How I rose from a
frustrated rice hawker to mill proprietor
· Munene Kamau 30th Mar 2019
11:32:32 GMT +0300
Entrepreneur
Edwin Kagombe shows off some milled pishori rice at his Tai Rice Mills in
Ngurubani town, Mwea .He mills an average of 30tons per day.PHOTO;Munene
Kamau/standardAbout 20 years
ago, Edwin Kagombe was an ordinary rice hawker at Ngurubani town, Mwea,
Kirinyaga County.
He used to hawk
rice from village to village in the 90s before the sector was liberalised by
the government.
“Hawking along
the dusty streets of Ngurubani town was not easy but since I was aiming
for the skies, I soldiered on,” he says.
Back then, the
Mwea Irrigation Scheme was managed by the National Irrigation Board (NIB) that
had a big say in the market. Kagombe would buy paddy rice from the farmers at
Sh30 per kilo, mill it then sell at Sh75 per kilo. But years on, things have
changed. Today, he says the cost of a kilo of paddy rice has gone up to Sh70.
The game changer
came when the market was liberalised and NIB no longer had a monopoly.
As things
improved, slowly by slowly Kagombe established himself in the business and now
he is the proud owner of a Sh100 million rice mill —Tai Rice Millers. He also
has a workforce of 20 employees and a godown which houses the mill. But its
been a journey.
Loss after loss
He recalls how
initially he used to make losses whenever a Passenger Service Vehicle would
stop at the town and the passengers would ask to buy pishori rice only for them
to speed off without paying.
To get money for
the mill was not a walk in the park since all the financial institutions he
approached wanted some collateral.
When he finally
got the cash, the farmer, now in his early 60s, bought the machine from China,
though he says Europe has better quality.
“If one has the
finances and wants high quality mills, I would recommend machines from Britain
and Germany but if you just want something functional at an affordable cost,
China is the place to go,” he advises.
The size and the
model of his mill can cost about Sh350 million in Britain and Germany while in
China, it is just Sh100 million. The machine has a milling capacity of 30
metric tonnes a day.
“Yes Chinese
goods might not be durable or high quality but they come in handy for
entrepreneurs like us,” he says.
Though he has
broken even, one of the biggest challenges he still faces is competition from
cheap imports.
“The cheap
Pakistan grain is dumped into a big store in Mwea always after every harvesting
season since the sector was liberalised in 1998,” the trader says.
Afterwards, the
pure Mwea pishori rice is used to blend the Pakistan one and offered to
unsuspecting consumers at a much cheaper cost.
“The
adulteration of the pure Mwea pishori with cheap imports has affected business
and now consumers have become extra cautious,” he says.
Kagombe says it
is a high time local farmers were protected from unfair market competition.
Cheap imports
At Ngurubani
town alone, there 10 major rice mills and about 200 small ones owned by
individuals. On the issue of cheap imports, the government insists the imports
are necessary since Kenya has a huge deficit of the grain. Scheme manager
Innocent Ariemba says since the country is only able to produce about 100,000
metric tonnes of rice against 400,000 metric tonnes national demand.
He has since
asked farmers to redouble their efforts and produce more as the only sure way
of blocking the cheap imports.
Egypt Business Team
due in May
Parvez JabriMarch
30, 2019
LAHORE: Ambassador of Egypt Ahmed Fadel Yacoub said on Friday
that a sector-specific trade delegation from Egypt would visit Pakistan from
May 2 to explore trade and investment opportunities.
Talking to LCCI President Almas Hyder and Vice President
Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, he said,
“I am here with a simple message that Egypt wants to do business with
Pakistan.”
The ambassador said that brotherly and historic relations
between the two countries should be reflected in trade as both countries have a
lot of potential.
He said that Egypt is importing rice via Dubai and wants to
import this commodity from Pakistan, adding that Pakistan is a country with
over 200 million people and a big market for Egyptian businessmen.
He said, the bilateral trade balance does not exceed 200 million
dollars a year which does not reflect the potentials of both countries.
He said that Egypt is a country with a strong and flourishing
economy.
He said both Egypt and Pakistan enjoy historical relations that
date back to even before the establishment of Pakistan.
The ambassador told that Allama Iqbal visited Egypt many times.
He said that Pakistani businessmen want to do business with
Egypt would have extra benefits.
He said that Egypt wants to encourage trade and joint ventures
would give priority to imports from Pakistan.
He invited the Pakistani businessmen to come Egypt and explore
trade and investment opportunities.
He said that improvement in legal framework to protect the
business would also help boost trade and economic ties.
LCCI President Almas Hyder said that Lahore Chamber is planning
a delegation for Africa to establish new business contacts.
He said that Egypt Embassy has always responded positively to
any initiatives taken by LCCI like Ambassadors’ Dinner, OIC Conference and
Africa Day etc.
Almas Hyder said that close relations between two countries are
not fully reflected in two way trade.
Egypt comes at 40th and 39th places respectively among the top
importing and exporting destinations for Pakistan.
For exploiting untapped potential both Egypt and Pakistan need
to explore opportunities jointly.
The total size of bilateral trade came down to dollar 208
million in 2018 which was dollar 231 million in 2017.
Pakistan’s exports showed some improvement during that tenure by
reaching dollar 83 million from dollar 77 million.
It was due to decline in imports from Egypt to Pakistan which
decreased from dollar 154 million to dollar 125 million in last two years.
Pakistan exports woven fabric, cotton yarn, medicaments and some
surgical instruments to Egypt.
The imports from Egypt consist of sanitary towels, seeds and raw
cotton etc.
LCCI President said, Pakistan being an agricultural economy can
supply both semi-processed and processed foods to Egypt.
