Rice
export prices fall in top Asian hubs
HANOI: 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 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.—Reuters
A
prophecy of rice export
Last
year may be considered a good year for Vietnam’s rice export sector. There
remain complicated issues to address, though.
Vietnam
exported around 6.1 million tons of rice in 2018, a year-on-year rise of 4.6%,
or an equivalent of 270,000 tons, according to the General Statistics Office
(GSO). Those tallies undoubtedly prove to be modest rises compared with over
one million tons and 21%, respectively, in 2017.
Despite
a slight upsurge in the volume of rice export, Vietnamese rice prices were
high, making last year a success for the sector. Each ton of rice was sold at
an average US$502, which was 10.8% higher than in 2017. As a result, 2018 rice
export turnover surged by 16% to top US$3 billion.
What’s
more, that Vietnamese rice prices were equal to, or sometime higher than, those
offered by her rival, Thailand, should require careful analysis.
Calculations
based on Thai and Vietnamese statistics show that Vietnam’s average rice price
was between US$7 and US$9 per ton higher than Thailand’s during 2016-2017. In
2018, the gap no longer existed, resulting in an equal price of US$502 per ton.
Two
plausible reasons can be given at a time to explain the price
increase—Vietnamese exporters were able to considerably enhance both their
glutinous and fragrant rice export segments at much better prices. For a
comparison, in 2017, Vietnam shipped abroad more than three million tons of
these rice catgories—which accounted for 46.4% of the total—and significantly
reduced the amount of white rice. In contrast, Thailand decreased the export
volume of her Thai Hom Mali fragrant rice exports, from 31.7% down to 20.1%,
and, at the same time, made every effort to sell off her huge stocks—the
consequence of ineffective policies—at dirt-cheap prices.
Some
uncertainties down the road
Despite
last year’s achievements, Vietnam will confront both existing and new obstacles
when it comes to rice export.
First,
it seems that Vietnamese exporters prefer to sell their products at high
prices, and are thus unable to sell out their rice stockpiles. It is possible
to push up rice export prices so as to maximize profits. However, if such price
hikes are likely to curb competitiveness, one should think twice. Therefore, a
revision of rice prices to clinch a bigger market share remains a burning issue
on the Vietnamese side.
Statistics
show that Vietnam’s rice export volume was 6.1 million tons last year, while
her rice-equivalent production was almost triple. Consequently, around
half a million tons of rice could have not been sold on the global market—just
as what happened a few years ago.
In
2018, Thailand outperformed Vietnam in the latter’s traditional Southeast Asian
markets. Between January and November 2018, Thai rice traders shipped a total
of 2.12 million tons to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which was
100,000 tons higher than Vietnam’s volume.
Secondly,
China’s recent moves may put Vietnam’s rice export in a dilemma if what the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted becomes a reality.
According
to the USDA, although the total worldwide rice production in 2019 is projected
to decrease by nearly four million tons, rice stocks around the globe at the
beginning of the year jumps sharply to an unprecedented record of nearly 162
million tons—or more than four months of rice consumption in the world. Meanwhile,
the demand for rice import is put at some 45 million tons, the same as in 2018.
However,
what is more important for Vietnam is she may have to witness a drastic decline
in rice import from her second largest rice buyer in 2018, Indonesia, which is
scheduled to ship in only 800,000 tons from Vietnam this year versus 2.15
million tons this country did last year.
Additionally,
China is taking some measures to tighten rice import in a bid to reduce the
country’s increasingly rapid rice stockpiles. Currently, China’s rice reserves
have amounted to around 109 million tons, equivalent to 279 days of
consumption, and the figure may continue to rise to 113 million tons at the end
of 2019.
Viewed
from these two largest markets, Vietnam’s rice export sector should brace
itself for difficulties ahead.
Third,
in spite of the impressive price hikes of glutinous and fragrant rice in recent
years, ‘made in Vietnam’ fragrant rice is still sold at the lowest prices among
rice exporters in the world.
According
to Thai rice exporters, their Hom Mali fragrant rice and its Indian equivalent
called Basmati are now bought at US$1,127 and US$1,450 per ton, respectively.
Hom Mali’s Vietnamese counterpart, jasmine rice, is way below, hovering around
US$488-492 per ton.
Therefore,
creating new fragrant rice strains capable of selling at remarkably higher
prices is poised to play the key role in giving a new lease of life to
Vietnamese rice in the international marketplace.
SGT
Iraq buys about 120,000 tonnes rice from Vietnam in direct deal
Fawad
MaqsoodFebruary
19, 2019HAMBURG/DUBAI: Iraq’s state
grains buyer, the trade ministry, has purchased around 120,000 tonnes of rice
from Vietnam in a direct deal without an international tender being issued,
traders in Europe and the Middle East said on Tuesday.
Seller was believed to be
Vietnamese trading house Vinafood1.
Iraq has not issued an
international tender to purchase rice for several months with market talk that
the country has turned to more purchases through private negotiations.
Business Recorder
National assembly to debate controversial rice bill
despite protests
·
February 19, 2019
Despite
protests by some farmer groups and the Democrat party, the National Legislative
Assembly (NLA) is determined to go ahead with its planned deliberation of the
controversial rice bill in its second and final readings on Wednesday.
Objections
to the bill focus on Section 27/1 which empowers the Rice Department as the
sole authority for checking and approving rice seeds for cultivation to ensure
the seeds meet set standards.
Critics
claim the bill, when enacted, will deprive rice farmers of the right to trade
or exchange rice seeds among themselves because the seeds will have to be
certified by the Rice Department. They also suspect that the bill is
designed to benefit the agro industry in a way that will force farmers to rely
on their seeds for cultivation.
On
Saturday, the NLA’s committee scrutinizing the rice bill invited
representatives from 70 farmer groups to parliament to be briefed on the
content of the bill and to refute the allegations against it.
The
farmers’ representatives were told that it was untrue that farmers would face
heavy fines if they are caught in possession of rice seeds for
cultivation. Instead, they were assured that they could keep their
own rice seeds and were free to exchange their seeds with other farmers unless
they were kept for commercial purpose, in which case their seeds must be
certified by the Rice Department.
Mr.
Supachai Srila, a Democrat party member, has suggested that the NLA put the
rice bill on hold and let the post-election House of Representatives deliberate
it instead.
Vietnam to buy 200,000 T rice from farmers for stockpiling
HANOI: The Vietnam government
will buy 200,000 tonnes of rice from local farmers for stockpiling, it said on
Tuesday, amid falling domestic prices.
Paddy price in the Southeast
Asian country, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, have fallen by 25-30 percent
since the start of this year, according to traders.
Record level of rice imports seen this year
Philippine Daily Inquirer /
05:03 AM February 19, 2019
The
Philippines may see the biggest volume of rice imports this year at 4 million
metric tons (MT) following the passage of the rice import liberalization bill.
Acting
Administrator Tomas Escarez of the National Food Authority (NFA) said on Monday
the agency had already received more than 200 applications from prospective
traders and importers.
The overall
volume from these applications is seen to reach 2 million MT, 20 percent of
which has already arrived in the country.
In addition,
listed AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) president and CEO Antonio Tiu confirmed to the
Inquirer that its deal with Vinafood II, Vietnam’s largest grains exporter,
would still push through this year.
The exporter
agreed to exclusively supply ANI annually with 2 million MT of long grain rice
valued close to $1 billion.
In a text
message, Tiu said the company was only waiting for the law’s implementing rules
and regulations before it would submit an application. It plans to directly
sell the staple to the market.
Under the
recently signed Rice Import Liberalization Act, importers need to secure only a
permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay a 35- and 50-percent tariff
for imports from Southeast Asian countries and non-Asean countries,
respectively.
If the
imports push through, the total volume will surpass the highest recorded rice
imports in the country during the Arroyo administration at 2.34 million MT.
Unlike in
Vietnam and Thailand where farmers can produce a kilo of rice at P6, Filipino
farmers spend P12 a kilo.
Reports from
the Philippine Advisory Farmers Board showed the farm-gate price of palay has
already declined to P14 a kilo in some rice-producing provinces. Meanwhile, in
the country’s rice granaries, the recorded farm-gate price for palay was at
P18-P19 a kilo.
Based on the
Philippine Statistics Authority’s price monitoring report, the average
farm-gate price of palay as of the first week of February was at P19.70 a kilo.
This was the fifth consecutive week of a price downtrend.
However,
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on his Facebook page that the falling
price of palay was not due to the recently enacted law but due to “speculation
fueled by the anticipated ’flooding’ of the market with cheap imported rice.”
NFA employees fear job loss under rice
import law
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:21 AM February 19, 2019
BLACK PROTEST Employees of the National
Food Authority dramatize their protest against the newly signed Rice Import
Liberalization Act on Monday, wearing black during an assembly at the agency’s
main office in Quezon City. Under the law, the NFA’s tasks will be limited to
palay procurement. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Employees of
the National Food Authority (NFA) wore black on Monday to protest the rice
import liberalization or tariffication law as they feared losing their jobs
when it limits the agency’s function to procuring palay and clips its
regulatory powers.
The NFA has
4,136 employees nationwide, according to records.
In a press
conference at the NFA central office in Quezon City, the NFA Employees
Association said it was considering filing a case against the government in the
Supreme Court for violating its members’ security of tenure.
A majority
of the employees hold regular positions, said the association’s president,
Maxie Mallabo Torda.
Edwin
Paraluman, the farmers’ representative in the NFA Council, said the sector
questioned the legality of certain provisions of the law and would seek a
temporary restraining order from the court.
The Rice
Import Liberalization Act, or Republic Act No. 11203, overrides Presidential
Decree No. 4, or the NFA Charter, Paraluman said. It is set to start on March
3. (See story in Business, Page B1.)
Under the
new law, anyone can import rice as long as shipments are slapped tariffs
ranging from 35 percent to 180 percent.
The law
would allow the flow of cheaper rice in the market, give farmers a yearly
subsidy of P10 billion from duties that would be collected from imported rice,
and would open the market to more competition.
Import
permits
Before
President Duterte signed the law on Feb. 14, the NFA regulated the entry of
rice from abroad by granting import permits to boost the country’s buffer
stock.
The NFA was
blamed for the surge in rice prices last year because its supply of subsidized
rice had been depleted. The situation had dragged down the President’s ratings.
Asked for
comment during a press briefing on Monday, presidential spokesperson Salvador
Panelo said “the Palace welcomed any move from any sector questioning any act
of the government.”
In a statement, Panelo said the new law was
expected to “result in lower rice prices as well as help cushion the impact of
inflation for the benefit of the consumers.”
“The law, at the same time, protects our
farmers from the emerging competition as a result of its implementation through
a direct safety net and productivity support in the form of the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund,” he said.
Teary-eyed
Acting NFA Administrator Tomas Escarez was
teary-eyed while delivering a speech before agency employees on Monday.
Escarez said the signing of the bill “broke
the hearts of millions of Filipino farmers, consumers, small grains businessmen
and employees who rely on NFA for support.”
“I’ve been with the agency for the past 39
years and I’ve seen the hardships of all the employees. I’m saddened that our
economic planners don’t realize this, although they’ve promised that employees
would be given compensation packages,” he said.
“But right now, we really don’t know what
will happen to NFA,” he added.
Implementing rules
Escarez,
however, said the employees should “not be discouraged by this development” as
the agency “will still fight for the best—for the farmers, consumers and our
employees—in the IRR (implementing rules and regulations).”
The IRR, to be crafted by the NFA Council, would specify the powers
and functions of the grains agency, including the optimal level for its buffer
stock, its source of funding and whether it would still sell subsidized rice.
Escarez, who also sits in the council, said economic managers were
rushing to finalize the IRR, which should be crafted within 90 days upon the
bill’s approval.
