Bad news for India’s basmati rice
exports as Iran imposes caps on imports, prices
India’s
basmati rice exports to Iran, a major destination for the long-grained aromatic
rice from the country, is expected to take a big hit after Tehran put upper
limits for import and consumer prices of the cereal.
“This is unilateral imposition of a virtual import tariff. Iran government
must realise that prices are decided by demand and supply… It is unfair to
impose such restrictions,” a leading rice exporter told FE on condition of
anonymity.Iran had been the largest importer of PUSA 1121 variety
of basmati rice from India; however, in fiscal 2015-16, India’s exports to Iran
almost halved (see chart).
Sources said Iran is saddled with excess stocks of basmati rice as
FY14 imports of 1.4 million tonnes from India was not exhausted while merchants
continued to contract more imports in subsequent years. The high
carry-forward stock resulted in shipment to Iran falling to around 900,000
tonnes in the FY15 and further to 700,000 tonnes last fiscal.
Some exporters FE spoke to say that with the ceiling prices, it
would not be economically viable to export rice to Iran. Iran consume more than
3 million tonnes of rice annually and a third of this demand is met by imports.
A 20-member Indian trade
delegation comprising exporters and commerce ministry officials visited Iran
between January 28 and 30 with a view to promoting exports. The delegation
visited various Iranian departments including Food and Drug Organization,
Government Trading Corporation and Trade Promotion Organization, Iran Chamber
of Commerce and Rice Importers Association.
Iran had imposed a ban on rice
imports during harvest season between July and November last year. “Domestic
supply does not suffice to meet demand. We need imports, but imports that are
limited and controlled,” Iran’s agriculture minister Mahmoud Hojjati had stated
in November last year.
Rice shipments to Iran had got
a boost when India launched a rupee settlement mechanism from April 2012 with
Iran to avoid sanctions from the US and EU. As part of the initiative,
state-owned UCO Bank tied up with Iranian lenders — Parsian, Pasargad, Saman
and EN Banks — for settlements of dues. Iran and India also had agreed to have
referral labs in India for testing rice consignments rejected by Tehran because
of presence of pesticide residue.
Myanmar earns over US$300 million from rice export in 1st 10 months of FY
08.02.2017
Myanmar exported over 1.2 million tons of rice in nearly 10 months
of the current fiscal year 2016-17 as of January, earning 376 million U.S.
dollars, according to the figures of Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar Wednesday.Of
the rice export, 68 percent or 800,000 tons were done through border trade,
while over 400,000 tons were sold through normal trade.
About 80 percent of the country’s rice export went to China mostly through border trade. Other exporting countries and regions are Indonesia, Singapore, European Union, Africa, Russia and Brazil.Meanwhile, Pakistan and the Philippines have proposed to Myanmar to purchase the country’s rice under government-to-government system, while negotiations are underway to boost rice export to Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
About 80 percent of the country’s rice export went to China mostly through border trade. Other exporting countries and regions are Indonesia, Singapore, European Union, Africa, Russia and Brazil.Meanwhile, Pakistan and the Philippines have proposed to Myanmar to purchase the country’s rice under government-to-government system, while negotiations are underway to boost rice export to Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The country exported 767,753 tons of rice in the last fiscal year 2015-2016
http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/myanmar-earns-over-us-300-million-from-rice-export-in-1st-10-months-of-fy
PH to maintain QR on
imported rice for 2 more years
Wednesday, February 08, 2017 THE Philippine
government will retain for two more years the quantitative restriction (QR) for
imported rice, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Wednesday. Piñol said
his office has also decided not to endorse the proposed amendment of the Tariff
Code to lift the QR on rice and would instead endorse the extension of
Executive Order No. 190 that imposed tariff rates for imported agricultural
products, rice among them. This was despite the coming deadline for the
Philippines to lift the QR on rice as part of its commitment to the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The
DA chief expressed belief it would be impossible to implement the lifting of QR
on rice unless Congress passes the bill amending the Tariff Code. “The DA holds
on to its original position that was developed after a nationwide consultation
that Filipino rice farmers should be given another two years to prepare them
for the eventual entry of imported rice,” Piñol said. “We believe that our rice
farmers are not yet ready, through no fault of theirs, to compete with imported
rice,” he added.
