Monday, March 25, 2019

23 March,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter



Ghana to end tomato imports in 2019
Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture says it is looking to cut down imports of rice by 50 per cent as well as ending tomato imports this year. Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, George Oduro said the government is working to cut the levels of food import significantly: “This year alone, our target it to stop the importation of rice by 50 per cent. Then for tomatoes too, we hope to end it importation completely so that we produce enough even for export because we have the capacity to do so.”
According to him, efforts to expand irrigation projects, the introduction of mechanization are among the efforts to help boost production.
According to the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana Shani Cooper, his government will continue to invest in Ghana’s Agric sector: “We have so many investments in Ghana worth hundreds of millions of dollars but we believe aid comes with commerce so we also doing a lot n capacity building for farmers. We are also working to attract more investors from Israel to Ghana in the agriculture sector to boost commerce between the two states” Ms Cooper said.
According to myjoyonline.com¸ records from the Ministry shows that in 2017, Ghana imported some 656.232 tons of rice worth $331.2 million. In the same period, some 75,000 tons of tomatoes was also imported to meet domestic demand.

Publication date : 3/22/2019 

   

Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here

Other news in this sector: 
·       2019-03-22 Ghana to end tomato imports in 2019


© FreshPlaza.com 2019

Food grain stocks soar to record 15.45 lakh tonnes

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Dhaka
The country’s food grain stocks touched a record level of 15.45 lakh metric tonnes this month, from a minimum stock of around 3.00 lakh tonnes in 2017, according to sources in the food ministry and the Directorate General of Food. The stock was around 11.41 lakh tonnes this time last year.
According to DG Food officials, the stocks have increased due to successful procurement of rice from farmers.
The DG Food authorities have bought 8.00 lakh tonnes of Aman rice till March 13 this year from the local market.
In 2017, the government had to import a huge quantity of rice from various countries, including India, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, to meet the local demand, as crops were damaged in flash floods in low-lying areas like "haors" (wetlands) and the northern region.
Despite the huge local production and stocks with farmers and traders, around 2.91 lakh tonnes of rice was imported from various countries this year.
DG Food officials claimed that procurement of this year’s Aman rice and last year’s Boro rice has contributed to the increase in food grain stocks.
Although the price of rice and paddy in the local market has started declining due to the huge stock of food grain, the DG Food authorities would not buy more rice locally right at this moment.
“The authorities concerned want
to empty the godowns, so that they can buy Boro rice from the local market, which is likely to start by May,” a DG
official said.
According to the DG Food data, the country’s food grain stocks have risen to 15.45 lakh tonnes as of Tuesday (March 19). Of the food grain, 13.89 lakh tonnes are rice, and 1.56 lakh tonnes wheat.
Private rice importers have imported around 40.21 lakh tonnes of rice of different varieties this year from different countries, sources said.
This year, the government has fixed the procurement price for Aman rice at Tk. 36, reducing by Tk. 3 per kg, estimating that the per kg production cost varied between Tk. 34 and Tk. 35. The procurement started on February 28, 2019 and continued till March 13.
When contacted, the director general of DG Food, Arifur Rahman Apu, told this correspondent that the government has bought 8.00 lakh tonnes of Aman rice at Tk 36 per kg this year. The rice was bought to provide incentives to the farmers and control the local market, he added.
When asked about further extension of the local procurement limit, Apu replied: “There is no possibility of that happening, because of Boro harvesting. Boro harvesting will begin by mid-April and its procurement will start in May.”


Bio-Fortification of Rice, Wheat, Oil, Will Help Take Forward Poshan Abhiyaan, Say Experts

Nearly half of India’s population, especially children, suffer from micro-nutrient malnutrition, which can lead to health issues like acute anaemia, cognitive delays, weakened immunity and increased risk of birth defects.

OUTLOOK WEB BUREAU23 MARCH 2019
Mail
Print

A
A
A
INCREASE TEXT SIZE
Bio-fortification of wheat, rice, oil and salt with iron, zinc, and vitamins will go a long way in addressing hidden hunger – or micro-nutrient malnutrition -- among the people, especially children, and help take forward the government’s Poshan Abhiyaan mission, experts said.
Nearly half of India’s population, especially children, suffer from micro-nutrient malnutrition, which can lead to health issues like acute anaemia, cognitive delays, weakened immunity and increased risk of birth defects. Fortification of food and its supply through the Public Distribution System or serving such food at the Mid Day Meal scheme and the ICDS will help reach the poorer sections and fill the nutrition gap.
Dr DK Yadav, ADG (Seeds), Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), addressing a conference on Agri-Nutrition, said 70 percent of an Indian person’s diet comprises cereals, and 30 percent of pulses, and vegetables and fruits.
“Bio-fortification of food should be introduced. It is a cost-effective, sustainable way to address malnutrition. This way the fortified food reaches the masses easily,” said, Yadav, adding that for the last 4-5 years ICAR has been stressing on bio-fortification.
He said the fortification of food is done according to international standards.
The government is trying to commercialise the bio-fortified varieties of rice, wheat, maize and oil through the PPP mode and also trying to spread awareness about it, the scientist said.
The government is also trying to create “Agri-Nutri Smart Villages” – to spread the message of nutrition, he added. 
Dr Howarth Bouis, the 2016 World Food Prize Laureate, and founder-director HarvestPlus, said that high iron and zinc-fortified rice and wheat would go a long way to take forward the Poshan Abhiyan or National Nutrition Mission. The bio-fortification does not change the taste or colour of the food in any way, he said, in  a video message at the National Conference on Agri-Nutrition held earlier this month.
 Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, Member Niti Aayog, said that India needs to shift from food security and focus on nutrition security. “We need to combine food security with nutrition security, and for this a policy formulation is imperative,” he added.                      
With India having the highest prevalence of anemia globally at nearly 40 percent, and with women and children the most affected, fortification of food with iron would go a long way in tackling the issue, said KMS Khalsa, Deputy Secretary, Dept of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
 “For 65 percent of the people, rice is the staple. Rice fortification would reduce anaemia,” Khalsa said.
 Rice fortification has been taken up in 15 districts as a pilot project, and would be scaled up, he added.
 The food served as part of the Mid Day Meal Scheme should be fortified so that children get their nutrient needs for proper growth. Fortified grains should also be supplied at the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) government programme which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-ups and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers, experts said.
 According to data, more than 57% of children in India suffer from Vitamin A deficiency, while a high proportion of pregnant women and their newborns suffer from Vitamin D deficiency.
 Since both the vitamins can be dissolved in fat, fortification of edible oils and fats with vitamin A and D has been taken up to address micronutrient malnutrition. Fortified oil is known to provide 25%-30% of the recommended dietary allowances for the two vitamins.
 Vitamin D plays an important part in reducing the risk of chronic illnesses, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
 Fortification of wheat flour with Iron, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 is a cost-effective strategy to combat anaemia and other micronutrient deficiencies.
According to the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS 4), 38.4 percent of children in India are stunted and 21 percent wasted. India remains one of the highest-ranking countries in the world in terms of the number of children suffering from malnutrition.
The Global Hunger Index 2017 ranked India at 100th position out of 118 countries.
 In October 2016, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), operationalized standards for fortification of five staples, namely wheat flour and rice (with Iron, vitamin B12, folic acid), edible oil and milk (with vitamin A and D) and salt (with iron in addition to iodine). FSSAI released the +F logo as an identity of the fortified food. It also established the Food Fortification Resource Centre, in association with Tata Trusts, for coordinating and promoting food fortification activities across the country.

Kenya to import more food as local harvests dwindle

In Summary
• Rice production is expected to stagnate due to delays in the expansion of Mwea irrigation schemes.
• Asian countries are expected to dominate exports to Kenya led by Pakistan, Thailand, China, India, and South Korea.
Dominion rice fields are sprayed / FILE
Kenya's food imports of corn, wheat, and rice are expected to increase in the coming financial year due to a widening local supply deficit, a report has said.
“Corn and wheat production are both expected to dip on account of the reduced planted area while rice production is projected to stagnate, due to delays in anticipated rehabilitation and expansion of the irrigation infrastructure,” the report by United States Department of Agriculture Service said.
While there is reduced production, USDA Foreign Agriculture Service Office in Nairobi noted that consumption of the three commodities is expected to continue increasing.
For instance, consumption of rice is expected to go up from 800 metric tonnes (MT) to 820 MT driven mainly by increasing household incomes, and urbanisation but production will stagnate due to delays in the expansion of irrigation schemes.
According to the report, new production from Mwea Irrigation Scheme - that produces about 80 per cent of Kenya’s rice is currently undergoing expansion and is likely to be completed in 2021.
“Overall Kenya’s rice sector will continue to be limited by lack of suitable land, and inadequate water,” USDA agricultural specialist Kennedy Gitonga said.
He noted that due to the above, Asian countries are expected to dominate exports to Kenya led by Pakistan, Thailand, China, India, and South Korea.
Within the first six months of the forecast period, the cost of rice in retail is expected to remain constant at between sh110 per kilo and Sh125 per kilo.
The report further notes that due to low morale among corn farmers caused by a marketing crisis, production of the cereal will dip from 4,050 MT to 3,600 MT.
It is also projected that corn harvesting area will reduce from 2,200 acres to 2,000 acres, as consumption moves up to by 50 MT to 4,700 by 2020.
Asian countries are expected to dominate exports to Kenya led by Pakistan, Thailand, China, India, and South Korea. 
USDA Foreign Agriculture Service
A bulk of the available corn for consumption is expected to come from Uganda and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Corn production is also expected to be adversely impacted by the delay in the importation of the government's subsidised fertilisers.
In addition, some of the farmers have resorted to premature harvesting of their corn and converting it into silage for livestock.
While a dip in production is set to take centre stage during the season, USDA forecasts volatile corn prices in the first half of 2019/2020 due to a dysfunctional marketing system, cheaper sourcing of imports from the EAC countries, and the lapse of the government consumer subsidy programme.
The National Cereals and Produce Board has set the corn purchase at Sh2,500 per 90 kilograms For wheat, the US agency foresees a reduction in wheat planted areas as farmers shift to other more competitive enterprises such as barley, horticulture, dairy, sorghum, and pyrethrum.
This will see areas of harvest reduce from 170 acres to 160 acres hence imports are expected to rise by 200 MT to 2,400 MT in the coming financial year.
The 110 Mt rise in consumption from 2570 is expected to be imported from Russia, Argentina, and Ukraine.

Podcast: Yale neurologist Steven Novella debunks popular myths about GMO golden rice

As Bangladesh prepares to release GMO golden rice, Yale University clinical neurologist Steven Novella and co-hosts debunk some popular myths about the vitamin-fortified staple crop on this episode of the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe. Researchers engineered golden rice to combat vitamin A deficiency in the developing world, which causes blindness in 250,000 to 500,000 children every year. But their work has drawn fierce opposition.

