Cuba: First Steps Toward Market Access
A hot commodity in Havana
WASHINGTON, DC
-- Following President Obama's announcement last month that the U.S. would
begin to re-engage in trade, travel, and diplomatic relations with Cuba,U.S.
policy changes that alter previous travel and trade regulations were announced
by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday and
published today in the Federal Register.
These changes go into effect immediately. On the trade front, OFAC announced
that the interpretation of "cash in advance" would revert to the
pre-2005 definition, meaning "cash before transfer of title or control.
" This new
interpretation is an important, positive move, and has long been advocated by
the USA Rice Federation. Another new and
positive regulatory change will allow U.S. financial institutions to open
accounts at Cuban banks to facilitate transactions. "Up until now, U.S.
government restrictions have limited the ability of the U.S. industry to
compete in Cuba," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "Foreign competitors, have stepped in
since they can provide credit and face none of the barriers to trade that we
have had imposed on us.
" Tourist travel with Cuba remains prohibited, but new travel
policies include expanded categories under which U.S. citizens can travel to
Cuba and have eliminated the need to obtain a license from OFAC prior to
travel. For instance, professional
research and meetings travel now falls under a general license. U.S. citizens
may also use their debit or credit cards in Cuba, and airlines may operate
flights to and from Cuba."USA Rice has been advocating for open trade and
travel with Cuba since the mid-1990's and we were the first U.S. ommodity back
in Cuba in 1999," said Ward.
"Our commitment to the
market and the Cuban people is genuine. We understand these are the first steps
in the process but we're ready to engage with Congress both independently and
through the U.S. Agriculture for Cuba Coalition (USACC) to advocate for complete
normalization of trade with Cuba."
Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
New rice trials in Mackay to give cane growers more options
David Sparkes
Updated Thu 15 Jan 2015, 5:30pm
A trial has begun near Mackay to
see if a new variety of rice can be successfully grown in the region.
If successful, it will give the
Mackay region's cane growers a reliable crop to use on fallow ground, bringing
in extra income and boosting the health of the land.Media player:
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Agricultural consultancy,
Farmacist, was busy planting the rice seed over 11 hectares on a cane property
in Walkerston on Thursday.The team were planting about 1.3 tonnes of doongarra
seed, a variety that grows on dry land, rather than in submerged paddy fields
like conventional rice.
The variety has been successfully
trialled on a large scale further north in the Burdekin, where the climate is
drier.However, it has never been tried on a large scale in the Mackay region,
where there is more rain and humidity.Farmacist consultant, Tony Crowley, said
small trials had been successful in the Mackay region, but those could not give
an understanding of the problems or economics of growing a larger crop.He said
he is confident the trial will show doongarra rice is suitable for the Mackay
region and the trial will provide much needed knowledge on the best way to
manage the crop.
"(Walkerston cane grower) Andrew Barfield has been working
with this seed for nearly twelve years now, trying all different varieties, and
he has finally got a variety that should grow in the wet tropics in
Mackay," Mr Crowley said."It is an aerobic variety, which means it
doesn't need to grow in a rice paddy field, it grows above the
ground."(It's new) in Mackay to grow rice not in a paddy field, but to
grow it aerobically."We want to get a yield return out of the paddock,
watch all our costs, see what we do. We've completed all the soil tests,
nutrient tests and all those sort of tests and we will analyse the ground and
see what happens with the crop."
Vietnam’s reliance on imports in
agriculture leaves less profit for farmers
15.01.2015
Vietnam had a bumper 2014 with
bountiful crops and high farm produce export prices, but farmers believe there
is nothing to be happy about.Analysts noted that though the production value
and export turnover were high, the money farmers could pocket was modest. The
problem lies in the fact that Vietnam had to import many kinds of raw
materials.A report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
showed that the total farm, forestry and seafood produce import turnover in the
first 11 months of 2014 reached $19.78 billion, of which the majority were
agricultural materials.