Farmer groups fear that limiting the power of the NFA would strip
them of a “safety net” when palay prices decline.
Bohol protest
They are also wary that once the agency stops selling subsidized
rice—priced at P27 to P32 a kilogram—more than 10 million Filipinos would not
be able to afford the staple.
In Tagbilaran City, at least 30 NFA employees also wore black.
“It’s the beginning of the end of the rice industry in the
Philippines,” said Maria Fe Evasco, NFA-Bohol manager, reading the message of
Escarez.
“This law stripped the NFA of its regulatory and stabilization
functions. We are just reduced to a mere buffer stocking agency,” Evasco said.
She said the law would affect many farmers, small grains retailers
and consumers who rely on NFA for support, livelihood and affordable rice.
“There will be no price monitoring and control as NFA rice will no
longer be available through accredited retailers,” she said. —WITH REPORTS FROM
CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND LEO UDTOHAN
Solon urges
modernization of local rice production
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Palace assures
corruption-free rice fund
SunStar File
+
AA
-
February 19, 2019
THE P10-billion Rice Competitveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that
will be funded from the tariffs on rice imports will be free from corruption,
Malacañang assured the public on Tuesday, February 19.
The Palace made the statement to allay fears of some groups of farmers, who were worried that the fund would be used for corruption just like the P728 million in fertilizer funds that were allegedly diverted to the 2004 campaign of former President, now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration have "zero tolerance" for any irregularities in government.
"Good governance is the hallmark of the Duterte Administration and the President has zero tolerance against corruption and wastage of taxpayers’ money," Panelo said.
"We continue to exercise accountability and transparency in all levels of the bureaucracy," he added.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11203, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or simply the Rice Fund, will have an annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years, in a bid to help farmers improve their profitability and competitiveness.
The funds will come from the tariffs that will be imposed on rice imports, as follows: 35 percent for rice coming from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and 50% for rice coming from non-Asean countries.
RA 11203 imposes tariffs on rice imports to replace the quantitative restrictions that were removed. Under this new law, traders may import rice without having to secure permits from the National Food Authority.
At the end of the sixth year of implementation, a mandatory review shall be conducted by the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) to determine whether the Rice Fund shall be continued, amended, or terminated.
The Secretary of Agriculture, as mandated by RA 11203, shall be accountable and responsible for the Rice Fund.
Panelo said the Department of Agriculture (DA) would conduct a consultation with farmers' cooperatives and organizations, and local government units, for the effective implementation of the law.
"The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with farmers’ cooperatives and organizations as well as local government units, shall also validate and update the master list of eligible beneficiaries, which include farmers, farmworkers, rice cooperatives and associations," he said.
The law likewise provides that a Rice Industry Roadmap will be formulated and adopted to restructure the government's delivery of support services for the rice sector.
Panelo called on rice farmer groups to become "pro-active" in the cradtng of the Rice Industry Roadmap to ensure that safeguards aimed at eliminating corruption "are in place."
"We ask rice farmer representatives and vital stakeholders to be pro-active in the discussion and review of the crafting of the Rice Industry Roadmap and Internal Rules and Regulations with other concerned agencies of the government to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the new measure," he said. (SunStar Philippines)
The Palace made the statement to allay fears of some groups of farmers, who were worried that the fund would be used for corruption just like the P728 million in fertilizer funds that were allegedly diverted to the 2004 campaign of former President, now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration have "zero tolerance" for any irregularities in government.
"Good governance is the hallmark of the Duterte Administration and the President has zero tolerance against corruption and wastage of taxpayers’ money," Panelo said.
"We continue to exercise accountability and transparency in all levels of the bureaucracy," he added.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11203, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or simply the Rice Fund, will have an annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years, in a bid to help farmers improve their profitability and competitiveness.
The funds will come from the tariffs that will be imposed on rice imports, as follows: 35 percent for rice coming from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and 50% for rice coming from non-Asean countries.
RA 11203 imposes tariffs on rice imports to replace the quantitative restrictions that were removed. Under this new law, traders may import rice without having to secure permits from the National Food Authority.
At the end of the sixth year of implementation, a mandatory review shall be conducted by the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) to determine whether the Rice Fund shall be continued, amended, or terminated.
The Secretary of Agriculture, as mandated by RA 11203, shall be accountable and responsible for the Rice Fund.
Panelo said the Department of Agriculture (DA) would conduct a consultation with farmers' cooperatives and organizations, and local government units, for the effective implementation of the law.
"The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with farmers’ cooperatives and organizations as well as local government units, shall also validate and update the master list of eligible beneficiaries, which include farmers, farmworkers, rice cooperatives and associations," he said.
The law likewise provides that a Rice Industry Roadmap will be formulated and adopted to restructure the government's delivery of support services for the rice sector.
Panelo called on rice farmer groups to become "pro-active" in the cradtng of the Rice Industry Roadmap to ensure that safeguards aimed at eliminating corruption "are in place."
"We ask rice farmer representatives and vital stakeholders to be pro-active in the discussion and review of the crafting of the Rice Industry Roadmap and Internal Rules and Regulations with other concerned agencies of the government to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the new measure," he said. (SunStar Philippines)
Boy Santos
Philippines rice imports to hit 2.3 million MT this year
“The Philippines has been a more active buyer in recent months
and pending legislation would likely keep imports at robust levels,“ USDA said.
Louise Maureen Simeon (The
Philippine Star) - February 11, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The
Philippines will continues to import more rice this year as local production
will still not be able to cover the national demand for the country’s main
staple and as the government moves toward the liberalization of the industry.
In the latest report of the
United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service
(USDA-FAS), the Philippines is seen importing some 2.3 million metric tons (MT)
of rice this year, 21 percent higher than last year’s 1.9 million MT.
The USDA hiked this year’s rice
imports from the earlier projection of 1.8 million MT following reduced crop
estimates and the lifting of the quantitative restriction on the commodity.
“The Philippines has been a more
active buyer in recent months and pending legislation would likely keep imports
at robust levels,“ USDA said.
In fact, application to bring in
the commodity under the out-quota scheme has already reached 1.19 million MT as
of January after 180 private traders have sought approval for the importation.
An updated list released by the
National Food Authority showed that 180 firms have already applied for the
out-quota importation of 1,185,764 MT of rice to be sourced from Vietnam,
Thailand, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and China.
It was in November 2018 when the
interagency NFA Council allowed the unlimited importation of rice to further
stabilize the market.
The out-quota allocation means
traders can apply for any volume of imported rice they would want to bring into
the country.
Of the initial volume, the
imports will be discharged in Manila, Subic, Cebu, Zamboanga City, Davao, La
Union, Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro.
Meanwhile, the USDA said high
rice prices due to tight supplies, rising fuel prices, and market distribution
inefficiencies will force the Philippine government to import more rice to
stabilize prices and contain inflation.
The country’s additional imports
also aim to strengthen buffer stocks ahead of the midterm elections scheduled
in May.
Rice consumption has also been
raised to 13.65 million MT from 13.25 million MT as rising food prices are
forcing less affluent Filipinos to consume more rice and less meat and
vegetables.
Production of milled-rice this
year is seen decreasing by one percent to 12.15 million MT from the 12.23
million MT in 2018.
USDA said there may be slight
reduction in area planted as rice areas in 2019 will be at 4.81 million
hectares, one percent lower than the 4.84 million hectares last year.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/02/11/1892569/philippines-rice-imports-hit-23-million-mt-year
Vietnam to buy 200,000
T rice from farmers for stockpiling -govt
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 / 4:44 PM
HANOI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Vietnam government will buy 200,000
tonnes of rice from local farmers for
stockpiling, it said on Tuesday, amid falling domestic prices.
Paddy price in the Southeast Asian
country, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, have fallen by 25-30 percent
since the start of this year, according to traders.Reporting by Khanh Vu
Editing by David Goodman
|
PM
approves plan to stock up on rice
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Saigon Times Daily
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Tuesday, Feb 19, 2019,20:00 (GMT+7)
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Ministry urges exporters to join
REX system
Sum Manet / Khmer Times
The Ministry of Commerce last
week asked rice exporters to join the recently-created Registered Exporter
System (REX), which allows firms to ship goods abroad using a statement of
origin instead of the ‘form A’ of the certificate of origin (CO).
Speaking at a seminar held at
Sokha Hotel on Friday, Pich Rithy, under-secretary of state at the ministry,
said the REX system facilitates trade and makes the local export sector more
competitive.
“This system will make things
easier and reduce costs for exporters shipping to the European market,” Mr
Rithy said.
. .
The REX system is based on the
principle of self-certification. By joining the system, companies become
‘registered exporters’, which allows them to issue their own statements of
origin.
The workshop was organised by the
Ministry of Commerce in collaboration with the Cambodia Agricultural Value
Chain Programme (CAVAC) to inform producers, traders, and exporters to the EU
of the REX system and its benefits and the implementation of a 10-digit code for
rice exports to the EU.
Hun Lak, vice president of the
Cambodia Rice Federation, said REX makes exporting easier but believed it
didn’t help much in reducing costs for exporting firms.
“It reduces costs for us but is
nothing huge. However, it will help us save time,” he said, adding that to make
the sector more competitive the government and the private sector need to focus
on reducing logistics and electricity costs.
Chan Sokheang, chairman and CEO
of Signatures of Asia, echoed Mr Lak’s remarks.
. .
“I think it does not help that
much when it comes to cutting costs for exporters. In order to compete with
countries like Thailand and Vietnam, we need to reduce our production costs by
$30 to $60,” Mr Sokheang said.
Last month, Cambodia exported
59,625 tonnes of rice to international markets, a 5 percent drop compared to
January 2018, according to a report issued by the Secretariat of One Window
Service for Rice Export Formality.
The same report points out that
the EU bought 20,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice in January, which is around 40
percent of all Cambodian rice exports. China bought about the same amount.
In the Philippines, where 'rice is life,' a
move to allow more imports signals change
·
BULACAN, Philippines —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 have 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 has ended 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.
"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."
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. The bill became law Friday, and the law will
take effect March 3.
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 percent 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 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 from the lifting of the quota,
even with the Philippines' 35 percent 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."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
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.
___
(c)2019 Los Angeles Times
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at www.latimes.com
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Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported
Rice
By Frederik
Paraiso
Change is coming to rural Western
Africa in the shape of increased food security for, rice. Rice has become the
second most important food staple after maize in Ghana and its consumption
keeps increasing as a result of population growth, urbanization and change in
consumer habits.
For the past few years, Ghanaians
have over the years developed a strong appetite for imported rice due to its
availability and distribution reach in the market as well as its highly
polished and fragranced nature. This has a left a huge gap in the production of
local rice and the domino effect being the loss of jobs directly and directly
in agriculture.
The nation’s value of rice
imports has escalated eightfold – from US$152million in 2007 to a peak of
US$1.2billion in both 2014 and 2015. In the same period, the volume of rice
imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes. According
to figures from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) at the end of 2016,
Ghana’s rice production stood at 687,680 metric tonnes.
Therefore, plans to increase production
by 49% in 2017 means addition of 337,500 metric tonnes which will put total
production this year to a little over one million (1,025,180) metric tonnes. A
focused approach would lead to the creation of roughly This will also create
some 226,800 direct and indirect employment comprising 32,400 direct jobs,
194,400 indirect jobs.
The important questions were how
would our organisation, Intervale, play a positive role in agriculture in
Ghana?
In early December of 2018, the
“Ghana Rice Initiative”, an agricultural development project supporting 200 000
rice farmers in Ghana, was announced by the German government. The project was
budgeted at 10 million Euros and with a three-year life span, with the goal of
boosting small-scale rice production through the use of subsidized seeds and
technical assistance.
