Thursday, October 08, 2020

8th October, 2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

 

8th October, 2020

Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

 

www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com

 

SIAL Food Show Returns After 4-Month Delay

By Sarah Moran

 

SHANGHAI, CHINA -- Last week, USA Rice participated in the twentieth SIAL international food show here.  Originally scheduled for mid-May, SIAL organizers had postponed the annual trade fair, the largest in Asia, due to COVID-19 restrictions and travel bans.  

 

On the first day of the exhibition, more than 200 visitors stopped by the USA Rice booth, including representatives from Walmart and Sam's Club, as well as the new U.S. Consul General in Shanghai James Heller, and the new Shanghai Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) Director Erik Hansen.

 

"Interest in U.S. rice continues to grow in China as importers become more familiar with the variety of U.S.-origin rice types that are available," said Jim Guinn, USA Rice director of Asia promotion programs.  "Everyone who stopped by the booth -- retail reps, sushi manufacturers, and restaurateurs -- was encouraged to sample the seven different types of U.S. rice on display.  The four rice types from the south included long grain, long grain parboiled, medium grain, and jasmine.  The three California varieties were Calrose, Calhikari, and Calmochi."

 

Absent the ability to travel to the show, USA Rice had invited all qualified exporters to submit short videos introducing their company that were shown at the booth to prospective customers. 

 

"Most traders are keen to import U.S. rice, but are reluctant to act because of concerns over bilateral trade issues continuously highlighted in the media," said Guinn.  "We're all waiting for that first shipment of U.S. rice to China since the market was opened here more than 18 months ago."

 

 

Description: C:\Users\abc\Downloads\ip-counsel-general-james-heller-at-sial-2020-201002.jpgThe man behind the mask (left) at the USA Rice booth is 

U.S. Consul General in Shanghai James Heller

 

Market Information

 

 

Health Tips: Eating bread and rice also reduces weight! Know who is more healthy in both

 by Bhavi Mandalia

 

 October 7, 2020

 

in Health

Health Tips: Whenever it comes to losing weight, everyone from nutritionists to dieticians recommend eating low carbohydrates. It is believed that weight loss is reduced by eating low carb, in this case, those who lose weight, chapattis and rice first stop eating. But most people eat only bread and rice, but without eating bread and rice, it seems incomplete. In such a situation, it becomes difficult for dieters to leave chapatti and rice. But you will be surprised to know that you can lose weight even after eating roti and rice.

Many research has revealed that bread and rice are also helpful in reducing weight. Actually, bread and rice contain manly carbohydrates which go into the body and convert to glucose and this glucose gives us energy. That is why it is important to eat some bread and rice. Apart from this, there are proteins in chapatti and rice and other vitamins, millers, which are necessary for healthy body. If the right amount of bread and rice is eaten, then it also reduces weight. So, today we are going to tell you the complete nutritional value of roti and rice, as well as you will be easy to know which food will help lose weight in roti and rice.

How much nutrition in a bun?
Normally a bun has about 100 calories. It is true that bread has the highest carbohydrate. A bun contains 60 to 70 percent carbohydrates but in addition to carb, bread also contains protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Bread has about 20 to 22 percent fat and 10% protein. The rest of the roti also contains minerals like sodium. Overall, roti is a healthy food and it is a part of our routine food, so eating bread in the right proportion does not increase weight but decreases. And for good results, eat whole wheat, wheat bran or multigrain flour bread. In this way, there is a lot of fiber in the roti which keeps the digestion right.

Nutrition Value of a Bowl of Rice
In many states of the country, rice is also an important part of food, in such a situation it is difficult to give up eating main for dieting. But if you eat rice properly and eat the right amount, you can lose weight without leaving rice. Rice is also included in healthy food and works to give energy to the body. Rice is the main source of carbohydrates and a bowl of rice contains about 150 calories, of which 80% is carbohydrate and the rest is fat and protein. If you are fond of rice and want to lose weight then include brown rice instead of white in the food. Brown rice is a better option for health. Vitamin and mineral which are not in white rice are in brown rice, so brown rice is considered more healthy. In addition to carbohydrates, brown rice contains essential minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and selenium.

Description: C:\Users\abc\Downloads\unnamed (2).jpgEat chapati or rice to lose weight?
The nutritional value of rice and chapati is almost the same, so add whatever you like to your diet. Bread and rice are both rich in carbohydrates. But more carbs are in rice than bread, so eating rice fills the stomach quickly. But due to starch, they quickly digest and after eating it, the appetite also starts quickly. Bread on the other hand has more protein and fiber than rice, which keeps the stomach full for a long time. Roti has more minerals like potassium and phosphorus than white rice. Rice does not contain calcium and sodium, whereas it is present in small amounts in bread. Iron is almost equal in bread and rice and glycemin index of both is also same so that sugar and blood pressure are regular. Depending on the nutritional value of both, a little wattage is more of roti, so if one has to choose between roti and rice to lose weight, then roti is a better option.

Chanakya Niti: According to Chanakya, a person who stays away from these two things is always happy

.

https://pledgetimes.com/health-tips-eating-bread-and-rice-also-reduces-weight-know-who-is-more-healthy-in-both/

 

 

Rice mill owners: Govt. urged to enforce controlled prices 

   

Description: https://s3.amazonaws.com/themorning-aruna/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/10125525/rice-mills-300x207.jpegBy Skandha Gunasekara

The Rice Mill Owners’ Association of Sri Lanka has called on the Government to strictly enforce the recently stipulated control price for rice. 

Rice Mill Owners’ Association of Sri Lanka President B.K. Ranjith said the Government should ensure the control price for rice is implemented. 

“The authorities need to intervene and enforce this. They should use the Army if they don’t have the manpower, but they have to somehow enforce the control price for rice.”

He said that millers were being forced to buy paddy at exorbitant rates, resulting in the price of rice skyrocketing. 

“Some paddy manufacturers are hoarding stocks and selling it above the control price. As a result, currently, a kilo of rice is above Rs. 100 in the market.”

https://www.nation.lk/online/rice-mill-owners-govt-urged-to-enforce-controlled-prices-12593.html

 

 

Rice tariff collection in excess of P10B to be used for productivity programs —DOF

Published October 8, 2020 4:50pm

By TED CORDERO, GMA News

The government will be using any excess of the P10 billion tariff to be collected from rice imports for programs to enhance the productivity of local rice farmers, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Thursday.

“Ang taripang sosobra sa P10 billion ay ilalaan sa ibang productivity programs para sa rice sector,” Finance Assistance Secretary Tony Lambino said during a virtual webinar.

Under the Rice Tariffication law (RTL), of the total tariff to be collected annually, P10 billion is automatically appropriated for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

The P10-billion RCEF is divided into four components, namely farm machinery and equipment at P5 billion, certified inbred seeds at P3 billion, credit at P1 billion, and training and extension at P1 billion.

The Rice Tariffication Law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in February 2019.

It removed all quantitative restrictions on rice importation in the Philippines and imposed a 35-percent tariff for rice imports.

“Mula nang maisabatas ang RTL sobra po para sa P10 billion para sa RCEF ang nalilikom mula sa taripa,” Lambino said.

As of the seven months of the year, rice tariff collections amounted to P11.036 billion, up 4% year-on-year, and exceeding the P10-billion worth of rice import tariffs aimed for RCEF.

“Lahat ng tariff collection na lalagpas sa P10 billion ay ilalaan sa iba pang tulong sa mga magsasaka,” Lambino said.

Without specifying how the government will utilize the excess rice tariff collection, the Finance official noted that of the P12.1 billion collected in 2019, the excess of P2.1 billion was used by the Department of Agriculture for crop diversification program (P1 billion) and expanded crop insurance on rice (P1.1 billion).

Noting that tariff collections have already exceeded P10 billion so far this year, Lambino said, “Sigurading mapopondohan ang RCEF programs.”

Agriculture Secretary William Dar, for his part, cited the milestones done by the Department of Agriculture under the RCEF programs.

Dar said the DA has distributed 1,375,125 bags of certified inbred seeds to 554,512 farmers covering 698,586 hectares during the dry season 2019 to 2020.

The agency has also distributed 2,274,165 bags of certified inbred seeds to 862,854 farmers covering 1,006,537 hectares during the wet season 2020.

For the RCEF mechanization component, Dar said the DA has procured 2,938 machines, of which 1,108 were distributed to 625 farmer cooperatives and associations.

Under the RCEF credit component, the Agriculture department loaned out P1 billion to 5,671 individual farmers and 22 cooperatives in 2019.

For this year, the DA has so far obligated P670.88 million for credit, of which P102.71 million was released to 610 farmers and 15 cooperatives.

