FEDCOC: Rice prices
stable with safe level of strategic reserve
Friday February 21, 2020
Rice
agriculture in Egypt - Photo by Hussein Tallal
By: MENA
Thu, Feb. 20, 2020
CAIRO - 20
February 2020: The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) under
Ibrahim el Arabi underlined that rice prices will be stable in the coming
period.
In a press release on Thursday, the union said the strategic reserve of rice is at the safe level and would cover the needs of the Egyptian people.
He added that the federation is following up on a daily basis the status of all commodities on the market.
In a press release on Thursday, the union said the strategic reserve of rice is at the safe level and would cover the needs of the Egyptian people.
He added that the federation is following up on a daily basis the status of all commodities on the market.
Asia
Rice-Vietnam rates climb to over 1-year high on strong demand
FEBRUARY 20, 2020 / 6:40 PM /
Brijesh Patel
* Vietnamese rates jump to $380/tonne from $355-$360
* Virus has no impact on Vietnam exports to China - member
* Bangladesh mulls ban on common rice exports - official
* In Thailand, concerns over supply persist due to drought
By Brijesh Patel
BENGALURU, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam’s rice export prices surged
to a more than one-year high this week on strong demand from the Philippines
and Malaysia, while rates for the Indian variety held steady at an over four-
month peak.
Rates for Vietnam’s benchmark 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 jumped to
$380 a tonne — the highest since December 2018. Last week, prices hovered between
$355 and $360 a tonne.
“We have received more orders from the Philippines and Malaysia
recently, while supplies remain low as the winter-spring harvest has not yet
peaked,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Earlier this week, the Vietnam Food Association’s vice chairman, Do
Ha Nam, said the coronavirus epidemic in China had no impact on shipments of
Vietnamese rice to China.
Vietnam expects to export 6.75 million tonnes of rice this year, up
6% from last year, Nam said.
“Prices of Vietnamese rice have room to even increase further as
they remain significantly lower than in other rice-producing countries,”
another trader said.
In top exporter India, prices for the 5% broken parboiled variety
RI-INBKN5-P1 were unchanged from last week at $371-$376 per tonne - their
highest since late September.
“Subdued demand from Benin and South Africa is keeping the volumes
low,” said Nitin Gupta, vice president for Olam India’s rice business.
Despite weak exports, local paddy rice prices were firm due to
purchases by the state-run Food Corporation of India at the government-mandated
rate, Gupta added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh could impose a ban on exports of common rice
amid a spike in domestic prices, a commerce ministry official said.
Earlier this month, the government offered traders a cash subsidy
worth 15% of rice exports in a bid to compete with rivals and protect farmers
struggling with low prices.
The cash incentives will still be applicable for aromatic rice
exports, the official said.
Thailand’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 was offered
at $430-$445 a tonne, compared with $425-$447 last week. Traders attributed the
price change to a fluctuation in the exchange rate.
“Demand is very quiet and concerns over supply persist due to the
drought,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
The dry season started in November and usually lasts through April,
although this year authorities say it could persist into June, curbing rice
production in many areas.
“Rice prices remain high compared to competitors and the little
demand we had is mostly domestic as some are buying stock fearing shortage from
the drought,” another Bangkok-based rice trader said. (Reporting by Rajendra
Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in
Bangkok; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Eight Major Water Dams to Be Completed in 2020
Construction is ongoing at the
Kuningan Dam in Kuningan, West Java. (Photo courtesy of PUPR)
BY :ANTARA
FEBRUARY 20,
2020
Jakarta. The Public Works and
Housing Ministry will complete construction on eight major water dams in
2020 as part of the National Strategic Program.
Public Works and
Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said in a press release on Thursday
Indonesia's water supply is more than adequate at 2.7 trillion cubic
meters per year. A total of 691 billion cubic meters are used every
year, with 222 billion cubic meters per year being pumped
into homes, animal farms and fisheries and also used for
irrigation.
"We need water reservoirs to
keep the water surplus. We collect water during the rainy season and pump
it out of the reservoirs during the dry season. The dams and reservoirs
are basically for water storage," Basuki said.
The eight dams to be completed in
2020 are located in Paselloreng in South Sulawesi, Ladongi
in Southeast Sulawesi, Tapin in South Kalimantan, Way
Sekampung in Lampung, Kuningan in West Java and three dams
in East Java – Bendo in Ponorogo, Tukul in Pacitan and
Gongseng in Bojonegoro.
Once the eight dams are
completed, Indonesia will be able to store 408.89 million cubic meters of
water every year.
The Paselloreng Dam was the first
one to be completed this year. It occupies 1,892 hectares of land and
has a capacity of 138 million cubic meters that can be used
to irrigate 8,510 hectares of rice fields.
Construction on the dam was
carried out by Wijaya Karya and Bumi Karsa in a Joint Operation (KSO) at
a cost of Rp 753.4 billion ($55 million).
The Tukul Dam, which has
a capacity of 8.68 million cubic meters to provide irrigation
for 600 hectares of farmland and can pump raw water at a rate of 300
liters per second, is 76.2 percent complete.
Construction on the Tukul
Dam began in 2013 with contractor Brantas Abipraya and will cost Rp 904
billion to complete.
The Gongseng Dam, where
construction began in 2013, is now 76.03 percent complete. It will
have a storage capacity of 22.43 million cubic meters.
Bendo Dam, which will have a
capacity of 43.11 million cubic meters, is 70.97 percent complete. Construction
on the dam has been carried out jointly by Wijaya Karya, Hutama Karya, and
Nindya Karya at a total cost of Rp 1.080 trillion.
Construction on the Ladongi Dam
began in 2016 and is now 71.22 percent complete. The dam will have a capacity
of 45.94 million cubic meters and be able to provide enough water
to irrigate 3,604 hectares of rice fields.
The Tapin Dam, which has
a capacity of 56.77 million cubic meters, is 95 percent complete. Water
from the dam will be used to irrigate 5,742 hectares of farmland in
the Tapin District.
The Way Sekampung Dam will
supply 68 million cubic meters of water per year to irrigate 55,373
hectares of farmland and another 17,334 hectares in the Rumbia Extension
area. The dam is now 84.5 percent complete.
The 221-hectare Kuningan Dam,
which will control water flow in the Cikaro River, will have a total
capacity of 25.96 million cubic meters. Water from it will be used to
irrigate 3,000 hectares of rice fields in Cileuweung, Kuningan
District (1,000 hectares) and Jangkelok, Brebes
District (2,000 hectares). The Kuningan Dam is now 97.5 percent
complete.
Rice worth $1.214b
exported in 7 months
APP
ISLAMABAD
Rice exports from the country during seven
months of current financial year increased by 5.71 percent as compared the
exports of the corresponding period of last year. During the period from
July-January, 2019-20 about 2,396,387 metric tons of rice worth $1.214 billion
exported as against the exports of 2,075,178 metric tons valuing $1.054 billion
of same period last year. According the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics,
exports of basmati rice grew by 51.67 percent and about 49,126 metric tons of
basmati rice worth $445.128 million exported as compared the exports of 293,043
metric tons valuing $293.485 million of same period of last year. Meanwhile,
country earned $769.050 million by exporting about 1,906,261 million tons of rice
other then basmati during the period under review which was recorded at
1,782,890 metric tons valuing $761.141 million of same period of last year.
During last seven months of current financial year food group exports from the
country witnessed about 5.71 percent increase as food commodities worth $2.608
billion exported as compared the exports of $2.467 billion of same period of
last year.
Rice Prices
as on :
20-02-2020 10:23:36 AM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
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Published on February
20, 2020
Scientists say NiMET’s rainfall forecast portends food security
By Editor
21 February 2020
| 4:27 am
• Urge FG
to fortify farms, provide essential inputs
Agricultural
scientists have explained that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s (NiMet’s)
forecast of about 160 days of rainfall in Sahelian region of the north, 200
days in the central parts of Plateau, Niger and Adamawa, and about 260 days of
rainfall in some inland cities of the south could mean food security for
Nigeria if the period is maximised for cultivation.
Maximisation
depends on readiness, investments, availability and affordability of quality
seeds, seedlings and proper dissemination of the rainfall pattern information
to smallholder farmers using their local languages.
An
agricultural extension specialist at the Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, Prof. Adebayo Kolawole, said NiMet had done well
with the release of the information to guide farmers and extension service
providers, but translating the information requires more critical inputs.
Some of
the critical inputs, Adebayo said, are improved seeds/seedlings, fertiliser,
insecticides and herbicides.
He added
that without adequate security of life and property, farmers could refrain from
land preparation, planting, weed management and hence, the possibility of a
bumper harvest would be a mirage despite adequate rainfalls.
He
challenged the Nigerian Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) to ensure standard
seeds and seedlings are made available to the farmers through quality control,
inspection of seed companies and prevention of circulation of adulterated
seeds.
The
government, through its security agencies, should also ensure improvement in
the security situation so that farmers would not be discouraged as a result of
rampant kidnappings, killings and attacks on Nigerians.
NiMet
states, “In 2020, the length of the growing season is expected to span 110-160
days in the Sahelian region of the north. With the usual southwards progression
of 160-200 days is predicted for the central parts of Plateau, Niger and
Adamawa states. The inland cities of the south such as Enugu, Anambra, Ekiti,
and Oyo states will expect a growing season of between 210 and 260 days.”