Vietnam had to spend $690 million
on pesticides and input material imports during that period and $774 million in
2014, an increase of 3.5 percent over 2013.Vietnam vows to develop the animal
husbandry, but in order to do that, it has to import most of the animal feed
products needed. The import turnover reached $3.24 billion in 2014, higher by
5.2 percent over 2013 and higher than the money Vietnam earned from rice
exports.Vietnam cannot produce plant seeds. MARD reported that Vietnam had to
spend $500 million to import 8,000 tons of seeds for the country’s 700,000
hectares of vegetable area in 2013.Dr. Le Hung Quoc, former head of the MARD’s
Plantation Agency, said these facts are not surprising.
He said that all the input
materials used in agricultural production in Vietnam are imports (except
farmers and land).“The best varieties used in Vietnam are imports,” he said.
“Vietnam even cannot make cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, carrot, cucumber,
tomato seeds, the popular kinds of vegetables.”How much does Vietnam earn from
farm exports?
Though Vietnam is the world’s biggest rice exporter, the money it can pocket form rice exports is small.The Vietnam’s rice export price hovers around $400-450 per ton, which is lower by $50-75 per ton if compared with the products of the same kinds from India, Pakistan and Thailand.
Though Vietnam is the world’s biggest rice exporter, the money it can pocket form rice exports is small.The Vietnam’s rice export price hovers around $400-450 per ton, which is lower by $50-75 per ton if compared with the products of the same kinds from India, Pakistan and Thailand.
While government agencies report
great achievements in the agriculture sector at workshops and conferences,
Vietnamese farmers have quietly given up their rice fields.According to MARD,
42,785 households gave up farming in 2012-2013, leaving 6,882 hectares idle. As
many as 3,407 households gave back agricultural land to the state.The Chair of
the Vietnam Farmers’ Association, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, said farmers can make a
profit of only VND100,000-200,000 per 360 square meters from every crop within
a three month period.
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/vietnam2019s-reliance-on-imports-in-agriculture-leaves-less-profit-for-farmers
Punjab planning to conduct analysis
of soils, water to develop agriculture
January 17,
2015
Our Staff
Reporter
LAHORE - Punjab
Government is planning to conduct chemical analysis of soils consisting of 21
million acres and water analysis of one million tube wells to promote balanced
use of fertilizers and reduce production costs. This was stated by Rashid
Mehmood Secretary Agriculture Punjab while presiding a meeting of Agricultural
Scientists held at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute to review the
agricultural research activities of Rice Research Institute Kala Shah Kaku.
The secretary
agriculture asked the agricultural scientists to develop new hybrid rice
varieties to increase rice export. Dr. Abid Mehmood Directore General
Agricultural Research Punjab, Professor Dr. Iqrar Ahmad khan, Vice Chancellor
University of Faisalabad, Agricultural Scientists, extension workers and
farmers attended the meeting. Secretary Agriculture stated that new crop
varieties developed by agriculture scientists possess high yield potential but
our average per acre yield is very low. Dr. Abid Mehmood informed the meeting
that Pakistan is the 4th largest country in rice production and that the
scientists of Rice Research Institute Kala Shah Kaku have developed 24 new rice
varieties.
Prof Dr. Iqrar
Ahmad informed that in order to increase rice production 80000 plants per acre
are required whereas the farmers plant 50 to 60 thousand plants per acre. Dr
Muhammad Akhtar Director Rice Research Institute Kala Shah Kaku briefed the
meeting that last year rice was cultivated on 4.5 million acres and 3.54
million tons production was obtained.
Also published in Business Recorder Pakistan
Arsenic In Your Rice?
Consumer Reports Issues Guidelines
Why children should eat less rice products, according to Consumer
Reports
By Consumer Reports
It's very possible that there are levels are arsenic in
the food you eat every day; much of it found in rice and other grains. In fact,
some is eaten by children. While some is unavoidable, there are new guidelines
limiting how much rice you and your children should eat. NBC 7's Consumer Bob
has the options you might want to consider. (Published Thursday, Jan 15, 2015)
Thursday, Jan 15, 2015 • Updated at 7:57 PM PST
Consumer Reports has issued new
guidelines on how much rice you and your children should eat.The ratings
magazine analyzed Food and Drug Administration data on more than 600 foods that
contain rice and found some with worrisome levels of inorganic arsenic, which
is linked to several types of cancer.The Food and Drug Administration
recommends parents consider other options rather than rice cereal for their
children’s first solid food.
