Nigeria imports rice worth N90bn yearly
05.Jan.2015
DISQUS_COMMENTS Tokunbo Oloke –
Lagos
Indications have shown that Nigerian importers spend a whooping sum
of about USD500 million (about N90 billion) annually to import rice from
Vietnam.According to the Nigerian-Vietnam Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam
reportedly spent about $100 million to import agricultural products such as raw
cashew nuts, cassava and oil palm from Nigeria.President of the chamber, Prince
Oye Akinsemoyin, who disclosed this recently, said Nigeria’s imports cover a
wide range of commodities, including those of Vietnam’s strengths such as rice.
He listed Vietnam’s major exports to Nigeria to include rubber,
electric and electronic products, footwear, plastics, handicraft and fine art
articles and construction materials, while the country imports from Nigeria raw
cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and minerals.Akinsemoyin said, “Basically, Nigeria
exports agricultural products. At the moment, Vietnam is the largest importer
of Nigeria’s raw cashew nuts. Vietnam’s cashew import from Nigeria is about a
$100 million yearly. Nigeria exports agricultural items like cassava with which
Vietnam produces starch and the raw materials.”
SSRIDA-GH calls for total ban on rice importation
Posted Jan 03, 2015 at 6:09pm
The Small Scale Rice Dealers Association of Ghana
(SSRIDA-GH), at the weekend asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure
an outright ban of rice importation.It said the ban on inland rice importation
is not only having negative impact on the traders but also discriminatory and
in favour of the major players in the industry.A statement issued by Yaw
Korang, National Coordinator of SSRIDA-GH said given monopoly of large scale
importation of the commodity to foreigners is unfair, and so if government
finds it untenable for small scale rice dealers to be in business then an
outright ban would be necessary .
“The ban as it stands now is pushing poor Ghanaians out
of business and helping foreign traders to thrive,” the statement.The statement
said the ministry on October 14, 2013 served a notice of ban on inland
importation of rice stating that with effect from November 1, 2013, all imports
of rice shall be done through only the Kotoka International Airport, Tema and
Takoradi Ports.“This directive gave SSRIDA-GH only two weeks ultimatum to fold
up our trading business through the border. As petty traders our capital base
would not allow us to do our business through the air or by the sea. The
directive also came at a time when we had made orders with loans for goods for
the Christmas festivity.“
We humbly wish to state that our business is only a
threat to the monopoly being practiced by foreign rice importers, whose
activities are a threat to the nation`s economy because they do the importation
under the cover of warehousing and sell their products for high prices in
dollar equivalence before paying their revenue and sometimes run-off without
paying.“We do our business in the CFA-FRANC and pay our duty into the
consolidated fund at the borders before we are allowed to bring our goods into
the country to sell.The statement asked Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the sector
Minister to review the ban on inland importation of rice or prohibit the trade
in Ghana.
SOURCE: GNA
No fixes for growing rice in
California drought
By By Richard Keller, editor January 05, 2015 | 8:00 am EST
The
continuing drought in California is really having an impact on rice production
in the state. There are numerous changes in production coming, but not much new
today that rice growers can implement. Changes have taken place over the years,
but a fourth year of an extreme drought is something the state’s rice growers
haven’t previously faced. There is trust in agricultural university
research helping farmers. As noted by some rice growers, following University
of California-Davis recommendations has allowed rice yields continue to
increase year to year.An example of previous research being helpful to rice
growers was recently noted by George Tibbitts, Colusa County farmer, who served
as a graduate student in agronomy working with Jim Hill, who was a Cooperative
Extension specialist at UC Davis at the time. As would be expected, water
management, including the impacts of water depth on a crop and reduction of
herbicide runoff, was the focus of research.
The
mixed clay soil at Tibbitts’ ranch allows for ponding water for rice. Over the
years, the crop rotation has included safflower and sunflowers, which Tibbitts
noted can mine the clay for deeper moisture and nutrients. The land has also
been used for tomato production, and all the crop rotation helps in control of
weeds and diseases.Tibbitts has harvested twice the yield his grandfather once
harvested from the same ground. And even though most people not familiar with
rice production think rice is a heavy water user, it really doesn’t use much
more than most other crops and even less than some, as noted by UC Davis
Department of Plant Science rice specialists.
Water
in California’s rice area is used over and over as it might be described as
cascading through the rice-growing area. UC Davis Extension specialists point
out that one farmer’s tailwater is the next person’s irrigation water. The clay
soil of rice fields is key because water needs to only soak into the top few
inches and not deep.Water has been used to flood rice fields during the winter
to break down the post-harvest straw because burning of straw is not
permissible. Now, with water being so short in supply, water for winter
flooding is a luxury that can be turned off.
UC
Davis scientists have been known for developing rice varieties for growing high
yield from flooded fields, but the scientists are now emphasizing rice
varieties that need less water and produce yield under drought conditions.“But
in this particular area you could probably do more with water management than
you can with breeding,” David Mackill, a rice geneticist and adjunct professor
in the Department of Plant Sciences, was quoted as saying. “In the longer term,
we should be thinking about breeding crops for better sustainability traits.”
