January 07, 2015
RECORDER REPORT
Lieutenant General Javed Zia (rted), Ambassador of Pakistan in
Libya and Malta, has urged the establishment of a commercial organisation for
the promotion of Pakistani exports to Libya and Malta and other surrounding
countries. Addressing the rice exporters during a luncheon meeting held in his
honour by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) at REAP House, Karachi
here on Tuesday, he said that Libya and Malta could play a very supportive role
for the increase in Pakistan's exports, however, there was a need to form a
commercial/trade organisation for the promotion of exports to Libya and Malta.
"We believe a commercial organization can play a vital role
in the promotion of Pakistani export as due to a unique location, Malta may
become the trade hub for Pakistani exporters and they can get access to
surrounding European countries," he added. Zia informed that there were
many opportunities for Pakistani exporters in Libya and with some efforts
Pakistani traders could dominate in these developing markets. He offered rice
exporters to set up a Display Centre in Pakistan Embassy in Libya free of cost
to promote Pakistani products particularly rice. Whereas, in Malta with a very
minimum investment, exporters could increase the exports of Pakistani products,
such as cotton, rice, textile, construction and other food items. "Libya has been declared in war
status and Pakistani exporters can take the advantage of the current
circumstances by exporting cement and other construction-related items.
" He also appreciated the steps of the government of Pakistan
for the evacuation of Pakistanis in Libya during the war and for providing some
Rs 400 million for this purpose. Earlier, Rafique Suleman, Chairman REAP,
briefed the ambassador that although there were multiple opportunities in Libya
and Malta, Pakistani exporters of rice could not have fully availed them. "Pakistan exported about 270
metric tons amounting $312,517 rice during last fiscal year (FY14). He further
informed that Kenya and China had been emerged as the largest importers of
Pakistani Rice, as Kenya has imported 463,441 metric tons amounting to $176.875
million and China has imported 353,675 metric tons amounting to $128.068
million," he said and added that China and Kenya mainly imports Iri-6 from
Pakistan.
He hoped that with mutual efforts and appropriate measures
Pakistan could export rice to Libya and Malta. On the occasion, Rafique
announced that REAP would send a high profile trade delegation of REAP to Libya
and Malta to find the new export-oriented opportunities in both countries.
Lieutenant General Javed Zia (R) assured of his full support and co-operation
in making the delegation fruitful and successful for Pakistani trade. Chela Ram
Kewlani, former chairman REAP, Jawed Ali Ghori, Usman Shaikh, Khalid Paracha,
Fuwad Garib, Muhammad Amjad, Bashir and others were also present on the
occasion.
Sugar millers, growers
at loggerhead
January
08, 2015
KARACHI: A group of sugar millers and growers are at loggerhead
over the pricing of sugarcane despite the fact the Supreme Court and high
courts of various provinces have validated prices set by the provincial
governments.
The sugar price has been set at Rs 182 per tonne in Sindh and Rs
182 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but a large number of sugar millers are
reluctant to purchase sugarcane from farmers at these rates. Sindh Chamber of
Agriculture President Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar said the sugarcane crop is being
wasted due to advertent delays by the millers that will cost farmers billions
of rupees. Speaking on a TV show "The Market Show" on Wednesday, he
said the delay in crushing of sugarcane could affect the crop at large, whereas
the season of wheat sowing has began.
Replying to the queries of anchor
Ali Nasir, he said the provincial government raiused the sugarcane prices as
per annual increment of Rs 10 per tonne after evaluation of farmers' input
cost, but millers insist on reducing its price without any justification. He
added that sugarcane has been cultivated at times when the diesel prices were
on higher side, whereas input cost were also high, but millers were demanding
sugarcane purchase price of Rs 155 per tonne, which is a bad deal for farmers.
Initially, sugar millers had taken a stay against prices set by the government
in different high courts, but their appeals were rejected. Later, they moved
the Supreme Court which endorsed the verdict of higher courts.
Sindh Enterprises Development Fund Managing Director
Mehboobul Haq said farmers have no place to market and stock their products.
"The market needs buyers and growers basically, hence simple mechanism is
being developed in which farmers and buyers could meet and sign deals without
any middleman," he said, adding that private sector is reluctant towards
expansion, but keen for high bottom-line within controlled expenses, which is
not possible in long-term, as investment is needed for higher and continuous
returns.
