Saturday, January 03, 2015

2nd January,2015 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

THAVER CALLS ON POLICY MAKERS TO BENEFIT FROM FALL IN OIL PRICES WISELY

Karachi, January 01, 2015 (PPI-OT): The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has called upon the policy makers to benefit from the fall in oil prices wisely and take this as golden opportunity to curb inflation, reduce cost of production, promote investment and increase exports.President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the prospects are very bright for 2015 and Pakistan will become competitive in many commodities but it is very important that the government reduce its own expenses and declare austerity as a very first step.
Secondly full throttle action is required to promote value addition and exports. Thirdly a strict eye on imports is necessary to discourage imports of the unnecessary.He lamented that the government is not taking steps to promote domestic industry and not protecting it as a result imports are increasing and many items which are manufactured in Pakistan are being imported in bulk and dumped in the market. The SME units are discouraged and not planning to increase production, to modernize and upgrade their products due to tough competition from imported items.The importers are under invoicing their imports and also importing goods with undeclared money. There is no check on imports as imports of all items are allowed whether they are made in the country or not due to WTO regulations the imports cannot be disallowed.
Thaver urged the policy makers to examine the imports and impose regulatory duty on imports of items manufactured in Pakistan otherwise Pakistan is fast becoming a trading economy. The country is exporting goods worth US dollars 24 billions and importing goods worth US dollars 45 billions.Fortunately overseas Pakistanis are remitting US dollars 15 billions which is saving the situation otherwise the balance of payments would be precarious. There is also foreign debts and internal debts and deficits which are increasing and increasing the burden but the government is not serious although it is a situation which could cause deep concern to the economist.
UNISAME conducted a survey and found that the new industries are not being set up due to energy crisis, poor law and order, competition from Chinese goods, lack of marketing support for exports, poor infrastructure for farm produce and poor logistics.The other draw backs are lack of finance, leasing, insurance and taxation policies. Many entrepreneurs also complained about corruption, extortion and environment. Some even mentioned the high handedness of government officials and difficulties in lodging FIR and misconduct of policemen.
One important issue raised was of lack of information and entrepreneurs complained that the related trade promotion bodies have no satisfactory information bureau to answer queries. One exporter of bananas wanted to know what is the import duty on bananas in different countries and nobody was in a position to give the correct answer and the exporter was keen to export the fruit to the different countries as he was a farmer and growing the fruit.
Description: AKINSEMOYINIt is very important that the information bureau is set up in the trade promotion body capable of providing information as information is the key requirement of any entrepreneur. It is high time the government gets into gear and takes positive bold steps to benefit from the favourable aspects of reduced oil prices and strengthen the economy before the situation takes a turn. It is expected that the oil prices will remain such for about one year and in this period the government must act diligently to benefit from the situation.

Nigeria’s yearly rice imports from Vietnam hit N84 billion


Thursday, 01 January 2015 19:05
Written by Roseline Okere

THE Federal Government’s yearly rice import bill from Vietnam has hit about $500 million (N84 billion) according to the Nigerian-Vietnam Chambers of Commerce and Industry.  Besides, Vietnam also spends about $100 million to import agricultural products such as raw cashew nuts, cassava and oil palm from Nigeria.  Indeed, Nigeria spends about N365 million yearly on the importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of milled rice from different countries, such as India, Thailand and Vietnam.  President of the chamber, Prince Oye Akinsemoyin, who made this disclosure in an interview with The Guardian recently, said Nigeria’s imports cover a wide range of commodities, including those of Vietnam’s strengths such as rice. 
He listed Vietnam’s major exports to Nigeria to include rubber, electric and electronic products, footwear, plastics, handicraft and fine art articles and construction materials, while the country imports from Nigeria raw cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and minerals. Akinsemoyin stated: “Basically, Nigeria exports Agricultural products.

At the moment, Vietnam is the largest importer of Nigeria’s raw cashew nuts. Vietnam’s cashew import from Nigeria is about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports agricultural items like Cassava with which Vietnam produces starch and the raw materialsVietnam imports sea foods from Nigeria, like shrimps, fish; also oil palm, which is processed to palm oil, which goes into local production of creams and cosmetics Vietnam imports food items like coconut and also beans and fruits from Nigeria.

  Vietnam exports rice to Nigeria; Vietnam is one of Nigeria’s trading partners in rice exportation. Vietnam’s rice export to Nigeria will be about $500 million per annum. Vietnam exports garments, fabrics to Nigeria as well as shoes and fashion accessories. Many of the cosmetics companies in Vietnam are looking for distributors in Nigeria.   Vietnam exports furniture, artifacts and art work for interior décor”.   He disclosed that many companies from Vietnam are willing to invest in Nigeria.

