UNISAME
REMINDS COMMERCE MINISTER TO ADDRESS BARTER, CURRENCY SWAP, BORDER, e-COMMERCE
& TRANSACTION COST IN TRADE POLICY
The
Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) urged federal commerce minister
Engineer Khurram Dastagir to ensure the trade policy is well aligned and
comprehensive to include and promote barter trade, currency swaps, border trade
and measures to curb increasing transaction cost.President UNISAME Zulfikar
Thaver invited the attention of the federal minister to the proposals submitted
by UNISAME through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority
(SMEDA) and reminded him of the importance of the ministry's best consideration
for the proposals from the majority sector.
Thaver
pointed out that the ministry of commerce ( MINCOM) cannot afford to ignore the
barter trade in view of the changing global practices and the crisis being
faced by the commodities market. Many industries of rice, wheat, maize,spices,
food processing and cotton ginning have closed down due to the global
commodities crisis. MINCOM also needs to facilitate third country trading
whereby Pakistani entrepreneurs could secure orders of goods manufactured by
other countries and sell them to their customers in another country. The
entrepreneurs need the facility of switching the bill of lading and opening
back to back letter of credit. There is no gateway facility for e-Commerce and
the opening of merchant account and its maintenance is very high in Pakistan as
only very few banks are offering this facility in Pakistan.
Secondly
the MINCOM needs to work hard on the currency swap agreements with the
neighbouring friendly countries to promote handsome trade.Thirdly the MINCOM
needs to facilitate the border trade to puncture the benefits of
smuggling.Fourthly the transaction cost has become unaffordable due to the
advising, discounting and negotiation charges of banks and documentation charges
of shipping companies. Even the courier charges are beyond
comprehension.Fifthly the role of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TDAP)
and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) must be revisited and reinforced
on modern lines. The TDAP needs to set up the SME export house with complete
infrastructure to promote the export of wares of the sector.
UNISAME
had earlier recommended to MINCOM to make doing business easy and implement the
one window operation in letter and spirit. Needless to say the overseas
Pakistanis and foreign investors are looking forward to incentives and tax
exemptions for innovative and import substitution industries besides agro based
industries.Now that the law and order situation
has improved and the government is endeavouring to improve the energy supplies
with alternate energy especially the solar programme, the investors are
inclined to invest in Pakistan to set up industries and effort must be made to
facilitate them.
Farmers threaten to launch
protest drive
Kisan Ittehad wants TCP to procure
cotton, rice.—Online/File
LAHORE:
Pakistan Kisan Ittehad has threatened to “storm Lahore, hold a big protest
rally and stage a sit-in in front of the Punjab Assembly,” if the government
does not reign in cost of production or announce support price of cotton and
rice.Talking to newsmen on Saturday, its President Khalid Khokhar demanded that
the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) procure both the crops at officially
declared price and it must purchase at least four to five million bales of
cotton and around one million ton rice.
Khokhar
insisted that the ever-increasing cost of production had destroyed economy of
farmers, pushing millions more below the poverty line. “The farmers of cotton,
rice and cane, on average, are losing around Rs75,000 per acre every year
because of gap between cost of production and price of sale,” he claimed.He
said: “The cotton production costs farmers around Rs3,235 per maund, whereas it
fetches only Rs2,200 per 40 kilo. Similarly, the gap between investment and
income in case of paddy is around Rs700 per maund. The cane is sold at Rs180
per maund against its cost of production of Rs202 per 40-kg. The cumulative
loss of these crops turned out to be Rs74,800 if calculated at yield of 26
maunds for cotton, 35 maunds for rice and 750 maunds for cane. Even these yield
figures are higher than national average, and only better farmers touch them.
Even this higher figure does not reduce the quantum of loss.”
________________________________________
Kisan
Ittehad wants TCP to procure cotton, rice
________________________________________
Because
of these high losses, the farmers are left with no option but to either press
the government for action or resort to protest, he said, adding: “The
government can still retrieve the situation by abolishing general sales tax on
inputs and straightaway bring the cost of production down by 17pc.”Secondly,
Khokhar said, the government should design the subsidy package in a way that
the entire farming community benefits from them, instead of a selected few.
Thirdly, for immediate relief to farmers, it must induct TCP into procurement
of cotton and rice so that market sentiment could be stabilised on the higher
side. Unless, the government takes these steps to save farmers and farming in
the country, the growers would be pressed hard for agitation.
