NFA rice shortage: Whose fault is it?
Pia Ranada
Published
5:26 PM, April 03, 2018
Updated
8:38 PM, April 03, 2018
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NFA RICE. The NFA is supposed to ensure
sufficient supply of NFA buffer stock in case of calamities. File photo by Jay
Directo/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) this
week sounded the alarm over its depleted rice buffer stock.
Its spokesman has called on the NFA Council, chaired by Cabinet
Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr, to ensure rice imports arrive in April instead of
May, as arranged.
For weeks now, the NFA's rice stocks have been down to around
two days' worth of supply. The Inquirer reported
on Tuesday, April 3, that the agency's rice reserve has been "wiped out."
But MalacaƱang and Evasco's office say the current NFA rice
shortage should not be cause for panic since NFA rice comprises only a small
portion of the total rice supply of the country.
"NFA is only a small portion, 4 to 5% of the overall
distribution of rice," Evasco's spokesman Assistant Secretary Jonas
Soriano told reporters on Tuesday.
Yet Soriano also admitted that it is necessary to preserve NFA
rice stocks since they are required to maintain a 15-day stock at any
given time, and a 30-day stock at the onset of the lean months of July to
September, to prepare for calamities.
"It really should not get depleted because if it does, what
will we use for emergencies?" he said.
There are also concerns that depleted NFA rice reserves would
lead to an increase in prices of rice, especially affecting low income
households. But MalacaƱang says this could only happen if groups are taking
advantage of the panic.
"An unusual rise in price despite more than adequate
supplies could only be the result of manipulation," Senior Deputy
Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.
NFA's job
The NFA management, led by administrator Jason Aquino, is
putting pressure on the NFA Council to speed up rice importation because of the
dwindling NFA reserve. (READ: Tug-of-war between Evasco,
NFA's Aquino continues)
But Soriano's remarks to media pose an interesting question:
isn't it NFA management's job to ensure the reserve was not depleted?
The NFA Council, he said, wondered why the NFA distributed a lot
of its rice stocks to retailers in October, November, and December – the
harvest season.
"It was harvest season so why the need to sell so much
rice? Yet during the lean season when there is not much rice, they did not sell
so much, so where's the logic?" Soriano said.
He stopped short of outrightly blaming NFA
management. "We don't want to make any judgement here," said
Soriano.
Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the chamber's committee on
agriculture, placed the blame squarely on Aquino's shoulders, saying
it was NFA's job to maintain sufficient levels of its rice reserve.
“You should have buffer to make sure hindi ite-take advantage ng
traders ang farmers. Sasabihin mo wala kang NFA rice, 'eh trabaho mo ‘yan.
Bakit mo ina-announce na hindi mo nagawa ang trabaho mo?" she said during a
February 27 Senate hearing.
(You should have buffer to make sure traders would not take
advantage of the farmers. You'll say there's no NFA rice but it's your job. Why
are you announcing that you could not do your job?)
Because of these concerns, the NFA Council wants an audit of NFA
management's operations, in particular how and when they distribute and sell
NFA rice.
"That's why one resolution is to already pursue the
independent audit by COA to look at operations of management not only on
October, November, December but henceforth, even ever since the start of the
Duterte presidency," said Soriano.
The NFA has two ways of replenishing its rice stocks. It can
either buy from local farmers, something the Evasco-led NFA Council prefers, or
it can import rice, which will also require the council's approval.
NFA management says they can't buy from local farmers because
their buying price of P17 per kilogram is too low. Farmers would rather sell to
others for a higher price.
The council, partly composed of economists, dispute this, saying
farmers in some parts of the country had been willing to sell their rice for
around that price back in October. So why did NFA management not take the
opportunity then?
The need for importation
Because they can't buy rice from Filipino farmers, NFA
management insists the only recourse is rice importation.
President Rodrigo Duterte, seemingly convinced by Aquino,
ordered the council to proceed with importing 250,000 metric tons of rice.
Better too much rice than too little, the Chief Executive reasoned.
The rice, imported through private importers, is set to arrive
in mid-May. NFA management, however, insists it must arrive earlier, in April,
in order to replenish the "wiped out" NFA buffer stock.
Management, led by Aquino, thinks the importation should have
been done through government-to-government importation, when the Philippines
purchases rice from either Vietnam or Thailand, with which it has rice trade
agreements.
Aquino
says this method is faster and more transparent. The Evasco-led council,
however, thinks otherwise. – Rappler.com
‘Golden
rice’ will not address Vitamin A deficiency, hunger—anti-GMO coalition
Philippine Daily Inquirer /
05:25 PM April 04, 2018
File photo
The
genetically-modified organism (GMO) known as “golden rice” will not
significantly address hunger or Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in the country,
according to a government agency.
During the
ongoing Stop Golden Rice! Network (SGRN) International Conference, the National
Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has joined a regional coalition of farmers,
consumers, and environment activists from different countries in rejecting the
impending commercialization of golden rice in the Philippines.
The groups
opposed the use of genetic modification, which generally meant altering the
natural gene pool, until there are enough studies that could disprove its risks
to human safety and biodiversity.
“There was
no comparative studies between GR2E (golden rice) and other varieties to see if
it can lessen Vitamin A deficiency, the reason why the golden rice variety was
made,” NAPC secretariat Liza Maza said.
Based on
reports collated by the agency in a dialogue with basic sectors, it showed that
the controversial crop “poses health risks and threatens the livelihood of
peasant communities.”
According
to Cris Panerio, national coordinator for Magsasaka At Siyentipiko para sa
Agrikultura (MASIPAG), there were neither any comprehensive consultations or
convincing preliminary scientific research that proves that golden rice is safe
or that it can significantly address hunger or VAD.
“Golden
rice is fraught with inherent problems, one of which is the low yield resulting
to the disruption of the native structure of the rice plant,” Panerio said.
Panerio is
referring to the recent study made by scientists from India wherein golden rice
produced abnormality and poor yield performance.
Local
farmers are worried that this can transfer to other rice varieties as well
through cross-contamination once the open field testing is approved by the
Department of Agriculture (DA).
To recall,
the crop’s initial field testing in 2013 was turned into a fiasco after farmer
groups forced their way into DA’s experiment plot and uprooted the crops that
were being tested.
In a
separate statement released by the SGRN, it pointed out that policy loopholes
in the Philippines would allow the distribution of the GMO here despite
“insufficient safety studies.”
The policy
indicates that once a GMO has been circulated abroad and approved by
international regulatory bodies, it can enter the country despite national
opposition.
Golden
rice was recently approved in Canada.
Aside from
the application to field test golden rice, the Philippine Rice Research
Institute has also applied to feed test the rice variant here. Details of the
said feeding trials are yet to be disclosed. /jpv
Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/248584/golden-rice-will-not-address-vitamin-deficiency-hunger-anti-gmo-coalition-gmo-napc-rice-hunger-food-security#ixzz5BhwleLSk
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebookhttps://business.inquirer.net/248584/golden-rice-will-not-address-vitamin-deficiency-hunger-anti-gmo-coalition-gmo-napc-rice-hunger-food-security
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Nigerian Gov't Raises Alarm Over Dangerous Imported Rice
The
federal government has raised alarm over the unhealthy status of smuggled
imported rice being dumped in the country calling on Nigerians not to consume
them.
WEDNESDAY
April, 04 2018
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Iran Continues to Import Pakistani Rice
From Dubai
1.
Economy
Wednesday,
April 04, 2018
Iran Continues to Import Pakistani Rice From Dubai
Iran is
buying rice from Pakistan via Dubai despite a preferential trade agreement
between Tehran and Islamabad which has been in place since 2006.
The Pakistani newspaper The Nation reported that by eliminating
Dubai, the two sides can dramatically increase their bilateral trade from the
present volume of less than $800 million per year.
Referring to high consumption of rice in Iran (46 kg per
capita), Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan’s Chairman Sameeullah Naeem
requested Iran to impose lower duty regime on imports of Pakistani rice in Iran
under the PTA.
He was addressing a ceremony, which was also attended by acting
consul general of Iran in Lahore, Majid Sadeqi Dolatabadi, and Iran’s former
foreign minister, Seyyed Kamal Kharazi.
Naeem called for going forward from PTA to a free trade
agreement with preferably a zero import duty regime on both sides.
“We must formulate appropriate trade policy for ensuring
sustained trade between the countries,” he added.
The Pakistani official noted that agriculturally-rich Pakistan
likes to have bilateral trade ties with oil-rich Iran.
“We both have the right products for each other to trade and
mutually coexist, but it is unfortunate that most trade is being done through
other countries,” he said.
Referring to banking problems in transferring money between the
two sides, the REAP chairman suggested that Iranian banks open branches in
Pakistan.
“Bank Melli Iran is interested to open branch in Lahore. For
that matter, whatever support is required, we are here to commit that. I ensure
that all rice exporters will come up with opening of accounts and routing of
all trade documents through this branch only,” he said.
Naeem also announced that REAP is leading a 17-member delegation
to Tehran and Mashhad from April 29.
Iran’s former foreign minister, addressing the ceremony, stated
that Tehran was working on the proposal of opening bank branches in Pakistan
for direct trade transactions in currencies other than the US dollar.
Kharrazi said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in
various sectors and was negotiating with Pakistan for reducing duties on
bilateral trade.
During a meeting of Pakistan’s National Assembly Standing
Committee on Commerce, officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
informed that during a recent meeting with an Iranian delegation led by Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, all modalities for opening a banking
channel with Tehran have been finalized.
The Iranian top diplomat visited Islamabad last month at the
head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation.
Last year, the State Bank of Pakistan and the Central Bank of
Iran signed an agreement on Banking and Payment Arrangement in Tehran with the
objective of devising a settlement mechanism to promote bilateral trade.
Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of rice a year while domestic
production stands at 2.2 million tons.
More than 1.05 million tons of semi- and wholly-milled rice
worth close to $996 million were imported into Iran during the first half of
the last Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), registering an 84.4% and 108.4%
surge in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period
of last year.
Rice imports accounted for 6% and 4.2% of the volume and value
of Iran’s overall imports respectively during the six-month period.
The imports are made mainly from the UAE (reexport), India,
Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Iraq.
Iran is the largest buyer of India’s basmati and accounts for a
fourth of India’s annual aromatic rice shipments of around 4 million tons.
The country restarted rice import registration this year from
Jan. 21 until June 21. The permission was communicated by Agriculture Minister
Mahmoud Hojjati in a letter to Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade
Mohammad Shariatmadari.
According to the letter, the order registrations will be valid
for a three-month period and are extendable by a further one month.
Hojjati noted that any rice shipments as per the new orders need
to be cleared through Iranian customs by July 22, after which all imports will
be banned.
Every year and during the rice harvest season (July-January),
the Iranian government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and
domestic production
"We don't know
where or how imported rice is made or how old it is. It is reported that most
of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejects.
"The citizens of
those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it.
But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let's eat
what we can vouch for."
...
on economic importance
Also speaking on the
economic importance of eating local rice, the minister said: "But
Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice, they are
eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians and instead funding
the creation of jobs in the source countries.
"Just imagine
that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs have been
created in the whole value chain.
"It is important
for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating
jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country. Today we
have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
"In fact, most of
us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don't patronise
their product, we are destroying their livelihoods.
"We are embarking
on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise our compatriots to the need to
support the rice revolution by consuming local rice. Nigerians are patriots. They
want more jobs.
"They will
support the rice revolution and Nigeria will become self-sufficient in rice
sooner than we have stated. The country has never been closer to
self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple, than now.
"Our target is to
achieve self-sufficiency in our paddy production in two years-- by 2020. The
result is the exponential growth in local rice production that has now moved us
closer to ending rice importation."
Fall
in importation, smuggling
On the how the rice
revolution has affected importation, Mohammed said: "Within two years,
rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 Metric Tons (in September
2015) to 20,000 MT (in September 2017).
"That's over 90
percent drop. Let me put things in perspective. So far, less than 100 billion Naira
has been spent on the Anchor Borrowers' Programme that has achieved so
much."
Lamenting the impact
of rice smuggling on the country, he said: "The total demand for white
rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is
400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million, imports
between one million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually. Who are they importing
for? Nigerians, of course.
"In fact, as
Nigeria's rice import falls, Benin's rice import increases. Most of the
parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling.
"Both Cameroon
and Benin Republics have lowered tariff payable on rice to zero and five
percent, respectively, to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling of the
product into Nigeria."
"At present,
smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag. Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
"Smuggled rice is
sourced mainly from Thailand and India-- both countries give a high level of
subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors.
"We don't know
where or how imported rice is made or how old it is. It is reported that most
of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejects.
"The citizens of
those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it.
But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let's eat
what we can vouch for."
...
on economic importance
Also speaking on the
economic importance of eating local rice, the minister said: "But
Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice, they are
eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians and instead funding
the creation of jobs in the source countries.
"Just imagine
that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs have been
created in the whole value chain.
"It is important
for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating
jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country. Today we have
rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
"In fact, most of
us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don't patronise
their product, we are destroying their livelihoods.
"We are embarking
on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise our compatriots to the need to
support the rice revolution by consuming local rice. Nigerians are patriots.
They want more jobs.
"They will
support the rice revolution and Nigeria will become self-sufficient in rice
sooner than we have stated. The country has never been closer to
self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple, than now.
"Our target is to
achieve self-sufficiency in our paddy production in two years-- by 2020. The
result is the exponential growth in local rice production that has now moved us
closer to ending rice importation."
Fall
in importation, smuggling
On the how the rice
revolution has affected importation, Mohammed said: "Within two years,
rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 Metric Tons (in September
2015) to 20,000 MT (in September 2017).
"That's over 90
percent drop. Let me put things in perspective. So far, less than 100 billion
Naira has been spent on the Anchor Borrowers' Programme that has achieved so
much."
Lamenting the impact
of rice smuggling on the country, he said: "The total demand for white
rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is
400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million, imports
between one million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually. Who are they importing
for? Nigerians, of course.
"In fact, as
Nigeria's rice import falls, Benin's rice import increases. Most of the
parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling.
"Both Cameroon
and Benin Republics have lowered tariff payable on rice to zero and five
percent, respectively, to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling of the
product into Nigeria."
"At present,
smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag. Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
"Smuggled rice is
sourced mainly from Thailand and India-- both countries give a high level of
subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors.
"We don't know
where or how imported rice is made or how old it is. It is reported that most
of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejects.
"The citizens of
those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it.
But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let's eat
what we can vouch for."
...
on economic importance
Also speaking on the
economic importance of eating local rice, the minister said: "But
Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice, they are
eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians and instead funding
the creation of jobs in the source countries.
"Just imagine
that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs have been
created in the whole value chain.
"It is important
for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating
jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country. Today we
have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
"In fact, most of
us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don't patronise
their product, we are destroying their livelihoods.
