Toyota
Affiliate to Sell Higher-Yielding Rice
A typical strain of Koshihikari rice (left) and a new
strain (right) that Toyota Tsusho plans to grow and sell.
Toyota
Tsusho Corp.
Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate Toyota
Tsusho Corp. will start producing and selling low-cost “kaizen” rice this year,
seeing a business opportunity in Japan’s domestic farming industry.Kaizen,
which means “improvement” in Japanese, is known as part of Toyota Motor’s
manufacturing philosophy of continuously seeking ways small and large to give
its products an edge.
The idea is nothing new to rice farmers, who have long sought to
develop hardier and more productive strains of Japan’s staple grain. Toyota
Tsusho, working with an agricultural venture company, says it has a strain of Japan’s popular
Koshihikari ricethat produces about 30% to 50% more
rice in the same plot size.
Japanese farmers are poised to face a challenge from
less-expensive foreign-made rice if Japan, the U.S. and other nations can agree
on reducing trade barriers as part of theTrans-Pacific Partnership talks. Rice farmers want to establish a brand name for their products
so they can charge a premium to consumers.Toyota Tsusho is pursuing a different
kind of customer. “We will sell this rice to professionals such as restaurants
and bento [lunch box] producers, who want safe products and competitive prices
at the same time,” a Toyota Tsusho spokesman said.
The company is a trading house whose main job is buying raw
materials for Toyota Motor. “You may find it strange, but we’ll go anywhere we
can to apply our kaizen method,” said the spokesman. The company has also
invested in farmed bluefin tuna, as the WSJ reported last year.Demand
for rice by restaurants and bento producers is rising because more Japanese are
eating out, although overall demand for rice has been falling, according to the
government-backed Organization of Stable Rice Supply Support.
Boustany backs La. rice
producers in letter to Kerry
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) signed his name to a letter
addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, requesting his help in
preserving the rights of Louisiana rice producers to sell their product in Iraq
at a fair market price. The letter was authored by Senate Appropriations Committee
Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS). It essentially asks Kerry to consult with the
Iraqi Minister of Trade to make sure that American rice producers can
successfully compete in the Iraqi market.
According to reports from the USA Rice Federation, Iraq is a
significant global importer of rice, buying nearly 1.5 million metric tons of
rice each year. Last fall, the Iraqi government reported it would purchase
170,000 metric tons of rice, including 80,000 metric tons from Thailand, 60,000
metric tons from Uruguay and 30,000 metric tons from Brazil.Although American
rice is being priced up to $23 per metric ton below the prices from Uruguay and
Brazil, the Iraqis bought no American rice.
“Louisiana’s rice industry is one of the most modern and efficient
in the world, but it needs a level playing field to succeed,” Boustany said.
“Iraq is an important market for our producers – but they can’t access it if
their product is unfairly discriminated against. This bipartisan letter to
Secretary Kerry sends a strong message from voices across the United States’
rice-growing regions that he must weigh in with the Iraqi government to ensure
American rice is given a fair shake at market.”
Image: Rep. Charles Boustany
Zinc-enriched rice
sees successful farming
Azibor Rahman, Jhenidah
Farmers plant BRRI-Dhan-64, a zinc-enriched paddy invented
by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, at a field in Jhenidah Sadar upazila.
PHOTO: STAR
Zinc-enriched boro paddy
BRRI-Dhan-64 invented by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute sees successful
cultivation in the district, following approval of its commercial cultivation
by National Seed Board last year.The short duration rice can be harvested
withen 100 days of planting and may yield up to 31 maunds per bigha if nurtured
properly, researchers said.On January 15, Md Saiful Islam, area co-ordinator of
Agricultural Advisory Society (AAS), organised training on the cultivation of
BRRI-Dhan-64 for 55 farmers of Jhenidah.AAS Director Harun-or-Rashid, Jhenidah
Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer and agriculturist Dr Khan Moniruzzaman and
Mozibur Rahman of Havest Plus Bangladesh were prsesnt as trainer.