There are various market mechanisms developed in international
markets to benefit growers and farmers through cooperative business model and
the provincial government is seriously working to replicate different models
with customised needs of the local farmers and producers. He added that a
country's food security depends on agriculture sector, and it has a strategic
position in the world.It is widely believed that future wars in economic and political
fronts will be fought over water and agriculture. Pakistan has a significant
agriculture produce, special cash crops, fruits and vegetables, with
significant location base near Middle East countries, but value addition of
agri-products is very limited.
He added that Sindh Enterprise Development Fund is an initiative
for providing institutional framework towards promotion of value addition,
however, it is a gradual process not an overnight phenomenon. "We have
upgraded rice mills through BMR and the result and inevitable rice millers were
reluctant initially but they realized to upgrade their units which could be
seen now as benefits and high pricing.
We need to select the cluster and target them to
develop through planning and policies. We are focusing on those clusters that
are being deprived of investments, but will get immediate response in terms of
return such as horticulture and forticulture."
Wheat
per acre yield declines, rice’s increases
Shahid Iqbal
KARACHI: Despite tall claims about better agriculture productivity,
the country’s main crop wheat has shown a declining trend in per acre yield
during the last four years.The State Bank’s latest Statistical Bulletin issued
on Monday showed the per acre yield achieved in 2010 could not be achieved
again in the next three years.The per acre yield of wheat in 2010-11 was
2,933kg while in 2013-14 it dropped to 2,797kg per acre.However, the area for
cultivation of wheat increased during the last four years from 8.901 million
acres in 2010-11 to 9.039m acres in 2013-14.Wheat is the biggest crop and the
staple food for many millions but neither the government nor the private sector
seems to have made significant efforts to improve the low yield.
A significant development is that private banks have started
disbursing credit in this sector.The State Bank has set Rs500 billion target
for the agriculture loans for 2014-15. The banks disbursed Rs98bn during first
quarter (July-Sept) of this fiscal year compared to Rs70.8bn doled out in the
corresponding period last year, showing a growth of 38 per cent.While yield for
wheat dropped, other major crops showed improvement during the same period.The
rice per acre yield was much higher than the three years earlier.
It went up to 2,437kg in
2013-14 from 2,039kg in 2010-11, a 20pc increase.The massive production has
created a rice glut in the local market as the exporters could not benefit from
high yielding rice crop.The area under cultivation of rice also increased
during the period from 2,365 acres to 2,789 acres in 2013-14.Cotton production
also increased from 725kg per acre to 774kg per acre during the four years.
Yield per acre of maize increased to 4,053kg from 3,806kg per acre during this
period.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2015
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Mubarak Zeb Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Minis¬try of Commerce has evolved a strategy
for a share in the agriculture and food market of the Russian federation and in
this regard five products including citrus varieties, potato, rice, dairy
products and tobacco have been identified for exports.Talking to Dawn an
official of the ministry said a business delegation of leading food exporters
will visit Russia by end of January.The delegation will interact with Russian
buyers to identify the routes and mode of payment during the period of US trade
sactions on Russia.
Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $419.34
million in 2013-14 as against $484.47m in the previous year, reflecting a
decline of $65.13m or 13.45 per cent. The decline is mainly driven by falling
Pakistan’s exports to Russia, which fell by 10.36pc during the period under
review.Currently, Pakistan’s major export items to Russia include woven cotton
fabrics, fruit and fruit preparations, synthetic fabrics, rice all sorts,
articles of apparel other than textile material, vegetables, medical and
surgical instruments.
According to a ministry document, Russian food and
agriculture imports stood at $43 billion last year. The major imports include
beef products, dairy products, citrus, tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, fish,
apples, pears etc.Pakistan’s average exports of citrus to Russia stood at
$41.779m in the year 2013-14, a 2.480pc share in the total imports of Russia
from the global imports of citrus which stood at $1.60bn.
“Russians have taste for seedless varieties of citrus,” the
official said. He added the demand for Pakistani citrus is on the rise but it
needs proper marketing and facilitation to exporters.Major exporters of citrus
to Russia include Turkey ($431m) and Spain ($103m). The rest of the exports are
shared by Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and China.The second potential item is
potato. Its exports to Russia stood at $16.182m, a share of 6.933pc in the
Russian total imports of potatoes. There is a great potential in export of
potatoes to Russia once Pakistan improves its quarantine and quality standards.
The leading exporters of potatoes to Russia are Egypt ($233
million), the Netherlands ($27 million). Other exporters include China and
Azerbaijan.Rice is another product, of which Pakistan is the 4th largest
exporters to the world. Russia has imposed ban on imports of rice from Pakistan
in the year 2011 but it was lifted in April 2012. This decision has led to a
loss in share of Pakistan’s exports of rice to Russia and diverted the trade to
India.
