Friday, August 28, 2020

28th August,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

 

Centre of Excellence for Basmati must for its development: VC SKUAST-J

: August 28, 2020In: JammuTags:

 

State Times News
JAMMU: Webinar on Production of Basmati Rice in Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory organised by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-J) in collaboration with Basmati Export Development Foundation under APEDA, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India Modipuram, Meerut.
On the occasion Prof. J P Sharma Vice Chancellor SKUAST-J appraised that Basmati is a principal crop of Jammu region and it is confined to Kathua, Jammu and Samba district, R S Pura of district Jammu is a basmati bowl of country our scientist is doing best for upgrading quality of Basmati.
New varieties of Basmati namely 118 and 138 are being developed by scientist of SKUAST Jammu.
He also emphasized that there should be Centre of Excellence in SKUAST Jammu to further upgrade its quality and export of the same.
Prof V.P Singh pointed out that Basmati rice cultivation needs some boost up and also applaud the efforts of Scientists of SKUAST Jammu for popularity and developing the Basmati. He further narrated the potential of 1121 variety of Basmati.
A K Gupta, Director BEDF deliberated upon the Export orient policy support for farmers.
S SNayyar, General Manager, AIPEDA emphasized that export quantum of Basmati will help to raise not only the livelihood of farmer but also branding the fame of Basmati of Jammu region in world.
Vinita Sudhanshu DGM APEDA made a detailed presentation about the overview of APEDA activities and functioning.
Dr Gulzar Singh Singheeri Principal scientist RRS PAU Kapurthala shared his experience about rice production in general from Lakanpur to Kupwara with special emphasis on basmati and Mushkbuji.
Rohit Gupta MD Sarweshwar Overseas Ltd also share his experience about the production and export of Basmati from Jammu to different countries of the world.
Dr Ritesh Sharma Principal scientist BEDF gives the detailed presentation about production technology of rice along with its nutrient and water management.
Earlier Dr S K Gupta Director Education SKAUST J welcomed all the participants in the webinar.
Dr Jag Pal Sharma Associate Director Research interacted with the farmers and suggested the measures about the organic farming of basmati rice earlier.
Lecture on weed management was delivered by Dr Anil Kumar Professor Agronomy. Sh Rajesh Talwar Registrar & Comptroller was also present on the occasion. The programme concluded with vote of thanks by Dr Bharat Bhushan Joint Registrar SKUAST-J.

https://news.statetimes.in/centre-of-excellence-for-basmati-must-for-its-development-vc-skuast-j/

 

Fakhar for enhancing cooperation with Egypt in filed of cotton research

  Published On 27 August,2020 05:03 pm

Description: https://img.dunyanews.tv/news/2020/August/08-27-20/news_big_images/561079_95561577.jpg

Syed Fakhar Imam also mentioned that Pakistan exports mangoes to Afghanistan, UAE, Oman and Iran

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Thursday urged for enhancing bilateral cooperation in filed of cotton research with Egypt in order to enhance per-acre crop output in country.

The Ambassador of Arabic Republic of Egypt to Pakistan Tarek Dahrough called on minister and discussed the ways and means to enhance bilateral cooperation in different fields including agriculture.

The minister also proposed to sign an agreement between both the countries for enhancing cooperation in the fields of research, extension and agricultural education. Syed Fakhar Imam also mentioned that Pakistan exports mangoes to Afghanistan, UAE, Oman and Iran as it has good Phytosanitary systems.

The Egyptian Ambassador under Official Development Assistance (ODA) offered fully funded capacity building training program and master program to Pakistani professional and scientists.

Economic Affairs Division finalize nominations from the federal and provincial governments through its Foreign Trainings Committee.

According the Trade development Authority of Pakistan, there was huge potential for export of rice but it has certain trade restrictions by the Egyptian Government.

Major competitors of Pakistani rice export to Egypt were India, Turkey, China and Vietnam.

Pakistan’s share in rice exports to Egypt was only $0.58 million against their total imports of $49.34 million. Besides, there was a huge potential for export of frozen boneless bovine meat to Egypt (as Egypt imports boneless meat of an annual worth around USD 1.0 billion).

 

Cameroon spent XAF807 bln to import food products, up by 14.9% YoY (INS)

 

(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroonian economic operators spent XAF807 billion to import food products in 2019, according to the national institute for statistics INS. These imports were up by 14.9% year-over-year.  

Officially, food products represented 20% of overall import expenses in Cameroon during the period under review. The products imported were mainly rice and wheat, we learn.

According to the institute, the volume of rice imported rose from 561,112 tons in 2018 to 894,486 tons in 2019 (ed.note: 803,505 tons according to the Minister of trade). This represents a 59.4% rise. The value of rice imports rose by 60.9% year-over-year to XAF231.8 billion, it adds.

https://www.businessincameroon.com/agriculture/2708-10749-cameroon-spent-xaf807-bln-to-import-food-products-up-by-14-9-yoy-ins

 

FLOODS HIT SUPPLY

8/27/2020

(Repeats story published on Aug 27 with no changes to text)

* Vietnam traders eye higher demand from China

* Buyers from Africa making inquiries about Indian rice

* Traders say Thai off-season crops to be disappointing

* Floods damage crops worth $4.29 billion in Bangladesh

By Arundhati Sarkar

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices rose for a third straight week with buyers turning to cheaper grain from the top hub, which continued to grapple with monsoon floods and a worsening pandemic, while concerns over low rainfall buoyed Thai rates.

Rates for India's benchmark 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> climbed to $384-$390 per tonne from last week's $383-$389, as floods also curtailed rice milling with monsoon rains likely to remain heavy for the rest of the month.

Until last week, planting of rice, the key summer crop, stood at 37.8 million hectares, against 33.9 million hectares during the same time last year.

However, buyers from Africa are making inquiries as prices have gone up in Thailand and Vietnam, said an exporter based at Kakinada, the country's biggest rice-handling port in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Inconsistent rainfall in some rice-growing provinces in Thailand fueled fears of lower yield in 2020-21, with traders also warning of a disappointing off-season crop.

Thai 5% broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> rose to $500-$520 per tonne from $480-500 last week.

Prices for Vietnam's 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> remained unchanged for a second consecutive week at $480-$490 a tonne, with traders expecting prices to stay high over the coming weeks, amid higher demand from China, which has also been suffering from floods.

Exporters cannot sign any new export contracts because of scarce domestic supplies and are focusing on fulfilling contracts signed with Malaysia, the Philippines and Cuba instead, a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Floods damaged crops worth $4.29 billion on more than 100,000 hectares in Bangladesh as well, pushing up domestic prices of the staple, the country's Agriculture Ministry said.

Bangladesh, the world's third-biggest rice producer, often relies on imports to cope with shortages caused by floods and droughts. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; editing by Arpan Varghese and Ramakrishnan M.)

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

FLOODS HIT SUPPLY

8/27/2020

(Repeats story published on Aug 27 with no changes to text)

* Vietnam traders eye higher demand from China

* Buyers from Africa making inquiries about Indian rice

* Traders say Thai off-season crops to be disappointing

* Floods damage crops worth $4.29 billion in Bangladesh

By Arundhati Sarkar

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices rose for a third straight week with buyers turning to cheaper grain from the top hub, which continued to grapple with monsoon floods and a worsening pandemic, while concerns over low rainfall buoyed Thai rates.

Rates for India's benchmark 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> climbed to $384-$390 per tonne from last week's $383-$389, as floods also curtailed rice milling with monsoon rains likely to remain heavy for the rest of the month.

Until last week, planting of rice, the key summer crop, stood at 37.8 million hectares, against 33.9 million hectares during the same time last year.

However, buyers from Africa are making inquiries as prices have gone up in Thailand and Vietnam, said an exporter based at Kakinada, the country's biggest rice-handling port in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Inconsistent rainfall in some rice-growing provinces in Thailand fueled fears of lower yield in 2020-21, with traders also warning of a disappointing off-season crop.

Thai 5% broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> rose to $500-$520 per tonne from $480-500 last week.

Prices for Vietnam's 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> remained unchanged for a second consecutive week at $480-$490 a tonne, with traders expecting prices to stay high over the coming weeks, amid higher demand from China, which has also been suffering from floods.

Exporters cannot sign any new export contracts because of scarce domestic supplies and are focusing on fulfilling contracts signed with Malaysia, the Philippines and Cuba instead, a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Floods damaged crops worth $4.29 billion on more than 100,000 hectares in Bangladesh as well, pushing up domestic prices of the staple, the country's Agriculture Ministry said.

Bangladesh, the world's third-biggest rice producer, often relies on imports to cope with shortages caused by floods and droughts. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; editing by Arpan Varghese and Ramakrishnan M.)

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

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/rpt-asia-rice-more-takers-for-cheaper-india-offers-even-as-floods-hit-supply

 

CORRECTED-BRAZIL TO ERASE IMPORT TARIFFS ON CORN, RICE AND SOYBEAN TEMPORARILY -REPORT

8/27/2020

(Corrects info on 3rd paragraph to reflect imports from inside the Mercosur bloc are exempt, not from outside)

SAO PAULO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Brazilian government has decided to remove temporarily import tariffs on rice, corn and soybeans, an Agriculture Ministry official told local newspaper Valor Economico.

The move aims at fighting inflation, as prices for the three products have risen recently, according to the report.

Imports from inside the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, are already exempt.

The report does not mention when the tariff exemption would come into effect or its expiration date.

The Agriculture Ministry did not immediately comment on the matter. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/corrected-brazil-to-erase-import-tariffs-on-corn-rice-and-soybean-temporarily

 

UPDATE 2-BRAZIL PLAN TO NIX IMPORT TARIFFS ON SOYBEANS, CORN, RICE CONCERNS MERCOSUR PARTNERS

8/27/2020

(Adds comment from Paraguay and Argentina, background)

SAO PAULO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government is mulling temporarily removing import tariffs on rice, corn and soybeans, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The move is aimed at staving off inflation, the statement added. Prices for rice, soybean and corn have risen recently in the domestic market.

While the ministry said there is no sign of a potential shortage of these products, Brazil has exported almost all its soybeans, and imports are expected to rise this year.

Brazil's partners in South America's Mercosur trade bloc, which are already exempt from import taxes, were taken by surprise by Brazil's move and said it could not be carried out unilaterally.

Argentina and Paraguay stand to gain from higher Brazilian soy imports, and Uruguay from rice imports, but they will lose out, mainly to the United States, if Brazil lowers its tariffs for other countries.

"Brazil cannot unilaterally change its tariffs. It has to do it through talks with the other Mercosur countries," Paraguay's Deputy Agriculture Minister Santiago Bertoni told Reuters.

"Any reduction in the common external tariff must be negotiated within Mercosur," said Gustavo Idigoras, head of the CIARA-CEC grains exporters and crushers chamber.

The tariff exemption is expected to be discussed by Brazil's trade management committee, known as Gecex and presided over by the Economy Ministry, in September. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo, Daniela Desantis in Asuncióm, and and Maximilian Heath in Buenos Aires; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/update-2-brazil-plan-to-nix-import-tariffs-on-soybeans-corn-rice-concerns-mercosur

 

Arctic Ocean is warming by a degree every decade in highest rise since the last Ice Age, 40-year study shows

Temperatures in the Arctic Ocean between Canada, Russia and Europe are warming faster than predicted

27 August 2020 • 12:54pm

The warming ocean is causing sea ice to disappear faster than scientists anticipated  CREDIT: Markus Rex/Alfred Wegener Institute via AP

The Arctic Ocean is warming by a degree each decade in the highest rice since the last Ice Age, a newly-published 40-year study has shown....

