Tuesday, August 04, 2020

4 August,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Hat trick for rice farmers in Ghana - FARA Researcher

A new variety of rice is being developed to thrive in the drought

 

Description: A new variety of rice is being developed to thrive in the droughtRice is one of the staple foods in Ghana and is used to prepare different kind of dishes. It is usually the dominant food on the menu of most restaurants and roadside eateries in the county.
As such, there is a high demand for the crop in the country and the sub-region in general.

However, the country is unable to produce enough to meet the local demands and has to import to make up for the shortfall.

Even though Ghana produces rice, the level of production has not been able to match with the demand and many issues are militating against the local production of the commodity.

Aside the climate playing a role in the low production of rice in Ghana, the farmers also lack the required technology and seedlings adaptable to the climate.

According to a Research Associate with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) Dr. Paul Boadu, the CSIR- Crop Research Institute is in the process of developing a GM rice variety called Newest rice, which, is been engineered to have nitrogen use and water use efficiency traits as well as a salt-tolerant trait.

The new rice variety is also drought-resistant and suitable for the two agricultural climates of the country.

“Rice is one of the major food staples consumed in Ghana with consumption outstripping domestic production and 66% of rice consumed being imported,” he said.

He indicated that government of Ghana imports rice to the tune of $151m to $1.2bn primarily from Thailand, Vietnam and India.

“There is a cultural preference in Ghana for imported rice, as it is seen as being better quality” he added.

Sharing his views on Ghana’s Rice Sector, Challenges Smallholder farmers are facing and the role of modern technology in improving Agricultural productivity and livelihood, Dr Boadu said adopting this rice would offer a lot of benefits to farmers as their incomes would improve whiles consumers also pay less for the commodity as prices would reduce.

He said an economic assessment by a research consultant showed that the country would gain GH? 230 million annually if she adopted the nitrogen efficient rice as the crop was drought resistant and utilized its nitrogen from the atmosphere making it to do well.

“We observe that most of the rice produced in the country is lowland rice but due to climate change and effects of drought, they are not able to do well but the nitrogen efficient rice is actually highland rice that does well in lowland areas as well,” he said.

Professor Walter Alhassan, Former Director-General of CSIR said the nitrogen efficient rice variety is good to revolutionize the country’s agricultural sector urging government to adopt them as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme to help boost food production and nutrition of the people.

According to a report released last week by Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics, farmers who planted genetically modified (GM) crops increased their incomes by almost $19 billion in 2018 and reduced carbon emissions by 23 billion kilograms or the equivalent of removing 15.3 million cars from the roads that year.

The report adds that the higher income represents $4.42 in extra income for each extra dollar invested.

“GM crop technology continues to make an important contribution to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and securing global food supplies in a sustainable way. It has also helped lift many small, resource-poor farmers and their families in developing countries out of poverty” said Graham Brookes.

The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Kodjo Essien Mensah-Abrampa said that the NDPC is developing a policy document on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for Ghana’s agriculture sector.

He indicated that the long-term policy document on GMOs will be launched in the coming months.
“Anywhere agriculture has developed in the world, you have excellent crop biotechnology policy” he added.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Hat-trick-for-rice-farmers-in-Ghana-FARA-Researcher-1024795

UCANR Rice Virtual Field Day

Author: Whitney Brim-DeForest

Published on: August 3, 2020

This field day is open to the public. Please share broadly to those who may be interested in attending.

 

UCANR California Rice Virtual Field Day

When: August 26, 2020, 1:00-3:00 PM

Where: Online Zoom Webinar

Host: Whitney Brim DeForest, UC ANR County Director, Sutter-Yuba Counties and CE Rice and Wild Rice Advisor

Registration: $20.00

Objectives/goals: The UC Cooperative Extension and California Rice Research Station will update attendees in the areas of variety development, disease and arthropod management, weed control, weedy rice, and fertility.

The full agenda can be viewed here.

Who should attend: California rice growers, Pest Control Advisers, and others interested in California rice production systems.

Continuing education units: Applied for 1 CEU from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and applied for 1 CEU from Certified Crop Adviser (CCA)

REGISTER HERE

Featured speakers:

  • Russell Rasmussen, Associate Director, California Rice Experiment Station, California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation
  • Bruce Linquist, CE Specialist, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
  • Kassim Al-Khatib, CE Specialist, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
  • Whitney Brim-DeForest, CE Rice and Wild Rice Advisor & County Director, Sutter-Yuba Counties
  • Luis Espino, CE Rice Farming Systems Advisor & County Director, Butte County
  • Ian Grettenberger, CE Assistant Specialist, Dept. of Entomology, UC Davis
  • Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, CE Farm Advisor, San Joaquin County

Contacts for more information:

This field day is open to the public. Please share broadly to those who may be interested in attending.

THIS EVENT WILL BE RECORDED FOR EDUCATIONAL OR PROMOTIONAL USE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. CONTACT THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS EVENT FOR MORE INFORMATION.

 

 

 

Focus Area Tags: AgriculturePest Management

Tags: field day (1), rice (15), webinar (0)

Comments: 0

No Comments Posted.

https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=43265

 

 

USA Rice Welcomes New Members  

 

By Deborah Willenborg

 

ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice recently welcomed two new members:  Cain Agra Operations and Black River Commodities.
 
Cain Agra Operations, a freight shipping and trucking company based out of Lake Village, Arkansas, joined the USA Rice Merchants' Association, and Black River Commodities, a state-of-the-art mill in Pocahontas, Arkansas, has joined the USA Rice Millers' Association.    

"The addition of Cain Agra and Black River to our membership definitely broadens our reach as an organization," said USA Rice Chair Bobby Hanks.  "We're happy to have them and look forward to their contributions."
 
USA Rice invites producer, mill, merchant, and industry partners who support the rice industry and the mission and goals of the organization to become full members.  Benefits of membership range from communications to educational conferences to providing strategic direction to USA Rice through participation on boards and committees.  
 
For more information on membership opportunities with USA Rice, please contact Jenni Bryant at (703) 236-1477.

 

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Description: https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/article22444221.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/0_Untitled-design-5.jpg 

Description: Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Lidl have urgently recalled food roductsSupermarkets issue urgent product recalls on rice and seafood (Image: 2018 Getty Images)

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Rice and seafood are being urgently recalled by brands.

Supermarkets have issued product recalls on the food items amid warnings they could pose safety and allergy risks.

Sainsbury's and Tesco are among those that have issued recalls on pre-packed rice, reports The Mirror.

The product recalls have been outlined by the Food Standards Agency whichhave said anyone with any of the items below should visit their nearest supermarket for a full refund.

Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati ready to heat rice pouches

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

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

Product details

Pack size 250g

Best before 17 November 2020

Best before 08 December 2020

Best before 14 June 2021

Best before 15 June 2021

Best before 03 July 2021

Best before 19 July 2021

Best before 09 December 2020

Best before 08 January 2021

Best before 18 January 2021

Best before 19 January 2021

Best before 02 March 2021

Best before 16 March 2021

Best before 20 March 2021

Best before 24 May 2021

The FSA said: "Mars Food UK is recalling the above product. Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling this product.

"These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product."

Highland Bay Seafoods Baked Whole King Scallops

The FSA stated on their website: "Highland Bay Seafoods is recalling their Baked Whole King Scallops with a creamy leek & kale sauce topped with mash potato because it contains fish which is not mentioned on the label.

"This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to fish."

Product details

Baked Whole King Scallops with a creamy leek & kale sauce topped with mash potato

Pack size 200g (2 scallops in a pack)

Batch code R006, R007, R008 and 20106

Best before end date: 07/2020, 09/2020, 12/2020 and 04/2021

Allergens: Fish

Highland Bay Seafoods is recalling the above product from customers and has been advised to contact the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall.

Highland Bay Seafoods says: "If you have bought Baked Whole King Scallops as detailed above, and you have an allergy to Fish do not eat it. Instead: Check if you have bought the affected batch code(s) / best before end date (s) of the Baked Whole King Scallops.

"You can do this by writing down the batch code(s)/ best before end date(s) for reference at home."

"Return the product to the store for a full refund (with or without a receipt)."

https://www.lancs.live/whats-on/shopping/sainsburys-tesco-among-supermarkets-issuing-18707952

 

Tweak FCI's procurement strategies to boost rice exports: Expert panel

 

Rice is among the biggest agriculture exports from India along with buffalo meat and cotton

Topics
Agriculture products | Food Corporation of India | MSP rice procurement

Sanjeeb Mukherjee  |  New Delhi Last Updated at August 1, 2020 19:35 IST

FILE PHOTO: Workers spread rice grain on a field to dry them in the sun, in Nadia

·          

For boosting India’s non-basmati rice exports, the government needs to ensure that a higher pool of surplus rice is available to exporters by suitably modifying Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) procurement strategies, a high-powered panel of experts on agriculture exports said.

The panel was constituted by the 15th Finance Commission (FFC) to suggest measurable performance incentives for States to encourage agriculture exports as well as to promote crops that can help in high import substitution.