The official said that exporters will be facilitated to
enhance rice exports to Russia. Currently, Vietnam is the major exporter of
rice to Russia followed by Thailand and Myanmar.Russian imports of dairy
products stood at $4.3bn, alone $3bn from the Euro¬pean countries. Russia
im¬¬p¬orted $2.2bn cheese and curd.
“Pakistan is one of the leading milk producers in the world
and has a fair chance of grabbing value added exports of dairy products,” the
official added.Pakistan’s export of tobacco stood at $1.380m, which is 0.119pc
share of the Russian total imports. The share in frozen vegetables exports is
1.020pc ($1.06m) of the total Russian global imports.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2015
Source with thanks:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1155375/5-items-identified-for-export-to-russia
China extends permits on GM rice and corn research
The government has renewed permits allowing scientists to grow
three varieties of genetically modified rice and corn in China, more than three
months after they had expired, suggesting the technology has the continued
backing of the authorities.Some scientists had feared that the Ministry of
Agriculture may halt research work on the foods.Anecdotal evidence suggests
that some people in China are wary about the safety of GM crops, amid a
succession of food safety scandals on the mainland.
GM rice cannot be sold as food in China, with the government
saying it has to be sure that new strains are safe, but the country already
imports huge amounts of genetically modified soya beans, mainly from the United
States.The permits issued by the Ministry of Agriculture allow two scientific
research groups to produce two types of pest-resistant rice and a type of
high-yield corn for five years, according to a report by the Communist Party
mouthpiece People’s Daily.
The fresh permits allow the scientists to grow the crops in open
fields and gather data about potentially releasing the strains to farmers in
the future.
Agriculture remains our greatest hope
Posted by Online on Jan 7th, 2015
When the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI) was set up in Los Banos, Laguna, in 1960, with the
support of the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Philippine
government, it proceeded to undertake research that led to the development of
new and improved rice varieties and of rice crop management techniques and
practices.Many of our neighbors in Southeast Asia have benefitted from this
research. Thailand and Vietnam today produce rice surpluses which they export
to the world. It is a bit of irony that the Philippines, where the IRRI did all
its research on a 250-hectare experimental farm at Los Banos, is today the
biggest importer of Thai and Vietnamese rice.Filipino scientists and
researchers are known the world over.
The latest to be recognized was
Dr. William Dollente Dar, who was honored last month for his work at the
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in
India where he served for 15 years. He was cited for redirecting the
institute’s emphasis from research for the sake of researching, to research
that would actually benefit farmers. He saw to it that the institute’s studies
on drought-resistant crops – peas, sorghum, millet, etc. – reached small
farmers.Dr. Dar introduced four pillars of agriculture that he developed at
ICRISAT – namely, including farmers as part of the process of development,
science-based agriculture, resilient agriculture that responds to climate
change, and a market orientation focused on making farming a profitable
business.
Dar served as Secretary of Agriculture in
President Joseph Estrada’s short-lived administration in 1998 before moving on
to ICRISAT in 1999.Agricultural research continues today in the Philippines and
around the world. Among its latest achievements is the development of
flood-resistant rice varieties. This could be the answer to the repeated losses
of our rice farmers in Northern Luzon who periodically lose their harvests when
a typhoon brings rains that flood their fields.Agriculture remains the greatest
hope of our country’s economy and people. We may develop our industries and our
services sector; we may provide jobs to our young people in tourism and in
business outsourcing.
But the Philippines is a
primarily agricultural country and the great majority of our people live in the
rural areas.We have the land and the rivers and rains to make it fertile. And
we have the scientists and researchers and capable administrators, such as Dr.
Dar. With these resources, we should focus on agriculture as the center of our
anti-poverty, our job-creation, and our over-all national economic development
program.
DA: WV likely to surpass
2.1 million MT palay target
ILOILO CITY -– The Department of Agriculture here is optimistic
that Western Visayas could surpass its palay production target in 2014 pegged
at 2.1 million metric tons amid challenges caused by climate change.Larry
Nacionales, DA regional executive director (RED) for Western Visayas, disclosed
that data on rice production is now being finalized but initially it is already
more than two million metric tons.
