‘Rice exporters cooperating in
R&D’
KARACHI: The Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (REAP) has said Rice Conference Larkana (November 2018)
provided fruits, as some rice exporters are participating in rice cultivation
and research and development (R&D) work, a statement said on Wednesday.
This was observed in the second
meeting of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)
Rice Committee, which met under the chair of senior business leader and REAP
former chairman Abdul Rahim Janoo.
FPCCI Vice President Muslim
Muhammadi, REAP Chairman Safder Hussain Mehkri and other rice exporters
attended the meeting. The meeting discussed various means to increase rice
exports.
REAP Senior Vice Chairman Rafique
Suleman said that an increase in the rice exports was positive, while Kenya
remained the largest buyer of non-basmati rice and exports further increased to
it during the current year.
He suggested sending REAP delegates
to Western African countries, Azerbaijan and Jordan to explore the markets for
Pakistani rice. Janoo said that the business community was facing liquidity
crisis due to decline in the business
Duterte orders NFA to
buy palay from local farmers amid rice tariffication law
Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News
MANILA (UPDATED) - President
Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy
palay, or unhusked rice, from local farmers to help them cope with the effects
of the Rice Tariffication Law.
“What the solution should be, or will be for the secretary of
the Department of Agriculture to buy all, magkano ba presyo nila? Magkano
presyo nila, bilhin natin,” Duterte told reporters in a press conference in
Malacañang.
“But you cannot demand a price, you arrive at a compromise of
how much you are willing to lose a little bit. Tapatan lang, basta hindi malugi
ang pagod nila, they are compensated but do not demand a price that is
unreasonable,” he said.
Local farmers are blaming the implementation of the Rice
Tariffication Law for their woes, saying that the new measure allowed cheap
imported rice to flood the market and caused the prices of palay to drop
drastically.
Duterte, however, insisted that the new measure, which the
government claimed has stabilized food prices and lowered inflation rates, is
for the greater good.
“Now, itong tariffication is a mode that is intended to serve
the greater interest of the majority of the people. So, ang solusyon diyan,
bilhin natin. Malugi tayo, malugi tayo. Kaya tayo nagkokolekta ng taxes para
malugi,” he said.
Duterte signed the law in February this year to address rice
supply shortage and soaring inflation, using rice importation as a solution.
Under the law, the government is mandated to allot P10 billion
to aid farmers, P5 billion of which should go to the mechanization of rice
farming, P3 billion to the distribution of inbred rice seeds, P1 billion to
credit for farmers and another P1 billion for their skills development.
Rice exporters plan massive investment to import machinery
Rice exporters plan billions of rupees investment for import of
latest and modern machinery to improve domestic rice farm practices and
production. Rafique Suleman, Convener, FPCCI Standing Committee on Rice called
2nd meeting of his committee on Wednesday at the Federation House here. The
meeting was attended among others by Abdul Rahim Janoo former chairman Rice
Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), Muslim Muhammedi Vice President
FPCCI, Safdar Mehkri Chairman REAP, Muhammad Raza Member REAP's Managing
Committee, Faisal Anis, Shiraz Shaikh, Sufiyan Rahim, and a large numbers of
rice exporters.
Various matters relating to rice export trade were discussed. Rafique Suleman informed the meeting that rice trade got very good results following REAP rice conference held in November 2018 in Larkana as after the successful conference, a few rice exporters were working towards rice research & development and planned billions of rupees investment towards import of modern rice machinery and equipment.
"A number of exporters have already imported millions of rupees latest and modern rice machinery and equipment such as harvester to improve farm practices and rice production. With these efforts we will be able to overcome gaps in the supply chain and with the improved farm practices, rice exporters will get good crop," he added.
Suleman said rice export target of over $2 billion was achieved successfully during FY19. He said that Kenya, which has been the largest destination for Pakistani non-Basmati rice, faced some issues last year. However, Suleman was hopeful that rice export from Pakistan to Kenya will increase during this fiscal year.
REAP's trade delegations should be sent to West African countries, Azerbaijan and Jordan and other countries to explore new markets, he said.
Suleman thanked all participants for attending this meeting and congratulated the newly Un-opposed elected Members of Managing Committee and nominated Office Bearers for the tenure 2019-2020 for Shahjahan Malik as Chairman REAP, Muhammad Raza Amjad as Senior Vice Chairman and Abdul Wali Khan as Vice Chairman REAP.
During the meeting Abdul Rahim Janoo appreciated the services of Muslim Muhammedi Vice President FPCCI for the patronage and betterment of rice export trade.
He suggested a committee led by Muslim Muhammad along with Safdar Mehkri, Rafique Suleman, Muhammad Raza and Faisal Anis to resolve rice trade related issues.
REAP Chairman Safdar Mehkri drew the attention of the committee towards gaps in the rice value chain and urged them to put the own house in order. He suggested to give preference in REAP delegations to those members who are doing value addition in rice export trade.
He was of the view the all agricultural sectors were facing same challenges, however, the government is appreciating rice export sector for its due role in fetching valuable foreign exchange without any financial subsidy from the government.
Muslim Muhammad Vice President FPCCI said that Safdar Mehkri Chairman REAP and Rafique Suleman former chairman REAP are putting their best efforts to improve rice export sector. He assured his full cooperation to resolve the issues and problems of rice export sector.
Various matters relating to rice export trade were discussed. Rafique Suleman informed the meeting that rice trade got very good results following REAP rice conference held in November 2018 in Larkana as after the successful conference, a few rice exporters were working towards rice research & development and planned billions of rupees investment towards import of modern rice machinery and equipment.
"A number of exporters have already imported millions of rupees latest and modern rice machinery and equipment such as harvester to improve farm practices and rice production. With these efforts we will be able to overcome gaps in the supply chain and with the improved farm practices, rice exporters will get good crop," he added.
Suleman said rice export target of over $2 billion was achieved successfully during FY19. He said that Kenya, which has been the largest destination for Pakistani non-Basmati rice, faced some issues last year. However, Suleman was hopeful that rice export from Pakistan to Kenya will increase during this fiscal year.
REAP's trade delegations should be sent to West African countries, Azerbaijan and Jordan and other countries to explore new markets, he said.
Suleman thanked all participants for attending this meeting and congratulated the newly Un-opposed elected Members of Managing Committee and nominated Office Bearers for the tenure 2019-2020 for Shahjahan Malik as Chairman REAP, Muhammad Raza Amjad as Senior Vice Chairman and Abdul Wali Khan as Vice Chairman REAP.
During the meeting Abdul Rahim Janoo appreciated the services of Muslim Muhammedi Vice President FPCCI for the patronage and betterment of rice export trade.
He suggested a committee led by Muslim Muhammad along with Safdar Mehkri, Rafique Suleman, Muhammad Raza and Faisal Anis to resolve rice trade related issues.
REAP Chairman Safdar Mehkri drew the attention of the committee towards gaps in the rice value chain and urged them to put the own house in order. He suggested to give preference in REAP delegations to those members who are doing value addition in rice export trade.
He was of the view the all agricultural sectors were facing same challenges, however, the government is appreciating rice export sector for its due role in fetching valuable foreign exchange without any financial subsidy from the government.
Muslim Muhammad Vice President FPCCI said that Safdar Mehkri Chairman REAP and Rafique Suleman former chairman REAP are putting their best efforts to improve rice export sector. He assured his full cooperation to resolve the issues and problems of rice export sector.
Perdue
visits, offers assurances
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (seated left)
sits Wednesday in Little Rock beside U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
after they signed a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and certain state agencies. - Photo by John Sykes
Jr.
Secretary
of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, with two appearances Wednesday in central
Arkansas, made a lot of assurances but no promises while speaking to farmers
affected by a range of issues.Perdue and Gov. Asa Hutchinson spent about an hour at a "town hall" meeting that attracted about 100 people at the headquarters of the state Department of Agriculture. Many were farmers; others were "stakeholders" in agriculture, including conservationists and foresters, all of whom were invited well ahead of the gathering.
Floodwater inundates houses, farms
in many parts of Laos
Xinhua, September 4, 2019
VIENTIANE, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) --
Several provinces in Laos are suffering in the wake of prolonged downpours,
with many houses, smallholdings and farms partially submerged under floodwater.
Sekong province, some 530 km
southeast of Lao capital Vientiane, in particular has been affected and the
level of the Nam Sekong river has risen to 12 meters, just below the danger
level of 13 meters, local daily Vientiane Times quoted a provincial official,
Bounthong Sidonkhong, as saying.
Torrential rain has also affected
roads and bridges. Some bridges are temporarily impassable, including the
bridge linking Sekong and Attapeu provinces, because it is under water.
Houses and farms are also suffering
various degrees of damage but the extent of losses is not yet known, Bounthong
said.
Elsewhere, many villages in Salavan
province, some 670 km southeast of the Lao capital Vientiane, are also feeling
the effects of heavy rainfall. Provincial authorities are warning local
residents to move their belongings and pets to safety and out of reach of
further floods.
In Khammuan province, some 250 km
southeast of the Lao capital Vientiane, about 87 villages in five districts
along the Xebangfay River have been affected by floods and over 5,000 hectares
of rice crops are under water, according to the provincial Agriculture and
Forestry Department.
In Savannakhet province, some 410
km east of the Lao capital Vientiane, flooding has occurred in at least 240
villages in 10 districts. Some 28,273 families have been affected and 36,188
hectares of rice crops are under water.
Floods have also blocked or damaged
roads, bridges and irrigation channels. Local authorities are assessing the
damage and surveying flood-affected areas, according to the Savannakhet
provincial Labor and Social Welfare Department.
Tourist attractions in several
provinces have closed temporarily because access is too difficult and unsafe,
with roads extremely muddy and impassable in some places. Enditem
In Java, the water is running out
Drought, pollution, and poor
resource management threaten
Indonesia's most populous island with total water scarcity.
Indonesia's most populous island with total water scarcity.
Getty)
Published 4 Sep 2019 16:30
Indonesia’s dry season has never
been easy. Dry winds blow from Australia and rainfall is almost nonexistent,
which leads to major forest fires, choking air pollution, and searing heat,
along with the energy-sapping effect the season has on residents.
For many parts of Indonesia, one
problem has become increasingly frequent: drought. Indonesia’s Agency for
Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) has warned that
severe drought could be felt in seven of the country’s provinces, with
second-level drought in many more, including Jakarta. By July, 55 districts and
cities had already begun implementing
emergency responses to water shortages.
Some of the worst water shortages
are felt on Java – Indonesia’s most populous island, home to more than 60% of
the population, many of its largest cities, and much of its agriculture. For
all this human abundance, Java is seriously lacking in water, holding
just 10%
of the nation’s water supplies.
Indonesia’s Ministry
of Public Works and Housing has predicted that Java’s water
levels will drop to 476m3 per person per year by 2040. This is categorised as “total
scarcity” and is far below the current annual level of 1169m3 per capita. The ministry
says the ideal per capita amount of water is 1600m3 per year. Almost 10% of
Indonesia is expected to experience water crisis by 2045, while Java is already
considered to be “under pressure”.
The production of rice
consumes a massive
amount of water, yet
farmers around the
country – even in
drought-prone areas –
are encouraged to
increase rice production
to achieve self-sufficiency.
consumes a massive
amount of water, yet
farmers around the
country – even in
drought-prone areas –
are encouraged to
increase rice production
to achieve self-sufficiency.
