Saturday, October 01, 2016

1st October,2016 daily global,regional and local rice e-newsletter by riceplus magazine

Punjab to produce 160L metric tonnes paddy


TNN | Updated: Sep 30, 2016, 07.16 AM IST
The Tamil Nadu government has increased the minimum support price for paddy

CHANDIGARH: Punjab hopes to procure 160 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy this year. Of this, PUNGRAIN would procure 24%, PUNSUP 23%, Markfed 23%, Agro 10%, FCI 12%, state's warehousing corporation 08% in all the 1,830 purchase centers set up across the state. The proposal regarding cash credit limit (CCL) has been sent by finance department to RBI for availing CCL of Rs. 26089.80 crore for the purchase of 132 LMT paddy by the state agencies. FCI will make its own arrangements for the funds required for purchase of paddy. Punjab food and civil supplies minister Adaish Pratap Singh Kairon has directed all the heads of the state procurement agencies and especially, the general manager FCI Punjab region to personally supervise the paddy procurement operations across the state beginning from October 1 so as to ensure prompt lifting of paddy as per their allotted share of procurement.


The field staff would work day and night to procure the stocks even on the weekends and government holidays. The departments have been asked to ensure that there would be no shortage of gunny bags for storage of grains, he added. The state mandi board officials will make sure of arrangements in mandis to produce and to have proper sanitation facilities. The government of India has fixed MSP for paddy Rs 1,510 per quintal for Grade A and Rs 1,470 per quintal for common variety of paddy.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Punjab-to-produce-160L-metric-tonnes-paddy/articleshow/54595641.cms


Punjab all set to start paddy procurement from Oct 1

Friday, 30 September 2016 | PNS | Chandigarh | in Chandigarh
Eying 160 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) paddy, Punjab is all set to start paddy procurement from October 1. State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adaish Pratap Singh Kairon has directed all the heads of the state procurements agencies, especially the General Manager of Food Corporation of India (FCI), Punjab region, to personally supervise the procurement operations across the state beginning from October 1 so as to ensure prompt lifting of paddy as per their allotted share of procurement. 
Punjab was expecting to procure 160 LMT of paddy this year. Of the total paddy, PUNGRAIN would procure 24 percent, PUNSUP 23 percent, Markfed 23 percent, Agro 10 percent, FCI 12 percent, and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation eight percent in all the 1830 purchase centers set up across the state.
Kairon, reviewing the arrangements of the paddy procurement for Kharif Season 2016-17 in the state, said that all out efforts should be made to ensure smooth, hassle-free and quick procurement of paddy on one hand and facilitate the farmers in getting timely payment of their produce on the other.
He categorically said that farmers of the state should not be put to any inconvenience for the sale of their produce in the mandis.
“Good quality sturdy gunny bags with accurate weight would be ensured while packing the produce. The officers concerned have been especially asked to visit the mandis during the procurement and ensure smooth lifting. He said the field staff would work day and night to procure the stocks even on Saturdays and Sundays and also on government holidays,” said Kairon.
The Minister has also asked the officers concerned to ensure that there would be no shortage of gunny bags for storage of grains, while asking the Punjab Mandi Board officials to make sure of arrangements in mandis to save produce and to have proper sanitation facilities.
Centre has fixed MSP for paddy Rs 1510 per quintal for Grade A and Rs 1470 per quintal for common variety of Paddy.
Proposal regarding Cash Credit Limit has been sent by Finance Department to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on for availing CCL limit of Rs 26,089.80 crore for the purchase of 132 LMT paddy by the state agencies. FCI will make its own arrangements for the funds required for purchase of paddy.
Kairon made a fervent appeal to all the farmers to bring dry clean and fully matured paddy to the mandis and at the same time, he has asked the district administration not to allow paddy harvesting during night time as the moisture in atmosphere is more at night than during the day time
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions//punjab-all-set-to-start-paddy-procurement-from-oct-1.html

Export woes cut kharif basmati sowing by 25% in Punjab, Haryana

The sowing of basmati rice across the key growing areas of Punjab and Haryana has seen a sharp fall of 25% to 1.57 million hectares this kharif season from close to 2 million hectares reported in 2015.

By: Sandip Das | New Delhi | Updated: September 30, 2016 7:19 AM
The BEDF report said that in western Uttar Pradesh, the area under basmati rice has reduced by close to 22% to 2.6 lakh hectares, as many farmers have sown sugarcane replacing basmati, speculating quick returns from the state government.
The sowing of basmati rice across the key growing areas of Punjab and Haryana has seen a sharp fall of 25% to 1.57 million hectares this kharif season from close to 2 million hectares reported in 2015, thanks to a fall in realisation from exports. According to a survey conducted by Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF), a body under the commerce ministry, this year the rice-transplanted areas in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir have increased by more than 4.6% to 5.9 million hectares, while the areas under basmati variety have declined in Haryana and Punjab by 11.9% and 43.3%, respectively.In Punjab, basmati rice acreage shrunk by more than 43% to 5 lakh hectares, mainly because of a reduction in the area under short-duration Pusa Basmati-1509. The sowing of this variety has been reduced to only 48,770 hectares this year, from 1.8 lakh hectares reported in 2015. “There has been sharp fall in basmati acreage of Pusa 1509 variety this year compared to last year as the farmers got very low prices,” the report said. In Haryana, the total rice acreage based on field survey has been estimated at 1.29 million hectares in 20 districts, while the area under basmati rice had been reduced by 12.5% to 7.2 lakh hectares compared with last year.
The BEDF report said that in western Uttar Pradesh, the area under basmati rice has reduced by close to 22% to 2.6 lakh hectares, as many farmers have sown sugarcane replacing basmati, speculating quick returns from the state government.
“Lower output because reduced acreage in this kharif is expected to push up basmati rice prices,” said a leading exporter. At present, basmati rice prices are ruling around R5,700 to R5,800 per quintal in the Karnal market.
According to data by the Agricultural and Processed Food Development Authority, exports realisation from the basmati rice fell by 17% to R22,714 crore in FY16 in comparison to the previous year. But the volume of exports rose to 4.04 million tonne (mt) from 3.7 mt during the same period. In 2013-14, the country exported basmati rice worth of R29,299 crore.
In April, rating agency ICRA had stated that the domestic basmati rice industry, which is witnessing excess supply and weak demand, may revive in the next harvest season in the second half of 2016-17. “The supply of basmati paddy is expected to witness some moderation as farmers are likely to shift away from basmati, given the non-remunerative prices in the last two crop cycles,” ICRA has stated in its report. The report also stated since Iran, the biggest importer of basmati from India, has removed the ban on rice imports, demand is also expected to improve