Meanwhile,
the agency said in the forecast, farmers in Abuja, Kogi and Makurdi should also
expect the length of season with the range of 200-250 days.
Implications
for Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna
The variation expected in the length of growing season for year 2020 is likely to affect a large section of the north-west where places like Sokoto, Kebbi, Gusau, Kaduna, Zaria, Kano are possibly going to experience an extended length of growing season which may extend beyond 7 days.
The variation expected in the length of growing season for year 2020 is likely to affect a large section of the north-west where places like Sokoto, Kebbi, Gusau, Kaduna, Zaria, Kano are possibly going to experience an extended length of growing season which may extend beyond 7 days.
In the
central states, Abuja and Plateau could also experience an extended length of
growing season.
Rice,
maize, tomatoes and sorghum grown in these states should be intensified to
maximise the extended rainfalls. Early-maturing maize could be planted twice,
with a reasonable time allowance for interregnal land preparation and planting.
Implication for rice cultivation
In the south, parts of Lagos State and northern Cross River (Ikom and Ogoja) could also experience a longer length of season when compared to the normal trend, and experts said rice could be cultivated in such places to take advantage of the predicted elongated rainfall period.
Implication for rice cultivation
In the south, parts of Lagos State and northern Cross River (Ikom and Ogoja) could also experience a longer length of season when compared to the normal trend, and experts said rice could be cultivated in such places to take advantage of the predicted elongated rainfall period.
The
agency said Uyo in Akwa Ibom State reflects a slight reduction in length of the
growing season, but the signal could be quite insignificant.
“The
coastal areas will have length of season that may likely extend to about 310
days. A growing pattern throughout the season is not expected to vary much from
the normal across the country,” NiMet stated.
Oyo,
Ogun, Katsina states and what to do
However, places around Shaki, Iseyin, in Oyo State, Abeokuta in Ogun State and Katsina are expected to have below-normal rainfall. On this, experts said early-maturing food crops like 65-75-day maize varieties, sweet potatoes, cowpeas, watermelon and other food grains should be cultivated to prevent drought.
However, places around Shaki, Iseyin, in Oyo State, Abeokuta in Ogun State and Katsina are expected to have below-normal rainfall. On this, experts said early-maturing food crops like 65-75-day maize varieties, sweet potatoes, cowpeas, watermelon and other food grains should be cultivated to prevent drought.
Prof.
Samuel Olakojo, a grain breeder at the Institute of Agricultural Research and
Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, Oyo State, said yields from farms depend on where
the farmers are located.
To
maximise the rainfalls, Prof. Olakojo said farmers should not wait too long for
land preparation to commence, and they should go for crops with maturity
periods that could be accommodated within the rainfall distribution patterns.
He also
explained that farmers should engage in the inter-cropping farming system for
crop biodiversity and resilience building that could take care of dry spells.
The
breeder also said rain harvest by dredging around the farms to collect runoff
erosion “could be useful in sustaining production during unexpected breaks by
pumping it back to the farm instead of allowing it to waste away.”
He
advised agricultural service extension agents to educate farmers to monitor
rainfall trends and follow NiMet’s forecast to plant whatever the distribution
presented in their respective locations.
Overall,
NiMet concluded, most places in the country would have a near-normal length of
the growing season.
Scientists Develop Portable Test to Identify Poisonous Mushrooms
BY STEPHANIE MLOT 02.20.2020 :: 6:22AM EST
Edible and toxic mushrooms gathered from the wild can be difficult
to tell apart (via Candace Bever/USDA Agricultural Research Service)
But a new portable test, developed by the USDA Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), could help save some of those lives.
The assessment can identify even the most miniscule presence of
deadly toxin amanitin in about 10 minutes, based on a rice-grain-size sample of
toadstool or the urine of someone who’s eaten a poisonous fungus.
“We developed the test primarily for mushrooms as food products.
Serendipitously, it was sensitive enough to also detect the toxin in urine,” according to ARS
microbiologist Candace Bever.
It also works with dog pee, which is great news for pet owners
whose pup loves indiscriminately chewing on mushrooms.
“Our hope is that doctors and veterinarians will be able to
quickly and confidently identify amatoxin poisoning rather than having to
clinically eliminate other suspected gastrointestinal diseases first,” Bever, a
member of the Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit in
California, said in a statement.
ARS also hopes its test—which does not yet expose compounds like
hallucinogens or other impurities—could be a “practical and definitive” way for
mushroom foragers to identify and avoid eating venomous plants.
If a commercial partner can be found to produce and market the kit.
“This test can provide more information about a wild mushroom
beyond physical appearance and characteristics, and detect something we cannot
even see—the presence of amanitins,” Bever said.
Scientists from the University of California-Davis, Pet Emergency
and Specialty Center of Marin, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
also contributed to this project.
Their research was published in the
journal Toxins.
More on Geek.com:
Ghana: Govt Urged to Prioritize
Research Into Plant Diseases to Ensure Food Security
20 FEBRUARY 2020
By David O.
Yarboi-Tetteh
Cape Coast — A Professor of Plant Virology and Dean of the
School of Agriculture of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof. Elvis
Asare-Bediako, has called for measures to combat plant viruses due to their
devastating effect on agricultural products and a threat to food security.
He explained that, the government's programme on Planting for
Food and Jobs (PFJ) might suffer a setback, if adequate measures were not put
in place to address viral plant diseases in crop production.
Prof. Asare-Bediako made the call at an inaugural lecture on the
topic, " Plant viruses: fight the enemy and save lives", held at the
campus of the university.
He alluded to the fact that, for the Planting for Food and Jobs
programme to achieve its desired results, there must be a conscious policy to
support research into plant diseases.
Additionally, he called for effective collaboration among
scientists in order to come up with findings that would boost agricultural
production in the country.
Prof. Asare-Bediako also called for the provision of modern
laboratory and equipment for scientists to carry out effective research that
would contribute in the transformation agenda of the nation.
He further underscored the need for the nation to ensure the
provision of adequate skilled human resources that would chart a path in coming
out with works that would help in the development of resistant and high
yielding crops as well as solution to plant viruses.
Prof. Asare-Bediako explained that, plant viruses ranged from
mild symptoms to catastrophes in which large areas planted with crops are
destroyed, adding that catastrophic plant viruses worsen the current deficit of
food supply in which several millions of people, especially those in
sub-Saharan Africa were inadequately fed, leading to hunger and starvation.
Ghana: 'Planting for Food and Jobs
Yielding Spectacular Results' - President Akufo-Addo
20 FEBRUARY 2020
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says
another good example of deliberate, well-thought out policy, executed through
hard work and commitment, that is generating dividends, is what his Government
has done about food and agriculture in the past three (3) years.
According to President Akufo-Addo, "agriculture was very
much in the doldrums when we came into office, with a growth rate of 2.9%. We
introduced the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs, and set about to make
agriculture an attractive profession."
The President told Parliament on Thursday, 20th February, 2020,
when he delivered his Message on the State of the Nation that "we invested
resources, expertise and time, and the results have been impressive and
rewarding. Growth rate in 2017 was 6.1%, and this increased to 6.4% last
year."
Increased production and high yields of some foodstuffs like
maize, rice, sorghum, groundnuts, soyabean, cowpea, cassava and plantain, he
said, have led to a decrease in the wholesale prices in market centers in major
food producing areas.
Furthermore, the President told Parliament that the country no
longer imports of maize, adding that "we are reducing our dependence on
rice imports, and are now, in effect, net exporters of foodstuffs. Food prices
are at their lowest in decades."
Having recruited some 2,700 agricultural extension agents to
give practical expertise on the farms, President Akufo-Addo added that
"with the support of Canada, three hundred (300) vehicles and three
thousand (3,000) motorbikes have been deployed around the country for ease of
movement for those tasked to help the farmers."
The National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), he said, has
been revitalised to enhance agricultural marketing, and improve access to
market, with the Ghana Commodities Exchange in Ghana, which is fully
operational, i promoting high productivity, price stability, increased exports,
and reduced imports of commodities.
"To increase storage capacity, eighty (80) warehouses, each
of a size of one thousand metric tonnes, are being built around the country.
Thirty-five (35) have been completed by the Ministry of Special Development
Initiatives, and thirteen (13) by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of
Agriculture will complete the remaining seventeen (17) soon, and the Special
Development Initiatives Ministry will complete another ten (10) by June,"
he said.
Government's drive towards diversification, the President told
Parliament, has led to the implementation of the Planting for Export and Rural
Development (PERD) module, which is promoting the cultivation of cashew,
coffee, coconut, oil palm, mango, rubber and shea.
"The Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ) programme is
developing a competitive and more efficient livestock industry that will
increase domestic meat production and reduce importation of livestock. Two
hundred and sixty-five (265) small earth dams have been completed under the
1-Village-1-Dam initiative. More will be done this year," he added.
Fisheries
For two consecutive years now, according to the President,
fisherfolk have accepted a close season, and allowed fishes to spawn without
disturbance in our waters.
