for which shipments
came to 47.6 billion yen and 24.7 billion yen last year. But under its
optimistic target, Tokyo aims to more than triple exports of rice and rice-based
products -- like rice crackers and sake rice wine -- from 31,000 tons last year
to 100,000 tons in 2019.
Rice Exports to gather steam on US, West Asia demand boost
Rice exports from India are set to swing in the last quarter of
this year on a spate in orders after shipments slumped 14% in the last three
quarters over high input costs and tepid demand from Bangladesh.
Chandigarh: Rice exports from India are set to swing in the last quarter of
this year on a spate in orders after shipments slumped 14% in the last three
quarters over high input costs and tepid demand from Bangladesh.
“Consignments in January are better than the previous year and the trade is
likely to attain levels close to the previous year,” a senior commerce and
industry ministry official told ET.
Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68007544.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68007544.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
In the
Philippines, where 'rice is life,' a move to allow more imports signals change
Jaquelin Marsan feeds her son rice outside their home in a Manilla
neighborhood called Del Pan Binondo, a slum of scavenged wood and corrugated
sheet metal homes. (Paul Benzi Florendo / For The Times)
The Philippines has long touted the idea of self-sufficiency in
rice, an essential staple here at the heart of every breakfast, lunch and
dinner.
But rice growers like Efraen Serrano know that dream is falling
further out of reach. The country’s geography doesn’t provide enough suitable
land for the crop as the population swells. Urbanization and the pull to work
in cities has reduced the number of farmers.
“More farms are being converted to factories and homes,” said
Serrano, who farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly urbanizing
province north of Manila. “Nobody wants to buy land and use it to farm.”
The 66-year-old says he’s now resigned to the fact that less and
less of the rice Filipinos eat will be grown by farmers like him.
“Imports are a necessity,” he said.
In the clearest sign yet that he is right, the country is on the
verge of ending a two-decades-old cap on private-sector imports of the grain.
The move marks a radical change for a nation whose obsession with rice is
ordinarily matched by its protection of domestic producers.
“Importation is always sensitive because rice is the No. 1
agricultural sector,” said Ramon Clarete, a professor of economics at the University
of the Philippines Diliman.
But resistance to buying more of it abroad has lifted over the
last several months following a bout of severe inflation that sparked long lines in the streets for
government-subsidized rice.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of rice in the Philippines.
The country of 105 million is the world’s sixth-largest consumer
of rice on a per capita basis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Rice is life in the Philippines,” said Nicholas Mapa, a senior
economist in Manila for ING. “Almost everything comes from rice. Even our
delicacies are based on the grain.”
When politicians want to curry favor in poor neighborhoods, they
come bearing sacks of rice. Gas stations offer
free bags of it with any purchases of about $10. And one of the nation’s most
popular restaurant chains, Mang Inasal, is famed for its “unlimited rice” — a menu
option better known as “unli” (Filipinos have a penchant for shortening words.
McDonald’s, for example, is simply called McDo).
One of the most legendary varieties of rice, IR8, was developed at
the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Dubbed “magic
rice,” the high-yield strain is credited with fending off famine across
Southeast Asia and India starting in the 1960s.
Jacquelin Marsan and her family of eight children eat dinner
outside their home in a Manilla in a neighborhood called Del Pan Binondo. (Paul
Benzi Florendo / For The Times)
“Even if you have no ulam,” said 36-year-old Jaquelin
Marsan, using the Tagalog word for a dish of meat or vegetable, “you have to
have rice. It’s a priority.”
She lives with her husband and their eight children — aged 7
months to 19 years — in a ramshackle Manila slum of scavenged wood and
corrugated sheet metal homes called Del Pan Binondo.
Two-fifths of their meager income is spent on rice. During the
surge in rice prices last year, she had to cut back the family’s consumption by
a quarter.
“The children complained,” Marsan said. “So my husband and I ate
less.”
Sacks of rice being carried to a truck for delivery. (Paul Benzi
Florendo / For The Times)
Sacks of rice for sale in Manila. (Paul Benzi Florendo / For The
Times)
Economists blamed the crisis on new taxes, costlier fuel and a
failure on the government’s part to restock rice reserves in time.
As criticism mounted about
his administration’s handling of the shortage, President Rodrigo Duterte
deflected blame and trained his scorn on other players such as rice traders.
“I now ask all the rice hoarders, cartels and their
protectors,” the president said with a menacing
glare during his State of the Nation address last year. “Stop
messing with the people.”
The crisis harked back to a more severe shortage in 2008 in
which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo deployed armed soldiers to watch over
rice distribution and ordered fast-food chains to reduce their rice portions by
half.