"We are embarking
on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise our compatriots to the need to
support the rice revolution by consuming local rice. Nigerians are patriots.
They want more jobs.
"They will
support the rice revolution and Nigeria will become self-sufficient in rice
sooner than we have stated. The country has never been closer to
self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple, than now.
"Our target is to
achieve self-sufficiency in our paddy production in two years-- by 2020. The
result is the exponential growth in local rice production that has now moved us
closer to ending rice importation."
Fall
in importation, smuggling
On the how the rice
revolution has affected importation, Mohammed said: "Within two years,
rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 Metric Tons (in September
2015) to 20,000 MT (in September 2017).
"That's over 90
percent drop. Let me put things in perspective. So far, less than 100 billion
Naira has been spent on the Anchor Borrowers' Programme that has achieved so
much."
Lamenting the impact
of rice smuggling on the country, he said: "The total demand for white
rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is
400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million, imports
between one million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually. Who are they importing
for? Nigerians, of course.
"In fact, as
Nigeria's rice import falls, Benin's rice import increases. Most of the parboiled
rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling.
"Both Cameroon
and Benin Republics have lowered tariff payable on rice to zero and five
percent, respectively, to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling of the
product into Nigeria."
"At present,
smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag. Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
"Smuggled rice is
sourced mainly from Thailand and India-- both countries give a high level of
subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors.
All Africa
Nigerian government working to bring
down price of local rice to tackle smuggled foreign product
· Published: 03.04.2018
· Aderemi Ojekunle
· Print
·
eMail
The government tasks its citizens to consume only locally-grown
and processed rice
Nigerian president and information minister at
the launch of 'Change Begins With Me' campaign in Abuja
The Nigerian government has hinted that it is working on
presentations to formulate policies and take steps that will bring down the
price of local rice to combat the unhealthy status of imported rice being
dumped in the country.
The government said that smuggled rice costs between N11, 000 and
N13, 000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for between N14, 500
and N15, 000 per 50kg bag.
This is just as the government said it is ready to embark on a
massive nationwide campaign to sensitise compatriots to the need to support
the rice revolution by
consuming local rice and shun smuggled imported into the country.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the country's Information Minister
stated this at a media briefing in Lagos during the Easter break.
Explaining why the price of local rice was higher, he said
Cameroon and Benin Republic had lowered tariff payable on rice to 0 and 5%
respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
He added that Thailand and India where the smuggled
rice were sourced also gave a high level of subsidies to rice farmers and
rice processors.
The minister disclosed that the local rice producers had made some
representations to the government on how Nigerian rice could compete
favourably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidised imported rice.
Alhaji Mohammed also said the government could not guarantee the
status of the rice having spent months on the high seas and warehouses.
He appealed to Nigerians to complement the efforts of the
government by consuming only locally-grown and processed rice which he said “is
fresher, tastier and healthier’’.
“We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or how old it
is? It is reported that most of the rice dumped on us are old and probably
rejected.
“The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The
citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But they send it to us.
“Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let’s eat what we can
vouch for,’’ he said.
The minister noted that rice smuggling was the biggest challenge
facing rice production in Nigeria.
On January 1, 2018, President Muhammadu
Buhari had in his address to the nation revealed that Nigeria would end
the importation of rice from 2018.
“Rice imports will stop this year. Local rice, fresher and more
nutritious rice will be on our dishes from now on, “ the president had
said.
Rice smugglers in
various border towns and communities across the country have become a nightmare
for the Nigerian government who is targeting self-sufficiency in rice production
by 2020 and consumption of locally made goods.
http://www.pulse.ng/bi/strategy/nigerian-government-working-to-bring-down-price-of-local-rice-id8200279.html
Pak-Iran rice trade via Dubai
continues despite PTA
03.04.2018
The
Pakistan and Iran bilateral trade can reach the level of $10 billion mark
within very short period from the present volume of less than $800 million, as
both the countries have been doing their most of trade including rice via Dubai
despite inking Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since 2006.
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan chairman Ch Samee Ullah Naeem said that Iran is a nation of rice eaters where the average per capita consumption of rice is 46kg.
"The Iranian brothers are very fond of Pakistani super basmati rice due to its taste, aroma, length, and cooking ability. We request the Iranian government that the access of super basmati rice be facilitated through rational trade measures and technical barriers must be removed," he said.
Addressing a ceremony, the REAP chairman requested Iran to impose lower duty regime on imports of Pakistani rice in Iran under PTA.
The ceremony was also attended by acting Consul-General of Iran in Lahore Majid Sadeghi Dowlatabadi and former Iranian foreign minister Syed Kamal Kharazi.
He called for going forward from PTA to a FTA with preferably a zero import duty regime on both sides.
Ch Samee said that Pakistan and Iran have implemented PTA in 2006; however, the current volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is not reflective of the true potentials, both countries owe. "We must formulate appropriate trade policy for ensuring sustained trade between the countries."
He said that agriculturally enriched Pakistan likes to have bilateral trade relationship with Petroleum enriched Iran. We both have the right products for each other to trade and mutually co-exist but it is unfortunate that most of trade is being done through other countries.
"We both have the potential to increase our bilateral trade volume to $5billion if the problem in transferring money through banking channel is addressed.
He proposed to open Iranian bank in Pakistan which will, by far, the most conducive step forward for ensuring sustainable trade between both Islamic nations. This presence of Iranian bank in Pakistan will facilitate private business in Pakistan to interact with Iranian counterparts on long term basis.
"The Bank Melli Iran is interested to open branch in Lahore. For that matter, whatever support is required, we are here to commit that, I ensure that all rice exporters will come up with opening of accounts and routing of all trade documents through your this branch only. We need to transform all our energy for immediate opening of Bank Melli Iran branch in Lahore on war footings."
He also called for moving forward in the right direction and convolving to a much needed 'Currency Swap Agreement.'
He said that the currency swap agreement ensures participation and involvement of private sector across the borders and hence crafting a much deep rooted ties which are beyond International pressure.
He also announced that REAP is leading a 17-member delegation to Tehran, Mashhad from April 29. The visit would ensure vibrant businessmen interactions from both sides resulting in enhanced trade within regional block.
Former Iranian foreign minister Syed Kamal Kharazi, addressing the ceremony, stated that Tehran was working on a proposal for opening bank branches in both the countries for direct trade transactions in currencies other than dollar.
He said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in various sectors and was negotiating with Pakistan for reducing duties on bilateral trade.
The Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan chairman Ch Samee Ullah Naeem said that Iran is a nation of rice eaters where the average per capita consumption of rice is 46kg.
"The Iranian brothers are very fond of Pakistani super basmati rice due to its taste, aroma, length, and cooking ability. We request the Iranian government that the access of super basmati rice be facilitated through rational trade measures and technical barriers must be removed," he said.
Addressing a ceremony, the REAP chairman requested Iran to impose lower duty regime on imports of Pakistani rice in Iran under PTA.
The ceremony was also attended by acting Consul-General of Iran in Lahore Majid Sadeghi Dowlatabadi and former Iranian foreign minister Syed Kamal Kharazi.
He called for going forward from PTA to a FTA with preferably a zero import duty regime on both sides.
Ch Samee said that Pakistan and Iran have implemented PTA in 2006; however, the current volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is not reflective of the true potentials, both countries owe. "We must formulate appropriate trade policy for ensuring sustained trade between the countries."
He said that agriculturally enriched Pakistan likes to have bilateral trade relationship with Petroleum enriched Iran. We both have the right products for each other to trade and mutually co-exist but it is unfortunate that most of trade is being done through other countries.
"We both have the potential to increase our bilateral trade volume to $5billion if the problem in transferring money through banking channel is addressed.
He proposed to open Iranian bank in Pakistan which will, by far, the most conducive step forward for ensuring sustainable trade between both Islamic nations. This presence of Iranian bank in Pakistan will facilitate private business in Pakistan to interact with Iranian counterparts on long term basis.
"The Bank Melli Iran is interested to open branch in Lahore. For that matter, whatever support is required, we are here to commit that, I ensure that all rice exporters will come up with opening of accounts and routing of all trade documents through your this branch only. We need to transform all our energy for immediate opening of Bank Melli Iran branch in Lahore on war footings."
He also called for moving forward in the right direction and convolving to a much needed 'Currency Swap Agreement.'
He said that the currency swap agreement ensures participation and involvement of private sector across the borders and hence crafting a much deep rooted ties which are beyond International pressure.
He also announced that REAP is leading a 17-member delegation to Tehran, Mashhad from April 29. The visit would ensure vibrant businessmen interactions from both sides resulting in enhanced trade within regional block.
Former Iranian foreign minister Syed Kamal Kharazi, addressing the ceremony, stated that Tehran was working on a proposal for opening bank branches in both the countries for direct trade transactions in currencies other than dollar.
He said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in various sectors and was negotiating with Pakistan for reducing duties on bilateral trade.
Punjab truckers threaten against transportation of wheat
Pankaj Dhiman
| Chandigarh | April 3, 2018 10:52 pm
Representational Image.
(PHOTO: Getty Images)
Owing
to the deadlock between the Punjab government and truck unions over the cap
imposed on wheat transportation rates, nearly 75,000 truck operators have
decided to remain off roads citing the less charges for wheat lifting. The
development is significant as it may lead to a tough time for the state
procurement agencies contemplating for effective wheat procurement and its
lifting to other states.
On
the other hand, the state government authorities are busy in finding
alternative ways to avoid any problem related to wheat transportation. They
have now allowed rice millers to participate in the tendering process for
transportation of wheat from grain markets to storage godowns.
“We
will have to ensure the proper wheat transportation without any hurdle. At this
moment, it is not possible to increase the cap of rates for wheat
transportation as it is decided by the Central agency. We are asking tractor
trolleys to come forward and they have agreed upon to work with us on existing
rates,” Principal Secretary, Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer
Affairs, KAP Sinha, told The Statesman.
As
per the available information, there are nearly 95,000 truck operators who are
associated with 134 truck unions out of which only a few have been agreed to
participate in wheat transportation. The truck operators have justified the
rate of at least Rs 2,250 per trip in comparison to Rs 540 for the same trip
charged from others.
The
operators say during wheat or paddy procurement, the truck remains idle for
long, as it has to wait for unloading in a long queue outside the godowns.
About 110 of the 395 tenders for transportation have been finalised by the
state government.
“There
are nearly 75,000 truckers in the state which will boycott the wheat lifting.
We have offered a reduced rate of Rs 2,250 per trip (9 tonnes for 9 km) but the
government’s stand is unclear. We are demanding these rates as the diesel
prices and toll taxes have been increased,” said Punjab truck unions chief,
Happy Sandhu.
During
last week, the talks between representatives of truck unions and officials of
the food and civil supplies department could not make any headway even as rice
millers came forward to join the tendering process in several areas of the
state.
In
a recent bidding process, they submitted bids in 15 of the 58 clusters in
Sunam, Dirba and Sangrur, which are known stronghold of truck unions. In 2017,
the Punjab Cabinet had approved the Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulation and Prevention
of Cartelisation Rules), 2017, to fix the minimum and maximum fares and
freights for goods carriers
Smuggling, biggest challenge to local rice production —FG
Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
’Femi Asu
The Federal
Government has identified smuggling of rice mainly from Thailand and India as
the biggest challenge facing rice production in the country.
According to the
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, smuggled rice from
the two countries comes into Nigeria through the country’s borders with Benin,
Niger and Cameroon.
He said at a press
conference in Lagos that over two million metric tonnes of parboiled rice were
smuggled into Nigeria in 2017, according to the Rice Millers Importers and
Distributors Association of Nigeria.
The minister said,
“Let’s look at rice smuggling through Benin. The total demand for white rice
(white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000
MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million, imports between
1million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually. Who are they importing for?
Nigerians, of course.
“In fact, as Nigeria’s
rice import falls, Benin’s rice import increases. Most of the parboiled rice
imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling. Both Cameroon
and Benin Republics have lowered tariff payable on rice to zero and five per
cent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling of the
product into Nigeria.”
According to
Mohammed, smuggled rice currently costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg
bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per
50kg bag.
He said, “Smuggled
rice is sourced mainly from Thailand and India, which gives a high level of
subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors. Local rice producers have made
some representation to the government on how Nigerian rice can compete
favourably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidised imported rice.
“The country has
never been closer to self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple, than now. Our
target is to achieve self-sufficiency in our paddy production in two years, by
2020.
“This has been made
possible by the purposeful leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has
consistently said that this nation must produce what it consumes.”
Buhari launched in
November 2015 the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, which aims to provide farm
inputs, in cash and kind, to small-holder farmers to boost local production of
commodities, including rice, stabilise inputs supply to agro-processors and
address the country’s negative balance of payments on food.
The minister said
the exponential growth in local rice production had moved the country closer to
ending rice importation.
He said, “Within two
years, rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 MT (in September 2015)
to 20,000 MT (in September 2017). That’s over 90 per cent drop. So far, less
than N100bn has been spent on the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme that has achieved
so much.
“Meanwhile, in
April 2008, the Federal Government had to quickly release N80bn from the
Natural Resources Development Fund to import 500,000 MT of rice in order to
cushion what it said was the effect of a global disaster. Imagine that we have
ploughed that money into rice production in 2008. We would have been exporting
rice by now.
He said according to
the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria, the number of rice farmers had
increased from five million in 2015 to over 11 million, with a total investment
in excess of N300bn.
Mohammed said,
“Nigeria’s rice paddy production has seen significant growth in the past three
years, from four million MT to seven million MT. The country’s rice
import bill, hitherto at $1.65bn annually, has dropped by over 90 per cent,
with current consumption of approximately six million MT of milled rice.
“In 2015, Nigeria
produced 2.5 million MT of milled rice. By 2017, it rose to four million MT,
leaving a gap of two million MT. Our target is to fill that gap by 2020. In
2015, there were only 13 integrated mills. By 2017, the number rose to 21,
after eight more were added.”
The minister
described fertiliser production in the country as a success story, noting that
President Buhari set up the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative in December 2016
to deliver commercially significant quantities of affordable and high-quality
fertiliser at the right time to the Nigerian farmer.
He noted that the
agricultural sector and the country’s food production were negatively impacted
in 2016, saying farmers became exposed to high and rising prices for key agric
inputs.
Mohammed said, “In
2017, PFI delivered 10 million 50kg bags (500,000MT) of NPK 20:10:10 fertiliser
at a price of N5,500 in time for the wet season. That’s down from the price of
N9,000 per 50kg bag in 2016 — a 40 per cent reduction in price. In 2018, PFI
targets the delivery of 20 million 50kg bags (1 million MT), double the figure
for 2017.
“Before PFI, each
imported fertiliser bag was subsidised to the tune of N6,000 per bag. In 2017,
PFI saved the government N60bn in would-be subsidies.”
