Friday, January 03, 2020

3rd January,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

TRADE GOALS

JAN 02 2020

BY NEWSWEEK PAKISTAN

Description: https://www.newsweekpakistan.com/daisnews/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/china-pakistan-flag.jpg

UNDER CHINA-PAKISTAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT, ISLAMABAD CAN NOW EXPORT 1,047 PRODUCTS TO BEIJING WITH ZERO DUTIES

China on Wednesday lowered tariff rates on 313 products for Pakistan, in accordance with the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), which seeks to bridge the trade deficit between the neighboring nations.

The implementation of the second phase of CPFTA, which was inked in 2006, brings to 1,047 the products that Pakistan can export to China with zero duties. According to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan, the waivers are especially beneficial for Pakistan’s textile sector, as a majority of exports from it would now be virtually duty-free.

In addition to the textile sector, the CPFTA also applies to leather and agriculture products, as well as confectionery and baked goods. A report published in APP claimed the zero duty products could raise the value of Pakistan’s exports to China by around $1 billion in the short-term, with a potential boost to $4-5 billion in the medium-term, as more industries avail the special benefits applicable to industries located in the special economic zones being established under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative. Similarly, in the long-term, Pakistan has the potential to raise its exports to China to $10 billion—a dramatic uptick considering the trade balance currently is firmly in favor of Beijing.

Presently, cotton yarn, copper, rice, nephrite, seafood and ethylene alcohol are the main products being exported to China by Pakistan. Agricultural products have the greatest potential for growth, say observers, noting that cotton and its related products alone account for nearly 45 percent of Pakistan’s total exports to China. To boost this yield further, experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences are actively engaged in technology exchange and cooperation with Pakistani experts to improve the quality of cottonseeds.

Additionally, Pakistan’s mangoes are also finding a home in China. Exports of the fruit jumped by 42 percent last year, with 115,000 tons traded by mid-September.

A report published in the Global Times, Beijing’s English-language mouthpiece, said the lowered tariffs should help Pakistan and China deepen trade ties by reducing their deficit—currently Pakistan exports approximately $2 billion in goods to China; it imports around $12 billion. A greater parity in trade would promote the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the benefits of CPEC, it added.

https://www.newsweekpakistan.com/trade-goals/

CPFTA allows Pakistani traders to export 313 new products on zero duty

Description: https://bolnews.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Aizbah-Khan.jpg

By Aizbah Khan - Web Editor

02nd January, 2020

Description: China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement

The second phase of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) came into effect which will allow the Pakistani manufacturers and traders to export around 313 new products on zero duty to the Chinese market.

Pakistan was already enjoying zero duty on export of 724 products to China under the first FTA signed between the two countries in 2006. After the implementation of the second phase of FTA, Pakistan has been allowed to export a total of 1047 products to China on zero duty.

The new facility will particularly benefit the textile sector to enhance its export to China as textile exports to China will virtually be duty free.

There are a number of other items particularly leather and agriculture products as well as confectionery and biscuits etc which Pakistani manufacturers can export to China.

In the long-term, Pakistan can enhance its exports to China up to US$ 10 billion in the next few years as the volume of Chinese import market is around US$ 64 billion.

Currently, cotton yarn, copper, rice, chromites nephrite, seafood and ethylene alcohol are main products being exported to China.

Moreover, data shows that Pakistan’s mango exports to China jumped 42 percent year-on-year to 115,000 tons as of mid-September. Exports are further expected to reach a new high of 120,000 to 130,000 tons.

China wants to import quality products from different countries including Pakistan owing to which China has lowered tariff rates in accordance with the free trade agreements it has separately signed with Pakistan, New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Iceland, Singapore, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Chile and Georgia.

https://www.bolnews.com/business/2020/01/cpfta-allows-pakistani-traders-to-export-313-new-products-on-zero-duty/

Pakistan Czech Republic ties growing Possibilities for closer cooperation being harnessed: Envoy

By admin

January 3, 2020

Ashraf Ansari

THIS scribe is cur
rently visiting Czech
Republic. This country is located in Central Europe and is member of the European Community. It is flanked by Germany, Austria and Poland. Czech Republic takes pride in its developed infrastructure and industry. Ambassador Mohammad Khalid Jamali heads Pakistan mission in Czech Republic.
The embassy in the capital Prague is well located. Its building is impressive and well maintained. Interior decor of the embassy reflects Pakistan ‘s history and culture. Ambassador Mohammad Khalid Jamali answers questions posed to him by Pakistan Observer.
Q: What is the current level of cooperation between Czech Republic and Pakistan?
A: Czech Republic offers a good market to Pakistan’ s rice, textiles, leather and sports items, surgical equipment and certain other things. There are possibilities to boost imports from Pakistan.
Pakistan can buy more industrial products from Czech Republic. There are also chances of joint ventures.
Q: What are the main areas where Pakistani and Czech investors can join hands?
A: Automobile and avion sectors are quite advanced in Czech Republic. Pakistan and Czech Republic have reached understanding on setting up an automobile production unit in Pakistan in collaboration with a Czech included consortium.
Q: Can Pakistan learn from Czech experience and practices to promote tourism?
A: Tourism is very important component of Czech culture. This country attracts millions of foreign tourists every year. Domestic tourism is also rooted in the Czech culture. Necessary facilities are available to the tourists. Pakistan has very rich potential to develop tourism. Yes, Pakistan can learn from Czech experiences.
Q: Are you taking some initiatives to upgrade relations between Czech Republic and Pakistan?
A: I have been very recently posted here as ambassador. I am developing rapport with the Czech government, Parliament, Czech businesses and industry as well as Pakistani students who are studying in the Czech universities.
The friends of Pakistan group in the Czech parliament is active to strengthen relations between Pakistan and Czech Republic.
I am working on the proposal to set up a joint chamber of commerce and industry of the two countries. I am taking measures to support Pakistani students here. I believe that Pakistani students should be encouraged to take up courses in science and technology sectors in the Czech Universities.

https://pakobserver.net/pakistan-czech-republic-ties-growing-possibilities-for-closer-cooperation-being-harnessed-envoy/S.Korea buys 22,222 T rice for June, seeks to buy 30,764 T for Sept-Oct

JANUARY 2, 2020 / 8:49 AM

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - South Korea bought 22,222 tonnes of non-glutinous rice for June delivery, while seeking to buy 30,764 tonnes of rice for arrival between September and October,

state-run Korea Argo-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp said on its website. www.at.or.kr The agency said it bought 22,222 tonnes of U.S.-origin rice at $784.20 per tonne from Posco International via a tender that closed on Monday.