The
situation is turning dire for the farming community, as shown by the figures
above. For how long the government expects farmers to lose money on farming, he
wondered.One should not forget that all three crops are so-called cash crops,
which are supposed to sustain life for farmers and also enable them to invest
in food crop. With cash crops turning into a loss-making effort, the food crops
are bound to suffer and generate bigger social crisis in the country by
threatening food security, he said.The farmers leader warned the PML-N that if
growers continue losing money on every crop, it should get ready for different
results of the local bodies elections, which it plans to hold this September.
The
farmers have been taking to the streets regularly. It is time for the government
to come up with a rescue package for farmers. Otherwise, the farmers are
determined to take out even bigger protest rallies after Eid, he
warned.Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2015http://www.dawn.com/news/1193966
NFA-XI appeals for calm on fake rice reports
July 13, 2015 PIA 11-Joey
Sem G. Dalumpines
DAVAO
CITY, July 13 (PIA) Authorities in the grains sector appealed to the public
that there is no cause for alarm on reports about fake rice.Dianne Silva,
regional manager of the National Food Authority said there is no need to panic
since nothing is still conclusive on the laboratory checks on rice complained
to be fake.“So far only the rice complained about as fake showed a contaminant
while other samples showed negative result,” she said.
Silva
said a special investigation task force formed by the police to look into the
problem failed to see questionable rice in the market.She said even the Chinese
rice retailers denied selling fake rice in the market citing that fake rice is
more expensive to produce than the natural rice.Silva said eight laboratory
tests were performed by the Food Development Center of the NFA national office
on two batches of suspected fake rice samples from the complainant.
“Since
samples were cooked, there was no difference b letween the suspected fake rice
and the NFA rice based on microscopic analysis.
In terms of appearance, the fake rice is more chalky white while the NFA
rice is creamy white. Both samples were
positive for starch based on iodine test,” she said.Silva said based on the
test for contaminants, the NFA rice had none while the complained rice
contained dibutel thalate, a chemical used for binding plastic packaging.She
said investigators are looking into the food handling which might have
contaminated the rice complained as being fake.Pablo Gonzales Jr., president of
the Grains Retailers Confederation in Davao Region urged rice retailers to
report questionable rice to authorities.
He
questioned the motive of spreading the rumor about the fake amid the abundance in
the supply of rice in the region given its low price.I urge retailers to sell
only your own stocks to the market,” Gonzales said. (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)
:
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2381436754140/nfa-xi-appeals-for-calm-on-fake-rice-reports#sthash.g0Jr2jB6.dpuf
Japan,
U.S. resume working-level TPP talks
July 09, 2015
Jiji PressTOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japanese and U.S. government officials
resumed their talks related to Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free
trade negotiations in Tokyo on Thursday, seeking breakthroughs on differences
over “sensitive” rice and auto parts trade.Tokyo and Washington will hold the
working-level talks through Friday, ahead of the upcoming ministerial meeting
of the 12 TPP-negotiating countries.The 12 countries, including Japan and the
United States, aim to reach a broad agreement at the four-day ministerial meeting
in Hawaii from July 28.
A focal point of the resumed Japan-U.S. talks is whether the two
major economies can find common ground on the issues of Japan’s import quota
for U.S. rice and U.S. tariff abolition for Japanese auto parts, sources
familiar with the situation said.Hiroshi Oe, Japan’s acting chief TPP
negotiator, is taking charge of negotiations on agricultural trade and Takeo
Mori, economic diplomacy ambassador, on auto parts trade.
The U.S. team is headed by Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
Wendy Cutler.Oe told reporters Thursday morning that he wants to help the TPP
ministers strike a deal by successfully concluding the working-level talks with
the United States.Japan has proposed to set up a special quota for importing
U.S. rice for direct human consumption instead of keeping tariffs on the staple
food for Japanese people, but the two sides have yet to agree on the quota’s
size.Tokyo aims to limit U.S. rice imports to 50,000 tons a year, but
Washington demands a larger amount, the sources said.In the auto parts field,
the two countries have been at odds over the scope and speed of tariff
elimination by the United States.
Pool
photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun
Hiroshi
Oe, Japan’s acting chief TPP negotiator, right, shakes hands with U.S. Acting
Deputy Trade Representative Wendy Cutler at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in
Tokyo on Thursday morning.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002276820
Rice traders call for rotten rice
auction
PETCHANET
PRATRUANGKRAI
THE
NATION July 13, 2015 1:00 am
RICE
traders have urged the government to rush to hold an auction for 1.29 million
tonnes of rotten rice from its stockpiles while demand in the market is high
during the drought."Instead of opening bidding for biogas or ethanol
production, rotten rice could be produced as feedmeal. The government should
urgently release its rice in the meantime to clear out stocks," a rice
trading source said last week.The government should allow general bidders, not
just bidders for biogas or ethanol production, as many industries also want
rotten rice.