FG Targets Self-sufficiency in Paddy Rice
Production by 2020
April 3, 2018
246
1
• Says rice revolution is enough to guarantee Buhari’s
re-election
Tobi Soniyi and Eromosele Abiodun
The federal government has announced its plans to achieve self-sufficiency in paddy production in two years by 2020.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, said the agricultural revolution in general and the rice revolution in particular have taken millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
The federal government has announced its plans to achieve self-sufficiency in paddy production in two years by 2020.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, said the agricultural revolution in general and the rice revolution in particular have taken millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
He said 60 per cent of rice eaten in Nigeria is produced
locally, adding that the rice revolution alone is enough to guarantee the
re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari if he decides to run again!
Nigeria, the minister added, had never been closer to
self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple food, than now.
He stressed that this has been made possible by the purposeful leadership of President Buhari, “who has consistently said this country must produce what it consumes. Recall that President Buhari launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme on November 17, 2015. The programme aims to provide farm inputs in cash and kind to smallholder farmers in order to boost local production of commodities, including rice, stabilise inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food.
He stressed that this has been made possible by the purposeful leadership of President Buhari, “who has consistently said this country must produce what it consumes. Recall that President Buhari launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme on November 17, 2015. The programme aims to provide farm inputs in cash and kind to smallholder farmers in order to boost local production of commodities, including rice, stabilise inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country’s negative balance of payments on food.
“The result is the exponential growth in local rice production
that has now moved us closer to ending rice importation. Within two years, rice
importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 metric tons in September 2015 to
20,000 MT in September 2017. That’s over 90 per cent drop.
“Let me put things in perspective. So far, less than N100
billion has been spent on the anchor borrowers’ programme that has achieved so
much. Meanwhile, in April 2008, the federal government had to quickly release
N80 billion from the Natural Resources Development Fund to import 500,000 MT of
rice in order to cushion what it said was the effect of a global disaster.
Imagine that we had ploughed that money into rice production in 2008! We would
have been exporting rice by now.”
On where Nigeria stands today in rice farming, milling and
distribution, the minister said: “According to the Rice Processors Association
of Nigeria (RIPAN), there are more than 11 million rice farmers in Nigeria
today, up from five million in 2015. RIPAN’s total investment in the Nigerian
economy is in excess of N300 billion. Upcoming investments will amount to N250
billion. The new investments will add 5,000 jobs and additional 1,775,000MT of
integrated rice milling capacity. It will save $300 million foreign exchange
from import substitution through local processing. Nigeria’s rice paddy
production has seen significant growth in the past three years from four
million MT to seven million MT. Nigeria’s rice import bill, hitherto was at
$1.65 billion annually, has dropped by over 90 per cent.”
Speaking on the challenge of rice smuggling, he said smuggling
is the biggest obstacle facing rice production in Nigeria.
He said: “According to the Rice Millers Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), over two million MT of parboiled rice were smuggled into Nigeria in 2017-smuggled rice is primarily sourced from Thailand and India and comes into Nigeria through the country’s borders with Benin Republic, Niger and Cameroon.
He said: “According to the Rice Millers Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), over two million MT of parboiled rice were smuggled into Nigeria in 2017-smuggled rice is primarily sourced from Thailand and India and comes into Nigeria through the country’s borders with Benin Republic, Niger and Cameroon.
Let’s look at rice smuggling through Benin Republic. The total
demand for white rice (white rice is consumed in Benin Republic against
parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of
about 11million, imports between one million and 1.2 million MT of rice
annually.”
While stressing that the federal government has achieve giant strides in fertilizer, he said fertilizer production in Nigeria today is a success story.
While stressing that the federal government has achieve giant strides in fertilizer, he said fertilizer production in Nigeria today is a success story.
“Buhari set up the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) in
December 2016 to deliver commercially-significant quantities of affordable and
high-quality fertilizer at the right time to the Nigerian farmers. The PFI has
turned out to be a magic wand in fertilizer production. Recall that the
agriculture sector and the country’s food production were negatively impacted
in 2016, as farmers became exposed to high and rising prices for key
agricultural inputs. In 2017, PFI delivered 10 million 50-kilogramme bags
(500,000MT) of NPK20:10:10 fertilizer at a price of N5,500 in time for the wet
season. That’s down from the price of N9, 000 per 50kg bag in 2016-a 40 per
cent reduction in price. In 2018, PFI targets the delivery of 20 million 50kg
bags (one million MT), double the figure for 2017,” he explained.
Minister: Smuggling, biggest challenge to
local rice production
By
-
April 3, 2018
The Federal Government has identified smuggling of rice mainly
from Thailand and India as the biggest challenge facing rice production in the
country.
According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, smuggled rice from the two countries comes into Nigeria through the
country’s borders with Benin, Niger and Cameroon.
He said at a press conference in Lagos that over two million
metric tonnes of parboiled rice were smuggled into Nigeria in 2017, according
to the Rice Millers Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria.
The minister said, “Let’s look at rice smuggling through Benin.
The total demand for white rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against
parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of
about 11 million, imports between 1million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually.
Who are they importing for? Nigerians, of course.
“In fact, as Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice import
increases. Most of the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in
Nigeria through smuggling. Both Cameroon and Benin Republics have lowered
tariff payable on rice to zero and five per cent respectively to encourage
importation and subsequent smuggling of the product into Nigeria.”
According to Mohammed, smuggled rice currently costs between
N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for
between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
He said, “Smuggled rice is sourced mainly from Thailand and
India, which gives a high level of subsidies to rice farmers and rice
processors. Local rice producers have made some representation to the
government on how Nigerian rice can compete favourably, in terms of pricing,
with the heavily subsidised imported rice.
“The country has never been closer to self-sufficiency in rice,
a national staple, than now. Our target is to achieve self-sufficiency in our
paddy production in two years, by 2020.
“This has been made possible by the purposeful leadership of
President Muhammadu Buhari, who has consistently said that this nation must
produce what it consumes.”
Buhari launched in November 2015 the Anchor Borrowers’
Programme, which aims to provide farm inputs, in cash and kind, to small-holder
farmers to boost local production of commodities, including rice, stabilise
inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country’s negative balance of
payments on food.
The minister said the exponential growth in local rice
production had moved the country closer to ending rice importation.
He said, “Within two years, rice importation from Thailand fell
from 644,131 MT (in September 2015) to 20,000 MT (in September 2017). That’s
over 90 per cent drop. So far, less than N100bn has been spent on the Anchor
Borrowers’ Programme that has achieved so much.
“Meanwhile, in April 2008, the Federal Government had to quickly
release N80bn from the Natural Resources Development Fund to import 500,000 MT
of rice in order to cushion what it said was the effect of a global disaster.
Imagine that we have ploughed that money into rice production in 2008. We would
have been exporting rice by now.
He said according to the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria,
the number of rice farmers had increased from five million in 2015 to over 11
million, with a total investment in excess of N300bn.
Mohammed said, “Nigeria’s rice paddy production has seen
significant growth in the past three years, from four million MT to seven
million MT. The country’s rice import bill, hitherto at $1.65bn annually, has
dropped by over 90 per cent, with current consumption of approximately six
million MT of milled rice.
“In 2015, Nigeria produced 2.5 million MT of milled rice. By
2017, it rose to four million MT, leaving a gap of two million MT. Our target
is to fill that gap by 2020. In 2015, there were only 13 integrated mills. By
2017, the number rose to 21, after eight more were added.”
The minister described fertiliser production in the country as a
success story, noting that President Buhari set up the Presidential Fertiliser
Initiative in December 2016 to deliver commercially significant quantities of
affordable and high-quality fertiliser at the right time to the Nigerian
farmer.
He noted that the agricultural sector and the country’s food
production were negatively impacted in 2016, saying farmers became exposed to
high and rising prices for key agric inputs.
Mohammed said, “In 2017, PFI delivered 10 million 50kg bags
(500,000MT) of NPK 20:10:10 fertiliser at a price of N5,500 in time for the wet
season. That’s down from the price of N9,000 per 50kg bag in 2016 — a 40 per
cent reduction in price. In 2018, PFI targets the delivery of 20 million 50kg
bags (1 million MT), double the figure for 2017.
“Before PFI, each imported fertiliser bag was subsidised to the
tune of N6,000 per bag. In 2017, PFI saved the government N60bn in would-be
subsidies.”
https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/102471/minister-smuggling-biggest-challenge-local-rice-productionNigerian Gov't Raises Alarm Over Dangerous Imported Rice
The federal government has
raised alarm over the unhealthy status of smuggled imported rice being dumped
in the country calling on Nigerians not to consume them.
The federal
government has raised alarm over the unhealthy status of smuggled imported rice
being dumped in the country calling on Nigerians not to consume them.
The Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a media briefing in Lagos said the
government could not guarantee the healthy status of the rice having spent
months on the high seas and warehouses.
He appealed to Nigerians to
complement the efforts of the government by consuming only locally-grown and
processed rice which he said “is fresher, tastier and healthier’’.
“We don’t know where or how
imported rice is made or how old it is? It is reported that most of the rice
dumped on us are old and probably rejected."
dumped on us are old and probably rejected."
“The citizens of those
countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But
they send it to us."
“Unhealthy foods are
dangerous to health. So let’s eat what we can vouch for,’’ he said.
The minister noted that
rice smuggling was the biggest challenge facing rice production in Nigeria.
Quoting the Rice Millers
Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), he said that more
than two million metric tonnes (MT) of parboiled rice was smuggled into Nigeria
in 2017.
Mohammed said that smuggled
rice was primarily sourced from Thailand and India and came into Nigeria
through the country’s borders with Benin, Niger, and Cameroon.
“In Benin Republic, the
total demand for white rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled
rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT."
“Yet the country, with a
population of about 11 million imports between one million and 1.2m MT of rice
annually."
“Who are they importing
for? Nigerians of course. In fact, as Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice
import increases."
“Most of the parboiled rice
imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through smuggling,’’ he said.
The minister said that
smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag
Explaining why the price of
local rice was higher, he said Cameroon and Benin Republics had lowered tariff
payable on
rice to 0 and five percent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
rice to 0 and five percent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
He added that Thailand and
India where the smuggled rice was sourced also gave a high level of subsidies
to rice farmers and rice processors.
The minister disclosed that
the local rice producers had made some representations to the government
on how Nigerian rice could compete favorably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidized imported rice.
on how Nigerian rice could compete favorably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidized imported rice.
He assured that the
government would work on the presentations to formulate policies and take steps
that will bring down the price of local rice.
Mohammed noted that less
than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs had been created in
the whole value chain in the country.
He, therefore underscored
the economic importance of consuming locally produced rice, especially in terms
of job creation.
“Nigerians should remember
that every time they eat imported rice, they are eating the jobs that would
have been created for Nigerians.
“It is important for
Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating jobs
in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country.
“Today, we have rice
farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
“In fact, most of us have
friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don’t patronize their
products, we are destroying their livelihoods,’’ he said.
He said the government
would embark on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitize compatriots to the
need to support the rice revolution by consuming local rice.
NFA rice shortage: Whose fault is it?
Pia Ranada
Published
5:26 PM, April 03, 2018
Updated
8:38 PM, April 03, 2018
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NFA RICE. The NFA is supposed to ensure
sufficient supply of NFA buffer stock in case of calamities. File photo by Jay
Directo/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) this
week sounded the alarm over its depleted rice buffer stock.
Its spokesman has called on the NFA Council, chaired by Cabinet
Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr, to ensure rice imports arrive in April instead of
May, as arranged.
For weeks now, the NFA's rice stocks have been down to around
two days' worth of supply. The Inquirer reported
on Tuesday, April 3, that the agency's rice reserve has been "wiped out."
But MalacaƱang and Evasco's office say the current NFA rice
shortage should not be cause for panic since NFA rice comprises only a small
portion of the total rice supply of the country.
"NFA is only a small portion, 4 to 5% of the overall
distribution of rice," Evasco's spokesman Assistant Secretary Jonas
Soriano told reporters on Tuesday.
Yet Soriano also admitted that it is necessary to preserve NFA
rice stocks since they are required to maintain a 15-day stock at any
given time, and a 30-day stock at the onset of the lean months of July to
September, to prepare for calamities.
"It really should not get depleted because if it does, what
will we use for emergencies?" he said.
There are also concerns that depleted NFA rice reserves would
lead to an increase in prices of rice, especially affecting low income
households. But MalacaƱang says this could only happen if groups are taking
advantage of the panic.
"An unusual rise in price despite more than adequate
supplies could only be the result of manipulation," Senior Deputy
Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.
NFA's job
The NFA management, led by administrator Jason Aquino, is
putting pressure on the NFA Council to speed up rice importation because of the
dwindling NFA reserve. (READ: Tug-of-war between Evasco,
NFA's Aquino continues)
But Soriano's remarks to media pose an interesting question:
isn't it NFA management's job to ensure the reserve was not depleted?
The NFA Council, he said, wondered why the NFA distributed a lot
of its rice stocks to retailers in October, November, and December – the
harvest season.
"It was harvest season so why the need to sell so much
rice? Yet during the lean season when there is not much rice, they did not sell
so much, so where's the logic?" Soriano said.
He stopped short of outrightly blaming NFA
management. "We don't want to make any judgement here," said
Soriano.
Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the chamber's committee on
agriculture, placed the blame squarely on Aquino's shoulders, saying
it was NFA's job to maintain sufficient levels of its rice reserve.
“You should have buffer to make sure hindi ite-take advantage ng
traders ang farmers. Sasabihin mo wala kang NFA rice, 'eh trabaho mo ‘yan.
Bakit mo ina-announce na hindi mo nagawa ang trabaho mo?" she said during a
February 27 Senate hearing.
(You should have buffer to make sure traders would not take
advantage of the farmers. You'll say there's no NFA rice but it's your job. Why
are you announcing that you could not do your job?)
Because of these concerns, the NFA Council wants an audit of NFA
management's operations, in particular how and when they distribute and sell
NFA rice.
"That's why one resolution is to already pursue the
independent audit by COA to look at operations of management not only on
October, November, December but henceforth, even ever since the start of the
Duterte presidency," said Soriano.
The NFA has two ways of replenishing its rice stocks. It can
either buy from local farmers, something the Evasco-led NFA Council prefers, or
it can import rice, which will also require the council's approval.
NFA management says they can't buy from local farmers because
their buying price of P17 per kilogram is too low. Farmers would rather sell to
others for a higher price.
The council, partly composed of economists, dispute this, saying
farmers in some parts of the country had been willing to sell their rice for
around that price back in October. So why did NFA management not take the
opportunity then?
The need for importation
Because they can't buy rice from Filipino farmers, NFA
management insists the only recourse is rice importation.