He explained that rice planting was affected by the dry season from
June to July 2014.Supposedly, the harvest period will be in September but due
to the weather condition, the planting was moved to the November to December
period and is due for harvest first quarter of 2015.This is similar with the
production in 2013 when the region experienced a good harvest from January to
June but there was low production during the wet season after typhoons affected
maturing and standing crops.“Nonetheless, we would still exceed two million
metric tons,” he said.
He added that the region still is one of the highest nationwide in
terms of rice-sufficiency as he cited that the sufficiency level may reach up
to 117 percent.Western Visayas shares around 12 percent of the national total
production.“If the production is good this wet season, we hope to achieve this
year's target of 2.2 million metric tons,” he added.Meanwhile, Nacionales said
that other commodities of the region are performing well such as corn and
mango.Nationwide, Western Visayas ranked first in carabao production and third
in swine.Banana was affected by super typhoon Yolanda but Nacionales hoped that
it could recover this year. *PNA
Vietnam sets rice export
prices for Philippine demand
Reuters
Posted at 01/07/2015 5:59 PM | Updated as of 01/07/2015 6:13 PM
HANOI - Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter, has
set export prices in preparation to meet an import demand of 187,000 tonnes by
Philippine private traders, which may lead to lower price levels in early 2015,
traders said on Wednesday.Last month, the Philippines' state grains procurement
agency allowed private traders to import 187,000 tonnes of rice and said
shipments must arrive on or before Feb. 28.Exporters must sell the 5-percent
broken rice to Philippine importers at $385 a tonne, free-on-board Saigon Port,
industry body the Vietnam Food Association said in a Dec. 31 statement seen by
Reuters on Wednesday.The floors are $375 a tonne for the 10-percent broken
grade and $365 a tonne for the 15-percent broken grade, the statement said. All
the prices are valid between Jan. 1-31.Previously, the association set the
export price floor for the 25-percent broken variety at $380 a tonne as of Nov.
25, 2014.
"The export prices for the Philippines now are lower than
the previous floor, so it could be the new benchmark for other orders,"
said a Vietnamese trader in Ho Chi Minh City.The 5-percent broken rice was
quoted this week at $380-$390 a tonne, FOB basis, widening from $385-$390 per
tonne quoted before the New Year holidays, while buyers were still absent and
stocks remained low, traders said.Vietnam could export 7 million tonnes to 7.5
million tonnes of rice this year, mainly to China and Southeast Asian
countries, after shipping around 7.5 million tonnes in 2014, a state-run online
news site said, citing industry targets.
The Philippines, Vietnam's second-biggest rice buyer in 2014
after China, is expected to import between 1.5 million and 2 million tonnes
from Vietnam this year, the Customs Department news site said, citing Vietnam
Food Association projections.
50 DPCs opened for procuring paddy
District Collector S. Palanisamy inaugurating the
direct purchase centre for paddy at Pattamangalam village in Nagapattinam
district on Monday.— Photo: DIPR
Five lakh
tonnes fixed as procurement target for Nagapattinam district
The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies
Corporation has opened 50 direct purchase centres (DPCs) for procuring paddy
from farmers during the samba and thaladi harvest season.Disclosing this after
inaugurating the procurement for the Kharif season at a DPC at Pattamangalam village
in Keezhvelur taluk, Collector S.Palanisamy said that initially 15 DPCs have
been opened in Nagapattinam division and 35 in Mayiladuthurai division.More
DPCs would be opened depending on the requirement. If there were more than 300
bags at a single place, a mobile DPC would visit the spot to procure the paddy
from the farmers, he said.
Paddy has been raised on 1.02
lakh hectares during the samba season in the district. A procurement target of
five lakh tonnes has been fixed for the district.Farmers would get Rs.1,410 a
quintal for common variety and Rs.1,470 a quintal for fine variety at the DPCs.
TNCSC employees have been instructed to ensure that farmers did not face any
problem in selling their produce at the DPCs. Adequate cash and stock of gunny
bags have been kept ready.Mr.Palanisamy instructed officials to ensure that
farmers were not made to wait for long to sell their produce at the DPCs.Nagai
Mali, MLA, M.Radhakrishnan, Senior Regional Manager, TNCSC, and other officials
were present.