In 2018, Egypt imported wheat and meslin worth dollar 2.6
billion, maize worth dollar 1.7 billion, meat worth dollar 1 billion and sugar
dollar 0.8 billion.
Let Pakistan manage to take some share in these items. He said
that Egypt is considered to be one of the top destinations in the world for
tourists.
Pakistan offers a wide spectrum of tourism ranging from
religious to historical places and ancient civilizations to modern architecture.
“We have utilised only a fraction of the tourism potential available in our
country.
We would like to take benefit of expertise and techniques
adopted by Egyptians to attract maximum foreign tourists,” he said.
Discovery by UNH
researchers helps manage parasitic roundworms
A PDE inhibitor bound to PDE4. [Courtesy UNH]
DURHAM — Roundworms that feed on
plants cause approximately $100 billion in annual global crop damage. Now
researchers at the University of New Hampshire have made a patent-pending
discovery that certain enzymes in roundworms, called nematodes, behave
differently than the same enzymes in humans, with amino acids potentially
playing a key role.
The findings, presented today in
the journal PLOS ONE, are important because they advance scientific efforts to
develop new, more environmentally friendly pesticides to manage nematodes and
reduce worldwide damage to agricultural crops such as corn, cotton, wheat,
soybean, rice, and potato.
“Plant parasitic nematodes are
responsible for major losses in crop production in the United States and around
the world. Current chemical nematicides are highly toxic to humans, hence the
need for ‘next-generation’ nematicides that lack adverse effects on
agricultural workers and the environment. Our work identified phosphodiesterase
enzymes as novel targets for development of safer, more sustainable
nematicides,” said Rick Cote, professor of molecular, cellular, and biomedical
sciences, and researcher with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment
Station.
In addition to Cote, the research
was conducted by Kevin Schuster, doctoral student in biochemistry;
Mohammadjavad Mohammadi, doctoral student in chemical engineering; Karyn Cahill
and Suzanne Matte, former research staff; Alexis Maillet, undergraduate student
in biomedical sciences; and Harish Vashisth, assistant professor of chemical
engineering.
Specifically, researchers focused
on phosphodiesterase enzymes (PDEs). All animals use PDEs to regulate many
physiological processes, including motility, reproduction, and sensory perception.
Previously, Cote and Schuster found that exposure of living nematodes to
certain compounds, called PDE inhibitors, impede the action of PDEs, hampering
nematode movement and its ability to sense food in its environment. The hope is
that applying nematode-specific PDE inhibitors to agricultural fields could
prevent plant parasitic nematodes from infecting plant roots.
In this study, researchers
compared the reactions of a human PDE — specifically PDE4 — to the reactions of
the nematode PDE4 when they applied the same PDE inhibitor to each enzyme. They
found that in all cases, the PDE inhibitors they tested were less successful in
hindering the nematode enzyme activity compared with the human enzyme activity.
This led Vashisth and Mohammadi
to study, at the atomic level, which amino acids in the PDE4 enzymes are
responsible for these pharmacological differences. They discovered that certain
amino acids as well as differences in the overall structure of the two enzymes
contribute to the reduced effectiveness of PDE inhibitors to block the nematode
enzyme action. UNH has filed a patent for this discovery, which is available
for licensing through UNHInnovation.
The research broadly fits in the
area of design of small-molecule drugs targeting large proteins and enzymes, a
central theme of the Vashisth lab. The design of new drugs or nematicidal
compounds rely on both understanding the interatomic interactions between these
compounds and their targets.
“By having shown that nematode
PDEs significantly differ in their sequence and structure, we envision being
able to design chemical nematicides that selectively target plant-parasitic
nematodes. Nematicides targeting nematode PDEs would have the added advantage
of not affecting crops, since plants lack PDEs, and being environmentally
friendly to animals and humans,” Schuster said.
https://www.fosters.com/news/20190329/discovery-by-unh-researchers-helps-manage-parasitic-roundworms
Lab finds a new gene
essential for making ears of corn
A normal corn plant (left) and a
barren stalk2 (ba2) plant (right). Plants with a mutation in the ba2 gene
cannot grow ears, hence the name barren stalk. Credit: University of Missouri
A team of scientists led by
University of Missouri maize geneticist Paula McSteen has identified a gene
essential for forming the ears in corn.
The new research, which appears
in the journal Molecular Plant, extends the growing biological
understanding of how different parts of corn plants develop,
which is important information for a crop that is a
mainstay of the global food supply.
"Corn is a vitally important
crop, and the ears are the most crucial organ for plant yield. Knowing the
genes that control this process and how they function together at a molecular
level is crucial for efforts to increase crop yield," said
McSteen, who is an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of
Arts and Science and a principal investigator in Christopher S. Bond Life
Sciences Center. "The information we glean from corn is also likely to be
applicable to other cereals, including rice and wheat, because they also form
grains on branches."
The researchers found that a gene
called barren stalk2, or ba2, affects development of axillary meristems, which
are special cells that give rise to the ears. As a corn plant grows, these
cells are formed at nodes along the stalk. These nodes look like tiny grooves,
or indentations, in the stem. When the plant is ready to make ears, these cells
begin to divide and bud out from the stalk. These buds elongate to form the ear
shoots and ultimately become the harvestable ears. The process is initiated by
delivery of a hormone, called auxin, to the nodes that signals the cells to
make ears.
To find the genes needed to
produce organs like ears or anything else, geneticists look for plants that
cannot make the organ properly. Plants with mutations in the ba2 gene never
make ears, hence the name "barren stalk." The mutant plants do not
have the grooves where the ears would form, which suggests that the gene
functions early, before the ear bud forms. The ba2 mutant was discovered in a
large genetic screen for corn plants unable to make ears, and the gene was
identified by molecular mapping to chromosome 2.
