Wednesday, July 29, 2020

29th July 2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Rice to get cheaper this year? Check how Basmati firms will save costs amid coronavirus

By: FE Online | 

Published: July 28, 2020 5:24 PM

The rice industry is one of the few outliers in Indian economy which will not only be able to break the pessimism of coronavirus but also the global economic slowdown. 

Description: https://images.financialexpress.com/2020/07/farmers660-1.jpg

A rise in export demand is another reason why the rice industry is off to a good year even while many other sectors are scrambling to stay afloat due to the pandemic.

As India continues to experience healthy monsoon rainfall, prices of paddy are likely to fall considerably in the current financial year 2020-21. “Paddy prices are expected to fall around 17% in the current fiscal from an average of Rs 36 per kg seen last fiscal due to good monsoon and stable acreage,” a report by CRISIL Ratings said on Tuesday. Basmati companies are also in for a 100-150 bps margin boost due to lower paddy prices and stable volume demand from foreign nations, the report added. In fact, the rice industry is one of the few outliers in Indian economy which will not only be able to break the pessimism of coronavirus but also the global economic slowdown. 

A rise in export demand is another reason why the rice industry is off to a good year even while many other sectors are scrambling to stay afloat due to the pandemic. The United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East (excluding Iran), which account for more than 50% of India’s total rice exports, are creating a buffer food stock amid the pandemic. Hence, the demand for exports in these countries has increased, the report said. “Export realisation is unlikely to decline in the same proportion as paddy prices because orders from key markets continue to be strong.” Annually, India exports around 4.4 million tonne of rice. While trade tensions continue with Iran, which imports around 1.3 million tonne annually, and the exports to the country are expected to fall by 20%, the higher demand from other countries is likely to offset the Iran trade issue. 

 “Rigid food habits and strong preference for basmati rice will prevent downgrade to non-basmati varieties in the retail market,” the report said. The demand for rice has remained strong during lockdown, Subodh Rai, Senior Director and Head of Analytics, CRISIL Ratings said. Meanwhile, spreads between blended realisation and paddy prices are expected to improve to Rs 31 per kg as opposed to last financial year’s Rs 29 per kg. This would mean profitability of around 5.5-7.5% in this financial year. 

https://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/rice-to-get-cheaper-this-year-check-how-basmati-firms-will-save-costs-amid-coronavirus/2037606/

 

 

 

Alternative rice products see double digit growth in demand amid trade disruption

·         Mardika Parama

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta   /   Wed, July 29, 2020   /   08:24 am

Description: Alternative rice products see double digit growth in demand amid trade disruptionHeading home: A farmer walks among rice fields in Brebes regency, Central Java. (Courtesy of Marius Moragues/-)

The disruptions to trade and falling imports caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a double-digit increase in demand for locally produced, high-quality, alternative rice products, farmer cooperatives have reported.

Sales of high-quality foreign rice varieties and organic rice products such as Japonica rice, Basmati rice, Jasmine rice, and high-protein black rice have increased by 20 percent, Mintogoro Cooperative chairperson Hery Sugiarto told The Jakarta Post on Monday. The cooperative is based in Demak, Central Java.

Alhamdulillah [thank God] the pandemic impacted our business positively rather than the other way around, as demand for our products has increased 20 percent,” he said during an online webinar held by the Indonesian Seed Cooperative (Kobeta).

The market for foreign rice varieties in Indonesia is relatively small compared to regular rice. According to the latest available data compiled by the Agriculture Ministry, Indonesia imported 295,714 tons of “special” rice varieties compared to 987,500 tons of medium-grain rice in 2016.

The special rice varieties comprise Thai hom mali, basmati, japonica, brown and low-glycemic rice, according to the ministry’s data.

Despite the niche market for the products, Hery said the worldwide disruptions to trade had impacted rice imports, increasing demand for the cooperative’s products.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, the country booked a 14.28 percent year-on-year (yoy) decrease in imports between January and June.

Furthermore, the rise of Indonesia’s upper-middle class has also supported demand growth for more expensive special rice varieties, which are considered healthier than regular rice.

“We are targeting the growing upper-middle class segment. As they’re extremely concerned with product quality, we pack our products neatly and market them through online marketplaces to attract customers,” he said.

Amid the growing demand for special rice varieties, Hery said high-quality seeds and fertilizers were crucial for successful cultivation. However, he added that the seeds sometimes were difficult to find.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Bali-based Jagadhita Farming Cooperative, Nyoman Suma Artha, voiced similar concerns, and urged the government to focus on improving fertilizer and seed quality to increase yields.