"BRRI-64 has been invented
through cross pollination with local variety. Seventy-five acres of land have
been brought under its cultivation in Jhenidah, Magura and Jessore
districts," said Nasir Uddin Khan, additional director of the Department
of Agricultural Extension in Jessore region.
District-wise, the areas are 50
acres in Jhenidah, 15 acres in Magura, and 10 acres in Jessore. The
researchers claimed that the newly invented paddy will play a vital role in
fighting zinc and protein deficiency in human body, especially for children and
women.As rice is the staple food of Bangladesh, the newly invented variety
could provide useful food value for zinc enrichment for people and it will be
especially helpful to prevent and cure diarrhoea and pneumonia in children,
they said.
"The local varieties contain
9-12 miligrams of zinc per kg while the newly invented zinc enriched variety
contains around 24 miligrams. It will prevent zinc deficiency in human body and
help physical growth and mental development of the children," said Dr
Alamgir Hossain, post doctorate fellow, Harvest Plus Bangladesh. "I
took training on the cultivation of BRRI-64 Dhan on Januray 15 and I am
cultivating it on one bigha of land this season," said Abdul Jabbar, a
teacher of Narikelbaria ZA High School.
Published: 12:00 am Thursday, January 29, 2015
http://www.thedailystar.net/zinc-enriched-rice-sees-successful-farming-62171
Japan tests new satellite on robotic tractors in Riverina
Updated Wed 28 Jan 2015,
7:37pm
How would you feel about leaving
a tractor to drive itself in one paddock, while you work in another ?
To the busy farmer, struggling to
find local labour, it's an appealing concept. 00:00
00:00
Around the world, manufacturers,
engineers and researchers are now trying to turn that into a reality.In Japan,
they've designed a self-steering robotic tractor which can sow, plough and
spray crops.An advanced positioning signal is transmitted from Japan's
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System to control the tractor's movements.The Japanese
Government is funding trials to test the tractor on crops at Rice Research
Australia near Jerilderie in south-west New South Wales.Engineering firm
Hitachi Zosen, machine manufacturer Yanmar, Hokkaido University and several
other Australian universities are working together on the project.
Phil Collier, research director
with Australia's Co-operative Research Centre for Spatial Information, hopes
the technology can help farmers run their equipment with more
accuracy."The satellites in the sky determine the position of the tractor
in a global frame of reference," he said."The additional information
that comes from the QZSS Satellites brings the precision down from several
metres to two centimetres."The whole objective is to bring down the
precision to a reliable level and a consistent level to allow that tractor to
navigate its way down the rows of crops so things aren't getting run over.
"If the trials prove
successful, people in rural and remote Australia will have access to precise
positioning, without having to rely on the mobile network.At the moment, the
robotic tractor is being tested on rice crops and paddocks late at night and
into the early hours of the morning, when the satellite is passing over
Australia.The boundary of the field, the tractor's path and the start and end
point of where it can turn are all programmed on a computer inside its cab.This
is to ensure the tractor doesn't veer off into a fence or an irrigation channel.The
CRC's Phil Collier says the technology's application won't be limited to
precision farming.
"From mining to automated
guidance of cars, anything where there's a level of machine automation required
that's outside, then this technology has got that ability to solve that
problem."My prediction, if I can be so bold, is that this sort of
technology will move from sophisticated installations in machines like this to
mobile phones in due course and people will have it in their back pocket."
The Japanese Government intends
to deploy another three satellites in the near future, which will give
Australia 24 hour coverage of the advanced positioning signals, once the
technology is commercialised.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-28/robotic-tractor-on-rice-crop-2801/6052366
Rice-sized laser, powered one electron at a time, bodes well for quantum
computing news
28 January 2015
Princeton University researchers have built a
rice grain-sized laser powered by single electrons tunnelling through
artificial atoms known as quantum dots. The tiny microwave laser, or
"maser," is a demonstration of the fundamental interactions between
light and moving electrons.The researchers built the device - which uses about
one-billionth the electric current needed to power a hair dryer - while
exploring how to use quantum dots, which are bits of semiconductor material
that act like single atoms, as components for quantum computers.
