Thailand
to sell rice at prices competitive with Vietnam
VietNamNet
Bridge – Hai Quan newspaper has quoted foreign sources who say that Thailand
will sell both newly harvested and inventoried rice at low prices. This will
create challenges for Vietnam, which competes with other rice exporters by
offering low prices.
“Reasonable prices are the biggest
competitive advantage of Vietnamese rice. But now, if Thailand also sells rice
cheap, the Vietnamese competitiveness will not work,” an analyst commented.Dat
Viet commented that Vietnam several times has failed in international bids,
even though it offered very low prices to obtain contracts.Nguyen Ngoc De from
Can Tho University commented that this was a result of the “sell cheap, buy
cheap” policy pursued by Vietnamese exporters.
Deputy Minister of Industry and
Trade Tran Tuan Anh has urged relevant units to carry out surveys to discover
how the Thai policy would affect Vietnam.In late November, the Vietnam Food
Association (VFA) unexpectedly lowered the floor export price to $380 from $410
per ton for 25 percent broken rice.Vo Tong Xuan, the leading rice expert in
Vietnam, commented that the move shows the Vietnamese exporters’ intention to
speed up the sale of rice in the world market.However, Xuan noted this is not
good news for farmers, because when exporters sell rice cheaply, they will not
pay farmers high prices for rice.Analysts noted that while Vietnamese
enterprises are busy selling stocked rice in order to balance the export volume
in the last months of the year, Thai exporters have used the time to gain the
Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, Filipino and African markets.They said that the
competition will be stiffer for Vietnamese exporters, who have to compete with
Thailand, India, Pakistan and Cambodia.
In 2014, Cambodia’s PhkaRomdoul for
the third consecutive time is recognized as the most delicious rice in the
world. Cambodia has made big progress from an unknown rice producer to a big
rice exporter in the world.A report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD) showed that Vietnam exported 443,000 tons in November, worth
$217 million, raising total export volume in the last 11 months to 6.03 million
tons, worth $2.79 billion.The average export price was $460.9 per ton, an
increase of 4.61 percent over the same period last year.According to the
National Steering Committee on Rice Export Regulation, the demand is still high
with big importers in the region trying to increase imports.Meanwhile, some key
markets continue making transactions. China, for example, still tops the list
of Vietnam’s rice biggest importers, which consumes 31.1 percent of Vietnam’s
exports.
Dat
Viet
Commerce
Ministry prepares to sell stockpiled rice in Africa and Middle East
Published on Thursday, 11 December 2014 20:03
A
paddy field in Hpa-an, Kayin State. (Photo-Aung Zaw Htun/EMG)
A policy to explore foreign
rice markets and to ensure the product quality is currently in the pipeline,
according to the Ministry of Commerce.
“Some procedures in rice industry
need to be relaxed. Rice merchants face difficulties, like losing market
demand. On the other hand, the farmers also struggle with price drops and
quality control problems. I advised the government to draw a policy that can
relieve the anxieties of both farmers and merchants,” Dr Min Aung suggested.As
agriculture is the central pillar of Myanmar’s export economy, a policy that
solves all the challenges such as growing local consumption, swelling foreign
exports, quality assurance and maintaining a sustainable paddy industry is
urgently needed.“Domestic consumption is the first priority. The livelihoods of
farmers, merchants and each and every individual involved in the rice business
is the second-most important point,” said Tin Htut Oo, a presidential economic
advisor.
The supply chain from the paddy
field to the platter should be consistent under a policy, the presidential
advisor said.“But such a policy is not available yet.”The NES, which is meant
to enhance the quality and quantity of exports, is set to be released late this
year. It allocates rice, beans, fishery products, wood-based materials and
garments as the country’s highest potential export products.“The [rice] policy
is currently being drafted. It is important and also related to the export
strategy. Besides export process, domestic consumption and prices are also
needed to be considered. It takes a well-built policy to make sure the whole
supply chain grows strong,” said Win Myint, the director of Department of Trade
Promotion under the Commerce Ministry.
