Pak- Lanka important
partners in enhancing regional economic integration: High Commissioner Shakeel
Hussain
Wed, 2015-09-02 08:20 — editor
Colombo, 02 September,
(Asiantribune.com):
He underscored that during visit of
Maithripala Sirisena to Pakistan in April 2015, the leadership of Pakistan and
Sri Lanka decided to enhance the bilateral trade to US $ 1 billion. He added
that Sri Lanka-Pakistan Trade and Investment Forum is an important milestone in
achieving this goal in the shortest possible time.
The Sri Lanka-Pakistan Trade and
Investment Forum were also addressed by Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, Chairman Board of
Investment Sri Lanka, Ms. Sonali Wijeratne, Director General Commerce, Mr.
Rohitha Thilakaratne, Presidents of Sri Lanka-Pakistan Business Council Colombo
and Mr. Imran Khalil from Karachi chapters amongst other. The inaugural session
was followed by a question and answer session during which the participants
asked questions about the investment regulations in Sri Lanka.High Commissioner
Shakeel Hussain speaking on the occassion.j
A 20-member business delegation
from Pakistan led by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and
Industry is currently visiting Sri Lanka to participate in Sri Lanka-Pakistan
Trade and Investment Forum and to meet Lankan business community with the aim
to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations between the two brotherly
countries.
The delegation includes
representatives from different sectors like textiles, basmati rice, engineering
goods, fruits, food stuff, mineral products, debt and equity, machinery
equipment, cotton yarn, woven fabric iron, steel, pharmaceutical products,
rags, carpets industry, shoes, leather products, denim fabric and garments,
leather garments, electronics and surgical items, petroleum, sugar, cement and
automobile industry.In a separate development, the business delegation visited
the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo for an interactive session.
– WWW.ASIANTRIBUNE.COM
China's polluted
farmland threatens rice production
Photo: The Straits Times
BANGKOK - Rising demand and constraints on production capacity
caused by pollution and industrialization are likely to push up rice prices in
China, with knock-on effects on the global market, expert observers and
Southeast Asian rice traders are predicting.The London-based International
Grains Council, which closely monitors the global rice market, estimates that
Chinese production will increase by 0.7 per cent to 145.6 million metric tons
in 2016, from 144.6 million tons in 2015, continuing the upward trend of recent
years.
But consumption is growing faster as China's population
continues to rise, forcing Beijing to import supplies to meet demand. The IGC
forecasts that imports will reach 4 million metric tons in 2015, compared to
just 0.5 million metric tons in 2007. Some observers say that up to 5 million
metric tons of rice a year is also being smuggled across China's borders,
sometimes with the connivance of state officials.China is trying to boost
rice-growing productivity by introducing hybrid brands that provide higher
yields and better quality. But many experts say the farm sector may be unable
to keep pace with demand in the face of the rapid conversion of farmland to
industrial use, along with soil pollution and shortages of water.
"As China urbanizes, and its economy shifts from
agriculture to industry-based development, it faces great challenges in
managing its natural resource base," the UN Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, known as Unescap, said in an August report.
The journey of
Vietnamese rice
Nguyen kings continued
carrying out lords’ policy in 1807 to encourage reclamation, establish villages
and provide villagers with rice and financial assistance to produce and settle.
Settlers and good rice growers were exempt from serving in the army, lags with
good labor performance received remission.Irrigation began to develop in
combination with traffic and national defense in 1699 when Le Thanh Hau Nguyen
Huu Canh, general of Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu, commanded troops to conquest
mutineers in Chenla, who usurped the throne and trespassed on Dai Viet’s land
to loot, and help Chenla king back to the throne.
The troops built canals to
take corvettes from Tien River to Hau River such as Ong Chuong canal in An
Giang province and Vam Nao canal.Till the time of Kings Gia Long and Minh Mang,
other historic irrigation works were constructed like Thoai Ha and Vinh Te
canals in An Giang.After invading Vietnam, the French colonialists continued
broadening the irrigation system and developed agricultural production with
science and technology advances and mechanization.
In 1880-1890, they used
machines to dig 2.1 million cubic meter of land to build canals and increased
farming land by 169,000 hectares compared to that under the Nguyen Dynasty.
Thence, they continued digging
million of cubic meters of irrigation land a year, taking the total number to
200 million cubic meters in 1880-1930. Besides, they forced local people to
manually build many other irrigation works.These have basically formed the main
canal system for the region as present and expanded production land to over 2.4
million hectares, which was only 319,000 hectares in the entire southern region
in 1879. Average rice export output jumped from 360,000 tons per year to
1,454,000 tons in 1925-1929. Rice export tax sometimes reached XPF4 million
(US$38,000) in 1875-1884.
After the country was unified
in 1975, agricultural production was always far behind targets because of
policy problems. Sometimes, farmers in the Mekong Delta must eat rice mixed
with cassava and sorghum although they were living in the country’s rice
granary.
Breakthrough
The 6th National Congress of
the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986 put forward two programs to implement
the country’s overall reforms including ‘food program’ and ‘export program,’
making great contributions to the Mekong Delta’s rice production industry.From
an underfed nation, Vietnam was able to ensure domestic food security and began
attending in the world rice export market three years after
renovation.According to the Cultivation Department under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, the Mekong Delta has increased the area of
winter spring rice crop by eight times and summer autumn rice by 4.3 times for
the last two decades.
The region has gradually
lifted the number of crops to two then three a year from only one in 1976 to
meet food security and contribute to exports.Rice cultivation area has been
stable for the last five years with 3.85 million hectares, creating jobs and
high income for 1.46 million households, who accounts for 73.5 percent of total
farming households in the Mekong Delta.Cultivating or not cultivating the third
crop annually--summer winter--has been a controversial topic of scientists and
managers because diseases usually outbreak at that time. However the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided to take it into three main
crops every year.
Rice productivity in the
Mekong Delta has increased 4.4 percent and output hiked 9.3 percent a year
since 1980. Irrigation investment and
farmers’ creativeness raised average productivity from 3.30 tons per hectare in
1990 to 5.38 tons in 2009 with yearly average output of over 20 million tons,
making Vietnam among the world’s top rice exporters.Technology advances and
mechanization have been applied to create new rice varieties with better
resistance ability against diseases and climate change, farming methods,
harvest, preservation and processing.Large-scale paddy field modal, part of the
Government’s agricultural restructuring program, has brought initial successes
creating stable consumption sources and improving farmers’ income.
Renovation and development
achievements have affirmed the value and strength of rice, a national mainstay
product, in the Mekong Delta.
By Tran Minh Truong – Translated by Hai Mien
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/National/2015/9/115171/
Rice exporters demand bailout
package
September 02, 2015
Around
0.5 million ton stock of rice is lying only with Punjab and the government will
have to announce bailout package for the export of this huge stock otherwise
country may lose export market of more than $2 billion to neighboring
country. The price of super basmati which was Rs2600 per 40kg in 2013-14
has dropped to Rs1300 per 40kg in 2014-15 and it is projected to go further
down. Many farmers have refused to sow rice in the next season due to low
price, putting future of industry and agriculture at stake.
Pakistan
(mainly Punjab) produces basmati rice of around 2.3 million tons annually, out
of which 0.6-0.7 million ton is exported and 1 million tons is used in domestic
market. Rest of 0.3-0.4 million tons of basmati rice is piling up every year
and for the last many years. The TCP has announced that it is not in the
position to buy this stock of extra rice. The only solution to dispose of this
stock is to announce a bailout package including $200 per ton rebate for rice
export and Rs1800 per 40kg support price for rice growers for next crop.These
views were expressed by the Basmati Rice Growers Association Chairman Hamid
Malhi while talking to The Nation.