"It is basically as small as you can go
with these single-electron devices," said Jason Petta, an associate
professor of physics at Princeton who led the study, which was published in the
journal Science. The device demonstrates a major step forward for efforts to
build quantum-computing systems out of semiconductor materials, according to
co-author and collaborator Jacob Taylor, an adjunct assistant professor at the
Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland-National Institute of Standards
and Technology. "I consider this to be a really important result for our
long-term goal, which is entanglement between quantum bits in
semiconductor-based devices," Taylor says.
The original aim of the project was not to
build a maser, but to explore how to use double quantum dots - which are two
quantum dots joined together - as quantum bits, or qubits, the basic units of
information in quantum computers."The goal was to get the double quantum
dots to communicate with each other," says Yinyu Liu, a physics graduate
student in Petta's lab. The team also included graduate student Jiri Stehlik
and associate research scholar Christopher Eichler in Princeton's Department of
Physics, as well as postdoctoral researcher Michael Gullans of the Joint
Quantum Institute.
Because quantum dots can communicate through
the entanglement of light particles, or photons, the researchers designed dots
that emit photons when single electrons leap from a higher energy level to a
lower energy level to cross the double dot.Each double quantum dot can only
transfer one electron at a time, Petta explains. "It is like a line of
people crossing a wide stream by leaping onto a rock so small that it can only
hold one person," he said. "They are forced to cross the stream one
at a time. These double quantum dots are zero-dimensional as far as the
electrons are concerned - they are trapped in all three spatial dimensions.
"The researchers fabricated the double
quantum dots from extremely thin nanowires (about 50 nanometers, or a billionth
of a meter, in diameter) made of a semiconductor material called indium
arsenide. They patterned the indium arsenide wires over other even smaller
metal wires that act as gate electrodes, which control the energy levels in the
dots.To construct the maser, they placed the two double dots about 6
millimeters apart in a cavity made of a superconducting material, niobium,
which requires a temperature near absolute zero, around minus 459 degrees
Fahrenheit. "This is the first time that the team at Princeton has
demonstrated that there is a connection between two double quantum dots
separated by nearly a centimeter, a substantial distance," Taylor said.
When the device was switched on, electrons
flowed single-file through each double quantum dot, causing them to emit
photons in the microwave region of the spectrum. These photons then bounced off
mirrors at each end of the cavity to build into a coherent beam of microwave
light.One advantage of the new maser is that the energy levels inside the dots
can be fine-tuned to produce light at other frequencies, which cannot be done
with other semiconductor lasers in which the frequency is fixed during
manufacturing, Petta said.
The larger the energy difference between the
two levels, the higher the frequency of light emitted.Claire Gmachl, who was
not involved in the research and is Princeton's Eugene Higgins Professor of
Electrical Engineering and a pioneer in the field of semiconductor lasers, said
that because lasers, masers and other forms of coherent light sources are used
in communications, sensing, medicine and many other aspects of modern life, the
study is an important one."In this paper the researchers dig down deep
into the fundamental interaction between light and the moving electron,"
Gmachl said.
"The double quantum dot allows them full
control over the motion of even a single electron, and in return they show how
the coherent microwave field is created and amplified. Learning to control
these fundamental light-matter interaction processes will help in the future
development of light sources."The paper, Semiconductor double quantum dot
micromaser, was published in the journal Science. The research was supported by
the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency QuEST, and the Army Research Office.
http://www.domain-b.com/technology/20150128_computing.html
Asia Rice-Prices weak ahead of Thai tender, Vietnamese
harvest
* Thailand's govt to sell up to 1 mln tonnes in
tender
* Vietnamese prices hit 15-month low
* Prices fall before major harvest
By Ho Binh Minh
HANOI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Trading in Asia's main
rice markets was almost at a standstill this week, with prices falling to
15-month lows in Vietnam ahead of the country's main harvest and traders
watching out for a big tender of grain from government stockpiles in
Thailand.Thailand was the world's top rice exporter in 2014, followed by India
and Vietnam.The Thai government is looking to sell about 1 million tonnes on
Thursday, equivalent to about 10 percent of the country's exports in a normal
year.The Thai government has been struggling to offload some 17 million tonnes
of rice in its stockpiles, which were built up under the previous
administration's buying programme.
