(02/11/20) Jennings,
La. — Farmers heard about several optimistic developments in the international
rice trade at the 2020 meeting of the Louisiana Rice Council and Louisiana Rice
Growers Association on Feb. 10.
Betsy Ward, USA Rice
chief executive officer, said Brexit has the potential to increase sales to the
British market without the restrictions of the European Union. “We’re
optimistic we can open that market to U.S. rice,” she said.
The United Kingdom had
bought as much as 600 metric tons, but that dropped by 75% because of tariffs
in 2017. The Turkish market for U.S. rice was lost because of tariffs, but the
country bought some American rice last week, she said.
The preliminary trade
agreement with China includes American rice.
China holds 65% of the
world’s rice stocks, and the country is dumping the excess on the market, even
selling medium-grain rice to Puerto Rico. “The prices they are selling rice for
in Puerto Rico don’t make sense,” Ward said.
An anti-dumping case
is being built against China, and two cases were won recently, including one
that complained China was unfairly subsidizing rice production.
“I think China will
come around, and I think there will be stability in trade with Mexico,” Ward
said.
India, the world’s
largest rice exporter, also uses unfair trade practices, “and they are just as
bad an actor as China,” she said. An unfair trade complaint also is being
developed against India.
The trade agreement
with Canada and Mexico is a positive development for American rice. “It’s
brought some stability to the market,” Ward said.
A memorandum of
understanding with Iraq has been extended to 2021 to buy more U.S. rice.
U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture Sonny Perdue is receptive to the needs of the rice industry. “He’s
probably one of the best (agriculture secretaries) we’ve ever had,” Ward said.
USA Rice Chairman
Charley Matthews Jr. has met twice with President Donald Trump to voice
concerns of rice farmers.
Mike Strain,
commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, said
trade developments worldwide are going well for American agriculture. “I’m very
positive where the economy is going,” he said.
A U.S.-Japanese trade
agreement will cut tariffs on American products. Rice is not included in the
agreement yet, but administration officials assured him rice would eventually
benefit, Strain said.
Other countries, such
as Kenya, are approaching the U.S. to make new trade agreements.
China will be buying
up to $37 billion in U.S. agricultural products. But some uncertainty is
resulting from the coronavirus outbreak as well as two new viral diseases,
Strain said.
Funding for dredging
the Mississippi River is being proposed, and that has resulted in port
expansions along the river, he said.
A rural task force in
Louisiana will be studying what’s needed to improve life in the rural areas of
the state. A broadband initiative will improve internet connectivity, and the
state needs to maintain roads and bridges better, Strain said.
Also at the meeting,
advertising consultant Mark Williams detailed an advertising campaign in 2018
and 2019 in north Louisiana. WiIliams, who co-founded the firm that came up
with the slogan for pork, “The Other White Meat,” said the radio campaign aired
5,249 ads heard 20 times by the average citizen.
The campaign, “Start
with Rice,” used radio ads and billboards, and surveys and statistics showed
the project had a significant effect on consumers, Williams said.
Michael Klein, USA
Rice vice president for communications, detailed last year’s 2019 Rice Road
Trip. Using a truck that was eventually a raffle prize, Klein traveled across
the U.S. to spread the word about rice.
Promotional items such
as rice cookers were distributed to consumers along the way along with rice samples
and recipes. Email addresses were collected to send regular messages with rice
recipes.
Klein reminded the
gathering that the 2020 USA Rice Outlook Conference will be in Austin, Texas,
Dec. 9-11, and the 2021 conference will be in New Orleans.
Rice tariffs decline 23.1% year-to-date
February 24, 2020 | 11:37 pm
Workers at the National Food
Authority warehouse in Visayas Ave. -- PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
RICE IMPORT tariffs declined
23.1% year-on-year in the year-to-date period ending Feb. 14, amid a sharp
decline in inbound shipments, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) said.
Citing a report from the BoC, the
Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement that import tariff collections
totaled P1.71 billion, against P2.22 billion a year earlier.