Led by the environmental nonprofit Greenpeace, anti-GMO groups have fought for years to block the introduction of golden rice, claiming it is a ‘Trojan horse’ designed to sneak GMO seeds into countries that don’t want them. This conspiratorial narrative, Novella says, is a dishonest attempt to shift focus away from the science that shows golden rice is safe and effective.


Malaysia to import Halal meat, rice from Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Friday said Malaysia would import Halal meat and rice from Pakistan. Umar’s statement came following delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The talks encompassed diverse areas which included cooperation in trade, automobiles, agriculture, tourism and food processing particularly Halal meat. According to the finance minister, Pakistan and Malaysia signed MoUs in five sectors and agreed to open branches of local banks in their respective countries. Malaysia also showed interest in purchasing JF-17 jets. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad held a one-on-one meeting at the PM House. The two leaders emphasized on taking effective measures to cement relations at the people-to-people level, besides encouraging their businessmen to initiate joint ventures. Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan and Malaysia enjoyed brotherly relationship and stood by each other in difficult times. He termed Mahathir Mohamad an inspirational personality whose vision made Malaysia a developed and modern country.



China stops broken rice imports from Myanmar
China has suspended the import of broken rice from Myanmar since the third week of March, according to local rice traders. 
“Some traders have been exporting rice under the broken rice category but officially, only rice is tradable at the Myanmar-China border. So, the Chinese authorities have cracked down on all broken rice and suspended trade,” said U Nay Lin Zin, secretary of Myanmar Rice Miller Association.

“Rumours had been spreading that Myanmar rice exports to China were suspended but actually, rice export permits can be classified into broken rice permits, long-grain rice permits and short grain rice permits,” he added. Notably, export tax rates are 5 percent on broken rice while the rates for rice exports are 50pc to 60 pc, traders said. As the tax rate for rice exports to China is very high, many merchants export illegally to avoid paying the tax. Currently, broken rice exports have been suspended, said rice merchants. “Right now, China is restricting illegal exports of rice. We can still export rice but this must be under the right permits. For example, long-grain rice permits are for the exports of long-grain rice only, and not other classifications,” said U Myo Thura Aye, rice merchant.
In Myanmar, Ae Ma Hta rice is recognised as long grain rice and Paw San rice is considered a short grain rice. It can be categorised depending on the shape of grain. 

The suspension comes amid demands for China to raise its official rice import quota from Myanmar to 400,000 tonnes annually from 100,000 tonnes currently. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, over 50 percent of Myanmar-produced rice is sold to China via the border. Myanmar exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice and broken rice worth US$ 578 million between April and December last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.  Around 52pc was exported by sea, while the rest was sold at the border to China. 

At those levels, rice exports have decreased by over a third from 2.5 million tonnes worth US$780 million in the same period the year before. The main reason for the recent fall in exports is lower demand from China.

 

Date: 22-Mar-2019

Sierra Leone News: Torma Bum rice project will cost $550M

The Torma Bum-Gbondapi Rice Development Project will be launched in April. The project, the first of its kind in the sub region, is worth $550 million USD, of which one $100 million USD will be the Government’s contribution and the remaining $450 million will be paid by donor partners. The Minister said, 185 hectares of lake will be constructed for hydropower and irrigation. He said 500 tractors will eventually be used on the farm and 150 tractors are on their way. Two hundred metric tons of seed rice is needed to kick start the project. Torma Bum in Bum Chiefdom, Bonthe District is known for its rice production. The area is rich in agricultural resources such as boli lands and other arable lands. On the other hand, Gbondapi is located in Kpanga Chiefdom Pujehun District, which is also renowned for its rice production with its vast swamps of rice. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Joseph Jonathan Ndanema visited during his recent feasibility studies to all agricultural facilities and sites. He noted 110,000 hectares is required to undertake the project. By 2023, according to the Minister, the country will produce as much as 1.6 million metric tons of rice. According to projections, by 2023, some 900,000 metric tons of rice will be needed to not only feed the population but the rest will be exported. The Minister called on the residents of the two towns to be hardworking in order to gain employment in this project. He said preferential treatment will be given to residents of these two towns but that, “only hardworking people will be employed. We will not tolerate any lazy person. If you’re not hardworking we will employ other people from other parts of the country.
SV/18/3/19
By Sylvia Villa
Tuesday March 19, 2019.
Comments are closed.


DAWN.COM


TODAY'S PAPER | MARCH 25, 2019

·       HOME

·       LATEST

·       PAKISTAN

·       OPINION

·       PRISM

·       SPORT

·       BUSINESS

·       MAGAZINES

·       CULTURE

·       WORLD

·       TECH

·       POPULAR

·       MULTIMEDIA
·        
·       SEARCH

Pakistan gets $1bn Chinese market access for rice, sugar, yarn

Mubarak Zeb KhanUpdated March 22, 2019
Facebook Count383
Twitter Share
   
31
Yarn exports to China are unlikely to reach $700m as analysts expect total cotton production is expected to decline in the ongoing season due to decrease in area under cultivation, use of poor quality seed and pesticides.
ISLAMABAD: The Chinese government has finally offered Pakistan market access for three commodities — rice, sugar and yarn — worth $1 billion for the current calendar year, an official in the Commerce Division confirmed to Dawn on Thursday.
The official said rice shipments to China have already begun as part of the deal which was agreed during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s four-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai in the first week of November last year.
Under the agreement, exporters have been allowed to ship 200,000 tonnes of rice and 300,000 tonnes of sugar — total value of $300 million — to China in the ongoing calendar year.
Moreover, the agreement also includes preferential market access for around $700m worth of yarn but it seems highly unlikely that Pakistan will have adequate surplus quantity of yarn to export to China as cotton production remains lacklustre.
The Chinese authorities were unwilling to increase the total quantity of these items despite multiple requests, the official added.
Another Commerce Division official said exporters will only have nine months to avail the facility as it will expire by Dec 31, adding that the government is working to get access for wheat and other agriculture commodities as well.
Moreover, this agreement will also be extended to calendar 2020. Pakistan’s exports to China are expected to reach $2.2bn in the ongoing calendar year and $3.2bn in the next.
Breakthrough in PCFTA
The official also said that a major breakthrough is expected in the stalled negotiations between Beijing and Islamabad on the second phase of Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (PCFTA) and the outcome will be announced on April 2.
He said a delegation led by the secretary commerce will leave for China later this month.
Sharing the progress made in PCFTA negotiations, he informed that Islamabad will get market access for 301 tariff lines, which will cover most of its exports and allow export of commodities which are currently negligible.
The PCFTA covers nearly 7,000 tariff lines at the eight-digit level of the HS code. Both sides reduced tariffs on almost 36 per cent of the tariff lines to zero during first three years of PCFTA’s Phase-1.
Moreover, second phase was supposed to commence from the sixth year of the agreement ie 2013, but was delayed as officials from both countries failed to reach an agreement despite meeting for more than 11 times.
As per the initial agreement, at the end of PCFTA’s second phase, both sides were to reduce tariffs on 90pc of the tariff lines to zero.
The negotiations on the Phase-II of PCFTA began in 2011.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2019

PAK CHINA TIES
NEWSPAPER
Facebook Count383
Twitter Share
   
31

Read more

IMF warns Pakistan against ‘excessive loans’ from China

Pakistan, China vow to safeguard CPEC from all threats in 'strategic dialogue' between foreign ministers

Revising China FTA may not make big difference

On DawnNews

ہمایوں نے بھائی کو نابینا کیوں کیا؟ ان میں سے کون صحیح تھا اور کون غلط؟

نوکری کو لات مار کر خوبصورتی کی تلاش

اسمارٹ فونز کی وہ ٹرکس جو بیشتر افراد نہیں جانتے

Comments (31)

1000 CHARACTERS

COMMENT MODERATION POLICY
PopularNewestOldest
Gordon D. Walker
Mar 22, 2019 09:53am
Progress is being made... Go Khan, go!
Gordon D. Walker
Canada.

Recommend 57
Ponder
Mar 22, 2019 09:54am
Take from everyone,borrowed money is never yours

Recommend 36
American by heart
Mar 22, 2019 10:00am
Poor Pakistan farmers will be feeding China for borrowed money Wouldn’t be surprised this is part of interest payment.

Recommend 80
READ ALL COMMENTS

Latest stories

State Bank of Pakistan receives $2.2 billion under Chinese loan arrangement

PM Khan rules out 'NRO', faults Nawaz for not building 'one good hospital' in 30 years

Agreement with IMF to be reached soon: Asad Umar

Bill Gates urges Afghanistan and Pakistan to 'get to zero' in polio fight

Israel mobilises after Gaza rocket attack, Netanyahu to cut US trip short

NAB questions Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah in fake accounts case

Dock27 serves dishes from all around the world, right here in Lahore

Azfar Rehman explains what exactly is a 'Chhalawa' in latest interview

Review: 17 episodes in, TV drama Bandish keeps getting scarier

Most popular

PM orders Sindh, Punjab govts to investigate reports of teenage girls' alleged abduction, forced conversion

Islamabad’s overtures are constructive thinking, India told

Notice taken of alleged forced conversion, underage marriages of 2 minor girls in Ghotki: Fawad

Chughtai Lab distances itself from 'tampered' image of Nawaz's medical report

Fawad Chaudhry, Sushma Swaraj spar over alleged abduction, forced conversion of Ghotki sisters

Mushaal slams India for banning JKLF

Driver in Karachi shot by employer in confrontation over alleged rape of maid's daughter: police

In pictures: Pakistan shows off military might at annual parade

ANF arrests dual national woman for allegedly attempting to smuggle heroin from Islamabad

Must read

Who will pay the price of flawed LNG policies?

Pakistan will be paying roughly $4m extra on every cargo.

Professor's murder in Bahawalpur shows we have forgotten how to respect difference of opinion

Rethinking urbanisation: What's wrong with development in Pakistan?

Danish Khan

Review: 17 episodes in, TV drama Bandish keeps getting scarier

Sheeba Khan

Mehwish Hayat dedicates Tamgha-i-Imtiaz to 'all the other girls in Pakistan who have a dream'

Images Staff

Opinion

A symbolic victory

The staging of the PSL in Pakistan was perhaps one the most powerful plays recently made by the state.

Credentialed inequality

Umair Javed
Banning a system that has expanded considerably over the last two decades may produce all sorts of negative consequences

Death of dialogue

Huma Yusuf
You cannot reflect if you don’t know how to reason.

Lethal gun culture

Hajrah Mumtaz
Pakistan has 11 firearms in civilian hands per 100 people.

Nursing trends

David Arthur
Those at the grass-roots level will bring about change.

