Gov’t unit backs lifting of rice import quota, eyes 35% tariff
By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:11 PM March 29, 2017
Rice imports. (AFP FILE PHOTO/Jay DIRECTO)
MANILA —
State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is
pushing to slap a 35-percent tariff on rice while providing subsidies to
farmers when the import quota expires by the middle of this year.
In a policy
note published this month titled “Quantitative restriction on rice imports:
Issues and alternatives” authored by Roehlano M. Briones, Ivory Myka Galang and
Lovely Ann Tolin, PIDS said the government could pursue two policy options
following the expiration of the so-called quantitative restriction or QR.
“First is to
extend the QR for two more years. The second and the preferred option is to
pursue tariffication, with revenues earmarked as safety net for rice farmers,”
PIDS said.
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Specifically, “a 35-percent tariff rate seems appropriate as a tariff
equivalent,” PIDS recommended.
Alongside
slapping import duty on the Filipino staple food, PIDS proposed to financially
support farmers. “A safety net for rice farmers can be as much as P20 billion
annually and can be financed entirely by earmarking funds from the tariff
revenue.”
PIDS further
said “tariffication with safety nets will bring down the price of rice and ease
the dislocation of rice farmers.”
But PIDS
added that ultimately, “removal of the QR will also increase imports and
depress palay prices.”
Based on
PIDS’ projections under a scenario that the QR will be ultimately repealed
while imposing a 35-percent tariff on rice, “imports are expected to double and
reach 4.4 million tons per year on the average from 2017 to 2022.”
“Tariff
revenues are expected to be around P27-28 billion during the same period.
Meanwhile, farm gate and retail prices are projected to decrease by P4.56 per
kilogram and P6.97 per kilogram, respectively,” it added.
As for
extending the waiver for two more years or until 2019, as proposed by the
Department of Agriculture, PIDS pointed out that “the government still has no
clear strategy to fast-track domestic farmer competitiveness within two years.”
Also, “a QR
extension means consumers shall continue to bear the burden of overpriced rice,
with the poorest households bearing the brunt,” the PIDS added.
“The
extension may also encourage some World Trade Organization (WTO) members to
bargain for non-rice concessions,” PIDS warned.
State
planning agency National Economic and Development Authority has disclosed the
decision of the majority of economic managers to remove the Philippines’ quota
on rice importation, as the government moves to lower the prices of the staple
food.
Economic
managers have been pushing the amendment of the decade-old Republic Act No.
8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, which had put the rice
import quota in place.
In 2014, the
WTO allowed the Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017,
in a bid to buy more time for local farmers to prepare for free trade in the
light of the government’s goal of achieving rice self-sufficiency.
Since the
government imposes a quota on rice imports, domestic prices are vulnerable to
shocks resulting from meager supply.
The QR puts
the burden of rice supply and demand to the government, whereas the market
forces are being limited by the quota system.
Pundits say
importation should be done by the private sector in order to allow market
forces to determine prices.
The extended
QR slaps 35-percent duty on imported rice under a minimum access volume (MAV)
of 805,200 metric tons. Importation outside of the MAV limit are levied a
higher tariff of 50 percent.
The
Philippines’ most favored nation rate—the additional tariff imposed when
imported outside of Asean—on the commodity remains at about 40 percent.
In 1995, the
WTO allowed the Philippines to impose a 10-year quota system for rice
importation. The QR was extended in 2004, and then lapsed in 2012, before being
renewed in 2014. SFM
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/884849/govt-unit-backs-lifting-of-rice-import-quota-eyes-35-tariff#ixzz4coM6Bfk9
Rice sacks
loaded onto a ship at the Southern Food Company. Viet Nam has exported 2.65
million tonnes of rice over the past five months, earning $1.19 billion. —
VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue
VN wins Malaysia rice export deal
HA NOI (VNS) —
Viet Nam has signed a contract to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia,
which is expected to support domestic rice prices.
According to
the contract, the Viet Nam Food Corporation No 2 will export 200,000 tonnes of
5 per cent broken white rice to Malaysia in July and August this year. The
export price is at US$410 per tonne, free on board basis.
The deal is the
biggest since Viet Nam signed the Philippines contract to export 800,000 tonnes
rice in April this year.
It is expected
to support rice export prices ahead of supplies from the winter-spring crop
(January to July) harvests in the Red River Delta.
According to
the FAO rice price data, average export prices of Vietnamese 25 per cent broken
rice increased to roughly $364 per tonne in May, up about 2 per cent from
April. But it has declined by roughly 4 per cent from the beginning of this
year. Viet Nam's 5 per cent rice prices also increased marginally to about $598
per tonne in May from about $386 per tonne in April, but are down from about
$401 per tonne in the beginning of this year.
Malaysia is
Viet Nam's traditional rice export destination. The country exported about
465,977 tonnes of rice to the Malaysian market last year, down about 39 per
cent from about 764,692 tonnes exported in 2012, according to data from General
Statistics Office.