Iran ban, Iraq duty hike to take a toll on rice exporters
Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau Jan 6, 2015, 12.35PM IST
KOLKATA: India's rice exporters may end the current fiscal on a damp note as Iraq has doubled the import duty to 40%, while Iran has clamped an outright ban at a time when price realisation has
slipped 15-20% in overseas markets.A senior official of All India Rice Exporters' Association(AIREA) told ET that traders are currently shipping only rice consignments
with permits of last year to Iran. "We are hoping that Iran will lift the
ban. We are planning to send a delegation to Iran in early February to sort out
the issue," said the official, requesting not to be named.The official
added that the sudden increase in import duty by Iraq has come as a major blow
and it is bound to impact exports to the country.
According to an estimate by exporters, basmati shipments are
likely to come down to 35 lakh tonne from 37 lakh tonne in the previous
year.Iran has barred rice from other countries as its local crop is reported to
be good this year and is set to arrive in the market there.The country imported
over 12.5 lakh tonne of rice during April-July 2014, compared with 14.5 lakh
tonnes in the year-ago period.In the past two years, Iran has bought over 2.5
million tonne of basmati rice from India.The average price
realisation has declined to $800-1,100 per tonne from $1,0001,300 per tonne
last year.
Exports of basmati rice in the first seven months of the current
fiscal declined over 8% to 19.36 lakh tonne from 21.13 lakh tonnes in the
year-ago period. However, exports of non-basmati rice between April and October
2014 stayed almost the same as in the previous year, at about 4.2 lakh
tonne.The lacklustre export demand of basmati rice has pushed down prices in
the domestic market as well, with farmers getting Rs 3,200 per quintal for Pusa
1121 crop, compared with Rs 4,100 last year.Retail prices of basmati rice may
fall further in the domestic market if exports slump, said Bal Krishna Mittal,
managing director of Gurdaspur Overseas, which deals in basmati rice.Output
of basmati rice in the kharif, or summer, season in 2014 was robust at about 81
lakh tonnes, up from 66 lakh tonnes in the previous year.
Source with thanks :The Economic Times India
I mark for basmati delayed as MP cos, farmers oppose APEDA
Apeda representatives said GI registration should be seen from a
"national interest" perspective, as Pakistan also is claiming rights
over Basmati
January 7, 2015 Last Updated at 22:32 IST
While the Agriculture and Processed
Food Products Export Development Agency (Apeda) is in a hurry to
register the geographical indication (GI) for
Basmati rice, the agency’s legal battles with Madhya Pradesh-based
companies and farmers are delaying the process. Basmati Growers Association of
Pakistan has also challenged Apeda’s move.
Apeda representatives said the
GI registration should be seen from a “national interest” perspective, as Pakistan
is also claiming rights over Basmati.
Apeda and the Madhya Pradesh government and growers have been locked in a
dispute on whether the Basmati grown in these parts has the characteristics of
original Basmati grown in Uttarakhand, claimed for inclusion in GI registry.The
agency has challenged the GI Registry order, asking them to amend the
application for registration to include the uncovered area, including certain
areas in Madhya Pradesh, before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board
(IPAB).The legal battle is on at IPAB, in Chennai. On Monday, when various
appeals and petitions related to the GI registration had come up, a new
petition was filed by MP-based New Darpan Social Welfare Society to implead in
the case.
During the hearing,
IPAB chairman K N Basha and technical member (trade marks) Sanjeev
Kumar Chaswal posted the matter for hearing to the last week of February . The
Board has heard six of the nine applications, related to the matter and need to
hear the Basmati Growers Association from Pakistan, along with another
application from Daawat Foods, a leading company in the business.A K Gupta,
director of Apeda, said, “We must have the GI for Basmati before others start
claiming and it is important from the global perceptive as the matter is of
national interest.” He added if everybody starts claiming and growing, it
would lead to oversupply. This will have consequences on farmers.
Apeda is defending the GI of Basmati grown in two districts of Jammu and
Kashmir, undivided Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh and
Delhi.“We are in a bit of hurry to register the GI in India,” the counsel for
Apeda told IPAB on Monday.Experts said if Apeda includes MP, other states will
claim it, too. This would make the GI weak. The Pakistani claim says: “Basmati
is a name for a slender, aromatic and long-grain variety of
rice grown in the specific geographical area at the foothills of the
Himalayas in Pakistan.”Three years ago, it was proposed that both India and
Pakistan apply for a GI but for various political and legal reasons, the plan
was dropped.
Source with thanks: The Business Standard
Rice may become first crop in cap-and-trade program
Posted: Wednesday, January
7, 2015 12:08 am
Rice could soon become the first
crop in California's cap-and-trade program, but it is unclear if the program
provides enough incentives to motivate farmers to change their growing
practices.In a December meeting, the California Air Resources Board directed
staff to begin the process for including rice in the cap-and-trade program,
which is part of a statewide program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
levels by 2020.