The agency sought to buy a total of 42,222 tonnes of rice for arrival between April and June. It said it would release the tender result of the remaining rice products later.

The new tender will close at 0600 GMT on Jan. 7, and electronic bidding will be held from 0100 GMT to 0200 GMT on Jan. 8. Details of the new tender are as follows:

TONNES(M/T) GRAIN TYPE ARRIVAL/PORT

20,000 Brown Medium Sept.1-Oct.31,2020/Busan

10,764 Brown Medium Sept.1-Oct.31,2020/Gwangyang

*Note: The agency seeks U.S. No.3 standard for the brown

rice.

(Reporting By Jane Chung; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N2970KE

Description: North Koreans farming in North Hamgyong Province in early June 2019 ban

N. Korea slaps ban on private sale of recently harvested grains

Sources speculate that the ban on grain distribution may lead to an inflation of rice prices

By Jong So Yong

2020.01.02 4:00pmOn Monday, Daily NK learned that the North Korean government has banned the private sale of recently harvested grains as a result of the poor agricultural yields. According to sources, guards have even been stationed at major train stations in order to enforce the ban. A similar ban was issued last year as well.

Daily NK spoke to a source from South Pyongan Province, a major grain-producing region. “After the typhoons swept through the country in September, the authorities announced that they would penalize the private distribution of food supplies,” he reported. “Following the fall harvest, they posted guards at major stations like Sunchon and Pyongsong.”

The North Korean authorities apparently decided to monitor food distribution levels after Typhoon Lingling had swept through the country in September and wreaked havoc. This year’s outlook for North Korea’s grain harvest had been poor to begin with, due to droughts and other natural disasters.

WHOLESALERS FACE OBSTACLES DUE TO BAN

The majority of wholesale traders in foodstuffs are allegedly trying to circumvent the ban by bribing officials at both train and police stations, or by finding ingenious ways of transporting their goods. Sellers who haven’t engaged in such activities, however, are finding themselves burdened with unexpected expenses.

“Sometimes, grain deliveries end up at odd locations, due to the measures to enforce the distribution bans on grains like corn and rice, like the posting of guards at stations,” a source told Daily NK. As a result, he said, “grain shipments will be tossed off the train, and it costs the sellers even more to retrieve them and deliver them properly.”

North Korean farmers in South Hwanghae Province cleaning up damaged farm field after Typhoon Lingling. / Image: Rodong Sinmun

Last month, six wholesalers, who had rented a cargo car on a train to deliver rice and corn from Sunchon to Kaechon, found themselves in a similar situation. They had been unable to offload their deliveries because of the guards that had been posted at the station. Eventually, they just drove past Hwangri Station and managed to unload their sacks of rice just before Pongchon Station.

However, a source from North Hamgyong Province explained that the same tradesmen faced several difficulties once they tried to transport their rice to its final destination. “They used to buy corn from the farms of North Hamgyong Province,” the source said. “But this time, they underwent a series of ordeals because of the guards at Kimchaek Station. They eventually had to unload their goods in between stations.”

Sources explained to Daily NK that railway workers will take bribes and guarantee a safe passage of goods. However, these workers often succumb to the authorities and don’t always keep their promises.

INFLATION MAY RESULT FROM RESTRICTIONS

The ban, however, probably won’t be enough to fully stop the flow of all grains since wholesale traders play a crucial role in the food supply for the North Korean population. Nevertheless, the ban might lead to an inflation of rice prices – and thereby worsen the already existing food shortages.

North Korean authorities enacted a similar ban last year when natural disasters had a negative impact on harvests. The authorities attempted to prevent any redirection of supplies from the national stocks, which are reserved for the army, munition factory workers, government officials and Pyongyang residents.

*Translated by Violet Kim and edited by Laura Geigenberger

Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.

https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-slaps-ban-private-sale-recently-harvested-grains/

Iloilo farmers sell 1.1M bags of rice to NFA

By Ime Sornito

Thursday, January 2, 2020

ILOILO – The National Food Authority (NFA) has procured 1.1 million bags of rice from farmers here in the second half of this year or from July to Dec. 21.

The purchase price was P10 per kilo of rice, according to Pat Espinosa, provincial information officer of NFA-Iloilo.

In September NFA bought 250,554 bags of rice; October, 386,833 bags; November, 345,145 bags; and Dec. 1 to 21, 146,133 bags.

NFA set up rice procurement sites in 10 municipalities to make it easier for farmers to sell their produce to the grains agency.

According to Espinosa, this was NFA-Iloilo’s answer to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s call for NFA to reach out most especially to farmers reeling from the drop in rice prices primarily due to the deluge of cheap, imported rice.

Other farmers chose to deliver their produce themselves to NFA warehouses, said Espinosa, with the help of their local government units which provided trucks for the hauling.

At its office in Jaro, Iloilo City NFA has two huge warehouses.

Some of the buying stations of NFA-Iloilo were in the towns of San Dionisio, Dumangas, Pototan, Dumangas, and Dueñas./PN

https://www.panaynews.net/iloilo-farmers-sell-1-1m-bags-of-rice-to-nfa/

Floods in Indonesia capital recede as death toll reaches 30

· NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press

Jan 2, 2020 Updated

A young boy sits on a chair in a flooded neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in the capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed scores of people and displaced tens of thousands, the country's disaster management agency said.

· Dita Alangkara

People walk through a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang, outisde Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Heavy flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed scores of people, displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

A man carries his baby niece through a flooded neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in the capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed scores of people and displaced tens of thousands, the country's disaster management agency said.

· Dita Alangkara

Youths use an inflatable raft to move through a flooded neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in the capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed scores of people and displaced tens of thousands, the country's disaster management agency said.

· Dita Alangkara

Residents wade through a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Heavy flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed over a dozen, displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

A man rides floats in a styrofoam box on a flooded street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in the capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed scores of people and displaced tens of thousands, the country's disaster management agency said.

· Dita Alangkara

Residents use an inflatable chair as a raft to make their way through a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Heavy flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed over a dozen, displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

An Indonesian man carries his rooster through a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

A family walks their son through a flooded neighborhood in a bucket in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Heavy flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed at least 16 people, displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

Residents wade through a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

· Tatan Syuflana

Children play in a flooded neighborhood in Tanggerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Severe flooding in Indonesia's capital as residents celebrated the new year has killed at least 16 people, displaced tens of thousands and forced an airport to close, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday.

Tatan Syuflana

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Residents of Indonesia's capital who had been forced into shelters by widespread flooding began returning to their homes Thursday as the waters started to recede, though the death toll from the disaster jumped to 30.

Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged at least 182 neighborhoods in greater Jakarta starting Wednesday and caused landslides in the Bogor and Depok districts on the city's outskirts.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Bawesdan said much of the water had receded by Thursday evening and the number of displaced people at temporary shelters had fallen to about 5,000 from 19,000. Officials had earlier said 35,000 people were in shelters across the greater metropolitan area.

Those returning to their homes found streets covered in mud and debris. Cars that had been parked in driveways were swept away, landing upside down in parks or piled up in narrow alleys. Sidewalks were strewn with sandals, pots and pans and old photographs.

Authorities took advantage of the receding waters to clear away mud and remove piles of wet garbage from the streets. Electricity was restored to tens of thousands of residences and businesses.

At their peak, the floods had inundated thousands of homes and buildings, forced authorities to cut off electricity and water and paralyzed transport networks, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo said. Floodwaters reached as high as 2.5 meters (more than 8 feet) in places.

Wibowo said the number of people killed in the disaster had climbed to 30.

It was the worst flooding since 2013, when 47 people were killed after Jakarta was inundated by monsoon rains.

Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusumah domestic airport reopened Thursday after operations were suspended when flood water submerged its runway, said Muhammad Awaluddin, the president director of PT. Angkasa Pura II, the airport's operator. Nearly 20,000 passengers had been affected by the closure.

In Jakarta's satellite cities of Bekasi and Tangerang, where rivers had burst their banks, large areas remain inundated.

Residents of Bekasi waded through water up to their necks or floated on makeshift rafts carrying clothes and other salvaged possessions. Some scrambled onto roofs to await rescue from soldiers and emergency workers in rubber dinghies.

"The government is awful and the rescue effort is too slow," said Imas Narulita, who spent 36 hours on the second floor of her suburban house with her 6-month-old baby.

She said that she have a neighbor who is sick but no one has come to rescue him.

"In this modern time, no one should have died because of this," she said.

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Social affairs minister Juliari Peter Batubara said the government dispatched medical teams and rubber rafts to the worst-hit areas, while rescuers in boats delivered instant noodles and rice to those who chose to stay on the upper floors of their homes.

The flooding has highlighted Indonesia's infrastructure problems.

Jakarta is home to 10 million people, or 30 million including those in its greater metropolitan area. It is prone to earthquakes and flooding and is rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled extraction of ground water. Congestion is also estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion a year.

President Joko Widodo announced in August that the capital will move to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.

Widodo told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday that one of the causes of flooding is due to damage to the ecosystem and ecology in addition to many people who throw garbage into rivers.

He said that the government is working to mitigate and prevent flooding in regions across the country. Especially in Jakarta, the construction of West Java's Cimahi and Ciawi dams is expected to be completed by next year.

"Both the central and regional governments would work together to solve the problem," Widodo said.

https://missoulian.com/news/world/floods-in-indonesia-capital-kill-force-thousands-to-flee/article_9b66bf94-6cb8-57f4-9931-f0c1b03f5e05.html

As Rice Exports To EU Drop, Dealers Are Reducing Prices Due To Tariffs

02 January 2020

· Sun Narin Description: FILE: Villagers in Kampong Thom province were drying rice in front of his house in Kampong Thom province, January 19, 2019. (Sun Narin/VOA Khmer)

Description: FILE: Villagers in Kampong Thom province were drying rice in front of his house in Kampong Thom province, January 19, 2019. (Sun Narin/VOA Khmer)

FILE: Villagers in Kampong Thom province were drying rice in front of his house in Kampong Thom province, January 19, 2019. (Sun Narin/VOA Khmer)

As exports to the EU have fallen, farmers said that rice dealers were using the tariffs as an excuse to lower rice prices in the market, leading to losses for farmers.

PHNOM PENH —

Government data showed that Cambodia’s rice exports to the European Union had dropped by 30 percent in 2019, after the economic bloc imposed tariffs at the start of last year.

Ministry of Agriculture data showed that rice exports dropped from 300,000 tons in 2018 to around 200,000 tons last year. At the same time, China has increased its imports, after the country’s leaders agreed to increase rice trade to 400,000 tons a year.

The European Union imposed tariffs for three years starting January 2019, after Italy triggered protectionist measures to safeguard its rice sector. The tariffs were around $200 a ton in 2019 and will fall to $140 for the third year.

As exports to the EU have fallen, farmers said that rice dealers were using the tariffs as an excuse to lower rice prices in the market, leading to losses for farmers.

Farmers in Battambang province’s Omal commune – at the center of Cambodia’s rice production –have complained about low prices for their paddy crop last year.

Choeun Socheat, a rice farmer, said the price of paddy was surprisingly low, around just $232 per ton, around $60 lower than they were getting in the previous year.

“The dealers told us that the price is low because they are buying rice to keep at the rice mills, but not for exporting abroad,” she said.

“I don’t know whether to believe them or not. We have to sell with the price dealers set.”

FILE: Trucks loaded with paddy rice parked outside rice mill in Pursat province, December 2019 (Sun Narin/VOA Khmer)

Another farmer in the same commune, Kheun Pheakdey, said it was getting hard to recoup costs, especially fertilizer costs, which had gotten more expensive. He said around $267 a ton would be the very least he needs to make any earnings.

“I can’t make profit even to pay for the fertilizer costs,” he said.

Chan Sokheang, vice president of Cambodia Rice Federation, agreed that dealers were undercutting farmers on the pretext of the tariffs, but claimed the industry body could do nothing about it.

“How can we curb since it happens across the country? It is them taking advantage [of farmers],” he said.

He claimed that the cost of fragrant, or high-quality rice was still high, and that farmers should try to directly sell to millers.

However, Cambodia’s agriculture sector has long been plagued with the lack of storage facilities or cheap transportation for crops, with millers taking on these investments on an individual basis.

Theng Savoeun, the director of the NGO Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, said it was possible to take advantage of farmers because they had no access to market information and were disconnected from millers, allowing dealers to misinform them.

“The dealers at the lower level take this opportunity to lower the price of paddy rice,” he said. “Some dealers have networks with officials or big business people.”

Total rice exports for Cambodia in 2019 was around 620,000 tons, with the EU accounting for 32 percent of this exported rice and China for 41 percent, or around 250,000 tons.

https://www.voacambodia.com/a/as-rice-exports-to-eu-drop-dealers-are-reducing-prices-due-to-tariffs-/5229066.html

No shortage of rice in Sri Lanka: CAA

Written by Staff Writer 02 Jan, 2020 | 9:01 AM

Colombo (News 1st): The Consumer Affairs Authority notes that there is no shortage of rice in the country. A senior official of the CAA noted that relevant reports have been obtained from island-wide Customer Service Officers.

