News Headlines...
·
Shah for announcement
of spot prices of cotton, rice & wheat
·
Farmer cornered
·
IRRI warns of
higher rice price
·
Vietnam to export
450, 000 tons of rice to Philippines
·
U.S. Announces New
Steps Towards Normalizing Relations with Cuba
·
Rice Traders on
Japan's Kyushu Island Get a Taste of U.S. Rice
·
CME Group/Closing
Rough Rice Futures
·
U.S./China rice
trade deal not completed
·
Bulog raises issue
of possible subsidized rice shortage
·
next year
·
Kharif plantings
up 1.6%, late monsoon surge to help Rabi
·
Yingluck to be
asked to pay for rice scheme
·
Rough rice: Prices
are steady even as exports slip
·
Despite rain
shortage, kharif holding up
·
For Arkansas rice
farmer, hope for sales to Cuba even as exports drop
·
Arkansas Farm
Bureau Daily Commodity Report
News Detail...
Shah for announcement of spot
prices of cotton, rice & wheat
September 18, 2015
Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed
Ahmed Shah has said that the federal government should announce spot prices for
cotton, rice, wheat and other crops of agriculture sector. "The Pakistan
Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) government is not paying attention to the
agriculture sector. The government has totally ignored this sector even it has
not any policy on agriculture sector," he added. The government should announce at least Rs 3500 per 40 kg spot
price of cotton, the opposition leader said here on Thursday.
He said that agriculture growth had
contributed 7.9 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011-12 and now
it has reduced and reached at 0.3 % of GDP. He said that the food basket of the country had been reduced. He
said that the government should take bold steps to enhance the food basket of
the country. "We reject the recent package for farmers announced by the
prime minister without spot prices for various crops," he said. Khursheed
Shah said that terrorism and corruption were major issues the country was
confronting with. "The foundation of corruption and terrorism was laid in
the tenure of late General Zia-ul-Haq. The terrorism in his tenure was
flourished in the name of Mojahideen and Taliban," he said.
Answering to a question, he said
that the Pakistan Peoples Party didn't support Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but
it supported the democracy, adding that they would support the democratic
system in the future too. Answering to another question, the opposition leader
said that after receiving the notice of Supreme Court regarding the
resignations of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) parliamentarians, he would
discuss the matter as per law and Constitution.
http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/624:/1228241:shah-for-announcement-of-spot-prices-of-cotton-rice-a-wheat/?date=2015-09-18
Farmer cornered
September 18, 2015
The Government’s total focus was on supply side of farmers; the
market side of farmer was not addressed. How will the market behave at harvest
time of paddy, which is around the corner, the initial reports are not
encouraging.However after Federal Minister for Agriculture Mr. Bosan’s candid
honest appraisal of the package I got worried. The government has accepted the
fact that commodity prices will be low in the coming years. The Rs 5000 per
acre contribution, by the government to the small farmer is to compensate, for
not supporting the farmer, by buying his present crop, and not for the previous
year losses.The farmer is being treated as a sacrificial animal. A soother or
tranquiliser worth Rs 5000 per acre is being given so that he does not feel the
pain of market slaughter at harvest time.Mr. Bosan I know you are a well wisher
of farmers. Rice prices are down as Iran is not in the market. You and your government
are trying to get it open but I feel more is required.
The government can convince Iran to open market on urgent basis.
It is not market forces but political forces and political will that are
keeping the prices down.Imran khan’s speech at Hafizabad, few days back at
farmer’s convention made lot of sense. Again, in short, it managed to raise the
hopes and spirits of the farming community.My suggestion, request, plea - call
it what you will - to Imran khan would be to join hands with the government in
finding a solution for paddy farmers’ marketable produce. A joint political
delegation of government and opposition to Iran and China to open up market for
rice on fast forward basis in order to get a fair price for rice farmers in the
coming crop that raises his spirits, income and safeguards his livelihood.We
have been losing export market share of basmati to India is our own fault.
Iran, our traditional market, was gifted to India on a silver platter. Their
rice trade made a killing by having a monopoly in the Iranian market. Last
year, Iran stopped buying from India resulting in a price crash in other
markets as Indian rice trade off-loaded their produce destined for Iranian
market.
Government has given relief to rice millers very
timely. Hopefully banks will give additional limits to the rice millers that
will definitely help the farmer. It seems government is not going to procure
rice or paddy so it becomes more urgent to focus on outside markets to open
doors for Pakistani rice.My humble request to all politicians, and movers and
shakers, in the government, is to please focus on export highways for rice to
Iran and China for the next month and put farm to market roads, and other highways
on back burner.