The idea is to provide economic incentives for
major investment in cleaner technologies and conservation practices. It's a key
element of California's greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy and a
component of the state's ba tle against climate change, according to a staff
report.The program would allow rice farmers to sell carbon emission allowances,
which they can accrue by changing their growing practices to reduce the number
of days rice fields are flooded during the growing season.
The proposed voluntary program
offers two ways for farmers to receive carbon credit.The first is to switch
from wet seeding, when farmers plant seeds into already-flooded fields, to dry
seeding, where farmers drill or scatter into a dry or moist seedbed. The
practice could result in an additional seven to 10 non-flooded days during the
cultivation season, according to the CARB staff report.The other method is to
drain the rice fields during harvest seven to 10 days earlier than in a normal
drainage schedule.
The carbon offset credits would
only be offered during the growing season, so as not to affect the amount of
days rice fields are flooded in the winter — fields that are utilized by
migratory birds for habitat and food.Climate change will affect virtually every
sector of California's economy and most of its ecosystems, according to a
report from the 2010 Climate Action Team. California is particularly vulnerable
to climate change due to its coastal properties, reliance on snowpack for water
supply and vulnerability to forest fires.The issue with the rice cap-and-trade
program is that, with the current price of carbon, there is not a strong
economic incentive for growers to change their practices, said Paul Buttner,
manager of environmental affairs for the California Rice Commission.
Farmers can sell carbon offsets or
allowances to industries or other entities that produce greenhouse gases. Such
entities can neutralize their own emissions by purchasing the carbon credits at
quarterly auctions run by the Air Resources Control Board."The revenue
potential is quite modest, easily less than 1 percent of the cost to produce
rice," Buttner said. "They're going to have to be keenly interested
to make that a priority."Tom Butler has been planting rice with the
dry-seeding method at his Robbins-area farm in Sutter County since 2007. He has
participated in a pilot program for the cap-and-trade proposal since
2011.Butler said dry-seeding practices have increased his yield and weed
control. But he cautioned his property is ideal for dry-seeding, which requires
the land to drain quickly. Farmers in areas where the soil is thick with clay
will not have such success with dry seeding, Butler said.
"The pilot program found that
there is some benefit there, but it's not a gigantic windfall (of
revenue)," Butler said. "I would have a hard time seeing any farmer
doing it to get an extra $4 of $5 per acre. In the short and long term, I don't
think that will be viable."Buttner said the price of carbon could increase
in the future."If it doubles or triples, that would make the economics
more attractive," Buttner said. "There's value in building this
program and developing it for growers."The price of California carbon
allowance futures has dropped markedly since reaching $23.75 in September 2012.
The price had fallen to $12.58 as of Dec. 24, according to data from the Intercontinental
Exchange.
What it means
Flooded rice fields create habitat
for microorganisms that eat and digest plant matter and, as a byproduct,
produce methane, a greenhouse gas.Methane emissions from rice fields account
for 0.1 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United State,
according to a California Air Resource Board staff report.Rice would be the
first crop included in a carbon cap-and-trade program and has a potential
offset supply of 0.5 to three million metric tons of carbon, according to the
report.The proposed action would not eliminate existing businesses and would
not affect the creation of new businesses or the expansion of existing
businesses.
It would not eliminate jobs or
affect the creation of jobs, according to the staff report.There will be a
comment period on including rice in the cap-and-trade program in late February.
The final vote to approve the program is not expected until mid-2015, said Paul
Buttner, manager of environmental affairs for the California Rice
Commission."The vote last month was unanimous to move the program
forward," Buttner said. "It's likely that the measure will pass the
next vote."
— Andrew Creasey
Rice farmers want export restrictions against Cuba lifted
Posted: Jan 06, 2015 5:34 PM PSTUpdated: Jan 06, 2015 5:34 PM PST
By Theresa Schmidt
A group of rice farmers and others from our region will
travel to Washington D.C. to lobby for trade restrictions to be lifted to allow
exports to Cuba.Since 1962 there's been an embargo in place that prevented
exports to Cuba-- except for a brief period during the Clinton
administration.Rice farmers like Brian Wild from Jeff Davis Parish say allowing
rice exports to Cuba would make a big difference for growers in this
region. "It would make a tremendous difference to me. Our
prices are down about 20 to 25 percent from last year.