For the RCEF’s extension service component, the Agriculture chief cited the following achievements:

  • 53 farm schools established; 12 assisted
  • 831 batches of training for farmers, with 20,803 participants, of which 20,231 received scholarships
  • 163 batches of training of trainers, with 5,255 participants
  • 8 batches of training of specialists, with 226 participants
  • 31 batches of training of seed growers, inspectors, analysts, and other extension intermediaries, with 809 participants
  • technical briefings conducted to 691,761 participants
  • 3,363,463 copies of information and educational communication materials distributed

“We have generated more than enough revenues to fully fund RCEF para pataasin ang competitiveness ng local rice industry,” Lambino said.

Emphasizing how the RTL helped in increasing the local industry’s competitiveness, Dar said that palay production increased to 8.9 million metric tons in the first half of 2020 from 8.27 million metric tons for the entire 2019.

Average production cost is also eyed to be reduced by 30% from the current cost ranging from P12 to P14 per kilogram to ensure bigger profit margins for farmers.

“With higher productivity and lower production cost, farmers can offer to our consumers, particularly the poor, affordable rice,” Dar said.

To shield the domestic sector from decline in farmgate prices of palay due to the unhampered entry of imports, the DA allocated P10 billion under the 2020 budget of the National Food Authority for the procurement of palay from local farmers at P19 per kilo.

The NFA also established 558 palay buying stations across the country and procured two million bags of palay for September alone.

The DA also partnered with local government units for the procurement of locally produced palay.

Multinational companies were also encouraged to buy from farmer cooperatives and associations for their employees’ rice allowance. -MDM, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/759034/rice-tariff-collection-in-excess-of-p10b-to-be-used-for-productivity-programs-dof/story/

 

 

No safeguard duties yet to stem rice imports

By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:18 AM October 08, 2020

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it was not considering the imposition of safeguard duties just yet to temper the arrival of imported rice in the country.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said at a press briefing that the agency was still looking at other measures to prop up prices of palay, including ramping up the procurement of the staple and giving financial assistance to distressed farmers.

It has also been strict with the issuance of food safety permits—a primary requirement to import.

Under the rice tariffication law, taxes imposed on imports may be increased, reduced or revised by the President to protect Filipino farmers and consumers from any unwarranted price or supply concerns.

Imposing safeguards would increase tariffs and would make imports more expensive, thereby discouraging traders from bringing in the staple to the domestic market and force traders to buy from local farmers at higher rates.

Despite the insistence of the agency that prices at the farm-gate were hovering between P16 and P19 a kilo, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that several provinces have recorded palay quotations as low as P12.80 a kilo.

The Federation of Free Farmers had blamed the dip in prices to the unimpeded arrival of imported rice in the country, which allegedly robs local farmers of a stable market.

The DA considered using safeguards to temper the volume of rice imports, but this was shot down by economic managers for being “inflationary.”

Other groups recommen­ded a safeguard duty of 70 percent on top of the current tariffs slapped on rice. Under the law, rice coming from Asean countries are imposed a 35-percent tariff while those from non-Asean countries are slapped 50 percent.

 

PSEi slips again, closes 0.72% down

New African swine fever outbreaks seen in 6 provinces — Dar

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

 https://business.inquirer.net/309060/no-safeguard-duties-yet-to-stem-rice-imports#ixzz6aGxHqfNd

Companies okayed to import rice to Uganda tax free

By Henry Sekanjako

Added 7th October 2020 08:33 PM

According to the Rice Business sector association Limited, the three companies were cleared last month by both the ministry of finance and that of trade, to import the rice into the country.

Description: Companies okayed to import rice to Uganda tax free

Currently the demand for rice in Uganda stands at around 380,000 metric tons per month. File/Photo

At least three rice trading companies have been exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT), to import rice to Uganda to deal with the scarcity of rice created by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The three companies include Gotovate Uganda limited, Williex Commodities limited and Akhcom Limited.

According to the Rice Business sector association Limited, the three companies were cleared last month by both the ministry of finance and that of trade, to import the rice into the country.

Isaac Kashaija, the chairman Rice Business sector association said currently the demand for rice in Uganda stands at around 380,000 metric tons per month, with total local production of approximately 180,000 metric tons per season leaving a deficit of about 200,000 metric tons per month.

"If we need rice, we either have to help farmers grow more rice or increase the quality and quantity of our rice to lower the demand, but before we do that, we have to allow rice imports," Kashaija said.

He noted that to address the rice shortage in the country one of the companies, Gotovate Uganda Limited, was allowed to import tax free, 50,000 metric tons of rice from Tanzania, to Uganda.

He said the company requested for the tax waiver between the period of August to December 2020, to save Ugandans who were in total lockdown.

The move to exempt Gotovate from tax was however challenged by other stake holders saying it would affect local rice farmers.

Kashaija defended the issuance of an import permit to Gotovate saying it would help address the scarcity of rice in the country.

He also noted that the government had cleared other 14 rice companies to import rice into the country in 2014, after they challenged parliament legislating against tax exemption on imported rice from Tanzania and other East African Community (EAC) member states, to Uganda.

"It is not only one company that is importing exempted rice from Tanzania to Uganda, 14 companies have been importing the same rice for the last six years, with exempt taxes of over sh1 trillion," Kashaija said.

According to the rice business sector association, a decision was taken following the East African customs Union protocol article 15 that prohibits partner states from imposing duties on products originating from partner states as urged by the 14 companies in the court case against URA in 2014.

The rice companies challenged URA in court, for charging them tax on rice imports, despite the EAC protocol barring such taxation.

"The government through the attorney general should expeditiously dispose of the case in the court of appeal. It has broken the records of justice system of Uganda by taking now close to seven years," Kashaija noted.

Fourteen rice trading companies appealed to court against the 18% VAT charge then and court declared an injunction and since then the case has never been resolved.

The growers of rice also implored the government to help rice farmers to improve and increase on quality and quantity of rice that can easily compete on the market.

They attributed the high volume of rice importation from Tanzania and Pakistan to Uganda, to the bad quality of rice grown in Uganda.

"When you buy rice from Uganda and that from Tanzania, the aroma is different, most Ugandans go for Tanzania rice because the aroma is different and good," Kashaija said












Related articles

https://www.newvision.co.ug/news/1528768/companies-okayed-import-rice-uganda-tax-free

 

Scientists identify a gene that could help increase rice productivity                                                                  

By India Science Wire

        New Delhi, Wednesday, October 07, 2020

Prof. P.V. Shivaprasad and his team at NCBS, Bnegaluru

In a major development in the search for methods to improve the productivity of rice, a team of scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research’s Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences has identified a protein that has a critical role in the holding of the grains in the panicles of rice crops.

Small RNAs are regulators of gene expression. They decide which protein should be made and how much of it should be made in a given cell/tissue/organism. They are present across all organisms. Plants. Animals. Fungi. Bacteria. Name it. These small RNAs are tiny, but they perform critical roles in different aspects of life. There are hundreds and thousands of them in any given species.

Small RNAs are also key regulators in initiating and maintaining heritable changes in gene expression without changes in the DNA sequence (called ‘epigenetics’). Numerous pioneering studies have shown that small RNAs and epigenetic modifications are central to plant development and defence.



Small RNAs are also key regulators in initiating and maintaining heritable changes in gene expression without changes in the DNA sequence (called ‘epigenetics’).

Small RNAs are made in cells by a set of proteins called Dicers (proteins that dice longer RNAs into shorter bits). Once they are made, they associate with another protein called Argonautes (abbreviated AGO). For acting as gene regulators, this association between small RNAs and Argonautes is a must. There are a minimum of10 different Argonautes in plants performing different activities. There are at least 19 of them in the group of plants called monocots, which include cereal crops.

In a new study, a team of scientists led by Prof. P.V. Shivaprasad has shown that a previously unknown AGO named AGO17 is essential for the growth of panicles that hold rice grains. When the researchers expressed it at higher levels in plants, they got plants with longer panicles and more yield. On the other hand, plants had poor growth if they removed this gene by knockdown strategies.

Speaking to India Science Wire, Dr. Shivaprasad said, “It is clear that AGO 17 is a new player that can be used to increase yield. Last year, we showed what exactly was changed during the domestication of rice from wild grasses to high yielding cultivated lines. In that work, we showed how the loss of small RNA led to a change in the rigidity of rice stems as in current rice lines that are sturdier and can hold more grains. AGO17 is also related to domestication. Its expression has been altered during the domestication of rice. Since our results show that this gene can be used to improve yield, natural lines having a higher expression of this gene can be used by breeders to produce new crops with a higher yield. As we have demonstrated in this new study, genetic engineering can also provide rice plants with enhanced yield. In the era of genome editing, we can increase the yield by altering the expression of this gene”.

Dr. Kannan Pachamuthu, who is the first author of the paper, is equally enthusiastic that this finding has a direct application. ‘Panicles have a very dynamic gene expression pattern during its development. We are happy that we found one major regulator in panicle development’, he says.

The study team consisted of Chenna Swetha, Debjani Basu, Soumitra Das, Indira Singh, Vivek Hari Sundar and T.N.Sujith, besides Dr. Shivaprasad and Dr. Pachamuthu. They have published a report on their findings in springer’s journal, Plant Molecular Biology.