New paddy variety
developed for Bihar's rain deficient areas
Patna,
Dec 11 (IANS): Scientists in Bihar have developed a new paddy variety for rain
deficient areas. It is likely to help millions of farmers in the state's
drought-prone areas."A team of scientists at Bihar Agriculture University
(BAU) at Sabour in Bhagalpur district, have developed a new variety of paddy
for rain-deficient areas," Vice Chancellor M.L. Choudhary said
Thursday.Choudhary said the aerobic variety is named Sabour Ardhjal and
requires less water compared to other varieties."This variey will require
50 percent less irrigation compared to other paddy varieties," he said.
Choudhary
said that the outcome of the first trial of new variety in rain deficient areas
in Munger, Patna, Gaya, Banka, Jehanabad, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nalanda
districts was satisfactory.Millions of farmers in Bihar have been hit by consecutive
droughts in the state in last five years. Last year the government declared 33
of 38 districts as drought-hit. The state recorded 25 percent deficit in its
annual rainfall.After attaining record paddy production of over 80 lakh tonnes
in the 2012 kharif season, Bihar harvested around 50 lakh tonnes of paddy in
2013 as poor rains in July-August badly hit paddy transplantation.Rice
production in Bihar was 36.4 lakh tonnes in 2009-10 which increased to 81.87
lakh tonnes in 2011-12 and 87 lakh tonnes in 2012-13.
Finding rice traits that tackle
climate-change challenges
by Ann Perry
Ann Perry
People around the world depend on food crops
adapted to an array of temperature and precipitation regimes, but those
conditions are in flux because of global climate change. So scientists want to
identify plant traits that could be used to develop food-crop cultivars that thrive
despite—or perhaps because of—shifts in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels,
water availability, and air temperature. As part of this effort, Agricultural
Research Service plant physiologists Lewis Ziska, Martha Tomecek, and David
Gealy conducted a study of several rice cultivars to determine whether changes
of temperature and CO2 levels affected seed yields.
They also looked for visible traits that could
signal whether a plant cultivar has the genetic potential for adapting
successfully to elevated CO2 levels.For their study, the scientists included
weedy red rice, which infests cultivated rice cropland. Despite the plant's
downside, previous assessments indicated that weedy rice growing under elevated
CO2 levels had higher seed yields than cultivated rice growing under the same
conditions.
The scientists used environmental growth
chambers to study genetically diverse rice cultivars at current and future
projections of atmospheric CO2 and a range of day/night air temperatures. They
observed that on average, all the rice cultivars put out more aboveground
biomass at elevated CO2 levels, although this response diminished as air
temperatures rose.
For seed yield, only weedy rice and the rice
cultivar Rondo responded to elevated CO2 levels when grown at optimal day/night
air temperatures of 84 °F and 70 °F. The researchers were also intrigued by an
additional observation: Only weedy rice gained significant increases of
aboveground biomass and seed yield under elevated CO2 levels at the higher
temperatures expected for rice-growing regions by the middle of the century.
In Beltsville, Maryland, plant physiologists
Lewis Ziska and Martha Tomecek examine the response of different rice cultivars
to changes in carbon dioxide and temperature. ARS scientists at Beltsville and
Stuttgart, Arkansas, are working to …more .When Ziska and colleagues analyzed
the study data for the weedy rice, they observed that seed-yield increases
under elevated CO2 resulted from an increase in panicle (seed head) and tiller
production. Tillers are stalks put out by a growing rice plant, and as the
plant matures, the seed heads—where rice grain is produced—develop at the end
of the tillers.
Since rice tiller production is determined in
part by a plant's genetic makeup, crop breeders might someday be able to use
this weedy rice trait to develop commercial rice cultivars that can convert
rising CO2 levels into higher seed yields. To the researchers, these findings
also suggest that the weedy, feral cousins of cultivated cereals could have
other traits that would be useful in adapting to the environmental challenges
that may come with climate change.