Nyoman said farmers in Bali could increase their rice production, in yield per hectare, by up to 5 tons by using high-quality fertilizers and seeds, double the yield rate of lower quality fertilizers.

“We could produce between 8 to 10 tons of dried grains [per ha] if we use high-quality fertilizers and the right techniques, while lower quality fertilizers and seeds produce only around 5 tons [per ha],” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry has set a rice production target of 62.5 million tons for 2021, 5 percent higher than this year’s target.

The government has allocated Rp 18.4 trillion (US$1.26 billion) for the ministry’s 2021 budget, of which around half has been allocated for programs to ensure the availability and accessibility of high-quality food.

However, Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said on July 7 that the allocation would not be enough to finance policies to ramp up food production, and proposed an additional Rp 10 trillion in next year's state budget to finance its planned policies.

“The Rp 18.4 trillion budget allocated to the ministry for 2021 is far from sufficient for the economy to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic in villages that heavily rely on agriculture, and to meet the food production target set in the government’s working plan,” Syahrul said in a hearing with the House of Representatives.

In 2019, prolonged drought led to a decline in Indonesia’s rice production, which was down 13.2 percent year-on-year to 16.1 million tons in the first half of 2020, according to the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Indonesia office.

 

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/28/alternative-rice-products-see-double-digit-growth-in-demand-amid-trade-disruption.html

 

China Food Crisis? Rising Domestic Prices And Large Import Purchases Send A Signal

Description: Sal Gilbertie

11,873 views|Jul 28, 2020,05:34pm EDT

Sal Gilbertie

Markets

I write about commodities through a three-decade lens of experience.

Empty plate (dark) and Chinese chopsticks on a dark background. Asian style, Asian cuisine. Copy ... [+]

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Rising demand, floods, insect infestations, and rumors of spoiled inventories are all contributing to China’s developing food related woes.

China has a food problem. To a nation whose leaders are old enough to have been directly impacted by The Great Famine, the seriousness of food shortages cannot be overestimated. China’s burgeoning population, growing industrial economy, and expanding culture of consumerism are all contributing to a steady rise in demand for agricultural products.

But agricultural production, lest anyone forget, is subject to the biblical forces of floods, fire, pestilence, and a host of other variables, some of which are right now upsetting China’s delicate food stability. The world’s most populous nation will certainly not run out of food, but prices are rising and hints of tightening supplies are beginning to appear. Things may get worse before they get better.

Three headline issues are challenging China right now: floods, pestilence, and inventory problems.

 

Above average rainfall and rising floodwaters are not just threatening to compromise China’s gargantuan Three Gorges Dam; rain and flooding are already disrupting rice, wheat and other crop production in the provinces all along the entire Yangtze River.

Perhaps this is why China, which holds just over half of the world’s wheat inventories and is the globe’s second largest producer of wheat (behind the European Union), has already imported more wheat in the first half of 2020 than it has in the first half of any year in the past decade. In the month of June alone, China’s single month import volume of wheat from all sources was the highest in seven years.

Inventory Problems and Insect Infestations Threaten Corn

According to the USDA, China is not only the world’ second largest corn producer (behind the United States), it will also hold a full sixty five percent of the world’s corn inventories at the end of this crop year. But last week press reports emerged citing the poor quality in some state owned corn inventories, some of which are years old. The reports coincided with two large Chinese purchases of corn from the United States, one of which was its largest purchase ever (1.76 million metric tons or 69 million bushels).

Furthermore, corn prices in China have risen to 5 year highs even though China has recently sold more than 1.4 billion bushels of corn out of state reserves, which would indicate there is a definite issue of some sort with China’s corn supply. The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service points to an unusually early and intense infestation of Fall Army Worm in June as the likely cause of China’s current corn angst.

Rising Demand

It is worth noting that year-to-date China is on pace to make its highest rate of US soybean purchases since 2014, and China’s June imports of soybeans from Brazil were up a staggering 91% from the year prior. China is aggressively buying soybeans and soybean products to feed its expanding swine herd, the world’s largest. In fact, the USDA projects that China will import from all sources a record total amount of soybeans next year.

Overall, the past few months have seen China increase its imports of pork, soybeans, soymeal, wheat, corn, sorghum and prepared/frozen foods from the United States and elsewhere. China can’t feed itself; it needs the world’s help, especially if its domestic production and inventories are compromised.