Statistics from
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that Viet Nam exported
591,000 tonnes of rice, worth $259 million, last month.
The figures
brought the country's rice exports during the first five months of the year to
2.65 million tonnes, or $1.19 billion. This figure is down 10.2 per cent in
terms of volume and down 7.3 per cent in terms of value from last year.
Average rice
export price so far in this year stands at about $433 per tonne (FOB), up about
$2 per tonne from about $431 per tonne recorded between January and June, 2013.
— VNS
Basmati export volumes seen
reviving in 2017-18
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 29:
Supported by higher paddy prices
and resumption of imports by Iran, the basmati rice industry looks ahead to
attractive growth in 2017-18, aided by export volume growth.
Ratings agency ICRA has estimated
the export volumes in 2016-17 to be around 4 mt (about the same as in 2015-16),
but lower realisations may keep the value of the exports lower at around ₹21,000 crore for 2016-17, against
₹22,718 crore in 2015-16.
“In fiscal 2017-18, the value of
exports is expected to grow to ₹22,000-22,500 crore, with export volumes growing to around 4.09
mt and supported by an increase in average realisations. Resumption of imports
by Iran will be keenly watched by the industry as it has the potential to
provide an impetus to exports,” said Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice-President,
ICRA, in a press release.
According to ICRA, the industry
has witnessed moderation in recent years on the back of subdued international
demand, owing to the delay in resumption of imports by Iran.
ICRA expects domestic demand to
grow consistently, with companies expected to report 2-3 per cent growth in
revenues and around 0.5-1.0 per cent growth in profitability.
After peaking at ₹29,300 crore in fiscal 2013-14,
the value of basmati rice exports has fallen. However, volumes grown in recent
years.
Average realisations fell from a
high of ₹77,988 per tonne in 2013-14 to ₹56,149 per tonne in 2015-16 and
further to ₹52,906 per tonne in the first 10
months of fiscal 2017.
In 2017-18, the industry is
expected to benefit from rising paddy prices. After declining considerably
during the procurement season in fiscal 2015-16, basmati paddy prices have
firmed up by 20-25 per cent across various varieties in the October-December 2016
procurement season, primarily due to relatively lower production.
This is likely to push up basmati
rice prices in the next financial year, noted ICRA
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/copyofbl30icra/article9606588.ece
Delta govt empowers youth for massive rice production
Thirty seven pioneer beneficiaries
of the Delta State Government’s Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme
(YAGEP) have been established with starter packs to begin rice production in
the state.
The beneficiaries trained in rice cultivation, production and processing were
established in a 74 hectare farmland and allotted two hectares to each farmer.
Addressing the beneficiaries, the
State Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, stated that with a three metric
tons deficit supply in Nigeria, rice is one of the priority commodities in the
YAGEP initiative, noting that rice cultivation had short life cycle, but had
very high market potentials.
He said he was confident that the
YAGEP entrepreneurs, having undergone intensive orientation programme, training
in life skills and a 3-month internship with Raymos Guanah’s Farms, had the
capacity to breach the gap, forecasting that the cluster would be making a
presentation of YAGEP rice to the Governor in the next four months.
Governor Okowa assured them that,
“they have been provided with a suitable environment to establish their own
enterprises, have a business incubation and to run a rice farm enterprise on
their own, supported by a full package starter pack.”
Represented by the State Chief Job
Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh, he said each beneficiary was provided with
leased 2 hectares of land suitable for rain-fed rice cultivation; mechanized
land preparation, ploughing and harrowing; certified farrow 44 long grain
seeds; mechanized planting of seeds; 6 inorganic fertilizers, Urea and NPK;
herbicides and bird repellants at fruiting stage, applied through mechanical
methods.
Other items included a tarpaulin;
100 harvesting bags; a stainless basin; brooms; parkers; mechanized harvesting
of paddy (tractor-operated); mechanized threshing and winnowing; monthly
stipend for 6 months and a micro credit with a moratorium of 6 months, 9 per
cent interest rate and repayable within
12 months and technical assistance throughout the production cycle.
While congratulating them as pioneer
beneficiaries of State Government-supported rice production in the state, he
disclosed that at the end of the production cycle, the rice will be branded,
“Delta YAGEP Rice.”
He advised them to organize
themselves into cooperative societies so as to benefit from government’s micro
credit and grants to farmers as well as aids from international donor agencies
who want to support agriculture in Nigeria.
On his own part, the Honourable
Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Austin Chikezie,
represented by his Special Adviser, Honourable Pius Okonjo, reiterated the
State Government’s commitment to developing the agricultural sector in the
state, especially rice production.
He added that the State Governor,
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, is fulfilling his promise of prosperity for all Deltans
through support for agriculture.
Also speaking, the Senior Special
Adviser to the Governor on Investment, Honourable Sunny Ozeghe and the State
Anchor on Rice Production, Honourable Raymos Guanah, enjoined the beneficiaries
to use the opportunity provided by the State Government to achieve greatness
and to make the state proud.