He
said that Pakistan exports over $2 billion of rice, the second largest exports
after textiles, but it is losing export markets since last two years putting
one thousand rice mills into serious problems. He said that Pakistan is fourth
largest exporter of rice and millions of jobs are linked to that critical
sector which merits full attention of the policy makers. Rice sector
experts said that situation is turning against Pakistan and in favour of India
which has introduced its own brand lacking aroma but increased in
length. Indian rice is cheaper due to hidden subsidies which has resulting
in lost Iranian and Middle Eastern markets, he informed. They said that some
3,000 rice mills are facing problems while those 1,000 are on the brink that
have failed to sell rice in last two years.
President
of Pakistan Rice Mills Association Mukhtar Ahmed Khan Baloch said that mills
facing closure are located in Jhang, Chiniot and layya while 3.5 lakh bags are
lying in only one district since two years. These mills are unable to pay loans
resulting in increased interest. He said that government agencies should
buy rice from millers to export them, their mark-up should be waived off and it
should be declared sick industry otherwise this important sector would
crumble.He said that the Pakistan Rice Mills Association has also held protest
nationwide to draw attention of the authorities to the plight of collapsing
sector linked to thousands of jobs and $2 billion of annual export but of no
use.
He
said that authorities have turned a deaf ear to the plight of this sector as
they are focused on welfare of exporters only putting interests of planters and
growers on the back burner. He said that exporters are not cooperating with
millers to cope with the problem while government is ignoring the critical
issue.“The mills are unable to sell their rice. Several of them had purchased
the rice using loans from banks at high mark-up rates.
They
now face financial ruin,” he said.“The future of thousands of rice mills
workers and their families is also at stake as owners have no money to pay
their wages,” he said.He suggested the government to purchase the rice on its
own or through PASSCO. “If this is not possible, the government should provide
us substantial subsidy to save us from going bankrupt,” he said. “The
government should also waive off bank interest on loans obtained by rice mill
owners. Otherwise, we will not be able to buy rice at the next harvest,” he
said.
http://nation.com.pk/business/02-Sep-2015/rice-exporters-demand-bailout-package
Iran to lift ban on
rice import from Pakistan
LAHORE: Iran has agreed to lift ban on rice import from
Pakistan against the backdrop of gradual removal of international sanctions and
the rice export will restart from October 2015.
The decision was taken in a high level meeting with Iranian
government department including General Trading Corporation of Iran, ministry
of agriculture, livestock department, minister for industries Iran, minister of
economic affairs and finance with a Pakistani delegation.Pakistani delegation
is currently in Iran to finalise the modalities of the revival of rice export
from Pakistan to Iran. The delegation is visiting on the directives of Punjab
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif while Punjab Board of Investment and Trade in
consultation with the Iranian Consulate in Lahore coordinated this three-day
visit.
Pakistani delegation is led by provincial Food Minister Bilal
Yasin along with Farrukh Javed, minister for agriculture, Muhammad Anjum,
director general Agriculture Extension, Abdul Basit, chairman PBIT, Nasim
Sadiq, secretary livestock and industries confirmed that the rice export will
start from October.Purpose of the delegation’s visit is to plan for the
upcoming chief minister’s visit to Iran. After rice, it has also agreed with
the General Trading Corporation of Iran that other goods should be imported
from Pakistan. This has also decided that trade route should be developed from
which both the countries would benefit and the illegal trade of goods should be
eliminated.
Earlier, in November 2014 a 19-member Iranian Rice Importers
Association delegation visited Lahore in which they visited different rice
mills, farms and laboratories in perspective of Pak-Iran mutual rice trade
business.Iran is the one of the largest rice importer of the world, as it
imports around 11 percent of the world rice worth $2.5 billion.According to the
International Trade Centre, the demand for rice in Iran has doubled during
2012-13 and in the last five years, import of rice grew more than 35 percent.
Hence, there exists a huge opportunity for the exporters of Pakistani rice.Pakistan
is the fourth largest exporter of rice in the world with exports of more than
$2 billion. Before imposition of sanctions on Iran, Pakistan was the largest
exporter of rice to Iran which it has lost to India.
Currently, almost 90 percent of rice is from India although import
from Pakistan is more economical.India has captured this market as no sanctions
were imposed on it by the US under the head of food versus oil
programme. Under the programme, India can export food grains and medical
supplies to Iran in exchange of oil purchase. However, Pakistan’s trade was
routing through Bank of New York, which was suspended by the US. Hence,
Pakistan was deprived of its niche rice market of Iran which resulted in
crashing of local rice price and paddy growers incurred huge losses in their
crops.
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) former chairman Sami
Ch welcomed Iranian government decision of lifting import ban from Pakistan’s
rice.However, he believed that the decision will remain ineffective until
proper currency transfer arrangement with Bank of New York will not restore.
“Only effective, efficient and reliable formal banking channel of currency
transfer is vital,” he added. He said the visiting delegation should consult
with stakeholders before going to Iran on revival of rice export from Pakistan.
“Outcome of the meeting could be more effective and could be smoother if the
stakeholders were consulted,” he observed.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-337786-Iran-to-lift-ban-on-rice-import-from-Pakistan
Rice farmer
grows crop with 60% less water, awarded
Adarsh Jain,TNN | Sep
2, 2015, 09.29 AM IST
COIMBATORE: The Indian Rice Research Institute,
Hyderabad, has awarded a farmer from Dharapuram for adopting drip irrigation
system in rice cultivation, thereby reducing water consumption by 60%. Parthasarathy M, 69, received the Innovative Rice Farmer
Award on August 29. In all, 30 farmers from sixteen states were nominated for
this award.Parthasarathy bagged the award for largescale adoption of drip
irrigation for rice cultivation in Amaravathy sub-basin in Tamil Nadu. The
award was presented to his son during the Innovative Rice Farmers meet 2015 on
August 29 at Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, by the Union
minister for labour and employment, Bandara Dattatreya.
Parthsarathy has been cultivating rice for 50
years. "In 2013, I was in Coimbatore for an agri fair in Codissia Complex.
There I was introduced to the drip irrigation technology. I immediately went to
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and was given a demo. I first adopted it for
vegetables and then for growing maize. And, in 2014, I used the technology for
rice," he said. The farmer, who draws water from the Amaravathi
Dam, had installed drip irrigation to water trees in his farm in the 1980s.
"But, I came to know about the use of this technology in rice only in
2014," he said.
Parthasarathy said that he not only saved 60% water, but he also saw an increase in yield. "On an average, the yield was five tonnes per acre after I adopted drip irrigation, which was a 20% increase from the yield in 2013," said Parthasarathy.
Parthasarathy said that he not only saved 60% water, but he also saw an increase in yield. "On an average, the yield was five tonnes per acre after I adopted drip irrigation, which was a 20% increase from the yield in 2013," said Parthasarathy.
What's unique about Parthasarathy's achievement
is that he used drip irrigation and crop rotation together. He cultivated
onion, maize and rice in rotation. "This has helped improve his yield and
save water consumption," said director of water technology department, B J
Pandian. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University started research on the
possibility of using drip irrigation for the cultivation of rice in 2010.
"In 2012, we succeeded in cultivating rice through this technology. The
state government also provides subsidy to farmers using drip irrigation,"
he added. Parthsarathy said that he spent 40,000/acre after receiving
subsidy from the government. He received 73,000 per hectare as subsidy for
installing drip irrigation.
FAS Tour
with Foreign Agricultural Attachés Visit Arkansas and Louisiana
Dow Brantley
ROGERS,
ARKANSAS- Foreign agricultural attachés arrived here on Sunday as part of a
tour organized by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The group is
visiting Arkansas and Louisiana this week, and will depart from New Orleans on
Saturday. FAS worked with the Arkansas
Department of Agriculture and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
Forestry to develop the agenda. The
twenty-eight attachés participating in the tour represent the Americas, Asia,
Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.