"The government is willing to sell the
remaining rice stock at a more affordable price, so the market is monitoring
whether the price will be lower than what's being offered right now," a
Thai trader said, adding private firms were interested in the tender.Prices at
the tender would be used as a reference in the market, a Vietnamese trader said.Thai
benchmark 5 percent broken rice was quoted at $415 a tonne, free on board, down
from $416 a tonne the previous day and compared with $405-$416 a week ago.In
Vietnam, 5 percent broken rice fell to the lowest in more than 15 months,
touching $360-$370 a tonne on Wednesday, FOB, versus $370-$380 a week ago.The
25 percent broken rice fell to $340-$350 a tonne from $350-$360.
"China has yet to buy. Maybe they will start
purchases in March," a Vietnamese trader said of Vietnam's biggest rice
buyer. "Africa is also not buying anew thanks to high
stocks."Vietnamese prices are the same as or above those offered by
Pakistan, making it difficult to compete with the South Asian country for sales
to Africa, he said.Prices have not been helped by news that the Philippines
planned to import up to 500,000 tonnes for delivery between March and May to
boost stockpiles.Vietnam will harvest the winter-spring crop, its biggest, from
late next month and prices are expected to ease further.Thailand could export a
record 11 million tonnes of rice in 2015, followed by India with 8.2 million
and Vietnam with 6.9 million, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has
projected.Rice exports from the three countries account for more than 60
percent of global trade. (Additional reporting by Pairat Temphairojana in
Bangkok; Editing by Alan Raybould)
500,000-MT rice import eyed for shipment March
January 28, 2015
The Philippines plans to import
up to 500,000 tonnes of rice for deliveries starting in March to boost its
stockpiles ahead of the lean harvest season, government and trade sources
said.The state grains procurement agency, National Food Authority (NFA), wants
the shipments to arrive in two batches of 200,000 tonnes and one for 100,000
tonnes, to be completed by May, a government official with knowledge of the
plan told Reuters.The official, who is not authorized to speak to the media
about the plan, said the NFA might go for a government-to-government deal, similar
to transactions last year with Vietnam and Thailand.Local rice traders,
however, are hoping the NFA will give them import permits for the planned
purchases, which are tariff-free, a Manila-based trader told Reuters.
Fresh demand from the Philippines
could give a boost to falling rice prices in top producers and sellers Thailand
and Vietnam, the Philippines’ key suppliers.The Philippines usually buys rice
early in the year to prepare for the lean harvest season that begins in
July.Private traders have been allowed to import up to 187,000 tonnes of rice
this year, with tariffs as high as 35 percent, under the government’s Minimum
Access Volume – Omnibus Rice Importation program.Despite record-high domestic
harvests in recent years, including last year’s output, the Philippines remains
one of the world’s biggest rice buyers.
The Philippines bought more than
1.8 million tonnes from Vietnam and Thailand after Super Typhoon Haiyan
destroyed crops in November 2013, prompting the government to release supplies
from state stockpiles for relief operations and to arrest the sharp increase in
local retail prices.Last year’s rice purchases by the Philippines were the
biggest in the last four years. This year’s imports may hit 1.6 million tonnes,
based on a forecast by the United States Department of Agriculture.The
government official said, however, that this year’s imports may be less than 1
million tonnes as local retail prices have eased from the record highs seen at
mid-2014.Secretary Francis Pangilinan, the country’s food security chief and
chairman of the NFA Council, would give no detail on any rice import plans and
said that the media should “wait for the official announcement.”
http://www.mb.com.ph/500000-mt-rice-import-eyed-for-shipment-march/
Libya still in talks
buy 50,000 T wheat, 25,000 T rice- trade
Reuters Middle East
HAMBURG, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A
Libyan state grain buying agency is still in talks on international tenders to
buy 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat and 25,000 tonnes of rice but payment issues
due to political turmoil have prevented a deal, European traders said on
Wednesday.The agency issued the tenders on Jan. 14 and no purchases have yet
been made, traders said.Two governments allied to armed factions are vying for
control of Libya four years after the toppling of former leader Muammar
Gaddafi.