"We
know that atmospheric CO2 and air temperatures will increase together,"
says Ziska. "Ideally, we can develop plants that respond well to elevated
CO2 levels and incorporate traits that favor plant survival despite temperature
changes." Explore further: Rice yield increase of 30 percent enabled by
use of a photosynthesis 'switch,' researchers learnhttp://phys.org/news/2014-12-rice-traits-tackle-climate-change.html
Mexico Re-imposing Import Duty on Asian Milled Rice
Advantage: U.S. rice
"Local traders, packers, and millers
we've spoken with believe the first few months of 2015 will present great
opportunities for the sale of U.S. rice to Mexico, given our large high-quality
crop and the new import duty on Asian origin rice," said Betsy Ward, USA
Rice Federation's president and CEO.Ward went on to point out that the competitive
advantage could end up being short-lived if the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)
is signed in 2015. "Mexico is anxious to conclude TPP talks, and as it
looks now, Vietnamese rice would gain back some or all of its duty advantage
under that agreement," she said. USA Rice is monitoring this situation
very closely and will keep members up to date on events as they transpire.
Contact: Jim Guinn (703) 236-1474
USA Rice's The Whole Grain Newspaper Launched
|
||
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The USA Rice Federation debuted a new
publication at the 2014 Outlook Conference here this week to take the place
of the organization's traditional annual report. The Whole Grain is a full-color 16 page
tabloid-style newspaper that will be published quarterly and distributed
widely to the U.S. rice industry.Outlook Conference attendees received a copy
of the newspaper in their welcome packets, and more than 23,000 copies were
mailed to growers, landowners, and others affiliated with the rice
industry.
The cover story for this first edition of The Whole Grain was an in-depth look at the Mexican
market - the top destination for U.S.-grown rice. Other stories
included interviews with USA Rice Federation Chairman Dow Brantley, and
president and CEO Betsy Ward; the recent rice export victory in Iraq; the
ground-breaking stewardship partnership between USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited,
an update on the regulatory landscape, and several articles on the group's
domestic promotions work, including how nutrition policy has enhanced sales
opportunities for rice.
Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of marketing and
communications said, "Our goal in switching up the format of the annual
report in favor of the tabloid is to provide more engaging content to our
members, and to go deeper into important issues than we can here in the
Daily. We're looking forward to expanding our coverage, our
circulation, and offering advertising opportunities in future
issues." To receive additional copies of the tabloid to distribute in
your community, please contactDeborah Willenborg at (703) 236-1444.
|
Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported
|
WASHINGTON, DC -- Net
rice sales of 86,800 MT for 2014/2015 were reported for Haiti (29,300 MT),
Libya (28,800 MT), Japan (13,000 MT), Honduras (12,000 MT, including 8,000 MT
switched from unknown destinations), and Guatemala (5,000 MT), according to
today's Export Sales Highlights report.
Decreases were reported for unknown destinations (8,000
MT). Exports of 110,300
MT--a marketing-year high--were up 71 percent from the previous week and 43
percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Libya
(28,800 MT), Haiti (23,700 MT), Japan (21,600 MT), Colombia (13,300 MT), and
Honduras (8,500 MT). This
summary is based on reports from exporters from the period November 28 -
December 4. |
CME
Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
No ‘silver bullet’ in the 2014
farm bill
Most farmers are gamblers at
heart. They risk everything when they plant their crops in the spring in the
hope they will be rewarded at harvest.But growers should not “bet the farm”
when they sign up for the Agricultural Act of 2014, says Greg Cole, president
and chief executive officer at AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, which is based
in Little Rock, Ark.“Don’t look for a silver bullet in this farm bill because it’s
not there,” said Cole, who was one of the speakers for a panel discussion on
“The 2014 Farm Bill: What You Need to Know” at the USA Rice Outlook Conference
in Little Rock.“Here’s the key thing in making your selection,” said Cole,
referring to the complex options available under the new law. “Try to look at
it from a more global basis in terms of what can you live with and what can you
not. Here’s the most important thing you can walk away with: Don’t bet your
farm on this farm bill safety net to make your decision.”Cole, who also spoke
at the annual Rice Outlook Conference following the passage of the 2008 farm
bill, said he believes this farm bill is much more complex and less forgiving
when producers make a mistake in signing up for the programs.“I said this many
times when we journeyed through the farm bill debate and I attended many
meetings representing Farm Credit: The curtailment or elimination of direct
payments will affect the rice industry of eastern Arkansas and the Mississippi
Delta more than anywhere else,” he said.