Editorial

March 25, 2019

Lessons from Malaysia

THE visit by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad provides a good opportunity to reflect on what Pakistan can learn from...
Updated March 25, 2019

Gender wage gap

IT is a matter of grave concern that Pakistan has the highest gender wage gap in the world. A recent World Bank...
March 25, 2019

Prisoner’s death

“NEITHER reason nor sensibility allows me to believe that we can execute a mentally ill or disabled person,”...
Updated March 24, 2019

Reprieve for Bahria Town

Bahria Town is a test case.
Updated March 24, 2019

Trump’s Golan tweet

While the Israelis reacted gleefully to Trump’s act of ‘generosity’, others in the Middle East weren’t quite so pleased.
March 24, 2019

Spread of TB

PAKISTAN’S fight against tuberculosis has been a grim one. The country reports over 50,000 new cases each year; of...
·      

·        
·      

·      

·      

·      

·      
·       CONTACT
·       TERMS OF USE
·       REPRODUCTION COPYRIGHTS
·       CONTRIBUTION GUIDELINES
·       PRIVACY
·       COMMENT MODERATION
·       CODE OF ETHICS
·       SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
·       ADVERTISE ON DAWN.COM
·       SPONSORED CONTENT
·       CLASSIFIEDS
·       OBITUARIES
·       PRAYER TIMINGS
·       STOCK/FOREX/GOLD
·       WEATHER
·       DAWN
·       HERALD
·       AURORA
·       PRISM
·       DAWN NEWS
·       IMAGES
·       EOS/ICON/YOUNG WORLD
·       CITYFM89
·       TEELI
·       COPYRIGHT © 2019, DAWN
·       Scribe Publishing Platform
·       China stops broken rice imports from Myanmar
·       YU WAI 22 MAR 2019
·       China has suspended the import of broken rice from Myanmar since the third week of March, according to local rice traders. 
·       “Some traders have been exporting rice under the broken rice category but officially, only rice is tradable at the Myanmar-China border. So, the Chinese authorities have cracked down on all broken rice and suspended trade,” said U Nay Lin Zin, secretary of Myanmar Rice Miller Association.
·       “Rumours had been spreading that Myanmar rice exports to China were suspended but actually, rice export permits can be classified into broken rice permits, long-grain rice permits and short grain rice permits,” he added.
·       Notably, export tax rates are 5 percent on broken rice while the rates for rice exports are 50pc to 60 pc, traders said.
·       As the tax rate for rice exports to China is very high, many merchants export illegally to avoid paying the tax. Currently, broken rice exports have been suspended, said rice merchants.
·       “Right now, China is restricting illegal exports of rice. We can still export rice but this must be under the right permits. For example, long-grain rice permits are for the exports of long-grain rice only, and not other classifications,” said U Myo Thura Aye, rice merchant.
·       In Myanmar, Ae Ma Hta rice is recognised as long grain rice and Paw San rice is considered a short grain rice. It can be categorised depending on the shape of grain. 
·       The suspension comes amid demands for China to raise its official rice import quota from Myanmar to 400,000 tonnes annually from 100,000 tonnes currently.
·       According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, over 50 percent of Myanmar-produced rice is sold to China via the border.
·       Myanmar exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice and broken rice worth US$ 578 million between April and December last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.  Around 52pc was exported by sea, while the rest was sold at the border to China. 
·       At those levels, rice exports have decreased by over a third from 2.5 million tonnes worth US$780 million in the same period the year before. The main reason for the recent fall in exports is lower demand from China.

·       Tags: 

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/china-stops-broken-rice-imports-myanmar.htmlMalaysia to import Halal meat, rice from Pakistan

Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia held at the PM House on March 22, 2018. Photo: PTI social media 
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Friday said Malaysia would import Halal meat and rice from Pakistan.
Umar’s statement came following delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The talks encompassed diverse areas which included cooperation in trade, automobiles, agriculture, tourism and food processing particularly Halal meat.
According to the finance minister, Pakistan and Malaysia signed MoUs in five sectors and agreed to open branches of local banks in their respective countries.
Malaysia also showed interest in purchasing JF-17 jets.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad held a one-on-one meeting at the PM House.
The two leaders emphasized on taking effective measures to cement relations at the people-to-people level, besides encouraging their businessmen to initiate joint ventures.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan and Malaysia enjoyed brotherly relationship and stood by each other in difficult times.
He termed Mahathir Mohamad an inspirational personality whose vision made Malaysia a developed and modern country.
a-bum-rice-project-will-cost-550m/



Malaysia to import Halal meat, rice from Pakistan

Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia held at the PM House on March 22, 2018. Photo: PTI social media 
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Friday said Malaysia would import Halal meat and rice from Pakistan.
Umar’s statement came following delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The talks encompassed diverse areas which included cooperation in trade, automobiles, agriculture, tourism and food processing particularly Halal meat.
According to the finance minister, Pakistan and Malaysia signed MoUs in five sectors and agreed to open branches of local banks in their respective countries.
Malaysia also showed interest in purchasing JF-17 jets.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad held a one-on-one meeting at the PM House.
The two leaders emphasized on taking effective measures to cement relations at the people-to-people level, besides encouraging their businessmen to initiate joint ventures.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan and Malaysia enjoyed brotherly relationship and stood by each other in difficult times.
He termed Mahathir Mohamad an inspirational personality whose vision made Malaysia a developed and modern country.

Southern provinces to grow nearly 1.7 million hectares of rice

SGGPFriday, March 22, 2019 15:12
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), provinces in the Mekong Delta have planned to grow summer-autumn rice crop on an area of 1.6 million hectares this year with expected yield of 9.05 million tons, up 258,000 tons over the same period last year.
Farmers harvest the winter-spring rice crop in Mekong Delta provinces. (Photo: SGGP)
In order to enjoy a bumper crop, the ministry ordered provinces to choose suitable time to start cultivation of rice so that it will not affect the autumn-winter rice crop this year, apply measures to avoid drought and salinity and comply with the principles to grow rice in accord with water supply and brown plant-hopper migration forecasts.
The mass cultivation is expected to be from April to June this year. Of the rice growing structure, high quality rice variety accounts for 50-60 percent, fragrant rice takes 20-25 percent, glutinous rice variety makes up 5-7 percent, medium-quality rice variety maintains a ratio of 15 percent and the rest is other rice varieties.
Deputy minister of MARD Le Quoc Doanh asked Mekong Delta provinces to apply technical solutions to reduce cost price, improve quality and ensure food safety as well as calculate and forecast production and types of rice for smooth consumption. The ministry will collaborate with provinces to make plans, deploy and closely monitor the cultivation of rice and have solutions to deal with difficulties and abnormal weather conditions to secure summer-autumn rice crop production.
On March 21, the MARD held a meeting to summarize the winter-spring rice crop production and deploy plans for production of the summer-autumn rice crop in Southern provinces.
According to the Department of Cultivation, total rice growing area of the winter-spring rice crop in Southern provinces was more than 1.68 million hectares, up 30,109 hectares. Rice productivity was estimated at 68.35 quintals per hectare, up 0.01 quintals per hectare. Rice yield was estimated to exceed 11.5 million tons, up 208,000 tons over the same period last year. of which, provinces in the Mekong Delta grew rice on an area of 1.6 million hectares with productivity at 68.87 quintals per hectare, a decrease of 0.02 quintals per hectare, and estimated production of 11.05 million tons.
Most Mekong Delta provinces grew rice 7-14 days earlier than last year. Rice grown in November and December last year gave lower yield than expected due to prolonged hot weather. In addition, many provinces increased the proportion of fragrant and high quality rice varieties which produce lower yield than other varieties, causing average rice productivity to decrease but the prices of these rice varieties were much higher, hereby improving economic efficiency.
In related news, the People’s Committee of Dong Thap Province announced that the province has disbursed more than VND2.1 billion to carry out measures to save citrus groves in the province as several citrus groves in Lai Vung District were infected with diseases and died, causing huge losses to farmers.
Accordingly, the provincial committee ordered the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to summarize the result of a research by the Southern Fruit Research Institute and Can Tho University to draw out treatments for infected citrus groves, ways to dispose dead trees and warnings for newly-grown and trees that have not been infected. The department was also asked to build technology-applied citrus growing models for safe, effective and sustainable production then transfer to farmers. In addition, it will keep finding out the reasons and factors that made citrus trees die then present procedure to control the diseases effectively.
According to the department, there is an area of 8,056 hectares of citrus trees in the province, of which, Lai Vung District accounts for 65 percent of the total area. In the past three years, diseases on citrus trees started to break out, increasing the area of dead citrus trees to more than 2,000 hectares.
MARCH 22, 2019 / 3:37 PM / 3 DAYS AGO

In post-coup election, Thai rice, rubber farmers rethink old divide

·        
·        
KHON KAEN/SONGKHLA, Thailand (Reuters) - In the rice-growing heartland of Thailand’s northeast, Kamol Suanpanya, 80, meets in the off season with fellow farmers at a community center, where they discuss Sunday’s election, the first after nearly five years of military rule.
A farmer holds rice in his hand in Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Patpicha Tanakasempipat
Like most in the area, Kamol will vote for Thailand’s largest party, Pheu Thai, whose government was overthrown in 2014. He is loyal because of policies like subsidies and low-cost health care pioneered by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
“I can tell you I will vote for Pheu Thai again,” said Kamol. “I haven’t changed my mind and I never will.”
Some 1,400 km (870 miles) to the south, a longtime stronghold of the anti-Thaksin Democrat party, rubber farmer Gorneena Pae-arlee isn’t so sure about her vote.
She has voted for the Democrats in the past, but says she will not do so again. Nor does she want junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha to remain prime minister, as the new pro-military Palang Pracharat party is campaigning for.
“I want to vote for change,” said Gorneena, 52, who owns a big rubber plantation in Songkhla province.
Sunday’s general election has been cast as a struggle between democracy and military rule, with Thaksin’s Pheu Thai leading the charge for a “democratic front” against Palang Pracharat, the party backing Prayuth.
The pro-establishment Democrats are seen as a possible kingmaker.
But from north to south, farmers complain about hard times and growing mountains of debt since the military took over.
Many look to the election as a way out for what they say is an economy that seems to be growing but leaving them behind.

NORTH AND SOUTH

Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rubber and second-largest of rice. Farming accounts for 30 percent of the work force, though only about 10 percent of the economy.
The rice-growing northeast and rubber-tapping south reflect the deep divide in Thailand’s polarized politics of the last 15 years.
Thaksin’s “red-shirt” supporters are mostly from the rice-growing northeast and north, whereas southern rubber farmers have come up to Bangkok at different times over the years to join anti-Thaksin “yellow-shirt” protests of middle-class voters who support the military and royalist establishment.
The unrest has led to bloodshed and two military coups, the first toppling former telecoms tycoon Thaksin in 2006, and the last one overthrowing a government that had been led by his sister, Yingluck.
The siblings live in self-exile to avoid convictions - corruption for Thaksin and negligence for Yingluck - handed down after they were ousted. They denied wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated.
After almost five years under a junta led by former army chief Prayuth, the rice-and-rubber divide still exists.
But while the north and northeast remain as pro-Thaksin as ever, some southerners said their support for the Democrat Party may be wavering.