"Constructions of the ten (10) long promised, much
publicised landing sites, in Senya Beraku, Elmina, Moree, Mumford, Winneba,
Gomoa Fetteh, Dixcove, Axim, Teshie and Keta, have finally started. Axim,
Dixcove, Senya Beraku and Gomoa Fetteh will be completed by the end of this
year, with the remainder being completed early next year. Construction of the
Jamestown Harbour will commence in March, following the completion of technical
work," he said.
No RCEF funds allotted for farm mechanization
Published
By MADELAINE B. MIRAFLOR
A year since Rice Tariffication Law was implemented, no fund has
been funneled into the country’s farm mechanization efforts, which would have
helped Filipino rice farmers cope with the influx of imported rice by lowering
their production cost.
As of February 18, nothing from Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF) have been obligated and disbursed for the mechanization component
of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) despite having ₱5-billion allotment, a data
from the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed.
RCEF is where all the tariff from rice imports should go and is
supposed to be injected with ₱10 billion annually from 2019 to 2024 or a period
of six years as part of the implementation of RTL, which allowed the unimpeded
entry of cheaper imported rice into the Philippines.
Out of the ₱10 billion, ₱5 billion is allotted to mechanization,
₱3 billion to seed distribution, ₱1 billion to provision of extension services,
and ₱1 billion to credit.
So far, based on DA’s data, only ₱1.5 billion of the RCEF has
been disbursed since last year and ₱4.50 billion has been obligated.
DA explained that as for mechanization, the review of the 944
farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCA) that will initially benefit from
RCEF is still ongoing, while their technology requirement is still being
assessed.
It also said that the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for RCEF’s mechanization component for 2019 has lapsed.
It also said that the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for RCEF’s mechanization component for 2019 has lapsed.
Mechanization is the most crucial step in making farmers
competitive because it can significantly lower their production cost.
Right now, the country’s farm mechanization level only stands at
2.1 horsepower per hectare, which means that 16 percent of the farmers’ total
production go to waste due to post-harvest losses.
Because of this, the cost of producing rice in the Philippines
remains high. To produce a kilo of rice, Filipino rice farmers have to spend
₱12.72, while it is only ₱6.22 per kilo in Vietnam and P8.86 per kilo in
Thailand.
If mechanization does not happen soon, rice farmers will have to
bear the same level of production cost, while the surge of cheaper, imported
rice in the local market keeps pulling down price of locally produced palay.
During the fourth week of January, the farmgate price of palay
went down by 19.2 percent to ₱15.49 per kilogram (/kg) from ₱19.73/kg during
the same period last year, a data from the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA) showed.
Meanwhile, the biggest actual disbursement under RCEF went to
seed and credit distribution.
Of its ₱3-billion allotment, as much as ₱2.63 billion has been
obligated for seed distribution while actual disbursement stood at ₱552.3
million. More than ₱500 million has already been disbursed for credit.
The seed distribution particularly covered 709 municipalities
and distributed 1.2 million bags of high quality seeds.
Last week, as the government boasted of the declining retail
price of rice, farmers suffering from low palay prices were also subsequently
promised a significantly lower production cost though it will not happen
anytime soon.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that with the help of
RCEF, the cost of producing rice in the Philippines should significantly go
down in the future.
To be exact, he wants it down by more than 60 percent from 12
per kilogram (/kg) to ₱4/kg by 2026.
The Era of Roadside Policy
Declarations is Back 7 min read.
Domestic rice production
has increased steadily in recent years due to an increase in acreage and
improvements in yield, so what is ailing rice farming in Mwea? While farmers’
revenues have fallen sharply, prices have been relatively stable so, clearly,
if there is a problem then it is one of production, and probably related to the
recent massive expansion of the irrigation scheme. Published 23 hours ago on
February 20, 2020By David Ndii Download PDFPrint Article “Government will no
longer be ran on the whims of individuals. The era of roadside policy
declarations is gone.” Mwai Kibaki, Inauguration Speech, 30 December 2002
During his recent visit to Mwea, the rice-growing region of Kirinyaga County,
President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Agriculture to increase the
price of rice paddy from Sh45 to Sh85. It is an intriguing directive. The
Ministry of Agriculture does not have the authority to set prices. Although
there is a state-linked mill, Mwea Rice Mills—jointly owned by a farmers’
cooperative and the National Irrigation Board—that could implement the order,
the bulk of the paddy is sold to private millers. As it happens, the
state-owned mill has been in limbo since November last year, when the
management was sent packing on allegations of mismanagement and fraud.
Moreover, farmers produce different varieties of rice, which command different
prices in the market. It is not clear whether this price applies to all
varieties, or even whether it applies to all rice-growing schemes in the
country, or if it is exclusively for Mwea farmers. Kenyatta also announced the
establishment of a Sh500 million revolving fund for buying paddy from farmers.
The most recent figures published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistic’s
Economic Survey s how that the country produced 112,000 tonnes of paddy in the
2017/18 season, of which 90,000 tonnes were produced in Mwea alone. At
Kenyatta’s price of Sh85 per kilo, the fund would purchase 5,900 tonnes, just
over 5 per cent of the harvest. Clearly, Sh500 million cannot even begin to
finance the directive. On the same occasion the Governor of Kirinyaga
reportedly asked Kenyatta to ban rice imports because imported rice is creating
unfair competition for Mwea’s rice farmers. We are currently importing 90 per
cent of the rice we consume. This deficit has been growing steadily over the
years (see chart) and this growth is not on account of imports stifling
domestic production. On the contrary, domestic production has actually done
better after liberalisation than before when domestic producers were protected.
Rice production increased rapidly during the first decade of independence, from
8,000 to 20,000 tonnes, a growth rate of 9.7 per cent per year. During the
seventies and eighties, production fluctuated between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes,
up until 1993 when the economy was liberalised. After liberalisation,
production surged to a peak of 90,000 in 2012. Overall, domestic production has
grown by 12 per cent per year on average after liberalisation. In effect, the
claim that imports are hurting rice farmers is populist political nonsense. To
satisfy the current consumption, rice farmers would have to produce ten times
what they are producing now. Not only is the Kirinyaga Governor an economist
(with a master’s degree in policy analysis), she was previously the cabinet
secretary for economic planning. One would expect someone with such credentials
to have a good grasp of the rice sector given its importance in her county.
Power does strange things to people. What are the implications of buying paddy
at Sh85? Paddy accounts for 64 per cent of the retail price of domestic rice.
Milling accounts for 16 per cent and distribution (transport, storage and trade
margins) for the remaining 20 per cent. This data is given in an academic paper
published early last year. The study reports an ex-factory price of Sh102 per
kilo, which is an average for all varieties, and Sh125 for the higher-priced
aromatic basmati/pishori that Mwea is famous for, fairly close to today’s
prices. Nice Millers, who describe themselves on their website as the largest
miller of Mwea rice, quote Sh130 per kilo. To satisfy the current consumption,
rice farmers would have to produce ten times what they are producing now Paddy
is converted to rice at a ratio of 5:3, that is, five kilos of paddy produce
three kilos of rice (or 1.67 kg of paddy to get 1 kg of rice). The Sh130
ex-factory price quoted by Nice Millers suggests a paddy price in the order of
Sh54 per kilo or Sh90 for the 1.67 kg of paddy required to give one kilo of
rice. The presidential decree price of Sh85 will increase the cost to Sh142 per
kilo of rice, higher than the quoted price for milled rice. If the millers and
traders pass this increase on to consumers, Mwea pishori rice will go up by
Sh62 a kilo. Using Nice Millers advertised ex-factory price of Sh130, it will
retail at Sh.192 per kilo. Will it sell? My quick unscientific survey of rice
prices on the internet suggests that there are three price bands: high, middle
and low, which should not come as a surprise since markets respond to the
different customer segments. The high-end rice is currently priced at
Sh150-170. This consists of domestic aromatic rice and some premium imported
products (e.g. Pakistani “super basmati parboiled Grade 1. Parboiled refers to
rice that is partially boiled in the husk before it is milled, which makes
processing and preservation easier, and is also said to improve nutritional
value). Mwea pishori is the most expensive rice in the category. The middle
market products are in the Sh120 to Sh140 range. These include Tanzanian
pishori and other non-premium Asian imports, mostly Pakistani and Indian
basmati varieties. The bottom end, currently retailing at an average of Sh100
per kilo is served by most non-aromatic local rice, such as the popular sindano
variety. This also appears to be a segment that is served by regional trade, as
it converges around the average retail prices of locally produced rice in
Uganda and Tanzania. If the millers and traders pass this increase on to consumers,
Mwea pishori rice will go up by Sh62 a kilo Whether the millers and traders
will be able to pass on the cost to consumers depends on how price-elastic the
variety is. Price elasticity means how demand varies with price. It is
conceivable that the variety is price-inelastic, that is, the consumers will
continue buying it, and not switch to other varieties. But that is tempting
fate. If the higher price cannot be passed on to consumers, this would mean
that millers and traders would have to absorb some of the cost. This in turn
would make Mwea pishori (assuming that it is the only variety affected) less
profitable to sell than competing products. Traders are not obliged to stock
low-margin, slow moving products which tie up working capital. Instead of benefiting,
Mwea pishori farmers may end up stuck with their paddy. But it is more likely
that they will sell it below the government price. Kenyatta seemed to have an
inkling that his price is not tenable in the market for he is reported to have
assured the farmers that the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) would
buy their produce and distribute it to government institutions. KNTC is
arguably the country’s most unnecessary and moribund parastatal. It loses money
every year. From its 2017 audited accounts, the latest that I can find, it lost
Sh12.8 million shillings, up from Sh8.5 million in 2016, bringing its
accumulated losses to Sh227 million. If the directive sees the light of day,
the cost will be borne by the public purse. I take it that the government
institutions Kenyatta refers to will be education and health establishments,
the military, prisons and such like. It is unlikely that the institutions
forced to buy overpriced rice will be given an additional budget allocation,
which will mean squeezing other items in the budget. This is how Moi ruined
public institutions, one roadside declaration at a time. What is ailing rice
farming in Mwea? As noted, domestic rice production has increased steadily in
recent years. In the 2017/18 season, the most recent published data, Mwea
produced 90,000 tonnes of paddy, up from 32,400 tonnes a decade before. The
increase is due to an increase in acreage, and improvements in yield (see
chart). The irrigation scheme expanded by 40 per cent from 7,400 hectares (16,280
acres) to 10,500 ha (23 100 acres) a decade ago, and by another 12,450 ha
(27,400 acres) in 2016/17 and 2017/18, bringing the total acreage to 23,000 ha
(50,600 acres), more than three times the acreage a decade ago. Yields have
also risen steadily from 4.4 tonnes a hectare (1.8t/acre or 20 90kg bags),
reaching 6 tonnes a hectare in the 2012/13 season, to a peak of 8.6 tonnes a
hectare in the 2014/15 season, although this peak appears to be an outlier
bumper harvest. Still, 6t/ha (2.4t/acre or 27 90kg bags) is pretty good, well
above the global average of 4.6t/ha (1.86t/acre or 21 90kg bags).