Under
its commitments to the WTO, the Philippines was supposed to lift the QR on rice
years ago but the Philippine government negotiated an extension of its lifting
to June 30 this year. Piñol said the Philippine government under President
Rodrigo Duterte, even if it wanted the lifting of the QR extended by another
two years, could not do so anymore because of lack of material time. “It took
the government two years to negotiate the current extension, which would last
until June 30 this year,” Piñol noted. Instead, he said, the DA is counting on
the reluctance of congressmen and senators to pass a new law amending the
Tariff Code to implement the lifting of the QR on imported rice.
“Even if the QR will be lifted by June 30,
2017, there will not be unregulated importation of rice without the
implementation of the amendment to the Tariff Code,” the DA Secretary
explained. If this happens, he noted, the Philippine government would have to
inform the WTO that it has no option but to follow the democratic process and
await Congress’ action on bills amending the Tariff Code. “We believe it will
be a status quo (on the QR on rice) …. until the Tariff Code is amended,” Piñol
said. "You cannot shortcut the democratic processes, these (chambers of
Congress) are constitutional bodies, you cannot dictate on Congress to amend
the Tariff Code if they do not want to (do so),” he added. (SDR/SunStar
Philippines)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/02/08/ph-maintain-qr-imported-rice-2-more-years-524665
Rice yield to rise this year:
USDA
“Although aus rice area was
affected by floods and rains, sources report that timely rainfall, favourable
weather, and effective distribution of inputs such as fertiliser may make this
an abundant aman rice harvest this season,” the USDA said in its latest Global Agricultural
Information Network Report on Bangladesh.It said boro rice plantation is on
schedule as forecast.The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of the
government targets to ensure rice plantation on 4.8 million hectares to bag
19.15 million tonnes of rice this season.
The target for total rice
production has been fixed at 34.98 million tonnes for fiscal 2016-17.
Aus output declined 7 percent to
2.14 million tonnes in the current fiscal year due to a fall in acreage,
according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.Though data on aman, the second
biggest crop after boro, is yet to be finalised, millers and agriculture
workers said farmers recorded a good aman harvest. Rice area rose 2 percent
year-on-year to 5.69 million hectares during the aman season, according to
preliminary data of the DAE.
During the current boro season,
farmers prepared seedbeds in an area that is much higher than the DAE's target.Until
February 6, rice has been planted on 3.5 million hectares against the target of
4.8 million hectares for the ongoing season, said a senior official of the DAE.The
USDA kept wheat production prediction unchanged at 1.35 million tonnes for the
current cultivation season.
The agency, however, raised
Bangladesh's wheat import estimate by 6 percent to 5 million tonnes. It said
import forecast has been increased on higher demand and lower world prices of
the grain.The USDA also lowered rice import forecast to 50,000 tonnes for
increased tariff on import from the beginning of this fiscal year.
Rice Sowing In Rabi
Season Down By 11% This Year
8
February 2017 03:55 PM
Rice prices have
soared around 28% since November 2016 till January end in many states of North
India on account of low rabi sowing. As per reports, this year rice sowing
has also declined by more than 11% than the same time last year.As of
February 3, rice has been sown in an area of 25.64 lakh hectares as compared to
29.03 lakh hectares the same time last year. The average area for the season is
around 43.58 lakh hectares in the country.
As per reports, Iran has reduced
rice import from 40% to 26%. This in turn, is expected to boost basmati ex
port to Iran from India in the
current season.
After hitting a record $4.88
billion in 2013-14, India’s basmati export earnings were on a declining trend
over the past three years. Both in terms of low prices and purchases by Iran,
which is its largest buyer.To increase the domestic production of 2 million
tons, Iran imports about 1 million tons of rice every year, out of which about
7 lakh tons is exported from India.
However, purchase by Iran has
been on a steady decline in the past three years. From a high of 14.40 lakh
tons in 2013-14, it dropped to 9.36 lakh tons in 2014-15 and came down even
more to 6.95 lakh ton in 2015-16.
The quality of Kharif crops is also low due to moisture. Moreover,
as few months are still left for fresh Rabi crops, prices
are expected to rise further.
So far the weather remained favorable for Rabi rice-growing
states. Rabi rice contribution to total production is just 15% and rest 85%
comes from Kharif crops.In such
scenario, it’s hard to say that Rabi Rice will affect the price rise or not.
www.skymetweather.com/content/agriculture-and-economy/rice-sowing-in-rabi-season-down-by-11-this-year/#sthash.AkyQiRUU.dpuf
Carbon credits can be a win-win for rice farmers: Part II
Savings from water conservation efforts could pay off for
Arkansas rice farmers in more ways than one.