Prices today have since tapered. But fearing a repeat, the
Philippine Senate passed a bill in November lifting the import cap and
providing funds to cushion the blow on the shrinking domestic rice farming
industry. Unless Duterte vetoes it, which is not expected, the bill is set to
become law Friday.
Economic reformers and the country’s central bank have long
championed lifting the import quota, which was supposed to protect farmers but
instead led to rampant smuggling and left the country vulnerable to price
manipulation by domestic rice traders.
Under World Trade Organization rules, the Philippines was
obligated to eventually eliminate the cap — which stands at about 888,000 tons,
or about 6% of the nation’s annual consumption. But the country had been
winning waivers to keep it by arguing for more time to reach self-sufficiency.
Resistance to the change came from vested interests in the
agricultural sector and parts of the powerful National Food Authority, an
agency charged with importing and maintaining the country’s rice reserves for
the poor — a mandate that put officials there in an ideal position to accept kickbacks.
The agency did not respond to an interview request. A spokesman
for the president’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Even with the cap still in place, the Philippines is the world’s
second largest importer of rice after China, giving it the power to move global
grain markets.
Now major rice-producing nations such as Vietnam and Thailand
stand to benefit immediately from the lifting of the quota, even with the
Philippines’ 35% tariff on Southeast Asian rice imports.
The move to increase imports could also bolster Duterte’s
PDP-Laban political party heading into midterm election in May. Rice prices
disproportionately affect the poorest Filipinos, a crucial voting bloc. Nearly
half their food expenditures go toward the staple, according to the Philippine
Statistics Authority.
“You can raise the price of gasoline, water and electricity, but
not rice,” said Jorge Tigno, a professor of political science at the University
of the Philippines Diliman. “It’s the only commodity politicians are not
allowed to sacrifice.”
The crisis last year tested the political power of the nation’s 3
million farmers. They lost.
“The president’s political strength will not be based on rice
farmers, but more on workers and the urban poor,” said Clarete, the economics
professor.
Back in Bulacan, Serrano said his crop has dwindled since a
shopping center started siphoning water away from his land a few years ago. And
even when rice prices soared last year, he saw none of the extra profits
returned to him.
“There’s so many middlemen who make the money,” said Serrano, who
earns about $3,800 a year.
Unless one of his grandchildren chooses to takeover his rice
fields, Serrano may be the last generation in his family to farm. His four
children have all left Bulacan to work in factories closer to the city.
“I have no one to take over,” he said.
v
Efraen Serrano farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly
urbanizing province north of Manila. (David Pierson / Los Angeles Times)
Rice import proposal a ‘death trap’
· RICE
IMPORT PROPOSAL A ‘DEATH TRAP’
A proposal calling for a shift to
high-value crop production could lead to the death of the domestic rice
industry, a Cabinet official said on Thursday.
“[A proposed] policy to just rely
on imported rice and ask our rice farmers to diversify to other crops is a
death trap.” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a statement.
A
man smells rice grains before buying from a dealer at the Commonwealth Market.
PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ
“This is a shortsighted view
which will kill the rice industry and drive away farmers from the rice
fields,” he added.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno
on Wednesday said the shift would be “the most efficient economic arrangement”
and also pressure the agriculture sector to be more competitive.
Earnings from high-value produce
are much higher than traditional crops such as rice, which the Philippines is
unable to produce in sufficient quantities to meet domestic needs.
Piñol, however, said that relying
purely on purchases from neighboring rice produces such as Thailand, Vietnam
and Cambodia also carried risks given weather challenges and rising demand
elsewhere.
“Even if we have the money to
buy, there would be no available rice supply in the world market and assuming
that there would be available supply, could we outbid China in buying all the
remaining rice stocks?,” he asked.
“The sad truth is that we are not
the only country with a growing population. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Myanmar, Pakistan and India, which are all rice exporting countries now, also
have growing population. Just like us, their farming areas are not expanding
and will in fact shrink because of the sprouting of human
settlements,” Piñol added.
“It is as certain as the sun will
rise tomorrow that 10 years from now, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Pakistan and India will no longer be able to export the same volume of rice
that they ship out today.”
At current production levels, the
Philippines still needs to import about 600,000 to 800,000 metric tons of rice
to satisfy domestic consumption and Piñol believes that the government
should only allow the importation of rice for the purpose of “fill[ing] up
the supply shortfall.”
Persian-inspired
stuffed peppers provide a cozy meal for any day or Shabbat
Persian-inspired stuffed peppers (Leanne Shor)
This article originally appeared on The Nosher.