:https://vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/Scientists-identify-a-gene-that-could-help-increase-rice-productivity.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

India's rice exports could jump to record on Thailand drought effects

Higher shipments from India, the world's biggest rice exporter, could cap global prices, reduce the country's bulging inventories and limit Indian state stockpiler purchases from farmers

·          

By Rajendra Jadhav

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's rice exports in 2020 may rise by nearly 42% from a year ago to record highs because of reduced shipments from rival exporters and a depreciating rupee, industry officials said this week.

Higher shipments from India, the world's biggest rice exporter, could cap global prices, reduce the country's bulging inventories and limit Indian state stockpiler purchases from farmers.

India's rice exports could jump to 14 million tonnes in 2020, up from last year's 9.9 million tonnes, the lowest in eight years, said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association.

"Thailand's shipments are falling due to the drought. Vietnam is struggling because of lower crop. That share is naturally coming to India," Rao said.

Thailand, the world's second-largest rice exporter, suffered through a drought earlier this year that has affected the rice crop. Shipments in 2020 could fall to 6.5 million tonnes, the lowest in 20 years.

Vietnam, the third-biggest global exporter, has contended with low water levels in the Mekong River Delta, the country's main rice growing region, that has limited supply.

India mainly exports non-basmati rice to Bangladesh, Nepal, Benin and Senegal, and premium basmati rice to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

India's rice shipments in 2020 will rise because of robust demand for non-basmati rice from African countries, said Nitin Gupta, vice president for Olam India's rice business.

"Basmati rice demand is more-or-less stable, but in non-basmati we have seen a huge surge in demand due to attractive prices," Gupta said.

India's non-basmati rice exports may double from a year ago to 9.5 million tonnes, while basmati rice exports would remain stable around 4.5 million tonnes, he said.

India was offering 5% broken parboiled rice at $380 per tonne on a free-on-board basis, while Thailand was offering the same grade at $490 per tonne, dealers said.

Indian exporters have offered rice at lower prices at a time when global prices have jumped on limited supplies because of the rupee's depreciation, Rao said.

The rupee has declined 3% against the U.S. dollar so far this year.

In addition to lower Southeast Asian sales, China has also cut exports to Africa after floods hit local crops, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

"Unlike other countries, India has massive surplus. Exports won't create shortage in the local market," the dealer said.

Also, the higher exports should cut into Indian inventories and limit government purchases from farmers at minimum support prices, said Rao from the Rice Exporters Association.

 

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

 

India’s rice export could jump to record on Thailand Drought effects

 

Forensic audit report findings not final, says Franklin Templeton

UltraTech Cement hits 7-month high; stock surges 7% in 3 days

Global equities to be volatile before US Presidential polls: Mustafa Sagun

Home sales recover in Sept qtr; still a long road to recovery: Knight Frank

BSE IT index zooms over 1000 points; Mindtree, L&T Infotech rally 11%

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders IPO: Here's how to check share allotment status

Bandhan Bank extends gain post Q2 business update; soars 14% in 1 week

Cadila Healthcare rises 4% on launch of pressurized Metered Dose Inhaler

Chart check: Should you stay invested in TCS, Wipro at the current levels?

https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/india-s-rice-exports-could-jump-to-record-on-thailand-drought-effects-120100700482_1.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan to challenge Indian claim of GI tag on Basmati rice in EU

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to oppose Indian’s claim of Geographical Indication (GI) tag to basmati rice in the European Union (EU). Pakistani legal team will file its formal opposition into the EU with proof that Indian claims did not have solid grounds.

This was decided during a meeting chaired by Abdul Razak Dawood, Adviser for Prime Minister on Commerce. The meeting was attended by secretary commerce, chairman Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO-Pakistan), representatives of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and legal fraternity.

During the meeting, REAP representatives were of the view that Pakistan is a major grower and producer of basmati rice and India’s claim for exclusivity is unjustified.

Abdul Razak Dawood categorically stated that Pakistan will vehemently oppose India’s application in the European Union and restrain India from obtaining exclusive GI tag of basmati rice.

Abdul Razak Dawood supported the concerns of REAP and relevant stakeholders and ensured that their claim for basmati rice as GI will be protected. It is pertinent to mention that India submitted an application in the European Union claiming sole ownership of basmati rice, falsely misrepresenting its exclusivity.

Official sources said that India had applied for GI Tag in EU for basmati rice under article 50(2) (a) of EU Regulations No. 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the council on quality scheme for agriculture products on September 11. India in its application had falsely claimed basmati rice as an Indian origin despite the fact that the same rice is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistan exports 500,000 to 700,000 tons of basmati rice to different parts of the world out of which 200,000 to 250,000 tons is being shipped to EU countries. It is also a fact that EU Regulation No 972/2006 of June 29, 2006 laying down special rules for import of basmati rice for determining their origin had recognised basmati as a joint product of Pakistan and India. But now India was making claims of exclusivity on basmati rice in the EU. According to laid down rules and procedures, any country can oppose the application for registration of an AME pursuant to Article 10 and Article 50(2)(a) of the regulation number 1151 (2012). There is a time limit of three months to file an application against it so now Pakistan decided to file an application for opposing the right of exclusivity of India on basmati rice GI tag.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/725340-pakistan-to-challenge-indian-claim-of-gi-tag-on-basmati-rice-in-eu

 

 

 

Pakistan to challenge India's application for exclusive GI tag to Basmati rice in European Union

During a meeting, REAP representatives were of the view that Pakistan was a major grower and producer of Basmati rice and India's application for exclusivity is unjustified.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to file its opposition in the European Union in response to India's application for an exclusive Geographical Indications (GI) tag to Basmati rice in the 27-member bloc, a media report said on Tuesday.

This was decided during a meeting chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood on Monday.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Commerce, Chairman, Intellectual Pro­perty Organisation (IPO-Pakistan), representatives of Rice Exporters Asso­ciation of Pakistan (REAP), and the legal fraternity, the Dawn newspaper reported.

It said that during the meeting, REAP representatives were of the view that Pakistan was a major grower and producer of Basmati rice and India's application for exclusivity is unjustified. India has said that it is an Indian-origin product in its application, published in the EU's official journal on September 11.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dawood said that Pakistan will vehemently oppose India's application in the European Union and restrain New Delhi from obtaining an exclusive GI tag of Basmati rice. He supported the concerns of REAP and relevant stakeholders and ensured that their claim for Basmati rice as GI will be protected, the report said.

Pakistan enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Act in March this year, which gives it the right to oppose Indian application for registration of Basmati rice's exclusive rights.

 

https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2020/oct/06/pakistan-to-challenge-indias-application-for-exclusive-gi-tag-to-basmati-rice-in-european-union-2206727.html

 

 

 

 

Brazil purchases some 225,000 tons of rice from US, India and Guyana

Brazil has negotiated the purchase of 225,000 tons of rice from the United States, India, and Guyana, which are expected in the country during the second half of October and November. In an attempt to contain the price increase for consumers, Brazil decided to lower the Common External Tariff (TEC) on rice imports from outside Mercosur to zero. The measure was approved in early September, when the Executive Management Committee (GECEX) of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) lowered the levy for paddy rice until December 31, following on a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Supplies (MAPA). The temporary tariff reduction is restricted to a quota of 400,000 tons of grain. Brazilian rice production in the 2019/2020 harvest, estimated by the national food supply company CONAB reached 11.2 million tons, and was supposed to be sufficient for an estimated consumption of 10.8 million tons. For 2021, rice production is expected to grow by 7.2% over the previous harvest. According to a report published by Valor Econômico newspaper, the Brazilian government has not yet given up on the idea of also eliminating tariffs on imports of soy and corn from outside Mercosur because of the persistent rise in grain prices and its impact on supermarket shelves' prices. The poultry and pork industries concerned with this situation of increasing prices for oil seeds and grains in the Brazilian domestic market have asked the Ministry of Agriculture for the Common External Tariff (TEC) to be zeroed until the next Brazilian grain harvest comes onto the market in January, similar to what was done with rice at the beginning September.

https://en.mercopress.com/2020/10/07/brazil-purchases-some-225-000-tons-of-rice-from-us-india-and-guyana

 

 

Basmati: what is at stake?

Description: https://i.brecorder.com/primary/2020/10/5f7df5b9df799.jpg Last week, BR Research covered the gaps in local Geographical Indications framework and its implementation that could potentially weaken Pakistan’s case at EU against India’s exclusive claim to basmati exports. (For more, read: “Basmati exports under threat” published on October 01, 2020). But it might to help to take into account what is at stake. Compared to Pakistan, India is pretty much a giant when it comes to basmati exports. Out of the total basmati exports from sub-continent, Pakistan’s share has been a puny 15 percent over the past decade. In fact, India’s basmati exports alone during 2018 exceeded Pakistan’s total food group exports that year, which includes all agri commodities such as dairy, fish, fruits, and even red meat! But that makes sense, given the sheer size of our hostile neighbour and irrigated land available to its farmers. Basmati yields across both countries are similar, as is the unit value fetched by exporters of both countries in international market. Consider that in 2019, Pakistani exporters fetched $880 per ton against export of 0.9 million tons of basmati – compared to a marginally higher $1,040 per ton fetched by Indian traders on export of whopping 4.1 million tons.

