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Vietnam urged to work with Thailand to control rice prices
VietNamNet Bridge - If Vietnam
decided to cooperate with Thailand instead of competing fiercely, both of the
countries would be able to sell rice at good prices instead of prices the
Philippines wants.
Under the current mechanism, the Filipino National Food Authority
(NFA) chooses rice suppliers through bidding. The suppliers selected have to
offer the lowest prices, which must be under the ceiling prices set by NFA.If
exporters all offer prices higher than ceiling prices, they will lose the bids.
NFA then will organize the bids again, or discuss separately with each
exporter, and will choose suppliers who accept to sell rice at prices lower
than the ceiling prices.The mechanism, say Vietnamese analysts, allows the
Philippines to gain the initiative, while exporters, including Vietnam and
Thailand, stay passive. However, if Vietnam and Thailand cooperate with
each other, they will be able to change the situation.The Philippines buys 1.8
million tons of rice every year, which is equal to 10 percent of both
countries’ total annual rice export volume.
If Vietnam and Thailand cannot sell rice to the Philippines, each
of the countries will have one million tons of rice more in
stock. Meanwhile, if Vietnam and Thailand insist on selling rice to the
Philippines under the current mechanism, they will have to sell rice cheaply.
The low prices will be referred to by other importers when negotiating
contracts. This means that Vietnam and Thailand not only have to sell rice
cheaply to the Philippines, but also have to apply the same low prices for all
18 million tons of exports.If Vietnam cannot gain the initiative in exporting
rice, all of its efforts to develop rice production and ensure better profits
for farmers will be in vain.
An analyst noted that Vietnam and Thailand together provide 50 percent of the total rice supply in the world market, and if they cooperate, they will not only gain the initiative in selling rice to the Philippines, but also will be able to control the world market price.In fact, the government has many times advised joining forces with Thailand and other countries to form a rice exporters’ association.Cooperation proves to be the best solution to help develop Vietnam’s and Thailand’s rice production and the only solution to protect Vietnamese and Thai farmers’ benefits.
An analyst noted that Vietnam and Thailand together provide 50 percent of the total rice supply in the world market, and if they cooperate, they will not only gain the initiative in selling rice to the Philippines, but also will be able to control the world market price.In fact, the government has many times advised joining forces with Thailand and other countries to form a rice exporters’ association.Cooperation proves to be the best solution to help develop Vietnam’s and Thailand’s rice production and the only solution to protect Vietnamese and Thai farmers’ benefits.
According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam had
exported 2.1 million tons of rice by the end of May, earning $870 million, a
decrease of 10 percent in export volume and 13 percent price decrease in
comparison with the same period in 2014.To date, Vietnam has signed contracts
on exporting 3.5 million tons of rice, or 8 percent lower than the same period
of last year. Thailand and India, the Vietnam’s biggest rivals, all have
big inventories. Thailand is reported to have 15-16 million tons in stock,
while India has 23 million tons.
