Thursday, March 30, 2017

30th March,2017 daily global,regional and local rice e-newsletter by riceplus magazine

Gov’t unit backs lifting of rice import quota, eyes 35% tariff

By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:11 PM March 29, 2017
Description: NFA rice
Rice imports. (AFP FILE PHOTO/Jay DIRECTO)
MANILA — State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is pushing to slap a 35-percent tariff on rice while providing subsidies to farmers when the import quota expires by the middle of this year.
In a policy note published this month titled “Quantitative restriction on rice imports: Issues and alternatives” authored by Roehlano M. Briones, Ivory Myka Galang and Lovely Ann Tolin, PIDS said the government could pursue two policy options following the expiration of the so-called quantitative restriction or QR.
“First is to extend the QR for two more years. The second and the preferred option is to pursue tariffication, with revenues earmarked as safety net for rice farmers,” PIDS said.
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Specifically, “a 35-percent tariff rate seems appropriate as a tariff equivalent,” PIDS recommended.
Alongside slapping import duty on the Filipino staple food, PIDS proposed to financially support farmers. “A safety net for rice farmers can be as much as P20 billion annually and can be financed entirely by earmarking funds from the tariff revenue.”
PIDS further said “tariffication with safety nets will bring down the price of rice and ease the dislocation of rice farmers.”
But PIDS added that ultimately, “removal of the QR will also increase imports and depress palay prices.”
Based on PIDS’ projections under a scenario that the QR will be ultimately repealed while imposing a 35-percent tariff on rice, “imports are expected to double and reach 4.4 million tons per year on the average from 2017 to 2022.”
“Tariff revenues are expected to be around P27-28 billion during the same period. Meanwhile, farm gate and retail prices are projected to decrease by P4.56 per kilogram and P6.97 per kilogram, respectively,” it added.
As for extending the waiver for two more years or until 2019, as proposed by the Department of Agriculture, PIDS pointed out that “the government still has no clear strategy to fast-track domestic farmer competitiveness within two years.”
Also, “a QR extension means consumers shall continue to bear the burden of overpriced rice, with the poorest households bearing the brunt,” the PIDS added.
“The extension may also encourage some World Trade Organization (WTO) members to bargain for non-rice concessions,” PIDS warned.
State planning agency National Economic and Development Authority has disclosed the decision of the majority of economic managers to remove the Philippines’ quota on rice importation, as the government moves to lower the prices of the staple food.
Economic managers have been pushing the amendment of the decade-old Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, which had put the rice import quota in place.
In 2014, the WTO allowed the Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017, in a bid to buy more time for local farmers to prepare for free trade in the light of the government’s goal of achieving rice self-sufficiency.
Since the government imposes a quota on rice imports, domestic prices are vulnerable to shocks resulting from meager supply.
The QR puts the burden of rice supply and demand to the government, whereas the market forces are being limited by the quota system.
Pundits say importation should be done by the private sector in order to allow market forces to determine prices.
The extended QR slaps 35-percent duty on imported rice under a minimum access volume (MAV) of 805,200 metric tons. Importation outside of the MAV limit are levied a higher tariff of 50 percent.
The Philippines’ most favored nation rate—the additional tariff imposed when imported outside of Asean—on the commodity remains at about 40 percent.
In 1995, the WTO allowed the Philippines to impose a 10-year quota system for rice importation. The QR was extended in 2004, and then lapsed in 2012, before being renewed in 2014.  SFM


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/884849/govt-unit-backs-lifting-of-rice-import-quota-eyes-35-tariff#ixzz4coM6Bfk9
Rice sacks loaded onto a ship at the Southern Food Company. Viet Nam has exported 2.65 million tonnes of rice over the past five months, earning $1.19 billion. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

VN wins Malaysia rice export deal
HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam has signed a contract to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia, which is expected to support domestic rice prices.
According to the contract, the Viet Nam Food Corporation No 2 will export 200,000 tonnes of 5 per cent broken white rice to Malaysia in July and August this year. The export price is at US$410 per tonne, free on board basis.
The deal is the biggest since Viet Nam signed the Philippines contract to export 800,000 tonnes rice in April this year.
It is expected to support rice export prices ahead of supplies from the winter-spring crop (January to July) harvests in the Red River Delta.
According to the FAO rice price data, average export prices of Vietnamese 25 per cent broken rice increased to roughly $364 per tonne in May, up about 2 per cent from April. But it has declined by roughly 4 per cent from the beginning of this year. Viet Nam's 5 per cent rice prices also increased marginally to about $598 per tonne in May from about $386 per tonne in April, but are down from about $401 per tonne in the beginning of this year.
Malaysia is Viet Nam's traditional rice export destination. The country exported about 465,977 tonnes of rice to the Malaysian market last year, down about 39 per cent from about 764,692 tonnes exported in 2012, according to data from General Statistics Office.
Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that Viet Nam exported 591,000 tonnes of rice, worth $259 million, last month.
The figures brought the country's rice exports during the first five months of the year to 2.65 million tonnes, or $1.19 billion. This figure is down 10.2 per cent in terms of volume and down 7.3 per cent in terms of value from last year.
Average rice export price so far in this year stands at about $433 per tonne (FOB), up about $2 per tonne from about $431 per tonne recorded between January and June, 2013. — VNS