It comprised of senior representatives from the industry, academicians and former bureaucrats.

The panel said FCI is the largest buyer of rice in the domestic market for Public Distribution System (PDS) – approx. 40 million tonnes annually.

And, with the Minimum Support Price (MSP) increasing year on year it is leading to smaller export surplus and uncompetitive pricing in the international market for Indian non-basmati rice.

A reason perhaps why, despite being the world’s second largest producer of rice, both production and exports have been stagnant over the years.

The panel seemed to suggest that excess FCI buying and increasing MSP’s are the major pain points for Indian rice exports which could be addressed through suitable government policies such as price deficiency payment method (Bhawantar Scheme).

Rice is among the biggest agriculture exports from India along with buffalo meat and cotton. It was India’s single largest commodity with $7.3 billion trade surplus followed by shrimp ($4.6 billion) and bovine meat ($3.6 billion), the panel said.

Rice production in India is estimated to be over 115 million metric tonnes (which includes 6-7 million tonnes of basmati rice).

The panel has identified the crop value chains along with 21 others out of a laundry list of over 340 agriculture and commodities products that needs to developed to enable India increase its agriculture exports from the current $40 billion to over $70 billion in the next few years.

This push will enable an estimated investment of around $8-10 billion in inputs, infrastructure, processing and other demand enablers which will in turn create an estimated 7-10 million additional jobs. Such a boost to exports will also lead to higher farm productivity and farmer incomes.

The other items identified by the panel for value chain development includes shrimp, buffalo meat, raw cotton, grapes, pulses, mangoes, banana, potatoes, honey etc.

The panel also advised creation of a state-led export plan with the private sector playing an anchor role and the Centre acting as an enabler.

It was of the view that the private sector players had a pivotal role to play in ensuring demand orientation and focus on value addition; ensuring project plans are feasible, robust, implementable and appropriately funded.


https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/tweak-fci-s-procurement-strategies-to-boost-rice-exports-expert-panel-120080101281_1.html

 

owell Anderson "PA" Shockley

Stuttgart, AR, 1933 - 2020

Description: Photo of Powell Anderson "PA" Shockley

Powell Anderson "P.A." Shockley Jr., 86, of Stuttgart passed away Friday, July 31, 2020.

P.A. was born Dec. 28, 1933, in Lincoln County. He was preceded in death by father, Powell Anderson Shockley Sr.; mother, Geneva Shockley; sister, Frances Maxwell; and brother, Dean Shockley.

Survivors are his wife, Joyce Shockley; son, Dean Shockley and wife Julia; daughter, Tammy Smith and husband Terry; step-daughter, Meredith Lovett and husband Hal; grandsons, Preston Shockley, Luke Shockley and Zack Smith; and step-grandchildren, Rachel Ferraro, Barrett Jackson, Farris Jackson, Joshua Walker and Madison Walker.

P.A. attended Star City High School and the University of Arkansas at Monticello graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a degree in agriculture. After college, he was in the United States Army and later the Arkansas National Guard.

He began his agricultural career at the University of Arkansas Research Center in Kelso, and later worked at the Rice Research Center in Stuttgart as a research specialist in soil fertility, until he retired after 41 years.

P.A. was a deacon at Southside Baptist Church and he loved his church family.

He had many hobbies and interests. He loved watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Quail hunting was his passion, though. He and his best friend, Carroll Evans, hunted, guided, traveled to and judged many field trials, and made many great memories together. He was also a runner.

In the year 2000, P.A. developed prostate cancer. He recovered fully and even continued running, sometimes several miles a day. In 2003 he was chosen as the honorary chairman for Stuttgart's Relay for Life.

P.A. was a lifetime member of Master Gardners, and a wild flower enthusiast. His last years were spent in his beautiful yard taking care of his beloved roses and wildflowers.

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Baptist Health in Little Rock and Stuttgart, especially Dr. Eddy Hord. Also thank you to Fox Ridge Chenal and Arkansas Hospice.

Graveside services, officiated by Bro. Gregg Greenway, will be 2:30 p.m., Tuesday at Lone Tree Cemetery. Viewing will be noon-5 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesday at Turpin Funeral Home.

The family requests memorials to Southside Baptist Church, P.O. Box 424, Stuttgart, Ark., 72160; or Pass On Joy, 1920 S. Main, Suite 107, Stuttgart, Ark. 72160.

Please go to www.turpin-co.com to sign the online guestbook.

Published August 3, 2020

OBITUARY SUBMITTED BY:
Turpin Funeral Home, Inc.
1107 W. 22nd St., Stuttgart, AR
Phone: 870-673-1502
http://www.turpinco.com

https://www.arkansasonline.com/obituaries/2020/aug/03/powell-shockley-2020-08-03/

 

Moldenhauer Holds Director's Role for Rice for UA Agriculture (Movers & Shakers)

by Arkansas Business Staff

Monday, Aug. 3, 2020 12:00 am   1 min read


   

Description: Karen Moldenhauer of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in Stuttgart.

Karen Moldenhauer of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in Stuttgart.
Karen Moldenhauer, a professor and rice breeder, has been named interim director of the Rice Research & Extension Center at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in Stuttgart. Moldenhauer put her recently announced retirement on hold to serve in the position.


Description: William Ryan of UA Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock.

William Ryan of UA Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock.
William “Bill” Ryan has joined University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock as the dean of the School of Technical & Professional Studies. Most recently, Ryan served as an instructor of construction technology, carpentry and historic preservation technology at Montana Technical University.


Description: Jerry Stewart of Conway Corp.

Jerry Stewart of Conway Corp.
Jerry Stewart, the Conway Corp. information risk and compliance administrator, has earned the certificate for certified information systems auditor from the Information Systems Audit & Control Association. Stewart has been with Conway Corp. since 2007 and has been in his current role since December 2018.


Mitch Walton is the new director of the Office of Graduate & Professional Support at Harding University in Searcy. The office was launched July 1 to provide resources for more than 50 graduate and professional programs.


See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

https://www.blogger.com/blog/stats/week/7744424141239132414

 

New Cooperative Extension Service leader seeks to modernize, expand access

AGRICULTURETALK POLITICSVIDEO / PODCASTS

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)  August 2, 2020 9:45 am 220 views 

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·         UA Cooperative Extension Service

Description: https://talkbusiness.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/arkansasfarm-732x325.jpg

Dr. Bob Scott is no stranger the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. For more than 20 years, he’s held posts within the organization from weed scientist to rice research leader. In late June, he was named director, and despite his years of service, he’s been learning about aspects of the service he knew little about.

“I’m learning every day right now all the different programs that we have. It’s very wide in scope,” Scott said.

The extension service is the arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture that takes research and “extends” it to industry and communities. There are four main program areas: agriculture and natural research; family consumer sciences; 4-H and youth development; and community, economic and professional development.

“We do pride ourselves on being an unbiased source of information using research-generated data,” Scott said.

He said while the agency has long been established in rural Arkansas, its mission is shifting to urban areas as well. Through social media and expanded internet use, the Cooperative Extension Service has been able to broaden its reach. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed the ability for face-to-face and community meetings – a longtime centerpiece to the service’s communications strategy.

“I think we’re learning new things right now and new habits that we can take forward, even when this crisis is over,” Scott said. “So, I think that’s the direction I see us going is more of a focus on reaching more people virtually in combination where it fits with our traditional hands-on approach.”

One of the biggest challenges facing Scott’s organization involves the shifting demographics of rural America to more urban settings. Rural America and Arkansas have seen huge population shifts over the last few decades. Two of the state’s most rural Congressional Districts – the First and Fourth – are on pace to lose more than 100,000 residents between 2010 and the end of 2020. Scott says the Cooperative Extension Service will continue to search for new audiences, while staying true to its original mission.

“I think there’s going to be a big focus, frankly, on our family consumer science areas and on our community and professional development areas. These are good tools for anybody to use, whether they’re in a rural or more urban or suburban setting,” he said.

“I do think though it’s important in the state of Arkansas that we keep grounded in our rural and agricultural community. I mean, we’re still in a state where something like 12% of our economy is still ag-based. We’re the biggest rice-producing state in the country. We do have a very much agricultural-based economy in this state. So, our balance is going to be to stay rooted in those things that got us here,” Scott said.

You can watch Scott’s full interview in the video below.

https://talkbusiness.net/2020/08/new-cooperative-extension-service-leader-seeks-to-modernize-expand-access/

Farmers see higher tariff collection from rice imports

Published August 2, 2020, 10:00 PM

by Madelaine B. Miraflor

Rice farmers said that had it not for alleged undervaluation of imports, tariff collection from rice importation should have been higher compared to the slight improvement reported by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

In a statement, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Montemayor questioned the BOC report that rice tariff collection from January to July did not “significantly” improve from last year. According to BoC, tariff collections from imported rice had reached P10.73 billion as of July 17, 2020, a slight improvement from P9.94 billion in the same period last year.