Now,
surprisingly, the smile on farmers’ face can be brought by friendly neighbors.
China is a big buyer of non-basmati rice. The crop is going to be in the market
soon in a big way. As a farmer, I would like to ask for our share in the
promised economic corridor. If China or Chinese traders buy now, farmers’ paddy
price will get a boost. This entire issue is political, and, for the sake of
the farmers, everyone needs get together and ask China and Iran to be in the
market now. Political delegation - not a trade delegation - is the answer.
Iran,
for a fact, is going through a severe water crisis for the last decade. While
climate change is accelerating, lakes are turning into barren land in Iran.
Iran is discouraging water intensive crops like maize and rice. On the other
hand, we are producing water guzzling crops and have no place to export them.
The government should respect grain grown from valuable water, and the long,
hard toil of farmers, which will end up being exported at bargain basement
prices if the government does not intervene. Trade with Iran, China, and
Afghanistan will commence, but by that time, the farmer would already have sold
his crop at a total loss. This has to be avoided at all costs.Iran and china
will both buy and so will Afghanistan, for their local markets, as well as
transit trade for Central Asian republics. The question is: When? I, as a
farmer, want it now as my paddy price will get a boost. Thus the issue is of
timing when the trade with our neighbors will begin.
It
will require political will to find legal, diplomatic and banking solutions to
trade with Iran; Legal: How to trade with Iran with the sanctions, Diplomatic:
Convince Iran to open their market for Pakistani rice and reduce or waive duty,
Banking: Banking channels to be opened for trade with Iran. I feel this crisis
is so grave that it calls for an All-Parties Conference on how to address
farmers’ issues.November should be reserved for agriculture only.The other
point I want to make is that agriculture needs to be the prime focus in the
next three months, and specifically, in November. During the next three months,
harvest of paddy, cotton, and sugarcane will be in full swing, and
simultaneously, the sowing of wheat will be taking place. This is absolutely
critical for the farmer, agriculture, and obviously, for Pakistan.
I
have been questioning the viability of holding elections in November since the
1980s. All these pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears, the logic being that
general elections do not have any significant impact on agriculture as only a
few people are involved in the electioneering process. The truth of the matter
is somewhat different: In local bodies, everyone is fully involved. The
similarity to hand-to-hand combat cannot be overstated: It becomes an “Izzat
kaa saawal” for individuals and Biradaris. I cannot stress this enough: The
elections HAVE to be postponed.We simply cannot afford another disaster at
harvest time. Our sovereignty is at stake. Wheat sowing is in full swing in November
and even a single day’s delay affects the yield negatively. Timely sowing with
farmer having inputs at his disposal is of the utmost importance. I personally
know of farmers who didn’t have the resources to apply fertilizer to their rice
crop.
I
would not be exaggerating to say that in my lifetime, I have never seen such a
bad year for the rice farmer in particular and farmers in general. Last year
the Rice farmer was first hit by disease, followed by hailstorm at harvest
time. Then, to add insult to injury, he got an abysmal rate for his crop. As if
that were not enough, some farmers still have to get their dues of last year
from the middlemen.To recoup his rice losses, the farmer went all out for wheat
sowing with full focus and vigor. Close to harvest time, hailstorms, combined
with unseasonal rains, played havoc with his yield. Despite all this, the
farmer persevered.
However,
what really hurt was the short period and target of wheat procurement, where
wheat prices stayed low before and after government intervention.On this rice
crop his body language said it all: this was a reluctant rice plantation. To
accurately judge the momentum of rice or wheat sowing, one can simply listen to
the sound of folk music coming from the tractors when farmers plough their land
at night. This was the season of silence. And yet acreage under rice is no
less. There was lesser rain, but crops seem to be healthy and no disease issue
has been found so far. Fingers crossed, I am hoping for a bumper harvest.In
summation, at all costs, we have to avoid distress sale of the farmer.
The
farmers cannot take another shock, politicians cannot afford to look bad in
front of the farmer, and, most importantly, for an agrarian country such as
Pakistan, the farmers cannot stand to economically lose more. The entire
livelihood of the farmers is at stake. In India, we hear of farmers’ suicides.
In Pakistan, farmers are already under severe mental depression.It is not yet
all doom and gloom - this is a healthy problem to have: to export our surplus
to neighbours. It does not take long for the tables to turn, with Pakistan
having to import wheat with additional threats of blockade.I will end with a
quote from a famous Nobel Prize winner:
“The only thing greater than the power of the mind is the courage of the heart.”