The goal of the tour is to provide a firsthand look at U.S. agriculture
in Arkansas and Louisiana, and an opportunity to learn more about topics such
as production, marketing, international trade, rice, poultry, soybeans,
specialty crops, sugar, forestry products, cooperatives, agricultural research,
agricultural development, port operations, and cold storage.
The tour is
making stops at many important spots including: Riceland Foods, Producers Rice
Mill, Dow Brantley's farm, and the Dale Bumpers Rice Research Station in
Arkansas; and in Louisiana the Angelina Ag Company, a 65,000 acre plantation
that produces rice, corn, soybeans, cotton, grain sorghum, popcorn and oats,
and the LSU Ag Center.Since 1986, FAS has organized an annual orientation tour
for the foreign agricultural attachés based in Washington. The tours are an effective goodwill building
tool to help advance U.S. agricultural goals and interests.
Contact: Jim Guinn (703)
236-1474
Rice
Foundation Accepting Applications for 2016 Leadership Development Program Leadership Class
Look for this photo on the website and you'll find the
application!
STUTTGART, AR - The Rice Foundation is accepting applications for
the 2016 Rice Leadership Development Program.
Rice producers or industry-related professionals between the ages of 25
and 45 are eligible to apply for the program. The application deadline is
October 3. The Rice Leadership Development Program provides a comprehensive
understanding of the rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development
and communication skills. During a
two-year period, class members attend four one-week sessions designed to
strengthen leadership skills through studies of all aspects of the rice
industry.
The class is comprised of
five rice producers and two industry-related professionals chosen by a
committee of agribusiness leaders. The
committee evaluates the applications of all candidates, reviews letters of
recommendation and conducts personal interviews with the finalists. nterviews will be conducted at the USA Rice
Outlook Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December.
The program is sponsored by
John Deere Company, RiceTec, Inc., and American Commodity Company through The
Rice Foundation and managed by USA Rice.
For additional information on the program or for an application form,
visit usarice.com and click the "Read More" button on the sliding
panel featuring the Leadership Program Applications.
Contact: Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541
CCC Announces Prevailing World
Market Prices
|
WASHINGTON, DC ---The
Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporationtoday 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 2015 crop, which will become effective
today at 7:00 a.m.,
Eastern Time (ET). Rough rice prices decreased $0.07 per cwt for long grain
and $0.08 per cwt for 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 September 9, 2015. |
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|
CME
Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
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Bill Gates is betting
on a genetically modified strain of rice that can survive floods
Sep. 2, 2015, 9:37 AM
In a blog post on Tuesday, Bill Gates detailed how the world's poorest farmers are going to be the hardest hit by climate change. "Rising temperatures in the decades ahead will lead to major disruptions in agriculture, particularly in tropical zones," he says in the post. "Crops won't grow because of too little rain or too much rain. Pests will thrive in the warmer climate and destroy crops."It's a crucial time, too; Gates reports that by 2050, the global demand for food will increase by 60%. But some very clever innovations are already helping farmers in poor countries adapt to these changes, like using satellite mapping to pinpoint the most fertile places to plant in or high-impact nonprofit groups like One Acre Fund.
Then there's the good that some clever genetic
modification can do. The Gates Foundation has aided in the distribution of
"scuba rice," which can withstand floods that would otherwise destroy
crops."The rice farmers I met in Bihar, for instance, are now growing a
new variety of flood-tolerant rice—nicknamed 'scuba' rice—that can survive two
weeks underwater," Gates says. "If shifts in the weather pattern
bring more flooding to their region, they are already prepared for
it."Today, the scuba rice is grown in over 600,000 hectares
worldwide, in countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Laos, the
Philippines, and Indonesia.Gates Foundation deputy director Sara Boettiger
explained to Tech Insider what makes it so effective.
"When normal rice varieties are completely submerged by
a flood, their stems grow quickly to try to get some leaves out of the
water," she said in an email. "If flood-waters are deep and
remain so for a couple of weeks, this kind of growth can exhaust the plants'
energy reserves, killing it. 'Scuba' rice differs from normal rice in that it
doesn’t elongate, growing tall and spindly and wasting energy when submerged,
but rather it goes dormant under the water, waiting out the flood for as long
as two weeks or more."The resilient variety came into the world
thanks to researchers at the University of California, Davis, the University of
California, Riverside, and the International Rice Research Institute, headquartered in the Phillipines.
They found three genes were responsible for the
"elongation" process that caused the rice to exhaust its energy under
flood waters."During the time it's under water, ethylene naturally builds
up in the plant tissues and that kicks off (through these genes) the plant’s
response to try to grow taller and more quickly to get out of the
water," Boettiger said. "In the rice varieties identified as
flood-tolerant, though, one of these genes didn’t work. Without that one gene,
the plant couldn’t respond to the ethylene build up, and it stayed dormant,
waiting out the flood."
Amazing, right?
Boettiger says that with funding from the Gates Foundation,
the International Rice Research Institute has helped transfer the
"scuba" trait into rice varities grown in flood-prone places across
Asia and Africa. Watch Gates explain how climate change affects the
poorest farmers below.
Helping Rice And Tomato Plants Take The Heat
The receptor-like kinase ERECTA could help improve the
heat resistance of key commercial crops such as rice and tomatoes. Asian
Scientist Newsroom | September 3, 2015 | In the Lab AsianScientist (Sep. 3,
2015) - Scientists have identified a region of the genome that allows plants to
resist temperatures as high as 40°C. This quantitative trait locus (QTL)—called
qHat2-1—also confers disease resistance to pathogens. The study documenting
these findings has been published in Nature Biotechnology. Global warming has
greatly affected our environment, and temperature increases significantly
affect plant growth and seriously threaten crop production. For example, the
heat wave of the 2013 summer in Eastern China had a devastating impact on
crops.
Despite the urgent need for thermotolerant plants,
genetic engineering to enhance plant tolerance to high temperature conditions
has been rarely reported. Therefore, discovery and application of more
thermotolerance genes are critical to heat resistance in crops. Dr. He Zhuhua
and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found a QTL gene that
encodes for the receptor-like kinase ERECTA (ER), which confers temperature
tolerant properties to crops. In particular, they observed that the
loss-of-function ER mutants exhibit hypersensitivity to heat, whereas ER
overexpression confers high thermotolerance in the model plant Arabidopsis.
They further established that ER could prevent heat-induced cell damage likely
through activating a cell protection pathway. Field tests at multiple locations
and seasons gave evidence that ER overexpression could enhance heat tolerance
of transgenic tomato and rice during the summer. Moreover, they found that
loss-of-function mutation of a rice ER homolog or low-expressed tomato ER alleles
decreased thermotolerance, whereas highly-expressed tomato ER alleles increased
thermotolerance.
Importantly, ER-overexpressing transgenic plants
display increased biomass, enhanced water use efficiency and drought tolerance,
favoring agronomy. This study thus reveals a promising tool for breeding crops
with high thermotolerance without sacrificing crop yield. The article can be
found at: Shen et al. (2015) Overexpression of Receptor-Like Kinase ERECTA
Improves Thermotolerance in Rice and Tomato. ——— Source: Chinese Academy of
Sciences; Photo: olly301/Flickr/CC. Disclaimer: This article does not
necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff. Tags: China,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Genetics, Plants, Rice, Tomatoes Read more from
Asian Scientist Magazine at:
http://www.asianscientist.com/2015/09/in-the-lab/cas-erecta-qtl-rice-tomato/
In Bengal, a rice
economy rots away on food habits, subsidy
Mill closures
swell bank NPAs
The closure of 500 of 1,200 rice mills in West Bengal over two years is weighing heavy on
the non-performing loans of banks. Changing food habits, rising food subsidy
and falling exports have brought the rice economy in Bengal, the highest rice
producing state in the country, to the verge of a crisis.With the size of loans
of rice mills between Rs 4 crore and Rs 15 crore, and around 200-250 accounts
turning into NPAs in the past few months, the amount of NPA addition could be
between Rs 800 crore and Rs 3,000 crore, according to DN Mondol, president of
the Bengal Rice Mills Association.“The market for rice in West Bengal is
shrinking, and there is no upgradation in technology. The parboiled rice
produced in Bengal was in high demand in eastern India, Bangladesh and Africa.