  According to him, “the chamber is now looking at setting up institutions that will further foster the relationship between Nigeria and Vietnam; we are encouraging investors from Vietnam to make in road to Nigeria economy, companies like Viettel is willing to invest $7 billion into the Nigerian Telecommunication sector. Arrangement is already going on to avail them the opportunity to bid for the relevant spectrum to be able to operate as one of the telecom operators in the country.  “PetroVina is also interested in investing in the Exploration and Production (E&P) sub-sector of the country’s Oil and Gas sector, PetroVina is interested in the upstream and the midstream sectors. We are trying to attract investments that will be able to provide employment for Nigerians. The kind of investors that will be able to have multiplier effects on the Nigerian economy”.


Cambodia's rice export up 2 pct last year
 (GlobalPost/GlobalPost)
Cambodia's rice export up 2 pct last year
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 387,061 tons of milled rice in 2014, a 2 percent increase from 378,856 tons in a year earlier, an official report said Thursday.Cambodian rice has been sold to 57 countries and regions around the world, said the data compiled by the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.Five main buyers are France, Poland, Malaysia, China, and the Netherlands.Kim Savuth, Vice President of the Federation of Cambodian Rice Exporters, said a sluggish growth in rice export was due to fierce competitions with other countries' rice, especially Vietnam and Thailand.Cambodia is an agrarian country with some 80 percent of the population being farmers.
In 2010, the Southeast Asian country set a goal of exporting 1 million tons of milled rice by 2015. However, Prime Minister Hun Sen admitted last month that the country was unlikely to achieve the self-imposed target due to a lack of milling capacity and funding.He said the rice export figure in 2014 clearly proved that achieving the 1 million tons target in 2015 is unlikely.Copyright 2014 Xinhua News Agency.Xinhua is China's state-run news agency.All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Gov't grain stockpile crushing China's domestic market


Staff Reporter

2015-01-02

09:50 (GMT+8)
Harvesting at a rice field in Harbin, Heilongjiang, Sept. 2011. (File photo/Xinhua)
Description: Harvesting at a rice field in Harbin, Heilongjiang, Sept. 2011. (File photo/Xinhua)The grain inventory the Chinese government stockpiled to bolster prices and protect the livelihood of farmers is now stilling tall and idle without a modern food processing industry to consume it, reports the Chinese-language China Business News.Mu Yiankuei, owner of a major food processing firm, said that despite the good intentions, the government's practice has given rise to some grave side effects, including the disruption of the normal circulation of grains on the market and hindrance of the healthy development of the food processing industry.
Many grain processing enterprises have been forced to close down because of a lack of grain supply, one example being rice factories in northeastern China. Nearly 80% of them have folded their operations.The grain purchase has entailed a heavy financial burden on the government, which has been spending several hundreds of billions of yuan in buying up grains a year. These are on top of the costs for infrastructure, custody of the stockpiled grains and interest on funds for the purchases.
The stockpiled grains are typically kept in warehouses for one to three years before their release into the market, greatly affecting their quality. In addition, the government purchase has jacked up domestic grain prices, inducing imports or even the smuggling of low-cost grains from neighboring nations into China. In the same vein, it has distorted the domestic market. In one instance, farmers looking to make an extra buck off of higher prices in northeastern China, prices set off by official grain purchases, began selling their maize en masse from northern China. According to rough statistics, over 5 million tons of maize flowed from Hebei to Liaoning province in 2014.Mu Yiankuei urged the government to intensify its support for the development of a modern grain processing industry, thereby laying a firm foundation for grain safety and management.





Nigeria's Yearly Rice Imports From Vietnam Hit N84 Billion

By Roseline Okere

THE Federal Government's yearly rice import bill from Vietnam has hit about $500 million (N84 billion) according to the Nigerian-Vietnam Chambers of Commerce and Industry.Besides, Vietnam also spends about $100 million to import agricultural products such as raw cashew nuts, cassava and oil palm from Nigeria.Indeed, Nigeria spends about N365 million yearly on the importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of milled rice from different countries, such as India, Thailand and Vietnam.

President of the chamber, Prince Oye Akinsemoyin, who made this disclosure in an interview with The Guardian recently, said Nigeria's imports cover a wide range of commodities, including those of Vietnam's strengths such as rice.He listed Vietnam's major exports to Nigeria to include rubber, electric and electronic products, footwear, plastics, handicraft and fine art articles and construction materials, while the country imports from Nigeria raw cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and minerals.