President Rodrigo Duterte, seemingly convinced by Aquino,
ordered the council to proceed with importing 250,000 metric tons of rice.
Better too much rice than too little, the Chief Executive reasoned.
The rice, imported through private importers, is set to arrive
in mid-May. NFA management, however, insists it must arrive earlier, in April,
in order to replenish the "wiped out" NFA buffer stock.
Management, led by Aquino, thinks the importation should have
been done through government-to-government importation, when the Philippines
purchases rice from either Vietnam or Thailand, with which it has rice trade
agreements.
Aquino
says this method is faster and more transparent. The Evasco-led council,
however, thinks otherwise. – Rappler.com
WS
FG
Warns Nigerians Against Imported Rice
Published
on
April 3, 2018
By
Bags of rice in
Nigeria
Government Wants Nigerians To Patronize
Local Rice
The federal government has warned Nigerians against the health
implications of consuming unhealthy rice which might have been smuggled into the
country.
Lai Mohammed, the minister
of information, gave the caution at a media briefing in Lagos on Monday.
He stated that the health status of such imported rice could not
be ascertained, having spent months on the high seas and warehouses.
The minister, therefore appealed to Nigerians to consume
locally-grown and processed rice which he said “is fresher, tastier and
healthier’’.
“We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or how old it
is. It is reported that most of the rice dumped on us are old and probably
rejected. The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of
Benin Republic also do not eat it. But they send it to us,” he said.
“Unhealthy foods are dangerous to our health. So, let’s eat what
we can vouch for.’’
“In Benin Republic, the total demand for white rice (white rice is
consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. Yet, the
country with a population of about 11 million imports between one million and
1.2m MT of rice annually.”
“Who are they importing for? Nigerians, of course. In fact, as
Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice imports increase. Most of the
parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually land in Nigeria through smuggling.’’
The minister said smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000
per 50kg bag, while Nigerian-processed rice sells for between N14,500 and
N15,000 per 50kg bag.”
He
gave assurances that the government would work on bringing down the price of
local rice, adding that the price of local rice was higher, because Cameroon and Benin
Republics had lowered tariff payable on rice to five percent to
encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
“Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice,
they are eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians,” he said.
“It is important for Nigerians to know that when they consume
imported rice, they are creating jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs
across our country.
“Today, we have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical
zones. In fact, most of us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So
if we don’t patronise their products, we are destroying their livelihoods.”
NFA rice shortage: Whose fault is it?
Pia Ranada
Published
5:26 PM, April 03, 2018
Updated
8:38 PM, April 03, 2018
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NFA RICE. The NFA is supposed to ensure
sufficient supply of NFA buffer stock in case of calamities. File photo by Jay
Directo/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) this
week sounded the alarm over its depleted rice buffer stock.
Its spokesman has called on the NFA Council, chaired by Cabinet
Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr, to ensure rice imports arrive in April instead of
May, as arranged.
For weeks now, the NFA's rice stocks have been down to around
two days' worth of supply. The Inquirer reported
on Tuesday, April 3, that the agency's rice reserve has been "wiped out."
But MalacaƱang and Evasco's office say the current NFA rice
shortage should not be cause for panic since NFA rice comprises only a small
portion of the total rice supply of the country.
"NFA is only a small portion, 4 to 5% of the overall
distribution of rice," Evasco's spokesman Assistant Secretary Jonas
Soriano told reporters on Tuesday.
Yet Soriano also admitted that it is necessary to preserve NFA
rice stocks since they are required to maintain a 15-day stock at any
given time, and a 30-day stock at the onset of the lean months of July to
September, to prepare for calamities.
"It really should not get depleted because if it does, what
will we use for emergencies?" he said.
There are also concerns that depleted NFA rice reserves would
lead to an increase in prices of rice, especially affecting low income
households. But MalacaƱang says this could only happen if groups are taking
advantage of the panic.
"An unusual rise in price despite more than adequate
supplies could only be the result of manipulation," Senior Deputy
Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.
NFA's job
The NFA management, led by administrator Jason Aquino, is putting
pressure on the NFA Council to speed up rice importation because of the
dwindling NFA reserve. (READ: Tug-of-war between Evasco,
NFA's Aquino continues)
But Soriano's remarks to media pose an interesting question:
isn't it NFA management's job to ensure the reserve was not depleted?
The NFA Council, he said, wondered why the NFA distributed a lot
of its rice stocks to retailers in October, November, and December – the
harvest season.
"It was harvest season so why the need to sell so much
rice? Yet during the lean season when there is not much rice, they did not sell
so much, so where's the logic?" Soriano said.
He stopped short of outrightly blaming NFA
management. "We don't want to make any judgement here," said
Soriano.
Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs the chamber's committee on
agriculture, placed the blame squarely on Aquino's shoulders, saying
it was NFA's job to maintain sufficient levels of its rice reserve.
“You should have buffer to make sure hindi ite-take advantage ng
traders ang farmers. Sasabihin mo wala kang NFA rice, 'eh trabaho mo ‘yan.
Bakit mo ina-announce na hindi mo nagawa ang trabaho mo?" she said during a February
27 Senate hearing.
(You should have buffer to make sure traders would not take
advantage of the farmers. You'll say there's no NFA rice but it's your job. Why
are you announcing that you could not do your job?)
Because of these concerns, the NFA Council wants an audit of NFA
management's operations, in particular how and when they distribute and sell
NFA rice.
"That's why one resolution is to already pursue the
independent audit by COA to look at operations of management not only on
October, November, December but henceforth, even ever since the start of the
Duterte presidency," said Soriano.
The NFA has two ways of replenishing its rice stocks. It can
either buy from local farmers, something the Evasco-led NFA Council prefers, or
it can import rice, which will also require the council's approval.
NFA management says they can't buy from local farmers because
their buying price of P17 per kilogram is too low. Farmers would rather sell to
others for a higher price.
The council, partly composed of economists, dispute this, saying
farmers in some parts of the country had been willing to sell their rice for
around that price back in October. So why did NFA management not take the
opportunity then?
The need for importation
Because they can't buy rice from Filipino farmers, NFA
management insists the only recourse is rice importation.
President Rodrigo Duterte, seemingly convinced by Aquino,
ordered the council to proceed with importing 250,000 metric tons of rice.
Better too much rice than too little, the Chief Executive reasoned.
The rice, imported through private importers, is set to arrive
in mid-May. NFA management, however, insists it must arrive earlier, in April,
in order to replenish the "wiped out" NFA buffer stock.
Management, led by Aquino, thinks the importation should have
been done through government-to-government importation, when the Philippines
purchases rice from either Vietnam or Thailand, with which it has rice trade
agreements.
Aquino
says this method is faster and more transparent. The Evasco-led council,
however, thinks otherwise. – Rappler.com
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Employment creation remains a challenge in the Philippines
which raises the need for government to do more to address
unemployment, according to Rosemarie Edillon, policy...
National rice reserve policy pushed
post-QR
April 04, 2018
The National
Food Authority (NFA) is pushing for measures that would ensure food security
and counter the impact of the lifting of the waiver on quantitative
restrictions (QRs) on rice imports last June.
One of these measures is a National Rice Reserve policy even in times of surplus.
Meanwhile, Malacanang yesterday assured the country has enough supply of rice despite the reported depleted buffer stock at the NFA.
The NFA said a National Rice Reserve should be in place even under a time of surplus because rice production is never assured or certain at all times.
This would also spare the country from exposure to price volatility brought about by global political and economic shifts.
In its position paper on the tariffication of rice imports in lieu of QRs, the food agency said government should maintain a National Rice Reserve equivalent to at least 15 days national consumption requirement. At present, the country’s daily consumption requirement is 32,013 metric tons or 640,260 bags.
The Philippines had secured a waiver to extend the imposition of QR on rice imports several times to allow local farmers to prepare for competition.
The Philippines has not pursued an extension of its WTO waiver and has instead indicated that it intends to convert its rice quotas into tariffs.
Congress is now considering several bills to establish such tariffs for rice imports.
The existing policy provides that NFA should have 15-day stocks at any given time and 30-day stock at the onset of the lean months of July to September.
To be managed by NFA, the National Rice Reserve should have the following components: a) stocks for food security; b) stocks for calamities; c) stocks for the marginalized sector; and d) stocks for trade or export, in case of surplus.
Stocks for food security are to be released to the market to intervene during periods of low supply and high price to stabilize the market. Stocks for calamities are intended to ensure readiness of the government and the accessibility of rice during calamities, disasters and emergency situations.
Stocks for the marginalized sector are targeted for the marginalized families under pro-poor programs of the government, the Department of Education’s feeding program, and the possible revival of the Kadiwa stores.
Stocks for trade will be available only when domestic requirement would have been sufficiently met and there is still enough volume of surplus for international trading.
Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Jonas Soriano, of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary that supervises the NFA and heads the NFA Council, said the agency only provides 4 percent to 5 percent of NFA rice to the market as majority of government stocks on hand are used during calamities and disasters.
Soriano said there is an abundant supply of commercial rice which is augmented by the ongoing harvest period.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Soriano, in separate interviews, there should be no reason for a hike in the prices of rice.
The NFA is also asking for the fast-tracking of the arrival of imported rice to April instead of June to augment its stocks.
One of these measures is a National Rice Reserve policy even in times of surplus.
Meanwhile, Malacanang yesterday assured the country has enough supply of rice despite the reported depleted buffer stock at the NFA.
The NFA said a National Rice Reserve should be in place even under a time of surplus because rice production is never assured or certain at all times.
This would also spare the country from exposure to price volatility brought about by global political and economic shifts.
In its position paper on the tariffication of rice imports in lieu of QRs, the food agency said government should maintain a National Rice Reserve equivalent to at least 15 days national consumption requirement. At present, the country’s daily consumption requirement is 32,013 metric tons or 640,260 bags.
The Philippines had secured a waiver to extend the imposition of QR on rice imports several times to allow local farmers to prepare for competition.
The Philippines has not pursued an extension of its WTO waiver and has instead indicated that it intends to convert its rice quotas into tariffs.
Congress is now considering several bills to establish such tariffs for rice imports.
The existing policy provides that NFA should have 15-day stocks at any given time and 30-day stock at the onset of the lean months of July to September.
To be managed by NFA, the National Rice Reserve should have the following components: a) stocks for food security; b) stocks for calamities; c) stocks for the marginalized sector; and d) stocks for trade or export, in case of surplus.
Stocks for food security are to be released to the market to intervene during periods of low supply and high price to stabilize the market. Stocks for calamities are intended to ensure readiness of the government and the accessibility of rice during calamities, disasters and emergency situations.
Stocks for the marginalized sector are targeted for the marginalized families under pro-poor programs of the government, the Department of Education’s feeding program, and the possible revival of the Kadiwa stores.
Stocks for trade will be available only when domestic requirement would have been sufficiently met and there is still enough volume of surplus for international trading.
Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Jonas Soriano, of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary that supervises the NFA and heads the NFA Council, said the agency only provides 4 percent to 5 percent of NFA rice to the market as majority of government stocks on hand are used during calamities and disasters.
Soriano said there is an abundant supply of commercial rice which is augmented by the ongoing harvest period.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Soriano, in separate interviews, there should be no reason for a hike in the prices of rice.
The NFA is also asking for the fast-tracking of the arrival of imported rice to April instead of June to augment its stocks.
Nigeria: FG Accuses Benin, Cameroon Republics of Sabotaging
Local Rice Production
Tagged:
· Benin
· Business
· Cameroon
· Nigeria
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· Agribusiness
· Business
· Cameroon
· Central Africa
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By Emmanuel Aziken And Prince Okafor
The
Federal Government is to initiate an awareness campaign to sensitise Nigerians
on inherent dangers in consuming imported rice, and accused neighbouring Benin
and Cameroon of making policies to undermine the country's rice revolution.
Speaking
at a briefing in Lagos, weekend, where he paraded the administration's
successes in agriculture, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said six million more Nigerians had started rice farming since the
advent of Muhammadu Buhari's administration.
The
increase in rice production, he said, had in the last three years created
thousands of jobs in direct and indirect jobs, with N250 billion in investments
expected to boost the country's rice milling capacity in the year.
Noting
that Nigeria was on the way towards self-sufficiency in rice production by
2020, the minister, nevertheless, expressed concern that foreign rice producing
nations, aided by Benin, were undermining the plans of the Federal Government.
Mohammed
said: "The agricultural revolution in general and the rice revolution in
particular, have taken millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
"As
a matter of fact, today, 60 percent of rice eaten in Nigeria is produced in
Nigeria. In the words of the rice processors, the rice revolution alone is
enough to guarantee re-election for President Buhari, if he decides to run
again."
Appeals for local patronage
Continuing,
the minister said: "We want to use this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians
to complement the efforts of the government by consuming only locally-grown and
processed rice. It is fresher. It is tastier. It is healthier. It has not spent
months on the high seas and warehouses.
"We
don't know where or how imported rice is made or how old it is. It is reported
that most of the rice dumped on us are old and probably rejects.
"The
citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The citizens of Benin also do
not eat it. But they send it to us. Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So
let's eat what we can vouch for."
... on economic importance
Also
speaking on the economic importance of eating local rice, the minister said:
"But Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported rice,
they are eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians and instead
funding the creation of jobs in the source countries.
"Just
imagine that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs
have been created in the whole value chain.
"It
is important for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they
are creating jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country.
Today we have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
"In
fact, most of us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we
don't patronise their product, we are destroying their livelihoods.
"We
are embarking on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise our compatriots to
the need to support the rice revolution by consuming local rice. Nigerians are
patriots. They want more jobs.
"They
will support the rice revolution and Nigeria will become self-sufficient in
rice sooner than we have stated. The country has never been closer to
self-sufficiency in rice, a national staple, than now.
"Our
target is to achieve self-sufficiency in our paddy production in two years-- by
2020. The result is the exponential growth in local rice production that has
now moved us closer to ending rice importation."
Fall in importation, smuggling
On the
how the rice revolution has affected importation, Mohammed said: "Within
two years, rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 Metric Tons (in
September 2015) to 20,000 MT (in September 2017).
"That's
over 90 percent drop. Let me put things in perspective. So far, less than 100
billion Naira has been spent on the Anchor Borrowers' Programme that has
achieved so much."
Lamenting
the impact of rice smuggling on the country, he said: "The total demand
for white rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in
Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million,
imports between one million and 1.2 million MT of rice annually. Who are they
importing for? Nigerians, of course.
"In
fact, as Nigeria's rice import falls, Benin's rice import increases. Most of
the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through
smuggling.
"Both
Cameroon and Benin Republics have lowered tariff payable on rice to zero and
five percent, respectively, to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling
of the product into Nigeria."
"At
present, smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag. Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
"Smuggled
rice is sourced mainly from Thailand and India-- both countries give a high
level of subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors."