This will help Ghana reach
self-sufficiency in rice consumption and put an end to rice imports which
currently cost over 1 billion USD per year (including rice smuggling from Cote
d’Ivoire). This was the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) and
international cooperation between, amongst others, the Alliance for a Green
Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the
John Kuafor Foundation, and Intervalle.
Swiss-based Intervalle launched
similar rice productivity initiatives four years ago in Senegal and Cote
d’Ivoire. Those projects’ successes led to neighbouring countries taking
notice, and several government entities have since expressed interest in
replicating the business models and public-private partnership structure for
their own farmers.
In 2008, the financial crisis led
to sharp increases in food prices and rioting in some African countries as
desperate people took to the streets. Over-reliance on food imports and
insufficient agricultural productivity was putting even politically stable
countries at the mercy of price hikes and could lead to mass starvation. The
plan was to reduce food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa by focusing on one of
the most cultivated crops, rice, and find a way to solve the issue of
insufficiently productive farmland.
The first step was to recognize
the concepts that had worked and those that failed: planned economy-styled
programs had been imposed on farmers who resisted them, large-scale
agricultural cooperatives hadn’t obtained enough support from the farmers
either, and governments just couldn’t afford the exorbitant cost of price
subsidies to incentivize farmers and boost domestic production. So we went back
to square one, and instead of trying to impose a top-down approach were we told
the farmers what to do through a central planning entity, we favored a
bottom-up vision where we took their opinion into consideration in order to
increase the likelihood they would adhere to the project.
We involved the key stakeholders
such as government officials, local leaders, suppliers, bulk buyers, and of
course rice farmers. Every human being is a rational economic actor in the
greater context of the market. If rice farmers are unable to put money aside
for emergencies and are forced to live hand-to-mouth, it is primarily because
of price volatility and the uncertainty of the harvest quantity and quality.
A rice farmer’s constant
obsession is “How do I feed my children tomorrow?” not “What is the best way to
optimize my acreage relative to my production costs over the next 5 years?”.
This led us to tailor the design of our business model to answer the farmer’s
priorities with very short-term benefits instead of long-term promises. At the
same time, we had to take into account the other stakeholders’ priorities and
balance them out.
When we analysed the situation
our view was to look at it as ‘lifetime value of the investment’.
Another important element was the
ability to provide farmers with fast cash flow cycles to soothe their concerns
and lower their financial anxieties. We carried out several trials and
simulations before finding the right equilibrium and the next step as to
present it to the stakeholders.
The fact this was a Public
Private Partnership put additional constraints in terms of procurement and
oversight, but at the same time, we could benefit from the credibility bestowed
by the government’s endorsement of the project and this really helped get
people to support us. At the end of the day, we found solutions to accommodate
all parties and we signed the project into existence.
The project was very successful,
and as a result, we increased both productivity and the net amount of rice
produced on the farms where the project was implemented. I really believe that
agriculture in West Africa is sleeping beauty and our lessons in this region
can be shared with the rest of the continent in core agriculture driven markets
such as Kenya, South Africa and many other countries.
It will take enlightened
investors both in Africa especially countries that are not heavily reliant on
agriculture and international investors to put aside the commonly-held beliefs
on Africa being too backwards to produce anything valuable besides oil and raw
minerals, and realize that there is a whole value chain of agricultural produce
that is going to emerge, taking advantage of the fertile soils, exceptional
climate, low cost of labor and shear market size.
Disclaimer: "The views/contents
expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and
do not neccessarily reflect those of Modern Ghana. Modern Ghana will not be
responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in
this article."
Palay prices fall close to 40% due to rice
import fears from lifting of quotas
Last updated Feb 19, 2019
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel
“Manny” Piñol blamed speculation for the fall in the buying price of rice in
anticipation of the “flooding” of the market with cheap imported rice under a
liberalized market.
Piñol said the disinformation
surrounding the newly-enacted Rice Tariffication Law’s effect on the local rice
industry, to the point that the buying price of palay has dropped from a high
of P22 per kilo last year to P14 and P15 in some parts of the country now.
Piñol, however, admitted that
initially, there would be a drop in the buying price of palay “but farmers are
expected to adjust by increasing productivity with funds coming from
tariffication.”
Piñol clarified that the law has
just been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and is not effective yet.
“There is a period within which
the public will be notified and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)
still have to be finalized,” he explained.
And even if the importers would
want to bring in huge volumes of imported rice, the DA chief said there was not
much rice supply available in the world market.
“As it is now, the volume of rice
traded in the world market every year is only about 40-million metric tons (MT)
of which about 38-million (MT) is already committed to specific non-rice
producing countries,” he said.
“The world population is growing
exponentially while the land area is constant and this is true with rice
exporting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar,” he
added.
The DA chief said a few years
from now, Thailand and Vietnam will not be able to export the same volume of
rice as they do today because they also have growing populations.
“The Philippines cannot let go of
its own Rice Production Program because the moment it becomes dependent on
imported rice, even on a short term, it will end up at the mercy of the rice
exporters who could sell their produce at an even higher price than our
domestic cost of production,” he noted.
Piñol said that the view that
some economists are peddling that the
Philippines would be better off just importing rice rather than
producing it locally was “a short-sighted perspective”.
Philippines would be better off just importing rice rather than
producing it locally was “a short-sighted perspective”.
“If this view prevails, the
Philippines will face a real rice crisis a few years from now with sky-high
prices which the poor cannot afford,” he said.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law,
a provision states that the tariffs and duties collected from the rice
importation — 35 percent for ASEAN members and 50 percent for other sources —
shall be turned over to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), estimated
at no less than P10-billion annually.
Enrile slams
proposed deregulation of sugar imports
MANILA. Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. (Al
Padilla/SunStar File)
February 20, 2019
FORMER Senate President and senatorial candidate Juan Ponce
Enrile warned the government that thousands of sugar farmers and workers “will
go hungry” if the deregulation of sugar importation proposed by the country’s
economic managers is implemented.
“I urge the government to avoid the inordinate importation of commodities like sugar to protect our sugar farmers and worker and their families who will go hungry if the government will not protect them,” Enrile, who is vying for a Senate comeback in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections, said in a statement.
He said the sugar industry contributes about P120 billion annually to the national economy through the sale of raw and refined sugar, molasses, bioethanol, and biopower.
The industry also employs about 84,000 farmers and 720,000 workers in 28 sugar-producing provinces in the countries, all in all providing the primary source of livelihood for five million Filipinos.
Aside from the loss of income for sugar labor force and their families, Enrile also warned against economic losses.
“Hundreds of billions of pesos have been invested in dozens of raw sugar mills, refineries, bioethanol distilleries, and biopower generating plants. The government must aid the industry so that these will not just become billions down the drain in case liberalization of imports is pursued,” he said.
Enrile clarified that though he supports measures that “could reduce the cost of sugar for ordinary Filipinos,” this must be balanced with a desire to protect the interest of local farmers.
“We have to focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term steps. For the sugar industry, as with the rice industry, we must focus on investing in the capability of our local farmers. Ang kailangan diyan dagdag na pondo para sa research at development para tumaas ang productivity,” he said.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced last month that the country’s economic managers are eyeing the deregulation of government restrictions on sugar imports, adding that sugar “is next on their list” after deregulating rice imports.
Diokno said the move is intended to “put pressure” on domestic sugar products to compete with the global market in terms of the price of sugar. (PR)
“I urge the government to avoid the inordinate importation of commodities like sugar to protect our sugar farmers and worker and their families who will go hungry if the government will not protect them,” Enrile, who is vying for a Senate comeback in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections, said in a statement.
He said the sugar industry contributes about P120 billion annually to the national economy through the sale of raw and refined sugar, molasses, bioethanol, and biopower.
The industry also employs about 84,000 farmers and 720,000 workers in 28 sugar-producing provinces in the countries, all in all providing the primary source of livelihood for five million Filipinos.
Aside from the loss of income for sugar labor force and their families, Enrile also warned against economic losses.
“Hundreds of billions of pesos have been invested in dozens of raw sugar mills, refineries, bioethanol distilleries, and biopower generating plants. The government must aid the industry so that these will not just become billions down the drain in case liberalization of imports is pursued,” he said.
Enrile clarified that though he supports measures that “could reduce the cost of sugar for ordinary Filipinos,” this must be balanced with a desire to protect the interest of local farmers.
“We have to focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term steps. For the sugar industry, as with the rice industry, we must focus on investing in the capability of our local farmers. Ang kailangan diyan dagdag na pondo para sa research at development para tumaas ang productivity,” he said.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced last month that the country’s economic managers are eyeing the deregulation of government restrictions on sugar imports, adding that sugar “is next on their list” after deregulating rice imports.
Diokno said the move is intended to “put pressure” on domestic sugar products to compete with the global market in terms of the price of sugar. (PR)
NegOcc prepares farmers for rice
tariffication
BACOLOD City – The Office of the
Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) of Negros Occidental underscored the need to
prepare rice farmers for coping with challenges brought by the tariffication
measure.
“Our farmers really need the help
of the government mainly in terms of lowering down production costs and
increasing productivity,” Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said on
Sunday, two days after President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the measure
lifting restrictions on rice importation.
Masculino noted that one major effect
would be cheaper price of imported than locally-produced rice.
Necessary interventions should be
done immediately given the little time to prepare as the implementing rules and
regulations may be out soon, he added.
Negros Occidental is known as the country’s
top sugar-producing province, but it has also become one of the top 10 rice
producers in the past years in its bid to become 100 percent rice-sufficient.
Masculino said one measure to
reduce production cost of Negrense rice farmers is mechanization, which the
provincial government has already been implementing since last year.
He added that if the government can
seriously implement mechanization by providing funds for the purchase of
machineries, it would be a big help because labor comprises more than 50
percent of the total production cost.
“Our mechanization accomplishment,
especially in the planting and harvesting stages, is still minimal. If we can
just fully mechanize at least our irrigated areas of 40 hectares, it would
already be a big thing,” Masculino said.
Duterte certified the rice
tariffication bill as urgent in October 2018 “to address the urgent need to
improve availability of rice in the country, to prevent artificial rice
shortage, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the prevalence
of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.”
A month after the President
certified the measure as urgent, a report on the bill was ratified by the
bicameral conference committee.
Under the rice tariffication bill,
quantitative restrictions on rice importation are lifted and private traders
are allowed to import the commodity from countries of their choice.
The bill imposes a 25-percent duty
on rice imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-states
and a 50-percent rate on imports from non-members of the regional bloc. (PNA)
New rice tariffication law inutile – Ibon
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:38 AM February 20, 2019
FARM VOICE Peasant groups rally at two
departments—agriculture and agrarian reform—in Quezon City to protest rice
importation and land conversions. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The economic
research group Ibon Foundation on Tuesday warned that the rice tariffication
law would neither improve the productivity of local farmers, lower the price of
rice, or ensure a stable rice supply unless the government gave substantial
support to agriculture.
The rice
tariffication law replaces volume restrictions and allows unlimited rice
importation, with a 35-percent tariff on rice imports from members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and 50 percent from non-Asean
countries.
It takes
effect on March 5, with up to P11 billion in import duties expected to be
collected during its first year of implementation, the Department of Finance
(DOF) said on Tuesday.
Under the
law, a P10-billion rice competitiveness enhancement fund will be taken from the
tariff revenues to support Filipino farmers for six years.
Beyond
control
But Ibon
said the law could not control the global prices of rice or prevent possible
price manipulation by domestic rice traders.
“Global rice
prices are volatile and can become very high depending on the production
conditions of exporting countries. Rice production [in] Vietnam and Thailand is
subsidized and incentivized, making their rice cheap. But they can decide to
prioritize local consumption and ban exports, making cheap rice unavailable to
Filipino consumers,” Ibon warned.