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08/27/arctic-ocean-warming-degree-every-decade-highest-rise-since/

 

250 forced to abandon 750-acre rice farms in Builsa South

The farmers were forced to abandon their farms due to wild rice infection


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Description: The farmers were forced to abandon their farms due to wild rice infectionAbout 300 hectares (750 acres) of rice farms belonging to 250 farmers in the Fumbisi rice valley in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region have been abandoned for lack chemicals to fight the infection by weeds known as “wild rice”.

The few farmers still in the valley are using traditional methods of farming to uproot the wild rice tillers which is time consuming and capital intensive to hire labourers to undertake the exercise.

Many of the farmers, who expressed their frustrations to the Ghanaian Times during a field visit to the rice farms on Tuesday, stated that the Governmentgovernment promised to provide them with farm inputs in the farming season, which encouraged most of them to expand their farms.

One of the farmers, Mr Moses Agontu, who stated that the government had not done much to honour that pledge, added that the weedicides for spraying the weeds that had attacked the rice were very expensive and also difficult to come by.

Mr Emmanuel Afoko, another farmer who told the Ghanaian Times that the weeds had the potential of reducing yields, appealed to the Governmentgovernment to, as a matter of urgency, support the farmers to deal with the infection to avoid food insecurity.

The Builsa South District Director of Agriculture, Mr Sylvan Dauda Danaa, reiterated the need for the government and researchers to intervene with a lasting antidote to deal with the wild rice infection in order for rice farmers to have the motivation to grow more rice.

The Upper East Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr Francis Ennor, said the wild rice infection is causing a lot of anxiety among rice farmers in the area and so assured farmers in general of better agricultural interventions which would help increase crop and animal production in the region.

There are rice fields totalling 850 hectares (2125 acres) fully developed in nine valleys in the Builsa South District and each year, between 5.5 and 5.8 metric tons of rice is cultivated in the valleys by 894 rice farmers, including out-growers, and their effort is above the national rice cultivation.

It would be recollected that last year there was huge rice glut in the rice valleys due to lack of ready market.

Other challenges confronting rice farmers at the valleys are lack of motorable roads to the rice

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/250-forced-to-abandon-750-acre-rice-farms-in-Builsa-South-1044421

 

 

Emefiele as Nigerian Farmers’ Best Friend

 

 

Description: https://storage.googleapis.com/thisday-846548948316-wp-data/wp-media/2018/08/0602c5bc-godwin-emefiele-696x522.jpgCBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele

By Jackson Ugbechie

When in May, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari reappointed Godwin Emefiele as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the loudest commendation came from Nigerian farmers. It was not for nothing. Emefiele has through the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP, launched in November 2015 byPresident Muhammadu Buhari re-written the sour narrative on local agriculture.

ABP is a low-interest loan scheme which gives ample room and flexibility for payment. Interest was as low as 9 percent but with the advent of the Covid-19, the interest has been adjusted to as low as 5 percent. The loans are disbursed through any of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Microfinance Banks (MFBs), all of which the programme recognises as Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).

Through the ABP, the CBN governor did not only change the script from the old unimpressive order, he gave force of action to its performance. He has thus become the best friend of the Nigerian farmer who hitherto had struggled for lack of funds to expand operations.

The ABP was to provide farm inputs in kind and cash to small-holder farmers (SHFs) to boost agricultural production which had been neglected through years since Nigeria discovered that huge cash comes from crude oil. The whole scale dependence on crude oil receipts by successive Nigerian governments created a very unhealthy balance of payment between the country and other nations. The ABP was therefore aimed at reversing the negative economic trend aside achieving food security.

Categories of farmers captured under this programme include those cultivating cereals, cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock. If there is one sector that the Buhari administration has scored the bull’s eye, it is in agriculture. It’s revolutionary and the indices speak for themselves.

Because of this new push by CBN in the area of agriculture, the nation has witnessed a leverage and quantum leap in agricultural produce. Rice, yam, sundry grains, poultry and livestock among others have enjoyed increased production with some farmers exporting their produce. With this has also come a significant improvement in the value chain. More and more farmers have upped their game by producing in the farm and processing for the table.

Thus when Emefiele was reappointed, it was the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the umbrella body of farmers in the country, that was among the most vocal voices that commended President Buhari for his faith in the CBN governor. AFAN said the reappointment of Emefiele portrays the President as `agriculture friendly’.

Chief Daniel Okafor, the National Vice President of the association, while commending the President for the re-appointment, appealed to Emefiele to continue with the Anchor Borrowers Programme and to ensure that all agriculture commodities associations benefitted from the scheme in his second tenure.

He appealed to the CBN governor to ensure the reduction of interest rates on agriculture loans to between three and five per cent. He wants Emefiele to initiate other agriculture-friendly programmes as well as support the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) with funds to enable farmers access agriculture loans.

Without a doubt, farmers want the Anchor Borrowers Programme to continue, stressing that CBN has been agriculture friendly since Emefiele’s tenure.

Expectedly, CBN under Emefiele is already thinking ahead. Emefiele himself is an unrelenting crusader for backward integration. On several occasions at different meetings with stakeholders including the media, he has never shied away from making a case for local production. The CBN ban on the importations of scores of goods, some of which can be describedas low-hanging products for Nigerian entrepreneurs, and Emefiele’s determination to follow the ban through showed the character and the will of a central banker committed to rescuing his local economy from the treacherous vagaries of a globalized marketplace.

To make good its determination to push beyond the limits in the pursuit of food security and economic sovereignty, the CBN said it would fund 1.6 million farmers across the country in the 2020 wet season through the ABP.

CBN’s Director, Development Finance Department, Yila Yusuf, disclosed this during the flag-off of Farm Inputs Distribution for cotton farmers for the 2020 planting season in Kwali, Abuja . He was represented at the event by Ayoola Quadri. According to Yusuf, the bank would finance the farmers under the bank’s 10 focal commodities which would cut across the value chains.This, he said, would help to create an impact that would guarantee food security in the country.

Through the ABP, CBN had already engaged 256,000 farmers in cotton production for the 2020 planting season, besides other farmers. The CBN commitment to cotton production way back in 2018 is already yielding results. One discernible result, according to operators in the nation’s textile industry, is that in 2019, textile industries had enough supply of cotton produced within the country for their raw materials with some still lying in their warehouses.

“CBN is trying to bring back the glory of textiles of those days where the industry used to employ 10 million people across the country.

“In the 80s, we lost that glory because of smuggling where our country was turned to a dumping ground of textiles materials. It is an unfortunate situation, about five billion dollars was spent annually on the importation of textiles,” he said. Ordinarily, this is money that would have been ploughed into the development of infrastructure.

But Emefiele and his team are working hard to reverse this economic hemorrhage by ensuring that the entire value chain in the industry was funded for the benefit of the people and the country. Many Nigerians have lamented the total neglect of the textile industry. Before the introduction of the ABP, most of the textile factories across the country had closed shops. Some had both the factory floor and their numerous houses converted to car lots by car dealers; some as warehouses for imported rice and other exotic products.

In the aspect of growing local rice, the impact of ABP has been outstanding. Conservative estimates by international agencies place Nigeria’s annual rice production at 3.2 million metric tonnes. However, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RiFAN) claims it has established that Nigeria now leads local rice production in Africa. RiFAN President, Aminu Goronyo, insiststhat Nigeria has two rice farming seasons in a year. In each season, 4 million metric tonnes of rice is produced. RiFAN says a good 12 million Nigerians are engaged in the production of the 8 million metric tonnes.

By extrapolation, it means that in the rice value chain, about 12 million Nigerians have been positively impacted by rice production alone. These same people still have other engagements in farming aside rice production.

For clearer understanding, the rice value chain actors includeinputs dealers, farmers, paddy traders, parboilers, millers, milled rice marketers and consumers. A study on value chain analysis of rice in Kano River Irrigation Project (KRIP) Kano State, by Isma’ila Yunusa Ilu explained the true essence of the rice value chain to include both male and female, literate and the illiterate. The study covered an average farm holding of 2.6 hectares withyield of about 2.9 tons/ha.

Further breakdown of the study outcome showed that more than 80 percent of the estimated 189,630 tons of paddy produced in the study area was sold. The remaining was used for home consumption and seeds. About 156,000 tons of paddy wasinjected into the market through wholesalers (65%), rural assemblers (15%) and rural retailers (2%). The paddy moved to the millers for milling. The milled rice is sold to both urban and rural wholesalers. This is how a typical rice value chain looks like. It is a wide network of gainful employment for different categories of persons. This is the sense in which the 12 million persons engaged in the rice value chain is feasible.

Aside the statistics, the reality in the markets speaks to the rice revolution. For the first time in our history, Nigerian rice are sold in neighbourhood open markets and in mega stores. For the first time, our local rice gets to the market well packaged and properly branded. Rice millers are not ashamed to emblazon their names and addresses on rice bags. For the first time, a functional and effective value chain has been created. Rice distributors are busy. And retailers are confidently urging consumers to buy local rice.

Nigerians must not overlook the contribution of CBN. Emefieleand his team at CBN have set the nation on the path to self-sufficiency. Not yet Eldorado, but if the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, Emefiele and his team have paved the path for the nation. The next is sustenance to ensure that locally produced agricultural goods are readily available, accessible and easily affordable.

… Ugbechie, a public affairs analyst wrote in from Abuja.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/08/27/emefiele-as-nigerian-farmers-best-friend/

 

Rice farmers seek funding, blaming change in seasons

Sorn Sarath / Khmer Times 

Rice milling in Kampong Speu province. The industry is demanding more money, saying the harvest season is delayed this year. KT/Chor Sokunthea

 

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has asked the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) to release more funds and requested an extension to the loan cycle repayments, blaming an adjustment in the harvest season.

The request was made during a meeting to discuss the current situation of the rice market and harvest in order to study the possibility of providing loans from the government.

Song Saran, president of the CRF, raised various proposals
as well as some of the challenges that the private sector in the rice sector is facing.

“We want the loan cycle extending up to 11 or 12 months because we want the use of loans to be more efficient to help farmers,” he said.

Saran said the reason to extend the loan cycle is to adjust to climate change which he said has delayed the harvesting of rice paddy this year. He said in July last year, millers had already collected rice paddy from farmers but this year it will be delayed until September.

“We are now facing climate change and that is making us miss the harvest seasonal target, so we need a longer loan cycle that will make it easier for rice millers to have time to collect rice paddy at a fair price,” he said

Kao Thach, general director of the state-run ARDB, said the bank has yet to make a decision.

“Because it is a government fund, we need to submit the request to the government for approval,” he said.

Thach said previously the private sector that provided loans needed them paid back during May and June each year.

Saran said with the target of exporting 800,000 tonnes of rice this year, the government needs to inject between $80 million to $100 million while the private sector needs to have reserves of about $200 million.

“So we need about $300 million to buy rice paddy during this year to reach our target of 800,000 tonnes,” he said, adding that both state and private sector need to inject more money to reach the ultimate target of 1 million tonnes.

Rice milling in Kampong Speu province. KT/Chhor Sokunthea

In March this year, the government via the ARDB allocated a $50 million special fund for small and medium enterprises. The fund is designed to specifically focus on agri-processing, food processing, agri-business, crops including vegetables, livestock and the aquatic business plus any enterprise that uses raw materials from agriculture.