 “The agency is using seemingly improved numbers in tariff receipts to mask its failure to collect correct revenues from rice importers. It is hiding the fact that undervaluation of imports and its collection performance worsened this year,” Montemayor said.
             

The FFF’s analysis of publicly available data showed that the BOC’s collection efficiency fell significantly in 2020, based on FOB (Free on Board or the cost of imports at the point of origin) and CIF (Cost or FOB plus insurance and freight) prices.  
             

 In the first five months of 2020, rice importers declared that the FOB prices of their imports averaged P1,692 per ton, which was lower than the BoC’s own reference prices by P2,416 per metric ton.  In 2019, the average gap in FOB prices was only P945 per metric ton, indicating that the degree of undervaluation of FOB prices increased by 155 percent in 2020.
             

 Similarly, declared CIF prices, the basis for tariff payments, were lower than BoC reference rates by P3,292 per metric ton on the average in January to May 2020.  In comparison, the gap between declared and official CIF prices in 2019 was only P1,943 per ton in 2019.
              

The FFF analysis showed that the declared CIF prices of imports per metric ton increased from P17,510 in 2019 to P17,723 in 2020, or by a mere P213 per ton.  In comparison, the BoC’s own reference prices during the same period rose by P1,603 per ton.
              

The FFF claimed that this explains why the BoC’s tariff collections increased only marginally by 1.3 percent from P 6.13 per kilo of rice imports in 2019 to P6.21 in 2020.
             

 “And yet, FOB prices of rice have gone up by at least 10 percent in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and supply uncertainties in Vietnam and other rice exporting countries.  Considering that tariffs are applied on import values, the fact that the increase in tariffs collected per kilo was way below 10 percent indicates that the degree of undervaluation by importers actually intensified in 2020,” Montemayor said.
             

 Earlier, the FFF flagged an estimated P2.676 billion in tariffs that were not collected due to the undervaluation of FOB and CIF prices of importers from 2019 up to the first five months of 2020.
              

Another P200 million were not collected by the BoC due to the wrong application of the 35 percent ASEAN tariff rate on imports from non-ASEAN countries, the group further said.

 

Farmers see higher tariff collection from rice imports

Published August 2, 2020, 10:00 PM

by Madelaine B. Miraflor

Rice farmers said that had it not for alleged undervaluation of imports, tariff collection from rice importation should have been higher compared to the slight improvement reported by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

In a statement, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Montemayor questioned the BOC report that rice tariff collection from January to July did not “significantly” improve from last year. According to BoC, tariff collections from imported rice had reached P10.73 billion as of July 17, 2020, a slight improvement from P9.94 billion in the same period last year.

 “The agency is using seemingly improved numbers in tariff receipts to mask its failure to collect correct revenues from rice importers. It is hiding the fact that undervaluation of imports and its collection performance worsened this year,” Montemayor said.
             

The FFF’s analysis of publicly available data showed that the BOC’s collection efficiency fell significantly in 2020, based on FOB (Free on Board or the cost of imports at the point of origin) and CIF (Cost or FOB plus insurance and freight) prices.  
             

 In the first five months of 2020, rice importers declared that the FOB prices of their imports averaged P1,692 per ton, which was lower than the BoC’s own reference prices by P2,416 per metric ton.  In 2019, the average gap in FOB prices was only P945 per metric ton, indicating that the degree of undervaluation of FOB prices increased by 155 percent in 2020.
             

 Similarly, declared CIF prices, the basis for tariff payments, were lower than BoC reference rates by P3,292 per metric ton on the average in January to May 2020.  In comparison, the gap between declared and official CIF prices in 2019 was only P1,943 per ton in 2019.
              

The FFF analysis showed that the declared CIF prices of imports per metric ton increased from P17,510 in 2019 to P17,723 in 2020, or by a mere P213 per ton.  In comparison, the BoC’s own reference prices during the same period rose by P1,603 per ton.
              

The FFF claimed that this explains why the BoC’s tariff collections increased only marginally by 1.3 percent from P 6.13 per kilo of rice imports in 2019 to P6.21 in 2020.
             

 “And yet, FOB prices of rice have gone up by at least 10 percent in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and supply uncertainties in Vietnam and other rice exporting countries.  Considering that tariffs are applied on import values, the fact that the increase in tariffs collected per kilo was way below 10 percent indicates that the degree of undervaluation by importers actually intensified in 2020,” Montemayor said.
             

 Earlier, the FFF flagged an estimated P2.676 billion in tariffs that were not collected due to the undervaluation of FOB and CIF prices of importers from 2019 up to the first five months of 2020.
              

Another P200 million were not collected by the BoC due to the wrong application of the 35 percent ASEAN tariff rate on imports from non-ASEAN countries, the group further said.

 

Traders’ unused import clearances ‘anomalous’

 

ByJasper Y. Arcalas

August 3, 2020

THE Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said “unjustified” underutilization by traders of their approved sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) for milled rice is an “anomalous” activity that may disrupt state food sufficiency planning.

The BPI, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), told the BusinessMirror that the new requirements for securing SPS-IC would “avoid under supply for consumption of the Filipinos and buffer stocking purposes.”

“Underutilization of approved SPS-ICs without proper justification is a kind of anomalous activity which can disrupt government planning for food sufficiency,” BPI National Plant Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD) said in an e-mail interview.

“The new requirements will assure that applied SPS-ICs will be arriving within the specified period, and together with the local harvest, avoid undersupply for consumption of the Filipinos and buffer stocking purposes,” it added.

The BusinessMirror earlier reported that rice traders and importers who have unused sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance could be suspended by the DA as about 60 percent of issued SPS-ICs in the first half, covering almost 2 million metric tons (MMT), remained unutilized as of July 10.

BPI data obtained and analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed that only 1,803 SPS-ICs of the 3,926 SPS-ICs issued from January to June have been used by eligible rice importers as of July 10.

This corresponds to a total rice volume imported of about 1.347 MMT out of the 3.261 MMT applied volume during the six-month period, BPI data showed.

About 2,123 SPS-ICs, which cover 1.914 MMT of rice, are yet to be used by registered and eligible traders, importers, firms, cooperatives, and organizations, based on BPI data.

Citing importers’ explanations, BPI-NPQSD said the underutilization of the SPS-ICs this year was attributed to such reasons as the lockdowns in countries of origin due to Covid-19 pandemic and export ban in Vietnam.

Other reasons given by rice importers were: delayed shipments, rice suppliers limiting their export to ensure supply for their own needs, port congestion and holidays at country of origins and high price of imported rice than locallyproduced staple, according to BPI-NPQSD.

Dar’s reminder

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar earlier issued a memorandum order (MO) reminding importers that “low utilization” of SPS-ICs could be “grounds for rejection of application or their suspension as importer.” “Importers should regularly account and surrender any unused SPS-ICs to BPI,” Dar said in his MO No. 30 dated June 4 but made public on July 6.

“They are reminded that low utilization of applied SPS-IC can affect their track record and can be grounds for rejection of application or their suspension,” Dar added.

Dar issued the new order to address the “problem of low utilization” of SPS-IC for milled rice and “ensure availability of food” during this Covid-19 pandemic.

The new order required rice importers to submit additional requirements for the application of SPS-IC: 1) payment of certification of the consignment and 2) list of distribution points/warehouse of the said consignment.

“This will enable BPI and other government agencies to conduct monitoring and inventory at declared warehouses,” the BPI-NPQSD said.

Furthermore, BPI-NPQSD said importers who have abandoned rice shipments and c

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/08/03/traders-unused-import-clearances-anomalous/

 

 

 

Thoughts on the 2020 General Election
Posted on August 3rd, 2020

By Garvin Karunaratne, former G.A. Matara 

Let us try to get away from the rhetoric- the art of effective or persuasive speaking, often with an implication of insincerity or exaggeration”(Oxford Dictionary). Promises are many but it is quite evident that most promises cannot be easily fulfilled. President Gotabhaya’s promises are few but he has vowed to implement them. So far since becoming the President and from 2005 to 2015 he has been able to keep to his word. 

The leaders, who stand a chance of getting elected  are well known and more, in some capacity they have ruled our country for years, and perhaps more than what they speak, historical facts telling what they really did, when they were ruling as President, Prime Minister or Minister will reveal what we can expect of them.  

 Foreign Meddling 

It has become normal for foreign Superpowers  to take action against countries that were following Socialist policies. The following excerpt from Professor Jeffery Sachs tells it all:

Notorious act of US unilaterlism include the CIA led overthrow of several governments-Iran, Guyana, Guatamala,  South Vietnam and Chile, the assassination of countless foreign officials and  several disastrous unilateral acts of war on Central America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Iraq. The US has thrown out elections through  secret CIA financing, put foreign leaders on CIA payroles and supported violent leaders  who then came back to haunt  the US in a notorious boomerang or blowback effect(including Sadaam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden), both once on CIA payroles”(Commonwealth Economics for a Crowded Planet, Allen Lane, 2008) 

Sri Lanka has had its share of foreign influence in elections. It is well known that the defeat of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015 was hatched at Harvard University in the USA.  