LOW CROP PRICES

With new political parties on the scene and the price of rubber languishing, some farmers, like Gorneena, are considering the options.
“Rubber prices have suffered a lot, and nothing has improved under the military. I really want the new government to help fix this,” Gorneena said.
Thai benchmark rubber smoked sheets were trading at around 56.60 baht per kilogram this week, a far cry from a record 198.55 baht in 2011, according to Refinitiv data.
While the south’s rubber farmers are generally better off than their rice-growing counterparts, monthly income in the south declined by 2 percent to 26,913 baht ($850) per household from pre-coup 2013 to 2017.
That contrasts with average national income that grew roughly 7 percent, government data showed.
While several other rubber farmers interviewed said they would stick by the Democrats, a poll by Prince of Songkla University published last week signaled a weakening of their grip.
The poll showed 27 percent preferring the new, progressive Future Forward Party, compared with 24 percent for the Democrat Party, with Pheu Thai coming in at 19 percent and Palang Pracharat at 12 percent. It provided no margin of error.

HIGH DEBT

The plight of farmers from north to south comes as a stark contrast with Thailand’s top 1 percent, who own 66.9 percent of the country’s wealth, according to Credit Suisse’s 2018 Global Wealth Databook.
Slideshow (5 Images)
That makes Thailand the most unequal country in the world.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded 4.1 percent in 2018, the fastest in six years. This year, the state planning agency predicts growth of 3.5-4.5 percent.
At the same time, household debt soared to a record 12.56 trillion-baht in the third quarter of 2018, or 77.8 percent of gross domestic product, central bank data showed.
For many Pheu Thai supporters, hard times have led to borrowing and left them pining for the party’s populist policies.
In the northeastern city of Khon Kaen, June Kit-Udom, who at 61 is the sole provider for her family of three, said she quit rice farming a few years ago because prices plunged following the 2014 coup.
She now works seven days a week at a recycling factory for 325 baht ($10.26) a day, but she says the tough work has resulted in spiking hospital bills.
“Life was better under Yingluck’s government. She helped us a lot with cash subsidy. This government gave us nothing,” June said.
Some 3.6 million households in the northeast are in debt, accounting for more than a third of the total, according to data by the National Statistics Office.
The northeast has the highest average debt per household of 179,923 baht ($5,680), and the lowest average income per capita at 6,656 baht ($210) per month.
Addressing inequality should be high on the agenda of the next government, said Thomas Parks, country representative of the Asia Foundation, a non-profit group focusing on development.
“Inequality and regional disparities are one of Thailand’s most fundamental challenges,” he said.
“We expect that any government, regardless of the election outcome, will make this a serious priority.”
Additional reporting by Orathai Sriring in BANGKOK; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Robert Birsel.
PAID PROMOTIONAL LINKS
Promoted by  

Parched agri sector may cut rice production

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:14 AM March 22, 2019
The agriculture sector already incurred P1.33 billion in losses just a month after the state weather bureau announced the presence of a “weak” El Niño in the country, thus a cut in rice production in the first quarter of the year was likely.
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) disaster risk management center reported on its Facebook page the weather phenomenon, albeit described weak, had already damaged 70,353 hectares (ha) of farm lands and 78,384 metric tons (MT) of crops valued at P1.33 billion, affecting 84,932 farmers and fisherfolk.
El Niño may delay the onset of the rainy season and affect the industry’s planting calendar as it turns farms into arid lands.
Based on the estimate of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), rice production in the first quarter could fall by 5 percent to 4.62 million MT from 4.88 million MT in the same period last year as El Niño continued to bite.
It added the harvest area for rice could contract by 3.3 percent to 1.15 million ha from 1.19 million ha in 2018 with farmers deciding to convert dried-up paddies. However, yield per ha is seen to increase to 4 MT per ha from 3.87 MT per ha due to the availability of better seeds.
The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) had already advised rice farmers who are situated in areas with limited water supply to diversify to other crops to avoid huge losses.
In Cotabato, some farmers already converted their rice paddies into watermelon farms. While labor-intensive, planting the fruit gives farmers the opportunity to earn more and survive.

400 NegOcc rice farmers report losses

+
AA
-
March 22, 2019
SOME 400 rice farmers in Negros Occidental have filed notices of loss to avail themselves of insurance claims after their farms were affected by the prevailing dry spell brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

Dina Genzola, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), said farmers enrolled under the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance (NFUCIP) are advised to immediately file notices of loss once their crops are damaged by calamities.

Genzola said provision of indemnity claims is one of the mitigating measures of the Provincial Government, through OPA, to allay the possible adverse effects of dry spell as well as pest and diseases to farmers.

“The number of farmers who will be filing their notices of loss is expected to increase as dry weather continues to affect agricultural areas in the province,” she added.

OPA earlier reported an initial crop damage worth almost P16 million due to the ongoing dry spell.

The figure covers 408.53 hectares of rice farms affecting 445 farmers in five local government units.

This is on top of the P12 million worth of production losses brought by pest infestation particularly black bugs and rice grain bugs.

Moreover, the NFUCIP is an initiative of the Provincial Government in partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. It was implemented in 2011.

Based on the modified guidelines of the program, the enrollment premium per cropping season remains at P840 but the whole amount will now be shouldered by the Provincial Government as a loan.

In the previous coverage, only P500 is being shouldered by the Province while the remaining P340 is the counterpart of the farmer-enrollees.

Through the NFUCIP, farmers may avail themselves of the P17,000 claim per hectare of damaged farms.

OPA earlier stressed that enrollees should apply for insurance before planting. Farms covered by the program are those planted for not less than 25 days.

Genzola said that upon the filing of notice of loss, adjusters will then evaluate the farms reportedly affected by dry spell.

Genzola said the amount of claims will be determined within a month, as well as the approval.

”Aside from lessening crop losses, indemnity claims may also be utilized by affected farmers as fund to start new production in the next cropping season,” she reiterated.

Strong rupee hurts rice exports as price jumps to 7-month high
Rice export prices in India rose to their highest level in more than seven months as the rupee appreciated, denting demand, while trading companies in Vietnam increased domestic buying to fulfil new overseas deals. India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around $392-$395 per tonne this week, up from $386-$389 last week. “Demand has been moderating due to the price rise. African buyers are not ready to pay higher prices,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian rupee was trading near its highest level in seven months, trimming returns from overseas sales for traders in the world’s largest rice exporter. In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice were in line with last week’s $360 a tonne. “Demand for Vietnamese rice is seen rising, with key trading companies increasing their purchases from farmers for deals they have signed with customers from Malaysia, Philippines and Iraq,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said. Vietnam, the world’s third largest rice exporter, has shipped more than 200,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia so far this year, while clients from Iraq have placed orders for 120,000 tonnes, the trader said. A source with the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Egypt was seeking to buy 20,000 tonnes of 10-12 percent broken rice from Vietnam for delivery in June. Thai benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $390-$393, free on board Bangkok, on Thursday, up from $380-$385 last week. With demand little changed, traders attributed the price rise to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the baht and the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday, the Thai cabinet agreed to extend a rice trading agreement with the Philippines which expired in December for another two years. The agreement allows Thailand, the world’s second-largest rice exporter, to take part in tenders issued by the Philippines, stating that the two countries can trade up to 1 million tonnes of rice per year. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will give its farmers free fertiliser and seeds to boost cultivation of a type of rice that requires less irrigation, the country’s agriculture minister said on Thursday. The stimulus package, worth nearly 402 million taka ($4.75 million), could help more than 459,000 farmers increase production of the Aus rice variety grown during the May-August season, Abdur Razzak, the minister, said. “We are encouraging farmers to grow more Aus rice as it matures during the monsoon. So it needs only a little irrigation to cultivate,” Razzak told reporters. Bangladesh, usually the world’s fourth biggest producer of rice, was forced to massively increase imports to shore up domestic reserves in 2017 after floods wrought havoc on local crops.
Date: 22-Mar-2019
Asia Rice-Strong rupee pushes Indian prices to 7-month highs
Asia Rice-Strong rupee pushes Indian prices to 7-month highs, dampening exports Rice export prices in India rose to their highest level in more than seven months as the rupee appreciated, denting demand, while trading companies in Vietnam increased domestic buying to fulfil new overseas deals. India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around $392-$395 per tonne this week, up from $386-$389 last week. “Demand has been moderating due to the price rise. African buyers are not ready to pay higher prices,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian rupee was trading near its highest level in seven months, trimming returns from overseas sales for traders in the world’s largest rice exporter. In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice were in line with last week’s $360 a tonne. “Demand for Vietnamese rice is seen rising, with key trading companies increasing their purchases from farmers for deals they have signed with customers from Malaysia, Philippines and Iraq,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said. Vietnam, the world’s third largest rice exporter, has shipped more than 200,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia so far this year, while clients from Iraq have placed orders for 120,000 tonnes, the trader said. A source with the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Egypt was seeking to buy 20,000 tonnes of 10-12 percent broken rice from Vietnam for delivery in June. Thai benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $390-$393, free on board Bangkok, on Thursday, up from $380-$385 last week. With demand little changed, traders attributed the price rise to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the baht and the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday, the Thai cabinet agreed to extend a rice trading agreement with the Philippines which expired in December for another two years. The agreement allows Thailand, the world’s second-largest rice exporter, to take part in tenders issued by the Philippines, stating that the two countries can trade up to 1 million tonnes of rice per year. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will give its farmers free fertiliser and seeds to boost cultivation of a type of rice that requires less irrigation, the country’s agriculture minister said on Thursday. The stimulus package, worth nearly 402 million taka ($4.75 million), could help more than 459,000 farmers increase production of the Aus rice variety grown during the May-August season, Abdur Razzak, the minister, said. “We are encouraging farmers to grow more Aus rice as it matures during the monsoon. So it needs only a little irrigation to cultivate,” Razzak told reporters. Bangladesh, usually the world’s fourth biggest producer of rice, was forced to massively increase imports to shore up domestic reserves in 2017 after floods wrought havoc on local crops.






/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-election-farmers/in-post-coup-election-thai-rice-rubber-farmers-rethink-old-divide-idUSKCN1R20RM

Wetlands America Trust Taps Rice Farmer and Noted Conservationist George Dunklin for Board Seat  

MEMPHIS, TN -- Wetlands America Trust (WAT) recently elected George Dunklin Jr., a rice farmer from Humphrey, Arkansas, as one of its newest trustees.  The WAT board is the land trust arm of Ducks Unlimited (DU), a world leader in waterfowl and wetlands conservation, and WAT is one of the largest accredited land trusts in the country.

Though Dunklin graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in business management he decided to try his hand at farming on land his family owned near Stuttgart, the famed "Rice and Duck Capital of the World."  He quickly realized that traditional farming methods were having a detrimental impact on the area's natural resources, and something needed to be done to preserve the wildlife habitat that is home to migrating waterfowl.