Volumes fell 61.8% year-on-year
to 209,320 metric tons (MT).
The Rice Tariffication Law, or
Republic Act No. 11203, was signed in mid-February 2019, and took effect in
March. It removed restrictions on rice imports, and instead imposed a 35%
tariff on shipments of rice from Southeast Asian trading partners. The tariffs
will help fund the modernization of the rice industry.
In the 2019 period when the law
was effective, the government collected P12.3 billion from 2.03 million MT of
imports.
Until Feb. 14, 2020, total
collections have amounted to P14.01 billion since the law took effect.
Finance Secretary Carlos G.
Dominguez III said the revenue gives the government “ample means to do even
more to make our agricultural production more efficient and extend direct aid
to small farmers.”
The government must set aside P10
billion a year for five years from the tariffs to support the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which will fund farm mechanization,
agricultural credit and training, and inputs such as fertilizer and seed.
The DoF said the law generated
billions in fresh revenue in less than one year of implementation, “a complete
reversal of its P11-billion average annual loss during the pre-RTL regime.”
— Beatrice M. Laforga
Shipping lines face troubled waters as oil
tankers, container carriers and cruise lines stop calling on China for fear of
catching the coronavirus
·
Port calls by
container carriers fell 30 per cent in February, from a year ago, according to
Clarksons
·
Oil shipment to China
from the Middle East fell to 12 per cent of what it was a year ago on February
5
Published: 10:30am, 24 Feb, 2020
Workers
wearing face masks helping a container ship to its berth at Qingdao port in
Shandong province on February 11, 2020. Photo: China Daily via Reuters
Port calls to China are becoming less frequent, as fear of
catching the coronavirus and a slowdown in the Chinese economy have deterred cruise
liners, container ships, oil tankers and bulk carriers alike from stopping at
the country’s harbours.
Commercial
vessels have stopped arriving, with port calls falling by an estimated 30 per
cent in February, and container throughput estimated to decline by between 20
and 30 per cent, according to Clarksons – a shipping research company.
are
in China, including Hong Kong.
The coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened more than 75,000
around the world and killed more than 2,400, is adding to the woes of an
industry that is already suffering from the US-China trade war. As many as 600
of the 3,700 passengers on the cruise ship Diamond Princess – moored in
Yokohama outside Tokyo – contracted the virus while in close proximity to one
another, which further deterred vessels from calling on mainland China, where
more than 99 per cent of confirmed afflictions and deaths are.
As China’s labour force returns to work in phases after an
extended Lunar New Year holiday imposed by the government in an effort to
contain the epidemic, shipyards are slowly ramping up construction.
Still, vessel owners expect delivery to be delayed. Nine of the
19 Chinese shipyards surveyed by Clarksons put their yards on complete
suspension on February 14, with none at full production.
“We foresee the delay to be between one to two months, depending
on the capability and resilience of different shipyards,” said Zhou Jian-Feng,
managing director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings, which has two ships
under construction at Chinese shipyards, and has several other projects
underway.
Trade shows and business meetings are likely to be postponed,
which means that there will be fewer building contracts signed in the short
term, according to Daejin Lee, maritime analyst for IHS Markit.
Apart from the delivery delay, China’s vessel owners and
shipping lines are facing difficulty finding crew, as sailors and officers from
mainland China must follow quarantine regulations that apply at every port
call, adding complexities and delays.
China is the second-biggest source of maritime crew, behind only
the Philippines, and ahead of India, Greece and Eastern Europe, according to
data by the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association (HKSOA).
Global
trade disrupted: Analysing the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus crisis
China’s shipbuilding industry has exploded in size over the past
two decades since the nation’s membership in the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), and in the economic recovery since the 2003 outbreak of the severe acute
respiratory syndrome (Sars). China’s share of global maritime construction by
tonnage almost tripled from 12 per cent in 2003 to 34 per cent by 2019,
becoming the world’s largest shipbuilding nation.