The vast majority of Indonesia’s
water usage (70%)
goes to agriculture, with less than 10% for domestic, municipal, or industrial
purposes. Most agricultural water supplies come from rainwater, and irrigation
remains limited and of poor quality, and is often poorly maintained. The result
is that dry seasons strike farmers particularly hard.
Ironically, Indonesia as a whole
has a surplus of water, but most of it is located on less populated islands
such as Kalimantan and Papua. Papua, for example, has 70%
of Indonesia’s water supplies but just 13% of the population.
For obvious reasons, redistributing water from one island to another is
virtually impossible, so that each island must be looked at separately.
Millions of people living on Java
have been struggling for years to access water during the dry season. In 2017,
wells and rivers dried up across parts of Central Java, including crucial
rainwater reservoirs for village water supplies. People were forced to purchase
water from delivery trucks, leading to massive price spikes. The Jakarta
Post reported that
5,000 litres of water usually cost around IDR 100,000 (AU$10) but leapt to IDR
300,000 (AU$30) in September 2017 due to increased demand. Households were
spending up to IDR 1,000,000 (AU$100) on water per month during the worst of
the season. Similar problems were felt in September 2018, with governments
delivering 30 million litres of water across Java to parched
villages.
Java’s water shortage is entirely
man-made. Climate change is leading to longer and drier dry seasons, and
shorter but wetter wet seasons, creating havoc for water supplies, rice
production, and livestock. Increased urbanisation, environmental degradation,
and more agriculture have also made it harder to capture and store rainwater,
so that when rain does arrive, most of it simply becomes runoff, flowing into
rivers and even causing floods, instead of being stored for future use.
To make things worse, Java’s
rivers are heavily polluted and unsuitable for anything more than livestock and
irrigation. Just four
of Java’s 44 large rivers meet standards known as Class 2
– suitable for water recreation, but not for drinking – all year
round, and several are laden with silt caused by erosion and agriculture. The
Ciliwung River, which flows through West Java and Jakarta, doesn’t even meet
Class 4 standards, meaning it is suitable only for irrigation. Almost half of
Jakarta’s groundwater is contaminated by fecal matter, while 80% contains e.
coli – major causes of potentially fatal diarrhoeal illnesses such as typhoid.
An outbreak in July of hepatitis A that affected
more than 1100 people in Pacitan, East Java was blamed on poor
water, sanitation, and hygiene, and followed on from similar outbreaks in the
same district in 2013 and 2014.
A river in West Java filled with garbage
(Photo: Donal Husni via Getty)
While there is no quick fix,
there are sustainable measures that would help alleviate the impacts of
drought. Building more reservoirs is one possible answer – indeed, 26
new reservoirs are planned for completion in Java this year –
but the focus should also be on improving existing supplies. Rivers and
groundwater are heavily polluted across Java, and with just 20%
of the country’s population using piped water, local sources must be
cleaned up and improved if the island is to avoid running out of usable water.
Homeowners should also be supported to move from bores and wells to piped
water, and to understand the important effect it has on environmental
sustainability.
In addition, Indonesia must shift
towards less water-intensive crops and livestock. The production of rice, the
country’s primary staple, consumes a massive amount of water, yet farmers
around the country – even in drought-prone areas – are encouraged to
increase rice production to achieve self-sufficiency. To do so without
increasing the burden on water supplies, irrigation needs to be dramatically
improved. Crops more suitable to dry regions, such as cassava and sweet potato,
should also be better supported. A number of local initiatives have already
popped up across the country that urge residents to eat traditional crops, such
as those in Eastern Indonesia that celebrate sago porridge and steamed cassava.
Finally, residents themselves
should become involved with pushing for change. A recent BBC
Indonesia video saw social media users react in shock when
Java’s water shortage was highlighted, with one commenter on YouTube remarking,
“This video has completely opened my eyes. I never worried about water because
I assumed that as long as I paid for it, it was my right to use it. But it
turns out, it’s not that simple.”
With more awareness, Java’s residents might just be able to
convince the government to act before it is too late.
CRF strives to
boost rice exports to China
By
September 4, 2019
Cambodia has pledged to boost rice
exports to China to achieve the 400,000 tonne quota provided, according to the
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).
During a meeting between the CRF
and China state-owned company China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs
Corporation (Cofco) on Tuesday, CRF vice-president Chan Sokheang said Cambodia
strongly hopes that rice exports to China will see a sharp increase this year.
© 2019, The Cambodia
Daily. All rights reserved No part of this article may
be reproduced in print, electronically, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
without written permission
Duterte orders
NFA to buy locally grown rice
September 4, 2019
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, September 4, directed
the National Food Authority (NFA) to purchase rice from local farmers at a
relatively reasonable price.
Duterte gave the order as he acknowledged the adverse impact of the entry of imported rice in the market following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act.
"You know, in the democracy, officials are elected. And their duty is to do for the greatest good, for the greatest number. You have seen people going wild, others hungry because there is no rice," the President said in a press conference.
"What the solution should be or will be for the Secretary of Agricutlure to buy all. Magkano ba presyo nila? Magkano presyo nila, bilhin natin. Lugi? Lugi talaga (How much their rice is? Let's buy their harvest. It would be a loss? It would really be a loss). Are we wasting money? No. We are not wasting an industry. We're helping an industry," he added.
In February this year, Duterte signed RA 11203 to ease import restrictions on rice and improve the supply in the country after the price of rice was blamed largely for the elevated inflation in 2018.
However, the importation of cheaper commercial rice caused farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) to drop to P6 to P10 per kilo, prompting 200,000 of them to abandon the food production industry.
Following his latest order, Duterte reminded local farmers to avoid demanding for "unreasonable" price of the staple, telling them that Agriculture Secretary William Dar would not allow that.
"You cannot demand a price. You arrive at a compromise of how much you are willing to lose a little bit," he said.
"Tapatan lang. Basta hindi malugi yung pagod nila (We'll help you so your efforts will not be wastedl. But they are compensated. But do not demand a price that is unreasonable because I am sure Secretary Dar would never go into that kind of arrangement," he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Dar said his agency was planning to impose non-tariff measures, including the new sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, to help local farmers cope with the entry of imported rice into the country.
Dar also suggested that instead of a subsidy, the government should distribute local rice to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). (SunStar Philippines)
Duterte gave the order as he acknowledged the adverse impact of the entry of imported rice in the market following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act.
"You know, in the democracy, officials are elected. And their duty is to do for the greatest good, for the greatest number. You have seen people going wild, others hungry because there is no rice," the President said in a press conference.
"What the solution should be or will be for the Secretary of Agricutlure to buy all. Magkano ba presyo nila? Magkano presyo nila, bilhin natin. Lugi? Lugi talaga (How much their rice is? Let's buy their harvest. It would be a loss? It would really be a loss). Are we wasting money? No. We are not wasting an industry. We're helping an industry," he added.
In February this year, Duterte signed RA 11203 to ease import restrictions on rice and improve the supply in the country after the price of rice was blamed largely for the elevated inflation in 2018.
However, the importation of cheaper commercial rice caused farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) to drop to P6 to P10 per kilo, prompting 200,000 of them to abandon the food production industry.
Following his latest order, Duterte reminded local farmers to avoid demanding for "unreasonable" price of the staple, telling them that Agriculture Secretary William Dar would not allow that.
"You cannot demand a price. You arrive at a compromise of how much you are willing to lose a little bit," he said.
"Tapatan lang. Basta hindi malugi yung pagod nila (We'll help you so your efforts will not be wastedl. But they are compensated. But do not demand a price that is unreasonable because I am sure Secretary Dar would never go into that kind of arrangement," he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Dar said his agency was planning to impose non-tariff measures, including the new sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, to help local farmers cope with the entry of imported rice into the country.
Dar also suggested that instead of a subsidy, the government should distribute local rice to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). (SunStar Philippines)
Wishing
for a food-secure PH
By Panay News
Thursday, September 5, 2019
TWO YEARS ago, the government’s
economic managers pushed for more rice importation to temper the rising prices
of the staple food.Now, with imported rice flooding the market, prices have
dropped so low that farmers are fearing big losses and being displaced by their
import rivals.
Putting affordable rice on their
tables is what matters to the consumers. But our rice producers must not be
marginalized by rice imports.
We truly understand the anxiety
of the consumers and rice producers. This stems from the fact that the
country’s agriculture sector has always been historically weak. And it is weak
because it has not received the full support of government after government.
The prices of food, including
rice, bread, meat, fish and poultry are fluctuating because of myriad problems,
including low production, inefficient farm management systems, lack of
processing industries and lack of transportation facilities to move the
products from rural to urban areas.
The only way to assuage public
fears of a food crisis is to strengthen food production. And food production
can only be strengthened if the agriculture sector is strengthened. In short,
there must be a sustained national effort to attain self-sufficiency in food.
It is a great shame that we Filipinos who reside in a fertile country should be
food-deprived.
While we cannot compete with
other better-endowed lands in Southeast Asia like Thailand and Vietnam, we
should at least aim to drop the reputation of being the top rice importer. We
should involve the farmers in buffer stocking rice and improve assistance to
them by systematizing the extension system in agriculture and fisheries. As we
understand it, there are safety nets that the government has instituted from
way back. The budget for agriculture and fisheries has increased since the
first year of the implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries
Modernizations Act of 1997. We have to focus our assistance to the farmers and
fisherfolk.
It is unacceptable that our
country should be considered the biggest importer of rice in the entire world.
The Philippines can be food-secure provided the government institutes a
no-nonsense program for the modernization of agricultural and fisheries production.
Give cash aid to small farmers following
drop in palay price — solon
By: Pathricia
Ann V. Roxas - Reporter / @PathRoxasINQ
INQUIRER.net /
06:52 PM September 04, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — Cash
grants and concessional loans should be given to small and big rice farmers,
respectively, following the drop in palay (unhusked rice) price in the country,
Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said.
In a recommendation letter sent
to President Rodrigo Duterte, House Speaker Alan Cayetano, and Majority Leader
Martin Romualdez on Tuesday, Salceda warned of “social, political and security”
consequences if the drop in the farm-gate price of palay remain unresolved by
the Duterte administration.
Salceda also admitted that the
Rice Tariffication Law had caused palay prices to drop to as low as P7 to P10
per kilo.
“With no offsetting measures,
it has implications on the social, political and security dimensions of the
country,” the administration lawmaker warned.
Although a P10-billion Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for farmers was mandated under the Rice
Liberalization law, “policy and implementation lags such as its appropriation
from Congress can further exacerbate the plight of farmers,” according to
Salceda.
The benefits from the RCEF will
slowly be felt by farmers by yearend until February 2020, Department of
Agriculture Regional Director Roy Abaya said Monday.
With the “surge of rice imports
and injury to domestic industry apparent,” Salceda said another option was to
invoke Republic Act No. 8800 or the Safeguards Law to impose 30 to 80 percent
tariff on imported rice outside the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of 350,000
metric tons.
“RA 8800 is well recognized
under our commitments with the WTO [World Trade Organization] and the
provisional measure has a maximum period of 1 year,” he argued.
The last resort is to ask
Congress for special powers to impose quantitative restrictions (QRs) and to
allocate for a special fund for cash transfers, according to Salceda.
Farm-gate prices of play have
dropped significantly from P17.78 per kilo to as low as P14 per kilo, even at
P7 reported in Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Ilocos Norte.