Previous screens like this
identified a mutation in a different gene, called barren stalk1 or ba1, that is
also essential for making an ear. This other gene plays a key role in a
molecular signaling pathway that controls ear development. To test whether the
newly identified barren stalk plants have a different problem, the researchers
performed genetic crosses, known as a complementation test, and concluded that
the phenotype they observed in their plant was caused by a mutation in a
totally different gene.
"Interestingly, this is
actually a lost-and-found case," said McSteen. "We found that our
mutation had previously been identified and characterized back in 1930, but had
been lost sometime in the intervening years. It's exciting to have been able to
rediscover it and add it back to the stock."
Through a series of additional
analyses, the scientists found that the ba2 gene interacts genetically with the
ba1 gene and that the corresponding proteins form a complex. ba2 also interacts
with other genes known to regulate ba1. Together, these findings demonstrate
that ba2 is in the same molecular signaling pathway as ba1 and that the two
genes work in concert to regulate the development of ears.
"The end goal is to identify
all the genetic players involved in controlling how and when corn ears are
made. By identifying this new gene and showing that it forms a complex with BA1
to control meristem development, we've been able to bring this important story
further along than what had been known previously," said McSteen.
Other researchers involved in the
study included Andrea Skirpan with Penn State University; Brian Waddell and
Simon Malcomber with California State University; and Hong Yao, Michaela S.
Matthes, Norman Best, Tyler McCubbin, Amanda Durbak, and Taylor Smith with the
University of Missouri.
In an accompanying review article
in the same issue of the journal, McSteen and colleagues describe the current
state of genetic research on auxin in corn, rice, and Arabidopsis. The review
focuses in particular on the genes known to be involved in "turning
on" the auxin hormone and getting it to the right place in the plant.
"Auxin is important to
understand because it controls everything. Understanding the function of genes involved
in the synthesis, transport, and signaling of auxin has been difficult because
of a redundancy in gene function and expression. But now with new gene editing
tools, like CRISPR technology, everyone is excited about being able to do
this," said McSteen.
The research paper, titled "The barren stalk2 Gene Is Required for Axillary Meristem
Development in Maize," and review article, titled "Auxin EvoDevo: Conservation and Diversification of Genes
Regulating Auxin Biosynthesis, Transport, and Signaling," were
published in the March issue of the journal Molecular Plant.
Egypt business team due in May: Envoy
By News desk
March 30, 2019
Amraiz Khan
Lahore
Lahore
A sector-specific trade
delegation from Egypt will visit Pakistan from May 02 to explore trade and
investment opportunities.
It was revealed by the Ambassador of Egypt Ahmed Fadel Yacoub while talking to the LCCI President Almas Hyder and Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Friday. Executive Committee Member Aqib Asif, Jameel A. Naaz and Rehmatullah Javed were also present on the occasion.
“I am here with a simple message that Egypt wants to do business with Pakistan”, the Ambassador said and added that brotherly and historic relations between the two countries should be reflected in trade as both countries have a lot of potential.
He said that Egypt is importing rice via Dubai and wants to import this commodity from Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is a country with over 200 million people and a big market for Egyptian businessmen. He said, the bilateral trade balance does not exceed 200 million dollars a year which does not reflect the potentials of both countries. The ambassador told LCCI that Allama Iqbal visited Egypt many times.
The LCCI President Almas Hyder said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry is planning a delegation for Africa to establish new business contacts. He said that Egypt Embassy has always responded positively to any initiatives taken by LCCI like Ambassadors’ Dinner, OIC Conference and Africa Day etc.
Almas Hyder said that close relations between two countries are not fully reflected in two way trade. Egypt comes at 40th and 39th places respectively among the top importing and exporting destinations for Pakistan. For exploiting untapped potential both Egypt and Pakistan need to explore opportunities jointly.
The total size of bilateral trade came down to dollar 208 million in 2018 which was dollar 231 million in 2017. Pakistan’s exports showed some improvement during that tenure by reaching dollar 83 million from dollar 77 million. It was due to decline in imports from Egypt to Pakistan which decreased from dollar 154 million to dollar 125 million in last two years. Pakistan exports woven fabric, cotton yarn, medicaments and some surgical instruments to Egypt. The imports from Egypt consist of sanitary towels, seeds and raw cotton etc.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan being an agricultural economy can supply both semi-processed and processed foods to Egypt. In 2018, Egypt imported wheat & meslin worth dollar 2.6 billion, maize worth dollar 1.7 billion, meat worth dollar 1 billion and sugar dollar 0.8 billion. Let Pakistan manage to take some share in these items.
It was revealed by the Ambassador of Egypt Ahmed Fadel Yacoub while talking to the LCCI President Almas Hyder and Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Friday. Executive Committee Member Aqib Asif, Jameel A. Naaz and Rehmatullah Javed were also present on the occasion.
“I am here with a simple message that Egypt wants to do business with Pakistan”, the Ambassador said and added that brotherly and historic relations between the two countries should be reflected in trade as both countries have a lot of potential.
He said that Egypt is importing rice via Dubai and wants to import this commodity from Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is a country with over 200 million people and a big market for Egyptian businessmen. He said, the bilateral trade balance does not exceed 200 million dollars a year which does not reflect the potentials of both countries. The ambassador told LCCI that Allama Iqbal visited Egypt many times.
The LCCI President Almas Hyder said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry is planning a delegation for Africa to establish new business contacts. He said that Egypt Embassy has always responded positively to any initiatives taken by LCCI like Ambassadors’ Dinner, OIC Conference and Africa Day etc.
Almas Hyder said that close relations between two countries are not fully reflected in two way trade. Egypt comes at 40th and 39th places respectively among the top importing and exporting destinations for Pakistan. For exploiting untapped potential both Egypt and Pakistan need to explore opportunities jointly.