 It is up to the voter to decide which candidates are acting against the sovereignty of the country.  

Important infringements on Sri Lanka’s  Sovereignty.   

The country survived  the Fidel Castro type of one day attempt by the JVP to take over the country in April 1971, when it was found that the North Korean Embassy had a hand in the uprising and the Embassy was promptly shut down and the officials deported. Once the uprising was quelled and the JVP cadres decamped to the Sinharaja Hills, a European Ambassadorial jeep came several times and went into the jungles to meet them.   

With the two uprisings in 1971 and 1987-89, with the functioning of kangaroo courts,  the rich  in the rural habitat– the rice millers, estate owners etc. who   had made the rural areas their homes, decamped to the cities and were so frightened that they  never returned to their rural habitat. It  is they and their children when grown up  that had invested in their rural areas. They sent their children overseas for study, never to return to the Motherland. The rural areas became dead.  

Major historical happenings during Periods when the chief contenders at this election ruled or when they were associated with the rulers 

Let us take the periods when the chief contenders ruled, when their political parties held sway and assess the major events of how the country was handled and the major changes made. This will easily reflect what we can expect of the present day contenders. 

President Jayawardena 1977- 

When President Jayawardena took over at the tail end of 1977, a major change was to liberalize the economy. Though President Jayawardena  did whatever the IMF dictated, by 1986, the economy ended in shambles.  

From 1948, when we achieved independence the economy was managed  with the foreign exchange we earned. There were import controls to ensure that essential consumer goods were imported and allocations of foreign exchange were made for the import of luxury items, according to available foreign exchange.  The IMF advised President Jayawardena to open up imports- not to have import controls and also to liberalize the use of foreign exchange- allow foreign exchange to be used freely for foreign travel, for educational expenses abroad. When the country had no foreign exchange to meet such increased commitments, the IMF advice was to privatize paying State assets and if that was insufficient, to raise loans. It is this process followed from the end of 1977 that led to the ballooning of the foreign debt to some $ 60 billion today.  Though Ronnie de Mel, the Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech of 1978 hailed this : We cannot go round the world begging for aid like international beggars forever.  We must get out of this vicious circle of no growth, stagnation and mounting internal and external debt”(Budget Speech: 1978), the result was the opposite. Using money that one did not possess and raising loans only worked to make us more indebted. In eight years, by 1986 the economy was in shambles. 

 In the words of the World Bank: 

By 1986…the deterioration of the economy had become evident. The growth rate of the GDP  slowed to under 4 %, unemployment rose  to about 17% and gross official reserves  declined  to less than 2 months’ imports”(World Bank:Trends in Developing Economies,1990:496) 

While the foreign debt of Sri Lanka was negligible in 1977, by 1986, it had ballooned  to $ 4,063 million and it increased to $ 5100 million by 1989. Comparatively when Jayawardena commenced following the IMF prescriptions of the SAP at the end of 1977 Sri Lanka had a negligible foreign debt- only $ 750 million. The country slumped to become an indebted nation. In other words the IMF had through its advice made Sri Lanka a sovereign nation that had a negligible foreign debt to become a heavilyindebted country with a foreign debt of $ 60 billion today. Currently Sri Lanka has to meet a payment of $ 4 billion in 2020 purely to service the loans it owes. This is the legacy that President Jayawardena of the UNP has left for Sri Lanka- a situation of indebtedness from which Sri Lanka can never redeem itself.  

Even since President Jayawardena followed the prescriptions of the IMF, though the rich in the country benefitted from relaxed foreign exchange controls- could go on foreign holidays, send off their offspring to study abroad and enjoy imported goods, the country slumped into foreign debt and the masses- the vast majority of the people could not afford even to buy consumer goods as the prices had escalated. This caused poverty and inflation. The Structural Adjustment Programme(SAP) of the IMF  contain an economic system that would lead the countries to become indebted in the process of servicing the loans as the loans were non developmental.”(From Karunaratne: How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development(Kindle/Godages: 2017) 

Since gaining independence in 1948 Sri Lanka had developed and implemented an intricate and effective development infrastructure to enable development. One of the conditions laid down in following the neoliberal policies imposed by he IMF was that the Government had to accept the Private Sector as the Engine of Growth and in keeping with that proviso, the Public Sector should not have any development incentives. This meant that the  development infrastructure  had to be abolished.  In order to help agricultural production, the Government implemented a Guaranteed Price Scheme for paddy and other cereals in short supply. The aim was to enable cultivators earn a premium price for their production. This Scheme was abolished and along with it the godowns and Rice Mills which were  very valuable- were sold for a song or left to rot as scrap. This was a great loss. The producers were thereby denied  a reasonable  price for their produce. It is the authors contention that this was purposely imposed on Third World countries to destroy their agriculture development  so that they would have to depend on wheat from the USA and Europe.  

Another Scheme was the Vegetable and Fruit Purchasing Scheme, run by the Marketing Department, which provided a high price for local vegetables and fruits. The Marketing Department also had a Cannery, to make Jam,  Juice and Sauces out of local fruit. The IMF insisted that the Cannery should be privatized and the Vegetable and Fruit Purchasing Scheme should be scrapped. This was done  and the Marketing Department was abolished. While this enabled imports of jam and Juice from Developed Countries like the USA it did cause poverty in that the producers could not sell their produce. 

Sri Lanka had a very successfully run Public Transport Scheme- a  fully equipped coach making unit at Werahera. The country was producing its own coaches on imported chassis. This fully equipped unit at Werahera was closed down and the valuable state of the art machinery sold for a song, Thereafter Sri Lanka had to import all its coaches. 

The Railways had developed machinery to make all coaches at Ratmalana, This was also closed down and thousands of carpenters lost their jobs. Thereafter rail carriages were imported.  

The scrapping of this development infrastructure was agreed and done by President Jayawardena  of the UNP.  

Education  Sri Lanka had concentrated on having a highly developed school system, where children were taught free. The UNP Government introduced Private International Paying Schools which taught the children of the rich  for foreign exams and this ruptured the  comprehensive system of education that had been highly developed with  Central Schools. The UNP is totally responsile for ruining the education system and actually creating  a youth that shun Sri Lankan  culture and values. This was a major retrograde creation of the UNP.  Ranil Wickremasinghe of the UNP happened to be the Minister for Education that ruined education in Sri Lanka 

Another major incident during President Jayawardena’s period is how he caved in to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India and agreed to enact the 13 th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The Constitution of a country is a sacred document and any change has a bearing on the sovereignty of the country  and President Jayawardena caving into the Prime Minister of India to change the Constitution marks a great failure of President Jayawardena. The 13 th Amendment with Provincial Councils and decentralizing subjects was not suitable for a small country like Sri Lanka. The Provincial Council system is very costly and it is an unnecessary expenditure. Decntralization of important subjects like agriculture had a detrimental effect.  

The manner in which the 13 th Amendment was passed in Parliament  is also of great importance. It indicates the extent to which President Jayawardena and the UNP disregarded the interests of the country and compelled  the elected representatives- the Members of Parliament to be forced, like at gun point- by incarcerating them in a hotel, keeping them under lock and key and marching them to Parliament to vote as he pleased. The President  also held letters of resignation signed by all MPs (except for Ronnie de Mel, the Minister of Finance), which he held as ransom to use in case any MP refused to carry out his instructions. This undemocratic method of ruling by President Jayawardena remains a major scar on the UNP.. Up to date in implementing the 13 th Amendment Police and Land Powers have not been decentralized.  

The Samagi Bala Vegaya where Sajith Premadasa  is the main candidate has already declared that the  13 th Amendment in full- with police and land powers will be implemented. Sri Lanka will be without any  doubt  balkanized into provincial regimes and that  will be the end of Sri Lanka. 

Prresident Premadasa  1989-1993 

President Premadasas when he  was president helped the LTTE, the Tamil rebels who wanted to carve out the north and east of Sri Lanka as a separate state. President Premadasa even provided weapons to the LTTE, which they ultimately used against the Sri Lankan Army. 

President Premadasa in  Peace Talks with the LTTE agreed to hand over the Eastern Province to the LTTE and the police personnel in all the police stations in the Eastern Province were instructed to surrender to the LTTE cadres in the area. This was done and the LTTE instead of providing them safe passage to Colombo  as agreed, marched 600 police personnel  to the jungle where they were murdered.  This action of President Premadasa is a crime that can never be forgiven. ..  

It was during th reign of President Premadasa that there was a reign of terror and many people went missing, A well known lyric writer, poet Richard de Zoysa  is supposed to have been abducted and killed by the armed forces. In the days of  President Premadasa there was compulsory acquistion of land in Colombo, without any rhyme or reason. One land owner  could not even find a lawyer  to file a petition in the Supreme Court to stay the acquisition of her land.”(Karunaratne: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka: 2006: Godages) 

 Sajith Premadasa who leads the Samagi BalaVegaya, evidently  a splinter group of the UNP at this  General Election,  only quotes the good deeds like rural development which was done by President Premadasa 

Chandrika Kumaranatunge 

Kumaranatunge during her period tried to defeat the LTTE but miserably failed. It was during her time that the LTTE attacked the Colombo Airport destroying a number of aircraft.  