Magsasaka Rep. Argel Cabatbat
said Republic Act No. 11203 signed February this year should be blamed for
this. The law replaces QRs on imported rice with tariffs or taxes.
“Walang hustisya para sa mga
magsasaka dahil sa Rice Tariffication Law, at nagagalit kami para sa sektor ng
agrikultura dahil sa hindi makatotohanang datos na inilalabas ng gobyerno,”
Cabatbat said in a statement.
“Nananawagan kami na kapakanan
naman ng mga mahihirap nating kababayan ang unahin ng gobyerno, kaysa sa
pamumulitika at pagpapasarap sa buhay,” he appealed. /je
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1160909/give-cash-aid-to-small-farmers-following-drop-in-palay-price-solon#ixzz5yeAaEqYZ
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Cambodia's rice export to China up 54 pct in
1st 8 months
Source:
Xinhua| 2019-09-05 11:00:25|Editor: Liu
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had exported 132,947
tons of milled rice to China during the first eight months of 2019, a rise of
54 percent over the same period last year, an official report said on Thursday.
China is still the top buyer of Cambodian rice during the
January-August period this year, according to the report of the Secretariat of
One Window Service for Rice Export.
The export to China accounted for 39 percent of the country's
total rice export, it said.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 120,061 tons of
rice to the European market, down 47 percent, said the report, adding that the
European Union (EU)'s market share for Cambodian rice had declined to 35
percent from 52 percent.
The slump in the export to the European market came after the EU
earlier this year imposed duties for three years on rice importing from
Cambodia in a bid to curb a surge in rice imports from the country and to
protect European producers.
According to the report, Cambodia exported a total of 342,045
tons of rice to 51 countries and regions during the first eight months of this
year, up only 0.1 percent over the same period last year
Rice prices still not hitting
P27/kilo as projected under tariffication law
Ralf Rivas
Published 7:45 PM, September 04, 2019
Updated 8:10 PM, September 04, 2019
RICE PRICES. The rice tariffication law is not living up to
expectations just yet. Photo by Darren Langit/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – The
government's economic team projected that rice prices would drop to as low as
P27 per kilo due to the rice tariffication law effectively liberalizing
the market. They have not.
Data from the Philippine
Statistics Authority showed that regular milled rice retails at P38.4 per kilo,
while well milled rice is priced at P43.5 per kilo, as of the 2nd week of
August.
This is a significant drop from
last year's prices, but still not low enough as expected.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary
Ernesto Pernia previously said there was no need for cheap rice from the
National Food Authority because of the competitive market environment.
(READ: Piñol to economic team: Get out of air-conditioned offices, see
reality)
Meanwhile, palay farmgate prices
or the amount palay is sold to traders has drastically dropped. On average,
farmers sell palay for a little over P17 per kilo, much lower than P22 last
year.
Some farmers in areas like Nueva
Ecija say that they sell palay for as low as P7 to P8 per kilo, even though their production cost
is at P12 per kilo. (READ: Farmers seek floor price as palay sells for just P7 per kilo)
Solon reminds Duterte to invoke measures protecting farmers as palay
price falls
ABS-CBN News
Rice stalks wait to be harvested in Guimba Nueva Ecija, on
September 02, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN
News
MANILA – House Committee on Ways
and Means chairman and Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda on Wednesday urged
President Rodrigo Duterte to impose laws meant to protect local farmers from
the influx of imported rice.
Farmgate prices of palay have
reportedly dropped to as low as P7 in
Nueva Ecija due to increased local harvest and the huge volume of imports
following the implementation of the rice tariffication law, Salceda said in an
aide-memoire dated Sept. 3.
In his letter addressed to
Duterte, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and House Majority Leader Martin
Romualdez, Salceda reminded officials that there are available measures that
could be used to protect farmers from the plummeting prices of palay.
Salceda said the government could
invoke Republic Act 8800 or the Safeguards Law to impose 30 percent to 80
percent tariff on imported rice outside the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of
350,000 metric tons amid the apparent "surge of rice imports and injury to
domestic industry."
Cash transfers to small farmers
with 1 hectare of land and below, and concessional loans to big rice farmers
with 5 hectares of land and below can also be provided, he said.
But the government does not have
funds to shell out conditional cash transfers to 1.1 million farmers with rice
fields that are 1 hectare and below, Agriculture Secretary William Dar on
Tuesday said, adding that they could avail of zero-interest loans instead.
The "last resort,"
Salceda said was to ask Congress for Special powers to impose quantitative
restrictions on imported rice.
“QRs (quantitative restrictions)
were removed with the passage of the new rice tariffication law but maybe
imposed with special powers,” Salceda said.
Duterte in February approved a
measure that replaced quotas on rice imports with tax. The rice tarrification
law was meant to stabilize rice supply, after food prices contributed to
inflation that reached near 10-year highs last year.
Unemployment steady,
underemployment falls in July
ABS-CBN News
Makati workers in the streets of Ayala Avenue, Makati. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file
MANILA -- The Philippines'
unemployment rate was steady in July compared to the previous year while
underemployment declined, official data released Thursday showed.
The country registered a 5.4
percent unemployment rate in July, the same as the corresponding month in 2018.
The number of employed persons rose to 42.95 million from 40.65 million during
the same comparable period, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
The number of employed persons
grew 5.7 percent in July, reflecting an additional 2.3 million workers while
the number of unemployed grew 4.4 percent or an additional 2.43 million
jobless.
Underemployment, or the
percentage of the total employed population who sought additional work, settled
at 13.9 percent in July this year from 17.2 percent from the same period last
year.
Those working less than 40 hours
in a week are called "visibly underemployed," the agency said.
The labor force participation
rate in July 2019 is at 62.1 percent from 60.1 percent in the same period last
year, out of the total 73.1 million population of 15 years old and above.
Labor force participation of the
young (15 to 24 years old) reached 38.3 percent in July 2019 out of the total
20 million population, the PSA said.The full implementation of the Ease of
Doing Business law and the easing of foreign investment restrictions can create
more jobs for Filipinos, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Usec.
for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon said.
“While the Philippine economy has
shown remarkable improvements in the labor market, the government should
continually improve its efforts towards generating more productive and higher
quality employment that provides adequate income for Filipino workers and their
families,” Edillon said
Next Up In China Trade War:
Biotech Purge?
Sep 4, 2019,
12:08pm
Lab technicians at the R&D center of Wuxi Pharmatech in
Shanghai. China is gaining on patents, especially in DNA-sequencing drugs and
cancer research. Good or bad? Washington thinks bad.
QILAI
SHEN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Well, it’s sort of like
technology.If it involves scientific patents, the U.S. has increasingly lost
trust in China as a good faith partner. Next up in the China trade war: biotech
and Chinese cancer researchers are being put on notice. Are biotech
companies really that frightened of China? And if China feels its investments
in the sector are threatened by Washington, could they retaliate by making it
even harder for American firms to do business there?
Biotech is high on China’s list of future markets to dominate in
their Made in China 2025 policy. Washington is clearly worried.Last April 2018, Weiqiang Zhang, 51, a Chinese national and a U.S. legal permanent resident residing in Manhattan, Kansas, was sentenced by a U.S. District Court on one count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets in genetically modified rice. He had been working with a group from a Chinese crop institute looking to produce something similar. Kansas would be a building block of stolen know-how.
“I have also heard of cases where Chinese scientists working in the U.S. have set up ‘dark labs’ overseas, performing research in both places simultaneously, while also being the beneficiaries of National Institutes of Health grants. I am not sure if any of these scientists have ever been accused or convicted of spying, though,” says Cole Carson, a patent and intellectual property lawyer at Gray Robinson in Tampa Bay, Florida. “The cases of actual spying appear to be few, but it is not speculation to say that it is occurring.”
Today In: Money
Biotechnologies, especially gene-editing techniques, are
evolving at a rapid pace in China. Companies there are catching up
with the U.S. mostly in the area of medical treatments.Within the confines of the trade war story, higher tariffs and pressure on Chinese tech giant Huawei have garnered the biggest headlines. But there’s another battle waging with equal ferocity, and it’s biotechnology.
From new gene-editing techniques as in the case of the rice theft to cancer research labs in Texas letting go of researchers they suspected of spying, biotech is an emerging battlefront in the trade war. And it is potentially harmful for the global nature of things like cancer research, which to drugmakers is a borderless world dependent on scientists from everywhere, with a global patient pool.
Still, Washington is expected to raise national security concerns regarding biotech, Stratfor research analysts believe.
A Novartis research lab in Shanghai; their third largest after
Europe and the U.S. Biotech is part of the Made in China 2025 policy, which has
93 life science research parks in Guangzhou, right near export terminals.
QILAL
SHEN/IN PICTURES VIA GETTY IMAGES
On August 5, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon is upset
about China’s growing role in the global pharmaceuticals market, long a
mainstay of original drug manufacturers from the U.S. and Europe. Like
everything China does, they have perfected a product line and have become the
world’s largest supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Tainted
heart drugs in the U.S., of which the main ingredients came from
China, has the Pentagon on edge. Trump argues that China-made drugs of any
kind are a national security risk if taken by American soldiers. Earlier this year, a Chinese cancer researcher named Xifeng Wu was accused of spying for China. The National Institutes of Health and the FBI began targeting ethnic Chinese scientists, including those who are citizens, working on new cancer treatments.
In all of these stories, the motive is clear: China may be gaining on U.S. biotech thanks to IP theft.
It may not be the norm, but it warrants enough attention to, as commentators in the South China Morning Post said after Wu’s resignation, make Chinese scientists guilty just for being a Chinese scientist.
Tyme: $70 Million On The Line
Tyme went public not too long ago. It still has drugs in the
pipeline. IP theft and patent infringement would kill companies like
this.
TYME
Tyme doesn’t have any products on the line in China. It doesn’t
have Chinese researchers in their Manhattan offices, where they are working on
new cancer treatments. But they do have money on the line.They are as good example as any of how much U.S. companies—small and large—sink into new cancer research, money that can be lost if the building blocks for those remedies are copied and brought to market at lower prices. It takes an average of six years to develop a new drug and take it through the required clinical trials.
“We run lean and try not to be big spenders,” says Steve Hoffman, Tyme’s CEO. He started the firm 10 years ago with a combination of venture funding, his own capital from previous businesses he owned and sold, and independent investors. Tyme’s first cancer drug patents were issued in 2015 at the same time they went public on Nasdaq. “We’ve spent $70 million, and it’s taken us about 8 years to work on this.”
Their research and development is centered on oncological drugs. One is the mother lode for Tyme. A drug called SM-88 that’s taken orally. It’s unique, they say, because the drug basically invades the cancer cell, manipulating its amino acid needs, which feed it and get it to grow. Without that “food,” it can’t grow, and it dies. The idea is to use it in early phase cancer treatment, primarily for pancreatic, prostate and sarcoma. Or use in addition to traditional chemotherapy and radiation when the body has had enough of those harsh treatments.
SM-88 is entering phase three clinical trial with the Food & Drug Administration. It’s been proven effective so far in human testing against 15 cancer types, the company said. Nearly 200 patients have used the drug so far with positive effects, but all of this depends on a longer time scale to see if the cancer really did starve out and die. The fact that the FDA is authorizing the drug for the phase three clinical trial means their product has shown a promise of success. Tyme has other products in development as well, but all in pre-clinical.
Protecting it is imperative for the company, and its stock.