If
the government opens bidding to general traders, it should get a better price
than by selling to just biogas or ethanol producers.Rotten rice or Grade C rice
should be trading at Bt4-Bt5 a kilogram. If the government only sold the rice
for biogas production, the price could be bargained down to only Bt1-Bt2 a
kilo.The government should not be overly concerned that rice traders will mix
rotten rice with rice for consumption, since they are also worried about their
rice's quality and would not risk destroying their brand and company image, the
source added.Manut Kijprasert, president of the Thai Rice Mill Association,
said the drought has driven up demand for rice, so it is a good time for the
government to accelerate the release of rice.The price has kept on going up
during the past month since the drought hit, he said.According to the
association, as of Friday, white paddy rice was quoted at Bt8,200 a tonne and
jasmine rice (Thai Hom Mali rice) at Bt13,000-Bt15,000 a tonne.
The
export price of 5-per-cent white rice has climbed to $390 a tonne from $381 a
tonne in one week, and of Thai Hom Mali rice from $1,037 a tonne to $1,046 a
tonne
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Rice-traders-call-for-rotten-rice-auction-30264304.html
Drought
and China’s rice deal send paddy price up by 1,000 baht/tonne
Drought and China’s rice deal
send paddy price up by 1,000 baht/tonne
BANGKOK: — Drought and rice
export commitment with China have driven the price of paddy by about 1,000 baht
per tonne, said Mr Manas Kitprasert, president of Thai Rice Millers
Association, on Monday.
He explained that drought has damaged many rice farmland and was
expected to substantially cut main-crop paddy production. The cutback in
production plus the commitment to deliver one million tonnes of milled rice to
China under government-to-government deals have driven up the price of paddy to
an average of 1,000 baht per tonne. Latest paddy prices in the rice market are as follows: 8,200-8,700
baht per tonne for white rice with 15 percent humidity compared to about 7,000
baht/tonne about three weeks ago; 12,500 baht per tonne of 5% white rice
compared to 11,000-11,500 baht/tonne; 13,000-15,000 baht per tonne of Hom Mali;
13,000 baht/tonne of Hom Pathum rice.Export (FOB) prices are as follows:
US$1,046 per tonne of Hom Mali rice; 5% white rice, US$390 per tonne; 100%
parboiled rice, US$399.
Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/drought-and-chinas-rice-deal-send-paddy-price-up-by-1000-bahttonne
India's
rice exports may drop by 20% in 2016: FAO
By PTI | 13 Jul,
2015, 07.58PM IST
By
PTI | 13 Jul, 2015, 07.58PM IST
India, the world's biggest rice producer after
China, is estimated to export about 10 million tonnes of rice this year, same
at last year's level, as per the industry data.NEW DELHI: India's rice exports may decline by 20 per cent in 2016 due to
tight supplies and growing domestic demand, according to the UN body FAO.
India, the world's biggest rice producer after China, is estimated to export
about 10 million tonnes of rice this year, same at last year's level, as per
the industry data.
"All exporters are expected to step up
their rice deliveries in 2016, except India, where a tightening of supplies and
growing domestic requirements are foreseen to result in a 20 per cent
contraction in rice shipment," Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
said in its latest report on world crop prospects. Lower exports in India are
expected to be offset by increased exports from Thailand and Vietnam. India is
expected to harvest 103.5 million tonnes of rice in 2015, it said. Global rice
output is estimated to be lower at 499.3 million tonnes this year, while world
trade in rice in 2016 is pegged at 42.1 million tonnes, it added. FAO also said that
global rice prices have been on decline for last ten months and
much of the fall has been witnessed in aromatic rice.