It’s too early to gauge the ultimate severity of China's total food woes, and it’s highly unlikely that the ripple effects of China's food issues will cascade through the global food chain, but right now Chinese leadership has food security as a top concern.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/salgilbertie/2020/07/28/china-food-crisis-rising-domestic-prices-and-large-import-purchases-send-a-signal/#56e4facb1bcb

 

VIETNAM'S JAN-JULY COFFEE EXPORTS DROP 0.1%, RICE DOWN 1.4%

7/28/2020

HANOI, July 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam's coffee exports in the first seven months of the year are expected to drop 1.4% from a year earlier to 1.06 million tonnes, and rice exports will likely drop 1.4%, government data released on Wednesday showed. COFFEE Coffee exports from Vietnam will likely decrease an estimated 1.4% in the first seven months of this year from a year earlier to 1.06 million tonnes, equal to 17.68 million 60-kg bags, the General Statistics Office said in a report on Wednesday. Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world's biggest producer of the robusta bean, will likely decrease 0.5% to $1.8 billion in the seven-month period, the report said. The country's coffee shipments in July are estimated at 120,000 tonnes valued at $213 million, it said. RICE Rice exports in the first seven months of this year from Vietnam were forecast to drop 1.4% from a year earlier to 3.9 million tonnes. Revenue from rice exports in the period was expected to rise 10.9% to $1.91 billion. July rice exports from Vietnam, the world's third-largest shipper of the grain, totalled 300,000 tonnes, worth $109 million ENERGY Vietnam's Jan-July crude oil exports were seen rising 18.7% from the same period last year to an estimated 2.8 million tonnes. Crude oil export revenue in January to July is expected to fall 25.2% to $915 million. Oil product imports in the first seven months were estimated at 6.9 million tonnes, up 41.9% from the same period last year, and the value of product imports rise 8.1% to $2.5 billion .

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen Editing by Ed Davies)

© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/vietnams-jan-july-coffee-exports-drop-01-rice-down-14

 

 

Researchers identify 4,200 years cooling event as key in rice evolution

Wednesday, 29 July, 2020, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Abu Dhabi, UAE

An international team of researchers, including some from NYU Abu Dhabi, have identified a global cooling event 4,200 years ago, as a key factor in the evolution of rice. The study indicates that the cooling may have created new varieties of rice, and driven the subsequent spread across Asia of this global staple.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, the research, published in Nature Plants, reconstructs the evolutionary history of rice and its migration throughout Asia. While rice is now ubiquitous in global diets, its development, which began 9,000 years ago in China’s Yangtze Valley, is not well understood. By understanding rice’s development, new varieties can be developed which meet environmental challenges, helping secure global food supplies.

The study indicates that the japonica subspecies of rice diversified into temperate and tropical varieties as a result of a major climate cooling about 4,200 years ago, which brought civilisation collapse in regions including Mesopotamia, China, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Researchers reconstructed the development of rice across Asia using whole-genome sequences of over 1,400 varieties in the two main subspecies of rice, japonica and indica, as well as geographic, archaeological, and historic climate data.

Lead scientist and Silver Professor of Biology at New York University, faculty investigator at NYUAD's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, and the leader of the study Michael Purugganan commented on the research: “We are always concerned with how climate change will affect food security, including here in the UAE and the Gulf. By trying to understand how crops have evolved in the past to adapt to past climate change and different environments, we can hopefully find genes to help us today and in the future.”

Tropical varieties of japonica continued evolving after the cooling event - likely supported by trade and travel networks – and the study finds tropical japonica reached Southeast Asian islands 2,500 years ago.  However, the evolution of indica was more recent, migrating into China approximately 2,000 years ago, having originated in India’s lower Ganges Valley around 4,000 years ago.

Genomic differences between tropical and temperate varieties of japonica uncovered in the study suggest that temperature was the most significant factor in rice’s evolutionary development.

The study involved researchers from across the world, including members of the Purugganan laboratory at the NYUAD Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, alongside experts at Pennsylvania State University, Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Manitoba, University College London, North-West University in China, University College Dublin, and the University of California San Diego.

 

http://www.fnbnews.com/Top-News/researchers-identify-4200-years-cooling-event-as-key-in-rice-evolution-60520

Rice Sustainability Focus of New USA Rice Podcast Episode  

By Deborah Willenborg

 

ARLINGTON, VA -- The second full episode of the USA Rice podcast, The Rice Stuff, went live today and features an in-depth discussion of the groundbreaking U.S. Rice Industry Sustainability Report with experts Lydia Holmes and Steve Linscombe.

"It's always been our intention to make about half of our episodes about the wonderful sustainability record of the U.S. rice industry, so starting at the beginning seemed to be the most appropriate way," said show co-host Michael Klein.  "The sustainability report tells a very impressive story of the industry's track record and commitment to the issue.  Steve puts the report's origins in sharp focus, and Lydia, having grown up on a rice farm in Arkansas, gives an excellent perspective on what all these numbers and statistics really mean."