“The only thing greater than the power of the mind is the courage of the heart.”
IRRI warns of higher
rice price
Thursday, September 17, 2015
A FOOD expert at the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI) sees rice prices soaring by as much as 20 percent, if the El Niño
persists.“If drought or flood hit India,
Indonesia and the Philippines, rice prices will go up by 10 percent to 20
percent,” said Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, IRRI’s chief economist in a briefing for
agriculture ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).“The extent of rainfall disruption in El Niño watch countries – India,
Indonesia and the Philippines – could disrupt the rice market in late 2015 as
Thai rice stocks battle to keep the market in check,” said Mohanty.
“So far, the market has
been indifferent to the weather.”Rice prices in the last two years from 2013 to
2015 had been stable even with the El Niño last year, he said. What’s happening
now is that most rice areas have been planted, some 120 million hectares
already “on the ground,” he said.Dr. Matthew Morell, IRRI deputy director
general for research, said 89 percent of the 640 million metric tons of rice
produced each year is planted in Asia.Thai rough rice production was over 30
million tons in 2014; it’s about 4 million tons to 5 million tons less this
year, Mohanty said. The harvest in India is about the same as Thailand’s.The
Indian rice crop planting remains “normal,” with 35 million hectares planted
right now. The progress of the Indian monsoon showed surplus rain in June but a
deficit started in July. What happens in September, for which a deficit is also
seen, “will decide what happens in the next few months,” Mohanty said.
Rice planting has started in Indonesia, but 90 percent of its 36
million tons of rice crop will be planted in November-December, “so we
don’t know yet what will happen,” he said. That means Thailand and India “will
decide what happens in the market.”A more serious concern, he said, is that
rice stocks in the five major exporters –Thailand, India, Vietnam, Pakistan and
the United States –have declined in recent years. “This is more important to
what’s happening as there’s a very tight rice situation,” Monhanty pointed out.
If the weather affects these countries, the stable rice price in the last two
years “might go up in the next few months.
”The current situation, he said, shows “tight global stocks,” a
monsoon deficit in India and a drought in Thailand that has caused 3 million
tons to 4 million tons in production shortfalls.“India and Thailand hold the
trump card. The September rainfall will be crucial for India’s rice
production,” he said. A good kharif or monsoon rice crop in India will keep the
market stable but not if drought or flood affects India, Indonesia and the
Philippines. “The market can go in any direction in next few months, it’s very
hard to predict.” (SciencePhilippines)
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on September 18,
2015.
Friday, Sep 18, 2015, Posted at: 13:21(GMT+7)
Vietnam to export 450, 000 tons of
rice to Philippines
Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has just won a contract to supply
450,000 tons of rice to the National Food Authority (NFA) of the Philippines.
(Photo:SGGP)
By Cong Phien- Translated by Huyen
Huong
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Business/2015/9/115430/
U.S. Announces New
Steps Towards Normalizing Relations with Cuba
Loosening things up a
little
Loosening things up a little
Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
Rice Traders on
Japan's Kyushu Island Get a Taste of U.S. Rice
Rice, nut, and fruit
salad
U.S. rice: the talk of the table
FUKUOKA, JAPAN
-- U.S.-grown medium grain rice made its debut at a trade exhibition here last
week and was a big hit with attendees when served in two menu items,
"Rice, Nut & Fruit Salad" and "Gumbo Soup with Turmeric
Rice.
Kyushu is the southernmost and third largest of Japan's main
islands and is home to Mount Aso, Japan's most active volcano that rumbled to
life earlier this week.
Contact: Bill Farmer (832) 302-6710
CME
Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
|
U.S./China rice trade
deal not completed
Protocol still in Chinese review process
“APHIS officials said
they were doing the call to set the record straight because there are a lot of
rumors floating around. They wanted to confirm there is no confirmation that
the Chinese have agreed to the proposal APHIS sent them in early August. “What
they did confirm is their counterpart in China, AQSIQ, has sent the U.S. draft
protocol to an interagency review process. They’ve sent it to another Chinese
agency for review.”Klein was keen to make sure everyone understands “that
doesn’t mean AQSIQ hasn’t made technical changes to what APHIS sent over in
August. They may have. We just don’t know because AQSIQ hasn’t gotten back to
APHIS with their reaction to the draft.“We’re optimistic and think the U.S.
rice industry is united behind that last draft.
