Balaghat Collector orders for reopening of sealed rice mills
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Date :12-Sep-2020
A new development has come to fore in the scam
of supply of poultry grade rice in custom milling by mill owners of Balaghat
and Mandla district. On the orders of Principal Secretary, Food Department,
Collector of Balaghat has ordered for opening of all those mills and godowns
which were earlier sealed after the complaints. As a matter of fact, no action
was taken against the rice millers. Earlier, the Collector had ordered for
sealing of mills and godowns and lodging of FIR against rice millers but when
inquiry was handed over to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) then no FIR was lodged
by the district administration. The EOW teams has only scrutinised the
documents of the rice millers but in between orders has been issued for opening
of the rice mills.
MLA and State Mining Development Corporation
Chairman Pradeep Jaiswal, former MP Kankar Munjare, former MLA Kishore Samrite
and Madhu Bhagathas demanded CBI inquiry into the rice scam. But now with
opening of the rice mills and godowns, now millers can easily shift the sub
standard rice stock from their mills and godowns.
It is known fact that in the rice scam, along
with millers, many officers and employees of Waraseoni and Balaghat would be
under the scrutiny and then their political patronage would be under the net .
Hence it seems that planned action is being taken to save all those involved in
this scam and poor people who were provided inferior quality rice would not get
justice.
Rice Industry Federation is indirectly
pressuring the State Government. The federation has informed that millers have
contract with the Civil Supply Corporation, Mark Fed for custom milling and it
does not state which quality of rice to be taken, its guideline is decided by
the government. Hence the administration does not have information of this
contract. As per the contract, if quality of rice supplied is not good, then it
can be changed and in previous years it has been done also. The contract does
not have provison of sealing the mills, godown or lodging FIR on the millers.
SDM, Waraseoni, Sandeep Singh and his team
opened the seal of the warehouse at Nevargaon. Warehouse owner Gambhir Sancheti
informed that he had submitted a litigation before the High Court against the
action of district administration. He had also presented his part before Food
Department then order were issued for opening of the warehouse and reconnection
of the power supply. Hence now all the sealed 18 rice mills and warehouse of
the area have been opened once again. Now Federation would withdraw its litigation
from the High Court.
Local media has raised their protest when they
were not allowed by district administration for coverage when seal of mills and
warehouse were being opened by officers.
Reducing postharvest loss and waste among smallholder
rice farmers
10Sep 2020
Correspondent
The Guardian
Reducing postharvest loss and waste among smallholder rice farmers
IN 2017 Christopher Chahe of Idodi village of
Iringa District in Iringa region lost four sacks of rice, about half of his
harvest year. A good part of the loss was occasioned by a leaking roof in a
room where he had stored the crop after harvesting resulting in most of the
rice rotting.
Using machines like combine harvesters reduces crop loss
and waste (File photo)
“We also lost a good part of the crop due to waiting for
good prices in the market but in due course poor storage damaged the crop and
reduced its quality. Eventually we ended up selling a small amount of rice at a
very low price,” says Chahe.
However three years down the road things have changed.
Rice farmers in Idodi village, all of whom are members of the village’s
irrigation scheme,now store their crop in one warehouse which is secure and
safe thanks to the RICE project that is funded by the European Union and
implemented by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in
Tanzania (FAO Tz) in partnership with the Rural and Urban Development
Initiative (RUDI) and smallholder rice farmers.
The Project for improving competitiveness and increasing
postharvest management capacity of smallholder farmers in the rice value chain
(RICE) is implemented in 12 schemes of smallholder farmers inIringa District.It
aims to reduce poverty among farmers by building their capacity to withstand
competition in production and marketing.
In Iringa District and indeed in many parts of Tanzania,
rice is grown largely by smallholder farmers who face a number of challenges in
thevarious stages of production.
One of them is postharvest losses arising from bad
harvesting and storage methods as well as poor infrastructure. Poor storage and
transportation of the crop also account for substantial losses.
A briefing paper by FAO estimated that about 40 percent
of the rice crop is lost in the postharvest period.It is also evident that
farmers lack collective power for accessing markets and bargaining for good
prices for their produce as a result of which they have remained poor over the
years despite their hard work.
The RICE Project thus focuses on building the capacity of
the smallholder farmers and other stakeholders in the rice value chain in order
to enable them to identify and address these challenges by using inclusive
approaches that bring together all the partners including government and
private sector. The ultimate aim is to reduce rural poverty by improving
competitiveness among smallholder rice farmers in Iringa District.
It also seeks to increase competitiveness in the rice
value chain and improve the capacity to reduce postharvest losses among the
farmers by strengthening the managerial capacities of smallholder farmers’
cooperative associations and strengthening innovative, sustainable and
inclusive market systems. Postharvest losses will also be reduced by provision
and rehabilitation of facilities and coordination of activities along the rice
value chain.
“Now we keep our harvest in the warehouse where it is
safe and we can thus afford to wait for prices to get better instead of selling
in a hurry at a low price for fear of incurring losses through damage and
waste. We are also in a better position to bargain directly with buyers as we
have got rid of middlemen” says Chahe
The project goals also rhyme with FAO Tz’s 2017-2020
Country Programming Framework, the priority areas of which include increasing
agricultural production and productivity for food and nutrition security as
well as improving market access for increased incomes.
The significant improvement in rice production and
productivity has been attained through a number of things. One of them has been
public education and awareness among farmers to enable to understand not only
the importance of using better farming methods at every stage of growing rice but
also the improved economy that would see them reduce poverty at individual and
family level.
Traditional farming methods also led to poor land use
that became unproductive in the long run. Framers also used plenty of low
quality seeds that produced a small amount of crop while poor storage
facilities exposed the crop to rain, mice and insects. It was imperative to
take action that would make rice farming more productive and address poverty at
individual and family level.
Things began to change for the better in 2018 after
farmers had been provided, loans, education on new farming technologies and
better storage of the harvest. These provided incentives for women and the
youth to turn to rice farming as their major activity. “Now farmers don’t have
to run around looking for buyers and neither have buyers to move from one
individual farmer to another in order to get the amount of rice they need and
negotiate for prices; they simply go the warehouse where they will get the
amount of rice they want at a price agreed upon by farmers,” explains the
village executive officer.
“We have about 3,000 rice farmers here. Almost all of
them have abandoned traditional farming methods and adopted new ways from
preparation of farms, planting, weeding, harvesting and storing the crop. No
wonder a farmer can now harvest an average of between 16 and 20 bags of rice
from one hectare, up from only six bags three years ago,” explains Felix
Tulianje, the Village Executive Officer.
The village is now finalizing plans to install a rice
milling machine in order to add value to the rice crop and thus get better
prices in the market. By installing and subsequently using the machine farmers
in Idodi village will have a competitive edge over other rice producers in the
district in negotiating better prices due to value addition. This is besides
the advantage of their ability to negotiate prices with one voice and thus
avoiding vulnerability to tricks employed by buyers to individual producers.
As the project draws the curtain in December this year,
individual farmers and cooperatives have recorded significant success in
raising incomes and alleviating poverty “In total, there are at least 10,000
beneficiaries including smallholder women, men and youth from 11 groups. There
are processors and other actors in rice value chain,” explains Annaviola Walter
who works with RUDI as business advisor to the RICE project.
“About 2,896 farmers, 41percent of whom are women, have
successfully managed to apply proper postharvest management methods while 46
women and 9 youth groups have identified and implemented various income
generating activities along the rice value,” she adds. Such activities include
provision of harvesting and transporting crops from farms to storage
facilities.
A total of 11 schemes out of 12 have improved their
record keeping and accounts in rice production process while1794 farmers from
different villages and organizations have been trained on proper postharvest,
storage and marketing methods for rice.
“And in order to guarantee safety and security of crops
stored in warehouses, the project has trained 13 Warehouse Managers on proper
warehouse management methods and linked buyers from Dodoma, Dar es Salaam,
Iringa and Mbeya regions with farmer organizations in order to increase competitiveness
in the rice trade. Reducing postharvest losses and waste goes beyond proper
storage,” says Ms. Walter.