Akinsemoyin stated: "Basically, Nigeria exports Agricultural products. At the moment, Vietnam is the largest importer of Nigeria's raw cashew nuts. Vietnam's cashew import from Nigeria is about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports agricultural items like Cassava with which Vietnam produces starch and the raw materials.Vietnam imports sea foods from Nigeria, like shrimps, fish; also oil palm, which is processed to palm oil, which goes into local production of creams and cosmetics Vietnam imports food items like coconut and also beans and fruits from Nigeria.

Vietnam exports rice to Nigeria; Vietnam is one of Nigeria's trading partners in rice exportation. Vietnam's rice export to Nigeria will be about $500 million per annum. Vietnam exports garments, fabrics to Nigeria as well as shoes and fashion accessories. Many of the cosmetics companies in Vietnam are looking for distributors in Nigeria.Vietnam exports furniture, artifacts and art work for interior décor".He disclosed that many companies from Vietnam are willing to invest in Nigeria.

According to him, "the chamber is now looking at setting up institutions that will further foster the relationship between Nigeria and Vietnam; we are encouraging investors from Vietnam to make in road to Nigeria economy, companies like Viettel is willing to invest $7 billion into the Nigerian Telecommunication sector. Arrangement is already going on to avail them the opportunity to bid for the relevant spectrum to be able to operate as one of the telecom operators in the country.

"PetroVina is also interested in investing in the Exploration and Production (E&P) sub-sector of the country's Oil and Gas sector, PetroVina is interested in the upstream and the midstream sectors. We are trying to attract investments that will be able to provide employment for Nigerians. The kind of investors that will be able to have multiplier effects on the Nigerian economy".
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Dec 31
Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:03pm IST
 Nagpur, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Gram prices reported higher in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and
Marketing Committee (APMC) on increased marriage season demand from local millers amid thin arrival from producing belts. Freshs rise in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and enquiries from
South-based millers also pushed up prices, according to sources.

               *            *              *              *

    FOODGRAINS & PULSES
    GRAM
   * Desi gram raw zoomed up again in open market on good marriage season demand
     from local traders amid tight supply from producing regions.

     TUAR
   * Tuar gavarani recovered nominally in open market on renewed demand from local
     traders amid weak supply from producing regions.
   * Moong and udid varieties touched to a record high in open market on increased
     seasonal demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing regions. Weak
     production reports also activated stockists. 
                                                                                       
   * In Akola, Tuar - 4,700-4,900, Tuar dal - 7,100-7,400, Udid at 6,700-6,900,
     Udid Mogar (clean) - 7,500-7,700, Moong - 7,800-8,000, Moong Mogar
    (clean) 9,700-10,100, Gram - 2,500-2,700, Gram Super best bold - 3,600-3,900
     for 100 kg.
   * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market
     in thin trading activity, according to sources.
      
 Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

     FOODGRAINS                 Available prices     Previous close  
     Gram Auction                2,900-3,400         2,870-3,350
     Gram Pink Auction            n.a.           2,100-2,600
     Tuar Auction                n.a.                4,000-4,200
     Moong Auction                n.a.                6,200-6,400
     Udid Auction                n.a.           4,300-4,500
     Masoor Auction                n.a.              2,600-2,800
     Gram Super Best Bold            4,150-4,300        4,150-4,300
     Gram Super Best            n.a.               
     Gram Medium Best            3,900-4,000        3,900-4,000
     Gram Dal Medium            n.a.            n.a.
     Gram Mill Quality            3,000-3,100        3,000-3,100
     Desi gram Raw                3,100-3,400         3,100-3,400
     Gram Filter new            3,300-3,700        3,300-3,700
     Gram Kabuli                8,600-9,900        8,600-9,900
     Gram Pink                7,300-7,500        7,300-7,500
     Tuar Fataka Best             7,700-7,800        7,700-7,800
     Tuar Fataka Medium             7,450-7,600        7,450-7,600
     Tuar Dal Best Phod            7,000-7,200        7,000-7,200
     Tuar Dal Medium phod            6,600-6,800        6,600-6,800
     Tuar Gavarani              5,550-5,650        5,500-5,600
     Tuar Karnataka             5,800-6,000        5,800-6,000
     Tuar Black                 8,300-8,700           8,300-8,700
     Masoor dal best            7,300-7,500        7,300-7,500
     Masoor dal medium            7,000-7,200        7,000-7,200
     Masoor                    n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Mogar bold               10,500-10,800       10,300-10,600
     Moong Mogar Medium best        9,800-10,200        9,700-10,200
     Moong dal Chilka            9,500-10,000        9,200-9,800
     Moong Mill quality            n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Chamki best            8,300-9,800        8,000 -9,600
     Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)    8,200-8,500       8,000-8,200
     Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,700-7,900        7,600-7,800
     Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)        6,000-6,200        5,800-6,000
     Batri dal (100 INR/KG)        4,300-4,500        4,300-4,500
     Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)           2,800-3,000         2,800-3,000
     Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)        2,900-3,200        2,900-3,200
     Watana White (100 INR/KG)        2,900-3,100         2,900-3,100
     Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)    3,850-4,450        3,850-4,450
     Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)        1,300-1,600        1,300-1,600
     Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG)    1,800-1,900        1,800-1,900
     Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)        1,200-1,400           1,200-1,400
     Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)    2,200-2,500        2,100-2,500
     Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)    1,950-2,200        1,950-2,200
     Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)    n.a.            n.a.
     MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)    2,800-3,200        2,800-3,200
     MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)    2,300-2,500        2,300-2,500
     Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG)        1,300-1,400        1,300-1,400
     Wheat Best (100 INR/KG)        1,550-1,850        1,550-1,850    
     Rice BPT (100 INR/KG)               3,000-3,300        3,000-3,300
     Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)        1,700-1,800        1,700-1,800
     Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG)      2,400-2,600        2,400-2,600
     Rice HMT (100 INR/KG)               3,800-4,200        3,800-4,200
     Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG)    4,500-5,300        4,400-5,300
     Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)    10,000-13,000        10,000-13,000
     Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,000-9,600        7,000-9,600
     Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG)        5,200-5,500        5,100-5,500
     Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)        1,900-2,100        1,900-2,100
     Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)        2,100-2,300        2,100-2,300

