Disaster Aid Available through FSA Program
By Josh Hankins
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) helps
farmers repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters by offering
financial assistance. Eligible practices
that could be beneficial to many in flooded areas include debris removal from
farmland, and grading, shaping, or leveling land.
To determine if you qualify for assistance, contact your local FSA
office as soon as possible. Eligibility may require field inspections before
any work is done. Go here for more information about the program.
USDA RMA Promotes Practical to Replant Guidance Document
By
Ben Mosely
WASHINGTON, DC - In light of recent severe flooding in the
mid-South and parts of Louisiana, many growers have questions about Practical
to Replant provisions. USDA's Risk
Management Agency (RMA) is offering guidance in an attempt to clarify the rules
and regulations. As always, growers
should work with their specific agents and consultants to ensure their specific
circumstances are being addressed.
Here is a link to the RMA guidance document.
Pakistan’s rice exporters delegation signs MoU with JCCI
| Friday 19 May 2017
The 14-member joint delegation of REAP and Pak-Saudi
Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI) is visiting Saudi Arabia from
May 11-19.
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and
the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) for a long-term collaboration.Mazen Batterjee, vice
chairman of the JCCI, along with its members of the food committee, welcomed
the rice exporters’ delegation from Pakistan before the signing ceremony.Batterjee
said such visits are necessary to increase bilateral trade, commerce and
investment and that the MoU is a milestone toward achieving this objective.
He assured the JCCI’s support toward efforts of the Pakistani Consulate in achieving this goal.
Shah Jahan Malik, vice chairman of REAP, who is heading the Pakistani delegation, said the visit was fruitful. He expressed confidence that they would be able to increase their share in the Saudi market.
The exporters were in Jeddah on the first leg of their visit to the Kingdom. The 14-member joint delegation of REAP and Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI) is visiting Saudi Arabia from May 11 to 19 as part of trade promotion activities to increase export of rice to the Kingdom.
The delegation members visited major supermarkets and hypermarkets, and held meetings with their top management officials. They also met with major Saudi rice importers in the western region in a one-on-one business networking session organized by the Pakistani Consulate.
Mian Mehmood, president of the PSJCCI, said: “Saudi Arabia is our major trading partner in the food sector. It imports over $1 billion worth of rice every year, providing great opportunities for our rice exporters and REAP to further increase the share of Pakistani rice in this market.”
He added that the PSJCCI is playing a vital role in promoting trade in all sectors between the two countries.
Pakistani Consul General Shehryar Akbar Khan expressed hope that the exporters will fully utilize the opportunities being offered by the Saudi market and make the rice export trade successful.
Asia Rice: Thai, Vietnam Prices Hit Multi-Month High;
India Stays Sluggish
Bangkok/Hanoi. Rice prices hit multi-month peak in Thailand and Vietnam this
week on export prospects, while high rates in India kept buyers at bay, traders
said on Thursday (18/05).
Last week, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said they will import
600,000 tonnes of rice. It has already issued two tenders for a total of
100,000 tonnes of rice.
"Exporters continue to sell,
ships are still being loaded, and big buyers are now coming in," said a
Bangkok-based trader.
"If buyers keep purchasing,
prices will keep increasing," said another trader from Bangkok.
Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice
was quoted at $365-370 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $355-$360 last week,
following the trend in Thailand.
Averaging $367.50 per tonne,
Vietnamese rice prices are at an 11-month high, according to Reuters data.
Anticipating more demand from
leading importing countries, Vietnam traders are storing rice in order to sell
later as prices advance.
"People expect demand to
jump further so they are not rushing to sell now," said a Ho Chi
Minh-based trader.
Vietnam shipped an estimated 1.84
million tonnes of the grain between January and April, down 8.8 percent from
the same period last year.
Thailand and Vietnam are the
world's second- and third-biggest rice exporters.
In India, the world's biggest
rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice prices eased by $3 per tonne to
$391-$396 a tonne this week on sluggish export demand.
In the past two months, there has
been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation in
the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices.
The rupee has risen more than 5
percent so far this year and is trading near its highest level in 21 months. A
strong rupee trims returns of exporters, who cannot afford to cut prices.
"African buyers are shifting
to Vietnam. Indian rice is not competitive at the current price level,"
said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
India mainly exports non-basmati
rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle East.
The Indian government buys rice
from local farmers at a fixed price to supply subsidized food and meet any
emergency needs such as a sudden spike in prices.