Jim Whitaker says he’s using about 50 percent less water to irrigate his rice
than he was a few years ago.Not all of the reduction is due to his involvement
in the carbon credit market, but it’s part of the package of sustainability he
and three other Arkansas farmers are bringing to their operations in the
Arkansas Rice Belt.
Whitaker, who switched to
zero-grade, continuous rice several years ago; Mike Sullivan, Burdette, Ark.;
and Mark Isbell, North Little Rock, Ark., talked about their experience with carbon credits at
the Arkansas Rice Annual Meeting in Stuttgart, Ark
http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/carbon-credits-can-be-win-win-rice-farmers-part-ii
Japan Foodservice Industry Sold on Calrose
By Jim Guinn
TOKYO, JAPAN -- Over the past
half year, the Japanese foodservice industry has rediscovered U.S. Calrose rice
and initiated steps to evaluate its use in traditional Japanese cuisine.
Last fall a sample of Calrose as vinegar-seasoned rice for sushi was tested and
found to be readily acceptable for use in sushi sold in supermarkets,
convenience stores and in rotating sushi bars, called Kaitenzushi.
In another test last month, the Japan Cooked Rice Association, an organization consisting of companies supplying cooked rice for ready-made meals and foodservice, tested Calrose at their own initiative. USA Rice facilitated the supply of rice for the latest test from the 2016 crop where Calrose was compared to Haenuki, the Japanese origin rice most often used for sushi in foodservice. The Association determined that Calrose was on par with the Japanese variety favored in foodservice and also comparable to local varieties Koshihikari (Ibaraki Prefecture) and Kirara 397 (Hokkaido) often used in "B branded," or lower priced, rice favored by the foodservice industry and ready-made meal manufacturers.
Nikkei Business Online reported recently on both tests, noting that a blanket conclusion that Japanese rice is superior in all categories of use including in sushi is not supported by the results.
"Currently Calrose is very competitive with local rice as those prices have risen lately while Calrose prices have declined," said USA Rice Vice President International Hugh Maginnis. "Rice importers and the foodservice sector are optimistic that this trend bodes well for imports of Calrose this year under the Simultaneous Buy-Sell, or SBS, import regime. USA Rice plans to capitalize on the favorable test results and increased competitiveness of Calrose by engaging even more with the foodservice industry and promoting the quality and versatility of U.S. Calrose rice borne out by these test results."
In another test last month, the Japan Cooked Rice Association, an organization consisting of companies supplying cooked rice for ready-made meals and foodservice, tested Calrose at their own initiative. USA Rice facilitated the supply of rice for the latest test from the 2016 crop where Calrose was compared to Haenuki, the Japanese origin rice most often used for sushi in foodservice. The Association determined that Calrose was on par with the Japanese variety favored in foodservice and also comparable to local varieties Koshihikari (Ibaraki Prefecture) and Kirara 397 (Hokkaido) often used in "B branded," or lower priced, rice favored by the foodservice industry and ready-made meal manufacturers.
Nikkei Business Online reported recently on both tests, noting that a blanket conclusion that Japanese rice is superior in all categories of use including in sushi is not supported by the results.
"Currently Calrose is very competitive with local rice as those prices have risen lately while Calrose prices have declined," said USA Rice Vice President International Hugh Maginnis. "Rice importers and the foodservice sector are optimistic that this trend bodes well for imports of Calrose this year under the Simultaneous Buy-Sell, or SBS, import regime. USA Rice plans to capitalize on the favorable test results and increased competitiveness of Calrose by engaging even more with the foodservice industry and promoting the quality and versatility of U.S. Calrose rice borne out by these test results."
Sri
Lanka rice market MRPs come into force
Wed, Feb 8, 2017, 09:04 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Wed, Feb 8, 2017, 09:04 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Feb 08, Colombo: Sri Lanka's
consumer protection agency, Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) today issued
Maximum Retail Price (MRP) order for three varieties of rice to arrest
escalating prices in the domestic rice market while the minister in-charge
issued a stern warning to errant traders across the country.The MRP order is
effective February 8th - the same date as issued-and was sent to the Government
Printer to be gazetted on the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
said.
 |
"The
CAA will act on errant traders who sell at higher prices," said Minister
of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen during his meeting with top
officials of CAA on Tuesday.
"The
MRPs announced by Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) have to be followed. The CAA
will act on errant traders who sell at higher prices. We are also working with
the Customs to obtain details of rice importers and imported volumes,"
said Minister Bathiudeen.
He
added that the CAA will set up a team of officials to investigate as to whether
these imported rice quantities have been released to the market.