Duterte
to appeal to rice traders to avoid hoarding, hold prices
8
SHARES
Published April
4, 2018, 2:33 PM
By Genalyn Kabiling
President Duterte is set to meet with the country’s rice traders
in MalacaƱang on Thursday amid concerns on the reported artificial rice
shortage in the country.
The President is expected to appeal to the traders to avoid
hoarding rice and impose unjust price increases, according to Cabinet Secretary
Leoncio Evasco Jr.
Cabinet
Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. (Genalyn Kabiling / MANILA BULLETIN)
“The President will be meeting with the rice traders tomorrow
(Thursday) afternoon because the President will have to take on that,” Evasco,
chair of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council, said during a Palace news
conference.
“It was proposed by the Department of Agriculture Secretary that
rice traders should be called and that the President talk to them so that we
can preempt whatever plans of these traders and we can ask the traders to help
us rather than take advantage of a situation to make money at the expense of
the consuming public,” he added.
The President’s proposed meeting with rice traders came as
Evasco blamed the NFA management for creating confusion and panic when it
announced a supposed shortage of rice in the country.
Evasco claimed that the NFA management has created the
“artificial rice shortage,” saying its “irresponsible” statement could make the
traders “withdraw the rice, to speculate on higher price of rice.”
“In fact, if there is a sector in the country that can
manipulate the presence of rice in the market, it’s the traders,” he said.
“An irresponsible statement that there is no more rice in the
market would immediately create a reaction on people who do have rice on their
hands, withdraw this and speculate the date when to release it at a higher
price, at the detriment of consuming public,” he added.
Asked if NFA administrator Jason Aquino should be fired for the
agency’s supply problems, Evasco said it was up to the President to make the
decision since he is the appointing authority.
Evasco, meantime, assured anew that the country has adequate
rice supply, citing more rice imports are expected to be delivered before June
in time for the lean months.
“Based on the information from the Department of Agriculture,
there is so much rice,” he said.
MalacaƱang recently assured that the country’s overall rice
supply remained more than sufficient, despite a low inventory of the government
subsidized rice. It has assured that 250,000 metric tons of rice imports are
expected before June to boost the NFA rice stockpile.
FG Warns Against
Imported, Smuggled Rice
By
-
April 4, 2018
·
·
Lagos – The Federal Government has raised alarm over the unhealthy status
of smuggled foreign rice being dumped in the country, warning that Nigerians
should not consume them.
Lai Mohammed, Minister of
Information and Culture, gave this warning at a media briefing in Lagos.
He said the government could
not guarantee the health status of the rice having spent months on the high
seas and warehouses.
He appealed to Nigerians to
complement the efforts of the government by consuming only locally-grown and
processed rice, which he said “is fresher, tastier and healthier.”
Mohammed said rice smuggling
was the biggest challenge facing rice production in Nigeria.
Quoting the Rice Millers
Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), he said more than
two million metric tonnes (MT) of parboiled rice were smuggled into Nigeria in
2017.
He said smuggled rice was
primarily sourced from Thailand and India and came into Nigeria through the
country’s borders with Benin, Niger and Cameroon.
“In Benin Republic, the total
demand for white rice (white rice is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice
in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. Yet the country, with a population of about 11
million imports between one million and 1.2m MT of rice annually.
“Who are they importing for?
Nigerians of course. In fact, as Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice
imports increases. Most of the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually
lands in Nigeria through smuggling,” he said.
The minister said that
smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian
processed rice sells for between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag.
Explaining why price of local
rice was higher, he said Cameroon and Benin Republics had lowered tariff
payable on rice to zero and five per cent respectively to encourage importation
and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
He added that Thailand and
India where the smuggled rice were sourced also gave a high level of subsidies
to rice farmers and rice processors.
The minister disclosed that
the local rice producers had made some representations to the government on how
Nigerian rice could compete favourably in terms of pricing, with the heavily
subsidised imported rice.
He assured that the
government would work on the presentations to formulate policies and take steps
that would bring down the price of local rice.
Mohammed noted that less than
three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs had been created in the
rice value chain in the country.
“Nigerians should remember
that every time they eat imported rice, they are eating the jobs that would
have been created for Nigerians.
“It is important for
Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they are creating jobs
in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country. Today, we have
rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones.
“In fact, most of us have
friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we don’t patronise their
products, we are destroying their livelihoods,” he said.
He said the government would
embark on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitise compatriots on the need to
support the rice revolution by consuming local rice.
FG Raises Alarm Over
Unhealthy Importation Of Rice
The
Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians to be careful and stay completely
away from imported rice, raising alarm over the unhealthy status attached to
the imported rice.
This
was revealed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
at a media briefing in Lagos. He said the government could not guarantee the
healthy status of the rice having spent months on the high seas and warehouses.
He appealed to Nigerians to complement the efforts of the government by
consuming only locally-grown and processed rice which he said “is fresher,
tastier and healthier’’. “We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or
how old it is? It is reported that most of the rice dumped on us are old and
probably rejected. “The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The
citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But they send it to us. “Unhealthy foods
are dangerous to health.
So
let’s eat what we can vouch for,’’ he said. The minister noted that rice
smuggling was the biggest challenge facing rice production in Nigeria. Quoting
the Rice Millers Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria (RIMIDAN),
he said that more than two million metric tonnes (MT) of parboiled rice were
smuggled into Nigeria in 2017.
Mohammed
said that smuggled rice was primarily sourced from Thailand and India and came
into Nigeria through the country’s borders with Benin, Niger and Cameroon. “In
Benin Republic, the total demand for white rice (white rice is consumed in
Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT. “Yet the country, with
a population of about 11 million imports between one million and 1.2m MT of
rice annually. “Who are they importing for? Nigerians of course.
In
fact, as Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice import increases. “Most of
the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands in Nigeria through
smuggling,’’ he said. The minister said that smuggled rice costs between
N11,000 and N13,000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for
between N14,500 and N15,000 per 50kg bag Explaining why price of local rice was
higher, he said Cameroon and Benin Republics had lowered tariff payable on rice
to 0 and five per cent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent
smuggling into Nigeria.
He
added that Thailand and India where the smuggled rice were sourced also gave a
high level of subsidies to rice farmers and rice processors. The minister
disclosed that the local rice producers had made some representations to the
government on how Nigerian rice could compete favourably, in terms of pricing,
with the heavily subsidised imported rice. He assured that the government would
work on the presentations to formulate policies and take steps that will bring
down the price of local rice.
Mohammed
noted that less than three years into the rice revolution, millions of jobs had
been created in the whole value chain in the country. He, therefore underscored
the economic importance of consuming locally produced rice, especially in terms
of job creation. “Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported
rice, they are eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians. “It
is important for Nigerians to know that when they consume imported rice, they
are creating jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs across our country.
“Today, we have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical zones. “In
fact, most of us have friends and relatives who are farming rice. So if we
don’t patronize their products, we are destroying their livelihoods,’’ he said.
He said the government would embark on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitize compatriots to the need to support the rice revolution by consuming local rice
He said the government would embark on a massive nationwide campaign to sensitize compatriots to the need to support the rice revolution by consuming local rice
Nigerian
Gov't Raises Alarm Over Dangerous Imported Rice
The federal government has
raised alarm over the unhealthy status of smuggled imported rice being dumped
in the country calling on Nigerians not to consume them.
The federal government has raised alarm
over the unhealthy status of smuggled imported rice being dumped in the country
calling on Nigerians not to consume them.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at
a media briefing in Lagos said the government could not guarantee the healthy
status of the rice having spent months on the high seas and warehouses.
He appealed to Nigerians to complement the efforts of the
government by consuming only locally-grown and processed rice which he said “is
fresher, tastier and healthier’’.
“We don’t know where or how imported rice is made or how old it
is? It is reported that most of the rice
dumped on us are old and probably rejected."
dumped on us are old and probably rejected."
“The citizens of those countries do not eat this rice. The
citizens of Benin also do not eat it. But they send it to us."
“Unhealthy foods are dangerous to health. So let’s eat what we
can vouch for,’’ he said.
The minister noted that rice smuggling was the biggest challenge
facing rice production in Nigeria.
Quoting the Rice Millers Importers and Distributors Association
of Nigeria (RIMIDAN), he said that more than two million metric tonnes (MT) of
parboiled rice was smuggled into Nigeria in 2017.
Mohammed said that smuggled rice was primarily sourced from
Thailand and India and came into Nigeria through the country’s borders with
Benin, Niger, and Cameroon.
“In Benin Republic, the total demand for white rice (white rice
is consumed in Benin, against parboiled rice in Nigeria) is 400,000 MT."
“Yet the country, with a population of about 11 million imports
between one million and 1.2m MT of rice annually."
“Who are they importing for? Nigerians of course. In fact, as
Nigeria’s rice import falls, Benin’s rice import increases."
“Most of the parboiled rice imported by Benin eventually lands
in Nigeria through smuggling,’’ he said.
The minister said that smuggled rice costs between N11,000 and
N13,000 per 50kg bag, while Nigerian processed rice sells for between N14,500
and N15,000 per 50kg bag
Explaining why the price of local rice was higher, he said
Cameroon and Benin Republics had lowered tariff payable on
rice to 0 and five percent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
rice to 0 and five percent respectively to encourage importation and subsequent smuggling into Nigeria.
He added that Thailand and India where the smuggled rice was
sourced also gave a high level of subsidies to rice farmers and rice
processors.
The minister disclosed that the local rice producers had made
some representations to the government
on how Nigerian rice could compete favorably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidized imported rice.
on how Nigerian rice could compete favorably, in terms of pricing, with the heavily subsidized imported rice.
He assured that the government would work on the presentations
to formulate policies and take steps that will bring down the price of local
rice.
Mohammed noted that less than three years into the rice
revolution, millions of jobs had been created in the whole value chain in the
country.
He, therefore underscored the economic importance of consuming
locally produced rice, especially in terms of job creation.
“Nigerians should remember that every time they eat imported
rice, they are eating the jobs that would have been created for Nigerians.
“It is important for Nigerians to know that when they consume
imported rice, they are creating jobs in India and Thailand and destroying jobs
across our country.
“Today, we have rice farmers in all states and all geopolitical
zones.
“In fact, most of us have friends and relatives who are farming
rice. So if we don’t patronize their products, we are destroying their
livelihoods,’’ he said.
He said the government would embark on a massive nationwide
campaign to sensitize compatriots to the need to support the rice revolution by
consuming local rice.
http://saharareporters.com/2018/04/03/nigerian-govt-raises-alarm-over-dangerous-imported-riceFood programme seeks
special rice
Chea Vannak /
Khmer Times Share:
The World Food Programme has sought partnerships with local rice
millers who can produce fortified rice to complement the UN body’s food baskets
for charity programs in Cambodia.
The WFP had sought support from the Cambodia Rice Federation
find rice millers with the capacity, CRF secretary-general Mou Sarith said.
It was the first time the WFP had wanted to use that kind of
rice produced locally for its food baskets, according to Mr. Sarith, who was visited
by a WFP delegation in Phnom Penh recently to discuss the topic.
Fortified rice kernels look, taste and cook like ordinary rice
and are combined with regular rice at a ratio of 1 to 100, the WFP says.
Fortification increases the content of essential micronutrients
– vitamins and minerals including trace elements in a food – to improve the
nutritional quality and provide a public health benefit with minimal risks.
Mr Sarith said production of fortified rice in Cambodia was
rare. He said that if the deal were reached, the WFP would take 3,000 tonnes of
fortified rice a year for its program.
He did not know the market price of fortified rice, but it was
more expensive than normal rice because of the technical equipment rice millers
needed to produce it.
Telangana
rice for Tamil Nadu
HYDERABAD, APRIL 3
The Telangana
government has agreed to send 3 lakh tonnes of rice to Tamil Nadu, responding
to a request from that State. The State will procure 5 lakh tonnes of paddy for
the purpose.
“We have
talked to the millers and convinced them to procure the paddy required for the
task. They have agreed to procure the commodity at ₹30 more than the Minimum Support Price,”
Telangana Finance Minister Eatala Rajender has said.
The State had
procured 37 lakh tonnes of paddy in the last Rabi season. “We have handed over
24 lakh tonnes of rice to the Food Corporation of India,” he said in a
statement on Tuesday.
“We are
expecting a total production of 36 lakh tonnes of paddy this Rabi season. We
have decided to set apart five lakh tonnes for Tamil Nadu,” he said. Grade A
rice will be charged ₹2,670
and the common variety ₹2,610
a quintal.
·
lio
·
People
·
News
·
Analysis
·
Amira Nature Foods: Eating Healthy
While Making A 170% Gain In The Rice Industry
Apr.
3.18 | About: Amira
Nature (ANFI)
Long/short
equity, latam focus, medium-term horizon, contrarian
(168 followers)
Summary
Amira Nature Foods is trading at 0.5 book value while ROIC
is at 10.7% with a WACC of 7.5%.
Stock over punished due to size, domicile, dark IR, small
free float and scarcity of rice-company comparable.
Limited downside using modified net-net of 39% to $2.50 per
share.
The controlling shareholder/CEO is aligned to minority
shareholders.
I recommend buying ANFI with a target price of $11, offering
168% upside.
Amira Nature Foods (NYSE: ANFI) is an Indian rice company that
produces and distributes basmati and specialty rice. Basmati rice is a premium
type of rice that has been conquering international diets for its great health
qualities and taste. This type of rice is grown only in India and Pakistan
thanks to the climate in that region.
While there are many risks investing in the commodity sector and
in this specific company as I will elaborate below, I believe the potential
reward justifies the risks. Easily, ANFI could be a 1-2x bagger while the
downside is relatively small at 39% (modified net-net value of $2.50 per
share).
During most of my adulthood, I have been on a diet, I tried the
paleo diet for a while, then a low-carb one. Next, the keto diet; after that
came the fish diet, and on and on. For the past year I have been following a
Mediterranean diet. It is the first diet were I have to eat more carbs than I
am used to, and this has inspired me to search for recipes. I have to admit I
enjoy this diet, but the best discovery so far has been basmati rice, a
long-grain rice that has a nice aroma and is tastier than standard white rice.
So when ANFI popped up on my screen, I had to study it in detail.
Rice is a staple food consumed by 3 billion people around the
world. As individuals are better off financially, they eat more proteins, such
as chicken and beef, as rice and grains in general become a lesser percentage
of their overall diet. However, as they eat less rice, they tend to upgrade to
a healthier, tastier, and more expensive rice, which is where basmati comes in.
That could be validated by the outpaced basmati global consumption growth (13%
annually) versus the relative stagnation of regular rice consumption (2%
growth).