Monsoon ends at par, brightens rabi crop outlook

VINSON KURIAN
VISHWANATH KULKARNI
85 % of the country has received normal to excess rains; rabi planting to commence soon
Bengaluru/Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 30:  
After two consecutive years of drought, the South-West Monsoon delivered a near normal rainfall in the 2016 season, which ended on Friday.
Indeed, the delayed withdrawal across most parts of the country is seen to be brightening the prospects for the rabi or winter crops, for which planting will soon commence.
Well spread
Though the cumulative actual precipitation fell short of the Met Department’s forecast, the widespread rains across the country, except parts of the Peninsula, East, North-East and North-West India, are seen helping the country produce a record foodgrain harvest of 135 million tonnes in the current kharif season.
About 85 per cent of the country’s geographical area has received normal to excess rains this monsoon, while the rest, encompassing some nine meteorological subdivisions, has received deficient rains.
The rain deficiency was more pronounced in East and North East India (-11 per cent), followed by the Peninsula (-8 per cent) and North West India (-5 per cent).
Only Central India had a cumulative surplus of 6 per cent.
Kerala, which had a rainfall deficit of 34 per cent, topped the list of rain-deficient metrological sub-divisions, followed by Assam (-30 per cent), Punjab (-28 per cent), Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi (-27 per cent), Lakshadweep (-25 per cent), Gujarat (-24 per cent), Coastal Karnataka (-21 per cent), South Interior Karnataka (-21 per cent) and Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry (-19 per cent).
Meanwhile, a weather outlook for the first two weeks into October indicates above-normal rainfall for Central India and comparatively active rainfall for the eastern parts of Central India.
The outlook issued jointly by the IMD, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and the Central Research Institue for Dryland Agriculture was as follows: During the first week (September 30-October 6), a cyclonic circulation will generate above-normal rainfall over most parts of central India and ‘comparatively active rain’ over its eastern parts.
Rain forecast
During the second week, rainfall is expected to be above normal mainly over the north-east.
The location-wise forecast said that normal or above normal rainfall is likely during the next fortnight over east Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, west Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, coastal Karnataka and north interior Karnataka.
Normal or above normal rainfall has been forecast during this period over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, east Uttar Pradesh, west Rajasthan, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
Below normal rainfall is likely to occur during the next two weeks over Kerala.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/monsoon-ends-at-par-brightens-rabi-crop-outlook/article9169241.ece

Africa imports $5b worth of rice every year – Tijani




Category: Africa/International September 30, 2016
Despite the clear potential to boost rice production at the regional level in Africa, most countries on the Continent continue to rely heavily on imports for meeting their rice consumption needs, costing the Continent $5 billion annually.
Rice is a primary staple for food consumption, particularly in West Africa, where its growing cities depend on rice as a cornerstone of the daily diet and consumption is increasing by 5.5 per cent annually.“Such a heavy reliance of most African countries on rice imports for their consumption continues to pose a serious food security concern, as rice consumption will jump to 130 per cent by 2035,” Mr Bukar Tijani, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, has said.Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day technical workshop to discuss the implementation of the “Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in Sub-Saharan Africa” project, Mr Tijani saidd that the consumption of rice, a primary staple in Africa, is rising more than any other.

Ten countries (Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda) are involved in the project, which is a partnership between Venezuela and FAO that strongly emphasizes the importance of sharing best practices among the participating African states and other countries.At the regional level, the project is consistent with the Africa Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) adopted by governments throughout the region and which aims to increase market access through improved rural infrastructure and facilitate regional trade in food staples.

At country level, the project is consistent with FAO Country Programme Frameworks (CPFs) and national rice policies.It will also include Civil Society Organizations, Farmer-Based Organizations (FBOs), public-private partnerships and development partners in an effort to harmonize regional efforts through joint activities.Mr Tijani said research institutions have highlighted the potential role of high-yielding rice varieties as a solution to boost low crop productivity, targeting their increased use by smallholders.In response, the African Union and the African Development Bank have recognized rice as a priority strategic food crop for the region as part of the Malabo agenda to eradicate hunger in Africa by 2025”, he added.Also, the FAO is actively consolidating partnerships with regional and global development partners to support the transformation of Africa’s rice sector by boosting productivity, strengthening rice value chains and supporting improved coordination of regional markets.

Currently, FAO is also working with the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) led by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, alongside Africa Rice, African Development Bank and others, to provide technical assistance to countries seeking to double rice production levels by 2018.Dr Sidi Sanyang, Program leader in AfricaRice, said rice is the single most important source of dietary energy in West Africa and the third most important for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a whole.He said despite the positive and rapid increase in rice production in Africa since 2007, local rice production is unable to keep pace with the increasing demand.Dr Sanyang said the demand-supply gap is widening and this demands an intensification of rice production, based on enhancing biological processes of the ecosystem.He said this production model will be the foundation and the benefit of the entire business model and rice food chain.

The FAO is working with existing research and development partners with initiatives that are toward similar goals (CARD, AfricaRice, AfDB, AGRA and others), in order to promote more efficient, sustainable and productive rice production systems in Africa.The project implementation will address efficient rice production systems for Africa, supported through the promotion and adoption of best practices and up scaling of proven and tested technologies.In addition to the support of the development and promotion of policy options and effective institutions and markets, it will also cover the development of agribusiness models along the rice value chain for increased production and productivity, including reduction of post-harvest losses and improved grain quality.
Other areas are irrigated and integrated rice systems to ensure sustainable increased production


https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2016/09/30/africa-imports-5b-worth-of-rice-every-year-tijani/

Rice prices to drop

 (The Philippine Star) |
 
Farmers thresh palay at a farm in Bacnotan, La Union yesterday. JUN ELIAS
BOCAUE, Bulacan, Philippines – Prices of commercial rice are expected to go down in the coming days with the start of the harvest season, according to rice traders.
Palay prices started to decline on the second week of this month, traders at the Intercity Industrial Estate in this town, a major rice trading center, told The STAR yesterday. 
They said rice from Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Nueva Viscaya, Isabela and Cagayan have started arriving at the trading center.
Rice prices have gone down from P24.50 to P19.50 to P21 per kilo depending on the quality and variety.
Palay prices are expected to stabilize at P15 to P16 per kilo for ordinary varieties until November, rice traders added.
They said the price of aromatic palay varieties has decreased from P27 to P24 per kilo.
Rice prices are expected to go down as soon as rice dealers disposed stocks that were procured at higher prices.