Future sustainability episodes will dive into topics including row rice, water use and efficiency, energy and greenhouse gas emissions, the long-term sustainability targets of the industry, the notable conservation efforts being undertaken on the milling side of the house, biodiversity, and much more.
Description: C:\Users\abc\Downloads\unnamed (3).jpg
"I've interviewed Steve and Lydia a bunch of times about these issues for articles I've written," said show co-host Lesley Dixon, "but to have this conversation, this back and forth for the podcast audience, was a lot of fun.  I hope our listeners enjoy it as much as we did, and I also hope people share their sustainability efforts like we ask them to.  We can't wait to share those stories on future episodes."

New episodes of The Rice Stuff are published on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.  You can also listen to episodes at www.thericestuffpodcast.com.

 

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2020 Katy Rice Festival to be held virtually Oct. 9-11

Description: Katy rice festivalA zydeco musician performs at the 2019 Katy Rice Festival. At the 2020 festival, music will be livestreamed for viewers. (Jen Para/Community Impact Newspaper)

A zydeco musician performs at the 2019 Katy Rice Festival. At the 2020 festival, music will be livestreamed for viewers. (Jen Para/Community Impact Newspaper)

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The coronavirus pandemic will not stop the city of Katy from hosting the annual Katy Rice Festival in 2020.

Rather than hosting the event in person, the city will host the event online Oct. 9-11 with a virtual craft market, family activities and band performances that will be livestreamed, according to a July 27 Facebook post from the city of Katy.



“Unfortunately, due to uncertainty surrounding the current COVID-19 situation, the traditional festival format is not possible this year,” the post reads. “The health and safety of our patrons, vendors, artists, volunteers, partners, staff and the entire Katy community remains our highest priority. Rest assured, we are not just cancelling the event - THE [altered] SHOW MUST GO ON!”

More information about virtual activities will be revealed in the coming months, per the post.

Last year's three-day event included a parade, a craft market, live music and a carnival.

Katy Katy Rice Festival Coronavirus (COVID-19) Katy Events Katy Government

https://communityimpact.com/houston/katy/event-calendar/2020/07/27/2020-katy-rice-festival-to-be-held-virtually-oct-9-11/

The Food Standards Agency and supermarket giants Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda have issued a product recall on Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati ready to heat rice pouches.

Mars Food UK issued the warning on Uncle Ben's Brown Basmati Rice as it may contain traces of glass.

When a food product is recalled the Food Standards Agency provides details on what customers should do if they have bought the items, as well as information on why the product is being pulled from shelves.

The  Food Standards Agency  issues 'Product Withdrawal Information Notices' and 'Product Recall Information Notices' to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food.

Uncle Ben's Brown Basmati Microwave Rice

Mars Food UK is recalling the food with particular best before dates.

The Food Standards Agency website states: "Mars Food UK is recalling Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati ready to heat rice pouches as some packs may contain pieces of glass.

"The possible presence of glass makes this product unsafe to eat."

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Full list of affected packs

Best Before November 17, 2020

Best before December 8, 2020

Best before December 9, 2020

Best before January 8, 2021

Best before January 18, 2021

Best before January 19, 2021

Best before March 2, 2021

Best before March 16, 2021

Best before March 20, 2021

Best before May 24, 2021

Best before July 3, 2021

Best before June 14, 2021

Best before June 15, 2021

Best before July 19, 2021

Check the best before dates

The packs affected are 250 grams.

Customers are advised to return the faulty packs to the store where it was bought for a full refund.

Shoppers can also get in touch with Uncle Ben's consumer care line on 0800-952-1234 to arrange a refund.

All supermarkets selling the rice will have point-of-sale notices in store giving more information.

The notices say: "Uncle Ben's is voluntarily recalling Uncle Ben's Brown Basmati 250g ready to heat rice pouches. 

"This is a precautionary recall due to the possible presence of glass.

"No other best before dates or Uncle Ben's products are affected by this recall."

Nigel Slater's midweek dinner

Food

Nigel Slater’s recipe for brown basmati, courgettes and tomatoes

Chewy brown rice with a selection of healthy herby veg

Tue 28 Jul 2020 12.00 BST

 Nice rice: brown basmati with courgettes and tomatoes. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

The recipe

Wash 150g of brown basmati rice in a bowl of deep water. (I do this three times, some might say once is enough.) Put the rice in a medium-sized saucepan, cover it with twice the volume of water and bring to the boil. Add half a teaspoon of salt, 6 black peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves and cover with a lid, lowering the heat so the water simmers gently. Leave for 15 minutes, or until the rice is as you like it, then remove from the heat and set aside, still covered, for 10 minutes.