They're below our cost of production. I've heard
figures as high as this market could mean as much as two billion dollars to
Louisiana and to the south as a whole."Besides, Wild says the embargo
hasn't accomplished anything."It's not an embargo against Cuba, it's an
embargo against the Louisiana rice farmers because that market was taken from
us and Castro is still, he's getting his rice. They're importing their
rice from Vietnam now, so they're still getting rice.
"Wild and other farmers attended a rice and
soybean clinic in Welsh. LSU AgCenter economist Dr. Mike Salassi says it
would be a major market for farmers here:"To rice farmers in Louisiana it
will mean a very close, major export market that's going to increase the demand
for their product, which is going to increase the price that they receive and
so that's why there's such interest.Salassi says a mechanism is needed to
transfer money between the two countries
."One of the major limitations or restrictions
with trade right now is having a banking system or banking arrangement with
Cuba that can facilitate international trade and that's one of the factors that
the producers and the rice industry of the United States and Louisiana are
working toward to try to get financial arrangements established so that trade
can occur between the two countries." Wild and others including
millers and processors, plan to travel to Washington D.C. to lobby for
relaxed restrictions to allow rice exports to Cuba.
Louisiana Rice Farmers Announce Plans
for State Meeting
JENNINGS, LA --
The Louisiana Rice Council (LARC) and the Louisiana Rice Growers Association
(LARGA), Louisiana's two largest grower organizations, have scheduled their
annual joint membership meeting for Tuesday, February 10. The meeting will be held at a new location,
the Grande Marais Center here, and will open with a trade show and reception at
4 p.m. followed by the program at 5:45 p.m.
Dinner will be served.
Eric Unkel
"This
meeting provides an annual report to rice farmers on programs funded by the
Louisiana rice promotion check-off as well as timely information on other
important issues," said Eric Unkel, a rice farmer from Allen Parish and
LARC president. "I encourage all
rice industry stakeholders to attend."The featured speaker will be Kevin
Norton, state conservationist, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural
Resources Conservation Service, who will discuss conservation opportunities for
rice farmers through Farm Bill programs.
USA Rice Federation staff will report on the Federation's activities and
promotional achievements. Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain will address
issues of concern to the Louisiana rice industry.
Jeffery Sylvester
"This is the largest gathering of rice farmers in the state
each year," said Jeffery Sylvester, an Evangeline Parish rice farmer and
LARGA president. "It's what makes
this event the perfect place to display rice-related equipment, technology,
products and services, and show support for the Louisiana rice industry."
USA Rice also will
participate in the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association Annual Membership
meeting on Wednesday, February 11, 11 a.m. at Dean Lee Experiment station in
Alexandria, LA, and the Northeast LA Rice Growers Association Rice Forum on
Thursday, February 12, 9 a.m. at the Delhi Civic Center in Delhi, LA. For
information on the meetings, including sponsorship and exhibit opportunities,
contact Randy Jemison.
Contact: Randy Jemison (337)
738-7009
Source
with thanks:USA Rice Federation
Two more varieties of hybrid rice introduced
The new
varieties, BADC Hybrid Dhan 2 and Buyer Hybrid Dhan 4, were released on Monday,
each variety having the capacity of producing around six tonnes of paddy per
hectare
The government has introduced two
more varieties of hybrid rice for cultivation aiming to boost the rice
production in the country.The new varieties, BADC Hybrid Dhan 2 and Buyer
Hybrid Dhan 4, were released on Monday, each variety having the capacity of
producing around six tonnes of paddy per hectare.Anwar Faruque, director
general of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Seed Wing, said the government gives
priority to the cultivation of more hybrid varieties to boost the food
production in the country, and introducing the two new hybrid varieties is a
part of that.
According to the Department of
Agriculture Extension (DAE), the annual paddy production, in Bangladesh is
around 3.38 million tonnes.The paddy production using traditional and locally
developed high-yielding varieties are two tonnes and 3.8 tonnes per hectare,
respectively. The paddy production using hybrid seed is 4.7 tonnes per hectare.
Of the new hybrid paddy
varieties, the BADC Hybrid Dhan 2, sourced from China by Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), has the production capacity of
6.5-7.2 tonnes per hectare, and the Buyer Hybrid 4, sourced from India by Bayer
Crop Science, has the production capacity of 6-6.5 tonnes per hectare, sources
at the ministry said.Around 10-12% of the total paddy production in the country
came from hybrid seeds, which is very low in volume, said Anwar, who is also an
additional secretary at the ministry.