He also said that large scale rice mill owners have sent rice stocks to rice shortage areas. Meanwhile, search operation continues to nab traders who sell rice beyond the control price

https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/01/02/no-shortage-of-rice-in-sri-lanka-caa/

Indian rice export rates firm in muted holiday trade

Karthika Suresh Namboothiri

JANUARY 2, 2020 / 5:47 PM

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices edged higher this week, buoyed by a stronger rupee and higher local paddy prices, while trade remained thin in rival hubs because of the holiday season.FILE PHOTO: A worker carries boiled rice in a wheelbarrow to spread it for drying at a rice mill on the outskirts of Kolkata, India, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo

Top exporter India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted around $362-$366 a tonne, up from last week’s $360-$365.

The slight upturn was because of a strong rupee, which trims exporters’ margins from overseas sales, though demand remains weak, said one exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Last year New Delhi had raised the paddy rice purchase price by 3.7% to 1,815 rupees per 100 kg for the 2019/20 crop.

In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice were quoted at $360 a tonne on Thursday, little changed from last week’s $355-$360.“Trade is very thin at the moment as inventory has run low and many exporters are still on holiday,” said a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Farmers in the country’s largest rice-growing area, the Mekong Delta, are preparing land for the key winter-spring crop, which is expected to peak by the end of February,” he added.

No new deals were clinched in the past two weeks, apart from those to fulfil signed contracts, another trader said. Preliminary shipping data showed more than 100,000 tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City port between Jan. 1 and Jan. 23, with most of it bound for West Africa, Iraq and South Korea.

Vietnam’s rice exports in 2019 are forecast to be up 2.5% from a year earlier at 6.259 million tonnes, official data showed last week.

In Bangladesh, meanwhile, the rice crop could be hit by a prolonged cold spell, said senior agriculture ministry official Mizanur Rahman.

“The rice seedbeds are taking on a yellow tinge as sunlight is failing to reach them on the ground due to thick fog. If it persists for long, crops will be affected,” he said.

Two cold spells hit the country over the past two weeks and another is expected in a few days.Thailand’s rice-trading market was closed for most of the week because of the New Year holidays.Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Phuong Nguyen in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; Editing by David Goodman

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-rice/indian-rice-export-rates-firm-in-muted-holiday-trade-idINKBN1Z10UL

Afghanistan - Market Monitor Report, November 2019

REPORT

from World Food Programme

Published on 30 Nov 2019 —

Download PDF (969.96 KB)

HIGHLIGHTS

· Wheat: The current average wheat price in main cities’ markets of Afghanistan (AFN 24.9/Kg) is slightly higher by 2.7% compared to the same time last year (November 2018) and slightly higher by 3.7% compared to the last 5-year average price of the same months (Novembers 2014 - 2018).

· Wheat flour (High Price): The current retail price (AFN 32.0kg) is slightly higher by 7.9% compared to the same month last year (November 2018), and slightly higher by 8.5% compared to the last 5-years average price of the same months.

· Rice is considered as the 2nd main staple food in Afghanistan. The current average retail price of Low Quality Rice (AFN 45.6/kg) is negligibly lower by 1.9% compared to the same month last year (November 2018), and slightly higher by 6.3% compared to the last 5-year average price of the same months. The current average price of High Quality Rice (AFN 88.6/kg) is slightly lower by 6.1% compared to the same month last year (November 2018), and slightly higher by 5.0% compared to the last 5-years average price of the same months.

· Pulses: The current retail price (AFN 76.0/kg) is slightly lower by 2.3% compared to the same month last year (November 2018), and slightly higher by 3.3% compared to the last 5-years average price of the same months.

https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-market-monitor-report-november-2019

Rice farmers demand inclusion in industry decision making

Thursday, 2 January 2020

The group of farmers who expressed their sentiments at the meeting

Rice farmers in the five regions of the North have made a passionate appeal to government to put in place mechanisms to ensure that local farmers partake in decisions to resolve issues in local rice production.

According to the farmers, although government acted swiftly to respond to the concerns raised by the farmers about their inability to get ready market for the hundreds of tonnes of local rice produced in the Fumbisi, Yagaba, Tono, Vea, Nasia and Nalerigu valleys, the problem persists.

At a Meeting at Navrongo in the Upper East Region organized by the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) to among other things discuss strategies to boost rice production and marketing in the coming years, the farmers pointed out that making Ghana self-sustainable in rice production will not succeed without the involvement of rice farmers themselves in decision making to improve the sector.

They further expressed regret that although arrangements were made for the National Food Buffer Stuck Company (NAFCO) and a private company, Avnash Industry Ghana, to purchase local rice from the farmers, the challenges of getting ready market for the produce has not been resolved as some of the farmers have incurred losses either through bush fires, or middlemen and market women taking advantage of the situation to offer them ridiculously low prices as well as purchasing the rice on credit without payment.

They further explained that farmers in the rice valleys in the Upper East Region currently do not have the needed resources to transport their rice produce from their respective farms to Tamale for Avnash company to purchase.

The farmers who expressed their sentiments at the Meeting include Samuel Abiayega from the Gbedembilisi valley in the Fumbisi area; Alhaji Jibril from the Yagaba rice valley; Abdulai Inusah from the Sumbrungu-Karbeo rice valley; Mrs Humu Abdulai; Reverend John Akaribo from the Tono rice valley; Alhaji Ahmed Bogobiri from the Tono and overseas rice valley areas; and Mr Abubakar Mutalakimu from the Yagaba valley.

They mentioned such challenges as lack of access roads to rice fields, high cost of mechanization services including combined harvesters, planters, processors, rice milling equipment, tractor services, fertilizers, destruction of rice fields by birds, cattle, bush fires and floods.

The National President of PFAG, Mr Abdul Rahman Mohammed observed that “as we speak, I have lost 50 acres of my rice farm due to bush fire and most of you equally have such bad experiences".

He cited other challenges as low and unreliable rainfall in recent times, bad feeder roads, difficulty in accessing credit for farming activities and limited access to extension services.

Mr Mohammed noted that most of the challenges being faced by the farmers are “historical and several efforts in the past and present were implemented to address them but unfortunately they are far from over."

The Head of Programmes and Advocacy of the PFAG, Mr Charles Nyaaba observed that in 2018, the Avnash Company in Tamale guaranteed ready market for rice farmers in Northern Ghana.

“Nevertheless, their failure to buy rice in 2019 led to a glut in the months of November and December which triggered the rice campaign initiated by the PFAG", Mr Nyaaba further noted.