Direct payments
“Obviously, you as a producer
liked the direct payments and we as ag lenders liked it, too, because you knew
how much you were going to get, when you were going to get it and it was timed
to be in cycle with that crop. Now the world has changed. We’re dealing with a
lower safety net, a radically different structure having more of an insurance
counter-cyclical feature and a shallow loss concept.”
RELATED
There’s no doubt the provisions
of the Agricultural Act of 2014 are more complex than previous farm bills. Cole
and panelists Dr. Joe Outlaw, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy
Center at Texas A&M University, and William Cole, a crop insurance agent
from Batesville, Miss., who chairs the Crop Insurance Professionals
Association, encouraged farmers to seek help in making their decisions.“You
have to live with the decision for the life of the farm bill though the pricing
environment will change over that time, and you’re making year-to-year crop
loans,” said Greg Cole.
“These payments will be hard to quantify,
they’re paid in arrears or after the fact and will actually be paid when you’re
almost ending the next crop.”Because of the complexity, he said, ag lenders
will need to evaluate credit requests on a more individual basis and look at
many aspects to determine the borrower’s risk-bearing ability, Cole
noted.“Consideration will need to be given to the safety net selection in
concert with the crop insurance selection and the overall marketing plan and
all this has to be interfaced in with the provider’s lending capacity. No doubt
the complexity will increase for the borrower and for the ag lender.”In the
days ahead, the key to success may well be making the best uses of the
resources available and making the best decisions, he noted.
“There’s good decision tools like
Joe (Outlaw) alluded to, the online tools that are available, the interface
with crop insurance agents, peer groups and other key folks.Cole urged farmers
not to risk everything on the safety net in the new law. “Don’t allow the
government to keep you in business for this is only one component of a whole
menu of risk management tools that you have in your operation and your overall
management equation.
Producer CEOs
“You as agricultural producers
are owners of your business, you’re CEOs. You have full responsibility and
accountability. And as I talked about the migration of the intellectual business
model, your success will be directly tied to the people you surround yourself
with to either influence your decision or make the decision.”Those can be
people like your accountant, your agronomist, your tax consultant, your FSA
representative, your ag lender. “Again, the goal is to build the intellectual
capital to generate the financial capital,” said Cole.
If they don’t already have the
information, Cole urged growers to determine their cost of production, both
variable and fixed and on a per-acre or per-bushel or pound basis.“My
observation is that many producers are not strong in that area,” he said. “You
need to look at your total cost structure. Are you growing paychecks and
payments greater than acres? Do you have a focused scale for your operation?”Cole
said his organization is already reviewing loans for 2015 and finding that some
growers are losing money, some are breaking even and some are making a little
money following the general downturn in prices of recent months.
“I asked what’s the difference
there?” he said. “It’s in that fixed cost, and looking at the total amount of
payments that you’ve got, your living costs and those variables. Knowing your
numbers is going to be critical.”
What can it do for you?
“Each producer has to step back and
ask ‘what do you want this farm bill to do for you?’” said Outlaw. “For many
years our producers have used the direct payments because they were steady, and
you knew what was going to happen. People were using those as a gigantic
crutch.“That’s just me being me. If I made you mad, I’m sorry. But the reality
is we’ve got to decide what we’re going to use in this farm bill. A lot of
producers are saying I’m going to take whatever I can get the most money for
the fastest because that’s the way I feel about this, and I don’t know if we’re
going to get anything else.