Rice prices have softened in India, Vietnam,
Thailand as well as in the America. For instance, the export price of Thai rice
fell to $385 per tonne in June from $419 per tonne in the year-ago period, it
added. According to the FAO, world crop prospects look positive this year
despite continuing apprehensions over El Nino. But those global price trends
and favourable prospects for world cereal production mask localised hotspots of
food insecurity, the report also cautioned. "Some 34 countries worldwide,
including 28 in Africa -- many hosting large numbers of refugees -- are in need
of external assistance for food," it said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/indias-rice-exports-may-drop-by-20-in-2016-fao/articleshow/48057718.cms
18% growth
in rice trading volume
Tehran, July 11, IRNA - During the week ending up
to 9th July, while Iran Mercantile Exchange was the host for trading of 267 KT
of various commodities worth more than 148 million USD in spot market, the rice
group experienced 18% growth in volume of trading.According to the report from IME international affairs and PR,
during this week in agricultural trading floor, 5,780 MT of sugar, 100 MT of
maize as well as 1,130 MT of rice were traded.
Moreover, in Domestic and Export metals and minerals trading
floor of IME, 55 KT of products worth more than 46 million USD were traded. In
this trading floor, 48 KT of steel sections, 4,530 MT of copper, 100 MT of
Molybdenum Concentrate, 1,520 MT of Aluminums as well as 200 MT of coke were
traded by customers.Also, in Domestic and Export oil and petrochemical trading
floor of IME, 206 KT of different commodities with the total value of 96
million USD were sold. Also, 74 KT of bitumen, 28 KT of polymer products, 78 KT
of VB, 8 KT of lube-cut, 15 KT of chemical products, 740 MT of insulation,
2,560 MT of sulfur and 40 MT of argon were traded in this trading floor.
http://www.zawya.com/story/Iran_18_growth_in_rice_trading_volume-ZAWYA20150712073504/
Rain
damages 30k kilos rice in FCI godowns (AIREA - All India Rice Exporters
Association)
Posted, 2015-07-13
(Source: AIREA - All India Rice Exporters Association) BARASAT: A huge quantity of rice stored in FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns in North 24-Parganas Bongaon was damaged after water entered the godowns following heavy rainfall on...
(Source: AIREA - All India Rice Exporters Association) BARASAT: A huge quantity of rice stored in FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns in North 24-Parganas Bongaon was damaged after water entered the godowns following heavy rainfall on...
http://article.wn.com/view/2015/07/13/Rain_damages_30k_kilos_rice_in_FCI_godowns_AIREA_All_India_R/
Monsoon
depression brings rain to East, N-W India
VINSON KURIAN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
JULY 10:
Thursday’s
low-pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal flared up to become a rare
land-based depression and was located above north Chhattisgarh and adjoining
Jharkhand on Friday evening.It helped drive the monsoon to a peak over east
India and parts of northwest India. It also breathed fresh life into the
offshore trough along Kerala and Karnataka, bringing rain there as well.
Interactive rain
India
Met Department said that the depression might weaken by Saturday, but the US
Climate Prediction Centre stated that it would continue to produce rain over
east and adjoining northwest for a few days more.There is also the possibility
of interaction of the system with an incoming western disturbance, which was
parked over north Pakistan and adjoining Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.Already
south-westerly flows from the Arabian Sea and easterlies from the Bay of Bengal
are running into each other over the eastern flanks of northwest India, along
the hills and plains.Very heavy rain has been reported from Jammu &
Kasmhir, Himachal Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and coastal Karnataka overnight on Friday morning.
Even more forecast
The
Met has forecast very to heavy rainfall for the next four days across
north-east India, east India and adjoining north-west India and along the west
coast.This would come about under the overall influence of west Pacific typhoon
Chan-hom bracing to home in over east China as also twin-typhoon Nangka, which
is still raging in the open west Pacific Ocean.The European Centre for Medium-Range
Weather Forecasts depicts how Nangka would take over from Chan-hom and pull
monsoon flows across the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/monsoon-depression-brings-rain-to-east-nw-india/article7408171.ece
Rain damages 30k kilos rice in FCI godowns
AIREA - All India Rice Exporters Association
13/07/2015 | News release
BARASAT:
A huge quantity of rice stored in FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns in
North 24-Parganas Bongaon was damaged after water entered the godowns following
heavy rainfall on Thursday night. The district officials came to know about it
only after an inspection on Saturday.According to sources, nearly 300 quintals
(30,000 kgs) rice worth rupees several lakhs were completely damaged. "The
damaged rice, kept in 600 sacks, could not be distributed among the ration
dealers. The sacks, which are still intact, will be sent back to the dealers.
We have discussed the matter with the state food minister," a senior
district official said, adding that the godowns are being emptied on an
emergency basis.State food minister Jyotipriya Mallick, though, said that
"the damaged rice can be used as cattle food". He also asked his
officials to immediately clear the water from the godowns.