The total size of bilateral trade came down to dollar 208 million in 2018 which was dollar 231 million in 2017. Pakistan’s exports showed some improvement during that tenure by reaching dollar 83 million from dollar 77 million. It was due to decline in imports from Egypt to Pakistan which decreased from dollar 154 million to dollar 125 million in last two years. Pakistan exports woven fabric, cotton yarn, medicaments and some surgical instruments to Egypt. The imports from Egypt consist of sanitary towels, seeds and raw cotton etc.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan being an agricultural economy can supply both semi-processed and processed foods to Egypt. In 2018, Egypt imported wheat & meslin worth dollar 2.6 billion, maize worth dollar 1.7 billion, meat worth dollar 1 billion and sugar dollar 0.8 billion. Let Pakistan manage to take some share in these items.
Louisiana Rice
Industry Puts Planting on Hold to Meet with Senator Bill Cassidy
By Kane Webb
CROWLEY, LA --
Last week, a group of Louisiana rice growers left the fields and put planting
on a brief hold, to host Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and his staff for a rice
industry update at the local First National Bank conference room. The group
included growers, millers, and staff of the Acadia Chamber of Commerce,
Louisiana Farm Bureaus, and USA Rice.
Cassidy spent the afternoon talking about a variety of rice-related issues, including implication of the new Farm Bill, current trade concerns, rice pretender problems, and the H2A/H2B labor issues being faced by many rice growers who use the programs to keep their crawfish operations going, especially at this peak time of the season.
"We really appreciate the Senator and his staff, for not only sharing their thoughts on these issues, but also taking the time to engage in a candid conversation, asking as many questions of us as we asked of him," said Fred Zaunbrecher, an Acadia Parish rice and crawfish farmer. "That kind of discussion really connects the issues we're facing in the field each day that sometimes isn't obvious to everyone."
Cassidy also covered current trade issues, including market obstacles in China and Haiti, as well as opportunities like the Iraqi market. John Morgan, with Supreme Rice Mill in Crowley, shared information with the Senator and his staff on the economic benefits the rice industry provides the state, and the importance of access to these markets on a consistent basis.
As the meeting concluded, Cassidy thanked the group for sharing their perspectives on the issues facing the rice industry, and for taking the time to break away from work in the field. With the first week of dry weather in the area, growers were eager to get back to their planters and get the 2019 rice crop back on track.
Cassidy spent the afternoon talking about a variety of rice-related issues, including implication of the new Farm Bill, current trade concerns, rice pretender problems, and the H2A/H2B labor issues being faced by many rice growers who use the programs to keep their crawfish operations going, especially at this peak time of the season.
"We really appreciate the Senator and his staff, for not only sharing their thoughts on these issues, but also taking the time to engage in a candid conversation, asking as many questions of us as we asked of him," said Fred Zaunbrecher, an Acadia Parish rice and crawfish farmer. "That kind of discussion really connects the issues we're facing in the field each day that sometimes isn't obvious to everyone."
Cassidy also covered current trade issues, including market obstacles in China and Haiti, as well as opportunities like the Iraqi market. John Morgan, with Supreme Rice Mill in Crowley, shared information with the Senator and his staff on the economic benefits the rice industry provides the state, and the importance of access to these markets on a consistent basis.
As the meeting concluded, Cassidy thanked the group for sharing their perspectives on the issues facing the rice industry, and for taking the time to break away from work in the field. With the first week of dry weather in the area, growers were eager to get back to their planters and get the 2019 rice crop back on track.
India’s rice export
prices slip as demand dips
Vietnam prices flat from last week
as demand wanes
Rice export prices in India eased from multi-month highs this week
due to weaker demand, while domestic buying pushed up rates in Thailand. Top
exporter India's 5 per cent broken parboiled variety was quoted around
$390-$393 per tonne, down from the previous week when prices rose to the
highest level in more than seven months at $392-$395. “Buyers are waiting for a
price correction,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of
Andhra Pradesh. “Exporters can't reduce prices due to the strong rupee and
higher paddy prices.” Last week's price rise was attributed to an appreciation
in the rupee, which lowers returns from overseas sales. In Thailand, benchmark
5 per cent broken rice prices rose to $400-$404 a tonne, free on board Bangkok,
on Thursday, from $390-$393 last week. Traders said the price rise was due to
higher domestic demand, even as overseas demand remained flat. “Prices were
very low last week, so there were some purchases in the country and now prices
have bounced a little,” said a Bangkok-based trader.
Last week, the Thai cabinet agreed to extend a rice trading
agreement with the Philippines, which expired in December, for another two
years. The agreement allows Thailand, the world's second-largest rice exporter,
to take part in tenders issued by the Philippines and states that the two
countries can trade up to 1 million tonnes of rice per year. In Vietnam, rates
for 5 per cent broken rice were unchanged from last week at $360 a tonne. “Activity
is slowing down this week on weaker demand,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City
said. “Buyers from the Philippines, our key market, said they have signed
enough deals for the near term and don't plan to buy more for now,” the trader
said.
Buyers from China held a
meeting with commodity traders in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to explore
trading opportunities, but no major rice deals were made, another trader said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's rice production is expected to rise 7 per cent to 34.9
million tonnes in the year to April from the corresponding period last year,
due to higher acreage and yields, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
Bangladesh, traditionally the world's fourth biggest rice producer, was forced
to massively increase imports to shore up domestic reserves in 2017 after
floods wrought havoc on local crops.