Danilo
Ramos, chair of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), also expressed concern
about the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) “fast-track land use
conversion” that, he said, would endanger the livelihood of those dependent on
the country’s P360-billion rice industry.
The
P10-billion rice fund would prove futile for farmers “if there are no more rice
lands left after the accelerated conversion of agricultural lands proposed by
[the] DAR,” Ramos said, adding that “rice farmers demand free land distribution
and not land use conversion.”
Palace
assurance
But
Malacañang has assured farmers that safeguards would be put in place to prevent
the misuse of the fund, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) being
accountable and responsible for it.
The DA,
according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, would work with farmers
cooperatives and groups to validate the list of beneficiaries.
The
Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization
will also conduct a periodic review of the fund, he added.
At a press
briefing in Malacañang, DOF spokesperson Antonio Joselito Lambino II said “the
implementing rules and regulations of the new law is being crafted to ensure
that [there would be no corruption].”
Lambino said
the rice fund would be used to improve existing infrastructure in the rice
production sector.
Alternate
bill
Both Ibon
and KMP are pushing for House Bill No. 8512, or the proposed Rice Industry
Development Act, filed by Anakpawis party-list group that is asking for an
annual allocation of P61 billion for three years, or a total of P183 billion,
for the development of the rice sector.
The bill
included subsidies for rice production and socialized credit; irrigation
development, repair and rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems;
postharvest facilities development; farm inputs; and research and development
of sustainable agriculture technologies. —With reports from Christine O.
Avendaño, Julie M. Aurelio and Ben O. de Vera
Alloted farm
subsidy seen not enough
By Karl R. Ocampo
Philippine Daily
Inquirer
February 20, 2019
at 5:16 am
Industry leaders told the Inquirer it would take time before farmers would feel the effect of the interventions to be financed by the annual subsidy, which could discourage farmers from planting rice and, thus, cut total production.
Under the new law, a P10-billion subsidy would be given to the farm sector yearly, half of which would be used to purchase farm equipment, P3 billion for research and seed inputs, P1 billion for credit and P1 billion for training and seminars.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, proponent of the bill and chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the subsidy would be provided until such time that the collected duties from rice imports would be enough to fund the sector’s programs.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the policy’s impact on farm productivity might be felt in one to two years’ time.
Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (Grecon) president James Magbanua said farmers would have a hard time competing with more affordable imported rice without immediate support from the government, noting that the cost of producing rice in the country was double of those in other rice-producing countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
“Our worry is that this may discourage local farmers to plant later on, and the government should always be ready against the threats of climate change. We need to be able to produce our own rice,” he said.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) chair Rosendo So said the rice sector “can only start to be competitive once cost of production is lowered.”
“Even if we become productive, unless the production cost is lowered, farmers would still be on the losing end,” he said.
In Vietnam and Thailand, where most of the country’s rice imports come from, a kilo of rice is being sold at P21 and P25, respectively. Even with additional freight costs, these are still considered cheaper than local rice which are sold at P34 to P39 a kilogram.
Rice watch group Bantay Bigas said the RCEF was not enough to help the country’s 2.7 million farmers, adding that it might just be “another source of plunder for government officials of the Duterte administration.”
https://m.inquirer.net/business/265334
What the EU’s
new tariffs mean for Cambodia and Myanmar’s rice farmers
February 20, 2019
Starting today, Cambodia and
Myanmar will be forced to pay hefty tariffs to export rice to the European
Union – and farmers fear that it will leave both nations’ rice industries in
critical condition
Cambodian farmers carry rice
bales through a field in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, some 60 km south of
Phnom Penh Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
Rice farmers across Cambodia and
Myanmar have been left scrambling for new markets for their crop after the
European Union announced on Wednesday that it will now be imposing hefty
tariffs on long-grain Indica rice from both Southeast Asian nations for the
next three years beginning today.
The decision, announced by the
European Commission this week, follows a month-long investigation that
confirmed the increase in Indica imports from Cambodia and Myanmar has been
damaging to EU rice producers.
In December, the Commission held
a vote on this issue among its 28 EU state members, but did not receive a
majority in favour of imposing the tariff measures. In the absence of strong
opposition to the proposal, the Commission made the final decision itself on 16
January.
Representatives of European
farming groups told Reuters that they are grateful for the Commission’s
decision, as the cheap rice imported from Southeast Asia has been contributing
to farmers’ abandonment of crops and exodus from rural areas.
Farming group Copa-Cogeca said
rice imports from the two Asian countries increased from 9,000 tonnes in 2012
to 360,000 tonnes in 2017, leading to a collapse in prices across the European
continent. In 2018, approximately 30% of all EU rice imports originated from
countries with duty-free status – with the bulk being shipped in from Cambodia
and Myanmar.
“This surge in low-price imports
has caused serious difficulties for EU rice producers to the extent that their
market share in the EU dropped substantially from 61% to 29%,” the Commission
said in a recent statement.
Rice is currently grown across
eight southern European countries including Italy, whose government initially
requested the launch of the Commission’s investigation in March 2018 in the
name of “protecting the Italian and European rice industry”.
Cambodia and Myanmar have enjoyed
duty-free rice export to Europe since 2010, when the EU dropped its tariffs on
the crop as a benefit of the Everything but Arms agreement, a policy which aims
to promote European trade of goods with the world’s 50 least-developed
countries. Other more developed countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand
and Vietnam, have long been paying tariffs of around $200 per tonne for white
rice exports to the EU.
Potential Impact on Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s
Economies
For countries that have long
benefitted from free access to the European market, the new tariffs are a steep
price to pay: for the first year, the two countries’ Indica rice exports will
be charged a duty of approximately $200 per tonne of rice, with the duties
gradually dropping to $171 and $142.50 per tonne, respectively, over the course
of the following two years.
For both Cambodia and Myanmar,
rice is a major export – and Europe has become their most profitable market.
The EU is currently Cambodia’s
largest destination for exports, with nearly 43% of all exported rice – or
approximately 270,000 tonnes’ worth – going straight to European markets.
But while Cambodia’s exports to the EU have been on the rise in recent
years, the country’s overall rice exports suffered slightly last year: the industry
took a 1.5% dip in 2018 compared to 2017, with officials citing high production
costs, international competition and a potential EU tariff as the cause.
Just under a week before the
Commission’s Wednesday announcement of its decision, Cambodia Rice Federation
vice-president Vong Bun Heng told a local news outlet that the very threat of
an EU tariff on Cambodia’s rice has already proven damaging to overall exports.
“Some international buyers
hesitate to place orders when they hear about implementation of the EU
safeguard,” he said. “There is a need for our rice, but the choice of buyers is
limited.”
Chan Sophal, director of the
Centre for Policy Studies, a research unit of the Cambodian Economic
Association, told the Phnom Penh Post that the Kingdom could see its rice
industry in critical condition in the face of the EU tariffs. In order to
offset the additional duty costs, he said, local rice farmers will have to
focus on cutting production costs, and may need to switch up their crops
altogether.
“The government should consider
reducing the electricity cost and port fee to help our rice industry to remain
or be more competitive,” he said. “I think [the impact of the tariff] will
depend on the substitutability of the Cambodian rice in EU market outlets. If
they like Cambodian rice, the supermarkets and consumers in Europe may not mind
paying a bit more.”
According to AMRU Rice Cambodia
chairman and CEO Song Saran, Cambodian rice exporters should focus on expanding
to new markets – but for now, it needs Europe.
“We need the EU market and we
cannot afford to lose it. So we will have to find a way to lower our operating
costs to improve competitiveness,” he said.
Myanmar is in much the same boat,
as Europe has steadily grown to become one of the country’s major markets.
Myanmar exported upwards of $320 million worth of rice in 2017, the same year
it reached an all-time high of 293,000 tonnes of rice exported to Europe.
At a World Economic Forum in
September, Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi noted that Myanmar’s rice
exports have been on the rise for years, achieving “pre-war” levels in 2017
thanks to access to foreign markets.
“[Our rice export success] has
not affected the rice exports of [neighbouring countries like] Vietnam or
Thailand,” she said. “The fact that we have been gaining our position in the
world rice market does not mean that other local markets have suffered.”
But this could change now that
the European market has set a high barrier for entry to the Indica rice market,
forcing farmers to look closer to home as they seek out different buyers.
Last week, general secretary of
the Myanmar Rice Federation Ye Min Aung spoke about the potential negative
effects of the EU’s decision to impose duties on the country’s rice exports.
“We have seen increased income as
we are able to export quality rice to EU market,” he told a local news outlet.
“Unless we have [duty free export] rights, we have to compete more with other
countries. But to do so, we have much difficulty – we don’t have enough ports
and warehouses.”
However, others are for more
optimistic about the potential effects of the new tariff, which some Burmese
industry insiders – including Myanmar Rice Federation joint secretary Lu Maw
Myint Maung alongside several local rice exporters – claim will only affect
about 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Indica exports. Even if only 100,000 tonnes
of Myanmar’s exports were to be affected, however, the new tariff would still
result in a loss of approximately $20 million for the country, should Myanmar
choose to send its rice to the EU in the upcoming year.
According to Hla Maung Shwe,
deputy chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, it could be worse – the EU
could have chosen to target duty-free garment imports, which are the backbone
of several developing Southeast Asian economies.
“This decision will not affect us
very much on rice exports to Europe, but if it were on our garment exports, it
would hurt,” Hla Maung She told Radio Free Asia.
In Cambodia, officials are
looking at the new tariff as an opportunity, and a sign from the EU that the
Kingdom no longer needs preferential treatment. Cambodia’s Council of Ministers
spokesman Phay Siphan told RFA that the government is unconcerned by the
tariff, though he admitted it would have an impact.
“Imposing a tax on Cambodia is a
positive development, which proves that Cambodia is able to pay duties like
other countries,” he said. “We know that imposing the tax will affect us, but
we must be ready to compete on a level playing field with other countries in
trade.”
Rice Farmers Drum Support For Buhari’s Re-Election
By Hawa Lawal
Abuja – Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria (RIFAN) has drummed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s
re-election bid, ahead of Saturday’s presidential election.
This was the resolution of the
National Executives and State Chairmen of the association in the 36 states and
FCT on Tuesday in Abuja.
RIFAN President, Aminu Goroyo, told
the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) that each of the 12.2 million members of the
association had pledged their support for President Buhari.
He said the endorsement became
imperative in view of the efforts the president had made to drive the
nation’s economy through mechanised agriculture.
“With the enthusiasm to promote
good governance and corrupt free Nation, RIFAN resolved to support the
re-election of President Muhamadu Buhari come Saturday with massive votes.
According to Goroyo, the
re-election of the president is to ensure Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in food
production.
He also said the step would help in
moving the nation from overdependence on crude oil to non-oil economy.
“We are all speaking with one
voice, exhibit unalloyed commitment in making sure that bulk of our votes go
for President Buhari to achieve the desired transformation for the country.
Goroyo said the President’s
commitment to agriculture through various schemes was an indication that
Nigeria will soon end challenges of hunger, poverty, food security and
unemployment.
He said before this administration,
the country was a net importer of rice to the detriment of the economy and the
farmers.
“The country’s dependence on food
imports in the past was hurting local production, reducing farmers’ welfare and
contributing to increasing unemployment.
“The difference is very clear now
as the rice import has reduced to 5 per cent and it is only done through the
informal process,”he said.
He said that in 2015, Nigerians
spent not less than N1bn on rice consumption, adding that while spending had
drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local
production.