On
Sunday, five fire engines were pressed into service to drain the water out of
the godowns . Locals have blamed the callousness of the administration for the
loss."Officials are aware of the situation. This is a regular phenomenon
in Bongaon in monsoon. Besides, areas surrounded by rivers like Ichamati,
Raimangal and Vidyadhari are also flooded. There is no drainage system in the
areas that house the godowns . Officials know about this but still stock rice
in these godowns," said Sukumar Mondal, a resident of Bongaon. Locals also
apprehended that the damage can trigger a crisis of rice in the ration shops.
In 1970, four godowns were set up by the state food department in the Bongaon
station area for storing rice. Thursday's rain damaged rice in two of the
godowns.
The
food minister also visited the godowns on Saturday. But, he was in a
damage-control mode on Sunday. "The damaged rice will be sent back to
traders from whom it was purchased. The traders can sell it as cattle
food," Mallick said.The minister also blamed the Left Front government for
poor condition of the FCI godowns. "These were built during the Left
regime without any planning. During the construction of the godowns, no
drainage system was developed," he alleged.
Source : http://bit.ly/1CzqhvH
http://www.noodls.com/view/998A0DE1F9F8E789008AA6EF3813881BBC4D9A59?5314xxx1436778777#sthash.kUftPBIT.dpuf
Iraq
launches a tender to provide it with 30 thousand tons of rice
The Iraqi Ministry of Trade announced on Sunday
launching a tender for processing 30,000 tons of rice to cover the requirements
of the ration card from American - Uruguay - Argentine and Indian origins
according to the specifications approved by the General Company for Grain
Trade.
The ministry said in a statement that offers will
continue till 21 of this month on condition that the presentations to be
accompanied by an initial insurances BIDBOND by a guaranteed bank or a
certified check for the General Company for Grain Trade in the Ministry as well
as other documents.The statement called those wishing
to participate in the tender to review contracts department in the ministry to
buy the requirements and specifications in exchange of paying of five hundred
thousand dinars for each tender to be non-refundable to submit bids not later
than twelve o'clock at noon of Wednesday on the 15th of current month.
https://www.zawya.com/story/Iraq_launches_a_tender_to_provide_it_with_30_thousand_tons_of_rice-ZAWYA20150713043336/
Venezuela
will stop buying Guyana rice amid escalating border dispute
Venezuela has decided to stop buying much of Guyana's rice crop
amid an escalating border dispute between the two neighboring countries, the
Guyanese finance minister said. The administration of president Nicolas Maduro
has in the past four years purchased about 40% of Guyana's rice production,
about 200,000 tons, paying for it with oil that amounts to about half of
Guyana's daily supply needs.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan said Venezuelan officials informed
him during a visit to Caracas that they will be acquiring rice from other
suppliers, including Suriname, by the end of the year.“It will be a significant
blow to us,” said Peter DeGroot, president of the Rice Millers Association.The exchange of rice for oil was done under the Petrocaribe
program, a Venezuelan initiative that provides fuel at generous financial terms
to Caribbean and Central American countries. Guyana remains a member of
Petrocaribe and will continue to buy oil from Venezuela, Jordan said.Jordan said
Venezuela did not disclose the reason for its decision, but the long-running
border dispute has been heating up following the recent disclosure of a major
oil discovery off Guyana in waters that Venezuela also claims. President Maduro
last week announced he was recalling his ambassador in Guyana for consultations
and would review relations between the countries.
Venezuela
has long refused to recognize a boundary drawn in 1899 and it claims about
two-thirds of Guyana's territory as its own. Venezuela published a new map in
May that expanded its maritime territory to essentially leave Guyana
landlocked.Guyana Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said the timing of the rice
announcement made it at least appear that it is connected to the border
fight.“It will have to be considered whether Venezuela's position of the
non-renewal of the Petrocaribe barter agreement is indeed an act of economic sanction
against Guyana,” he said in a statement.
President
David Granger told Parliament that Guyana does not have the military capacity
to challenge Venezuela and his government would seek an international judicial
settlement over the border issue.“Guyana has never used aggression against any
state,” said Granger, a retired army general. “In as much as we are a peace
loving state we will not allow our territorial integrity to be violated and
threatened.”
Images|: Finance
minister Jordan said Venezuelan officials informed him that they will be
acquiring rice from other suppliers, including Suriname, by the end of the
year.
Guyana Prime Minister Moses
Nagamootoo said the timing of the rice announcement made it at least appear
that it is connected to the border fight.