They emphasized that the starter
pack provided is a total package that could generate at least 3.5 tons per
hectare, pointing out that the investment if sustained will make Nigeria
sufficient in rice production.
In their separate remarks, Godgift
Edafetita (Ethiope East LGA) and Chukwurah Edozie (Oshimili South LGA)
expressed their gratitude to the State Government for the job creation
initiative, pledging to work hard to uphold the vision and mission of the
programme.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/delta-govt-empowers-youth-massive-rice-production/
Growing
Hostility Between Turkey and Russia Could Benefit U.S. Rice
ANKARA,
TURKEY - USA Rice maintains a robust program and trade servicing program here
to ensure U.S.-grown rice maintains a strong presence and identity in the
market. As a result, Turkey is a top ten destination for U.S.-grown rice
and exports have averaged more than 192,000 metric tons over the past four or
five years. Now those exports are poised to gain as Turkey and Russia are
engaged in an all-out trade war on agriculture goods.
Turkey
and Russia have a complicated and intertwined history that dates back hundreds
of years, and the two countries have maintained a healthy respect for each
other, if not a full working relationship. However, that relationship has been
under great strain as of late.
In
November 2015, a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian plane near the
Turkish-Syrian border during an airspace dispute. Russia slapped several
economic sanctions on Turkey, including banning some agricultural imports.
Full-scale
war was avoided and the parties worked to normalize relations. But then in
August 2016 Turkish President Erdogan called the Russian annexation of Crimea
"Crimea's occupation." And in December, a Turkish gunman
assassinated the Russian Ambassador to Turkey in an art gallery in front of
horrified onlookers.
Although
considered by most, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, to be a
provocation designed to derail the warming relations between Turkey and Russia,
the incident escalated tensions. Tensions that are now hitting trade in
food.
In
February, Russia lifted the 2015 ban on imports from Turkey of onions,
shallots, cauliflower, broccoli, salt, carnations, and gum, but the economic
impact to Turkey was minuscule - and at less than $20 million, far below
the relief the Turkish government expected.
Turkey
responded recently by banning the import of corn, wheat, crude sunflower oil,
sunflower seeds, peas, and rice from Russia. This annual trade is
estimated to be worth $1.3 billion and clearly got the Russian government's
attention.
An
upcoming trade mission of Russian officials to Turkey to discuss ending the
trade skirmish has been canceled until the new Turkish bans are lifted.
Sixteen tons of Turkish fruit has been rejected by Russia, and importantly
here, the brisk trade in tomatoes, worth about $250 million annually, has been
shut down.
While
this is going on, 25,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown rice are on their way to
Turkey, and two importers are considering purchasing another 50,000 metric tons
according to the trade here.
USA
Rice continues to keep a bold presence in country, with 95 earned media
placements in January and February, and in-store demonstrations every week.
"Turkey
has always been an important market for U.S. rice and I think we are a valued
supplier," said Hugh Maginnis, vice president of international for USA
Rice. "While this trade battle goes on between Turkey and Russia, it's
important for the Turkish government and trade to know they can continue to
count on the U.S. to deliver high quality rice that their people love and
depend on.
MEXICO OPENS DOOR TO BRAZIL'S RICE. CORN NEXT?
MEXICO TURNS TO BRAZILIAN
RICE.
By Luis
Vieira
3/27/2017
The Mexican ambassador in Brazil,
Eleazar Velasco Navarro, promised that he would allow rice imports from the
South American country in an agricultural fair in Rio Grande do Sul. Rice
growers associations in Brazil already give the entrance to the Mexican market
as certain and say that only a “a few details lack.”
In 2015, Mexico harvested 158,350
tons of rice, which is 80.4% less than 30 years ago. In this period,
consumption has grown from 850,000 tons to 1.1 million metric tons, with most
imports coming from the U.S.
Brazil is a major player in rice production with 11.8 million metric tons,
while the U.S. produces over 8 milllion metric tons annually.
Also happening: Mexican authorities
announced that lemon imports from Argentina are just “a step away” from being
permitted, in another setback for U.S. farmers with an estimated 10,000 tons
less of California lemons sent into Mexico.
For Mike Zuzolo, president of
Global Analytics & Consulting, this topic will become hotter for grain
observers in the next 30 days, especially until it is known how fast U.S. corn
planting goes. In his opinion, Mexico is trying to show its cards in the case
of the Trump administration imposing a border tax.
“My sense is that Mexico would like
to have a plan of action ready in case the border import tax takes on a more
serious tone from the Trump administration. However, I am of the view, as an
analyst speaking to clients, that the blockage and resistance President Trump
is feeling on health care is a good indication of how difficult it will be for
him to move more aggressively against our trading partners,” Zuzolo told
Agriculture.com.