Description: https://i.brecorder.com/primary/2020/10/5f7df560b9bda.png

Basmati exports from both countries are in fact largely commoditized. Pakistani exporters have struggled to build brands, onus of which largely falls on lack of investment in marketing and building brand equity – a fact acknowledged by chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan in an interview with BR Research earlier this year. Thus, the current battle really may appear to be one of export access than brand recognition, which even most fervent patriots would admit is a stronger suit of the hegemonic neighbour, given its greater diplomatic currency and soft power. On that note, Europe is a far less consequential market for India than Pakistan, considering its bulk of exports are to Gulf region. More than 80 percent of Indian basmati exports – in value terms – are to Gulf countries, where Iran is its biggest buyer with annual import of $1.2 billion worth basmati rice every year. This is embarrassing on two accounts: one, Pakistani exporters have land access to Iran as the two countries share a nearly thousand kilometres long border. And two, unlike UAE – which serves as a re-packaging/re-branding stop for basmati from both India and Pakistan – Iran has weaker trade relationships with EU. Consider that India’s annual basmati export to Iran is 1.4 times Pakistan’s total basmati export to the rest of the globe. Iran, then, is the one who got away! What makes India’s obsession to getting Pakistan’s basmati banned from EU all the more frustrating is that until last year, UK and not continental European countries was its biggest basmati buyer. Minus UK, basmati exports from India and Pakistan to continental European countries are very much on equal footing – at $130 million per annum. For India, that’s less than 5 percent of its annual share, but for Pakistan, that is nearly a quarter of its total global basmati market. Pakistan’s prospective loss thus is substantial, especially in relative terms.

Description: https://i.brecorder.com/primary/2020/10/5f7df560e6e9b.png

It is tough to predict, which way the camel might land. But its consequences are already obvious. First, an exclusive right in EU could serve as a precedence under TRIPs for other markets as well, beginning from North America, to APAC and Mediterranean. However, Pakistan may continue to have its feet inside the European door once the UK exits the single market and refuses to follow EU’s definition in bilateral trade with other countries. But more importantly, Pakistani exporters will have to try even harder to capture the Gulf market, which is both still open, and can serve as a dumping ground to repackage goods under Indian brands. As the Eastern hegemon continues to invest in building brand India, that means further commoditization for Pakistan’s basmati, as the gap between per unit prices fetch by traders in both countries will widen. The MoC then should be far more concerned with the lack of recognition of brand Pakistan, and the precedence this act of hostility creates for the other trading partners. Meanwhile, some introspection might also be in order for losing the other next-door neighbour, Iran.

 https://news.google.com/topstories?tab=mn&hl=en-PK&gl=PK&ceid=PK:en

 

 

India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom

Description: India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom

 

India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom

Description: India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom

Thank you for reading the news about India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom and now with the details

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - MUMBAI: India’s rice exports in 2020 may rise by nearly 42 percent from a year ago to record highs because of reduced shipments from rival exporters and a depreciating Indian  rupee, industry officials said this week. Higher shipments from India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, could cap global prices, reduce the country’s bulging inventories and limit Indian state stockpiler purchases from farmers. India’s rice exports could jump to 14 million tons in 2020, up from last year’s 9.9 million tons, the lowest in eight years, said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association. “Thailand’s shipments are falling due to the drought. Vietnam is struggling because of lower crop. That share is naturally coming to India,” Rao said. Thailand, the world’s second-largest rice exporter, suffered through a drought earlier this year that has affected the rice crop. Shipments in 2020 could fall to 6.5 million tons, the lowest in 20 years. Vietnam, the third-biggest global exporter, has contended with low water levels in the Mekong River Delta, the country’s main rice growing region, that has limited supply. India mainly exports non-basmati rice to Bangladesh, Nepal, Benin and Senegal, and premium basmati rice to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. India’s rice shipments in 2020 will rise because of robust demand for non-basmati rice from African countries, said Nitin Gupta, vice president for Olam India’s rice business. “Basmati rice demand is more-or-less stable, but in non-basmati rice we have seen a huge surge in demand due to attractive prices,” Gupta said. India’s non-basmati rice exports may double from a year ago to 9.5 million tons, while basmati rice exports would remain stable around 4.5 million tons, he said. India was offering 5 percent broken parboiled rice at $380 per ton on a free-on-board basis, while Thailand was offering the same grade at $490 per ton, dealers said. Indian exporters have offered rice at lower prices at a time when global prices have jumped on limited supplies because of the rupee’s depreciation, Rao said. The Indian rupee has declined 3 percent against the US dollar so far this year. In addition to lower Southeast Asian sales, China has also cut exports to Africa after floods hit local crops, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm. “Unlike other countries, India has massive surplus.

Exports won’t create shortage in the local market,” the dealer said. Also, the higher exports should cut into Indian inventories and limit government purchases from farmers at minimum support prices, said Rao. These were the details of the news India’s rice trade to set records amid export boom for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new. It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Arab News and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

https://alkhaleejtoday.co/business/5071184/India%E2%80%99s-rice-trade-to-set-records-amid-export-boom.html

 

 

 

Storms devastate rice paddies in Italy's 'golden triangle'

by Francesco Gilioli With Ella Ide In Rome

Description: Weekend storms dealt a severe blow to Europe's biggest rice producer, flooding the marshy area where 80 percent of Italy's rice Weekend storms dealt a severe blow to Europe's biggest rice producer, flooding the marshy area where 80 percent of Italy's rice is grown

With a deafening roar, the swollen Sesia river swept down the Alpine valley in northern Italy to engulf the plains below, drowning the country's so-called "golden triangle" of rice paddies in mud.

Storms at the weekend, when the region was lashed by half the yearly average rainfall in just one day, dealt a severe blow to Europe's biggest rice producer, flooding the marshy area where 80 percent of Italy's rice is grown.

"It was like the sea rising around us," farmer Noemi Leva, 24, told AFPTV. "It just kept coming, we saved what we could."

Leva said she risked losing half her 55 hectares (135 acres) of crop. "It will be very difficult to get back on our feet," she said.

The raging waters which hit Saturday drowned hundreds of sheep and goats, ruined olive crops, brought down bridges and triggered landslides.

Italy's biggest agricultural association Coldiretti said the storm had caused more than 300 million euros ($350 million) worth of damage.

Edoardo Merlo, who runs a farm near the Sesia with his father, said it was "an unimaginable emergency".

"The extent of the damage is only coming to light now, as the waters recede," the 32-year old said glumly, adding that many farms in the area "risk closing for good".

Description: The raging waters also drowned hundreds of sheep and goats, ruined olive crops, brought down bridges and triggered landslidesThe raging waters also drowned hundreds of sheep and goats, ruined olive crops, brought down bridges and triggered landslides

The rice Merlo had already harvested was stored at ground level, so it soaked up dirty river water and must now be binned.

"The remaining crop is drowned in mud. I don't know whether it's even worth trying to harvest what's left, if it could be sold."

'It's a catastrophe'

The timing is particularly bad, for the disaster comes hard on the heels of a new deal which allows Italy to export rice to China.

The Chinese hunger for varieties used to make typical risotto dishes, such as medium-grained Carnaroli, Arborio, Roma or Baldo, had been widely cheered by producers in the "golden triangle".

That area of lush paddy fields stretches from Pavia in the Lombardy region to Vercelli and Novara in Piedmont.

Rice has been enjoying increased popularity at home too, with consumption in Italy soaring 47 percent in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic which hit earlier this year, according to Coldiretti.

Description: Spread over 220,000 hectares (545,000 acres) and cultivated by 4,200 producers, Italian rice production totals an annual 1.5 milSpread over 220,000 hectares (545,000 acres) and cultivated by 4,200 producers, Italian rice production totals an annual 1.5 million tonnes, and the country boasts more than 200 varieties

Description: "My whole farm was under two metres of water," said rice grower Felice Iato, 60"My whole farm was under two metres of water," said rice grower Felice Iato, 60

Description: Spread over 220,000 hectares (545,000 acres) and cultivated by 4,200 producers, Italian rice production totals an annual 1.5 milSpread over 220,000 hectares (545,000 acres) and cultivated by 4,200 producers, Italian rice production totals an annual 1.5 million tonnes, and the country boasts more than 200 varieties

Description: "My whole farm was under two metres of water," said rice grower Felice Iato, 60"My whole farm was under two metres of water," said rice grower Felice Iato, 60

Spread over 220,000 hectares and cultivated by 4,200 producers, Italian rice production totals an annual 1.5 million tonnes, and the country boasts more than 200 varieties in all, each with its own peculiarities.