WEATHER (NAGPUR) 
Maximum temp. 28.8 degree Celsius (73.8 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
15.2 degree Celsius (59.4 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : nil
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely towards evening or night. Maximum
and minimum temperature would be around and 29 and 18 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
 (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but
included in market prices.)




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Friday, January 02, 2015

1st January,2015 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

The Rice That Can Help You Sleep Better

January 1, 2015
Do you have sleep issues? You are not alone, of course — more than 30 million Americans suffer from sleep deficit. According to the National Sleep Foundation, we lose one hour of sleep every night, adding up to two full weeks of sleep deficit every year. Lack of adequate and good quality sleep is known to wreak havoc on health. An article in the Scientific American states that “Short-term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, impaired driving, and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin resistance, and heart disease. And most Americans suffer from chronic deprivation.”
Here is some good news: A powerful natural aid to better sleep could be just a supermarket shelf away. The next time you go shopping, pop a packet of jasmine rice into your cart, and eat it about four hours before bedtime—a 2007 research study conducted at the University of Sydney says it helps you sleep better.
This is how:
A Thai favorite that has a lovely nutty flavor and emits a delicate fragrance, jasmine rice has a high glycemic index, which means it quickly raises blood sugar. This, says Dr. Chow, the lead researcher, may boost tryptophan and serotonin, the two brain chemicals responsible for sleep.During the research, scientists compared the effect of jasmine rice and long-grain rice on sleep. Two groups of healthy men with no sleep problems were served rice with vegetables and tomato puree.
They found that the group served jasmine rice fell asleep within an average of 9 minutes, while the long-grain rice eaters took more than 15 minutes to doze off.The research team also altered the time gap between serving the rice and going to bed. The results indicated that four hours was the ideal time period for the sleep-friendly effects of jasmine rice.Here is a healthy and delicious recipe for cooking with jasmine rice, ideal for warming you up on a cold winter night. I hope it helps you get the sleep of your dreams, too!

KBP seeks immediate compensation for basmati growers

December 31, 2014
RECORDER REPORT
Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) has urged the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to ensure immediate implementation on a relief package announced by him to compensate the rice growers at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acres. KBP Central President Sadiq Khan Khakwani made this demand during a meeting of a delegation of Basmati growers here on Tuesday. The growers expressed their reservations over government attitude and non-implementation of the premier's announcement. 
KBP Chief demanded that the farmers who suffered losses because of recent floods should be compensated at the earliest. He said that unrest is being found amongst basmati growers due to non-implementation of the package. He said in response to a countrywide protest staged by the rice growers, the Prime Minister had directed the Federal Finance Minister and Minister for Food Security to compensate growers and approved necessary funds. However, KBP Chief regretted, no method has been evolved in this regard which is a question mark on functioning of these departments. He reiterated that the government should take immediate steps to resolve the issues and compensate the loss suffered by Basmati growers. 