Mexican analyst Alfonso GarcÃa
Araneda, general director of Gamaa Derivates in Mexico City, says it’s still
important to know how big the South American crop will be in order to know if
there will be imports of corn from Brazil or Argentina. “A massive harvest in
South America, particularly from Brazil, added to the appreciation of the
dollar will ease and reduce the cost of imports, since the Mexican peso has
advaned 15.03% since January,” said Araneda.
by Hamza Rao | Published
on March 29, 2017
Aiming
to develop wearable senors to heal wounds, team Smart Bandage will be competing
in the Rice Business Plan Competition from April 6th to 8th in Texas USA.The
competition is the world’s richest and largest graduate-level student startup
competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and
Entrepreneurship, which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized
initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship, and the Jesse H. Jones
Graduate School of Business.
This
is the 17th year for the competition. In that time, it has grown from nine
teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the
world competing for more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes.
‘Smart Bandage’
aims to revolutionize healing of wounds through wearable sensors attached to
your bandage. It’s a disposable and low cost bandage that wirelessly
sends vital signs of the wound to remote medical staff on their
cell phones or other devices in real time.
The
bandage is able to asses wound healing progress by recording Ulcer formation,
Infection, Oxygen, Pressure, Temperature, Humidity, Blood glucose levels to
help doctors take timely decisions.
Procedure
of voting:
You
can help this Pakistani team win the people choice award worth USD 5000 by
clicking on the link and voting for Smart Bandage – University of Waterloo https://poll.fbapp.io/2017rbpc
Team:
The
team includes co-founders Professor Atif Shamim, who holds a PhD in
Electronics Carleton University. Inventor on 7 US patents, author of
50 international publications and an expert in the field of wireless
micro-antennas.
Waqas
Khan – Student University of Waterloo with expertise in
commercializing technologies & product development, has
served in multinationals from broadband to telecommunication industries
based in Europe, UAE, & Pakistan and has successfully launched 4 startups.
Mian
Talha Nasruddin – Head of Digital Channels & Partnerships at Jazz carrying
a rich experience of customer insight generation he specializes in digital
payments and has launched multiple brands over his career. He recently launched
the largest incubation center in Pakistan where he is currently heading the
JazzXLR8 program. He is also a serial entrepreneur with 3 successful business
launches to date.
Mohammed
Fahd Farooqui did his MS and Phd in Electrical Engineering in Texas A&M
University USA and KAUST respectively. His area of interest is inkjet and 3D
printed wireless sensors for biomedical and environmental applications. He is
currently the inventor on 2 US Patents.
Sohaib
Imran Rana who recently joined the team is a multi-faceted professional with 8
years of experience working in international environments KSA, USA, &
Malaysia he is currently handling Marketing & Business Development.
About
Competition:
The
competition is the world’s richest and largest graduate-level student startup
competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and
Entrepreneurship, which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized
initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship, and the Jesse H. Jones
Graduate School of Business
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/technology/this-amazing-pakistani-startup-is-competing-against-indian-startups-and-needs-your-help-to-win/
Beaumont Rice
Mills turns 125
Published 11:43 am, Tuesday,
March 28, 2017
: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor
Joseph Long tosses 110 pound bags of rice onto
the back of a truck at Beaumont Rice Mills on Wednesday. The company is
celebrating its 125th year operating is Beaumont. Photo taken Wednesday, March
22, 2017 ... more
Flatbed trucks pulled up to a conveyor belt at Beaumont Rice Mills
to load 60,000 bags of USA Milled Rice bound for Bangkok, Thailand.Thailand is
the fifth-largest nation in the world in land available for rice production
with more than 22 million acres. It's also the second-largest exporter in the
world.
A drought in 2016 dropped production by more than 20 percent, so
Uncle Sam stepped in with its food export program and Beaumont Rice Mills
responded.
Workers at the mill on Pecos Street last week guided 3,000 tons'
worth of the 110-pound bags onto the trailers headed for the Port of Lake
Charles. From there, the rice will be shipped to Bangkok.
For Beaumont Rice Mills president Louis Broussard, the export
program makes up perhaps 30 percent of his overall business, which this year is
celebrating its 125th year of operation.
Broussard, 56, represents the fourth generation of Broussards running
Beaumont Rice Mills. In 1892, Joseph Eloi Broussard Sr. acquired an interest in a grist
mill, which grinds grain into flour, and converted it into a rice mill. It
became the first commercially successful one in Texas.
On April 15, more than 300 Broussard family members from across
the country will convene in Beaumont to observe the mill's 125th year.
State Rep. Dade Phelan secured a state House of Representatives resolution recognizing April 15 as
Beaumont Rice Mills Day.
Broussard and his brother, Ben, are president and vice president.
Joe E. Polk, 40, is quality control
supervisor. His great-great grandfather was Joseph E. Broussard Sr. Jacob Broussard, 24, also traces
his lineage to the founder, his great-great grandfather, too. Jacob's dad
is Louis Broussard.