President Mahinda Rajapaksa 2005-2015 

The major achievement during this period was the defeat of the LTTE.   

The LTTE had a reign of terror for 30 years, developed the idea of having child soldiers and suicide bombing and had a reign of terror in the entire island 

President Rajapakda vowed to defeat the LTTE and commenced military action. The LTTE ruled the North of the island for close on three decades ,but was militarily defeated by President Rajapaksa in 2009. The cat was out of the bag at the last moment when the Superpowers, including France, the UK and the USA, came forward and  insisted that Prabhakaran,  the leader of the LTTE should be spared.  President Rajapaksa did not give in and finally the LTTE was routed and the leader Prabhakaran killed in 2009.  

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who had once served in the Sri lanka Army as a Lietunenant Colonel was the Defence Secretary  and played a key role in the defeat of the LTTE.  This defeating the LTTE shows their mettle. 

The major achievement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the defeat of the LTTE. Earlier as Minister for Highways under the reign of Chandrika Kumaranatunge, he saw to it that Sri Lanka had  developed a network of well built roads.. 

President Gotabhaya Rajpaksa  played a major role in the development of the country.  He singlehandedly developed the City of Colombo, equipped it with walkways,  and various amenities.  Under him Colombo could even aspire to have been  the best city in South Asia.  

The Helping Hambantota cheque incident is  held against Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. During the Tsunami Invasion in 2004, it was brought to his notice that a cheque has ben received  as a donation and he ordered that it be banked. It was banked and forgotten. Later on it was raised as a charge of misappropriation and the cheque was traced lying unused in a bank account. This incident has to be taken in context when some 30,000 citizens had perished when the Tsunami struck and in the absence of the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the PrimeMinister,  was running everywhere in a helicopter issuing instructions. There was no time to record events and keep notes. It was a time when the earth was turning on its head. Take the matter out of context and one can say that he should have ensured that the cheque was credited properly.  The author too has had an inkiling of serious days when  it was a matter of life or death, when there was an action sequence every minute and there was no time to write down and check whether orders had been  carries out. This cheque incident must be taken in the context of handling an unprecedented  national calamity. 

Prime Minister Mahiunda Rajapaksa has faced many problems. He has never run away like President Chandrika when the Kolonnawa oil tanks were in flames- an attack by the LTTE. She was emplaning at the airport when that incident happened. She continued leaving the island,  leaving  the Presidential Secretariat to be manned by his Secretary. The one time Mahinda Rajapaksa  ran away was  in 2015, when  he realized that the voters had rejected him. Then  he left Temple Trees abruptly and stopped only at Medamulana. That indicates his adherence to the democratic process of governance and elevates his standing in democratic politics.  

Maitripala Sirisena cum Ranil Wickremasinghe  2015-2019 

The Yahapalane Government of 2015 was actually a Government that was established by foreign forces.  The USA played a key role. It was the sequel to President Rajapaksa refusing to follow the dictate of all the Superpowers  not to harm and spare Prabhakaran the leader of the LTTE. True to his form President Rajapaksa refused to accede to their request and the LTTE was totally defeated with the leader too being killed in 2009. 

Though Maitripala Sirisena was implanted as the president, the Yahapalana Government was ably run by Ranil Wickremasinghe of the UNP who was the Prime Minister.  

Sacrificing the sovereigny of Sri Lanka was clearly evident in the  Yahapalana Government co sigining and agreeing to a UK sponsored submission to the Geneva Council of Human Rights.  By this the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to many provisions put forward by the Superpowers including foreign judges participating in Sri Lanka on investigations against the Sri Lankan Army defeating the Liberation Tigers. 

The Period 2015-2019 was marked with an increased foreign debt. The Central Government debt, as a share of the GDP had increased to 102.5% when the UNP ended its term in 2005.  President Mahinda Rajapaksa handled the economy prudently and reduced the debt to 72.3% by 2015.  However from 2015 to 2019, under the Yahapalana Government  the debt increased to  86.8%.  This speaks of mismanagement during UNP rule and prudent management during President Rajapaksa’s rule.  

Earlier in 2001-2004 Ranil Wickremasinghe as the Prime Minister, sided the Liberation Tigers and had to be removed by the President Kumaranatunge in 2004. 

The MCCCompact.  The United States pressurized the Government to sign an agreement with the MCC(Millennium Challenge Corporation) for allowing the USA to have a stake in Sri Lanka in return for a grant of $ 480 million. This was supposed to be spent on a transportation and a land project. An agreement was to be signed  but due to protests the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe said that the agreement will be signed after the UNP nominee Sajit Premadasa wins at the presidential election. Under the transport project some roads and traffic lights etc were to be developed , to easen traffic congestion while under the land project, all crown land including  land on colonization schemes, alienated under restricted conditions, were  to be given full saleable rights. These lands were alienated on specific conditions meant to ensure that this land will remain within the peasantry. This was decided during the State Council days. The intention of the MCC proposals was evidently to enable multinationals to get control over land in Sri Lanka.  

This MCC agreement divides Sri Lanka into three segments with a corridor from Trincomalee to Colombo, including both ports. This major corridor comprised 28% of the land mass of Sri Lanka. This section was to be given to the USA for a period of 200 years. Comparatively the British ruled Sri Lanka only for a period of 133  years- 1815 to 1948. This section would come under US jurisdiction. In short the land would be US territory coming under US laws..  

.  

A map distributed by MCC team Leader Steve Dobrilovic showed this  200 mile corridor between Colombo and Trincomalee to be awarded to the US authorities coming under US jurisdiction where an electric rail track  was to be built effectively dividing Sri Lanka into a southern and northern region. It was a plan for Sri Lanka to be handed over to the US Government and for the North to get into the hands of the Ltte rebels who today are planning subversion in secret. 

These negotiations took place in absolute secrecy between representatives of the Yahapalana Government and the MCC team from the USA housed within the Temple Trees Complex used by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe.”(Lanka Web10/1/2019) This was highly irregular. 

The grant was to be given to be managed by a MCC Company under US Government procurement rules and regulations”(Lanka Web: 11/01/2020) 

It is important to note that similar agreements to divide Sri Lanka were also proposed earlier by the Asian Development Bank an  the Export Import Bank of Korea, but these were all based on loans. In the case of the MCC it was a grant. However the grant was to be given to a company-   which will work with theMillennium Challenge Corporation. 

It is to be noted that the valuable phosphate deposits of Eppawela as well as the illmenite deposits at Pulumuddai were within this corridor to be handed over to the USA.  

It is correct to state that this MCC Compact will impringe on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Once granted this area will come under US, managed under their laws.  

The UNP Yahapalana Government of 2015-2019 was at first to get Minister Mangala Samaraweera to sign this MCC Compact Agreement but this was  put off due to protests.  

The aim of the MCC as the alleviation of poverty is only a façade to get this agreement signed. Instead the MCC Compact  will enable foreign multiinationals to gain control over the land.   

It is the opinion of Neville Laduwahetty that  in the case of the MCC Compact, the issue is that an Act that affects an asset that is an integral part  of the sovereignty  of all the people and held in trust by elected representatives of governments  should not be passed by a simple majority  but ONLy by a special majority of two third approval of Parliament and approval by the people at a Referendum.(The Island: 16/7/2019) 

The UNP insisted that they would sign the MCC Pact and when they found it impossible to sign,  then declared that they would sign the agreement on the day after their candidate Sajith Premadasa is victorious at the presidential election That did not happen and now they shout out that the Government of President Gotabhaya will sign it. On the other hand President Gotabhaya has subjected the MCC Pact to a Report by experts led by Professor Gunaruwan and the entire Report has been released to the public. The Report states in definite terms that the MCC Pact infringes on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and spokesmen of the Government have stated that it will not be signed. The President Gotabhaya method is upright  with nothing to hide while when it was handled in 2015-2019, by Prime Minister Wickremasinghe everything was swept under the carpet. It was definitely wrong to house a US Company the Millennium Chaallenge Corporation drafting and scheming to get the Pact signed housed in the hallowed sacred premises of Temple Trees. 

Sajith Premadasa  was a leading minister of the Yahapalana Government of 1995 to 2020 and has to take responsibility for Government misdeeds as he was a senior minister in the Cabinet. 

It is sad that the US Embassy resorted to many tactics to get the MCC Pact signed. Though the MCC Pact is couched in terms of poverty alleviation- it amounts to a sweetened pill to drag Sri Lanka more into the orbit of the US hedgemony in South Asia.  

My frank opinion is that the MCC Compact is an attempt to carve out a separate State for the LTTE, this time in a sheep’s clothing. It is a task that was earlier attempted by the ADB and the Eximm Bank of Korea. Then the offer was a loan. In the MCC Compact it was a grant. 