That included a lot of
concessions to the Chinese and asked them for some reasonable concessions, as
well. We are confident the Chinese could agree to it but there’s been no
confirmation they have.“There will certainly be no signing next week, which was
rumored. We asked APHIS officials about that. ‘Are you sure there will be no
signing next week?’ They said, ‘that’s correct.’”Klein said the federation also
“asked point-blank, ‘The USRPA has a press release saying the Chinese have
requested the signing be in Beijing. True?’ The response from APHIS was ‘that’s
speculative.
’“There simply was no deal to be delayed. There was some wishful
thinking that the signing would take place next week. You know, ‘Hey, the right
people are coming to D.C. next week. It would be great to have a signing.’ But
without a deal, there’s nothing to sign.”Asked for a statement, Dwight Roberts,
USRPA president, said on the call, “We were told by U.S. government sources
today that the protocol had not completed the Chinese ‘administrative
clearance’ that was to have been completed in time for the Chinese delegation’s
visit to Washington, D.C. as APHIS previously had expected.“In the meantime
there is absolutely no indication that there is anything other than a green
light towards finalization of this process.”
completed?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+September+18%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
Bulog raises issue of possible subsidized rice
shortage
next year
The
Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, September 18 2015, 5:22 PM
The State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) has said that the national stock of subsidized rice will be close to
running out by the year’s end. This coincides with a government decision to
distribute more rice to the poor. Bulog’s president director Djarot
Kusumayakti said that by December, the agency’s stock for subsidized rice would
reach 62,000 tons, while it needed around 1.5 to 2 million tons to meet next
year’s demand before harvest time. Djarot said Bulog initially
expected rice stocks at the end of this year to reach around 1.5 million tons.
However, this expectation came before President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed
Bulog to disburse more subsidized rice as part of his economic policy package
to restore purchasing power and confidence in an economy that has declined to a
six-year low in growth.
“We should anticipate this to
prevent rice shortages next year,” he said Thursday during a meeting with
members of the House’s Commission IV overseeing agriculture, food, forestry,
plantations, fisheries and maritime affairs. “And we still do not know in what
month next year the harvest time will be. We are still waiting for rain to
come.”The subsidized rice program, called beras sejahtera (prosperous rice),
has been extended to 14 months of delivery instead of 12 months amid concerns
over the impact of the El Niño-induced dry weather that has cut rice production
in some regions. When asked whether the shortage
meant that the government would import rice next year to fulfill national
demand for the staple food, Djarot said his agency had no authority to make
such a decision.
“Bulog has no authority to
calculate [how many more tons] we need to import,” he told reporters after the
meeting.The government could solve the shortage either by procuring more rice
from local farmers or by converting the existing premium rice into subsidized
rice, according to Djarot. Including premium non-subsidized rice, total rice
stocks at Bulog stood at around 800,000 to 900,000 tons.“We are raising the
issue [to members of Commission IV] because we do not have the authority to
decide [whether to convert or not],” he said.Meanwhile, Bulog proposed to members
of Commission IV during the meeting to approve its proposal to get an extra Rp
3.4 trillion (US$234.7 million) in funding to finance two additional months of
subsidized rice distribution.
The ongoing drought, triggered by
El Niño, has affected rice production in several regions across Indonesia. The Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday said the government would
not increase its target for rice production next year because of the drought.
In 2016, the government hopes to produce 47 million tons rice, the same amount
as total rice production predicted for this year by the Central Statistics
Agency (BPS).
“The reason the target remains the same is because this year we have experienced El Niño and that has severely affected our rice production,” Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said recently.
Kharif plantings up
1.6%, late monsoon surge to help Rabi
TOMOJIT BASU
Almost 97 per cent of Kharif crop
sowing has been completed and acreage this year is 1.6 per cent higher than at
the same time last year. Area under crops
such as rice, sugarcane, cotton, soyabean and a range of pulses touched 1021.86
lakh hectares (lha) as of Friday, as per the latest estimates released by
the Agriculture Ministry.
Pulses, in particular, have
recorded a higher area by nearly 12 per cent although yields are unlikely to
rise appreciably as per the Ministry’s first advance estimates released earlier
this week. Moong and urad areas are higher by 10 per cent and 21 per cent,
respectively.However, cotton and groundnut are exceptions, having recorded
lower coverage as compared to last year by 8.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent,
respectively.According to the Ministry's early estimate, production of
foodgrains – which includes rice, pulses and coarse cereals – is expected to
decline by 1.8 per cent to 124.05 million tonnes (mt) this year from 126.31 mt
last year due to a poor monsoon.The production estimates will be revised three
more times over the year. Rainfall has been 15 per cent below normal at 705.8
mm between June 1 and September 18, according to the India Meteorology
Department (IMD).
