Rice
export to Indonesia, Philippine, Sri Lanka on the cards
Dastagir says reason behind decrease in export is
depressed prices of rice in international market
November 20, 2015, 1:45 pm
ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Commerce Engineer Khurram
Dastagir Khan on Friday informed the National Assembly that export of rice to
Indonesia, Philippine and Sri Lanka would start very soon.
Replying to various questions
during Question hour, he said, agreement to export rice to Indonesia has been
finalized while with Philippine it is in final stage, adding that concern of
Sri Lanka about quality has been removed and export will start soon.He said
exports of rice in the current markets are also being increased besides Trade
Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is actively supporting the rice
exporters and finding new markets as Pakistan has world class Basmati rice.
The Minister said an agricultural
exhibition was held in Russia for the first time and Russian Federation would
become a new market for Pakistan, adding that in the recent days talks with
officials of South Africa, Russia, France, Indonesia, Angola, Germany were held
to increase export of Pakistani rice to these countries.He said surplus stock
of basmati rice is available with the private sector in the country due to
bumper crop and less exports. However, it is hard to determine the exact
quantity of stocks.
The Minister said the reason behind decrease in export is depressed prices of rice in international market due to introduction of new low cost high yielding varieties of rice by international competitors.He said the export of rice is in the private sector and one time purchase of stocks by the government will not resolve the problem. He, however, said the government is in contact with the stakeholders to devise a mechanism to support the private sector in export efforts.He said the Prime Minister has constituted a committee to support the growers and has announced Rs 350 billion Kissan Package to help mitigate sufferings of the growers, particularly rice growers.
Delay
in new trade policy hurting exports
ISLAMABAD: After a delay of five months, the Ministry of
Commerce has sent a summary of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF)
2015-18 to the prime minister for his approval, an official told Dawn on
Thursday.The policy was to be implemented from July 1, 2015 as the STPF 2012-15
expired on June 30, 2015. An official said implementation of the new STPF could
go a long way in arresting the trend of decline in exports. In the first four
months of this fiscal year, the country’s export proceeds witnessed a double
digits decline.The process on the formulation of the new policy was started in
September 2014 and the commerce ministry received 837 proposals. Of these 50
came from FPCCI, 110 from chambers of commerce and industries, 160 from trade
associations, 240 from Pakistan’s trade mission abroad and 200 from federal and
provincial government departments.
The official said the proposals were examined between November
2014 to March 2015. This exercise was followed by inter-ministerial
consultation between March-April 2015. And the advisory council meeting was
held in May 2015.After completion of the whole exercise, the commerce ministry
sent a request to the prime minister secretariat seeking time to give
presentation before formally submitting the policy to the cabinet for
approval.Instead of implementing the policy, the prime minister constituted a
cabinet committee on production and exports in August 2015. The committee,
headed by the finance minister, held two meetings on the STPF and approved it
on August 29. It was placed on back burner for more than two and a half
months.The draft policy envisages $35 billion ambitious export target. It is
focusing on markets as well as products with a specific support measures in the
next three years.
The government would also provide Rs20bn for research and
development.The new policy targets product sophistication and diversification;
market access; institutional development and strengthening and trade
facilitation.Under the policy, the focus market for basmati rice exports will
be Iran, Saudi Arabia. The fresh vegetables and fruits exports like kinno,
mango, vegetables, potato, and onion will be supported to markets of South East
Asia and Middle East.In the same category, exports of meat products will be
promoted to the markets of Middle East including Iran.The government will
provide freight subsidy on export of cement to Africa. Other potential market
for cement are Sri Lanka, India and Afghanistan.
The duty structure will
be revised on raw material including coal and shredded tyre as well.As per the
draft policy, the market-linked focus products for Iran consist of basmati rice
and meat. Under this scheme, for Iran government will provide warehousing support,
branding support, certification support, border market support as well
infrastructure development support to the identified sectors.For Afghanistan
exports of wheat, rice, meat and cement will be promoted. For Afghanistan, the
strategy includes infrastructure development, banking and rail link, zero
rating on export of plastics.For China, the products exports of which will be
promoted included rice, yarn, fabrics, and garments.
Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1220847/delay-in-new-trade-policy-hurting-exports
Paddy prices go up, still below
production cost
20 Nov, 2015 00:00:00
Yasir Wardad
The food
minister's declaration of raising duty on rice import has helped increase paddy
prices at home slightly but the prices are still much below production cost,
insiders said.Market insiders said the decision of hiking import duty should be
implemented within a week to help most of the farmers get returns from the harvest.Paddy
prices increased by Tk 40--50 per maund (40 kg) in last five days with the
announcement of the food minister that the government would raise import duty
of rice.Swarna variety was selling at Tk
580-620 per maund which dropped to just Tk 500-550 per maund in different
districts as the harvest began in the last week of October, sources in Rangpur,
Rajshahi, Kushtia and Jessore regions said.Md Shah Suja, a farmer at Ramnagar
in Nilphamari, told the FE that he has been getting poor prices for paddy from
last Aman season due to flooding of the market with imported low-cost Indian
rice.
He said the
prices of paddy in this Aman season dropped below the level of the last season.
"We also incurred losses in last Boro season as price of Brridhan-28 was
below Tk 650 per maund against a production cost of minimum Tk 700," he
said.The agriculture ministry, however, has estimated a production cost of Tk
740 per maund paddy in this Aman season.The government recently declared its
procurement target for public food storage. The government will buy 0.2 million
tonnes of Aman (rice form) at Tk 31 per kg which will be started from December
15. The food minister at a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring
Committee at the ministry also declared that duty on rice import would be
raised further from the earlier 10 per cent.However, the government imposed a
10 per cent import duty at the end of last Boro season which became effective
from July 01 last.
Before that,
having a zero-tariff facility, the private sector of the country made a record
import of over 1.49 million tonnes of rice from India in the financial year
2014-15. The import continues as the importers brought another 0.122 million
tonnes in last four and half months. Secretary
of the Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mills Owners Association KM Layek Ali told
the FE that apart from formal import, a huge volume of rice is being smuggled
into the country from India."Smuggling is ten times higher than that of
formal import," he said."The government should impose at least 30 per
cent duty on rice import and also combat smuggling," he said. Agricultural economist Golam Hafiz Kennedy
said the food minister's declaration should be made effective within a week so
as to help the farmers get some returns.He said due to a flood this year,
production might decline slightly or might be static this season. "So,
farmers should be encouraged to raise production in the Boro season," he
said."To encourage farmers, there is no alternative but to ensure good
price," he said.
However, Aman
harvest has been going on in full swing across the country. According to the
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), 30 per cent harvest was completed
until November 17. Our field report is showing that per hectare yield has
increased, Dr Md Abduhu, deputy director, monitoring wing under the DAE, said.
"But overall acreage under Aman farming has dropped by nearly 40,000
hectares this season than that of the last due to a three and half months long
flood from July to October," he said.The government has set a target to
grow 13.35 million tonnes of rice from 5.6 million hectares in the current Aman
season, he said.Rice production in Aman season was a record 13.2 million tonnes
in FY'15.Aman is the second largest crop which constitutes 38 per cent of the
overall rice production in the country.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/11/20/118993
Indonesia's Rice Production Expected to Fall After
Planting Delay
Jakarta. Rice production is expected to fall next year as planting is
delayed due to a prolonged dry season this year, a farmers association
representative said on Friday.Prolonged drought conditions induced by the El
Nino weather phenomenon has destroyed some harvests across the archipelago,
prompting the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) to cut the expected rice
production by 560,000 tons to 74.99 million tons this year.“Next year the
harvest is likely lower than in 2015, as delays in planting
will disrupt harvest,” sai Dwi Andreas Santosa, chairman of Indonesian
Farmer Seed Bank Association (AB2TI).
The association assists thousands of smallholding farmers by
providing seeds and improving agriculture techniques and practices.A majority
of association members — 62 percent — will only begin planting in December, two
months behind the standard schedule, Dwi Andreas said.Around 23 percent of
AB2TI members will plant this month, while just 15 percent were able to begin
planting rice in October thanks largely to irrigation systems, he said.The
government is importing 1.5 million tons of rice from Thailand and Vietnam by
the end of the year in anticipation of a shortage.Vice President Jusuf Kalla
earlier this month suggested it was unlikely Indonesia will need to import rice in 2016, as he
expects an end to the drought conditions.
http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/business/indonesias-rice-production-expected-fall-planting-delay/
Thai Rice En Route to Indonesia, More
From Vietnam to Come
Jakarta. Indonesia's procurement body
Bulog expects to see 500,000 tons of rice from Thailand entering
the archipelago next month, an agency official said on Thursday.The
shipment is part of the government's plan to import 1.5 million tons of rice
from its Southeast Asian neighbor and Vietnam, in a move to anticipate a
shortage of the food staple following an extended dry season brought on by
El Nino, according to Bulog procurement director Wahyu. 