On Wednesday, Jacob climbed a ladder with a broom to sweep rough
rice from the roof over the conveyor belt to prevent grains from falling onto
the bags loaded onto the trucks.
"To this day, local farmers are our customers," Louis
Broussard said, commenting on what's in those 110-pound bags.
He estimated that 75 percent of what is bagged at the mill is from
local farmers in Jefferson, Liberty and Chambers counties, a large swath of the
Texas rice belt that swings west and south of Houston.
Beaumont Rice Mills' reach is global, with markets in Panama, the
Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico and Haiti, for example.
The mill sold rice in Iraq before it stopped U.S. imports, and the
mill sent rice to Iran. Cuba was a major customer, particularly for the mill's
label, Sunset Rice, before the U.S. embargo in 1962 closed that market.
"Eventually, we'll get back into Cuba," he said.
"Maybe not in my lifetime."
The Beaumont Rice Mills building at 1800 Pecos St. is as old as it
looks, dating to 1892. Louis Broussard and everyone else who works in the
third-floor offices climbs two narrow and steep flights of time-worn stairs to
get there, the same ones Joseph E. Broussard Sr. climbed 125 years ago.In
agriculture, uncertainty is ever-present. Farmers contend with drought, flood,
pests, weeds and prices, low or high and government policy that is outside an
individual's control.
"If our business model remains viable in the rice industry,
we will build a new facility," Broussard said. "Expansion is the only
way that we can carry the mill into the next generations."
DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/DWallach
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/Beaumont-Rice-Mills-turns-125-11033440.php
New rice storage centres to cost Odisha exchequer dear
By Express News
Service | Published: 30th March
2017 04:20 AM |
Last
Updated: 30th March
2017 04:20 AM |
SUNDARGARH:
The decision of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (OSCSCL) to
operate two Rice Receiving Centres-cum-Departmental Storage Centres
(RRCs-cum-DSCs) in far-flung areas of the district will cost the State
exchequer heavily due to manifold rise in transportation costs.
Sources said
without consulting its local authorities, the OSCSCL finalised to operate an
RRC-cum-DSC at B Korua in Balishankara block on Chhattisgarh border and another
in the remote Hemgir block for 10 years. Each centre has food grain storage
capacity of 25,000 quintals with a cost of Rs 8.20 per month per quintal and
the facilities will be jointly run by the corporation and private players.
Rice mills
located in Sundargarh, Subdega, Lefripara, Tangarpali and Bargaon blocks and
Sundargarh Municipality would be badly hit. The millers said two free of cost
departmental storage centres and three private godowns at a nominal rent
located at viable points are catering to the needs of seven blocks. But
instruction was issued to close them. Moreover, most of the rice mills are
located in Sundargarh, Bargaon and Rajgangpur blocks which are 40 to 100 km
from Balishankara and Hemgir.
Under the
present circumstances, the rice mills would dispatch rice stocks to the
RRCs-cum-DSCs for storage under the public distribution system (PDS). Now, the
lifting agents or transport contractors for these affected blocks and the
municipality area would have to procure PDS stocks from these RRCs-cum-DSCs and
return to the respective block offices before going for distribution to about
110 fair price shops located in remote areas.
Both the rice
mill owners and transport contractors are peeved at the decision while the
civil supplies authorities admitted that the decision would enhance transport
cost manifold. Sundargarh Civil Supplies Officer (CSO) A Pradhan refused to
comment.
Sundargarh
District Congress Committee president Dushmanta Naik said the decision would
bleed the State exchequer heavily and it is a fit case for Vigilance probe.
Naik said the private players involved in the RRCs-cum-DSCs ignored viable
locations and settled for distant areas for procuring cheap land
Rice exporters suffer losses due to sudden domestic
price hike
The
sudden surge in domestic rice prices in this year’s winter-spring crop has made
a number of rice exporters suffer from losses in the first quarter.
Farmers
in the Mekong Delta harvest winter-spring rice
Vietnam exported 1.28 million
tonnes of rice worth nearly 570 million USD in the first three months of 2017,
down 18.1 percent in volume and 17.3 percent in value from a year earlier,
according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.Chairman of the
Vietnam Food Association Huynh The Nang said although rice shipments fell in
Q1, it was still positive compared to the previous years. Most of exported rice
was destined for the Philippines, China and Africa, which are also the biggest
rice importer of Vietnam, helping to keep domestic prices high in the
winter-spring crop.
Businesses said it was abnormal
that domestic rice prices rose sharply in the crop’s harvest season. Most of
the firms that inked export contracts before the winter-winter crop have
suffered from losses.Lam Anh Tuan, Director of the Thinh Phat Foodstuffs Co.
Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, said businesses usually sign
export contracts early so that when local rice prices decline in the harvest
season, they will buy rice from farmers.
However, the situation changed this
year when rice prices remained too high throughout the winter-spring crop, even
higher than export prices, causing the companies a loss on the deals they had
inked, he added.Many enterprises were unable to respond to the sudden price
hike, failing to purchase and ship rice as scheduled. Some even refused to
deliver goods as stated in contracts as they didn’t want to make losses, said
Do Ha Nam – General Director of the Vietnam Intimex Joint Stock Corporation.