Chinese shipping lines like Cosco and the financial leasing arms
of the country’s biggest banks are collectively the second-largest vessel
owners on the planet, which underscores their aggressive leasing activity over
the past decade to carry the nation’s share of global commerce.
The
Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on
February 13, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
The world’s second-largest economy, China accounted for 14 per
cent of all containerised cargo exports last year, 23 per cent of seaborne
crude oil, 35 per cent of dry bulk shipped, 18 per cent of liquefied gas and 72
per cent of all seaborne iron ore.
That has taken a drastic turn, as the coronavirus outbreak
gathered pace in February. Crude oil tankers have stopped sailing for China
since the start of the month, compared with 3.42 billion ton-miles every day on
average last year, according to satellite data provided by Vessels Value.
Shipments from the Middle East, China’s largest source of the
commodity, were 280 million deadweight tonne cargo miles on February 5, a mere
12 per cent of the 2.32 billion DWT-mile shipped on the same day in 2019,
according to shipping analytics firm Drewry, who note that global freight rates
dropped 4.1 per cent in the second week of February, declining another 5.8 per
cent this week.
That would put significant “stress” on port revenue if the low
volume continues beyond March, because most European and Middle East ports have
significant exposure to China, according to Fitch Ratings Agency.
Many of the world’s largest container shipping lines, including
the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), AP Moller Maersk, CMA-CGM and Hong
Kong’s own OOCL have all cancelled their cargo routes from Asia to Europe and
North America in recent weeks.
The
Westerdam cruise ship at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on Feb. 14, 2020
after being turned away by five other Asian harbours. Photo: Xinhua
That would crimp global commerce, according to Clarksons data,
as the research company cut its growth forecast of the world’s 2020 maritime
trade to 2.2 per cent from an earlier estimate of 2.5 per cent.
The slower growth would affect harbour operators like Hutchison
Port Holdings, a unit of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison conglomerate. The
company, the world’s largest operator of container ports including the Kwai
Tsing terminals in Hong Kong, will see “negative growth” in this year’s
throughput, after last year’s 3 per cent decline, Moody’s Investors Service
said on February 10.
The shipping industry has already struggled with the switch to
low sulphur fuels as mandated by IMO 2020, which prohibits sulphur exhaust.
Uncertainty about the availability of low sulphur fuels and their cost has led
to a number of cargo lines to fit their ships with “scrubbers”, which remove
sulphur from ship’s exhaust. Clarksons estimated that 77 per cent of all such
refits were being done at Chinese shipyards.
Delays will cause headaches to shippers who bet on the cost
benefit of scrubbers versus using low sulphur fuels.
Ryan Swift is a senior business reporter focused on wealth
management, green business, the shipping industry and the gaming industry. He
was chief editor of The Peak and Asia-Pacific Boating magazines.
Coronavirus did not originate in Wuhan seafood market, Chinese
scientists say
·
Analysis of genomic
data from 93 samples of the novel coronavirus suggests it was imported from
elsewhere
·
The busy market then
boosted its circulation and spread it to the whole city, research shows
Published: 7:38pm, 23 Feb, 2020
New
research has shed fresh light on the origins of the deadly coronavirus. Photo:
Simon Song
The
novel
that
has claimed the lives of more than 2,400 people did not originate at a seafood
market in the central China city of Wuhan
as
was first thought, according to a new study by a team of Chinese scientists.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
was instead imported from elsewhere, said researchers from Xishuangbanna
Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese
Institute for Brain Research.
The team, led by Dr Yu Wenbin, sequenced the genomic data of 93
SARS-CoV-2 samples provided by 12 countries in a bid to track down the source
of the infection and understand how it spreads.
What they found was that while the virus had spread rapidly
within the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, there had also been two
major population expansions on December 8 and January 6.
Deadly
coronavirus may not have originated in Wuhan seafood market, Chinese scientists
say
According to the study, which was published on the institute’s website
on Thursday, analysis suggested that the coronavirus was introduced from
outside the market.
