| https://www.scribd.com/document/393375806/15-16th-November-2018-Daily-Global-Regional-Local-Rice-E-Newsletter |
NFA sets 3rd attempt to bid out rice contracts
NFA SETS 3RD ATTEMPT TO BID OUT RICE
CONTRACTS
A third attempt to secure 203,000
metric tons (MT) of rice import contracts will be made by the National Food
Authority (NFA) next week following Tuesday’s failed bidding, Agriculture
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
Piñol, who chairs the NFA
Council, said the policy-making body had approved “some adjustments” after both
Thailand and Vietnam offered prices higher than the $447.88/MT reference price
under the government-to-government (G2G) tender.
Workers
stack sacks of rice at a warehouse of the National Food Authority. FILE PHOTO
Both countries did not submit
offers during the first tender last week.
The Agriculture chief declined to
provide more details but said the changes were part of a “normal process.”
“I don’t have the liberty to
provide you the numbers because that would compromise our bidding process. But
we’re conducting another bidding next week,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“You have to understand that
prices in the world market from which we based the reference price are also
volatile. It’s not really steady,” he added.
The delivery schedule as stated
in the Terms of Reference (TOR) used for the previous auctions will remain the
same.
“[I]n the TOR that we have set we
have not changed anything,” Piñol said.
Based on the rules, the imports
must arrive over December 15 to December 31.
The 203,000-MT volume comprises
the balance from the 250,000 MT offered last Oct. 18 under an open tender. Only
47,000 MT was awarded to three suppliers that submitted offers compliant with
the NFA’s reference price.
Piñol reiterated that the country
still had “enough rice stocks” despite the two failed G2G biddings.
“We still have enough stocks
actually. We’re just beefing up our stocks. As of the moment, in the [NFA]
warehouses, we have stocks for about 33 days. And then we have another 47,000
MT arriving by end-November; that would make it about 47 days,” he said.
“So we’re safe. That would be
good until the end of the year,” Piñol added.
Kiên Giang rice output exceeds
full-year target
Update: November,
15/2018 - 19:00
   |  |
Farmers harvest the 2018 summer-
autumn rice in Kiên Giang Province’s Giang Thành District. — VNA/VNS Photo
|
KIÊN
GIANG — Kiên Giang Province, the country’s largest rice producer, has grown
more than 4.34 million tonnes of paddy so far this year, 900,000 tonnes more
than the full-year target.
The
Mekong Delta province grew the grain on a combined 728,400ha this year, with
high-quality rice varieties accounting for 80 per cent, according to its
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Thus, if a hectare of land
yielded two crops, the department counted it as two hectares of production.
The
2017-18 winter-spring rice crop had the highest yield of seven tonnes per
hectare compared to 5.3 tonnes for the summer-autumn crop, five tonnes for the
autumn-winter crop, and 4.5ha for the mùa crop.
The mùa crop
is planted in the rainy season and the varieties grown have a maturity period
of up to six months compared to three months for others.
Đỗ Minh
Nhựt, deputy director of the department, said rice production faced
difficulties this year due to unfavourable weather and saltwater intrusion.
Saltwater
affected the 2017-18 winter-spring rice in Kiên Lương and Giang Thành districts
when the crop was flowering.
The
summer-autumn and autumn-winter crops in Tân Hiệp and Hòn Đất districts were
flattened by prolonged rains when they were ready for harvest.
The
delta’s annual flooding season was intense this year, damaging hundreds of
hectares of rice in Giang Thành, Kiên Lương, Hòn Đất and Tân Hiệp districts.
Pests
like brown plant hoppers and rice stem gall midge also affected the quantity
and quality of rice this year.
Yet the
province easily managed to achieve the rice production target as the department
encouraged farmers to adopt certain models like planting rice and breeding
shrimp together in coastal areas and invest in agricultural machinery and
irrigation, Nhựt said.
It also
recommended the “3 reductions and 3 increases” and “1 must and 5 reductions”
models.
The
former refers to reducing seeding, fertilisers and plant protection chemicals
to achieve increases in productivity, quality and efficiency.