However, Bangladesh has
attained self-sufficiency in rice, leading to a shrinkage of exports. Due to
lifestyle changes, the consumption of rice is also going down. The mills have
also complained about delays in payment for levy rice,” said the manager of apublic sector bank in Burdwan district.West Bengal
produces 15 million tonnes of rice every year, mostly rice that has been
partially boiled in the husk. Of this, the state government procures 2.2
million tonnes through the levy mechanism.Ever since the Trinamool Congress
government came to power, the procurement has more than doubled from around one
million tonnes. Much of this owes to the state government’s scheme for
providing 35 kg of rice per month at Rs 2 a kg in the Naxal-affected blocks of
the state.
Under the levy mechanism, mills last year procured paddy at around
Rs 1,310 a quintal, while the government bought rice from the mills at Rs 2,060
a quintal. The effective cost for mills for buying a quintal of rice works out
to Rs 2,046 because a quintal of paddy yields 64 kg of rice.However, the profit
of Rs 14 per quintal turns into a loss of over Rs 50, when the cost of milling
and transport is added. According to mill owners, against the Rs 80 per quintal
cost of milling, the government provides only Rs 25 per quintal.The market
price of paddy, on the other hand, is lower than the government procurement
price. At present the market price of rice is Rs 1,700-1,800 per quintal.
Moreover, earlier, around three million tonnes of rice from West Bengal was
exported annually to Bangladesh.
This has come down to nearly 700,000 tonnes.The demand for
parboiled rice has also declined substantially as rising income has led the
demand shift to better quality rice. In the rural market, the key market for
parboiled rice, demand for non-PDS rice has shrunk because of government
subsidy schemes.Data from the NSSO survey on household consumption suggests
between 2004-05 and 2011-12, the monthly per capita consumption of rice in
urban areas declined from 6.77 kg to 6.24 kg. The monthly per capita
consumption of PDS rice in rural areas increased from 0.61 kg in 2004-05 to
0.95 kg in 2011-12. But the monthly per capita demand for rice from non-PDS
sources in rural areas decreased from 9.08 kg to 8.97 kg.
The trend is not restricted to West Bengal, as per capita monthly
rice consumption in rural India declined to 5.98 kg in 2011-12 from 6.38 kg in
2004-05. In urban India, the fall in rice consumption was 0.2 kg per person per
month. Per capita consumption of PDS rice has, however, doubled in rural India
and risen by 66 per cent in urban India since 2004-05, implying the share of
PDS purchases in rice consumption has risen substantially, according to the
NSSO.
BUSINESS STANDARD
Restaurant Spy visits
the Radcliffe Arms, Hitchin
Lobster bisque
VIEW LLERY
I expected trouble. And I was right.The delightful Radcliffe
Arms, in Hitchin, does not have a solitary burger of any description on its
dinner menu.Not that I would have expected one. This is a wonderful gastropub,
with a small, but perfectly formed, menu which had me salivating from the first
glance.But, my dining companion, as we have learned, is a burger freak.Never
one to step outside her comfort zone, she hones in on a menu looking for
anything that comes sandwiched between two pieces of bread.But the Radcliffe
Arms had nothing even vaguely resembling a burger. She even called for the bar
menu to see if one was hidden away from the fine diners. But nothing.Fearing I
was going to have a toddler-type tantrum on my hands, I went through the menu
with her, trying to highlight the things she might be tempted to try.There was
lamb and duck and steak . . . I even pointed out that a steak was like having a
burger but without the bread. But she was having none of it.I decided to adopt
the policy that works for parents dealing with the terrible twos and simply
ignore her.
I had already made my choice – although I admit it wasn't easy.
This is a gastropub that caters for all my needs and food loves.I would happily
have had any combination of dishes, but in the end I went for a lobster bisque
for starters.Apparently, the Radcliffe had had a lobster event the previous
night and had used the extra lobsters to add to the specials board.My only
previous experience with lobster had involved racing them across a deck in a
Long Island yard before plunging them, screaming, into hot water. It had been
an emotional time.But as I hadn't had the opportunity of bonding with my
lobster this time, I was able to sit back and enjoy it.Meanwhile, my dinner
guest had made a decision. Duck – with chips!
The confit of duck leg and a spring roll of braised duck was
supposed to be accompanied by sweet potato mash, but chips go with everything,
right?
And after all her moaning and foot-stamping, not only did she
enjoy it, but she kept talking about it for days afterwards, to anyone who
would listen.I'd decided on the fillet of sea bass steamed en papillote. It was
the first time I had eaten anything cooked in paper and I wasn't sure what the
correct dining etiquette was. Are you supposed to remove the paper? I decided
to just unwrap the fish and tip in my braised basmati rice, peas, shrimps and
baby carrots – which I guess was a posh version of eating fish from a
newspaper.The Radcliffe is very popular and it isn't difficult to see why. Relaxing
before dessert, I realised that it felt like I was sitting in someone's living
room. The decor – the flamingo wallpaper is amazing – is very similar to what
you'd see in someone's house and the dining room felt very laid-back.
There's also a conservatory area and I'm guessing that is even
more relaxed.When it came to dessert, I'd left the best until last – and that
was saying something as every mouthful I'd had had been divine.Strawberry and
balsamic crème brulee with a black pepper tuile ticked all the boxes,
especially when it came to that satisfying crunch of caramel on the top.There
was no stopping my dining companion now as she enjoyed a peach and apricot
cheesecake.I think it's fair to say the Radcliffe had been forgiven!
September marks 25th
annual Arkansas Rice Month
Sep
1, 2015 | Delta Farm Press
September marks the twenty-fifth annual Rice Month in Arkansas.
The Arkansas Rice Council will hold events throughout the month to help promote
the top rice-producing state and support local agriculture. The rice industry
will also donate over 100,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Rice Depot to help
feed hungry Arkansans.Thanks to a new partnership with the Department of
Education to raise awareness in the top rice-producing state. Students enrolled
in Future Farmers of America or Family and Consumer Sciences classes are
eligible to win $500 towards their national convention by participating in the
"30 tweets for #ArkansasRiceMonth" contest. Contest details as well
as a list of tweets are available by visiting arkansasricemonth.com.
The Rice Council has also partnered with Charlie Southern, a
Southern apparel brand based in Fayetteville, Ark., to create a rice t-shirt
and promote local agriculture among a younger crowd.
"Young people are vital to the rice industry," says
Steve Orlicek, Arkansas Rice Council President. "They are our future
growers and consumers with the capacity to communicate and advocate for rice in
a way that cannot be overlooked."All Arkansans can participate in the
Twitter contest for a chance to win $500.The Arkansas Rice Council recently
partnered with Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Cooperative Extension
Service to crown Lynnsey Bowler of McCrory as 2015 Miss Arkansas Rice. Each
year, counties select a Miss Rice to promote rice in their county and to
compete for the state title.
"Growing up in rice country, I take pride supporting a
locally grown product." Bowler said. "In order to continue feeding a
growing population, we have to recognize this industry and the farmers that
produce our food supply." A McCrory native, Bowler is the first Woodruff
County Queen to win the state title.Governor Hutchinson will formally proclaim
September as Rice Month at the State Capitol on September 21. The proclamation
states that "Rice production, processing, merchandizing and related industries
are vital to economic activity in Arkansas."
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/september-marks-25th-annual-arkansas-rice-month?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+September+2%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
India's monsoon rains
seen falling short of previous forecast
Commuters use an umbrella to protect themselves from
a heavy rain shower as they travel in a cycle rickshaw in Chandigarh, India,
July 20, 2015.