I love finding the commonalities
among different global cuisines, and it seems that every culture has its own
version of stuffed vegetables. Each tradition has variations of spices and
stuffings, but the idea is always the same: They are the kind of cozy, home-cooked
recipes that remind me of the grandmas and aunts who have big tables, open
doors and warm hearts.
Although I am not Persian, I’ve
always felt connected to Persian food and find comfort and familiarity in the
spice blends that are so closely related to my own Yemenite roots.
Israel has somewhat of an obsession
with stuffed vegetables, and they are often served at big Shabbat dinners. I
was introduced to these dishes from friends and family when I visited, and I
was struck by how each family took so much pride in their dishes and the
balance of flavors — it really seemed like every vegetable could be stuffed.
And while some stuffed vegetables take a little longer to prepare, stuffed
peppers are easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
These Persian-style stuffed peppers
are both seriously comforting and wholesome. It’s also a one-pot-meal that’s
perfect to bring people together on a weeknight or for a Friday night Shabbat
dinner. Filled with fresh herbs like mint and cilantro and aromatic spices such
as saffron, cinnamon, and cumin, they are flavorful and hearty, but not heavy.
Ingredients:
6 large bell peppers (a combination of colors looks great)
6 large bell peppers (a combination of colors looks great)
For the filling:
3/4 cups basmati rice
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/4 chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped scallions
3/4 cups basmati rice
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/4 chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped scallions
For the spice mix:
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sumac
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sumac
For the sauce:
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons saffron
juice of 1 lemon
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons saffron
juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Rinse basmati rice well until water runs clear. In a small saucepan, combine the rice, 1 1/4 cups of water and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook per package directions, fluff with a fork and set aside.
1. Rinse basmati rice well until water runs clear. In a small saucepan, combine the rice, 1 1/4 cups of water and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook per package directions, fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat the
olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and ground beef and a teaspoon of
kosher salt. Using a flat wooden spatula to break up the ground beef, cook for
about 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and just starting to brown,
but some juices are still left in the pan. Add the tomato paste, mix well to
incorporate and set aside off the heat.
3. Combine all of the ground spices
in a small bowl, whisk, set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a
large bowl, combine the cooked rice, chopped cilantro, parsley, mint and
scallions. Add the beef and onions mixture, and the spice blend. Using a large
spoon, combine all filling ingredients thoroughly.
5. Carefully cut off the tops of
the peppers, trying to keep the stem intact. Using a spoon or small pairing
knife, scoop out the membranes and the seeds. If the peppers are wobbly, you
can carefully slice off a tiny bit of the bottom to level it, careful not to
cut a hole in the skin. Arrange the peppers tightly together in a baking dish
or cast iron skillet.
6. Generously spoon the filling
mixture in each pepper all the way to the top, packing it down slightly. Top
each pepper with its stem top.
7. In a small saucepan, combine the
2 cups water, saffron, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon
salt. Whisk to dissolve the tomato paste, then pour the sauce mixture between
the peppers to fill the bottom of the baking dish.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the
peppers are fragrant and slightly wilted. Spoon some pan sauce into each
pepper, and serve with slices of fresh lemon and a big green salad if desired.
Serves 4-6.
/ UPDATED A DAY AGO
Asia Rice: Prices
languish as top exporters harvest, demand stalls
FEBRUARY 14, 2019 / 6:51 PM
·
·
(Reuters) - Rice export prices
fell in top Asian hubs this week on slow demand and rising supply following a
quiet start to the year, while limited interest from the Philippines failed to
spur a Vietnamese market reeling from Chinese import restrictions.
Farmers remove weeds growing alongside with ride stalks at a
ricefield in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro in Philippines, August 27, 2018. REUTERS/Erik
De Castro
In top exporter India, 5 percent
broken parboiled variety eased to $380-$385 per tonne from $383-$388 last week
as supply from the winter crop poured in.
Demand from Asian and African
buyers was subdued, an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of
Andhra Pradesh said.
India’s rice exports between
April and December dropped 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 8.46 million
tonnes, a government body said last week.
In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent
broken rice prices fell to $382-$398 a tonne, free on board Bangkok, from
$390–$402 previously.
“The market has been really quiet
and new supply of rice is coming out now,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
A weaker domestic currency was
adding further pressure to prices, traders said.
“More supply will lower prices
further but exporters are still looking for buyers because it has really been
quiet since the start of the year,” another trader said.Thailand is the world’s
second biggest rice exporter followed by Vietnam, where rates for benchmark 5
percent broken rice fell to $340 a tonne from $350 two weeks ago before the
markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
“Trade has resumed and we have
seen more buyers from the Philippines placing orders,” a trader based in Ho Chi
Minh City said, adding that private buyers from rice-scarce Philippines
purchased about 20,000 tonnes this week.