 

The tomatoes provide a sweet-sharp sauce to which you can add almost anything you like

Cut 2 small to medium courgettes into 1cm dice. Finely slice 2 medium leeks. Melt 30g of butter in a large frying pan, add 3 tbsp of olive oil and heat until they start to sizzle. Add the courgette, lower the heat, and cook until they start to soften and turn pale gold in colour.

Finely chop the leaves from a couple of bushy sprigs of rosemary and add to the courgette. Fry for a minute or two then stir in the leeks and leave to cook for 7-10 minutes, until the leeks have softened.

Chop 3 medium tomatoes and scatter among the vegetables, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt, quite generously with black pepper and a generous squeeze of lemon.

Run a fork through the rice to separate the grains, then fold into the vegetables and serve. Enough for 2.

The trick

I like the inherent chewy quality of brown rice, especially when the juices from a vegetable stew such as this trickle through the grains. It takes a little longer than white rice to cook, but not as much as is often suggested. I would normally recommend not to lift the lid from a pot of cooking rice to check its progress, but as brown rice is generally more variable, it is worth checking regularly after the first 10 minutes.

The twist

I do this sort of impromptu “stew” most often in summer. The tomatoes provide a sweet-sharp sauce to which you can add almost anything you like. Steamed French beans or broad beans; peas or pencil-thin carrots; young, steamed beetroot or small summer turnips will all work. Basil leaves are a favourite addition, as are young leaves and flower of thyme. A scattering of mint is something to think about, as is the addition of a bunch of washed and shredded spinach at the very end.

Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater

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https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jul/28/nigel-slater-recipe-brown-basmati-rice-courgettes-and-tomatoes

Packets of rice recalled as they may contain glass

Either return them to the shop or contact the manufacturer for a full refund

·         07:15, 28 JUL 2020

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The Food Standards Agency has issued a product recall for packets of rice which may contain glass.

Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati rice pouches have been recalled.

The Food Standards Agency website reads: "Mars Food UK is recalling Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati ready to heat rice pouches as some packs may contain pieces of glass.

"The possible presence of glass makes this product unsafe to eat."

The packets are 250g pouches with a range of best before dates - between November 17, 2020 and July 19, 2021.

Anyone who has bought the product has been warned not to eat it. Instead return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund or dispose of it and contact Uncle Ben’s consumer care line on 0800-952-1234 for a full refund.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/packets-rice-recalled-contain-glass-18673314

 

DA aims to make Filipino rice farmers competitive

By DAPublished on July 28, 2020

QUEZON CITY, July 28 -- The Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) is on track in providing rice farmers appropriate machinery and equipment under the Duterte administration’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program.

Description: https://files.pia.gov.ph/source/2020/07/28/no-226-da-aims-to-make-filipino-rice-farmers-competitive.jpgDA will continue to boost farm mechanization  to help rice farmers. Photo by DA

“We will continue to boost farm mechanization to reduce production costs, enable our rice farmers produce more harvests, earn bigger incomes, and subsequently compete with their counterparts in ASEAN,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

To date, the DA-PhilMech has procured and currently distributing 2,938 farm machinery and equipment worth P2 billion (B) to 625 RCEF-accredited farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) nationwide.

The second batch of 4,996 units — worth P3B under the P5-B RCEF farm mechanization component for 2019 — is under a bidding process and expected to be completed by July 31, 2020, said DA-PhilMech director Baldwin Jallorina. Thereafter, the farm machines and equipment will be given to the second batch of 1,068 FCAs.

For the 2020 P5-B RCEF farm mechanization budget, Jallorina said the DA-PhilMech has to date validated 2,587 FCA applicants, of which 1,259 FCAs have been shortlisted and qualified to receive 4,543 farm machineries.

“With the sustained and vigorous implementation of the RCEF program, coupled with our Rice Resiliency Project (RRP), we expect Filipino rice farmers to be at par with their counterparts in the ASEAN, in terms of cost efficiency and productivity, in the next three years,” the DA chief said.

Currently, Filipino farmers spend an average of P10 on labor, seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs to produce one kilogram (kg) of palay (paddy rice), while the country’s average harvest is at four metric tons (MT) per hectare (ha).

Farmers in Thailand and Vietnam spend an equivalent P8/kg and P5/kg, respectively, to produce one kilo of palay.