TBKTSG
TBKTSG
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/134802/vietnam-urged-to-work-with-thailand-to-control-rice-prices.html
Rice basmati firms
up on fresh buying
Press Trust of India | New Delhi
July 3, 2015 Last Updated at 14:42 IST
Rice basmati prices rose by Rs 100
per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on increased offtake by stockists. Traders said besides fresh buying by stockists, restricted
arrivals from producing belts led to rise in rice basmati prices.In the
national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa-1121 variety moved up by Rs 100
each to Rs 5,700-5,900 and Rs 4,600-5,800 per quintal, respectively.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) 2,350-2,700, Wheat dara (for mills) 1,515-1,520, Chakki atta (delivery) 1,530-1,535, Atta Rajdhani 10 kg) 220, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) 220, Roller flour mill 840-850 (50 kg), Maida 890-900 (50 kg) and Sooji 1,020-1,030 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 10,400, Shri Lal Mahal 10,000, Super Basmati Rice 9,500, Basmati common new 5,700-5,900, Rice Pusa (1121) 4,600-5,800, Permal raw 1,700-1,750, Permal wand 1,900-1,925, Sela 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 1,600-1,625, Bajra 1,220-1,225, Jowar yellow 1,490-1,500, white 2,550-2,650, Maize 1,215-1,220, Barley 1,260-1,270.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) 2,350-2,700, Wheat dara (for mills) 1,515-1,520, Chakki atta (delivery) 1,530-1,535, Atta Rajdhani 10 kg) 220, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) 220, Roller flour mill 840-850 (50 kg), Maida 890-900 (50 kg) and Sooji 1,020-1,030 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) 10,400, Shri Lal Mahal 10,000, Super Basmati Rice 9,500, Basmati common new 5,700-5,900, Rice Pusa (1121) 4,600-5,800, Permal raw 1,700-1,750, Permal wand 1,900-1,925, Sela 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 1,600-1,625, Bajra 1,220-1,225, Jowar yellow 1,490-1,500, white 2,550-2,650, Maize 1,215-1,220, Barley 1,260-1,270.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/rice-basmati-firms-up-on-fresh-buying-115070300472_1.html
Rice prices poised
to climb as drought deepens
A boy catches fish in a dried-up pond near the banks of the Ganges
River in Allahabad, India, on June 4. The government says the country is headed
for its first drought in six years
Photo: Reuters
BANGKOK - It is baking hot in the mid-afternoon just outside Laos'
capital, Vientiane. Won, a local rice farmer, looks up at the cloudless sky. It
should be humid and raining, but so far in June, this area close to the Mekong
River, which separates Laos from Thailand, has only seen desultory showers
every few days. Won has already planted rice on her 6 hectares of paddies, but
just down the road other fields lay fallow, waiting for regular downpours that
the rice crops need."We have some irrigation water but the water levels
are much lower than last year, when the rain started earlier," she told
the Nikkei Asian Review. "If rain doesn't come in July, I will let the
rice die." Won said that the irrigation water will only last for a few
weeks.
It is the same story in Fang, hundreds of kilometers away in
Thailand's far north, near the border with Myanmar. Farmer Panbunta Kantapan
said the situation is already desperate. "If the rain does not come soon
there will be no point planting at all," he said, adding that he was
considering planting a less water-intensive crop, such as corn.
El Nino is back
Heat waves and drought have gripped nations across South and
Southeast Asia as El Nino has taken hold for the first time since 2009. It has
brought heavier rainfall to the Americas and a hotter and drier summer to
Asia.That is bleak news for rice production and exports as the three nations
suffering the effects of the drought -- India, Vietnam and Thailand -- are also
the world's leading exporters. The grain is the world's third-biggest crop
after sugar cane and corn, according to the United Nations.
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/rice-prices-poised-climb-drought-deepens#sthash.Nc4Fm5jM.dpuf
USA Rice Participates in LSU Rice Field Day; Reports to LA Rice
Promotion Board
USA Rice's Bob Cummings
CROWLEY, LA --
More than 400 rice farmers and industry stakeholders gathered here last week
for the 106th Annual Louisiana State University AgCenter Rice Research Field
Day. USA Rice is an annual sponsor of the field day where growers receive the
latest rice research findings and crop production recommendations from AgCenter
scientists and extension personnel. USA Rice's Bob Cummings reviewed the
comprehensive report by the U.S. International Trade Commission on the global
position of the U.S. rice industry. The
report, Rice: Global Competitiveness of the U.S. Rice Industry, is positive on
the competitiveness of the industry, while also highlighting foreign government
rice policies that could threaten U.S. ompetitiveness. Cummings also talked about efforts to preserve
our competitiveness in Mexico, the number one rice export market, and China,
where USA Rice has been seeking access for nine years.Following the field day
activities, USA Rice staff presented the annual USA Rice Council report to the
Louisiana Rice Promotion Board, the governor-appointed producer board
responsible for allocating funds from the state's rice promotion
check-off.Cummings reviewed USA Rice's ongoing mechanisms for reporting
activities to members and presented the financial report. He also discussed domestic promotion
activities, highlighting efforts to leverage food policy, educate registered
retail dieticians, engage influential food and nutrition bloggers, educate
school students, and continue outreach to foodservice. Cummings also provided a look ahead at rice
promotion plans during the 25thanniversary of September National Rice
Month. He stressed the value of having
Louisiana producers involved in developing and guiding promotion programs.Jim
Guinn, vice president of international promotion, reviewed market challenges
and opportunities in top U.S. export markets focusing on Mexico, Central
America, European Union, United Kingdom, Colombia, and Iraq, and outlined
efforts to increase rice sales in each.
Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009
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IARC Classifies 2,4-D as Possible
Carcinogen
|
 LYON, FRANCE -- Last week the World Health Organization's (WHO)
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed the pesticide 2,4-D
as a "2B-possible" carcinogen. The 2,4-D Research Task Force
responded to the ranking, saying the IARC calssification of 2,4-D as a
possible carcinogen is at odds with comprehensive cancer reviews completed by
health and safety regulators worldwide.
"No regulatory agency in the world considers 2,4-D to be a
carcinogen," said Dr. Julie Goodman, an epidemiologist, board certified
toxicologist, and consultant to the 2,4-D Research Task Force. Dr. Goodman
was an observer throughout the IARC meeting, which took place here June 2-9.
Pesticide 2,4-D has been the
subject of hundreds of scientific studies and regulatory reviews.
Government regulatory agencies charged with protection of public health in more
than 100 countries have evaluated the science and concluded that 2,4-D does
not increase health risks when used as directed. In fact, no government
in the world considers it a carcinogen, including the Environmental
Protection Agency, the European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, and the
WHO (which oversees IARC).
USA Rice is a member of the 2,4-D
Task Force and has filed comments supporting the continued use of the product
in rice.
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Crop Progress: 2015 Crop 25
Percent Headed
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WASHINGTON, DC -- Twenty-five percent of the nation's 2015 rice acreage
is headed, according to today's U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress Report.
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CME
Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
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APEDA India (News)
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Stagnant food exports
ISSUES ranging from geographical
identification of basmati to lack of standardised processing of seafood to low
value-adddition keep taking a toll on Pakistan’s food exports. Limited foreign
markets as in case of meat, inability to create sustainable large export
surpluses and delayed decisions on whether to allow exports of wheat and sugar
also undermine our food export earnings.It is broadly for these factors that
food exports have remained almost stagnant for last five years, with FY15 being
no exception (see table).According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, food
exports fell 1pc to $4.251bn in 11 months of FY15 from $4.293bn in a year-ago
period.
Penetrating into a larger number
of export markets is very much required to enhance forex earnings from meat and
meat products
Exports of basmati rice dropped
about 23pc in terms of value reflecting primarily a volumetric decline of 26pc.
Rice exporters say domestic prices of paddy remained so high and domestic
demand for packed basmati rice was so strong that they could not dare competing
with Indian exporters. “Besides, non-resolution of the issue of geographical
identification also continued haunting us which was another factor that
discouraged basmati exporters,” says an official of Rice Exporters Association
of Pakistan.
“Paddy production in the country
was sufficiently large and a little bit of planning could have averted a
price-hike in local market,” he says “but larger than required procurement (by
Passco) in the name of reserve stocks and smuggling of basmati to Afghanistan
also made a dent in exports.”Export of non-basmati varieties of rice rose both
in volume and value in FY15, which somewhat compensated the decline in exports
of basmati. Exporters say this was in continuation of a trend that set in some
years ago, adding that with faltering basmati exports, many rely on non-basmati
varieties to keep their business running. Unlike basmati, local demand for
other varieties does not rise dramatically for two reasons. First, urbanisation
and change in life style is replacing demand of coarse rice with that of
basmati and secondly production of non-basmati varieties has been growing
steadily for last few years.
In 11 months of FY15, fruit
exports, the biggest in food category after rice, remained unchanged at the
year-ago level as shipments saw a 10pc decline. That happened as mangoes’
shipments were returned from some European destinations due to presence of
fruit fly. Wooden crates in which mangoes and other fruits were shipped out
were also found infested with bacteria in some cases. Though these two issues
have now been taken care of, fall in fruit exports in FY15 keeps the challenge
of creating enough exportable fruit surplus alive.