According to him, the PFAG has observed that after the campaign, many private individuals and organizations who have no hint of the difficulty “we the farmers went through but are fortunate to have access to government institutions due to their proximity to the seat of government, have started lobbying for support for rice sector development without consulting any of the farmers in the valleys who are facing the problems.”

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Rice-farmers-demand-inclusion-in-industry-decision-making-827761

Nigeria: 1 Million Rice Farmers Ready for Dry Season Production

2 JANUARY 2020

Daily Trust (Abuja)

No fewer than one million rice farmers are currently been mobilised to begin massive rice production for the 2019/2020 dry season programme.

The momentum for this year's production is fired by the land border closure and the apparent benefits, among them widening of the internal market.

The border shutdown is a turning point for rice farmers across the country, motivating many who hitherto left production to return with greater enthusiasm.

National president of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, while speaking with Daily Trust Monday said arrangements have been concluded to motivate one million farmers nationwide under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers' scheme.

"The major preparation that we started is that the CBN invited RIFAN last week; met with us and gave us the nod to quickly identify the participating farmers and also gave us the go-ahead to do everything possible to achieve more production in the dry season that is already in place.

"And he (the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele) has given us the go-ahead to consider at least one million farmers for the dry season which, by extension if we are able to achieve that one million, five million metric tons will be produced," Alhaji Goronyo stated.

Following the directive, the RIFAN president has begun a tour of the major producing areas to motivate and mobilise farmers to meet the five million tons target.

"I'm on a tour to all the producing states. I started touring Sokoto, Kebbi, and will be going to Zamfara, Taraba, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ebony and Anambra, virtually all the producing states," he said, emplaning that the dry season was already in place virtually across the country and the preparation was in top gear to make sure that there are enough paddies for millers to mill for consumers in the country.

No shortage of seeds, fertiliser

For the dry season, the leader of the rice farmers does not envisage any problem occurring in the areas of availability of quality seeds and fertiliser.

"As I'm talking to you, we have more than enough fertiliser in all the production areas that we have already deployed; the seeds also are already there.

"In Cross River, we have signed a MoU to work with Governor Ayade who has a seedling factory that has enough to cater for all the farmers that are going to transplant during the cultivation period. So we don't have problem with fertiliser and seed," he stated.

https://allafrica.com/stories/202001020239.html

Despite gov’t interventions, palay prices remain too low

By: Karl R. Ocampo - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:10 AM January 03, 2020

Despite a number of government interventions, the average farm gate price of palay in November had remained low.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that as of the last week of November, a kilo of palay was sold at an average of P15.55, down 22.29 percent from a year ago.

While economic managers said palay rates were only going back to their “average” levels coming from an “abnormal year,” PSA data reflected that between 2015 and 2017, the farm gate price of palay was at P18.53 a kilo, or higher by 19 percent.

The lowest quotation in November was recorded in Zamboanga Sibugay at P10 a kilo—lower than the current palay production cost at P12 a kilo—while the highest quotation was recorded in Surigao del Sur at P20.40 a kilo.

In major rice-producing provinces such as Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Tarlac, Occidental Mindoro and Cagayan, the prevailing palay prices per kilo were at P19.35, P16, P15.60, P16 and P16, respectively.

Before 2019 drew to a close, the government has rolled out several programs to cushion the blow on farmers of the declining palay prices due to the continued inflow of cheaper rice imports.

The Department of Agriculture distributed cash aid and provided loans, issued stricter requirements to be followed by importers, and asked local government units to buy palay from their respective constituents to ensure that there would be a market for local produce.

It also started projects under the rice competitiveness enhancement program, which has a budget of P10 billion yearly.

The National Food Authority, for its part, has intensified its palay procurement operations.However, palay prices remained low.

“The more palay prices drop because of the continued inflow of cheap imports, the more losses farmers will incur and the more pressure on the government to provide relief to farmers,” said Raul Montem

https://business.inquirer.net/286466/despite-govt-interventions-palay-prices-remain-too-low#ixzz69xXeW7AY

Rice sector eyes rebound after small exports drop

Hin Pisei | Publication date 02 January 2020 | 23:27 ICT

Description: Content image - Phnom Penh Post

Rice exports reached 620,106 tonnes last year, a drop of almost one per cent from the 626,225 tonnes the previous year. Afp

Rice exports reached 620,106 tonnes last year, a drop of almost one per cent from the 626,225 tonnes the previous year, the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) said.

The total value of exports dropped more than four per cent last year from 2018, the Kingdom’s rice industry body added.

Coupled with the 1.43 per cent decline between 2018 and 2017, the modest drop marks the second consecutive year that exports have fallen.

According to a CRF report obtained by The Post on Wednesday, the total value of the Kingdom’s rice exports were valued at some $501 million last year, down 4.3 per cent from $524 million in 2018.

A breakdown of the data showed that the 202,990 tonnes to the Chinese market accounted for 40.73 per cent of rice exports, followed by 13.41 per cent, or 83,164 tonnes, to the Asean region and 13.84 per cent, equal to 85,847 tonnes, to other markets.

According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data, Cambodia also exported 2.15 million tonnes of rice to Vietnam last year.

Meanwhile, rice exports to European markets declined steadily after the EU imposed tariffs on rice imports from Cambodia last January. Myanmar was also hit with the tariffs.

CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng blamed the decline on reduced demand from European markets, but he predicted that exports would rebound this year.

He said that the 400,000-tonne export quota to China, a drop in EU taxes from €175 to €155 per tonne and access to new markets, notably Australia and Brunei, would favour this year’s exports.

“I am optimistic that this year’s exports will experience strong growth and revenue will rebound,” Yeng told The Post.

He added that while the Kingdom had lowered the price of rice to address demand in the European market, the volume of fragrant rice exported to Europe had increased from 79 per cent in 2018 to 86 per cent last year.

“At the same time, white rice and parboiled rice exports fell from 21 per cent to 14 per cent,” he said.

Yeng explained that while Australia had previously banned rice imports, unfavourable weather conditions for rice cultivation had prompted it to allow imports and invest in Cambodia’s rice sector.

Thmor Korl Rice Import Export Co CEO Heng Pheng said his firm had exported the same amount of rice last year as in 2018, with the bulk to Malaysia.

He also warned that climate change would threaten future harvests of Cambodia’s top agricultural export.

“Based on quality and value, Cambodian rice still has plenty of opportunities for exports to international markets. I think that exports will see a boom this year, especially to the Chinese market,” Pheng said.

Cambodian Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng estimated the Kingdom’s rice production capacity to be at more than 10 million tonnes per year.

He said that rice exports are expected to increase this year provided there is strong cooperation between stakeholders, including farmers, rice millers, exporters and all authorities.