“The government is trying to
enhance the use of hybrid seeds to get more production in the gradually
reducing agricultural land to ensure food security of the country,” he
added.The state-owned Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has developed
62 varieties of paddy so far. Of them, the number of hybrid varieties is only
six.A total of 132 varieties of hybrid paddy have been introduced in
Bangladesh. Of them, the BADC developed two varieties, the BRRI developed six,
and the rest were developed by private companies.
Chinese High-Yield Rice Tech to go to
Bangladesh
Andrian Darylle
Torralba |
Jan 07, 2015 11:50 AM
EST
(Photo : Creative Commons: Flickr)
China is sharing its high-yield rice planting technology with the
people of Bangladesh.According to BD News 24, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul
Hassan Mahmood Ali announced a rice research center will be set up in
Bangladesh. This after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi paid his country a
visit.The Bangladeshi foreign minister said the meeting was a success, and that
he believes this has strengthened the relationship between both countries.
"It's a big development (transferring technology of high-yield
rice)," Ali said.
He also pointed out that food
production in Bangladesh needs to be increased and that rice-growing technology
used by the Chinese people will really help them in this area. To make the
relationship even stronger, China has decided to invest US$1.2 billion to
finance the transfer project.In addition to the technology transfer and setting
up the rice research center in Bangladesh, there were five areas of cooperation
the countries agreed to prioritize. Agriculture, trade, energy, industry, and
infrastructure made it to the list.The relocation of several Chinese factories
to Bangladesh was also discussed during the meeting.Power plants and oil and
gas exploration projects were also discussed during the meeting between the two
foreign ministers. Setting up a specialized economic trade zone in Bangladesh
was also raised.
China helps Fiji reduce reliance on
imported rice
Source:Xinhua Published: 2015-1-7 14:12:28
________________________________________
A team of rice experts from China helped Fiji to implement a rice
development program worth some 5 million US dollars in Vanua Levu, Fiji's major
northern island, the Fijian government announced Wednesday.Uraia Waibuta,
acting permanent secretary of Fiji's Ministry of Agriculture said the Chinese
expert team is in the South Pacific island country to demonstrate and train
farmers and agriculture officers the technologies to increase rice production,
to improve local varieties and introduce best cultivation techniques to local
rice farmers, according to the Department of Information.
The team is expected to work at the Northern Dreketi Irrigation
Project on 200 hectares of rice land extension and also at the Koronivia
Research Station for rice seeds experiment and research.
A memorandum of understanding between China and Fiji has been
signed to boost rice production in Fiji.The China Shandong International
Economic and Technical Cooperation Group Limited in technical partnership with
world- known hybrid rice seeds company, Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture
Company Limited are expected to work together with Fiji's Ministry of
Agriculture in producing more rice locally.Fiji currently imports some 20
million US dollar worth of rice annually, the Department of Information said,
adding that " the assistance provided by the Chinese rice experts is an
opportunity for Fiji to reduce its rice import bill".
Posted in: Diplomacy
Source with thanks://www.globaltimes.cn/content/900434.shtml
Minister confident rice self
sufficiency in less than three years
Rabu, 7 Januari 2015 20:46 WIB
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said he
is confident self sufficiency in rice would be reached in less than three
years.The minister said here on Wednesday, President Joko Widodo sets the self
sufficiency target for rice, corn and soybean in three years."Rice self
sufficiency would be reached in less than three years. We set the target for
ourselves that in 2016 we would be self sufficient in rice supply," he
said. He said the government has set aside Rp20 trillion to reach the food self
sufficiency including Rp16 trillion from the state budget and Rp4 trillion in
Special Allocation Fund (DAK).In addition, the ministry has allocated Rp4.1
trillion in fund set aside for less productive sectors to productive sectors to
speed up the process to reach the target, he said.
The productive sectors include irrigation system, seed and
fertilizer procurement as well as procurement of farming tools and machines, he
said on the sidelines of the installation of new Food Crop Director General
Hasil Sembiring. "So far damaged irrigation channels, inefficiency in
seeds, fertilizers and farming tools and machines have been the main factors
failure in achieving food self sufficiency," he said. Meanwhile Hasil
Sembiring also said he was confident the food self sufficiency target could be
achieved. Hasil Sembiring, who was former head of the Sukamdani Rice Research
Center, replaced Udoro Kasih Anggoro as the new food crop director general.He
said he had no special program, adding he needs only to carry out the program
is already set by the minister.(*)
