FPCCI concerned over
non-inclusion of horticulture, rice sector
PM’s exports
package
Our Staff Reporter
They
said, “We must not forget that exports of the country have decreased except
fruits and vegetables' export, mainly due to efforts of horticulture
exporters”.
As
fruits and vegetables have helped increase the country's exports by 10 percent,
adding that the said exports could reach $7 billion, if special incentives
given to this sector, they added. Despite the verbal assurances were given by the
government on this issue, but the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the
Cabinet approved the same incentive package without any revision, they added.
Similarly, just after one day of the announcement of the package, All Pakistan
Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) wrote
a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, asking him to include the horticulture
sector in the Rs180 billion package. “We can immediately raise Pakistan’s
horticulture exports to $1 billion if we get support of the government,” said
PFVA Chairman Abdul Malik in the letter. The letter said the government should
provide 5 percent incentive on freight-on-board (FOB) value and a three-year
holiday from the 1.25 percent tax including withholding tax (WHT) and Export
Development Fund (EDF).
FPCCI
Vice President Riaz Khattak argued that internationally horticulture sector has
been gaining importance since last two decades in world trade. The fact
is that in recent years, developing countries have created a space for
themselves in this market. But they are not able to move beyond four to five
percent of the world trade and in comparison Pakistan's share is just 0.3
percent. “However it may recall here under Strategic Trade Policy Framework
(STPF) for 2015-18, the commerce ministry has identified four areas and
horticulture is one of them but no incentive was announced in the package”, he
remarked.
He said
despite the offer of incentives to textile exporters in the package, the
performance of “inept export managers” and CEO of the Trade Development
Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) was visible.
The
Trade Development Authority of Pakistan CEO should decide first whether he was
interested in Chambers of Commerce or in its official position, he questioned.
Khattak also pointed out that India had used protectionist policies very
effectively and now its exports were worth nearly $300 billion.
http://nation.com.pk/business/14-Jan-2017/fpcci-concerned-over-non-inclusion-of-horticulture-rice-sector
B.R. Wells
inducted to Agriculture Hall of Fame
By Fred Miller, U of A System Division of
Agriculture
Top of
Form
The late Bobby R. Wells, a world-renowned rice expert and
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture researcher, will be among
five individuals inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in March.The
induction recognizes service and leadership that have brought distinction to
Arkansas’ largest business sector.In addition to Wells, the new Hall of Fame
class includes forester Allen Bedell of Hot Springs, former state Sen. Neely
Cassady of Nashville, rice farmer Gary Sebree of Stuttgart, and poultry company
executive Mark Simmons of Siloam Springs.
The group will be honored at the
29th annual induction luncheon at 11:30 a.m., March 3 at Little Rock’s Embassy
Suites Hotel.“What a great cross-section of Arkansas agriculture to be selected
for the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame,” said Butch Calhoun of Des Arc,
chairman of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame committee and former Arkansas
Secretary of Agriculture. “The collective impact of these five are felt in
every part of our state.
“I have said this before, and it bears repeating; agriculture is
one of the great success stories of our state. What a privilege to see these
great advocates of agriculture be recognized.”
The new selections will bring to 158 the number of honorees
inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.Wells was internationally
respected for his expertise in rice production, with emphasis on rice nutrition
and soil fertility. He joined the University of Arkansas System Division of
Agriculture in 1966 and spent his first 16 years with the division at the Rice
Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart.
In 1982 Wells moved to the division’s department of agronomy at
the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to continue his research and
teaching. He was promoted to University Professor and appointed department head
in 1993.Wells was a highly regarded professor and a mentor to many graduate
students. He developed an upper-level class in rice production and taught it
for many years.
Wells was very active in collaborative, interdisciplinary research. He worked
with the Rice Technical Working Group and served as its chairman and secretary.
He edited the division’s Arkansas Rice Research Studies journal from its
inception in 1991 until his death in 1996. That year, the publication was named
in his memory.
Bedell was a long-time forester for Georgia-Pacific in Fordyce
and also owned two whole-tree chipping operations, Circle B. Logging and
Quality Stand Density Control, Inc. He is a former chairman of the Arkansas
Forestry Commission, a past president of the Arkansas Forestry Association and
currently serves as the forestry representative on the Arkansas Department of
Agriculture board. Bedell helped start the Log a Load For Kids program, an
annual campaign that raises money for patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital,
which has raised more than $8 million from Arkansas loggers. He also was one of
the founding organizers of the Arkansas Timber Producers Association.