Heng added that along with increasing production capacity, developing new markets in Japan and South Korea were also important factors to ensure sustained growth.

“To increase rice export capacity for the international market, Cambodia needs to work together, while farmers have to commit more to contract farming,” he said.

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/rice-sector-eyes-rebound-after-small-exports-drop

Southeast Asia’s Water Troubles Underscore Climate Threat – Analysis

January 2, 2020 RFA 0 Comments

By RFA

By Dan Southerland*

Over the past year, growing environmental threats in Asia have had much to do with water—most importantly rising seas driven by global warming.Southeast Asia is proving to be particularly vulnerable.

New studies show that climate change and rising sea levels will threaten the lives of tens of millions of people and much of the wildlife in East Asia sooner than had originally been expected.

A recent study referred to by some as a “Doomsday Report” suggests that rising sea levels could flood three times more land than previously predicted.

In Southeast Asia, if the study prepared by a United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued in late September 2019 proves accurate, parts of Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok could be underwater by 2050.

Some scientists caution that these could be “worst case scenarios.”But nonetheless, millions of people in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta could be forced to flee coastal areas.

The Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, is where everything may go wrong due to the impact of man-made dams, rising sea levels, deforestation, and droughts that alternate with heavy rainfall. And all of this is exacerbated by climate change.

In the meantime, contrary to what might seem common sense, some experts say that due to a combination of these factors the Mekong may someday run dry.

According to scientists, the Mekong’s banks will be increasingly threatened by the loss of sediment now held back by upstream hydropower dams in China and Laos as well as by salt intrusions caused by the rising South China Sea.

Mangrove trees, which once played a vital role in the Mekong Delta in protecting the river banks and rice fields from salt intrusions, have disappeared in some areas.

Mangrove forests consist of small trees that thrive in saline water. In Vietnam, they not only guard against salt intrusions into farm land in the southernmost part of the Mekong Delta but also provide protection for a variety of wildlife.

The Delta is the main food basket of Vietnam, producing more than 50 percent of the nation’s goods, 90 percent of its rice exports, and 75 percent of its fish, which are a main source of protein.

Bu the Delta still suffers from an ill-advised attempt to expand rice production by the new Communist rulers of Vietnam when they came to power in the spring of 1975. In order to grow more rice, they encouraged the destruction of the mangrove swamps which had acted as a buffer to protect farm land from sea-driven salt.

The impact of ice melting in the Arctic

A main source of flooding in places in Southeast Asia is global warming causing the ice to melt in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Ocean currents carry the rising seas more than 6,000 miles from the poles to reach cities such as Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City in Southeast Asia.

In its September issue, the National Geographic magazine explains how the Arctic tundra is thawing in a cover story by Susan Goldberg titled “The Arctic is heating up.”

Goldberg reports that the thawing of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the Arctic known as tundra will speed up global warming.

“The unexpectedly rapid collapse of ice-rich permafrost, or permanently frozen subsoil” in the Arctic, Goldberg says, “could pump billions of additional tons of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year—a threat that has yet to be fully accounted for in climate models.”

Scientists have found that permafrost that once thawed a few inches a year can now thaw up to 10 feet within days or weeks, “creating wetlands in once frozen regions and accelerating emissions from up to 1,600 gigabytes of carbon still locked underground.”

Fires, once considered rare in the Arctic, are now becoming more common as a warming climate melts the region. When permafrost thaws near a hillside or a stream or river, it can trigger a landslide, thus accelerating the thawing.

Arctic lakes once filled with ice also have begun to melt, allowing microbes to feed on organic material, which releases greenhouse gases.

In short, this sounds like a slow-moving, but accelerating catastrophe of which many around the world are still barely aware.

The greenhouse effect

Gradual increases in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere are attributed to a “greenhouse effect” caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation. Normally, the radiation escapes into space, but now the pollutants can last for years in the atmosphere, trap the heat, and cause the planet to get hotter.

In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping pollution. The second largest source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector.

According to The Economist magazine, China was the source of about 27 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. But China, the magazine says, has been reluctant to curb emissions unless the United States moves first.

Meanwhile, on the website GlobalAsia, Matthew A. Shapiro cites atmospheric scientists who report that as much as 70 percent of Japan and Korea’s air pollution originates in China.

China’s far-ranging Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to establish land and sea links with nearly 70 nations at a potential cost of $1 trillion, has brought warnings from scientists and environments regarding the environmental impact of its various infrastructure projects.

Following numerous complaints, China’s President Xi Jinping vowed in the spring of 2019 to make the BRI environmentally friendly, but the experts are still waiting for measures to be taken to implement his pledge.

Finally, as noted in previous commentaries, plastic trash piling up in the world’s oceans is causing the death of a number of marine species. Ever since China stopped buying trash for recycling, the U.S., European nations, and Southeast Asian nations have been scrambling to find the best ways of disposing of their plastic trash.

Top-level attention needed in Thailand and Vietnam

When it comes to the rising tides, people in both Thailand and Vietnam appear to be aware that more water is coming.

But several friends in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City recently said via email that the “water problem” isn’t getting the high-level attention that it deserves from Thai and Vietnamese government leaders.

One friend in Bangkok joked that some city dwellers might soon be living on houseboats, with Chinese manufacturers ready to supply them for around $10,000 each.

While this commentary has focused on Southeast Asia, it’s obvious that rising seas will have a huge impact in many parts of the world.

As The Japan Times noted in an editorial published in November 2019, the people hardest hit by rising sea levels will be the millions who live on small islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans that are only a meter or two above sea level. They may also be among those least able to cope.

The good news

To end this commentary on at least one positive note, let’s return to the subject of those threatened mangrove trees that were mentioned earlier.

The website Smithsonian Ocean says that one shouldn’t underestimate the ability of mangroves in many locations to prevail.

In a report on mangrove trees around the world, the Smithsonian says that “mangroves are survivors.”

With their roots submerged in water, it says, mangroves thrive in hot, muddy, salty water conditions that would kill most plants.”

How do they do it? “Through a filtration system that keeps out much of the salt and a complex root system that holds the mangroves upright in the shifting sediments where land and water meet.”

And, the Smithsonian says, “as scientists are discovering, mangrove swamps are extremely important to our own wellbeing and to the health of the planet.”

But the Smithsonian ends with this question: “Will the mangroves be able to survive the impact of human activities?”