Consumer Reports’ analysis found
that hot rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more arsenic than its lab saw
in previous tests.So Consumer Reports now recommends that children rarely eat
these foods, which means not more than twice a month. And the group recommends
children under five limit rice drinks, rice cakes and ready-to-eat rice
cereals. Levels of arsenic vary.The reviewers based their recommendations on
the higher levels in each food group to offer consumers the best protection. As
for rice itself, lab tests in 2012 found high levels of inorganic arsenic in
white rice and even higher levels in brown rice.
Consumer Reports has tested other
types of rice and other grains and has found several alternatives with much
lower levels of inorganic arsenic. Some good choices — 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.And brown basmati rice
from California, India and Pakistan has about one third less inorganic arsenic
than other brown rice. Other good options — bulgur, barley and faro, as well as
gluten-free grains like amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.In response to
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."
Cuban trade holds many
benefits for Louisiana
(Photo: By Jessica Goff)
Louisiana is ready to regain a major industry it lost 50 years
ago when the United States placed an embargo on Cuba."Prior to the
embargo, Cuba was the largest importer of Louisiana rice," said Kevin M.
Berken, chairman of Louisiana Rice Promotion Board, Friday inside the Petroleum
Club. "So it is critically important for us to be able open trade with
other countries, Cuba being the main focus. It has been a focus for the last 20
or 30 years."
Berken was one of four panelists
Friday who spoke during a conference addressing the recent U.S. decision to
lift portions of the longstanding embargo. The conference was hosted by Le
Centre International de Lafayette."We are not going to talk about
politics. We are going to talk about who's against and who's for," said Philippe
Gustin, international trade manager for the center, before introducing
speakers.
"We are going to talk about
how Louisiana and Cuban people can work together to conduct business and
conduct cultural exchange and visit each other."Other panelists included
Gary P. LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans; Charles
Larroque, executive director of Council for the Development of French in
Louisiana; and Larry Sides, president of SIDES & Associates.The conference
came the day after the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Commerce announced
President Barack Obama's amendments to existing Cuban sanctions, Gustin said.
These changes will immediately
enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban
population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy, and help
facilitate our growing relationship with the Cuban people," the White
House said in its press release Thursday.As of now, Mexico is the largest
importer of U.S. rice with 800,000 metric tons a year, Berken said. But the
rice industry wants to re-establish its relationship with the Caribbean country
that once demanded the domestically grown crop."Cuba is the second largest
importer of rice in the Americas.
They have the highest per capita consumption
of rice, which is about 200 pounds," he said. Cuba grows about 400,000
metric tons of its own rice, but imports 600,000 metric tons, or $300 million
worth, Berken said.As of now, its biggest supplier is Vietnam."When we
were sending rice there in the early 2000s, there were lines formed around the
block and people would wait for hours trying to get our rice," Berken
said. "The Cuban people like the rice we grow here."Although the
embargo was never lifted, tension between the U.S. and Cuba eased a bit during
the Clinton administration, Sides said.Sides has traveled to Cuba 24 times in
the last 15 year on the religious license.
He said he does not get involved in any
political aspect of the country. He merely goes for mission trips and for
leisure, he said."I'm simply fascinated with the country," Sides said
Friday. The only way the U.S. will fully be able to establish a diplomatic
relationship with the country, and that includes tourism, is for the U.S. to
completely lift the embargo, he said.LaGrange agrees."Eventually, the
embargo will be lifted," Lagrange said, "and there isn't a thing in
the world that Cuba doesn't need.
"The country is only 700
miles from Louisiana's coast, making it prime for convenient trade especially
from the Port of New Orleans, LaGrange said.There's talk of a Cuban consulate
being built in the U.S. and New Orleans may be vying against Tampa, Florida, as
a host city, he said.Culturally, Cuba's Creole heritage could be well connected
to Acadiana, Larroque said."Louisiana should be next in line," he said.
"We need a consulate in New Orleans."I believe we have a wonderful
opportunity to resist the economic dark clouds that are on the horizon by again
adding the value to the true Louisiana brand, which is Creole," he said.
"It's Cajun; it's Creole — it's old colonial Creole and maybe a new
element to the mix is Cuban Creole."