Source with thanks:Business Recorder Pakistan

Rice industry stakeholders lament over import allocations, Say scheme will derail self-sufficiency efforts

Wednesday, 31 December 2014 21:17
Written by EDITOR
RICE industry stakeholders have cried out to the Federal Government asking that the recent wave of rice import licenses be cancelled outright before investments made by them in the last four years go down the drain. In a protest letter written to the government through the ministers of Finance and Trade and Investments, the stakeholders drew attention to what they called “the recent indiscriminate and wrongful award of import licenses as well as concessions to dubious businessmen with absolutely no investments in the rice sector who are now making millions and billions of naira selling those licenses to importers in the market” They warned that the current development in which new comers without experience were favored over and above operators who are at present investing billions in line with the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) threatens their investments.
 The allocations, the petitioners said, “provide a free ride for smugglers, thereby derailing the objectives on rice self-sufficiency. The country according to reports also stands to lose in excess of N 40 billion through smuggling and loss of customs revenues.” The Federal Ministry of Finance stipulated revised lower tariffs for rice imports vide Ministry of Finance Circular BD/FP/TT/50/I/99 dated July 8th 2014 (entitled 2014-2017 Fiscal Policy Measures On Rice).  According to this circular, bonafide “investors with rice milling capacities and verifiable backward integration programme” are entitled to import rice at the revised tariffs of 10% duty rate and 20% levy. 
As per the same circular, the pure rice traders (with no existing capacities/programme) were to pay a duty of 10% and a levy of 60%.  However, the allocations released by the Ministry of Agriculture include several beneficiaries who do not meet the stipulated criteria issued by the Ministry of Finance in July 2014. 
A study of the list of beneficiaries of the preferential import quotas, reveals that of the 28 companies, only 16 have mills, while the remaining 12 have no milling capacities but regrettably account for higher imports than the qualified millers.  Investigations also reveal that many of the companies without any proven capacities have already started selling off the quotas to pure importers for a handsome margin, leading to huge loss of customs revenue and defeating the basic purpose of the allocations.
   Genuine bonafide investors and industry players in the rice value chain are seeking immediate corrective action from the Ministry of Agriculture through cancellation of allocations and revisions to be effected based on FG’s circular in July 2014. Industry observers feel the Honorable Minister of Agriculture may have been misadvised on the track record and qualification of the beneficiaries, leading to flawed assessment of eligibilities.
State budget policy limits research work of geneticists

VietNamNet Bridge – Some scientists carry out research to create new varieties with the state’s money, but then sell their results to businesses for money, according to Dr. Duong Van Chin, an agronomist.


Chin made the statement when asked about the quality of plant varieties and what the state should do to retain greatest geneticists. Dr. Chin was a “state employee”, holding the post of the deputy head of the Mekong River Delta Rice Institute. But after retirement, Chin became the director of the Dinh Thanh Agriculture Research Center, a cooperation project between the An Giang Plant Protection JSC and Syngenta, a multinational group on biotechnology and plant varieties.In other words, Chin was once a hired state employee in the past and he is a businessman at this moment.

Analysts noted that when scientists work for state’s institutes and agencies, they cannot create good plant varieties, but when they shift to work for private businesses, they gain many achievements.

Do scientists receive better pay when they work for businesses?

Chin said that most of the rice varieties in the Mekong River Delta are products created by scientists at the state-owned Mekong River Delta Rice Institute.However, in some cases, there are also people who carry out research with the state’s money but later sell the best varieties they create to private businesses.Chin said the current management policy prompts scientists to do this.
In general, scientists have three to five years to carry out their research works, and after that period, they must submit one or several varieties. If they cannot, they must return the state funding.With such a policy, scientists have to create new varieties, at any cost, and have the varieties recognized by watchdog agencies.“They (scientists) do not care if the varieties they create have high quality and fit the consumers’ taste,” Chin said.

Funding disbursement
Why do scientists prefer working for businesses to state research institutes?

An official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said the ministry budgets VND700 billion a year for scientific research. Of this, VND500 billion is paid to researchers, while the remaining VND200 billion is given for project implementation.“The modest sum of money is obviously not enough for all fields of agriculture production,” he noted.
Chin noted that it takes scientists five to seven years to create a new plant variety, but Vietnamese scientists are not given enough time to adequately complete their research works.