Basmati rice export may hit a record level of Rs 30,000 cr this
season
However, the export volume is only marginally higher at 2 per cent
Basmati rice export
is projected to hit a record level of Rs 30,000 crore or nearly $4.28 billion
(at Rs 70 a dollar) this season. In addition, shippers are getting a higher
realisation vis-Ã -vis their procurement cost. The largest exported variety,
Pusa 1121, saw an average procurement price of Rs 35,000-38,000 a tonne in the
current 2018-19 season, about 8.5 per cent higher than the Rs 33,000-35,000 a
tonne in 2017-18. However, export realisation at Rs 74,000 a tonne in the first
10 months of this financial year (April 2018 to January 2019) was 14 per cent
more than the Rs 65,000 a tonne in the same period of 2017-18. In these 10
months, basmati export has
been almost $4.1 billion, about 11.4 per cent higher than the nearly $3.7
billion a year before. Rating agency Icra notes the export volume is only
marginally higher at two per cent, while realisation is 14 per cent higher.
Over the next few quarters, goes the forecast, export market demand would
remain steady, supported by resumption of import in the key market of Iran.
Icra assistant vice-president Deepak Jotwani says the growth had
occurred despite some challenges, such as the pesticide residue issue leading
to a fall in shipment to the European Union (EU), Saudi Arabia mulling adoption
of stringent pesticide rules, payment issues with Iranian importers and
uncertainty due to imposition of trade sanctions on Iran by the American
government. Kohinoor Foods joint managing director Gurnam Arora told Business
Standard the export market was steady and shipment to Iran had
been growing. However, he felt, total export this year would be lower than the
previous season’s four million tonnes.
Basmati paddy prices have ruling high over the past two financial
years, 2016-17 and 2017-18. In the current season, production is five per cent
less as some farmers had shifted to non-basmati varieties due to a considerable
increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for these. Also, there was untimely
rain in key growing states. As a result, paddy prices rose over 10 per cent
across varieties. The increase in average realisation is likely to sustain in
the first half of 2019-20, owing to the increase in paddy costs in the recently
concluded procurement season and a steady international as well as domestic
demand outlook, Icra says. India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) executive
director Vinod Kaul said higher realisation for farmers could result in more
sowing the coming season, although this is some months away. “Beside,
production of basmati would depend upon good monsoons, since paddy is basically
a water-flooded crop and good rainfall is key to output,” he said. “The West
Asian markets have seen good demand for basmati this season. Beside, the sector
has emerged from the initial hiccups of demonetisation and implementation of
the Goods and Services Tax,” says Mumbai-based rice exporter Devendra Vora.
High prices, strong baht cause rice export drop
Thai rice exports declined in both
volume and value in February, with blame falling on high prices relative to
competitors, notably Vietnam, as well as the strong baht. Charoen Laothammatas,
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Thai rice exports facing strong regional competition
Rice exports are down in February’s
sales figures, in both total volume and value. High prices and competition from
Vietnam are being blamed, along with the ongoing strong baht. Rice farmers also
say they are concerned how long the hot season will last which will also affect
their planting schedules for this year. The Thai Rice Exporters Association
says that rice exports totalled 687,560 tonnes in February, down 27.7%
year-on-year. White rice, in particular, along with parboiled rice, have seen
the largest falls, up to 40%, according to the Rice Exporters. Exports of
Jasmine Rice fell around 6.2% from January’s total. Prices of Vietnamese rice
are around US$40-50 per tonne lower than Thailand and are luring buyers from
The Philippines and Malaysia.” Today, Thai white rice is going for $411 a
tonne, while Vietnam white rice is $358-362 per tonne, India and Pakistan are
between $350-377 per tonne. Thai rice shipments totalled 11 million tonnes in
2018, down 5% from 11.67 million in 2017 but higher than 9.91 million tonnes in
2016, according to the Bangkok Post. The
Thai Rice Exporters Association forecasts the Kingdom to ship 4.8 million
tonnes of white rice in 2019, including parboiled rice, hom mali fragrant rice,
general fragrant rice and glutinous rice.
Rice prices to fall
as low as P30/kg — DTI
Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star) -
March 27, 2019 - 12:00am
Under the Rice Tariffication Law
which took effect last March 5, rice traders would be allowed to import the
staple from various sources without permit from the National Food Authority
provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the
Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and pay the
appropriate tariff.
Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — Rice prices
could go as low as P30 per kilo with the implementation of the rice
tariffication law, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
“I am not making any promises,
but with more imports, we can see the price go down to P30 to P32 (per kilo),”
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
He said the lower price could be
seen in three weeks.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law
which took effect last March 5, rice traders would be allowed to import the
staple from various sources without permit from the National Food Authority
provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the
Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and pay the
appropriate tariff.
The law is intended to help
ensure stable supply and address high rice prices seen last year.
Lopez said it takes about two
weeks for imports to arrive in the country.
Consumers can already see the
rice being sold for as low as P34 per kilo when they go to supermarkets.
He said the Presyong Risonable
Dapat (PRD) program launched by the DTI last year to allow retailers to
directly import rice and sell it at a fixed price of P38 per kilo and below,
has also helped make the staple available at a more affordable cost.
To participate in the PRD,
retailers need to file applications with the DTI, and inform the agency
of the volume of rice they want to import, as well as where the imports would
be sold and where they would pay the tariff.
Apart from more imports, Lopez
said the support being provided to local farmers should help bring down prices.
He said around P5 billion has
been allocated this year to support rice farmers.
“So, we will see more of cheaper
rice. That is what we are after,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States
Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) thinks
the rice liberalization law will not have an immediate impact as earlier
projected.
“Its effects are expected to be
more pronounced in the next two to three years, and will largely depend on how
the interventions are implemented and how efficiently the bureaucracy
transitions to liberalized rice trade,” USDA said.
The Rice Tariffication Law
includes a P10 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to make the local
industry more competitive.