Cambodia’s rice exports increased by 42 percent in the first six months of the year, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Cambodia sent 397,660 tonnes of milled rice from January to June this year, an increase of 42.25 percent, compared with 281,538 tonnes in 2019, according to the report.

Rice exports to the EU increased by more than 45 percent. To China they rose by 25.20 percent. Asean countries increased imports by about 47.7 percent and other market destinations surged by 79.26 percent.

 

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50757893/rice-farmers-seek-funding-blaming-change-in-seasons/

 

 

People’s Bank empowers SMEs with ‘Business Power’ loan scheme

Published

 

People’s Bank has stepped forward to support the government’s development programme by introducing the “Business Power” loan scheme to empower small and medium enterprises operating in sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, direct and indirect exports, innovation and technology, etc.

The loans are granted in order to boost financial strength of a large segment of the SMEs Island wide including credit facilities at concessionary interest rates through easy payment systems. Sectors that are eligible for Business Power loan schemes include Agriculture (farming, livestock, fisheries, agro produce collectors and intermediaries, small rice millers), Manufacturing industries focused on direct and indirect exports and import substitution, food preparation and distribution, businesses based on innovation and technology as well as Essential Services (health, education, logistics, telecommunications).

Maximum Business Power loan amount for investment purposes is Rs.50 million and permanent working capital requirements is Rs.20 million while the maximum exposure should be Rs.50 million per borrower. For Investment Loans, the maximum repayment period is 7 years with a maximum grace period of 1 year, if required, whereas for working capital loans the maximum repayment period is 3 years with a maximum grace period, of 6 months on need basis.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ffZvAOfO68cJ:https://island.lk/peoples-bank-empowers-smes-with-business-power-loan-scheme/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

ARDB to assess rice loan plans

May Kunmakara | Publication date 27 August 2020 | 22:18 ICT

 

 

Description: Content image - Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia exported more than 426,073 tonnes of milled rice to the international market in the first seven months of this year. Heng Chivoan

The State-owned Agricultural and Rural Development Bank of Cambodia (ARDB) has agreed to assess the feasibility of Cambodia Rice Federation’s (CRF’s) request to increase the scope of its special loan scheme for rice millers to purchase paddy during the harvest season starting next month.

CRF president Song Saran told The Post this after a meeting with the ARDB on Wednesday to discuss the current situation of the rice market and readiness for the harvest and to ascertain the most effective way to provide government loans.

He noted that CRF members are lacking the funds needed to purchase paddy from farmers to hit this year’s export target.

“We appreciate the government’s continued special loans to the rice sector, which will help us in collecting paddy from farmers in the upcoming harvest season and stabilising the price of the crop.

“With the harvest season approaching, we proposed that the ARDB increase the amount of special government loans this year as we plan to export around 800,000 tonnes, which requires us to have between $80 and $100 million,” Saran said.

At the same time, the CRF has asked the ARDB to extend its loan repayment period to 12 months to help rice millers buy paddy, he said, adding that the current period is too short and could hinder its members’ ability to purchase paddy from farmers.

ARDB CEO Kao Thach told The Post that the institution must first assess the situation of the harvest and estimate yields before forwarding the CRF’s requests to the government.

“We must have a clear understanding of whether the projected upcoming harvest yield will require us to expand loans to the rice sector or not,” he said, adding that he will submit the requests to the government if the study deems them necessary.

Cambodia exported more than 426,073 tonnes of milled rice to the international market in the first seven months of this year, climbing 38.3 per cent from 308,013 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported this, citing data from the General Department of Customs and Excise that was extracted from phytosanitary certificates.

The Chinese market topped the list of destinations with 155,327 tonnes (accounting for 36.46 per cent), followed by European markets (144,247 tonnes; 33.85 per cent), ASEAN markets (57,064 tonnes; 13.39 per cent) and other markets (69,435 tonnes; 16.3 per cent).

Last year, Cambodia exported 620,106 tonnes of milled rice to the international market, inching down 0.97 per cent from 626,225 tonnes in 2018.

Contact author: May Kunmakara

Defence minister addresses UN force heading to South Sudan

Minister of National Defense Tea Banh on Monday encouraged a Cambodian UN peacekeeping force preparing to ship out to South Sudan to strengthen internal unity. The pep talk came at an event at the Training Centre for Peacekeeping Forces and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance (

·         Description: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_380x215/public/field/image/p2-s2-photo-siem-reap-provincial-authorities-to-protect-against-covid-19-disease-during-recent-holidays-on-august-17-21-2020-photo-siem-reap-provincial-hall.jpgCambodia to wait for WHO-approved virus vaccinations

Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine recently announced that Cambodia will wait for approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO) before it administers Covid-19 vaccines to any of its citizens. The announcement came after China and Russia declared they had manufactured Covid-19 vaccines fit for

·         Description: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_380x215/public/field/image/japans-minister-of-foreign-affairs-toshimitsu-motegi-left-announced-a-resumption-of-flights-between-the-two-countries-starting-next-month.-spm.jpgJapan to restart flights to Cambodia

Japan will resume flights to Cambodia next month for business travellers and long-stay passengers, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi announced at a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen over the weekend. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn was also

·         Description: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_380x215/public/field/image/the_education_ministry_calls_on_administrators_to_be_prepared_to_organise_schools_in_the_covid-19_context._supplied.jpgGuidelines out for school openings

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport released guidelines for schools to follow when they physically reopen in September. Minister Hang Chuon Naron said on August 24, his office discussed reopening kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools. The two approaches laid out in the guidelines include

·         Description: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_380x215/public/field/image/jump-p1-s1-national-border-committee-chairman-var-kim-hong-photo-hong-menea.jpgBorder chief ordered to address public concerns

Prime Minister Hun Sen has instructed top border official Var Kimhong to meet residents in Tbong Khmum province along the Vietnamese border who claim Cambodia had lost land to the neighbouring country. The order came during a closed-door meeting of the Supreme Council for Consultation

·         Description: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_380x215/public/field/image/8-story-1-phnom-penh-special-economic-zone.jpgTwo Chinese firms invest in PPSEZ

Two Chinese-owned manufacturers have decided to invest in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) despite Covid-19. PPSEZ is a 357ha industrial park in Kambol district’s Kantaok commune on the western outskirts of the capital and is operated by the Cambodian-listed Phnom Penh Special

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ardb-assess-rice-loan-plans

 

Pandemic bites aromatic rice processors

12:00 AM, August 28, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:57 AM, August 28, 2020

 

Description: https://assetsds.cdnedge.bluemix.net/sites/default/files/styles/big_2/public/feature/images/haji-nanna-biriyani.jpg?itok=hPT_P5zL&c=9b314a0721676570ff65104f5bc59e94

The demand for aromatic rice nosedived as celebratory meals like biryani are not being consumed as widely as before. Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Sohel Parvez

Haji Nanna Biriyani, a popular restaurant in Old Dhaka that serves up a mouthwatering selection of sub-continental and rice-oriented dishes, has reopened its doors to customers nearly a month ago.

The turnout of customers is fair given the coronavirus jitters that keep haunting people, but the daily sales at the food joint still remain half the pre-pandemic time.

Three hundred kilometres northwest, in Chapainawabganj, the state of affairs for aromatic rice milling firm Erfan Group is more depressing.

The demand for aromatic rice, popularly known as chinigura, nosedived nearly 70 per cent to about 50 tonnes per day at this mill from 150-200 tonnes in the pre-pandemic days when life was normal, social festivals and gatherings were everyday affairs and the habit of eating out among urbanities was building up quite steadily.

"Hotels and restaurants are one of the main buyers of aromatic rice. Though lockdown has been lifted, most people still choose to stay put as the ruthless killer lurks in the open," said Md Erfan Ali, chairman and managing director of Erfan Group.

The spread of the novel coronavirus has put a curb on ceremonies as people have been forced to maintain social distancing and avoid gatherings.

Subsequently, wedding parties, birthday celebrations, and other social, cultural and public events have been scarce, affecting the community and party centres, restaurants and other businesses like these.

As a result, the prices of aromatic rice dropped, Ali said.

The prices of locally produced chinigura rice declined to Tk 86-87 each kilogram now at wholesale from Tk 92 before the pandemic took over the country -- a situation that can only be termed as a sharp contrast to the usual trend in the rice market.

The regularly consumed rice though is becoming dearer amid fears of crop losses for repeated floods, reduced yields and slow release of paddy by large farmers and stockists.

Bangladesh annually produces 18 lakh tonnes of aromatic rice and the majority of the grain is produced from the paddy planted in the rainy season, according to Md Shahjahan Kabir, director general of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

Apart from domestic production, traders import long-grain rice such as basmati to cater to the demand from the middle class and upscale consumers.

"We, the aromatic rice millers, are one of the first victims of the pandemic. There is barely any demand for scented rice," said Sanat Saha, who operates a rice mill in Sherpur, an aromatic rice-producing district in the north.

Millers, who process scented paddy, have been incurring losses as they have to sell each maund of milled rice at Tk 2,400.

The processing costs, including the prices of paddy, stand at Tk 2,800 per maund, Saha said.

"Lockdown is over but there are no large gatherings. None would invite 500 people during this time to celebrate anything," he added.

Anup Kumar Saha, deputy executive director of ACI Consumer Brands, a unit of ACI, said they processed 3,500 tonnes of aromatic rice but faced difficulties to clear the stock as demand fell.

ACI, which operates rice mills, incurred losses as prices declined at the wholesale level because of a fall in demand. It has 1,600 tonnes of aromatic rice in stock now.

"The purchasing power of people has dwindled due to the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic. Preparing food like polao or biriyani is not an expense for rice only. People also need to buy other items such as meat to enjoy the food."

Despite the decline in prices at the wholesale level, processors did not reduce the prices of their retail packs to that extent.

Instead, marketers are trying to sell their items through promotions or increasing trade commissions to distributors and retailers, according to Anup.

Marketers are giving extra benefits to retailers to stay ahead of others in the competition, said MA Mahmud, senior brand manager of Square Food & Beverage.

Some 50 companies sell aromatic rice to profit from the market of nearly Tk 800 crore in the branded segment.

Retail prices of consumer packs could not be reduced as procurement prices were higher, he said.

"We can't suffer losses," he said, expecting that the demand would rebound slowly.

Saha, however, was not upbeat about recovery as he thinks there is no hope of business until a vaccine is developed and brought into the country.

He rather believes that farmers would reduce cultivation of aromatic rice this planting season frustrated by low prices of this type of grain.

The market would see increased supply and prices might decline further when a new crop will arrive in December, Ali said.

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/pandemic-bites-aromatic-rice-processors-1952193

Fact and friction in American food

Disaster-weary Gulf shrimpers, Louisiana rice farmers, and coastal food banks ready for anything as they await

The Category 4 storm is making landfall just days before the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s descent on New Orleans. It’ll collide with multiple food and agriculture industries.

Pictured above, crew members of a shrimp boat called the Sea Lion V prepare as they wait for Hurricane Laura to make landfall, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Port Arthur, Texas.

The coasts of Texas and Louisiana are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Laura late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, a storm that’s projected to make landfall between Houston and Lake Charles as a Category 4 hurricane.

Laura could bring with it storm surge of up 20 feet, meaning the threat of flooding for communities as far as 40 miles inland. Officials across Texas are scrambling to free up hotel rooms so that evacuees can shelter in place with minimal risk of contracting Covid-19. 

“You do everything you can, because what we’d like to do, when it’s over, is get back to business.”