The government has bought 36
million tonnes rice from farmers so far in 2016/17, up 24 percent from a year
ago.
Basmati boom has India’s LT Foods
seeking growth in Europe, Middle East
LT Foods looks at Europe and Middle East for expansion as it seeks
to capitalize on surging demand for basmati rice
Shares of LT Foods have more than
doubled this year as the half-century old commodity trader increases focus on
branded foods to exploit changing consumer desires in India and abroad.
“We want to concentrate and
increase sales of our branded products, especially in the US and Europe, as we
see huge potential there” and in the Middle East, Ashwani Arora, joint managing
director, said on Monday in an interview in New Delhi.
The Mumbai-listed firm bought the
Gold Seal Indus Valley and Rozana rice brands from Hindustan Unilever Ltd last
year to strengthen its presence in the Middle East. It purchased the 817
Elephant brand in July to further boost sales in markets like the US and
Canada, and is setting up a plant in Rotterdam to cater to Europe, Arora said.
“We want to be recognized as a food
company, not a commodity trader,” said Arora, whose family started the business
as a grains trader in the 1950s and set up its first rice mill in 1978. “The
trend is health plus convenience. We are following that trend and developing
our whole product range based on the theme.”
Although it has captured more than
50% of the basmati rice market in the US, it’s share in the Middle East and
European markets is nominal, according to the company, which also sells rice
brands such as Daawat, Royal, and Hadeel.
LT Foods and Japan’s Kameda Seika
Co. set up a joint venture in November to manufacture and market rice-based
snacks in India. The Indian firm also joined hands with Future Group in
December to process and sell south Indian rice.
Basmati rice
Basmati rice accounts for about 38%
of total rice consumption in the Middle East, 4.4% in Europe, 1.3% in the US
and 1.2% in Asia, according to a company presentation.
LT expects revenue will almost
double to $1 billion by 2020 from an estimated Rs32 billion ($500 million) in
the year ended 31 March, Arora said. Improvements in procurement, processing,
sales and distribution should help lift operating profit as a percentage of
revenue to 15% in the coming years from 12%, he said.
Rising income in India has
encouraged consumers to shift to modern convenience stores from mom-and-pop
shops, boosting demand for branded rice and pulses. Branded products account
for 26% of total basmati sales in the country, according to the company.
LT Foods annually sells about
200,000 tonnes of branded basmati rice in India, capturing a market share of
20%, he said. Branded packaged rice accounts for about two-thirds of its sales,
while trading and value added products such as organic cereals and brown rice
make up the rest, Arora said.
The company, which competes with
firms such as KRBL Ltd and Kohinoor Foods Ltd, is aiming to increase its annual
rice processing volumes to 500,000 tonnes in two years from 400,000 tonnes by
outsourcing mills owned by others, Arora said.
Ajay Thakur, an analyst with Anand
Rathi Securities Pvt, said in a report in February that the company’s stock
valuations were inexpensive and the rising share of its branded business, cost
efficiency-led margin gains and better inventory management were expected to
drive greater free cash flow and return ratios. He has a buy rating on the
stock.
“We don’t want to make a fresh
capital expenditure and we will outsource because there are a lot of idle
capacities that are available,” Arora said. “We are keen on spending money on
branding and advertising our products. The focus is to invest in brands and
markets.” Bloomberg
Asia Rice-Thai, Vietnam prices
hit
multi-month high; India stays sluggish
* Vietnamese traders store rice, anticipate more gains
* India's high prices slow
down trade, turn away main buyers
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat
and My Pham
BANGKOK/HANOI, May 18 Rice
prices hit multi-month peak in Thailand and Vietnam this week on export
prospects, while high rates in India kept buyers at bay, traders said on
Thursday.
Thai benchmark 5-percent
broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 rose this week to $385-$411 a tonne, free-on-board
(FOB) Bangkok, from $387-$392 last week. At a mean of $398 per tonne, Thai rice
prices hit their highest in nine months, Reuters data showed.
ADVERTISING
Traders said as Thai exporters are still buying stocks to fill
shipments, heightened expectations of more demand from some of the world's top
importers also helped prices to surge.
Last week, Bangladesh's
state grains buyer said they will import 600,000 tonnes of rice. It has already
issued two tenders for a total of 100,000 tonnes of rice.
"Exporters continue
to sell, ships are still being loaded, and big buyers are now coming in,"
said a Bangkok-based trader.