*Dan Southerland is RFA’s founding executive editor.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/02012020-southeast-asias-water-troubles-underscore-climate-threat-analysis/

Top investment priorities in agriculture

January 3, 2020 Correspondents

Taiwo Hassan

The current year provides ample opportunity for investors to stake their resources in agriculture following Federal Government’s deep interest in food security and produce export, Taiwo Hassan reports

Indeed, it has been a new dawn in the country’s agriculture sector since President Muhammadu Buhari came into power in 2015.

The intention of the government in this regard is to rescue the economy from continued dependence on oil as a major driver of the economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings.

Having chosen agriculture, manufacturing and mining as the three key sectors in line with its policy thrust to diversify the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari administration has given hope to many Nigerians, especially farmers, to increase their stakes in their area of specialisation.

Specifically, the president’s call urging private sector investors, foreigners and teeming youths to embrace agriculture clearly gave a policy direction to where the country’s economy is heading.

However, following its different agric policies aimed to right the wrong in the country’s agric space, the country’s agriculture is now a goldmine in the heart of Nigeria’s economy as it is driving the economy positively.

Prospects

As the New Year arrives, attention will once again shift to the country’s agric space to improve on the value chain.

Following the new dawn, sokenof the areas to invest in include rice milling plants, cotton, palm oil, cashew nuts, piggery, fishery, GMOs, fertilizers and many others.

Rice milling plants

With the border closure policy of the present administration still in place, the hottest investment haven for any prospective investor in agriculture this year is rice milling plant to aggregate the country’s rice production.

Particularly, since the Federal Government announced the border closure with neighbouring countries in a bid to stop them violating Nigeria’s laws against smuggling, especially foreign rice, floating of new rice milling plant has emerged as big investment option.Basically, the land border closure is already yielding fruits.

Reports showed that hundreds of rice milling plants are springing up in the country, while those that were moribund are now being activated in many rice-producing states.

Many rice millers are now floating rice mills by adding more lines to their production lines in a bid to ensure rice sufficiency in Nigeria and key into government’s diversification agenda to promote agriculture.

Notwithstanding the progress achieved so far, there is still room for other prospective investors to establish more plants in the country.

Palm oil

This is another lucrative area for prospective investors willing to make money in the country’s agriculture sector.

Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that about 40 applications from investors willing to cultivate palm oil production were received nationwide, in addition to committing about N30 billion to enhance palm oil production in the country.

In a bid to revive the country’s palm oil sector to stimulate growth and development, the apex bank has been at the forefront to ensure that Nigeria’s lost glory in palm oil returns to the front burner with the release of intervention fund to local investors in the country’s palm oil value chain.

At a meeting with some state governors in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that it had committed about N30 billion to enhance oil-palm production in the country.

Emefiele explained that the fund was disbursed through deposit money banks to six oil palm companies to support their expansion programmes.

These companies are PZ Wimar, Biase oil company Limited, Eyop, Okomu oil company, Presco oil company and SIAT Limited and Ada Palm Imo State.

Indeed, with the new dawn in the country’s palm oil sector, there are still more opportunities for prospective investors going into palm oil production.

Hybrid cotton

This is also an attractive area for prospective investors that are expecting to make huge profit in agriculture.

Last year, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disbursed N4 billion loan to farmers across some cotton-producing states in a bid to grow cotton in abundance for the revival of the country’s textile industry.

Particularly, the resurgence of hybrid cotton production can create a new vista for Nigeria’s textile industry to thrive and in turn curb unemployment as it is expected to create 10 million jobs.

Indeed, the textile industry from the instrumentality of cotton production alone, can adequately guarantee jobs if factionalised.

The opportunity in hybrid cotton is that it can be conveniently grown in 24 states of the 36 states in the country and could positively influence the macro-economy of the country and ensure its contribution to Gross Domestic Product.

For prospective investors, this is an area of interest to explore in agric opportunities in the New Year.

Cashew nuts

Anytime, any day, the country’s cashew nut is a good bargain for any prospective investor in agric value chain because of its high return on investment.

Indeed, one of the lead agric commodities, cashew, has been a money spinner for the country’s economy following the rate of sustainable development being achieved in terms of production, export and accrued revenue.

Interestingly, in a space of eight years, the country’s cashew production grew from 90,000 tons in 2011 to 260,000 tons last year.

In addition, the turnaround in the country’s cashew sector has seen the commodity being listed among new exports, which the Federal Government had earmarked to generate about $30 million from the non-oil export sector of the economy.

In fact, the commodity (cashew) was identified as juicy crop in the non-oil export sector because of its high return on investment for exporters vying to trade in the product.

This in return has buoyed the country’s non-oil export revenue for this fiscal year.

In the same vein, the Federal Government also announced that it was planning to get more cashew nuts processing machines nationwide that will enable the country double her export earnings from $800 million to $1.7 billion yearly through the commodity.

Besides, cashew nuts is one of the key non-oil exports that the current administration is looking at to increase its revenue base with its contribution to national export earnings.

With the lucrative deals involved in cashew, it will be a big bargain for every prospective investor.

GMOs

For the establishment of genetically modified organic (GMOs) in Nigeria by the Federal Government, the next big thing in the country’s agric sector is GMOs, based on the huge support it is getting from foreign donors.

Indeed, Nigeria is one of the luckiest countries in the world that is blessed with large span of arable lands for planting of crops in order to ensure food productivity and security.

But the introduction of GMOs into the country’s agriculture may not have gone down well with some section of Nigerians over its lack of empirical evidence to ascertain and certify them safe for human consumption despite the country facing challenges in meeting food production for its teeming population.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that food production will need to double in some parts of the world by 2050 and this translates to the need for more land for cultivation which will not be readily available.

Hence, the introduction of GMO crops to make enough nutritious food available with limited land, water and other resources was one of the reasons GMO was approved to complement food security in the world.

So as GMOs continue to expand in Nigeria, it is a big opportunity for some prospective investors to key into the new ideology in the country’s agricultural space and tap into it.

Besides, the Federal Government has given the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) the legislative approval to regulate and control GMOs foods in Nigeria.

https://www.newtelegraphng.com/2020/01/top-investment-priorities-in-agriculture/

Chinese Scientist Who Genetically Engineered 3 Babies Sentenced to Jail

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Michelle Taylor

Editor-in-Chief

He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who is the first and only to genetically engineer babies, was sentenced to three years in prison and a $430,000 fine on Monday for “illegal medical practice.” Two of his colleagues were also sentenced to time in prison for practicing medicine without a license, crossing an ethical line, and violating Chinese regulations.

At the time of the research as well as currently, it is illegal in much of the world to use a genetically engineered embryo to establish a pregnancy. In China, it is prohibited under a 2003 ministerial guidance to IVF clinics.