The United Nations and Western powers do not
recognise the administration which controls ministries in Tripoli."I was
offered payment in the tender from a bank in Tunisia which did not work
out," one European grain trader said. "Another offer is being made
with funds from a large bank in Tripoli."Another trader added: "They
still want to buy but the payment problems are hindering a sale. A new payment
offer is being made.
"Wheat with 12 percent protein
content was sought in the tender, they said. It is possible that a combination
of 25,000 tonnes of wheat flour and 25,000 tonnes of wheat could be purchased,
all for shipment to Tobruk, traders said.The white rice was sought in 25 kg
bags with a maximum 5 percent broken grain content, they said.Libyan wheat
purchases have been restrained in recent months, despite the country's large
import requirements, with the conflict in the country disrupting ports and
commercial activity. (Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by David Evans)
NFA mulls more incentives for rice farmers
By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 29, 2015 - 12:00am
NFA
rice File
photo
MANILA, Philippines - State-run
National Food Authority (NFA) is reviewing the incentives that could be
provided to farmers to sell their palay (unmilled rice) to the agency, NFA
administrator Renan Dalisay said yesterday.
He said the agency currently
procures the equivalent of seven to eight percent of the total domestic rice
production. Last year, domestic rice production reached 18.97 million MT. The
NFA buys clean and dry palay at P17 per kilogram, providing additional incentives
such as graduated delivery fee of up to a maximum P0.50 per kilogram, drying
incentive fee of P0.20 per kilogram, and Cooperative Development Incentive Fund
assistance of P0.30 per kilogram.
As of the second week of January, the average farmgate price of
palay has been placed at P18.90 per kilogram, making it more attractive for
farmers to sell their produce to traders.Dalisay said that while the palay
buying price of NFA rice cannot be lowered, other incentives are being studied
such as the provision of health insurance to farmers that would conform to NFA
buying standards.“We are reviewing the provision of other incentives such as
Philhealth insurance for farmers to sell to NFA,” he said.
The NFA currently imports most of the rice requirement for buffer
stocking. This year, the state grains procurement agency may import between
500,000 metric tons (MT) to 600,000 MT of rice.The NFA Council still has to a
decide on the import specifications.The NFA yesterday launched the Bantay Bigas
initiative with civic organization Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and
Ethical Leadership.The initiative aims to constantly monitor the prices and
movement of commercial rice and NFA rice sold at various markets nationwide.
The movement also seeks to enjoin other civic society groups and
local government units in monitoring the price and availability of commercial
and NFA rice in various selling points.The participants, said food security
chief Francis Pangilinan, would ultimately help the agency assess the status of
ice supply in the country.In a related development, the NFA assured the public
that no substandard rice from Thailand has entered the country after the
completion of deliveries of orders in December.
The Philippines, in October 2014, awarded the supply contract for
the importation of 500,000 MT of rice from Vietnam and Thailand, out of which,
300,000 MT came from Thailand.In the last quarter of 2014, around 90 percent of
the Thai government’s rice stocks have been found to be of substandard quality.Dalisay
said, however, that Thai rice exports to the Philippines have undergone strict
quality control measures to eliminate exports not fit for consumption.He noted
that “ a minimal volume” of substandard rice that arrived in the country had
been sent back to suppliers.
Efficient rice farming
to curb emissions
New water- and cost-efficient farming techniques will allow
Vietnam to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in wet rice production by 15 to 20
per cent by 2020, said Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development’s Institute for Agricultural Environment.Trinh was
speaking at a recent conference on the first phase of the Project on Reduced
CH4 Emissions in Wet Rice Cultivation in Vietnam, jointly held by his institute
and the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute in Hanoi.