"If buyers keep
purchasing, prices will keep increasing," said another trader from
Bangkok.
Vietnam's 5-percent broken
rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 was quoted at $365-370 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $355-$360
last week, following the trend in Thailand.
Averaging $367.50 per
tonne, Vietnamese rice prices are at an 11-month high, according to Reuters
data.
Anticipating more demand
from leading importing countries, Vietnam traders are storing rice in order to
sell later as prices advance.
"People expect demand
to jump further so they are not rushing to sell now," said a Ho Chi
Minh-based trader.
Vietnam shipped an
estimated 1.84 million tonnes of the grain between January and April, down 8.8
percent from the same period last year.
ALSO
IN COMPANY NEWS
Thailand and Vietnam are the
world's second- and third-biggest rice exporters.
In India, the world's
biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice prices RI-INBKN5-P1
eased by $3 per tonne to $391-$396 a tonne this week on sluggish export demand.
In the past two months,
there has been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as
appreciation in the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices.
The rupee has risen more
than 5 percent so far this year and is trading near its highest level in 21
months. A strong rupee trims returns of exporters, who cannot afford to cut
prices.
"African buyers are
shifting to Vietnam. Indian rice is not competitive at the current price
level," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh.
India mainly exports
non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle
East.
The Indian government buys
rice from local farmers at a fixed price to supply subsidised food and meet any
emergency needs such as a sudden spike in prices.
The government has bought
36 million tonnes rice from farmers so far in 2016/17, up 24 percent from a
year ago. (Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK and My Pham in
HANOI; Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
Retaining food security
Rahman Jahangir
A hostile nature this year has forced Bangladesh to go for import
of rice although the country has long
been acclaimed by the international community for its food security. Onrush of
flood waters from the upstream in vast Haor (wetlands) areas has sapped the
vitals of the country so far as food availability is concerned. The importance
of food in ensuring development and social stability does hardly need any
mention and the government has always been aware of this fact. This year too,
arrangements are now being made to import food grains to meet the gap caused by
catastrophic damage to paddy crops due to flash floods.
Boro crops on 219,840 hectares of land in all the Haors in
Sunamganj and Moulvibazar districts, such as Tanguar, Dekar, Shonir, Pagnar and
Hakaluki, have been totally damaged by the recent flash floods. Besides,
several thousand hectares of paddy have been damaged due to blast diseases in
Barisal, Satkhira, Jessore, Khulna, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Chuadanga, Kushtia,
Bogra, Naogaon, Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram,
Lalmonirhat and Jhenidah districts. Earlier, a production target of 19.1
million tonnes of rice was set this year, but now the officials expect it to be
around 18.0 million tonnes.
Both official and unofficial sources say there might be a shortfall
of rice by about 1.5 million tonnes this year.
Against this backdrop, the Food Ministry has decided to import 6,00,000
tonnes of rice. The Directorate of Food
recently floated a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of rice as part of the
procurement. According to a ministry statement, the government warehouses have
a stock of around 487,140 tonnes of foodgrains-262,274 tonnes of rice and
224,866 tonnes of wheat. The warehouses had stock of 800,000 tonnes of food
grain in April last year. The government stopped importing rice in 2011 after
becoming a food-sufficient country with local production. As a result, only
private traders have been importing a small quantity of rice to meet the
country's demand for fine rice.
For the first time, Bangladesh exported around 50,000 metric tonnes
of rice to Sri Lanka in 2015. With this
export, Bangladesh quite justifiably claimed to have become a food exporting
country. But the long queues before trucks selling Open Market Sale (OMS)
programme point to severe hardship middle and fixed income groups of people
face today due to soaring prices of rice. The OMS with highly subsidised grains
is just a peanut compared to the demand of the vast majority living in both
urban and rural areas now simply reeling from severe food inflation.
Zahid Hussain, lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office,
found the rise in food inflation in large increases in rice prices. He
attributed the rice price spiral to increased tariff on rice imports, decline
in public rice stock that has limited the government's ability to contain price
hikes through market-based interventions, and production losses due to early
flash floods in Haor areas. In fiscal 2016-17, the government hiked the import
duty on rice from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. On the other hand, rice stocks at
public warehouses stood at 4,90,000 tonnes at the end of March this year-- down
43.7 per cent from a year earlier, according to data from the food ministry.