Farmers’ revenues
increased three-fold from Sh1.3 billion to Sh3.9 billion in total, and from
Sh180,000 to Sh370,000 per acre. This is how Moi ruined public institutions,
one roadside declaration at a time But something appears to be going wrong
after the latest expansion. The data shows yields falling to below 4t/ha. The
2016/17 season appears to have been a particularly bad one, when production
dropped by 25 per cent from 79,000 to 59,000 tonnes. It is possible that the
reported increase in acreage may not all have been put under production. Still,
it raises the question why the huge investment in irrigation is not reflected
in production. Could it be another mega-infrastructure project gone wrong?
While farmers’ revenues have fallen sharply, from Sh370,000 per acre to
Sh106,000 and Sh152,600 in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively, price appears
to have relatively little to do with it. Apart from the 2016/17 season when the
price fell sharply to Sh30 per kg of paddy and the unusually high price of
Sh50-52 in the preceding two years, prices have been relatively stable at
around Sh40 per kilo. Clearly, if there is a problem then it is one of
production, and probably related to the recent massive expansion of the
irrigation scheme. Increasing the price by administrative fiat is not going to
fix it. As I keep reminding these folks, they cannot rig the economy. Clearly,
if there is a problem then it is one of production, and probably related to the
recent massive expansion of the irrigation scheme Which brings us to an
intriguing question.
A few weeks ago,
Kenyatta issued a similar edict, ordering the Kenya Co-operative Creameries to
increase the farm-gate price of milk. This column wondered why Kenyatta would
personally wade into the milk farmers’ woes, knowing that they are synonymous
with his family’s cartelisation of the processed milk industry. Kenyatta is not
running for re-election so why the charm offensive in his political backyard? I
see two possibilities. First, he could be succumbing to the temptation to hang
on to power, and perhaps this BBI thing, whether from the outset or as an
afterthought, is the Trojan horse for Kenyatta to succeed himself as some have
suspected all along. Second, that he, like Moi, is a man out of his depth in
matters economics. As the chronicler of seven years of non-stop mathogothanio*
economics, I would submit that the latter is just as likely as the former.
Read more at: https://www.theelephant.info/op-eds/2020/02/20/the-era-of-roadside-policy-declarations-is-back/
The Elephant - Speaking truth to power.
Read more at: https://www.theelephant.info/op-eds/2020/02/20/the-era-of-roadside-policy-declarations-is-back/
The Elephant - Speaking truth to power.
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Nigerian Customs seizes 48 sacks of cannabis worth N448m 20
Oluwatobi Bolashodun
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Kwara state
command made major interceptions between August 2019 and January 2020 - The NCS
said that it seized 48 sacks of cannabis Sativa (marijuana) worth N448 million
- The agency also seized 953 bags of imported rice weighing 50kg The Kwara area
command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) seized 48 sacks of cannabis
Sativa commonly known as marijuana worth N448 million. In a report by Channels
TV, Ahmed Bello, the area comptroller said the seizure was made between August
2019 and January 2020, at Bukuru in Baruten local government area of the state.
Bello while noting that the seized cannabis weighed 3,593kg, added that 953
bags of imported rice weighing 50kg each were also intercepted. The area
comptroller went on to condemn the act of smuggling illicit substances and the
increased consumption of marijuana by youths. He added that the NCS command
would continue to dialogue and educate the public on the agency's strategic
role to the social and economic stability of the country. Customs to shutdown
supermarkets found selling prohibited goods Officers of the Nigerian Customs
Service (NCS) Source: UGC Legit.ng previously reported that the NCS warned
supermarkets and shops in Kano and Jigawa state that they would be shut down if
found selling foreign rice and other prohibited items. The NSC in a letter
written to all supermarkets and shops in Kano and Jigawa states urged them to
stop patronising prohibited items or risk being shut down. The agency explained
that the directive was to stop the smuggling of prohibited items into the
country in the interest of the Nigerian economy.
: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7.
Spend less on the Internet! In a related development, NCS said it is now raking
in between N5 billion and N6 billion daily from imports since the closure of
Nigeria's land borders with neighbouring countries in West Africa. This was disclosed
by the NCS Comptroller-General Colonel Hammed Ali (rtd.) on Tuesday, February
18 at a forum in Lagos where he was represented by a senior customs official.
Prior to the closure of the border in August 2019, daily duty collections
hovered between N4 billion and N5 billion. Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1304395-nigerian-customs-seizes-48-sacks-cannabis-worth-n448million.htmlCustoms to close supermarkets, shops selling foreign rice,
others
20 February 2020
| 10:55 am
“In our
effort to suppress smuggling, the Nigerian Customs Service Kano/Jigawa area
command deemed it fit to write and seek for your cooperation to stop
patronising foreign rice and other prohibited items in your supermarket/shops
to avoid being closed by customs operatives,” Kano/Jigawa area controller,
Ahmed Nasir, said in a statement.
This
warning comes months after the Nigerian government ordered the closure of its
land borders.
Nigeria,
without warning on 21 August, closed all its land borders two months ago to
tackle smuggling, but the unprecedented move is affecting trade across the
region.
Bustling
borders have come to a standstill, with goods rotting and queues of lorries
waiting at checkpoints in the hope the crossings will reopen but it has hopes are
dashing already.
Despite
the ban, foreign rice still saturates the Nigerian market.
Although,
the customs authorities said Nigeria has gained from the closure, prices of
food staples have risen steeply and legitimate businesses have been caught in
the crossfire.
The
country’s inflation has also been on the rise since August.
The
government says the border closures will help boost local food production. But
rice takes time to grow, harvest, process and sell, and the country’s farming
industry may not keep up with the huge increase in demand.
“We are
not yet ripe to close the border because . . . we need years [of] investing in
farmers so they can harvest enough for Nigeria,” said Ekpo Ain, a rice trader
at the Sura market in Lagos told Financial Times.
Ghana: Govt Urged to Prioritize
Research Into Plant Diseases to Ensure Food Security
20 FEBRUARY 2020
By David O.
Yarboi-Tetteh
Cape Coast — A Professor of Plant Virology and Dean of the
School of Agriculture of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof. Elvis
Asare-Bediako, has called for measures to combat plant viruses due to their
devastating effect on agricultural products and a threat to food security.
He explained that, the government's programme on Planting for
Food and Jobs (PFJ) might suffer a setback, if adequate measures were not put
in place to address viral plant diseases in crop production.
Prof. Asare-Bediako made the call at an inaugural lecture on the
topic, " Plant viruses: fight the enemy and save lives", held at the
campus of the university.
He alluded to the fact that, for the Planting for Food and Jobs
programme to achieve its desired results, there must be a conscious policy to
support research into plant diseases.
Additionally, he called for effective collaboration among
scientists in order to come up with findings that would boost agricultural
production in the country.
Prof. Asare-Bediako also called for the provision of modern
laboratory and equipment for scientists to carry out effective research that
would contribute in the transformation agenda of the nation.
He further underscored the need for the nation to ensure the
provision of adequate skilled human resources that would chart a path in coming
out with works that would help in the development of resistant and high
yielding crops as well as solution to plant viruses.
Prof. Asare-Bediako explained that, plant viruses ranged from
mild symptoms to catastrophes in which large areas planted with crops are
destroyed, adding that catastrophic plant viruses worsen the current deficit of
food supply in which several millions of people, especially those in
sub-Saharan Africa were inadequately fed, leading to hunger and starvation.
