Friday, July 03, 2020

3rd July 2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

China to aid with installation of phytosanitary system in Pakistan

In a meeting between Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam and Yao Jing, Ambassador of China, it had been decided that China will help in installing phytosanitary system for increasing fruit export and building vocational & technical agriculture institutions for training farmers.
Fakhar Imam said that Pakistan’s future will be much dependant on agriculture. He said that both countries need to revisit the contours of agricultural sector and that technical experts from both sides should directly interact with each other to come up with concrete projects for agricultural research.
Federal Minister said that Pakistan was facing problem of low yields, so there must be exchange of germplasm as an area of cooperation which will provide an opportunity to develop high yielding varieties for cotton, fruit, hybrid rice and wheat by our research centers.
An MoU had already been signed in March 2020 between Pakistan and China during the visit of the President of Pakistan to China. The MoU is aimed at establishing a Joint Plan Pest and Disease Control Centre in Pakistan. Establishment of the Centre is extremely important as there is no such centre in Pakistan and the nation is plagued by locusts.
Source: nation.com.pk
Wheat and flour crisis: Powerful hoarders amassed 5mmt wheat illegally

ISLAMABAD: Scores of powerful hoarders have illegally stockpiled over five million metric tons wheat this year, officials of the Ministry of National food Security and Research reveal.

"Hoarding of wheat is a major concern this (harvesting) season,” a senior official of the ministry told this correspondent, asking not to be named. “An estimated five million metric tons of wheat is being kept unlawfully either by an influential middlemen, businessmen or flour mills owners,” he said.

The development happened at a time when price of wheat flour surged by an alarming 65 percent in the open market during past 21 months; an unusual indicator that exposed government’s weak strategy over mechanism of controlling essential commodities’ prices.

Large quantities of the crop have been hidden in rice mills, sugar mills, spinning mills and warehouses owned by influential individuals, the official added. Most of these warehouses and mills are located on the bordering areas of the four provinces, namely Kashmore, Sadiqabad, Rahimyar Khan, Bhakkar, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar, amongst others. “These hoarders have strong political backings,” the senior official explained, “And a few are even in the current government,” he added.

A flour bag weighing 20 kg was available for Rs640 (ex-mill price) during Sept 2018 which has now jumped up to Rs1,050 to Rs1, 070 per bag in the open market in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, while in KP it is touching up to Rs1,100 to Rs. 1,150, weeks long investigation by The News revealed on authority. Over 30 percent increase in flour prices was witnessed in past four weeks as price of a 20kg bag shot up from Rs810 to Rs1,070, revealed official figures.

Pakistan has missed its target of wheat procurement by around 20 percent this year. The government set a target of lifting 8.2mmt wheat, which was 32 percent of the total production, but it could only procure 6.6mmt.

“Extra profit of billions of rupees was directly going into pockets of middlemen, hoarders, traders, flour mills owners and artees,” informed officials further said, adding that total amount of additional profit could not be counted but it must be over Rs100 billion in past four months.

Wheat flour prices alarmingly started soaring up since July last year, as the official record showed that a 20kg flour bag was being sold at Rs854 in open market during August 2019, Rs908 during January 2020, Rs912 during April 2020, Rs972 during first week of June this year and now this 20kg flour bag has crossed upwards of Rs1, 045. Official statistics also reveal that the provincial food departments have had 20 percent less stocks as compared to last year which was 7.8mmt. Departments have stockpiles of 6.9mmt wheat as on June 17, 2020, according to official data.

Punjab procured 4.08mmt this year, lower than the 4.9mmt is lifted last year. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa procured 0.44mmt, a decline from 0.96mmt last year. However, Sindh and Balochistan picked up a larger share of the crop, compared to 2019. This year, Sindh procured 1.2mmt, while last year it only got 0.8mmt. Balochistan procured 0.92mmt.