But out in the paddies, farmers are having to deal with increasingly unpredictable weather.

The peninsula has in recent years seen a rise in tropical weather, with ever greater storms pummelling a fragile territory. Urban expansion in the north has cut arable land by over a quarter over the past 25 years, eating away at key floodplains.

"My whole farm was under two metres of water," said Felice Iato, 60, a rice farmer who also represents the agricultural association in Pavia.

"I'm not even sure it's possible to harvest what's left," he said as he stared out over a golden expanse of flattened stems.

"It's a catastrophe".

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-storms-devastate-rice-paddies-italy.html#:~:text=Storms%20devastate%20rice%20paddies%20in%20Italy's%20'golden%20triangle',-by%20Francesco%20Gilioli&text=With%20a%20deafening%20roar%2C%20the,of%20rice%20paddies%20in%20mud.

 

 

India's rice exports could jump to record on Thai drought effects

OCTOBER 7, 202011:55 AMUPDATED A DAY AGO

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s rice exports in 2020 may rise by nearly 42% from a year ago to record highs because of reduced shipments from rival exporters and a depreciating rupee, industry officials said this week.

Slideshow ( 2 images )

Higher shipments from India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, could cap global prices, reduce the country’s bulging inventories and limit Indian state stockpiler purchases from farmers.

India’s rice exports could jump to 14 million tonnes in 2020, up from last year’s 9.9 million tonnes, the lowest in eight years, said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association.

“Thailand’s shipments are falling due to the drought. Vietnam is struggling because of lower crop. That share is naturally coming to India,” Rao said.

Thailand, the world’s second-largest rice exporter, suffered through a drought earlier this year that has affected the rice crop. Shipments in 2020 could fall to 6.5 million tonnes, the lowest in 20 years.

Vietnam, the third-biggest global exporter, has contended with low water levels in the Mekong River Delta, the country’s main rice growing region, that has limited supply.

India mainly exports non-basmati rice to Bangladesh, Nepal, Benin and Senegal, and premium basmati rice to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

India’s rice shipments in 2020 will rise because of robust demand for non-basmati rice from African countries, said Nitin Gupta, vice president for Olam India’s rice business.

“Basmati rice demand is more-or-less stable, but in non-basmati we have seen a huge surge in demand due to attractive prices,” Gupta said.

India’s non-basmati rice exports may double from a year ago to 9.5 million tonnes, while basmati rice exports would remain stable around 4.5 million tonnes, he said.

India was offering 5% broken parboiled rice at $380 per tonne on a free-on-board basis, while Thailand was offering the same grade at $490 per tonne, dealers said.

Indian exporters have offered rice at lower prices at a time when global prices have jumped on limited supplies because of the rupee’s depreciation, Rao said.

The rupee has declined 3% against the U.S. dollar so far this year.

In addition to lower Southeast Asian sales, China has also cut exports to Africa after floods hit local crops, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

“Unlike other countries, India has massive surplus. Exports won’t create shortage in the local market,” the dealer said.

Also, the higher exports should cut into Indian inventories and limit government purchases from farmers at minimum support prices, said Rao from the Rice Exporters Association.

Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/article/india-rice-exports/indias-rice-exports-could-jump-to-record-on-thai-drought-effects-idUSKBN26S0S9

 

 

 

Brazil purchases some 225,000 tons of rice from US, India and Guyana

Wednesday, October 7th 2020 - 09:02 UTC

In an attempt to contain price increase for consumers, Brazil decided to lower the Common External Tariff (TEC) on rice imports from outside Mercosur to zero.

Brazil has negotiated the purchase of 225,000 tons of rice from the United States, India, and Guyana, which are expected in the country during the second half of October and November.

In an attempt to contain the price increase for consumers, Brazil decided to lower the Common External Tariff (TEC) on rice imports from outside Mercosur to zero.

The measure was approved in early September, when the Executive Management Committee (GECEX) of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) lowered the levy for paddy rice until December 31, following on a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Supplies (MAPA). The temporary tariff reduction is restricted to a quota of 400,000 tons of grain.

Brazilian rice production in the 2019/2020 harvest, estimated by the national food supply company CONAB reached 11.2 million tons, and was supposed to be sufficient for an estimated consumption of 10.8 million tons. For 2021, rice production is expected to grow by 7.2% over the previous harvest.

According to a report published by Valor Econômico newspaper, the Brazilian government has not yet given up on the idea of also eliminating tariffs on imports of soy and corn from outside Mercosur because of the persistent rise in grain prices and its impact on supermarket shelves' prices.

The poultry and pork industries concerned with this situation of increasing prices for oil seeds and grains in the Brazilian domestic market have asked the Ministry of Agriculture for the Common External Tariff (TEC) to be zeroed until the next Brazilian grain harvest comes onto the market in January, similar to what was done with rice at the beginning September.

https://en.mercopress.com/2020/10/07/brazil-purchases-some-225-000-tons-of-rice-from-us-india-and-guyana

Pakistan To Challenge India's Claim For Exclusive GI Tag On Basmati Rice In EU

Pakistan on Tuesday has decided to oppose India’s claim of GI tag for Basmati rice in the European Union. A legal team will file its formal opposition with EU.

Written By

7th October, 2020 10:58 IST

 

Brigitte Fernandes

Description: facebook Description: twitter

Description: Pakistan

 

India and Pakistan are once again at loggerheads with each other over the Geographical Indication (GI) tagging of Basmati rice. Pakistan on Tuesday has decided to oppose India’s claim of GI tag for Basmati rice in the European Union (EU). The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood on Monday. A Pakistani legal team will file its formal opposition with the EU, according to reports.

The Pakistan representatives are of the view that their country is a major grower and producer of basmati rice and India’s claim for exclusivity is unjustified. Hence Pakistan is planning to vehemently oppose India’s application in the European Union and restrain India from obtaining an exclusive GI tag of basmati rice, according to reports.

India submitted an application with the European Union claiming sole ownership of basmati rice in September. According to the Indian application, Basmati is special long grain aromatic rice grown and produced in a particular geographical region of the Indian sub-continent while adding that the region is a part of northern India, below the foothills of the Himalayas forming part of the Indo-Gangetic plain.

'Pakistan will vehemently oppose India's application'

The meeting to tackle Indian exclusivity over Basmati rice was attended by Secretary Commerce, Chairman, Intellectual Pro­perty Organisation (IPO-Pakistan), representatives of Rice Exporters Asso­ciation of Pakistan (REAP), and the legal fraternity. During the meeting, the REAP representatives were of the view that Pakistan was a major grower and producer of Basmati rice and India's application for exclusivity is unjustified.

Dawood said that Pakistan will vehemently oppose India's application in the European Union and restrain New Delhi from obtaining an exclusive GI tag of Basmati rice, the report said. He further supported the concerns of REAP and relevant stakeholders and ensured that their claim for Basmati rice as GI will be protected, it added. 

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:P0oMQUvNbkUJ:https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/pakistan-news/pakistan-to-challenge-indias-claim-for-gi-tag-on-basmati-rice.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

 

India Grain: Basmati falls further; wheat prices up on firm demand

 

Tuesday, Oct 6, 2020

 

By Sampad Nandy

 

NEW DELHI – Prices of Pusa basmati 1121 fell further today in Amritsar and prices of wheat rose in Indore and Jaipur. Maize and bajra prices were steady across spot markets.

 

* Price of the Pusa 1121 variety of BASMATI fell further today due to the anticipated rise in output in 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) and weak demand, traders said.

 

* Basmati rice output in the country is expected to rise 10% on year to nearly 6.3 mln tn in 2020-21 (Jul-Jun), said A.K. Gupta, director of the Basmati Exports Development Foundation under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

 

* Weak demand from bulk buyers has also put prices of the premium variety of rice under pressure, traders said. "Bulk buyers have reduced their purchases as they are waiting for the fresh crop to hit markets," Amritsar-based trader Ashok Sethi said.

 

* Prices of WHEAT in Jaipur and Indore rose today due to firm demand from bulk buyers amid largely unchanged supply, traders said. 

 

* Arrivals in Jaipur and Indore were steady at 1,000 bags (1 bag = 100 kg) and 1,500 bags, respectively, from Wednesday.

 

* Prices of MAIZE were flat in Purnea and Nizamabad today, traders said.

 

* Arrivals in Purnea were pegged steady at 1,200 bags (1 bag = 100 kg). In Nizamabad, arrivals were steady at 1,000 bags.

 

* Prices of BAJRA in Jaipur rose today due to firm bulk demand, traders said.


Following are highlights from trading in grain markets today:

 

Commodity

Market

Price/100 kg

Change

Wheat

Indore

1,620-1,630

10-20

Wheat

Jaipur

1,720-1,740

10-20

Maize

Purnea

1,250-1,300

Maize

Nizamabad

1,250-1,300

Pusa 1121 basmati paddy

Amritsar

3,100-3,140

(-)30-40

Bajra

Jaipur

1,290-1,330

 

End

 

Edited by Nidhi Chugh

 

Cogencis Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@cogencis.com

This copy was first published on the Cogencis WorkStation

© Cogencis Information Services Ltd. 2020. All rights reserved.