“The crowded market then boosted SARS-CoV-2 circulation and
spread it to the whole city in early December 2019,” it said.
Earlier reports
by Chinese health authorities and the
said
that the first known patient showed symptoms on December 8, and that most of
the subsequent cases had links to the seafood market, which was closed on
January 1.
US-CHINA TRADE WAR NEWSLETTER
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Policy
The research went on to say that based on the genome data it was
possible that the virus began spreading from person to person in early December
or even as early as late November.
“The study concerning whether Huanan market is the only
birthplace of SARS-CoV-2 is of great significance for finding its source and
determining the intermediate host, so as to control the epidemic and prevent it
from spreading again,” the research team said.
The scientists said also that although China’s National
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 2 emergency warning
about the new coronavirus on January 6, the information was not widely shared.
“If the warning had attracted more attention, the number of
cases both nationally and globally in mid-to-late January would have been
reduced,” they said.
Meanwhile, Xiang Nijuan, a researcher at the Chinese Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with state broadcaster
CCTV on Saturday that people infected with the new coronavirus were contagious
two days before they showed any symptoms.
Therefore anyone who had been in close contact with someone
within 48 hours of them being confirmed as infected should put themselves in
isolation for 14 days, he said.
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He Huifeng is an award-winning journalist who has reported on
China since 2001. She has gained an in-depth knowledge of political, economic
and social issues in mainland China through years of close observation, which
has given her a love for journalism in the field.
Import tax
collection from rice traders down 23% to P1.71B
February 24, 2020
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has collected P1.71 billion in duties
from rice imports by private traders under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice
Tariffication Law (RTL) from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 this year, down by 23.1 percent
from P2.22 billion in the same period last year.
BOC collections from rice imports of private traders since the enactment of RA 11203 in March 2019 will benefit palay growers as such revenues are earmarked for the annual P10 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Rcef).
The fund was set up under RA 11203 to finance farm modernization by directly providing local growers with wider access to credit and training along with funds for mechanization and inputs like fertilizer and high-quality seeds.
The excess of P10 billion collected for Rcef will also be used to finance other programs to boost the yields of farmers and improve their global competitiveness.
As a result of the liberalized rice trade following President Duterte’s signing of RA 11203, the average retail cost of the staple has, since its enactment, fallen by at least P9 per kilo. This trend has pulled down inflation as rice accounts for a sizable portion of the food expenses of most Filipino households.
In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the BOC said it has collected a total of P1.71 billion from imports of 209,320 metric tons (MT) of rice from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14.
The volume of rice imports from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14 is lower by 61.8 percent from the 759,810 MT brought into the country during the same period in 2019, when the RTL was not yet in effect, the BOC said at a recent executive committee meeting of the Department of Finance (DOF).
Last year, the BOC collected a total of P12.3 billion in cash revenues under the RTL from 2.03 million MT of private sector imports.
The RTL has imposed a minimum 35 percent tariff on rice imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions (QRs).
With over P12 billion in import tariffs collected in 2019, Dominguez said the government “has ample means to do even more to make our agricultural production more efficient and extend direct aid to small farmers.” Section 13(c) of the rice tariffication law states that 10 percent of the P10 billion Rcef shall be made available in the form of credit facility with minimal interest rates and with minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives.
The rest of the Rcef will be set aside for farm machinery and equipment; rice seed development, propagation and promotion; and rice extension services, as provided under RA 11203.
On top of paying tariffs, rice importers are required under RA 11203 to secure sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry, which assumed the food safety regulation function of the National Food Authority (NFA) under this law.
This requirement will ensure that rice imports are free from pests and diseases that could affect public health and local farm production.
Before rice tariffication, the NFA regulated private rice imports and it was the chief importer of the grain, incurring a total of P187 billion in tax subsidies from 2005 to 2015 or an average of P19 billion a year.