Examples
of water management is the potential of alternating wetting and drying fields
different than currently used, but procedures haven’t been fully developed.Another
drought year in 2015 is highly likely to mean even less rice grown in
California than 2014, according to those familiar with the state’s drought and
water allocations. Some farmers might be able to grow lower-water-use crops,
but in many cases it will mean more fallow fields.
Mismanagement of Rice Importation
Quotas
06 Jan 2015
Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina
Crusoe Osagie in this report
looks at the recent abuse of the rice import allocation quotas vis-a-vis the
objectives of the federal government's much heralded agricultural
transformation agenda
The agricultural sector is undoubtedly
the segment of the economy where the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan
can hardly be faulted.Available records showed that the Minister of
Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina has successfully made farming the focal point of
the current federal government with agricultural policies and issues getting
the attention of the president even more than issues in the oil and gas sector.
Not even in the era of the
farmer-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, did farmers in the country enjoy as much
synergy with the administrators of the sector, resulting in an unprecedented
increase in the agricultural productivity of the country.A food commodity such
as rice tells an eloquent story of how well the present administration has
transformed the fortunes of farmers and the nation's agricultural sector in the
last four years.Nigeria has currently attained 80 per cent self-sufficiency in
paddy rice production, adding seven million metric tonnes of paddy rice to the
domestic food supply.
These are not empty statistics
because the companies and investors latching on the massive growth of the
sector are known and the claims can be independently verified.For example, the
newly commissioned integrated rice mill of Olam Nigeria Limited has brought the
company’s total investment in the integrated farm and milling facility to over
N18 billion.Managing Director of Olam, Africa and Middle East, Mr.
Venkataramani Srivathsan, who oversees a 6,000-hectare greenfield farm in
Nasarawa State, said the rice mill would produce additional 36,000 metric
tonnes for the nation’s domestic market.
Srivathsan stated that the
establishment of the rice mill was part of the company’s contribution to the
federal government’s quest for the actual inaction of self-sufficiency in rice
production.Dangote certainly is not an investor who channels resources to
segments of the economy where policies are disorderly. The Africa’s richest
man's commencement of the single largest investment in rice production with an
investment of $1 billion (N175 billion) for commercial rice farming and modern
integrated rice mills speaks volumes of the performance of the agricultural
sector under the present administration.
Spanners in the Works
However, having placed the rice sector on the path to enduring
growth, information filtering out indicate danger ahead for the sector
initially poised to save the country nearly $2 billion annually from the
foundation so far laid by the current leadership.It was recently reported that
Nigeria may be losing not less than N40 billion annually in the rice segment of
the agricultural sector due to the activity of smugglers and individuals
pretending to be investing in the local production and processing of rice.
THISDAY gathered that as a result of the lapses in the
implementation of the backward integration policy for rice in the course
of the year, smugglers have benefitted to the tune of N20 billion.Also, phoney
investors in rice processing have been said to have pocketed N20 billion,
posing as genuine investors and obtaining rice importation quotas which attract
reduced taxes and levies.According to market sources, the federal government
has been hoodwinked into granting waivers indiscriminately under the backward
integration plan, thereby promoting the activities of smugglers, while putting
the rice backward integration policy under threat.
Under the backward integration policy, importation quotas which
attract lower importation levies and taxes are issued out to genuine local rice
processors or investors already putting verifiable investment into the local
processing of the commodity.The policy empowers only these genuine investors in
local production and processing of rice, to imports the difference between what
the country can produces locally and the shortfall that must be covered through
importation.Stakeholders in the rice industry however believe that the alleged
indiscriminate approach of the federal government in granting waivers and
import allocation quotas to investors who have no investments in the industry,
either in form of paddy or milled rice may be stifling the backward integration
programme in the sector.
THISDAY also gathered that many of the investors who got the
import allocation quotas are already trading it to interested stakeholders at
between 60 to 80 per cent levy, having got the same at 20 per cent levy.Specifically,
documents obtained by THISDAY showed that investors who have only submitted
expression of interests in the sector without tangible investments in the
sector, may be enjoying waivers amounting to at least N20 billion under the
exercise.
For instance, allocation of rice import quotas under the new
rice policy by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed
that a move to bridge the supply gap of import-grade rice of 1.5 million metric
tonnes as determined by the federal government was designed to ensure that
existing rice millers and new investors receive a preferential levy of 20 per
cent and duty of 10 per cent while other importers pay higher levy of 60 per
cent and duty of 10 per cent.In a letter from Adesina to the Coordinating
Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on
the allocation of rice import quotas, Adesina noted that the criteria for the
allocation under a methodology, which assigns weight to key criteria of
self-sufficiency in rice production and milling in Nigeria include the
submission and approval of a Domestic Rice Production Plan (DRPP) among others.According
to Adesina, a supply gap of import-grade rice was determined to be 1.5 million
metric tonnes for 2014 while an inter-ministerial committee discussed the
methodology for allocation of the import quotas.