"Importers
who hoard rice stocks will be considered errant and legal measures will be
taken against them," the Minister warned.
Another
team of investigators will be set up to investigate and monitor rice quantities
milled by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB).
The
order No 41 dated February 8, comes into effect on the same day and is issued
by CAA Chairman Hasitha Thilakeratne under Consumer Affairs Authority Act No 9
of 2003�s section 20(5). The new rice
prices will be effective on both local and imported rice varieties.
According
to the order, MRPs for Nadu, Raw Rice, and Samba will become effective from 8
February. Accordingly, MRP of a kilo of Nadu rice is Rs 72, a kilo of Raw rice is
Rs 70, and a kilo of Samba (excluding Keeri Samba and Suduru Samba) is Rs 80.
Consumers
are invited to alert and complain to CAA about errant traders on hotline 1977
or even CAA direct line 117755481-3
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_17A/Feb08_1486568050CH.php
Common method of cooking rice can leave traces
of arsenic in food, scientists warn
Experiments suggest normal method for cooking
rice can expose consumers to range of health problems including heart
disease, diabetes and cancer
Scientists warn that the usual method of cooking rice — simply
boiling it in a pan with some water — can expose those who eat it to traces of
the poison arsenic JMacPherson/Flickr
Millions of people are putting themselves at risk by cooking
their rice incorrectly, scientists have warned.Recent experiments show a common
method of cooking rice — simply boiling it in a pan until the water has steamed
out — can expose those who eat it to traces of the poison arsenic, which contaminates
rice while it is growing as a result of industrial toxins and pesticides.
The chemical has been linked to a range of health problems
including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as development problems.
High levels of
arsenic in rice: why isn't it regulated in our food?
While it is generally believed traces of arsenic are expelled
when the rice is cooked, it has now been claimed this only takes place
when the rice is soaked overnight.
Andy Meharg, professor of biological sciences at Queens
University Belfast, tested three ways of cooking rice for the BBC programme
'Trust Me, I’m a Doctor', to see whether it altered the levels of arsenic.
In the first method, Professor Meharg used a ratio of two parts
water to one part rice, where the water was “steamed out” during cooking — a
method commonly used.
He found this left most of the arsenic present.By contrast, when
the he used five parts water to one part rice and washed the excess water off,
levels of arsenic were almost halved, while in the third method, in which the
rice was soaked overnight, levels of the toxin were reduced by 80 per
cent.
The safest method of cooking rice is therefore to soak it
overnight, then wash and rinse it until the water is clear, before draining it
well and boiling in a saucepan, with a ratio of five parts water to one
part rice.
According to research from Channel 4’s Dispatches and the
Institute for Global Food Security, around 58 per cent of rice-based products
in the UK contain high levels of arsenic
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/rice-cooking-arsenic-traces-poisonous-boil-water-away-drain-excess-danger-food-a7568436.html
THE QUINOA
GENOME COULD HELP SCIENTISTS GET IT OUT OF THE HEALTH FOOD AISLE
IT'S THE FIRST STEP TO BRINGING THE
SUPER GRAIN TO THE MASSES
By Yesterday
at 11:00pm
Quinoa
field in Salar de Uyuna, Bolivia
A
striking sea of red and yellow.Hailed as the King of
grains, quinoa doesn’t need more hype to cement its position as a superfood in
the American supermarket. But now scientists have a hold of quinoa’s real
identity—and what underlies the grain’s nutritious profile —thanks to its
newly-sequenced genome.“There are a lot of things that can be done to improve
quinoa. And understanding the genome of it is the first step,” says Mark
Tester, the leader of an international team that just published the
first genome sequence of quinoa in
Nature.
Tester, a plant scientist at King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology, originally started studying quinoa to
investigate the grain’s salt tolerance. “Quinoa is an amazing plant. It could
grow beautifully in very difficult environments, like the Middle East [or]
Northern Sahara, where you have salty soil and salty irrigation water,” says
Tester. He and his colleagues planned to figure out how quinoa tolerates the
salt, then transfer that tolerance to other crops like rice and barley so they
too can thrive
in less desirable soils.
Quinoa is different from rice and barley. It is
still mainly grown by hand in South America. It serves as a staple crop for
nearly a million people, but modern agriculture has not yet touched quinoa
fields in the highlands of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. The appearance of the
quinoa plant reflects that: the grain grows tall and fragile.