Dunklin joined DU when he was 16 years old so already understood the causal relationship between increased land use and decreased waterfowl habitat and knew the importance of conservation efforts to preserve working ricelands.

"George has the ability to eloquently champion our rice and ducks story, and has always led by example in rice and southern agriculture through his conservation activities," said Josh Hankins, USA Rice director of grower relations & the Rice Stewardship Partnership.

Dunklin's dedication to conservation priorities began as a grassroots DU volunteer more than three decades ago.  From there, he moved through the ranks to become Arkansas state chairman, an at-large member of DU's board of directors, senior advisory vice president for conservation, first vice president, president, and chairman.

"George's philanthropic support is an excellent expression of concern for North America's disappearing wetlands and his confidence in DU's conservation efforts," said Dan Thiel, WAT's chief operating officer. 


Contract extension available
USDA Allowing Some One-Year CSP Extensions  

Farmers with expiring Conservation Stewardship Program contracts are being notified that they can sign up for an additional year of payments. Eligible contract holders should get a letter from the Natural Resources Conservation Service by April 8.

First-time CSP contract holders used to be automatically eligible to sign up for an additional five years, but the expiration of the 2014 farm bill last fall left the expiring contracts in limbo, and then the new farm bill signed into law in December eliminated the automatic renewal option. 

Under the new law, CSP contract holders who want to extend their contracts will have to compete with other applicants. 

Go here for more information.



·        
o   Letters
o   Comments
o   QnA
·       International
·       Community
·       Lifestyle
·       Law & Order
·       Finance
·       Contact Us

Straws made of rice introduced in Singapore for the first time as ideal eco-friendly solution

As a preemptive measure to save the earth, a battle against single-use plastics has been waged, with plastic straws being declared as public enemy number one.
Although there have been several types of straws created to replace plastic ones such as the reusable metal straws that have been trending in restaurants lately, they clearly raised hygiene concerns among users for they need to be cleaned properly with plenty of detergent and water.
Thus, enter the “rice straws”, which made their way to Singapore yesterday (21 March) for its debut at the Café Asia 2019 and Restaurant Asia 2019 exhibitions.
The straws are made out of rice and tapioca, which means they are completely edible and fully biodegradable as they would decompose within 90 days if not used.
The Halal-certified rice straws are produced by Penang-based Nlytech Biotech Sdn Bhd and proved to be quite durable as they can last in cold drinks between 4 and 10 hours whereas, in hot drinks, they can be used for around 2 to 3 hours.
“We are in the midst of setting up mass production in Penang. The product is expected to be commercialised in the local market, as well as for export markets, starting in May 2019,” said Nlytech Biotech CEO Mr Law Yee Tee.
Mr Law added that the price of the rice straws “will be very much affordable compared to other types of eco-friendly straws”.
For those who are interested, Cafe Asia 2019, Restaurant Asia 2019, International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo 2019 and Sweets & Bakes Asia 2019 will be running until 23 March (Saturday) at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

IMF supports U.S. Fed's 'patient' halt to rate hikes

Thursday, March 21, 2019 10:09 a.m. CDT
FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., as IMF Managing Direct
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund supports the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to halt its campaign to raise interest rates as a prudent move amid economic uncertainty, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday.
"Given the range of global uncertainties facing the U.S. economy, we support the Fed's decision to be patient in determining future changes to the Federal Funds rate," Rice told a regular biweekly news conference. "The Federal Reserve's continued adherence to the principles of data dependence and clear communication, we believe, will help to minimize any market disruptions and spillovers from its policy decisions."
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday brought its three-year drive to tighten monetary policy to an abrupt end, abandoning projections for any interest rate hikes this year amid signs of an economic slowdown, and said it would halt the steady decline of its balance sheet in September.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Malaysia to import Halal meat, rice from Pakistan

Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia held at the PM House on March 22, 2018. Photo: PTI social media 
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar on Friday said Malaysia would import Halal meat and rice from Pakistan.
Umar’s statement came following delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Malaysia led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The talks encompassed diverse areas which included cooperation in trade, automobiles, agriculture, tourism and food processing particularly Halal meat.
According to the finance minister, Pakistan and Malaysia signed MoUs in five sectors and agreed to open branches of local banks in their respective countries.
Malaysia also showed interest in purchasing JF-17 jets.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad held a one-on-one meeting at the PM House.
The two leaders emphasized on taking effective measures to cement relations at the people-to-people level, besides encouraging their businessmen to initiate joint ventures.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan and Malaysia enjoyed brotherly relationship and stood by each other in difficult times.
He termed Mahathir Mohamad an inspirational personality whose vision made Malaysia a developed and modern country.
MARCH 21, 2019 / 6:06 PM / 5 DAYS AGO

In battle with 'land mafia', Pakistan targets win for forests and climate

·        
·        
ISLAMABAD (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is aiming to fight climate change and pollution by planting trees on government land clawed back from politically connected landlords who have illegally profited from it for years.  
Last month, Khan inaugurated the first nature reserve and wildlife park on such reclaimed land at Balloki Headworks on the River Ravi in Nankana Sahib district, about an hour’s drive from the city of Lahore. 
On Feb. 9, he planted the first of 652,500 saplings, mainly local species, to be put in by April on 1,500 acres (607 hectares) which had previously been turned into farm fields.
Khan has promised to plant 10 billion trees across the country over the next five years. 
He hopes to scale up the success of the “Billion Tree Tsunami” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his party, which runs the province, has been protecting existing forests and planting new trees since 2013. 
His climate change advisor, Malik Amin Aslam, said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa push had won out against the timber mafia – groups responsible for illegal logging - in an area with abundant natural forests, which suck planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. 
“Now we want to succeed with the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami by taking on the land mafia in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province which does not have many surviving forests,” Aslam added.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf political party also governs Punjab.
In the Balloki Nature Reserve, which will soon have legal protection, a forest will be planted on 1,500 acres and a wildlife sanctuary with hog deer and partridge established on about 1,000 acres. 
The British built the headworks there in 1906 to provide irrigation water to farmland in nearby districts. 
But in the last 20 years, the state-owned land was grabbed by powerful locals, including National Assembly members from all major political parties, Aslam said.
Water volumes in the River Ravi shrank over the years, due to increasing demand for irrigation from a growing population.
Since the early 2000s, landlords and politicians began turning areas previously set aside for river flooding into fields, while the Irrigation Department turned a blind eye, Aslam said.
Almost 2,500 acres were planted with crops such as rice and sugarcane, bringing in an estimated income of almost 100 million rupees ($717,600) per year to those who had parceled up the land. 
The illegal takeover of government-owned floodplains is quite widespread in Punjab and Sindh, said Hammad Naqi Khan, CEO of WWF-Pakistan. 
“In many cases there are influential politicians behind it who take over the land and give it to tenants to farm,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Farmers either pay rent or hand over a share of the crops they grow. 
The cutting down of riverine forests and encroachment of human activities on flood-prone areas have resulted in a high loss of life when major floods hit, as in 2010, he added.

RENT ARREARS

Nankana Sahib Deputy Commissioner Raja Mansoor Ahmed said the Punjab government had launched the anti-encroachment drive last October, taking back possession of the land.
Local farmers, aware they had been using the land illegally for many years, did not protest the move. But they were granted permission by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to harvest the rice and sugarcane they had planted on it, Ahmed said.
Now, a legal process is underway to recover 20 years of rent arrears for illegal use of the land from 80 politicians and landlords, he added.
Advisor Aslam said the reaction of the “land mafia”, as they are known, had been subdued. “What else can they do? They face a large recovery suit... They will have to adjust to the new reality,” he said.
Their tenant farmers, meanwhile, must look for fields to rent elsewhere as is the custom.

LOST FORESTS

Above-average rainfall this spring has helped the prime minister’s “Plant for Pakistan” drive. 
The Balloki Nature Reserve has started coming back to life, and the results will be seen in the next three to four years, Aslam said. 
The aim is to apply the model to encroached areas of other river basins, including the Taunsa Barrage on the Indus and Sulemanki Headworks on the Sutlej. 
“We want to get government-owned land back, and restore riverine forests and wetlands all over Punjab,” Aslam said, estimating that thousands of acres had been encroached upon in the last few decades.
Pakistan lost an average of 43,000 hectares of forests – equal to half the size of Islamabad - every year between 2000 and 2010, according to WWF-Pakistan.
With only 2 percent of its forest cover remaining, the country’s deforestation rate is the highest in Asia, the environmental group said.
The Sindh Forest Department and green groups have recently launched a scheme to plant about 2 billion trees across that province in the next five years, Pakistani media reported.
At the Balloki inauguration, the prime minister spoke about visiting as a child large forests in parts of Punjab, which have now all but disappeared. 
WWF’s Naqi Khan said pilferage had ruined the once-healthy plantations. “Government departments involved with local people and some outsiders cut the trees and sold them,” he said.
The prime minister told journalists 70 percent of Pakistan’s forests had been cut down in the past few years, creating “an imbalance in our environment”. 
“We are now going to allow builders to build higher buildings, just so our cities stop expanding and encroaching on our forests,” he added.
Reporting by Rina Saeed Khan; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate

MARCH 21, 2019 / 6:06 PM / 5 DAYS AGO

In battle with 'land mafia', Pakistan targets win for forests and climate

·        
·        
ISLAMABAD (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is aiming to fight climate change and pollution by planting trees on government land clawed back from politically connected landlords who have illegally profited from it for years.  
Last month, Khan inaugurated the first nature reserve and wildlife park on such reclaimed land at Balloki Headworks on the River Ravi in Nankana Sahib district, about an hour’s drive from the city of Lahore. 
On Feb. 9, he planted the first of 652,500 saplings, mainly local species, to be put in by April on 1,500 acres (607 hectares) which had previously been turned into farm fields.
Khan has promised to plant 10 billion trees across the country over the next five years. 
He hopes to scale up the success of the “Billion Tree Tsunami” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his party, which runs the province, has been protecting existing forests and planting new trees since 2013. 
His climate change advisor, Malik Amin Aslam, said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa push had won out against the timber mafia – groups responsible for illegal logging - in an area with abundant natural forests, which suck planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. 
“Now we want to succeed with the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami by taking on the land mafia in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province which does not have many surviving forests,” Aslam added.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf political party also governs Punjab.
In the Balloki Nature Reserve, which will soon have legal protection, a forest will be planted on 1,500 acres and a wildlife sanctuary with hog deer and partridge established on about 1,000 acres. 
The British built the headworks there in 1906 to provide irrigation water to farmland in nearby districts. 
But in the last 20 years, the state-owned land was grabbed by powerful locals, including National Assembly members from all major political parties, Aslam said.
Water volumes in the River Ravi shrank over the years, due to increasing demand for irrigation from a growing population.
Since the early 2000s, landlords and politicians began turning areas previously set aside for river flooding into fields, while the Irrigation Department turned a blind eye, Aslam said.
Almost 2,500 acres were planted with crops such as rice and sugarcane, bringing in an estimated income of almost 100 million rupees ($717,600) per year to those who had parceled up the land. 
The illegal takeover of government-owned floodplains is quite widespread in Punjab and Sindh, said Hammad Naqi Khan, CEO of WWF-Pakistan. 
“In many cases there are influential politicians behind it who take over the land and give it to tenants to farm,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Farmers either pay rent or hand over a share of the crops they grow. 
The cutting down of riverine forests and encroachment of human activities on flood-prone areas have resulted in a high loss of life when major floods hit, as in 2010, he added.