Official stats show a modest
increase in fruit production in recent years. So, the decline in export volumes
can be explained by higher domestic demand of fruits and rising local cost of
exportable fruits. The entire fruit market is dominated by investors,
contractors and commission agents who seek higher returns on investment and
charge fatter fee for their services every year, exporters maintain.
This is elbowing out small and
medium exporters from the scene leaving the export business exclusively in the
hands of big players.
Exports of vegetables grew 8.4pc
in value in 11 months of FY15 over the same period of FY14. But here again,
additional forex earning was far lesser than what it should have been because
it came on the back of a huge 24.3pc increase in export volumes. This is
indicative of two things, exporters say. First, per-unit price of the exported
veggies either remained stagnant or declined and second, export volumes of
pricier vegetables didn’t rise as much as that of low-price veggies.
And, it is common knowledge that
vegetable export earnings in the last year rose mainly due to one-time high
volume export of potatoes whose production at home was high. High-price veggies
like cabbages and cauliflower and lady-finger and turnip made little
contribution to growth in exports.
Seafood and meat, two other major
food export items, generally suffer from the lack of standardised processing
and limited foreign markets, respectively. This is reflected in their
inconsistent export growth, sometime witnessing a low-level increase and at
other times in outright decline. In FY15, seafood exports fell both in terms of
volume (4.7pc) and value (3.4pc).
Though the European Union has
re-allowed two Pakistani firms to export fish and fish preparations to EU
countries a majority of companies are still struggling to meet the EU
standards. Recently a EU delegation visited and re-evaluated the fish
processing conditions of five companies. According to official sources these
companies, too, would be permitted shortly to restart exports to EU. If that
happens, seafood exports may recover. But in a broader term, perennial issues
like obsolete fishing boats and nets, over-reliance on traditional ways of
fishing and least-scientific fish processing would have to be better tackled to
push seafood exports.
Meat and meat products are mainly
exported to the Gulf countries or Malaysia, though lately some exporters have
started exploring such non-traditional markets like China, Bangladesh and
Central Asian countries. Penetrating into a larger number of export markets is,
thus, very much required to enhance forex earnings from meat and meat products.
Besides, issues of proper packaging and development of more value-added meat
products also need attention.
Published in Dawn, Economic &
Business, July 6th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1192518/stagnant-food-exports
Rice Research Station Field Day
attracts large crowd to see new varieties, technology
Jul 4, 2015 | Delta
Farm Press
Whoever was in charge of the
weather for the 2015 Rice Research Station Field Day should have their
contracted extended for 2016. Rain, which has been a constant companion for
rice producers in the region, held off until all of the crowd was inside the
rice dryer/auditorium at the station to hear presentations and enjoy lunch. Dr.
Steve Linscombe talked about the field day and the impact weather has had in
2015 in this interview following the field day.
Watch
Video on :http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/rice-research-station-field-day-attracts-large-crowd-see-new-varieties-technology
Wild rice making comeback on
St. Louis River
Tom Howes explained in Anishinaabe, then in English, why restoring
wild rice to the St. Louis River is so important to the Fond du Lac people.
It’s here, along the 26-mile estuary upstream of Lake Superior,
that his ancestors settled after a long journey from the east. They chose the
river because of the plentiful food — especially manoomin, wild rice, which
they believe is a gift from the creator who led them here.“We’re taking care of
the gifts that were given to us,” Howes said on a sunny afternoon at Boy Scout
Landing in western Duluth.Fond du Lac, he noted, is the French phrase for his
people’s location at the end of waters, or end of Lake Superior.
“This is a very important place to us as Fond
du Lac people. And this rice is a very important resource,” said Howes, the
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s natural resources program manager.
“That’s why we’re doing this.”The band is playing a key role in the first major
wild rice restoration project now underway on the St. Louis River estuary.For
the past 125 years, the river’s rice wasn’t well taken care of. In the late
1800s the St. Louis was used as a log flume, with floating trees that trashed
many wild rice beds. Then harborside industry — sawmills, steel mills and factories
— did their part to destroy habitat, as did docks and dredged slips for grain
elevators and iron ore loading facilities. Upstream paper mills fouled the
water to the point rice couldn’t thrive.