Farmers in the region have been preparing for the storm by harvesting rice through the night and moving livestock to higher ground. The Louisiana Farm Bureau has established a hay clearinghouse that will be able to connect ranchers whose cattle are displaced by the storm to farmers who have extra land and hay. Crawfish farmers say they are concerned that prolonged flooding might impact the females’ ability to reproduce. 

Louisiana sugarcane farmers, meanwhile, face potential storm damage from flooding. The state is the second-largest producer in the country, with nearly 500,000 acres already planted this season. Texas and Arkansas cotton growers may face risks as well, Bloomberg reports

Hurricane Laura is projected to make landfall just days before the country marks the 15-year-anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall off the coast of Louisiana on August 29, 2005. One month later, in late September, Hurricane Rita targeted the Louisiana coast, and destroyed the commercial fishing industry in Cameron, Louisiana, then the sixth-largest in the nation. 

In 2008, Hurricane Ike blew “everything” off the walls of a 65-foot fish house owned by Buddy Guindon, a commercial fisherman in Galveston, Texas. In the days after, he said, he found equipment and inventory three or four blocks away.

Galveston is currently under an evacuation order and Guindon said he prepared for what he expects will be 50-mile-an-hour winds and a 7-foot storm surge by packing in ice around 12,000 pounds of fresh snapper and grouper and 6,000 pounds of shrimp in refrigerated trucks and moving some of the fish to higher shelves in his re-built shed. Guindon said he hopes to complete a Houston-bound delivery on Thursday.

“The report is, it’s going to stay east of us, and everything’s going to be good, but you can’t take that chance,” Guindon said. “You do everything you can, because what we’d like to do, when it’s over, is get back to business.”

Hurricane Laura’s timing is bad for commercial fishers, said Andrea Hance, executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association: it’s arriving both the end of a fishing cycle, and on the heels of economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m scared to death that our prices will continue to fall.”

Texas opened its commercial Gulf shrimp season on July 15, and because most boats stay on the water for 30 to 45 days, many are now on their way back to port, some carrying over 30,000 pounds of shrimp, she said. Wild-caught shrimp are not insurable, Hance said, which means a commercial fisher caught in the storm could lose $100,000 in shrimp, per boat. 

“I can’t even imagine somebody trying to tie a boat up in the path of the hurricane,” Hance said, and expected that many would instead head south, away from Galveston and Port Arthur.

On average, Texas commercial fishers bring in between 40 and 50 million pounds of shrimp annually, second only to Louisiana, said Hance. Around 60 percent of that shrimp is sold to restaurants. During the pandemic, as those customers dwindled, Hance said she estimates that prices fell by as much as 40 percent—from around $5 per pound in years prior to roughly $3 today. That could worsen, she added.

Jan Buchholtz/FlickrWarning signs seen while traveling Interstate 610 (I-610 South) in Houston during a mandatory evacuation of Galveston and surrounding areas.

“I’m scared we haven’t seen the full brunt to the industry, moving forward,” she said. “I’m scared to death that our prices will continue to fall.”

Another concern in Texas and Louisiana, as communities prepare for an encounter with the storm: hunger. Both states have higher rates of food insecurity, 14 and 15.8 percent, than the national average of 11 percent, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) reported last year. As we know, access to food banks and pantries can be threatened by natural disasters, and that’s a food-assistance infrastructure that’s already been forced to adapt to another historically disastrous human tragedy in 2020. 

“After these hurricanes down here, [food availability] can be a problem,” said Sylvia Poimboeuf, co-director of the Faith & Friends Food Pantry in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She estimates that the pantry serves approximately 400 to 500 families a month.

Poimboeuf and her husband have operated the pantry out of an old school house for a decade, and their facility isn’t equipped with a power generator. She told The Counter that she has produce stored in refrigerators and dairy and eggs in the freezer. If the power goes out, a lot of that food will have to be be thrown away (perishables have a very short food-safety window.) As Wednesday afternoon, Poimboeuf said she planned to head out and check on the state of the facility on Thursday—that is, if the roads are accessible and the wind isn’t too strong.

The food pantry’s supplies come from a combination of food purchased from the Second Harvest Food Bank, supplemented by purchases from supermarkets. Right now, Poimboeuf is just hoping that her most recent order from Second Harvest went through, so that families will have something to pick up next week. The pandemic has led to shortages of canned goods, Poimboeuf said, and there’s a chance that the storm will make shelf-stable foods even more difficult to access.

In Galveston, Texas, The Counter reached Julie Morreale, development coordinator for the Galveston County Food Bank, just as she was preparing to leave the office in advance of the storm. Morreale said that the food bank’s partners had cancelled their scheduled food distribution events from Tuesday through Thursday of this week as a safety precaution for both clients and volunteers. 

“At this point, unless that storm turns, we will start on Friday and just be able to move forward and not lose a beat.”

Morreale said she was less worried about the storm’s potential to disrupt the food bank’s operations. The facility has backup generators should there be any outages. Its staffers had also pre-emptively loaded delivery trucks with water that they’d be prepared to distribute to the greater community.

Nonetheless, the impending storm had temporarily disrupted the flow of food into the Galveston County Food Bank, because it is a regional node that relies on distribution from the larger Houston Food Bank nearby, Morreale said. Due to evacuation orders, deliveries are now on pause, though there’s food in storage that she expects to tide the organization over for the next few days.

“We have produce, and we have full warehouses of canned goods and cleaning supplies and water. But we can’t bring anything else in until next week,” she said.

Morreale was optimistic that the food bank and its partners’ distribution efforts would resume as soon as the end of this week.

“At this point, unless that storm turns, we will start on Friday and just be able to move forward and not lose a beat,” she said. “We’ll be here for everybody that evacuated and we’ll be here for them as they come back.”

Correction: This story initially stated Hurricane Rita was in 2006, a year after Hurricane Katrina. It was actually one month later, in September 2005.

This is a developing story. We will keep readers updated as the situation progresses. The Counter’s reporting fellow Anya Schulz contributed to this story.

https://thecounter.org/hurricane-laura-category-4-texas-louisiana-crawfish/?MessageRunDetailID=3237042901&PostID=18863433&utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io

 

 

5th Annual U.S.-Taiwan Rice Technical Meeting Goes Virtual

By Peter Bachmann

GLOBAL -- Representatives of the U.S. and Taiwan rice industries plus the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) of Taiwan met using the Lifesize video conferencing platform last night for annual technical talks regarding rice trade between both countries. 

 

"This was our fifth annual meeting with the industry and government in Taiwan," said Alex Balafoutis, executive vice president at Western Foods Co., LLC, and chair of the U.S. delegation.   "Taiwan has a history of cooperation and collaboration with our industry and we use these meetings to work through issues proactively concerning inspection, grading, and tendering in order to increase understanding on both sides and improve market efficiency with one of our most important customers."

 

Topics for the meeting included an exchange of information on this year's rice production and utilization in both countries; a review of Taiwan's rice export promotion program; follow-up from the 2019 rice grading seminar held in Taipei; changes to Taiwan's import specifications for glutinous rice moisture levels; and discussion of Taiwan's maximum residue limits for crop protectants used on U.S. rice. 

Both sides agreed to meet again in 2021 in Taiwan, who would have hosted this year's meeting had it not been for COVID-19-related travel restrictions. 

 

Taiwan began importing rice from the United States when the island joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007.  Taiwan currently has a country-specific import quota for U.S. rice of 64,634 MT, within an overall annual import quota from all WTO members of 144,720 MT.  Taiwan consumes medium grain rice, and purchases U.S.-grown rice from both the mid-South and California.

The U.S. exported 64,464 MT of rice to Taiwan in 2019, valued at approximately $39 million.

 

Brazil Looks to Temporarily Suspend Tariffs on Rice Imports

Destination Brazil?

By Peter Bachmann

 

BRASILIA, BRAZIL -- Following months of high domestic pricing and growing inflation and economic issues, Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture is exploring a temporary elimination of import tariffs on rice, corn, and soybeans for domestic consumption.

 

Brazil is primarily a long grain market, nearly self-sufficient in rice production.  While they do export some rice throughout the world, they also import about the same quantity, bringing in more than 90 percent of imports from neighboring South American countries duty-free.  Rice imports from outside of the Mercosur bloc, including the United States, face a 12 percent import duty on milled rice and a 10 percent duty on paddy rice.

 

Brazil annually grows more than 7 million MT of rice on a milled basis and typically imports between 600,000 and 800,000 MT to meet domestic needs.  With a reduction in supply due to a smaller 2018/19 crop and increased COVID-19-related retail purchases, Brazil is in need of additional rice and other commodities to satisfy the demand and ease prices for financially strapped consumers.

 

"While Brazil is not a traditional market for U.S. rice due to pricing and the logistical and duty-free advantage provided to their neighboring countries, a potential temporary market opening timed with U.S. crop harvest could create a unique opportunity for U.S. rice to enter that market," said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president of international.

Description: C:\Users\abc\Downloads\itp-large-rice-sacks-lined-up-200827.jpg

Moran explained:  "While discussions of temporary relief from import duties are certainly welcomed, Brazil employs a number of other taxes, including on sales and services (VAT) for up to 25 percent, a freight tax at 25 percent, and an excise tax at 9.25 percent.  These additional taxes make landed costs for U.S. rice up to 60 percent higher than the actual cost and add another layer of challenges."

 

The Ministry of Agriculture has not yet announced the change or details regarding the starting and ending dates for the potential measure nor has there been any mention of waiving any of the additional taxes that imported commodities would incur.  Since 2011, annual U.S. rice sales to Brazil have remained below 1,000 tons with small sales ranging from parboiled long grain to paddy to milled short and medium grain rice over the years.

 

Category 4 Storm Weakens 

 

We will report on the full impacts to rice of Hurricane Laura when more is known.  Though now downgraded, the storm is still dangerous with both high winds and significant rains expected across rice acres in the mid-South over the next 24 hours. 

 

 

Hurricane Laura batters Louisiana, takes aim at Arkansas

Cooperation andcollaboration are key

5th Annual U.S.-Taiwan Rice Technical Meeting Goes Virtual

By Peter Bachmann

 

GLOBAL -- Representatives of the U.S. and Taiwan rice industries plus the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) of Taiwan met using the Lifesize video conferencing platform last night for annual technical talks regarding rice trade between both countries. 

 

"This was our fifth annual meeting with the industry and government in Taiwan," said Alex Balafoutis, executive vice president at Western Foods Co., LLC, and chair of the U.S. delegation.   "Taiwan has a history of cooperation and collaboration with our industry and we use these meetings to work through issues proactively concerning inspection, grading, and tendering in order to increase understanding on both sides and improve market efficiency with one of our most important customers."

 

Topics for the meeting included an exchange of information on this year's rice production and utilization in both countries; a review of Taiwan's rice export promotion program; follow-up from the 2019 rice grading seminar held in Taipei; changes to Taiwan's import specifications for glutinous rice moisture levels; and discussion of Taiwan's maximum residue limits for crop protectants used on U.S. rice. 

Both sides agreed to meet again in 2021 in Taiwan, who would have hosted this year's meeting had it not been for COVID-19-related travel restrictions.  Description: C:\Users\abc\Downloads\unnamed (1).jpg

 

Taiwan began importing rice from the United States when the island joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007.  Taiwan currently has a country-specific import quota for U.S. rice of 64,634 MT, within an overall annual import quota from all WTO members of 144,720 MT.  Taiwan consumes medium grain rice, and purchases U.S.-grown rice from both the mid-South and California.

 

The U.S. exported 64,464 MT of rice to Taiwan in 2019, valued at approximately $39 million.