In battle with 'land mafia', Pakistan targets win for forests and climate

by Rina Saeed Khan | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Thursday, 21 March 2019 13:00 GMT

ABOUT OUR CLIMATE COVERAGE

We focus on the human and development impacts of climate change

Share:




Newsletter sign up:

Most Popular

Pakistan's prime minister has promised to plant 10 billion trees across the country over the next five years
By Rina Saeed Khan
ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is aiming to fight climate change and pollution by planting trees on government land clawed back from politically connected landlords who have illegally profited from it for years.
Last month, Khan inaugurated the first nature reserve and wildlife park on such reclaimed land at Balloki Headworks on the River Ravi in Nankana Sahib district, about an hour's drive from the city of Lahore.
On Feb. 9, he planted the first of 652,500 saplings, mainly local species, to be put in by April on 1,500 acres (607 hectares) which had previously been turned into farm fields.
Khan has promised to plant 10 billion trees across the country over the next five years.
He hopes to scale up the success of the "Billion Tree Tsunami" in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his party, which runs the province, has been protecting existing forests and planting new trees since 2013.
His climate change advisor, Malik Amin Aslam, said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa push had won out against the timber mafia – groups responsible for illegal logging - in an area with abundant natural forests, which suck planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it.
"Now we want to succeed with the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami by taking on the land mafia in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province which does not have many surviving forests," Aslam added.
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf political party also governs Punjab.
In the Balloki Nature Reserve, which will soon have legal protection, a forest will be planted on 1,500 acres and a wildlife sanctuary with hog deer and partridge established on about 1,000 acres.
The British built the headworks there in 1906 to provide irrigation water to farmland in nearby districts.
But in the last 20 years, the state-owned land was grabbed by powerful locals, including National Assembly members from all major political parties, Aslam said.
Water volumes in the River Ravi shrank over the years, due to increasing demand for irrigation from a growing population.
Since the early 2000s, landlords and politicians began turning areas previously set aside for river flooding into fields, while the Irrigation Department turned a blind eye, Aslam said.
Almost 2,500 acres were planted with crops such as rice and sugarcane, bringing in an estimated income of almost 100 million rupees ($717,600) per year to those who had parcelled up the land.
The illegal takeover of government-owned floodplains is quite widespread in Punjab and Sindh, said Hammad Naqi Khan, CEO of WWF-Pakistan.
"In many cases there are influential politicians behind it who take over the land and give it to tenants to farm," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Farmers either pay rent or hand over a share of the crops they grow.
The cutting down of riverine forests and encroachment of human activities on flood-prone areas have resulted in a high loss of life when major floods hit, as in 2010, he added.
ARCHIVE PHOTO: A woodcutter chops a log with his axe to sell at a timber yard in Rawalpindi September 13, 2013. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
RENT ARREARS
Nankana Sahib Deputy Commissioner Raja Mansoor Ahmed said the Punjab government had launched the anti-encroachment drive last October, taking back possession of the land.
Local farmers, aware they had been using the land illegally for many years, did not protest the move. But they were granted permission by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to harvest the rice and sugarcane they had planted on it, Ahmed said.
Now, a legal process is underway to recover 20 years of rent arrears for illegal use of the land from 80 politicians and landlords, he added.
Advisor Aslam said the reaction of the "land mafia", as they are known, had been subdued. "What else can they do? They face a large recovery suit... They will have to adjust to the new reality," he said.
Their tenant farmers, meanwhile, must look for fields to rent elsewhere as is the custom.
LOST FORESTS
Above-average rainfall this spring has helped the prime minister's "Plant for Pakistan" drive.
The Balloki Nature Reserve has started coming back to life, and the results will be seen in the next three to four years, Aslam said.
The aim is to apply the model to encroached areas of other river basins, including the Taunsa Barrage on the Indus and Sulemanki Headworks on the Sutlej.
"We want to get government-owned land back, and restore riverine forests and wetlands all over Punjab," Aslam said, estimating that thousands of acres had been encroached upon in the last few decades.
Pakistan lost an average of 43,000 hectares of forests – equal to half the size of Islamabad - every year between 2000 and 2010, according to WWF-Pakistan.
With only 2 percent of its forest cover remaining, the country's deforestation rate is the highest in Asia, the environmental group said.
The Sindh Forest Department and green groups have recently launched a scheme to plant about 2 billion trees across that province in the next five years, Pakistani media reported.
At the Balloki inauguration, the prime minister spoke about visiting as a child large forests in parts of Punjab, which have now all but disappeared.
WWF's Naqi Khan said pilferage had ruined the once-healthy plantations. "Government departments involved with local people and some outsiders cut the trees and sold them," he said.
The prime minister told journalists 70 percent of Pakistan's forests had been cut down in the past few years, creating "an imbalance in our environment".
"We are now going to allow builders to build higher buildings, just so our cities stop expanding and encroaching on our forests," he added.
($1 = 139.3500 Pakistani rupees)
(Reporting by Rina Saeed Khan; editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)
 THEMES

Spring is here, let the Nowruz festivities begin

March 21, 2019

       
Photo: AFP
Parsis welcome spring with music, delicious meals, and fire festivities as they celebrate Nowruz on Thursday.
The 3,000-year-old festival marks the first day of the year in the Iranian calendar.
“Nauru is like our Eid,” said Cyrus Karanjia, a Parsi living in Karachi. “We wake up early clean our house and then offer prayers at the fire temple”. The animal for this year is a white pig, he said.
The event is celebrated in more than 17 countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, each in their own way.
It is also known as Novruz, Nowruz, Nooruz, Naruz, Nauruz or Nevruz and has been inscribed in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in India.
The festivities aren’t limited to Parsis. Ismailis and some sects of Shia community celebrate it too. It marks the birth of Imam Ali (AS) for them.
“Nowruz signifies the beginning of new life, new beginnings and new year,” said Hussain, who is an Ismaili Muslim.



My khaleh’s mini #haftseen - (sans )#Nowruz countdown #persiannewyear #firstdayofspring

Ismailis celebrate Nowruz on March 21 every year.
Beenish Ahad, a Shia Muslim, said that they celebrate Nowruz as written in a guide book, Imamia Jantri.
“The guide book has written the time, day and date of all the religious festivals every year to help the devotees,” she explained.
Religious scholars from Iran calculate the movement of the stars and the moon, and then announce the theme of the year, the time and the date of celebrations in the guide book, she said.
The guide book says that celebrations this year will take place on a specific time, which was 2:54am on Thursday. And the colour is yellow.
“According to the colour of the year everything starting from food to drinks and sweet will be prepared according to it and a table will be set for the offering,” said Ahad while talking to SAMAA digital.
Photo: Tanya Hoshi
Family, fun, frolic
Nowruz celebrations are no ordinary affair.
“The entire family sits together and eats Dhandal [a lentil dish] and rice,” said Karanjia. He explained that they eat daal and rice as there are first crops of the season in Iran.
“We go for special prayers together. People usually pray for their families, health and prosperity,” he added.
People greet each other and exchange gifts just like Muslims do on Eid. Now, most people don’t cook as they visit their relatives.
Every house also sets a ‘haft sin’ tables contain seven foods beginning with letter ‘S’. The table can have Sabzeh (which can be made from wheat, barley, mung bean or lentils), Samau (a sweet pudding from wheat), Senjed which is Persian olive, Serke which is vinegar, and Sib which is an apple.
The celebrations are a bit different among Ismailis.
“We celebrate Nowruz by distributing wheat grains, misri [rock sugar] and painted boiled eggs among each other,” said Hussain.
“The boiled egg represents life, misri represents sweetness and happiness, while wheat represents prosperity,” he explained. “Each of these good symbolises blessings of abundance and sustenance.”
He explained that the goods are distributed during the morning prayers which start at 5:30am at jamatkhanas.
Follow SAMAA English on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram.

Pakistan to receive loan from China by March 25

IANS  |  Islamabad Last Updated at March 22, 2019 11:15 IST

·       ALSO READ

·        
Pakistan's Finance Ministry has announced that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will receive a $2.1 billion loan from China by March 25, the media reported on Friday.
Ministry spokesman Khaqan Najeeb Khan said on Thursday that "all procedural formalities" for the transfer of the loan being provided to Pakistan by the Chinese government have been completed, and "the funds will be deposited in the SBP account by Monday 25", Dawn news reported.
The loan facility, the spokesman said, "will further strengthen foreign exchange reserves and ensure balance of payment stability".
Following a meeting in Beijing between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in November 2018, China had said that it was willing to offer assistance to Islamabad to help it weather its current fiscal woes but that the terms of such aid were still being discussed.
Shortly after, Chinese Consul General Long Dingbin had said during an interview that in order to "boost Pakistan's economy", Beijing is investing in multiple sectors and launching business ventures instead of providing loans.
Besides the loan package, the Chinese government has also offered Pakistan market access for three commodities - rice, sugar and yarn - worth $1 billion for the current calendar year, a Commerce Division official told Dawn on Thursday.
The official said rice shipments to China have already begun as part of the deal which was agreed during the Prime Minister's China visit.
Under the agreement, exporters have been allowed to ship 200,000 tonnes of rice and 300,000 tonnes of sugar - total value of $300 million - to China in the ongoing calendar year.
Moreover, the agreement also includes preferential market access for around $700 million worth of yarn but it seems highly unlikely that Pakistan will have adequate surplus quantity of yarn to export to China as cotton production remains lacklustre.
This agreement will also be extended to calendar 2020. Pakistan's exports to China are expected to reach $2.2 billion in the ongoing calendar year and $3.2 billion in the next, according to official figures.
--IANS
ksk
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI had its Buy rating reiterated by Jefferies Financial Group with a $6.00 price target