Our Sri Lanka has the ability  to develop our own resources as proved just at this moment by the restoration of the Valachenai Paper factory accomplished in a few months during President Gotabhaya’s regime. It is reported that Valachenai Paper will be offered for sale within the next month. This is an indication of the economic development that can be expected under President Gotabhaya. The manner in which President Gotabhaya  handled the Corona virus epidemic , by deploying the army to check and provide quarantine has enabled Sri Lanka to become the foremost country that handled the Coronavirus epidemic in an able manner. This alone speaks volumes about President Gotabhaya’s ability to tackle a calamity. In his able hands Sri Lanka will inevitably prosper.  

The historical  facts detailed above enable the voter who may have forgotten our history, to act as a patriot and save Sri Lanka at the General Election 2020.. 

Garvin Karunaratne 
Former GA, Matara, 

2/7/2020 

Author of How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka and Alternative Programmes of Success(Godages :2006)   
How the IMF Sabotaged Thord World Development(Kindle/Godages: 201

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 4 August ,2020

Increased global mortality linked to arsenic exposure in rice-based diets

Rice is the most widely consumed staple food source for a large part of the world’s population. It has now been confirmed that rice can contribute to prolonged low-level arsenic exposure leading to thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year.

Arsenic is well known acute poison, but it can also contribute to health problems, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases, if consumed at even relatively low concentrations over an extended period of time.

Compared to other staple foods, rice tends to concentrate inorganic arsenic. Across the globe, over three billion people consume rice as their major staple and the inorganic arsenic in that rice has been estimated by some to give rise to over 50,000 avoidable premature deaths per year.

A collaborating group of cross-Manchester researchers from The University of Manchester and The University of Salford have published new research exploring the relationship, in England and Wales, between the consumption of rice and cardiovascular diseases caused by arsenic exposure.

Their findings, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, shows that - once corrected for the major factors known to contribute to cardiovascular disease (for example obesity, smoking, age, lack of income, lack of education) there is a significant association between elevated cardiovascular mortality, recorded at a local authority level, and the consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice.

The study suggests that the highest 25% of rice consumers in England and Wales may plausibly be at greater risks of cardiovascular mortality due to inorganic arsenic exposure compared to the lowest 25% of rice consumers.

Professor David Polya

 

Professor David Polya from The University of Manchester said: “The type of study undertaken, an ecological study, has many limitations, but is a relatively inexpensive way of determining if there is plausible link between increased consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

“The study suggests that the highest 25% of rice consumers in England and Wales may plausibly be at greater risks of cardiovascular mortality due to inorganic arsenic exposure compared to the lowest 25% of rice consumers.

“The modelled increased risk is around 6% (with a confidence interval for this figure of 2% to 11%). The increased risk modelled might also reflect in part a combination of the susceptibility, behaviours and treatment of those communities in England and Wales with relatively high rice diets.”

While more robust types of study are required to confirm the result, given many of the beneficial effects otherwise of eating rice due to its high fibre content, the research team suggest that rather than avoid eating rice, people could consume rice varieties, such as basmati, and different types like polished rice (rather whole grain rice) which are known to typically have lower inorganic arsenic contents. Other positive behaviours would be to eat a balanced variety of staples, not just predominately rice.

The lead author, Ms Lingqian Xu, is a President's Doctoral Scholarship Award recipient from The University of Manchester and supervised by Professor David Polya (The University of Manchester) and Dr Debapriya Mondal (University of Salford). Mr Qian Li is a former Masters of Pollution and Environmental Control (MPEC) student from The University of Manchester.

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No worry clouds as IMD sees normal rains in Aug-Sept

Vinson Kurian  Thiruvananthapuram | Updated on July 31, 2020  Published on July 31, 2020

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Farmers transplant paddy saplings in a field during rain, in Kochi   -  PTI

All atmospheric conditions over Pacific and Indian Oceans are positive

With the last two weeks of July ending deficit rainfall over large parts of North-West India and Central India, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is pinning its hopes on a likely low-pressure area forming over the North Bay of Bengal to revive the monsoon in a resounding fashion from August 5.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State government too has received an input to the effect from the IMD, which it has taken seriously in the context of experience from the recent past when such low-pressure areas have triggered massive floods and landslides during the second rainiest monsoon month of August. 

Heavy rains in South 

Currently engaged in a grim battle with spiralling Covid-19 transmissions, the State has already witnessed a round of heavy to very rainfall across many parts from a cyclonic circulation (graded lower than a low-pressure areas) currently located over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining coastal Tamil Nadu. 

Unlike this circulation that formed in situ (locally) over the Bay, the low-pressure area over the North Bay emerging next week would take birth out a circulation crossing in from West Pacific/South China Sea, and originating from a stronger system (depression) located this (Friday) morning to the South-East of Haikou, China. 

In the North Bay, the remnant circulation would grow into a low-pressure area and is projected to quickly cross the Odisha/West Bengal coast and race towards West and adjoining North-West India. This could ramp up the monsoon into the second week of August over most parts of the country. 

Rains for North-West India 

Both North-West India and Central India would be able to receive their quota, if not more, during this period, according to projections made by the IMD. Importantly, it also indicated the possibility of heavy to very rainfall over the South-West coast and the rest of the West Coast during this period. 

In fact, Kerala, Coastal Karnataka and adjoining South Peninsula would not need to wait for the second week to witness the heavy rain events since the circulation over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Coastal Tamil Nadu would ensure that the current rain wave sustains during the interregnum. 

Short-term outlook 

A forecast outlook by the IMD for next 2-3 days us is follows: widespread rainfall with isolated heavy over Jammu Division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, hills of West Bengal, Sikkim, and Gujarat. 

Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls over Konkan, Goa and the Ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during August 1-3 (Saturday to Monday). Heavy to very heavy falls are likely to continue over parts of Kerala today (Friday). 

Published on July 31, 2020

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FMCG sector shows recovery ahead of festival seasons on the back of rural pent up demand

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Exports show signs of improvement, but the labour shortage still an issue: FIEO

PTI New Delhi | Updated on August 02, 2020  Published on August 02, 2020

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Exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined, but the country’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59 per cent.

The country’s merchandise exports will further revive in the coming months as order books are showing signs of improvement, even as the industry is still facing a labour shortage, according to exporters.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said there is no problem of orders in the shorter run, but exporters are still not getting long-term orders.

“We are expecting that the situation will improve further as the order book situation is improving. Orders are mainly coming from the US and European countries,” Sahai said.

On labour shortage, he said that factories are still not running at full capacity, but the situation will improve in the next few months.

Council for Leather Exports Chairman P R Aqeel Ahmed said the sector is doing well as “our order books are improving“.

Sharing similar views, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said there is a positive sentiment for Indian goods, and this is helping in pushing the outbound shipments.

“Orders are coming. This year we are hoping that we will be able to significantly increase our exports. Factories are running at about 60 per cent capacity. By November, we will be able to reach the pre-Covid level,” Sakthivel said.

Ludhiana-based Hand Tools Association President S C Ralhan too said that order books are good with engineering exporters.

“But we are facing problems because of the labour shortage. Still, only 50 per cent of the workers are coming to factories, and due to this, we are not able to ramp up our production,” he said.

Ralhan hoped that after the flood water recedes in states like Bihar, labour movement would start.

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) Executive Director Rakesh Kumar said that orders are coming, but due to shortage of workers, there is a problem in boosting production.

“Labours are not coming in full shifts,” he said.

Kumar also urged the government to address issues related to merchandise export from India scheme (MEIS) as exporters are not able to fix the prices on their products.

“MEIS helps in increasing price competitiveness of exporters, but due to the uncertainty over the scheme, exporters are in confusion over fixing the price of new orders,” he added.

June data

India’s exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined, but the country’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59 per cent.

Export sectors which recorded negative growth in June include gems and jewellery (-50 per cent), leather (-40.5 per cent), petroleum products (-31.65 per cent), engineering goods (-7.5 per cent), ready-made garments (RMG) of all textiles (-34.84 per cent), and cashew (-27 per cent).

Import segments which recorded negative growth include gold, silver, transport equipment, coal, fertiliser, machinery and machine tools.

However, exports of oilseeds, coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, pharma, and chemicals reported positive growth in June.

Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) Chairman Khushwant Jain said that oilseed exports are recording growth on account of sound output and steps taken by the government to promote shipments.

During April-June 2020, exports fell by 36.71 per cent to USD 51.32 billion while imports shrank by 52.43 per cent to USD 60.44 billion. The trade deficit stood at USD 9.12 billion during April-June.

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Published on August 02, 2020

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/exports-show-signs-of-improvement-but-the-labour-shortage-still-an-issue-fieo/article32252535.ece

 


INDIA'S CROP PLANTING GATHERS PACE, BUOYED BY BOUNTIFUL MONSOON RAINS

8/1/2020

By Mayank Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A rapid progress of the monsoon helped Indian farmers plant nearly 14% more land than last year with rice, corn, cane, cotton and soybean crops, according to the farm ministry.

