Today Rice News Headlines...
·
Why you can’t cook rice
·
North Korean food supply
hit by drought, UN warns, as Kim Jong Un spends on missiles
·
NFA chief quits, cites
health reasons
·
Tanzania: Rice Import
Permits Suspended
·
El Nino in final phase,
monsoon-friendly La Nina likely to set in by September’
·
Philippines cuts Q1 rice
output estimate for second time
·
Rice Tariff Confrontation
·
Vegetable prices spikes,
rice remains stable
·
Rice famers demand
financing fix
·
Rice Prices
·
04/28/2016 Farm Bureau
Market Report
·
Drought-hit Telangana: 1000
rice mills down shutters in 2 months
·
VIETNAM RICE PRICES DIP,
THAI PRICES STABLE
·
SKUAST-Kashmir adopts
Tangdhar for Red Rice promotion
·
San Francisco Rice Noodle
Maker Shuts Down Over Contamination
News Detail...
Why you can’t cook rice
It may come as no surprise to some to hear you’ve probably been cooking
rice the wrong way.From the burnt layer stuck to the bottom of a pot to a
watery mixture rife with undercooked bits, many people have encountered these
common consequences of misjudging the water-to-rice ratio.Now, a cooking expert
is bringing science to the kitchen to explain how to make better rice, and he
says the key is to minimize evaporationIt may come as no
surprise to hear you’ve probably been cooking rice the wrong way all
along. Now, a cooking expert is bringing science to the kitchen to explain
how to make better rice, and he says the key is to minimize evaporationA quick
look on the side of a bag of rice will reveal the recipe commonly used to cook
a standard serving – two cups of water per one cup of rice.But, following these
seemingly simple instructions doesn’t always lead to perfectly cooked rice.
To get to the bottom of this problem, researchers designed an
experiment to determine what the ratio should really be, Business Insider reports.The team including Dan
Souza, senior editor of Cook’s Illustrated from America’s Test Kitchen and one
of the authors of The Science of Good Cooking, placed sealed bags filled with
one cup of water and one cup of rice into boiling water.With this method, it
took just a single cup of water to produce a perfectly cooked cup of rice.
HOW TO COOK RICE PERFECTLY
This held true for long grain, brown rice, white rice, and more.The
answer revealed by this small experiment, according to Souza, lies in the
possibility of evaporation.Sealed bags used by the researchers eliminated
evaporation, while the pot you use at home may allow more water vapour to
escape.‘Evaporation isn’t a consistent thing, cook to cook, kitchen to kitchen,’
Souza told Business Insider.‘If you have a pot with not a very good lid, you’re
going to get more evaporation. If it’s really tight, you’re going to get less
evaporation.’An ideal method would limit evaporation entirely, though not even
a rice cooker is capable of doing this.
+2
In order to make the best rice, Souza suggests getting to know the
conditions under which it will be cooked. This means you must consider the
diameter of the pot, lid tightness, humidity, and the number of times you lift
the lid. Through trial-and-error, you can perfect a ratio based on your own
kitchenAs you try to cook larger volumes of rice, it’s especially important to
keep evaporation in mind, Souza explained.Doubling the amount of water to make
two cups of rice may not be the best way if you’re using the same pot used for
a single cup.‘If you have a ratio of 1:2 and you double that to 2:4, you’re
saying you’re going to get double evaporating because you doubled it and that’s
not true,’ he told Business Insider.‘If you’re using the same pot with the same
diameter lid and the same heat you’re going to have the same amount of
evaporation as you did the first time. So you end up with an extra cup of water
in there.’So, in order to make the best rice, Souza suggests getting to know
the conditions under which it will be cooked.This means you must consider the
diameter of the pot, lid tightness, humidity, and the number of times you
lift the lid to see if
it’s finished.Through trial-and-error, you can perfect a ratio based on your
own kitchen.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3564374/Why-t-cook-rice-Scientists-reveal-perfect-formula-fluffy-results-say-common-recipes-wrong.html
North Korean
food supply hit by drought, UN warns, as Kim Jong Un spends on missiles
Thursday, 28 Apr 2016 | 12:30 AM ETCNBC.com
North Korea's
already-low food supply is set to deteriorate this year as dry weather hits
crop yields, the United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned."Given the
tight food supplies in 2015/16, the country's food security situation is
expected to deteriorate from the previous year when most households were
already estimated to have poor or borderline food consumption levels," the
agency said in a report on Wednesday.North Korea's total food production fell 9
percent on-year to 5.4 million tons in 2015, with the harvest of rice — a food
staple — dropping 26 percent due to poor rains and a lack of irrigation, the
FAO said.It was the country's first decline in total food production since
2010, the agency added. The FAO's country monitor, Cristina Coslet, said in a
video that the agency was concerned about the expected drop in food production
this year, particularly as public rations for 18 million people, or more than
two-thirds of the population, had already "decreased considerably"
since July 2015. In recent years, most households in North Korea have poor or
borderline food consumption rates, she added. In 2015 there were reports of
North Koreans, particularly soldiers, crossing the border into China in search
of food.