Recognizing quinoa’s potential to provide food
in marginal lands, Tester hopes to change those traits—making quinoa shorter
and more compact—so it’s easier to grow on large modern farms. “[The goal is
to] move this crop from its current status as a crop of importance in South
America, and a crop of novelty in the West, to become a true commodity in the
world,” says Tester.
In other words, he says, “I want it out of the
health food section.”To improve quinoa and achieve that goal, Tester needed to
sequence the quinoa genome. Having a genome sequence—the complete assortment of
genes that make up an organism—will provide scientists with a basic blueprint
for future breeding efforts, just like researchers did with rice in 2005.In collaboration with scientists
from the United States, Germany and Australia, the team produced high-quality
genome sequences of different quinoa varieties.
“The assembly is very good. It's right up there
with the standards of other major commodity genomes that have been published
before in Nature and other journals,” says Joshua Udall,
a plant and wildlife scientist at Brigham Young University. “It will be a good
resource for quinoa workers and also the scientific community in general.”
In addition to sequencing quinoa’s genome, the
authors also pinpointed the evolutionary history of quinoa. “[The authors]
resolved the mystery to a certain extent,” says plant evolutionary genomicist Jonathan
Wendel from Iowa State
University. “They shed light on who the best models are of the parents, and how
long ago those parents hybridized to give rise to what nowadays is the modern
quinoa plant. It will serve as a reference for everybody’s work from now on.”
There are many potential agricultural
applications for the new research. The study authors have already identified
one gene that they believe makes quinoa bitter by prompting the production of a
chemical called saponin.On small farms, saponin could be used to naturally
reduce predation from birds. But saponin is not only bitter. It’s also toxic,
and removing it requires a lot of work and water. So for the “net benefit of
the environment,” says Tester, breeders might want to grow quinoa with low
saponin. But first, more work is needed to confirm that they've found the right gene
to tinker with. Traditionally, such studies have been hard to fund.
“Most of the countries that use quinoa for
[food] don't have the scientific infrastructure to make any improvement in the
genetics of quinoa. But in the US, it's not a commodity crop, or even an orphan
crop, so many of the federal agencies really have no interest in
funding it,” says Udall. “Understandably so, as science funding is in short
supply for every plant or crop.”
“I was really excited about [quinoa], and it
has many unique properties. But it's hard to keep our research program going
because of the lack of domestic attention,” says Udall. “That might be changing
now with this Nature article.”
Udall believes that “a lot of breeding and a
lot of improvements can happen as modern agriculture uses [quinoa] in places
that have great soil.” It’s just that “some adaptation has to happen before
quinoa can be widely grown throughout the world.”So Tester’s plan to bring
quinoa out of the health food section is not a long shot. “I’d like to see
quinoa changed into a crop that can be grown much more widely and become much
cheaper,” Tester says. “I want the price to come down by a factor of five.
http://www.popsci.com/quinoa-genome-sequenced
Carbon credits: Profit opportunities for rice farmers?
Trio
of Arkansas farmers looking at carbon credits as a possible profit opportunity
for rice producers.
Of all the crops grown in the United States these days rice has some of the
highest costs and, perhaps, the least potential for higher prices, according to
the market analysts who follow the crop.
Mark Isbell, a producer who lives
in North Little Rock, Ark., and farms near Lonoke, Ark., says that means rice
farmers have to look for ways to become more efficient and to find new profit
opportunities when they present themselves.
He and two other rice growers –
Jim Whitaker, McGehee, Ark., and Mike Sullivan, Burdette, Ark. – he’s working
with don’t know for sure if carbon credits are one of those opportunities yet,
but they’re working to find out.
The three farmers participated in
a panel discussion on carbon credits during a session of the joint meeting of the
Arkansas Rice Council and the Arkansas Rice Farmers at the Grand Prairie Center
in Stuttgart, Ark
Piñol : Govt still
wants quantitative restriction on rice imports extended for 2 more years
Published
By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz
The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said the government
will maintain its position to retain for two more years the quantitative restriction (QR) for imported rice.
MB FILE
DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the Department has decided not to
endorse the proposed amendment of the Tariff Code to lift the QR on rice and
would instead endorse the extension of Executive Order 190 that imposes tariff
rates for imported agricultural products, rice among them.
He said despite the coming
deadline for the Philippines to lift the QR on rice, he believes it would be impossible
to implement this unless the two chambers of Congress pass the bills amending
the Tariff Code.
“We believe that our rice farmers
are not yet ready, though no fault of theirs, to compete with imported rice,”
he added.
Under its commitment to the World
Trade Organization (WTO), the Philippines is supposed to lift the QR on rice
years ago but the Philippine government negotiated an extension for its lifting
to June 30 this year.