Look 'Inside the Embargo'
Larry Sides has made 24
humanitarian trips to Cuba over the past 14 years, using his camera to document
life inside the embargo. At 5:30 p.m. Jan. 22, Sides will present "Inside
the Embargo," a look at life in Cuba at The Daily Advertiser Community
Room, 1100 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette.
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice
Futures
CME Group (Prelim): Closing
Rough Rice Futures for January 16
|
Rice exports lag
behind expectations
Vietnam exported 6,316 million ton
of rice worth US$2,789 billion last year. The export volume lags behind the
intended number of 7 million tons and becomes the lowest for the last four
years, reported the Vietnam Food Association.The rice export last year
reduced 300,000 tons in volume and US$100 million in value over 2013.Meantime
Thailand exported 9.49 million tons equivalent to US$4.69 billion in the first
11 months of 2014, an increase of 60 percent in volume and 18 percent in value
over the same period in the previous year.Rice prices remain low in the Mekong
Delta ranging from VND6,700-7,000 a kilogram.
Image: Rice harvest in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu
(Photo: SGGP)
http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Rice-exports-lag-behind-expectations/5/518356.epi
Rice inventory good for 89 days – PSA
MANILA, Philippines - Domestic rice
stock inventory remains sufficient for 89 days as of December, the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.The total rice stock inventory as of
December was 3.03 million metric tons (MT), up 2.7 percent from the previous
month’s inventory of 2.95 million MT. Year-on-year, this was higher than the
inventory of 2.49 million MT.Month-on-month, the volume of rice stocks in
commercial warehouses rose 8.3 percent. Stocks in NFA depositories – 96.5
percent of which was imported rice – rose 12.7 percent. Rice stock levels in
households decreased by 3.2 percent.
Year-on-year, rice stock levels in
all sectors rose. Stocks held in households and in commercial warehouses
increased nine percent and 29.5 percent respectively. Rice stocks in NFA
depositories also increased by 62 percent.Stocks held in households would be
sufficient for 46 days, those in commercial warehouses would be enough for 29
days, while those held in depositories of the National Food Authority (NFA)
would cover 14 days.Around 51.7 percent of the total rice stock inventory in
December were with households, 32.3 percent were held in commercial warehouses
and 16 percent are in NFA depositories.
Business ( Article MRec
), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Domestic corn stock inventory in
December, meanwhile, fell 9.8 percent to 216,000 MT from 239, 500 MT in the
previous month. Year-on-year, however, this was higher by 14.1 percent than the
inventory of 189, 400 thousand in the same period in 2013.Around 56.6 percent
of the December corn stock inventory were with commercial warehouses, 42.6
percent were with households and 0.8 percent were held in NFA depositories.
Month-on-month, corn stock levels
in all sectors fell. Stocks in households fell by 15.5 percent, stocks in
commercial warehouses 5.1 percent, and in NFA depositories, by 6.9
percent.Year-on-year, stock levels in households and in commercial warehouses
were up 12.3 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively. Stocks in NFA depositories
fell 84.1 percent.
Rice exports of Vietnam
declines 3.2% to 6.38 million tonnes
HANOI: The rice exports of
Vietnam dropped 3.2 percent last year to 6.38 million tonnes, Vietnam Customs
said. On the other hand, the estimate of government is 6.41 million tonnes .The
grain exports have generated $2.95 billion in 2014, up 1.1 percent from the
previous year, the customs department, run by the Finance Ministry, said in its
monthly report.Last month, the government estimated Vietnam’s rice shipment in
the whole of 2014 at 6.41 million tonnes, down 2.7 percent from the previous
year.
Thailand Remains Leading Rice
Exporter
Imagen activaBangkok, Jan 15
(Prensa Latina) Thailand will continue this year as the leading exporter of
rice with a turnover of 11 million tons, according to forecast today of the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The source says the two
main competitors, India and Vietnam expect sales for eight and seven million
tonnes, respectively.Regarding target 
markets in Asia, China will continue to lead with a calculated
acquisition in 2.800 000 tons, followed by the Philippines, Indonesia and
Malaysia with a million each.FAO estimates that global consumption of the grass
will be 500 million tonnes in 2015, representing an increase of 1.7 percent
compared with 2014.
markets in Asia, China will continue to lead with a calculated
acquisition in 2.800 000 tons, followed by the Philippines, Indonesia and
Malaysia with a million each.FAO estimates that global consumption of the grass
will be 500 million tonnes in 2015, representing an increase of 1.7 percent
compared with 2014.