Ben
Davies |
Poor weather in North Korea contributed to poor farm yields and a
severe famine in the 1990s that reportedly killed hundreds of thousands.Reduced
fertilizer and fuel supply last year also limited crop production, the FAO
said.A strong ongoing El Nino weather phenomenon is causing hot, dry weather in
the Asia Pacific, hitting food crops such as palm oil in Southeast Asia and
wheat in Australia. But it's not just the weather North Korean's need worry
about; in March a North Korean newspaper warned citizens to prepare for economic hardship ahead, as
the rogue nation channeled funding into its weapons program.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/28/north-korean-food-supply-hit-by-drought-un-warns-as-kim-jong-un-spends-on-missiles.html
NFA chief quits, cites health
reasons
April
27, 2016
THE head
of the National Food Authority (NFA) said on Wednesday he is stepping down from
office due to health and personal reasons.NFA Administrator Renan B. Dalisay
said he has already submitted his resignation letter to the Office of the
President. His resignation will take effect on April 30.Dalisay, who was
appointed as NFA’s administrator in November 2014, said he continues to wait
for the President’s feedback on his resignation.“I’m just waiting for the
consideration of the President. But I have to do this now. If I don’t do this,
it may further cause more damage to my health and also affect the agency,” he
said in a phone interview.Despite his resignation, Dalisay made an
assurance that the food agency has already made all the necessary preparations
to ensure that the country will have enough rice stocks during the lean months.“We
have already prepared all the possible rice-importation schemes for the 500,000
MT standby authority given by Malacañang. The next administration can quickly
execute these schemes should they decide to,” Dalisay said.
Based on
the NFA’s sales, Dalisay said the Philippines is projected to have a rice
31-day buffer stock by June 30.He said the NFA Council was scheduled to meet on
Wednesday to discuss importation schemes and if they should leave the final
decision of buying more imported rice to the next NFA administration.“If
you ask me, it’s better to leave the decision to them, since by then, the next
president will have made clear his or her importation policy,” he said.
The
Philippines imports rice to ensure the stability of supply and price in the
domestic market.
Tanzania: Rice Import Permits
Suspended
Dodoma — The Prime Minister, Mr
Kassim Majaliwa, has ordered security organs to tighten security in border
points and along coastal areas to curb smuggling and illegal importation of
rice.Winding up debate on his office's budget estimates, Mr Majaliwa told the
National Assembly here yesterday that the government has suspended all permits
for importation of rice in the country because of the current increase in local
production.
The premier told the National
Assembly that the decision would help local farmers to have good prices of
their rice and improve their living standards.According to him, in the 2014/15
financial year, local rice production stood at 1,936,909 tonnes against the
target of 926,096 tonnes. Therefore, he said, there was an excess of 1,010, 813
tonnes which is equivalent to 47.8 per cent.On the other hand, following
shortage of sugar in the country, Mr Majaliwa has said the government will
import sugar to tackle the scarcity.According to the PM, the country has sugar
production capacity of 320,000 per year while the required amount of sugar
stood at 420,000 tonnes and that there was a scarcity of 100,000 tonnes.
Responding to queries raised by
MPs when debating the 2016/17 budget estimates, Mr Majaliwa noted that there
was a stock of sugar of about 37,000 tonnes in the country, which he said was
in the market.'"The government has already ordered sugar to cover the deficit
and a few days from today it should be in the country," said the PM,
adding that the government was avoiding ordering a huge consignment to avoid
crippling local industries.However, Mr Majaliwa added, the government was
putting measures in place to ensure that there was enough production of sugar
in the country to avoid importing the essential commodity.The prime minister
asked traders and major distributors trying to hoard sugar to create artificial
shortage to justify price hikes to release the commodity immediately.
"I hereby direct all
business officers in various district councils to make regular follow ups in
different shops to ensure businesspeople don't connive to hoard sugar to
justify the price hike so that people can purchase the product at an indicative
price by the government.The prime minister further said that in implementing
the promise delivered during last year's presidential election campaigns - that
of empowering Tanzanians, the government has allocated 59bn/- for village
empowerment in the 2016/17 financial year.
The money, according to the PM,
would be provided through revolving fund, which would be coordinated by the
National Economic Empowerment Council.According to the Minister of State in the
Prime Minister's Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Labour, Employment,
Youth and People living with Disability), Ms Jenister Mhagama, empowerment
would be managed by Regional Administration and Local Government.Mr Majaliwa
further defended President John Magufuli on the claims by the opposition camp
that the Fifth Phase government was operating illegally for what the opposition
termed as failure to provide 'instrument' to enable members of the cabinet to
discharge their duties.According to the PM, the delay by the Head of State was prompted
by the fact that he was still putting up his line-up in the executive."Procedures
for a government gazette are afoot because the president signed the instrument
since April 20 - and the ministers are currently working legally under the
directives of the president," he said.