Biotech companies like Tyme live and die by the quality of their science, the success of their clinical trials, and the effectiveness of their intellectual property protection.
The market value of new drugs can send a company’s stock through the roof in short order. Theft of a new drug would ruin everything. For a small company, that could be a death knell.
“A drug is a combination of intellectual property and know-how. There’s a lot at stake. It’s a lot of work involved in patent applications, and China is definitely part of that process to protect IP,” says Hoffman, a physicist by training, an unusual background for the CEO of a biotech firm. He owns 25% of the outstanding company stock. The company has over 160 patent applications out worldwide, including several issued patents in China.
This picture taken on November 27, 2018 shows Jennifer Doudna
who co-created CRISPR, a technique which allows scientists to remove and
replace a strand of DNA with pinpoint precision. China is all over this new
"super human" science. (Photo by ISAAC
AFP/GETTY
IMAGES
China is a member of the World Intellectual Property
Organization. It must abide by international IP law. Any action from any member
company that does not recognize these laws undermines the value of
innovation, impacts investments into innovation, and creates
unintentional consequences with both societal and economic ramifications.“I look at it like this: China cancer researchers go into this field for the same reason American researchers do, because they want to make a difference. And they’ve spent a lot of time and money invested in that, at least 12 years of university. We all are going to want protection for our products,” Hoffman says. “You can’t really say that all of China is one way or another. In the end, you have to pick good partners who have the same values you do.”
China’s biotech industry has grown rapidly in the last decade, according to a February report by the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission. Its market is currently estimated at somewhere between 30 billion to 40 billion yuan ($4.7 billion to $6.2 billion), but compared to the U.S. biotech market of $118 billion, China is a welterweight.
“There has been amazing research coming out of China in this space,” Hoffman says. “The quality of research that I’ve read out of there is impressive. They are cultivating an indigenous workforce and they are connected to the world,” he says.
Rather than worry, he’s hopeful and prefers to collaborate than vilify. “I’d hope that the things we create become building blocks to something they use there. But we are part of it. We don’t want to be ripped off either. I don’t think they have,” he says. “In terms of scientific and intellectual knowledge, the Chinese discoveries are extraordinary.”
Roche pill tablets on the company's Chinese logo in Shanghai.
China is a huge market for drugmakers like Roche and is moving up the value
chain in pharma. Fight them and face retaliation.
QILAL
SHEN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
China is second to the United States in the number
of genome-related patents owned. This is akin to gene-editing
DNA that can be used in cancer treatments, among other things.The U.S. holds 19% (or roughly 500) of patents in that space while China is not far behind, at 17% (around 410), according to iRunway Analysis.
“China has always been a bit of a boogeyman in the IP realm,” says Carlson. “The heavily publicized thefts have hurt the relationships American companies might make abroad and cause cold feet or ultimately discourage Chinese scientists from coming here.”
As a sidebar to the ongoing U.S. China trade war, there is talk that Washington will make it harder for Chinese firms to acquire U.S. companies deemed important. The life sciences industry is being deemed important. That could make it harder for companies like Huawei to buy T-Mobile, for instance, but it will also prevent a Chinese pharma giant from buying Tyme, or investing here at home. In a worst-case scenario, where China feels its biotech ambitions are being squashed by Washington, it could lead to retaliation that ultimately hurts U.S. biotech firms in China.
After aiding rice consumers, gov’t should focus on farmers
EDITORIAL
Published September 5, 2019, 12:18 AM
The excessive rise in rice prices last year was stopped by
the Rice Tariffication Law which allowed unlimited importation of cheap
rice from Vietnam and Thailand, but it was at the expense of Filipino
rice farmers whose own harvests, produced at much higher costs, no longer had
any buyers.
Last month, the National
Food Authority (NFA) disclosed at a Senate hearing that the government had
imported 1.2 metric tons of rice this year, with 290,000 metric tons – about 4
million bags — still stored in its warehouses. This prompted Sen. Francis
Pangilinan to urge local governments units and the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to buy the stored rice and
distribute it to poor families.
“Our rice farmers are
suffering due to low prices of their harvest and consumers are suffering due to
high prices of their food. Unloading the current NFA stocks will allow
the government to replenish our buffer stocks with fresh stocks from farmers.”
he said. “Our government should be in emergency mode.”
The present price
situation may not yet amount to an emergency for consumers as what
happened last year, but Senator Pangilinan’s call on the NFA to
start replenishing its stocks by buying from the nation’s farmers is
well-taken.
This weekend, new
Secretary of Agriculture William Dar disclosed that he has been
meeting with various officials on plans to enable the government to start
buying from the country’s rice farmers. He said he has asked the
governors of some of the country’s top rice producing provinces –
Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, and La Union
– to use part of their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) funds to buy their rice
farmers’ production.
The DSWD, he also said, could
replace part of its monthly cash aid to Pantawid families with rice from
the NFA. Cooperatives, he added, could borrow from the Land
Bank to help finance their farmer members’ operations. The secretary said this
buying program should start this month as the rice harvests
start around September every year.
The Philippine rice industry has
received considerable assistance from the government, with its scientists
developing high-yielding and disease-resistant rice varieties, free
irrigation for many areas, and field assistance from extension
workers. There are now efforts for greater mechanization of farms.
Secretary Dar has now focused on
funding, with his proposals to the governors of rice producing provinces to use
part of their IRA to purchase some of the harvests of their own rice farmers,
to the DSWD to replace some of its cash aid to poor families with
rice rations, and to farmers’ cooperatives to make us of Land
Bank loans to assist their members.
We welcome all these many
efforts to help our rice farmers, to the end that we shall one day be
self-sufficient in this basic food of all Filipinos.
Rowley returns to his farming
roots
Sep 4, 2019
Carolyn Kissoon
Dr Rowley with Founder of the Moruga Hill Rice Co-operative,
Mark Forgenie
Telling a story of his life as a
farmer in Mason Hall, Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said he understood
the hardships faced by local farmers.
And during a visit to the Vista
Dorado Estates in Moruga, committed to providing assistance to the farmers
involved in local food production.
Last week, Rowley walked the Moruga
Hill Rice fields and saw first-hand how the mechanical hill rice production
works.
On Dr Rowley's Facebook page, he wrote: I officially paid my
dues to join the Trinidad and Tobago Goat and Sheep Society. I'm pictured here
with the President of the Society Mr Ravi Renie.
Founder of the Moruga Hill Rice
Co-operative, Mark Forgenie, said he was honoured to show off his fields and
mills to the prime minister.
“I was working at the field right
next to where the Prime Minister was visiting the sheep and goat farm. He came
over and walked in the field and asked me a lot of good questions, technical
questions. He asked about the downstream production. He asked about how we plan
to increase the yields and how we plan to get more young people into farming,”
he said.
Forgenie said the prime minister
then toured the rice mills at Penal Rock Road. And he was told about ongoing
research on how the waste from the hill rice will be used to make animal feed.
Forgenie gave an account of the
funding the organisation had received from Export TT had been spent.
Rowley also visited the all-natural
agouti farm on the compound, where farmers were rearing the animal to provide a
high-quality wild meat for consumption.
Forgenie said although scientists
were still conducting research and tests on the animals initial results were
pointing in that direction.
He said the organisation was also
working on obtaining a geographical indicator for its products meaning
registered farmers will be able to grow a trademark product with a higher value
on the international market.
“That is how we lost the Trinitario cocoa and
the Scorpion pepper, because we did not protect them,” he said.Forgenie said
the prime minister understood their challenges and committed to assist.
“The prime minister understood that
because he grew up in agriculture in Mason Hall, he was a sheep and goat
farmer. HE even told us a story about himself. And he explained that young
people expect instant results and gratification and that does not happen in
agriculture. We have to plant today and sow three, four months down the road.
It is not instant results,” he said.
Rowley also visited the Moruga
vistor’s centre and got a first-hand view of the coastal village. He looked
out, Forgenie said, said saw the Trinity Hills, the southern range, nature reserve
and the Moruga River of Hope.
Forgenie said the prime minister
did not get to taste the freshly cooked Moruga Hill Rice but he did leave with
a sample.
Photographs of the visit were
posted to the Prime Minister’s official Facebook page. He stated, “Local food
production in Moruga is gaining momentum. I visited two farms yesterday and saw
first-hand the work that is being done to produce goat's milk and rice. These
farmers are producing wholesome food that is available on our grocery shelves.”
Dar: 25 provinces will buy palay to help
farmers
By: Leila
B. Salaverria - Reporter / @LeilasINQ
Philippine
Daily Inquirer / 05:34 AM September 05, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary
William Dar on Wednesday said he had secured the commitment of 25 provincial
governments to buy palay as a growing number of farmers complained of depressed
prices for their produce resulting from the rice tariffication law.
President Rodrigo Duterte also said he had
directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy up all the rice farmers’
produce.
“It is a mode that is intended to serve the
greater interest of the majority of the people. So the solution there is to buy
[the farmers’ rice]. If we lose money, then we lose money,” he said. “Why are
we collecting taxes? To lose money, to help.”
He said, however, that the government
“cannot demand a price.”
“You arrive at a compromise of how
much you are willing to lose, a little bit. But do not demand a price that is
unreasonable,” the President said.
As low as P7 per kilo
Palay prices have plunged to as low as
P7-P8 a kilo, adding to the suffering of farmers, who are among the poorest in
the country.
Dar said the 25 provinces had committed to
buy palay at P17 per kilo.
“Almost all the top rice-producing
provinces of the country now have committed to be doing this economic
enterprise—buying palay and doing the business until they sell,” he said at a
press briefing in Malacañang.
If each of these provinces invested P200
million, P5 billion would be raised to buy rice from poor farmers, Dar said.
For DSWD stock
He said he was also in talks with the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to give rice instead of the
P600 cash to the beneficiaries of its rice subsidy program.
The rice would be bought by the DSWD from
the provincial governments and the NFA, and this would help the farmers
affected by rice imports, he added.
Dar also said he had directed the NFA to
follow the accelerated rollover scheme of buying, milling and selling rice. In
doing that, the P7 billion it now has for this purpose would grow to P21 billion,
he added.
Dar had earlier said the P7-billion NFA
fund was not enough to buy all the rice that would be produced by about 1.1
million small farmers because that amount was only enough to purchase 450,000
metric tons of palay while the expected harvest this year was 6 million MT.
The agriculture chief told reporters in
Malacañang that he would ask rice importers to release their stocks to the
market in order to bring down the price of the country’s staple.
‘Baffling’
Data from March to August showed that 2.2
million-2.5 million MT of rice have already been imported. And yet, Dar said,
rice prices in certain areas have remained higher than expected, rising above
P37 a kilo.
“If it’s imported rice, it should be lower
than P37,” he said. “It is baffling why they are managing the releases of these
and doing it little by little.”
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would check up on the importers, Dar
said.
“We will
move around with the DTI to make sure they are not managing for themselves
only,” he said.
“We have to encourage them to really bring out more of these
stocks,” he said. If they don’t, they would face the full force of the law, Dar
added.
Caused by hoarding?
He said the DA would look into whether hoarding had brought down
the price of palay, aggravating the plight of the farmers.
Dar said that before the tariffication law was passed, some rice
traders and millers brought down palay prices after they stopped buying and
milling palay, but added that he was still studying the data regarding this.
At the House of Representatives, Magsasaka Rep. Argel Joseph
Cabatbat called for an urgent review of the rice tariffication law and an
investigation “to flush out who are those behind this rice cartel, the mafia
that is causing the miseries of our farmers.”