He said plant virus diseases affect food security, a fundamental
importance for human existence or livelihood, saying, "Plant viruses are
enemy to human existence or livelihood".
The Professor said research had shown that cassava mosaic
disease and rice yellow mottle virus disease were serious threat to food
security and income in Ghana.
Prof. Asare-Bediako expressed worry about the misapplication of
pesticides and other chemicals by farmers and said the practice was very
dangerous for humanity.
He, therefore, urged the public not to hesitate in paying more
to purchase vegetables grown from greenhouses due to its hygienic environment.
Scientists told about the use of “harmful”
potatoes
American scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found
that the potato, which is considered as a harmful product for the preservation
of the body, promotes improvement of indicators of human health. This was
reported by Medical News Bulletin.
Specialists conducted the study. For the experiment, volunteers
were divided into two groups, the first of which for four weeks had to eat a
side dish of peeled grains, including rice and potatoes, steamed or baked.
After the experiment, scientists measured the subjects markers
of cardiometabolic risk, including glucose levels in blood plasma, cholesterol,
serum insulin, and blood pressure. It was found that those who ate the
potatoes, the figures were better than the group who ate the side dishes from
cereals.
However, experts reminded that afford potatoes can only those
people who have no relevant contraindications.
Scientists
Develop Portable Test to Identify Poisonous Mushrooms
Edible and toxic mushrooms gathered from the wild can be difficult
to tell apart (via Candace Bever/USDA Agricultural Research Service)
Toxic mushrooms kill more than 100 people each year and leave
thousands more sick and full of regret for eating that random shroom in the
forest.
But a new portable test, developed by the USDA Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), could help save some of those lives.
The assessment can identify even the most miniscule presence of
deadly toxin amanitin in about 10 minutes, based on a rice-grain-size sample of
toadstool or the urine of someone who’s eaten a poisonous fungus.
“We developed the test primarily for mushrooms as food products.
Serendipitously, it was sensitive enough to also detect the toxin in urine,” according to ARS
microbiologist Candace Bever.
It also works with dog pee, which is great news for pet owners
whose pup loves indiscriminately chewing on mushrooms.
“Our hope is that doctors and veterinarians will be able to
quickly and confidently identify amatoxin poisoning rather than having to
clinically eliminate other suspected gastrointestinal diseases first,” Bever, a
member of the Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit in
California, said in a statement.
ARS also hopes its test—which does not yet expose compounds like
hallucinogens or other impurities—could be a “practical and definitive” way for
mushroom foragers to identify and avoid eating venomous plants.
If a commercial partner can be found to produce and market the kit.
“This test can provide more information about a wild mushroom
beyond physical appearance and characteristics, and detect something we cannot
even see—the presence of amanitins,” Bever said.
Scientists from the University of California-Davis, Pet Emergency
and Specialty Center of Marin, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
also contributed to this project.
Their research was published in the
journal Toxins.
The physics behind tossing fried rice
Fried rice is a 1500-year-old dish that is prepared using wok
tossing, a technique that enables food to undergo temperatures of 1200°C
without burning. Tossing of the heavy wok at high speed may be one contributor
to shoulder pain, which is reported by 64.5% of Chinese restaurant chefs.
Be that as it may, what is the physics included, and is it the
reason for shoulder pain in chefs?
To find out, a pair of scientists, including Hungtang Ko and
David Hu from Georgia Institute of Technology, used high-speed cameras to
capture the action at several Chinese restaurants in China and Taiwan. They
even have disentangled the physics behind the ideal method to toss fried rice
while it is cooking.
Scientists observed the video in slow motion. They found that
all chefs use the same tossing patterns. Also, the chefs very rarely lifted the
woks off the stove—instead, tossing was achieved by pivoting the pans on parts
of the stove.
The woks were made to emulate pendulums utilizing a point on the
bottom of the pan as one support and a contact point between another part of
the wok and the stove as the other. This allowed the chef to move the wok back
and forth, even as they maintain a see-saw motion.
The video also showed that the technique used by the chefs
required a degree of skill to heft the rice into the air at just the right
height and to keep it from spilling out of the pan. It also showed that, on
average, the chefs tossed the rice in their woks 2.7 times per second.
Scientists noted, “It was
not just the tossing that accounted for the special taste of fried rice—other
factors such as ingredients and sauce preparation played a role, as well.”
“The constant tossing of the rice
in the wok likely led to shoulder pain in 64.5 percent of chefs they spoke
with. The simulations of the process indicate that a robot could very likely
perform the whole process.”
The paper describing the study is published in the
Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
USA
Rice Meets with Growers in Louisiana and Mississippi
BUNKIE, LA, & CLEVELAND, MS -- Between
harvest and planting season is another season in rice country - Meeting
Season. There is no shortage of meetings being scheduled during this time
in an attempt to catch rice farmers before they begin working on a new crop, and
this winter has been no exception.
In addition to meetings in Jennings and Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward and Vice President of Communications & Domestic Promotion Michael Klein met with growers and industry representatives in these two spots to offer updates on policies and programs and to hear important feedback.
About two dozen members of the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association gathered in Bunkie and another 40 farmers came out in Cleveland to hear the latest on trade deals that impact rice, and about where and how their promotion dollars are being spent.
Ward thanked all who attended for being there, but also for continuing to support the efforts of USA Rice and the USA Rice Council, both of which are supported by check-off dollars from the states.
"We appreciate the faith you put in us and we are very careful stewards of your resources," she said. "But if there's something you think we should be doing differently, please let us know."
Following Ward's trade report and update on international promotion efforts, Klein shared highlights of domestic promotion efforts, including foodservice and retail programs.
"We've created a program to promote U.S.-grown rice that you can be very proud of - I know we are," Klein said.
In Louisiana, attendees also heard market analysis from Louisiana Farm Bureau's Mark Tall and Dr. Michael Deliberto, agriculture economist at Louisiana State University.
In Mississippi, meeting attendees also heard reports on local promotions from Mississippi Rice Promotion Board Chair James Allison and Bolivar County Extension Coordinator Laura Giacclagia, a research report from Mississippi State University's (MSU) Dr. Bobby Golden, an update on row rice from MSU's San Roach, and a report from Dr. Scott Manley of Ducks Unlimited on the Rice Stewardship Partnership. USA Rice's Lydia Holmes was also on hand to promote the sustainability webinars and answer grower questions or concerns.
"At the end of the day, these are our customers, so listening to what they have to say is just as important as us telling them what we are doing on their behalf," Ward said. "We're always grateful for the opportunity and the time they give us."
In addition to meetings in Jennings and Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward and Vice President of Communications & Domestic Promotion Michael Klein met with growers and industry representatives in these two spots to offer updates on policies and programs and to hear important feedback.
About two dozen members of the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association gathered in Bunkie and another 40 farmers came out in Cleveland to hear the latest on trade deals that impact rice, and about where and how their promotion dollars are being spent.
Ward thanked all who attended for being there, but also for continuing to support the efforts of USA Rice and the USA Rice Council, both of which are supported by check-off dollars from the states.
"We appreciate the faith you put in us and we are very careful stewards of your resources," she said. "But if there's something you think we should be doing differently, please let us know."
Following Ward's trade report and update on international promotion efforts, Klein shared highlights of domestic promotion efforts, including foodservice and retail programs.
"We've created a program to promote U.S.-grown rice that you can be very proud of - I know we are," Klein said.
In Louisiana, attendees also heard market analysis from Louisiana Farm Bureau's Mark Tall and Dr. Michael Deliberto, agriculture economist at Louisiana State University.
In Mississippi, meeting attendees also heard reports on local promotions from Mississippi Rice Promotion Board Chair James Allison and Bolivar County Extension Coordinator Laura Giacclagia, a research report from Mississippi State University's (MSU) Dr. Bobby Golden, an update on row rice from MSU's San Roach, and a report from Dr. Scott Manley of Ducks Unlimited on the Rice Stewardship Partnership. USA Rice's Lydia Holmes was also on hand to promote the sustainability webinars and answer grower questions or concerns.
"At the end of the day, these are our customers, so listening to what they have to say is just as important as us telling them what we are doing on their behalf," Ward said. "We're always grateful for the opportunity and the time they give us."
USA RICE DAILY
You
Asked: What's Better, Rice or Pasta?
Quickly absorbed carbs can provide crucial fuel for your
training. But which is the superior energy supplier?
Carbs are too often the first casualty of any weight-loss eating plan, but that ignores their
crucial role in powering your progress in the gym.
Concentrating your intake before and after exercise ensures you have enough
fuel to push harder, lift heavier and last longer, while ensuring your stores
of muscle glycogen are never depleted. But which to turn to? We pit them head
to head:
For Your Health
Rice: Tuck into wholegrains. A review of 45 studies by Imperial College
London found that choosing brown carbs over white can cut your heart disease
risk by 18%.
Pasta: A portion of store-bought wholemeal pasta will contain more than
half of your RDI of fertility-supporting selenium. Which makes your spag bol a
true family meal.
For Weight Loss
Rice: Brown rice is full of fibre, which promotes satiety. Researchers
from Iran found that ditching white rice for brown could help you shave more
than an inch off your waistline.
Pasta: Even the white stuff could help you lose weight, according to a
study in the British Medical Journal. Pasta
controls your blood sugar better than other types of carbs.