Other News

UPDATE – POLL: ‘New’ MPC seen retaining repo rate at 4.00% on Friday

Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020 (Updating the Sep 25 poll with new dates of Monetary Policy Committee's meeting and appointment of new members of the panel) NEW DELHI – The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee is expected to leave the repo rate unchanged at 4.00% on Friday, with high inflation likely to force the committee to […]

TREND: Low IPO retail allotment spread leads to post-listing frenzy

Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020 By Rajesh Gajra NEW DELHI – With the economy reopening and equity markets surging from June, a flurry of companies came out with initial public offerings and these were lapped up by markets. After the first offering in July, seven hit the market in September alone and all were oversubscribed in most investor categories. […]

Fresh kharif maize hits Karnataka mkts; prices weak on poor quality

Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020 By S. Anirudh Iyer NEW DELHI – Arrivals of the fresh crop of kharif maize for 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) has started hitting the markets of Karnataka, but prices are sharply lower from the year-ago levels due to poor quality of the new crop as well as weak demand. The fresh crop fetched around 800-1,100 rupees […]

Contact
Cogencis Tel +91 (22) 6619-0000
Send comments to 
feedback@cogencis.com

http://www.cogencis.com/newssection/india-grain-basmati-falls-further-wheat-prices-up-on-firm-demand/

What India’s farm reforms aim to change, in three charts

 

 

A farmer with her daughter harvest the yield from a field growing multiple crops on the outskirts of Bangalore

. Updated: 08 Oct 2020, 10:32 AM ISTArjun Srinivas , howindialives.com

Wide disparities in agri-marketing regulations have resulted in fragmented markets across states. The new farm bills aim to change this but the jury is still out on whether it will have the intended impact.

Description: A farmer with her daughter harvest the yield from a field growing multiple crops on the outskirts of Bangalore

On 26 September, government procurement of food crops commenced across the country, five days in advance, following the enactment of three contentious farm bills. Under the new policy regime, farmers need not sell their produce through designated markets, and can sell to whoever they want to.

The same week, reports emerged that farmers from Uttar Pradesh wanting to sell their produce in Karnal, Haryana, were stopped at the Haryana border. Later, the Haryana government clarified there was no law barring farmers from other states from selling their produce in Haryana, and they could do so after registering on a portal. This begs the question, why would farmers from one region want to sell their produce elsewhere?

Monthly data collected on wholesale prices across 122 centres by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution shows wide geographical disparity in prices. We studied this data for six key agricultural commodities in 2019, covering foodgrains, pulses and vegetables. Three commodities (rice, wheat and tur dal) were among the 23 for which the government sets a minimum support price (MSP). The other three (potato, onion and tomato) didn’t have MSP support. The largest price variation was seen for vegetables, where trade is mostly unregulated and there exists no government procurement.

So, what explains this wide geographical disparity in prices? Under the current policy regime, agricultural markets are the domain of state governments. All states that have notified the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act operate APMC mandis (markets) with specified geographical jurisdictions. Farmers are, therefore, required to sell their produce via auctions to licensed traders at the mandi in their region.

Most major states have implemented the APMC Act, with Kerala and Bihar being notable exceptions. However, there is large variation across states in terms of the scope and stringency of these APMC acts, wrote Sudha Narayanan, associate professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, in an article published by The India Forum. Such variations in APMC regulations have led to fragmented markets, and impeded the emergence of a single national market, according to Narayanan.

In rice, for instance, the monthly average price in 2019 ranged from 2,042 per quintal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh) to 5,102 in Gangtok (Sikkim). In vegetables, the variation is much greater. In tomatoes, for instance, the monthly average price in 2019 ranged from 985 per quintal in Udaipur (Rajasthan) to 7,605 in Mayabunder (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).

These prices offer an insight into the wide disparity in what farmers earn for their produce in different parts of the country. A quartile-wise distribution shows that in all six commodities, there are a sizeable number of centres where the wholesale prices vary sharply. In rice, for example, the average price in the bottom quartile (comprising 28 centers) was about 19% below the average for the 122 centers. In the top quartile, the average price was about 33% higher. This variance in vegetables is much higher.

To be sure, the difference in wholesale prices is also driven by transaction costs such as for transportation, and the relative demand and supply across regions. With agricultural production largely concentrated in the northern and western states, wholesale prices are relatively higher in other regions, which are net consumers of these products.

Yet, inter-state barriers do seem to play a role in driving up the price wedge across regions. An estimate by Shoumitro Chatterjee, a researcher at Princeton University, suggests that removal of inter-state barriers can increase prices accruing to farmers by up to 11%. The paper describes how restrictions on inter-state trade due to the APMC law undermine market power and, therefore, prices accruing to farmers. The author then models an alternative scenario where these restrictions don’t exist.

In an emailed response, Sudha Narayanan explained how geographical disparities in prices can indicate the presence of barriers to trade as well as high transaction costs that can aggravate these disparities. “In general, we would expect large disparities in prices to be arbitraged away by the free movement of produce to the point where any disparity is on account of just the transaction cost associated with moving the produce," she said.

Price variation is greatest in the case of vegetables, where government procurement is zero. The absence of MSP in vegetables means they lack a price floor. Since vegetables are mostly perishable, the lack of efficient storage and distribution networks inhibits long distance trade, and markets for vegetables remain largely localized. Their prices are therefore volatile, being prone to supply and demand shocks.

 

The full implication of the new farm policy regime is difficult to predict. In the absence of regulation, market forces will dictate that buyers will migrate to regions where prices are low. Farmers in regions that have a relative cost disadvantage might lose out. On the flip side, barrier-free trade and more supply chain investments can increase earnings for farmers. With the new farm bill, how this plays out will be keenly watched.

howindialives.com is a search engine for public data

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/what-india-s-farm-reforms-aim-to-change-in-three-charts-11602052679387.html

 

 

 

Cambodia struggles to market rice

By New Straits Times - October 7, 2020 @ 9:45am

Description: A worker carrying a sack of rice at a shop in  Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA PICA worker carrying a sack of rice at a shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA PIC

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia'S rice industry is losing out to cheaper rice from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand.

The two countries are now supplying white rice to the world market at much cheaper prices than Cambodia, which exports more premium or fragrant rice varieties.

Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon has urged exporters to focus more on white rice exports to tap the global low-cost market.

"We are busy focusing only on premium fragrant rice and forgot about Vietnam, which is filling the international market demand for white rice. So we should turn to processing more white rice for export," he said, adding that by continuing to focus on premium fragrant rice for a niche market, it would keep Cambodia out of the world's rice-producing countries and may leave farmers lagging behind.

Khmer Times report said that Cambodia produces more than 10 million tonnes of padi a year and only about three million tonnes are premium fragrant padi.

According to figures from the ministry, as of September, padi cultivation was carried out on 2.7 million ha nationwide.

Lun Yeng, Secretary-General of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), said the problem with the markets needed to be addressed.

He said if they wanted to process white rice for export, they have to do it at prices that could compete with neighbouring countries in the international market.

"We cannot produce on a large scale with high cost and sell at a low price. We already know that the recurring challenges today are high production costs and transporting costs."

Yeng said Vietnam's production and transportation costs were low, with white rice being loaded directly into vessels as bulk cargo.

"We really want to do it, but it is not profitable. Our production cost is already high, so we cannot sell at low prices."

Cambodia exported 488,775 tonnes of milled rice in the first nine months of this year, up 22.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This paled in comparison to Thailand which exported 2.89 million tonnes in the first half of ths year, a drop of 34 per cent year on year, while Vietnam exported 3.5 million tonnes, an increase of 5.6 per cent.

Cambodia expects to export more than 800,000 tonnes of milled rice this year and reach the one million tonne target by 2022.

Yeng said Cambodia also exported 30 per cent of its white rice, most of which was to the European Union market.

However, he said since the European Commission imposed safeguard measures on Cambodian rice, it could not compete in the European market.

"Therefore, fragrant rice is still our strength in the market. We do not focus on quantity. The important thing is that we can produce with profitability and ensure the well-being of the rice sector,"

He said Cambodia had 70 rice exporters nationwide, 60 of whom are members of CRF.

He said there were 120 rice mills processing padi for export which could process a total of 1.2 million tonnes per year.

https://www.nst.com.my/world/region/2020/10/630282/cambodia-struggles-market-rice


 

 

 

 

SunRice acquisition plans lift revenue towards $2b target

Description: Andrew Marshall

Andrew Marshall@BurrenAndrew7 Oct 2020, 9 a.m.

Agribusiness

Description: The stars fronting SunRice's new baby rice cereal product promotion, Riverina mum, Erika Burkinshaw and her son is Cove, in a southern NSW rice crop.

 The stars fronting SunRice's new baby rice cereal product promotion, Riverina mum, Erika Burkinshaw and her son is Cove, in a southern NSW rice crop.