 

 

Recipe: Mary Contini's Lamb and spinach curry

By Mary Contini

Description: Lamb curry

Lamb curry

     0 comment

Now that we are allowed to visit restaurants again the dishes I am most looking forward to are those that are very different from my own home cooking: a tasty Chinese banquet with a never-ending delivery of delicious dishes flowing from the kitchen to the table or maybe a fabulous, steamy curry, mouth-wateringly flavoursome with spicy chutney, naan bread and aromatic cardamom rice.

This lamb and spinach curry is very easy to prepare at home and it tastes even better the next day. Why not make it and get someone else to serve it to you. Refuse to do the dishes!

LAMB AND SPINACH CURRY

Ingredients

500g lamb shoulder

4 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tablespoons ground coriander

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1½ if you prefer a very hot curry)

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

4 tablespoons water

400g fresh spinach, shredded

450g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

40g fresh coriander

Squeeze lemon juice

Method

Trim the lamb of any excess fat and cut into 2-3 cm pieces.

Put in a bowl and add the grated ginger, garlic and ground coriander.

Mix everything together, cover and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.

Start cooking the curry. Pre-heat oven to 150C/Gas 3

Warm the oil in a large oven proof casserole and sauté the onions until transparent.

Add the marinated lamb, the turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt and cook on a medium heat, stirring until the lamb is browned all over.

Now add a tablespoon of yoghurt, stirring so that the lamb is well coated, and the yoghurt gradually melts to form the start of a sauce.

Add the rest of the yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time, stirring to absorb each time.

Add the 4 tablespoons of water to add some extra moisture.

Stir in the spinach.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for an hour or so until the lamb is tender. Check and stir halfway through adding a little more water if the sauce looks dry.

In the last 15 minutes, stir in the strained chickpeas and cook so they start to take on the flavour of the spices.

Finally add a good squeeze of lemon juice which sours the flavour of the yogurt a little to sharpen the taste.

When ready to serve sprinkle over the chopped fresh coriander.

Serve with steamed basmati rice, thick fluffy naan bread and lots of spicy lime pickle chutney.

    

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18662293.recipe-mary-continis-lamb-spinach-curry/?ref=rss

 

 

Rice products worth $2.5bn exported last year: minister

Description: svg%3E The quality of our rice is acceptable globally. This was said by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFSR) on Wednesday while attending a webinar on Sustainable Rice Production for Boosting Rice Export of Pakistan. Syed Fakhar Imam said that last year 7.2 mn rice was produced. He mentioned that rice products of 2.5 billion USD were exported. There is 30 % contribution of rice in value addition. And rice contribution in GDP is 0.6 %.He said that 2.5 tones HA is the gap in our present production. He said that we need to invest in rice industry. Syed Fakhar Imam said that we need to update our Phyto sanitary systems. Federal Minister was of the point of view that Rice is Pakistan’s third largest crop in terms of area sown, after wheat and cotton. About 11 percent of Pakistan’s total agricultural area is under rice during the summer or “Kharif” season.

 Pakistan is a leading producer and exporter of Basmati and IRRI rice (white long grain rice). Rice ranks second among the staple food grain crops in Pakistan and exports are a major source of foreign exchange earnings. Pakistan grows a relatively high quality of rice to fulfill domestic and export demand. Rice accounts for 3.1 percent of the value added in agriculture and 0.6 percent of gross domestic product. Pakistan has two major rice-producing provinces, namely Punjab and Sindh. Both provinces account for more than 88 percent of total rice production. Punjab, due to its agro-climatic and soil conditions, is producing 100 percent of the Basmati rice in the country. Pakistan’s “Kalar” bowl area, a local term that refers to a type of soil suitable for Basmati production, is famous for producing Basmati rice and is located between the Ravi and Chenab rivers in Punjab. IRRI rice is grown in both Punjab and Sindh.  

 https://dailytimes.com.pk/659836/rice-products-worth-2-5bn-exported-last-year-minister/

Brazil mulls erasing import tariffs on corn, rice, soybeans temporarily - Ag Ministry

CONTRIBUTOR

Carolina Mandl  Reuters

PUBLISHED

AUG 27, 2020 10:02AM EDT

The Brazilian government is mulling temporarily removing import tariffs on rice, corn and soybeans, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Adds Agriculture Ministry confirmation

SAO PAULO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government is mulling temporarily removing import tariffs on rice, corn and soybeans, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The move aims to stave off inflation, the statement added. Prices for rice, soybean and corn have risen recently in the domestic market.

Still, the ministry said there is no sign of a potential shortage of these products.

Imports from inside the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, are already exempt from import duties.

The tariff exemption is expected to be discussed by a trade management committee called Gecex, presided over by the Economy Ministry, in September.

Local newspaper Valor Econômico earlier on Thursday reported on the potential tariff exemption.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Bernadette Baum)

((carolina.mandl@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5644 7703; +55 11 97116-3806;))

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

 

 

 

Tropical Storm Laura: Mass power outages in Louisiana and Texas; 6 dead

By

Don Jacobson & Daniel Uria

 (0)

Description: Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Louisiana and Texas are without electricity and dealing with flooding after Hurricane Laura. Photo by PO3 Paige Hause/U.S. Coast Guard

Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Louisiana and Texas are without electricity and dealing with flooding after Hurricane Laura. Photo by PO3 Paige Hause/U.S. Coast Guard | License Photo

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were without electricity in Louisiana and Texas on Thursday and at least six people died after Tropical Storm Laura arrived on land as a major hurricane.

Laura made landfall near Cameron, La., early Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center had warned of a potentially catastrophic impact and "unsurvivable" storm surge created by the hurricane.

Laura weakened to a Category 2 storm almost immediately after moving over land, and was later downgraded to a tropical storm.

Laura produced winds of 150 mph when it arrived. In Lake Charles, which was in Laura's direct path, there were reports of damage and debris in the downtown area -- but no severe flooding, which had been a major concern for the area since it's 15 feet above sea level.

The White House said Thursday President Donald Trump is committed to "deploying the full resources of the federal government to rescue those in distress, support those in the region affected and restore disruptions to our communities and infrastructure."

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Response Coordination to monitor Laura's path along the Gulf Coast.

"This team forward deployed resources," Pence said. "We were ready for the worst and by all accounts from the experts, while this was obviously a major storm with devastating impact, it was not as bad as it could have been."

RELATED Hurricane Laura: 500,000 ordered to evacuate along Texas, Louisiana coasts

Trump said he considered postponing his speech to close the Republican National Convention to Monday in order to survey damage in Texas, Lousiana and perhaps Arkansas, but said he intends to instead travel to those states as soon as this weekend.

"We got a little bit lucky," Trump said. "It was very big, it was very powerful. But it passed quickly and so everything's on schedule.

When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005, it caused widespread catastrophic flooding due to the state's low elevation.

Other areas, including Lafayette, La., saw some flooding after Laura passed through.

A New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter tweeted that mobile homes in Lake Charles were "shredded," roofs were torn off and trailers thrown around.

PowerOutage.us showed nearly 900,000 customers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas were without electricity by early Thursday afternoon.

"Power is out pretty much everywhere," Calcasieu Parish spokesman Thomas Hoefer said. "We may get water in but it's not here now. Cameron is dealing with the surge; we are dealing with the wind."

City and state leaders had warned before Laura's arrival that it could take several days to restore power to the affected areas, particularly with added precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least six people have died in the storm. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters at a news conference Thursday that a 14-year-old girl was killed, and Edwards' Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said two others died in Acadia and Jackson parishes. Details were unclear on the location of the fourth fatality.

All four were killed by falling trees.

A 24-year-old man in Calcasieu Parish also died of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a generator inside his home and another male drowned during the storm when his boat sank, according to a Louisiana health department spokesperson, the New York Times reported.

"As we wake up today, everyone must remember that the threat Laura poses to Louisiana is ongoing," Edwards tweeted earlier. "Stay home, continue to heed the warnings and instructions of local officials and monitor your local news to stay informed."

A chemical fire erupted in Westlake, La., less than 5 miles west of Lake Charles, and state troopers closed nearby Interstate 10.

"Residents are advised to shelter in place until further notice and close your doors and windows," Edwards tweeted.

Storm chaser Brandon Clement of WXChasing posted video of wind toppling a recreational vehicle and WKRG-TV broadcast footage of a badly damaged home in Lake Charles.

A video shot by storm chaser Reed Timmer showed a powerful winds battering the Lake Charles Convention Center as Laura moved through the city in the pre-dawn hours.

One user posted a tweet early Thursday that showed high winds destroying a Wendy's restaurant sign.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/08/27/Tropical-Storm-Laura-Mass-power-outages-in-Louisiana-and-Texas-6-dead/7471598528579/?ur3=1

 

Hurricane Laura may affect early Arkansas harvest efforts

·        

 

·         Aug 27, 2020

LITTLE ROCK — High winds and heavy rainfall from what forecasters expect will be a major hurricane – Hurricane Laura – will likely sweep through most of Arkansas by Friday, just as harvest nears for several major crops across the state.

Laura was upgraded to a hurricane on Tuesday. Laura and the remnants of what was Tropical Storm Marco are expected to sweep northward from the Gulf of Mexico.

Laura is predicted to push into Arkansas before turning northeastward toward Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. The National Weather Service office in Little Rock said Laura was likely to maintain tropical storm-strength-winds of 30-40 mph and that gusts could briefly exceed 50 mph.

Terrible timing

While the rice harvest is set to begin in northern Arkansas, the corn harvest throughout the state has already begun for producers with grain drying capabilities.

As of Aug. 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported about 5 percent of the state’s approximately 640,000 acres had been harvested. Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said much of the state’s corn crop is in a vulnerable state.

“The timing is terrible, to be honest,” Kelley said.

While some corn producers in the state began harvesting as early as Aug. 1, Kelley said that those first three weeks of harvest were mainly limited to producers who have access to grain dryers.

“If you don’t have a way to handle corn above 15 percent moisture, there’s not much you can do prior to the tropical storm arrival, since most commercial grain terminals only want dry corn,” he said. Much of the state’s 2020 corn crop was late-planted, due primarily to wet conditions throughout March and April.

As with many crops in the state, lodging – the phenomenon of crops becoming first saturated with rain, and then blown down in high winds – poses the most likely threat at this point.

“Getting a big storm at the very end here isn’t ideal,” Kelley said. “But the big concern is that we get wind with it, which could cause lodging. When corn blows down, you’re just never able to get it all picked up and into the combine.”

Even lodged corn plants that can be recovered may suffer significant yield and grain quality loss, he said. The situation can be even more dire for grain sorghum, which, although not currently grown on substantial acreage in Arkansas, is ready for harvest this week.

“The problem with sorghum is that if it’s 80 degrees and it rains for 24 hours, the grain quality suffers – you’ll see sprouting in the head,” Kelley said. “We’ve seen this before in grain sorghum – we get these tropical rains, and the grain begins sprouting, and a very good crop can become unmarketable very suddenly.”

Additionally, heavy rains one week can make for muddy fields the next, even if the storm passes.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, all but the northern 25 percent or so of Arkansas stands a 10-30 percent chance of receiving tropical-storm-force winds between now and Sunday, Aug. 30. NOAA also forecasts all of the state receiving at least 2 inches of rain by the end of the week, with some spots receiving up to 10 inches of rain.

Lodging in rice, soybeans

Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that as with corn, lodging in rice poses a significant challenge in harvesting rice. Arkansas is the nation’s leading producer of rice.