However, China has been imposing
stricter conditions for rice imports from Vietnam, traders said.
China will likely cut rice
shipments from Vietnam to 500,000-600,000 tonnes this year from around 1.5-2
million tonnes a year in the past, another trader said.
“We think the government will
likely buy rice this year for stockpiling, giving a support for domestic
prices.”
Export prices, however, will be
under pressure as the major winter-spring harvest peaks by month-end, traders
said.
Elsewhere, Bangladesh, which saw
imports surge in 2017 after floods wreaked havoc on local crops, will procure
more rice locally as output has revived, a food ministry official from the
country said.
“We are getting good response in
our local procurement drive and will continue it,” the official said.
Bangladesh has procured nearly
1.4 million tonnes of rice locally so far in the current season to build state
reserves.
Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in
Mumbai, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Ruma Paul in Dhaka;
Editing by Arpan Varghese and David Evans
Clock
winds down on rice tariff bill signing with no announcement of veto
February 14, 2019 | 10:03 pm
A worker at the NFA
Quezon City warehouse. -- PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
By Arjay L. Balinbin
Reporter
Reporter
PALACE OFFICIALS said Thursday
that the rice tariffication bill remains “for signing” right up to today’s
deadline for President Rodrigo R. Duterte to veto the measure, but did not
comment on the reason for the delay, adding an element of uncertainty to its
enactment.
Failure to sign or veto the
measure by today, Feb. 15 means the measure lapses into law. No definitive
Presidential action was announced at deadline time in the early evening
Thursday.
“Yes. Feb. 15,” Executive
Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea said in a phone message on Thursday when asked
to confirm if the measure is expected to lapse into law today unless vetoed by
the President.
Mr. Medialdea, however, did not
elaborate on why the President has apparently not acted on the measure, leaving
open the possibility of a veto.
Farmers’ groups have been urging
the President to veto the bill. The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has said
the government will not be able to respond if the international price of rice
turns volatile with the National Food Authority (NFA) restricted to a role of
maintaining a minimum rice inventory.
However, Mr. Duterte’s spokesman
Salvador S. Panelo said the President will not veto the measure and assured the
public that the bill is now “for signing.”
“I texted (Mr. Medialdea) and he
answered that it was for signing. So, it has not yet been signed, but it is for
signing,” the spokesman said in an interview with DZMM on Thursday morning.
On the opposition of the farmers’
groups, Mr. Panelo said: “When the farmers went to the President to complain,
he told them it was for the greater good. I know where you are coming from, the
President said, but the interests of everyone need to be considered.”
The Foundation for Economic
Freedom (FEF), business groups, and the administration’s economic team have
been asking the President to sign the bill. They all contend that the measure,
once signed into law, will help resolve several issues afflicting the rice
industry, including smuggling, uncompetitive production costs, and corruption.
University of Asia and the
Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness Executive Director Rolando T. Dy said
in a chat exchange that the rice tariffication bill is a “monumental reform,
and it “will remove NFAs (National Food Authority’s) control over the rice
industry.” He also noted that “there are players on both sides: the cabinet
members [who are] for [it] and the NFA allies.”
“A major decision requires long
discernment,” he said when asked why he thought it was taking too long for the
President to sign the bill.
He added that “consumers,
especially the 22 million poor [Filipinos], will benefit from lower rice
prices” if the bill becomes law.
“The poor spend up to 30% of
their budget on rice, The government must fast-track funds for affected farmers
for income transfer to compensate for potential losses,” he also said.
Ateneo Policy Center research
fellow Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco said in an e-mail that the political side of
the President’s decision-making process must also be considered.
“There is a political aspect in
the sense that the decision-making process of President Duterte is like that of
a local chief executive, like a city mayor which he was for many years. He
relies more on his political instincts, honed by decades of experience in the
realm of public service, than on experts’ opinion or research-based
recommendations.”
He said the President “may
appreciate the studies presented to him by his economic managers, but as the
past three years have shown, he will still rely on his gut-feel and
street-smarts on this rice tariffication issue, on any issue for that matter.”
“In this regard, it will always
be very difficult to anticipate the President’s next move or to even speculate
as to his leanings on issues waiting for his decision. Clearly, even his
closest allies are burdened with this challenge,” Mr. Yusingco said further.
In a phone interview, University
of Santo Tomas (UST) political science professor Marlon M. Villarin said: “If
you ask me, I think the President will not sign it. The last time I heard from
the Palace is that for as long as he is not satisfied that we are capable of
really providing a mechanism that will provide a safety net to the local
industry, he will not support it and just let Congress approve it. Because
whatever happens, the political accountability lies with Congress. Maybe that
is one way of how the President wants to define the political, the
administrative, and the economic accountability should a problem arise in the
near future because of this rice tariffication law.”