By
Published: Mar 21, 2019 8:21 a.m. ET

Mar 21, 2019 (Market Exclusive via COMTEX) -- Analyst Ratings For Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24%
Today, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated its Buy rating on Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% with a price target of $6.00.
There are 1 Buy Ratings, no Strong Buy Ratings, no Sell Ratings, no Hold Ratings on the stock.
The current consensus rating on Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% is Buy with a consensus target price of $4.6250 per share, a potential 180.30% upside.
Some recent analyst ratings include
·       3/21/2019-Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% had its Buy rating reiterated by Jefferies Financial Group with a $6.00 price target
·       4/19/2017-Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% has coverage initiated with a Sector Weight Equal Weight rating
About Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% 
Amira Nature Foods Ltd. engages in processing, sourcing, and selling packaged Indian specialty rice. The company provides various types of basmati rice, other specialty rice and other food products, ready-to-eat snacks, edible oils, and organic products for retailers under the Amira brand; and non-basmati rice. It also sells bulk commodities, including wheat, barley, legume, maize, sugar, soybean meal, onion, potato, and millet products to trading firms, as well as third party branded products. The company sells its products to buyers in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and North America; and distributors and retail chains in India. Amira Nature Foods Ltd. was founded in 1915 and is based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Recent Trading Activity for Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +7.24% 
Shares of Amira Nature Foods Ltd closed the previous trading session at 1,65 +0,27 19,57 % with 1.37 shares trading hands.
The post Amira Nature Foods Ltd ANFI, +3.40% had its Buy rating reiterated by Jefferies Financial Group with a $6.00 price target appeared first on Market Exclusive.
FROM MARKETWATCH

QUOTEREFERENCES

·       ANFI
+0.11 +7.24%

MOST POPULAR

·      
·      
·      
·      
·      
SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT




SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT





BACK TO TOP

·       MARKETWATCH

·       Site Index
·       Topics
·       Help
·       Feedback
·       Newsroom Roster
·       Media Archive
·       Premium Products
·       Mobile

·       COMPANY

·       Company Info
·       Code of Conduct
·       Corrections
·       Advertising Media Kit
·       Advertise Locally
·       Reprints & Licensing
·       Your Ad Choices
·        

·       DOW JONES NETWORK

·       WSJ.com
·       Barron's Online
·       BigCharts
·       Virtual Stock Exchange
·       Financial News London
·       WSJ.com Small Business
·       realtor.com
·       Mansion Global
By using this site you agree to the Terms of ServicePrivacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
·       Facebook
·       Twitter
·       Linkedin
·       Google Plus
·        
Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.



·       EVENTS

·       CAREERS

·        
Mars’ Sustainable in A Generation programme covers the environmental impacts of their direct operations including more than 400 facilities globally. As part of this program, Mars manages a global portfolio of renewable energy projects in conjunction with efficiency work led by the business units.

World Water Day 2019: The supply chain has a huge role to play

22/03/2019
Today marks the United Nation's (UN) World Water Day, an opportunity to pause and reflect on the important role each of us can play in protecting our global water supply - for ourselves and future generations.


Water is an increasingly stressed resource and is recognised as one of the key challenges of the 21st century, with over a third of the global population living in water-stressed countries. That proportion will rise as populations grow, boosting demand for water in agriculture, industry and communities, with climate change also reducing water availability in some regions.  
At Mars, we’re proud to provide products and services from household brands like Uncle Ben's rice, Mars and Snickers, through to veterinary practices, and pet food and nutrition. Our products, operations and our supply chain reach almost every part of the planet.
As a global business, we recognise we have an impact on – and are hugely impacted by – the environment and people around us.
As we saw in Cape Town recently, the impact of water scarcity is very real. Not only was our manufacturing facility in Cape Town impacted, but our colleagues and friends were faced with a daily challenge of how they would drink, eat and provide safe water to themselves and their families.
Businesses have a responsibility to play in addressing the world’s challenges
We believe the engines that drive global business —agricultural supply chains— are fundamentally broken, no longer providing the benefits necessary for people or planet. Addressing these challenges is not only necessary for the health of the planet, but for the health of business.
That’s why in 2017, we announced our $1bn Sustainable in a Generation Plan, which outlines ambitious goals to address challenges in our direct operations and extended supply chains, to ensure the sustainability of our business and the world. This includes a commitment to cut our unsustainable water use by half by 2025, with a long-term ambition of eliminating water use in excess of sustainable levels in our value chain.
A key focus has been reducing water usage in our own operations. For example, we recently invested in an expansion of our Bolton, Canada factory enabling us to realise a 40% reduction in water use compared to conventional building design.
Looking beyond our direct operations into our supply chain
Whilst making incremental water savings in our direct operations is absolutely the right thing to do – simply using less water cannot solve the problem. The vast majority of water use related to our business sits outside of our direct operations – within our supply chains. Food production requires adequate water supplies for growing crops, with agriculture being 70% of global freshwater consumption.
The impact of water use varies depending on geography and the water source, so it’s crucial we understand the impact that our operations and those of our raw material suppliers have on the availability and quality of water. Because of this, we are introducing context-based water targets to help protect and improve water availability and eliminate unsustainable water use. 
We are also prioritising our efforts on crops which we, or our suppliers, source at large volumes from watersheds where water is especially scarce, such as parts of Australia, India, Pakistan, Spain and the United States.
And that brings us to rice. A tiny grain that has a huge part to play
Rice is the daily staple for more than 3.5 billion people and total water usage related to global rice farming equates to approximately 40% of the world’s irrigation water. The cultivation of rice is the largest footprint of water we have in our business, equating to 50% of our unsustainable water use.
At Mars, we believe the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As the manufacturer of some of the world’s favourite rice brands, we want to be at the forefront of developing and implementing new rice farming practices and creating a more sustainable rice supply chain. This starts with innovation and collaboration. 
In collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute, the WWF and UN Environment, we launched the world’s first sustainable rice standard under the banner of the Sustainable Rice Platform. Working in partnership with our suppliers and rice farmers around the world, we want to ensure the rice we source is produced in line with Sustainable Rice Platform standards – alongside focussed intervention programmes that make a real difference beyond just ‘compliance’.
In India and Pakistan, we’ve worked with basmati rice farmers to improve farmer education and income, increase crop yields and reduce water use. This programme has provided valuable lessons, which we’re now taking to Thailand and Cambodia and also working with farmers in the US and Europe to help them ensure biodiversity is protected alongside rice production.
To mark World Water Day, I’m delighted that we are partnering with METRO AG for the second year running to support One Drop through our Uncle Ben's and Extra brands – a project that aims to provide over a quarter of a million people in India with permanent access to safe water and sanitation.
These are all steps of progress, but we cannot do this alone. Through investment in innovation and collaboration, we must ensure our ambitions and actions extend throughout our value chains and focus in earnest where the water use and water risk are highest.
Water, something so many of us take for granted, is actually in perilous risk around the world. Without action from business, government, and individuals on water stewardship, the impact on our future generations will be immeasurable. 

Packaged Basmati Rice Market 2019 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2025

Packaged Basmati Rice Market –Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025
PUNE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, March 20, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Packaged Basmati Rice Market 2019
Wiseguyreports.Com adds “Packaged Basmati Rice Market –Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025” To Its Research Database.
Report Details:
This report provides in depth study of “Packaged Basmati Rice Market” using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Packaged Basmati Rice Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.
Basmati is a long-grain, aromatic rice grown in the specific geographical area of the Himalayan foothills of the Indian sub-continent.
In the Asian and African countries, there is significant consumption of rise, while in Latin America it is emerging as the fastest growing food staple.
The global Packaged Basmati Rice market is valued at xx million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025.
This report focuses on Packaged Basmati Rice volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Packaged Basmati Rice market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan.
At company level, this report focuses on the production capacity, ex-factory price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer covered in this report.
The following manufacturers are covered:
Adani Wilmar
Amira Nature Foods
Hain Celestial
KRBL
LT Foods
McCormick
...
Segment by Type
Dry Basmati Rice
Parboiled Basmati Rice
Segment by Application
Supermarket
Convenience Store
Other
Segment by Regions
United States
Europe
China
Japan
India 
Key Stakeholders
Packaged Basmati Rice Manufacturers
Packaged Basmati Rice Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers
Packaged Basmati Rice Subcomponent Manufacturers
Industry Association
Downstream Vendors
If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.
Major Key Points in Table of Content:
1 Packaged Basmati Rice Market Overview 
1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Packaged Basmati Rice
1.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Segment by Type
1.2.1 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Production Growth Rate Comparison by Type (2014-2025)
1.2.2 Dry Basmati Rice
1.2.3 Parboiled Basmati Rice
1.3 Packaged Basmati Rice Segment by Application
1.3.1 Packaged Basmati Rice Consumption Comparison by Application (2014-2025)
1.3.2 Supermarket
1.3.3 Convenience Store
1.3.4 Other
1.4 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Market by Region
1.4.1 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Market Size Region
1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2014-2025)
1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2014-2025)
1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2014-2025)
1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2014-2025)
1.5 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Market Size
1.5.1 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Revenue (2014-2025)
1.5.2 Global Packaged Basmati Rice Production (2014-2025)
….
7 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Packaged Basmati Rice Business 
7.1 Adani Wilmar
7.1.1 Adani Wilmar Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.1.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.1.3 Adani Wilmar Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.1.4 Main Business and Markets Served
7.2 Amira Nature Foods
7.2.1 Amira Nature Foods Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.2.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.2.3 Amira Nature Foods Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.2.4 Main Business and Markets Served
7.3 Hain Celestial
7.3.1 Hain Celestial Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.3.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.3.3 Hain Celestial Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.3.4 Main Business and Markets Served
7.4 KRBL
7.4.1 KRBL Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.4.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.4.3 KRBL Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.4.4 Main Business and Markets Served
7.5 LT Foods
7.5.1 LT Foods Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.5.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.5.3 LT Foods Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.5.4 Main Business and Markets Served
7.6 McCormick
7.6.1 McCormick Packaged Basmati Rice Production Sites and Area Served
7.6.2 Packaged Basmati Rice Product Introduction, Application and Specification
7.6.3 McCormick Packaged Basmati Rice Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)
7.6.4 Main Business and Markets Served
Continued….
NORAH TRENT
Wise Guy Reports
+91 841 198 5042
email us here
["facebook", "twitter", "google", "linkedin"]
{"facebook"=>"", "twitter"=>"", "google"=>"", "linkedin"=>""}

This is Google's cache of http://www.southwestjournal.com/voices/meet-the-market/2019/03/the-last-indoor-market-of-winter/. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 22 Mar 2019 06:18:48 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime. Learn more.
Tip: To quickly find your search term on this page, press Ctrl+F or -F (Mac) and use the find bar.