With increased awareness of the need to raise
productivity and reduces losses and waste, farmers in Idodi now bring their
crops for storage in the warehouse where they pay only 1,000/- for every bag of
rice for as long as it remains in the warehouse. “The warehouse accommodates
only about 3,000 bags of rice and it is already full, with the harvest season
not over. We expect to get ten tons this season, which means we will have to
store the crop in warehouses that belong to other villages,” Ibrahim Kisegendo,
the warehouse manager.
Some individuals produce as many as 48 bags of rice from
one hectare and this has not gone down well with their neighbours. “This has
brought contempt and soured up relations; those who produce a lot are suspected
of using witchcraft although it is well known that they following instructions
given by agriculture experts,” says the warehouse manager.
Nevertheless, the project has faced challenges at its
implementation. Some farmers are still stuck to traditional farming methods
despite the low yields they are experiencing.Others were reluctant to store
their harvest in the village warehouses because they were worried about the
safety of their crop. “The warehouses were used to keep old machinery and
impounded livestock that ventured into farms. In some villages they were used
as lockups for suspected criminals before they were taken to police stations.
But now that awareness is high and rice production has increased there isn’t
enough space in the warehouses to accommodate all the rice crop,” says the
Business Advisor.
The project has introduced new agriculture machinery to
smallholder farmers and many of them have adopted it. These machines help to
reduce waste and crop losses during planting, weeding, harvesting and
transportation to warehouses. The demand for these machines has risen
drastically in the period of project implementation but supply is so low. “This
is one problem we have to deal with in remaining period of the project. We have
to establish a reliable supply chain that will meet the farmer’s demands,” says
Ms. Walter.
According to Ms. Walter another major challenge facing
farmers now is lack of market for their crop. “This year has been particularly
good for rice farmers in the country with the result that the market is flooded
with goods. At present many buyers have gone to Shinyanga Region where farmers
have had a bumper crop and very few are coming to this part of the country. The
prices are still very low and it might take quite some time to pick up,” she
explains
Yet the future is bright for smallholder farmers in
Iringa District. Those who have taken part in implementing the RICE project
have reaped benefits that were beyond their reach. Village and scheme leaders
know how to look for markets and negotiate good prices for agriculture inputs
and their crops, and they know how to reduce waste and avoid postharvest losses
of their crop. “In the course of implementing this project individuals have
raised their incomes by 70 percent on average. Others have raised their incomes
by more than 100 percent so none of them would want to slide back to previous
poverty levels,” says Ms. Walter.
Crop planting rises 5.7% to a new record of
110.45 million hectares, bumper harvest likely
SECTIONS
Crop
planting rises 5.7% to a new record of 110.45 million hectares, bumper harvest
likely
ET BureauLast Updated: Sep 12, 2020, 07:56 AM IST
Crop area is likely to
increase further as rice planting is still continuing, although at a slow pace
as the monsoon season is coming to an end. Sowing of pulses, coarse cereals,
millets and oilseeds is almost over.
New
Delhi: Crop planting has expanded to a new
record of 110.45 million hectares, rising 5.7% over last year and setting the
stage for another bumper harvest.
Crop area is likely to increase further as rice planting is still continuing,
although at a slow pace as the monsoon season is coming to an end.
Sowing of pulses, coarse cereals, millets and oilseeds is almost over. The
final sowing figures for kharif season will be finalised on October 1, 2020 as
monsoon is likely to start retreating from western Rajasthan around
mid-September.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said
timely preparation to supply inputs like seeds, pesticides, fertilizers,
machinery and credit has made it possible for large coverage even during
pandemic lockdown conditions.
“Credit goes to farmers. They responded well to our schemes and programmes and
created a record amid adverse situation,” he said.
The higher coverage of area is also due to above normal rainfall this year.
“The actual rainfall received in the country is 7% more than the normal
rainfall. There was less precipitation in July but June and August saw more
than normal rainfall helping cultivation of crops in all parts of the country,”
said a senior agriculture ministry official.
The key reservoirs and dams across the country are also brimming due to good
distribution of rainfall. This will help farmers in the coming Rabi season as
well as in the next Kharif season also.
“The live water storage available in 123 reservoirs in the country is 102% of
live storage of corresponding period of last year,” he said.
“Planting looks healthy across the country except in few pockets of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat where there are reports of crop damages due to excessive rains and floods. However, overall the situation looks better,” he said
Rice prices hit 18-months peak as coronavirus strains export logistics
Sep 11 2020, 09:23 ist
- updated: Sep 11 2020, 09:23 ist
Representative Image. Credit:
Pixabay Photo
Rice export
prices in top hub India rose to their highest in nearly 18 months this week as
supplies remained constrained due to pandemic-induced disruptions, while
Bangladesh may have to import the staple after natural calamities damaged
crops.
India's
five per cent broken parboiled rice prices <RI-INBKN5-P1> climbed to
$387-$394 per tonne from last week's $384-$390.
With the top
exporter now behind only the United States in the tally of Covid-19 cases,
exporters have been grappling with limited availability of containers and mill
workers at its biggest rice handling port of Kakinada on the east coast.
"Coronavirus
outbreak has affected rice milling in Andhra Pradesh and loading operations at
Kakinada. Limited supplies are available for exports though demand is
robust," said a Kakinada-based exporter.
In neighboring
Bangladesh, domestic prices have risen up to 20 per cent over a month amid
fears of a production shortfall.
Excessive
rainfall in March-April, cyclone Amphan in May and three spells of floods in
June-July damaged most crops, of which 70 per cent was paddy, according to
agricultural ministry officials.
Bangladesh
needs to start importing rice without any delay, sources familiar with the
matter said.
In Vietnam too,
low domestic supplies pushed prices for five per cent broken rice
<RI-VNBKN5-P1> to $490-$495 a tonne on Thursday from $490 last week.
"Domes
tic supplies
are very low at the moment, while some exporters continue to fulfill their
contracts signed earlier with customers from Malaysia, Timor-Leste and
Africa," a trader in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang said.
Traders expect
prices to come down in the coming weeks ahead of the autumn-winter harvest.
Adding to
demand woes, another trader said the Philippines could suspend rice purchases
at least until November to support domestic prices of an ongoing harvest there.
In Thailand, benchmark five per cent broken rice
<RI-THBKN5-P1> prices eased to $487-510 per tonne on Thursday from
$500-$513 last week amid muted demand
Bengaluru: Doctors find
polished rice link to newborns’ heart ailment
Sunitha Rao R |
TNN | Sep 12, 2020, 12:16 IST
TimesPoints
BENGALURU: A study
conducted by Bengaluru’s
researchers has found a link between mother’s diet and baby’s heart
functioning.
As per the study, consumption of polished rice, a staple in
South India, leads to Vitamin B1 deficiency among newborns, causing
heart ailments. The polishing strips the rice of its most nutritious outer
layer rich in Thiamine or Vitamin B1.
The six-year-long study
conducted by Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research
(SJICSR) investigated 250 babies below six months of age admitted with signs of
fast breathing, vomiting, inability to take breath feed in the hospital.
The researchers looked into why so many babies had developed the
life-threatening disease. An evaluation showed severely elevated pressure in
the right side of the heart and the blood vessels in the lungs. The condition
was referred to as ‘pulmonary hypertension’.
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The study has been
published in the Journal of Archives of Diseases in Childhood, the lead authors
of which are pediatric cardiologists Dr Usha MK, associate professor, Dr Jay
Ranganath, a professor who worked on it for six years from 2013 to 2019.
Of the 250 babies, 231 recovered when they were treated with Thiamine
supplement injection or Vitamin B1. The babies were tracked for 60 months after
their treatment at the institute and there was no occurrence of pulmonary
hypertension. While seven babies died, 12 did not respond to thiamine
supplement. Of the 238 babies who responded to Thiamine, 155 were male and 83
female.
According to the researchers, severe pulmonary hypertension causing right heart
failure can occur due to thiamine deficiency in exclusively breastfeeding
infants. “We did a prospective observational study of infants presenting with severe
pulmonary hypertension without any significant heart or lung disease.
Intravenous thiamine was administered to all the babies based on clinical
suspicion. Clinical improvement with complete resolution of pulmonary
hypertension was noticed within 24-48 hours,” Dr Usha said.