Piñol said the Philippine government under
President Rodrigo Duterte, even if it wanted the lifting of the QR extended by
another two years, could not do so anymore because of lack of material time.“It
took the government two years to negotiate the current extension, which would
last until June 30 this year,” Piñol pointed out
http://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/02/08/3683pinol-govt-still-wants-quantitative-restriction-on-rice-imports-extended-for-2-more-years/
Higher prices may lift basmati
exports to last year’s levels
BENGALURU
The recent uptrend in basmati
prices on expectations that Iran would resume rice imports may help India
sustain export earnings from the long-grain aromatic cereal for the current
financial year at last year’s levels.Basmati shipments in the current financial
year, so far, have been sluggish due to the curbs on rice imports imposed by
Iran, a large buyer.
“There is a pick-up in price and
also volumes. We may be able to catch up with last year’s levels in value
terms,” said AK Gupta, Director, Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF),
under the Agricultural & Processed Foods Export Development Authority
(Apeda).
Overall volumes were likely to be
marginally lower than last year. “We may see a drop of about 1 lakh tonnes, 2-3
per cent lower than last year’s 40 lakh tonnes,” Gupta told BusinessLine. Basmati prices in the
international market have risen by around $100 per tonne to $800 in the recent
past. The price rise will help in reviving exports, he added.
Though Iran has announced its
intent to open up its market for the overseas rice, it is not clear as to when
the country will start issuing permits. Iran has a temporary ban on rice
imports mainly from end-July to early January next year in order to protect
domestic paddy growers. Recently, a trade delegation led by the Apeda Chairman
visited Iran to promote Indian rice exports.
Rice exporters are also hopeful
of a rebound. “We may be able to achieve more or less the same as last year,”
said Rajen Sundaresan, Executive Director of the All India Rice Exporters
Association.
After touching a record $4.88
billion or ₹29,299 crore in 2013-14, India’s basmati export earnings were on
a downtrend over the past three years on a decline in prices and lower
purchases by Iran, a large buyer. To supplement domestic production of about 2
million tonnes, Iran imports about 1 million tonnes of rice every year out of
which about 7 lakh tonnes (lt) is exported from India.Purchases by Iran have
been on a steady decline in the past three years. From an all-time high of
14.40 lt in 2013-14, exports to Iran dropped to 9.36 lt in 2014-15 and came
down further to 6.95 lt in 2015-16.
Shipments to the UAE have grown
from 1.48 lt in 2013-14 to 2.79 lt in 2014-15, rising sharply to 6.12 lt in
2015-16. Exports to Iraq have also doubled to around 4.18 lt in 2015-16 from
2013-14
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/higher-rise-in-prices-may-lift-basmati-exports-to-last-years
Salt-tolerant paddy brings hope to farmers
FEBRUARY 09, 2017 00:00 IST
Scientists at the Rice Research
Station of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Vyttila have
successfully completed the first phase of field trials of a new variety of
paddy tolerant to salinity intrusion, a major challenge faced by lowland
farmers in Kerala.
The new variety was engineered in
2015 by introducing genes tolerant to salinity and iron toxicity into Jyothi,
the most popular rice variety in the State, known for its superior grain
quality. The scientists used the introgressive hybridisation technique to move
the saltwater tolerant gene, Saltol QTL, from Pokkali rice to the gene pool of
Jyothi.
“Results of large area trials
have shown that the Saltol introgressed variety is as good as Jyothi in terms
of yield. The tests have confirmed the possibility of cultivating the introgressed
Jyothi lines in saline areas,” says K.S.Shylaraj, Professor and Head, RRS,
Vyttila.
The KAU launched the intensive
molecular breeding programme in 2008 for the development of stress-tolerant
rice varieties for less favourable environments.
The programme involves the
introgressive hybridisation of three paddy varieties, namely Jyothi, Uma and
Jaya, to make them tolerant to both salinity and submergence. For submergence
tolerance, the researchers introgressed the Sub 1 gene, characteristic of the
FR-13A rice in Odisha, to build resilience to flash floods up to two weeks.
KAU Vice Chancellor P.Rajendran
said the new rice varieties would help boost productivity and arrest crop loss
due to salinity intrusion and floods. “Farmers in Kaipad, Kuttanad and Kole tracts
will be benefited,” he said.
Introgressive hybridisation is
the technique of transferring a gene from one species into the gene pool of
another by the repeated backcrossing of a hybrid with one of its parent species