Rice prices matter most in Bangladesh as 70 per cent people live in rural areas where
agriculture is the major occupation. Almost 60 per cent of rural households are
engaged in farming. The farming household can access their food from self-production
and/or trading the surplus with other foods available in the local market. But the landownership is unequally
distributed, and so is the access to food from self-production.
Almost 30 per cent of the households do not own any land and
another 35 per cent own only up to half an acre. Such tiny landownership is
insufficient to meet the food needs of the households, whatever advanced
technology the farmer would use, Dr Mahabub Hossain, a celebrated farm
economist found. He said a tenancy market is in operation that provides access
to land for landless and marginal landowners for farming. But the terms and
conditions of tenancy do not favour tenants. So, a large proportion of marginal
farmers go to the market to access food as their own production after payment
of rent and interest for loans is inadequate to meet the household need.
The government, in close consultations with agricultural scientists
and experts, should immediately draw up an effective long-term strategy to deal
with the crucial issue of food security in the face of climate change. There
must be preparedness in all relevant fronts to deal with floods and droughts
before such conditions threaten to disrupt food security. Timing of cultivation of paddy and wheat has
to be re-set after close monitoring so that production of these two staples
does not come under any strains in the future.
True, the government has given high priority to the safety nets for
ensuring food security. Currently nearly 2.2 per cent of the GDP are allocated
for safety nets and social protection. But an evaluation of the programmes,
however, reveals several limitations: a) large overheads due to operation of a
large number of small programmes by different ministry often with the same
objectives, b) improper targeting of beneficiary households, and c) leakages in
implementation. All these have to be re-evaluated on an emergency basis to meet
the exigencies due to freaks of nature in order to bail the hard-hit population
out of temporary shortages.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/05/19/70913/Retaining-food-security
Cambodia to
export more rice to China
May 19, 2017 - by Eric Schroeder
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — China is expected to become a bigger
export market for Cambodian rice, with reports suggesting China will import
200,000 tonnes of rice per year from Cambodia, according to a May 15 report
from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA said Cambodia’s rice millers have shifted
their attention to the expanding Chinese market in light of new rules in the
European Union that have tightened the residue limit of tricyclazole on rice.
Cambodian rice farmers commonly use tricyclazole to control rice blast fungus,
but effective June 2017 the E.U. said it will implement a new threshold of
tricyclazole residue for white rice — 0.01 mg per kg of paddy — and in December
2017 will implement a new tricyclazole residue level for fragrant rice — at
0.01 mg per kg.
“Amid rice millers’ concern of the E.U.’s potential ban
on Cambodian rice that fails to meet the chemical residue threshold, the
government of Cambodia is looking into substitute options and raising awareness
of farmers on proper usage of fungicides,” the USDA said.
Cambodia exported a total of 542,144 tonnes of milled
rice in 2016, up 0.7% from 2015. China was the largest destination, importing
127,460 tonnes, a figure that is forecast to grow to 200,000 in 2017, the USDA
said. The increase in demand from China is expected to outpace the potential
decline in demand from traditional E.U. buyers.
“Last December, China National Cereals, Oils, and
Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) approved 18 Cambodian rice millers for exporting
rice to China as part of an agreement signed between COFCO and the Cambodia Rice
Federation (CRF),” the USDA said. “Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture
Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) selected 28 rice millers who have demonstrated
competence to meet the requirements for exporting rice into China. The CRF is
urging the government to facilitate more access to the China market to offset
potential decrease demand from E.U.
“The cross border rice trade is a vital pathway for
Cambodia rice export into Thailand and Vietnam. However, Thailand’s reduction
in stock and a production recovery this year show no signs of an increase in
import demand. Meanwhile, the cross border trade with Vietnam is robust mostly
because of strong demand for Cambodian rice to serve local Vietnamese consumers
who prefer quality fragrant rice.”
Overall milled rice exports are forecast to increase 5%
to 570,000 tonnes in 2017, and 8% to 615,000 tonnes in 2018, the USDA said.
http://www.world-grain.com/articles/news_home/World_Grain_News/2017/05/Cambodia_to_export_more_rice_t.aspx?ID={622D959C-1350-4714-8FBC-88DC91742CC8}&cck=1
CARICOM to review import taxes
By Bert Wilkinson
The 15-nation Caribbean trade bloc
is undertaking a complete review of its import taxes regime into the regional
free market including poultry and agriculture products from the United States
in the wake of a plethora of requests from governments and the private sector
to periodically suspend tariffs to correct shortages of items in various member
states.