The
honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, Chukiat Ophaswongse
commented here that thanks to the price adjustment to equalize rates of its
rivals, the rice export volume increased again.According to a report of that
entity, the Thai grain stood at $ 390 per ton in the world market while for
India and Vietnam is 420 and 400, respectively.
sus/abo/tgj/hr
Modificado el ( jueves, 15 de enero de 2015 )
ffect of Blockade
Farmers count loss as paddy prices fall
Quamrul Islam Rubaiyat, Thakurgaon
Rice sellers at Gorea Haat in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila pass
their time mostly doing other works as the market sees only a few customers due
to the transport problem amid the countrywide nonstop blockade enforced by the
BNP-led 20-party alliance. PHOTO: STAR
The price of recently harvested
aman paddy has started falling in the local markets of Thakurgaon and
Panchagarh districts due to transportation problem amid BNP-sponsored nonstop
countrywide blockade from January 5.Despite bumper yield, especially the
share-croppers, marginal and small farmers are counting losses as they have to
sell their produces to manage expenses for cultivating boro paddy and robi
crops including wheat, potato, maize and groundnut in the ongoing peak
cultivation season.Meanwhile, a section of profit-greedy traders have raised
prices of agro-inputs like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, taking advantage
of the frequent blockades, much to the worry of the small-scale farmers.
During a visit to different local
markets including Khochabari, Gorea, Bhulli and Farabari Bazar in Thakurgaon Sadar
upazila and Boda, Moidandighi and Sakoya hats in Boda upazila of Panchagarh,
this correspondent saw the small farmers sold aman paddy for prices lower than
that of a week ago.Osman Ali, 35, a marginal farmer of Shahapara village in
Boda upazila, said “Eight days ago, I sold 12 maunds of paddy at Tk730 per
maund. But now the price has reduced to Tk 660. Despite low price, we have to
sell paddy to manage expenses of potato and maize cultivation.”The nonstop
blockade for over a week has led to fall of aman paddy price by Tk 70-80 per
maund, said Anikul Barman, 55, a share-cropper of Moidandighi village in
Boda.“Besides, we have to buy agro-inputs with high price as the trader hiked
price on the pretext of supply shortage,” he said.
Taking the opportunity of small
farmers' helpless situation and obstruction in carrying goods due to blockade,
some local traders are hoarding huge paddy after buying it for low prices,
markets sources alleged. Kademul Islam, 48, of Gorea village in Thakurgaon
Sadar upazila, said the paddy price at Gorea hat is gradually falling as the
paddy buyers from other districts are unable to come to the local market due to
transportation problem.Taking advantage of inadequate buyers, several local
buyers of Gorea have made a syndicate and they are buying paddy for lower
prices, Kademul alleged.Md Zaman, a rice mill owner and rice trader of Boda,
told this correspondent paddy price has continued decreasing as supply to other
districts including Dinajpur, Joypurhat, Bogra, Natore and Dhaka remained
virtually suspended due to non-stop blockade.Local traders are buying lesser
amount of paddy from the markets as they can not supply it to outside the
district, he said.
According to sources of the
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), farmers of Thakurgaon district had
cultivated aman paddy on 1 lakh 28 thousand 435 hectares of land against the
target of 1 lakh 20 thousand 995 hectares with a production target of 3 lakh 28
thousand 387 tonnes.The farmers have produced 3 lakh 88 thousand 151 tonnes.In
Panchagarh, about 95,185 hectares land had been brought under aman cultivation
against the target of 94,524 hectares with a production target of 2 lakh 54
thousand 676 tonnes.The growers have produced 2 lakh 75 thousand 253 tonnes of
aman rice.