DOF Undersecretary and chief economist Gil Beltran has pointed out in one of his economic bulletins that the NFA lost around P11 billion annually from rice subsidies before the RTL took effect.
With rice tariffication, the government has already earned over P11 billion in less than a year, a complete reversal of its P11 billion average annual loss during the pre-RTL regime. (PR)
Rice duty collections decline in mid-Feb.
Published February 24, 2020, 10:00 PM
By CHINO S. LEYCO
The duties from rice imports by
private traders declined by nearly a quarter as of mid-February this year, the
Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
In a statement, DOF said that
duties collected by the Bureau of Customs dropped 23 percent to P1.71 billion
in January to February 14 this year from ₱2.22 billion in the same period last
year.
The lower duties is owing to
declined rice import volume during the period, the DOF said.
Based on the Customs data, there
were only 209,320 metric tons (MT) of imported rice from January 1 to February
14, lower by 62 compared with 759,810 MT in the previous year.
Last year, the Customs collected
₱12.3 billion from the 2.03 million MT of rice imported by private sector.
To recall, the Philippines
implemented Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, in March last
year. The new measure has imposed a minimum 35 percent tariff on rice imports
in lieu of quantitative restrictions (QRs).
“Collections from rice imports of
private traders since the enactment of RA 11203 in March 2019 will benefit
palay growers as such revenues are earmarked for the annual ₱10-billion Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF),” DOF said.
The fund was set up under RA
11203 to finance farm modernization by directly provide local growers with
wider access to credit and training along with
funds for mechanization and inputs like fertilizer and high-quality seeds.
funds for mechanization and inputs like fertilizer and high-quality seeds.
The excess of ₱10 billion
collected for RCEF will also be used to finance other programs to boost the
yields of farmers and improve their global competitiveness.
As a result of the liberalized
rice trade, the average retail cost of the staple has, since its enactment,
fallen by at least ₱9 per kilo. This trend has pulled down inflation as rice
accounts for a sizable portion of the food expenses of most Filipino
households.
With over ₱12 billion in import
tariffs collected in 2019, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the
government “has ample means to do even more to make our agricultural production
more efficient and extend direct aid to small farmers.”
Section 13(c) of the rice
tariffication law states that 10 percent of the ₱10-billion RCEF shall be made
available in the form of credit facility with minimal interest rates and with
minimum collateral requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives.
The rest of the RCEF will be set
aside for farm machinery and equipment; rice seed development, propagation and
promotion; and rice extension services, as provided under RA 11203.
On top of paying tariffs, rice
importers are required under RA 11203 to secure sanitary and phytosanitary
import clearances (SPSIC) from the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), which
assumed the food safety regulation function of the National Food Authority
(NFA) under this law.
This requirement will ensure that
rice imports are free from pests and diseases that could affect public health
and local farm production.
Before rice tariffication, the
National Food Authority regulated private rice imports and it was the chief
importer of the grain, incurring a total of ₱187 billion in tax subsidies from
2005 to 2015 or an average of P19 billion a year.
Finance Undersecretary and chief
economist Gil Beltran has pointed out in one of his economic bulletins that the
NFA lost around ₱11 billion annually from rice subsidies before the RTL took
effect.
VIETNAM RICE EXPORTS CAN INCREASE THIS YEAR
Published On 21 Feb 2020 05:06 PM
Vietnam
Food Association Vice Chairman Do Ha Nam has said that this year, the rice
exports of Vietnam are expected to increase by 6% with 6.75 million tonnes. He
said:
“Demand
is seen rising this year as Vietnamese rice is more competitive in terms of
prices.”
Nam also
added that the coronavirus epidemic in China did not have any impact on
shipments of Vietnamese rice to China. Nam said that over recent....
Problem of plenty: Wheat, rice output hits a record high, concerns
over storage
Published: February 22, 2020 12:40:38 AM
Although there
is good news in store for the government as output is set to increase on back
of increased rabi harvest, there are concerns regarding storage that it would
have to address.