He added: “The President is
trying to weigh the interests of the demand (side) and at the same time he is
looking at the interests of the supply (side) of the industry. If the rice
tariffication bill is signed into law, it will only mean one thing, that the
NFA will no longer have a full control over the importation of rice, because
the purpose of the rice tariffication program is to liberalize the importation
of rice to address food security issues.”
“The concern of the President
here is whether it will be detrimental or beneficial to the local rice
suppliers. Just like what we are experiencing in the vegetable industry in
Mountain Province. The vegetable growers there are having difficulty in
competing with imported vegetables. That is one of the crucial things that the
President is trying to consider.”
He noted that “the midterm
elections is about to happen and you know very well that most of the rice
cartels in the Philippines are protected by the local government leaders. And
they are one of the underground sources of political funding, but the concern
of the President, the last time I heard, (is to avoid) repeating the same
mistakes, just like what is happening to our vegetable growers.”
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Rice
firms short of capital to buy rice
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Vietnamese firm makes edible rice-flour
straws to help protect environment
Thursday, February 14, 2019, 16:36 GMT+7
Uncut rice-flour straws are placed on the production line at a
company in Sa Dec City, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Tai / Tuoi Tre
A Vietnamese firm has succeeded
in producing straws made of rice flour, which can be eaten, to replace plastic
ones at a time when environmental protection is a topical issue in Vietnam.
HungHau Foods, a company based in
Ho Chi Minh City, currently makes 100,000 rice-flour straws a day at its plant
in Sa Dec, which is a city in Dong Thap Province, Vo Minh Khang, its general
director, said.
The firm will expand the capacity
by five times this month, Khang added.
These eco-friendly straws have
been introduced to such markets as South Korea, Japan, European countries and
purchase deals have been signed, the executive revealed.
In Vietnam, many distributors
have approached HungHau for an exclusive deal while high-end restaurants and
hotels are the target segment, Khang said.
Workers handle rice-flour straws at a plant in
Sa Dec City, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Tai / Tuoi Tre
“I have been to many countries
where environment-friendly products are favoured,” he said.
“My company are good at making
rice-flour products so we have researched and started production.
“It amazes me that
consumers have responded so well to our straws.”
HungHau explored ways to make the
rice-flour straws for one year before rolling them out four months ago.
“We faced such difficulties as
finding the formula and machinery to ensure the straws are hard to be broken,
stiff enough, and evenly made,” the executive confided.
These straws can be kept at room
temperature for 18 months whereas the duration will be shortened to 30-120
minutes when they are put in normal or cold water.
The straws come in white taken
from rice, green from amaranth spinach, purple from beetroot, and black from
sesame seeds.
They are eatable but the producer
warns against consuming too many straws a day.
Vo Minh Khang, general director of HungHau
Foods, introduces the products at its factory in Sa Dec City, Dong Thap
Province, Vietnam. Photo: Ngoc Tai / Tuoi Tre
Environmental protection
has gained significant attention from both the people and the government in
recent times.
Many initiatives and campaign
have been launched to raise public awareness of the issue.
Vietnam was amongst the five
countries that dumped the most plastic into the ocean, according to a 2017
report by Ocean Conservancy.
Two metropolises of the Southeast
Asian nation, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, alone get rid of about 80 metric tons
of plastic a day, according to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment.
Cambodia’s rice exports continue to
decline
Illustrative
image (Source: bangkokpost.com)Phnom Penh (VNA) – Cambodia’s rice exports in January 2019 dropped 5 percent compared to the same period last year, after a full year of decline in 2018.
Hun Lak, Vice President of the Cambodian Rice Federation, said the decrease is not a worrying problem because it is only a month-long figure, and the drop was not severe.
However, he noted it also showed that the country’s rice sector is likely to face disadvantages, especially when the European Commission (EC) re-imposed duties on rice imports from Cambodia on January 18.
The sector may face more problems exporting to the EU market if the Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential trade agreement is suspended, he added.
“We cannot evaluate anything now. We need to wait and see in two or three more months,” he said. “I think those who like the taste of Cambodian rice will continue to eat it because prices have increased only a few cents per kilogramme”.
Last month, Chan Sophal, Director of the Policy Research Centre under the Cambodian Economic Association (CEA), said that rice farmers in Cambodia must cut down production costs and even completely transfer their crops in order to deal with this situation.
Other experts said that Cambodian rice producers should seek new markets besides the EU. However, at present, Europe remains the indispensable market for the Southeast Asian nation.