To achieve the target, the ministry will use the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI), a plan in which farmers will increase productivity,
quality and economic effectiveness, while reducing pesticides and nitrogenous
fertilisers, he said.In addition to these measures, the ministry will also
encourage farmers to use green production methods. The sector will also apply
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in cultivation, which means using techniques
that consume less fertilisers and water, employing better land preparation
techniques and reducing methane emissions.Another technology mentioned at
the conference was Alternative Wetting Drying (AWD).
“Actually, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice growing,
the institute has tried AWD while implementing a project on reducing CH4
emissions in wet rice cultivation,” Trinh said, adding that AWD is no longer
strange to rice growers in Vietnam, as it has already been incorporated in
several other programmes, including SRI.Vu Duong Quynh, the project
coordinator, said a major challenge with SRI is water management. Most problems
are caused by the unfavourable terrain in many areas, fragmented rice fields
and a lack of cooperation between irrigation staff and farmers. This is
especially troublesome considering the fact that efficient irrigation is the
best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To overcome these difficulties, Quynh said that in its first
phase, from October 2014 to June 2016, the project intends to collect lessons
learnt from efficient irrigation models and to gather data on land and
infrastructure in each province, to make a water-efficient
irrigation map.“When looking at this map, one can read out which province
can apply AWD, as not all types of land are suitable for this technology,”
Quynh said. In the second phase, the project will incorporate
other technologies.
Efficient rice farming
to curb emissions
New water- and cost-efficient farming techniques will allow
Vietnam to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in wet rice production by 15 to 20
per cent by 2020, said Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development’s Institute for Agricultural Environment.Trinh was
speaking at a recent conference on the first phase of the Project on Reduced
CH4 Emissions in Wet Rice Cultivation in Vietnam, jointly held by his institute
and the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute in Hanoi.
To achieve the target, the ministry will use the System of Rice
Intensification (SRI), a plan in which farmers will increase productivity,
quality and economic effectiveness, while reducing pesticides and nitrogenous
fertilisers, he said.In addition to these measures, the ministry will also
encourage farmers to use green production methods. The sector will also apply
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in cultivation, which means using techniques
that consume less fertilisers and water, employing better land preparation
techniques and reducing methane emissions.Another technology mentioned at
the conference was Alternative Wetting Drying (AWD).
“Actually, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice growing,
the institute has tried AWD while implementing a project on reducing CH4
emissions in wet rice cultivation,” Trinh said, adding that AWD is no longer
strange to rice growers in Vietnam, as it has already been incorporated in
several other programmes, including SRI.Vu Duong Quynh, the project
coordinator, said a major challenge with SRI is water management. Most problems
are caused by the unfavourable terrain in many areas, fragmented rice fields
and a lack of cooperation between irrigation staff and farmers. This is
especially troublesome considering the fact that efficient irrigation is the
best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To overcome these difficulties, Quynh said that in its first
phase, from October 2014 to June 2016, the project intends to collect lessons
learnt from efficient irrigation models and to gather data on land and
infrastructure in each province, to make a water-efficient
irrigation map.“When looking at this map, one can read out which province
can apply AWD, as not all types of land are suitable for this technology,”
Quynh said. In the second phase, the project will incorporate
other technologies.
Nigeria: Investors
and Abuse of Rice Import Quotas
EDITORIAL
THE allegations of sabotage of Federal Government's
rice policy by some investors deserve thorough investigations and sanctions
where applicable. Attempting to get around rules and regulations at the expense
of the consumers is bad enough, but the alleged loss of a huge sum of N36.56
billion by the government over exceeded import quotas is highly unacceptable
and stands condemned. Upon confirmation of this economic sabotage by any
so-called investor, prosecution of culprits is a necessity as a deterrent to
other saboteurs. Nigeria's economy, it must be proven to all, is not for sale
or easy manipulation.
The probe should be thorough and conclusive to
reveal the culpability of the investors given that their association has
strongly expressed reservations about the accusations levelled against the members
by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina. It
will, therefore, be dignifying for the minister to address one of the rice
investors' groups' claim of information gap in the ministry, which might have
misled the minister to go public with the allegation.Fair enough, the
contentious rice plan is seen as a flagship policy in the agricultural sector,
aimed at bridging the gap between mass importation of rice and local production
which Nigerians have clamoured for over the years to reduce pressure on
available foreign exchange. Government has clearly expressed its commitment to
the success of the programme with 2017 as target date for bringing the national
supply gap down to zero from its present 1.5 metric tonnes (MT).