He urged Nigerians to give adequate
support to the Buhari administration by casting their votes for him on
Saturday. (NAN)
File photo
NLA in a hurry to push Rice Bill
national February 19, 2019 01:00
By Khanittha Thepphajorn,
Sayan Chucham
The Nation
Sayan Chucham
The Nation
THE NATIONAL
Legislative Assembly (NLA) looks set to pass the Rice Bill tomorrow despite
concerns expressed by many farmers and various prominent figures.
THE NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) looks set to pass
the Rice Bill tomorrow despite concerns expressed by many farmers and various
prominent figures.
The second and third readings of the Rice Bill are listed as the
second urgent item on the agenda for deliberations at the upcoming NLA session,
ranking behind the Town Planning Bill.
In an apparent bid to ensure the Rice Bill will sail through, the
NLA ad hoc committee on this draft law has even sought a meeting with various
groups of farmers. Yesterday, more than 70 farmer representatives turned up at
the NLA in response to an invitation for them to hear why the Rice Bill would
be good for their sector.
“These farmer representatives are welcome to listen to the second
and third readings of the bill, too,” Somchai Swangkarn said in his capacity as
secretary of the NLA ad hoc committee.
Their gesture effectively countered concerns expressed by many
farmers last week that the Rice Bill, if introduced as a law, might hurt their
way of life and livelihood. For example, the Rice Bill seeks to ban the distribution
of uncertified rice seeds for commercial purposes.
The NLA’s ad hoc committee on the Rice Bill sought to allay
concerns by explaining that the clauses prescribing tough punishments –
Bt100,000 in fine and/or one year in jail – had already been removed.
In addition, the committee explained that the bill was written in
a way that would allow the exchange or sale of rice seeds among farmers from
the very beginning.
Kittisak Rattanawaha, who sits on the ad hoc committee, even
claimed that someone with an ulterior political motive had tried to block this
bill.
“In fact, this bill is useful for farmers. If it sails through, it
will stop unfair practices suffered by rice farmers. It will also affects rice
mills just a little,” he said.
Among the concerns about the draft law is the fact that rice mills
will have to issue purchase paper specifying the variety of rice, weight,
quality and moisture content. A researcher at the Thailand Development Research
Institute warned such a requirement would add to the cost and farmers could
feel the pinch.
Even Agriculture Minister Grisada Boonrach voiced concerns about
the many controversial points in the Rice Bill last week.
In response to these concerns, the NLA ad hoc committee on this
draft law quickly rephrased or removed some controversial clauses.
Still, some farmers and figures remain worried about this draft
law.
Thanakrit Vorathanatchakul, a state attorney, commented in a
Facebook post that the ban on the distribution of uncertified rice seeds “for
commercial purpose” was broad in meaning and this could cause problems for
farmers later on.
“If legislators really intend to exempt rice farmers from
punishment related to this clause, they should clearly state so in the bill,”
he said.
He also pointed to the fact that while phrases like fine and jail
term were already removed from the Rice Bill, there were clauses specifying
that the control, certifying and distribution of rice seeds would be subject to
the Plant Varieties Act.
“A regulation issued under this act states that all rice seeds are
controlled varieties and any violation of the control is punishable by up to
one year in jail and/or a fine of Bt2,000,” he added.
In Phichit province, a group of rice farmers were so worried about
the Rice Bill that they urged Phichit Governor Worapan Suwannus yesterday to
help push for the review.
“I will forward their petition to the Agriculture and Cooperatives
Ministry, as well as the government,” Worapan said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364354
What the EU’s
new tariffs mean for Cambodia and Myanmar’s rice farmers
February 20, 2019
Starting today, Cambodia and
Myanmar will be forced to pay hefty tariffs to export rice to the European
Union – and farmers fear that it will leave both nations’ rice industries in
critical condition
Cambodian farmers carry rice
bales through a field in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, some 60 km south of
Phnom Penh Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
Rice farmers across Cambodia and
Myanmar have been left scrambling for new markets for their crop after the
European Union announced on Wednesday that it will now be imposing hefty
tariffs on long-grain Indica rice from both Southeast Asian nations for the
next three years beginning today.
The decision, announced by the
European Commission this week, follows a month-long investigation that
confirmed the increase in Indica imports from Cambodia and Myanmar has been
damaging to EU rice producers.
In December, the Commission held
a vote on this issue among its 28 EU state members, but did not receive a
majority in favour of imposing the tariff measures. In the absence of strong
opposition to the proposal, the Commission made the final decision itself on 16
January.
Representatives of European
farming groups told Reuters that they are grateful for the Commission’s
decision, as the cheap rice imported from Southeast Asia has been contributing
to farmers’ abandonment of crops and exodus from rural areas.
Farming group Copa-Cogeca said
rice imports from the two Asian countries increased from 9,000 tonnes in 2012
to 360,000 tonnes in 2017, leading to a collapse in prices across the European
continent. In 2018, approximately 30% of all EU rice imports originated from
countries with duty-free status – with the bulk being shipped in from Cambodia
and Myanmar.
“This surge in low-price imports
has caused serious difficulties for EU rice producers to the extent that their
market share in the EU dropped substantially from 61% to 29%,” the Commission
said in a recent statement.
Rice is currently grown across
eight southern European countries including Italy, whose government initially
requested the launch of the Commission’s investigation in March 2018 in the
name of “protecting the Italian and European rice industry”.
Cambodia and Myanmar have enjoyed
duty-free rice export to Europe since 2010, when the EU dropped its tariffs on
the crop as a benefit of the Everything but Arms agreement, a policy which aims
to promote European trade of goods with the world’s 50 least-developed
countries. Other more developed countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand
and Vietnam, have long been paying tariffs of around $200 per tonne for white
rice exports to the EU.
Potential Impact on Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s
Economies
For countries that have long
benefitted from free access to the European market, the new tariffs are a steep
price to pay: for the first year, the two countries’ Indica rice exports will
be charged a duty of approximately $200 per tonne of rice, with the duties
gradually dropping to $171 and $142.50 per tonne, respectively, over the course
of the following two years.
For both Cambodia and Myanmar,
rice is a major export – and Europe has become their most profitable market.
The EU is currently Cambodia’s
largest destination for exports, with nearly 43% of all exported rice – or
approximately 270,000 tonnes’ worth – going straight to European markets.
But while Cambodia’s exports to the EU have been on the rise in recent
years, the country’s overall rice exports suffered slightly last year: the
industry took a 1.5% dip in 2018 compared to 2017, with officials citing high
production costs, international competition and a potential EU tariff as the
cause.
Just under a week before the
Commission’s Wednesday announcement of its decision, Cambodia Rice Federation
vice-president Vong Bun Heng told a local news outlet that the very threat of
an EU tariff on Cambodia’s rice has already proven damaging to overall exports.
“Some international buyers
hesitate to place orders when they hear about implementation of the EU
safeguard,” he said. “There is a need for our rice, but the choice of buyers is
limited.”
Chan Sophal, director of the
Centre for Policy Studies, a research unit of the Cambodian Economic
Association, told the Phnom Penh Post that the Kingdom could see its rice
industry in critical condition in the face of the EU tariffs. In order to
offset the additional duty costs, he said, local rice farmers will have to
focus on cutting production costs, and may need to switch up their crops
altogether.
“The government should consider
reducing the electricity cost and port fee to help our rice industry to remain
or be more competitive,” he said. “I think [the impact of the tariff] will
depend on the substitutability of the Cambodian rice in EU market outlets. If
they like Cambodian rice, the supermarkets and consumers in Europe may not mind
paying a bit more.”
According to AMRU Rice Cambodia
chairman and CEO Song Saran, Cambodian rice exporters should focus on expanding
to new markets – but for now, it needs Europe.
“We need the EU market and we
cannot afford to lose it. So we will have to find a way to lower our operating
costs to improve competitiveness,” he said.
Myanmar is in much the same boat,
as Europe has steadily grown to become one of the country’s major markets.
Myanmar exported upwards of $320 million worth of rice in 2017, the same year
it reached an all-time high of 293,000 tonnes of rice exported to Europe.
At a World Economic Forum in
September, Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi noted that Myanmar’s rice
exports have been on the rise for years, achieving “pre-war” levels in 2017
thanks to access to foreign markets.
“[Our rice export success] has
not affected the rice exports of [neighbouring countries like] Vietnam or
Thailand,” she said. “The fact that we have been gaining our position in the
world rice market does not mean that other local markets have suffered.”
But this could change now that
the European market has set a high barrier for entry to the Indica rice market,
forcing farmers to look closer to home as they seek out different buyers.
Last week, general secretary of
the Myanmar Rice Federation Ye Min Aung spoke about the potential negative
effects of the EU’s decision to impose duties on the country’s rice exports.
“We have seen increased income as
we are able to export quality rice to EU market,” he told a local news outlet.
“Unless we have [duty free export] rights, we have to compete more with other
countries. But to do so, we have much difficulty – we don’t have enough ports
and warehouses.”
However, others are for more
optimistic about the potential effects of the new tariff, which some Burmese
industry insiders – including Myanmar Rice Federation joint secretary Lu Maw
Myint Maung alongside several local rice exporters – claim will only affect
about 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Indica exports. Even if only 100,000 tonnes
of Myanmar’s exports were to be affected, however, the new tariff would still
result in a loss of approximately $20 million for the country, should Myanmar
choose to send its rice to the EU in the upcoming year.
Related reading:
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According to Hla Maung Shwe,
deputy chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, it could be worse – the EU could have chosen to target duty-free
garment imports, which are the backbone of several developing Southeast Asian
economies.
“This decision will not affect us
very much on rice exports to Europe, but if it were on our garment exports, it
would hurt,” Hla Maung She told Radio Free Asia.
In Cambodia, officials are
looking at the new tariff as an opportunity, and a sign from the EU that the
Kingdom no longer needs preferential treatment. Cambodia’s Council of Ministers
spokesman Phay Siphan told RFA that the government is unconcerned by the
tariff, though he admitted it would have an impact.
“Imposing a tax on Cambodia is a
positive development, which proves that Cambodia is able to pay duties like
other countries,” he said. “We know that imposing the tax will affect us, but
we must be ready to compete on a level playing field with other countries in
trade.”
Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported
Rice
By Frederik
Paraiso
Change is coming to rural Western
Africa in the shape of increased food security for, rice. Rice has become the
second most important food staple after maize in Ghana and its consumption
keeps increasing as a result of population growth, urbanization and change in
consumer habits.
For the past few years, Ghanaians
have over the years developed a strong appetite for imported rice due to its
availability and distribution reach in the market as well as its highly
polished and fragranced nature. This has a left a huge gap in the production of
local rice and the domino effect being the loss of jobs directly and directly
in agriculture.
The nation’s value of rice
imports has escalated eightfold – from US$152million in 2007 to a peak of
US$1.2billion in both 2014 and 2015. In the same period, the volume of rice
imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes. According
to figures from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) at the end of 2016,
Ghana’s rice production stood at 687,680 metric tonnes.
Therefore, plans to increase
production by 49% in 2017 means addition of 337,500 metric tonnes which will
put total production this year to a little over one million (1,025,180) metric
tonnes. A focused approach would lead to the creation of roughly This will also
create some 226,800 direct and indirect employment comprising 32,400 direct
jobs, 194,400 indirect jobs.
The important questions were how
would our organisation, Intervale, play a positive role in agriculture in
Ghana?
In early December of 2018, the
“Ghana Rice Initiative”, an agricultural development project supporting 200 000
rice farmers in Ghana, was announced by the German government. The project was
budgeted at 10 million Euros and with a three-year life span, with the goal of
boosting small-scale rice production through the use of subsidized seeds and
technical assistance.
This will help Ghana reach
self-sufficiency in rice consumption and put an end to rice imports which currently
cost over 1 billion USD per year (including rice smuggling from Cote d’Ivoire).
This was the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) and international
cooperation between, amongst others, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in
Africa (AGRA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the John Kuafor
Foundation, and Intervalle.