The federal government has decided to import 3mmt wheat, a record quantity for the first time in eleven years, in an attempt to quell escalating prices and to replenish its stocks in anticipation of decline in surpluses by end of this year. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has already given a go ahead for import of 0.5mmt wheat, a move happening for the first time since 2009. As per official data, Pakistan has been collectively maintaining up to 8.386mmt surplus wheat since 2009 to 2018. Food departments recorded storage of 5.584mmt surplus wheat during 2009-10, 6.01mmt during 2010-11, 4.119mmt during 2011-12, 2.498mmt during 2012-13, 3.376mmt during 2013-14, 4.955mmt during 2014-15, 5.03mmt during 2015-16, 6.015mmt during 2016-17, 5.989mmt during 2017-18 and 1.336mmt surplus wheat during 2018-19.

Meanwhile, the administration in all districts have set in place measures to penalise hoarding, in order to ensure there is no shortage of the food crop in the country. Interestingly, government officials claim that the Pakistan Flour Mills Association lifted an estimated 2mmt of the crop, but the PFMA chairman told The News that he only purchased 60,000 to 70,000mmt from the open market as the provincial food departments did not allow the Association to buy more.

Pakistan is likely to consume 27.47mmt of wheat from April 2020 to April 2021, according to official statistics. But the total production in the country was only 25.457mmt.

However, if Pakistan were to import wheat to fill the shortfall in demand, it could end up paying Rs1,963 per 40kg, official figures reveal. The price of the ‘Red Hard Winter’ variety of wheat, grown mostly in the United States, would be $266 per ton, including freight charges of $50 per ton. Moreover, imported wheat will be available in cities like Multan with an additional cost of Rs100 per 40kg, on account of transportation charges, official documents noted.

According to Dr Aslam Gill, the former wheat commissioner, wheat has now become a political commodity, the same as sugar. “Politically influential people have been hoarding wheat in huge quantities to control the market,” Gill said. “Price hike is not due to any deficiencies in the supply chain, rather it is due to millers and the middle men’s monopoly. Also, the failure of the food department to check such practices.”

This year, the state-run Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) and provincial governments set up 1,162 wheat purchasing centres across the country. The centres were to facilitate farmers to sell their crops at fixed rates.

Separately, the Ministry of National Food, Passco and secretaries of food departments of provinces set the wheat procurement target of Passco at 1.8mmt wheat, of which purchase for Punjab was 4.5mmt, Sindh 1.4mmt, Balochistan 1mmt and KP 0.45mmt.

But due to the scarcity of the crop, Passco will now be releasing 0.25mmt of wheat to flour mills to ease the shortage and the resulting price hike. However, they fear that an early release of wheat to flour mills and hoarding of surplus wheat may lead to another crisis during October and November this year. As per the general practice, Passco releases wheat to mills around August every year, not earlier.

Fresh price hike further burdens the consumers after earlier increases in flour prices went unnoticed, Asim Raza Ahmad, chairman PFMA said. If flour mills do not get permits for wheat procurement within this week, the price of flour within the province will rise upwards once more, he feared.

The country produced 249.556mmt wheat during 10 years while its domestic consumption remained at 241.17mmt wheat during those seasons. Pakistan exported record 10.5mmt wheat during past ten years while it imported only 1mmt wheat during this period, revealed official figures exclusively obtained by this correspondent.

Thus millers say a 20kg wheat bag cost Rs960 in the open market while its grinding charges remain Rs80 to Rs90 conclusively covering all the charges.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/681427-wheat-and-flour-crisis-powerful-hoarders-amassed-5mmt-wheat-illegally

Flour millers seek 23% cut in wheat price under open market sale scheme

By: FE Bureau |

Published: July 3, 2020 7:11 AM

As per weather reports, kharif 2020 is going to be normal and next rabi crop also may be bumper. So, the storage gap will eventually widen.

Wheat has to be milled for consumption.

Flour millers have demanded the current wheat price under the open market sale scheme (OMSS) be cut by 23% and also have assured the government that they will lift 10 million tonne from the
official stock.
A decrease in the reserve price may help the government to reduce the stockpiles of the cereal with the Food Corporation of India, which is double than the buffer norm of 27.6 million tonne as on July 1.