Published: 12:00 am Friday, January 16, 2015
Last modified: 11:32 pm Thursday, January 15, 2015
REAP urges government to
enhance exports
Published: January 16, 2015
Pakistan exported 27,805 tons of
rice to Bahrain in fiscal year ending on June 30, 2014, worth $2.6 million. STOCK
IMAGE
KARACHI: The government must
focus on rice export markets of China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bahrain as that
will ultimately support all stakeholders, particularly rice growers, said Rice
Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Chairman Rafique Suleman.“Depressed prices in international rice markets are affecting
the agriculture sector of all rice-exporting countries in the world; Pakistan
is not an exception,” he said in a statement.
He said Bahrain is a potential market for Pakistani rice and REAP
urges the government to improve economic relations with the country to enhance
bilateral trade.He said that there are approximately 100,000 Pakistanis living
in Bahrain and REAP welcomed the recent announcement of the government of
Bahrain to award dual nationality to some of them.
“Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at
$200 million, and there is still immense scope for expansion,” he said.Pakistan
exported 27,805 tons of rice to Bahrain in fiscal year ending on June 30, 2014,
worth $2.6 million.REAP chairman noted that China has made several
government-to-government deals with neighbouring countries like Thailand
and Cambodia, which in effect, may hurt Pakistani rice exports to China.
“Since the total rice import quota of China is limited, the
market share of Pakistani rice in China will eventually decline with these
agreements,’ he remarked.“We request the government to take similar steps like
China has taken up with Thailand and Cambodia in order to stabilise the rice
trade between China and Pakistan. We hope we could export additional 200,000
tons good quality Pakistani rice every year, starting from year 2015,” he
said.Pakistan exported 353,673 tons of rice to China in fiscal year 2014, worth
$128 million.He also highlighted that the trade balance between Pakistan and
Malaysia was in favour of Malaysia because of the huge quantity of palm oil
that Pakistan imports..
Published in The Express
Tribune, January 16th, 2015.
Also published in Pakkissan.com
http://tribune.com.pk/story/822430/reap-urges-government-to-enhance-exports/
Last chance for Yingluck to answer rice questions
Published: 16 Jan 2015 at 19.29
Online news: Politics
Writer: Manop Thip-osod and Aekarach Sattaburuth
Yingluck Shinawatra faces another session in the hot seat
next week after failing to show up in person on Friday to answer legislators'
questions about her government's failed rice-pledging programme. A National
Legislative Assembly member reads questions about former premier Yingluck
Shinawatra's rice-pledging scheme to her representatives: former deputy premier
Kittiratt Na-Ranong, left, and her lawyer Norawit Lalaeng. (Photo by Chanat
Katanyu)
The former prime minister sent others to the National
Legislative Assembly (NLA) to represent her, including former deputy premier
Kittiratt Na Ranong. But NLA members refused to let them answer the questions
that had been prepared.The NLA has demanded to hear the answers directly from
Ms Yingluck, but time is running out as a vote on whether to impeach her is
scheduled for next Friday.The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has
recommended that Ms Yingluck be retroactively removed from the premiership and
have her political rights suspended as she failed to stop the rice scheme,
despite being warned that it would end with huge losses to taxpayers.
On Friday Ms Yingluck sent nine representatives including
former ministers and lawyers to answer the questions on her behalf but the NLA
members who posed the questions refused to let the representatives
answer.Pichit Chuenban, a lawyer for Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai Party, complained
about the NLA's decision not to allow the former premier's representatives to
answer the prepared questions.NLA vice president Surachai Liangboonlertchai
then told the representatives to ask Ms Yingluck to show up by 6pm to supply
answers. Her representatives replied that they could not contact Ms Yingluck and
did not know where she was.
Earlier report on Yingluck no-show
NLA members then read out the questions they wanted to pose
to Ms Yingluck. They dealt with her responsibility for the damage that her rice
scheme caused, including a huge loss and extensive corruption that she failed
to bring to an end.The Finance Ministry earlier concluded that the rice scheme
caused a loss of at least 500 billion baht.A question from NLA member Kitti
Wasinont sought Ms Yingluck's answer on why she did not stop the rice scheme
although many organisations informed her that the scheme was losing billions of
baht and was plagued with corruption. In addition, no government-to-government
rice trades took place as ministers had claimed, and some traders acquired
pledged rice at low prices and made windfall profits from resales.