Although in its withdrawal phase,
the monsoon is likely to bring much needed precipitation to parched areas in
Maharashtra, Karnataka, the Konkan coast and Kerala through the week.The
southern peninsula has benefited from the rain which has seen the deficit in
the region narrowing to 13 per cent as of Friday from almost 22 per
cent at the end of August.“The recovery has been led by torrential systems
forming in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and will likely converge over
central India before drifting north,” said an Met agency official.Out of 36
sub-stations, 17 have reported deficient rainfall through the four-month
monsoon.“There was initially a fear that a consecutive poor monsoon could also impact
the Rabi season but with these showers over the last few days, soil moisture
will improve and support better crop growth,” said a senior government
official.The late surge is also likely to improve water levels in reservoirs
which as of this week was 92.63 billion cubic metres (bcm) or 59 per cent of
total storage capacity, and 23 per cent lower than the average storage of the
last 10 years.
(This article was published on September 18, 2015)
Yingluck to be asked to pay for rice
scheme
18 Sep 2015 at 16:50
WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS
The Finance Ministry will by Sept 30 demand damages up to 510
billion baht incurred by the rice-pledging programme from ex-PM Yingluck
Shinawatra and some of her cabinet ministers, as well as officials involved in
the scheme.The officials and ministers who will have to pay are those accused
by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) — Ms Yingluck, former
commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, ex-deputy commerce minister Phoom
Sarapol and Manas Soythong, former director general of the Foreign Trade
Department.Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Friday the two
fact-finding committees — one each under the commerce and finance ministries —
will finish their work by the end of this month.
Their reports will then be sent to the prime minister, who will
have the Civil Liabilities Committee chaired by the comptroller general
determine the damages for each of the accused persons and asked them to
pay."At this stage, the accused may file counter lawsuits with the
Administrative Court within 30 days to revoke the order."But if they
don't, we'll seize their assets," he said.Mr Wissanu said the procedure
was not without precedent, citing two cases.In 2005, former Bank of Thailand
governor Rerngchai Marakanond was ordered to repay 186 billion baht the central
bank had spent defending the reeling baht, which led to the flotation of the
local currency and culminated in the 1997 financial crisis.Mr Wissanu also
cited another case where this method of reclamation was used — the procurement
of fire trucks and boats by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration where the wife
and children of the late ex-governor Samak Sundaravej were ordered to repay 587
million baht in damages in 2014 on his behalf.The procedure is based on Section
12 of the 1996 tort liability law for government officials.
The rice-pledging programme was one of the 2011 election campaign
pledges of Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai party, which claimed it would help the
majority of people and narrow the income gap.Under the programme, the
government bought all rice farmers could produce at more than double the market
price at the time and kept it in state warehouses across the country.As the
losses of the programme widened, the government tried to limit the damage by
setting up a revolving fund and accelerating rice sales to pay farmers.As world
farm prices continued to plummet, criticism mounted. The opposition Democrat
party also pointed to corruption at both the operational level and
government-to-government rice sales by the Commerce Ministry.The NACC later
found the case had ground and accused Ms Yingluck of dereliction of duty
because she had failed to stop the programme despite numerous warnings.She was
impeached in January this year by the National Legislative Assembly and banned
from politics for five years.
The NACC accused Mr Boonsong and Mr Phoom of corruption in G-to-G
rice sales. They too met the same fate in January.
Rough rice: Prices are steady even
as exports slip
Managing Partner / Spotlight Group
United Kingdom
It was frustrating to learn that the “Phytosanitary
Protocol” that would open the door for exports to China is not any closer to
being signed than it was at the start of the month. The word is that the
agreement is being held up by inter-agency administrative and regulatory
considerations in China. Beijing has not been willing to establish a timeline
when the protocol will be approved and signed.
The chart above shows that the market for rough rice
endured a decline from June 2014 through to May 29 this year. Since then the
spot has tracked above the 50 day moving average and both have settled
comfortably inside the new impulsive channel. By December 14 one will see the
200 day moving average start swinging into that channel as well.I expect that
even with the typical channel rotation one should look to see the gap between
the flat-line around USD 15.50/100 pounds to close; that is what I am banking
on.