Soaring domestic prices also
increased export prices which have already been 10 – 15 USD per tonnes higher
than those offered by Thailand and India. As a result, it is hard for
Vietnamese rice to compete with Thai or Indian goods in the same market segment.Nguyen
Van Don, Director of the Viet Hung Co. Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Tien
Giang, said his firm did not sign any export contracts from late February to
March 20 to wait for market changes.
It is unlikely that importers would
buy Vietnamese rice whose prices are higher than those of Thailand and India.
Meanwhile, the company would suffer from losses if it lowered prices which
could not make up for purchase and delivery expenses, he elaborated.
Most of the surveyed businesses
said the market is still unpredictable, but there may be favourable conditions
for overseas shipment in the third and fourth quarters when Thailand will have
finished selling its stockpiled rice
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/basmati-rice-exports-may-grow-to-rs-22000-22500-crore-in-fy18-report/articleshow/57894777.cms
Gov’t unit backs lifting of rice import quota, eyes 35% tariff
By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:11 PM March 29, 2017
Rice imports. (AFP FILE PHOTO/Jay DIRECTO)
MANILA —
State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is pushing to slap a 35-percent
tariff on rice while providing subsidies to farmers when the import quota
expires by the middle of this year.
In a policy note published this month titled
“Quantitative restriction on rice imports: Issues and alternatives” authored by
Roehlano M. Briones, Ivory Myka Galang and Lovely Ann Tolin, PIDS said the
government could pursue two policy options following the expiration of the
so-called quantitative restriction or QR.
“First is to
extend the QR for two more years. The second and the preferred option is to
pursue tariffication, with revenues earmarked as safety net for rice farmers,”
PIDS said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Specifically, “a 35-percent tariff rate seems appropriate as a tariff
equivalent,” PIDS recommended.
Alongside
slapping import duty on the Filipino staple food, PIDS proposed to financially
support farmers. “A safety net for rice farmers can be as much as P20 billion
annually and can be financed entirely by earmarking funds from the tariff
revenue.”
PIDS further
said “tariffication with safety nets will bring down the price of rice and ease
the dislocation of rice farmers.”
But PIDS
added that ultimately, “removal of the QR will also increase imports and
depress palay prices.”
Based on
PIDS’ projections under a scenario that the QR will be ultimately repealed
while imposing a 35-percent tariff
on rice, “imports are expected to double and reach 4.4 million
tons per year on the average from 2017 to 2022.”“Tariff revenues are expected to be around P27-28 billion during
the same period. Meanwhile, farm gate and retail prices are projected to decrease by P4.56 per
kilogram and P6.97 per kilogram, respectively,” it added.
As for extending the waiver for
two more years or until 2019, as proposed by the Department of Agriculture,
PIDS pointed out that “the government still has no clear strategy to fast-track
domestic farmer competitiveness within two years.”
Also, “a QR extension means consumers shall
continue to bear the burden of overpriced rice, with the poorest households
bearing the brunt,” the PIDS added.
“The extension may also encourage some World
Trade Organization (WTO) members to bargain for non-rice concessions,” PIDS
warned.
State planning agency National Economic and
Development Authority has disclosed the decision of the majority of economic
managers to remove the Philippines’ quota on rice importation, as the
government moves to lower the prices of the staple food.
Economic managers have been pushing the
amendment of the decade-old Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural
Tariffication Act of 1996, which had put the rice import quota in place.
In 2014, the WTO allowed the
Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017, in a bid to buy more time for local farmers to prepare for free trade in the light of the
government’s goal of achieving rice self-sufficiency.
Since the government imposes a
quota on rice imports, domestic prices are vulnerable to shocks resulting from meager
supply.
The QR puts the burden of rice supply and
demand to the government, whereas the market forces are being limited by the
quota system.
Pundits say importation should be done by the
private sector in order to allow market forces to determine prices.
The extended QR slaps 35-percent duty on
imported rice under a minimum access volume (MAV) of 805,200 metric tons.
Importation outside of the MAV limit are levied a higher tariff of 50 percent.
The Philippines’ most favored nation rate—the
additional tariff imposed when imported outside of Asean—on the commodity
remains at about 40 percent.
In 1995, the WTO allowed the Philippines to
impose a 10-year quota system for rice importation. The QR was extended in
2004, and then lapsed in 2012, before being renewed in 2014. SFM
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/884849/govt-unit-backs-lifting-of-rice-import-quota-eyes-35-tariff
New rice info system makes interventions more efficient
By
-
The adoption of a newly developed
rice-monitoring system would now enable the government to craft sound policies
and programs for the country’s rice sector, according to an International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI) expert.
The IRRI turned over to the Department
of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) the
operation and maintenance of the Philippine Rice Information System (Prism) on
March 29.