“Others are saying I need to know
that if things get to a certain level of bad prices I’m going to have that
safety net provided by the government. Each person has to step back and make
that decision for themselves.”Outlaw noted that farmers can enter a wide range
of prices in the new farm bill decision aid tool developed by the Agricultural
and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M. “I’m suggesting that people put in the
prices that if they happen, farmers don’t want to have to go see their lender
if this happens. Those are the prices I want to analyze not high prices that
don’t matter because you’re not going to get anything.”
For more information and to see
the new decision aid, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.
Could arsenic in rice be dangerous
for children?
Sandra Hermiston and Lynda Steele, CTV Vancouver
A new report may have you reevaluating how much rice you feed your
children.Rice and many products containing rice have significant levels of
inorganic arsenic, which is linked to cancer. Now, new guidelines have been
released for limits on how much rice you and your children should eat.Consumer
Reports analyzed Food and Drug Administration data on more than 600 foods that
contain rice and found some with worrisome levels of inorganic arsenic.
“We found that hot rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more
arsenic than we saw in our previous tests. So we now recommend that children
rarely eat these foods, which means not more than twice a month,” said Dr.
Michael Crupain, director of Consumer Reports’ Food Safety and Sustainability
Center.Consumer Reports also recommends children under five limit rice drinks,
rice cakes and ready-to-eat rice cereals.“Levels of arsenic vary. We based our
recommendations on the higher levels in each food group to offer consumers the
best protection,” said Dr. Crupain.As for rice itself, Consumer Reports’ lab
tests in 2012 found high levels of inorganic arsenic in white rice and even
higher levels in brown rice. Other types of rice and other grains had much
lower levels of inorganic arsenic. Some good choices include sushi rice
from the U.S. and white basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan. On
average, they had half the amount of arsenic as most other types of rice.
source with thanks: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/could-arsenic-in-rice-be-dangerous-for-children-1.2135546#ixzz3LdgByVd8
Beware of rice varieties contaminated with arsenic
Procurement agencies told to pay VAT on sale of
paddy byproducts
Could arsenic in rice be dangerous
for children?
CTV Vancouver:
Limiting children's rice intake?
Parents told to
limit children’s rice intake
A new report may have you reevaluating how
much rice you feed your children.
Sandra Hermiston and Lynda Steele, CTV Vancouver
Published Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:00AM PST
Last Updated Wednesday, December 10, 2014 7:46PM PST
Brown basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan had about
one-third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rice.Other good options are
bulgur, barley and faro, as well as gluten-free grains like amaranth,
buckwheat, millet and quinoa.In response to the Consumer Reports’
investigation, the USA Rice Federation issued this statement: “Research
conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. rice industry shows
arsenic levels found in U.S.-grown rice are below safe maximum levels
established this year by the World Health Organization. Studies show that
including white or brown rice in the diet provides measureable health benefits
that outweigh the potential risks associated with exposure to trace levels of
arsenic. The U.S. rice industry is committed to growing a safe and healthy
product; we continuously test our crop, and research ways of reducing the
already low levels of arsenic found in rice even further.
The Food & Drug Administration issued this statement: “The
FDA’s ongoing assessment of arsenic in rice remains a priority for the agency.
Last year, the FDA released what we believe to be the largest set of test
results to date on the presence of arsenic in rice and rice products, and we
are planning to release a draft assessment of the potential health risks
associated with the consumption of arsenic in these same foods. Until that
review is completed, the agency continues to recommend that consumers,
including pregnant women, eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of
grains. Parents should feed infants and toddlers a variety of grains as well,
and consider options other than rice cereal for a child’s first solid
food.”Published studies and ongoing FDA research indicate that cooking rice in
excess volumes of water, five to six times that of the rice, and draining the
water can reduce the arsenic content, though it may also reduce the nutritional
value of the rice.