The
latter requires farmers to use certified seeds and reduce seeding, plant
protection chemicals, nitrogen fertilisers, irrigation and post-harvest losses.
In the
2018-19 winter-spring rice crop, the province plans to crop 285,000ha and
harvest more than two million tonnes of the grain.
Nhựt
said sowing would be completed by early next January.
The
department is instructing farmers to use short-term, high-quality varieties and
use the “3 reductions and 3 increases” and “1 must and 5 reductions” models, he
said.
It would
focus on further developing large-scale fields to produce high-quality rice for
exports, he said. — VNS
Asia rice: Indian rates up on firmer rupee; Thai harvest to
shore up stocks
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice prices
in top-exporter India nudged higher this week as the rupee firmed, while Thai
exporters eyed fresh demand from the Philippines amid expectations of an
increase in seasonal supply.
Labourers unload sacks of rice from a handcart at a wholesale
market in Kolkata, December 14, 2015. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files
India’s 5 percent broken
parboiled variety was quoted around $363-$371 per tonne this week,
versus $362-$369 last week.“As the rupee has started to appreciate,
we have to adjust export prices,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in
the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian rupee rose 0.4 percent
on Thursday to its highest level in nearly 8 weeks, trimming exporters’ margins
from overseas sales.In southern and eastern states, supplies have started to arrive
from the new season crop but they are expensive due to higher fixed government
buying prices, said a Mumbai-based exporter.India’s rice exports dropped 9.6
percent to 5.8 million tonnes between April and September from a year earlier,
as leading buyer Bangladesh trimmed purchases due to a bumper local harvest, a
government body said earlier this week.
Meanwhile in Thailand, benchmark
5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $380 - $398 per tonne, free on
board (FOB) Bangkok, unchanged from last week.“There have been some minor deals
with markets like Japan but they have had no impact on prices,” a Bangkok-based
trader said.“Thai rice exporters are now watching the Philippines closely
because their government will open the bidding process next week.”
The Philippines’ National Food
Authority has issued an international tender to import up to 500,000 tonnes of
rice with offers to be opened on Nov. 20.“We see this as a major deal ahead of
December,” another trader in Bangkok said, pointing out that during the
mid-November to early-December period, the market expects an increase in supply
due to the seasonal harvest. In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice
remained in the $415-$420 a tonne range seen last week.
“We haven’t signed any new export
deals over the past month as domestic supplies are scarce,” a trader in Ho Chi
Minh City said. “We wouldn’t be able to secure sufficient rice if we got any
new contracts now.”Egypt received offers for more than 500,000 tonnes earlier
this week, including 50,000 tonnes from Vietnam, the trader said, adding that
they were not sure if they will bid in the Philippines’ state grains agency
tender.
Vietnam is the world’s third
largest rice exporter.“I think supplies in Vietnam won’t pick up until the end
of January when the winter-spring harvest peaks,” another trader in the city
said.
Rice farmers
chase government for insurance cover
Source:
ritefmonline.org
Rice farmers across the country
are calling on government to roll out insurance policy covers for rice farmers
to enhance the future of its members.
According to the farmers, this is
long overdue as they also invest their best to provide food (rice) to enhance
the country’s food security and sustainability.
Addressing the event, President
of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body, GRIP, Nana Kwabena Agyei Aryeh II
mentioned that to be able to be self-sufficient in rice production, it was
important government addresses insurance cover for its members.
He said government, through the insurance
commission should introduce agriculture insurance as a guarantee to farmers to
grow the industry.
“With the introduction of the
agriculture insurance, the financial institutions will have more confidence to
make credit available to farmers in the sector”, he noted.
Over the past ten years, the
value and volume of food imports, most especially rice, have gone up at
alarming rates.
Nana Kwabena Agyei Aryeh II also
described rice production as a difficult task bedeviled with challenges
including the lack of irrigation facilities to enhance quantity and quality
productions.
“Ghana lacks irrigation systems.
The facility is only available to fifteen percent (15%) of the country’s
farmers while the remaining eighty five percent (85%) who do not have access to
irrigation facilities have to depend on the rainy seasons for their farming
activities which is a serious challenge which government must tackle,” he said.