Subsequently, a letter was sent to existing rice millers and new
investors, to submit a DRPP, and based on their submissions; a total of 1.3
million metric tonnes of rice import quotas was issued to 25 qualifying millers
at the preferential levy of 20 percent and duty of 10 per cent. The remainder
0.2 million metric tonnes of rice imports will be at the higher levy of 60 per
cent and duty of 10 per cent for other rice importers”, the letter read in
part.However, documents obtained revealed that the supply gap estimate is
unrealistic when compared to a total of 2.74 million metric tonnes of imported
rice that made its way into the country in 2014 (representing a combination of
rice imported into the country and the smuggled commodity from neighbouring
West African countries).
Similarly, the documents further showed that new investors
without milling capacity or investments in the country received the highest
quota of the allocations to approved rice millers, while millers did not
receive allocations and in some instances, received very low allocation.The
list of beneficiaries of the preferential import quotas, quantities of rice
imports approved and corresponding performance bond to be submitted shows
that of the 28 beneficiaries, only 16 have mills, while the remaining 12 have
no mills and account for higher imports than millers.
With at least $183.6 million enjoyed in bonds, stakeholders have begun to question the sincerity of government under the backward integration plan, considering the fact that investors who have only expressed interests allegedly enjoy higher imports than those who have remained committed to the plan.
More than Just N40 billion
If all the loss to the Nigerian economy on account of this
administrative loophole is the N40 billion that would go into fraudulent
pockets annually, it would be a serious problem but not as serious as the
threat to the goal of rice self-sufficiency, which even pessimists and the
biggest critics of the federal government believe may be achieved latest by
2017.If these saboteurs can be kept at bay, the Nigerian rice industry, which
currently has local annual revenue flow of over $2 billion can be fully
domesticated with all the attendant economic benefits to the country. After the
full domestication, Nigeria may now be able to generate a marketable surplus
which would be channeled towards export. At that level the revenue potential
are almost boundless.
With crude oil prices tumbling and the Naira struggling against
other global currencies, non-oil revenue flow into the country appears to be
the only way out for the threatened Nigerian economy. What the country needs to
do to get out of the present predicament is simple; import less. Even if
exports potentials of the country cannot be significantly increased, if Nigeria
can arrive at the point where it no longer needs to depend on other countries
for essential commodities like rice, petroleum products, sugar, vegetable oil,
fertiliser, among others, it would have made enough effort not only end the
current threats but also to put the nation in a position to make good progress.
Some millers complaining about favouritism
in the rice industry
JANUARY 5, 2015 · BY ·
Dear Editor,
On New Year’s Day I decided to travel to the northern side of
the Essequibo Coast to wish one of my best friends a happy New Year. I ran into
some discontented millers and rice farmers, and was told by the millers that
there is favouritism in the allocation of quotas for rice and paddy for the
Venezuelan market. One miller told me that he did not receive any quotas
because one time he had been outspoken against the government, although he was
a big buyer of farmers’ paddy and was paying promptly for their produce.
He had observed that two major players who had influence had a
vested interest in a particular rice miller’s operations in the northern part
of the coast. This miller, they alleged, had received more quotas than all the
millers in the country for supplying rice and paddy to the Venezuelan market,
and they were wondering if these two persons had shares in this private mill.
According to these discontented millers and farmers, this particular rice
miller had received bail-outs from government while others did not.
Farmers from Wakenaam were encouraged by these two influential
men to sell their paddy to this miller rather than other millers, and this
marginalization they claimed was putting them out of business and soon they
would have to close their operations including their expansion which was done
lately to improve their mills on the assumption of fair quotas and market share
on the international and local market. One miller told me that he has the most
modern operation which can produce extra long grain rice with 80% or more
kernels after milling, with a length of 7.0 mm.
Long grain rice with 80% or more of kernels after milling with a
length of 6.99 mm, medium grain and short grain can compete on the
international and local market, while the favoured miller has an outdated
operation which is producing a lower quality of rice. The farmers said they
have lost confidence in these two people in the rice industry since they have
not been representing their cause for decades and they cannot remember the last
time they were seen picketing the rice millers for outstanding payments due to
farmers.
Rice farmers also claimed that very soon the rice industry will
come crashing down like GuySuCo; what is saving the industry is the fact
farmers are using their own money with prudent management to cultivate their
crops. The Minister continues to boast of a bonanza year for rice and paddy,
but the truth is the economy is slowing down; we are faced with price drops for
key exports like rice, sugar, gold, etc, as well as projected production and
revenue shortfalls due to mismanagement. Our performance in the economic sphere
up to the end of 2014 has not been positive.
Ag
Trends on Social Media
Ag news at your fingertips
ARLINGTON,
VA -- Even though the USA Rice Daily went on hiatus during the holidays,
agricultural news certainly did not, and we used social media as a gauge for
what was hot, and what was not. Ag
stories that gained the most social media traction during December ranged from
favorite rice side dishes to serve during the holidays like Maple Ginger Rice
Pudding to important agricultural industry news updates.
Agricultural research
development also trended high during the month. Breaking news on December 29 about the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's decision to invest $15 million in new research
initiatives, as well as information about scholarships for students majoring in
agriculture were noteworthy social media stories.