source with thanks: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/could-arsenic-in-rice-be-dangerous-for-children-1.2135546#ixzz3LdgByVd8
Beware of rice varieties contaminated with arsenic
Agencies Dec
11, 2014 at 11:18 am
Procurement agencies told to pay VAT on sale of
paddy byproducts
First Published: 11:07 IST(11/12/2014) | Last
Updated: 11:10 IST(11/12/2014)
The state excise department has served notices to the
district drawing and disbursing officers of all five grain procurement agencies
in Punjab and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to pay value-added tax (VAT),
since 2011-12, on the amount generated by the sale of byproducts of paddy by
rice shelling mill owners.The liability of each state procurement agency —
Punsup (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited), Pungrain (Punjab
Grains Procurement Corporation Ltd), Punjab State Warehousing Cor poration (
PSWC ) , Punjab Markfed and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited (PAIC) —
and the FCI, on this count could run into crores of rupees, as estimates
suggest that every kharif season, rice millers in the state sell byproducts of
paddy — rice bran, rice husk and small broken rice (Kinki) — valued at around `
800 crore in the open market.
In case VAT is paid, the agencies also become liable to
pay income tax. In fact, the income tax department has also served notices on
the agencies.On its part, the state government and the FCI are in a catch22
situation as the profit earned by rice shelling mill (which shells rice on the
behalf of the state procurement agencies) owners by selling the byproducts is
part of the milling charges allowed by the Centre.Since 2003, the Centre has
frozen these milling charges at Rs. 15 per quintal on the condition
that the profits generated by the rice shelling mills owners would be retained
by them and this would be considered part of the milling charges.
The agencies and the FCI have not been able to decide
on whether to pay up or file an appeal with the department or move court.Punjab
excise and taxation commissioner Anurag Verma said, “The procurement agencies
can take up the issue with me and their requests will be examined. The notices
were sent to streamline the VAT collection system. The department will not
collect any unauthorised tax.”The state government is unable to decide on the
matter, as one of its departments (excise and taxation) has served notices on
the subsidiaries of the other department (food and civil supplies).The managing
directors of the procurement agencies have sought an opinion from the food and
civil supplies department, but are yet to receive any response.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
After procuring paddy from farmers, the state
procurement agencies hand it to rice shellers, who after shelling the paddy
return rice to these agencies. This rice is then handed over to the FCI for
distribution, transport and storage. The excise and taxation department has
argued that since rice millers work on the behalf of the procurement agencies,
the latter is liable to pay VAT.
“We only take rice from rice shellers. If VAT is
recoverable from us, then income tax is also chargeable. So far, the government
has been unable to decide on the matter,” said a top officer in the food and
civil supplies department.He added that before the excise department started
using coercive methods for recovery, the issue had to be settled.On their part,
cash-strapped procurement agencies claim to have no money to pay the VAT and
the income tax.They also want to avoid paying up as once it is paid, the
levying of tax would become standard practice.
Source with thanks: http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/procurement-agencies-told-to-pay-vat-on-sale-of-paddy-byproducts/article1-1295415.aspx
Customs
seizes P200M imported glutinous rice
By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Friday, December 12, 2014
AROUND a hundred container vans filled with thousands of bags of
imported glutinous rice (“pilit”) were seized by the Bureau of Customs
(BOC)-Northern Mindanao at the Mindanao Container Terminal subport in Tagoloan,
Misamis Oriental.Lawyer Roswald Joseph Pague, BOC-Northern Mindanao
administrative officer, said the imported items from Vietnam were seized by the
Customs through the alert order issued by Jessie Dellosa, the deputy
commissioner for the intelligence group.Pague said of the Customs opened some
60 container vans on Thursday, December 11, while the rest will be subjected
for verification. Each container van contains more or less 520 bags of rice.
The worth of the imported goods is estimated at P100 million to
P200 million, he said.The BOC-Northern Mindanao decided to take custody of the
vans when it found out that the consignees failed to file import entry at the
Customs office.Upon reaching the port, he said the consignee must file an
import entry within 30 days or the imported items will be declared by the BOC
as abandoned.This non-filing of appropriate import documents is unlawful under
section 1801 (Abandonment of Imported Articles) of the Tariff and Customs Code
of the Philippines.BOC-Northern Mindanao records showed the consignees were
identified as EC Peninsula and New Dawn, Pague said.