Nana Kwabena therefore called on
the government to roll out insurance policy covers for rice farmers and also
subsidize loans for them to enhance production to curtail the importation of
rice since local rice farmers are capable of producing to feed the country as
well as for export.
Last year, the Minister of
Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto revealed that the country’s importation
bill for rice had heightened to a whopping $1.2 billion as at 2015. The figure
represents a dramatic 800 per cent increase over the rice import value of
$152million in 2007.
Nana Agyei Aryeh II lamented the
surge in rice importation which puts pressure on the country’s trade balance.
The president of the Ghana Rice
Inter-Professional Body equally expressed concern at the inadequacy of storage
facilities and milling machines which according to him come as a headache to
local rice farmers, a situation she assertsa also deserve urgent government
intervention.
The intervention, she asserted is
essential to cushion production as rice has become one of the staple food
produces for Ghanaians, adding that local rice is very delicious and fresh
compared to its foreign counterparts.
Give us concessionary loans, we
will produce 60% of demand – Rice farmers
Rice farmers
working on their farm land (file photo)
To reduce the country’s GH1.2 billion annual rice import,
government needs to help farmers access credit at more generous rates than the
market, the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body (GRIB) has said.It said because domestic producers are saddled with high lending rates at an average of 32 percent, they are unable to scale-up production to meet domestic consumption, which Ghanaian farmers command only 40 percent of.
“We want to meet 60 percent of local demand in the next few years,” said Nana Kwabena Agyei Aryeh II, President of GRIB. “In the future we want to take over by producing more, that is our goal; but we need to start to looking at the factors that have led us to where we are today.”
According to him, farmers on their own will not be able increase production; hence, it is important for government to fast-track steps aimed at helping rice producers access loans at reasonable rates. He said: “This will help us to increase production substantially”.
“We know government has a lot of influence, that is why we want it to work with the financial institutions and see how they can support us by way of concessionary loans.
“We have some of the best farmers in the world, but we are at this level because we do not have the necessary support, or the support being given us is not good enough. If we can get the necessary support like what Nigeria is doing, like what Thailand has done, we will be able to be self-sufficient in rice production very soon,” he indicated.
Mr. Agyei Aryeh II, who spoke to the B&FT on the sidelines of the 5th Ghana National Rice Festival in Accra, also called on stakeholders to make agriculture insurance easily accessible to farmers.
Ghana spends about GH¢1.2billion on importation of rice, with the figure expected to increase over the coming years.
The grain is currently a staple food in the country, but domestics farmers – who are predominantly smallholder producers dotted across the country – are faced with lack of access to capital for expanding and mechanising their operations.
However, Mr. Agyei Aryeh II is optimistic that with the needed support, farmers will be able reduce the country’s huge rice import bill.
He added that in order to facilitate large-scale production, government should identify virgin lands, provide irrigation infrastructure and designate them for rice-farming alone. This, he noted, will help ensure that rice is grown throughout the year – unlike the current situation wherein farmers depend primarily on rain.
Mr. Agyei Aryeh II’s comments come on the back of a recent announcement by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, that government is positioning the country to become self-sufficient in rice production within the next three years.
According to the Agric Minister, about US$3billion has been spent in the last three years to import rice into the country. This huge revenue, the minister lamented, goes to strengthen other economies.