REUTERS/AJAY VERMA
India's monsoon rains are likely to be below the prior forecast
of 88 percent of the long-term average, the weather office chief said, which
could make it the driest year since 2009 and worsen rural distress by cutting
farm output. The July-September rains irrigate nearly half of India's
farmlands, bringing relief to millions of poor farmers who till small plots of
land to sustain their families.
This would be the second straight year of drought- or
drought-like conditions for only the fourth time in 115 years, which is another
setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi struggling to win over political
opposition to pass reforms and unshackle Asia's third-largest
economy."Overall monsoon rains will fall a notch or two below the 88
percent forecast that came out in June," India Meteorological Department's Laxman Singh Rathore told Reuters on
Wednesday.The World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday that the
current El Nino weather phenomenon, which leads to dry weather in some parts of
the world and causes floods in other, was expected to peak between October and
January and could turn into one of the strongest on record.Rathore said the
monsoon will start withdrawing from the western state of Rajasthan this weekend
and farmers could be left with too little soil moisture to sow winter crops.
For rice grower Buddha Singh, whose crop is just starting to
develop grains, patchy rains over the past two weeks are threatening to damage
his cultivation."We need showers at short intervals, but that's not
happening for the past 15-20 days," said Singh, a farmer in Delhi's
neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh. "We'll lose a lot of
money."Though rainfall was scanty last year too, a late surge delayed the
retreat by about 15 days and left enough moisture for farmers to start planting
wheat and rapeseed from October.The monsoon was 88 percent of the average in 2014
and cut grains output by 4.7 percent in the crop year to June 2015. Output
could fall about 3 percent this year, said D.H. Pai Panandiker, president of
non-profit organization RPG Foundation.In 2009 which saw the worst drought in
nearly three decades, rains were 22 percent below the average of 50 years since
1951. It had forced India to import large quantities of sugar.
Weak rains this year could lead to imports of cooking oil,
though India has sufficient stocks of wheat,
rice and sugar.(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Greg Mahlich and
Louise Heavens)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/us-india-monsoon-idUSKCN0R214020150902
Inflation drops in
August as rice prices fall
Staff
Correspondent,
Published: 2015-09-02 19:17:03.0 BdST Updated: 2015-09-02 19:26:13.0 BdST
After rising for two months, the
overall inflation rate in Bangladesh declined in August, thanks to a drop in
rice prices, the planning minister has said. Both food and non-food inflation have also dropped in the
second month of the 2015-16 fiscal, according to the national statistical
agency.Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal disclosed the latest figures at a press
conference in Dhaka on Wednesday.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS) data, the overall inflation was down to 6.17 percent in August
from 6.36 percent in July.On a point-to-point basis, food inflation dropped to
6.06 percent from the previous month’s 6.07 percent. Non-food inflation
also went down to 6.35 percent from 6.80 percent in July.In rural areas, the
overall inflation decreased in August to 5.76 percent from 5.88 percent in
July. In urban areas, the rate was 6.94 percent in August and 7.28 percent in
July.The inflation rate had stood at 6.25 percent in June during the last
financial year and 6.19 percent in May.
Wet weekend predicted
for South; rain deficit grows in North
VINSON
KURIAN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPTEMBER 2:
The all-important monsoon trough, the backbone
of the weather system, lay in a shambles along the foothills of the Himalayas.
Trough breaks up
It has broken up into two, which speaks of the
severity of the situation with rising surface temperature in Northwest
India.The parent trough lies nestled along the foothills while the breakaway
half is left stranded in the East of the country, its southern end dipping into
East-central Bay of Bengal.Now, the tip of a trough dipping into the warm
waters of the Bay is always a potential area of ‘cyclogenesis’ (formation of
low-pressure area) and will be watched with interest.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather
Forecasts initially saw possibility of a ‘low’ developing under the benign
influence of a building typhoon racing in from the Pacific.
Poor confidence
But it
is less confident of the scenario where it would need to be wary of a
‘minefield’ developing to the east of the Philippines with explosive
activity.The European Centre saw a virtual line of fire evolving here with at
least two fresh typhoons developing even as the predecessor speeds away back
towards the West-central Pacific.This east-northeast direction of the typhoon
away from Asia could snuff out hopes of the ‘low’ in the Bay evolving to any
significant strength.
In the
absence of south-easterly winds from such a ‘low,’ the way would get cleared up
further for the dry air to fill and penetrate towards Central and adjoining
East India.
Meanwhile, the India Met Department has
refrained from announcing the withdrawal of the monsoon from Northwest India,
which is getting increasingly dry by the day.
Southern comfort
A
western disturbance with its comparatively cooler air is seen delaying the
process, though it will not take much longer for the announcement to come.In
the south, a fresh rain-driving trough has materialised along the East Coast
from Rayalaseema to Gulf of Mannar (off Sri Lanka) across Tamil
Nadu.Moisture-laden winds are blowing into the trough from around Sri Lanka
into the trough which is already bringing rainfall into parts of the
peninsula.Most parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, south interior Karnataka and
Kerala are forecast to receive rainfall during the weekend.The US Climate
Prediction Centre says above normal rainfall would be the theme here during the
period right until the middle of September.
(This article was published on September 2, 2015)
Rice farmer grows crop with 60%
less water, awarded
COIMBATORE: The Indian Rice Research Institute, Hyderabad, has
awarded a farmer from Dharapuram for adopting drip irrigation system in rice
cultivation, thereby reducing water consumption by 60%. Parthasarathy
M, 69, received the Innovative Rice Farmer Award on August 29. In all, 30
farmers from sixteen states were nominated for this award.Parthasarathy bagged
the award for largescale adoption of drip irrigation for rice cultivation in
Amaravathy sub-basin in Tamil Nadu. The award was presented to his son during
the Innovative Rice Farmers meet 2015 on August 29 at Indian Institute of Rice
Research, Hyderabad, by the Union minister for labour and employment, Bandara
Dattatreya.
Parthsarathy has been cultivating rice for 50 years. "In
2013, I was in Coimbatore for an agri fair in Codissia Complex. There I was
introduced to the drip irrigation technology. I immediately went to Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University and was given a demo. I first adopted it for vegetables
and then for growing maize. And, in 2014, I used the technology for rice,"
he said.
The farmer, who draws water from the Amaravathi Dam, had installed
drip irrigation to water trees in his farm in the 1980s. "But, I came to
know about the use of this technology in rice only in 2014," he said. Parthasarathy
said that he not only saved 60% water, but he also saw an increase in yield.
"On an average, the yield was five tonnes per acre after I adopted drip
irrigation, which was a 20% increase from the yield in 2013," said
Parthasarathy. What's
unique about Parthasarathy's achievement is that he used drip irrigation and
crop rotation together. He cultivated onion, maize and rice in rotation.
"This has helped improve his yield and save water
consumption," said director of water technology department, B J Pandian. Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University started research on the possibility of using drip
irrigation for the cultivation of rice in 2010. "In 2012, we succeeded in
cultivating rice through this technology. The state government also provides
subsidy to farmers using drip irrigation," he added. Parthsarathy
said that he spent 40,000/acre after receiving subsidy from the government. He
received 73,000 per hectare as subsidy for installing drip irrigation.
Muse traders flout rice exports ban
By Khin Su Wai,Htin Lynn Aung
| Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Despite a ban on rice exports as Myanmar struggles to recover from
a nationwide flooding disaster, traders are continuing business at the Muse
border with China.
Traders handle
rice at Muse border point between Myanmar and China. Furtive business has
continued despite a temporary ban on rice exports. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing /
The Myanmar Times
Rice exporter U Sai Kyaw confirmed that rice continues to be sold
to China.“I am staying within the guidelines, but if the suspension is
extended, we will oppose it,” he said.Since the export ban was announced, the price of every variety of rice in Muse has risen by around K1500 compared with the
Mandalay market, said traders.Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) officials told
media earlier this month that those contravening the ban on exports will face
action, possibly supported by the government.U Soe Tun, vice chair of the
Myanmar Rice Federation, told The
Myanmar Times that
the embargo will be lifted as planned on September 15. As a result of the ban,
Myanmar has already missed out on 200,000 tonnes of exports, he said.