The RCEF is on top of the initial
P5 billion budget already released and another P7 billion of the regular
funding programmed by the Department of Agriculture for the rice program.
“Actual rice consumption is
expected to increase modestly in two to three years as effects of the
liberalization of rice imports (increased imports resulting in falling rice
prices) become more apparent,” it said.
Rice is a staple food in the
country and the law is intended, in part, to spur imports to quell domestic
unrest caused by inflation.
Economic managers earlier claimed
that rice prices would start going down just a few months after the law’s
signing.
USDA earlier reported that the
Philippines was already sourcing some 2.6 million metric tons of rice as
additional imports are anticipated amid policy change removing quantitative
restrictions on Filipinos’ basic commodity.
This makes the country the
second-largest rice importer for 2019, next to China with an estimated 4.5
million MT of rice imports.
USDA said rice imports from ASEAN
member countries would increase as a result of rice tariffication, benefiting
from geographic proximity and lower tariffs.
Rice production for the year is
forecast to rise to 19.4 MT or two percent higher than the previous year,
boosted by government investments to make the local industry more
competitive. – With Louise Maureen Simeon
Govt to procure
12.50 lakh tonnes of rice
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka | Published:
01:43, Mar 29,2019
Food minister Sadhan
Chandra Majumder on Thursday said that the government had set a target to
procure 12.50 lakh tonnes of Boro rice and 50,000 tonnes of wheat in the
upcoming Boro season.
‘Procurement drive of paddy, rice and wheat will begin on April 25 and continue till August 31 while the wheat procurement will begin on April 1 and continue till June 30,’ he told journalists after a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee at the food ministry conference room in the city.
The minister said that the procurement price for per kg paddy has been fixed at Tk 26, parboiled rice at Tk 36, non-parboiled rice (Atop) at Tk 35 and wheat at Tk 28.
According to the meeting, the government has reserve of 12.97 lakh tones of rice and 1.61 lakh tonnes of wheat in different warehouses across the country.
The minister said the government procured nine lakh tones of rice and 1.5 lakh tones of paddy in the last year.
The meeting was attended, among others, by agriculture minister M Abdur Razzaque, health and family welfare minister Zahid Maleque, state minister for ministry of disaster management and relief M Enamur Rahman and senior officials concerned.
‘Procurement drive of paddy, rice and wheat will begin on April 25 and continue till August 31 while the wheat procurement will begin on April 1 and continue till June 30,’ he told journalists after a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee at the food ministry conference room in the city.
The minister said that the procurement price for per kg paddy has been fixed at Tk 26, parboiled rice at Tk 36, non-parboiled rice (Atop) at Tk 35 and wheat at Tk 28.
According to the meeting, the government has reserve of 12.97 lakh tones of rice and 1.61 lakh tonnes of wheat in different warehouses across the country.
The minister said the government procured nine lakh tones of rice and 1.5 lakh tones of paddy in the last year.
The meeting was attended, among others, by agriculture minister M Abdur Razzaque, health and family welfare minister Zahid Maleque, state minister for ministry of disaster management and relief M Enamur Rahman and senior officials concerned.
Government to procure
125,000 tons of rice during Boro season
Published at 09:47 pm March 28th, 2019
Boro
cultivation picks up pace in Khulna’s Koyra upazila, after saltwater shrimp
farming decreased due to gradual increase of farmlands’ height Dhaka
Tribune
The Food
Minister said the procurement price for per kg paddy has been fixed at Tk26,
parboiled rice at Tk36, non-parboiled rice (Atap) at Tk35 and wheat at Tk28
Food Minister
Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Thursday said the government has set a target to
procure 125,000 tons of Boro rice and 50,000 tons of wheat in the upcoming Boro
season.
“Procurement
drive of paddy, rice and wheat will begin on April 25 and continue till August
31 while the wheat procurement will begin on April 1 and continue till June
30,” he told journalists after a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee
(FPMC) at the Food Ministry Conference room in the city, according to a press
release.
The minister
said the procurement price for per kg paddy has been fixed at Tk26, parboiled
rice at Tk36, non-parboiled rice (Atap) at Tk35 and wheat at Tk28.
According to
the meeting, the government has reserve of 129,700 tons of rice and 161,000
tons of wheat in different warehouses across the country.
The minister
said the government procured 900,000 tons of rice and 150,000 tons of paddy in
the last year.
The meeting was
attended, among others, Agriculture Minister Dr M Abdur Razzaque, Health and
Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, State Minister for Ministry of Disaster
Management and Relief Dr M Enamur Rahman and senior officials concerned.
India’s rice export prices slip as demand dips
Reuters March 29 | Updated on March 29, 2019 Published on March 29,
2019
In Thailand, benchmark 5 per cent broken rice prices rose to
$400-$404 a tonne. File Photo - Bloomberg
Vietnam prices
flat from last week as demand wanes
Rice export prices in India eased
from multi-month highs this week due to weaker demand, while domestic buying
pushed up rates in Thailand. Top exporter India's 5 per cent broken parboiled
variety was quoted around $390-$393 per tonne, down from the previous week when
prices rose to the highest level in more than seven months at $392-$395.
“Buyers are waiting for a price
correction,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh. “Exporters can't reduce prices due to the strong rupee and higher
paddy prices.” Last week's price rise was attributed to an appreciation in the
rupee, which lowers returns from overseas sales.
In Thailand, benchmark 5 per cent
broken rice prices rose to $400-$404 a tonne, free on board Bangkok, on
Thursday, from $390-$393 last week. Traders said the price rise was due to
higher domestic demand, even as overseas demand remained flat. “Prices were
very low last week, so there were some purchases in the country and now prices
have bounced a little,” said a Bangkok-based trader.