Rice Prices
as on : 15-11-2018 12:43:29 PM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in
Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
Rice
|
||||||
Manjeri(Ker)
|
290.00
|
NC
|
8990.00
|
3500
|
3500
|
-5.41
|
Barhaj(UP)
|
180.00
|
-5.26
|
2844.00
|
2250
|
2255
|
-
|
Gondal(UP)
|
175.00
|
-3.58
|
11566.50
|
2490
|
2470
|
17.45
|
Madhoganj(UP)
|
164.00
|
56.19
|
742.30
|
2230
|
2240
|
-
|
Karimganj(ASM)
|
160.00
|
166.67
|
1860.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
2.13
|
Agra(UP)
|
102.00
|
4.08
|
3695.00
|
2460
|
2490
|
-7.17
|
Kalipur(WB)
|
85.00
|
8.97
|
3261.00
|
2400
|
2450
|
4.35
|
Howly(ASM)
|
81.50
|
154.69
|
3086.50
|
1350
|
1400
|
-25.00
|
Ghaziabad(UP)
|
70.00
|
NC
|
4610.00
|
2750
|
2725
|
14.58
|
Gazipur(UP)
|
68.00
|
106.06
|
1024.00
|
2300
|
2330
|
8.24
|
Beldanga(WB)
|
65.00
|
NC
|
1965.00
|
2600
|
2600
|
4.00
|
Cachar(ASM)
|
60.00
|
NC
|
5722.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
9.09
|
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
|
60.00
|
-7.69
|
4615.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
9.80
|
Asansol(WB)
|
47.50
|
-20.83
|
6385.30
|
2940
|
2920
|
13.08
|
Naugarh(UP)
|
45.50
|
-17.27
|
1176.20
|
2260
|
2255
|
8.92
|
Khalilabad(UP)
|
40.00
|
-20
|
1144.50
|
2175
|
2140
|
-
|
Maur(UP)
|
38.00
|
31.03
|
1697.00
|
2200
|
2240
|
-
|
Vasai(Mah)
|
35.00
|
-5.41
|
1828.00
|
3160
|
3250
|
8.97
|
Lakhimpur(UP)
|
35.00
|
NC
|
998.00
|
2230
|
2230
|
2.76
|
Jayas(UP)
|
31.00
|
14.81
|
2251.00
|
1925
|
1925
|
-1.28
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
30.00
|
11.11
|
1489.00
|
2610
|
2620
|
10.36
|
Khatra(WB)
|
30.00
|
NC
|
1176.00
|
2650
|
2600
|
-
|
Panchpedwa(UP)
|
29.00
|
-9.38
|
666.00
|
2200
|
2210
|
-
|
Pukhrayan(UP)
|
27.00
|
22.73
|
238.00
|
2210
|
2250
|
3.27
|
Gajol(WB)
|
27.00
|
4.65
|
1714.60
|
3850
|
3800
|
32.76
|
Sahiyapur(UP)
|
23.50
|
42.42
|
2448.50
|
2250
|
2250
|
-
|
Jasra(UP)
|
20.00
|
-9.09
|
1381.50
|
2350
|
2300
|
-
|
Falakata(WB)
|
20.00
|
NC
|
294.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
30.23
|
Ulhasnagar(Mah)
|
17.00
|
-15
|
285.00
|
3000
|
3600
|
20.00
|
Islampur(WB)
|
17.00
|
13.33
|
872.00
|
3550
|
3400
|
57.78
|
Raiganj(WB)
|
17.00
|
13.33
|
961.00
|
3450
|
3300
|
36.63
|
Khurja(UP)
|
15.00
|
30.43
|
1100.00
|
2620
|
2600
|
-
|
Badayoun(UP)
|
13.00
|
-13.33
|
811.00
|
2225
|
2250
|
-
|
Champadanga(WB)
|
12.00
|
-14.29
|
600.00
|
3100
|
3150
|
12.73
|
Bijnaur(UP)
|
10.00
|
47.06
|
152.10
|
2340
|
2500
|
-
|
Vilthararoad(UP)
|
10.00
|
-50
|
471.00
|
2150
|
2000
|
NC
|
Ruperdeeha(UP)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
318.00
|
1600
|
1600
|
-
|
Mahoba(UP)
|
9.60
|
-5.88
|
488.40
|
2210
|
2310
|
-
|
Mugrabaadshahpur(UP)
|
9.00
|
12.5
|
220.30
|
2350
|
2350
|
-
|
Soharatgarh(UP)
|
8.00
|
60
|
131.00
|
2285
|
2245
|
10.12
|
Atarra(UP)
|
6.50
|
-13.33
|
343.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
10.00
|
Chitwadagaon(UP)
|
6.00
|
NC
|
377.70
|
2100
|
2100
|
-1.41
|
Buland Shahr(UP)
|
5.50
|
NC
|
171.50
|
2645
|
2660
|
13.03
|
Tamkuhi Road(UP)
|
5.00
|
11.11
|
993.00
|
2150
|
2150
|
-
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