The holiday season also saw many posts
encouraging the public to take time to express their gratitude to hard-working
farmers.
Prevalent news stories for the rice industry
included several nutritious rice recipes such as green bean almond rice that
would complement a holiday meal. Other
popular posts featured nutritional facts about rice and the health benefits to
incorporating rice into one's diet.
"The beginning of the new year is
traditionally a time when we all vow to do everything better like eating
healthier, getting more exercise, and saving money. Consequently, our recent social media stories
touted rice's health benefits and economical qualities," said Michael
Klein, USA Rice Federation's vice president of Marketing and Communications.
"For example, a couple of our social media posts talked about the fact
that rice consumption triggers serotonin, the neurotransmitter in the brain
that helps regulate and improve mood, and another reminded folks that rice only
costs around 10 cents for a half cup serving."
Contact:
Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446
U.S.
Wild Rice Retail Demonstrations Drive Sales in
Taming wild rice
ISTANBUL, TURKEY -- The USA Rice Federation teamed up here with the
recently launched U.S. wild rice brand "Dimyat" for a week-long promotion
and celebration of U.S. grown-rice. Two
of Turkey's major retail chains, Carrefour and Macrocenter, participated in the
events with discounted prices for U.S. wild rice, live cooking demonstrations,
and the distribution of information leaflets and recipes as well as branded
consumer bags, which were co-sponsored by the brand and the retailers.
Elif Korkmazel, a famous
Turkish gourmet and TV personality, conducted the live cooking demonstrations
where she invited eight volunteers to join her in preparing healthy salads with
U.S. rice and wild rice mixed together.
The accompanying displays reached thousands of consumers throughout the
stores.
"U.S. wild rice is a relatively new product in the market, so
we wanted to attract a lot of consumer attention, increase awareness, and help
drive sales up," said Jim Guinn, USA Rice vice president of international
promotion. "We focused on the
healthy attributes and different methods of preparation of U.S. wild rice, as
well as its suitability to Turkish cuisine."
Contact: Eszter Somogyi, 011-49-40-4503-8667
CME Group/Closing
Rough Rice Futures
CME Group
(Preliminary): Closing Rough Rice
Futures for January 5
|
Month
|
Price
|
Net Change
|
|
January 2015
|
$11.330
|
+ $0.040
|
|
March 2015
|
$11.585
|
+ $0.040
|
|
May 2015
|
$11.820
|
+ $0.020
|
|
July 2015
|
$12.065
|
+ $0.020
|
|
September 2015
|
$11.575
|
+ $0.030
|
|
November 2015
|
$11.535
|
+ $0.030
|
|
January 2016
|
$11.685
|
+ $0.030
|
Japan Officials Advise Chewing
Slowly After Rice Cake Deaths
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJAN. 5, 2015, 3:24 A.M. E.S.T.
TOKYO — At least nine people have reportedly choked to death on New
Year's rice cakes in Japan, and officials are urging people to chew slowly on
the treats.Sticky rice cakes, or "mochi," are an essential part of
the Japanese New Year's holiday menu. But the glutinous mochi, grilled or
cooked in broth or with sweet beans, can get stuck in people's throats,
blocking breathing.The Yomiuri newspaper reported Friday that at least 128
people were rushed to hospitals after choking on mochi, with nine dying.
The Tokyo Fire Department said Monday that 18 people were taken to
city hospitals during the first three days of the year, and that three males
died.The department advised people to cut mochi in small pieces, chew slowly
and learn first aid.In addition to the Tokyo deaths, three people died in Chiba
prefecture, while one each died in Osaka, Aomori and Nagasaki prefectures, the
Yomiuri reported. In the Nagasaki case, an 80-year-old-man choked on a mochi
that was in sweet bean soup served for free at a Shinto shrine.Japanese
customarily visit shrines and temples to welcome the new year, and mochi, sake
and other treats are sold or given out.
Madhya Pradesh battles to get
its share in basmati pie
A
Subramani,TNN | Jan 5, 2015, 08.54 PM IST
The legal battle to recognize Madhya Pradesh
as a basmati rice cultivating area and enable the state to be a stakeholder in
the geographical indication tag continues.RELATED CHENNAI: The legal battle to recognize Madhya Pradesh as
a basmati rice cultivating area and enable the state to be a stakeholder in the
geographical indication tag continues, as a Bhopal-based NGO approached the
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) here to be included as a party in
the ongoing tussle.
Geographical indication (GI) is a name or
sign used for products unique to a special geographical location including a
town or a region. A GI tag helps the product, which is special and inimitable
to a particular territory, exploit its uniqueness for commercial purposes with
responsibility to maintain its exclusive characteristics. The GI tag was
conferred on basmati rice on an application filed in 2009 by the Agriculture
and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, reserving it for
certain grain varieties grown in the Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Finding the name of the state missing, the
Madhya Pradesh government then filed an objection petition before the GI
Registry. On December 31, 2013, the registry asked the applying agency to
submit a fresh application clearly indicating the geographical area of
production. "The area has to be defined with clarity and without
ambiguity," it said, adding that the Authority's application remained
imperfect. "Not a micron point space, actual cultivation area should be
left uncovered," the registry ruled, according to IPR attorney P Sanjay
Gandhi. Assailing the registry's order, the Agriculture and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority moved the IPAB for restoration of GI tag
for the area submitted by it. Now, the Bhopal-based New Darpan Social Welfare
Society has filed an implead application, seeking to be included as a party to
the proceedings.