Last week, the Thai cabinet
agreed to extend a rice trading agreement with the Philippines, which expired
in December, for another two years. The agreement allows Thailand, the world's
second-largest rice exporter, to take part in tenders issued by the Philippines
and states that the two countries can trade up to 1 million tonnes of rice per
year.
In Vietnam, rates for 5 per cent
broken rice were unchanged from last week at $360 a tonne. “Activity is slowing
down this week on weaker demand,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
“Buyers from the Philippines, our key market, said they have signed enough
deals for the near term and don't plan to buy more for now,” the trader said.
Buyers from China held a meeting
with commodity traders in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to explore trading
opportunities, but no major rice deals were made, another trader said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's rice production is expected to rise 7 per cent to 34.9
million tonnes in the year to April from the corresponding period last year,
due to higher acreage and yields, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
Bangladesh, traditionally the world's fourth biggest rice producer, was forced
to massively increase imports to shore up domestic reserves in 2017 after
floods wrought havoc on local crops.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- March 28, 2019
MARCH 28, 2019 / 1:46 PM * * * * * *
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open
Market-March 28, 2018 Nagpur, Mar 27 (Reuters) – Wheat Lokwan prices reported
higher in open the auction of Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing
Committee on increased demand from local traders amid weak arrival from
producing belts. Good recovery in Madhya Pradesh wheat prices and enquiries
from South-based traders also pushed up prices, according to sources.
GRAM
* Desi gram raw recovered in open market here
on increased buying support from local
traders amid tight supply from producing
regions. Good recovery on NCDEX also
boosted sentiment.
TUAR
* Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here
matching the demand and supply
position.
* Lakhodi dal showed weak tendency in open
market here on poor buying support from
local traders.
* In Akola, Tuar New – 4,650-5,100, Tuar dal
(clean) – 7,900-8,200, Udid Mogar (clean)
– 6,500-7,500, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,200-7,800,
Gram – 4,150-4,250, Gram Super best
– 6,000-6,300 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain
items moved in a narrow range in
scattered deals and settled at last levels in
weak trading activity.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market
prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction n.a. 3,600-3,860
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction n.a. 4,450-4,985
Moong Auction n.a. 3,950-4,200
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Wheat Lokwan Auction 1,740-1,880 1,700-1,880
Wheat Sharbati Auction n.a. 2,900-3,000
Gram Super Best Bold 5,600-5,800 5,800-6,000
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,300-5,500 5,600-5,800
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 4,200-4,300 4,250-4,350
Desi gram Raw 4,200-4,300 4,150-4,250
Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000 8,300-10,000
Tuar Fataka Best-New 7,900-8,100 7,900-8,100
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 7,200-7,400 7,200-7,400
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 6,800-7,000 6,800-7,000
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 6,600-6,900
6,600-6,900
Tuar Gavarani New 5,150-5,250 5,150-5,250
Tuar Karnataka 5,350-5,500 5,350-5,500
Masoor dal best 5,300-5,400 5,300-5,400
Masoor dal medium 5,000-5,100 5,000-5,100
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New) 7,500-8,500 7,500-8,500
Moong Mogar Medium 6,200-7,000 6,200-7,000
Moong dal Chilka New 6,500-7,500 6,500-7,500
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 7,600-8,700 7,600-8,700
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,000-7,500
7,000-7,500
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,200-6,500
5,200-6,500
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,000
3,700-3,900
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,700-5,800 5,700-5,800
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,500-4,800
4,600-4,900
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 5,300-5,500 5,300-5,500
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 6,500-6,700
6,500-6,700
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200
Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,000
2,050-2,200
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600
2,500-2,600
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600
2,500-2,600
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400
2,200-2,400
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-4,000
3,400-4,000
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200
2,800-3,200
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200
Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,600
3,400-3,600
Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 2,500-3,000
2,500-3,000
Rice BPT new (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,200
2,900-3,200
Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,000
2,900-3,000
Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,800 2,600-2,800
Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,600
2,500-2,600
Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,400
4,100-4,400
Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,900
3,500-3,900
Rice HMT New (100 INR/KG) 3,600-3,800
3,600-3,800
Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,600
5,400-5,600
Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,000
4,600-5,000
Rice Shriram New (100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,400
4,200-4,400
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 9,000-13,500
9,000-13,500
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,500
5,000-7,500
Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-6,800
6,500-6,800
Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 6,200-6,400
6,200-6,400
Rice Chinnor New (100 INR/KG) 4,700-5,000
4,700-5,000
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,350-2,550
2,350-2,550
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,250 2,050-2,250
WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 39.1 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 19.1 degree
Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum
temperature likely to be around 39 degree Celsius and 20 degree Celsius. Note:
n.a.—not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery
prices, but included in market prices)
Vietnam's Q1 coffee exports at 477,000 tonnes, down 15.3 pct y/y -
govt
MARCH 29, 2019 / 7:40 AM /
HANOI, March 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam’s coffee
exports in the first quarter this year are expected to fall 15.3 percent from a
year earlier to 477,000 tonnes, while rice exports will likely decline 11.5
percent, government data showed on Friday. COFFEE Coffee exports from Vietnam
will likely fall an estimated 15.3 percent in the first quarter of this year
from a year earlier to 477,000 tonnes, equal to 7.95 million 60-kg bags, the
General Statistics Office said in a report on Friday.
Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world’s
biggest producer of the robusta bean, will likely decline 23.8 percent to $830
million in the three-month period, the report said.
The country’s coffee shipments in March are
estimated at 160,000 tonnes valued at $278 million, it said. RICE Rice exports
in the first quarter from Vietnam were forecast to fall 11.5 percent from a
year earlier to 1.31 million tonnes.
Revenue from rice exports in the period was
expected to drop 23.6 percent to $567 million.