Most of the babies were brought in when they were very ill. Among the 231
recovered babies, four had to be put on ventilator. After being administered
thiamine intravenous injection, the babies improved dramatically and were
weaned off ventilators within 5-6 hours, said the researchers.
Thiamine deficiency was seen largely among babies from Andhra Pradesh, North
East, Orissa, Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Chitradurga and Tumakuru where
the staple diet is rice, Dr Ranganath said, adding that no such cases were seen
among patients from Kerala where polished rice is not used.
According to the researchers, the high degree of the diagnosis was based on
clinical clues as the mothers of all these babies were malnourished. High
degree of awareness among paediatricians is required for timely recognition of
this easily treatable condition, they said.
The right diet
According to the SJICSR researchers, outer layers of cereals, legumes, pulses,
potato, lean meat, milk and nuts are all rich sources of Thiamine.
Speaking to TOI, Dr C N Manjunath, director of the institute, said the research
plays an important role in educating the public about the right diet and
suggesting the government to ensure policy modification to include thiamine supplements
during pregnancy.
Dr Ranganath said it is also essential to provide thiamine supplement to
breast-feeding mothers for six months. “The diet during the post-partum period
is determined by cultural beliefs and taboos. Consumption of polished rice, lack
of dietary diversity and food taboos contribute to thiamine deficiency,” Dr
Ranganath said.
“As a part of the dietary restrictions, new mothers are denied dal, vegetables,
legumes, pulses and to this day in most parts of Karnataka and a few parts of Telangana
and Andhra Pradesh,” said Dr Manjunath.
He said pregnant women must be provided with diet rich red rice, parboiled
rice, ragi, millets, vegetables and abundant milk, which can prevent
life-threatening disease among the newborn.
"Thiamine supplement can save babies who have developed signs of heart
failure but have no structural defects in heart and lungs. It can effectively
bring down infant mortality rate in such cases," said Dr Manjunath.
- Download
Mother's polished rice diet is bad for infants' heart: Study
- Sep 12 2020, 01:04 ist
- updated: Sep 12 2020, 09:01 ist
Researchers have found a link
between polished rice diet of mothers and infants' health.
Infants below
six months of age are exclusively breast-fed. So, mother’s food habits play an important
role in their well-being. In the southern and northeastern parts of India, the
staple food is polished rice.
Consumption of
polished rice, which is bereft of the nutritious outer layer rich in Vitamin
B1, deprives breast milk of nutrition. This directly leads to heart failure in
new born babies, a study has found.
The largest
study conducted by the Department of Paediatric Cardiology at the Sri Jayadeva
Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (SJICR) over six years,
showed this alarming link between maternal diet and heart function. Paediatric
cardiologists Dr Usha MK Sastry and Dr Jayranganath M undertook this study.
During this
period, 250 babies below six months of age were admitted with problems
of rapid breathing, vomiting and inability to breast feed.
Evaluation revealed elevated pressures in the right side of the heart and
the blood vessels of the lungs.
Called
Pulmonary Hypertension is related to the deficiency of a vitamin in the breast
milk and can be treated with a common, easily available vitamin called Thiamine
or Vitamin B1. Of the 250 babies who were admitted to the hospital, 230
had dramatic and complete improvement and were cured of the disease.
This research
was recently published in a leading journal: The Journal of Archives of
Diseases in Childhood.
Dr C N
Manjuanth, director, SJICR, said, “Providing new mothers with a diet rich in
red rice, parboiled rice, ragi, millets, with abundant milk and vegetables can
provide a robust diet rich in all vitamins, improve the quality of breast milk
and can prevent this life threatening disease in the vulnerable new born.”
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Agri exports fell by 1.8% in Jun qtr
1
min read . Updated:
10 Sep 2020, 11:40 PM ISTSayantan Bera
The
decline was despite a 70% increase in the export of non-basmati rice and a 61%
rise in the export of sugar
Agri
exports fell by 1.8% in Jun qtr
Wheat and rice production (Mint)
NEW
DELHI :
Lower exports of livestock and marine products led the decline in India’s
agriculture exports in the June quarter of 2020-21, according to an analysis of
government data.
Exports
of major farm products were recorded at ₹43,894
crore between April and June, a fall of 1.8% from the year-ago period.
The
overall decline in value is despite a 70% increase in the export of non-basmati
rice and a 61% increase in the export of sugar.
Higher
exports of rice and sugar are likely to benefit farmers, but they also stand to
lose as livestock exports fell by 44% to ₹3,668
crore, while marine exports fell by 16% to ₹8,926
crore.
View Full Image
Source: DGCIS
and APEDA website
The
overall decline in farm exports was expected due to the covid-19 pandemic,
which hit global demand and supply chains.
However,
the numbers, computed by Mint from data published by the Directorate General of
Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, and the Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority, are in sharp contrast to the numbers put
out by the agriculture ministry.
Export
of farm commodities increased sharply by 23% to ₹25,552 crore between March and
June, the ministry said on 18 August.
“Even
during the difficult time of the lockdown, India took care not to disturb the
world food supply chain and continued to export," the ministry said.
It
selected a four-month period of March to June as the reference period for
analysis, but the difference in the value of exports is probably because of the
exclusion of marine and livestock products, which witnessed a significant
decline.
During
this period, exports of buffalo meat and marine products fell by a steep 46%
to ₹11,890 crore.
An
analysis of the export numbers for the June quarter shows that the export value
of cereals went up by 19%, while that of pulses and processed fruits and
vegetables grew by 23%. Export of sugar increased by 61%, export of other
processed foods and tea fell by 16% and 28%, respectively.
India
has set itself an ambitious target of achieving $60 billion of farm exports by
2022. The Centre’s export strategy focuses on catering to niche global markets
of wellness foods, development of ‘Brand India’ and an emphasis on value
addition. India’s farm export basket accounts for just 2.15% of global agricultural
trade, according to the Economic Survey.
Colombia
Chef Webinar Series Now Available On Facebook
ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice recently turned a
challenge into an opportunity with the creation of the first-ever Virtual Chef
Webinar Series in Colombia. In previous years the annual workshops for
professional chefs have taken place in-person in major cities such as Bogota and
Cartagena, but this year, the events went online to allow greater participation
and to respect restrictions put in place due to COVID-19.
"These four webinars reached more than
2,100 registered online attendees," said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president
international. "The objective was the same online as it was live --
to provide a technical education for professional chefs and rice importers on
how to cook U.S. rice and to emphasize the benefits of using it in their
businesses."
Originally streamed via Zoom, the webinar series
is now available on the USA Rice Colombia Facebook page. 
Chef Daniel Riveros, a USA Rice culinary
ambassador in Colombia, was the host for sessions that featured special guests
including Pablo Restrepo, owner of the foodservice company, "Practic
Food;" Ana Santa Fit, an Instagram chef influencer; Luz Dary Cogollo, an
expert in traditional cuisine; Mariana Briceno, a catering specialist; and Tono
Shinozaki, the corporate chef for Best Choice Company, a U.S rice importer.
Each guest shared their personal recommendations on how to incorporate rice as
an essential ingredient in a variety of recipes.
"Colombia is an important emerging South
American market for U.S -grown rice," said Moran. "Imports have
been strong since the 2012 U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement which allows
a duty-free quota for U.S. rice. USA Rice conducts multiple promotions
there each month to engage with consumers and trade professionals."
In 2019, the U.S. exported 147,000 MT of rice
valued at nearly $50 million to Colombia, and auctions for licenses to export
duty-free rice have brought more than $80 million to the United States' six
rice research boards to fund research projects for the benefit of the U.S. rice
industry.
WASDE
Report Released
WASHINGTON,
DC -- The outlook for 2020/21 U.S. rice this month is for lower beginning
stocks, with increased production, imports, and total use. The August 21
NASS Rice Stocks report reduced 2020/21 beginning stocks by 2 million
cwt. Imports for 2020/21 are raised 800,000 cwt to 36.8 million on
expectations of continued strong demand for combined medium and short grain
varieties. In the September Crop Production report, NASS raised the
2020/21 rice crop by 6.9 million cwt to 225 million on increased harvested
area. The average all rice yield is down 71 pounds per acre to 7,529
pounds. Long grain production is raised 9.8 million cwt to 168.9 million,
and combined medium and short grain production is cut 3 million cwt to 56 million.