The latest statistics showed that Cambodia exported 59.625 tonnes of rice in January, down from 62,623 tonnes recorded in the same period last year. Of the total, 23,899 tonnes or 40.7 percent were shipped to EU markets.
China imported 18,671 tonnes of rice from Cambodia, ASEAN member states got 9,226 tonnes, while other destinations received 7,839 tonnes.
Last year, Cambodia exported 626,225 tonnes of rice – down slightly from 635,679 tonnes in 2017.-VNA
Myanmar expects to export up to 4 million tons of rice by
2020
A farm land in Ayeyawady Region (Photo-Min Thu Win
Htut)
PUBLISHED 14 FEBRUARY 2019
NILAR
Myanmar is targeting to export up to 4 million tons of rice worth
US$1.5 billion by 2020, according to Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
It exported about 590,000 tons of rice and broken rice from
October 1 to early January in 2018-19 FY, according to Ministry of Commerce.
However, the rice sector in Myanmar faces many challenges due to
instability in the border market with China and EU.
Over one million ton of rice will be reduced from rice export in
this year, according to rice traders.
Myanmar exported about 3.6 million tons of rice in 2017-18 FY as
it found new markets for rice export and it broke the record in over 50 years
time.
Although Myanmar earned about US$580 million from 1.7 million tons
of rice export from April to at the end of December in 2018, it earned over
US$210 million less in compared with the same period in last year export,
according to the MRF.
Myanmar earned US$578 million from 1.717 million tons of rice and
broken rice export from April 1 to December 29 and it earned US$789 million
from 2.542 million tons of rice and broken rice export in the same period in
last year.
“We are sure that the amount of rice export in this year will not
be reached last year amount as demand is declined in the world market,” said
Aung Than Oo, Vice Chair of the MRF.
The European Union (EU) has imposed tax for three year starting
from January 8 for long-grain rice from Myanmar and the amount of rice export
to the EU will be reduced commensurately.
The rice export will also be reduced in this year due to a decline
in China and EU markets.
Myanmar is expected to earn US$15.3 billion from export sector in
2018-19 FY, said Khin Maung Lwin, Assistant Secretary from the ministry.
It earned US$3.7 billion from export sector from October 1 to
January 4 in 2018-19 FY. Myanmar earned US$3.5 billion from export sector in
the same period in last fiscal year.
Sri Lanka to revive small scale rice
millers to boost competition
Feb 14, 2019 06:36 AM GMT+0530 |
ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka will be providing one billion
rupees in financing for the farmers' guaranteed price paddy purchase program
through small and medium scale rice millers in order to boost competition and
correct government failure, a minister said.
"What we want to make sure is we put in place a
set of policies where we try to reactivate competition in the milling market to
solve the problem of market failure without causing a government failure,"
Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Harsha de Silva said.
"What happens sometimes is government failure
happens. That is worse than market failure," he said.
Responding to a question from a journalist on why he
is resorting to interventions in a protected market to create competition, de
Silva said there is now an oligopoly in rice milling due to poor government
policy in the past.
"So why there is an oligopolistic structure in
the rice milling market is because the structure has sort of got killed over a
period of years," he said.
"The small and medium rice miller is sort of non-existent
and we're trying to resuscitate them."
"By doing that, we will create competition which
will help both the farmer and the consumer."
He said the Paddy Marketing Board which carried out
the guaranteed price paddy purchase in the past, had collected 19 billion
rupees in debt.
"Audits are done two or three years later, and
sometimes there's no rice and no money," he said.
"Here we're using only one billion rupees."
"Using ICT, government officials and the
District Secretary will monitor the progress daily and upload to a central IT
platform," he said.
"After suffering five harvest failures, rice
farmers can get a guaranteed price on a bumper harvest this season to repay any
of their past loans and get a good return."
Farmers will be paid 35 rupees per kilo of naadu
paddy, and 41 rupees for samba.
Under the new program, 300 small and medium scale
rice mill owners who are members of the Sri Lanka Rice Producers' Association
will be able to offer farmers the state guaranteed price to buy 1,000 tonnes of
paddy per day.
Sri Lanka Rice Producers' Association Chairman Mudith
Perera said around 50-60 percent of small and medium scale rice millers had
closed their businesses over the past 10-15 years.
Currently, rice milling is dominated by a handful of
large millers, including the President's brother Dudley Sirisena.
De Silva said his ministry held around 18-20 rounds
of talks with Sirisena to explain the scheme in detail.
"Our aim is to help the millers become
competitive and then they can use their normal credit lines with banks to
continue business," de Silva said.
Talks have already been held with banks, he said.
The one billion rupees for the program have already
been allocated, the minister said.