Now, only a few pockets of wild rice are found in the 12,000-acre
estuary.“This was at one time the single largest wild rice area in the region,”
said Daryl Peterson of the Minnesota Land Trust, which is coordinating a wild
rice restoration project on the river. “Nobody really knows, but we think there
were probably about 3,000 acres of wild rice in the estuary before it was
degraded. … We think we can bring back maybe a third of that. Maybe 1,000 acres
is realistic.”Howes and Peterson are helping oversee the $200,000 effort. Work
began in recent weeks to clear the way for wild rice to make a comeback on the
estuary, with a giant weed-harvesting machine chewing away at lily pads,
coontail, reeds, sedges and other plants that have filled in where rice once
thrived.“We do it twice. We’ll come back at it after they (weeds) try to come
up again,” said Terry Perrault, a Fond du Lac Natural Resources Program
technician.Perrault was driving the clumsy-looking weed harvester that was
cutting and gobbling up the weeds where the band will sow wild rice seeds this
fall.
The band will try to use rice harvested in September from nearby
beds or “definitely rice from within the watershed,” Perrault said as he
piloted the harvester in Duck Hunter Bay, a 40-acre shallow backwater on the
Wisconsin side of the river.“It’s a lot of work. It might take three or four
seedings to get it going,” Perrault added, noting the tribe has done similar
rice restoration efforts on several lakes within the Fond du Lac Reservation.A
bald eagle soared overhead as Perrault guided the harvester. A great blue heron
fished near shore. Now and then a fish would scurry to get away from the
commotion.“This is perfect habitat. It’s the right depth … two to three feet,
maybe four. This is a place there was probably rice before,” Perrault said.If
he finds any stands of wild rice he avoids cutting that area.“There’s still
some around, here and there,” Perrault said.In addition to the nonprofit Land
Trust and the Fond du Lac band, the rice effort is joined by the Wisconsin and
Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, the 1854 Treaty Authority and the
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Funding comes from the
Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Sustain
Our Great Lakes and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Both for its cultural importance and its value as a food for
humans and wildlife, restoring rice beds is a key element of the larger St.
Louis River estuary restoration effort.The lower St. Louis River is one of 43
so-called Areas of Concern along the Great Lakes, places severely degraded by
development and pollution. It’s hoped that expensive efforts to remove that
pollution, restore habitat and rehabilitate the river estuary could eventually
get the St. Louis delisted as an Area of Concern, Peterson said.The rice effort
is just one of 60 restoration projects either underway or planned for the
estuary.“We can’t recover all of what the estuary was (before development). The
lower estuary is always going to be a working harbor, and that’s good,”
Peterson said at the boat landing. “But, up here, we can make a difference.”
Image: Terry Perrault, a natural resources technician with the Fond
du Lac Band of Ojibwe, operates a weed harvesting machine on the St. Louis
River recently. The weeds are being removed so wild rice can be restored. (John
Myers / jmyers@duluthnews.com)
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3779399-wild-rice-making-comeback-st-louis-river
Let’s consume rice to ease high mealie meal price’
ESTHER MSETEKA, Lusaka
THE Jesuit Centre for Theological
Reflection (JCTR) has urged the public to consume locally grown rice to help
cushion the high prices of mealie meal.To this effect, JCTR has called on
Government to speed up the implementation of the National Rice Strategy (NRS)
policy to support rice farming across the country.This is according to a
statement issued by JCTR media and information officer Mwiinga Shimilimo on
Friday.
Ms Shimilimo said despite the
agro-ecological zone being favourable for growing crops such as Irish and sweet
potatoes, cassava and rice, maize has continued to have a dominant effect
on the agriculture system, consumption pattern and the economy.“Despite
Government’s calls for diversification in the agriculture sector, the reality
on the ground and in particular, in the rice sub-sector, bears little
resemblance to the actual strategies of what works in terms of implementing and
sustaining increased wealth creation and employment generation in the rice
sub-sector,” she said.