Its counsel Sanjay Gandhi told TOI that as of
2009, Madhya Pradesh cultivated more than 45.12 lakh quintals of basmati rice,
of which approximately 45 lakh quintal was being exported. The implead
application of New Darpan Social Welfare Society said the state had been
growing basmati for several decades both by traditional and new techniques such
as Madagascar technique which helped increase the area and quantum of basmati
cultivation in Madhya Pradesh. Noting that non-inclusion of Madhya Pradesh
under the basmati rice cultivating area would have caused a great harm to the
livelihood of many farmers in that state, the application said the order of the
GI Registry withdrawing the earlier GI tag given to other states, excluding
Madhya Pradesh, had come has a huge relief to the entire farmer community in
that state. On Monday, an IPAB bench comprising its chairperson Justice K N
Basha and technical member Sanjeev Kumar Chaswaal issued notices to various
authorities and asked them to file their responses by February 25.
The Time of
India
Center pivot rice could expand
market options for Delta growers
Dec 30, 2014 | Delta Farm Press
The idea of growing rice under a
center pivot has been around for a while. Most farmers continue to use flood
irrigation because it works on their soils. But what if they have soils that
won’t hold a flood, and they feel the market is telling them to grow rice?
USDA-ARS’s Earl Vories talked about the option in an interview at the Delta
States Irrigation Conference in Miner, Mo.
Listen Audio:http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/center-pivot-rice-could-expand-market-options-delta-growers
Source with http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/center-pivot-rice-could-expand-market-options-delta-growers
China renews safety certificates
for local GMO rice
Mon Jan 5, 2015 10:52am GMT
BEIJING Jan 5 (Reuters) - China, the world's top rice producer and
consumer, has renewed biosafety certificates for its own genetically-modified
(GMO) rice, but large-scale production may be years away.The agriculture
ministry has extended approval of two varieties of pest-resistant rice for
another 5 years after the certificates, which were first granted in 2009,
expired last year, according to an official website (www.agrogene.cn).
Beijing has been reluctant to allow commercialisation
of GMO rice because of public concerns over health risks, although the
government still encourages research in the sector.Agriculture minister Han
Changfu said in March last year that commercialisation of staple foods would proceed
with caution and in the first stage only GMO cotton and then feed grain would
be planted.
China, the world's top buyer of GMO soybean, is amending its
food-safety law to enforce labelling of GMO food amid rising public concern
over food safety.Beijing last month granted approval for imports of a type of
genetically-modified corn developed by Syngenta AG developed GMO corn as well
as two strains of GMO soybean. (Reporting by Niu Shuping and David Stanway;
Editing by Tom Hogue)
2015 Rice Outlook: Lower Prices and Acres
Likely
January 5, 2015 12:00 PM
Although surpluses of key rice
varieties in Asia will put a cap on near-term prices to U.S. producers,
dwindling global stocks might create upside potential in 2015, experts say.“Much
of the world market is controlled, or at least strongly influenced, by Thailand
and Vietnam,” explains Johnny Saichuk, rice specialist, LSU AgCenter. “As long
as there is a surplus of rice from those countries, prices will remain
depressed. While medium-grain markets may hold firm, it is likely that
long-grain markets will remain soft, causing a decline in acreage in the (U.S.)
South.
”Yet once Thai stocks drop to
more reasonable levels, long-grain prices could escalate as global reserves of
rice, corn and wheat approach the 70-day consumable level, adds Ted Wilson,
director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center.“We have not seen global grain
stocks reach this low level since the early 1980s,” Wilson says.Long-grain
prices for 2014/15 are forecast at $12.57 for 2014/15, climbing to $13.13 by
2018/19, according to the Food and
Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. Meanwhile,
medium- and short-grain rice are forecast at $15.49 for 2014/15, falling to
$14.21 in 2015/16 before climbing to $14.65 in 2018/19.
Weather proved to be a key sticking point in 2014, both in the
U.S. and abroad. In Texas, second-crop (ratoon) acreage is expected to be down
because of early season rains that delayed planting and later rains that
delayed harvest, Wilson points out. Meanwhile in Thailand, officials began encouraging producers to explore crops that require
less water amid
unseasonably dry conditions, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations reports.Acreage Expectations. In the major rice state of
Louisiana, experts predict an acreage decline in 2015. Producers in the state
grew a little more than 455,000 acres in 2014, up 405,000, in the previous
year, Saichuk says.
“There was a significant increase
in medium-grain production in anticipation of the shortage of California
medium-grain resulting from the water shortage there,” Saichuk explains. “In
the Deep South, yields were at record levels in 2013 of 7,514 lb. per acre; in
2014, yields declined slightly to an estimated 7,300 lb. per acre. Looking
ahead, Saichuk thinks shrinking water supplies could further limit rice
acreage, which already has been trimmed back in California and Texas.