The government hasn’t yet shed its lopsided approach of favouring
rice and wheat for procurement, as is evident from the fact that it has chosen
to continue with the MSP system.
Although there is good news in store for the government as output
is set to increase on back of increased rabi harvest, there are concerns
regarding storage that it would have to address. So, as output for wheat and
rice this season hits a record high of 101.2 and 115.63 mt, respectively,
excess stock of food grains will mean that it will be difficult for FCI to do
more procurement or make space for additional grain, as CACP points out in a
report. The problem goes beyond FCI procurement.
RELATED NEWS
Rice farmer groups commend
government for 'eat Ghana rice campaign'
Nyame na aye and Adom wo wiem rice farmer associations in the
Sefwi- Waiwso Municipality and Bodi Districts of the Western North Region have
lauded the government for taking up the "eat Ghana rice" campaign.According to the groups, Ghana would have been exporting rice to other countries if the campaign was given the needed support and commitment.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Mr Oduro Sarfo, president of Adom wo wiem Cooperate Rice Farmers Association, said the campaign had helped increase the number of bags they sold annually, which had subsequently boasted the local economy.
He disclosed that customers from other parts of the country now buy from them which hitherto was not the case.
He commended the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) at both Sefwi- Waiwso and Bodi Districts for supplying them with free seedlings and subsidized fertilizer.
For his part, Mr Kwame Ahi, President of Nyame na aye Rice Farmers Association, mentioned lack of power tiller machines and the lack of storage facilities among others as some of the challenges facing rice farmers and appealed to the government for assistance.
He also called on other corporate institutions to help them brand and package the rice in order to export them to earn foreign exchange for the country and also help reduce employment rates in the country.
Mr Ahi also advised the youth to take advantage of the government flagship programme of planting for food and jobs, so as to create their own jobs and not depend on the government for the non-existent jobs.
Comments:
Pakistan must improve export quality level to avoid curbs
Published: February 24, 2020
Representational image. PHOTO:
REUTERS
KARACHI: Today, the economy is facing severe
challenges in terms of a relatively high inflation rate, lower economic growth
and food shortages.
However, a few positive indicators suggest
that the economy is likely to turn the corner in the coming months.
The statement at the conclusion of
International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Pakistan on February 14 highlights
that the economy has stabilised, real exchange rate is in line with
fundamentals and inflation is expected to begin falling in
the next few months.
The SBP-IBA Business Confidence Index
returned to the green zone in December 2019 after lagging in the red zone since
April 2019. Although economic conditions always entail a certain degree of
volatility that dents economic stability, the government must ensure it adopts
viable policies. These efforts should include, but not limited to, continuous
bolstering of the dollar reserves to reduce currency volatility and avoiding
food shortages by relaxing restrictions on the import of essential food items.
This will ensure price stability and help
avoid fluctuations that increase the risk of speculation across different
markets. The large-scale manufacturing (LSM) index in December 2019 was 9.66%
higher than the value reported in December 2018. Major export-based industries
including textile, food and beverages, and leather products posted positive
growth.
In addition to that, Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics (PBS) reported that the first seven months of FY20 showed a decline
of 15.6% in imports over the same period of FY19.
However, efforts must be made to boost
export growth, which at 2.2% is a cause for concern. The fall of 27.9% in the
trade deficit highlights the changing trend on the external front.
The current account deficit, reported by the
SBP in calendar year 2019, was $7.4 billion, a 62% reduction from $19.5 billion
in 2018.
This change was primarily due to the
decrease in import payments for goods of approximately $10.6 billion and import
payments for services of $1.15 billion. The balance on trade decreased by $12
billion. This reflects in the fall in the current account deficit. The decrease
in imports was a major driver for the increase in gross foreign currency
reserves of the SBP, which soared from $9 billion in CY18 to $13.2 billion in
CY19, a change of approximately 46%.