Southwest Journal

Southwest Minneapolis' Community Newspaper
Search for:
·       NEWS
o   BIZ BUZZ
o   CITY HALL
o   CIVIC BEAT
o   PARKS
o   SCHOOLS
·       FOCUS
o   ART BEAT
o   FEATURES
o   FLAVOR
o   HOMES
o   CAMP GUIDE
·       VOICES
·       MORE

The last indoor market of winter

SARAH WOUTAT
MARCH 21, 2019
UPDATED: MARCH 20, 2019 - 3:09 PM
Adrienne from Kiss My Cabbage shares her knowledge about lacto-fermented kimchi and sauerkraut with her customers. Submitted photo
Neighborhood Roots’ final indoor market of the winter runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, at Bachman’s on Lyndale, and we’ve got a great line-up for you! We’ll have live music performed by both Broken Heartland String Band and One Ukulele.
In the fresh greens department, we’ll have salad greens, kale and Swiss chard from Dawn 2 Dusk Farm as well as greens and fresh herbs from Tangletown Gardens. Looking for carrots, onions and potatoes? We’ve got you covered.
Stop by and visit Denny and Lynn Havlicek for Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Haralson, Fireside and Keepsake apples along with honey. Brand Farms will be there with eggs and dried apples. Both LoveTree Farmstead Cheese and Cosmic Wheel Creamery can fill your cheese needs.
Denny and Lynn Havlicek
Looking for meat? Visit Braucher’s Sunshine Harvest Farm for eggs and a wide selection of meat. Johnson Family Pastures will be running a sale – 20 percent off beef roasts, pork roasts, and stewing hens. Dancing the Land Farm will have lamb and beautiful yarn from their own sheep!
Stop by to chat with Matt from Wild Run Salmon and pick up some delicious wild-caught salmon. Peter and Carmen and Jerry from Hazelwood Creek will be there with lots of jarred treats.
Dan from Walsh Ridge Farm will have plenty of jams, jellies and maple syrup. Davidson’s farm will have lots of tasty canned goods as well as raw honey, beeswax and winter squash! Visit Minnesota Food Forest to taste their amazing maple cream and pick up some fruit leathers. “What’s maple cream,” you ask? Lynette and Clemon will tell you all about it. Michael and Sherri from Brush Prairie Farm will have lots of canned goods and maybe some winter squash. Dave will be there with all his pickled goodies from Martha’s Joy.
Winter isn’t quite over yet and Red Clover Herbal Apothecary can help keep you well through the end. Nancy will have cold and flu remedies, Elderberry syrup, winter warming elixir (fire cider), herbal throat spray, an assortment of herbal teas, herbal salves and herbal extracts. Dorothy from Heath Glen will have jams and marmalades, beverage syrups, shrub syrups and spice and seasoning blends.
Come to the market hungry because we have some great options for on-the-spot eating. Sun Street Breads will have pastries and bread loaves to take home for dinner. Oh Crepe! will be making both sweet and savory crepes. Wha’ Jamaican will be serving up oxtails, jerk chicken, steamed veggies and coconut basmati rice. And Chef Shack will be featuring some of their gluten-free items such as a Thai green curry.
Thirsty? Cafe Palmira will be brewing coffee, and Moonchild Naturals will offer natural sodas, sparkling waters, and glass straws.
And don’t forget to swing by the bar for a beer, where all proceeds go to Neighborhood Roots, the nonprofit organization that brings you the Fulton, Kingfield and Nokomis farmers markets! A huge thank you to Lakes & Legends for donating the beer and to Book Club Restaurant for their sponsorship.
Adrienne from Kiss My Cabbage will be bringing all three Asian-inspired kimchi varieties as well as lemon garlic dill, Plain Ol’ Sauerkraut, Central American red cabbage curtido, Italian-inspired giardiniera, plus seasonal apple curry Elderberry and apple juniper onion. Stop by to see Jim at Topos Ferments. He’ll have purple daikon radish with Tae-kyung peppers, green daikon with dill, green daikon with leek and dulse, and maybe some preserved lemons.
Have a sweet tooth? Andrea from Groveland Confections has got you covered. Creature Comfort Hot Sauce will add some zing to your dinner, and Ancient Indian Spices can warm up your winter meals. Treats and toys for your furry friends are available from Squirrel!
Also look for sterling silver jewelry and hand-painted shirts and sweatshirts, garden ornaments, mirrored garden art, hand batik scarves and headbands.
And none of this would be possible without our dedicated sponsors. Nicollet Ace Hardware will be at the market with teeny-tiny baby chicks. Place your chick orders soon, and Ace can provide you with all of your backyard chicken supplies. They’ve been a supporter of the markets for many years and we’re proud to work with them. Kamy from Augustine Team will be next to the bar hosting a kids activity so bring the kiddos by to make some flowers and learn more about what Kamy does. And Hero Plumbing, surely you’ve called them this winter when your pipes froze. If you didn’t, you should call them next time you have a plumbing need. These are the businesses that choose to support the markets that you love. So please support them.
I’d also like to thank you all, our customers. If you didn’t come out every week to be part of our market communities, then our markets and Neighborhood Roots wouldn’t exist.
See you Saturday!

Sarah Woutat has been the Market Manager for Neighborhood Roots since 2019. Before managing the markets, she was a vendor at Fulton and Kingfield for eight years. 

Bulog fails to reach target to absorb farmers' rice

·        
The Jakarta Post
Palembang   /   Mon, March 25, 2019   /   09:19 am
A rice field in Plaosan village, Klaten regency, Central Java. (JP/Maksum Nur Fauzan)

21

·        
·        
·        
·        
·        
·        
The South Sumatra chapter of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) is facing difficulties in reaching its rice absorption target of 70,000 tons this year despite harvest season.
The agency had only been able to absorb 180 tons of rice as of early March due to the rising price of rice at the farmers’ level, also known as the “farm gate price”, said the chapter head, M. Yusuf Salahuddin, in Palembang, South Sumatra, recently.
Raw rice, which is not qualified yet as medium or premiumquality rice, is sold at above Rp 8,300 (58 US cents) per kilogram on average.
“The low absorption is because farmers sell their rice at a higher price than the regulated farm gate price of Rp 7,300, with the flexibility reaching Rp 8,030 at maximum [lower than the actual farm gate price of Rp 8,300],” he said.
He said Bulog had purchased the 180 tons of rice based on the commercial price as it had to follow regulations on rice prices.
Bulog has earmarked Rp 10 trillion for rice purchases nationwide this year.
In terms of logistics, Yusuf ensured that Bulog’s warehouse in South Sumatra would be able to store more rice, saying that currently it housed 27,500 tons of rice, including the stock from last year. Aside from local rice absorption, some of the stock also came from East Java, he said.
The existing stock is expected to fulfill people’s needs for the next seven months.
The stock will also be distributed through several programs, such as the social assistance fund (Bansos), rice assistance (Rastra) and direct market operations through traditional markets.
“We have distributed 4,000 tons of rice through the Bansos and Rastra programs in 2019 so far. We will continue to distribute our stock,” Yusuf said. (bbn)

TOPICS :


farmers-rice.html

Mars’ Sustainable in A Generation programme covers the environmental impacts of their direct operations including more than 400 facilities globally. As part of this program, Mars manages a global portfolio of renewable energy projects in conjunction with efficiency work led by the business units.

World Water Day 2019: The supply chain has a huge role to play

22/03/2019
Today marks the United Nation's (UN) World Water Day, an opportunity to pause and reflect on the important role each of us can play in protecting our global water supply - for ourselves and future generations.


Water is an increasingly stressed resource and is recognised as one of the key challenges of the 21st century, with over a third of the global population living in water-stressed countries. That proportion will rise as populations grow, boosting demand for water in agriculture, industry and communities, with climate change also reducing water availability in some regions.  
At Mars, we’re proud to provide products and services from household brands like Uncle Ben's rice, Mars and Snickers, through to veterinary practices, and pet food and nutrition. Our products, operations and our supply chain reach almost every part of the planet.
As a global business, we recognise we have an impact on – and are hugely impacted by – the environment and people around us.
As we saw in Cape Town recently, the impact of water scarcity is very real. Not only was our manufacturing facility in Cape Town impacted, but our colleagues and friends were faced with a daily challenge of how they would drink, eat and provide safe water to themselves and their families.
Businesses have a responsibility to play in addressing the world’s challenges
We believe the engines that drive global business —agricultural supply chains— are fundamentally broken, no longer providing the benefits necessary for people or planet. Addressing these challenges is not only necessary for the health of the planet, but for the health of business.
That’s why in 2017, we announced our $1bn Sustainable in a Generation Plan, which outlines ambitious goals to address challenges in our direct operations and extended supply chains, to ensure the sustainability of our business and the world. This includes a commitment to cut our unsustainable water use by half by 2025, with a long-term ambition of eliminating water use in excess of sustainable levels in our value chain.
A key focus has been reducing water usage in our own operations. For example, we recently invested in an expansion of our Bolton, Canada factory enabling us to realise a 40% reduction in water use compared to conventional building design.
Looking beyond our direct operations into our supply chain
Whilst making incremental water savings in our direct operations is absolutely the right thing to do – simply using less water cannot solve the problem. The vast majority of water use related to our business sits outside of our direct operations – within our supply chains. Food production requires adequate water supplies for growing crops, with agriculture being 70% of global freshwater consumption.
The impact of water use varies depending on geography and the water source, so it’s crucial we understand the impact that our operations and those of our raw material suppliers have on the availability and quality of water. Because of this, we are introducing context-based water targets to help protect and improve water availability and eliminate unsustainable water use. 
We are also prioritising our efforts on crops which we, or our suppliers, source at large volumes from watersheds where water is especially scarce, such as parts of Australia, India, Pakistan, Spain and the United States.
And that brings us to rice. A tiny grain that has a huge part to play
Rice is the daily staple for more than 3.5 billion people and total water usage related to global rice farming equates to approximately 40% of the world’s irrigation water. The cultivation of rice is the largest footprint of water we have in our business, equating to 50% of our unsustainable water use.
At Mars, we believe the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As the manufacturer of some of the world’s favourite rice brands, we want to be at the forefront of developing and implementing new rice farming practices and creating a more sustainable rice supply chain. This starts with innovation and collaboration. 
In collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute, the WWF and UN Environment, we launched the world’s first sustainable rice standard under the banner of the Sustainable Rice Platform. Working in partnership with our suppliers and rice farmers around the world, we want to ensure the rice we source is produced in line with Sustainable Rice Platform standards – alongside focussed intervention programmes that make a real difference beyond just ‘compliance’.
In India and Pakistan, we’ve worked with basmati rice farmers to improve farmer education and income, increase crop yields and reduce water use. This programme has provided valuable lessons, which we’re now taking to Thailand and Cambodia and also working with farmers in the US and Europe to help them ensure biodiversity is protected alongside rice production.
To mark World Water Day, I’m delighted that we are partnering with METRO AG for the second year running to support One Drop through our Uncle Ben's and Extra brands – a project that aims to provide over a quarter of a million people in India with permanent access to safe water and sanitation.
These are all steps of progress, but we cannot do this alone. Through investment in innovation and collaboration, we must ensure our ambitions and actions extend throughout our value chains and focus in earnest where the water use and water risk are highest.
Water, something so many of us take for granted, is actually in perilous risk around the world. Without action from business, government, and individuals on water stewardship, the impact on our future generations will be immeasurable. 
https://www.edie.net/blog/World-Water-Day-2019-The-supply-chain-has-a-huge-role-to-play/6098628



http://www.southwestjournal.com/voices/meet-the-market/2019/03/the-last-indoor-market-of-winter/

No comments:

Post a Comment