Filipino farmers have already lost between P80 billion to P120
billion in income due to price manipulation by a mafia in the rice industry, he
said.
“We are now feeling the adverse impact of this rice tariffication
law. Our farmers are suffering from massive losses because of the low buying
price of their palay,” Cabatbat said.
In a dialogue with farmers in Pangasinan on Saturday, Dar said
“free market forces,” not the tariffication law, had caused the decline of the
farm-gate price of rice.
“The [rice tariffication] law is new,” he said. “Critics have been
blaming the law for the low buying price of palay but that’s not the case.”
Dar added that the law even helped reduce the inflation rate from 6
percent to 2.5 percent due to low prices of commercial rice.
With a report from Melvin Gascon
House panel studying rice safeguard measures
September 4, 2019 | 10:31 pm
PHILSTAR/EDD GUMBAN
LEGISLATORS are considering
amendments to afford a measure of protection for rice farmers suffering from
weak prices for palay, or unmilled rice.
The Safeguard Measures Act, or
Republic Act 8800, authorizes the Tariff Commission to impose temporary
protection for domestic producers if they are found to have suffered “serious
injury” due to unfair competition from imports.
“It may actually be an amendment
to the Safeguard (Measures) Act. Also, we may add it to the Rice Tariffication
Law, so with that we still have to discuss how to go about that as a
committee,” Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga of the first district of Quezon told
reporters.
Mr. Enverga, who chairs the House
Agriculture and Food committee, did not give further details on his planned
course of action.
RA 8800 defines “serious injury”
as “a significant impairment in the position of a domestic industry after
evaluation by competent authorities of all relevant factors of an objective and
quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the industry
concerned, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the
product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic
market taken by increased imports, changes in levels of sales, production,
productivity, capacity utilization, profit and losses, and employment.”
Rice farmers have been obtaining
weak prices for their palay harvests after the Rice Tariffication Act went into
effect earlier this year. The act liberalized rice imports, forcing domestic
farmers to compete with cheap imports from more efficient producers in the
region.Rice tariffication was a response to the inflation crisis of 2018, when
the National Food Authority (NFA) allowed its stocks of low-cost rice to
dwindle, forcing poor families to buy their grain from more expensive
commercial dealers.
Under the law, the NFA’s
importing role was taken away and effectively privatized, allowing private
entities to engage in shipping in the commodity.
In exchange, rice importers have
to pay tariffs on their inbound shipments, starting at 35% on rice from
Southeast Asia.
The tariffs are supposed to
support the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), but disbursements
from the fund have been delayed, while the market for domestic rice has
softened considerably because of the imports.
Various other relief programs for
farmers have been proposed, including emergency purchasing by local governments
to support the market.
“I’m sure these will be a big
help for now but we have to reassess this probably two months from now what the
impact of this subsidy will be,” Mr. Enverga said.
He said he wants to look into the
subsidies to farmers being implemented by other countries like Thailand and the
US.
“The Department of Agriculture
has admitted that we will have to help the farmers first before we even
consider repealing the (Rice Tariffication) law, but (we could amend it with)…
safeguard measures,” he said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
House panel studying rice safeguard measures
September 4, 2019 | 10:31 pm
PHILSTAR/EDD GUMBAN
LEGISLATORS are considering
amendments to afford a measure of protection for rice farmers suffering from
weak prices for palay, or unmilled rice.
The Safeguard Measures Act, or
Republic Act 8800, authorizes the Tariff Commission to impose temporary
protection for domestic producers if they are found to have suffered “serious
injury” due to unfair competition from imports.
“It may actually be an amendment
to the Safeguard (Measures) Act. Also, we may add it to the Rice Tariffication
Law, so with that we still have to discuss how to go about that as a
committee,” Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga of the first district of Quezon told
reporters.
Mr. Enverga, who chairs the House
Agriculture and Food committee, did not give further details on his planned
course of action.
RA 8800 defines “serious injury”
as “a significant impairment in the position of a domestic industry after
evaluation by competent authorities of all relevant factors of an objective and
quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the industry
concerned, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the
product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic
market taken by increased imports, changes in levels of sales, production,
productivity, capacity utilization, profit and losses, and employment.”
Rice farmers have been obtaining
weak prices for their palay harvests after the Rice Tariffication Act went into
effect earlier this year. The act liberalized rice imports, forcing domestic
farmers to compete with cheap imports from more efficient producers in the
region.
Rice tariffication was a response
to the inflation crisis of 2018, when the National Food Authority (NFA) allowed
its stocks of low-cost rice to dwindle, forcing poor families to buy their
grain from more expensive commercial dealers.
Under the law, the NFA’s
importing role was taken away and effectively privatized, allowing private
entities to engage in shipping in the commodity.
In exchange, rice importers have
to pay tariffs on their inbound shipments, starting at 35% on rice from
Southeast Asia.
The tariffs are supposed to
support the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), but disbursements
from the fund have been delayed, while the market for domestic rice has
softened considerably because of the imports.
Various other relief programs for
farmers have been proposed, including emergency purchasing by local governments
to support the market.
“I’m sure these will be a big
help for now but we have to reassess this probably two months from now what the
impact of this subsidy will be,” Mr. Enverga said.
He said he wants to look into the
subsidies to farmers being implemented by other countries like Thailand and the
US.
“The Department of Agriculture
has admitted that we will have to help the farmers first before we even
consider repealing the (Rice Tariffication) law, but (we could amend it with)…
safeguard measures,” he said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Gov’t To Help Rice Farmers As
Palay Prices Fall To P7 Per Kilo
Malacañang vowed to assist farmers suffering from income loss as prices of palay (rice) have dropped to PHP7 per kilo to compete with imported rice.
“Palagi naman ang gobyerno tutulungan ang mga nangangailangan (The
government always helps those in need),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador
Panelo said in a media interview.
Panelo said he will also ask President Rodrigo Duterte on measures
the government would take to address farmers’ woes during their next Cabinet
meeting.
Meanwhile, Panelo said he will also defer to the newly-appointed
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar to release a statement on
the issue.
“I suppose we will have to wait for the Secretary of Agriculture
to articulate his concern,” Panelo said.
Last Aug. 17, Dar bared that instead of the initial conditional
cash transfer to help the rice farmers, DA would provide a PHP1.5-billion loan
program for farmers, who were affected by the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL),
that led to the influx of cheaper imports.
Dar said under the program, the affected rice farmers tilling one
hectare of land and below may avail of PHP15,000 loan via the Expanded Survival
and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE Aid) which started on
Sept. 1, 2019. The one-time, zero-interest loan is payable up to eight years.
Farmer groups have lamented that rice tariffication was a
disadvantage to them because retailers preferred to purchase cheaper rice
imports instead of rice from local producers.
On February 14, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Rice
Tariffication Act expected to lower the prices of rice, protect farmers from
competition, and ease inflation.
Panelo earlier said farmer groups have the right to question the
legality of the law if they feel that it would cause more harm than good to the
agriculture sector. (PNA)
Cambodia's rice export to China up 54 pct in
1st 8 months
Source:
Xinhua| 2019-09-05 11:00:25|Editor: Liu
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had exported 132,947
tons of milled rice to China during the first eight months of 2019, a rise of
54 percent over the same period last year, an official report said on
Thursday.China is still the top buyer of Cambodian rice during the
January-August period this year, according to the report of the Secretariat of
One Window Service for Rice Export.
The export to China accounted for 39 percent of the country's
total rice export, it said.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 120,061 tons of
rice to the European market, down 47 percent, said the report, adding that the
European Union (EU)'s market share for Cambodian rice had declined to 35
percent from 52 percent.
The slump in the export to the European market came after the EU
earlier this year imposed duties for three years on rice importing from
Cambodia in a bid to curb a surge in rice imports from the country and to
protect European producers.
According to the report, Cambodia exported a total of 342,045
tons of rice to 51 countries and regions during the first eight months of this
year, up only 0.1 percent over the same period last year.
Duterte says gov’t should buy palay from local farmers at
reasonable price
Published September 4, 2019 10:16pm
By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday directed the National
Food Authority to buy the palay produce of local farmers at competitive prices,
even as he defended the law that liberalized the importation of rice.
Duterte said the government and the farmers should arrive at a
compromise on the price of palay.
“What the solution should be or will be for the Secretary of
Agriculture to buy all. Magkano ba presyo nila? Magkano presyo nila, bilhin
natin. Lugi? Lugi talaga. Are we wasting money? No. We are not wasting an
industry. We’re helping an industry. So malugi tayo, eh di malugi,” he told
reporters in Malacañang.
“You cannot demand a price. You arrive at a compromise of how
much you’re willing to lose a little bit. Medyo tapatan lang basta hindi malugi
yung pagod nila, they are compensated,” Duterte added.
However, Duterte asked farmers not to ask for an “unreasonable”
price because Agriculture Secretary William Dar “would never go into that kind
of arrangement.”
Farmers have asked for government intervention as palay prices
plunged to as low as P7 per kilo following the implementation of the rice
tariffication law, which Duterte signed in February.
Duterte defended the measure, saying it was “intended to serve
the greater interest of the majority of the people.”
The law aims to ensure that market rice prices would remain
affordable by replacing the quantitative restrictions on rice imports with
tariff.
Safety nets were included in the law, among which was a
comprehensive assistance program worth P10 billion a year for the next six
years.
The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) would be used
to provide key interventions to support farmers and enhance their
competitiveness and profitability, including farm machinery and equipment to
improve farm operations, rice seed development, propagation, and promotion,
expanded rice credit, and extension services.
A portion of the rice tariff revenues in excess of P10 billion
would meanwhile be used to provide direct financial assistance to rice farmers
affected by the removal of the quantitative restriction and for diversification
to high-value crops.
Dar suspected hoarding by some traders and millers to be behind
the declining prices of palay even as he said the government will be strict in
implementing sanitary and phytosanitary measures to “manage” the entry of
imported rice.
The Cabinet official also said the Department of Agriculture
proposed the distribution of rice to poor families as an alternative to
releasing monthly cash doles so they could buy the staple food. —LDF,
GMA News
Feature: China's hybrid rice sows
hope for Africa
Xinhua, September 5, 2019
BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) --
"We're no longer suffering from hunger," said 55-year-old Georges
Ranaivomanana, a Madagascan farmer who took the lead in planting Chinese
hybrid-rice in his town of Mahitsy.
He told Xinhua that he hoped that
all his compatriots would use these seeds to raise their living standards, and
that his country might even be able to export rice some day.
China has been helping African
countries develop productive and resilient rice farming for years with its
hybrid rice. For farmers on the continent like Ranaivomanana, they are
"very grateful" to the Chinese as the hybrid rice is the key to better
food security and higher incomes.
With a humid tropical climate,
abundant sunshine and rich water resources, Madagascar has a long tradition of
rice cultivation and consumption.
However, due to insufficient
financial resources and outdated agricultural techniques, the low yield of
local rice has long troubled the island country. The government has to import
hundreds of thousands of tons of rice a year, but it's still not enough to lift
its people out of the threat of famine.
In 2010, a team of Chinese experts
came to Madagascar. With their assistance, a hybrid crop variety planted
produced a harvest of 10.8 tons per hectare this year, far exceeding the yield
of local rice.