Paddy Prices Hit New Low Ahead of Pchum Ben Holiday

Rice paddy prices have taken a new dive to less than $150 per ton ahead of the Pchum Ben holiday in an ongoing crisis that has only deepened despite government intervention earlier this month.
Sinking from $250 per ton in the middle of last month to $192 earlier this month, the government approved $27 million in subsidies to help mills purchase paddy from farmers and appealed to officials and friends of the CPP to buy paddy and dry it themselves, making room for more at mills.
Rice is displayed at a shop near Phnom Penh’s Central Market on Wednesday. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
Purchases of paddy took a temporary turn for the better after the monetary influx, and the Rural Development Bank, which contributed $7 million in subsidies, said on Sunday there was “no issue” in the sector.
But prices have plummeted once again.
The value of paddy hit a new low after the short reprieve, dropping to about $147 per ton this week, said Moul Sarith, secretary-general of the Cambodian Rice Federation.
Sales have again slowed as mills have largely closed for the Pchum Ben holiday over the weekend, but it should not be a problem as farmers have been told to hold off on harvesting their crops until mills reopen, Mr. Sarith said.
But some farmers have ignored these requests.
“We are still harvesting our yield because we are afraid of flooding,” said Mao Layhuon, a 56-year-old farmer from Banteay Meanchey province’s Soeu commune in Mongkol Borei district.
He said he felt backed into a corner when he sold his paddy for $147 per ton on Thursday, but worried it would go bad over the weekend if it wasn’t dried immediately.
“We sold the yield that we had harvested, but the middlemen offered us a very low price while mills are closed for the Pchum Ben ceremonies,” he said.
A government recommendation earlier this month that paddy be bought for $235 had created an expectation for higher returns, he said.
“Other workers and I are hopeless,” he said. “If the price stays low or drops further, our ultimate choice may be to sell our land or migrate.”
Soy Sarom, a 50-year-old farmer from the same commune, said middlemen had gained an upper hand even before mills had begun closing for the holiday weekend by largely refusing to pick up paddy directly from farms.
Farmers lack a means of transportation “so we can only sell to middlemen,” he said, giving these individuals “power to press the price down.”
“I don’t think the intervention was effective,” he said.
With international paddy prices continuing to fall, Hun Lak, vice president of the rice federation, said the current crisis is likely to carry into the country’s main harvest season in November unless the government intervenes again.
At that point in time, the issue would become “bigger than now,” he said.
Chan Sophal, director of the Center for Policy Studies for Cambodian Development, agreed that there is little that could be done to help farmers through this struggle, except by continuing to pour money into the sector.
“I don’t expect the government to have enough cash to help every farmer,” he said.
“It’s not looking good for the coming harvest in November and December.”
(Additional reporting by Janelle Retka)




Water savings, cost-sharing for rice growers from AWD: Part III

Sep 30, 2016 Forrest Laws  | Delta Farm Press
Merle Anders says some rice farmers may be using AWD or alternate wetting and drying methods for irrigating their rice – inadvertently.Dr. Anders' tongue-in-cheek reference came during RiceTec's Arkansas Field Day at its Arkansas Business Center near Harrisburg. The principal owner of Net Profit Crop Consultancy, Dr. Anders has been working with RiceTec and area rice farmers to help improve their bottom lines
He described current research underway at the Center on a number of practices, ranging from row rice to carbon credit programs that rice farmers may be eligible to participate in as part of their environmental stewardship program.
For more information on RiceTec and rice production, visit http://www.ricetec.com/.
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/water-savings-cost-sharing-rice-growers-awd-part-iii



Giant rice exporter incurs huge loss
VietNamNet Bridge - The Southern Food Corporation, also known as Vinafood 2, one of two of Vietnam's largest rice exporters, has reported an accumulative loss of VND1 trillion ($45 million). Giant rice exporter incurs huge loss

VietNamNet Bridge - The Southern Food Corporation, also known as Vinafood 2, one of two of Vietnam's largest rice exporters, has reported an accumulative loss of VND1 trillion ($45 million). 
Vinafood 2’s latest report showed that the corporation has had difficulties since 2012. It made a pretax profit of VND167 billion in 2012, but then took a loss of VND268 billion in 2013 and VND900 billion in 2014.

Explaining the bad business performance, Vinafood 2 blamed the stiff competition in the world market. In the high-end market segment, Vietnam has to compete with Thailand, which has lowered selling prices in an effort to clear its stocks.

Meanwhile, in the low-cost market segment, the plentiful supply from India makes it difficult for Vietnam to export products.

When asked about the huge loss of VND900 billion in 2014, Vinafood 2 said when it won the bid of providing 600,000 tons of rice to the Philippines, the domestic rice price unexpectedly increased. As a result, Vinafood 2 had to collect rice at high prices to fulfill the contract and incurred a loss of VND213 billion.

In fact, 74 member companies of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) were assigned to implement the contract. However, as the domestic price surged, they all gave up. 
Despite the loss of VND1 trillion, the salaries paid to Vinafood 2’s managers are still high. It paid VND30 million to managers in 2015 and plans to pay VND45 million in 2016.
Only Vinafood 2, as the major business, had to fulfill the contract.

In 2015, Vinafood 2 admitted the bad business performance in 2014. However, with drastic measures taken, Vinafood 2 began making profit. In 2015, it reportedly made a pretax profit of VND155 billion.

Thanks to the profit, the accumulative loss of the rice exporter fell to VND948 billion by the end of 2015.

Also according to Vinafood 2, the total accounts receivable by the end of 2015 had reached VND2.337 trillion, including VND653 billion worth of irrecoverable debt. The figure represented a VND50 billion decrease compared with 2014.

The giant has asked the state to allow it to apply a special policy to deal with irrecoverable debt and unused assets waiting for liquidation.

Prior to that, in March 2016, the enterprise proposed to the Prime Minister to exclude it from subjects for supervision to help it access bank loans more easily.

In late 2015, the government inspectors found wrongdoings at VInafood 2. The holding company was discovered violating the laws in lending and acting as a guarantee for loans worth VND1.7 trillion.

As a result, it has to pay debts for some of its subsidiaries, totalling VND258 billion.

Despite the loss of VND1 trillion, the salaries paid to Vinafood 2’s managers are still high. It paid VND30 million to managers in 2015 and plans to pay VND45 million in 2016.

Gov't to audit value assessment of Vinafood 2
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the State Inspectorate to audit the result of the corporate value assessment of Viet Nam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) and resolve its financial issues.
The deputy prime minister instructed the inspectorate to complete the audit before December 1, 2016.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc its equitisation plan for Vinafood 2. Under the plan, the corporation will sell part of the State-owned capital in the corporation and issue more shares to raise its charter capital.
The corporation estimated its charter capital at VND5 trillion (US$224.2 million), equal to 500 million shares at VND10,000 per share. It will issue an additional 16.5 million shares to raise its charter capital.
Under the plan, the Government will retain 65 per cent of its stake, equivalent to VND3.25 trillion, after equitisation. The corporation plans to sell 25 per cent stake to strategic investors and 8.95 per cent through auction to domestic and foreign investors. The remaining stake will be sold to its employees.
Vinafood 2 earned VND22.75 trillion in revenue in 2015, a decline of VND3.55 trillion compared with 2014. The corporation last year incurred a loss of some VND9 billion, bringing total cumulative losses to VND1.06 trillion in the last three years.

The corporation was established under the Prime Minister's decision in 2010. It is one of the country's largest businesses in rice exports. However, its business results have shown continuous losses in recent years.
The corporation has proposed that relevant sectors implement special policies to resolve debts, which it failed to collect from its partners, and unnecessary assets in accordance with current regulations that are applicable on a certain businesses that conduct equitisation.In March 2016, the corporation also asked the Prime Minister to remove it from the list of businesses under special supervision to create conditions for it to maintain credit relations with banks. — VNS


Vinafood 2’s latest report showed that the corporation has had difficulties since 2012. It made a pretax profit of VND167 billion in 2012, but then took a loss of VND268 billion in 2013 and VND900 billion in 2014.

Explaining the bad business performance, Vinafood 2 blamed the stiff competition in the world market. In the high-end market segment, Vietnam has to compete with Thailand, which has lowered selling prices in an effort to clear its stocks.

Meanwhile, in the low-cost market segment, the plentiful supply from India makes it difficult for Vietnam to export products.

When asked about the huge loss of VND900 billion in 2014, Vinafood 2 said when it won the bid of providing 600,000 tons of rice to the Philippines, the domestic rice price unexpectedly increased. As a result, Vinafood 2 had to collect rice at high prices to fulfill the contract and incurred a loss of VND213 billion.