Stockfeed, baby food and snack foods have become fast rising stars on the SunRice business agenda as the farmer-controlled company further diversifies away from relying on its best known consumer staple - rice.

While global demand for its many respected rice brands well exceeds 1 million tonnes a year, SunRice is also making the most of its broad market experience in the fast moving consumer goods space.

New product lines and business acquisitions are being keenly explored Australia-wide to add extra value to its range, and spread earnings risks, as it targets revenue of $2 billion in the next two years.

For some time the market for feed ingredients for young livestock and pets has been one of those steadily expanding value-added categories, but SunRice has now turned to nurturing young humans, too, with a newly launched infant food range.

Its first foray into baby food, a 125 gram pouched Infant Rice Cereal lineup, is being promoted as a convenient, Australian-made food choice, with no added salt, sugar or artificial colours and flavours.

Initial marketing efforts will focus on young parents - and their babies - in Australia and China, playing up the company's clean, green Riverina origins and its 70-year-old trusted farm sector credentials.

The new line is manufactured for SunRice under contract and follows the recent launch of low GI instant rice cup products to Chinese hospitals and China's huge online health food market.

Description: https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/32XghFRykTWK8psrWNhdBMC/3662abc8-ced1-4f15-a3e7-292c43e01bcb.jpg/r1435_580_3165_3285_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

At the same time SunRice is broadening its rice snack portfolio, expanding overseas distribution channels for rice chips, mini bites and rice cakes and starting production of brown rice chips in Australia, which in turn will broaden scope for more new product innovation.

New product options and acquisitions are also likely in its Riviana Foods business, which includes the Always Fresh, Fehlbergs and Roza's Gourmet preserved food and cooking ingredient lines.

Fehlbergs Fine Foods' pickled vegetable range and Rooza's Gourmet dips and sauces joined the SunRice stable in 2017 and 2018.

Eye on acquisitions

"We are continuing to accelerate pursuit of organic growth opportunities and key initiatives on the merger and acquisition front," said managing director Rob Gordon.

"There are a number of acquisitions we're currently exploring across our group which, if executed, are expected to diversify and increase earnings and align with our growth strategy to achieve $2b in revenue by 2022.

"We are not just a company responsible for marketing the Australian rice crop, but a truly international FMCG and global rice food business."

SunRice was leveraging its strong balance sheet to pursue these value-accretive acquisitions.

Lately, of note, has been a succession of investments linked to the company's 45-year-old stockfeed division, CopRice.

Last month about $10m was set aside to buy a Gippsland-based stockfeed mill and start upgrading the site to boost its capacity in beef and dairy feed markets.

CopRice also recently converted the former Coleambally rice mill to become Australia's largest ruminant nutrition processing plant.

That coincided with SunRice also spending about $6m acquiring and commencing upgrading the northern Victorian Feedrite mill at Wangaratta, now also part of CopRice's pet food business.

We have quite ambitious plans in the stockfeed category- Laurie Arthur, SunRice

CopRice has other mills at Tongala and Cobden in Victoria and Leeton in southern NSW, and has enjoyed spin-off by-product benefits from the parent company's recent $10m rice bran processing plant upgrade, also at Leeton.

"We have quite ambitious plans in the stockfeed category," said chairman and Murray Valley ricegrower, Laurie Arthur.

"We've had a long period of expertise in the feed product market, we know the marketplace and we have opportunities to value-add by-products from the rice industry and non-grain products, too."

New stockfeed operations offered the chance to spread the company's product sourcing and marketing footprint further interstate and help counterbalance the cyclical nature of stockfeed demand and ingredient availability.

CopRice's current modest export business, primarily to Papua New Guinea, could also potentially expand further afield by piggy backing on the company's rice trading and milling activities, such as its mills in Jordan or the US.

Long-term PNG play

Mr Arthur said PNG itself, although currently a struggling economy with a much-devalued currency and depressed consumer spending power in recent years, was still SunRice's biggest single rice market and "a wealth of opportunity" in the longer term.

"It's got huge natural resources, including oil and gas reserves yet to be developed," he said.

"It will have its day - and our strategy is to stay the course with our PNG business.

"Six years ago the Middle East wasn't considered such an attractive place to be doing business, either, but that region has some of our wealthiest customers crying out for premium quality Australian rice."

Meanwhile, although barred from many other export markets by trade barriers, SunRice was upbeat about opportunities in the Philippines, and breaking into the tariff protected European market once Australian free trade deals were inked with Britain, and hopefully the European Union.

"Britain was a major market for us until it joined the EU in the 1970s, so now we're hoping Brexit will revive that opportunity," Mr Arthur said.

"It will be a good chance to get a foot back in the European door again.

"We've suffered extreme tariff costs on our sales to that part of the world, but no such restrictions stop rice from Spain, Portugal, Italy or Greece coming into Australia."

  • Start the day with all the big news in agriculture! Sign up below to receive our daily Farmonline newsletter.

https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/6957496/sunrice-growth-plan-looks-to-diverse-new-food-and-feed-markets/

 

Indonesia’s food estate programme to expand new plantations in forest frontiers

To expand the project into North Sumatra and Papua, the government is seeking out private investors, but activists say this risks a repeat of the current corporate takeover of Indigenous and community lands.

Farmer working on a rice field in Bali, Indonesia. Image: www.tiket2.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

By Hans Nicholas Jong, Mongabay.com

Oct. 7, 2020

  •  

The Indonesian government is doubling down on a plan to establish large-scale agricultural plantations across the country, in a move that threatens widespread deforestation and the disenfranchisement of smallholder farmers.

President Joko Widodo announced the expansion of the “food estate programme” on Sept. 23 as part of measures to secure domestic food supplies end Indonesia’s reliance on imported food crops. Among the regions expected to become agricultural centers are the provinces of North Sumatra and South Sumatra in the country’s west, and East Nusa Tenggara and Papua in the east.

No more plantations in Papua, says Indonesia’s point man for palm oil

The announcement comes as the government prepares to start planting this year on the site of the current national food estate project in the Bornean province of Central Kalimantan. Widodo said the government would focus on establishing the plantations in Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra first, before expanding to the other regions.

In Central Kalimantan, the government has identified 165,000 hectares (407,700 acres) of potential farmland in the districts of Pulang Pisau and Kapuas. Most of this new estate will sit on peatlands that were targeted for an identical initiative, the Mega Rice Project (MRP), in the mid-1990s. The government back then quickly abandoned the MRP after the nutrient-poor peatlands proved too unforgiving for rice, a crop that requires the kind of mineral soils found in Java and Bali islands to thrive.

The Widodo administration has called for reviving the  former MRP areas, albeit with changes in light of the lessons learned from the failure of that earlier project. Construction work aimed at improving existing infrastructure, such as roads and irrigation channels, began on Sept. 28. The cost of infrastructure alone is estimated at 6.7 trillion rupiah ($454 million).

North Sumatra

In North Sumatra, the government is eyeing 61,000 hectares (150,700 acres) of land on a plateau that straddles four districts. It says the elevation makes the region well suited for crops like potatoes and garlic, and that if the project succeeds there it can be replicated in other regions such as Papua, which has a vast highland region.

It wants agribusiness companies to take the lead in the project, citing the high cost of establishing large-scale plantations, even as one of the programme’s stated aims is to empower small farmers and rural communities.

Dana Prima Tarigan, head of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said farmers would only benefit from the programme if they were granted ownership and management rights over their own land. Anything short of this will make the programme no different from past large-scale plantation programmes, in which companies managed the estates and hired farmers only as paid labourers, Dana said.

Five companies, including food giants such as PT Indofood Sukses Makmur and PT Calbee Wings Food, have expressed their interest in taking part in the programme. Nearly 80 per cent of the 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of land expected to be planted this year in North Sumatra will be managed by agribusiness companies and the government.

The government is also looking abroad for investors in the programme. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said there was already interest from South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and China.

The government initially planned an estate of 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) in the district of Humbang Hasundutan, but an analysis by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry found there was only 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) available, with much of the remaining land designated as protected forests that serve as a catchment area for Lake Toba.

The ministry has had to look at the neighboring districts of North Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli and West Pakpak, where it has identified a total of 61,000 hectares of available land. That number is subject to change pending a rapid environmental strategic analysis and forest conversion process.

Another factor restricting the amount of available land for the food estate project in North Sumatra is the sheer size of an existing concession held by pulp and paper producer PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL): nearly 185,000 hectares (457,000 acres) of land — an area bigger than London — across 11 districts and one municipality.

The company has been embroiled in long-standing land conflicts with Indigenous Batak communities in the Lake Toba region, who have lost their benzoin trees, an important source of incense and central to their culture and livelihoods. The conflicts have resulted in the jailing of several Indigenous community members.

With TPL’s pulpwood concession occupying such a large area, Darori Wonodipuro, a lawmaker who served as the head of the forest protection directorate-general of the forestry ministry for seven years, said that there might not be enough land left for the food estate programme.