With the increased supplies, domestic and residual use and exports are each
raised 2 million cwt, all long grain. All rice ending stocks are
increased by 1.6 million cwt to 45.9 million and the season-average farm price
is dropped $0.10 per cwt to $12.60.
Foreign 2020/21 rice supplies are lowered fractionally with several, mostly
offsetting, production changes led by a 1-million-ton increase for India and a
1.4-million-ton reduction for Thailand. The India change is based on
updated government statistics, and Thailand's smaller crop reflects limited
water supplies in irrigated production areas. Global exports are up
fractionally led by a 1-million-ton increase for India that is offset by a
1-million-ton decrease for Thailand; both changes are based on each country's
production revisions. With supplies down and global utilization virtually
unchanged, global ending stocks are lowered 400,000 tons to 184.8 million but
remain record large.
Go here to read the full report.
Nine
Vietnamese fragrant rice varieties given tariff quotas in EU
11/09/2020 08:55
GMT+7
Nine Vietnamese fragrant rice
varieties will enjoy tariff export quotas to Europe under the Europe-Vietnam
Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) agreement.
|
|
As part of the agreement, the EU
will give Viet Nam a quota of 80,000 tonnes of rice with a zero-per-cent tax
rate per year, including 30,000 tonnes of milled rice, 20,000 tonnes of
unmilled rice and 30,000 tonnes of fragrant rice.
The EU will also fully liberalise
broken rice, helping Viet Nam export an estimated 100,000 tonnes to the EU
annually.
For products made from rice, the
EU will bring the tax rate down to 0 per cent after three to five years.
The Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MARD) would co-ordinate with localities and exporters to
review the list of fragrant rice varieties and amend and supplement where
necessary to meet production requirements, said Nguyen Nhu Cuong, director of
the Plant Cultivation Department under (MARD).
Rice plantations in Mekong Delta
provinces account for about 25 per cent of the total cultivated area,
equivalent to about 1 million hectares. Fragrant rice output is estimated at
5.5 million tonnes.
The amount of fragrant rice
exported to the EU was entitled to a preferential tariff quota of 30,000
tonnes, equivalent to 1.2 per cent of the rice produced in the region, so the
export potential for fragrant rice remained very high, said Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh.
If we complied with EU
regulations and exported 30,000 tonnes of fragrant rice and 80,000 tonnes of
rice in general with high prices, it would help improve the efficiency of rice
production in Viet Nam, added Doanh.
The deputy minister noted that
after the Government issued Decree 103/2020/ND-CP on the certification of
fragrant rice varieties exported to the EU, the ministry quickly issued a
decision on certification for rice exporters to this market.
Three units have already
submitted their documents to the ministry and their certification was completed
within five days. Enterprises can submit registration documents through the
public administration service portal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, or by post. Enterprise certification is completely free.
Businesses with fragrant rice
listed in the EVFTA agreement with orders to export fragrant rice needed to
submit their documents to the Plant Cultivation Department quickly to complete
procedures for exports to the EU, said Doanh. — VNS
Overseas Vietnamese seek to export farm produce, medical equipment amid
Covid-19
SGGPFriday, September 11, 2020 17:28
The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs
Abroad (BAOOV) in association with the Malaysia Business Chamber Vietnam on
September 10 held an online seminar to remove and find the solution to import
and export agricultural products, medical equipment, and supplies of Vietnam
into the Malaysian market amid the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many
overseas entrepreneurs participated in the seminar. (Photo: SGGP)
The
seminar attracted the participation of representatives from Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Udon Thani in Thailand, and enterprises
of Vietnam and Malaysia.
Participants in the seminar focused on discussing, exchanging, and commenting
on the key contents, including two-way trade between Vietnam and Malaysia and
its strengths, Vietnam's export experience, and highlights of trade between
Vietnam and the world on medical equipment and supplies during the Covid-19
pandemic and the next two years, Halal certification and the strengths of Halal
products - products that Muslims are allowed to eat, drink, and use - in the
Malaysian market, and the advantages and disadvantages when importing
Vietnamese goods into the Malaysian market.
Mr. Pham Quoc Anh, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Malaysia, said the structure of
the types of goods exchanged and imported between Vietnam and Malaysia is not
competitive but complementary, so there are many growth opportunities. The main
products that Malaysia exports to Vietnam include electric machines, mechanical
machinery and equipment, plastics and plastic products, gasoline, and oil of
all kinds. Meanwhile, the main products that Vietnam exports to Malaysia are
rice, bags, footwear, textiles, aquatic products, coffee, and tea.
The Halal food industry attracts
attention of overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs. (Photo: SGGP)
According
to Mr. Anh, Malaysia is a fairly large market with a population of nearly 32
million people and a high per-capita income. This is a country with extremely
good trade relations with Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and countries in
the Middle East. Therefore, when entering the Malaysian market, it means there
will be an opportunity to penetrate the Halal product market with an annual
demand of more than US$2 trillion.
Besides, Malaysia is an industrialized country that has a huge import demand
for food products, such as rice, coffee, vegetables, aquatic products, and
confectionery, so although the Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting greatly to
world trade in general and trade between the two countries in particular, it
still opens up opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to bring these products
into the Malaysian market. And currently, Vietnam is one of the largest
suppliers of the aforesaid products to the Malaysian market.
Exchanging and sharing experiences of Vietnam about the highlights of trade between
Vietnam and the world on medical equipment and supplies amid the Covid-19
pandemic, Mr. Peter Hong, Permanent Vice President of the BAOOV said that in
recent months, Vietnam has controlled well the Covid-19 pandemic, creating
positive impacts on Vietnam's reputation and position in the world. This is a
golden opportunity for the world to know Vietnam as one of the safe
destinations for business investment, as well as trade promotion activities in
the coming time. However, the situation of the pandemic in many markets in
Europe, the United States, and the ASEAN has not been controlled, so the
application of pandemic prevention measures greatly affects the import and
export activities of Vietnam. Therefore, solutions to boost exports and
diversify export markets are extremely necessary for the business community,
especially import-export businesses, in the post-pandemic period.
At the seminar, overseas entrepreneurs also exchanged experiences and shared
about making full use of trade agreements to promote exports. Of which, the
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) are two of the remarkable trade
agreements that Vietnam needs to focus on research and evaluation to make the
most of opportunities to promote import and export activities. Especially,
Vietnam should focus on exporting to markets and regions that have controlled
the pandemic early and have had free trade agreements with it.
By Tran Manh – Translated by Thuy
Doan
Overseas Vietnamese seek to export farm produce, medical equipment amid
Covid-19
SGGPFriday, September 11, 2020 17:28
The Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs
Abroad (BAOOV) in association with the Malaysia Business Chamber Vietnam on September
10 held an online seminar to remove and find the solution to import and export
agricultural products, medical equipment, and supplies of Vietnam into the
Malaysian market amid the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many
overseas entrepreneurs participated in the seminar. (Photo: SGGP)
The
seminar attracted the participation of representatives from Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Udon Thani in Thailand, and enterprises
of Vietnam and Malaysia.
Participants in the seminar focused on discussing, exchanging, and commenting
on the key contents, including two-way trade between Vietnam and Malaysia and
its strengths, Vietnam's export experience, and highlights of trade between
Vietnam and the world on medical equipment and supplies during the Covid-19
pandemic and the next two years, Halal certification and the strengths of Halal
products - products that Muslims are allowed to eat, drink, and use - in the
Malaysian market, and the advantages and disadvantages when importing Vietnamese
goods into the Malaysian market.
Mr. Pham Quoc Anh, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Malaysia, said the structure of
the types of goods exchanged and imported between Vietnam and Malaysia is not
competitive but complementary, so there are many growth opportunities. The main
products that Malaysia exports to Vietnam include electric machines, mechanical
machinery and equipment, plastics and plastic products, gasoline, and oil of
all kinds. Meanwhile, the main products that Vietnam exports to Malaysia are rice,
bags, footwear, textiles, aquatic products, coffee, and tea.
The Halal food industry attracts
attention of overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs. (Photo: SGGP)
According
to Mr. Anh, Malaysia is a fairly large market with a population of nearly 32
million people and a high per-capita income. This is a country with extremely
good trade relations with Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and countries in
the Middle East. Therefore, when entering the Malaysian market, it means there
will be an opportunity to penetrate the Halal product market with an annual
demand of more than US$2 trillion.