“As a general rule, some high winds at this time of year don’t bother me a great deal, as most of our cultivars stand pretty well,” Hardke said, “and some rainfall doesn’t really bother me though it does make for muddy harvest conditions and ruts. The concern is higher winds with rainfall, which turns into a heavy hand that can lay rice down and cause severe lodging.”

Depending on the severity of the lodging, producers could be looking at a much slower harvest and a reduction in yield, he said.

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said storm-related lodging also poses a potential problem for the state’s No. 1 crop.

“Most of the soybean crop is in mid- to late-reproduction,” Ross said. “At these growth stages, the crop can withstand some ‘lean’ to the plants, but we don’t want to see plants completely flat on the ground. Most of the state is dry, so we could use some rainfall to help finish out some of the early planted crop.

“We don’t need excessive amounts of rain that could potentially cause flooding in low-lying fields and the lower ends of fields that typically flood with large rainfalls,” he said.

Rain may help cotton

Cotton, which is slightly ahead of the five-year average for crop progress with bolls open on 25 percent of the state’s 500,000 planted acres, still has more than a month before most harvesting efforts will begin.

Bill Robertson, extension cotton agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said a thorough wetting this week will, if nothing else, help cotton growers struggling with decisions regarding termination dates for irrigation.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.edu.

https://www.jonesborosun.com/newport/hurricane-laura-may-affect-early-arkansas-harvest-efforts/article_1ac0a104-7c49-5423-8127-073488238948.html

 

 

RPT-Asia Rice-More takers for cheaper India offers even as floods hit supply

Arundhati Sarkar

AUGUST 28, 2020 / 6:30 AM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO

 

(Repeats story published on Aug 27 with no changes to text)

 

* Vietnam traders eye higher demand from China

 

* Buyers from Africa making inquiries about Indian rice

 

* Traders say Thai off-season crops to be disappointing

 

* Floods damage crops worth $4.29 billion in Bangladesh

 

By Arundhati Sarkar

 

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indian rice export prices rose for a third straight week with buyers turning to cheaper grain from the top hub, which continued to grapple with monsoon floods and a worsening pandemic, while concerns over low rainfall buoyed Thai rates.

 

Rates for India’s benchmark 5% broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 climbed to $384-$390 per tonne from last week’s $383-$389, as floods also curtailed rice milling with monsoon rains likely to remain heavy for the rest of the month.

 

Until last week, planting of rice, the key summer crop, stood at 37.8 million hectares, against 33.9 million hectares during the same time last year.

 

However, buyers from Africa are making inquiries as prices have gone up in Thailand and Vietnam, said an exporter based at Kakinada, the country’s biggest rice-handling port in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

 

Inconsistent rainfall in some rice-growing provinces in Thailand fueled fears of lower yield in 2020-21, with traders also warning of a disappointing off-season crop.

 

Thai 5% broken rice prices RI-THBKN5-P1 rose to $500-$520 per tonne from $480-500 last week.

 

Prices for Vietnam’s 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 remained unchanged for a second consecutive week at $480-$490 a tonne, with traders expecting prices to stay high over the coming weeks, amid higher demand from China, which has also been suffering from floods.

 

Exporters cannot sign any new export contracts because of scarce domestic supplies and are focusing on fulfilling contracts signed with Malaysia, the Philippines and Cuba instead, a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

 

Floods damaged crops worth $4.29 billion on more than 100,000 hectares in Bangladesh as well, pushing up domestic prices of the staple, the country’s Agriculture Ministry said.

 

Bangladesh, the world’s third-biggest rice producer, often relies on imports to cope with shortages caused by floods and droughts. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; editing by Arpan Varghese and Ramakrishnan M.)

 

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-rice/rpt-asia-rice-more-takers-for-cheaper-india-offers-even-as-floods-hit-supply-idINL4N2FT3II

 

Deputy minister: Detailed study to be conducted before setting local, imported rice controls

Thursday, 27 Aug 2020 04:52 PM MYT

Description: Deputy Minister II Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said whatever the decision to be made on the issue, should require careful study because it is a strategic and critical industry, and it is also the staple food of Malaysians. — Picture by Azinuddin GhazaliDeputy Minister II Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said whatever the decision to be made on the issue, should require careful study because it is a strategic and critical industry, and it is also the staple food of Malaysians. — Picture by Azinuddin Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 ― The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries will conduct a detailed market study before submitting the proposed local rice ceiling prices and setting price controls on imported rice.

Its Deputy Minister II Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said whatever the decision to be made on the issue, should require careful study because it is a strategic and critical industry, and it is also the staple food of Malaysians.

“This is to ensure that the impact of price changes does not burden consumers and the people as a whole,” he said at a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat here today.

Elaborating further, Che Abdullah said the government had introduced a ceiling price for local rice starting in 2008 to ensure that the people and consumers obtained their supply of rice at a reasonable and controlled price despite the increase in rice prices in the international market.

Currently, he said local white rice, with a crushed content of five per cent, is controlled at RM2.60 per kilogramme and to cover the 30 per cent shortage of domestic rice consumption, white rice is imported at an average price of around RM2.80 to RM3 per kilogramme.

“Taking into account some policy changes such as the increase in the ceiling price of rice which has been standardised from RM850 per tonne to RM1,200 per tonne in 2014, the ministry is of the view that a study on the ceiling price of local rice should be implemented.

“This is to give justice to others throughout the industry chain such as manufacturers and wholesalers as the business profit margin is shrinking as a result of the set retail ceiling price,” he said. ― Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/08/27/deputy-minister-detailed-study-to-be-conducted-before-setting-local-importe/1897737

 

Floodwater flow to feed rice paddies

Diversion leads to Chao Phraya basin

PUBLISHED : 27 AUG 2020 AT 07:00

NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS

WRITER: POST REPORTERS

The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has revealed plans to divert masses of water now flooding Sukhothai to feed rice fields in the Chao Phraya River basin.

A system of water gates in tributary canals along the Yom River and Chao Phraya River from Sukhothai to Chai Nat, where the water will enter the basin, will be put to work in the diversion plan, according to Thaweesak Thanadechopol, the RID deputy director-general.

This effectively cancels an original plan to push water into a network of canals and waterways in the vast Bang Rakam fields of Phitsanulok.

Mr Thaweesak said the Bang Rakam fields will be freed up for now in anticipation of tropical storms in the near future when the space will be required to absorb large volumes of water.

Also, rice farmers in the Chao Phraya river basin, which encompasses the country's rice belt areas, still need water for irrigation.

·         125,000 rai hit as flooding worsens

·         The Chao Phraya Sky Park, a new landmark for Bangkokians

Mr Thaweesak said the department expected the masses of water currently passing through Sukhothai to reach the basin in five to six days. The water in the Yom River originated from upstream Phrae province which was lashed by storms and suffered from floods between Aug 20-22.

In Sukhothai, Sri Satchanalai was the first district to be battered by water that flowed down from Phrae on Monday.

It was the largest volume of water in the Yom River to reach the district during the same period in the past three years. Yesterday, at its highest point, the flow was measured at 1,499 cubic measures of water per second, Mr Thaweesak said.

The deputy department chief said the plan was to divert water through the Had Prajan watergate before it gets to Sukhothai city centre. The water will flow through canals before entering the Nan River in Sakhon Sawan.

After that the water will head down to the Chao Phraya barrage in Chai Nat where it will be channeled into canals on both sides of the Chao Phraya River.

On the left side of the river, the water will feed rice fields along the Khlong Chai Nat Pasak and Khlong Rapeepat, which are connected to Khlong 13 and Khlong Pra-ong Chonlathit in downstream Chachoengsao province.

Mr Thaweesak said farming has yet to begin for the current crop season in about 3.5 million rai of paddy fields covered by the basin.

On the right side of the Chao Phraya River, the water will be diverted into the Noi and Tha Cheen rivers through Khlong Makhamthao U Thong.

He said several storms are forecast for northern parts of the country during this rainy season which is expected to last until the middle of October.

If the Bang Rakam fields in Phitsanulok cannot take all the excess water, there is Bueng Boraphet, the country's largest swamp in Nakhon Sawan, which can serve as an alternative water catchment area.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1975307/floodwater-flow-to-feed-rice-paddies

 

 

Rice Prices

as on : 27-08-2020 01:46:53 PM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.

Arrivals

Price

Current

%
change

Season
cumulative

Modal

Prev.
Modal

Prev.Yr
%change

Rice

Mandya(Kar)

187.00

-3.11

19513.00

1700

2200

-

Gondal(UP)

115.00

3.14

9495.00

2400

2420

-2.04

Barhaj(UP)

100.00

25

11655.00

2590

2590

7.92

Sindhanur(Kar)

45.00

-52.63

754.00

1790

1470

-0.56

Aligarh(UP)

45.00

28.57

4892.00

2550

2550

NC

Muradabad(UP)

35.00

16.67

2092.00

2620

2620

2.75

Lakhimpur(UP)

35.00

-22.22

3231.00

2440

2420

2.95

Agra(UP)

22.00

10

3716.00

2620

2670

-1.50

Vilaspur(UP)

22.00

15.79

1894.20

2570

2590

2.39

Muzzafarnagar(UP)

20.00

NC

4766.00

2810

2790

-4.91

Rampur(UP)

14.00

-17.65

835.50

2600

2625

1.56

Soharatgarh(UP)

12.00

20

1699.20

2550

2565

4.51

Fatehpur(UP)

7.50

-9.64

2398.40

2485

2490

5.74

Unnao(UP)

6.50

8.33

311.80

2450

2450

-1.01

Kasganj(UP)

6.00

20

559.50

2610

2590

1.56

Badayoun(UP)

5.00

-44.44

1159.50

2610

2600

3.57

Achalda(UP)

3.00

-25

400.90

2450

2450

10.86

Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)

2.80

-6.67

655.60

2480

2450

-4.62

Jhansi(UP)

2.00

100

167.40

2485

2500

4.63

Charra(UP)

1.70

-15

138.20

2550

2550

NC

Shikohabad(UP)

1.50

NC

287.50

2620

2625

-11.19

Panichowki(Kumarghat)(Tri)

1.30

-13.33

79.40

2850

2900

-

Anandnagar(UP)

1.30

NC

234.30

2525

2545

9.78

Lalganj(UP)

0.80

-33.33

289.70

2300

2350

31.43

Atrauli(UP)

0.60

-25

15.20

2560

2550

-

Risia(UP)

0.60

-25

79.80

2400

2430

-

Follow us on TelegramFacebookTwitter, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin. You can also download our Android App or IOS App.

Published on August 27, 2020

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-bb6YETa5MEJ:https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article32454070.ece+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

 

 

Vietnamese white rice price highest in world

SGGPThursday, August 27, 2020 10:17

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnamese white rice price has become the highest in the world compared to its peers from India, Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar.

Description: Vietnamese white rice price highest in world

Presently, Vietnam’s 5 percent broken white rice was traded at US$488-$492 per ton and Vietnam’s 25 percent broken white rice was sold at $463-$467 per ton.

Economists said the price of Vietnamese rice has increased to the highest for many recent years because of the world’s strong demand while supply of India and Thailand is limited. Additionally, the quality of Vietnamese rice is improve leading to rise in price.

Vietnam’s abundant supply and quick delivery amidst Covid-19 crisis are the advantage which made importers prioritize. From now to end of the year, experts forecast that price of Vietnamese rice will continue increasing.

Rice farmers in the Mekong Delta are happy at the good news.

https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/vietnamese-white-rice-price-highest-in-world-88191.html#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Vietnam%20Food,%2C%20Thailand%2C%20Pakistan%20and%20Myanmar.