Studies conducted by the DA-PhilMech and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) show that the country’s high production cost is attributed to several factors, namely: heavy reliance on manual operations from land preparation to harvesting; high cost of farm inputs, notably fertilizers; lack of irrigation; inaccessible and inadequate credit; usurious loans offered by traders; and low productivity.

“We are confident that with appropriate interventions and assistance under RCEF and RRP, we can reduce our production cost to P8 per kilo and increase our national average yield to six tons per hectare, in the next three years,” said Secretary Dar.

“Further, to take optimum advantage of the Duterte administration’s farm mechanization program, we will strongly encourage RCEF farmers to collectivize, and consolidate their farms into contiguous clusters of at least 50 to 100 hectares each,” the DA chief added.

In fact, Jallorina said the DA-PhilMech prioritizes provision of assistance to clustered FCAs.

“Farm consolidation and clustering is one of the major features of a modern, industrialized, market-driven, sustainable and resilient Philippine agriculture,” Secretary Dar said.

“In all, we need to raise the productivity and incomes of Filipino farmers to enable them to cope with the COVID-19 crisis,” he added said.

“Rest assured, the DA family will do its utmost to propel the agriculture sector as a major player in the nation’s economic recovery efforts,” concluded Secretary Dar. ### (DA PhilMech and DA StratComms)

https://pia.gov.ph/press-releases/releases/1048743

 

Rice Exporters in India Struggle To Fulfil Orders With Lack Of Containers And Workers

 

India’s rice exporters are attempting to satiate orders because of constrained accessibility of workers and containers at plants and the greatest taking care of port on the east coast after novel coronavirus cases hopped in the locale. Easing back shipments from the world’s greatest rice exporter could permit rivals like Thailand and Vietnam to bring supplies up for the time being, and furthermore conveys the possibility to push up worldwide costs.

Kakinada is situated in East Godavari locale of the southern territory of Andhra Pradesh – a region that has been announcing in excess of 1,000 new infection contaminations consistently – represents in excess of a fourth of India’s rice shipments. In the following barely any months, India could trade around 100,000 tons less rice for every month as the work lack implies rice plants are working at lower limit, Rao said.

Rice exporters working outside Andhra Pradesh state have likewise been hit by constrained accessibility of compartments, said Ashwin Shah, chief at Shah Nanji Nagsi Exports Pvt. Ltd, an exporter situated in Nagpur in focal India. India was offering 5% broken parboiled assortment RI-INBKN5-P1 at around $380 per ton on a free-on-board premise a week ago, while Thailand was offering a similar evaluation at around $460. African purchasers were effectively purchasing non-basmati rice, while request is useful for basmati rice from the Middle East, said Nitin Gupta, VP of broker Olam India’s rice business.

https://daywebchronicle.com/2020/07/28/rice-exporters-in-india-struggle-to-fulfil-orders-with-lack-of-containers-and-workers/

 

Indian rice exports slow on virus impact


Tuesday, 28 Jul 2020

 

Slowing exports: Indian workers packing 50 kg bags of fine polished rice at a rice mill. Slowing shipments from the world’s biggest rice exporter could allow rivals like Thailand and Vietnam to raise supplies in the short term, and also carries the potential to push up global prices. — AFP

MUMBAI: India’s rice exporters are struggling to fulfil orders due to limited availability of containers and workers at mills and the biggest handling port on the east coast after novel coronavirus cases jumped in the region, industry officials told Reuters.

Slowing shipments from the world’s biggest rice exporter could allow rivals like Thailand and Vietnam to raise supplies in the short term, and also carries the potential to push up global prices.

“The vessel loading rate at Kakinada port has gone down by nearly 30%, ” said BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association.

Kakinada is located in East Godavari district of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh - a district that has been reporting more than 1,000 new virus infections every day - accounts for more than a quarter of India’s rice shipments.

“Labourers are working only on day shifts and not doing night shift, ” Rao said.

In the next few months, India could export around 100,000 tonnes less rice per month as the labour shortage means rice mills are operating at lower capacity, Rao said.

Rice exporters operating outside Andhra Pradesh state have also been hit by limited availability of containers, said Ashwin Shah, director at Shah Nanji Nagsi Exports Pvt Ltd, an exporter based in Nagpur in central India.

“There are logistical problems in executing export orders. Otherwise demand is good as Indian rice is cheaper, ” Shah said.

India was offering 5% broken parboiled variety at around US$380 per tonne on a free-on-board basis last week, while Thailand was offering the same grade at around US$460.