In fact, 74 member companies of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) were assigned to implement the contract. However, as the domestic price surged, they all gave up.

Despite the loss of VND1 trillion, the salaries paid to Vinafood 2’s managers are still high. It paid VND30 million to managers in 2015 and plans to pay VND45 million in 2016.
Only Vinafood 2, as the major business, had to fulfill the contract.

In 2015, Vinafood 2 admitted the bad business performance in 2014. However, with drastic measures taken, Vinafood 2 began making profit. In 2015, it reportedly made a pretax profit of VND155 billion.

Thanks to the profit, the accumulative loss of the rice exporter fell to VND948 billion by the end of 2015.

Also according to Vinafood 2, the total accounts receivable by the end of 2015 had reached VND2.337 trillion, including VND653 billion worth of irrecoverable debt. The figure represented a VND50 billion decrease compared with 2014.

The giant has asked the state to allow it to apply a special policy to deal with irrecoverable debt and unused assets waiting for liquidation.

Prior to that, in March 2016, the enterprise proposed to the Prime Minister to exclude it from subjects for supervision to help it access bank loans more easily.

In late 2015, the government inspectors found wrongdoings at VInafood 2. The holding company was discovered violating the laws in lending and acting as a guarantee for loans worth VND1.7 trillion.

As a result, it has to pay debts for some of its subsidiaries, totalling VND258 billion.

Despite the loss of VND1 trillion, the salaries paid to Vinafood 2’s managers are still high. It paid VND30 million to managers in 2015 and plans to pay VND45 million in 2016.

Gov't to audit value assessment of Vinafood 2

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the State Inspectorate to audit the result of the corporate value assessment of Viet Nam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) and resolve its financial issues.

The deputy prime minister instructed the inspectorate to complete the audit before December 1, 2016.

Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc its equitisation plan for Vinafood 2. Under the plan, the corporation will sell part of the State-owned capital in the corporation and issue more shares to raise its charter capital.

The corporation estimated its charter capital at VND5 trillion (US$224.2 million), equal to 500 million shares at VND10,000 per share. It will issue an additional 16.5 million shares to raise its charter capital.

Under the plan, the Government will retain 65 per cent of its stake, equivalent to VND3.25 trillion, after equitisation. The corporation plans to sell 25 per cent stake to strategic investors and 8.95 per cent through auction to domestic and foreign investors. The remaining stake will be sold to its employees.

Vinafood 2 earned VND22.75 trillion in revenue in 2015, a decline of VND3.55 trillion compared with 2014. The corporation last year incurred a loss of some VND9 billion, bringing total cumulative losses to VND1.06 trillion in the last three years.

The corporation was established under the Prime Minister's decision in 2010. It is one of the country's largest businesses in rice exports. However, its business results have shown continuous losses in recent years.

The corporation has proposed that relevant sectors implement special policies to resolve debts, which it failed to collect from its partners, and unnecessary assets in accordance with current regulations that are applicable on a certain businesses that conduct equitisation.

In March 2016, the corporation also asked the Prime Minister to remove it from the list of businesses under special supervision to create conditions for it to maintain credit relations with banks. — VNS


http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/164312/giant-rice-exporter-incurs-huge-loss.html





Lagos to build silos for rice storage

Posted By: Daniel Essieton: September 30, 2016In: AgricNo Comments
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Lagos State will soon build silos to improve its grains storage capacity. The government will also work on its logistics links to boost grain supply chain and bolster food security.
Special Adviser to Governor AkinwumiAmbode on Food Security, Sanni Okanlawon, who made this known, said the state was building a 3, 000 metric tonne-silo in Imota, to usher in high economic efficiency as farmers  would be able to preserve rice for several months.
He stressed the need for private sector collaboration with the state to build more silos, help maintain rice quality and raise the competitiveness of Nigerian  grains.
Okanlawon said the state was determined to increase the aggregate food supply from less than 15 per cent  to 25 per cent through various projects and programmes.
He noted that as part of efforts to increase food supply and ensure food security, the state government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, was implementing its strategic food security plan with programmes and projects that have remarkable impact on food security.
According to him, some of the programmes and projects intensified to boost food production included  collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi states for the development of agricultural commodities like rice, wheat, ground-nut, onions, maize/sorghum and beef value chains; the Agric Youth Empowerment Scheme (AGRIC-YES) Araga, Epe; and continued establishment of infrastructural facilities at Songhai-Avia, Badagry under the Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme.
“Others are the Estates Initiatives on Poultry; Fish; Vegetable and Arable Crops; Coconut Development in Lagos State for tourism and poverty alleviation; commercial agriculture development project to increase productivity; National Fadama development project for poverty alleviation; input subsidy and organic farming promotion to increase farmers income; farm mechanisation to reduce drudgery in Agriculture; and Agricultural land holdings and management to improve access by genuine farmers to land,” he added.
He also stated that the state government was not relenting in its rural finance institution building programme and school agricultural programme, adding that it was also strengthening its Agricultural Extension Services and animation to improve farmers’ productivity, while development of modern abattoirs to provide wholesome meat to the citizens is accorded desired priority.
He stated that in furtherance to the ministry’s efforts at boosting rice production, a total of 100 farmers through the FADAMA III additional financing programme have been settled on the 500 hectares of land acquired in Eggua, Ogun State, adding that through this, rice cultivation has improved in the state.






Rice
High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids
Long Grain New Crop


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Nov '16
991.0
977.5
988.5
+11.5
Jan '17
1013.0
1001.0
1012.5
+11.5
Mar '17
1035.0
1025.0
1036.0
+11.5
May '17
1045.0
1041.0
1056.0
+11.5
Jul '17
1074.5
+11.5
Sep '17
1074.5
+11.5
Nov '17
1074.5
+11.5

Rice Comment

Rice prices gapped higher to end the week on a positive note. 73% of the crop has been harvested nation-wide, and in Arkansas 84% of the crop was in the bins as of Sunday. Export sales were 46,800 tons for the week. November continues to have support at the low of $9.35, with resistance near $10, but is trending higher within those confines.






Congress Passes Last-Minute Continuing Resolution through December 

WASHINGTON, DC -- This week both chambers of Congress worked out a deal and passed a continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through December 9 and avoid a government shutdown on October 1.  President Obama supported the continuing resolution negotiated by Congress and signed it into law.
The legislation took several attempts for a bipartisan agreement to be reached and was the last remaining piece of business that Congress needed to address before returning to their homes for recess until November 14, following the General Election.  The lame duck session in November and December will require lawmakers to finalize additional legislative packages including a long-term funding bill for FY 2017 and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, among others. 
Ben Mosely, USA Rice vice president of government relations, reacted positively to the passage of the continuing resolution, saying "There's more to this legislation than just short-term funding of the federal government.  There's an additional $500 million set aside for disaster aid following a series of extreme weather events and flooding throughout the country."
While the amount of money divvied out to each of the states affected by natural disasters has not yet been made public, Mosely said, "Louisiana is certain to receive a fair portion of those funds given the sheer volume of damage to their farms, businesses, and homes just last month.  Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture, Mike Strain, is working to secure a portion of the Louisiana funding to directly aid farmers experiencing non-insured losses to their operations."
Mosely added, "USA Rice is continuing to work with Congress, the Administration, and Louisiana officials to press for additional disaster aid specifically for Louisiana's agriculture sector and we're treating these initial funds as a down payment until a larger appropriations measure is considered during the lame duck."