 

 

Farmers in An Giang reap bumper rice crop

 

Description: Farmers in An Giang reap bumper rice crop

Though severely affected by climate change, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang nonetheless earned handsome profits from the recent summer-autumn rice crop, with local farmers potentially pocketing 900 to 1300 USD per hectare after deducting costs.



Rice production in the province’s summer-autumn crop amounted to some 1.2 million tonnes amid the adverse impacts of climate change. The achievement is primarily due to proactive measures being taken against saltwater intrusion, including retaining fresh water, rescheduling crops, and changing rice varieties.All local rice has been sold, mostly for export. According to the local agriculture sector, the bright prospects for rice exports nationwide in recent times encouraged local companies to buy large amounts from farmers, including those from An Giang.



Still, the rice sector faces numerous challenges from now until the end of the year as the flood season has only just begun. Numerous response plans have been deployed, including switching crops to ensure the financial security of farmers.



Mekong Delta provinces have carried out various response measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change since the beginning of this year, with rice production not interrupted to any great extent. The rice sector has also been striving to meet the strict requirements of fastidious foreign markets. With abundant harvests and exponential export growth, farmers’ livelihoods have been greatly improved./.

https://vietreader.com/business/13542-farmers-in-an-giang-reap-bumper-rice-crop.html

 

 

Rice pool returns for 2021 season

27 Aug 2020, 10 a.m.

Cropping

Description: Rice growers appreciate the opening of the 2021 pool by The Sun Rice Group. Photo: Stephen Burns

 Rice growers appreciate the opening of the 2021 pool by The Sun Rice Group. Photo: Stephen Burns

Aa

The announcement by The SunRice Group to open a pool for the forthcoming 2021 Riverina rice season will be widely appreciated by the industry which has suffered greatly during the past few seasons of low returns and meagre water allocations.

The announcement has been made ahead of the planting window which opens in October 2020, following recent increased rainfall, inflows to major water storages and allocations.

A spokesperson said this is the first pool that the Group has run since 2018, with the 2019 and 2020 crops the third and second-smallest on record as a consequence of drought, low water allocations, high water prices and water reform.

The opening of the pool follows SunRice's announcement of an initial fixed price offer on 24 July 2020 for specific varietals, which closed on 3 August 2020 after strong demand from growers.

As a result of this strong response, SunRice has already contracted substantially more volume than was grown in the 2019 or 2020 seasons.

The Group has also announced an estimated range of $390 to $450 per metric tonne (for medium grain Reiziq) for the 2021 pool.

Commenting on the announcement, SunRice chair, Laurie Arthur, said the company is pleased to announce the opening of a pool after a very difficult period for the Riverina rice industry due to drought, which has been exacerbated by the impacts of water reform and high water prices.

"With the weather outlook remaining positive over coming months - we are increasingly optimistic of a much larger Riverina rice crop being planted for the 2021 season," Mr Arthur said.

"Growers responded positively to our initial fixed price offer announced in July 2020 - with SunRice having already contracted for significantly more rice for 2021 than was grown in 2019 or 2020.

"We have continued to closely monitor conditions since that first offer, which is why we are now pleased to be announcing the opening of a pool, and we believe the estimated range provides a compelling proposition for our growers.

"We are hopeful that the Bureau of Meteorology's strong forecast for the coming months plays out, and we see increased rainfall and inflows to water storages, so that our rice growers can plant a large crop in 2021."

Seed orders for the No.1 Pool will open at 9am on 7 September 2020 for growers who grew in a Critical Year (2019 and / or 2020), and then for all other growers at 9am on 9 September 2020.

  • For more information or to take up the offer, growers can contact SunRice's Grower Services team on 1800 654 557.

Have you signed up to The Land's free daily newsletter? Register below to make sure you are up to date with everything that's important to NSW agriculture.

https://www.theland.com.au/story/6897750/rice-pool-returns-for-2021-season/

 

Palay production in Western Visayas grows by 12.15% in H1

By Erwin Nicavera  August 27, 2020, 2:03 pm

HIGHER YIELD. In this file photo, rice farmers in Bago City, Negros Occidental harvest their yield during one of the cropping seasons last year. During the first six months of 2020, palay production in Western Visayas increased by 12.15 percent, the Department of Agriculture said in a report on Wednesday. (PNA Bacolod file photo)

BACOLOD CITY – Palay production in Western Visayas increased by 12.15 percent in the first six months of 2020 amid the resiliency of rice farmers in the region, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 6 (Western Visayas) said on Wednesday.

DA-6 Regional Director Remelyn Recoter said in a statement that despite the threats posed by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the farmers manifested their dedication and commitment to provide sufficient, affordable and safe food for the people.

“Our farmers are situated in the rural areas. During the enhanced community quarantine period, movement and transportation were restricted but they still found enough time to monitor, supervise, and manage their rice lands,” she added.

Based on figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Western Visayas  produced 753,832.24 metric tons (MT) from January to June this year compared to only 672,152.53 MT during the same period last year.

According to the DA-6, across all ecosystems, whether irrigated, rain-fed and upland, Iloilo had the highest production of 352,416.38 MT in the first six months.

Capiz is next with 179,345.01 MT followed by Negros Occidental, 107,821 MT; Aklan, 52,223.85 MT; Antique, 46,890 MT; and Guimaras, 15,136 MT.

Last year, Iloilo also ranked first with a six-month palay production of 298,376.53 MT.

Recoter said she is optimistic that with the interventions provided to farmers under the Rice Resiliency Program, Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, and Regular Rice Program, particularly the distribution of seeds and fertilizer during the wet season, Western Visayas could play a big role in ensuring the rice sufficiency of the country for the year.

In 2019, Region 6 contributed 2.077 million MT or 11.04 percent to the 18.814 million MT national rice production in 2019.

Western Visayas is one of three regions with major contributions to the national palay production aside from Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley.

“I am happy that more rice farmers have planted hybrid, certified, and good seeds this season. I am also optimistic that they have applied appropriate fertilization with the free Urea fertilizer we gave to them,” Recoter said. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113535

 

Rice Prices

as on : 27-08-2020 01:46:53 PM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.

Arrivals

Price

Current

%
change

Season
cumulative

Modal

Prev.
Modal

Prev.Yr
%change

Rice

Mandya(Kar)

187.00

-3.11

19513.00

1700

2200

-

Gondal(UP)

115.00

3.14

9495.00

2400

2420

-2.04

Barhaj(UP)

100.00

25

11655.00

2590

2590

7.92

Sindhanur(Kar)

45.00

-52.63

754.00

1790

1470

-0.56

Aligarh(UP)

45.00

28.57

4892.00

2550

2550

NC

Muradabad(UP)

35.00

16.67

2092.00

2620

2620

2.75

Lakhimpur(UP)

35.00

-22.22

3231.00

2440

2420

2.95

Agra(UP)

22.00

10

3716.00

2620

2670

-1.50

Vilaspur(UP)

22.00

15.79

1894.20

2570

2590

2.39

Muzzafarnagar(UP)

20.00

NC

4766.00

2810

2790

-4.91

Rampur(UP)

14.00

-17.65

835.50

2600

2625

1.56

Soharatgarh(UP)

12.00

20

1699.20

2550

2565

4.51

Fatehpur(UP)

7.50

-9.64

2398.40

2485

2490

5.74

Unnao(UP)

6.50

8.33

311.80

2450

2450

-1.01

Kasganj(UP)

6.00

20

559.50

2610

2590

1.56

Badayoun(UP)

5.00

-44.44

1159.50

2610

2600

3.57

Achalda(UP)

3.00

-25

400.90

2450

2450

10.86

Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)

2.80

-6.67

655.60

2480

2450

-4.62

Jhansi(UP)

2.00

100

167.40

2485

2500

4.63

Charra(UP)

1.70

-15

138.20

2550

2550

NC

Shikohabad(UP)

1.50

NC

287.50

2620

2625

-11.19

Panichowki(Kumarghat)(Tri)

1.30

-13.33

79.40

2850

2900

-

Anandnagar(UP)

1.30

NC

234.30

2525

2545

9.78

Lalganj(UP)

0.80

-33.33

289.70

2300

2350

31.43

Atrauli(UP)

0.60

-25

15.20

2560

2550

-

Risia(UP)

0.60

-25

79.80

2400

2430

-

Follow us on TelegramFacebookTwitter, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin. You can also download our Android App or IOS App.

Published on August 27, 2020

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-bb6YETa5MEJ:https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article32454070.ece+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

 

Virtual U of A Field Day serves up lots of rice

Presentations can be viewed online

August 27, 2020

 

LITTLE ROCK, AR — The University of Arkansas (U of A) Division of Agriculture held their annual Rice Field Day last week.  Participants tuned in via computer as the virtual event kicked off last Thursday evening with pre-recorded presentations, and Dr. Jarrod Hardke, director of the UofA Rice Experiment Station, moderating the live question and answer session following presentations.

Dr. Bob Scott, the newly appointed director of the UofA Cooperative Extension Service, started off the event by reminding attendees that “the extensive research we do helps inform our recommendations for best practices for the rice industry in Arkansas.  It is the desire of the Division to share our research findings even when an in-person field day is not recommended.  So, we may not have catfish or BBQ, but, thanks to technology, we do have the ability to bring the field day to you.”

“The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board is investing grower check-off funds to facilitate rice production in Arkansas,” said Roger Pohlner, chair of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, who provided his board update from the future home of the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center.  “Primarily, we direct these funds into areas that you are probably already familiar with:  variety development, fertility and irrigation management, weed and disease control, and the rice research verification program, just to name a few.”

Design plans for the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center, to be directed by Dr. Tim Burcham, were shared.

Other presenters included Dr. Jason Norsworthy who discussed weed control and tolerance of herbicides such as Provisia, Rogue, Loyant, and others.  Dr. Ehsan Shakiba reviewed the process of hybrid rice breeding.  

Dr. Trent Roberts encouraged producers to regularly test their soil which could increase yield and profitability, and also reported on research results pertaining to optimizing soil fertility.  Dr. Yeshi Wamishe focused on fungicide management and urged producers to know the disease reactions of their rice varieties and then use those ratings to select varieties that match with the history of their fields.  

Lastly, Dr. Xueyan Sha provided an overview of the varieties released over the past two years including CLL16, released late last year, and talked about a new variety that could be ready in the near future.

https://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/virtual-u-of-a-field-day-serves-up-lots-of-rice/

 

 

Rice: Lagos has potential to feed itself- RIFAN national deputy president

By Naija247news.com

 -

August 27, 2020

Description: https://i2.wp.com/naija247news.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/250C51B5-67CB-4F4A-B22E-8894CC4D7ACF.png?resize=696%2C446&ssl=1

By Olayinka Olawale
Lagos, Aug. 27, 2020 Mr Segun Atho, Deputy National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), says Lagos State has the potential to feed itself without depending much on others.

Atho told newsmen on Thursday in Lagos that he believed the state government would develop more in the production of rice, even when it just started its revolution,

He lauded the state government for its intervention in the rice value chain.

Atho said: “Lagos State has land, even when they have a rather limited landmass. We want them to help farmers in terms of equipment, machinery, roads, water and other things that can enable them expand and sustain their developmental projects.

“We want government to clear and develop more land, provide swamp dozer, swamp buggy and other machinery to clear the swampy land for expansion.

“Lagos has the potential to feed itself without depending so much on others.

“Even though we are just starting, I believe that going forward, we are going to develop in this area of production.

“The Imota Rice Mill will need a lot of support and all hands should be on deck, both from the government’s side and that of the farmers.