African buyers were actively buying non-basmati rice, while demand is good for basmati rice from the Middle East, said Nitin Gupta, vice president of trader Olam India’s rice business. — Reuters

TAGS / KEYWORDS:Rice , India , Exports , Virus ,

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/07/28/indian-rice-exports-slow-on-virus-impact

 

Sri Lanka state agencies to buy 200,000 tonnes of rice in Yala

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s state agencies are planning to buy 200,000 metric tonnes of rice and the Finance Minister said it had released 10.4 billion rupees for the program.

The funds have been issued to state-run Paddy Marketing Board to buy paddy in the upcoming Yala minor cropping season.

Harvesting is due to begin now from Kurunegala and Baticaloa.

The total harvest is expected to be 1.7 million metric tons in the Yala season, the Department of Agriculture has said.

The government has said all types of paddy will be bought at 50 rupees a kilogram regardless of the type of rice.

Since different types of rice have different market prices, the economic consequences of the move is not yet known.

The purchase price had also been raised from an earlier 38 rupees for Nadu and 41 rupees for Samba.

During an ongoing election campaign, famers in some areas have called for extra water saying only 50 percent of the land could be cultivated with the water issued.

During the Maha, main cultivation season, usually 3.5 million tonnes of paddy is harvested. (Colombo/May28/2020)

https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-state-agencies-to-buy-200000-tonnes-of-rice-in-yala-72450/

 

Govt: 7,147 tons of rice distributed among flood-affected people

 BSS

Published at 03:30 pm July 28th, 2020

Description: Woman marooned in Kurigram flood wades through water. Photo taken on Saturday, July 26, 2020

Woman marooned in Kurigram flood wades through water. Photo taken on Saturday, July 26, 2020 Dhaka Tribune

The government has opened 1,603 flood shelter centers in the flood prone areas where 89,300 people have taken refuge

A total of 7,147 tons of rice has so far been distributed among the flood affected people across the country.

“The government has distributed a total of 7,147 tons of rice among the flood-hit people in 31 districts across the country,” said an official release on Tuesday.

The government also distributed Tk20,212,700 in cash among flood victims. Tk3,494,000 has also been distributed for purchasing baby food till July 27, said the release.

In addition to that, district administrations have distributed 82,000 packets of dry food among flood-affected people.

The government has opened 1,603 flood shelter centers in the flood prone areas where 89,300 people have taken refuge.

In flood-affected districts, a total of 901 medical teams have been assembled, with 385 of them currently on duty.

The flood affected districts are Dhaka, Gazipur, Tangail, Manikganj, Faridpur, Munshiganj, Rajbari, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Kishorganj, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Jamalpur, Chandpur, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Brahmanbaria, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Natore, Sirajganj, Bogra, Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Hobiganj and Sunamganj.

 

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/2020/07/28/govt-7-147-tons-of-rice-distributed-among-flood-affected-people

 

Vietnam emerges as the world’s No2 rice exporter

Vietnam has beaten Thailand to become the second biggest rice exporter in the world after the latter decided to slash rice exports due to prolonged drought and strong baht.

 First half: Rice export bags USD1.71 billion

 

Description: http://en.dangcongsan.vn/DATA/3/2020/07/gao-17_02_39_509.jpg

Photo for illustration (vneconomy.vn)

Statistics show Thailand exported 2.57 million tonnes of rice for 54.2 billion baht in the first five months of the year, decreasing 31.9% in volume and 13.2% compared to the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam shipped nearly 2.9 million tonnes for US$1.41 billion in the reviewed period, increasing 5.1% in volume and 18.9% in value year on year.

Vietnam has succeeded in selling rice at cheaper prices than Thailand, and it has recently won contracts to export the commodity to key important markets such as China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

In addition, Vietnam and the European Union have ratified their free trade agreement (EVFTA), opening the door for more Vietnamese rice to be shipped to the EU.

Those advantageous factors helped Vietnam surpass Thailand to secure its second place just behind India. The country is expected to sell 6.7 million tonnes of rice abroad this year, 

Thailand has cut rice export volume due to prolonged drought and strong baht – its currency.

The Thai Rice Exporters Association said the country’s rice export for the whole year 2020 could reach 6.5 million tonnes, a 10-year record low and even lower than the forecast 7.5 million tonnes.

According to experts, Thailand is likely to fall from third to fifth place in the list of global rice exporters in the next decade unless it develops a long-term policy of increasing the competitiveness of its rice.