Dat Viet

Tags:geneticists,research work of geneticists,scientific research in vietnam,

Source with thanks: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/special-reports/118979/state-budget-policy-limits-research-work-of-geneticists.html

JCR-VIS reaffirms entity ratings of Matco Rice Processing at A-/A-2

December 31, 2014
RECORDER REPORT
JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (JCR-VIS) has reaffirmed the entity ratings of Pakistan's largest basmati rice exporter, Matco Rice Processing (Pvt) Limited, at "A-/A-2" (Single A-Minus/ A-Two) with stable outlook. Despite being a highly competitive market with numerous international rice brands, rice exports from Pakistan increased by 3.3 percent in FY14 to US 1.9 billion dollars. Matco was able to capture a larger share of the same as the company's exports increased by 25 percent in FY14. Growth in exports has been achieved due to increased sale of basmati rice which fetched a better price in the international market compared to IRRI. 
Sharing his thought on the rating, Chairman Matco Rice, Jawed Ali Ghori said, "This rating is yet another testament of our market leading product quality and reflects upon the trust of our valued customers. Our management has projected increased margins and overall profitability in the long-run and relishes the current entity rating of A-/A-2 by JCR-VIS with an aim to further enhance it in the years to come." 
He further added that "Matco Rice is constantly striving to increase the quality of products by applying international standards and strengthening rice procurement procedures.-PR 

Source with thanks:Business Recorder Pakistan
New Group Set Up for More Sustainable Rice
31 December 2014
GLOBAL - The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform’s new Sustainable Rice Project Group aims to speed up the implementation of sustainable rice growing practices.There are already several existing initiatives out there promoting aspects of sustainable rice growing, such as the Sustainable Rice Platform, International Rice Research Institute, and Keystone’s Fieldprint Calculator. SAI Platform’s Rice Project Group, recognising that each of these initiatives plays a role, will build on existing work and focus on speeding up the practical implementation of sustainable practices based on a common industry standard. The members agreed to collaborate in a variety of rice growing area such as Spain, Italy, US, South East Asia and India.
Richard Burkinshaw, Kellogg’s Rice Sustainability manager and SAI Platform member, said: "SAI Platform membership has grown so fast recently that there is now a critical mass of members eager to collaborate to enable faster deployment of sustainable rice agriculture practices in their value chains."The project group recognizes that these practices improving quality and yields, whilst reducing water use and greenhouse gas emissions are well known and tested. For example alternative water management strategies, integrated pest management, managing resource efficiency all have a potential role to play in the challenging flooded environment that rice needs .
"The group recogniss that to see large scale adoption, engagement has to be practical, simple and have win-win scenarios for farmers, customers and the environment. Our aim is to make sustainable rice growing transparent and accessible, helping more to gain as a result."The new group’s mission is to identify and develop a pragmatic, globally applicable Sustainable Rice Practices Standard based on SAI Platform’s easy to use Farm Sustainability Assessment, and to then test and implement it, and feedback any learnings to the Sustainable Rice Platform.
Members have committed to test the resulting standard in their respective supply chains and fund the costs of this joined effort. Local pilots will be executed by the Group’s members. SAI Platform’s secretariat will take care of the overall coordination.The project is planned initially for a year. If successful, the group could decide on follow-up steps like scaling-up, agreeing on metrics and indicators.
TheCropSite News Desk


Corporate corner
January 01, 2015
Wedding ceremony of Tanvir Zahoor’s daughter
LAHORE (PR): The marriage ceremony of Kiran Tanvir, daughter of well-known poet and writer Tanvir Zahoor was held the other day. British Empire member Malik Ghulam Rabbani, Aman and Insaneyat Forum president Rana Ihtisham, Punjab PML-N president Syed Naseeb Gerdezi, M Ilyas Moghal Adovocate, Short story writer Tariq Balooch Sehrai and other relatives participate the marriage ceremony.

The personalities who congratulated the Tanvir Zahoor were; Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, MPA Dr Shehzad Qaser, Tariq Aziz from London and M Anwar Qadri, Faisal Nawas From Norway, Dr Khalid Kamal from USA, Justice Syed Afzal Haider, MNA Rai Mansib, APAT president Khalid Pervaiz, Own Shahid from Japan, Iftikhar Malik, Manu Bhai, Khalid Choudhri, Begum Naheed Munir Niazi,Haji Inam Ilahi and others.JCR-VIS Reaffirms Ratings of Matco Rice Processing Ltd

KARACHI (PR): JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (JCR-VIS) has reaffirmed the entity ratings of Pakistan’s largest basmati rice exporter, Matco Rice Processing (Pvt.) Limited (Matco), at ‘A-/A-2’ (Single A-Minus/ A-Two) with stable outlook. 
Despite being a highly competitive market with numerous international rice brands, rice exports from Pakistan increased by 3.3% in FY14 to USD 1.9b. Matco was able to capture a larger share of the same as the company’s exports increased by 25% in FY14. Growth in exports has been achieved due to increased sale of basmati rice which fetched a better price in the international market compared to International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).Meezan Bank, Pak Kuwait

Takaful sign agreement 
Karachi (PR):  Meezan Bank and Pak Kuwait Takaful Co Ltd have entered into an agreement whereby Pak Kuwait Takaful will provide Takaful (Islamic Insurance) coverage for the properties financed by Meezan Bank through its housing finance product ‘Easy Home’. At the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony, Mr. Muhammad Raza, Group Head Consumer Banking & Marketing at Meezan Bank said that “Meezan Bank is committed to providing a completely Shariah-compliant and comprehensive product menu”.  