Import and die

By: Ernesto M. Ordoñez - @inquirerdotnet

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

Unrestricted poultry imports at a time of oversupply and depressed prices may mean the death of the industry.
This unabated import flow must be addressed with a calibrated strategy. Consider the table on the right.

Farmers lost 38-49 percent of their production cost. On the other hand, retailers got 40-60 percent more than the suggested retail price (SRP). The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry jointly determined that the SRP should be at most P60 above the farm-gate price. In other words, the farmers suffered while retailers benefited. The Price Act law was not effectively implemented.
In addition, there was a large oversupply. Frozen poultry inventory doubled from 47 million tons last year to 82.6 tons this year. Of this increase, local poultry supply rose by only 19 percent, while imports grew by 183 percent.
On May 8, with losses mounting and an oversupply increasing mainly due to imports, the Urban Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) wrote the DA to request import action. On May 28, Ubra showed a DA video where, at a scheduled meeting, a DA official said local producers should regulate their production to make way for imports. A higher DA official later clarified that this was not their official position.
To date, Ubra says there is still no significant DA action on poultry imports, which continue unabated. Since I was a vice president for Asia of the United Nations Council for Trade and Development, I discussed with Ubra three policy suggestions:
– In the past, the DA discouraged importation of rice and corn during harvest time. Can the DA not do the same temporarily for poultry during this time of oversupply?
– If late Sen. Eduardo Angara suspended poultry importation for 90 days because it was facing a similar crisis, can the DA not follow this example?
– Since the rice quantitative restrictions (QRs) we got were given as a trade off for decreasing the tariff on mechanically deboned meat from 35 percent to 5 percent, why has there been no action to restore the tariff to 35 percent since we no longer have rice QRs?
On operations, there were two recommendations:
– After 22 years, why has the DA still not implemented Sections 38-42 of the Agriculture Fisheries Modernization Act, or Republic Act No. 8435? This mandates the creation of a market information system. Being largely blind, it is difficult to address smuggling and other critical agriculture issues.

– Why has the DA not yet established quarantine facilities major ports of entry? These could have detected the African swine fever that is destroying our hog industry, and can prevent entry of the China swine flu that was announced last June 30 as having “pandemic potential.”
Agriculture Secretary William Dar has been prevented by some internal DA personnel from knowing important details. We must work together to calibrate our imports during this pandemic. Otherwise, industries like poultry will die, and the government’s fight against poverty will be seriously undermined.
The author is Agriwatch chair, former Secretary of Presidential Programs and Projects and former undersecretary of Agriculture and Trade and Industry. Contact him via agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com

ICD, Ngp registers 60% jump in rice exports

Date :03-Jul-2020

By Ravi Chandpurkar :

On a monthly average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers compared to the previous year

Although most businesses are facing plethora of problems owing to lockdown induced by COVID-19, ICD, Nagpur managed by CONCOR has registered a jump in rice exports. “The company has registered 60 per cent rise in exports of rice compared to the year-ago period,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, Chief Manager of ICD, Nagpur while speaking to The Hitavada. He said that there had been a substantial rise in exports of rice especially during the months of May and June. On a monthly average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers compared to the previous year. Major supplies of rice comes from Gondia and Raipur to CONCOR’s Inland Container Depot, MIHAN.

The rice is mostly exported to countries in the Middle East and Africa. “On the other hand, the imports have fallen by 50 per cent this year as compared to the previous year. This year, on a monthly average 1,000 containers are being imported as compared to monthly average of 2,000 containers of the previous year at ICD, Nagpur,” he said. Lack of demand, prevailing economic situation and strain in relations between India and China have contributed to the fall in imports. Clothes, consumer durables and toys were mostly imported from China, but these imports have dipped,” he said. CONCOR’s ICD, Nagpur has shifted 80 per cent of its operations to its new sprawling location at MIHAN.