Ms Shimilimo called on Government
to improve infrastructure in the rice sub- sector such as rice shelling
machinery and access to markets where rice can be sold.The JCTR’s rice advocacy
and scoping studies reveal that most Zambian households prefer to eat local
rice varieties such as 
Mongu, Nakonde or Chama rice as compared to imported ones as the
local varieties have an aromatic flavour and are highly nutritious.Ms Shimilimo
also said even though crops such as rice are readily available and have
increased in production volumes, consumption still remains low among most
households in the country.
Mongu, Nakonde or Chama rice as compared to imported ones as the
local varieties have an aromatic flavour and are highly nutritious.Ms Shimilimo
also said even though crops such as rice are readily available and have
increased in production volumes, consumption still remains low among most
households in the country.
https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=35645
PhilRice, IRRI test 766 rice
varieties
(The Philippine Star) | Updated July 6, 2015 - 12:00am
MUÑOZ, Nueva
Ecija, Philippines – The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have pilot-tested 766 rice
varieties for planting in several locations in the country.The rice varieties
are climate-resilient, higher yielding, resistant to major pests and diseases,
and resistant to hostile environments.The collaborative project, titled
“Accelerating the development and adoption of next-generation rice varieties
for major ecosystems in the Philippines,” is an initiative under the Food Staples
Sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA), PhilRice and
IRRI in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, state
colleges and universities, local government units (LGUs) and farmers. 
It involved the
fielding of 206 PhilRice-bred lines, 488 IRRI lines and 72 other lines and was
unveiled during an assessment and planning workshop in Subic, Zambales last
month.Georgina Vergara, IRRI scientist, said the 766 rice varieties have been
nominated for multi-location environment testing (MET).
She added that the
project is intended to mitigate the impacts of climate change on rice
production and food security with the development of varieties that could
withstand multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. Headlines (
Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
In 2014, more than
2,000 lines were screened for submergence, 12,000 for salinity, and 80 for
drought, she also said.Thelma Padolina, PhilRice senior research fellow, said
it usually takes six years of breeding work, three years of testing, and two
years of commercial seed production before farmers can plant a new variety.The
project, she added, would shorten that process and make the new varieties
accessible to farmers.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/06/1473794/philrice-irri-test-766-rice-varieties#sthash.tBdFJUAD.dpuf
Manansala murals of Irri declared National Cultural Treasures
MASTERPIECES
TO BE ON DISPLAY AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR FIVE YEARS
By: Carla T. Gamalinda (Contributor)
Philippine
Daily Inquirer
12:05
AM July 6th, 2015
TWO LARGE-SCALE Vicente Manansala paintings that
have delighted employees of the International Rice Research Institute (Irri)
are now shared with a wider audience at the National Museum as they land on the
list of our National Cultural Treasures.Manansala was commissioned to do the
paintings in 1962. They were put on display on the walls of the dining hall and
cafeteria of the Irri headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.RAMON del Rosario and
Dr. Emerlinda Roman unveiling the marker.
LESTER G. BABIERA
Through a partnership between Irri and the
National Museum, and to protect and preserve the masterpieces, the paintings
were transferred to the Irri Hall in the historic Legislative Building which
houses the art exhibition galleries of the National Museum. The Irri Hall
opened for public viewing last May 14.On the same day, the two artworks were
elevated by the museum from being Important Cultural Properties to the status
of National Cultural Treasures. This is the highest recognition in the
Philippines for works of art that play a significant role in defining the
identity of the Filipino people.An official heritage marker announcing the
recognition has been installed by the National Museum.
As stated in Section 7 of the National Cultural
Heritage Act of 2009, the two paintings will receive priority government
funding for its protection, conservation and restoration; incentives will be
provided for private support of its conservation and restoration through the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Conservation Incentive Program;
and will be given priority protection by the government in case of armed
conflict, natural disasters, and other events that may put them in danger.
‘Rice is life’
Robert
Zeigler, director general of Irri, agreed to lend the two paintings to the
National Museum for five years with the hope of introducing them to a broader
audience.
DR.
ROBERT Ziegler
Zeigler believes Irri is working for cultural heritage
by empowering indigenous communities that produce traditional rice varieties.