Swiss-based Intervalle launched
similar rice productivity initiatives four years ago in Senegal and Cote
d’Ivoire. Those projects’ successes led to neighbouring countries taking
notice, and several government entities have since expressed interest in
replicating the business models and public-private partnership structure for
their own farmers.
In 2008, the financial crisis led
to sharp increases in food prices and rioting in some African countries as
desperate people took to the streets. Over-reliance on food imports and
insufficient agricultural productivity was putting even politically stable countries
at the mercy of price hikes and could lead to mass starvation. The plan was to
reduce food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa by focusing on one of the most
cultivated crops, rice, and find a way to solve the issue of insufficiently
productive farmland.
The first step was to recognize
the concepts that had worked and those that failed: planned economy-styled
programs had been imposed on farmers who resisted them, large-scale
agricultural cooperatives hadn’t obtained enough support from the farmers either,
and governments just couldn’t afford the exorbitant cost of price subsidies to
incentivize farmers and boost domestic production. So we went back to square
one, and instead of trying to impose a top-down approach were we told the
farmers what to do through a central planning entity, we favored a bottom-up
vision where we took their opinion into consideration in order to increase the
likelihood they would adhere to the project.
We involved the key stakeholders
such as government officials, local leaders, suppliers, bulk buyers, and of
course rice farmers. Every human being is a rational economic actor in the
greater context of the market. If rice farmers are unable to put money aside
for emergencies and are forced to live hand-to-mouth, it is primarily because
of price volatility and the uncertainty of the harvest quantity and quality.
A rice farmer’s constant
obsession is “How do I feed my children tomorrow?” not “What is the best way to
optimize my acreage relative to my production costs over the next 5 years?”.
This led us to tailor the design of our business model to answer the farmer’s
priorities with very short-term benefits instead of long-term promises. At the
same time, we had to take into account the other stakeholders’ priorities and
balance them out.
When we analysed the situation
our view was to look at it as ‘lifetime value of the investment’.
Another important element was the
ability to provide farmers with fast cash flow cycles to soothe their concerns
and lower their financial anxieties. We carried out several trials and
simulations before finding the right equilibrium and the next step as to
present it to the stakeholders.
The fact this was a Public
Private Partnership put additional constraints in terms of procurement and
oversight, but at the same time, we could benefit from the credibility bestowed
by the government’s endorsement of the project and this really helped get
people to support us. At the end of the day, we found solutions to accommodate
all parties and we signed the project into existence.
The project was very successful,
and as a result, we increased both productivity and the net amount of rice
produced on the farms where the project was implemented. I really believe that
agriculture in West Africa is sleeping beauty and our lessons in this region
can be shared with the rest of the continent in core agriculture driven markets
such as Kenya, South Africa and many other countries.
It will take enlightened
investors both in Africa especially countries that are not heavily reliant on agriculture
and international investors to put aside the commonly-held beliefs on Africa
being too backwards to produce anything valuable besides oil and raw minerals,
and realize that there is a whole value chain of agricultural produce that is
going to emerge, taking advantage of the fertile soils, exceptional climate,
low cost of labor and shear market size.
Haitians seek water, food as businesses
reopen after protest
Monday, February 18th 2019
Demonstrators drag the body of a fellow protester toward police,
as a form of protest after police shot into the crowd in which he died, during
a demonstration demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise
near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019.
(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) —
Businesses and government offices slowly reopened across Haiti on Monday after
more than a week of violent demonstrations over prices that have doubled for
food, gas and other basic goods in recent weeks and allegations of government
corruption.
Public transportation resumed in
the capital, Port-au-Prince, where people began lining up to buy food, water
and gas as crews cleared barricaded streets, where hundreds of thousands of Haitians
had protested to demand the resignation of President Jovenel
Moise.
Moise has refused to step down,
though his prime minister, Jean-Henry
Ceant, said over the weekend that he has agreed to reduce certain
government budgets by 30 percent, limit travel of government officials and
remove all non-essential privileges they enjoy, including phone cards. Ceant
also vowed to investigate alleged misspending tied to a Venezuelan program that
provided Haiti with subsidized oil and said he has requested that a court audit
all state-owned enterprises.
But many Haitians remained wary
of those promises, and schools remained closed on Monday amid concerns of more
violence.
"The government is making
statements that are not changing anything at this point," said Hector
Jean, a moto taxi driver who was waiting for customers. He recently had to buy
a gallon of gas for 500 gourdes ($6), more than twice what he normally pays,
and he has been unable to find customers who can afford to pay higher fares.
"It's very hard to bring something
home," he said. "I have three kids."
Other goods in the Western
Hemisphere's poorest nation have also doubled in price in recent weeks: A sack
of rice now costs $18 and a can of dry beans around $7. In addition, a gallon
of cooking oil has gone up to nearly $11 from $7. Inflation has been in the double
digits since 2014, and the price hikes are angering many people in Haiti, where
about 60 per cent of its nearly 10.5 million people struggle to get by on about
$2 a day. A recent report by the U.S. Agency for International Development said
about half the country is undernourished.
The latest violent demonstrations
prompted the U.S. government to warn people last week not to travel to Haiti as
it urged Moise's administration to implement economic reforms and redouble
efforts to fight corruption and hold accountable those implicated in the
scandal over the Venezuelan subsidized oil program known as Petrocaribe. A
Haitian Senate investigation has alleged embezzlement by at least 14 former
officials in ex-President Michel Martelly's administration, but no one has been
charged. Meanwhile, Haitians have demanded a probe into the spending of the
$3.8 billion Haiti received as part of the Petrocaribe program.
"Corruption goes unpunished, and
people are just really tired of it," said Athena Kolbe, a human rights
researcher who has worked in Haiti. "I can't imagine that things are going
to calm down."
She said she doesn't believe
claims that opposition leaders are behind the demonstrations or that people are
being paid to protest as has happened in previous years given the incredible
number of people that have taken to the streets in recent days. However, Kolbe
warned that even if Moise were forced to step down, it would not resolve one of
Haiti's underlying issues: how to address corruption.
"People are just kind of exhausted
with the business elite running the country and retaining control and not
knowing where public funds are going," she said.
Martelly hand-picked Moise in
2015 to be the candidate for the ruling Tet Kale party even though the
businessman from northern Haiti had never run for office. Moise was sworn in as
president in February 2017 for a five-year term and promised to fight
corruption and bring investment and jobs to one of the least developed nations
in the world. His swearing-in marked Haiti's return to constitutional rule a
year after Martelly left office without an elected successor amid waves of
opposition protests and a political stalemate that led to suspended elections.
Moise's administration previously
set off deadly protests in July 2018 when officials abruptly announced
double-digit increases in the prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene as part
of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate fuel
subsidies and boost government revenue. At least seven people died in those
protests, which also forced Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant to resign after
facing a no-confidence vote in parliament.
https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/haitians-seek-water-food-as-businesses-reopen-after-protest
Northwest
drought: rice, banana growers plant only 50% of lands
Montecristi, Dominican Republic.- The Northwest region’s rice
and banana growers planted only 50 percent of their land due to the
prolonged drought, while the irrigation boards take measures to distribute the
water through the irrigation channels.
Rice grower and local irrigation board president José Eugenio de
la Rosa said the low water levels in the irrigation system have forced working
in two shifts to supply water. “Before we distributed between 13 and 14 cubic
meters per second in different shifts, but now we barely reach four meters.”
Deficit
De la Rosa said that of 7,000 hectares of rice planted, only
55,000 tareas (one tarea=630 square meters) could be planted, while of 68,000
tareas of bananas, only 78,000 tareas were planted and only 68,000 tareas could
be cultivated, for a deficit of 10,000 tareas.
“The losses of the agricultural and livestock sector in this
area are huge,” de la Rosa said, quoted by Diario Libre.
Meanwhile Hatillo Palma district banana grower VÃctor Manuel
Santana, said in addition to the drought, fruit exporters lowered prices as
much as two dollars per box.
1,000 National Food Authority employees to lose jobs
During a meeting on the draft implementing rules and
regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import Liberalization Act
on Monday, it was determined that the NFA’s role would be limited to buffer
stocking or procurement of local palay.
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star) - February 20, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Close to a
thousand employees of the National Food Authority (NFA) will lose their jobs as
the agency will undergo restructuring following the enactment of the rice
tariffication law.
During a meeting on the draft
implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice
Import Liberalization Act on Monday, it was determined that the NFA’s role
would be limited to buffer stocking or procurement of local palay.
This means that when the law
takes effect on March 5, all NFA workers directly involved in industry
regulation, licensing and monitoring of wholesalers, millers and retailers will
be removed as the agency is stripped of its power to distribute the staple.
“Based on our evaluation, there
are about 400 people in the regulations and our operations are more than that.
So it’s about close to 1,000 workers (who will lose their jobs),” NFA
officer-in-charge administrator Tomas Escarez told journalists yesterday.
“We will be recommending that
they can either remain, although their status is CTI or co-terminus with the
incumbent. Or they can just avail of the compensation package, which we are
certain most of them would,” Escarez said.
The NFA will no longer need that
much manpower as its functions will only be limited to buffer stocking for
emergencies and calamities.
“What we will do is just buy
palay from local farmers good for 15 days and 30 days, we will be managing that
for the whole year and doing that will not require a lot of people,” Escarez
said.
The NFA has created a change
management team that would handle the transition period between now and what
the agency’s structure will be.
The interagency NFA Council has
given the NFA up to 30 days to finalize its restructuring plan, which will be
up for approval of the council.
The council is fast-tracking the
draft of the IRR. Based on the law, a period of 90 days has been allocated for
its completion.
Among the issues yet to be resolved
is the exact tariff rates that would be imposed on importers from inside and
outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
The council is expected to meet
again next week and a series of consultations with local farmers will be conducted.
Tariffication starts March 5
The Department of Finance (DOF)
has clarified that the liberalization of rice imports and imposition of tariffs
on imported rice should begin on March 5 as provided under the Rice
Tariffication Law. The DOF said the shift from quantitative restrictions (QR)
to tariffication of rice imports would start on March 5 and not on March 3, as
earlier agreed upon by the NFA Council.
Finance Assistant Secretary and
spokesman Antonio Lambino said this is in line with Republic Act 11203 or the
Rice Tariffication Act, which provides that the law should become effective 15
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.
President Duterte signed the law
on Feb. 14 and it was published in the Official Gazette on Feb. 18.
Lambino said the NFA Council
assumed that the publication of the law was done on Feb. 15, which was why they
agreed to impose tariffs starting March 3.
Corruption source?
Malacañang allayed fears that the
Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) from rice tariff would become a
source of corruption.
The Palace gave assurance that
safeguards are in place to ensure that the rice fund, which will be created by
the Rice Tarriffication Law, would be used properly.
Malacañang issued the statement
after some farmers expressed worry that the fund would be misused like the
P723-million fertilizer fund, which was allegedly diverted to the campaign
funds of then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004.
The Rice Tarriffication Law provides
an annual budget of P10 billion to the RCEF, which will protect the livelihood
of local farmers.
Presidential spokesman Salvador
Panelo said the government would not allow the RCEF to be misused.
Panelo said the agriculture
secretary would be accountable and responsible for the RCEF and has been tasked
to validate and update the master list of eligible beneficiaries, who include
farmers, farm workers, rice cooperatives and associations.
He said the law requires the
congressional oversight committee on agricultural and fisheries modernization
to review the RCEF periodically.
Meanwhile, Butil party-list
Rep. Cecilia Chavez is worried that the law would only worsen the sufferings of
the agricultural sector, citing the “cartelized oil industry.”
“That’s what they did to oil and
power. How can we be sure that the prices of rice will not rise in the future?