In May, the China National Hybrid
Rice Research and Development Center opened a research center in Madagascar to
select hybrid rice varieties based on the island nation's diverse ecological
environment, in a bid to find more productive crops for a continent long
troubled by insufficient grain output.
In the northwestern Nigerian state
of Kebbi, Chinese expert Wang Xuemin stood in a rice paddy, surrounded by green
rice plants. "This year, we are using a new spraying technology," he
said, adding that it "can significantly reduce labor and other
costs."
"The land, climate and rice
farming methods in Nigeria are very different from those in China. We had a lot
of problems at the beginning," said the 51-year-old who has been in
Nigeria for 16 years.
In 2006, after Wang and his
colleagues had sown the seeds, their field management techniques and large-scale
farming equipment could not adapt to the operating environment, and hundreds of
hectares of rice fields were almost completely encroached by weeds.
"We came to realize that
blindly copying the Chinese model is not feasible. It is necessary to constantly
innovate our techniques to fit the local situation in Africa," he said.
After more than ten years of
research and innovation, the Nigerian farm now becomes a major training and
mechanized production center in the country, training more than 1,000 farmers
and agricultural machinery management staff.
Located in the Xai-Xai district of
the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, the Wanbao Mozambique rice farm,
invested by the China-Africa Development Fund, is China's largest project of
its kind in Africa. With vast arable land, a favorable climate, abundant water
resources and support from China, this project plans to cover 20,000 hectares.
In Kenya and Angola, hybrid rice
seeds have been or are to be sowed, helping farmers achieve higher production
and higher incomes.
Farmers in other countries such as
Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of the
seeds that would bring hope and prosperity.
In June, Yuan Longping, a globally
renowned Chinese scientist who is known as the "father of hybrid
rice," sent a video message to a China-Africa seminar on rice development
as part of the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo held in Changsha,
capital of central China's Hunan Province.
"It's my great pleasure to
help other developing countries develop hybrid rice to solve, to overcome their
food shortage problems," he said. "I am confident that through our
joint efforts the purpose will be realized in the near future." Enditem
DA starts giving aid to farmers, fisherfolk
Philippine
Daily Inquirer / 05:28 AM September 05, 2019
The newly
minted agriculture chief kicked off last week his regional visits to distribute
aid to farmers and fisherfolk amid the tragedy besetting the rice industry as
palay prices continue to drop.
Agriculture
Secretary William Dar’s first stop was his hometown in Ilocos region, where he
awarded P1.2 billion worth of agri-fishery projects following a three-day
sortie.
In a
statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it had given out P287
million to Ilocos Norte and P173 million to Ilocos Sur, while La Union received
P121 million and Pangasinan, P628 million.
The
assistance included farm machinery, irrigation facilities, seeds and extension
and training services for rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, organic
agriculture and fisheries.
Sen. Cynthia
Villar, main proponent of the rice tariffication law, said the agency must use
its funds to provide rice farmers with assistance that would not be provided by
the rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) like fertilizers, insurance
and hybrid seeds.
Under the
law, the P10-billion RCEF must be used to provide machinery, inbred seeds,
affordable credit and training.
“Agricultural
services and assistance from DA must be set in place to help farming and
fishing communities be globally competitive and resilient amid the challenges
and emerging issues of the industry,” Dar said.
Just days
after Dar assumed the top position in the department, he was greeted by
problems in the sector. These included the flawed implementation of the rice
tariffication law, the delayed disbursement of the RCEF, reports of an
unidentified hog disease that could possibly be the African swine fever
epidemic, and the continuous fall in palay prices.
Dar earlier
said he would hold off travels during his first month in the agency to
familiarize himself anew with administration work and meet with various
stakeholders in the sector. Today marks his first month.
DA
spokesperson Noel Reyes said the Ilocos region trip was the beginning of the
agriculture chief’s series of visits to provinces all over the country.
Dar is
scheduled to visit the region of Soccsksargen this week where a smaller funding
would be allocated since several projects had already been initiated in the
region by his predecessor, Emmanuel Piñol, who hails from North Cotabato.
These
included the development of rice farms in the province, provision of fiberglass
fishing boats, opening of new markets for commodities such as coconuts, and the
establishment of community stores for certain agricultural and household
products.
Piñol is now
the chair of the Mindanao Development Authority. During his brief stint in the
agency, he was known to prioritize the provinces in Mindanao.
SL-8H shows
worth as high-yielding variety
·
HOME
·
/
SL-8H SHOWS WORTH AS HIGH-YIELDING
VARIETY
The SL-8H developed by SL
Agritech Corp. (SLAC) may be the highest-yielding hybrid rice variety in the
country today, capable of yielding 15.45 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) of
palay (unmilled rice) per cropping according to 50-year old farmer Randy Martin
of Lubao, Pampanga.
The average palay yield in the
country is 4 MT/ha.Martin, an industrial electrician by education, chose to
pursue farming and has tried various hybrid and inbred rice varieties that,
however, gave him little profit.
Starting with a 1-hectare farm in
Lubao, Martin used to earn P80,000 from a single harvest using an inbred rice
variety.
“With only P25,000 a month [of
earnings], this is not enough when you are sending children to school,” he
added.
Determined to gain more profit
from his farm so he could provide more for his family, Martin did extensive
research on many rice varieties and kept attending seminars and exhibits by the
Department of Agriculture and Philippine Rice Research Institute to learn
farming trends and technologies. Martin learned that hybrid rice varieties
would give higher profit.
Eventually, he ended up planting
SL-8H hybrid variety after SLAC agricultural technicians introduced it to
him. Since then, his harvests during the dry season or second cropping
have always been bountiful—not lower than 250 cavans of palay per hectare.
With the right preparations,
SL-8H can withstand the dry spell during the second cropping season. This is
one of the advantages that Martin saw when he tried planting SL-8H. As a local
hybrid rice variety, it was developed in specific farm conditions. He noticed
that even with the limited supply of water, SL-8H showed no signs of
dehydration.
According to SLAC technicians,
SL-8H characteristics differ from others because of its longer roots that can
penetrate deeper under the soil, allowing it to absorb more water.
The first among users in his
area, Martin’s initial harvests with SL-8H also encouraged his siblings and
friends to also maximize the full potential of their farms. Most of them in the
community are now reaping abundant harvest from SL-8H.
In the last harvest, Martin
earned about P120,000 net or some P40,000 net per month.
From then on, Martin has been an
inspiration to other farmers to never give up and continue to adapt using
available technologies. His new challenge to himself is to harvest 300 or more
sacks (at 60 kilos per sack) or 17 to 18 MT of palay per hectare
Rice Paddy
CAPTION
A new understanding of how a microorganism uses iron to more efficiently
conserve energy when producing methane and carbon dioxide will allow
researchers to make important predictions of future climate change and maybe
even manipulate the production of these greenhouse gasses.
CREDIT
CC0 license
USAGE
RESTRICTIONS
Technical Advances and Optimism on Display in California
SACRAMENTO, CA -- USA Rice staff
traveled to California last week for a three-day visit that included tours of
farms and mills, meetings with members, and the California Rice Field Day.
USA Rice CEO Betsy Ward, Manager of International Policy Jesica Kincaid, and Manager of Government Affairs Jamison Cruce traveled more than 500 miles through the heart of California rice country to hear about the process from production, to milling, to legislation and regulations.
"Our industry faces a myriad of trade issues and it was beneficial to hear first-hand from our farmers and millers how these issues affect them and their businesses," said Cruce who, along with Kincaid, was visiting the California rice growing region for the first time.
On August 28, the annual Rice Field Day was held at the Rice Research Station in Biggs. More than 200 farmers, researchers, and industry members attended and learned about the latest developments in rice breeding. The day began with the presentation of awards for the annual yield contest and the California Rice Industry Award that was presented to Frank Rehermann, former chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors.
Following the awards, attendees piled into flatbed trucks and headed to the rice fields where researchers explained the many experimental rice types growing there. The objective of the rice research station is to breed rice varieties with higher yields, improved cold tolerance and straw strength, blast and stem rot resistance, and herbicide tolerance.
Also along for the ride in California was Lita Echiverri, rice marketing specialist at the USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service. A California native, this was Echiverri's first visit to the rice producing part of the state.
"The U.S. rice industry consistently offers a variety of quality rice to partners worldwide," she said. "This trip further confirmed why the U.S. continues to be a global leader in the industry."
As is typical, uncertainty is always just below the surface when it comes to agriculture. But the excitement and optimism was palpable and on display all week.
"Despite the ongoing issues of trade negotiations, weather, and regulatory challenges, the overall outlook of the California rice industry is optimistic," said Charley Mathews, Jr., rice farmer and chair of USA Rice. "A strong planting season, new technologies, and potential new markets are giving the region something to look forward to."
USA Rice CEO Betsy Ward, Manager of International Policy Jesica Kincaid, and Manager of Government Affairs Jamison Cruce traveled more than 500 miles through the heart of California rice country to hear about the process from production, to milling, to legislation and regulations.
"Our industry faces a myriad of trade issues and it was beneficial to hear first-hand from our farmers and millers how these issues affect them and their businesses," said Cruce who, along with Kincaid, was visiting the California rice growing region for the first time.
On August 28, the annual Rice Field Day was held at the Rice Research Station in Biggs. More than 200 farmers, researchers, and industry members attended and learned about the latest developments in rice breeding. The day began with the presentation of awards for the annual yield contest and the California Rice Industry Award that was presented to Frank Rehermann, former chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors.
Following the awards, attendees piled into flatbed trucks and headed to the rice fields where researchers explained the many experimental rice types growing there. The objective of the rice research station is to breed rice varieties with higher yields, improved cold tolerance and straw strength, blast and stem rot resistance, and herbicide tolerance.
Also along for the ride in California was Lita Echiverri, rice marketing specialist at the USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service. A California native, this was Echiverri's first visit to the rice producing part of the state.
"The U.S. rice industry consistently offers a variety of quality rice to partners worldwide," she said. "This trip further confirmed why the U.S. continues to be a global leader in the industry."
As is typical, uncertainty is always just below the surface when it comes to agriculture. But the excitement and optimism was palpable and on display all week.
"Despite the ongoing issues of trade negotiations, weather, and regulatory challenges, the overall outlook of the California rice industry is optimistic," said Charley Mathews, Jr., rice farmer and chair of USA Rice. "A strong planting season, new technologies, and potential new markets are giving the region something to look forward to."
Ward makes the rounds talking with farmers Josh
Sheppard
and Matthew Sligar (left) and Jeanne and Punch Haskell (right)
and Matthew Sligar (left) and Jeanne and Punch Haskell (right)
USA Rice Daily
Hoarding to blame for low ‘palay’
prices: DA
By Azer Parrocha, Philippine News Agency on September 4,
2019
FILE: President William Dar speaks on the dwindling water supply
in Nueva Vizcaya during the recent Water Summit in Bayombong. (PIA NV Photo)
MANILA — It is not the implementation of the Rice Tariffication
Law (RTL) but hoarding to blame for the drop in prices of palay (rice), the
Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
admitted that although the RTL (Republic Act 11203) had “birth pangs”, he
believed that it will help farmers become more competitive over time and lower
inflation rates.
Dar explained that prices have
already been dropping because of traders and millers involved in hoarding even
before President Rodrigo Duterte signed RTL on Feb. 14, 2019.
“So may
nagsasamantala (There are some taking advantage),” Dar said in
an economic briefing in Malacañang.