The remaining 20 per cent operations will be shifted within two months, he said. The ICD, MIHAN is spread over an area of 110 acres compared to 35 acres at Ajni. Shifting to MIHAN has not only given three times more space but advantage of being closer to the industries located at MIHAN-SEZ, Butibori MIDC and Hingna MIDC. With the new facility in MIHAN, CONCOR is offering 10 per cent lower container handling and freight rates.

Currently the handling rates of 20 feet container is Rs 2,500 and for 40 feet container Rs 4,500. Similarly the freight rates for 20 feet container is Rs 28,000 whereas for 40 feet the rate is Rs 37,100. Other than container import and export services, the new facility at MIHAN offers domestic railway wagon handling services. Currently, the company is handling about three to four rakes per month. Mostly dals, foodgrains and rice is handled on domestic routes by rail, he further added.

https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2020/7/3/ICD-Ngp-registers-60-jump-in-rice-exports.html

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Import and die

By: Ernesto M. Ordoñez - @inquirerdotnet

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

Unrestricted poultry imports at a time of oversupply and depressed prices may mean the death of the industry.

This unabated import flow must be addressed with a calibrated strategy. Consider the table on the right.

In addition, there was a large oversupply. Frozen poultry inventory doubled from 47 million tons last year to 82.6 tons this year. Of this increase, local poultry supply rose by only 19 percent, while imports grew by 183 percent.

On May 8, with losses mounting and an oversupply increasing mainly due to imports, the Urban Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) wrote the DA to request import action. On May 28, Ubra showed a DA video where, at a scheduled meeting, a DA official said local producers should regulate their production to make way for imports. A higher DA official later clarified that this was not their official position.

To date, Ubra says there is still no significant DA action on poultry imports, which continue unabated. Since I was a vice president for Asia of the United Nations Council for Trade and Development, I discussed with Ubra three policy suggestions:

– In the past, the DA discouraged importation of rice and corn during harvest time. Can the DA not do the same temporarily for poultry during this time of oversupply?

– If late Sen. Eduardo Angara suspended poultry importation for 90 days because it was facing a similar crisis, can the DA not follow this example?

– Since the rice quantitative restrictions (QRs) we got were given as a trade off for decreasing the tariff on mechanically deboned meat from 35 percent to 5 percent, why has there been no action to restore the tariff to 35 percent since we no longer have rice QRs?

On operations, there were two recommendations:

– After 22 years, why has the DA still not implemented Sections 38-42 of the Agriculture Fisheries Modernization Act, or Republic Act No. 8435? This mandates the creation of a market information system. Being largely blind, it is difficult to address smuggling and other critical agriculture issues.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar has been prevented by some internal DA personnel from knowing important details. We must work together to calibrate our imports during this pandemic. Otherwise, industries like poultry will die, and the government’s fight against poverty will be seriously undermined.

The author is Agriwatch chair, former Secretary of Presidential Programs and Projects and former undersecretary of Agriculture and Trade and Industry. Contact him via agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com

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ADB projects food crisis amid Covid pandemic