Besides, Malaysia is an industrialized country that has a huge import demand
for food products, such as rice, coffee, vegetables, aquatic products, and
confectionery, so although the Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting greatly to
world trade in general and trade between the two countries in particular, it
still opens up opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to bring these products
into the Malaysian market. And currently, Vietnam is one of the largest
suppliers of the aforesaid products to the Malaysian market.
Exchanging and sharing experiences of Vietnam about the highlights of trade
between Vietnam and the world on medical equipment and supplies amid the
Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Peter Hong, Permanent Vice President of the BAOOV said
that in recent months, Vietnam has controlled well the Covid-19 pandemic,
creating positive impacts on Vietnam's reputation and position in the world.
This is a golden opportunity for the world to know Vietnam as one of the safe
destinations for business investment, as well as trade promotion activities in
the coming time. However, the situation of the pandemic in many markets in
Europe, the United States, and the ASEAN has not been controlled, so the
application of pandemic prevention measures greatly affects the import and
export activities of Vietnam. Therefore, solutions to boost exports and
diversify export markets are extremely necessary for the business community,
especially import-export businesses, in the post-pandemic period.
At the seminar, overseas entrepreneurs also exchanged experiences and shared
about making full use of trade agreements to promote exports. Of which, the
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) are two of the remarkable trade
agreements that Vietnam needs to focus on research and evaluation to make the
most of opportunities to promote import and export activities. Especially, Vietnam
should focus on exporting to markets and regions that have controlled the
pandemic early and have had free trade agreements with it.
By Tran Manh – Translated by Thuy
Doan
|
Ministry
asks for improvement in rice export management |
|||
|
|||
|
Friday, Sep 11, 2020,07:11 (GMT+7) |
|||
|
https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/78471/ministry-asks-for-improvement-in-rice-export-management.html
Govt fails to reach rice purchase
target despite extended deadline
Published: 11 Sep 2020 12:08 PM BdST Updated: 11 Sep 2020 12:08 PM BdST
The government is
falling behind its target in buying 2.1 million tonnes of Boro rice despite an
extended deadline.
Millers are refusing to sell rice
to the government, breaching their contracts, as the price offered by the
government does not match the market price. Under the circumstances, the
government cannot reach its target to buy rice. Bangladesh has produced 20
million tonnes of Boro rice this year.
Floods and the coronavirus
epidemic harmed the rice mills, pushing them into losses.
The government plans to take
necessary action against those who did not comply with the contracts. The
government will, however, assess if the millers could not supply rice due to
adverse weather.
The Food Planning and Monitoring
Committee under the Ministry of Food decided to purchase 1.9 million tonnes of
Boro rice this year, setting the prices of Boro paddy at Tk 26 per kg and
parboiled and Atap or sundried rice at Tk 36. Later, the government raised the
purchase target to 2.1 million tonnes.
The authorities began to buy Boro
paddy on Apr 26 and Boro rice on May 7. The collection, scheduled to finish by
Aug 31, was extended to Sept 15.
According to the Ministry of
Food, the government bought 888,917 tonnes of rice, including 213,067 tonnes of
Boro rice, 598,748 tonnes of parboiled rice and 88,604 tonnes of sundried rice
as of Sept 8.
Government warehouses have stored more than 1.41 million tonnes
of grains, including 1.14 million tonnes of rice and 269,000 tonnes of wheat.
Some people did not fulfil their
commitment to sell paddy and rice to the government, Food Secretary Mosammat
Nazmanara Khanum told bdnews24.com.
"Husking mills couldn't buy
paddy due to bad weather and an increase in the market price this year. What
action can we take against them as their business is already suffering? We have
no plan to take action against them but motivate them instead."
The government is taking
necessary steps against those automatic rice mills that never sold rice under
contract, the food secretary said.
"We have given directives to
the finance ministry, deputy commissioners and other government bodies to
ensure that those millers who didn't sell rice to the government breaching
their contracts, never get the incentive package provided by the
government."
The government is listing those
who sold rice under contract and those who did not. "In future, we'll
provide an incentive for those who supplied the full quantity of rice to the
government and deprive those who didn't," Nazmanara said.
Many millers did not sell rice to
the government as the market price was higher than the government price.
"We need to consider the market situation while applying the contract
clauses. We'll identify the defaulters considering the entire situation after
the rice collection deadline is over," she said.
"We'll scrutinise why some
people could not sell the rice to the government at all; whether they did not
have the capacity or there were other factors. There won't be equal measures
taken for all. We'll evaluate and decide the form of punishment."
bdnews24.com asked the food
secretary if the price fixed by the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee has
caused any problem.
"The committee finalises the
price based on the production cost of paddy and rice fixed by the Ministry of
Agriculture," she said.
"The market price is higher.
In an open market economy, traders fix the prices. Rice prices should not shoot
up if we take production and demand into account. Traders have illogically
hiked the prices, forcing consumers to pay more."
Traders buy rice from millers and then sell it to the wholesale
and retail market, the secretary said. The commerce ministry must see why the
rice that cost Tk 30 per kg sells for Tk 40 per kg.
"We've written to the
commerce ministry asking the authorities to look into the issue. We've seen
that production did not decrease, demand did not increase — we fixed the prices
accordingly. We're trying our best to enable people to buy rice at the price we
fixed. But we can't fix the rice price in an open-market economy. If the market
price becomes exorbitant, we supply the rice under OMS or other programmes to
control it."
They are yet to have the full
information on the quantity of grains stored by all the farmers, traders and
millers in the country, said Nazmanara.
"Those who cannot bear a
financial loss didn't sell rice to the government. This time they can't sell
rice to the government even if it puts them in jail," said Layek Ali,
general secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners Association.
"Why would the millers sell
rice to the government at Tk 36 per kg when the same rice is sold at Tk 41-42
in the market amid the coronavirus pandemic?"
Many of the millers will have to
sell out their mills if they want to supply rice at the government rate, said
Ali. "Many mills are struggling for their existence during the pandemic
and floods. We don't know what is going to happen."
The millers appealed to the food
ministry several times to increase the rice prices, which was never considered,
an official of the ministry said, asking not to be named. So, the millers did
not sell their rice to the government anymore, he said.
Besides the millers, people have
a large quantity of food grains stored with them, though the exact amount is
not known, said Sarwar Mahmud, director-general of the Food Directorate.
"It's hard to assume what
quantity of grains people are storing. As there has been a bumper harvest this
year, the grains must be stored somewhere.
Sowing of pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds almost over; rice
growing still in progress: Govt
By: PTI |
September 11, 2020 4:58 PM
The ministry
attributed the record progress in kharif sowing to timely prepositioning of
crop inputs, credit and adoption of technologies besides good rainfall.
s
The final sowing figures for the kharif season are expected to be
closed on October 1.
Sowing of pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds is almost over,
while rice planting is still in progress in the ongoing kharif 2020 season
notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
Sowing of kharif crops has not been impacted by the pandemic and
there has been record area coverage under the summer crops, it said in a
statement.
Total area sown to all kharif crops rose 5.68 per cent to 1,104.54
lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season as against 1,045.18 lakh
hectare in the year-ago, it added.
The final sowing figures for the kharif season are expected to be
closed on October 1.
Normally, sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of the
southwest monsoon from June and harvesting from October. Rice is the main
kharif crop.
Stating that rice sowing is still continuing, the ministry said
that so far, the area sown to this crop has increased 7.59 per cent to 402.25 lakh
hectare as against 373.87 lakh hectare A year ago.
Sowing of pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds is almost over, it
added.
As per the latest data, area under pulses has increased by 4.64
per cent to 137.87 lakh hectare from 131.76 lakh hectare, while that of coarse
cereals by 1.28 per cent to 179.70 lakh hectare from 177.43 lakh hectare in the
said period.
Area under oilseeds has increased sharply by 10.76 per cent to
195.99 lakh hectare so far in the 2020 kharif season from 176.91 lakh hectare
in the year-ago.
Among cash crops, sugarcane area has increased marginally to 52.46
lakh hectare, while that of cotton by 2.12 per cent to 129.30 lakh hectare this
year.