“That’s the major direction by
which we are looking at. Of course, importation nandiyan
na e (is already there), that’s part of the law,” he added.
Dar assured that his agency and
the trade department will implement the full force of the law should traders
and millers refuse to cooperate.
“Makiusap muna tayo (Let’s talk to them first). We know who they are, we have
the list, so papasyalan namin, siguro puwede pa magkape muna then alamin
natin kung bakt di sila naglalabas (perhaps we can have coffee
and find out why they are not releasing) then we have to encourage them to
really bring out more,” Dar said.
“We’ll see to it that we will
apply the full force of the law and hoarding, if we feel there will be
hoarding,” he added.
Under the RTL, importers only
need to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of
Plant Industry as proof that the rice they will bring in is safe for
consumption.
It imposes a tariff for imported
rice, which is 35 percent per ton of rice coming from Association of Southeast
Asian (Asean) countries and 50 percent up to as high as 180 percent from
non-Asean countries.
The law also creates a
PHP10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to provide
assistance to farmers and finances government’s farm modernization programs.
Measures in place
Dar said government has
implemented measures to help affected farmers who are forced to sell their
produce as low as PHP7 per kilo since last month.
To date, his agency has
implemented the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice
Farmers (SURE Aid) which is aimed at providing loan assistance for immediate
relief to rice farmers affected by the impact of low palay prices.
Under the program, the affected
rice farmers tilling one hectare of land and below may avail of PHP15,000 loan
via SURE Aid, a zero-interest loan which is payable up to eight years.
Dar said his agency has also been
stricter in limiting the importation of rice by ensuring that rice imports
comply with the sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
“Titingnan natin (We will see) whether these imported stocks are complying
to the sanitary and phytosanitary measures,” Dar said.
“Pag nakakita kami ng (When we see) foreign object doon sa
bigas, i-hold namin (in rice, we will put it on hold). That’s
legal. Kung makakita kami isang bubkok doon sa bigas,
i-hold namin until the bukbok is out (If we see
bukbok –rice weevils — in rice, we will put it on hold until the bukbok is
out). That’s how strict we will be implementing the sanitary and phytosanitary
measures,” Dar said.
Dar said he has also directed
administrators to ensure that warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA)
will be leased to provincial governments instead of the private sector.
“Provincial governments, about 25
have already committed to do business — palay buying, milling and selling rice.
If they don’t have the capacity now, they can invest their money through NFA,”
Dar said.
Moreover, Dar said his agency is
working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in
crafting an agreement which will convert the PHP600 monthly rice subsidy into
rice distribution.
This way, he said, DSWD will buy
the rice from the NFA and provincial governments.
India Grain:
Spot wheat, maize prices fall further on weak demand
Wednesday, Sep 4
By Sampad Nandy
NEW DELHI – Prices of mill quality wheat continued to fall
today due to weak demand from flour millers and stockists, traders said. "Bulk
demand was subdued today as mills reduced their purchases and are waiting for
the prices to decline," Indore-based trader N.K. Agarwal said.
Wheat futures on the National Commodity and Derivatives
Exchange, too, fell in line with spot markets. The most active September
contract closed at 2,073 rupees per 100 kg, down 0.7%.
Wheat prices in spot markets are likely to remain weak in the
coming days as the supplies have already declined. Most purchasers will
shift to government auctions to lift bulk stocks, Karnal-based trader Mangat
Batra said.
Prices of maize also continued to decline in spot markets due to
a fall in demand from bulk consumers, traders said.
"Demand remained weak as most bulk purchasers moved away
from the spot markets due to higher prices," Patna-based trader Avinash
Kumar said.
Maize futures on NCDEX also fell, with the most active September
contract ending 2.3% lower at 2,110 rupees per 100 kg.
Most bulk buyers have reduced their purchases and are waiting
for the fresh crop to arrive in late September, traders said.
In the case of basmati paddy, prices of the Pusa 1121 variety
fell as demand from rice mills and exporters remained poor, traders said.
Tracking cues from spot markets, Pusa 1121 basmati paddy futures
on the Indian Commodity Exchange ended lower, they said. The October contract closed
at 3,360 rupees per 100 kg, down 1.4% from the previous close.
Following are today's prices of wheat, maize, and paddy, in
rupees per 100 kg, in key wholesale markets, and the change from the previous
day:
|
Commodity
|
Market
|
Price
|
Change
|
|
Wheat
|
Kota
|
1,980-2,000
|
(-)15-20
|
|
Wheat
|
Indore
|
1,990-2,000
|
(-)15-20
|
|
Maize
|
Nizamabad
|
2,400-2,410
|
(-)15-20
|
|
Maize
|
Purnea
|
2,310-2,330
|
(-)15-20
|
|
Pusa
1121 basmati
|
Amritsar
|
3,780-3,800
|
(-)10-20
|
End
Edited by Nidhi Chugh
Cogencis Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@cogencis.com
This copy was first published on the Cogencis WorkStation
http://www.cogencis.com/newssection/india-grain-spot-wheat-maize-prices-fall-further-on-weak-demand/
May nagsasamantala’:
Agri chief eyes hoarding in palay price drop
Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Hoarding by some traders
might have caused the drop in the price of palay or rough rice, Agriculture
Secretary William Dar said Wednesday.
Dar said some millers and traders
might have taken the implementation of a tarrification law, which eased
policies on rice imports, as an excuse to hoard the staple grain.
“Even before the inaction of the
Rice Tariffication Law, ‘di ba mayroon ng pagbaba ng palay prices? So, may
nagsasamantala and we see to it that we will apply the full force of the law in
hoarding,” he said.
(Isn’t it that here is already a
drop in the price of palay even before the inaction of the rice tariffication
law? So, someone is taking advantage.)
Farmers complained that the price
of palay dropped to P7 to P11 a kilo due to a deluge of imported rice under the
new tariff-based regime that replaced import quotas, a problem that has reached
President Rodrigo Duterte, Dar said.
To address the stockpiling
problem, Dar said the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and
Industry would inspect rice warehouses to ensure that traders and millers are
“not managing for themselves only.”
Implementing non-tariff measures
to “manage” the entry of imported rice is also being considered.
Why China, The World’s Largest Rice Producer, Quietly Bought U.S. Rice
Last Year
LISTEN
China is the world’s biggest rice producer. So why did it agree
to buy two shipping containers of rice from the U.S.? Planet Money reporters
explain the other trade battle between the two countries.
Researchers design salt-tolerant
varieties of Indian rice
Bengaluru Sep 4, 2019, (Research Matters):
During the summer monsoon season
this year, many regions of India saw spells of floods and droughts. In a
country that predominantly depends on rain for irrigation, loss of crops due to
such disruptive weather continues to be a source of distress to farmers. With
about half of the country’s land under cultivation
being rain-fed, approaches to make crops tolerant to the vagaries of weather
are necessary.
A large portion of
a plant’s weight is from water, which is maintained by drawing water from the
ground. During droughts, increasing evaporation takes away water from the
ground and leaves behind the salt, thereby increasing salt concentration in the
soil. When the groundwater is saltier than the plant, the flow of water
reverses direction, and the parched earth sucks the plant dry. In a
recent study, researchers from J.C. Bose Institute,
University of Calcutta and Bethune College, Kolkata, and Louisiana State
University in the US, have shown that, by modifying particular genes, rice
plants that would normally die of dehydration can be kept alive through periods
of acute salinity in their water supply.
Modifying or improving plants
through selective breeding is as old as civilisation. Studies show that rice,
in particular, has been bred for 10,000 years to
make them sturdier and produce more yield. Traditional breeding methods, which
involve selecting the best plants at each generation, make it a long process.
However, with modern gene-editing techniques, scientists can get quicker
results by modifying specific genes that influence yield or adaptation of the
plant to its environment.
To home in on the particular
genes, scientists need detailed knowledge of the metabolism of the plant. A
compound called inositol plays a crucial role in cellular metabolism, and thus
in the growth of the plant. Furthermore, compounds derived from inositol are
involved in various functions of the plant cell including communication inside
the cell and between the cell and its environment.
Any disturbance to the balance of
inositol, in the cell, damages the plant. One such factor that can perturb this
balance is high salinity. When salt levels are high, the production of inositol
shuts down in the cells. As a result, the plant is unable to produce food or
perform photosynthesis, and withers away and dies. Many plants, including most
rice varieties, are susceptible to this. However, some rice varieties
like Porteresia
coarctata can survive for about ten days under high salt
concentrations.
"Earlier studies have suggested that the mechanism by
which Porteresia achieves
its salt-tolerance could be transferred to other rice species," say the
researchers.
Porteresia has two genes that are responsible for the production of
inositol in its cells under high salinity. The first, PcIN01, is involved in
producing an enzyme that generates the most common form of inositol called
myoinositol. The second gene, PcIMT1, codes for a protein that produces a
derivative of inositol, called pinitol. In the current study, the researchers
transferred the two genes into 20-day old saplings of IR64 indica,
a rice variety that produces high yield but is not salt-tolerant.
The researchers compared the
genetically-modified plants with the unmodified IR64s and those with extra
copies of the gene that usually produces inositol. They found that the plants
with the salt-tolerant genes could withstand high salt concentrations of up to
18 grams of salt per litre for ten days. That is equivalent to about half the
salinity of seawater. The modified plants resumed healthy growth when regular
water supply was restored. On the other hand, the unmodified plants withered
and died.
The researchers found that the
genetically modified plants had longer (by 300-400%) and better-branched roots
at all salt concentration levels than the unmodified plants. They also better
retained their chlorophyll content through the ten days of salt-exposure—retaining
about 50% while the unmodified plants lose almost 90%. Besides, the
fourth and later generations of the modified plants continued to produce seeds
of comparable quantity and weight as unmodified plants grown under normal
conditions.
Interestingly, plants with only
the PcINO1 gene added outperformed those with only the PcIMT1 gene, and those
with both genes, when exposed to salinity. The former also had marginally
better yields in the fourth and later generations. These observations suggest
that a complex web of interactions centred around inositol is involved in the
salt-tolerance and recovery of the modified plants.
Modifying the genome of a plant,
especially that of a food crop, can be risky as there may be unforeseen
interactions between the genes in the plant or of the plant with its
environment. Hence, genetically modified crops are extensively tested before
they are introduced for consumption.
"Both the genes considered in the study are
non-allergenic," say the researchers, explaining that neither gene is
involved in the production of compounds known to cause diseases.
As extreme weather occurrences
becoming more common, successfully modifying crops to withstand drought and
high salinity could become essential in preventing crop-failures and averting
famines.
DA eyes non-tariff measures to
protect rice farmers
Ruth Abbey Gita
Sunstar4 September 2019
THE Department of Agriculture on
Wednesday, September 4, revealed plans to impose non-tariff measures, including
new sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, to help local farmers cope with
the entry of imported rice into the country.
The proposal was made by
Agriculture Secretary William Dar after farmers suffered heavily from the drop
in farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) amid the influx of imports of the
staple following the effectivity of Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication
Law in February 2019.
Dar said the non-tariff measures
would limit the amount of rice imports to favor Filipino farmers.
"Legally, we have to go
through non-tariff measures that will manage the importation of rice," the
Agriculture chief said.
Several farmer groups have
claimed that prices of palay plummeted to P6 to P10 per kilo following the
implementation of rice tarrification.
RA 11203 was signed by Duterte in
an effort to ease import restrictions on rice and improve the supply in the
country to curb inflation.