“This technology is really for
the [first-hand] use by the Department of Agriculture and PhilRice. It is very
useful for assessing the total crop of rice, very useful in assessing the
real-time status of the regions, and very useful for budgeting and for
forecasting,” IRRI Deputy Director General for Communications and Partnership Dr.
V. Bruce Tolentino said. “It will make the work of the department much more
accurate and more efficient.”
Prism is an online
database-system initiative between the DA and the IRRI to support the DA
national rice program by providing accurate and real-time monitoring data on
the country’s rice production, according to the IRRI.Prism aims to strengthen
the capacity of the DA to make sound decisions in achieving food security by
delivering actionable information on rice crop seasonality, area yield and
yield-reducing factors using data collected from satellites, crop models,
smartphone-based surveys, statistics and maps, the agency added.
“In Prism, we can get [data
in relative real time every 10 days, because we have the satellite images. We
just have to assess the images, and we do not have to go to the field to the
survey-based,” Tolentino said, comparing the differences between the
data-gathering methods of Prism and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)
in coming up with palay production-related reports.
“Based on the images alone, we have
preliminary assessment of the crop already, because we know when the crop was
planted, so we can have an estimate on when the harvest will be, and that would
mean we can forecast the crop production,” Tolentino added.The IRRI said
the database of Prism relies on data gathered via remote sensing, crop models,
in-field crop surveys, farmer interviews, weather data, official statistics and
other fieldwork. Some of the data provided by Prism include the total area
planted with palay, the estimated production per hectare, the health status of
the crops and external factors that would affect production, such as incoming
typhoons or abnormalities in weather patterns, according to the IRRI.
“This means that due to the
abundance of information provided by Prism to the government and policy-makers,
they could make decision on total harvest [in a given period], as well as
decisions on trade, whether it will [be for] export or import. This is now
real-time information that is
available to the department for decision-making,” Tolentino said.
available to the department for decision-making,” Tolentino said.
Agriculture Undersecretary for
Operations Ariel T. Cayanan said Prism would serve as the go-to database of the
DA for its planning and monitoring of the development of the country’s rice
production.
“This is something we don’t want
our stakeholders to miss—to take advantage of the technology we have. For
example, there’s an incoming typhoon, through this, we could see the path of
typhoon, and we would learn immediately the potential damages that it could
cause,” Cayanan said. “So, now, if the crops that are going to be affected by
typhoon are mature enough for harvest, then we can deploy some postharvest
facilities to save them.”
Cayanan also said Prism would not
replace the role of the PSA as the government’s primary source for palay data,
but instead would serve as a complementary to it.
“The message was very clear. It
was highly noted that the PSA, the DILG [Department of the Interior and Local
Government] and other major components [of rice sector] already agreed that
they will coordinate—not to compete or contrast, which would be more
appropriate—but to coordinate to come up with data and information needed by
the farmers,” Cayanan said.
He disclosed the budget for the
creation of Prism is around P25 million to P35 million. Cayanan estimated that
it would be the same amount of funding needed to sustain and further more
improve Prism.
“Until next year it will be
having a budget coming from PhilRice. But as it progresses, we will have to
find source of sufficient budget for Prism, which could come from the GAA
[General Appropriations Act],” Cayanan said.
Dr. Eduardo Jimmy Quilang, Prism
project leader and PhilRice deputy executive director for research, said it
took them at least four years to develop Prism from 2013 to 2017.
Quilang said Prism would also
release monthly and quarterly reports on the country’s rice
production. “Prism has an 85-percent accuracy assessment of the products
we produce, like the rice map. We have field implementors who do ground
validation,” Quilang said.
“For example, if a certain area
is indicated as a rice farm in the Prism, the personnel would go there. If they
see that rice is not really planted in that specific area, then they would put
a red mark on it in the Prism data base. So, that’s how we measure our
accuracy,” Quilang added.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel F. Piñol said his department is having difficulties crafting programs
for the country’s cash crops due to the lack of “reliable and accurate”
agricultural data and statistics. “I believe we cannot do sound planning if the
data that we use and the statistics we rely on are not accurate.”
Piñol said he has ordered the
nationwide validation of all agricultural data, adding that the current and
available agricultural data and statistics in the country are “inaccurate and outdated”.
“In fact, we’re currently designing a program wherein we will really go down to
the village level, and we are going to use drone technology for the data
collection.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/new-rice-info-system-makes-interventions-more-efficient/
The Tahri That Binds: How A Sweet Rice Dish Connects A Woman To Her
History
March 29, 20175:51 AM ET
Pooja
Makhijani for NPR
I have always found it difficult to explain my family's
syncretic faith traditions to both white Americans and to other South Asians.