The ministry attributed the record progress in kharif sowing to
timely prepositioning of crop inputs, credit and adoption of technologies
besides good rainfall.
Brazil’s Agricultural Minister
Says Government Took Steps to Control Rice Price
Minister Tereza Cristina has secured the supply of the product
on shelves.
September 11, 2020
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -
Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina said yesterday, September 10th, that the
government has taken the required measures to try to contain
the rise in the price of rice and prevent a shortage of the
product on supermarket shelves.
"The measures that could be
taken, were so, Subscribe to
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Brazil opens to
tariff free rice, following price complaints from consumers
Friday, September 11th 2020 -
08:38 UTC
Up until now, all rice imports from outside the Mercosur bloc faced
a 12% import duty on milled rice and a 10% duty on paddy rice
Brazil’s Executive Secretary of the
Foreign Trade Board, “CAMEX,” voted on Wednesday to provide duty-free access
for up to 400,000 tons of paddy and milled rice from all origins, effective
this week through December 31, 2020. The measure was officially published in
Brazil’s Official Gazette of the Federal Government and responds to growing
consumer complaints about the retail price of rice, which with beans are staple
for a majority of Brazilians.
Up until now, all rice imports from outside of the Mercosur bloc
(Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), including the United States, faced
a 12% import duty on milled rice and a 10% duty on paddy rice. During this
three-month period, U.S. exports will be more competitive without the import
tariffs, however, they will still be subject to a slew of internal value-added
and transportation-related taxes.
“With rice coming out of the fields now, we are well-equipped to
assist Brazil in filling this supply void,” said USA Rice President & CEO
Betsy Ward. “This turn of events provides a unique opportunity for both paddy
and milled rice sales.”
Ward added, “We also understand that this temporary tariff
suspension is an effort to stabilize prices due to COVID-19 increased rice
purchases and a drought-related supply shortage in Brazil, but we’re hopeful it
will establish a precedent for importers there to turn to U.S. rice as a viable
option in the future.”
Potential U.S. exports to Brazil will continue to face competition
from that country’s South American neighbors, as well as major Asian exporters,
who will also benefit from the limited duty-free access. U.S. exports to Brazil
over the last decade have averaged less than 1,000 tons annually.
Brazil's Bolsonaro says he will
not interfere in rice market
SEPTEMBER 11, 2020BRASILIA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro
said on Thursday he will not interfere in the market for rice, saying supply
and demand should dictate the market, as domestic prices for the food staple
soar.
A day earlier Brazil trade body Camex eliminated import tariffs
for a quota of 400,000 tonnes of rice through the end of the year. (Reporting
by Jake Spring and Pedro Fonseca Editing by Chris Reese)
Madagascar: A Higher-Yield Rice
Variety Moves Madagascar Further On the Path to Self-Sufficiency
11 SEPTEMBER 2020
Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome)
PRESS RELEASE
How South-South Cooperation helps ensure food security for family
farmers
Madagascar has a rich history of rice cultivation. Outside of
Asia, Madagascar has the longest tradition of rice production, and this staple
is cultivated in almost all districts of the country. For the Malagasy people,
rice is a core part of their diet: many families eat it three times a day, and
most of it is homegrown. On special occasions, Ranonapango may be served - a
traditional drink made from toasted rice and boiling water.
In Madagascar, however, people earn less than US 1.90 per day on
average, and the Malagasy population is severely affected by food insecurity,
including food shortages. Domestic production of rice, for example, still does
not meet the needs of the island, and the country has to rely heavily on
imported rice to help ensure national food security.
Hopefully, not for much longer however: Madagascar has set
itself the goal of being rice self-sufficient by the end of 2020.
Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation
To work towards this, an FAO South-South Cooperation project
began in late 2019 between China and Madagascar. Chinese experts on rice
production came to Madagascar to introduce a greater-yielding type of rice, as
well as to provide training to farmers on how to grow and harvest it.
The new kind of rice seeds are better suited to the Malagasy
subtropical climate, which consists of a hot and rainy season between November
and the end of March and a cooler dry season from May to October. This Weichu
rice variety has been especially developed to fit the climatic and soil
conditions of Madagascar.
Modeste Rabenarivo is a 54-year-old rice farmer from Mahitsy in
central Madagascar, where he has a 3 000 square metre plot of land. He has
always been very interested in new farming techniques and methods, and when the
FAO project began nearby, the idea of growing a new variety of rice piqued his
interest.
"As soon as I learned that [the rice] could yield eight,
nine or ten tonnes per hectare, I immediately joined the project," Modeste
says.
Across three areas of the island, 124 rice farmers took part in
the project, working together with a Chinese expert team, to benefit from both
theoretical and field training on rice cultivation. So far, the participants
are happy with the results.
"What reassures me about this rice," Modeste
continues, "is that the two-month-old plants already have more than six
leaves, so they're already growing well."
"After training on seed preparation, as well as nursery
management like water control, fertilizer supply and use of products against
insects, critters and weeds, I had the idea of transplanting earlier to see the
potential of this rice. I am motivated to adopt this variety," Modeste
enthuses.
To date, the harvest has yielded approximately 8.45 tonnes on
average per hectare compared to the 2.8 tonnes per hectare that was harvested
before the project. Alain Randrianarivelo, who has farmed rice for more than 20
years, says, "I think this new variety of rice is the future of our
agriculture. The yield obtained is breathtaking."
Self-sufficiency - for 2020 and after
The South-South project is not just concentrated on the three
pilot areas, it also aims to have a long-term effect on rice-growing in
Madagascar in general. To this end, technicians from Madagascar's Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery have also taken part in the training, in
order to implement the approach in other areas of the country. Nearly 70 managers
and technicians from the Regional Directorate of Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries also followed these training courses in the field in order to better
disseminate the techniques. The project aims to train at least 1 000 farmers,
in order to bring the average rice yield up from 2.8 tonnes per hectare to
between 8 and 12 tonnes.
Government minister Lucien Ranarivelo is positive about the
South-South collaboration with China, stating: "This technology is widely
used in several countries and is one of the conditions that has allowed China
to be self-sufficient in food. The collaboration affects the technical aspects
of seed production in Madagascar; training is provided, and we apply this
training and use the seeds directly."
For Modeste, an increased production from his rice fields would
mean the world. As a father of three, it would mean being able to send his
children to school, a feat not all farmers can manage. It also means that in
the long run, he can save some money and do less strenuous activities for his
retirement.
For Madagascar as a country, this new variety will allow it to
be self-sufficient by significantly reducing the level of rice imports.
In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the positive
effects will play an even more important role: food production
self-sufficiency, which guarantees food security, is key in the recovery plan.
FAO's South-South cooperation projects encourage countries to
share expertise, knowledge and solutions. Working together is key to creating a
stronger, more resilient global agricultural sector, improving food security
and livelihoods for all.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202009110839.html
Kharif paddy
acreage tops 40 m ha
Our Bureau Bengaluru |
Updated on
Why growers of
plantation crops need weather-based insurance
The 8% increase from previous year raises
the prospect of a bumper harvest
Acreages of paddy, the main cereal crop for the kharif cropping
season, crossed 40 million hectares on Friday, marking an increase of 8 per
cent over the previous year, as more farmers have taken up planting in States
such as Telangana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, among others.
India rice prices hit 18-month peak as coronavirus strains
export logistics
With the top exporter now behind
only the United States in the tally of COVID-19 cases, exporters have been
grappling with limited availability of containers and mill workers at its biggest
rice handling port of Kakinada on the east coast.
Rice export prices in top hub
India rose to their highest in nearly 18 months this week as supplies remained
constrained due to pandemic-induced disruptions, while Bangladesh may have to
import the staple after natural calamities damaged crops.
India's 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices climbed to
$387-$394 per tonne from last week's $384-$390.
With the top exporter now behind only the United States in the
tally of COVID-19 cases, exporters have been grappling with limited
availability of containers and mill workers at its biggest rice handling port
of Kakinada on the east coast.
"Coronavirus outbreak has affected rice milling in Andhra
Pradesh and loading operations at Kakinada. Limited supplies are available for
exports though demand is robust," said a Kakinada-based exporter.