“The
rice will go through Bulog’s warehouses in Bitung [North Sulawesi],
Lokhseumawe [Aceh], Medan [North Sumatra] and Surabaya. The supply will
then be sent directly to East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, [...] areas with the
most severe rice shortage,” Wahyu said.Saigon Port, Vietnam's largest port
located along Saigon river in Ho Chi Minh City, has been loading 183,000
tons of rice bound to Indonesia in the past three weeks, Reuters reported on
Wednesday.
Cook-Off Caps USA Rice-led GBI in
Ghana
Lining up for a taste of U.S. rice
ACCRA, GHANA --
The second U.S Food Products Cook-off involving local talent was held here
yesterday with the theme: "U.S. Foods - Great in Quality, Great in
Taste." This year's event, part of the USA Rice-led Global Based
Initiative (GBI) activity, attracted more than four hundred traditional
caterers from various food service associations across the nation. The cook-off
was the capstone of three regional food service seminars organized by USA Rice,
the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, and the American Peanut Council. More
than 1,500 foodservice providers participated in all of the regional seminars,
and gained information and education on U.S. rice, poultry, and peanut butter.
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Regional Agricultural Counselor Kurt
Seifarth attended the event, along with officials traveling with the USDA
agribusiness trade mission in Sub-Saharan Africa, and expressed their strong
support for this platform for the artisanal catering industry to showcase their
culinary skills and creativity, using high quality U.S. food products.Finatrade
and Sucatrade, both local Ghanaian importers of U.S. rice and poultry, donated
food products for the cook-off.This week's event coincides with the end of a
six-month advertising campaign in major cities that was a focal point of the
GBI. The campaign includes large format billboards and radio advertising to
raise awareness of the U.S. commodities.
Contact: Eszter Somogyi
011-49-40-4503-8667
CORRECTED-Thailand to
start sale of 2 mln T of spoiled rice this month
(Corrects 9th paragraph
in story published Monday to say sales worth 52 billion baht ($1.5 billion),
not 5.2 billion baht ($145 million).Nov 16 Thailand's military government will
begin auctioning 2 million tonnes of rotten rice by the end of this month,
looking to offload stockpiles of the staple grain built up under a previous
support scheme for farmers.Thailand, the world's second biggest rice exporter
after India, is holding about 13 million tonnes of rice bought at
higher-than-market prices to help farmers, a scheme that cost the previous
government billions of dollars.Some 2 million tonnes of the stored rice that
has been judged unfit for human or animal consumption is to be auctioned away
for such industrial uses as producing ethanol."Within this week the
foreign trade department at the ministry will announce the terms for selling
the ruined rice," said Chutima Bunyapraphasara, the commerce ministry's
permanent secretary.
It will be the first time rotten rice has been sold from
Thailand's stockpiles strictly for industrial uses.Of the 13 million tonnes of
rice Thailand still holds in its state warehouses, around half, or 6 million
tonnes, is "below-standard or rotten", said a commerce ministry
statement.The commerce ministry plans to start this month's auction in lots of
between 1,000 and 6,000 tonnes, Chutima told reporters, with interested buyers
able to inspect the stocks and submit their bids by the end of the month.Analysts
have said the rotten rice would be sold for far less than edible stocks.Since
Thailand's military government took power in 2014, it has auctioned off 5
million tonnes of rice through several tenders, with sales worth about 52
billion baht ($1.5 billion), the commerce ministry said.