Investors
should, therefore, work to buy into this policy direction if they would not
open themselves up to accusations of being interested only in fleecing the
Nigerian economy.The minister had accused some 'foreign' investors of exceeding
their preferential allocation quotas thereby incurring N36.56b debts on the
treasury. This is a serious indictment. Government also threatened to come hard
on importers who re-bag locally produced rice as imported products while
enjoying waivers. Citing data from the Nigeria Customs Service, the ministry
claimed it identified culprits among the companies that imported 634,270.16 MT
of rice representing 56 per cent of the total imported finished rice under the
new policy as at early December, 2014 - far in excess of approved quota, to
shortchange the treasury.
Two of the companies charged and listed as 'Asian
companies' are allegedly in default by N28.39 billion and were alleged to have
written to the minister for a revision of the quotas to cover the quantity
ordered but without approved quotas or Domestic Rice Production Plans (DRPP) as
required. Only a mere agreement with the Customs to pay the duties and levies
once quota allocations from the inter-ministerial committee are out cleared the
way. Why then is the process open to such abuse?
Normally, a conditional approval is always given
once the request is supported by a DRPP bond to guarantee commitment to
domestic investments in production and processing. Failure to execute on the
plans leads to a call on the bond. Unambiguous as the official explanation and
the need for the minister to defend the country's integrity may seem, an
instant reaction four days later by a certain association, The Nigerian Rice
Millers Association (NRMA), is bound to raise eyebrows about the official
claims. Curiously, five days after NRMA went public with reservations, another
group, Nigerian Rice Investors Group (NRIG) countered NRMA's claims in support
of the minister, calling the other group a "fictitious organisation."
The development has thus become a media war,
which is totally uncalled for. Culpability of any of the parties should become
a public issue only after a conclusive investigation of claims, harmonization
of positions, especially since the affected debtors claimed the Customs was yet
to communicate financial obligations to them. Strengthening their argument,
NRMA, which cited "gaps in information," said the surplus arose from
a released quota allocation six months after a circular to that effect in May
2014 by the Minister of Finance titled "2014-2017 fiscal policy measures
on rice." Investors claimed to have depended upon that to import products.
It also alleged that the minster's letter of November 27, 2014 received early
December imposed the bond "without consultation with stakeholders"
besides the retroactive levy imposition. An indication of a long-drawn battle
over the matter was given by NRMA, which then said debts are "misconceived
and baseless."
Certainly, some gaps are evident in the whole
saga, and the information minister has to clarify the status of those investors
laying claim to recognition. Also, he has to be open about the identity of the
defaulters he merely described as "Asian countries" and "Asian
companies" especially as NRMA denied this, saying its members are
"duly registered and are operating legally as prominent rice millers,
farmers and importers".Evidently too, NRMA and NRIG are in a superiority
battle even though the NRIG seems a latter-day entrant into the industry going
by its claim of maiden meeting in December. And it must be established if the
NRMA is a fictitious organisation as NRIG claims! How far has it been dealing
with the ministry? Was there any correspondence between the minister and NRMA
pre-December quota raise?
From the claims and counter-claims, it is
apparent that confidence level in the system is very low and the entire process
is more than a little opaque. An inter-ministerial committee should intervene
and investigate all claims and show fairness to all sides in bringing out the
truth. More important, all loopholes must be plugged, the losses to the country
must be recouped and the system re-organised.
Plans are underway
to control the prices of paddy and rice.