Rough Rice 5 Year Chart:
Source: www.investing.com
Management and risk:
Parameters: Rough
Rice Nov 15 RRX5 USD/100 Pounds
Entry: Buy
at 12.88 13:28 GMT
Targets: 13.35
… 13.78 … 13.98 … to 15.50
Stop: 11.72
Time horizon: Medium
term (3 months)
— Edited by Clemens Bomsdorf
https://www.tradingfloor.com/posts/rough-rice-prices-are-steady-even-as-exports-slip-6242656
Despite rain shortage,
kharif holding up
Govt's 1st
advance estimate shows output might be only slightly down over last year's
final one for the season, due to early onset of monsoon and its relatively
better distribution
BS Reporter | New Delhi September 16, 2015 Last Updated at 22:33 IST
This is despite cumulative rainfall in the current monsoon season
being deficient by 15 per cent, higher than the l deficit of 12 per cent in
2014-15. The statement attributed it to timely onset of the monsoon and the
government’s interventions with contingency plans, timely advisories and
monitoring of seed and fertiliser availability.However, when compared to the
final kharif production of 2014-15, this year's first advance estimate is 2.26
mt less. The record so far is 131.27 mt foodgrain production in 2011-12.
Compared to the fourth advance estimate of 2014-15, close to the final figure
for the year, kharif production of rice, coarse cereals and pulses are likely
to fall this year. The estimates are preliminary and could undergo revision,
the statement added.The first estimate shows rice output declining to 90.61 mt
in the 2015-16 kharif against 90.86 mt in the same season the previous year.
However, compared to the
2014-15 first estimate, production is expected to increase by 2.59
mt.Similarly, in relation to the fourth estimate of 2014-15, coarse cereals
production is likely to drop to 27.88 mt this kharif, from 29.82 mt in the
2014-15 season. Output of pulses is projected to fall to 5.56 mt from 5.63 mt
in the said period.From the first advance estimate of 2014-15, coarse cereals
production is 0.83 mt more, while pulses production in the season is expected
to be 0.36 mt higher.Among pulses, production of tur (pigeon pea) is estimated
to decline to 2.61 mt in the 2015-16 kharif from the 2014-15 fourth estimate of
2.71 mt. Urad (black gram) production is projected to increase to 1.37 mt from 1.27
mt in the period under review, using the same measure.
“In the past few days, monsoon rains have revived in Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana that will improve the prospects of
pulses production,” Agriculture Secretary Siraj Hussain told PTI.It was mainly
pulses which was an exception to the falling retail inflation and wholesale
prices. Retail prices rose 22.9 per cent in pulses, while wholesale prices
surged 65.3 per cent. Interestingly, oilseeds production is likely to increase
to 19.89 mt this kharif, from 18.32 mt in the fourth estimate of the year-ago
period.Cotton, one of the main cash crops grown during kharif, is expected to
be 33.5 million bales, down from the 2014-15 first estimate of 34.62 mn (a bale
is 170 kg).Experts say kharif output would be slightly better this time than
the previous year's but the deficient monsoon could hit rabi crops, which
depend on soil moisture.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/despite-rain-shortage-kharif-holding-up-115091601474_1.html
For Arkansas rice
farmer, hope for sales to Cuba even as exports drop
Will sales come before Arkansas
farmer Joe Mencer retires?
Buoyed by White House efforts, ag
sector nationwide hopes for more Cuban sales
Experts: Battle in Congress seems headed to stalemate, at least in
short term
Joe Mencer checks on his rice crop
on his farm in southeastern Arkansas on Aug. 10, 2015. Mencer has joined with
farmers from across the country to push for expanded trade to Cuba, although
efforts in Congress to do so have so far been stalled. Chris Adams McClatchy
“I’m
55 years old. This is my 34th rice crop,” Mencer said as he looked from atop
the levee toward the Mississippi. “I keep hoping I’ll be able to sell some of
it to Cuba before I retire.”Right now, the chance of that happening is
uncertain, despite the Obama administration’s opening to Cuba.Announced last December,
the opening aims to undo a policy the White House considers outdated and
ineffective. It already has led to renewed diplomatic relations with the island
nation just 90 miles from U.S. shores.For American farmers, it could mean a
thriving market with 11 million people but not the farms to feed them. Rice
farmers in Arkansas would love to get more of their product on Cubans’ plates –
as would citrus growers in Florida and blueberry growers in Maine and wheat
growers in Kansas.What’s driving growers and lawmakers in Arkansas is doing the
same all across the U.S. agricultural sector.