In neighboring Bangladesh,
domestic prices have risen up to 20 percent over a month amid fears of a
production shortfall.
Excessive rainfall in March-April, cyclone Amphan in May and
three spells of floods in June-July damaged most crops, of which 70 percent was
paddy, according to agricultural ministry officials.
Bangladesh needs to start importing rice without any delay,
sources familiar with the matter said.
In Vietnam too, low domestic supplies pushed prices for 5
percent broken rice to $490-$495 a tonne on Thursday from $490 last week.
"Domestic supplies are very low at the moment, while some
exporters continue to fulfill their contracts signed earlier with customers
from Malaysia, Timor-Leste and Africa," a trader in the Mekong Delta
province of Tien Giang said.
Traders expect prices to come down in the coming weeks ahead of
the autumn-winter harvest.
Adding to demand woes, another trader said the Philippines could
suspend rice purchases at least until November to support domestic prices of an
ongoing harvest there.
In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices eased to
$487-510 per tonne on Thursday from $500-$513 last week amid muted demand.
Brazil opens to
tariff free rice, following price complaints from consumers
Friday, September 11th 2020 -
08:38 UTC
Up
until now, all rice imports from outside the Mercosur bloc faced a 12% import
duty on milled rice and a 10% duty on paddy rice
Brazil’s Executive Secretary of the
Foreign Trade Board, “CAMEX,” voted on Wednesday to provide duty-free access
for up to 400,000 tons of paddy and milled rice from all origins, effective
this week through December 31, 2020. The measure was officially published in
Brazil’s Official Gazette of the Federal Government and responds to growing
consumer complaints about the retail price of rice, which with beans are staple
for a majority of Brazilians.
Up until now, all rice imports from outside of the Mercosur bloc
(Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), including the United States, faced
a 12% import duty on milled rice and a 10% duty on paddy rice. During this
three-month period, U.S. exports will be more competitive without the import
tariffs, however, they will still be subject to a slew of internal value-added
and transportation-related taxes.
“With rice coming out of the fields now, we are well-equipped to
assist Brazil in filling this supply void,” said USA Rice President & CEO
Betsy Ward. “This turn of events provides a unique opportunity for both paddy
and milled rice sales.”
Ward added, “We also understand that this temporary tariff
suspension is an effort to stabilize prices due to COVID-19 increased rice
purchases and a drought-related supply shortage in Brazil, but we’re hopeful it
will establish a precedent for importers there to turn to U.S. rice as a viable
option in the future.”
Potential U.S. exports to Brazil will continue to face competition
from that country’s South American neighbors, as well as major Asian exporters,
who will also benefit from the limited duty-free access. U.S. exports to Brazil
over the last decade have averaged less than 1,000 tons annually.
Blockchain Helps Trace Thai Rice
– and Makes the System Much Safer
Blockchain Helps Trace Thai Rice –
and Makes the System Much Safer
The Thailand Trade Policy and
Strategy Office recently revealed a plan to incorporate blockchain technology
in tracking exported agricultural goods to enhance its credibility. One of the first products to be tracked
with the blockchain platform would be organic rice.
The proposal is undergoing the
budget approval stage, and TPSO is putting more effort discussing relevant
topics with experts from related industries, including finance and blockchain.
To prepare for the implementation
of the platform, which is tentatively scheduled to start in the middle of 2021,
TPSO has conducted interviews with more than 5,000 farmers in Surin province
and convinced them to take part in the project.
After the first pilot on organic
rice receive positive results, the project will cover other agricultural
products as well.
Thailand Will be Tracking Rice With
Blockchain
In particular, an inclusive
system will be built to automatically monitor the whole process from the
cultivation of rice, to harvesting and processing before export.
Blockchain technology is
integrated into the system and connects every step. After going through a
number of inspections, a traceable certificate will be issued, which is able to
provide all the information regarding the product’s farming location,
cultivation method, packaging process.
Thanks to that, buyers can
identify whether the rice is organic or if the quality surpasses necessary
standards.
Finding Problems Fast
In case buyers find problems in
any stage that affect the qualifications of the organic rice, they have the
right to reject the deal. Therefore, the blockchain system plays as a just
supervisor to guarantee the reliability of the Thai’s exported products, and
gain the trust from their importers.
This project’s announcement was
released at the time Thailand had entered an outburst international trade
period with China, one of their favorable rice import partners. In addition,
China showed their willingness to open up the gate for other agricultural
products from Thailand, such as fruits, pork, and cattle.
China also expressed its support
for the effort to improve the quality and standards by adopting blockchain
technology in tracing product origin from Thailand.
Blockchain has been used by many
companies to track the food supply chain – including Walmart – which found that
the system was far batter than existing alternitives.
Articles on Bitboy may contain
affiliate links that help us to remain profitable. It might come as a surprise,
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Nicholas Say
Nicholas Say grew up in Ann
Arbor, Michigan with a father that would read him the Wall St. Journal.
He has traveled extensively
around the world and been lucky enough to study a wild global economy as it
shifts into what can only be described as “scrumtrulescent”.
Nicholas spent many years in the
Southern Cone of South America, sometimes in the middle of absolutely nowhere,
draining a whiskey bottle as he dreamed of a better way of living.
Now he lives in the Far East and
writes on a variety of subjects. He supposes that ‘nowhere’ is perhaps the only
truth there is.
https://bitboycrypto.com/blockchain-helps-trace-thai-rice-and-makes-the-system-much-safer/
Madagascar: A Higher-Yield Rice
Variety Moves Madagascar Further On the Path to Self-Sufficiency
11 SEPTEMBER 2020
Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome)
How South-South Cooperation helps ensure food security for family farmers
Madagascar has a rich history of rice cultivation. Outside of
Asia, Madagascar has the longest tradition of rice production, and this staple
is cultivated in almost all districts of the country. For the Malagasy people,
rice is a core part of their diet: many families eat it three times a day, and
most of it is homegrown. On special occasions, Ranonapango may be served - a
traditional drink made from toasted rice and boiling water.
In Madagascar, however, people earn less than US 1.90 per day on
average, and the Malagasy population is severely affected by food insecurity,
including food shortages. Domestic production of rice, for example, still does
not meet the needs of the island, and the country has to rely heavily on
imported rice to help ensure national food security.
Hopefully, not for much longer however: Madagascar has set
itself the goal of being rice self-sufficient by the end of 2020.
Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation
To work towards this, an FAO South-South Cooperation project
began in late 2019 between China and Madagascar. Chinese experts on rice
production came to Madagascar to introduce a greater-yielding type of rice, as
well as to provide training to farmers on how to grow and harvest it.
The new kind of rice seeds are better suited to the Malagasy
subtropical climate, which consists of a hot and rainy season between November
and the end of March and a cooler dry season from May to October. This Weichu
rice variety has been especially developed to fit the climatic and soil
conditions of Madagascar.
Modeste Rabenarivo is a 54-year-old rice farmer from Mahitsy in
central Madagascar, where he has a 3 000 square metre plot of land. He has
always been very interested in new farming techniques and methods, and when the
FAO project began nearby, the idea of growing a new variety of rice piqued his
interest.
"As soon as I learned that [the rice] could yield eight,
nine or ten tonnes per hectare, I immediately joined the project," Modeste
says.
Across three areas of the island, 124 rice farmers took part in
the project, working together with a Chinese expert team, to benefit from both
theoretical and field training on rice cultivation. So far, the participants
are happy with the results.
"What reassures me about this rice," Modeste
continues, "is that the two-month-old plants already have more than six
leaves, so they're already growing well."
"After training on seed preparation, as well as nursery
management like water control, fertilizer supply and use of products against
insects, critters and weeds, I had the idea of transplanting earlier to see the
potential of this rice. I am motivated to adopt this variety," Modeste
enthuses.
To date, the harvest has yielded approximately 8.45 tonnes on
average per hectare compared to the 2.8 tonnes per hectare that was harvested
before the project. Alain Randrianarivelo, who has farmed rice for more than 20
years, says, "I think this new variety of rice is the future of our
agriculture. The yield obtained is breathtaking."