Perera blamed past governments for trying to remove
import restrictions on rice.
However, a key problem in the Sri Lanka rice sector
is that farmers do not produce export quality rice at competitive prices and
bumper harvests. The industry does not bring extra foreign exchange. Instead,
it produces large stocks of unsold rice in the domstic market, partly helped by
guaranteed prices.
Sri Lanka Rice Producers' Association Director Nishantha
Attanayake said with the new program, any past criticism of Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe and de Silva would be written off.
He said helping paddy farmers would create political
dividends. (Colombo/Feb14/2019-SB)
Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region to export rice to Iran
14 February 2019 10:55 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region will
start exporting rice to Iran this year, Trend reports via the press service of
the region’s administration.
"Last year, along with
traditional varieties, production of Iranian varieties was launched in the
region for further export to Iran. Currently, negotiations are underway to send
the first batch of 500 tons of Iranian rice varieties," the administration
said.
It was also noted that despite the
lack of water, Kyzylorda rice farmers reaped a good harvest of 473,000 tons in
2018.
Last year, rice sown area in the Kyzylorda
region was reduced by 3,000 hectares, and oilseeds, in particular safflower
sown area was increased from 1,659 hectares in 2013 to 8,404 hectares in 2018.
This made it possible to organize the production of safflower oil and for the
first time to enter the Chinese market with this product in 2018.
Since last year, the region has
also begun work on the introduction of high-yielding crops such as soybeans,
and forage crops such as Sudan grass and sweet sorghum.
This year, it is planned to reduce
rice sown area by 2,171 hectares and increase forage sown area by 4,068
hectares and acreage of potatoes, vegetables and melons by 1,293 hectares.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Introduced Chinese
hybrid rice varieties to foster rice production in Namibia
Source:
Xinhua| 2019-02-14 23:22:59|Editor: yan
WINDHOEK, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's flagship Kalimbeza Green
Scheme Irrigation Project's research department has identified four top Chinese
rice varieties that have performed well and are able to produce between 5.5 to
6.4 tons per hectare (ha), according to an official.
The Kalimbeza project located in the northeastern part of the
country last year ran trials of 15 Chinese rice varieties to test adaptability,
of which the top four varieties were deemed suitable, Kalimbeza project manager
Patrick Kompeli told Xinhua Thursday.
Since the varieties are hybrid, the seeds have to be sourced
from China every year for planting, he added.
"The target for this year cropping season was to plant 150
ha but due to other technical issues they were only able to plant 90 ha,"
Kompeli said.
In terms of cultivation and training, through South-South
Cooperation, some rice experts from China were deployed at Kalimbeza to
exchange knowledge and for Namibians to acquire experience. The last deployed
group left in December 2017.
Kompeli said impact of a predicted drought on the project will
be limited since it draws water for irrigation from the permanent river source.
Tanzania: Zanzibar
Faces Shortage of Rice
Tagged:
By Abdallah Msuya in Zanzibar
THE government has been advised to take appropriate measures to
improve farming that will yield good results so that the country has
sustainable foodstuffs to feed its people.
Mr Omar Seif Abeid (Konde) appealed to the government to improve
a farming environment so that farmers with support from development partners
could produce enough rice.
"Z anzibar requi res about 99,577 tonnes of rice annually
for its people, but the current production is just 25,794 tonnes (equi valent
to 25.93 per cent only). We have land and experts, we must produce enough to
narrow the gap," said Mr Abeid.
In response to the call from the legislator, the Deputy Minister
for Agriculture, Natural resources, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Makame Ali
Ussi, said the government in collaboration with development partners planned to
increase rice production. He said the Expanding Rice Production Project (ERPP)
was among the programmes aimed at increasing rice production.
"A similar programme is also being implemented in Morogoro
(Mainland Tanzania). This also leads to improved rural incomes and food
security."
The deputy minister said improved crop production through better
irrigation, crop management and innovative marketing strategies would make the
life of farmers better.
He also said the project contributed to climate change
adaptation by supporting improved irrigation and water management systems.
He also said that Exim Bank of Korea was supporting improvement
of irrigation infrastructure to increase land from irrigation farming from 810
hectares to 2,399 hectares by 2021.
Rice import proposal a ‘death trap’
RICE IMPORT PROPOSAL A ‘DEATH TRAP’
A proposal calling for a shift to
high-value crop production could lead to the death of the domestic rice
industry, a Cabinet official said on Thursday.
“[A proposed] policy to just rely
on imported rice and ask our rice farmers to diversify to other crops is a
death trap.” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a statement.