A combination of the 45-day ban and damage caused by flooding
means that Myanmar will miss its 2-million- tonne rice export target for this financial year, said U Soe
Tun, adding that the export target has been lowered to between 1 and 1.5
million tonnes.Although the floodwaters have largely receded, in many areas it
is too late to re-cultivate fields, said U Aung Than Oo, vice president of the MRF to media on
August 28.“Even if farmers are pushed to grow more rice, we still won’t be able
to export as much as last year,” he said. Some regions usually produce an early
batch of rice by the end of September. This year however, most farmers in
flood-hit areas were unable to start cultivating until the end of August.
He added that varieties of beans, which are winter products, should be cultivated early to benefit farmers.In financial year 2015, which finished at
the end of March, Myanmar rice exports reached a record 1.8 million tonnes, and
the MRF signed a memorandum of understanding with China to export more this
year, as well as negotiating more exports to European markets and to the
Philippines.“We agreed to increase export volumes, but this included exemptions
in case of natural disaster, so there won’t be a problem,” said U Aung Than Oo.China buys more than half of Myanmar’s rice,
though much of the business is conducted on an informal cross-border basis.
Sales at the Muse border have fallen this year after a number of raids by
custom officials on Chinese importers.
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/16269-muse-traders-flout-rice-exports-ban.html
Paddy no more favoured crop in MP
9/2/2015
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Bhopal, Sept. 2 -- Crash in prices of Basmati
rice and scanty rainfall in certain pockets of the state have led to a sharp
decline in paddy cultivation in Madhya Pradesh since last year, a top official
said on Tuesday. This could severely dent the state's agriculture success
story.Paddy cultivation, especially the Basmati variety in Bhopal, Raisen,
Sehore, Hoshangabad and Harda districts had contributed to the state recording
the highest agricultural growth rates in the country in the last three
years.The state had registered an agricultural growth rate of 24.99% in 2013-
14.
However, data for 2014- 15 are yet to be
officially released.Statistics by the agriculture department showed that as on
August 20, the net area under paddy cultivation has gone down from 21.53 lakh
hectares in the 2014 kharif season to 19.22 lakh hectares in 2015, translating
to nearly 11% less paddy sowing area."The crash in Basmati paddy prices
from nearly ' 4,000 per quintal in 2013 to ' 1,800 in 2014 and the lack of
rains in eastern MP has contributed to the decline in paddy sowing, with
farmers replacing it with other crops," said Rajesh Rajora, principal
secretary in the agriculture department.Fall in Basmati prices has been blamed
on change in rules in other competing countries that are also exporters of the paddy variety.Officials said that since
Basmati is a largely export-oriented product, prices depend on "how
much competitive Indian basmati is in terms of prices in international
market".
Top exporters of Basmati rice have a presence in Madhya Pradesh
from where they buy paddy produced in the state. The paddy is milled and the
rice is exported to various countries.The demand for expor t
pushed up prices of Basmati paddy resulting in a large number of farmers
shifting to Basmati paddy cultivation from regular kharif crops in the Narmada
belt in the last three years.
"Basmati paddy requires high levels of
investment in the form of labour, fertilizers and pesticides. With input prices
increasing and prices of Basmati declining, farmers were left with no choice
but to reduce area under paddy," said Pervez Khan, a farmer in Bari in
Raisen district.
The total area under cultivation in the ongoing
kharif season has, however, increased from 122.77 lakh hectares in 2014 to
123.69 lakh hectares in 2015.
Published by HT
Syndication with permission from HT Indore. For any query with respect to this
article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor athtsyndication@hindustantimes.com
http://www.world-grain.com/news/news%20home/LexisNexisArticle.aspx?articleid=2436315016
Single rice brand stirs the pot
Wed, 2 September 2015
Cheng Sokhorng
The Agriculture Ministry and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) are
at odds over the branding of Cambodia’s premium jasmine rice that would help
differentiate it from similar varieties sold by Thailand.The CRF is working on
a new brand name that it hopes will help distinguish Cambodian rice in the
international market.The national rice body wants to bring all varieties of
jasmine rice under an umbrella brand name that it plans to announce at the
Cambodia Rice Forum in November.
“We have set up the market promotion executive committee for
naming the quality rice as the trademark, because so far our rice is just known
as fragrant rice, because we do not have a specific name,” the CRF’s acting
secretary-general Moul Sarith said.Sarith said that inconsistent labelling of
Cambodian rice among exporters was diminishing the collective strength of the
rice sector.Cambodia’s jasmine rice can be grown from multiple varieties of
seeds, including Phka Romdeng, Phka Romeat, and the Kingdom’s distinguished
variety, Phka Rumduol – a long-grain, aromatic type of rice and named after
Cambodia’s national flower.Phka Rumduol rice variety has been awarded the
world’s best rice at the last three annual World Rice Conferences.But the
Ministry of Agriculture has already zeroed in on “Cambodia Jasmine Phka
Rumduol” as the sole brand name for Cambodian rice.
”While he wasn’t averse to the ministry’s support of branding,
he said the private sector should be consulted in the process to formulate an
exact specification of the kinds of rice that will come under this overarching
brand.The CRF’s Sarith backed the notion that the ministry’s suggestion was too
narrow in its representation of all varieties of rice and confirmed the
national body would not use “Cambodia Jasmine Phka Rumduol”.Regardless of the
name chosen, a new label was just the beginning, said Commerce Ministry
spokesman Ken Ratha.Unique branding for Cambodian rice will need an effective
marketing drive in order to educate international buyers, he said.“Because so
far, the buyer knows it as Cambodia Jasmine rice,” he said.“If we create a new
name, we need to discuss the marketing and advertising strategy in order to
avoid confusing the buyer.”
Image: A young woman pours harvested rice on to a collection pile at a
paddy in Battambang province earlier this year. Heng Chivoan
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/single-rice-brand-stirs-pot
Why Bill Gates is so
excited about 'scuba rice'
SEPTEMBER 1,
2015, 1:00 PM EDT
New robust seeds will help farmers in India and Africa adapt to
the world’s growing extreme weather.The world’s poorest farmers in rural areas
of India and Africa will suffer the most from the changing climate, including
extreme floods and droughts. That’s why entrepreneurs and philanthropists like
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates are starting to focus on technologies that can
help farmers in susceptible areas grow more food, using more resilient seeds,
and on smaller plots of land.On Tuesday Gates published a post on his site Gates Notes entitled: “Who Will Suffer the Most From Climate Change
(Hint: Not You).
” In the piece, Gates talks about the need for new types of
seeds that can be grown in areas of flooding, drought, poor soil or salt
contamination.One type of rice seed that is starting to be used in Bihar, India
can be submerged for up to two weeks. Normally, rice seeds drown soon after
flooding, but so-called “Scuba Rice” has been tweaked to withstand
inundations.In addition to better seeds, Gates is also excited about satellite
technology that can provide soil maps for rural farmers, enabling farmers to
plant crops that are better suited to different soil types.
Many of the new tools for
these rural farmers are technologies that farmers in developed regions have
been using for years. Gates writes: “It’s quite common to see these farmers
double or triple their harvests and their incomes when they have access to the
advances farmers in the rich world take for granted.”Beyond just identifying
new tech solutions, it’s a more difficult challenge to get these technologies
into the hands of the farmers. Gates gives a shout out to a non-profit group
called One Acre Fund, which works directly with farmers to increase crop yields
in various new ways, including education.
Forbes
Arkansas Farm Bureau
Daily Commodity Report
A comprehensive daily commodity market report for Arkansas
agricultural commodities with cash markets, futures and insightful analysis and
commentary from Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity analysts.