Microsoft nurtures entrepreneurship
 ISLAMABAD (PR): As a global leader in technologies, Microsoft pursues a mission to provide a level-playing field for aspiring entrepreneurs, who want to build something to make the world a better place. With this dignified pursuit of nurturing the culture of Entrepreneurship, by supporting the Startup companies, Microsoft has now announced the beginning of “MIC Pre-Accelerator” program in Pakistan (Register before 29th December, 2014), designed to empower the progressive entrepreneurs. 

The MIC Pre-Accelerator is a 12-week intensive program designed by Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in Miami, U.S.A., to provide mentorship and training to the startup ventures, who seek more insight to take their ideas to market. The program comprises of workshops and coaching from Microsoft and its curriculum partners.

JS Bank to conduct due diligence of KASB Bank
KARACHI (PR): State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has granted permission to JS Bank to conduct due diligence of KASB Bank for its proposed acquisition. JS Bank has shown interest to carry out due diligence of KASB Bank as part of its long term vision.

JS Bank is one of the fastest growing banks in the country. The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has maintained the long-term rating of JS Bank at “A+” (A Plus) and Short term at A1 (A One) respectively, which further indicates the financial health of the bank and the trust reposed in it by the country’s premier credit rating agency.

LTE handset offer with Bank Alfalah at 0% mark-up
LAHORE (PR): Warid Telecom brings yet another exciting offer in collaboration with Bank Alfalah Limited. The Warid customers using Bank Alfalah Credit Cards can now get LTE handsets on easy installment plans of 6 to 12 months with free LTE Mobile Internet Bundle at absolutely 0% mark-up.

This offer includes latest Samsung, Sony, Nokia and Huawei LTE devices. With 8GB monthly mobile internet bucket, Warid subscribers can enjoy absolutely free high-speed internet either for up to 12 months, depending on their installment plan.Commenting on the launch of this new offer, Mr. Asim Ali, Commercial Director, Warid Telecom said, “Having earned a great brand repute over the years for itself, Warid has always initiated the most affordable and exceptional services for its valued customers.

Rice Importers To Pay 60% Levy In 2015 – FG

 
 The minister of agriculture and rural development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said that as the drive to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in rice production gains momentum, a new policy has been approved to ensure that rice importers pay a tariff of 10 – 60 per cent.“The new policy,” according to an end of year report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development made available to LEADERSHIP, yesterday, “is aimed at discouraging smuggling while leading to a quantum leap in the Backward Integration Programme (BIP),” Adesina said.He added that the policy has attracted more than $1.6 billion of private sector investments and it is expected that Nigeria will become a net exporter of rice just like Thailand or India within the next three years.
The minister said, “The new policy has an inbuilt tariff/levy differential deliberately skewed in favour of investors with verifiable BIP. These investors are allowed to temporarily import brown or finished rice to bridge the present gap in supply and demand and enjoy 10 per cent tariff and 20 per cent levy. On the other hand, mere rice traders will import at 10 per cent tariff and 60 per cent levy.”
The Nigerian local rice industry was, hitherto, comprised of entirely small-scale mills until 2008 when the first large integrated mill commenced operation.“By 2010 the small millers were producing about 60 per cent of parboiled milled rice in Nigeria, estimated at about 3-3.5 million metric tonnes with an estimated total consumption of about 5.5 million metric tonnes,” said the minister.He noted that initially the small mills could not generate products that could match the quality of imported rice because their products were deficient in critical quality attributes, including a lack of uniformity, flavour, odour, high content of broken grains, presence of stones and other extraneous materials, which limited consumer acceptance of lo cally processed rice.
However, the situation, he emphasised, has changed as clusters of small mills have acquired destoners and polishers, and have greatly improved the quality of their product.Speaking on the rice productions trends in Nigerian, Adesina said, “Nigeria rice sector had struggled to keep pace with post-civil war rising demands and driven by the oil boom of the early 1970s, the doors were left open for free import of rice. There was a positive reversal of the negative rice productions trends.”He added that Nigerian farmers have shown positive responsiveness to favourable government policy initiated by the current administration.
Rice industry stakeholders lament over import allocations, Say scheme will derail self-sufficiency efforts