Among those delivering the warnings were the NACC, the
Office of the Auditor General and the Thailand Development Research
Institute.NLA member Thaweesak Sootkawatin asked if the rice scheme was merely
a tactic of Pheu Thai to win an election as the Yingluck government actually
bought rice at prices nearly 50% above market prices.NLA member ACM Chalee
Janruang asked whether Ms Yingluck would repeat such a programme that seemingly
consumed huge sums from the government's coffers if she had a chance to return
to government.
NLA member Mahannop Detpitak asked how Ms Yingluck as the
prime minister would take responsibility for the losses resulting from the
scheme.NLA member Somchai Sawaengkan asked how Ms Yingluck planned to
compensate the families of 16 rice growers who had committed suicide while
waiting for her government to pay for their pledged rice.NLA member Dr Jet
Siratharanont commented that Ms Yingluck did not show up on Friday because she
wanted to postpone her answers to the date of her closing statement next
Thursday.This way, he said, Ms Yingluck would have an advantage because she
would know the questions in advance and would have more time to prepare her
replies.
Rice
production seen at 27.1m tonnes
Thailand’s
unmilled rice production from the 2014/2015 main crop is estimated at 27.1
million tonnes, a by 0.06% increase from the previous season, the Office of
Agriculture and Economics said. Overall rice plantations in the season
have been declining since institution of a state policy to discourage farmers
from growing several crops a year for fear of water shortages, especially in
irrigated areas. The country has around 65 million rai of plantation
area.Falling rice prices also turned farmers to other crops, according to OAE
secretary-general Lersak
Riewtrakulpaibul.Farmers
earned an average 7,862 and 7,878 baht a tonne of paddy in November and
December, when a large amount of paddy entered the market. The figures were
lower than the average of 8,130 baht farmers received from selling paddy last
year.OAE reports that, since the start of the season in October, about 25.5
million tonnes of paddy were harvested, accounting for 94% of the total
production.
Princeton Researchers Build Rice-Grain Sized Laser
Powered By Single Electrons
Discussion in
'Electrical | Electronics | Communications' started by Ankita Katdare,
Yesterday at 10:18 AM.
by Ankita
Katdare, Jan 16, 2015 at 10:18 AM
A laser device the size of a rice-grain,
that uses one-billionth of the electric power a hair dryer needs, has been
built by Princeton University researchers in their attempt to study quantum
computing. Set out to demonstrate the basic interactions between the moving
electrons and light along with an aim to explore the use of quantum bits (or
qubits), the research team at Princeton led by Jason Petta, an associate professor
of physics, build a super tiny microwave laser (or what's called a 'maser')
which is powered by single electrons channeled through quantum dots.
These
quantum dots are nothing but the smallest components of semiconductor material
that act like single atoms. Take a moment to let that thought sink in and
realize that this is a significant step towards developing quantum-computing
systems of the future out of semiconductor materials. If you thought electronic
devices are only getting smaller by the day, here's something to prove you
right. With a rice grain sized laser, the researchers have demonstrated that
the single electron devices can become as small as possible.
rice-grain-laser-quantum-computing. Yinyu Liu, first author of the study and a
graduate student in Princeton's Department of Physics, holds a prototype of the
device.
Prof.
Petta's laboratory had set the goal of getting double quantum dots to
communicate with each other. As it was known to the team that the quantum dots
could communicate through the entanglement of photons, they designed quantum
dots that emit photons when single electrons jump from a higher to lower energy
level in order to cross the double
dot.princeton-university-rice-grain-sized-laser-research-jason-petta. The
rice-grain sized laser or maser.This research was supported by the National
Science Foundation, DARPA QuEST, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and
the Army Research Office.
The
team has submitted a paper titled "Semiconductor double quantum dot
micromaser" in the journal Science on Jan. 16, 2015. The paper dives deep
into information about the fundamental interaction between light and the moving
electrons. The interaction shows how the coherent microwave field is created
and amplified. By understanding how to control these processors, the light
sources of the future could be developed. In fact, Claire Gmachl, a pioneer in
the field of semiconductor lasers, believes that the research work in such
masers could impact sensing, medicine and many other aspects of modern life in
a significant way.
Source: Princeton University Research
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