“We’re
blessed in Arkansas – we grow about everything,” said Republican Sen. John
Boozman.But Boozman and his colleagues face significant headwinds in their
efforts to partially or completely dismantle the embargo and other restrictions
that have governed trade with Cuba for decades.
I’M AFRAID IF WE LIFT THE TRAVEL BAN
BUT THEN WAIT TOO LONG ON THE EMBARGO, WITHIN A FEW YEARS AMERICAN TOURISTS
WILL BE SLEEPING IN SPANISH-FINANCED HOTELS AND EATING GERMAN FOOD.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota,
sponsor of a Cuba trade bill
Despite bipartisan support for pro-trade measures, the opposition
to doing business with Cuba is strong and entrenched; getting any measure
through Congress this session will be difficult, according to experts on both
sides of the issue.Beyond that, Cuba hasn’t recently burned up the shipping
lanes, despite the White House’s celebrated – and controversial – opening.In
July 2014, food and agricultural exports from the U.S. to Cuba were $17.2
million; in July 2015, they were $3.3 million, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade
and Economic Council.Through the first seven months of 2015, the exports are on
a slower pace than the total $291 million in 2014. They’re well off the $710
million in 2008, the high-water mark since a 2000 law let certain U.S.
producers make agricultural or food sales to Cuba, albeit only on a cash – no
credit – basis.Tops among agricultural exports to Cuba, according to the
council: frozen chicken. Soybeans and corn, and processed products such as
whiskeys and soups, were represented as well.Nowhere to be found was rice.
Mencer, who farms some 1,700 acres of rice here in the
southeastern corner of Arkansas, said it hasn’t always been that way. He has
traveled to Cuba as part of a trade show and testified before a U.S. Senate
committee on the issue.In 1951, Cuba was the destination for more than 250,000
metric tons of U.S. rice – a significant share of U.S. rice exports at the
time, Mencer told senators. Sales were steady in the 1950s but plummeted after
the trade embargo took effect starting in 1960.Even after agriculture trade
rules were partially relaxed in 2000, sales didn’t live up to the hope – or the
hype – of U.S. growers. After a brief run in the mid-2000s, U.S. rice sales to
Cuba have since dropped to zero.Rather than look across the Gulf of Mexico for
its rice, Cuba these days looks across the Pacific Ocean.
The turn in trade is frustrating for Mencer, whose vast delta land
by the river also grows cotton and corn and soybeans. In all, he has 6,700
acres under cultivation, and on a blistering, 100-degree day in August he
checked on his fields and the elaborate piping system that keeps rice plants
consistently wet.One fact driving his quest: Per-capita rice consumption in
Cuba is significantly higher than in the U.S. Cubans – at least a long time ago
– liked American rice: The U.S. Department of Agriculture noted in a June
report that “consumers in pre-revolutionary Cuba generally liked the taste,
appearance and cooking qualities of U.S. rice varieties and were willing to pay
a premium for them.”One effort underway in Congress seeks to energize
agriculture sales by easing the rules against the use of credit. It’s a tactic
that has won the support of many farm-state lawmakers, including Republicans
generally opposed to the president’s foreign policy.In Arkansas, Republican
Gov. Asa Hutchinson was once a congressman who supported the Cuban trade
embargo.
But later this month he’ll travel to Cuba, seeking business for
his state. He thinks credit sales should be allowed.“You get out in the farmland
of America and they say, ‘What we’ve been doing for the last 50 years has not
been effective. Let’s try something different,’” he said in an interview.That
said, getting Cuba to boost its sales might not be so simple, said John S.
Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.“Vietnam
provides Cuba with two-plus years to pay for the rice,” he said. “A U.S.
company is not going to do that.”And while U.S. agricultural companies do want
to ease the credit rules, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they’ll line up to
extend easy terms to Cuba.“It’s unwise for anyone to support these legislative
efforts because of a belief that if it became law there will be a dramatic
increase in exports to Cuba,” Kavulich said. “Because history doesn’t show it.
Right now, Cuba is being oversold.”
THE CUBAN ECONOMY IS RUN BY THE CUBAN
MILITARY, AND SEN. RUBIO BELIEVES WE SHOULD BE DENYING FUNDING TO THIS
ANTI-AMERICAN FORCE, WHICH WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE RUSSIAN, CHINESE AND NORTH
KOREAN GOVERNMENTS AGAINST AMERICA’S SECURITY INTERESTS.
Alex Burgos, spokesman for Sen.