Regardless, He announced on Nov. 26, 2018 via a YouTube video and interview with the Associated Press that he used CRISPR/Cas9 to help make the world’s first genetically edited babies—twin girls born earlier in the month. A third baby, carried by a second woman, was reportedly born in Summer 2019.

In the announcement video, He explained the mother of the twins, Grace, got pregnant through “regular” IVF—with one significant difference. After Grace’s egg was implanted with her husband, Mark’s, sperm, He and his team also implanted protein and instructions for gene surgery to disable a gene called CCR5, which is a protein doorway for HIV to enter a cell. Mark, the twins’ father, is HIV-positive. Before returning the embryo to Grace’s womb, He said whole genome sequencing indicated the surgery worked safely.

Post-birth, He did another deep sequencing of the twin girls’ whole genome. His team compared 80 to 95% of the twins’ genomes to their parents’ and only saw one mistarget in one girl’s DNA, in a section of inactive genes. However, the tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered while the other had just one altered. He said no other genes were altered except CCR5.

Still, scientists worldwide condemned He and the experiment. Most raised concerns about the long-term health of the twin as humans without the normal CCR5 gene have been shown to face higher risks of contracting other viruses, such as West Nile or the flu.

Despite He’s assurance that no other genes were changed, scientists said not enough is understood about mistargeted editing to perform such an experiment on live children. They pointed to the fact that only one twin had both genes altered as proof itself. For the other twin, this means the risk of HIV infection is the same as everyone else. Essentially, her genes were altered—with possible unknown consequences—for no purpose.

Other scientists, including HIV researchers, questioned the ethics of He recruiting parents for his experiment directly (and only) from an HIV advocacy group. While He and his U.S. colleague Michael Deem, former Rice University physics and bioengineering professor, told the AP the study participants were aware of the purpose of the experiment, the paperwork suggests otherwise. Consent forms called the project an “AIDS vaccine development” program.

He did receive approval for his project from Shenzhen Harmonicare Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and he gave official notice of his work to the Chinese registry of clinical trials—but only months after he started. Through the duration of the experiment, 16 of 22 embryos were edited and 11 were used in six implant attempts before the twin pregnancy was achieved, as well as the third baby, He told the AP.

https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/559435-Chinese-Scientist-Who-Genetically-Engineered-3-Babies-Sentenced-to-Jail/

China Seeks Public Opinion on GMO Corn Approval, Gets an Earful

The Chinese public has long been wary of genetically modified crops despite little scientific evidence of food safety risks.

Description: http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/22/771.jpg

Cai Xuejiao

Jan 03, 2020 3-min read

Chinese people may be more averse to genetically modified foods than most, but domestic media outlets are hoping to change that following the country’s first proposed biosafety approvals for GMO crops in a decade.

In a statement Monday, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) said it is soliciting public opinion on a list of 192 genetically modified plant species — including two strains of corn and one strain of soybean — that are awaiting biosafety certification. The public feedback period will conclude after 15 days, on Jan. 20.

The soybean species SHZD32-01, which is especially suitable for cultivation in southern China, was developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The two GMO corn species, meanwhile, can be grown in China’s colder northern provinces. The DBN9936 corn species was developed by Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology Co. Ltd., and the “double-stacked 12-5” species was co-developed by Hangzhou Ruifeng Biotechnology Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang University.

In the days since, several major state-controlled media outlets have published articles explaining the science behind GMOs in an effort to assuage the public’s fears.

China began researching genetically modified crops in the 1980s. MARA approved insect-resistant cotton and disease-resistant papaya for commercial production in 1997 and 2006, respectively, and greenlit GMO soybeans, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar beets as for import to the Chinese market.

In 2009, MARA issued biosafety certificates for a genetically modified corn species and two GMO rice species, though none were later approved for commercial production. In early 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a genetically modified strain of rice developed by Chinese researchers as commercially viable, though its developers said at the time that large-scale production in China would not be possible without new policies to grease the wheels.

Monday’s news from MARA hasn’t been enthusiastically received by all, with many on Chinese social media expressing concerns about the potential health and safety risks of GMOs. Some netizens have called for a boycott on GMO foods, while others have questioned the scientific basis for such skepticism.

The Chinese public’s fears of adverse health effects from GMOs have been stoked over the years by high-profile figures like Cui Yongyuan, a former televisions presenter and outspoken anti-GMO campaigner who is now perhaps best known for exposing the A-list actor Fan Bingbing’s fraudulent contract in 2018.

Many scientists have also spoken out over the years and tried to reassure the public that China’s current policy framework for assessing GMO foods is sufficient to guarantee their safety.

Wu Kongming, chairman of China’s biosafety committee overseeing agricultural GMOs, told Xinhua earlier this week that any genetically modified foods approved for the domestic market would be safe, and that the environmental risks of commercially grown GMO crops can be effectively controlled.

For over 20 years, Wu said, billions of people in 70 countries and regions around the world have consumed genetically modified products without a single scientifically confirmed food safety problem.

Genetically altered crops must receive a production certificate from MARA before they can be commercially grown in China, and all GMO foods must be clearly labeled as such when sold to consumers.

Also on Monday, MARA published a list of 12 GMOs that have been approved for import until December 2022, including an insect-resistant strain of soybean developed by U.S.-based company Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company.

Editor: David Paulk.

(Header image: Ships unload imported soybeans at a harbor in Nantong, Jiangsu province, March 28, 2012. Tuchong)

https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005030/china-seeks-public-opinion-on-gmo-corn-approval%2C-gets-an-earful

As Rice Exports To EU Drop, Dealers Are Reducing Prices Due To Tariffs

02 January 2020

Sun Narin

FILE: Villagers in Kampong Thom province were drying rice in front of his house in Kampong Thom province, January 19, 2019. (Sun Narin/VOA Khmer)

As exports to the EU have fallen, farmers said that rice dealers were using the tariffs as an excuse to lower rice prices in the market, leading to losses for farmers.

PHNOM PENH —

Government data showed that Cambodia’s rice exports to the European Union had dropped by 30 percent in 2019, after the economic bloc imposed tariffs at the start of last year.

As exports to the EU have fallen, farmers said that rice dealers were using the tariffs as an excuse to lower rice prices in the market, leading to losses for farmers.

Farmers in Battambang province’s Omal commune – at the center of Cambodia’s rice production –have complained about low prices for their paddy crop last year.

Choeun Socheat, a rice farmer, said the price of paddy was surprisingly low, around just $232 per ton, around $60 lower than they were getting in the previous year.

“The dealers told us that the price is low because they are buying rice to keep at the rice mills, but not for exporting abroad,” she said.

“I don’t know whether to believe them or not. We have to sell with the price dealers set.”