FE REPORT | Published: July 03, 2020 10:33:46 | Updated: July 03, 2020 12:44:41

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned of food insecurity in Bangladesh during this protracted Covid-19 pandemic for its higher dependence on Indian rice.
Bangladesh and two other South Asian peers-Nepal and Sri Lanka-would be vulnerable to trade disruptions, given their high reliance on rice imports from India.
The note of caution came from a latest report of the Manila-based lender styled 'Food Security in Asia and the Pacific amid the Covid-19 Pandemic'.
The lender said the pandemic increased food security risks in Asia and the Pacific as strict quarantine measures and export bans on basic food items have affected all stages of food supply chain.
Since nearly 90 per cent of Bangladeshi workers are working in the informal sector, it said, they would be at higher risk of impoverishment because of the crisis.
From the South Asian perspective, the informal workers are 70 per cent in this subcontinent, the ADB informed.
"Household food consumption and nutrition have been significantly affected by loss of jobs and income and limited access to food," the food security report said.
"Informal sector workers-70 per cent of total employment in the SA region- in particular, are at higher risk," it added.
Citing the 2007-2008 food crisis, the report said it was estimated that 45 per cent of the increase in rice prices and 30 per cent in wheat prices resulted from trade restrictions during the crisis.
Compared with that crisis, the current food security concern is mainly driven by supply disruptions and logistic constraints caused by quarantine and lockdown measures, it apprehended.
As of May and since the COVID-19 outbreak, 22 countries have implemented restrictive food trade policy measures.
Learning lessons from the 2007-2008 crisis, regional policy-makers need to be careful not to turn a health crisis into a food crisis.
The report suggested keeping food supply chains secure and functioning and mitigating the pandemic's impact on vulnerable groups.
Policy responses to COVID-19 in Asia's developing countries have focused more on social protection and production support than on banning food exports, it said.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting both food supply and demand with uncertain effects on food prices," the according to the report.
"The likely path of food prices will be subject to the duration of the pandemic, dynamics of food supply and demand as well as policy actions to mitigate effects."
For consumers, the ADB has suggested governments increase coverage, relax conditionalities and enhance the benefits of social protection programmes, particularly during lockdowns.
These are critical to ensure that vital support reaches those disproportionately affected by COVID-19's health and economic impacts.
For producers, the ADB has advised enhancing immediate support to smallholder farmers' access to markets.
During lockdown, it is challenging for farmers in rural areas where updated information is limited to knowing where ad hoc or non-regular markets are taking place.
The lender has also recommended free trade and regional cooperation.
"Countries should collaborate to avert food shortages and price spikes by ensuring free trade and strengthening regional mechanisms for food security."
It also suggests direct online marketing, enhanced price risk management system, movement toward agricultural technology, institutional and legislative reforms, and targeted support to poor and smallholder farmers through agricultural reforms.
However, Bangladesh is on a comfortable zone so far as its rice production has been satisfactory in the last Boro season.
A recent World Agricultural Production report of the US Department of Agriculture estimated that Bangladesh would have 36-million tonnes or rice during the 2020-21 period.
The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute said the country's annual consumption requirement of rice is 35-million tonnes and last year's total production was higher than the estimated demand.
Until May 11, rice stock at public godowns was 0.99-million tonnes and wheat stock 0.28-million tonnes.
kabirhumayan10@gmail.com

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/adb-projects-food-crisis-amid-covid-pandemic-1593750826

Food inflation pushes CPI to 8.6pc in June

Monthly inflation was led by a spike in the prices of wheat/flour, potatoes, pulses, condiments and spices

Ghulam Abbas

July 1, 2020

144

Description: https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Inflation-in-Pakistan-1-696x465.jpg

ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate increased to 8.6pc year-on-year in June, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said in its monthly report published on Wednesday.
The rate was 8.22pc year-on-year in May.
According to the data, urban CPI accelerated to 7.6pc YoY in June as compared to 7.3pc in May, while rural CPI climbed to 10.0pc YoY when compared with 9.7pc in May.
This took the FY20 national CPI average to 10.8pc as against 6.8pc in FY19.
As per Intermarket Securities Ltd analysis, the rise in June CPI was primarily led by a jump in food inflation, while both Urban and Rural Core inflation (NFNE) continued to drop.
Urban core inflation declined to 4.7pc in June vs. 5.4pc in May while rural core inflation declined to 5.8pc YoY vs. 6.4pc in the previous month.
Higher food inflation was led by a spike in prices of wheat/flour, potatoes, pulses, condiments and spices. This was somewhat countered by a decline in tomato and onion prices. This led to a sharp increase in both urban and rural food inflation to 12.9pc YoY and 15.2pc YoY vs. 10.6pc and 12.9pc in May.
The CPI could have been higher if not for a 10.2pc YoY decline in the transport index, which was led by a decline in petrol and LNG prices (urban/rural down 13.0pc/11.5pc YoY).
Inflation in housing & utilities and education indices during the month of June remained modest at 5.8pc and 1.1pc respectively for the urban basket (indicating modest pull from aggregate demand).
“Weak domestic demand is likely to keep inflation lower even if supply-side shocks occur. In the same vein, the SBP has revised its inflation target and expects FY21 NCPI to tread lower than the initial projected range of 7-9pc.
“While the government’s decision to increase retail fuel prices (by Rs26/litre) may prove inflationary, there are talks of a potential Rs10/litre reversal in the coming days. We estimate that the CPI will rise by 1ppt as a result of the increase in petrol prices, all else the same,” said an Intermarket Securities report.
Explaining the reasons behind controlled inflation in 2020, sources said that the government recently took various steps to control the inflation rate like against hoarders and providing maximum relief to the public through various packages, including subsidised on the selling of goods at utility stores etc. The incumbent government, after the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, had also taken several policy, administrative and relief measures to help bring down inflation to single-digit. The rate had fallen to 8.2pc in May, which fourth successive month showing a decline.
The government also announced an economic relief and stimulus package and reduced rates of petroleum products in March, April, May, and June, sources said.
Moreover, the fall in global commodities prices — palm and soybean oil prices; vegetable oils and sugar; prices of all major cereals except for rice and wheat, soya and rapeseed oil prices helped inflation to remain under control. Similarly, the demand for imported skimmed milk powder and whole milk powder also dampened considerably.

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/01/food-inflation-pushes-cpi-to-8-6pc-in-june/

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Despite COVID-19 outburst, agri sector expands by 2.67pc

Description: Despite COVID-19 outburst, agri sector expands by 2.67pc

-PR

July 01, 2020

LAHORE-Though the covid-19 pandemic struck a devastating blow to a low economic base country like Pakistan, certain sectors here survived while giving hopes of recovery to the national economy.

According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20, there was no significant impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector as the sector grew by 2.67 per cent.
Positive growth of 2.90 per cent in important crops was observed due to an increase in production of wheat, rice, and maize at 2.45 per cent, 2.89 per cent, and 6.01 per cent, respectively. Similarly, the increase has been witnessed in Fertilizer (5.81 per cent), Leather products (4.96 per cent), Rubber products (4.31 per cent), Paper & Board (4.23 per cent) and Non-metallic mineral products (1.82 per cent). Besides these sectors, the pharmaceuticals also remained functional during the pandemic and in fact registered growth.
The PES 2019-20 disclosed that the pace of contraction diminished in the pharmaceutical sector as it registered 5.38 per cent decline during July to March in FY-2020 as compared to 8.66 per cent decline in the corresponding period. Also, the pharmaceutical sector recorded the highest sales in March while it fetched $1.3 million Foreign Direct Investment in April 2020. Once the textile industry was leading exports of the country but now the pharmaceutical sector has been identified as the sector that could enhance the country’s exports to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry is an essential, high technology and a strategically important industry and at the present growth rate the market size for pharmaceuticals will double in the next 10 years in Pakistan.
LHC dismisses former AC Judge Arshad Malik

But the impact of the pandemic will be severe in the coming months as the IMF has revised down its world GDP projections and now expects a contraction of 4.9 per cent in 2020. “Apart from the last three months, the next twelve months will also be very tough for the Pakistan economy,” said Taha Khan Javed, Head of Equities at Al Meezan Investment. The outlook for Pakistan GDP is also precarious with growth for next fiscal year expected to be only 1-2 per cent, much below the normal growth 3-5 per cent we have seen in the past, he added. He said that because of slowdown in economic activity especially in the informal sector it is expected that millions of people will be unemployed, while exports will also remain under pressure.
Yet, he added, few industries including the pharmaceuticals of the country can play a vital role in their capacity to help the national economy. While suggesting a way forward in this regard, Taha said that the pharmaceutical industry should ramp up their production capacity.

1 comment:

gsmoversandpackersOctober 7, 2022 at 10:07 PM
I really admire you writing style and the articale which you had written is very intresting keep posting ..
House Shifting Service in Islamabad
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