Bulog
expects no rice imports this year
Tama Salim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business |
Mon, January 05 2015, 9:16 AM
Business
News
The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) is optimistic that the
government will not have to import rice to meet domestic demand in 2015 because
of expected abundant production this year.Bulog acting president director Budi
Purwanto said that the decision to import or not was largely dependent upon
three factors: good production levels, reasonable prices and sufficient
stockpiles.President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, which aims for
self-sufficiency in key crops over the next three years, has predicted that
domestic farms will be able to produce 73.4 million tons of unhusked rice this
year, 2.8 percent more than last year.
“With that much rice, our stockpiles will be secure and prices
will remain stable, removing the need to import,” Budi said during a seminar in
South Jakarta on Monday.If the farmers were able to achieve this target, Budi
continued, Bulog would be able to purchase 3.2 million tons of rice for
stockpiling. He ensured listeners
that 2 million tons of rice reserves would be sufficient to maintain price
competitiveness in the market.The government has always attempted to keep the
price of rice stable. Rice is a key contributor to inflation. Historically,
instability in the price of rice has led to political instability.
Bulog currently stocks around 1.7 to 1.8 million tons of rice,
“just enough” to last seven months. With the future purchase target, Budi said
that his agency would be stocking a surplus of 400,000 tons.“By acquiring 3.2
million tons, we’d have enough rice stocks even if the government continued the
rice for the poor [Raskin] program for another 12 months,” said Budi, adding
that the Raskin program would consume 2.8 million tons on its own.Budi said that the firm
secured around 2.77 million tons of rice this year, or 85 percent of its
target. To compensate for this
shortfall, Bulog has imported 425,000 tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam
over the course of the year.
Bulog is supposed to carry out special market operations to
control fluctuating prices, distributing the government’s rice reserves to the
market as need be.Former deputy trade minister Bayu Krisnamurthi said that rice
was unlikely to become scarce next year, with local farmers skilled enough to
anticipate bad weather. “Indonesian
farmers have become more experienced in anticipating climate change. They’ll
know when it is the most appropriate time to start planting, whether in January
or February,” Bayu told reporters.Bayu pointed out, however, that the
government should work hard and in a timely manner to increase the production
of rice next year, given that the planting season had shifted. “Otherwise there
won’t be much change in the production levels, ultimately leading to price
fluctuations — even if rice isn’t scarce,” he added.
Bayu, who also chairs the Association of Agriculture Experts
(Perhepi), urged the government to double the annual production growth of rice
to 4 percent if it wanted to achieve self-sufficiency within three years. He said that output growth had
remained stagnant at around 2 percent for the last 20 years.According to
Perhepi, production in 2014 was 70 million tons of unhusked rice, which is
equivalent to 39 million tons of rice, whereas national demand currently stands
above 40 million tons.
Vietnam to ship 7-7.5m tonnes rice to China, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, Philippines in 2015
Vietnam to ship 7-7.5m tonnes rice to China, India, Thailand,
Malaysia, Philippines in 2015
NEW
YORK: Vietnam is aiming to export 7 million to 7.5 million tonnes of rice this
year. The major regions where the rice will be exported are China and Southeast
Asian countries.
The sales may include 2.4 million tonnes to China, the top buyer of Vietnam’s rice, while 1.5 million to 2.0 million tonnes could go to the Philippines.
Officials at the industry association, which oversees the country’s rice exports, could not be reached for comment.
The sales may include 2.4 million tonnes to China, the top buyer of Vietnam’s rice, while 1.5 million to 2.0 million tonnes could go to the Philippines.
Officials at the industry association, which oversees the country’s rice exports, could not be reached for comment.
Vietnam was the world’s third-largest rice exporter after Thailand and India in 2014.
Indonesia
could buy between 1.1 million and 1.5 million tonnes from Vietnam in 2015,
while sales to Malaysia could total between 500,000 and 1.1 million tonnes, the
report said.
It said Vietnam, which faced rising competition from Thailand in 2014, exported 6.5 million tonnes via official channels plus 1 million tonnes to China across the land border, which was not included in the government statistics.Traders have estimated the rice sold to China through land borders last year at nearly 2 million tonnes.The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forecast that Thailand would regain the rank of largest rice exporter in 2014 with sales of 10.2 million tonnes, followed by India on 10 million tonnes.
It said Vietnam, which faced rising competition from Thailand in 2014, exported 6.5 million tonnes via official channels plus 1 million tonnes to China across the land border, which was not included in the government statistics.Traders have estimated the rice sold to China through land borders last year at nearly 2 million tonnes.The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forecast that Thailand would regain the rank of largest rice exporter in 2014 with sales of 10.2 million tonnes, followed by India on 10 million tonnes.
Government's rice procurement
lags at 15.14 mt in ongoing marketing year
By
PTI | 5 Jan, 2015, 03.14PM IST
Rice procurement in Punjab and
Haryana has almost completed while the buying in other states is going on, said
a senior FCI official.
