Iraqi envoy
says India deceived importers by sending rotten rice
*Karim says
Iraq wants to set up gas terminals at Port Qasim and Gwadar
13-Apr-17
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KARACHI: Ambassador of Iraq in Pakistan Dr Ali Yasin Mohammed
Karim has underscored the need of having twin cities agreement between Pakistan
and Iraq by either declaring Karachi and Basra or Karachi and Najaf or any
other city as 'twin cities' which would not only help in dealing with visa
issues but will also pave the way for bringing people more close.
Exchanging views at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the Iraqi ambassador added that
declaring any city in Iraq and Karachi as twin cities will be an important step
as there will be no visa issue and the people will be able to move freely
between the twin cities without visas.
KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President KCCI Asif
Nisar, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Younus Soomro and KCCI Managing Committee
members were also present on the occasion.
The Iraqi ambassador further said that some factories including 18
cement manufacturing factories were available in Iraq but they were not working
properly as compared to Pakistan's advanced industrial units and
infrastructure.
"As factories in Iraq need improvements, therefore the
private and public sectors of Iraq and Pakistan can undertake joint ventures in
all the sectors of the economy. We prefer private sector's joint ventures which
are quicker as compared to joint ventures at public sector level," he
added.
The Iraqi envoy said that currently Iraq was mostly buying goods
from China, India and some other countries whereas Pakistan can also enhance
its share and efficiently compete with Chinese and Indian products through
quality control.
"Four months ago, Iraq imported hundreds of tons of rice from
India and the first shipment of Indian rice was good but the second shipment
was 100 percent rotten, which discouraged Iraqi importers. Subsequently, the
Iraqi Embassy in Pakistan was asked to find anyone who could export rice to
Iraq. This trade inquiry was forwarded from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
all Chambers of Commerce in Pakistan but nobody has answered us yet," he
added.
To a query regarding trade opportunities in Iraq, Yasin stressed
the need for frequent meetings between Karachi Chamber and Chambers of Commerce
in Basra, Baghdad or Najaf in order to explore trade opportunities not just in
the fabric market but also in other sectors as Iraq requires almost everything
so the business community of Karachi should not confine itself to fabric market
only.
Commenting on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Iraqi
ambassador said that Iraq was considering to establish gas terminals at Port
Qasim and Gwadar worth billions of dollars. "With CPEC many ports in the
region will be paralyzed and Pakistani will be a rich country whereas most of
the Pakistanis residing abroad especially in the Gulf region will return to
their homes", he added
Earlier, KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, while welcoming the
Iraqi Ambassador, said that with improved law and order situation and upon
completion of CPEC and Gwadar Port, this region is likely to attract
substantial amount of foreign investment from different parts of the world
whereas Iraq can also benefit from the situation by investing or undertaking
joint ventures in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi
This Jerk of a
Weed is Hiding in Plain Sight in a Huge Amount of the World’s Rice Fields
Ken Olsen
Rice is the world's second-biggest cereal crop, and it's the
most important for human consumption. Yet in a vast majority of rice
operations, a harmful copycat sits right in plain sight, sucking up nutrients
and infuriating farmers.
This copycat is a weed that’s extremely difficult to
find, has lots of evolutionary protections to ensure its ongoing survival, and
has a significant negative effect on rice crops around the world. Even in the
US, where it’s less of a problem than it is elsewhere, it’s estimated to
cause crop losses of more than $50 million per year. This weed is called weedy
rice, and scientists are trying to figure out where it comes from—and how to
fight it.
Weedy rice is in fact a form of rice. It comes in a bunch of
different species, but they’re all in the same Oryza genus
and therefore authentically rice plants. You can sometimes tell them apart from
regular rice by its longer awns (awns are those hairs you see on grasses
sometimes), or because it’s more red in color. But while technically rice,
they’re no good to us: they produce very few seeds (otherwise known as
grains of rice), and what they do produce is hard and unpalatable.
But weedy rice is also super
frustrating. It grows comfortably amongst regular rice, and it self-propagates
easily—it releases its seeds before regular rice is ready for harvest, which
ensures it’ll be present the following year. It can also stay dormant for
years, unlike regular rice, and the combination of that seed-release schedule
and its dormancy means that weedy rice lingers in the soil of rice farms for
quite a long time.
What’s worse, because weedy rice is
such a close relative of regular rice, there are no available pesticides that
will kill just weedy rice while leaving regular rice alone. Because it’s such a
worthy adversary, it’s found in huge percentages of rice fields worldwide: it’s
in up to 75 percent of fields in Europe, more than half in parts of West
Africa and Latin America, and up to 80 percent in Cuba.
“Control of weedy rice plants is much more difficult than that
carried out on other weeds because of the great morphological variability,
particular growth behaviour, and high biological affinity with cultivated
varieties,” writes Aldo Ferrero for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
A new study from Washington University in St. Louis attempts to
find out more about these pests by conducting what they call “an ancestry.com-type adventure” to see where they come from. What they found out is
that two known strains of weedy rice, though they evolved independently,
evolved in a similar way.