Thai rice exports down 11% in August

Description: C:\Users\WINDOW\Downloads\Thai rice exports down 11% in August _ Bangkok Post  business_files\c1_1099096_620x413.jpg
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Thailand remained the world's second-largest rice exporter after India in the first eight months of this year, with exports down almost 11% last month, according to exporters.
From January to August, Thailand shipped 6.06 million tonnes of rice worth 96.23 billion, up 2.9% year-on-year by volume and 1.4% by value.
The largest markets during the period were Benin (11% of total volume), China (9%), Ivory Coast (8.4%), South Africa (6.2%) and Indonesia (5.8%).
By comparison, India shipped 6.71 million tonnes in the same period. The third largest exporter was Vietnam, which shipped 3.12 million tonnes.
In August, exports fell 10.7% year-on-year but jumped 40% from the previous month as African buyers returned, the trade body said.
The country shipped 622,630 tonnes worth 10.4 billion baht during the month.

The association foresaw exports of 600,000-700,000 tonnes in September as exporters have to deliver rice to the Philippines and fill more orders placed by African buyers.



AR Rice Industry Donates Over 115,000 Pounds to Arkansas Food Bank

Published 09/29 2016 04:08PM
Updated 09/29 2016 04:08PM
·        

The Arkansas Rice Industry donated 116,900 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Food Bank.
The donation is in honor of National Rice Month. The rice donated will provide over 1.1 million servings of rice for hungry Arkansas families. 
"The Arkansas rice industry is committed to being good stewards of our resources and helping to alleviate hunger in our state," Arkansas Rice Council President Jeff Rutledge said. "We take great pride in our partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank and appreciate their efforts to feed our hungry neighbors."
Participating rice processors include Windmill Rice Company, Riceland Foods, Inc, Cormier Rice Milling, Producers Rice Mill, Viviana Foods, Southwind Rice Mill and Specialty Rice, Inc. 
The Arkansas Foobank works with 600 Arkansas hunger relief programs statewide.
On Monday, Governor Asa Hutchinson declared September as "Rice Month" in Arkansas. 
http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/ar-rice-industry-donates-over-115000-pounds-to-arkansas-food-bank


Friday, September 30, 2016

30th September,2016 daily global,regional and local rice e-newsletter by riceplus magazine



Vietnam’s rice exports plummet 16 percent in first nine months

By Bui Hong Nhung   September 29, 2016 | 07:13 pm GMT+7
A girl dries unhusked rice on a road in front of her home. Photo by REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Falling demand in key markets and increased competition have eaten into rice sales.

Vietnam’s rice exports collapsed 16.4 percent on-year to hit 3.76 million tons over the first nine months of 2016, data from the Ministry of Agriculture revealed.Export value also went down by 12.5 percent on-year to $1.69 million.After seeing signs of a recovery in August, the volume of Vietnamese rice exports fell 5.4 percent in September to hit 396,000 tons.The main reason appears to be China, which tightened the management of rice imports through northern borders to prevent smuggled rice from entering its market.Ministry official Hoang Trung said that China has switched to other rice suppliers such as India, Thailand and Cambodia, who offer lower prices.China remained Vietnam’s largest rice importer, buying 1.18 million tons of Vietnamese rice over the first eight months of this year, but that was down 21.4 percent against last year.Vietnam's rice export volume also dropped in the Philippines (down 36.4 percent), Malaysia (down 43.3 percent) and Singapore (down 35.7 percent).

The Ministry of Agriculture said that the bid Vietnam won to export 150,000 tons of rice to Phillipines has had little impact on the domestic rice market, and inventories remain high.The country has about 1.3 million tons of stockpiled rice, of which one million tons has been designated for existing contracts. The remaining 300,000 tons is not enough to fulfill the contract between Vietnam and the Philippines, so traders are reluctant to buy more rice, said Huynh The Nang, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).The gloomy picture has forced the VFA to lower the forecast export volume for 2016 to 5.65 million tons from 6.5 million tons.If this is accurate, it will be the first time Vietnam has exported less than six million tons of rice in the last eight years.
http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-rice-exports-plummet-16-percent-in-first-nine-months-3476303.html









Illegal Viet Rice Floods Cambodia Market

By David Van Vichet Cambodia, Economics/Business, Headline
Outstanding in their field
Government ignores plight of farmers, millers in free market fallacy 

An estimated of 800,000 tonnes of low-quality Vietnamese milled rice has been imported illegally into Cambodia since 2015, flooding the domestic market with cheap rice driving small domestic millers out of business because they have been unable to compete.After being a net exporter of milled rice, Cambodia became a net importer   2015 with these massive imports from Vietnam, which amounted to almost 50 percent of annual domestic consumption.
In early 2016, disenchanted millers and exporters formed an adhoc team to lobby the former Minister of Commerce to submit a plea to the Prime Minister seeking Government intervention into an impending crisis hitting the industry.  That effort has had little success. The recent Sen Kra Ob harvest season has been catastrophic due to the collapse in global prices.
As the usual foreign buyers of paddy did not show up, combined with tightening liquidity at commercial banks and weak financial health of Cambodia’s millers, the Sen Kra Ob harvest season was almost totally unsellable as the offer price was too low. This has created an endemic financial situation for farmers who are already heavily indebted with very high interest rates short term loans.
Farmers have faced extreme difficulty to sell their paddy as prices have dropped dramatically. Millers are confronting working capital issues to procure paddy since National Bank of Cambodia instructed banks to restrict lending from the fourth quarter of 2015 to try to combat possible lending bubbles. Commercial banks also started to cut all further loans to the rice millers since then, creating a massive crisis for the industry.
Rice industry operators expect that the worst is yet to come as the major harvest of jasmine is due in October, November and December as there will be higher tonnages at stake while millers will remain unable to access affordable and realistic loans for working capital.  Foreign buyers of paddy such as Vietnam may not be active in buying this major crop as they have started to plant their own variety of Jasmine rice, selling at a much lower price globally. 
The millers and the Ministry of Commerce reached out to PM Hun Sen, who summoned a high-level inter-ministerial meeting at the CDC, under the chairmanship of former DPM Keat Chhon on how to best to design a set of policy measures to improve industry competitiveness.
The current distress suffered by farmers and millers alike serves to confirm that a sense of urgency is needed to come up with pragmatic policy measures so as to allow the rice industry to become competitive, survive and thrive.
The government may need to bring all the stakeholders together to gain a full understanding of the problems, not only domestically but also how the regional and global competitive forces can impact local reality.  Thus many pertinent questions beg to be answered by key players, both the government and the private sector.
First, price floor policy should be set at US$218 per tonne. Despite demonstrating goodwill in an attempt to disburse an emergency fund of US$27 million to the millers, the Rural Development Banks has ruled that loan recipients must procure paddy at a determined level in order to “artificially” help farmers.
How can such a policy work given that the global price is trending downward each day and that Cambodian farmers are already hardly competitive overseas given high costs of financing, logistics and utilities? How can a price floor, which is a welfare transfer to the farmers, incentivize millers to buy paddy given that it impacts their profitability?
Second, the Rural Development Bank issued a policy proposal to apply 8 percent interest on working capital for millers, considered as “emergency loans.” Does 8 percent make a difference given that our neighboring competitors have access to  2.5 percent?
Is there a way to provide the same level playing field than our competitors so that our farmers and millers can also have access to 2.5 percent interest rates or interest rates that are lower than 5 percent? Could the government study this possibility since our neighbors can do it? Why not us, given than we can also have access cheap concession soft loans at below 1 percent interest rates from either China or Japan? This is not a subsidy as the bank such as the RDB would still have a positive spread of 3 percent if it lends it back at 4 percent.
The government may have overlooked the fact that farmers cannot survive without the millers and as such millers are the Achilles Heel of the rice industry. The government encouraged investment in rice processing without adequate accompanying economic policy measures to promote the industry. Millers to this day have not been listened to when they are the ones who have taken the most risks in investing in fixed assets and competing in the global markets.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/econ-business/illegal-vietnam-rice-floods-cambodia-market/