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NEW DELHI: Rice procurement by
government agencies continues to lag at 15.14 million tonnes (mt) in the
marketing year 2014-15 so far compared with 16 mt in the year-ago period.The
Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies undertake procurement of
rice and wheat to ensure that farmers get a minimum support price ( MSP).Rice
marketing year runs from October to September and the annual procurement target
for this year is 30 mt."Rice procurement in Punjab an Haryana has almost
completed. The buying in other states like Telangana is going on," a
senior FCI official told PTI.
In Punjab, rice procurement so far this year has been
7.78 mt, as against 8.10 mt in the year-ago period, while in Haryana, it
reached 1.99 mt as against 2.4 mt in the review period.Rice purchase touched
1.24 mt in Telangana and 4,83,000 tonnes in Andhra Pradesh so far this year, as
compared with 1.49 mt of rice procurement in undivided Andhra Pradesh in the
same period last year.Last year, kharif rice procurement was 26.6 mt as against
the target of 32.06 mt.
Source with thanks:The Economic times India
Palay prices dropping but still high for NFA
Ronnel W.
Domingo
Philippine Daily
Inquirer
12:08 AM |
Monday, January 5th, 2015
of palay continued a
months-long slide to settle at P19.16 per kilo as of the second week of
December, but the amount is still out of reach of government buyers.According
to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the average price of paddy rice
has fallen by almost P3 per kilo since peaking at P21.87 in June for the
nonfancy varieties.The National Food Authority (NFA), which is mandated to
ensure stable supplies and prices of the staple, buys at a basic rate of only
P17 per kilo.Fees such as those for delivery and drying are factored in, the
NFA’s effective buying rate is P17.70 a kilo—still far below the prevailing
farmgate price.This has prompted farmers to sell their produce mostly to
private traders, resulting in a dramatic drop of the NFA’s procurement volumes
this year.
According to the latest Rice Market Monitor report of the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the NFA managed to buy only 8,000 tons of
palay in the first nine months of 2014.Based on FAO data, the said volume was
only 3 percent of the 286,000 tons of palay that the NFA bought from farmers in
January-September 2013. In that year, the average price of palay was P16.93 a
kilo.According to the FAO, the Philippines is expected to again import 1.8
million tons of milled rice this year amid projections that growth in domestic
production will be insignificant if not nil.This would mean the Philippines—
particularly the NFA—will have to depend again on large volumes of imports in
order to meet consumer demand and maintain stockpiles, the FAO added.
Official: No rice imports by Iran any longer
4 JANUARY 2015, 00:10 (GMT+04:00)
A senior Agricultural Jihad
Ministry official said that Iran is no longer in need of any rice imports, IRNA reported.Speaking in a gathering to
pay tribute to eight exemplary farmers in this Caspian Sea city on Saturday,
Deputy Agriculture Jihad Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Khalil Khodaie said
that import of rice has been totally stopped since the beginning of the current
Iranian year (started March 21, 2014).He noted that several agricultural items
used to be imported in the past two years even by such provinces as Mazandaran
which is a rice producer but the import has stopped.
This certainly harmed farmers and rice cultivators across the
country, he stressed, adding that not even one single kilogram of rice has
found its way into the country this year.The policy to increase rice import
tariffs by even 40 percent is practically the first step towards supporting production
trends inside the country, the official noted.Khodaie reiterated that the
general policy of the Iranian government is to provide a high standard of
living, good income and better social prosperity for farmers.
Rice importation should
be banned – Dealers
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The
Small Scale Rice Dealers Association of Ghana (SSRIDA-GH), at the weekend asked
the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure an outright ban of rice
importation.It said the ban on inland rice importation is not only having
negative impact on the traders but also discriminatory and in favour of the
major players in the industry.A statement issued by Yaw Korang, National
Coordinator of SSRIDA-GH said given monopoly of large scale importation of the
commodity to foreigners is unfair, and so if government finds it untenable for
small scale rice dealers to be in business then an outright ban would be
necessary .“The ban as it stands now is pushing poor Ghanaians out of business
and helping foreign traders to thrive,” the statement.
The
statement said the ministry on October 14, 2013 served a notice of ban on
inland importation of rice stating that with effect from November 1, 2013, all
imports of rice shall be done through only the Kotoka International Airport,
Tema and Takoradi Ports.“This directive gave SSRIDA-GH only two weeks ultimatum
to fold up our trading business through the border. As petty traders our
capital base would not allow us to do our business through the air or by the
sea. The directive also came at a time when we had made orders with loans for
goods for the Christmas festivity.
“We
humbly wish to state that our business is only a threat to the monopoly being
practiced by foreign rice importers, whose activities are a threat to the
nation`s economy because they do the importation under the cover of warehousing
and sell their products for high prices in dollar equivalence before paying
their revenue and sometimes run-off without paying.“We do our business in the
CFA-FRANC and pay our duty into the consolidated fund at the borders before we are allowed to
bring our goods into the country to sell.The statement asked Dr Ekwow
Spio-Garbrah, the sector Minister to review the ban on inland importation of
rice or prohibit the trade in Ghana.
