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."
The 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
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.
Eat 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
.
Rice mill owners: Govt. urged to enforce controlled
prices
By 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
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
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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.
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
Let
an Indian lawyer represent Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pak court: MEA
Pak
court constitutes larger three-member bench in Kulbhushan Jadhav case
Pakistan
provides second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav
Not
legally possible to allow Indian lawyer to represent Jadhav: Pakistan
Kulbhushan
Jadhav case: Pak court appoints 3 senior lawyers as amici curiae
·
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.)
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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.
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.
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.
Basmati: what is at stake?
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.
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.
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
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
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Storms
devastate rice paddies in Italy's 'golden triangle'
by
Francesco Gilioli With Ella Ide In Rome
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".
The 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.
Spread 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
"My whole farm was under two
metres of water," said rice grower Felice Iato, 60
Spread 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
"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".
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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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.
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
Cambodia struggles to market rice
By New Straits Times - October
7, 2020 @ 9:45am
A 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.
A 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
Andrew Marshall@BurrenAndrew7 Oct 2020, 9
a.m.
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.
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
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."
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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.
DA urges farmers
to sell palay to NFA buying station
Published October 7, 2020, 5:00 PM
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
؎؎؎
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