Weedy rice, the study finds, is a natural and frustrating
evolution of regular, domesticated rice. After looking into the precise changes
in the plant’s DNA, researchers found that it takes comparatively few changes
for rice to evolve into weedy rice. “It’s different genomic islands in
each weed type,” said Kenneth Olsen, the lead author of the paper, in a press release.
“So changing a crop into a weed doesn’t take many genetic changes and it can
occur through different genetic mechanisms.” In other words, rice just sort
of…does this. It has a natural proclivity to becoming an incredibly frustrating
weed.
This particular study was aimed at
learning more about weedy rice, but that’s the first step to figuring out how
to stop it because at the moment, there’s really no effective way to fight
i
http://modernfarmer.com/2017/04/jerk-weed-hiding-plain-sight-rice-fields/
End in Sight for Colombia's Restrictions on U.S. Paddy
ARLINGTON, VA -- It's been a long journey with too many
delays, but the government of Colombia looks close to removing longstanding
import restrictions on U.S. paddy. Colombian plant health officials have
acknowledged to their U.S. counterparts that the fungal disease Tilletia Horrida is present in Colombia. The
presence of this disease in U.S. rice country has been used as an excuse by
Colombia to restrict imports of U.S. rough rice to only the port of
Barranquilla and processing in surrounding mills, and to require fumigation of
the cargo before shipment.
"This discovery removes the scientific basis
for Colombia's current import restrictions," said USA Rice COO Bob
Cummings. "Colombian officials should now take this evidence from
their own study and move forward to remove the restrictions."
U.S. officials have told USA Rice that Colombia
will review and revise the import regulations on U.S. paddy, with estimated
completion this summer.
"The U.S. rice industry will continue to
support and assist U.S. officials in Washington and Bogota in what we see as
the final push to open fully the market in Colombia as soon as possible,"
concluded Cummings.
Since the enactment of the U.S.-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement, Colombia has emerged as a consistent and strong market
for, primarily, U.S. long grain milled and paddy rice. Sales in 2016 were
139,985 MT valued at $58.2 million. The trade agreement provides for an
increasing amount of U.S. rice to enter Colombia under annual duty-free tariff
rate quotas (TRQ) until Colombia's import duties phase out completely in
2030. In 2017, 98,448 MT of U.S. rice can enter duty free; rice imports
over that amount pay an 80-percent duty.
As an added benefit, state rice research boards
receive one-half of the revenue received from auctioning off import licenses
under each year's TRQ. In 2016, more than $13 million was distributed to
the six rice states to support research.Meeting
What to do with
leftover roast lamb from Easter
Second helping: give leftovers a new lease of life CREDIT: STOCKFOOD
If you’re serving lamb for Easter lunch you may be looking
for inspiration when it comes to any leftovers. Here are two great recipes to
try.
Lamb – it’s not just the perfect choice for Easter lunch – it’s a versatile meat that can be
easily transformed into a whole range of different dishes.
Lamb can be easily transformed into a whole range of different dishes
Add a tablespoon of tomato purée and a handful of Tesco finest* Piccolo Cherry Tomatoes, and cook
gently until the liquid reduces and you have a thick curry. Stir in a
tablespoon of Tesco finest* Greek
Yogurt and a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh coriander, and serve with Tesco finest* Basmati Rice.Or for lamb tacos, heat a
tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and
stir-fry your diced lamb leftovers until slightly crisp. Remove from the pan
and shred the meat using two forks. Make a salsa by chopping up a handful of
Tesco finest* Piccolo Cherry Tomatoes and mixing
with chopped fresh coriander and half a red onion. Season with salt, pepper and
a dash of Tabasco. Set aside.
To make guacamole, roughly mash one or two avocados with a
splash of lime juice, a pinch of salt and a clove of crushed or chopped garlic.
Add chopped coriander to taste.
Pile the lamb into some tacos (or warm corn or flour tortillas).
Top with the salsa and the guacamole, add a little sour cream and serve with
pickled jalapeno chillies.
Easter lamb
wrap tip
Stir 1-2tsp harissa paste into 4-6tbsp mayonnaise. Warm up some
wraps. Pile on leftover lamb, harissa mayonnaise, dill pickles sliced
lengthways, shredded lettuce and plenty of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Drizzle
with a little tahini. Season. Serve with Tesco finest* Pomegranate Tabbouleh.
Enjoy the finest Easter
Easter is almost here and with it four lovely days of relaxing,
food and fun.
To help you make the most of the holiday, the Telegraph has
partnered with Tesco finest* to help
you have your best Easter yet.
For simple and delicious recipes, clever Easter food hacks, and
brilliant ideas for days out and indoors, visit tgr.ph/tescofinest