Marco Rubio of Florida
And getting anything through Congress this year will be
tough.“Look at the congressional calendar: There’s a full plate as it is,” said
Jason Poblete, a former Republican congressional staffer who’s an international
regulatory lawyer with Poblete Tamargo LLP of Washington. “There’s Iran, FY
2016 appropriations, the Planned Parenthood debate. It will be difficult for
Cuba measures to move this year.”That’s not for lack of effort.In the Senate,
at least three bills have gotten a lot of attention. And while they are
bipartisan, they still would need to get through the considerable opposition
from senators such as Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American Republican from West
Miami, Fla., who has become a leading voice against Obama’s Cuba opening.One
bill, by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., goes the furthest to lift the trade
embargo and has the most number of co-sponsors: 21 as of Friday.“My bill just
lifts the embargo,” she said in an interview. “At some point, you can do it
piece by piece, or you can decide we’re going to lift the embargo.
”Experts generally see the most support for legislation to lift
restrictions on travel to Cuba – a related but separate issue Klobuchar also
supports. But, she added, “I’m afraid if we lift the travel ban but then wait
too long on the embargo, within a few years American tourists will be sleeping
in Spanish-financed hotels and eating German food.”A measure from Sen. Jerry
Moran, R-Kan., would lift the embargo but maintain restrictions on the use of
U.S.-funded trade-assistance programs for exports to Cuba. Two senators have
joined that bill.A measure from Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. – as well as
Boozman from Arkansas – is targeted on the rules against credit sales for
agriculture exports. It has 13 co-sponsors and recently passed a committee as
an attachment to an appropriations bill.Sen.
Angus King, an independent
from Maine, is on all three trade bills but acknowledges their stiff odds this
session. While he sees bipartisan support for the issue, a vote on a standalone
bill – particularly given the Senate’s filibuster rules – would be tough.But
he’s hopeful for the long term.“It’s a policy that no longer makes any sense,”
said King, who said an opening of trade could help agriculture and other Maine
industries – everything from potato and blueberry growers to boat builders. “At
some point, even the Congress will wake up to that fact.”
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
|
920
|
830
|
|
New Crop
|
914
|
830
|
|
|
||
Riceland Foods
|
|
||
|
Cash Bids
|
Stuttgart: - - -
|
Pendleton: - - -
|
|
New Crop
|
Stuttgart: - - -
|
Pendleton: - - -
|
|
|
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|
Futures:
|
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Soybean Comment
Soybeans
closed sharply lower. Today's sharp losses led to beans being down 7-cents on
the week and more than 20-cents off of weekly highs. While new export sales
continue to hit the wire, sales continue to lag well behind usual. Prices will
remain under pressure as the market awaits a new estimate of U.S. production
and its first look at South American production.
Wheat
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
394
|
394
|
|
New Crop
|
489
|
464
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
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Wheat Comment
Wheat
prices surged higher today and managed to close higher in the week. While there
remains little fundamental support for gains, the market is technically
oversold and due a correction.
Grain
Sorghum
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
401
|
362
|
|
New Crop
|
400
|
374
|
|
|
||
Corn
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Cash Bids
|
390
|
335
|
|
New Crop
|
390
|
340
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
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Corn Comment
Corn
prices ended the day lower for the fourth day in a row. Corn remains under
pressure from improving harvest. Production remains the main wild card in this
market and will continue to keep prices under pressure. For the week corn saw
modest losses and is likely to have difficulty making meaningful gains in the
coming weeks.
Cotton
|
Futures:
|
|
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Cotton Comment
Cotton
futures plummeted today on concerns about the global economy after the Fed
announced their decision not to raise interest rates. With the ending stocks
estimate continuing to climb thanks to higher production, weaker demand will
only make the balance sheet worse for cotton prices. December set a new
contract low today, falling below 61 cents.
Rice
|
High
|
Low
|
|
|
Long Grain Cash
Bids
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
|
Long Grain New
Crop
|
- - -
|
- - -
|
|
|
||
|
Futures:
|
|
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Rice Comment
Rice
futures were higher across the board, but were capped by yesterday's highs.
Carryover weakness from other commodities and from outside markets limited the
upside potential of the market today. November continues to have resistance at
$13, while January has resistance at $13.34.
Cattle
|
Futures:
|
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Live Cattle:
|
|
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Feeders:
|
|
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Cattle Comment
Cattle
prices closed lower again today. As the market continues to worry about demand,
cattle prices have experienced sharp losses this week with live cattle down
almost $10 on the week while feeders were down more than $5.
Hogs
|
Futures:
|
|
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Hog Comment
http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/