A man smells rice grains before buying from a dealer at the
Commonwealth Market. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ
“This is a shortsighted view
which will kill the rice industry and drive away farmers from the rice
fields,” he added.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno
on Wednesday said the shift would be “the most efficient economic arrangement”
and also pressure the agriculture sector to be more competitive.
Earnings from high-value produce
are much higher than traditional crops such as rice, which the Philippines is
unable to produce in sufficient quantities to meet domestic needs.
Piñol, however, said that relying
purely on purchases from neighboring rice produces such as Thailand, Vietnam
and Cambodia also carried risks given weather challenges and rising demand
elsewhere.
“Even if we have the money to
buy, there would be no available rice supply in the world market and assuming
that there would be available supply, could we outbid China in buying all the
remaining rice stocks?,” he asked.
“The sad truth is that we are not
the only country with a growing population. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Myanmar, Pakistan and India, which are all rice exporting countries now, also
have growing population. Just like us, their farming areas are not expanding
and will in fact shrink because of the sprouting of human
settlements,” Piñol added.
“It is as certain as the sun will
rise tomorrow that 10 years from now, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Pakistan and India will no longer be able to export the same volume of rice
that they ship out today.”
At current production levels, the
Philippines still needs to import about 600,000 to 800,000 metric tons of rice
to satisfy domestic consumption and Piñol believes that the government
should only allow the importation of rice for the purpose of “fill[ing] up
the supply shortfall.”
Pakistan to
seek preferential trade agreement with Saudi Arabia
Srinagar: Pakistan
will formally propose to Saudi Arabia for initiation of a dialogue on
preferential trade agreement (PTA) to promote bilateral trade and investment.
The
proposal will be raised among other issues during the Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammad bin Salman’s two-day visit to Pakistan, Dawn news reported
The
crown prince will reach the country on February 16, accompanied by a
high-powered business delegation.
Official
sources told Dawn that the preferential treaty will cover tariff and non-tariff
barriers (NTBs) which will help diversify Pakistan’s export basket to the
kingdom.
Since
2006, there is a complete deadlock in negotiations on the proposed free trade
agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council. So far only two rounds of
negotiations have been held on it.
Officials
believe that this issue will be raised during the crown prince’s visit.
Pakistan’s
bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia has posted a consistent decline, dropping by
a half to $2.5 billion in 2016-17 from $5.08bn in 2013-14. One reason behind
this is the falling value of petroleum products which constitute 50pc of total
imports.
The
country’s exports to the kingdom are decreasing as well mainly due to a drop in
proceeds of rice, fruits, vegetable preparations, apparel and clothing and
made-up articles of textile material.
Rice is
one of the major export items to Saudi Arabia but now the commodity’s market is
being captured by other countries, particularly India.
If an
agreement is reached on PTA, Saudi Arabia will become the second country after
Iran with which Pakistan will have a bilateral preferential arrangement.
Other
issues that will be discussed include easing of procedures for business visa
which currently involves multiple departments and takes at least six weeks.
Saudi Arabia has also increased the business visa fee to Rs74,000 per person
for attending any business activity in the kingdom and Pakistan will be looking
for a fee waiver .
The
Pak-Saudi Joint Business Council was formulated in 2000 to enhance interaction
between top chambers of the two countries. The body has met thrice in the last
18 years, which shows its seriousness in promoting trade.
Pakistan
is likely to raise the issue of removing ban on its shrimp exports to Saudi
Arabia as well as seeking licence for State Life Insurance to do business in
the kingdom, besides holding single-country exhibitions to promote market
access for its products.
Possible
areas for investment with Saudi Arabia include the halal food sector, cattle
farming, milk, fisheries and other agro industry projects.
For
resolving NTB, two important issues will be discussed; mutual recognition
agreement to avoid delay in customs and clearance of Pakistan’s export
shipments at the kingdom’s ports and quality assurance certificates to be
recognised by Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
osted at: Feb 15, 2019, 7:18 AM; last updated: Feb 15, 2019,
7:18 AM (IST)
India’s
rice exports set to gather steam
Consignments in January are better than the previous year .
Feb 15, 2019, 08.50 AM IST
A bumper yield
in Bangladesh also took a toll on Indian exports.Chandigarh:
Rice exports from India are set to
swing in the last quarter of this year on a rise in orders after shipments slumped 14 per cent in
the last three quarters over high input costs and tepid demand from Bangladesh. “Consignments in January are better
than the previous year and the trade is likely to attain levels close to the
previous year,” a senior commerce and industry ministry official told ET. Exporters
have seen a surge in demand from the UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US this
quarter. The official said the supply for exports has picked up after being affected for the last few
months of 2018 because of assembly
polls in some states. A bumper yield in Bangladesh also took a toll on
Indian exports, he said. 
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