Thailand accounts for about a quarter of the global rice trade
and so far this year has exported around 8 million tonnes, earning the country
around 127 billion baht ($3.5 billion).Thailand's goal to export 10 million
tonnes of rice this year to regain its crown as top exporter will likely not be
met, said the commerce ministry.India was the top rice exporter in 2014,
eclipsing Thailand after its multi-billion dollar subsidy scheme led to a
massive build-up of rice in storage.($1 = 35.98 baht) (Reporting by Panarat
Thepgumpanat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre;
Editing by Tom Hogue)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/20/thailand-rice-idUKL3N13B2VJ20151120
Nigeria hopes to
reach rice mill deal with China by year-end
By
Staff Writer
November 21, 2015
ABUJA, (Reuters) – Nigeria hopes to reach a deal with China
within weeks to set up 40 rice mills, its new agriculture minister said, as
part of plans to eliminate the need for any imports of the grain within two
years.Audu Ogbeh said in his first interview since taking office last week that
Africa’s top oil exporter wants to boost production of tomatoes, soy beans,
nuts and plant two million cocoa trees to reduce an annual food import bill of
$20 billion and create jobs for its impoverished youth.President Muhammadu
Buhari, who took office in May on a campaign to usher in a new era for a
country hit by corruption and mismanagement, wants to boost the agricultural
sector and end reliance on oil exports after a plunge in crude prices.That will
be an uphill challenge as pot-holed roads hamper the transport of goods.
Nigeria has tens of millions of farmers but the vast majority of them work on a
subsistence basis and live on less than $2 a day
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/news/world/11/21/nigeria-hopes-to-reach-rice-mill-deal-with-china-by-year-end/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nigeria-hopes-to-reach-rice-mill-deal-with-china-by-year-end
Mekong rice straw to go to Japan
Rice straw drying in Dien Lam Commune, central
Nghe An Province's Dien Chau District. Rice straw will be exported to Japan as
animal feed. — VNA/VNS Photo Lan Xuan
HCM CITY (VNS) —
Rice straw, which is usually burnt by Cuu Long (Mekong) farmers at rice fields
after harvest, will be exported to Japan as animal feed, according to Song Hau
State Farm in the Mekong City of Can Tho.At a meeting on Wednesday , the
management board of Song Hau State Farm negotiated with representatives of
Japan Beef Import/Export Association (JBIX) on a project to process rice straw
from the Mekong Delta for export to Japan where the material will be used as
animal feed.A representative of JBIX said Japan needs sources of clean feed for
its husbandry industry, especially for its herd of 4.3 million cows. The demand
includes 220,000 tonnes of processed rice straw per year.
Under the project, JBIX will provide capital
and equipment to its Vietnamese counterpart, and at the same time send Japanese
experts to Song Hau Farm to provide technical know-how and staff
training.Nguyen Thanh Phu, director of Song Hau State Farm, said if the project
goes smoothly, the first shipments of processed rice straw from the Mekong
Delta would be exported to Japan.The project is expected not only to better
benefit Mekong farmers but also help reduce pollution caused by straw burnt
after the harvest. — VNS
http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/278776/mekong-rice-straw-to-go-to-japan.html
Is El
Niño the Solution to California's Drought?
[Houseboats sit in the drought lowered waters of Oroville Lake, near Oroville, Calif. in this Oct. 30, 2014 file photo. AP / Rich Pedroncelli
For the past four years, skiers and snowboarders have suffered
through one of the worst droughts in the history of California. Last
year, the Tahoe snowpack on April 1 was
so bad, Governor
Jerry Brown ordered
the state's first-ever mandatory statewide water restrictions. This
fall, however, the snowpack is measuring well above average and
more storms are on the horizon. And although the
strongest effects of El Niño likely won't be felt until mid-December at the earliest, everyone is wondering:
will this year's record-breaking El Niñorescue
California from its epic drought?
At this point, there's not just the potential for
a strong El Niño this winter, it's pretty much a guarantee. The National
Oceanic and Atmosphere Association (NOAA) notes that "El Niño-related impacts
have been occurring around the globe for months already" and in the United States
these impacts will be strongest from December through March. That's not to say
we haven't already seen the influence of warmer surface waters in the
equatorial Pacific, it's just that the strongest effects are yet to be seen.Because El Niño tends
to create wetter and cooler than average conditions across the southern
portions of the United States, and warmer and drier conditions across the
northern regions, Californians are bracing for what could be an epic winter of rain. But it's important to note
that even a wet winter would be, as NOAA put it,
"very unlikely to eradicate 4 years of drought."Even
with November's precipitation, most of California is still in an exceptional
drought. The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map,
released November 19, provides a good picture of just how severe the state's
drought remains.