For Your Energy Levels
Rice: With 28g of carbs per portion, rice is your jet fuel. Plus, wild
rice contains magnesium, which helps your body to create ATP energy, staving
off fatigue during your HIIT class.
Pasta: Although it has fewer carbs, pasta is quickly digested, so
feasting on a bowl two hours before training offers plenty of energy. Also,
it’s far tastier than a can of pre-workout.
For Added Value
Rice: When gut bacteria ferment the fibre in brown rice, they produce
short-chain fatty acids, which encourage proper colon function, lowering your
risk of infection.
Pasta: Researchers at the Canadian Institute of Food Science and
Technology found exorphins are released during digestion of pasta, which could
have an opioid effect. This might explain your massive grin after a plate of
mac’n’cheese.
The MH Verdict? Rice Wins!
This was a close one. In their refined forms, white pasta wins out
versus white rice, so save that for your cheat days. In terms of true health,
weight loss and performance benefits, however, the fibre and mineral content of
brown rice makes it the perfect fuel to feed your fitness goals. Go with the
grain.
FAQs about CRS Rice Bowl
Friday, Feb. 21, 2020
By Catholic Relief Services
Bishop Oscar A. Solis encourages
Utah Catholics to support CRS Rice Bowl. Below is some information about the
program.
What Is CRS Rice Bowl?
CRS Rice Bowl is Catholic Relief
Services’ Lenten program for families and faith communities in the United
States who want to put their faith into action. Through CRS Rice Bowl,
participants are invited to hear stories about their brothers and sisters in need
around the world, and devote their Lenten prayers, fasting and alms to change
the lives of those who suffer in poverty.
Participants journey through the
40 days of Lent with a collection of daily reflections and activities included
in the CRS Rice Bowl calendar.
How Did It All Begin?
More than 40 years ago, Catholics
in the United States wanted to respond to famine in Africa. Could people who
were hungry and starving be helped through Lenten prayers, fasting and
almsgiving? The answer was yes – and the help came in the form of a small
cardboard box, marking the beginning of “Operation Rice Bowl” in 1975 in
parishes in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Today, CRS Rice Bowl is a tradition for
millions of Catholics in the U.S., who employ the Lenten pillars of praying,
fasting and almsgiving to change the lives of others while enriching their own.
CRS Rice Bowl is available in paper and on the web in both English and Spanish.
In 1976, Operation Rice Bowl was
adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a national
program. In 1977, they voted to make Operation Rice Bowl the official program
of Catholic Relief Services.
How Many Communities Participate
In CRS Rice Bowl?
In 2019, nearly 14,000 Catholic
parishes and schools across the U.S. participated in CRS Rice Bowl.
What Is A CRS Rice Bowl?
A cardboard or homemade CRS Rice
Bowl is a tool for collecting your Lenten alms. CRS Rice Bowls can be ordered
free of charge in quantities of 25 from crsricebowl.org/order or
1-800-222-0025.
Where Can I Get A CRS Rice Bowl?
Dioceses, parishes and schools
around the country order CRS Rice Bowls and Lenten calendars for their
communities. Check with your parish or school to find out when CRS Rice Bowls
will be distributed.
Individuals who are not
associated with a Catholic parish or school can visit the CRS Rice Bowl family
page to download helpful resources.
Besides The Cardboard Box, What
Are
The Main Components Of CRS Rice Bowl?
CRS Rice Bowl resources can be
found and ordered at crsricebowl.org/order; there, they offer materials for
educators, parish leaders, youth and young adult ministry and Hispanic
ministry. Those resources and many more can be found on the crsricebowl.org and
crsplatodearroz.org websites. Other key resources are the daily reflections,
Stories of Hope, meatless recipes from the countries featured each Lent and a
video collection. All materials are available in English and Spanish.
How Much Money Has CRS Rice Bowl
Contributed To Prevent Hunger And Poverty Around The World?
In its first 40 years, more than
$250 million has been given through CRS Rice Bowl to support programs that
prevent hunger and poverty around the world. Of that, $62.5 million went to
programs in the U.S. through local dioceses and $187.5 million went to CRS
programs overseas.
How Many Countries Benefit From CRS Rice Bowl?
Each year CRS Rice Bowl funds are
directed to between 40 and 45 countries where CRS operates humanitarian
response and development programs.
How Is The Money Used?
Lenten alms go to alleviate
hunger and poverty in communities overseas and in the U.S.: seventy-five
percent of gifts support CRS’ humanitarian programs around the world, including
in the countries featured in the Lenten calendar. Some examples include:
Agriculture projects help farmers
improve harvests
Water and sanitation projects
bring clean water to communities
Microfinance projects support
small businesses
Mother and child health projects
offer health and nutrition services
Education projects provide
resources and training
Twenty-five percent of gifts
remain in each U.S. diocese where they are given to hunger and poverty
alleviation efforts in those communities. Each diocese uses this differently.
Contact your local CRS Diocesan Director to find out how the local 25 percent is
used in your diocese.
Lenten gifts can also be given
online or by sending a check to:
Catholic Relief Services, CRS
Rice Bowl
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Maryland 21297-0303
What Is Catholic Relief Services?
Catholic Relief Services is the
official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the
United States. CRS is motivated by the example of Jesus Christ to assist poor
and suffering people in more than 100 countries on the basis of need, without
regard to race, religion or nationality. In 2015, 93 percent of expenditures
went to CRS programming that benefits poor people overseas. CRS’ programs touch
more than 100 million lives.
Pakistan Market Monitor Report - December 2019
19
Feb 2020
HIGHLIGHTS
· 
In November 2019, the average retail prices of wheat and wheat flour
slightly increased by 4.4% and 4.9%, respectively, from October 2019; the price
of rice Irri-6 and rice Basmati increased by 1% and 0.9%, respectively, in
November 2019 when compared to the previous month;
In November 2019, the average retail prices of wheat and wheat flour
slightly increased by 4.4% and 4.9%, respectively, from October 2019; the price
of rice Irri-6 and rice Basmati increased by 1% and 0.9%, respectively, in
November 2019 when compared to the previous month;
· Headline inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased in
November 2019 by 1.34% over October 2019 and increased by 12.67% over November
2018;
· The prices of staple cereals and most of non-cereal food commodities in
November 2019 experienced negligible to slight fluctuations when compared to
the previous month's prices;
· In November 2019, the average ToT slightly decreased by 2.3% from previous
month;
· In December 2019, the total global wheat production for 2019/20 is
projected at 765.41 million MT, indicating a decrease of 0.14 million MT compared
to the projection made in November 2019.
Apeda blacklists
basmati rice brands Mohsen and Avazah over defaults
Agency will not
issue requisite certificate clearing exports under these two labels, due to
persistent non-payment by Gulf importers for consignments shipped from Indian
shores
Dilip Kumar Jha | Mumbai Last
Updated at February 21, 2020 01:14 IST
62
For the period between April and December 2019, India exported
2.86 million tonnes of basmati rice worth $3.1 billion
The Agricultural
and Processed Food Product Export Development Authority (Apeda) has blacklisted
two private basmati rice brands, Mohsen and Avazah, owned by
importers in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with immediate
effect.
The move follows persistent payment defaults on the part of the
Gulf-based importers to Indian exporters.
Until two years ago, many Indian exporters were booking orders
from Iran, the UAE, Bahrain and other Gulf nations, and shipping 1121-variety basmati
rice under the two aforesaid private brands.
Informed sources said several importers in the Middle East and
Iran had defaulted in making payments of at least $200 million to Indian
exporters, and that the amount could be even more. Buyers from these nations
have shut shop overnight and vanishewd, leaving Indian exporters in the lurch.
“Complaints have been received by Apeda from exporters about
non-payment for basmati
rice shipments from India under the private labels Mohsen and
Avazah. It has been decided to blacklist these two brands,” Apeda said in a
statement.
Indian exporters say they used to procure the aromatic rice from
local farmers and put the Mohsen and Avazah labels on the packages before
shipping them to buyers in the Gulf.
These two brands have been under Indian government’s lens for at
least three years, following reports of sporadic payment defaults.
In order to avoid any dissent, Apeda has directed Indian exporters
not to apply for registration of contract -- a pre-requisite for shipping any
agricultural consignment -- involving these two brands. It has also told them
in no uncertain terms that it will not issue
Registration-cum-Allocation-Certificate (RCAC) for shipments under these labels.
“No RCAC will be issued by Apeda for export of basmati rice in
Mohsen and Avazah brands to any country with immediate effect,” said an Apeda
circular.
For the period between April and December 2019, India exported
2.86 million tonnes of basmati rice worth $3.1 billion.
“The government wanted the trade to be free from any restrictions
and hence took time to take action. But defaults were going on and on. We did
not want Indian farmers, exporters and others in the export value chain to
suffer endlessly. Hence, we blacklisted these two brands,” said a senior
government official.
While the overseas defaulters accounted for just 10 per cent of
the 4.6 million tonnes of Basmati reaching Gulf shores, the official said it
nevertheless had an impact on the entire export value chain, including the
farmer.
He added that India has achieved sizeable growth in basmati rice
exports. “There are other issues like pesticide residues in Europe etc. with
shipments of the rice. But, Indian
exports of the produce have grown significantly and should
continue to do so, going forward,” he asserted.