Import trend
A closer look at the import trend suggests
that imports of all major groups, apart from machinery, decreased in dollar
value in the first seven months of FY20 as compared to the same period of
previous fiscal year.
Electrical machinery and apparatus and
mobile phones were the only major import items that reported a significant
increase in the first seven months. Electrical machinery and apparatus imports
rose 36.64% while mobile phone imports swelled 79.5%.
The whopping increase in the latter is
primarily due to the documentation efforts that has formalised import of mobile
phones into Pakistan.
On the other hand, there was a slight
decline of 1.67% in the import of power generating machinery. Imports of office
machinery, textile machinery and construction and mining machinery declined.
The compression of growth is likely a major factor in the reduction of import
demand.
Imports of the transport group declined
about 45%, with decrease in import of completely knocked down and semi-knocked
down units as the major contributing factor. Under the petroleum group, imports
of all products decreased except for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Interestingly, imports of textile products dropped 18.7%.
However, imports of raw cotton rose 41.5% –
a result of poor harvest of the cotton crop reported in 2019. Furthermore,
imports of the metal group fell 19.5% but imports of iron and steel scrap
increased 6.4%. Lastly, imports of fertilisers decreased 32.3% as local
production increased.
Considering the exports, the increase in
dollar value was reported for the food group and textile group between July
2019 and January 2020 over the value reported in the same period of previous
fiscal year.
Exports of basmati rice increased more than
51.6%, exports of vegetables rose 50.4% and exports of fish and fish
preparations went up 16.52%. On the other hand, there was an increase in the
export value of finished textile products such as knitwear, bedwear and
readymade garments.
Exports of leather manufactures also
increased, accompanying the rise in domestic large-scale production, as
indicated by the LSM index.
Incentives
In order to provide greater incentives for
increasing export activities through more financing options, the SBP has
increased the limit on the Long-term Financing Facility (LTFF) available to
exporters for machinery purchase and also injected liquidity into both the
Export Finance Facility (EFF) and LTFF.
This will help provide concessionary loans
to potential exporters at a time when interest rates are relatively high.
According to the SBP, foreign direct investment (FDI) into Pakistan increased
65.7%, or $620 million, in the first seven months of FY20.
According to the Board of Investment, most
of the FDI went to the IT and telecommunication sector, followed by power and
financial business sectors. China has been the most important source of
investment, followed by the UK. In recent weeks, the spread of deadly
coronavirus is likely to impact trade. Although the full extent of the impact
on global production is not known, it can adversely impact trade from Pakistan.
China is by far the largest trading partner
of Pakistan and its largest investor. Several of the non-tariff measures focus
on good health and wellbeing of individuals.
Sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS)
requirements for agricultural products are likely to become more restrictive as
countries undertake policies to ensure that the import of live animals, plants
and their products involves procedures and processes that inhibit the spread of
potentially deadly viruses.
Pakistan must harmonise its quality
standards with its large trading partners in order to ensure products imported
as well as produced domestically do not face trade restrictions. In essence,
the government has performed relatively better in reducing the current account
deficit. However, significant progress is required for improving the overall
economic conditions.
The writer is the Assistant Professor of
Economics and Research Fellow at CBER, IBA
Chasing a plate in... Kolkata
24 Feb, 2020 10:00am
NZ Herald
Kiwi food YouTubers
Thomas & Sheena Southam are on an eternal quest to find the most delicious
local food the world has to offer. This week, they check out the best bites in
Kolkata.
Kolkata has one of the most exciting food scenes in
India. Kolkatans are justifiably proud of their unique food: street food snacks
like the kati roll (a flaky flat bread stuffed with juicy marinated chicken);
rich, milk-based sweets and a love of fusing Indian flavours with English and
Chinese dishes. All this in addition to a multitude of traditional Bengali
dishes. If you love to eat, you'll be doing a lot of exploring: this city is
dotted with street food pockets where you can go and spend a couple of hours
hopping from one food stall to the next. Here are a few of our favourite dishes
to hunt down…
1. Singhara
and raj kachori at Tewari Brothers
Embrace the Indian tradition of chaat and a whole world
of flavours and textures will open up to you. Chaat are savoury snacks best
enjoyed standing on the street and taking a small pause during the day. They're
made up of a slew of ingredients which may include tangy tamarind chutney,
creamy yoghurt, spiced potato, crunchy chickpea noodles (sev), or deep fried thin
and crispy dough balls called puri. No matter the combination, it's guaranteed
to be delicious.