March rice exports from Vietnam, the world’s
third-largest shipper of the grain, totalled 600,000 tonnes, worth $256
million. ENERGY Vietnam’s first-quarter crude oil exports were seen rising 7.7
percent from the same period last year to an estimated 1.07 million tonnes.
Crude oil export revenue in January to March is
expected to fall 3.5 percent to $507 million.
Oil product imports in the first quarter were
estimated at 2.0 million tonnes, falling 42.6 percent from the same period last
year, while the value of product imports fell 47.6 percent to $1.17 billion.
Vietnam’s January to March liquefied petroleum
gas imports were seen falling 7.9 percent from a year earlier to 349,000
tonnes. (Reporting by Khanh Vu; editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Texas A&M AgriLife rice researcher addresses extended flooding
plant survival
Writer: Kay Ledbetter,
806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Endang Septiningsih, 979-845-7527, eseptiningsih@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Endang Septiningsih, 979-845-7527, eseptiningsih@tamu.edu
Dr. Rodante Tabien, rice breeder, and Dr. Endang Septiningsih,
geneticist, monitor the rice fields at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research
center at Beaumont. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Dr. Michael Thomson)
COLLEGE STATION – Rice crops can stress under too much water or
water at the wrong time. Developing tolerance to these flooding stresses and
improving rice cultivars is the life passion for Dr. Endang “Septi”
Septiningsih, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist.
Dr. Endang Septiningsih, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research
geneticist in the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department,
is improving rice cultivars to withstand extended water stress. (Texas A&M
AgriLife photo by Beth Luedeker)
Rice growers around the world have had two choices: plant
poor-yielding traditional varieties that are moderately tolerant to long
periods of submersion in water to withstand the flash floods of the monsoon
season, or plant high-yielding submergence-intolerant varieties that tend to
suffer severe losses during the monsoons.
Septiningsih, AgriLife Research geneticist in the Texas A&M
University soil and crop sciences department in College Station, has spent her
entire career concentrating on finding a genetic answer for abiotic stress
tolerance in rice.
Rice and Water
“Rice plants love water during most of their life,” she said.
“However, if it is too deep or prolonged, water can kill plants completely
submerged and unable to access oxygen. The most critical times are when the
seed is germinating or when the plants are trying to grow.”
She said extreme weather due to climate change has made flooding
an increasing problem for U.S. and international agriculture. Complete
submergence can happen for several weeks during flash floods when the fields
cannot be drained fast enough.
As a result, Septiningsih said estimates indicate flooding
stress is a critical problem affecting more than about 49.5 million acres of
rice worldwide.
“Since rice naturally grows in areas with plenty of water, these
areas also tend to be more prone to extreme flash-flood events that can wipe
out the crop,” she said. “The most feasible approach to address these types of
severe floods is the development of rice cultivars tolerant to submergence that
maintain agronomic, yield and quality traits acceptable to farmers.”
Dr. Endang Septiningsih was involved in research at IRRI
in the Philippines to provide enhanced tolerance to submergence. (Texas A&M
AgriLife photo by Michael Thomson)
Previous
Research
Working both at Texas A&M and previously at the
International Rice Research Institute, or IRRI, in the Philippines,
Septiningsih led the identification and cloning of a gene, the AG1 gene, which
provides enhanced tolerance of prolonged submergence during germination, also
known as anaerobic germination.
This novel finding has made a significant impact not only by
highlighting the roles of sugar metabolism and signaling in anaerobic germination,
but also by providing the foundation for future advances in direct-seeded rice
production, she said. These advances can lead to improved food security and
stability of subsistence rice farmers around the world.
At IRRI, she investigated various types of flooding stresses in
rice, including flooding during germination, complete submergence during the
vegetative growth stage or flash flooding, and flooding up to harvest or
stagnant flooding.
While there, Septiningsih’s research included characterizing and
using the SUB1 gene. This gene greatly enhances survival of rice plants under
two weeks of complete submergence.
She explained the SUB1 gene confers tolerance to complete
submergence via a “quiescence” strategy. This essentially causes the plant to
become dormant while completely under water. As a result, is saves the
carbohydrate reserves and uses them upon de-submergence to recover fully.
“Most rice will try to keep growing to reach the water surface
and will die after using up all of its energy,” she said.
Septiningsih helped employ marker-assisted backcrossing to
develop SUB1 rice cultivars that could withstand complete flooding for up to
two weeks. SUB1 cultivars have been released in multiple countries and
additional ones have been developed by a number of national partner institutes,
she said.
Moving Forward
“My ultimate goal is to enhance the tolerance the current SUB1
rice varieties provide to allow the crop to face more extreme weather events,
especially flooding,” she said. “This is increasingly problematic for the U.S.
and globally.”
In 2017, Septiningsih was awarded a grant from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture as the
lead researcher to investigate the mechanisms of a novel quantitative trait locus,
or QTL, for submergence-tolerant rice.
The cloning of this QTL will provide the opportunity to gain a
better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying submergence
tolerance, she said. It will also allow them to design gene-based or tightly
linked markers for more precise genotyping.
In addition to SUB1 cultivars, Septiningsih also developed a
number of genetic stocks and flood-tolerant lines that have been impactful for
both breeding and genetic studies at national and international research
institutions around the world.
“Understanding the mechanisms for how additional genes further
enhance submergence tolerance in conjunction with SUB1 is very
important,” Septiningsih said. “It will help us develop superior
submergence tolerance varieties that thrive and have good yield under prolonged
submergence stress,”
Also, she said, knowledge gained may help in the translation of
submergence survival strategies to other flood-sensitive crops such as corn and
soybeans.
“This work will further help crop yield stability and food
security among subsistence farmers around the world,” Septiningsih said