Cassady was a driving force for the poultry industry in
southwest Arkansas, taking over his father’s hatchery at the age of 18 and
expanding it into a vertically integrated poultry company. He built and sold
two such companies that continue today as part of Pilgrim’s and Tyson Foods. He
was elected to the Arkansas Senate in 1982 and served the people of southwest
Arkansas for 14 years, where he was a staunch advocate for agricultural issues.
Cassady was president of the Arkansas Poultry Federation (1973-74), on the
Tyson Foods board of directors (1974-2001), and a long-time member of the Central
Baptist College board of trustees.
Sebree, a third-generation rice farmer, spent 43 years as a
farmer representative on the Producers Rice Mill board of directors, 24 of
those as chairman (1990- 2014), a time of phenomenal growth for Producers and
the Arkansas rice industry. A farmer-owned cooperative, Producers grew from 956
members in 1971 when Sebree first joined the board, to a high of 2,637 members
in 2013. During that span, member receipts increased more than tenfold, from
6.2 million bushels in 1971 to 65.5 million bushels in 2011, while sales grew
from $17.5 million in 1971 to a high of $568.5 million in 2013. He was on the
first Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board (1979-86), chairman of the USA
Rice Producers Group (2000-2002) and chairman of the USA Rice Federation
(2002-2004).
Simmons has been chairman of the board for Simmons Foods since
1987. He first joined the family business in 1968 after graduating from the
University of Arkansas. He was named president in 1974, following the death of
his father. Under his direction, Simmons Foods has grown into one of the
nation’s largest privately held broiler-processing companies and the largest
private-label wet pet food manufacturer in North American. The company has
grown from a single plant with roughly $20 million in sales and 350 employees
in 1974 to approximately $1.4 billion in sales and nearly 6,000 employees in
more than 20 facilities across North America. Simmons was a founding member of
the Northwest Arkansas Council, serves on the board of trustees at John Brown
University, and is a board member of the Walton Family Charitable Support Trust
http://www.hpj.com/general/b-r-wells-inducted-to-agriculture-hall-of-fame/article_cfeb2538-22ac-5ae0-ae3b-5fbeaf7f09f0.html
January 14, 2017
“There are tremendous opportunities to improve the trade
relations between the two countries; sanctions have now been lifted by the
world powers and Pakistan can capitalise on lucrative incentives offered by
Iranian government in sectors like energy, pharmaceutical, auto and information
technology,” Honardoust added.
In relevant remarks in late December, Pakistani ambassador to
Iran Asif Khan Durrani called for the broadening of trade ties between
Islamabad and Tehran.
“There is a tremendous scope to strengthen trade and economic
relations between Pakistan and Iran,” Durrani said during a visit to Lahore
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Pakistani envoy in Tehran was in Pakistan
to explain huge trade potentials in Iran for Pakistani businessmen. Durrani
pointed to the hurdles in trade between Iran and Pakistan, and said, “the
unavailability of banking channel is one of the biggest reasons of limited
trade between the two countries; through exploiting trade and investment
opportunities, mutual trade volume could easily touch new heights”.
Durrani invited the Pakistani businessmen to participate in the
‘Aleeshan Pakistan’ exhibition slated for March 4-7 in Tehran, adding that it
would provide an opportunity to establish new contacts with their Iranian
counterparts, which is essential to boost two-way trade.The Iranian president
and Pakistani prime minister have already agreed to boost trade volume to $5
billion
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/179077-Iran-Pakistan-agree-to-resume-direct-flights
Direct Flight between Iran,
Pakistan to Be Launched Soon: Envoy
News ID:
1296401 Service: Economy
January, 14, 2017 - 18:44
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Mehdi Honardoost
said Iran and Pakistan have agreed to establish direct flights between the two
nations in the near future.
Pakistan and Iran agreed to boost their cooperation in the
aviation industry and transportation by establishing a direct flight route
between Tehran and Islamabad, Honardoost said on Friday during a meeting with
Pakistani aviation officials, The News reported. “Iran is a big market and
Pakistani goods have a good reputation there. There is a big demand of
Pakistani basmati rice in Iran,” he further said.