Farmers planted more acreage of every single summer-sown crops between June 1 and July 31 than last year, brightening the prospects for a bumper output in the world's leading producer of farm commodities.

The area planted with rice, the main food crop of the world's second-most populous country, was 26.7 million hectares, compared with 22.4 million hectares in the year-earlier period.

Oilseeds planting was at 17.5 million hectares, compared with 15 million hectares. Sowing of soybeans, the main summer oilseed crop, stood at 11.7 million hectares, compared with 10.8 million hectares. Soybean output is set to jump by at least 15%

Sugar cane planting was marginally higher at 5.2 million hectares.

Planting of the protein-rich pulse, a staple in the Indian diet, was at 11.2 million hectares, higher than 9.4 million hectares last year.

Corn acreage was at 7.4 million hectares versus 7.2 million hectares in the previous year.

The area planted with cotton totalled 12.1 million hectares against 10.9 million hectares.

The monsoon covered the entire country nearly two weeks earlier than usual, helping farmers speed up planting.

Monsoon rains are critical for farm output and economic growth as about 55% of India's arable land is rain-fed.

The weather office on Friday said monsoon rains are expected to be 104% of the average in August and September.

The India Meteorological Department defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 88 cm for the entire four-month season. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Mike Harrison)

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

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/indias-crop-planting-gathers-pace-buoyed-by-bountiful-monsoon-rains#:~:text=India's%20crop%20planting%20gathers%20pace%2C%20buoyed%20by%20bountiful%20monsoon%20rains,-8%2F1%2F2020&text=NEW%20DELHI%2C%20Aug%201%20(Reuters,according%20to%20the%20farm%20ministry.

 

India’s kharif rice sowing up 19% so far, thanks to good rains

By: PTI | 

Published: July 31, 2020 10:16 PM

Among cash crops, cotton planting has risen by 11.29 per cent to 121.25 lakh hectares so far in the current kharif season of the 2020-21 crop year (July-June) from 108.95 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. 

Description: https://images.financialexpress.com/2020/07/rice660.jpg

Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June, while harvesting from October onwards.

Area sown to rice, the main kharif crop, has increased by 19 per cent to 266.60 lakh hectares so far across the country in the current kharif season on account of good rains, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. Among cash crops, cotton planting has risen by 11.29 per cent to 121.25 lakh hectares so far in the current kharif season of the 2020-21 crop year (July-June) from 108.95 lakh hectares in the year-ago period.

Sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June, while harvesting from October onwards.

“There has been satisfactory progress of sowing area coverage under Kharif crops. …so, as a whole, there is no impact of COVID-19 on progress of area coverage under kharif crops as on date,” the ministry said releasing the latest sowing data of kharif crops. It also said that the Centre is taking several measures to facilitate the farmers and farming activities at field level during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the data, higher rice planting area has been reported in states of Bihar (10.01 lakh hectares) followed by Madhya Pradesh (8.19 lakh hectares), Jharkhand (7.50 lakh hectares), West Bengal (4.60 lakh hectares), Uttar Pradesh (4.57 lakh hectares), Odisha (4.01 lakh hectares), Chhattisgarh (3.90 lakh hectares) and Telangana (3.28 lakh hectares).

Pulses sowing has increased by 19.26 per cent to 111.91 lakh hectares area till August 31 of the ongoing kharif season compared to 93.84 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Area sown to moong has increased by 37.42 per cent to 29.57 lakh hectares from 21.52 lakh hectares, while that of urad by 21 per cent to 33.38 lakh hectares from 27.64 lakh hectares and arhar area increased by 8 per cent to 40.05 lakh hectares from 37.09 lakh hectares in the said period.

Higher area under pulses has been reported from Rajasthan (5.25 lakh hectares) followed by Madhya Pradesh (3.79 lakh hectares), Maharashtra (3.43 lakh hectares) and Uttar Pradesh (1.16 lakh hectares) so far this season, the data showed.

Coarse cereals acreage rose 6.52 per cent to 148.34 lakh hectares so far this kharif season from 139.26 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Maize acreage rose 2.36 per cent to 74.30 lakh hectares from 72.58 lakh hectares in the said period.

In case of oilseeds, the sowing area rose by 16.80 per cent to 175.34 lakh hectares so far in the current kharif season from 150.12 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Soyabean area rose by 8.35 per cent to 116.62 lakh hectares from 107.64 per cent in the said period.

In case of sugarcane, the area coverage rose to 51.78 lakh hectares so far in the current kharif season as compared to 51.20 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year. Total area under all kharif crops rose 13.92 per cent to 882.18 lakh hectares of area against 774.38 lakh hectares in the said period.

The ministry said the actual rainfall received in the country was 447.1 mm in June-August period as against the normal of 443.3 mm. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has reported that the live water storage in 123 reservoirs in different parts of the country was 141 per cent of the corresponding period of the last year.

https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/indias-kharif-rice-sowing-up-19-so-far-thanks-to-good-rains/2041541/

 

Cambodia's rice export up 38 pct in 7 months

Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-01 08:25:06|Editor: huaxia

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 426,073 tons of milled rice in the first seven months of 2020, up 38 percent from 308,013 tons over the same period last year, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon said on Friday.

China remained the biggest buyer of Cambodian rice, he said, adding that the kingdom shipped 155,327 tons of milled rice to China during the January-July period this year, up 26 percent over the same period last year.

He added that the kingdom also exported 144,247 tons to the European market during the period, up 38 percent, and 57,064 tons to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market, up 44 percent.

In sum, the kingdom's rice exports to all destinations during the first seven months of this year were on the rise, the minister said, adding that the Southeast Asian nation shipped rice to 57 countries and regions.

Ngin Chhay, director general of agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, said recently that the COVID-19 pandemic had driven high demand for Cambodian rice.

He predicted that the country's rice export to the international market is expected to reach 800,000 tons in 2020, an estimated rise of 29 percent from 620,106 tons last year.

Cambodia produced about 10 million tons of paddy rice last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. With this amount, the kingdom saw paddy rice surplus of about 5.6 million tons in equivalent to 3.5 million tons of milled rice. Enditem

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-08/01/c_139256000.htm#:~:text=PHNOM%20PENH%2C%20Aug.%201%20(,Veng%20Sakhon%20said%20on%20Friday.

 

 

Farmers see higher tariff collection from rice imports

Published August 2, 2020, 10:00 PM

by Madelaine B. Miraflor

Rice farmers said that had it not for alleged undervaluation of imports, tariff collection from rice importation should have been higher compared to the slight improvement reported by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

In a statement, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Montemayor questioned the BOC report that rice tariff collection from January to July did not “significantly” improve from last year. According to BoC, tariff collections from imported rice had reached P10.73 billion as of July 17, 2020, a slight improvement from P9.94 billion in the same period last year.

 “The agency is using seemingly improved numbers in tariff receipts to mask its failure to collect correct revenues from rice importers. It is hiding the fact that undervaluation of imports and its collection performance worsened this year,” Montemayor said.
             

The FFF’s analysis of publicly available data showed that the BOC’s collection efficiency fell significantly in 2020, based on FOB (Free on Board or the cost of imports at the point of origin) and CIF (Cost or FOB plus insurance and freight) prices.  
             

 In the first five months of 2020, rice importers declared that the FOB prices of their imports averaged P1,692 per ton, which was lower than the BoC’s own reference prices by P2,416 per metric ton.  In 2019, the average gap in FOB prices was only P945 per metric ton, indicating that the degree of undervaluation of FOB prices increased by 155 percent in 2020.
             

 Similarly, declared CIF prices, the basis for tariff payments, were lower than BoC reference rates by P3,292 per metric ton on the average in January to May 2020.  In comparison, the gap between declared and official CIF prices in 2019 was only P1,943 per ton in 2019.
              

The FFF analysis showed that the declared CIF prices of imports per metric ton increased from P17,510 in 2019 to P17,723 in 2020, or by a mere P213 per ton.  In comparison, the BoC’s own reference prices during the same period rose by P1,603 per ton.
              

The FFF claimed that this explains why the BoC’s tariff collections increased only marginally by 1.3 percent from P 6.13 per kilo of rice imports in 2019 to P6.21 in 2020.
             

 “And yet, FOB prices of rice have gone up by at least 10 percent in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and supply uncertainties in Vietnam and other rice exporting countries.  Considering that tariffs are applied on import values, the fact that the increase in tariffs collected per kilo was way below 10 percent indicates that the degree of undervaluation by importers actually intensified in 2020,” Montemayor said.
             

 Earlier, the FFF flagged an estimated P2.676 billion in tariffs that were not collected due to the undervaluation of FOB and CIF prices of importers from 2019 up to the first five months of 2020.
              

Another P200 million were not collected by the BoC due to the wrong application of the 35 percent ASEAN tariff rate on imports from non-ASEAN countries, the group further said.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/02/farmers-see-higher-tariff-collection-from-rice-imports/


Farmers see higher tariff collection from rice imports

Published August 2, 2020, 10:00 PM

by Madelaine B. Miraflor

Rice farmers said that had it not for alleged undervaluation of imports, tariff collection from rice importation should have been higher compared to the slight improvement reported by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

In a statement, Federation of Free Farmers National Manager Raul Montemayor questioned the BOC report that rice tariff collection from January to July did not “significantly” improve from last year. According to BoC, tariff collections from imported rice had reached P10.73 billion as of July 17, 2020, a slight improvement from P9.94 billion in the same period last year.