However, he added, the consignees filed their respective affidavits
of disclaimer, essentially denying that they are the importers of the seized
goods.Pague said the suspected smugglers of the imported rice, once they are
identified, would be facing charges of violation of tariff and customs code,
and National Food Authority (NFA) regulation, which requires consignees to
secure import permit before the items could be cleared by the BOC.He added once
verification of the confiscated bags of rice is done, the Customs would auction
these off as soon as possible.
The confiscation of the imported goods, Pague said, is an
indication the BOC-Northern Mindanao is doing its job in going after smugglers
of varied form.“We are sending a very strong message to those who want to
engage in smuggling in our ports. The Bureau of Customs will not tolerate this
illegal act. Individuals or companies which will try to conduct smuggling
activities will be caught and we will enforce the full extent of the law to
make sure they will face the consequences of their actions,” Pague told
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in a phone interview Thursday.
Source with thanks:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/12/12/customs-seizes-p200m-imported-glutinous-rice-381566
Source with thnaks: http://deltafarmpress.com/government/no-silver-bullet-2014-farm-bill?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+December+11%2C+2014&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
Could arsenic in rice be dangerous for children?
CTV
Vancouver: Limiting children's rice intake?
Parents
told to limit children’s rice intake
A new report may have you reevaluating how
much rice you feed your children.
Sandra Hermiston and Lynda Steele, CTV Vancouver
Published Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:00AM PST
Last Updated Wednesday, December 10, 2014 7:46PM PST
Brown basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan had about
one-third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rice.Other good options are
bulgur, barley and faro, as well as gluten-free grains like amaranth,
buckwheat, millet and quinoa.In response to the Consumer Reports’
investigation, the USA Rice Federation issued this statement: “Research
conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. rice industry shows
arsenic levels found in U.S.-grown rice are below safe maximum levels
established this year by the World Health Organization. Studies show that
including white or brown rice in the diet provides measureable health benefits
that outweigh the potential risks associated with exposure to trace levels of
arsenic. The U.S. rice industry is committed to growing a safe and healthy
product; we continuously test our crop, and research ways of reducing the
already low levels of arsenic found in rice even further.
The Food & Drug Administration issued this statement: “The
FDA’s ongoing assessment of arsenic in rice remains a priority for the agency.
Last year, the FDA released what we believe to be the largest set of test
results to date on the presence of arsenic in rice and rice products, and we
are planning to release a draft assessment of the potential health risks
associated with the consumption of arsenic in these same foods. Until that
review is completed, the agency continues to recommend that consumers,
including pregnant women, eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of
grains. Parents should feed infants and toddlers a variety of grains as well,
and consider options other than rice cereal for a child’s first solid
food.”Published studies and ongoing FDA research indicate that cooking rice in
excess volumes of water, five to six times that of the rice, and draining the
water can reduce the arsenic content, though it may also reduce the nutritional
value of the rice.
source with thanks: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/could-arsenic-in-rice-be-dangerous-for-children-1.2135546#ixzz3LdgByVd8
Beware of rice varieties contaminated with arsenic
Agencies Dec
11, 2014 at 11:18 am
Procurement agencies told to pay VAT on sale of
paddy byproducts
First Published: 11:07 IST(11/12/2014) | Last Updated: 11:10
IST(11/12/2014)
The state excise department has served notices to the district
drawing and disbursing officers of all five grain procurement agencies in
Punjab and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to pay value-added tax (VAT),
since 2011-12, on the amount generated by the sale of byproducts of paddy by
rice shelling mill owners.The liability of each state procurement agency —
Punsup (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited), Pungrain (Punjab
Grains Procurement Corporation Ltd), Punjab State Warehousing Cor poration (
PSWC ) , Punjab Markfed and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited (PAIC) —
and the FCI, on this count could run into crores of rupees, as estimates
suggest that every kharif season, rice millers in the state sell byproducts of
paddy — rice bran, rice husk and small broken rice (Kinki) — valued at around `
800 crore in the open market.