Africa, which consumes up to 55% of Thailand’s total rice export volume, is eyeing other exporters offering rice at cheaper prices./.

http://en.dangcongsan.vn/economics/vietnam-emerges-as-the-world-s-no2-rice-exporter-557349.htmlhttps://dailypakistan.com.pk/28-Jul-2020/1164066

 


Increased Farmer Enrolment Boosts Productivity Of PFJ Amidst COVID-19

28-Jul-2020

 

A total of 1.5 million farmers have been enrolled unto the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative from inception to date, the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, has said.
From a total of 202,000 farmers in 2017 when the initiative began, an additional 300,000 farmers were registered onto the programme, increasing the number of beneficiaries from the initial target of 1.2 million to the current 1.5 million in the wake of COVID-19 to enhance food production.

Presenting the mid-year review of the 2020 budget in Parliament in Accra on July 23, 2020, Mr Ofori-Atta said due to the overwhelming success and attractiveness of the PFJ programme, the scope had evolved to five modules.

These are the: Food Crop Development; Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD); Mechanisation; Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ); Greenhouse Capacity Development modules.

Agricultural modernisation
The government launched the PFJ programme to help address the myriad problems that had beset the agricultural sector and accounted for its low performance over the years.

The objectives of the programme are to: ensure timely and adequate availability of selected food crops through improved productivity; provide job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth; and create general awareness for all formal workers to have either farms or backyard gardens.

“As a result of the usage of improved seeds and fertiliser by farmers, productivity of selected food crops has increased. National maize production increased by 71 per cent from 1.7 million mt in 2016 to 2.9 million mt in 2019, while paddy rice increased by 34 per cent from 688,000 mt in 2016 to 925,000 mt in 2019,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.

He said one of the most significant achievements of the PFJ initiative had been the increase in productivity of the selected food crops as a result of the usage of improved seeds and fertiliser distributed to farmers.

Agric and jobs

“Available data on the PFJ, based on empirical estimation from the field throughout the country over the last three years, depicts an increase in jobs (labour for planting, weeding, harvesting, processing, loading and offloading of farm inputs and produce, among others),” Mr Ofori-Atta stated.

The jobs created are 746,601 in 2017, 794,944 in 2018 and 746,984 in 2019, for a cumulative total of 2,288,529 jobs.  

Food exports
Data from the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) shows an increase of 56.6 per cent in exports of foodstuffs to neighbouring countries between 2016 and 2019 from 85,000 mt to 133,145 mt.

The government embarked on the construction of 30 warehouses, each with a capacity of 1,000 MT throughout the country as part of measures to ensure food security, reduce post-harvest losses, guarantee farmer incomes and improve marketing.

To date, 17 of the warehouses have been completed, with the remaining scheduled for completion by end of December 2020.

Also, 6,270 units of agric machinery and equipment have been supplied to farmers.

Outlook
As of the end of December 2019, a number of 296 graduates had been trained on greenhouse vegetable production at three government-established greenhouse training centres with commercial components, each on a five-hectare piece of land, at Dawhenya, Akumadan and Bawjiase under the Greenhouse Capacity Development Module — Greenhouse Villages.

An additional 180 graduates were targeted for training in 2020, of which 61 had been trained as of end June 2020. The remaining 119 graduates are scheduled to receive their training during the second half of the year.

Under the mechanisation module, 6,270 units of agricultural machinery and equipment were supplied to mechanisation service providers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and farmer-based organisations to improve access to mechanisation services.

This has reduced drudgery in farming and has improved efficiency in the operational activities of farmers to enhance productivity.

Mr Ofori-Atta said in the second half of the year, the government would conclude arrangements for the importation of about US$31 million worth of farm machinery and equipment, including hand-held equipment, tractors, combine harvesters and rice mills under the third tranche of the Brazil “More Food International Programme”.

Irrigation
A total of 7,141ha of land are being developed for various irrigation systems. These include Tamne phases I & II, Mprumem phases I & II, rehabilitation and expansion of existing schemes at Tono, Kpong Irrigation Schemes (KIS) and Kpong Left Bank Irrigation Project (KLBIP).

In addition, the government has invested in numerous small earth dams in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Savannah regions to provide farmers with easy access to water.

As of June 2020, 11 out of 14 programmed small earth dams had been completed. An estimated irrigable area of 224ha will be developed in the next phase of construction.

In the second half of the year, the government will complete the resettlement of people at Tamne and Mprumem to pave the way for completion of these projects.

The Tono and KLBIP will be completed by December 2020. The remaining three small earth dams, which are expected to irrigate over 80ha of crop lands, will also be constructed at the Dawhenya Greenhouse Village, Kaniago and Ohawu Agricultural College.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture includes;
-    Increase in prices of agricultural inputs
-    Significant post-harvest losses
-    Decrease in labour

https://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/business/news/202007/421380.php


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