Rice farmers eagerly await Mexican market
Rice farmers examine paddy stalks in a rice field at Mahaicony
By Ravin Singh
THE rice deal between Guyana and Mexico which is currently being hammered out is one which is eagerly being awaited by farmers who anticipate increased prices and production of their paddy. Essequibo rice farmer Prem Das speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday

After losing the Venezuela rice market last year, Guyana, through efforts made by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, was able to secure commitments by the Mexican Government to buy some of this country’s rice.Speaking at a reception to observe Mexico’s 206th Independence Anniversary last week, Mexican Ambassador Medel said relations between Guyana and Mexico continue to be strong, especially in the area of food security. He noted that Mexican officials are working hard to ensure certification is ready in order to begin importation of local paddy.
“The Mexican food inspection authority SENASICA is working jointly with NAREI [Guyana’s National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute] to make sure phytosanitary certification is ready, in order to begin the commercialisation of Guyanese paddy,” Ambassador Medel disclosed.
Mexico, which imports some one million tonnes of rice annually, has since
signalled its intention to fast track a paddy deal with Guyana, even as the prime minister continues to seek other markets for local producers.
Against this backdrop, farmers have expressed their anticipation in accessing these markets which will lead to benefits for them and by extension, Guyana.
One such person is Prem Das, a rice farmer from Essequibo, who explained that when Guyana had the Venezuelan markets, farmers had seen a significant increase in prices and it benefited farmers tremendously. He noted that at one point, they had been able to sell a bag of paddy for $5000 to $5500. After losing the market however, he said that prices dropped, and at this point in time farmers are being offered about $2300 or thereabout for a bag of paddy.

“So of course, any market Guyana is able to access, farmers would more than welcome it, because this means better prices for the paddy and eventually an increase in production. Once farmers can get a market to serve in the long term, they would be more than happy,” the farmer said.
He further explained that at the end of the day, farmers look at the prices they are being offered and once they get a solid market to take this rice, in this case the Mexican market, it means farmers will get better prices than what is being offered now.Therefore, he said, once good prices are being offered, then most naturally, farmers would be inclined to produce more paddy, since they would be able to make more money on it.
“So it is all about getting more bags of paddy per acre of land at good prices,” he added.
Chaitman Jorree, another rice farmer from Mahaicony, expressed his desire to see Guyana sending rice to Mexico.

“I feel very good about this not just for me, but for other farmers because I know what they have been going through. The rice industry has been facing many challenges and for us to be able to access any market at this point in time would be great for the farmers,” he said.Jorree said presently he is selling a bag of paddy for almost $3000, but that it was higher than this in previous years. And he believes that once an agreement has been reached between the two countries, prices are likely to go up, which will have direct and indirect benefits for all.The farmer revealed too that after prices had dropped, he reduced the amount of rice he was producing and used the land for cattle-farming. And with an impending agreement, he said that not only him, but other farmers are likely to use these lands which were converted into pastures, to replant rice.
http://guyanachronicle.com/rice-farmers-eagerly-await-mexican-market/












Rice basmati drifted by Rs 100 quintal at the wholesale grains market

Traders said easing demand from retailers against ample stocks position mainly helped rice basmati prices to trade lower.

By: PTI | New Delhi | Published:September 29, 2016 4:31 pm
Rice basmati drifted by Rs 100 quintal at the wholesale grains market on Thursday due to fall in demand against adequate stocks position.
However, other grains moved in a narrow range in limited deals and pegged at the last levels.
Traders said easing demand from retailers against ample stocks position mainly helped rice basmati prices to trade lower.
In the national capital, rice basmati Pusa-1121 variety eased by Rs 100 to Rs 3,800-4,600 per quintal.
Following are today’s quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,300-2,835, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,815-1,820, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,820-1,825, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 275, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 275, Roller flour mill Rs 960-970 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,070-1,080 (50 kg) and Sooji Rs 1,100-1,110 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,700, Basmati common new Rs 4,700-4,900, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 3,800-4,600, Permal raw Rs 2,000-2,050, Permal wand Rs 2,125-2,200, Sela Rs 2,700-2,800 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,800-1,810, Bajra Rs 1,375-1,380, Jowar yellow Rs 1,800-1,900, white Rs 3,500-3,700, Maize Rs 1,530-1,540, Barley Rs 1,580-1,585.
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/market/rice-basmati-drifted-by-rs-100-quintal-at-the-wholesale-grains-market-3056301/



Asia Rice-Rising supply, thin demand push down prices

9/28/2016
* Thai 5-pct broken rice prices dip to $365-$370/T
* Indian crop output seen at a record 93.88 mln T
* Vietnam's rice prices at one-year low
* Buyers of Vietnamese rice turn to Pakistan, Myanmar
By Ho Binh Minh
HANOI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Thin buying and prospects of
higher supplies pulled down rice export prices in India and
Thailand this week, while Vietnamese prices hovered at a
one-year low on weak demand, traders said on Wednesday.

Harvesting of the main crop in Thailand, the world's
second-biggest rice exporter after India, might peak next month
with the output contributing to more than 80 percent of the
country's total production.

"October will be the period when new stocks arrive so prices
will continue to drop," said a trader in Bangkok, who expects
prices to drop further between $5 and $10 per tonne.

Thailand's benchmark 5-percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1>
eased to $365-$370 a tonne on Wednesday, free-on-board (FOB)
basis, from $370 a week ago.

Wednesday's prices are at par with those in late August,
when rates fell to the lowest in nearly six months.

Thailand's main crop rice output is seen at 25.02 million
tonnes this year, up 4.8 percent from last year, according to
the agriculture ministry.

Prices of India's 5-percent broken parboiled rice
<RI-INBKN5-P1> eased to $368-$378 per tonne this week, from the
wider range of $370-$380 two weeks ago, due to weak exports,
though a stronger Indian rupee limited the downside.

"Due to the appreciating rupee, we should have raised prices
but couldn't due to the weak demand," said an exporter based at
Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

"Expecting a bumper new-season crop, traders have slowed
down purchases," he said.