Today, yes, it might go down, but what about in the future? That’s what I am
worried about,” Chavez said.
“That’s what they were exactly
saying before: let the market prices determine the price of the product,”
Chavez told journalists at a briefing in the House media center yesterday.
“So what is happening now?” she
asked, referring to the high cost of fuel.
Higher budget
Despite having most of its functions
removed, the NFA is expecting a silver lining from the rice liberalization act,
as a higher budget will be provided for the agency to ensure its buffer
stocking role during calamities and emergencies.
The NFA Council agreed to include
the NFA’s budget under the General Appropriations Act, which means higher
allocation for the grains agency.
The NFA would adopt an optimal
level of rice inventory equivalent to 15 to 30 days of national rice
consumption under the tariff regime, effectively removing its function of
issuing licenses, collecting fees and releasing import permits.
“Starting next year, the fund to
be utilized will be sourced from GAA which is being approved by the Congress
and Senate. What is in the IRR is that it will be supplemented by our corporate
fund,” Escarez said.
Currently, the NFA’s annual
budget is subsidized and most of its expenses for price stabilization are
coming from its corporate fund.
“What we have right now is the
budget only for palay procurement, relying on the P7 billion. But next year, we
will be including the operating expenses. It will include the budget for 30
days and that is good because we will no longer have a hard time looking for
funds,” Escarez said.
Draft IRR completed
The National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) has completed drafting the IRR for the Rice
Tariffication Act in anticipation of the signing of the bill into law.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary
Ernesto Pernia said NEDA has always been pushing for key reforms that will make
the Filipino staple food accessible and affordable for everyone.
“We are confident that the full
implementation of the law will have the resolute support of everyone,” Pernia
said.
He said government agencies
started preparing the IRR as early as January.
Technical working groups were
created to discuss key provisions of the bill and provide inputs to the draft
IRR.
The IRR drafting committee is
composed of the NEDA, Department of Budget and Management, Department of
Agriculture and other concerned government agencies.
The first draft of the IRR
formulated during a two-day workshop last week was presented to the NFA on Feb.
18.
Pernia said the revised draft IRR
would be subjected to public consultation in the coming days to ensure a smooth
and timely transition to a new rice regime.
The draft IRR contains provisions
on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import
requirements.
It also provides details on the
necessary institutional arrangements that would enhance competitiveness and
institute safety nets for local farmers affected by the removal of the QR on
rice imports. – With Alexis Romero, Mary Grace Padin,
Czeriza Valencia, Delon Porcalla
U.S. Rice Prompts Visit by Haitian Delegation
ARLINGTON,
VA -- Haiti, the United States' second largest rice market by both volume and
value, has been rocked by civil unrest for more than two weeks as a result of
soaring food and fuel prices, and a currency that has lost 30 percent of its
purchasing power. Last week, Haitian Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond, in
town for high level meetings with U.S. government officials, came to USA Rice
headquarters here to meet with industry representatives to discuss the current
situation in his country.
"The government of Haiti has made some difficult decisions that have had dire consequences, but they were necessary," Minister Edmond said, referencing the decision to cut off fuel imports from Venezuela last year. "Our schools have been closed for two weeks, hospitals are paralyzed, and the National Police are exhausted."
Edmond was in Washington meeting with officials at the State Department and White House seeking solutions to the country's economic emergency.
"We are very appreciative Minister Edmond personally came to brief us on the very serious situation," said Betsy Ward, president and CEO of USA Rice. "We are also honored that President Jovenel Moïse called in to thank us for welcoming essential members of his Administration."
Haiti imports long grain milled rice from the mid-South and representatives from several USA Rice member companies active in the market joined Ward in the meetings. Haiti imported 366,553 metric tons of milled rice in the first 11 months of 2018 (the equivalent of 14.7 million cwt, paddy basis), valued at $185 million.
"Haiti's consumers show a strong preference for U.S.-grown rice and it is an essential market for the U.S. rice industry," said Bobby Hanks, chair of the USA Rice International Trade Policy committee who attended the meeting. "We are very sympathetic and are looking at several avenues to assist the Haitian people, and preserve this critical commercial market and long-term investments made by U.S. suppliers."
Edmond stressed that time is of the essence and while they need help, his government is not looking for hand-outs.
"We believe in the big heart of the Americans to work together for a good cause," he said.
"We committed to Minister Edmond that this is our highest priority right now," concluded Ward. "USA Rice members also met with Trump Administration officials to encourage a coordinated response that can provide assistance to the fuel, food, and currency crisis."
"The government of Haiti has made some difficult decisions that have had dire consequences, but they were necessary," Minister Edmond said, referencing the decision to cut off fuel imports from Venezuela last year. "Our schools have been closed for two weeks, hospitals are paralyzed, and the National Police are exhausted."
Edmond was in Washington meeting with officials at the State Department and White House seeking solutions to the country's economic emergency.
"We are very appreciative Minister Edmond personally came to brief us on the very serious situation," said Betsy Ward, president and CEO of USA Rice. "We are also honored that President Jovenel Moïse called in to thank us for welcoming essential members of his Administration."
Haiti imports long grain milled rice from the mid-South and representatives from several USA Rice member companies active in the market joined Ward in the meetings. Haiti imported 366,553 metric tons of milled rice in the first 11 months of 2018 (the equivalent of 14.7 million cwt, paddy basis), valued at $185 million.
"Haiti's consumers show a strong preference for U.S.-grown rice and it is an essential market for the U.S. rice industry," said Bobby Hanks, chair of the USA Rice International Trade Policy committee who attended the meeting. "We are very sympathetic and are looking at several avenues to assist the Haitian people, and preserve this critical commercial market and long-term investments made by U.S. suppliers."
Edmond stressed that time is of the essence and while they need help, his government is not looking for hand-outs.
"We believe in the big heart of the Americans to work together for a good cause," he said.
"We committed to Minister Edmond that this is our highest priority right now," concluded Ward. "USA Rice members also met with Trump Administration officials to encourage a coordinated response that can provide assistance to the fuel, food, and currency crisis."
Rice Webinar: Thursday February 21
Tune in
Thursday, February 21, at 3:00 p.m. Central Time, for a new rice webinar hosted
by Dr. Bobby Coats, with the Department of Agricultural Economics and
Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas. Terry Barr, a nationally
recognized economist who has served as chief economist for the National Council
of Farmer Cooperatives, will discuss the significant challenges agriculture and
rural America will face in 2019-20 as the U.S. and global economies slow and
trade uncertainties continue.
Go here to register for the webinar.
Go here to register for the webinar.
USA Rice Daily
NABARD, PJTSAU to launch joint research programmes
THE HANS INDIA | Feb 20,2019 , 02:19 AM IST 
NABARD, PJTSAU to launch joint research programmes
Hyderabad: National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD)
has sought cooperation of Prof. JayashankarTelanganan State Agriculture
University (PJTSAU) in research in various areas including climate proofing and
models of cropping patterns etc.NABARD Chief General Manager(CGM) Vijaykumar
along with the bank officials visited the PJTSAU campus on Tuesday and interacted
with Vice-Chancellor Dr Praveen Rao and explained the agricultural activities
of the bank in villages for socio-economic development of farmers.
He
asked the VC to initiate joint research programmes for ensuring profitable
agriculture to the farmers. Further, he also suggested that the activities and
programmes of NABARD can be included in the course curriculum. Accepting the
proposals, Dr V Praveen Rao said initially the NABARD activities would be
included in the UG courses and guest lectures will be arranged with the NABARD
officials.
For
this, it was decided to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the
joint research programmes by both the parties. While addressing the NABARD
officials’ team, Dr Praveen Rao explained the university’s mandate of teaching,
research and extension activities. He also said that there is a plan to include
the entrepreneurship and management in the university mandate. Dr Rao
stated that from June onwards expansion of crop colonies would be taken up in four
horticultural crops and four agricultural crops mainly rice, maize, soybean,
redgram and groundnut in Rabi.
The
food processing facility is also provided in the proposed crop colony areas, he
said. The university is ready to involve with the NABARD in the areas of
collaborative research, impact assessment, extend technical backup support
etc., the VC said. Later, the team of NABARD officers along with CGM visited
the establishments of the university at Rajendranagar campus. The officers
visited the millet incubation centre, fields of the water technology centre,
PFDC, IFS at the college farm, maize research centre, rice research
centre.
CGM
and officers of NABARD appreciated the efforts of the VC for achieving the 2nd
rank among the agricultural universities in the country and for being awarded
as the best vice-chancellor in the country. Dr R Jagadeeshwar, Director of
Research PJTSAU, Dr Rajireddy, Director of Extension, PJTSAU, GMs of NABARD CSR
Murthy, BK Mishra, Retired engineers association secretary Shyamprasad Reddy, D
Vasanthkumar of G Cot were among those present during the CGMs visit.
sought
the cooperation of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural
University (PJTSAU) in the areas of climate proofing in view of the climate
change, models of cropping patterns, enhancement of productivity, integrated
farming, area development in watershed development program areas of NABARD.
NEDA leads
crafting of rice tariffication law IRR
February 19, 2019
MANILA — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
is taking the lead in crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of
the recently signed Rice Tariffication Act or Republic Act 11203, ensuring the
country’s smooth and timely transition to a new rice regime.
“We laud the signing of the
historic Rice Tariffication Act. This ushers in a new rice policy that will set
in motion big reforms in the agriculture sector and will ensure the
availability of cheaper rice (closer to world prices) in the market,”
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.
Signed by President Rodrigo
Duterte on Feb. 14, 2019, the law amends the 20-year-old Agricultural
Tariffication Act of 1996 and replaces the quantitative restrictions (QR) on
rice imports with tariff.
“We, at NEDA, have always been
pushing for key reforms that will make the Filipino staple food accessible and
affordable for everyone. We are confident that the full implementation of the
law will have the resolute support of everyone,” Pernia said.
In anticipation of the signing of
the bill, government agencies started preparing for its implementation as early
as January 2019. Technical working groups were created to discuss the key
provisions of the bill and provide inputs to the draft IRR.
The IRR Drafting Committee has
members from NEDA, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of
Agriculture, and other concerned government agencies.
The first draft of the IRR, which
was formulated during a two-day workshop last week, was presented to the
National Food Authority (NFA) Council on Feb. 18, 2019.
Pernia said the revised draft IRR
will be subjected to public consultation in the coming days.
The draft IRR contains provisions
on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import
requirements. It also provides details on the necessary institutional
arrangements that will enhance competitiveness and institute safety nets to
assist local farmers affected by the removal of the QR on rice imports.
“Anyone, whether a small or a big
trader, can now import as long as they have secured a Sanitary Phytosanitary
(SPS) clearance from the Department of Agriculture and paid the corresponding
tariff. By removing NFA’s decades-old monopoly on rice importation, we promote
greater participation of the private sector and enhance competition in the
market,” Pernia said.
He added that safety nets are
included in the new law that addresses concerns of many farmers.
“The law provides sure and
transparent support to farmers through a comprehensive assistance program to
the tune of at least P10 billion a year for the next six years,” Pernia said.
In particular, the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) will be used to provide key
interventions to support farmers and enhance their competitiveness and
profitability, including farm machinery and equipment to improve farm
operations, rice seed development, propagation, and promotion, expanded rice
credit, and extension services.
A portion of the rice tariff
revenues in excess of PHP10 billion will be used to provide direct financial
assistance to rice farmers affected by the removal of the QR and for
diversification to high-value crops.
A mandatory review of the RCEF
will be conducted by Congress on the sixth year.
Pernia said the law also grants
the President the power to increase, reduce, revise or adjust existing tariff
rates to safeguard Filipino farmers. In case of imminent danger of rice
shortage, the bill empowers the President, for a limited period and for a
specified volume, to allow importation at lower tariff rates for the benefit of
consumers.