4.50
|
50
|
918.00
|
2255
|
2240
|
-
|
Kalyanpur(Tri)
|
4.00
|
14.29
|
76.90
|
2965
|
2985
|
7.82
|
Jahangirabad(UP)
|
3.50
|
75
|
207.00
|
2560
|
2550
|
8.94
|
Gopiganj(UP)
|
3.00
|
-70
|
326.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
-
|
Tundla(UP)
|
3.00
|
-25
|
194.50
|
2460
|
2460
|
-
|
Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)
|
3.00
|
NC
|
59.20
|
1835
|
1835
|
-
|
Bishnupur(Bankura)(WB)
|
3.00
|
-78.57
|
548.00
|
2650
|
2650
|
26.19
|
Dibrugarh(ASM)
|
2.90
|
-17.14
|
774.50
|
2920
|
2920
|
29.78
|
Amroha(UP)
|
2.00
|
-4.76
|
63.02
|
2600
|
2600
|
5.26
|
Sehjanwa(UP)
|
2.00
|
-20
|
192.50
|
2160
|
2160
|
-
|
Khair(UP)
|
1.50
|
87.5
|
1178.20
|
2450
|
2530
|
-3.92
|
Doharighat(UP)
|
1.50
|
NC
|
42.00
|
2000
|
2000
|
-
|
Gadaura(UP)
|
1.20
|
20
|
31.40
|
2000
|
2100
|
-1.23
|
Nautnava(UP)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
42.50
|
2250
|
2200
|
10.29
|
Ujhani(UP)
|
1.00
|
25
|
16.20
|
2290
|
2300
|
-
|
Jamanian(UP)
|
1.00
|
-
|
2.00
|
2200
|
-
|
-
|
Anandnagar(UP)
|
0.60
|
-70
|
93.20
|
2200
|
2200
|
-
|
Published on November 15, 2018
Rice Prices
as on : 16-11-2018 12:12:59 PM
Arrivals in tonnes;prices in
Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|||||
Current
|
%
change |
Season
cumulative |
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal |
Prev.Yr
%change |
|
Rice
|
||||||
Shahjahanpur(UP)
|
900.00
|
-37.93
|
10736.40
|
2360
|
2300
|
-
|
Pilibhit(UP)
|
800.00
|
33.33
|
17113.50
|
2290
|
2290
|
2.23
|
Bharthna(UP)
|
270.00
|
-35.71
|
6592.50
|
2455
|
2455
|
-
|
Madhoganj(UP)
|
240.00
|
46.34
|
1222.30
|
2240
|
2230
|
-
|
Barhaj(UP)
|
190.00
|
5.56
|
3224.00
|
2250
|
2250
|
-
|
Gondal(UP)
|
185.00
|
5.71
|
11936.50
|
2500
|
2490
|
17.92
|
Siliguri(WB)
|
158.00
|
-0.63
|
10242.00
|
2700
|
2700
|
NC
|
Karimganj(ASM)
|
80.00
|
-50
|
2020.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
2.13
|
Kalipur(WB)
|
80.00
|
-5.88
|
3421.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
4.35
|
Beldanga(WB)
|
65.00
|
NC
|
2095.00
|
2600
|
2600
|
4.00
|
Hapur(UP)
|
60.00
|
NC
|
2610.00
|
2580
|
2520
|
13.16
|
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
|
55.00
|
-8.33
|
4725.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
9.80
|
Basti(UP)
|
53.00
|
51.43
|
2472.50
|
2260
|
2250
|
6.86
|
Ghaziabad(UP)
|
50.00
|
-28.57
|
4710.00
|
2750
|
2750
|
14.58
|
Cachar(ASM)
|
40.00
|
-33.33
|
5802.00
|
2400
|
2400
|
9.09
|
Karimpur(WB)
|
40.00
|
14.29
|
1640.00
|
3150
|
3550
|
NC
|
Naugarh(UP)
|
38.00
|
-16.48
|
1252.20
|
2250
|
2260
|
8.43
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
32.00
|
6.67
|
1553.00
|
2600
|
2610
|
9.94
|
Sahiyapur(UP)
|
31.00
|
31.91
|
2510.50
|
2250
|
2250
|
-
|
Panchpedwa(UP)
|
31.00
|
6.9
|
728.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
-
|
Dadri(UP)
|
30.00
|
-25
|
1016.00
|
2750
|
2750
|
15.79
|
Jafarganj(UP)
|
27.00
|
68.75
|
146.00
|
2350
|
2330
|
-
|
Falakata(WB)
|
20.00
|
NC
|
334.00
|
2800
|
2800
|
30.23
|
Vishalpur(UP)
|
18.50
|
32.14
|
708.00
|
2310
|
2350
|
-
|
Jasra(UP)
|
18.00
|
-10
|
1417.50
|
2350
|
2350
|
-
|
Islampur(WB)
|
17.00