India's summer-sown rice output is seen at a record 93.88
million tonnes in the crop year till June 2017, as plentiful
monsoon rains help boost yields, the farm ministry said.

Exports of India's non-basmati rice in April-June, the first
quarter of its fiscal year, rose 2.3 percent from a year ago to
1.74 million tonnes.

In Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice exporter, the 5
percent broken grain <RI-VNBKN5-P1> prices fell to $330-$340 a
tonne, FOB basis, from $335-$345 last week, and the 25-percent
broken rice also eased to $310-$315 a tonne, both at their
lowest since Sept. 2015, based on Reuters data.

"Philippine firms have started small-volume buying from
Vietnam, even though they have not obtained import quotas," said
a trader at a European firm in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Most buyers have turned to Pakistan or Myanmar," another
trader said, adding that Pakistan offers its 5-percent broken
rice at $325 a tonne, FOB basis.

Vietnam's rice exports this year are expected to drop 13.8
percent from 2015 to 5.7 million tonnes following regional
competition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report
this month.

(Reporting Ho Binh Minh in HANOI; Additional reporting by
Pairat Temphairojana and Panarat Thepgumpanat in BANGKOK and
Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

http://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/asia-rice-rising-supply-thin-demand-push-down-prices



September: A Nice Time to Celebrate Rice Research

Posted by Jan Suszkiw, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service, on September 29, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Glenn Buffkin, store manager of Mayflower Foods, Stuttgart, Arkansas, presents a special display of rice products to celebrate National Rice Month.
September is National Rice Month, and the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas, is well positioned—literally and figuratively—to support the production, harvest, and public enjoyment of this versatile and nutritious grain. And on the world-food security front, ARS’ Stuttgart center is closing in on genes that regulate rice’s uptake and storage of iron, thiamine and other important vitamins and minerals—a pursuit that could bolster the nutritional value of this cereal grain crop as a staple food for roughly half the world’s population.
In the United States, nearly 85 percent of the rice eaten by consumers is grown on family-run farms across six States:  Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. Of these, Arkansas produces about half of all U.S. rice on nearly 1.3 million acres of cropland.
Stuttgart, which is located about 55 miles southeast of the state capital (Little Rock), is referred to as the “Rice and Duck Capital of the World” because of its proximity not only to rice fields and two of the Nation’s largest rice mills but also to the Grand Prairie region, to which migratory waterfowl, hunters, and duck callers are drawn in equal measure.
Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center is co-located with the University of Arkansas at Stuttgart, making the two organizations an epicenter of sorts for cutting-edge research on the grain crop.  Between them, the ARS center and university boast more than 15 PhD scientists specializing in such areas as rice genetics, grain quality, disease and pest management, and cultivation.
The Stuttgart center also curates the USDA-ARS National Small Grains Collection, which contains specimens of both cultivated and wild rice acquired from around the world.
“Central to our research effort is using natural genetic variability found in the USDA-ARS rice collection to identify genes and traits that can help sustain U.S. production. This includes identifying genes linked with improved yield, superior milling, cooking and nutritional quality, and reduced losses due to disease and weed pressure,” says Anna McClung, the center director. “Future directions include a greater focus on abiotic stress factors associated with a changing climate,” she adds.
The impact of the research is far-reaching, with global implications in world food security as well.
In other cases, the ARS center staff play a more local role, including working with the community to help create awareness about ARS rice research. This month, for example, the center’s staff provided 15 pounds of raw grain and freshly cut rice plants to help assemble a display celebrating National Rice Month at the local grocery store, Mayflower Foods.
“Being located in Stuttgart is a huge advantage to us in that we have direct access to all segments of the rice industry—producers, millers, and processors—with benefits passed along not only to U.S. consumers, but worldwide as well,” says McClung

Philippine Rice is what we make of it


Posted on September 30, 2016

If there is ever a product that most profoundly shaped Philippine politics, economic policy, and international trade, rice (along with sugar) would have to be it. Yet most policy initiatives dealing with rice are sadly defensive. Such, despite the fact, that most Filipinos implicitly profess heavy emotional investment in that little grain.

 The Philippine Rice Research Institute, for one, considers “zero rice importation or self-sufficiency has always been the elusive goal of Philippine agriculture policies regardless of political dispensation. Any inferior goal is unpatriotic and criticized as a failure of the government and the nation as a whole.”

Pons Intal and Marissa Garcia (in a 2005 PIDS study) discussed the magnitude of rice’s political clout in this way: “the price of rice has been a significant determinant in election results since the 1950s.” That includes the Martial Law years. A possible exception is Estrada’s 1998 popular runaway election.

The problem is basic: we only have around 4.7 million hectares of land suitable for rice. Compare that with 7.8, 10.8, and 13.8 million hectares of Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia respectively. Those millions of hectares are irrigated well and fully by natural large river systems.

The Philippines does not have an equivalent inherent irrigation source and the man-made ones are poorly maintained. Ironically, the modern rice breeds we use (same with Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia) for greater yields and to survive require heavy amounts of water. Unfortunately, our incoming water flow is almost appallingly nil compared to the aforementioned three countries.

Thus, rice yields are at 5.75 tons per hectare (t/ha)., 3.1 t/ha., and 5.13 t/ha. for Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, respectively. The Philippines does have a respectable 4 t/ha. but for an area less than half of its competitors.

Add the fact that Vietnam (land area of 332,698 sq. km.) has a population of roughly 92 million. Thailand 513,120 sq. km., for a 67 million population. Indonesia 1,904,569 sq. km., for a 255 million population.

The Philippines (area 300,000 sq. km.) needs to feed a population of 100 plus million. Rice consumption, incidentally, means not only as food but also as seed, animal feed, or other non-food uses.

The population increase also relates to the need to convert arable land for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes.

And yet, to add to the fundamental disadvantages that the Philippines has regarding rice production, is the inability of the rice industry to accept and adjust to the same: “farmer interest in rice farming has diminished through the years due to the increasing cost of rice cultivation brought about by the rising opportunity cost of labor and land and the availability of lower priced imported rice, which further dampened incentives for rice production.” Then, also “the lack of proper maintenance of irrigation facilities has meant the deterioration of these systems and the reduction in the effective life of these investments and area coverage.” (Intal and Garcia)

The issue of rice protection has cropped up (pun intended) as a decision is being made to lift WTO quantitative restrictions. When that happens, cursing and gnashing of teeth will be predictably heaped on the WTO, the multilateral trade system, globalization, and the free market.

But then: while protected industries welcome quantitative restrictions or high tariffs, the un-talked about logical unwelcome offshoot is smuggling.

So, despite the Philippines being among the world’s top importers of rice, we still had a rice smuggling problem amounting to almost 50,000 metric tons weekly (as reported by The Diplomat in 2014).

The problem is not the WTO nor smuggling; it’s the inability to feed the huge demand. An inability existing even before the Republic was born.

We’ve practically been a net importer of rice since the 1870s. Except for a small window in the early 1970s, we’ve never achieved rice self-sufficiency. And our insistence in becoming so only resulted in rice prices amongst the most expensive in Asia. Place that within the context of a poverty rate of around 25%.