The price of rice, which
increased due to low supply, was among the major contributors to the elevated
inflation rate in 2018.
Prices have, however, declined as
local farmers have been unable to compete with the oversupply of imported rice.
Dar said ports would be inspected
to ensure that rice shipments have sanitary and phytosanitary clearances.
"We will inspect the port of
origin itong mga (of) rice to be imported at titingnan natin (and we'll see)
whether this imported stocks are complying [with] the sanitary and
phytosanitary measures," he said.
"So, ito kapag nakakita kami
ng foreign object doon sa bigas na i-angkat ay i-hold namin. That’s one, that’s
legal. Kung makakita kami isang bukbok doon sa bigas, i-hold namin until the
bukbok is out, kahit isa lang. That’s how strict we will be in terms of
implementing the sanitary and phytosanitary measures," he added.
(So if we see a foreign object,
we will hold the importation of rice. That's one. That's legal. If we see even
just one weevil, we will hold the importation, until the weevil is out. That’s
how strict we will be in terms of implementing the sanitary and phytosanitary
measures.) (SunStar Philippines)
After
aiding rice consumers, gov’t should focus on farmers
THE excessive rise in rice prices last year was stopped by the
Rice Tariffication Law which allowed unlimited importation of cheap rice from
Vietnam and Thailand, but it was at the expense of Filipino rice farmers whose
own harvests, produced at much higher costs, no longer had any buyers.
Last month, the National Food Authority (NFA) disclosed at a
Senate hearing that the government had imported 1.2 metric tons of rice this
year, with 290,000 metric tons – about 4 million bags – still stored in its
warehouses. This prompted Sen. Francis Pangilinan to urge local governments
units and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to buy the
stored rice and distribute it to poor families.
“Our rice farmers are suffering due to low prices of their
harvest and consumers are suffering due to high prices of their food. Unloading
the current NFA stocks will allow the government to replenish our buffer stocks
with fresh stocks from farmers,” he said. “Our government should be in
emergency mode.”
The present price situation may not yet amount to an emergency
for consumers as what happened last year, but Senator Pangilinan’s call on the
NFA to start replenishing its stocks by buying from the nation’s farmers is
well-taken.
This weekend, new Secretary of Agriculture William Dar disclosed
that he has been meeting with various officials on plans to enable the
government to start buying from the country’s rice farmers. He said he has
asked the governors of some of the country’s top rice producing provinces –
Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, and La Union – to
use part of their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) funds to buy their rice
farmers’ production.
The DSWD, he also said, could replace part of its monthly cash
aid to Pantawid families with rice from the NFA. Cooperatives, he added, could
borrow from the Land Bank to help finance their farmer members’ operations. The
secretary said this buying program should start this month as the rice harvests
start around September every year.
The Philippine rice industry has received considerable
assistance from the government, with its scientists developing high-yielding
and disease-resistant rice varieties, free irrigation for many areas, and field
assistance from extension workers. There are now efforts for greater
mechanization of farms.
Secretary Dar has now focused on funding, with his proposals to
the governors of rice producing provinces to use part of their IRA to purchase
some of the harvests of their own rice farmers, to the DSWD to replace some of
its cash aid to poor families with rice rations, and to farmers’ cooperatives
to make us of Land Bank loans to assist their members.
We welcome all these many efforts to help our rice farmers, to
the end that we shall one day be self-sufficient in this basic food of all
Filipinos.
https://www.just-food.com/analysis/why-ebro-and-hain-struck-deal-over-tilda_id142119.aspx#
Why Ebro
and Hain struck deal over Tilda
By Dean Best | 3 September 2019
 |
|
Tilda to be among Ebro's five best-selling
brands
|
Five
years after losing out on buying Tilda to Hain Celestial,
Spain-based Ebro
Foods has acquired the UK rice business. Dean Best explores the reasons
behind the deal.
Ebro
Foods has finally got its man. More than five years after the Spanish group was
beaten to the acquisition of Tilda by US rival Hain Celestial, last week it
announced the acquisition of the UK-based rice manufacturer and marketer.Both Ebro and Hain have pronounced how the change in ownership of Tilda will benefit their business – and equity analysts covering both companies can see advantages to the transaction.
Ebro has struck a deal to pay US$342m in cash for Tilda, a largely basmati rice business, centred on its eponymous brand, based in Essex in south-east England.
In the year to 30 June, the last full financial year for New York-listed Hain, Tilda generated around $200m in sales and adjusted EBITDA of $25m, meaning the price paid for the business equates to an adjusted EBITDA multiple of 13.5 times.
Back in January 2014, Hain announced a cash-and-stock deal that saw it pay Tilda's family owners a total of $357m, comprising $176m in cash, $148m in stock and a deferred consideration of $33m payable a year later. At the time Hain set out that transaction, it said Tilda had generated sales of $190m in calendar year in 2013.
Ebro says it has got a business it wanted back in 2014 when Hain beat it to the punch. "In 2014, we were looking to acquire this business but we were unable to because Hain Celestial paid more than us. Now, after investment in India, Tilda is doubly attractive for us because we have our own factory where we could provide in a very easy way all the basmati rice from India," an Ebro official told us last week.
Some 92% of Tilda's sales come from basmati rice products and, geographically, more than half (60%) of sales are made in the company's domestic market of the UK. Announcing the deal last week, Ebro said the acquisition would give it "a strong foothold in the British market", where it had only had "a token presence" selling into the country's ethnic-foods channel, as well as being a business-to-business supplier to food manufacturers.
The UK is, of course, yet to agree on how it will leave the EU, with a departure without a deal more likely than it was just a few months ago. Ebro is sanguine about buying a UK-headquartered business at a time when no-one knows what form Brexit could take – and with a no-deal exit a real possibility.
"We are not worried about this because 60% of the business is in the UK. The local business is not going to be affected," the Ebro official says. "What Tilda sells there is basmati rice and the basmati rice only crops in India and Pakistan, so I don't think there is going to be a problem.
"In the rest of the business, if there starts to appear some levies to ship out the rice from the UK to other places, it is not going to be a problem because we are able to sell rice from all over the world for different countries. We don't need to make any export from the UK to other places." Tilda's main markets outside the UK include western Europe (principally France), Canada, Australia and the US.
Ebro's statement on the deal included an indication the company plans to use some of the products or flavours in the Tilda portfolio elsewhere in its own stable. "Ebro believes that Tilda's international nature will pave the way for extensive development with other group products," it said.
Pablo Cuadrado Tordera, an equity analyst covering Ebro at finance house Kepler Cheuvreux, says it is a common strategy for the company to use new assets to help shape product development on existing brands. "Ebro acquires companies and then integrate the know-how of that business into the different brands Ebro has worldwide. They will integrate the know-how of Tilda and introduce the know-how in different brands worldwide," he says.
The strategy works both ways, Tordera adds. "For example, now Ebro is doing microwave products with rice, sauces and vegetables and other products, so they have that know-how they are going to introduce to Tilda, which is going to allow the company to launch new products and build the Tilda brand."
While Ebro sees growth opportunities, the international rice supplier was also keen to insist it can enjoy the benefits of integrating Tilda into its network. Hain CEO Mark Schiller last week described the price Ebro paid for Tilda as "a significant premium to most other food transactions done in the UK or in the rice and pasta industry over the past several years".
At Kepler Cheuvreux, Tordera cites another reason why Ebro may have been prepared to have paid the price it did for Tilda. "I guess the company has been somehow willing to pay such a multiple because I believe they could be in talks to sell the US pasta business. The environment, the competitive environment in the US is pretty tough in the pasta segment," he says. Tordera adds he sees the longer-term strategy at Ebro – which in July sold its organic-foods business – focusing on rice and pasta in Europe but just rice in the US.
The Ebro official insists the company is not in any discussions to sell its US pasta arm. "We are not now in the middle of any process with any business," she says. "All businesses that don't provide us the profitability we are looking for are able to be sold. That is what our chairman said in our last presentation but we don't have anything specifically at this point. We always give opportunity to businesses but we want to achieve a specific level of profitability."
Over at Hain, in the face of growing competition, the US-based manufacturer has, in recent years, increasingly talked of a need to "simplify" a portfolio built through acquisitions over the last couple of decades in order to accelerate sales from brands that stay within the business and improve the company's profitability.
Those moves were started under founder (and now former CEO) Irwin Simon in 2016. However, in June 2017, activist investor Engaged Capital bought shares in Hain, claiming its stock was "undervalued" and, by September, the two had struck a "mutual cooperation agreement, including the appointment of six new directors.
Last summer, Simon stepped down as CEO, with current chief executive Schiller – a former PepsiCo and Pinnacle Foods executive – joining last November.
Schiller has continued with plans to trim the Hain portfolio, with a focus on profitable growth. And, as well as pruning SKUs, the company has offloaded assets, selling its meats division in February and finding a buyer for a tofu business in May.
Last week, Schiller said the sale of Tilda was "consistent with our transformational plan to simplify our portfolio, strengthen our core capabilities and expand margins and cash flow". But he admitted Hain was not necessarily looking to offload the UK rice supplier.
"When we were at our investor day [in February], what we told you is any brands that we felt were not going to be accretive to the business we would sell. Tilda did not fit in that bucket," Schiller told analysts last week. "But what we did get on Tilda was an unsolicited offer at a very premium valuation, which forced us to take a look at it and say 'It's now the time to sell this business.'"
Schiller set out the reasons why Hain agreed to sell Tilda – the price Ebro was willing to pay ("We'll net close to $350m for this transaction, which is pretty close to what we paid for it – but when we paid for it, it was at $1.65 currency, and it's now at $1.21"), changes to UK regulations on the import of rice that pushed up input costs and weighed on margins and then the wider landscape in the UK. "Obviously, given the currency fluctuation and Brexit, the feeling was that this is a good time to mitigate some of our risks in the UK. And so the combination of those factors is what led us to decide to make that sale," he said.
Could more disposals come? In a note to clients, Wells Fargo analyst John Baumgartner said the sale of Tilda was "a bit of surprise" but acknowledged Hain had got an unsolicited bid from Ebro. "From here, [Hain] management appears focused on unloading uneconomic/growth-dilutive assets but will also 'entertain' offers for better performing units," he said.
Speaking to analysts last week on a call to discuss Hain's fourth-quarter and full-year results (a call that was 24 hours after the Tilda deal was announced), Bill Chappell, MD at investment bank SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, asked Schiller if the food group would look to sell "other growth businesses".
Schiller replied: "Our preference is to focus on brands that are uneconomic and that don't have potential to be accretive to our algorithm. But as a public company, people come to us all the time with offers to buy businesses, and we evaluate each one of them on their merits.
"And so while Tilda wasn't specifically for sale, it was the right deal at the right time on that business. And should we receive other offers on other businesses, we would certainly entertain them. But proactively, we are really focused on the low-margin businesses and exiting those or fixing them in a short period of time."
Not all analysts covering Hain would publicly mull over which brands the company could sell next but Rebecca Scheuneman, an equity research analyst covering the business for US financial services firm Morningstar, suggested some that could be offloaded.
"We do expect periodic divestitures. They will most likely be from low-margin or low-growth brands, such as Arrowhead Mills, Rudi's, Spectrum, Imagine or BluePrint," she tells just-food. "We expect Hain to make periodic divestitures, as they focus on simplifying their operations, which has become overly burdened the past several years from onerous complexity with too many brands, categories, and channels."
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