|
NC
|
906.00
|
3550
|
3550
|
57.78
|
Raiganj(WB)
|
17.00
|
NC
|
995.00
|
3450
|
3450
|
36.63
|
Karsiyang(Matigara)(WB)
|
15.80
|
-1.25
|
872.00
|
3000
|
3000
|
11.11
|
Giridih(Jha)
|
15.34
|
58.47
|
868.18
|
4200
|
4200
|
20.00
|
Badayoun(UP)
|
15.00
|
15.38
|
841.00
|
2225
|
2225
|
-
|
Champadanga(WB)
|
15.00
|
25
|
630.00
|
3100
|
3100
|
12.73
|
Muzzafarnagar(UP)
|
11.50
|
-4.17
|
272.50
|
2610
|
2630
|
-
|
Muradabad(UP)
|
11.00
|
22.22
|
389.50
|
2300
|
2400
|
-
|
Ahirora(UP)
|
11.00
|
-31.25
|
309.15
|
2300
|
2300
|
10.05
|
Farukhabad(UP)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
488.60
|
2360
|
2340
|
6.79
|
Kishunpur(UP)
|
10.00
|
-33.33
|
176.00
|
1800
|
1800
|
-
|
Vilthararoad(UP)
|
10.00
|
NC
|
491.00
|
2150
|
2150
|
NC
|
Soharatgarh(UP)
|
9.00
|
12.5
|
149.00
|
2285
|
2285
|
10.12
|
Mugrabaadshahpur(UP)
|
8.00
|
-11.11
|
236.30
|
2300
|
2350
|
-
|
Kannauj(UP)
|
7.50
|
NC
|
227.40
|
2250
|
2300
|
2.27
|
Shikohabad(UP)
|
6.00
|
140
|
49.00
|
2900
|
3000
|
-
|
Chitwadagaon(UP)
|
6.00
|
NC
|
389.70
|
2050
|
2100
|
-3.76
|
Ruperdeeha(UP)
|
6.00
|
-40
|
330.00
|
1600
|
1600
|
-
|
Tamkuhi Road(UP)
|
5.50
|
10
|
1004.00
|
2150
|
2150
|
-
|
Dibrugarh(ASM)
|
4.30
|
48.28
|
783.10
|
2920
|
2920
|
29.78
|
Sehjanwa(UP)
|
3.50
|
75
|
199.50
|
2160
|
2160
|
-
|
Tundla(UP)
|
3.50
|
16.67
|
201.50
|
2470
|
2460
|
-
|
Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)
|
3.50
|
16.67
|
66.20
|
1835
|
1835
|
-
|
Kalyani(WB)
|
3.50
|
NC
|
254.50
|
3400
|
3400
|
NC
|
Amroha(UP)
|
2.10
|
5
|
67.22
|
2600
|
2600
|
5.26
|
Khair(UP)
|
1.80
|
20
|
1181.80
|
2450
|
2450
|
-3.92
|
Bangarmau(UP)
|
1.60
|
-11.11
|
54.20
|
2275
|
2275
|
10.98
|
Doharighat(UP)
|
1.50
|
NC
|
45.00
|
2000
|
2000
|
-
|
Kamalghat(Tri)
|
1.00
|
-
|
2.00
|
3100
|
-
|
-
|
Gadaura(UP)
|
1.00
|
-16.67
|
33.40
|
2000
|
2000
|
-1.23
|
Nautnava(UP)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
44.50
|
2200
|
2250
|
7.84
|
Jamanian(UP)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
4.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
-
|
Anandnagar(UP)
|
0.80
|
33.33
|
94.80
|
2100
|
2200
|
-
|
Khairagarh(UP)
|
0.80
|
-11.11
|
121.60
|
2560
|
2560
|
1.59
|
Achnera(UP)
|
0.70
|
16.67
|
26.00
|
2560
|
2560
|
0.39
|
Jagnair(UP)
|
0.70
|
NC
|
88.40
|
2560
|
2560
|
0.79
|
Naanpara(UP)
|
0.60
|
-97.6
|
1657.50
|
1625
|
2300
|
-26.64
|
Published on November 16, 2018
Reinstatement of
rice tariffs unrelated to politics: Brussels
15 Nov 2018
Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar
Times
Reinstatement of rice tariffs unrelated to politics: Brussels
The European Union will decide whether to restore tariffs
on Indica rice imports from Myanmar in a bid to protect its own producers early
next year. Brussels has denied the move is related to the country’s alleged
human rights violations in northern Rakhine.“The rapid increase of Myanmar’s Indica rice exports has overwhelmed some European producers. The EU will therefore probably reinstate customs duties to protect them,” a spokesperson of the EU Delegation to Myanmar told The Myanmar Times.