Big Easy classic easy to prepare
(Patti Diamond) Canned beans simplify preparation of
red beans and rice, a classic Creole dish you can prepare for your Mardi Gras celebration.
By Patti Diamond Divas
on a Dime
February 19, 2020 -
2:58 pm
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miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
It’s no surprise that red beans and
rice is one of the dishes most strongly associated with the enchanting city of
New Orleans, also known as The Big Easy. It’s delicious, nutritious, easy to
prepare and very inexpensive.
While New Orleans is known for its
amazing cuisine it’s also known for its celebration of Mardi Gras, which
happens to be Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, due to the custom
of eating rich, decadent foods in anticipation of the fasting and personal
sacrifice that starts on Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. Is it
wrong that I only celebrate the “fat” part of that equation? Don’t answer that.
Red beans and rice is customarily
made on Mondays in the South. It uses the leftover ham bone from Sunday’s
dinner simmered all day with beans and served over rice. So, turns out I’m
celebrating Monday on a Tuesday. But I digress. Let’s cook.
To make this recipe weeknight easy,
I’ve used canned beans. You could certainly use dried beans prepared according
to package directions. The beans used in this recipe are small red beans. If
you can’t find them, substitute red kidney beans.
Traditionally, this recipe calls
for andouille (an-DOO-ee) sausage, which has a nice spicy kick. If you can’t
find andouille or want a milder sausage, substitute kielbasa or other smoked
sausage.
Since rice is such an important
element of this dish, go to the extra effort of making really flavorful rice.
Bring 4 cups of chicken broth or bouillon to a boil then add 2 cups long grain
white or basmati rice and a big ol’ tablespoon of butter. If you use low sodium
broth, add ½ teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes for perfect rice every time.
You can make your own Creole
seasoning by blending 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1
tablespoon garlic powder, ½ tablespoon each: black pepper, onion powder, dried
oregano, dried thyme and add cayenne pepper to taste, starting with 1 teaspoon
and adding as desired.
Mardi Gras is a celebration of
food, music, creativity, festivity and joy. As they say in New Orleans:
“Laissez les Bons temps rouler!” Let the good times roll!
BIG EASY RED BEANS AND RICE
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 90 minutes
What you’ll need:
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 13.5-ounce link smoked sausage,
andouille or kielbasa, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 large onion, about 1½ cups, chopped
2 or 1 cup ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, about 1 cup,
chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 15.5-ounce cans red beans,
drained and rinsed
6 cups cooked rice
Here’s how:
In a large skillet, heat the oil
over medium-high heat. Sauté the smoked sausage to render all that flavorful
fat. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same skillet, sauté the
onion, celery, green bell pepper and garlic until tender. Add the chicken
stock, seasoning, thyme, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce
heat to a bare simmer. Add beans and simmer for at least 45 minutes; but the
longer it cooks, the better it gets. Doesn’t the house smell delicious? This is
how you want the house to smell when you invite company over for dinner. Stir
it occasionally and add water, if necessary.
Taste and adjust seasoning adding
salt, if needed.
Serve the beans with the rice and
Dixieland jazz music.
Lifestyle expert Patti Diamond is a
recipe developer and food writer of the website “Divas On A Dime – Where
Frugal, Meets Fabulous!” Visit Patti at www.divasonadime.com and join the
conversation on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom. Email Patti at divapatti@divasonadime.com.
SC notice to rice mill owners in Bihar over default
in payments
20 FEBRUARY 2020 Last
Updated at 7:53 PM | SOURCE: PTI
New Delhi, Feb 20
(PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response from rice mill owners in
Bihar who have defaulted in payment of more than Rs 450 crore to the state
exchequer.
A bench of Justice U U Lalit and Justice Vineet Saran issued
notices to 567 accused mill owners who had entered into agreement with the
Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation in the year 2011-12 to receive
paddy from it.
The apex court also said that the notice shall be published in
three widely circulated newspapers in Bihar which shall include one English and
two vernacular newspapers.
Additional Standing Counsel for Bihar, advocate Keshav Mohan,
submitted before the apex court that if the accused mill owners do not furnish
bank guarantee of the defalcated amount which is more than Rs 450 crore, there
shall be a huge loss to the public exchequer.
He submitted that unlike the provisions in 2012-13 and 2013-14,
there is no stipulation in the agreement pertaining to year 2011-12 for
furnishing bank guarantee to secure the interest of the state.
The matter will now come up for further consideration on April
27.
According to the agreement, the mill owners had to return custom
milled rice to the State Food and Civil Supply Corporation at the end of every
milling season but majority of the millers did not do so and went for sale in
open market. PTI PKS SJK PKS NSD
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·
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The
Agriculture Queens of Louisiana
As climate change threatens exports like
oysters and rice, residents cling to a pageant tradition that celebrates them.
By Jeanie Riess
·
This year in Louisiana, more than 120 pageant
queens will be crowned in honor of crops and commodities, as they have been for
some 70 years.
The queens are young women, ages 17 through
23, who have studied to compete at agricultural festivals for titles including
Miss Shrimp and Petroleum, Miss Oyster, Miss Frog Festival, and Queen Cotton.
Their mission: to travel the state for 12 months, educating the Louisiana
public about the importance of the commodities they represent.
To have won, the queens must already know a
tremendous amount about their own industries. Miss Ponchatoula Strawberry can
hold forth on how crops were covered in the days before insecticide; Miss
Breaux Bridge Crawfish can differentiate a male crawfish from a female.
“I’ve
always had a passion for crawfish,” said Madison Frederick, this year’s Miss
Crawfish. But she had no idea how much she’d pick up from the other young
monarchs. “I knew I would go around to different festivals but I’ve learned so
much,” she said.
“A lot of people think this is just a beauty
pageant,” said Hailey Hensgens Fleming, 26, who was crowned the 77th
International Rice Festival Queen in 2014. She was standing in front of the
outdoor pageant stage with a 14-day-old baby on her hip, waiting to hear who
would take the title for the coming year. “It’s so much more than that,” she
continued. “You are a spokesperson for the rice industry. You’re representing
the farmers, who work day in and day out to put food on your table.”
Ms. Fleming’s family has been farming rice for
five generations. That didn’t make her a more competitive candidate for rice
queen, she said, but it didn’t hurt either.
All
six contestants who stood on the stage had some connection to rice farming,
having grown up in Crowley or around it. The judges asked: If you were to wake
up tomorrow morning with one new ability, what would it be?
When she was later crowned Miss Rice, Ms.
Joubert broke down into tears. “It doesn’t feel real,” she said. Ms. Joubert
had competed in agricultural pageants before. She even won 2017’s Scott Boudin
Festival Queen, a title she appreciated, she said. But that one didn’t feel as
momentous as rice.
“The Boudin Festival is on their seventh
festival, so it’s a newer title,” she said. “Rice is just so old, and more well
known.”
Fraught Commodities
Many of the commodities the queens represent
are endangered by climate
change. Louisiana’s oysters, which are celebrated in Amite City but
have been battered by storms and oil spills, drowned by the millions this
past year as too much freshwater from Midwestern snowmelt made its way down the
Mississippi River.
In Morgan City, once a big shrimp town and the
site of the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, there are hardly any shrimp left;
those that remain have been pushed into the Gulf of Mexico thanks to an
overflowing Atchafalaya River.
Even
rice, a stable Louisiana export, is threatened; the grain needs fresh water to
grow, and erratic storms and rising seas have sent an influx of saltwater into
the fields.
It’s
something the queens don’t talk about much, though the vitality of their
respective commodities stays on their minds. At the cotton pageant in Ville Platte
this year, Shelbi Rials, the winning Cotton Queen, was confronted with this
question: “Cotton used to be king in Evangeline Parish, but it’s no longer
grown there. What can you do to make sure we keep it alive for future
generations?”
Ms. Rials, 20, said she would start with the
schools, and try to get children more involved in learning about the history of
the crop. (She is studying to be an elementary schoolteacher.) But the reality
of preserving cotton farming boils down to economics; the crop is not nearly as
lucrative as soy, corn or rice. And it requires specific equipment for a
harvest. Cotton isn’t an easy crop for new farmers to pick up.
A 5,000-Mile Journey
Back
at the rice festival, this year’s Miss Scott Boudin, Ashlyn Hanks, 19, was
sitting at a folding table with a few other queens in the festival staging
area, wearing a pink jumpsuit, a sash with her title on it and a tall,
glittering tiara. “It’s really neat to see where all of my ingredients, for
what I represent, come from,” she said, referring to the sausage casing,
seasoning and rice that go into making boudin, a pork stuffing. To be
competitive in her pageant, Ms. Hanks had to learn the hard facts of sausage
making. “Boudin is so old that they used to pack it in real pig intestines,”
she said, smiling.
Ms. Hanks is working toward a career in film
and Ms. Frederick is in college at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, but
both travel every weekend, sometimes to multiple festivals. By the end of their
respective reigns, each queen will have logged close to 5,000 miles across the
state, including a visit to Governor John Bel Edwards’ mansion in Baton Rouge.
“Before I started traveling, I thought all of
Louisiana was just Cajuns, like us,” Ms. Frederick said. “But it’s only a small
part, like Breaux Bridge and Lafayette. Just a small part of Louisiana.”