The bill also enables the
President to increase the applied tariff to more than 100 percent, but not to
exceed the specified bound rate, if warranted.
Pernia said a special safeguard
duty on rice will also be imposed to protect the rice industry from sudden or
extreme price fluctuations. A safeguard duty is a temporary increase in import
duty of an agricultural product to deal with import surges or price falls,
under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.
“The new law not only puts in
place a new and efficient rice regime but also widens the horizons of
productivity and sustainability of the country’s rice sector. With this law,
concerned government agencies, including NEDA, are mandated to craft a Rice
Industry Roadmap. This development plan will detail strategies related to
research, production, and governance mechanisms, among others,” he said.The law
provides a maximum of 180 days from the law’s effectivity date for the
formulation and adoption of the Roadmap.
In the Philippines, where 'rice is life,' a
move to allow more imports signals change
·
BULACAN, Philippines —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 have 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 has ended 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.
"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."
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. The bill became law Friday, and the law will
take effect March 3.
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 percent 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 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 from the lifting of the quota,
even with the Philippines' 35 percent 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."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
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.
Drop in rice
prices due to market speculation
February 18, 2019
MANILA — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol clarified
that the fall in the buying price of rice by commercial traders is the result
of speculation, which was fueled by the anticipated “flooding” of the market with
cheap imported rice under a liberalized market.
This is in view of the
disinformation surrounding the newly-enacted Rice Tariffication Law’s effect on
the local rice industry, to the point that the buying price of palay has
dropped from a high of PHP22 per kilo last year to PHP14 and PHP15 in some
parts of the country now.
Piñol said the Rice Tariffication
Law has just been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and is not effective yet.
“There is a period within which
the public will be notified and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)
still have to be finalized,” he explained.
And even if the importers would
want to bring in huge volumes of imported rice, the DA chief said there is not
much rice supply available in the world market.
“As it is now, the volume of rice
traded in the world market every year is only about 40-million metric tons (MT)
of which about 38-million (MT) is already committed to specific non-rice
producing countries,” he said.
“The world population is growing
exponentially while the land area is constant and this is true with rice
exporting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar,” he
added.
The DA chief said a few years
from now, Thailand and Vietnam will not be able to export the same volume of
rice as they do today because they also have growing populations.
“The Philippines cannot let go of
its own Rice Production Program because the moment it becomes dependent on
imported rice, even on a short term, it will end up at the mercy of the rice
exporters who could sell their produce at an even higher price than our
domestic cost of production,” he noted.
Piñol said that the view that
some economists are peddling that the Philippines would be better off just
importing rice rather than producing it locally is “a short-sighted
perspective”.
“If this view prevails, the
Philippines will face a real rice crisis a few years from now with sky-high
prices which the poor cannot afford,” he said.
Piñol, however, admitted that
initially, there would be a drop in the buying price of palay “but the farmers
are expected to adjust by increasing productivity with funds coming from
tariffication.”
Under the Rice Tariffication Law,
a provision states that the tariffs and duties collected from the rice
importation — 35 percent for ASEAN members and 50 percent for other sources —
shall be turned over to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF),
estimated at no less than PHP10-billion annually.
For 2019, Piñol said about PHP5
billion of the PHP10-billion RCEF will be allocated for farm mechanization;
PHP3-billion for high-yielding seeds; PHP1-billion for credit; and PHP1-billion
for technical skills training.
“Properly used, the RCEF could
actually increase the productivity of Filipino rice farmers because farm
mechanization alone will increase production efficiency and reduce post-harvest
losses estimated at 16 percent of total production,” he said.
The DA chief explained that the
PHP3-billion intended for high-yielding seeds developed by the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Philippine Rice Research Institute
(PhilRice) is also expected to increase average farm yield by at least two MT
in one-million hectares for the first year of implementation.
On the other hand, the
PHP1-billion credit facility will also allow farmers to buy fertilizers and
other farm inputs, thus increasing their productivity, while the P1-B for
technical skills training is expected to improve their farming technology, he
said.
Piñol also stressed that he is
supporting the lifting of the Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on rice
importation.
He reiterated that the Rice
Tariffication Law was the commitment of the Philippines to the World Trade
Organization WTO) negotiations many years ago “and these are commitments that
we must honor or else we will face trade disputes from other WTO member
countries.”
“Of course, I have to admit that
I had my reservations on the provisions of the law, which takes out the
regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA), but these are now
settled with the signing of the bill into law. I am a government worker and I
will abide by the policy set by the administration and work to ensure its
successful implementation,” he added.
Louisiana agriculture hall of
fame gets second female member
Linda Zaunbrecher
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) —
Louisiana's agricultural hall of fame will have four new members in March,
including its second female member.
Linda Zaunbrecher will be among
the inductees into the Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction on March 7 in
Baton Rouge.
She was the first woman elected
to the Louisiana Farm Bureau State Board of Directors' executive committee, in
1984. She also helped create the Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation, a
scholarship program.
The Hall of Distinction honors
people who have made significant contributions to the state's agriculture
community. This year's other inductees include Grady Coburn, Jack Hamilton and
George LaCour.
Coburn is one of Louisiana’s
earliest crop consultants and contract researchers. Hamilton, who died in 2001,
made innovations in cotton production and ginning. LaCour has expertise in
sustainability and conservation in the cotton industry.
http://www.wafb.com/2019/02/17/louisiana-agriculture-hall-fame-gets-second-female-member/
Farmers warn of rice bill strife
'Unclear' wording could land growers in hot water
- 19 Feb
2019 at 04:00
- NEWSPAPER
SECTION: NEWS
| WRITER: AEKARACH
SATTABURUTH & SITTIPOT KAEBUI
Farmers and activists are threatening to stage
huge protests if the controversial rice bill, that they believe will seriously
hurt local farmers, is not dropped.
The
threat is part of a fierce campaign to put pressure on the National Legislative
Assembly (NLA), which will deliberate the bill later today and tomorrow. Last
month, the NLA approved the draft bill in its first reading.Opponents of the bill are protesting against Section 27, which prohibits the trading of rice seeds that have not been approved by the Rice Department.
Critics said the section was designed to
benefit large-scale commercial rice producers, as farmers who trade their own
rice seeds could get into trouble.
Small farming communities who have developed, harvested and come to
rely on indigenous rice varieties will be hit hardest by the bill, critics
said.Thanakrit Worathanatchakul, a provincial chief public prosecutor attached to the Office of the Attorney-General, said the bill lacks clarity and might affect farmers who develop and harvest their own strains.
Section 3 of the bill, he noted, limits the exchange and sale of seeds for "commercial purposes" without any further explanation.
"What this entails is unclear, and the bill should have been written more clearly such as if small-scale farmers will be spared from the prohibition.
Meanwhile, farmers across the country were up in arms over the bill.
At Khon Kaen City Hall, members of various community organisations jointed the Alternative Agriculture Network in the Northeast in reading a statement opposing the bill.
Chuchart Phiewsawan, chairman of tambon organisation council meetings, said the legislation undermines the strength of farmers' unions and organisations, as the drafting process lacked public participation.
If implemented, the legislation would aggravate social disparity and result in protests in the future, he said.
"We want the NLA to immediately drop the rice bill," said Mr Chuchart. "Tambon councils from 77 provinces and other allies will join hands in opposition to the rice bill."
Mr Chuchart said that since the bill will only allow certified seeds to be bought and sold, corporations with capital and the required technology stand to benefit more than local farmers.
The Chairman of the Thai Rice Growers Association, Suthep Kongmak, said farmers were also opposed to the bill because it was not written to protect them.
Mr Suthep said the NLA should not rush to pass it as more thorough studies must be conducted.
In Phichit, representatives of local farming networks lodged a petition against the bill with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha via provincial governor Woraphan Suwanus.
They said they will assemble every seven days to hear the progress of their demands, and if they are not met by this month, farmer networks across the country will stage a big protest in March.
Members of the Thai Farmer's Debt Network also assembled Monday at Prachuap Khiri Khan's provincial hall to submit a petition against the bill.
They said the legislation will only be beneficial to business groups, not farmers.
Gen Prayut said the NLA intends to take better care of farmers by preventing them from being taken advantage of.
He also insisted the bill would not affect farmers in terms of seed storage, exchange or trade.
Meanwhile, the NLA committee vetting the rice bill invited more than 70 representatives from farmer networks to exchange views on the legislation.
The representatives were said to be in support of the bill and hoped it will pass the NLA reading tomorrow.
Kittisak Ratanawaraha, a member of the committee, insisted the lawmakers deliberating the bill were not being influenced by big businesses and vested interests.
The panel released a statement to counter criticism of the bill.
It states that the bill includes a clause that would spare farmers who store seeds for their own use.
Growers who have good quality seeds can trade or exchange them freely, except those who do so for commercial purposes,it said.
Rice insurance continues
Cabinet gauges 2018 scheme as success
- 19 Feb
2019 at 06:00 NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS
| WRITER: CHATRUDEE
THEPARAT
The cabinet has approved a rice insurance
scheme for the 2019 season worth 1.74 billion baht, aiming to cover 30 million
rai of farmland.
The
scheme, operated by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives
(BAAC), covers six types of natural disaster -- floods, drought, storms, cold,
hail and fires.Nathporn Chatusripitak, a spokesman to the deputy prime minister who oversees economic affairs, said the scheme is scheduled to start from April 1, charging an insurance premium of 85 baht per rai, with the government subsidising 51 baht and farmers required to pay 34 baht.
The cabinet on Monday also acknowledged that
last year's rice insurance scheme was successful. Almost 27 million rai of
farmland, host to 1.92 million farmers, was insured for the 2018 crop year, or
82% of the scheme's target.
The cabinet also approved 121.8 million baht for a maize insurance
scheme this year, covering 3 million rai.Participating farmers will be charged an insurance premium of 59 baht per rai, with the government paying 35.40 baht per rai as a subsidy, and farmers paying 23.60 baht per rai.
On Monday, the cabinet ordered the Interior Ministry to support and promote each province to develop geographical indication (GI) products to generate community income and add value to local products.
Each province is required to establish a working committee to handle promotion and development.
GI is a distinctive certificate used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region or locality that specific quality, reputation or from which other characteristics originate and are unique.
These unique characteristics and quality are expected to increase market value in developed countries.
The Commerce Ministry through the Intellectual Property Department has already approved GI certificates for 103 indigenous products in 67 provinces.
The government aims to raise sales from GI products to more than 30 billion baht over the next five years, while ramping up linking GI locations to tourism schemes.
GI product sales topped 4 billion baht last year, up from 3.7 billion in 2017.
Thailand has GI registration in the EU for Thung Kula Rong Hai hom mali rice, Doi Chaang and Doi Tung coffee, and Sangyod Muang Phatthalung rice, while in India and Indonesia it has registered Lamphun brocade Thai silk. Isan indigenous Thai silk yarn has GI registration in Vietnam.
Thailand has already filed GI applications in China for Thung Kula Rong Hai hom mali rice, Phetchabun sweet tamarind and Tubtim Siam Pak Phanang pomelo. For Japan, Thailand has filed for GI registration of Doi Tung and Doi Chaang coffee, and Uttaradit's Hauymon pineapple.
It also filed and is awaiting registration confirmation in Vietnam of Phetchabun sweet tamarind and Lamphun golden dried longan. The same process is taking place for Doi Tung coffee in Cambodia.
There are 16 foreign products GI registered in Thailand, mostly from Italy, Vietnam and France. Nine applications are pending for foreign products such as grapes from California, Pisco brandy from Chile, grana padano and asiago cheeses from Italy, and Kobe beef from Japan.
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