So what will it take this winter to put a dent into California's
water problem? Lots and lots of rain. For multiple years in a row, the state's
rainfall amounts have been between 54-75
percent of normal. As NOAA explains, "every region in
California is missing at least a year's worth of precipitation," and the
southern coast of California (here's looking at you, Los Angeles) is missing
almost two
year's worth of
rain.California doesn't just need a little bit of rain to end the drought, it
needs a ton of rain or snow. Just check out this map of the percent of normal precipitationneeded
by the end of September 2016:
Percent of normal precipitation required in the upcoming year to
mitigate 5-year rainfall deficits. Maps via NOAA Climate.gov, based
on analysis of Climate Division data by Rich Tinker, NOAA Climate Prediction
Center.To put it in perspective, most of
California would need to have one of the wettest
years on record to
get five-year precipitation deficits out of the bottom 20 percent. To get out
of the 50th percentile, every region of California would needrecord-breaking
amounts of rain.
That means that Los Angeles would need nearly 53 inches of rain this year, more
than 15 inches higher than the current record for the
wettest year ever.What does this all mean? It's unlikely that this year's El Niño, no matter
how strong it is, can solve California's drought. Even more important, El Niño
has the best chance of helping if precipitation falls across the entire state.
In southern California, where the probability of a wet winter is
much higher than the northern half of the state, El Niño could bring more rain.
But the backbone of California's water supply, delivery system, and reservoir
capacity is in Northern
California. If heavy rain falls north of Sacramento, where some
of the state's largest reservoirs are located, the El Niño precipitation would
be much more beneficial to ending the drought. Colder temperatures at higher
elevations would also help replenish the state's snowpack.Drought-relief isn't
going to happen overnight, even with an El Niño this strong.
The most likely scenario is that El Niño brings above average
rainfall this winter, but that the drought
remains intact through spring. The best hope is that this
year's El Niño makes the drought less extreme.
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice
Futures
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U.S.
Rice Impresses Chef at Food & Hotel Food Show in China
US Rice Impresses Chefs in
China
Talking U.S. rice in China
SHANGHAI, CHINA - Last week, USA Rice participated in the Food and
Hotel China 2015 international exhibition here. The U.S. delegation, including
John Valpey of American Commodity Company, Kevin McGilton of Riceland Foods,
Ken La Grande and Steve Vargas of Sun Valley Rice Company, and Derek Alarcon of
Farmers' Rice Cooperative, met with importers, distributors, and retailers. Two
of the key meetings were with COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils and
Foodstuffs Corporation) and Wal-Mart. This was USA Rice's second consecutive
year at the show and new for this year was a professional chef's preparation of
five different rice dishes for sampling using five different varieties of U.S.
rice each day. The chef, Richard Ong Kahloo, formerly executive chef at the JC
Mandarin Shanghai, and now a food consultant, gave high marks to U.S. varieties
he was using.
"Calhikari, as steamed
rice, keeps a long time without getting soft and is very good at absorbing the
sauces from the meat and vegetables in the dish," Kahloo said. "I
used Calrose in a seafood congee dish and liked that it gets sticky quickly.
And finally, U.S. Jazzman long grain rice is now my favorite rice for cooking
stir-fry. Normally cooked rice for stir-fry should be cooled down after it is
cooked, but with Jazzman, it can be used immediately." Participation at
food shows has helped introduce U.S. rice to the Chinese rice trade in advance
of having a protocol agreement for the commercial importation of rice into the
country which has been in the works for years and is expected soon.
Contact: Bill Farmer (832) 302-6710
APEDA Commodity News
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Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily
Commodity Report
Rice
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Rice Comment
Rice futures were posting sharp
gains at mid-day. January will have resistance near $12.50 on a rebound, while
March has tough resistance at $12.75. Global ending stocks for 15/16 were
raised by 3 percent (2.7 million tons) due to an increase in beginning stocks
and a decrease in consumption in the November report. The average long-grain
price is projected down $1.30 from last month to $11.50 to $12.50.