Many
of the queens are seasoned pageant participants. Hali Westerman, this year’s
Miss Louisiana Fur and Wildlife, said she competed in her first pageant when
she was 6 months old. “My mom didn’t want me to be shy,” she said, stroking her
mink pageant sash. “She wanted me to gain speaking skills, to be able to talk
to people.”
Nutria, large bucktooth rodents, ravage
Louisiana swamps with unchecked breeding, feasting on trees and plants that
keep the soil of the wetlands from further eroding into the Gulf of Mexico. “We
get to watch onstage,” said Ms. Westerman, of the skinning. “It’s very serious,
because you have to separate the pelt from the carcass. People get really into
this stuff. The pelts can be turned into anything. My coat, I don’t have it
with me right now, but it’s nutria. It’s beautiful, bleached nutria.”
‘We Tend to Stick Together’
There’s a particular anxiety surrounding the
traditions of agricultural pageantry in Louisiana. Most contest entry forms
forbid competitors from having been married or having had children, and some,
including the entry form for Miss Cattle, require entrants to promise they were
“born female.”
The contract for Louisiana Strawberry Festival
queens notes that “marriage, pregnancy or living in common law during the
reign” results in “immediate dismissal.”
These
antiquated rules are followed strictly even as — especially as — global
warming, coastal erosion and foreign competition threaten many of the
industries that Louisiana holds dear. In the face of an uncertain future for
oysters and cotton and shrimp, the queens themselves have become a kind of
symbol for renewal and fertility, beacons of stability as the coastline washes
into the Gulf.
Pig Party
Two weeks after the rice pageant, a few of the
queens were in Basile, La. for the Swine Festival. (Most were resting up to
attend the Cracklin Festival pageant, celebrating fried pieces of pork skin,
the following day.)
In the center of the fairgrounds, a pig named
Petunia guzzled water from a plastic bottle as Jynlee Conner, the festival’s
15-year-old Teen Swine Queen, a division for younger competitors, assured onlookers
that Petunia was a pet, and would not be eaten.
Ms. Conner, who has blond hair and braces and
has held multiple festival titles — including Junior Deb Swine Queen and Junior
Teen Swine Queen — was preparing to take part in the festival’s annual boudin-eating
contest. This competition is entirely between the queens.
“I
got second when I was teen queen,” said Alaina Denette, 19, the new Swine
Festival Queen, whose rhinestone crown featured a portly pig. After the
boudin-eating contest, there would be a greased pig chase, where the queens
would have to chase after a piglet who had been oiled and thus, would be
extremely difficult to catch.
As the swine queens and a handful of visiting
queens lined up to eat, the M.C. of the contest detailed the rules and placed
half of a link of boudin in front of each competitor.
“Miss Janice has to see your hands up and your
mouth open,” the M.C. said, referring to a judge. “And we’re also watching from
up here, so you can’t sneak part of it in your pocket or throw it over your
shoulder. Everything has to be swallowed, completely. The dressing, the casing,
everything.”
It took the winner, the 13 year-old Deb Miss
Swine Queen Aubrey Lejean, a mere 40 seconds. “I don’t think this is the first
time she’s won this,” the M.C. told the crowd. “Aubrey, have you won this
before? Yes. Second time!”
When
asked for her technique, Ms. Lejean shrugged. “I just love it,” she said.
Pakistan''s fastest man sells rice to make ends meet
2/21/2020
3:08:54 AM
·
·
·
·
(MENAFN
- Tribal News Network) Mamarha Afridi
JAMRUD:
Muhammad Sami Khan, who sells rice in a local bazaar to make ends meet, is
known by locals for his special rice, but the whole nation knows him as
Pakistan''s fastest sprint runner.
Sami
Khan, who originally hails from Bannu, is currently living in Jamrud in a
rented house. He had to leave his studies after FA due to financial
constraints. Despite enormous financial and other problems, the talented youth
has a passion for athletics and he has managed to become Pakistan''s fastest
athlete.
Fata
Olympic Association has the honor of sending players from tribal areas to
national and international-level competitions, but after disbanding of FATA
Olympic Association in the aftermath of Fata-KP merger, tribal players are
deprived of many opportunities. In the recently held National Games, it was
quite evident that players from merged districts were not given proper
opportunities to take part in different contests.
Sami
Khan said while talking to TNN that players of tribal districts are highly
talented, but unfortunately they do not have enough opportunities and
facilities to display that talent.
"We were hoping that the merger will bring some good for us, but facts on grounds are quite different. I am facing financial crisis despite being Pakistan''s fastest runner and record holder. I can focus more on my game if I am financially stable," he said, adding that he remains worried about his family while going for any competition as in his absence there is no one to look after them and he supports them by selling rice.
"We were hoping that the merger will bring some good for us, but facts on grounds are quite different. I am facing financial crisis despite being Pakistan''s fastest runner and record holder. I can focus more on my game if I am financially stable," he said, adding that he remains worried about his family while going for any competition as in his absence there is no one to look after them and he supports them by selling rice.
Sports
journalist from merged districts Ayaz Raza told TNN that seven players from
Landikotal participate in the international-level competitions.
"Fata
Olympic Association was the only platform for the tribal players. It was
established in 2012 to make space for tribal players in national and
international competitions. Now in KP team, tribal players get negligible
representation as it is difficult to compete with KP players," he said.
Atif
Shinwari, Yaser Afridi and Awais are prominent football players who represent
Pakistan at international level. Usman Shinwari and Shaheen Shah Afridi are
prominent cricketers from Landikotal who are known world over for their
exceptional bowling and they have won several matches for Pakistan. Players
like Nabeel, Samad, Farhad Shinwari and Rehmat Gul Afridi have brought good
name for Pakistan in Karate. In athletics, Sami Khan is a prominent star who
won many medals at international level.
Tribal
players are also known for their exceptional talent in martial arts. Former
Fata Olympic Association general secretary and international karate player
Rehmat Gul Afridi said that after abolishing Fata Olympic Association the
players of merged districts need alternative platforms. "We established
Tribal Sports Association to protect the talent of tribal players. The
side-effects of the merger will take time to settle," he said.
Jamaima
Afridi, tribal female sports person, told TNN that not only males, tribal
females have a lot of talent but very few opportunities. "We do not have
sports complex or grounds to practice indoor games even. Male players can
practice anywhere, even in open grounds, but female players cannot do so due to
cultural restrictions," she said.
She
said the government should polish the talent of tribal players by providing
them facilities and supporting them financially.
MENAFN2102202001890000ID1099737295
Half-year non-textile exports remain
flat
Mubarak Zeb KhanFebruary 21,
2020Facebook Count
Twitter Share
0
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports of
non-textile products remained flat at $5.4 billion during July-January period
despite double-digit growth in exports of eatables.
In January, vegetable exports
increased 88.79pc year-on-year to $45.99 million; in quantity terms the
sector’s exports increased by over 7pc, data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics showed on Thursday.
Between July-Jan, vegetable exports
went up by 50.39pc to $172.4m as against $114.6m over the corresponding months
of last fiscal year. This higher demand and export of vegetables is mainly due
to the record fall in the rupee’s value against dollar.
On Feb 19, the Economic Coordination
Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) imposed a ban on exports of onion to control the
rising trend of prices in the domestic market.
The rice exports grew by 15pc
year-on-year to $1.21bn during the first seven months of current fiscal year.
The prices of all varieties of rice
are also on an upward trend. The delay in decision to ban export of wheat and
sugar has already disrupted the market supply which caused highest ever
increase in its price in domestic market.
The rising exports of vegetables and
other food group items have increased price pressures on these commodities in
the local market. Furthermore, the prices of tomatoes and onions – the most
common staples used in kitchens increased three-fold following a shortage in
the first seven months of current fiscal year.
Fish, meat and vegetable exports
were the other three major commodities which recorded impressive growth during
the period under review. However, exports of sugar, fruits, wheat and spices
posted negative growth.
The government had extended cash
support to leather, footwear, sports goods, surgical, engineering, furniture,
meat and meat products, fish products and cutlery manufacturers under various
subsidy schemes in a bid to increase non-textile exports.
Subsequently, after a long gap,
exports of leather products rebounded jumping 11.07pc during the period under
the review. This was mainly led by sales of leather garments, gloves, followed
by other products.
Foot-wear exports went up by 15.55pc
on back of leather footwear and others, surgical goods and medical instruments
by 8.64pc. And engineering goods went up by 2.6pc during the year under review.
Contrary to these, carpet and rug
exports declined in value by 0.5pc but increased in quantity by 8.23pc during
the period.
However, sports goods’ exports
dipped 1.32pc whereas foreign sales of footballs were up by 11.78pc. Tanned
leather exports witnessed a negative growth of 18.28pc in July-Jan from a year
ago.
Data showed a year-on-year decline
of 40.18pc in exports of petroleum products. The overall petroleum group —
crude and naphtha contributed to overall decline in sector’s exports.
Year-on-year exports of gems surged
42.86pc. However, export of molasses dropped by 97.45pc, jewellery 17.27pc,
while those of cement and furniture fell by 7.71pc and 13.11pc respectively.
Published in Dawn, February 21st,
2020