Self-sufficiency - for 2020 and after
The South-South project is not just concentrated on the three
pilot areas, it also aims to have a long-term effect on rice-growing in
Madagascar in general. To this end, technicians from Madagascar's Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery have also taken part in the training, in
order to implement the approach in other areas of the country. Nearly 70
managers and technicians from the Regional Directorate of Agriculture,
Livestock and Fisheries also followed these training courses in the field in
order to better disseminate the techniques. The project aims to train at least
1 000 farmers, in order to bring the average rice yield up from 2.8 tonnes per
hectare to between 8 and 12 tonnes.
Government minister Lucien Ranarivelo is positive about the
South-South collaboration with China, stating: "This technology is widely
used in several countries and is one of the conditions that has allowed China
to be self-sufficient in food. The collaboration affects the technical aspects
of seed production in Madagascar; training is provided, and we apply this
training and use the seeds directly."
For Modeste, an increased production from his rice fields would
mean the world. As a father of three, it would mean being able to send his
children to school, a feat not all farmers can manage. It also means that in
the long run, he can save some money and do less strenuous activities for his
retirement.
For Madagascar as a country, this new variety will allow it to
be self-sufficient by significantly reducing the level of rice imports.
In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the positive
effects will play an even more important role: food production
self-sufficiency, which guarantees food security, is key in the recovery plan.
FAO's South-South cooperation projects encourage countries to
share expertise, knowledge and solutions. Working together is key to creating a
stronger, more resilient global agricultural sector, improving food security
and livelihoods for all.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202009110839.html
The
UAE's sustainable food plan involves growing rice
With the UAE almost wholly reliant on food imports, food security
is a national priority.
In
recent months, the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened domestic concerns as global
supply chains of imports were disrupted.
The
crisis also prompted renewed debate about how best to boost local agriculture
and foster farming innovation.
Searing
summer temperatures, little rainfall and a landscape dominated by arid desert,
has meant that the UAE’s agricultural activities have been relatively
restricted to small areas.
Grassroot thinking
That
could soon change, however, say academics at Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University,
who are developing ‘artificial soil’, made up of almost 90% desert sand.
Their
goal is for the product to be used by local, and eventually regional farmers,
to grow plants & vegetation.
The soil
created in the laboratory resembles the texture, porosity & fertility of
soils found in Thailand & Ukraine.
If
patent approved, scientists in the capital are optimistic that it has the
potential to transform the UAE’s burgeoning home-grown crops sector.
To dig
deeper into the topic, Inspire Middle East’s Rebecca McLaughlin-Eastham caught
up with Associate Professor, Dr. Saeed Alkhazraji, a passionate innovator who
helped co-create the earth.
He began
by explaining the soil’s unique qualities, which should be given extra
consideration in light of the UAE’s extreme weather conditions.
“Farmers
have to be aware that any crop they're trying to grow [here] needs to be dealt
with in a specific way, to allow them to maximize their yield,” he said. “For
example, if they want to grow a plant that is difficult to grow in the UAE,
perhaps you need to use a greenhouse along with the soil that we are making.”
The
soil’s potential to contribute to the local food supply chain, is significant,
the Professor went on to tell Euronews.
“There
are many different crops that are challenging to grow in the UAE, crops that
sustain human lives, like rice and wheat - because of their excessive need for
water.” said Dr. Saeed Alkhazraji. “The soil that we developed can allow us to
have better water management, because it allows us to have a higher water
retention than typical soils around the UAE.”
Desert rice
With
rice a food staple of the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment
recently announced a joint research programme with the Republic of Korea, aimed
at cultivating rice in the desert.
The
seeds were sowed back in 2019, cultivated using a water-saving drip irrigation
system, and the rice was recently harvested.
Preliminary
results for the first project of its kind in the region, indicated a yield of
763kg of rice per 1,000 square metres.
This
prompted the Ministry to say that, if successful on a large scale, the project
had the potential to shape the future of agriculture and be replicated in other
arid regions.
Sharjah’s organic growth
The
location of the rice initiative was the emirate of Sharjah, which according to
scientists, is an emerging hotbed of agricultural innovation in the UAE.
It is
also home to the Sharjah Research Technology & Innovation Park, a place
which supports famers & harnesses new technology to produce sustainable
local food all year round.
The Park
notably contains a 150-square metre farm, and an eco-friendly Merlin
Agrotunnel, capable of producing a ton of organic fruits & vegetables each
month.
In
keeping with the country’s environmental and sustainable farming goals, all
produce is irrigated with seawater desalinated via solar energy.
SRTI’s
CEO, Hussain Al Mahmoudi, predicts that in the next 5 years at least 30 percent
of the UAE’s food will be domestically produced.
He told
Inspire that continuous research and development into new farming innovations
& agricultural technology will accelerate the sector’s growth in the years
ahead.
“Since
the inception of the Park, we've started to promote things like hydroponics
technology, aquaponics technology & tunnel farming. And they've all taken
off,” he said. “At the moment, we are [also] using Artificial Intelligence to
study how aquaponics works, with relation to fish. How the fish really move and
how much food they eat.”
Sustainable agriculture
When
asked about the economic feasibility of large-scale farming projects in the
UAE, and how production and harvesting costs could be kept down, Al Mahmoudi
had this to say:
“I think
the feasibility is there, because the UAE has an abundant amount of land. A lot
of farmers in the UAE, especially the national ones, get free land. If you
couple this with the cost of doing business here, it is also relatively low
compared to other parts of the world. There’s also the fantastic infrastructure
- in terms of ports and airports and storage and other things.”
On the
subject of the UAE being one of the world’s top rice importers, SRTI’s CEO is
convinced that producing home-grown rice would be game-changing for the
domestic market.
“I think
we can play a strategic role in growing rice,” he said. “We have the
infrastructure, both soft infrastructure and public sector, to really become a
regional player in producing rice and ensuring food security.”
SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FAMILY GATHERING
Australian
Ellie took this photo of her family picking radishes in Al Ain.
With contributions from Nancy Sarkis and Arthur de Oliveira.
www.euronews.com/2020/09/11/the-uae-s-sustainable-food-plan-involves-growing-rice-developing-soil
Balaghat Collector orders for reopening of sealed rice mills
|
Date :12-Sep-2020 |
A new development has come to
fore in the scam of supply of poultry grade rice in custom milling by mill
owners of Balaghat and Mandla district. On the orders of Principal Secretary,
Food Department, Collector of Balaghat has ordered for opening of all those
mills and godowns which were earlier sealed after the complaints. As a matter
of fact, no action was taken against the rice millers. Earlier, the Collector
had ordered for sealing of mills and godowns and lodging of FIR against rice
millers but when inquiry was handed over to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) then
no FIR was lodged by the district administration. The EOW teams has only
scrutinised the documents of the rice millers but in between orders has been
issued for opening of the rice mills.
MLA and State Mining Development
Corporation Chairman Pradeep Jaiswal, former MP Kankar Munjare, former MLA
Kishore Samrite and Madhu Bhagathas demanded CBI inquiry into the rice scam.
But now with opening of the rice mills and godowns, now millers can easily shift
the sub standard rice stock from their mills and godowns.
It is known fact that in the rice
scam, along with millers, many officers and employees of Waraseoni and Balaghat
would be under the scrutiny and then their political patronage would be under
the net . Hence it seems that planned action is being taken to save all those
involved in this scam and poor people who were provided inferior quality rice
would not get justice.
Rice Industry Federation is
indirectly pressuring the State Government. The federation has informed that
millers have contract with the Civil Supply Corporation, Mark Fed for custom
milling and it does not state which quality of rice to be taken, its guideline
is decided by the government. Hence the administration does not have information
of this contract. As per the contract, if quality of rice supplied is not good,
then it can be changed and in previous years it has been done also. The
contract does not have provison of sealing the mills, godown or lodging FIR on
the millers.
SDM, Waraseoni, Sandeep Singh and
his team opened the seal of the warehouse at Nevargaon. Warehouse owner Gambhir
Sancheti informed that he had submitted a litigation before the High Court
against the action of district administration. He had also presented his part
before Food Department then order were issued for opening of the warehouse and
reconnection of the power supply. Hence now all the sealed 18 rice mills and
warehouse of the area have been opened once again. Now Federation would
withdraw its litigation from the High Court.
Local media has raised their
protest when they were not allowed by district administration for coverage when
seal of mills and warehouse were being opened by officers.