Myanmar currently benefits from the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) arrangement, part of the bloc’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). The EBA trade regime gives least developed countries (LDCs) customs- and quota-free access to the world’s largest market for all products except arms.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström last month announced that the bloc is considering ending Myanmar’s trade privileges due to rights violations in northern Rakhine. European trade organisations and Myanmar business groups, including the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF), came out against the proposed move.
But the possible reinstatement of customs duties on Myanmar rice exports is unrelated.
“This is specific to Indica rice and for purely economic reasons – there are no links whatsoever to the current wider political dialogue between the EU and Myanmar on potential EBA withdrawal over human rights concerns,” the spokesperson explained. Instead, duties are to protect EU industries which are harmed by “excessive imports at low prices”. In order to protect the industries, Brussels will reduce or even withdraw the specific trade privileges.
In this specific case, Italy claims that imports of Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar have increased substantially and that their respective EU market shares, of Indica rice, grew from 13pc to 21pc and from 0pc to 5pc in the last five rice marketing years. The corresponding import prices were substantially lower than prices of European producers, which would have presented serious difficulties to growers and millers of Indica rice in the bloc.
Brussels is currently undertaking an investigation for data collection and assessing the situation, before coming to a decision early next year whether increased imports from Myanmar under trade preferences are putting EU producers under pressure and causing financial difficulties which would not have existed in the absence of those preferences.
Nay Pyi Taw has until November 19 to respond to the case, according to U Aung Htoo, deputy commerce minister. U Ye Min Aung from Myanmar Rice Federation warned Myanmar’s rice industry will find it hard to compete with other rice exporters if the duties are imposed.
If the investigation establishes that EU producers are injured, it could result in the reintroduction of tariffs for Indica rice from Myanmar up to €170/per tonne (the MFN rate for rice is €170/per tonne). The investigation is expected to conclude by the beginning of 2019.
The spokesperson said the outcome of the investigation cannot be anticipated at this stage.
In 2013, the EU reinstated GSP for Myanmar as a means to provide political, economic and social support to help the country move towards democracy. The bloc is currently the sixth biggest trading partner for Myanmar. Total trade between the two partners equalled €2.09 billion in 2017. The EU, Myanmar’s sixth biggest trade partner, imported goods worth €1,549 million from Myanmar and exported goods worth almost €539 million to frontier market. EU imports from Myanmar are dominated by agricultural products and garments.