The bloc has hired an international consulting firm to “undertake
a rather comprehensive look” at the common external tariff governing the
importation of products not manufactured in the region.
Part of the reason for this stems for pressure from governments
and the private sector for suspensions or waivers of duties to the council of
trade ministers (COTED) for particular products to make up for shortfalls of
materials or finished products in particular countries.
“Some of these requests for suspensions are for lengthy periods
sometimes so this review will inform us how to go forward,” said regional trade
chief Joseph Cox.
The study is expected to be completed by September and will be
reviewed by the trade ministers grouping before being handed to leaders at
their mid year summit in the first quarter of next year.
The review comes as regional governments are also casting their
minds to negotiating some kind of free trade arrangement or system to govern
tariffs for two way trade with Britain now that it has voted to leave the
European Union (EU).This is so because trade with an European Union of which
Britain is a member would normally be governed by the Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA) which had replaced the Lome and Cotonou conventions relating to
trade and aid relations between Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP)
group of nations.
But once Britain leaves, there will be no system governing trade.Carl
Greenidge, a Guyanese vice president, finance minister and former head of the
Caribbean regional negotiating machinery said the region needs to move fast to
get a “transitional arrangement” with Britain in the coming months.“Now that
Britain is proposing to leave the EPA we have now to deal with Britain as a new
arena into which we want to get products and therefore we have to see with them
what may be done with the tariffs that had been abolished when Britain was in
the European Union. That transition has implications for those who supply the
United Kingdom with products such as sugar in Guyana, and for those who
purchase United Kingdom goods which also applies to Guyana,” said Greenidge.
Britain accounts for 22 percent of Caribbean overall exports to
Europe that also include rice, bananas, rum and other products.Britain last
year voted to quit the European Union of which it was a key and founding member
http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2017/5/2017-05-26-bw-caricom-import-taxes-cl.html
Philippines likely to import more
rice from VN
Update: May,
18/2017 - 15:00
The National Food Authority had been seeking
the council’s approval to import 250,000 tonnes under government-to-government
schemes with Việt Nam and Thailand. The committee that decides on the quantity
to be imported will meet on Thursday.
The NFA also announced it would shift from
government-to-government importation to government-to-private importation to
make the bidding more competitive, transparent and less corrupt.
Rice inventory in the Philippines is running
low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years
in April, just enough to cover 10 days of the national requirement.
Asia
Rice-Thai, Vietnam prices hit multi-month high; India stays sluggish
* Thai upward price trend
continues on ongoing demand, export prospects
* Vietnamese traders store rice, anticipate more gains
* India's high prices slow
down trade, turn away main buyers
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat
and My Pham
BANGKOK/HANOI, May 18 Rice
prices hit multi-month peak in Thailand and Vietnam this week on export
prospects, while high rates in India kept buyers at bay, traders said on
Thursday.
Thai benchmark 5-percent
broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 rose this week to $385-$411 a tonne, free-on-board
(FOB) Bangkok, from $387-$392 last week. At a mean of $398 per tonne, Thai rice
prices hit their highest in nine months, Reuters data showed.
Traders said as Thai
exporters are still buying stocks to fill shipments, heightened expectations of
more demand from some of the world's top importers also helped prices to surge.
ADVERTISING
Last week, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said they will import 600,000
tonnes of rice. It has already issued two tenders for a total of 100,000 tonnes
of rice.
"Exporters continue
to sell, ships are still being loaded, and big buyers are now coming in,"
said a Bangkok-based trader.
"If buyers keep
purchasing, prices will keep increasing," said another trader from
Bangkok.
Vietnam's 5-percent broken
rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 was quoted at $365-370 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $355-$360
last week, following the trend in Thailand.
Averaging $367.50 per
tonne, Vietnamese rice prices are at an 11-month high, according to Reuters
data.
Anticipating more demand
from leading importing countries, Vietnam traders are storing rice in order to
sell later as prices advance.
"People expect demand
to jump further so they are not rushing to sell now," said a Ho Chi
Minh-based trader.
Vietnam shipped an
estimated 1.84 million tonnes of the grain between January and April, down 8.8
percent from the same period last year.
Thailand
and Vietnam are the world's second- and third-biggest rice exporters.
In India, the world's
biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice prices RI-INBKN5-P1
eased by $3 per tonne to $391-$396 a tonne this week on sluggish export demand.
In the past two months, there
has been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation
in the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices.