“The training of rice farmers is a very good omen and I want the government to keep the tempo because growing rice is another level of development in the state.”

He urged government to provide other things like roads, warehousing, aggregating centres and ensure that farmers did not lack viable seeds and sustainable ones that could keep the tempo.

According to him, the rice initiative that the government has started is a welcome development.

`My advice for farmers is to utilise whatever support they get from government and not to do otherwise.

“They should be ready to use those things for what they are meant for.

“Farmers should not play pranks and should not see the support as political sharing, rather they should see it as an effort to develop themselves,” Atho added.

Speaking on the change in rain pattern and the long break, Atho said it was a natural climatic change, which he believes would not go without having an impact.

He urged farmers to take necessary precautionary measures to mitigate its impact on food production and security.

According to him, rain will surely fall.

“I fear that when it starts raining, it should not affect our production. This is because if you have not prepared the land and the rains start, then there will be problems.

“Farmers should prepare their land before the rains return, to avert problems.

“When it comes to the dry season like this type of nature that we are experiencing now, what we need is water pumping machine and boreholes.

“The Federal and State Governments can drill boreholes so that farmers can use their water pumps to wet their farmlands.

“Irrigation is the only solution to this kind of weather. Farmers need to continue to wet their farmlands as often as possible, to sustain the farms,” he said.

https://naija247news.com/2020/08/27/rice-lagos-has-potential-to-feed-itself-rifan-national-deputy-president/#.X0j8GkQzY2w

Buffalo “bio-mowers” reap bumper rice crop

By TTG Asia

/ Posted on 28 August, 2020 13:53

Laguna Golf Lang Co’s family of water buffalo greenskeepers have helped the club reap a record rice harvest: the fruits of which are going towards feeding members of the local community in Central Vietnam.

The bovine brood has been bolstered by the birth of Lulu, a new baby daughter, who joins fellow recent arrival Luna, eldest calf Bao, and father and mother Tu Phat and Chi Chi in the workforce.

Description: http://ttgasia.2017.ttgasia.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/08/Buffalo-Power.jpgBaby Lulu (right) is the latest addition to the now five-strong family of water buffalos at Laguna Golf Lang Co

And the extra sets of hooves have dramatically boosted productivity, with the club gathering 28 tonnes of rice from the seven hectares of fields right in the middle of the Sir Nick Faldo Signature layout – a record harvest-time haul.

The buffalo “bio-mowers” have been vital in helping to maintain the elevated status of the layout, which winds its way through tropical jungle, ocean sand dunes and ancient rice paddies.

They help to manage the seven hectares of rice fields located right in the middle of the course by eating excess weeds, crops while tilling the soil in the area that would otherwise require machinery and additional manpower to maintain.

The rice-fields, though, are not just for show. Harvested twice a year, they have previously yielded up to 20 tons of rice that are used to support the organic farm at Laguna Lang Co and donated to families and seniors in the area who are in need of extra support.

This winter’s record haul, however, surpassed previous harvests by some way. Additionally, the bumper crop could not have come at a timely juncture, with Vietnam’s economy taking a hit on tourism as the international borders remain closed to combat the spread of the global pandemic.

Adam Calver, director of golf at Laguna Lang Co, said: “The communities that have limited economic means have been hit the hardest by the economic downturn that has resulted from the global pandemic. The fact that we are able to donate even more rice to locals who need it most this year was a really positive outcome for our edible golf course.”

https://www.ttgasia.com/2020/08/28/buffalo-bio-mowers-reap-bumper-rice-crop/

 

Rice: Lagos has potential to feed itself – RIFAN

Thursday, August 27, 2020 3:01 pm | Nigeria News | 0 Comment(s)

 

Rice Farmers Association (RIFAN)

By Olayinka Olawale Description: https://i1.wp.com/www.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Rice-Framers-Association-of-Nigeria-RIFAN-e1571400320960.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1

The Deputy National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mr Segun Atho said Lagos State has the potential to feed itself without depending much on others.

Atho told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that he believed the state government would develop more in the production of rice, even when it just started its revolution,

He lauded the state government for its intervention in the rice value chain.

“Lagos State has land, even when they have a rather limited landmass.

”We want them to help farmers in terms of equipment, machinery, roads, water and other things that can enable them expand and sustain their developmental projects.

“We want government to clear and develop more land, provide swamp dozer, swamp buggy and other machinery to clear the swampy land for expansion.

“Lagos has the potential to feed itself without depending so much on others.

“Even though we are just starting, I believe that going forward, we are going to develop in this area of production.

 

“The Imota Rice Mill will need a lot of support and all hands should be on deck, both from the government’s side and that of the farmers.

“The training of rice farmers is a very good omen and I want the government to keep the tempo because growing rice is another level of development in the state.”

He urged government to provide other things like roads, warehousing, aggregating centres and ensure that farmers did not lack viable seeds and sustainable ones that could keep the tempo.

According to him, the rice initiative that the government has started is a welcome development.

`My advice for farmers is to utilise whatever support they get from government and not to do otherwise.

“They should be ready to use those things for what they are meant for.

“Farmers should not play pranks and should not see the support as political sharing, rather they should see it as an effort to develop themselves,” Atho added.

Speaking on the change in rain pattern and the long break, Atho said it was a natural climatic change, which he believes would not go without having an impact.

He urged farmers to take necessary precautionary measures to mitigate its impact on food production and security.

According to him, rain will surely fall.

“I fear that when it starts raining, it should not affect our production. This is because if you have not prepared the land and the rains start, then there will be problems.

“Farmers should prepare their land before the rains return, to avert problems.

“When it comes to the dry season like this type of nature that we are experiencing now, what we need is water pumping machine and boreholes.

“The Federal and State Governments can drill boreholes so that farmers can use their water pumps to wet their farmlands.

“Irrigation is the only solution to this kind of weather. Farmers need to continue to wet their farmlands as often as possible, to sustain the farms,” he said.

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/08/27/rice-lagos-has-potential-to-feed-itself-rifan/

Pakistan may import red kidney beans from Ethiopia: minister

 

Amin AhmedUpdated 28 Aug 2020

Description: Fakhr Imam said the draft memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation formerly proposed by the Ethiopian side could not be finalised due to poor response of the provincial governments. — DawnNewsTV/File

Fakhr Imam said the draft memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation formerly proposed by the Ethiopian side could not be finalised due to poor response of the provincial governments. — DawnNewsTV/File

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is considering extending the period of lifting ban on the import of red kidney beans from Ethiopia on the condition that the SOPs the two countries agreed to observe are fully complied with by the Ethiopian government, Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam said on Thursday.

Speaking to Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to Ethiopia Syed Shozab Abbas, the minister said it was important that the Ethiopian side keeps on sharing progress on the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) with our Department of Plant Protection (DPP) for permanent settlement of this issue based on scientific evidence and procedures.

Mr Fakhr Imam said the draft memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation formerly proposed by the Ethiopian side could not be finalised due to poor response of the provincial governments. He suggested that the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) may sign an MoU with its counterpart, the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organisation, for which a draft of MoU may be shared by PARC after completion of the internal formalities of the Pakistan government.

The PARC has suggested that Pakistan can extend assistance to Ethiopian side in the many areas which include honey bee management and value addition, poultry production and processing, developing and fabricating agricultural machinery and farm implements, livestock breed improvement, and artificial insemination and rehabilitation of degraded lands, conservation of biodiversity.

This year, Pakistan exported 150 metric tons of maize starch with the value of $0.033 million and 362.30 metric tons of rice valued at $0.20 million. Similarly, this year Ethiopia imported 152.5 metric tons of black tea, 12,160 metric tons of kidney beans and 213 metric tons of Pinto Beans worth $11.414 million.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1576782

Construction work at Ksh 20b Thiba dam on course

Written By: KNA

Construction work at the Sh20 billion Thiba dam is on course with first December 2021 targeted as the completion date.

At completion, the dam is expected to provide water to Mwea Irrigation Scheme and ensure farming goes on throughout the year uninterrupted.

The project Engineer Stephen Mutinda said they were now concentrating on the construction of the dam wall having already diverted the river.

He said the diversion works currently stands at 84% and they were now embarking on the creation of the spill way which was at 18%

Mutinda said they were periodically carrying out water analysis to ensure minimal contamination of the water from the construction works.

“No water from the quarry is going back to the river directly as we have made reservoirs for the dirty water which we dispose elsewhere,” Mutinda said

Mutinda was speaking during a visit to the project by the Kirinyaga County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (CDICC).

Kirinyaga County Commissioner Jim Njoka who chairs the committee said Thiba dam project was among a hundred projects identified by the government for monitoring.

He said it was important for the contractor to ensure he kept to the works’ timelines for the government to get value for the money being channeled to the project.

He said the government has provided enough money for the work progress and there was no budget challenge as witnessed in the past.

A temporally halt to the construction of the Dam had raised concern among the rice farmers who viewed the project as a major solution to water shortage in Mwea.

Njoka said the government is committed to ensuring the project moves within the scheduled time to enhance irrigation of rice in Mwea and improve of the country’s food security.

Data from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics shows that Kenya imports rice worth about Sh40 billion every year largely from Pakistan, Thailand, India and Vietnam

It is estimated that with the completion of Thiba dam, this amount would be reduced by half or even more if it succeeded in improving more water to allow for three seasons of rice per year, unlike the current one season.

National Irrigation Board Manager Innocent Ariemba says the current rice production during a good season is about 100,000 tonnes or about 80 percent which has been achieved without dedicated water flow.

 

The rice scheme is fed by direct water flow from Thiba and Nyamindi rivers without a dam.

Ariemba says Thiba dam would provide a holding ground for water, ensuring controlled flow even during the times of lower rainfall.

“This is planned to increase normal production by about 100 percent, meaning 140,000 tons and since the water will double overall area under rice, Mwea is set to produce about 280,000 tons,” he said.

The board manager says there is much more opportunity as by the time the dam is finished, ongoing research on better yielding rice is likely to have reached the farm level.

“Rice farms are also likely to be more mechanized by then. The storage of rice will have improved, eliminating post-harvest losses,” Ariemba noted.

He said more farmers would also be educated on modern farming methods to ensure that they harvest more bags of rice per acre than they currently do.

He said for instance, Kenya produces on average 4 tons of rice per 2.5 acres, Egypt produces double that at 8 tons while Vietnam produces 6 tons, same as china, Pakistan and India.

Exporters of rice into Kenya produce the same tonnage as Kenya, according to data aggregator index Muindi. It therefore means Kenya has a very big opportunity to become self-sufficient in rice if it could increase its yields per acre.

 

“The project will also help in the stabilization of the irrigation water supply, allowing double cropping with the area under irrigation increasing from 25,000 cares to 35,000 acres,” the official said.

The diversion of river Thiba which has been done to pave way for the construction work of the dam

The construction of the Thiba dam is being financed in partnership with the Japanese government through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

At completion, the dam will be 40 meters tall and 1-kilometer-long and is expected to have a holding capacity of 15 million cubic meters.

The construction was initially expected to take 3 years and seven months, meaning it would have been through around July 2020.

Thiba dam project, officially launched on November 23 2017 by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, is being constructed at Rukenya in Gichugu constituency, about four kilometers from Kutus town, the County headquarters.

During the launch, the President directed that work be completed within the stipulated time.

Kenya produces 100,000 tons of rice annually which is not enough to meet the local demand of 500,000 tones.

https://www.kbc.co.ke/construction-work-at-ksh-20b-thiba-dam-on-course/

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