In case VAT is paid, the agencies also become liable to pay income
tax. In fact, the income tax department has also served notices on the
agencies.On its part, the state government and the FCI are in a catch22 situation
as the profit earned by rice shelling mill (which shells rice on the behalf of
the state procurement agencies) owners by selling the byproducts is part of the
milling charges allowed by the Centre.Since 2003, the Centre has frozen these
milling charges at Rs. 15 per quintal on the condition that the
profits generated by the rice shelling mills owners would be retained by them
and this would be considered part of the milling charges.
The agencies and the FCI have not been able to decide on whether
to pay up or file an appeal with the department or move court.Punjab excise and
taxation commissioner Anurag Verma said, “The procurement agencies can take up
the issue with me and their requests will be examined. The notices were sent to
streamline the VAT collection system. The department will not collect any
unauthorised tax.”The state government is unable to decide on the matter, as
one of its departments (excise and taxation) has served notices on the
subsidiaries of the other department (food and civil supplies).The managing
directors of the procurement agencies have sought an opinion from the food and
civil supplies department, but are yet to receive any response.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
After procuring paddy from farmers, the state procurement agencies
hand it to rice shellers, who after shelling the paddy return rice to these
agencies. This rice is then handed over to the FCI for distribution, transport
and storage. The excise and taxation department has argued that since rice
millers work on the behalf of the procurement agencies, the latter is liable to
pay VAT.
“We only take rice from rice shellers. If VAT is recoverable from
us, then income tax is also chargeable. So far, the government has been unable
to decide on the matter,” said a top officer in the food and civil supplies
department.He added that before the excise department started using coercive
methods for recovery, the issue had to be settled.On their part, cash-strapped
procurement agencies claim to have no money to pay the VAT and the income tax.They
also want to avoid paying up as once it is paid, the levying of tax would
become standard practice.
Source with
thanks: http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/procurement-agencies-told-to-pay-vat-on-sale-of-paddy-byproducts/article1-1295415.aspx
Customs
seizes P200M imported glutinous rice
By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Friday, December 12, 2014
AROUND a hundred container vans filled with
thousands of bags of imported glutinous rice (“pilit”) were seized by the
Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Northern Mindanao at the Mindanao Container Terminal
subport in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.Lawyer Roswald Joseph Pague, BOC-Northern
Mindanao administrative officer, said the imported items from Vietnam were
seized by the Customs through the alert order issued by Jessie Dellosa, the
deputy commissioner for the intelligence group.Pague said of the Customs opened
some 60 container vans on Thursday, December 11, while the rest will be
subjected for verification. Each container van contains more or less 520 bags
of rice.
The worth of the imported goods is estimated at
P100 million to P200 million, he said.The BOC-Northern Mindanao decided to take
custody of the vans when it found out that the consignees failed to file import
entry at the Customs office.Upon reaching the port, he said the consignee must
file an import entry within 30 days or the imported items will be declared by
the BOC as abandoned.This non-filing of appropriate import documents is
unlawful under section 1801 (Abandonment of Imported Articles) of the Tariff
and Customs Code of the Philippines.BOC-Northern Mindanao records showed the
consignees were identified as EC Peninsula and New Dawn, Pague said.
However, he added, the consignees filed their
respective affidavits of disclaimer, essentially denying that they are the
importers of the seized goods.Pague said the suspected smugglers of the
imported rice, once they are identified, would be facing charges of violation
of tariff and customs code, and National Food Authority (NFA) regulation, which
requires consignees to secure import permit before the items could be cleared
by the BOC.He added once verification of the confiscated bags of rice is done,
the Customs would auction these off as soon as possible.
The confiscation of the imported goods, Pague
said, is an indication the BOC-Northern Mindanao is doing its job in going
after smugglers of varied form.“We are sending a very strong message to those
who want to engage in smuggling in our ports. The Bureau of Customs will not
tolerate this illegal act. Individuals or companies which will try to conduct
smuggling activities will be caught and we will enforce the full extent of the
law to make sure they will face the consequences of their actions,” Pague told
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in a phone interview Thursday.
Source with thanks:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/12/12/customs-seizes-p200m-imported-glutinous-rice-381566