Noteworthy benchmark price levels of interest to farmers and
ranchers, as well as long-term commodity market trends which are developing.
Daily fundamental market influences and technical factors are noted and
discussed.
Soybeans
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
893
|
818
|
|
New Crop
|
906
|
813
|
|
|
||
Riceland Foods
|
|
||
|
Cash Bids
|
Stuttgart: - - -
|
Pendleton: - - -
|
|
New Crop
|
Stuttgart: - - -
|
Pendleton: - - -
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soybean Comment
Soybeans closed lower again today. Losses were
limited as declines in China were limited today. Looming large supplies in both
the U.S. and South America will continue to keep pressure on prices. New crop
soybeans remain under pressure from slow exports and with no fresh demand news
today prices failed to find anything to support higher prices.
Wheat
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
360
|
350
|
|
New Crop
|
491
|
389
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wheat Comment
Wheat prices closed lower today. Losses remain
limited as prices continue to try and establish lows. While there remains
technical support for prices, wheat needs some fundamental help before prices
can see any meaningful gains.
Grain Sorghum
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
364
|
326
|
|
New Crop
|
364
|
294
|
|
|
||
Corn
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
358
|
326
|
|
New Crop
|
380
|
331
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Corn Comment
Corn prices closed lower again today. Prices remain
near the bottom of its recent trading range and remains in danger of retesting
contract lows. Slowing ethanol demand combined with large supplies is adding to
the bearish pressure on prices. If supplies remain robust, we could see corn
prices weaken significantly over the next couple of months.
Cotton
|
Futures:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cotton Comment
Cotton futures were lower as bearish economic news
continues to come out of China. Concerns about the Chinese economy continue to
overshadow the smaller U.S. crop for now. December futures are heading for a
retest of support at 62 cents. A close below that level would bring the
contract low of 61.20 back into play.
Rice
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Long Grain
Cash Bids
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
|
Long Grain
New Crop
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rice Comment
Rice futures traded in a narrow range before closing
a bit higher. The market was unable to overcome weakness from outside markets
as negative economic data continues to come out of China. Harvest pressure will
certainly pick up as well. USDA says that 26% of the crop had been harvested as
of Sunday, August 29. November found resistance at $12.25 early in the week,
and support is the recent low of $11.43 1/2.
http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/
Nagpur
Foodgrain Prices Open- Sept 02
Nagpur, Sept 2 Gram prices reported down in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing
Committee (APMC) here on lack of demand from local millers amid release of stock from stockists.
Fresh fall in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and weak trend on NCDEX also pushed down prices,
according to sources.
* * * *
FOODGRAINS & PULSES
GRAM
* Desi gram raw recovered in open market here on renewed festival season demand from
local traders amid tight supply from producing belts.
TUAR
* Tuar black showed weak tendency in open market here in absence of buyers amid
increased supply from millers.
* Moong dal chilka recovered strongly in open market on good seasonal demand from
local traders amid thin supply from producing regions.
* In Akola, Tuar - 9,700-10,100, Tuar dal - 13,800-14,100, Udid at 9,100-9,300,
Udid Mogar (clean) - 10,900-11,400, Moong - 7,600-7,800, Moong Mogar
(clean) 9,200-9,800, Gram - 4,600-4,900, Gram Super best bold - 6,100-6,300
for 100 kg.
* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading
activity, according to sources.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 4,000-4,850 4,100-4,960
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction n.a. 8,000-9,200
Moong Auction n.a. 6,000-6,400
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Gram Super Best Bold 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800
Gram Super Best n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,900-6,100 5,900-6,100
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.
Gram Mill Quality 5,800-5,900 5,800-5,900
Desi gram Raw 5,050-5,150 5,000-5,100
Gram Filter new 6,200-6,400 6,200-6,400
Gram Kabuli 6,400-7,500 6,400-7,500
Gram Pink 6,800-7,000 6,800-7,000
Tuar Fataka Best 14,000-14,500 14,000-14,500
Tuar Fataka Medium 13,500-13,800 13,500-13,800
Tuar Dal Best Phod 12,500-13,000 12,500-13,000
Tuar Dal Medium phod 12,000-12,300 12,000-12,300
Tuar Gavarani New 10,100-10,300 10,100-10,300
Tuar Karnataka 10,300-10,600 10,300-10,600
Tuar Black 12,100-12,400 12,200-12,500
Masoor dal best 8,200-8,700 8,200-8,700
Masoor dal medium 7,900-8,300 7,900-8,300
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold 9,600-9,900 9,600-9,900
Moong Mogar Medium best 8,200-8,800 8,200-8,800
Moong dal Chilka 8,700-8,900 8,600-8,800
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,400-9,200 8,400-9,200
Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 11,200-11,800 11,200-11,800
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 10,400-10,800 10,400-10,800
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 9,100-9,600 9,100-9,600
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,250-3,500 3,250-3,500
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,300 3,100-3,300
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,600 3,200-3,600
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,500 1,400-1,500
Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,350-1,550 1,350-1,550
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,250-2,400 2,250-2,400
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,950-2,100 1,950-2,100
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,700 3,400-3,700
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,750-2,900 2,750-2,900
Rice BPT New(100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,000 2,800-3,000
Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,100 2,900-3,100
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,900 1,700-1,900
Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,450 2,300-2,450
Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,800 2,700-2,800
Rice HMT new(100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,800 3,400-3,800
Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,900-4,300 3,900-4,300
Rice HMT Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,500 4,200-4,500
Rice HMT Shriram old (100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,100 4,600-5,100
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,000-10,000 8,000-10,000
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,000-7,500 7,000-7,500
Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,900 4,500-4,900
Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,400-5,700 5,400-5,700
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,350 2,100-2,350
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500
WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 33.5 degree Celsius (93.2 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
23.2 degree Celsius (73.7 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : nil
FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 35 and 24 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL4N1182ZW20150902
APEDA
Commodity India News
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Golden rice: the 'GM superfood' that fell to Earth
Golden rice was
once hailed as the wonder crop that 'could save a million kids year', writes
Glenn Stone. But in the 15 years since that bold prediction, the carotene
enhanced GMO has been held back by persistent 'yield drag' and inconclusive
nutrition outcomes. It now appears unlikely ever to fulfill its early promise.
Glenn Stone
2nd September 2015
To date, the human feeding trials have only been conducted
with well-nourished individuals. In one heavily cited study, children were fed
balanced meals with 20% energy from fat, demonstrating only that Golden Rice
worked in children who did not need it.
Few GM crops are discussed as much - and
misunderstood as much - as 'Golden Rice'.Golden Rice is modified to produce
beta carotene in the endosperm, rather than only in the bran as in most
rice.Beta carotene is a vitamin A precursor, and the hope was that this
invention would mitigate Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), which in extreme cases can
cause blindness or death in malnourished children.After appearing on the cover
as Time in 2000 as a rice that "could save a million kids a year",
Golden Rice has been a nearly ubiquitous talking point in GMO arguments. As a
high-flying GM superfood, it is without peer.But the battles over Golden Rice
have been particularly heated even by the usual standards of GMO bombast.
Critics see it as an unproven, expensive, and
misguided bandaid -a Trojan Horse to open the floodgates of GM
crops into the global south (Brooks 2010:76-83; RAFI 2000).Industry
spokesmen, impassioned molecular biologists, and partisan journalists charge
that children are being left blind by GMO critics having slowed the rice; hired
activist Patrick Moore tirelessly (and cartoonishly) blames Greenpeace - which
he claims to have founded - for "murdering" children(AllowGoldenRiceNow.org 2015).Confusingly,
other biotechnologists claim that Golden Rice is already in use and that it has"helped
save many, many lives and improved the quality of life of those who eat
it" (Krock
2009; also see Thomson 2002:1). These claims cause considerable
discomfort to the scientists who are actually doing the Golden Rice breeding (Dubock 2014:73).