“There are tremendous opportunities to improve the trade
relations between the two countries; sanctions have now been lifted by the
world powers and Pakistan can capitalize on lucrative incentives offered by the
Iranian government in sectors like energy, pharmaceutical, auto and information
technology,” Honardoost added.
Back in March, high-ranking officials from Iran and Pakistan
signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral
cooperation in various areas, including health, commerce, security and foreign
services.
The documents were signed in a ceremony in Islamabad on March
26, attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif.
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/01/14/1296401/direct-flight-between-iran-pakistan-to-be-launched-soon-envoy
AG exposes huge rice import
scandal as Govt. prepares to import more
By Chandani Kirinde
The Auditor General who looked
into the import of 257,000 metric tonnes of rice in 2014/2015 says bad
practices that included disregard for government tender procedures had resulted
in the loss of more than Rs. 15 billion.
Losses continue to accumulate to date
due to non-payment of loans taken for the imports and demurrage costs for
stocks that remain in privately owned container yards, the AG adds.
The AG, who undertook the inquiry
at the request of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE),
released the report as the Government gets ready to import new stocks of rice
to preempt a possible shortage this year.The stocks of rice were imported by
Lanka Sathosa at a cost of around Rs. 27 billion during 2014/2015 but only
around Rs. 11.8 billion was recovered from sales thus incurring a loss of more
than Rs. 15.1 billion, the AG says.
The imports were made after a
Cabinet memorandum was presented by the then Co-operatives and Internal Trade
Minister Johnston Fernando in July 2014, citing the need for “maintaining a
buffer stock for food security and stabilising the price of rice in the
market”.
Lanka Sathosa had obtained loans
totalling more than 14 billion from the Bank of Ceylon and the People’ Bank for
the Letters of Credit to import the rice but of this amount more than Rs. 8.9
billion remained unpaid till December last year with penalty interest as at
November 21 last year amounting to Rs. 7. 9 million.
Even after the change of
government, the new Commerce Minister Rishard Bathuideen in February had given
instructions for the revision of the two Letters of Credit which were due to
expire that month to import Samba rice for the balance value of the Letters of
Credit.The AG says 23,751 metric tonnes of rice still remain in stores and
private yards and hence the rent of stores, demurrage on rice containers,
transport charges and labour charges will add to the losses.
The AG notes that though
initially concessionary 60 days had been allowed without payment of demurrage,
Lanka Sathosa had not taken action to get the containers released
expeditiously.Between four and ten months had been taken to clear the major
portion of the stocks. Random checks carried out by the Audit officials had
revealed large stocks of rice had perished due to water seeping in to the
containers. The stocks were infested with worms or insects and giving a putrid
smell.
According to the information
furnished to the AG by the Senior Accountant at Lanka Sathosa, by November
2016, ground rent amounting to Rs. 15.6 million had been paid to respective
Container Yards while another 54 containers remained in yards till the end of
last year.The rice had been imported from India and Bangladesh but the AG says
there was no evidence to show if a market study was carried out to select the
variety of rice to be imported as large amount of the imported stocks had to be
sold as animal feed due to the lack of demand for them in the local market for
this rice.
In addition to these imports,
Lanka Sathosa had bought about 18,000 metric tonnes of imported rice from the
local market to the value of around Rs. 1.1billion between April and December
2014 without following procurement procedures.No formal contract had been
signed with suppliers even though government procurement guidelines stipulate
that a formal contract should be signed for any supply of goods or services
exceeding Rs. 500,000.
Rice had been bought from the
suppliers at different prices as the 14 suppliers had been selected without
following a procurement procedure.The AG notes that there is a need for a major
revamp of the rice import process with the strict following of government
procurement guidelines and the need for equal and maximum opportunity for
eligible interested parties to participate in the process.The AG also says
there should be annual registration of eligible suppliers while purchases in
emergency situation should be made by inviting quotations from those suppliers.
The matter is now under probe by
the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (Investigation of Serious Frauds, Corruption
and Misuse of Public Property, Privileges, Power and Authority) and the
Financial Crimes Investigation Division
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170115/news/ag-exposes-huge-rice-import-scandal-as-govt-prepares-to-import-more-225014.html
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http://www.medgadget.com/2017/01/global-black-sticky-rice-flavor-market-2016-regional-outlook-analysis-size-share-forecast-2021.html
Mexican chain
buys big load of Thai rice
January
16, 2017 01:00
By THE NATION
By THE NATION
THE
COSTCO-MEXICO superstore has imported 112 tonnes of Thai rice for distribution
to its 32 branches in 18 Mexican states.