PhilRice’s Lakbay Palay promotes quality seed, renewable
energy About 1, 500 participants composed of farmers, students, extension
workers, and researchers will participate in this year’s week-long Lakbay Palay
Dry Season at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Maligaya, Science City
of MuƱoz, Nueva Ecija, April 3- 6. Lakbay Palay is a field day held by PhilRice
twice a year (during the dry and wet seasons) to showcase its rice farming
technologies to a wide range of rice stakeholders. For this season, the Lakbay
Palay’s theme centers on the use of quality seed and renewable energy.
Activities for this week-long event include farm visits, distribution of rice
knowledge products, and onsite expert dialogue/consultation. Technologies to be
featured are: public hybrid rice varieties, hybrid rice seed production (AxR),
wireless sensor network, rice machines, mobile rice husk gasifier, kwebo
(typhoon-resistant structure), capillarigation (low-cost irrigation system),
zero-waste pig, goat production, solar-powered smart house, drone study,
traditional rice varieties, rice paddy art, and organic rice production. The
event will also highlight the advantages of using the five nationally
recommended inbred varieties, such as NSIC Rc 222, Rc 216, Rc 160, Rc 300, and
Rc 238. Senator Cynthia A. Villar and Congresswoman Cecilia Leonila V. Chavez
will grace the event on the first and fourth day, respectively. For actual
activities, follow us on Facebook (rice.matters) with a hashtag
#PhilRiceLakbayPalayDS2018. Lakbay Palay Wet Season 2018 is scheduled in
September this year. ###PhilRice’s Lakbay Palay promotes quality seed,
renewable energy About 1, 500 participants composed of farmers, students,
extension workers, and researchers will participate in this year’s week-long
Lakbay Palay Dry Season at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Maligaya,
Science City of MuƱoz, Nueva Ecija, April 3- 6. Lakbay Palay is a field day
held by PhilRice twice a year (during the dry and wet seasons) to showcase its
rice farming technologies to a wide range of rice stakeholders. For this
season, the Lakbay Palay’s theme centers on the use of quality seed and
renewable energy. Activities for this week-long event include farm visits,
distribution of rice knowledge products, and onsite expert
dialogue/consultation. Technologies to be featured are: public hybrid rice
varieties, hybrid rice seed production (AxR), wireless sensor network, rice
machines, mobile rice husk gasifier, kwebo (typhoon-resistant structure),
capillarigation (low-cost irrigation system), zero-waste pig, goat production,
solar-powered smart house, drone study, traditional rice varieties, rice paddy
art, and organic rice production. The event will also highlight the advantages
of using the five nationally recommended inbred varieties, such as NSIC Rc 222,
Rc 216, Rc 160, Rc 300, and Rc 238. Senator Cynthia A. Villar and Congresswoman
Cecilia Leonila V. Chavez will grace the event on the first and fourth day,
respectively. For actual activities, follow us on Facebook (rice.matters) with
a hashtag #PhilRiceLakbayPalayDS2018. Lakbay Palay Wet Season 2018 is scheduled
in September this year. ###
Philrie
Wilmar China IPO being seriously
‘evaluated’
/
April 03, 2018 15:00 pm +08
This article first appeared in The Edge
Malaysia Weekly, on March
26, 2018 - April 01, 2018.
IF Wilmar China is listed in 2019, it
would have been over a decade since the intention to do so was made known. In
September 2009, Wilmar International Ltd delayed what could have been a US$3 billion
to US$4 billion listing of 20% to 30% of its China business in Hong Kong,
valuing the unit at about US$14 billion.
Now, insiders say a listing is seriously
being “evaluated” to take place next year, “possibly in Shanghai”, although
Wilmar chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong had said on Feb 22 that “there is no
certainty or assurance” the listing would happen just yet.
Apart from “unlocking value” to reward
employees and investors, it is understood that the planned listing will also
allow greater Chinese participation in Wilmar, and, ideally, that it will be
regarded as a domestic company.
What insiders left unsaid is something
of an open secret that can only be broached by someone like Sugar King Robert
Kuok. “Wilmar doesn’t do anything except be efficient, but resentment can be
the price of efficiency. Too much growth can give rise to environmental issues.
It can give rise to questions about food security, when a government comes to
believe that too much of a nation’s food is imported or that too much of the
food industry is controlled by ‘foreigners’,” he says in his recently published
memoirs. At 94, he is old enough and has done enough public service to be able
to express frustration without being deemed unpatriotic.
Co-founded by Khoon Hong, who is Robert’s
nephew, and Martua Sitorus in 1991, Wilmar was already one of the world’s
largest edible oil refiners with customers in more than 30 countries including
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India and China) when it was floated on the
Singapore Exchange via the reverse takeover of Ezyhealth Asia Pacific Ltd in
July 2006.
About a year later, Wilmar acquired what
were essentially Robert Kuok-controlled oil palm estates and operations in
Malaysia and Indonesia, edible oil refineries and grain processing facilities
in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Germany. That
gave the Kuok Group “about one third of Wilmar” in June 2007, according to
Robert Kuok: A Memoir (with Andrew Tanzer).
“Our shareholding in Wilmar is one of
the largest assets of the Kuok Group — an obvious sign of our trust in Khoon
Hong’s abilities and honesty as a businessman,” he says in the book. In it,
Robert not only relates the genesis of the Kuok Group but also detailed some of
the national service he did for Malaysia, Singapore and China.
Bursa Malaysia-listed PPB Group Bhd owns
18.55% of Wilmar, which accounted for 78% of its 2017 profit. PPB is 50.81%
owned by Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd and 11.13% by the Employees Provident Fund (up
from 8.11% in mid-March 2017). Wilmar is a component of Singapore’s Straits
Times Index while PPB is an FBM KLCI constituent.
Robert also weighs in on Wilmar and
Khoon Hong, whom he describes as “the most fantastic businessman you can team
up with” and “a businessman at least as able as myself”.
Robert relates how Khoon Hong is a
hands-on manager who works “16 or more hours a day, every day of the year”.
“He goes down to the field, goes to his
factories, talks to his managers. He sees that farmers are as hard-working as
ever … he will supply better seeds to rice farmers and install the best
rice-milling machinery. He has corrected the old practice of mixing the best
quality rice with the lowest quality rice at time of harvest … Khoon Hong
showed the farmers that by using the best machinery, which he supplied, better
quality grains could be produced, and that valuable rice bran oil could be
extracted from rice bran.
“Wilmar’s policy is to improve food
production practices and yields, and to share additional profits with the
farmers and other processors. That is the reason why Wilmar has been so
successful in the places that it does business. That, and taking care of its
vendors and customers, the sellers and the buyers. Such things plus vision,
hard work and efficiency are what promote a company’s growth. You need hands-on
direct management. For a business to be healthy, it needs to keep growing. Of
course too much growth, too quickly, can be unhealthy as well. It can give rise
to envy or anger among people who are unable to compete,” the memoir reads.
Robert also says it was Khoon Hong who
told him about the enzyme process to extract oil from soybeans. The latter also
planned and started in the mid-1980s, the first edible-oil refinery, import
base, storage base and packing base in Shenzhen, China.
He says Khoon Hong was “the driving
force” of what later became Kuok Oils & Grains, which merged with Wilmar
alongside PPB Oil Palms in 2007.
Time will tell if the memoir will win
brownie points for Wilmar and its chief, who had previously told The Edge that
“hard work, integrity and luck are the keys to [Wilmar’s] success”. “We will
continue to work hard, work honestly but will fortune continue to smile at us?
We don’t know,” Khoon Hong said in 2011.
Headwinds
that comes with success
To quote Robert’s memoir, Wilmar “now
has over 500 manufacturing plants, an extensive distribution network covering
over 50 countries, owns a fleet of vessels [and] has a multinational workforce
of about 90,000 people”.
“Wilmar is Asia’s leading agribusiness
group. Its business activities include oil palm cultivation, oilseeds crushing,
edible oils refining, speciality fats, oleochemicals and biodiesel
manufacturing, flour and rice milling and sugar milling and refining. It is a
globally leading raw sugar producer and refiner, and owns one of the top
consumer brands for sugar and sweeteners in Australia. It is also one of the
world’s largest producers and merchandisers of palm and lauric (coconut) oils.
Its edible oils operations stretch from Europe (where it is the largest refiner
in Ukraine) and East Africa (where it is the leading supplier) to India,
Southeast Asia and China (where it owns the market-leading brand). It is one of
the largest oil palm plantation owners in Malaysia and Indonesia, and the
world’s largest palm biodiesel manufacturer.”
Wilmar downplays the size of its market
share in China, Indonesia and even Malaysia — especially when it comes to
businesses like basic foodstuffs that are vital to the people.
Apart from heightening competition in a
tougher operating environment, Wilmar’s woes can perhaps be summed up by the
Chinese idiom shĆ¹ dĆ zho fng, which translates as a tall tree catches wind,
meaning the group’s sheer size makes it a target.
Indonesian current affairs magazine
Tempo, in its March 25 issue, not only featured Maligi villagers protesting at
an estate in West Sumatra on March 9 (over purported under-compensation of
cultivated land which a Wilmar official denied in the same report) but also brought
up old (unproven) allegations of tax fraud “fake invoices” that hit the shares
of Wilmar and PPB in 2010 and saw Wilmar returning its tax refund.
That is not the first and probably won’t
be the last headwind the group faces as it continues to seek sustainable
growth.
Share
prices of Wilmar and PPB moving in opposite directions
Interestingly, the share prices of
Wilmar and PPB have been moving in opposite directions even though Wilmar has
been contributing easily 70% of PPB’s profits since the latter hived off its
Malaysian sugar business in 2009, after owning it for 45 years.
At its peak of S$6.203 on Jan 12, 2010,
Wilmar commanded a market capitalisation of S$45.83 billion. At its S$3.21
close last Wednesday (March 21), its market cap had more than halved to S$20.31
billion.
PPB, which fetched RM13.985 when
Wilmar’s share price was at its peak in 2010, closed last Wednesday at an
all-time high of RM18.78. Its RM22.26 billion market cap reflects a RM2.23
billion gain over the same period.
The four analysts tracking PPB are split
between “buy” and “hold”, with price targets ranging from DBS Vickers’ RM17.15
a share to Kenanga Investment Research’s RM19.85 , according to Bloomberg data
at the time of writing.
Seven of the 15 analysts tracking Wilmar
have a “buy” compared with six “hold” and two “sell”, with a consensus target
price of S$3.61. The most bullish price target is UOB Kay Hian Research and
CIMB Research’s S$4.10 while the most bearish is Morgan Stanley with S$2.89.
Whether or not Wilmar should be worth
more, stock exchange filings show that Khoon Hong has been buying shares from
the market. Between Feb 23 (the day after Wilmar announced its 2017 results)
and March 19, he bought 4.86 million shares for S$15.18 million, at an average
cost of S$3.12 each, to raise his holding to 12.27%.
Wilmar did not provide a geographical
split on just how significant its China business is to group earnings in its
2017 earnings. The China unit contributed about 40% of the group’s profit and
50% of revenue in 2008. If the group succeeds in winning greater goodwill from
China from a successful listing of Wilmar China, all stakeholders stand to
benefit.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/wilmar-china-ipo-being-seriously-evaluated
Pak-Iran rice trade via Dubai continues
despite PTA
Share:
Our
Staff Reporter
April
03, 2018
LAHORE - The Pakistan and Iran
bilateral trade can reach the level of $10 billion mark within very short
period from the present volume of less than $800 million, as both the countries
have been doing their most of trade including rice via Dubai despite inking
Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since 2006.
The Rice Exporters Association of
Pakistan chairman Ch Samee Ullah Naeem said that Iran is a nation of rice
eaters where the average per capita consumption of rice is 46kg.
"The Iranian brothers are very fond
of Pakistani super basmati rice due to its taste, aroma, length, and cooking
ability. We request the Iranian government that the access of super basmati
rice be facilitated through rational trade measures and technical barriers must
be removed," he said.
Addressing a ceremony, the REAP
chairman requested Iran to impose lower duty regime on imports of Pakistani
rice in Iran under PTA.
The ceremony was also attended by
acting Consul-General of Iran in Lahore Majid Sadeghi Dowlatabadi and former
Iranian foreign minister Syed Kamal Kharazi.
He called for going forward from PTA to
a FTA with preferably a zero import duty regime on both sides.
Ch Samee said that Pakistan and Iran
have implemented PTA in 2006; however, the current volume of bilateral trade
between the two countries is not reflective of the true potentials, both
countries owe. "We must formulate appropriate trade policy for ensuring
sustained trade between the countries."
He said that agriculturally enriched
Pakistan likes to have bilateral trade relationship with Petroleum enriched
Iran. We both have the right products for each other to trade and mutually
co-exist but it is unfortunate that most of trade is being done through other
countries.
"We both have the potential to
increase our bilateral trade volume to $5billion if the problem in transferring
money through banking channel is addressed.
He proposed to open Iranian bank in
Pakistan which will, by far, the most conducive step forward for ensuring
sustainable trade between both Islamic nations. This presence of Iranian bank
in Pakistan will facilitate private business in Pakistan to interact with
Iranian counterparts on long term basis.
"The Bank Melli Iran is interested
to open branch in Lahore. For that matter, whatever support is required, we are
here to commit that, I ensure that all rice exporters will come up with opening
of accounts and routing of all trade documents through your this branch only.
We need to transform all our energy for immediate opening of Bank Melli Iran
branch in Lahore on war footings."
He also called for moving forward in
the right direction and convolving to a much needed 'Currency Swap Agreement.'
He said that the currency swap
agreement ensures participation and involvement of private sector across the
borders and hence crafting a much deep rooted ties which are beyond
International pressure.
He also announced that REAP is leading
a 17-member delegation to Tehran, Mashhad from April 29. The visit would ensure
vibrant businessmen interactions from both sides resulting in enhanced trade
within regional block.
Former Iranian foreign minister Syed
Kamal Kharazi, addressing the ceremony, stated that Tehran was working on a
proposal for opening bank branches in both the countries for direct trade
transactions in currencies other than dollar.
He said Tehran was interested in
bilateral cooperation in various sectors and was negotiating with Pakistan for
reducing duties on bilateral trade.
Iran, Turkey Mull Ditching Dollar for National Currencies in
Trade
·
·
·
TEHRAN (FNA)- Deputy
Minister of Industry Valiollah Afkhami Rad said Iran and Turkey might soon
begin trading in national currencies instead of the greenback.
In a meeting with
Turkey’s Ambassador in Tehran Reza Hakan Tekin on Monday, Afkhami Rad said Iran
and Turkey could trade in Rial and Lira as financial and banking barriers still
remain in using US dollar for bilateral trade exchange.
“The two countries have
always held friendly relations maintaining trade and economic ties in various
periods,” he said, adding that Turkish investors are welcome to do business in
Iran after the removal of sanctions.
Ambassador Hakan Tekin,
for his part, said two high-ranking Turkish delegations will travel to Tehran
soon to discuss trade and investment as well as the greenback matter.