Wednesday, 31 December 2014 21:17 Written by EDITOR
RICE industry stakeholders have cried out to the Federal Government asking that the recent wave of rice import licenses be cancelled outright before investments made by them in the last four years go down the drain. In a protest letter written to the government through the ministers of Finance and Trade and Investments, the stakeholders drew attention to what they called “the recent indiscriminate and wrongful award of import licenses as well as concessions to dubious businessmen with absolutely no investments in the rice sector who are now making millions and billions of naira selling those licenses to importers in the market”
 They warned that the current development in which new comers without experience were favored over and above operators who are at present investing billions in line with the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) threatens their investments. The allocations, the petitioners said, “provide a free ride for smugglers, thereby derailing the objectives on rice self-sufficiency. The country according to reports also stands to lose in excess of N 40 billion through smuggling and loss of customs revenues.”
 The Federal Ministry of Finance stipulated revised lower tariffs for rice imports vide Ministry of Finance Circular BD/FP/TT/50/I/99 dated July 8th 2014 (entitled 2014-2017 Fiscal Policy Measures On Rice).  According to this circular, bonafide “investors with rice milling capacities and verifiable backward integration programme” are entitled to import rice at the revised tariffs of 10% duty rate and 20% levy. As per the same circular, the pure rice traders (with no existing capacities/programme) were to pay a duty of 10% and a levy of 60%.
However, the allocations released by the Ministry of Agriculture include several beneficiaries who do not meet the stipulated criteria issued by the Ministry of Finance in July 2014. A study of the list of beneficiaries of the preferential import quotas, reveals that of the 28 companies, only 16 have mills, while the remaining 12 have no milling capacities but regrettably account for higher imports than the qualified millers.
Investigations also reveal that many of the companies without any proven capacities have already started selling off the quotas to pure importers for a handsome margin, leading to huge loss of customs revenue and defeating the basic purpose of the allocations.   Genuine bonafide investors and industry players in the rice value chain are seeking immediate corrective action from the Ministry of Agriculture through cancellation of allocations and revisions to be effected based on FG’s circular in July 2014. Industry observers feel the Honorable Minister of Agriculture may have been misadvised on the track record and qualification of the beneficiaries, leading to flawed assessment of eligibilities.
Source with thanks: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/national-news/192283-rice-industry-stakeholders-lament-over-import-allocations-say-scheme-will-derail-self-sufficiency-efforts

Pakistani kebabs big hit at Kolkata fair

  
Pakistani kebabs big hit at Kolkata fair
Grilled marinated chicken tikkas and smoking seekh kebabs from Pakistan and rice dishes from Bangladesh with Ilish (hilsa fish) are not only tasty but healthy too, according to chefs from the two countries who are here for a fair. 
Two stalls from the neighbouring countries are not only rustling up delicacies at the ongoing 27th Industrial India Trade Fair here, but also dispelling myths about traditional foods.  Be it the warm platters of aromatic Sindhi Dum Biriyani, or the slow cooked chicken or mutton Nahari stew, the 15 dishes served at the kiosk of Pakistan's Warsi chain of restaurants are much in demand. Despite the rich creamy texture, the items are surprisingly high on nutrition, said chef Md. Arif of the Warsi restaurant that has outlets in Karachi, Lahore and Faizabad. "The cooking techniques that we use across the border, such as grilling and slow cooking, ensure that the nutritive properties of poultry and vegetables are retained," Arif, a resident of Karachi, told the media here.

Arif also swears by the combination of spices used. "The garam masala that we use is very different from the Indian version. When mixed in proper proportions with powdered dry fruit, it doesn't heat up the body too much." "In fact, in the chilly winter, spices and dry fruits are necessary. Our families have been surviving on this for generations without any side-effects," the 49-year-old Arif said about his family's secret spice mix. At the other end, the smell of oil squeezed out from the prized Hilsa fish has been a big draw. 
From Ilish biriyani to Ilish pulao and Ilish khichdi, the fish reigns supreme at the Bangladeshi food outlet. "We use all parts of the fish in our cooking. While the khichdi and pulao have boneless fish pieces, the biriyani has pieces with bones but no eggs. The oil that is used is also derived from the fish," said Atanu Pandit of the Bangladeshi food stall. This ensures no extra oil is needed during the cooking, and the fish in itself is nutritious due to the presence of Omega-3 fatty acids. 
"Ilish is very good for the brain and nervous system. The fusion of rice and fish is healthy. For the set-up here, we have used the Ilish caught in Bangladesh rivers," said Pandit.
Source with thanks: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life


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