The move is part of a
coordination between the Thai Trade Centre in Mexico and Otis McAllister Co Ltd
– a US-based importer of Thai rice – to promote the product and expand its
presence in Central America market through their distribution channels in the
US.
According to the Thai Commerce
Minister Apiradi Tantraporn, Costco is also willing to join the Thai Trade
Centre to organise marketing campaigns for Thai rice to expand its market share
in Mexico.
Malee Choklumlerd, the Department
of International Trade Promotion’s director-general, said that the ministry had
positioned Mexico as the base to distribute Thai rice in Central America, especially
Panama and Cuba.
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Malee said that Panama did not
have a sufficient rice supply to serve local demand. Recently the Panama
government increased rice imports to 67,000 tonnes, which is expected to climb
to 135,000 tonnes soon.
Cuba, with 11 million people, is
another potential market for Thai rice. However the export of Thai rice to Cuba
needs to be done by authorised importers in the island nation.
In 2015 Thailand exported 16,167
tonnes of rice worth US$6.6 million (Bt234 million) to Mexico, while Mexico
imported 781,000 tonnes of rice worth $273 million from the US. The Thai Trade
Centre in Mexico has invited rice importers from Mexico, Panama, and Cuba to
visit the Thaifex – World of Food Asia event in Thailand.
Last week the Hong Kong chain 759
Store imported the first lot of Thai hom mali rice and other types of Thai rice
totalling of 136 tonnes from Siam Diamond Export Thailand as part of their
memorandum of understanding signed last November.
Under the MoU the Hong Kong
superstore will import 10,000 tonnes of rice from Siam Diamond. The deal
reflects the Department of International Trade Promotion’s attempt to promote
the Thai rice in Hong Kong
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/EconomyAndTourism/30304181
Rice Conference
Coming to Civic Center
Posted: Saturday, January 14, 2017 6:00 am
The Rice Belt Production Conference comes to
the El Campo Civic Center Wednesday offering producers information and local
businesses exposure.“They expect about 500 people and that involves people from
outside of EC coming into town for the day and being exposed to our Civic
Center and the city overall,” City Manager Mindi Snyder said. “(That) should
have an impact on any vendors that they might do business with while here or
return to do business with.”
http://www.leader-news.com/news/article_c5d1f816-d9c4-11e6-a7ac-8b7634d0aadd.html
Lalu fans arrive with curd, beaten rice
Amit Bhelari
RJD chief Lalu Prasad's supporters made a
beeline outside his 10 Circular Road residence on Friday to supply curd, beaten
rice, tilkut and other items for Makar Sankranti on Saturday.Lalu is set to
host a grand feast that thousands are expected to attend. An added attraction
for the family is the arrival on Friday of Lalu's eldest daughter Misa Bharti.
"This is my first visit after my baby was born," Misa said at Patna
airport, her husband Shailesh Kumar in tow."Some 20,000 people are
expected to visit tomorrow. Laluji is personally monitoring the
arrangements," said Lalu's close aide Bhola Yadav. Lalu usually organises
a two-day feast.
Sources said the RJD chief does not need to
purchase anything; his supporters provide everything. Surendra Prasad Yadav, RJD
MLA from Belaganj in Gaya, supplied more than two quintals of beaten rice, curd
and tilkut. Similarly, Pirpainti MLA Ram Vilas Paswan supplied more than a
quintal of Basmati beaten rice. Already 50 quintals of beaten rice, 20 quintals
of curd, 5 quintals of jaggery powder, 10 quintals of tilkut and 40 quintals of
vegetables have arrived. Vegetables like potato, peas, pumpkin and cauliflower
have arrived from supporters in Chhapra.Madhusudan Raut, a Lalu fan from his
native place of Phulwaria in Gopalganj, has brought 5kg of beaten rice, 3kg of
curd and 2kg of jaggery.Sant Kumar Choudhary and Shiv Ji Rai have come from
Raghopur - Lalu's younger son Tejashwi Yadav's constituency - carrying curd,
beaten rice and jaggery.Others have provided mineral water, chairs and tents
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170114/jsp/bihar/story_130191.jsp#.WHy4B1N94dU