The Foundation for Economic Freedom’s position calling for the removal of the quantitative restrictions is, I think, the right one: it will “lower rice prices, reduction in hunger, and lower inflation”. In the end, the poor benefits.

And food security should be better defined as managing our food stocks rather than insisting on production self-sufficiency.

Finally, we need to explore other options aside from mere restrictions, importation, and greater budgetary outlay.

One way of thinking about it: do we view local rice production as a means of feeding our citizenry or can it be shifted for cultural, social, tourism, and heritage purposes?

In short, retain the lands most suited for rice, employ willing and able farmers, yet without the pressure of rice production as the source of staple for the whole country.

By reframing rice’s importance, not necessarily now but thinking long term, we can then limit and put focus regarding people, land, money, and effort (including training and regulation) to a rice production that is doable and reasonable.

Jemy Gatdula specializes in international economic law (WTO and ASEAN), and teaches international law and legal philosophy at the UA&P School of Law and Governance.

jemygatdula@yahoo.com

www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Opinion&title=rice-is-what-we-make-of-it&id=134200



9/29/2016 Farm Bureau Market Report

Rice

High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids


Long Grain New Crop




Futures:

ROUGH RICE


High
Low
Last
Change





Nov '16
981.5
967.0
977.0
+3.0
Jan '17
1003.0
992.5
1001.0
+2.5
Mar '17
1025.5
1025.0
1024.5
+1.5
May '17


1044.5
+1.0
Jul '17


1063.0
+1.5
Sep '17


1063.0
+1.5
Nov '17


1063.0
+1.5

Rice Comment

Rice prices ended the day higher, but gains were limited. 73% of the crop has been harvested nation-wide, and in Arkansas 84% of the crop was in the bins as of Sunday. Export sales were 46,800 tons for the week. November continues to have support at the low of $9.35, with resistance near $10.



Rice District Members Educate Congress on U.S. Rice Industry 


WASHINGTON, DC -- This month, rice industry champions, Representatives Ralph Abraham (R-LA) and Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Senator John Boozman (R-AR) gave one-minute speeches on the floor of the House in recognition of National Rice Month.  (To view speech, click on name.)
"Right now, America's family rice farmers are harvesting what will end up being about 18 billion pounds of rice, off three million acres of sustainably-managed farmland," said Abraham.  "My district alone produces an annual crop worth over $119 million, from over 110,000 planted acres across 11 parishes."
Abraham added, "Much of the United States' annual rice production will be exported to more than 120 countries around the globe, and much of that will be distributed as humanitarian aid...It is my pleasure to recognize the rice growers and millers in my district, and nationwide, for the great contributions they make feeding the United States, and in fact, the world."
Crawford, who represents the largest rice-growing Congressional District in the nation, focused on U.S. agriculture's challenge to feed nine billion people by 2050.  "But here in the United States Congress, one of the problems I run into is that people don't know that we grow rice in the United States," he said.  "But I do what I can to spread the word about American rice production, including sending other Members rice crispy treats on their birthdays."
Crawford concluded, "If we're going to use rice as a tool for solving the world's need for affordable foods, we've got to keep telling the story about American rice.  I can't think of any other food more important for feeding the world."
Boozman made clear he's an industry champion, saying, "I'm pleased to promote policies that enable our farmers to manage their risk so that high quality U.S. rice remains a staple on tables across the globe."
About the growing number of U.S. jobs and economic output associated with the rice industry, Boozman said he supports opening up new markets for U.S. rice to compete:  "Rice farmers all across America would benefit from a change in policy with Cuba because rice is a staple of the Cuban diet.  The USDA estimates that U.S. rice exports could increase by $365 million per year if financing and travel restrictions were lifted."


Arkansas Rice Industry Donates More Than 115,000 Pounds of Rice to Arkansas Rice Depot 


LITTLE ROCK, AR -- In honor of National Rice Month, the Arkansas rice industry donated 117,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Food Bank today.  The donation will provide more than 1 million servings to help feed hungry families across the state.  Participating rice mills are Cormier Rice Mill of DeWitt; Windmill Rice Company of Jonesboro; Riceland Foods, Inc. of Stuttgart; Producers Rice Mill of Stuttgart; Riviana Foods of Carlisle; Southwind Rice Mill of Pine Bluff; and Specialty Rice, Inc. of Brinkley.  

The Arkansas Food Bank is a statewide food bank that works with 600 Arkansas hunger relief programs including food pantries, school food programs, disaster relief organizations, and a statewide hunger hotline.  The donation followed Governor Asa Hutchinson's Rice Month proclamation at the State Capitol.
Arkansas is the number one rice-producing state in the nation.  This year, Arkansas family farmers will produce over 50 percent of the nation's rice.  The Arkansas rice industry contributes more than $6 billion annually to the state's economy and employs over 25,000 Arkansans.

Duterte, Quang agree to 'level up' trade between PH, Vietnam

Duterte thinks it's high time Vietnam, a major source of rice for the Philippines, imports more Philippine products

Pia Ranada
Published 10:44 PM, September 29, 2016
Updated 10:44 PM, September 29, 2016









TRADE PARTNERS. President Rodrigo Duterte shakes hands with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at the State Palace in Hanoi on September 29. Photo by KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD

HANOI, Vietnam – On President Rodrigo Duterte's official visit to Vietnam, he and Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang agreed to boost trade between their two countries."The Presidents of both countries, Philippines and Vietnam, have agreed to really level up the trade that we have. In other words, increase the trade numbers that we have, essentially, since the Philippines still has a lot of products that have great potential in the Vietnam market," said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Thursday, September 29.Lopez was among the Cabinet secretaries who accompanied Duterte to the bilateral meeting with Vietnam officials at the State Palace earlier that day.During the meeting, Duterte and Quang agreed to develop a Joint Trade Committee between their countries to operationalize efforts to increase trade.

Trade between the two nations is mainly in the area of agriculture with Vietnam the source of 48% of the Philippines' total rice imports, said Lopez.Though no trade agreements were signed during the meeting, Lopez said there is a "mutual understanding" that Vietnam will continue supplying the Philippines with its rice requirements.The "trade deficit" that results from the Philippines importing more than it exports to Vietnam is something the Duterte administration wants to address, said Lopez.Duterte thus encouraged the Vietnamese to import more products from the Philippines."The President himself asked for cooperation from the Vietnam people to consider importing products from Philippines as we import rice from Vietnam," said Lopez.
Some potential Philippine products that may find a market in Vietnam are high-value agricultural products, furniture, construction materials and fabricated metals.

Duterte himself boasted about the country's high-quality furniture, said Lopez.More and more Filipino companies are entering Vietnam. These include RC, San Miguel, the Ayala group, Jollibee, and Splash, said Lopez.Duterte is inviting Vietnamese investors to come to the Philippines."Now, the President invited, in return, Vietnamese corporations: 'Invest in the Philippines, we will protect your investors, your investments, contracts will be honored,'" related Lopez.Duterte also expressed his desire for the Philippines and Vietnam to exchange expertise and best practices in the fields of agriculture and education. Both Presidents agreed to develop a Mutual Recognition Agreement on food safety, especially for products in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, a move which aims to increase trade. – Rappler.com

http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/147752-duterte-quang-level-up-trade-vietnam-philippines