We are Hindu Sindhis, originating from an
area around the Indus
River, in what is now modern southeast Pakistan. On our home altar, familiar
Hindu idols — Lakshmi, Ganesh, Krishna — share space with images of the 10 Sikh
gurus and Jhulelal. Jhulelal, a river deity, is not only the patron saint of
Hindu Sindhis, but is also revered by Sufi Muslims. For many, my religion is an
outlandish concoction of incompatible faiths. But one thing that brings it all
together is our traditional foods.
My grandparents left newly formed Pakistan in 1947, after the Partition
of British India, in one of the largest mass migrations in human
history. They settled in refugee camps in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh before
migrating to Pune, an Indian city with a large Sindhi diaspora and where my
parents were born.
In independent India, my family felt spiritually alienated,
because their practices were viewed as not "truly Hindu" by their new
neighbors. As communities in exile often do, Sindhi Hindus formed tight-knit,
transnational networks, and these practices, as well as language and food,
became a vital connection to their roots.
THE SALT
A Longing For Lentils, Or How I Learned To Find Home Where
The Daal Is
Once a year, we went to Ved Mandir, a run-down, drafty temple in
central New Jersey to celebrate Cheti Chand, the Sindhi New Year and a
celebration of the birth of Jhulelal. There, my aunties and uncles sang
passionate devotional songs in praise of Jhulelal, and danced the ecstatic chhej (a Sindhi folk dance).
As I got older, I categorically rejected all these trappings of
my subculture. It was much easier to be a "mainstream" Indian and to
assume more conventional Hindu practices. But now that I'm an adult — and a
parent — I'm reclaiming all the quirky bits of my culture and faith.
Jhulelal is known by various names and worshiped in many forms;
his shrine in Pakistan receives both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims. But this
white-bearded saint who sits on fish and whose image is found in nearly all
Sindhi homes was originally a marginal deity for a particular group of Sindhis
who prayed to the Indus River, according to Steven Ramey, associate professor in
the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama and author of Hindu,
Sufi or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India
and Beyond.
After Partition, however, the singer Ram Panjwani, known as a cultural ambassador of the Sindhi community, recast
Jhulelal into a Sindhi icon. "Panjwani] consciously popularized Jhulelal
as a Hindu Sindhi deity," says Ramey. Panjwani set Muslim and Hindu
spirituals about the glory of Jhulelal to music. These hymns were then
published and distributed among the diaspora.
THE SALT
How A Broken-Hearted Young Girl Found Healing In Her
Grandmother's Vadais
There are many rituals associated with the holiday Cheti Chand,
which falls on March 29 this year, but two continue to hold both nostalgia and
meaning for me: pallao
payan, when devotees hold their garment hems, or the ends of their
mother's sari, as I once did, to pray to Jhulelal, and the consumption of tahri or sweet rice, during langar, the communal meal at the
end of the celebration.
During langar, we sit cross-legged on the floor while
volunteers scoop heaps of this sticky, aromatic rice onto our plates. Tahri is complex in flavor. Its varying
ingredients — sugar or jaggery, fennel seeds, cardamom, and caraway seeds —
give it a sweet, bitter, peppery and earthy taste. Its perfume is sharp and
slightly aggressive.
Because of Sindh's location on the Silk Road, its cuisine has
been influenced influenced by Persian, Arab and central Asian cooking. The
Mughal Empire's Muslim rulers' decadent staples, such as saffron and pistachios
for example, are showcased in tahri. During langar, tahri was often served with sai bhaji, a green, leafy
vegetable and lentil stew, or bhee
aloo, lotus stem and potato curry, both considered comfort foods
for this uprooted population.
A spoonful of tahri instantly transports me to the Cheti
Chand functions of my childhood — of family members chanting, "Jeko
chawundo Jhulelal, tehnija theenda bera paar (Whomever calls the name of Jhulelal,
their ship will safely reach the shore)," while greeting each other on
that special day.
This week, I'll be cooking bowlfuls for my daughter, who has a
sweet tooth. She, too, may turn away from all of this one day. But I'm doing my
best to hold onto that which has survived through war, migration and
globalization, just as my own parents and grandparents did.
The author's tahri, from a
family recipe
Pooja
Makhijani for NPR
Tahri
This family recipe comes to us from the author.
Ingredients:
§
1
cup Basmati rice
§
2
cups water
§
½
cup sugar
§
4
cardamoms pods
§
few
strands of saffron
§
½
teaspoon fennel seeds
§
pinch
of salt
§
4
tablespoons ghee
§
¼
cup silvered almonds, chopped pistachios, and chopped cashews (for garnish)
§
½
teaspoon caraway seeds (for garnish)
1.
Heat
ghee over medium heat in heavy-bottomed pan. Sauté cardamom pods and rice until
cardamom is fragrant and rice is coated.
2.
Add
water, saffron, fennel seeds, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.
3.
Cook
until water has reduced by half, and rice is half-cooked.
4.
Add
sugar, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until rice is cooked.
5.
Garnish
with nuts and caraway seeds.
Pooja Makhijani is a New Jersey-based journalist, essayist, and
children's book writer. Visit her online home at poojamakhijani.com