The rupee has risen more
than 5 percent so far this year and is trading near its highest level in 21
months. A strong rupee trims returns of exporters, who cannot afford to cut
prices.
"African buyers are
shifting to Vietnam. Indian rice is not competitive at the current price
level," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh.
India mainly exports
non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice to the Middle
East.
The Indian government buys
rice from local farmers at a fixed price to supply subsidised food and meet any
emergency needs such as a sudden spike in prices.
The government has bought
36 million tonnes rice from farmers so far in 2016/17, up 24 percent from a
year ago. (Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK and My Pham in
HANOI; Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
NFA urged to
buy rice from farmers
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat and My Pham
BANGKOK/HANOI, May 18 Rice prices hit multi-month peak in Thailand
and Vietnam this week on export prospects, while high rates in India kept
buyers at bay, traders said on Thursday.Thai benchmark 5-percent broken rice
RI-THBKN5-P1 rose this week to $385-$411 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok,
from $387-$392 last week. At a mean of $398 per tonne, Thai rice prices hit
their highest in nine months, Reuters data showed.Traders said as Thai
exporters are still buying stocks to fill shipments, heightened expectations of
more demand from some of the world's top importers also helped prices to surge.
Last week, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said they will import
600,000 tonnes of rice. It has already issued two tenders for a total of
100,000 tonnes of rice."Exporters continue to sell, ships are still being
loaded, and big buyers are now coming in," said a Bangkok-based trader."If
buyers keep purchasing, prices will keep increasing," said another trader
from Bangkok.
Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 was quoted at $365-370
a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $355-$360 last week, following the trend in
Thailand.Averaging $367.50 per tonne, Vietnamese rice prices are at an 11-month
high, according to Reuters data.Anticipating more demand from leading importing
countries, Vietnam traders are storing rice in order to sell later as prices
advance.
"People expect demand to jump further so they are not rushing
to sell now," said a Ho Chi Minh-based trader.Vietnam shipped an estimated
1.84 million tonnes of the grain between January and April, down 8.8 percent
from the same period last year.
Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second- and third-biggest rice
exporters.In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken
parboiled rice prices RI-INBKN5-P1 eased by $3 per tonne to $391-$396 a tonne
this week on sluggish export demand.In the past two months, there has been a
sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation in the
rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices.
The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far this year and is
trading near its highest level in 21 months. A strong rupee trims returns of
exporters, who cannot afford to cut prices."African buyers are shifting to
Vietnam. Indian rice is not competitive at the current price level," said
an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.India
mainly exports non-basmati rice to African countries and premier basmati rice
to the Middle East.
The Indian government buys rice from local farmers at a fixed price
to supply subsidised food and meet any emergency needs such as a sudden spike
in prices.The government has bought 36 million tonnes rice from farmers so far
in 2016/17, up 24 percent from a year ago. (Reporting by Patpicha
Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK and My Pham in HANOI; Additional reporting by
Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-rice-idINL4N1IK1T3
China
emerges as Vietnam’s largest fragrant rice importer
China,
already the largest importer of Vietnam’s sticky rice, has emerged as the
biggest buyer of Vietnamese fragrant rice, according to exporters.
Farmers
are seen harvesting rice in the Mekong Delta
Last month Vietnam exported over
140,000 tons of fragrant rice, with 36% of it going to the Chinese market,
which made China the largest importer of this kind of grain.Ivory Coast and
Ghana were the second and third largest importers of Vietnamese fragrant rice
last month with each buying about 30,000 tons. Singapore and Malaysia were also
among the top fragrant rice markets of Vietnam in April but their import
volumes were insignificant.
The country’s total fragrant rice
exports in January-April amounted to over 355,000 tons, with China alone
accounting for a staggering 46%. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Malaysia and Singapore
were also major importers of Vietnamese fragrant rice in the first four months
of the year.China is also known as Vietnam’s largest glutinous rice importer.
Last year glutinous rice shipments to China amounted to over 940,000 tons,
accounting for over 90% of the total.
According to data of the Vietnam
Food Association (VFA), although Vietnamese rice exports to China in 2016
inched down against the previous year, the northern neighbor remained Vietnam’s
largest rice importer.Last year saw rice exports to China amounting to 1.8
million tons, representing nearly 37% of the nation’s total but dipping nearly
20% compared to 2015.A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report
said Vietnam’s January-April rice exports reached over 1.8 million tons, with
China accounting for over 40%.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178656/china-emerges-as-vietnam-s-largest-fragrant-rice-importer.html