Irri preserves the nation’s heirloom that way, he says.“Rice is culturally
intertwined with the lives of the Filipinos, and Vicente Manansala captured it
perfectly in these national treasures.”The twin Manansala murals are a
lighthearted narration of Filipino rural life. One is a joyful, pastel-colored
medley of labor; scenes of fishing and rice-planting flank the two sides, while
at the center, as focal point, is a woman bathing a child.The second painting
is a spectacle of small-town festivities: on the left is a game of sipa, the
national sport; on the right are two men competing in a carabao race. The
stretch of canvas is lined with a crowd of people watching two roosters in
midair cockfight .
JEREMY
Barns
The figures are rendered in trademark
Manansala—with overlapping transparent polygonal cells that play up the
two-dimensionality of the painting.Manansala, born in 1910, took up Fine Arts
at University of the Philippines. He worked for several publications in the
1930s.He was awarded study grants abroad. He taught at University of Santo
Tomas School of Fine Arts from 1951 to 1958.He was proclaimed National Artist
in 1982, a year after he passed away.Manansala produced a significant number of
murals, several of which are declared Important Cultural Properties. The Irri
series is the first to be declared National Cultural Treasure
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/199370/manansala-murals-of-irri-declared-national-cultural-treasures/#ixzz3fEpfV9Qb
Drought to cut Thai rice output to 11-year low
Lingering drought has left the world's biggest rice exporter,
Thailand, on course for its weakest harvest in more than a decade, with a
second year of below-average rains meaning moisture shortages even in irrigated
areas.The US Department of Agriculture bureau in Bangkok slashed its estimate
for Thai rice production in 2015-16 by nearly 2.0m tonnes to 18.0m tonnes, on a
milled basis.The downgrade put Thailand on course for its smallest harvest
since 2004-05, and showing a second successive year of production for the first
time since the early 1990s.The declining trend reflects "unusual weather
conditions", with Thai rainfall again coming in well below average levels
in the first half of the calendar year.Rainfall up to the end of June was, at
an average of 366mm nationwide, down 27% below the average for the 30 years to
2010, after coming in 23% below the mean in the first half of 2014.The globe is
amid an El Nino weather pattern, which has a history of causing drought in
South East Asia, and with many indicators leaning towards El Nino last year
too.
'Struggling with drought'
The lack of rainfall is now affecting in particular growers
in the central plain, which are reliant on irrigation to grow rice, but are
seeing water allocations squeezed."Farmers are struggling with drought as
the government is limiting water supplies for agriculture due to critical
reservoir levels and almost six weeks of no rain," the bureau said.Besides
meaning lower sowings in the main crop planting season, which started in the
central plain in May, the shortage of water will likely limit production too
from the second crop, which is seeded early in the calendar year.
"Despite anticipated normal precipitation in the
remaining months of monsoon season, cumulative rainfall in 2015 will likely be
even lower than the previous year's record low.
"Most double crops are impossible in the central plains
in anticipation of low reservoirs in the beginning of 2016 due to
lower-than-expected precipitation" in the past two months.
Export prospects
The bureau cut its forecast for Thai exports for 2015-16 too,
by 1.0m tonnes to 10.0m tonnes, citing rather than the fall in production
heightened competition from Vietnam, the second-ranked producing country, where
prices have been some 10% cheaper.Thai rice exports eased by 1.4% to 3.8m
tonnes in the first five months of 2015."Presently, the price difference
between Thai and Vietnamese rice prices, 5% grade white rice, FOB, is $30 a
tonne," the bureau said.However, it also flagged an increased reluctance by
the government to sell down inventories - which soared to 12.8m tonnes at the
close of 2012-13, lifted by a generous state purchasing programme which has now
be scrapped.
"The government is cautious in selling its stocks,"
the bureau said, noting the potential for upward pressure on domestic prices,
with some 2.1m tonnes sold in the first half of the year, compared with some 3m
tonnes over the same period of 2014.Nonetheless, inventories will fall by 1.7m
tonnes to a five-year low of 6.0m tonnes over 2015-16, the bureau forecast.
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/drought-to-cut-thai-rice-output-to-11-year-low--8543.html
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