This comes as Pakistan
has also raised the possibility of ditching dollar for euro in its trade with
Iran.
Last month, the State
Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said it is preparing to use euros instead of dollars in
trade with Iran.
The SBP said a plan has
been prepared to enable Pakistani businessmen to open letters of credit (L/Cs)
for imports from Iran in euros instead of dollars.
The policy has been devised
because some US sanctions are still in place that could obstruct payments to
Tehran, the daily reported.
The SBP has accordingly
informed the ministry of commerce and other stakeholders in a recent meeting
that it was not possible at this stage to open LCs in dollars in trade with
Iran.
If the L/Cs were to be
opened in dollars, clearance from US intermediary bank would be needed. This is
while certain sanctions are still in place in the US and that would cause
trouble for the Pakistani businessmen.
The new Basmati? Tulaipanji, this aromatic variety of rice from
Bengal gaining popularity
An
indigenous aromatic rice, grown in a small pocket of north Bengal, has gained
so much interest among the farmers due to the state government's encouragement
that its area of cultivation has increased by 45 per cent in just three years,
district officials said.
74
SHARES
· SHARE
·
·
In Uttar Dinajpur,
Tulaipanji was cultivated in 6,700 hectare in 2017-18, compared to 5,400
hectare in 2016-17 and 4,600 hectare in 2015-16, regisetering a growth of 45
per cent in three years, district agriculture official Srikanta Sinha said. The
production of Tulaipanji has also been gradually increasing – 10,120 million
tonne in 2015-16, 11,880 mt in 2016-17 and 14,740 mt in 2017-18 – in the
district, Sinha told PTI. “If Basmati rice can be marketed countrywide in
packets, the same can be done for Tulaipanji. It has an excellent aroma. The
government has taken the initiative to market this rice in and outside the
country,” said Uttar Dinajpur District Magistrate Ayesha Rani.
The DM said the
authorities have applied for GI (geographical identification) tag for
Tulaipanji. A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured
product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite
geographical territory. Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and
distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.
The agricultural department of the district has been directed to help farmers
grow Tulaipanji, Rani said. Though its grain is not so long as Basmati, but the
medium-grained Tulaipanji has the excellent aroma because of the presence of
three organic chemicals, another agriculture official Mir Farhad Hossain said.
Recently, Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee had directed the officials to
collect Tulaipanji from Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur districts for packaging and
marketing it in all the districts including Kolkata, official sources said.
“The production was around 1.8 tonne per hectare a decade ago but it could be
increased four times these days using the science of genetics,” said Dr Subhas
Chandra Roy, associate professor of the North Bengal University, whose research
interest includes rice genetics.
The new Basmati? Tulaipanji, this aromatic variety of rice from
Bengal gaining popularity
An
indigenous aromatic rice, grown in a small pocket of north Bengal, has gained
so much interest among the farmers due to the state government's encouragement
that its area of cultivation has increased by 45 per cent in just three years,
district officials said.
74
SHARES
· SHARE
·
·
In Uttar Dinajpur,
Tulaipanji was cultivated in 6,700 hectare in 2017-18, compared to 5,400
hectare in 2016-17 and 4,600 hectare in 2015-16, regisetering a growth of 45
per cent in three years, district agriculture official Srikanta Sinha said. The
production of Tulaipanji has also been gradually increasing – 10,120 million tonne
in 2015-16, 11,880 mt in 2016-17 and 14,740 mt in 2017-18 – in the district,
Sinha told PTI. “If Basmati rice can be marketed countrywide in packets, the
same can be done for Tulaipanji. It has an excellent aroma. The government has
taken the initiative to market this rice in and outside the country,” said
Uttar Dinajpur District Magistrate Ayesha Rani.
The DM said the
authorities have applied for GI (geographical identification) tag for
Tulaipanji. A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured
product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite
geographical territory. Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and
distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.
The agricultural department of the district has been directed to help farmers
grow Tulaipanji, Rani said. Though its grain is not so long as Basmati, but the
medium-grained Tulaipanji has the excellent aroma because of the presence of
three organic chemicals, another agriculture official Mir Farhad Hossain said.
Recently, Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee had directed the officials to
collect Tulaipanji from Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur districts for packaging and
marketing it in all the districts including Kolkata, official sources said.
“The production was around 1.8 tonne per hectare a decade ago but it could be
increased four times these days using the science of genetics,” said Dr Subhas
Chandra Roy, associate professor of the North Bengal University, whose research
interest includes rice genetics.
The new Basmati? Tulaipanji, this aromatic variety of rice from
Bengal gaining popularity
An
indigenous aromatic rice, grown in a small pocket of north Bengal, has gained
so much interest among the farmers due to the state government's encouragement
that its area of cultivation has increased by 45 per cent in just three years,
district officials said.
74
SHARES
· SHARE
·
·
In Uttar Dinajpur,
Tulaipanji was cultivated in 6,700 hectare in 2017-18, compared to 5,400
hectare in 2016-17 and 4,600 hectare in 2015-16, regisetering a growth of 45
per cent in three years, district agriculture official Srikanta Sinha said. The
production of Tulaipanji has also been gradually increasing – 10,120 million
tonne in 2015-16, 11,880 mt in 2016-17 and 14,740 mt in 2017-18 – in the
district, Sinha told PTI. “If Basmati rice can be marketed countrywide in
packets, the same can be done for Tulaipanji. It has an excellent aroma. The
government has taken the initiative to market this rice in and outside the
country,” said Uttar Dinajpur District Magistrate Ayesha Rani.
The DM said the
authorities have applied for GI (geographical identification) tag for
Tulaipanji. A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured
product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite
geographical territory. Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and
distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.
The agricultural department of the district has been directed to help farmers
grow Tulaipanji, Rani said. Though its grain is not so long as Basmati, but the
medium-grained Tulaipanji has the excellent aroma because of the presence of
three organic chemicals, another agriculture official Mir Farhad Hossain said.
Recently, Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee had directed the officials to
collect Tulaipanji from Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur districts for packaging and
marketing it in all the districts including Kolkata, official sources said.
“The production was around 1.8 tonne per hectare a decade ago but it could be
increased four times these days using the science of genetics,” said Dr Subhas
Chandra Roy, associate professor of the North Bengal University, whose research
interest includes rice genetics.
Indian rice exporters to gain
market share: Ind-Ra
Mumbai, Jan 4 (PTI) The
credit profile of riceexporters is likely to improve over the near-to-medium
termdue to increase in market share following production shortfallin parts of
South Asia, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)said in a report. "Credit
profile of rice exporters to improve over thenear-to-medium term on the back of
increased market share,higher realisations and improved liquidity.
Significantproduction shortfall in parts of South Asia is likely toresult in a
substantial gain in market share by various Indianexporters," Ind-Ra said.
Ind-Ra expects Indian rice exports to account over 29per cent of the global
rice trade in marketing year (MY)2017-18 compared to 26.70 per cent in the MY
2016-17. The rating agency said subdued yields across majorSouth and East Asian
rice producers should result in higherrealisations and marginal improvement in
export volumes. Weak output levels in Vietnam and other parts of SouthAsia have
resulted in a sharp spike in international prices,primarily on the back of increased
demand from exporters todeliver forward export orders, it added. The agency
expects demand to remain strong on the backof higher paddy procurement target
and minimum support price. In June 2017, the government had decided to
increasethe minimum selling price of common grade paddy by 5.4 percent to Rs
1,550 per quintal, it said. The procurement target was also increased to
37.50million tonnes in MY 2016-17 from 34.34 million tonnes in theprevious
year, it added. Indian Basmati exports grew 35 per cent annually to Rs136
billion in the first half of FY18 on the back of asignificant growth in offtake
by Iran. While the timely lifting of the temporary import banby the Iranian
government on November 22, 2017 is expected toaugur well for Indian rice exporters,
yet, significant volumegain is unlikely due weak demand from countries like
SaudiArabia and Kuwait, it said. Iran is likely to replace Saudi Arabia as the
largestexporter of Indian Basmati rice. Saudi Arabia reported a 13 per cent
decline in riceimports in the first quarter of FY18. Despite the recovery in
demand from Iran and the US, Ind-Ra expects total growth in Basmati export
volumes to remain range bound between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
Author
Name: https://www.latestly.com/information/indian-rice-exporters-to-gain-market-share-ind-ra-94408.html
Date: 04-Apr-2018
Iran Continues to Import Pakistani Rice From Dubai
Iran is buying rice from Pakistan via Dubai despite a
preferential trade agreement between Tehran and Islamabad which has been in
place since 2006. The Pakistani newspaper The Nation reported that by
eliminating Dubai, the two sides can dramatically increase their bilateral
trade from the present volume of less than $800 million per year. Referring to
high consumption of rice in Iran (46 kg per capita), Rice Exporters Association
of Pakistan’s Chairman Sameeullah Naeem requested Iran to impose lower duty regime
on imports of Pakistani rice in Iran under the PTA. He was addressing a
ceremony, which was also attended by acting consul general of Iran in Lahore,
Majid Sadeqi Dolatabadi, and Iran’s former foreign minister, Seyyed Kamal
Kharazi. Naeem called for going forward from PTA to a free trade agreement with
preferably a zero import duty regime on both sides. “We must formulate
appropriate trade policy for ensuring sustained trade between the countries,”
he added. The Pakistani official noted that agriculturally-rich Pakistan likes
to have bilateral trade ties with oil-rich Iran. “We both have the right
products for each other to trade and mutually coexist, but it is unfortunate
that most trade is being done through other countries,” he said. Referring to banking
problems in transferring money between the two sides, the REAP chairman
suggested that Iranian banks open branches in Pakistan. “Bank Melli Iran is
interested to open branch in Lahore. For that matter, whatever support is
required, we are here to commit that. I ensure that all rice exporters will
come up with opening of accounts and routing of all trade documents through
this branch only,” he said. Naeem also announced that REAP is leading a
17-member delegation to Tehran and Mashhad from April 29. Iran’s former foreign
minister, addressing the ceremony, stated that Tehran was working on the
proposal of opening bank branches in Pakistan for direct trade transactions in
currencies other than the US dollar. Kharrazi said Tehran was interested in
bilateral cooperation in various sectors and was negotiating with Pakistan for
reducing duties on bilateral trade. During a meeting of Pakistan’s National
Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce, officials of the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry informed that during a recent meeting with an Iranian delegation
led by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, all modalities for
opening a banking channel with Tehran have been finalized. The Iranian top
diplomat visited Islamabad last month at the head of a high-ranking
politico-economic delegation. Last year, the State Bank of Pakistan and the
Central Bank of Iran signed an agreement on Banking and Payment Arrangement in
Tehran with the objective of devising a settlement mechanism to promote
bilateral trade. Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of rice a year while
domestic production stands at 2.2 million tons. More than 1.05 million tons of
semi- and wholly-milled rice worth close to $996 million were imported into
Iran during the first half of the last Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22),
registering an 84.4% and 108.4% surge in weight and value respectively compared
with the corresponding period of last year. Rice imports accounted for 6% and
4.2% of the volume and value of Iran’s overall imports respectively during the
six-month period. The imports are made mainly from the UAE (reexport), India,
Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Iraq. Iran is the largest buyer of India’s
basmati and accounts for a fourth of India’s annual aromatic rice shipments of
around 4 million tons. The country restarted rice import registration this year
from Jan. 21 until June 21. The permission was communicated by Agriculture
Minister Mahmoud Hojjati in a letter to Minister of Industries, Mining and
Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari. According to the letter, the order registrations
will be valid for a three-month period and are extendable by a further one
month. Hojjati noted that any rice shipments as per the new orders need to be
cleared through Iranian customs by July 22, after which all imports will be
banned. Every year and during the rice harvest season (July-January), the
Iranian government bans rice imports in support of local farmers and domestic
production.
Author Name:
https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/84009/iran-continues-to-import-pakistani-rice-from-dubai
Iran wants direct rice import from Pakistan
12
Iran Continues to Import Pakistani
Rice From Dubai
Iran is buying rice from
Pakistan via Dubai despite a preferential trade agreement between Tehran and
Islamabad which has been in place since 2006. The Pakistani newspaper The
Nation reported that by eliminating Dubai, the two sides can dramatically
increase their bilateral trade from the present volume of less than $800
million per year. Referring to high consumption of rice in Iran (46 kg per
capita), Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan’s Chairman Sameeullah Naeem
requested Iran to impose lower duty regime on imports of Pakistani rice in Iran
under the PTA. He was addressing a ceremony, which was also attended by acting
consul general of Iran in Lahore, Majid Sadeqi Dolatabadi, and Iran’s former
foreign minister, Seyyed Kamal Kharazi. Naeem called for going forward from PTA
to a free trade agreement with preferably a zero import duty regime on both
sides. “We must formulate appropriate trade policy for ensuring sustained trade
between the countries,” he added. The Pakistani official noted that
agriculturally-rich Pakistan likes to have bilateral trade ties with oil-rich
Iran. “We both have the right products for each other to trade and mutually
coexist, but it is unfortunate that most trade is being done through other
countries,” he said. Referring to banking problems in transferring money
between the two sides, the REAP chairman suggested that Iranian banks open
branches in Pakistan. “Bank Melli Iran is interested to open branch in Lahore.
For that matter, whatever support is required, we are here to commit that. I
ensure that all rice exporters will come up with opening of accounts and
routing of all trade documents through this branch only,” he said. Naeem also
announced that REAP is leading a 17-member delegation to Tehran and Mashhad
from April 29. Iran’s former foreign minister, addressing the ceremony, stated
that Tehran was working on the proposal of opening bank branches in Pakistan
for direct trade transactions in currencies other than the US dollar. Kharrazi
said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in various sectors and was
negotiating with Pakistan for reducing duties on bilateral trade. During a
meeting of Pakistan’s National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce,
officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry informed that during a
recent meeting with an Iranian delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif, all modalities for opening a banking channel with Tehran
have been finalized. The Iranian top diplomat visited Islamabad last month at
the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation. Last year, the State
Bank of Pakistan and the Central Bank of Iran signed an agreement on Banking
and Payment Arrangement in Tehran with the objective of devising a settlement
mechanism to promote bilateral trade. Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of rice
a year while domestic production stands at 2.2 million tons. More than 1.05
million tons of semi- and wholly-milled rice worth close to $996 million were
imported into Iran during the first half of the last Iranian year (March
21-Sept. 22), registering an 84.4% and 108.4% surge in weight and value
respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year. Rice imports accounted
for 6% and 4.2% of the volume and value of Iran’s overall imports respectively
during the six-month period. The imports are made mainly from the UAE
(reexport), India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Iraq. Iran is the largest
buyer of India’s basmati and accounts for a fourth of India’s annual aromatic
rice shipments of around 4 million tons. The country restarted rice import
registration this year from Jan. 21 until June 21. The permission was
communicated by Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati in a letter to Minister of
Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari. According to the letter,
the order registrations will be valid for a three-month period and are
extendable by a further one month. Hojjati noted that any rice shipments as per
the new orders need to be cleared through Iranian customs by July 22, after
which all imports will be banned. Every year and during the rice harvest season
(July-January), the Iranian government bans rice imports in support of local
farmers and domestic production.