“The location there has cool temperature but the land has been handed over completely,” he said during a meeting with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Jakarta. “First, it is owned by Indo Rayon [the former name of TPL], these are all forest areas. Outside of that, they’re all customary land.”

Dana from Walhi said the government should use the opportunity presented by the food estate programme to rescind these disputed areas from TPL and hand the land back to the Indigenous communities to manage, which could then feed into the food estate programme. 

“We would see it as a good policy if [the government] reduced the concession of the company,” Dana said. “But don’t give [the area] to new companies to manage, because then the Indigenous peoples will have to watch [from the sidelines] again.”Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the impact of the food estate programme on the environment in North Sumatra would be minimal, since the earmarked areas comprise degraded forests.

“What’s important here is that in regards to the environment, [degradation] can’t happen,” she said. “So indeed the areas that we project [to become food estate] are those whose forest functions have declined. But of course the agricultural practices have to be agroforestry. There have to be conservation requirements.”

Papua

The Papua region at the easternmost end of Indonesia is the country’s least-developed area and home to the world’s largest standing swath of tropical rainforest outside the Amazon and the Congo Basin. President Widodo’s announcement that Papua would be included in the food estate programme has prompted objections from a coalition of 10 Papua-based NGOs, who say the programme will rob Indigenous Papuans of their rights.

The coalition likened the programme to the failed Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), initiated by Widodo’s predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in 2011 to turn Papua’s Merauke district into the “future breadbasket of Indonesia.”

That project, pitched by the government as the answer to Indonesia’s food security needs, has become a “textbook land grab,” activists say. Within just three years of the project’s launch, the majority of concessions granted by the government to companies were for crops to be exported, such as oil palm and pulpwood, belying the claim that the estate would boost domestic supplies of food crops.

The latter, including rice and cassava, only account for 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of total concessions in the estate, compared to 594,000 hectares (1.4 million acres) for pulpwood and 266,000 hectares (657,300 acres) for oil palm.

“In the beginning, [MIFEE] was planned to be dominated with food crops like rice, corn, soy and others, [but] the fact is that now it’s dominated with palm oil and industrial forest plantations,” Aiesh Rumbekwan, executive director of Walhi’s Papua chapter, said in a press release.

In total, the government has granted permits for 45 companies on 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) of land in Papua — an area that includes not just land where farming is permitted, but also where it’s off-limits, including primary and protected forests, residential areas, and Indigenous settlements.

With the project threatening their customary rights and livelihoods, Indigenous communities in the region have resisted by staging street protests, installing signs around plantations urging companies to leave, and occupying company offices, among other actions.

The resistance has slowed MIFEE’s expansion, but President Widodo has tried to revive the project ever since taking office in 2014. In 2015, the president said he planned to turn the Papua region into the nation’s rice bowl over the next three years by allocating 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of land, and possibly up to 4.6 million hectares (11.4 million acres), in Merauke district for the project. The latter figure represents the entirety of Merauke’s area.

Since then, however, there’s been little to no development on the MIFEE programme, which is included in the Widodo administration’s list of national strategic projects.

With the president now targeting Papua again under the national food estate programme, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is conducting a study to identify potential areas not only in Merauke, but also in the neighboring districts of Mappi and Boven Digoel.

Asked by lawmakers at a parliamentary hearing whether the planned food estate would be established in the former MIFEE area, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti said it hadn’t been decided yet because the study is still ongoing.

According to a document obtained by Mongabay, the government has identified nearly 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of potential plantation area in the three districts. There’s also 1.04 million hectares (2.57 million acres) of forest that could be degazetted — stripped of its forest status — and subsequently razed for farmland by 2021. Mongabay has tried to confirm the validity of the document with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, but to no avail.

The expansion of the food estate programme to districts beyond Merauke has sparked concern among activists in the region, who worry the impact of the new programme will be greater than that of MIFEE.

Walhi Papua’s Aiesh said the food estate programme would not only threaten the region’s pristine rainforests, but also the Indigenous peoples who live there and call the forests their ancestral home.

“There’s already a lot of stories from Merauke documented by researchers and reporters on how deforestation has changed the nature of the Malind Indigenous peoples and how their land ownership has shifted to other parties or been forcefully taken away by legal papers issued by the government,” he said.

Sabatha Rumadas, from the NGO Papua Peoples Network (JERAT), a member of the coalition opposed to the project, said if the government truly wants to achieve food security and empower native Papuans, then establishing large-scale food plantations is not the solution. Instead, the government should recognise Papuans’ land rights and give them power to manage their own land, he said.

“There are empirical facts that before the integration [of Papua into Indonesia], Indigenous Papuans were able to survive not because the state guaranteed their livelihoods, but because of the availability of food and access to manage it,” Sabatha said.

Anselmus Amo, a pastor with the Papuan Indigenous rights organization SKP-KAMe, said that if the government wanted to develop agriculture in the region, it should involve Indigenous Papuans in the process and conduct a meaningful dialogue with them.

“Indigenous peoples also have a framework to secure their customary land for the sake of their children and grandchildren,” he said. “So there shouldn’t be coercion, especially with violence.”

This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com.

 

https://www.eco-business.com/news/indonesias-food-estate-programme-to-expand-new-plantations-in-forest-frontiers/

DA urges farmers to sell palay to NFA buying station

Published October 7, 2020, 5:00 PM

by Marie Tonette Marticio

TACLOBAN City – Following reports of palay (unhusked rice) in Eastern Visayas being bought by local traders as low as P13.50, the Department of Agriculture (DA) urges farmers to sell them to the National Food Authority (NFA) buying stations.

This is far from the average price of well-milled rice which is at P1,800-P2,000 per sack.

Small farmers are compelled to sell their harvest to local traders at a low price because most of them have no means of transporting their harvest to the buying stations. Some of them are not even aware that there are existing buying stations in their province.

Lino, a farmer from Dagami, Leyte was disappointed to find out that his palay was only bought for P13.50 per kilogram from his almost 1-hectare land. He said that he needed the money for his children’s school needs for the opening of classes.

“The buying station is far from here. We need the money already so we have no choice but to sell them at a low price,” he lamented.

The NFA-8 has opened more palay buying stations for palay just in time for the peak harvest season for the farmers who planted in May and June in order to help them earn more from their harvest.

There are two in Ormoc City and one each Tacloban City and Baybay City, Hilongos, and Alangalang, all in Leyte; Maasin City, St. Bernard, and Hinunangan in Southern Leyte; Bobon, Laoang, and Catubig in Northern Samar; Borongan City, Oras, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar; Catbalogan City and Calbayog City in Samar; and Naval, Biliran.

“At the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we closely coordinated with the local government units (LGUs) for them to assist NFA in buying locally produced rice under our ‘Buy Local, Eat Local’ Program,” Francis Rosaro, DA-8 information officer shared.

He said that the NFA buying stations procure clean and dry palay at P19 per kilogram as part of the national government’s mandate.

The official added that NFA is also exploring mobile buying stations by picking up palay right from the farm instead of the farmers transporting them to buying stations.

“There is an ongoing consolidation effort of the NFA with our Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Division of (AMAD) to drumbeat their massive buying program. Our farmers just need to ensure that the palay is clean and dry,” he said.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/07/da-urges-farmers-to-sell-palay-to-nfa-buying-station/؎؎؎؎

 

 

Philippines to import 300,000 MT of rice

Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star

 

October 7, 2020 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The country is importing as much as 300,000 metric tons of rice until the end of the year, giving it a stable buffer stock by 2021.

In a virtual briefing Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the DA expects about 200,000 to 300,000 MT of rice to arrive in the country for the rest of the year.

Two million MT of rice had already entered the country so far this year.

“If that’s the case, by the end of the year, with local harvest and imports, we have a very rice secure country. We will have [supply] good for three months next year,” Dar said.

Given DA’s projection, total imports will likely reach 2.3 million MT next year. This is 23 percent lower than the three million MT recorded in 2019 and 12 percent below than the earlier projection of 2.6 million MT for this year.

This as local production is expected to improve this year and attain a record-high production of palay (unhusked rice) of 22.12 million. This represents an increase of 18 percent.

The expected higher production is anchored on the DA’s flagship Plant, Plant, Plant program aimed at expanding production areas, improving yields and ensuring availability of rice in the country.

Amid the drop in palay prices, Dar said the DA already appealed to traders and importers to not bring in rice while the harvest season is ongoing.

He said the DA could only do so much as the Rice Tariffication Law has virtually opened up the industry to unlimited imports of the country’s main staple.

“We appeal to traders to not take advantage of the pandemic and also allow farmers to earn this season. They should have the patriotism to help our farmers,” Dar said.

Dar also encouraged multinational companies to buy rice for their employees from farmer cooperatives and associations to help prop up farmgate prices.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/10/07/2047650/philippines-import-300000-mt-rice

؎؎؎

 

 

 

Head Office

 

No comments:

Post a Comment