Mr Majaliwa also said the
government was making efforts to clear the Medical Stores Department (MSD)
134bn/- debt."The government has started working on the debt by directing
the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) to verify it and as of now the CAG has
confirmed 67bn/- and the exercise is still ongoing," he hinted.To reduce
backlogs of contracts in the office of the Attorney General (AG) and fast track
procurement in local government authorities, Mr Majaliwa said contracts that
are below 1bn/- will now be signed by lawyers in the respective district
councils."But proper legal procedures should be followed while the
government will not hesitate to take appropriate legal action against officials
who will abuse this discretion," he added.Yesterday, MPs approved 236.8
billion/- budget estimates for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for the fiscal
year 2016/2017, out of which 71.6 billion is for recurrent expenditure while
165.2 is for development expenditure
http://allafrica.com/stories/201604280097.html
El Nino in final phase,
monsoon-friendly La Nina likely to set in by September’
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL
26:
The monster 2015-16 El Nino may be entering its last stages, and
its alter ego La Nina may begin to establish by September, according to the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
The agency sees a 50 per cent chance of La Nina emerging in the
East Equatorial Pacific, prompting it to go into ‘La Nina watch’ mode.
Threshold ‘Nina’
La Nina has been associated with a successful Indian monsoon
though with exceptions; they do not strictly have a direct cause-effect
relationship.
Overall build-up in India towards May/June as evidenced in the
sustained heating of the land also suggests that the ground is being prepared
for a good monsoon this year.
Performance guarantee
Because, despite all its devastating impact on lives and
livelihoods, the searing heat and the heat waves during April, May and June
play a big role in the guaranteed performance of the monsoon.
The extent to which the plains heat up determines how far the
atmospheric pressure can climb down over North India, setting up an ideal
gradient from the South-West (around Kerala). The moisture-laden monsoon winds
ride this pressure gradient to blow in with full force into the land and drain
down its moisture in the form of heavy rain.
An outlook by India Met Department on Tuesday suggested that the
‘top heat’ driven by heat waves to severe heat waves may begin to shift to
North-West India from this weekend itself. This does not mean any respite for
East India, which may witness mercury peaking to new highs in the days to come.
During the 24 hours ending on Tuesday morning, Titlagarh in
Odisha, the hottest place for days together, saw the maximum temperature climb
down to 46 deg Celsius from 48.5 deg Celsius the previous day.
Heating of West
The India Met forecast said that dust storms may continue to
hold down mercury over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and
Rajasthan on Tuesday.
But heat wave conditions are forecast to develop from Wednesday
over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh along with Bihar, Jharkhand,
Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana and Rayalaseema.
According to the US National Centre for Environmental
Prediction, heating may extend to Rajasthan during the week ending May 4 with
the extreme developing to the North-West of the State.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/el-nino-in-final-phase-monsoonfriendly-la-nina-likely-to-set-in-by-september/article8524553.ece
Philippines cuts Q1 rice output
estimate for second time
The Philippines on Thursday lowered its rice output estimate for
the first quarter for the second time due to drought linked to the El Nino
weather phenomenon.Unmilled rice output in the March quarter is estimated at
4.01 million tonnes, 1.5 percent lower than the previous forecast of 4.07
million tonnes, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report,
citing a survey of standing crops as of March 1. The final figure will be
announced next month.That would be 8.1 percent lower than the 4.37 million
tonnes production in the same period last year.Production losses this year due
to an El Nino, which usually delays the onset of the rainy season in the
Philippines, had soared to 233,000 tonnes as of mid-April, latest data from the
agriculture department showed.The Southeast Asian nation, one of the world's
top rice importers, has decided to delay its planned additional rice purchases
for this year's requirements because of ample local supply. (Reporting by Neil
Jerome Morales and Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Ed Davies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/philippines-rice-output-idUSP9N11U00O
Rice Tariff Confrontation
SEOUL, KOREA
28 April 2016 - 1:45pm
Jung Suk-yee
The disputes between the South
Korean government and those of the United States, Australia, Vietnam, China and
Thailand over the tariff rate to be applied to rice imported by South Korea are
continuing for about a year and four months. Back in September 2014, the South
Korean government decided to impose a 513% tariff on the rice for the first
time in two decades.The South Korean government had
remained opposed to tariffication, which means the opening of the rice market,
but changed its mind as the 5% tariff rate quota (TRQ) increased to as much as
409,000 tons, equivalent to 4% of South Korea’s rice consumption, as a result
of the objection to tariffication. Then, the five countries resisted, claiming
that the tariff rate adopted by the South Korean government was excessive, and
have been engaged in negotiations over the appropriateness of the tariff rate.