Who is this rice for, exactly?
All the shouting tends to cover up a crucial
issue with Golden Rice: who is it for, exactly? Proponents usually
discuss it as a vitamin tablet headed for generic underfed children in"poor
countries" (Beachy
2003), or "developing
countries" (Enserink
2008), or occasionally"Asia" (Dawe and Unnevehr 2007).But here's
the problem. Golden Rice is not just a vitamin tablet headed for
malnourished kids wherever they may be. It's not a tablet at all;
it's rice,
the most widely consumed and arguably the most culturally freighted crop in the
world (e.g., Ohnuki-Tierney 1993).
And it is headed specifically for
the Philippines. Golden Rice got its start in the Philippines(Enserink
2008), and it's being bred and tested in a research institution in
the Philippines, to be approved by the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry, to
be sold in Philippine markets to Philippine growers and potentially fed to
Filipino children. (Breeders and researchers in Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh
are also working with Golden Rice, but release is not on the horizon in any of
these countries.)
Most discussions of Golden Rice ignore this
Philippine context. Even economic analyses purporting to calculate "The Cost of Delaying Approval of Golden
Rice" (Wesseler,
et al. 2014) make no
mention of the Philippines.The neglect of this Philippine context is remarkable
because the Philippines is hardly just a country with vitamin A-deficient
children (in fact, such children are relatively scarce there). The country is
unique with respect to rice, with a storied history, complicated present, and
contested future for the crop.
This is the country that brought us the rice half
of the Green Revolution (the wheat half was developed in Mexico); the country
with famous rice terraces; the country with a resurgent trade in 'heirloom'
landrace rice; the country with
the famous International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
And Golden Rice simply doesn't grow well in the Philippines
- not yet anyway, after years of trying. The actual rice grains on the cover of Time were not adapted to grow where
underfed kids live; they were more like the plant equivalent of lab rats. For
the high-flying rice to actually be farmed, it had to be brought down to the
ground - literally.It had to be re-bred to grow in a country where it might
have an impact. The Philippines - with the world's premier rice research
station, with a full-fledged biosafety regulatory apparatus, and (at the time) a
high incidence of childhood VAD - was the obvious choice.
Long and winding road in the Philippines
Golden Rice seeds arrived at IRRI in 2001 and
began the long process of being crossed into locally-adapted varieties. By
2008, IRRI (along with the Philippine Rice Institute) was running confined
field trials of two different versions of Golden Rice bred into four rice
varieties.During 2011-2013, they focused on field trials of Golden Rice bred
into the Green Revolution workhorse rice called IR64 and also a popular variety
called 'Peñaranda' (A.
Alfonso, pers comm).
But as of this writing, over 14 years after IRRI
began trying to bring Golden Rice down to earth in the Philippines, the best
varieties still exhibit a 'yield drag' - i.e., lower productivity than seeds
that are identical except for the Golden Rice trait (Dubock 2014; Eisenstein 2014; IRRI 2014).That's
right: contrary to claims that millions of children are dying because of
Greenpeace's opposition, Golden Rice is simply not ready, and hasn't even been
submitted to regulatory authorities for approval. IRRI is quite clear about
this, as a visit to their website will show. When I was at IRRI last month
the word was that 3-5 more years of breeding would probably be needed.
Saving millions - really?
Even if Golden Rice is brought up to speed
agronomically, and even if it is approved, released, and adopted by farmers,
its goal of saving millions of lives - or even having any significant public
health impact - is probably unlikely.Nutrition programs have brought the
incidence of childhood VAD from a peak of 40% in 2003 to 15% in 2008 (Food & Nutrition Research Inst. nd),
and the incidence has almost certainly fallen more since then. Again, IRRI
itself has been transparent, acknowledging on their website that VAD is being effectively reduced
without Golden Rice(IRRI nd).
IRRI is also quite explicit that it will release
Golden Rice only IF "it
is found to be safe"and IF it is "shown to improve vitamin A status" (see their website). It is not yet known if it will be
effective in raising Vitamin A levels in underfed children.Filipino children
who still suffer from VAD have poor diets lacking in the fats that are needed
to absorb Vitamin A (Dawe,
et al. 2002; Haskell 2012; Nestle 2001). To date, the human feeding
trials have only been conducted with well-nourished individuals.In the heavily
cited (and since retracted) study by Tang, et al. (2012), children were fed
balanced meals with 20% energy from fat; this demonstrated only that
Golden Rice worked in children who did not need it.
Golden Rice has soared as a high-flying superfood
on magazine covers, the New York
Times, industry front group websites and speeches by paid
activists; the problem comes from bringing it down to earth.
Glenn Stone is Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology and
Environmental Studies in Arts & Sciences, Washington University in St
Louis. He has conducted research on agricultural systems for over 30 years,
including on the spread of genetically modified crops in developing countries.
His current research projects focus on long-term dynamics of agricultural
decision-making in India, indigenous knowledge in rice production in the
Philippines, and economic aspects of alternative farming in Applachia (US). He is author of over 40 peer-reviewed articles and past president of the Anthropology &
Environment Society.
More: Glenn blogs at fieldquestions.com, where this article was
originally published. More information
on his academic page.
References
·
Beachy,
Roger N. 2003 Editorial: IP Policies and Serving the Public. Science299(5606):473.
·
Brooks,
Sally 2010 Rice Biofortification: Lessons for Global Science
and Development. London: Earthscan.
·
Dawe,
D., R. Robertson, and L. Unnevehr 2002, 'Golden rice: what role could it play
in alleviation of vitamin A deficiency?' Food
Policy 27(5-6):541-560.
·
Dawe,
David, and Laurian Unnevehr 2007, 'Crop case study: GMO Golden Rice in Asia
with enhanced Vitamin A benefits for consumers'. AgBioForum 10(3):154-160.
·
Dubock,
Adrian 2014, 'The present status of Golden Rice'. Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University 33(6):69-84.
·
Eisenstein,
Michael 2014, 'Biotechnology: Against the grain'. Nature 514(7524):S55-S57.
·
Enserink,
Martin 2008, 'Tough lessons from golden rice'. Science 320(5875):468-471.
·
Food
& Nutrition Research Inst. nd, 'Seventh National Nutrition Survey
2008-2009: Department of Science and Technology' (Philippines).
·
Haskell,
Marjorie J 2012, 'The challenge to reach nutritional adequacy for vitamin A:
β-carotene bioavailability and conversion-evidence in humans'. The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96(5):1193S-1203S.
·
IRRI
nd, 'Why is Golden Rice needed in the Philippines
since vitamin A deficiency is already decreasing?' In IRRI website.
·
Krock,
Becca 2009, 'Researchers look to enriched crops to solve childhood
malnutrition'.Student Life, 28 Sept.
·
Nestle,
Marion 2001 Genetically Engineered "Golden" Rice Unlikely to Overcome
Vitamin A Deficiency. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 101(3):289-290.
·
Ohnuki-Tierney,
Emiko 1993. Rice as
self: Japanese identities through time. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
Univ Press.
·
RAFI
2000, 'Golden Rice and Trojan Trade Reps: A Case Study in the Public Sector's
Mismanagement of Intellectual Property'. RAFI
Communique 66.
·
Tang,
Guangwen, et al. 2012, 'b-Carotene in Golden Rice is as good as b-carotene in
oil at providing vitamin A to children'. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 96:658-64
[Retracted, August 2015].
·
Thomson,
Jennifer A. 2002 Genes for Africa: genetically modified crops in
the developing world. Landsdowne: UCT Press.
·
Wesseler,
Justus, Scott Kaplan, and David Zilberman 2014, 'The Cost of Delaying Approval
of Golden Rice'. Agricultural and Resource Economics Update,
Vol. 17, No. 3, Jan/Feb, 2014 17(3):1-3.
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