Tewari Brothers is a local institution famed for using
desi ghee (a type of clarified butter produced from Indian cattle) in its
sweets and chaat. Come here in the afternoon to munch on singhara (what they
call samosas in Kolkata), flaky pastry stuffed with garam masala spiced potato
and topped with a generous ladle of tamarind chutney. Each bite is reminiscent
of a Christmas mince pie: flaky pastry, aromatic and with sweet spice. And
don't forget to order the raj kachori: a crispy wheat flour ball the size of
your palm filled with spiced potato, lentils and chickpeas doused in tamarind
and coriander chutneys and yoghurt before being sprinkled with spice, coriander
and sev. It's a behemoth of a snack full of variance in texture, temperature
and flavours.
Eat at: Tewari Brothers, 3A,
Jagmohan Mullick Lane, Kolkata, West Bengal. Open daily, 7am to 9pm, singara
and kachori available from midday).
Mutton biryani at Dada Boudhi Hot
Come and get
it at the Meat Ball
Sixth annual Meat Ball celebrates local meat and produce.
By Lucas Thors
February 23, 2020
Julie Scott, left, Vice President of the Ag Society and mastermind
behind the Meat Ball, dances with volunteer Prin Van Gulden. — Lucas Thors
This year’s event featured food
prepared by Chef Jefferson Monroe, owner and founder of the Good Farm, and a
killer performance by the Space Invaders.
Many Island farmers also donated
food, and the community and members of the Ag Society donated their time to
make the event possible
Admission to the event was $20
for adults, and $10 for kids ages five and up, with kids younger than five
getting in for free.
This year’s ball put an Indian
spin on the menu, with spicy curries and delicious noodle dishes as well.
Hundreds of meat lovers came out
for the celebration and party, but there were plenty of people enjoying the
vegetarian dishes as well, such as spicy Thai green vegetable curry over soft
and warm basmati rice, featuring fresh greens from Island Grown Initiatives’
Thimble Farm. The red lentil dal was also a big hit with meat eaters and vegans
alike.
Goat curry made with goat from
the Good Farm and Japanese beef curry made with Grey Barn beef highlighted the
incredible livestock on Martha’s Vineyard
One addition to the event this
year was a raffle for various Island meats. You could buy raffle tickets for $2
each or three for $5. Some of the prizes included Island chicken, lamb, duck,
venison stew meat, and almost 6 pounds of beef short ribs.
A backyard barbecue prize package
was also available containing beef patties, Italian sausage, and boneless pork
ribs.
After people filled their plates
many times over and made their way into the gathering room, the Space Invaders
immediately kicked off the night with some of their originals, and did several
covers.
Kids danced in their colorful
outfits and showed off their hula-hooping skills, while couples and friends
boogied down to some lively tunes.
Ag Society vice president Julie
Scott stood behind a food table dishing out yummy Thai noodles with chopped
chives and a nice kick. Scott is behind organizing the event, and she said one
of her favorite things about the annual Meat Ball is how it brings people
together.
“We just love showcasing all the
amazing local meat and bringing people together to laugh, dance, eat, and enjoy
themselves,” Scott said.
As more folks filtered into the
main dining area and onto the dance floor, there were even some leftovers to
pack up, despite the massive turnout.
The party wrapped up around 10
pm, and everyone left with full bellies and covers of the Ramones stuck in
their head.
All in all, the event featured a
great variety of musical talent and some of the Island’s freshest meat and
produce.