 “The agency is using seemingly improved numbers in tariff receipts to mask its failure to collect correct revenues from rice importers. It is hiding the fact that undervaluation of imports and its collection performance worsened this year,” Montemayor said.
             

The FFF’s analysis of publicly available data showed that the BOC’s collection efficiency fell significantly in 2020, based on FOB (Free on Board or the cost of imports at the point of origin) and CIF (Cost or FOB plus insurance and freight) prices.  
             

 In the first five months of 2020, rice importers declared that the FOB prices of their imports averaged P1,692 per ton, which was lower than the BoC’s own reference prices by P2,416 per metric ton.  In 2019, the average gap in FOB prices was only P945 per metric ton, indicating that the degree of undervaluation of FOB prices increased by 155 percent in 2020.
             

 Similarly, declared CIF prices, the basis for tariff payments, were lower than BoC reference rates by P3,292 per metric ton on the average in January to May 2020.  In comparison, the gap between declared and official CIF prices in 2019 was only P1,943 per ton in 2019.
              

The FFF analysis showed that the declared CIF prices of imports per metric ton increased from P17,510 in 2019 to P17,723 in 2020, or by a mere P213 per ton.  In comparison, the BoC’s own reference prices during the same period rose by P1,603 per ton.
              

The FFF claimed that this explains why the BoC’s tariff collections increased only marginally by 1.3 percent from P 6.13 per kilo of rice imports in 2019 to P6.21 in 2020.
             

 “And yet, FOB prices of rice have gone up by at least 10 percent in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and supply uncertainties in Vietnam and other rice exporting countries.  Considering that tariffs are applied on import values, the fact that the increase in tariffs collected per kilo was way below 10 percent indicates that the degree of undervaluation by importers actually intensified in 2020,” Montemayor said.
             

 Earlier, the FFF flagged an estimated P2.676 billion in tariffs that were not collected due to the undervaluation of FOB and CIF prices of importers from 2019 up to the first five months of 2020.
              

Another P200 million were not collected by the BoC due to the wrong application of the 35 percent ASEAN tariff rate on imports from non-ASEAN countries, the group further said.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/02/farmers-see-higher-tariff-collection-from-rice-imports/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last kharif crop rice diverted to market?

Roushan Ali | TNN | Aug 4, 2020, 04:44 IST

 

Hyderabad: Rice millers have not returned 3.6 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of rice to the government a year after paddy was given to them for milling, raising suspicion that the staple may have been diverted to the open market.
Every year the government gives paddy of two crops i.e., vaanakalam (kharif) and yasangi (rabi) to the millers, which are milled and returned to the government for supply through the public distribution system (PDS).
Civil supplies officials were apprehensive that further delay in getting back rice from the millers would result in shortage of stocks to be distributed to the poor (white ration card holders) through fair price shops.
Also, the financial burden on the state government would increase in the form of interest as it had obtained over Rs 10,000 crore loan to procure rice from farmers and could repay it by selling milled rice to Food Corporation of India for public distribution to Telangana and other states.
The 3.6 lakh MTs of rice should have been returned to the government by March-end itself as the paddy was given during the last monsoon. Though it is suspected the millers in connivance with some officials might have diverted the rice to the open market, a member of the Telangana Rice Millers’ Association said shortage of labour, lockdown and coronavirus scare were prime reasons for delay in returning it to the government.
Civil supplies minister Gangula Kamalakar has expressed ire over the delay on the part of the officials to procure rice from the millers. “The delay is continuing even for procurement of milled rice of the recent yasangi,” he said.
He also asked the civil supplies department task force teams to raid rice mills and FPS to check diversion of PDS rice to the open market. “I will review the raids and performance of task force every month,” the minister said.

Indian basmati rice and tea exporters to Iran facing uncertainty

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Indian basmati rice and tea exporters to Iran facing uncertainty

By Sutanuka Ghosal

, ET BureauLast Updated: Aug 03, 2020, 12:21 AM IST

Indian basmati rice exporters said they are not entering into new contract with Iranian importers so as to avoid any payment-related problems. Meanwhile, tea traders said export to Iran may stop within a month if the payment issue is not resolved. This would impact the trade in orthodox teas as Iran is India’s biggest buyer in this category.

Agencies
India exported 1.156 million tonnes of basmati rice in the first quarter of FY20, according to AIREA statistics.

Uncertainty looms over export of basmati rice and tea to Iran as the Central Bank of Iran has slowed down allocation of currency against which Iranian traders were buying these commodities from India.

Indian basmati rice exporters said they are not entering into new contract with Iranian importers so as to avoid any payment-related problems.

Meanwhile, tea traders said export to Iran may stop within a month if the payment issue is not resolved. This would impact the trade in orthodox teas as Iran is India’s biggest buyer in this category.

“Getting payment from Iran has become a major issue. There is no clarity on whether the rupee reserve of UCO Bank and IDBI Bank has come down or not. Exports to Iran in the first quarter have fallen significantly due to the lockdown. The exporters are not doing any new contracts with Iran,” Vinod Kaul, executive director at All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), told ET.

India exported 1.156 million tonnes of basmati rice in the first quarter of FY20, according to AIREA statistics. According to Kaul, in April of FY21, India exported 429,000 tonnes of basmati rice, of which only 50,966 tonnes were exported to Iran.

“The figures for May and June are yet to be compiled, but according to information from trade, exports in May were more or less similar to that in April . But in June and July there has been drastic reduction in exports to Iran, as the payment issue has upset basmati exporters,” Kaul said.


Gautam Miglani, owner of LRNK, a Haryana-based basmati rice exporter, said his firm is receiving payments for consignments to Iran that were shipped before the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The payment is very slow and it is coming in small tranches. It is becoming impossible to do trade with Iran. The Indian government should work out a deal with Tehran so that exports can be carried out smoothly,” said Miglani.

Tea exports to Iran have already taken a hit in the first three months of 2020.

In the January-March period of the current year, Iran has imported 9.6 million kg of Indian teas, down 45.36% from the year-ago period. In 2019, Iran had imported nearly 54 million kg of orthodox teas from India.

Anish Bhansali, managing partner, Bhansali & Company, and a tea exporter to Iran, said, “Payment is not coming from Iran on a regular basis. If this trend continues, then exports will come to halt within a fortnight or by the end of this month.”

Mohit Agarwal, director, Asian Tea, said, “Till Friday, no payment was coming. But on Saturday some payment came from Iran for the teas shipped in May. But payments are being delayed. We are hoping that things will improve shortly so that orthodox tea exports pick up to Iran and prices revive.”

Unit price realisation of tea exported to Iran has come down to Rs 262.76 per kg this year from Rs 266.65 per kg last year.

 

Sagaing to cultivate over 736,500 hectares of monsoon rice

Htoo Thant 03 Aug 2020

Sagaing to cultivate over 736,500 hectares of monsoon rice

Farmers in Sagaing Region, the country’s second-largest rice-producing area, are growing over 736,500 hectares of monsoon rice, a senior agriculture official said.

U Win Hlaing Oo, head of the region’s Department of Agriculture, said Sagaing has received enough rain to allow the planting of large areas in rice.

 

“We have planted more than 736,500 hectares of monsoon rice as we’ve had enough rain this year,” he said. “In this region, where the famous shwebo paw san rice is grown, the paw san grain has been planted on 202,342 hectares, and grains such as ayeyarmin and sin yadanar have been planted as well.”

U Win Hlaing Oo said farmers can grow rice and other crops this year because high water levels in the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers have allowed the irrigation of more land.  

He said that when the river level subsides, farmers can shift to growing other crops such as pulses and onions.

 

“All crops can be cultivated this year,” he said. “Farmers are happy because river water is reaching their land this year.”

Sagaing gets good rainfall some years but droughts in others, making it difficult for farmers.

“We have educated farmers to save and collect water to reduce crop damage due to climate change next year,” U Win Hlaing Oo said. “It will work if there is less rain next year.”

Sagaing has more than 1.82 million hectares planted in rice.

Meanwhile, the Department of Consumer Affairs said it would increase its rice reserves by another 20,000 tonnes. 

"The amount of reserve rice reached 50,000 tonnes, and we stopped purchasing on July 16,” said U Ye Htut Naing, director of the department. “We have requested to buy a further 20,000 tonnes of reserve rice.”

He said the rice would be bought from 23 Myanmar export companies and stored at nine warehouses from April 30 to June 12.

"We will sell the rice to the public at retail shops with the help of the Myanmar Rice Federation,” he said.

The government plans to export 2.5 million tonnes of rice this year and would purchase 10 percent of the rice that businesses seek to export. – Additional reporting by Aung Loon/Translated


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