Import demand continues boosting
Vietnam’s rice export
Farmers dry unhusked rice in
Hong Dan district, the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – High rice import
demand from Vietnam’s major markets in the second quarter is expected to help
exporters continue good overseas shipments in the first three months of this
year. Some foreign news sources reported that in late March, the State
Logistics Agency of Indonesia (Bulog) signed contracts to purchase 300,000
tonnes of rice from Vietnam and 200,000 tonnes from Thailand. This is the third
time Indonesia has imported rice since the beginning of 2018. Chairman of the
Vietnam Food Association (VFA) Nguyen Ngoc Nam confirmed the report, saying
that Bulog invited the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation and the Vietnam
Southern Food Corporation to supply the rice. This contract will be carried out
from April to July this year. The Philippines, another major market, is also
planning to import rice in large amounts in the second quarter, the VFA said,
adding that the country will import 250,000 tonnes of rice to augment its rice
reserves. The auction will open in May. Meanwhile, rice import demand from
China, Malaysia and Japan has also helped warm up the Asian rice market,
promising good prospects for Vietnam’s rice shipment in the second
quarter. [Infographics: Vietnam likely to export 6.5 million
tonnes of rice in 2018] According to the
agriculture ministry’s Department of Crop Production, about 980,000 hectares of
winter-spring rice in the Mekong Delta, the biggest rice hub in Vietnam, had
been harvested as of March 29 with average productivity of 6.5 – 6.6 tonnes of
unhusked rice per hectare. Some rice exporters said the market in the Mekong
Delta has become vibrant since mid-March due to abundant rice supply, supporting
their export activities. The US Department of Agriculture predicted Vietnam
could export 6.7 million tonnes of rice this year thanks to shipments to China
and expansion in other markets. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development reported that rice exports in January – March totalled 1.36 million
tonnes worth 669 million USD, representing year-on-year rises of 9.4 percent in
volume and 24 percent in value. China remained the top importer of Vietnamese
rice, accounting for 24.4 percent of total exports.-VNA
Author
Name: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/import-demand-continues-boosting-vietnams-rice-export/129015.vnp
Rice
Prices
as on : 04-04-2018 12:22:38 PM
Arrivals
in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
|
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
|
Rice
|
||||||
|
Bindki(UP)
|
500.00
|
-16.67
|
20408.00
|
2300
|
2310
|
-
|
|
Varanasi(Grain)(UP)
|
380.00
|
NC
|
5768.00
|
2240
|
2275
|
-0.44
|
|
Siliguri(WB)
|
164.00
|
1.23
|
3558.00
|
2700
|
2700
|
NC
|
|
Gondal(UP)
|
142.00
|
-8.39
|
5154.50
|
2150
|
2150
|
2.38
|
|
Beldanga(WB)
|
75.00
|
7.14
|
495.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
16.67
|
|
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
|
75.00
|
NC
|
1045.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
12.00
|
|
Ghaziabad(UP)
|
70.00
|
40
|
1865.00
|
2645
|
2650
|
10.21
|
|
Rampurhat(WB)
|
70.00
|
-17.65
|
890.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
16.28
|
|
Hapur(UP)
|
60.00
|
50
|
1230.00
|
2680
|
2720
|
17.54
|
|
Samsi(WB)
|
50.00
|
-5.66
|
865.50
|
3300
|
3300
|
10.00
|
|
Gajol(WB)
|
45.10
|
3.2
|
856.10
|
3550
|
3500
|
22.41
|
|
Akbarpur(UP)
|
45.00
|
-25
|
2386.50
|
2190
|
2200
|
-0.45
|
|
Maur(UP)
|
39.00
|
-20.41
|
894.00
|
2160
|
2150
|
-
|
|
Kopaganj(UP)
|
39.00
|
-20.41
|
1079.00
|
2160
|
2150
|
NC
|
|
Mainpuri(UP)
|
32.00
|
-42.86
|
937.00
|
2610
|
2520
|
-
|
|
Banda(UP)
|
25.00
|
4.17
|
408.00
|
2050
|
2070
|
-
|
|
Devariya(UP)
|
25.00
|
-72.22
|
1352.50
|
2150
|
2150
|
-0.69
|
|
Jaunpur(UP)
|
24.00
|
-20
|
729.30
|
2160
|
2160
|
6.93
|
|
Chorichora(UP)
|
24.00
|
-9.43
|
340.00
|
2135
|
2150
|
-
|
|
Jasra(UP)
|
20.00
|
NC
|
616.50
|
2300
|
2450
|
-
|
|
Gorakhpur(UP)
|
20.00
|
-90.7
|
1602.50
|
2140
|
2140
|
1.90
|
|
Alipurduar(WB)
|
20.00
|
NC
|
340.00
|
2750
|
2750
|
19.57
|
|
Karsiyang(Matigara)(WB)
|
16.50
|
-1.79
|
266.10
|
3000
|
3000
|
11.11
|
|
Kayamganj(UP)
|
15.00
|
-25
|
314.00
|
2270
|
2260
|
-0.44
|
|
Islampur(WB)
|
15.00
|
NC
|
447.50
|
3300
|
3300
|
46.67
|
|
Raiganj(WB)
|
15.00
|
NC
|
539.00
|
3200
|
3200
|
30.61
|
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
14.00
|
12
|
583.50
|
2690
|
2690
|
13.50
|
|
Madhoganj(UP)
|
12.00
|
-42.86
|
2025.50
|
2180
|
2165
|
1.40
|
|
Muzzafarnagar(UP)
|
11.00
|
-60.71
|
744.00
|
2680
|
2690
|
-
|
|
Balrampur(UP)
|
10.00
|
-60
|
88.00
|
2150
|
2300
|
3.12
|
|
Khurja(UP)
|
8.50
|
-15
|
435.50
|
2600
|
2600
|
-
|
|
Bethuadahari(WB)
|
7.00
|
NC
|
129.77
|
4200
|
4300
|
82.61
|
|
Unnao(UP)
|
5.80
|
-3.33
|
130.40
|
2150
|
2140
|
4.88
|
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
4.50
|
-25
|
301.00
|
2155
|
2150
|
-
|
|
Kosikalan(UP)
|
4.00
|
-27.27
|
18.50
|
2510
|
2510
|
-
|
|
Paliakala(UP)
|
4.00
|
33.33
|
803.60
|
2170
|
2185
|
-
|
|
Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)
|
4.00
|
-20
|
201.50
|
2250
|
2250
|
0.45
|
|
Risia(UP)
|
3.00
|
-96.32
|
4090.80
|
1950
|
2100
|
-
|
|
Jahangirabad(UP)
|
2.50
|
25
|
63.00
|
2580
|
2580
|
11.45
|
|
Balarampur(WB)
|
1.84
|
0.55
|
33.22
|
2620
|
2670
|
12.45
|
|
Bangarmau(UP)
|
1.60
|
33.33
|
19.10
|
2150
|
2150
|
4.88
|
|
Tundla(UP)
|
1.60
|
-11.11
|
72.30
|
2610
|
2630
|
-
|
|
Billsadda(UP)
|
1.50
|
NC
|
113.30
|
2200
|
2260
|
-
|
|
Jagnair(UP)
|
0.80
|
NC
|
45.70
|
2500
|
2530
|
-1.57
|
|
Khairagarh(UP)
|
0.80
|
NC
|
51.90
|
2500
|
2500
|
-0.79
|
April 04, 2018
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article23431951.ece‘Cut rice stockpile once QR is scrapped’
By
-
The
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has proposed to slash the
rice stockpile requirement of the National Food Authority (NFA) once the
country’s quantitative restriction (QR) on the staple is scrapped.
Neda
Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla said the NFA should maintain fewer
volume of buffer stock, as there is an expected influx of “cheaper”
foreign rice in the domestic market once the rice QR is removed.
The NFA
is mandated by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council to
maintain a rice buffer stock good to last for 15 days at any given time and for
30 days at the onset of the lean months, which runs from July to September.
“I think
that is going to be huge, that is a lot for the NFA to keep, especially now
with tariffication coming in. We hope that we will encourage more rice to come
in—cheaper rice at that,” Sombilla said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
“I do not
think we need the NFA to be getting that much rice to keep. What it would need
is to keep much, much lesser than the 15 and 30 days buffer stock, which it is
being empowered to get,” Sombilla added.
The
proposal, she said, is part of the NFA Council’s plan to restructure the
state-run grains agency in a post-QR regime. Sombilla is a member of the NFA
Council, the highest policy- making body of the NFA.
Furthermore,
the Neda official told the BusinessMirror that based on preliminary estimates,
the NFA should only maintain about eight-to 10-day buffer stock level in a
post-QR regime regardless of season.
“My
estimate is between eight and 10 days, that is my estimate only, especially
when [rice imports] are going to be tariffied. So, more cheaper rice will be
coming in,” Sombilla said in an interview after the briefing.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/cut-rice-stockpile-once-qr-is-scrapped/
Iraq says to negotiate on U.S. origin
rice soon: trade ministry
Reuters Staff
1 MIN READ
·
·
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will negotiate in the
coming days with U.S. companies to buy U.S. rice, the trade ministry said on
Tuesday.
The ministry also contracted to buy 200,000
tonnes of locally produced sugar and 71,000 tonnes of locally produced
vegetable oil, it said in a statement.
read 1 minute Share 72 0
Print a- a+ Read so far Palace: Rice supply in Philippines 'more than
sufficient' Tuesday, April 03, 2018 By RUTH ABBEY GITA SunStar File Photo
MALACAĆANG assured the public on Tuesday, April 3, that there is "more
than sufficient" supply of rice nationwide amid reports that the National
Food Authority's (NFA) rice stockpile has already been consumed in several
areas in the country. Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said
there was no need to worry, as there is no rice shortage in the country despite
the dwindling buffer stock of the staple. "There is no rice
shortage," Guevarra said in a text message sent to reporters. "We all
know that there is indeed a low supply of NFA rice, but the overall rice supply
is more than sufficient with plenty to spare. No need to panic," he added.
In a television interview, the NFA confirmed that the government-subsidized
rice reserve was already wiped out in Metro Manila. Apart from Metro Manila,
the Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines reportedly claimed that
there were no more stock of affordable rice in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley,
Central Luzon, and Calabarzon. In March, the
NFA Council ordered the food agency to begin the procurement process to hasten
the importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice, following concerns over low
supply of cheap staple. The government is expecting that the 250,000 metric
tons of rice will be delivered in May. Assistant Secretary Jonas Soriano, who
is under the supervision of Cabinet Secretary and NFA Council chair Leoncio
Evasco Jr., said the council also questioned reports that the stockpile of the
government-subsidized rice is depleting. Soriano said the council sought the
Commission on Audit's assessment on NFA operations even before President
Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016 to determine as to why there is lack of
supply of affordable rice. "NFA is only a small portion. It's only four or
five percent of the overall distribution of rice. Still, the NFA rice is
supposed to be used as a buffer stock to ensure there is enough food reserves
in times of calamities. So it should not be gone," Soriano said.
"That's why one of the resolutions is to already pursue the independent
audit by COA (Commission on Audit) to look at operations of [the NFA]
management... so we can establish what are the patterns, why did that
happen," he added. (SunStar Philippines)
Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2018/04/03/palace-rice-supply-philippines-more-sufficient-596566
Follow us: @sunstaronline on Twitter | SunStar Philippines on Facebook
Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2018/04/03/palace-rice-supply-philippines-more-sufficient-596566
Follow us: @sunstaronline on Twitter | SunStar Philippines on Facebook
Salim Ahmed
Lahore
Former Iranian foreign minister
Syed Kamal Kharazi says his country is looking for ways for direct rice import
from Pakistan.
“Iranians are rice-eaters and fond of Pakistan’s basmati rice which is being imported through Dubai to the disadvantage of both Iranian consumers and Pakistani exporters,” Mr Kharazi told rice exporters at a ceremony in Lahore.
Responding to a demand made by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan President Chaudhry Samiullah Naeem in the welcome address, Mr Kharazi said Tehran was also working on a proposal for opening bank branches in both the countries for direct trade transactions in currencies other than dollar to avoid the US pressure (sanctions).
He said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in various sectors and not just rice and was negotiating with Islamabad for reducing duties on bilateral trade.
Recalling Iran’s role in lending support to Pakistan when the latter needed the most soon after its creation, he said his country under a bilateral agreement also constructed gas pipeline up to the Pakistan borders while the latter, he regretted, under the US pressure could not yet accomplish the construction work on its side.
He said the US sanctions rather helped Iran attain self-sufficiency in each sector, from infrastructure development to defence-related needs.
Mr Naeem lamented that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran was less than $800 million while it could easily touch $10 billion mark if potential of both the countries was allowed to be exploited.
He demanded that Iran should reduce duties on exports from Pakistan in prelude to free trade agreement between the two neighbours. He said a delegation of rice exporters would soon leave for Iran and hoped that Mr Kharazi would help the visitors in striking business-to-business deals there.
“Iranians are rice-eaters and fond of Pakistan’s basmati rice which is being imported through Dubai to the disadvantage of both Iranian consumers and Pakistani exporters,” Mr Kharazi told rice exporters at a ceremony in Lahore.
Responding to a demand made by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan President Chaudhry Samiullah Naeem in the welcome address, Mr Kharazi said Tehran was also working on a proposal for opening bank branches in both the countries for direct trade transactions in currencies other than dollar to avoid the US pressure (sanctions).
He said Tehran was interested in bilateral cooperation in various sectors and not just rice and was negotiating with Islamabad for reducing duties on bilateral trade.
Recalling Iran’s role in lending support to Pakistan when the latter needed the most soon after its creation, he said his country under a bilateral agreement also constructed gas pipeline up to the Pakistan borders while the latter, he regretted, under the US pressure could not yet accomplish the construction work on its side.
He said the US sanctions rather helped Iran attain self-sufficiency in each sector, from infrastructure development to defence-related needs.
Mr Naeem lamented that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran was less than $800 million while it could easily touch $10 billion mark if potential of both the countries was allowed to be exploited.
He demanded that Iran should reduce duties on exports from Pakistan in prelude to free trade agreement between the two neighbours. He said a delegation of rice exporters would soon leave for Iran and hoped that Mr Kharazi would help the visitors in striking business-to-business deals there.
https://pakobserver.net/iran-wants-direct-rice-import-from-pakistan/