President Granger said Guyana does
not have the military capacity to challenge Venezuela and his government would
seek an international judicial settlement
http://en.mercopress.com/2015/07/13/venezuela-will-stop-buying-guyana-rice-amid-escalating-border-dispute?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=economy&utm_campaign=rss
Cost to grow rice falls 30% spurred by free trade pact
PrintPrint EmailEmail BookmarkBookmark SaveSave to my profile Comments3 Comments - last on Jul 13 at 1:56
PM
Santo Domingo.-
The cost to grow rice has fallen by 30% on half of local production in the last
three years, as the result of a process that will ensure the sector's
competitiveness when the tariff of CAFTA free trade pact is lifted. Agriculture
Bank (Bagricola) administrator Carlos Segura said that when producer was using
20 pounds of seed per 630 per square meter on average, now uses only six
pounds, by eliminating tillage, soil leveling and by planting in bulk,
“considerably reducing production costs.”He stressed the improved equipment
used to prepare soil throughout the production process, saving 27 pesos per
sack of rice.
He
said Bagricola finances, promotes and develops rice production with loans to
the subsector. “In recent years this institution formalized RD$976.8 million in
loans to rice farmers, or 58.5% compared with those targeting other
agricultural items, and the funding allowed to cover a surface of more than
72,000 hectares of the grain.”
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/2015/7/13/55713/Cost-to-grow-rice-falls-30-spurred-by-free-trade-pact
APEDA India News
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U.S. Rice Advertising in Ghana Takes Off
ACCRA, GHANA--
Amidst an influx of cheap food imports from Asia and other origins,
the USA Rice-led Global Based Initiative (GBI) here began a rollout of large
format billboards and radio spot advertising in three major cities to raise
awareness and create demand for participating U.S. food products: rice,
poultry, and peanuts.
The billboard and radio campaign, planned over
a six-month period in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, complements other ongoing
activities among artisanal foodservice providers within the major economic hub
known as the "Golden Triangle".The family bond is extremely important
to Ghanaian consumers, and the GBI's generic billboard messages play on this
and create a linkage between family and the strong attributes of U.S. food
products: healthy, nutritious, and delicious.
The radio component of the campaign follows
the creative concepts of the billboards, further leveraging industry
messaging. The ads are in English and
Twi, (the most dominant local language spoken by 78% of the
population).Billboard and radio are the strongest channels for awareness
creation and demand stimulation in Ghana because road transport accounts for
more than ninety percent of commuting within cities, and FM radio is pervasive
in Ghana.
Contact: Eszter Somogyi 011-49-40-4503-8667
USA Rice Federation
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Crop Progress: 2015 Crop 30 Percent
Headed
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WASHINGTON, DC --
Thirty 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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USA Rice
Federation
Rice
annual exports to fall short of target
The Thai rice export association lowered its
annual target from 10 million to 9.5 million tonnes on Monday, due to a
slowdown in the global economy and fears that drought in Thailand could slash
output for the year.Chukiat Opaswong, honorary president of the Thai Rice
Exporters Association, said Thailand would face a tougher export market due to
a global slowdown in trade and fluctuating exchange rates.He added that
concerns over the drought on Thailand's rice production have boosted export
prices and could drive buyers to Thailand's competitors.
The wet or monsoon season is under way, but
Thailand is contending with drought conditions in six out of 67 provinces,
according to the National Disaster Warning Centre, and water rationing is
taking place in almost a third of the country.Farmers in Thailand, the world's
second-biggest exporter of the grain after India, are growing increasingly
desperate and in some provinces are fighting over precious water.Mr Chukiat
said Thailand exported 4.3 million tonnes of rice as of June 20.
"In the first half of the year we thought
we could export 4.5 million tonnes but by June 20 we were at 4.3 million
tonnes," Mr Chukiat told Reuters."We are still waiting for the full
first half figures but our target for the year was 10 million tonnes and if you
take several factors into consideration we expect it to be lower," he
said.As a result of the drought, the Thai government has lowered its forecast
for this year's main rice crop by more than 2 million tonnes, according to a report
this month by the Office of Agricultural Economics.That has driven up demand on
domestic markets, enabling the government to sell 1.15 million tonnes at its
latest tender, a bigger volume than in other recent offerings.Buying has picked
up from African countries who fear prices will go up soon because of drought
and lower output, said one Bangkok-based trader."The African market
remains an important market for Thailand especially rice and parboiled
rice," said Mr Chukiat.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/620972/rice-annal-exports-to-fall-short-of-target
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