GNA
Nigeria’s yearly rice imports from Vietnam hit N84 billion
THE Federal Government’s yearly rice import bill from Vietnam
has hit about $500 million (N84 billion) according to the Nigerian-Vietnam
Chambers of Commerce and Industry.Besides, Vietnam also spends about $100
million to import agricultural products such as raw cashew nuts, cassava and
oil palm from Nigeria.Indeed, Nigeria spends about N365 million yearly on the
importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of milled rice from different
countries, such as India, Thailand and Vietnam.President of the chamber, Prince
Oye Akinsemoyin, who made this disclosure in an interview with The Guardian
recently, said Nigeria’s imports cover a wide range of commodities, including
those of Vietnam’s strengths such as rice.
He listed Vietnam’s major exports to Nigeria to include rubber,
electric and electronic products, footwear, plastics, handicraft and fine art
articles and construction materials, while the country imports from Nigeria raw
cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and minerals.Akinsemoyin stated: “Basically,
Nigeria exports Agricultural products. At the moment, Vietnam is the largest
importer of Nigeria’s raw cashew nuts. Vietnam’s cashew import from Nigeria is
about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports agricultural items like Cassava
with which Vietnam produces starch and the raw materialsVietnam imports sea
foods from Nigeria, like shrimps, fish; also oil palm, which is processed to
palm oil, which goes into local production of creams and cosmetics Vietnam
imports food items like coconut and also beans and fruits from Nigeria.
Vietnam exports rice to Nigeria; Vietnam is one of Nigeria’s
trading partners in rice exportation. Vietnam’s rice export to Nigeria will be
about $500 million per annum. Vietnam exports garments, fabrics to Nigeria as
well as shoes and fashion accessories. Many of the cosmetics companies in
Vietnam are looking for distributors in Nigeria.Vietnam exports furniture,
artifacts and art work for interior décor”.He disclosed that many companies
from Vietnam are willing to invest in Nigeria.According to him, “the chamber is
now looking at setting up institutions that will further foster the
relationship between Nigeria and Vietnam; we are encouraging investors from
Vietnam to make in road to Nigeria economy, companies like Viettel is willing
to invest $7 billion into the Nigerian Telecommunication sector.
Arrangement is already going on to avail them the opportunity to
bid for the relevant spectrum to be able to operate as one of the telecom
operators in the country.“PetroVina is also interested in investing in the
Exploration and Production (E&P) sub-sector of the country’s Oil and Gas
sector, PetroVina is interested in the upstream and the midstream sectors. We
are trying to attract investments that will be able to provide employment for
Nigerians. The kind of investors that will be able to have multiplier effects
on the Nigerian economy”.
Source: Nigerian Guardian
USA Rice Federation
Good
news for all those who live in Japan and suffer from pollen allergies!
Scientists have genetically modified rice in an attempt to desensitize the body
to that nasty Japanese cedar pollen that causes all of the sneezing, mask-wearing
and eye-watering every spring.Just think, eating some of this special rice
everyday could relieve you from all of your hay fever woes! While surgical
masks are used year-round in Japan, there is a significant increase in
masked-citizens every year from February to April when the Japanese cedar trees
are scattering their pollen throughout the country. It’s believed that about
one-third of Japanese citizens experience allergic reactions to the pollen,
giving the government cause to deem it a national problem.
▼ There are all kinds of tools to help alleviate symptoms, but
researchers are trying to stop the allergy all together.
Scientists at
Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo have singled-out the agent in the
pollen that causes our immune systems to attack the normally harmless
substance. The idea is that if you start intaking the agent a little bit at a
time, your body will stop seeing it as the enemy and thus, not react, even when
exposed to the substance in higher quantities. It’s a technique called allergy
immunotherapy. Usually this desensitization process is done through shots or
pills (or by eating lots of strawberries), but because so much of the Japanese
population is effected by hay fever and everyone eats rice, scientists thought
of a more user-friendly method of medicating: modifying rice to include small
amounts of the allergen.
▼ Scientists
take a gene from the pollen and implant it in rice.
After eating a lot of rice, your body won’t react to pollen
anymore!
NIAS
The gene recombination center of the Satake Corporation, which
handles agriculture products such as rice and grains, is calling the modified
rice “Allergy Relief Rice.” The rice was tested in early 2014 in a small study
of 30 people. Those who ate the rice every day showed only a slight increase in
immune response or symptoms in the spring, even when the pollen was in full
bloom. The control group, however, saw as much as four times more immune cells
in their blood during allergy season and also experienced the usual symptoms
associated with hay fever.
Researchers at the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences
(NIAS) are doing further research to make the “Allergy Relief Rice” even more
effective. They are also concerned with keeping the regular rice and modified
rice separate, as there are strict rules and regulations about rice, but that’s
a story for another day.
▼ Allergy prevention never looked so delicious.
Pixabay (MikuraTV)
Of course,
there is still a lot of research to be done, but we could be looking at a
hay-fever-free society in the coming years. And to think that it could all be
done just by eating rice every day, something most Japanese people are happy to
do anyway!
Source: Asahi Shimbun
Top Image: Shikoku Research Center
Source with thanks:http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/01/05/gy-altered-rice-could-solve-japans-pollen-problem/
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