Wednesday,
28 January 2015 20:38
The
government plans to control the price of paddy and rice to provide
justification for the consumer as well as the farmer. The government has
decided to maintain a guaranteed price of 50 rupees per kilo of paddy. Minister
Gamini Jayawickrema Perera said that the government will also mediate to
prevent the increase of price of rice in the market. He said that concessions
will be given to the rice millers as well. The minister said that these
concessions will be introduced in respect of their electricity bills and for
the bank loans taken by them.
http://www.slbc.lk/index.php/component/content/article/1-latest-news/23486--plans-are-underway-to-control-the-prices-of-paddy-and-rice.html
Missouri's Smith
Questions USTR Froman on Rice Trade
Rep. Smith (l) receives
'Friend of Rice' award from
MO producer Paul Combs at 2014 GAC
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO),
for whom rice is an important issue, took the opportunity to ask a pointed rice
question of U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who was testifying before
the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday on expanding export markets for
American-made goods and services, trade agreements currently under negotiation,
and Trade Promotion Authority. Smith, a newly appointed member of the
Committee, reminded attendees that his district is one of the most
agriculturally diverse in the nation, growing everything but citrus and
sugar. And lots of rice.
"Congressman Smith is committed to helping
farmers find and develop markets for their commodities and he has been very
helpful in key trade issues, most recently in Iraq and Cuba," said Betsy
Ward, President & CEO of the USA Rice Federation. "We're pleased he stressed the
importance of developing this market to Ambassador Froman.""Before
the 1962 embargo, Cuba was the number one importer of U.S. rice," Smith
said to Ambassador Froman during the hearing.
"Cuba is currently the second largest importer of rice in the Americas. What do you think the benefits of normalizing
relations with Cuba would be to the U.S. agricultural community, and crops like
rice?"
While Ambassador Froman said he would look into
the specifics and follow up with the Congressman, USA Rice is well aware of how
important normal commercial relations are between the U.S. and Cuba."A
normalized commercial relationship is vital to growing the Cuban economy to a
place where they can import U.S. products, like rice," said Ward.
Contact:
Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
USA Rice Federation
Ag Interests
Frustrated by West Coast Port Slowdowns
WASHINGTON, DC -- The USA Rice
Federation, along with more than 90 groups representing food, agriculture, and
trade, released an open letter expressing "deep disappointment" that
unresolved contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and
the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are causing shipping slowdowns
at West Coast ports. The letter asks
that the two parties "resolve their differences as quickly as
possible" and also urges "the federal government to consider all
available remedies to bring this dispute to a rapid end.
"Last May, the parties began negotiating a
new six-year contract covering 29 West Coast container ports in anticipation of
the July 2014 expiration of the previous contract. After nine months and no resolution, the
parties recently requested the assistance of a federal mediator. The West Coast port strike is a concern in
California, causing delays and significant additional costs. Typically up to half of the California rice
crop is exported and more than half of that is in containers. "As these
negotiations drag on, the movement of commerce slows," said USA Rice COO
Bob Cummings. "We are concerned that
these delays have a direct effect on export sales for rice and so we joined
with others encouraging a quick settlement that will allow everyone to get back
to work."
Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
CCC
Announces Prevailing World Market Prices
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of Agriculture's Commodity
Credit Corporation today announced the following prevailing world market prices of
milled and rough rice, adjusted for U.S. milling yields and location, and the
resulting marketing loan-gain (MLG) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) rates
applicable to the 2014 crop, which became effective today at 7:00 a.m.,
Eastern Time (ET). Rough rice prices decreased $0.27 per cwt for both
long grain and medium/short grain.
This week's prevailing world market prices and MLG/LDP rates are based on the following U.S. milling yields and the corresponding loan rates:
The next program announcement is scheduled for February 4. |
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USA Rice Federation
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
USA Rice Federation
California Montna Rice Farm
California produces a major portion of the rice that’s grown in America. This
meets a growing demand for the grain in not only domestic use, but in meeting
the needs for rice sold overseas. The Montna family has been growing rice in
the Sacramento Valley for generations. The Montna rice fields provide the
ground on which the crop is raised and provides an important watershed for
birds in the region. The family farm floods its fields every year to break down
the straw from the last harvest. Those flooded fields provide habitat for tens
of thousands of waterfowl who make their way north and south in the Pacific
Flyway. The Montnas consider their environmental efforts as critical to
protecting the land that sustains their farming family.
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