Basmati export volumes seen reviving in 2017-18

Description: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/dynamic/01701/basmati_1701425f.jpg
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 29:  
Supported by higher paddy prices and resumption of imports by Iran, the basmati rice industry looks ahead to attractive growth in 2017-18, aided by export volume growth.
Ratings agency ICRA has estimated the export volumes in 2016-17 to be around 4 mt (about the same as in 2015-16), but lower realisations may keep the value of the exports lower at around 21,000 crore for 2016-17, against 22,718 crore in 2015-16.
“In fiscal 2017-18, the value of exports is expected to grow to 22,000-22,500 crore, with export volumes growing to around 4.09 mt and supported by an increase in average realisations. Resumption of imports by Iran will be keenly watched by the industry as it has the potential to provide an impetus to exports,” said Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice-President, ICRA, in a press release.
According to ICRA, the industry has witnessed moderation in recent years on the back of subdued international demand, owing to the delay in resumption of imports by Iran.
ICRA expects domestic demand to grow consistently, with companies expected to report 2-3 per cent growth in revenues and around 0.5-1.0 per cent growth in profitability.
After peaking at 29,300 crore in fiscal 2013-14, the value of basmati rice exports has fallen. However, volumes grown in recent years.
Average realisations fell from a high of 77,988 per tonne in 2013-14 to 56,149 per tonne in 2015-16 and further to 52,906 per tonne in the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.
In 2017-18, the industry is expected to benefit from rising paddy prices. After declining considerably during the procurement season in fiscal 2015-16, basmati paddy prices have firmed up by 20-25 per cent across various varieties in the October-December 2016 procurement season, primarily due to relatively lower production.
This is likely to push up basmati rice prices in the next financial year, noted ICRA
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/copyofbl30icra/article9606588.ece

Delta govt empowers youth for massive rice production

Description: https://i0.wp.com/tribuneonlineng.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/rice-farmland1.jpg?zoom=1.25&resize=597%2C464


Thirty seven pioneer beneficiaries of the Delta State Government’s Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme (YAGEP) have been established with starter packs to begin rice production in the state.
The beneficiaries trained in rice cultivation, production and processing were established in a 74 hectare farmland and allotted two hectares to each farmer.
Addressing the beneficiaries, the State Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, stated that with a three metric tons deficit supply in Nigeria, rice is one of the priority commodities in the YAGEP initiative, noting that rice cultivation had short life cycle, but had very high market potentials.
He said he was confident that the YAGEP entrepreneurs, having undergone intensive orientation programme, training in life skills and a 3-month internship with Raymos Guanah’s Farms, had the capacity to breach the gap, forecasting that the cluster would be making a presentation of YAGEP rice to the Governor in the next four months.
Governor Okowa assured them that, “they have been provided with a suitable environment to establish their own enterprises, have a business incubation and to run a rice farm enterprise on their own, supported by a full package starter pack.”
Represented by the State Chief Job Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh, he said each beneficiary was provided with leased 2 hectares of land suitable for rain-fed rice cultivation; mechanized land preparation, ploughing and harrowing; certified farrow 44 long grain seeds; mechanized planting of seeds; 6 inorganic fertilizers, Urea and NPK; herbicides and bird repellants at fruiting stage, applied through mechanical methods.
Other items included a tarpaulin; 100 harvesting bags; a stainless basin; brooms; parkers; mechanized harvesting of paddy (tractor-operated); mechanized threshing and winnowing; monthly stipend for 6 months and a micro credit with a moratorium of 6 months, 9 per cent interest rate  and repayable within 12 months and technical assistance throughout the production cycle.
While congratulating them as pioneer beneficiaries of State Government-supported rice production in the state, he disclosed that at the end of the production cycle, the rice will be branded, “Delta YAGEP Rice.”
He advised them to organize themselves into cooperative societies so as to benefit from government’s micro credit and grants to farmers as well as aids from international donor agencies who want to support agriculture in Nigeria.
On his own part, the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Austin Chikezie, represented by his Special Adviser, Honourable Pius Okonjo, reiterated the State Government’s commitment to developing the agricultural sector in the state, especially rice production.
He added that the State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, is fulfilling his promise of prosperity for all Deltans through support for agriculture.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment, Honourable Sunny Ozeghe and the State Anchor on Rice Production, Honourable Raymos Guanah, enjoined the beneficiaries to use the opportunity provided by the State Government to achieve greatness and to make the state proud.
They emphasized that the starter pack provided is a total package that could generate at least 3.5 tons per hectare, pointing out that the investment if sustained will make Nigeria sufficient in rice production.
In their separate remarks, Godgift Edafetita (Ethiope East LGA) and Chukwurah Edozie (Oshimili South LGA) expressed their gratitude to the State Government for the job creation initiative, pledging to work hard to uphold the vision and mission of the programme.

http://tribuneonlineng.com/delta-govt-empowers-youth-massive-rice-production/
Growing Hostility Between Turkey and Russia Could Benefit U.S. Rice 


ANKARA, TURKEY - USA Rice maintains a robust program and trade servicing program here to ensure U.S.-grown rice maintains a strong presence and identity in the market.  As a result, Turkey is a top ten destination for U.S.-grown rice and exports have averaged more than 192,000 metric tons over the past four or five years. Now those exports are poised to gain as Turkey and Russia are engaged in an all-out trade war on agriculture goods.

Turkey and Russia have a complicated and intertwined history that dates back hundreds of years, and the two countries have maintained a healthy respect for each other, if not a full working relationship. However, that relationship has been under great strain as of late.  

In November 2015, a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian plane near the Turkish-Syrian border during an airspace dispute.  Russia slapped several economic sanctions on Turkey, including banning some agricultural imports.  

Full-scale war was avoided and the parties worked to normalize relations. But then in August 2016 Turkish President Erdogan called the Russian annexation of Crimea "Crimea's occupation."  And in December, a Turkish gunman assassinated the Russian Ambassador to Turkey in an art gallery in front of horrified onlookers.  

Although considered by most, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, to be a provocation designed to derail the warming relations between Turkey and Russia, the incident escalated tensions.  Tensions that are now hitting trade in food.

In February, Russia lifted the 2015 ban on imports from Turkey of onions, shallots, cauliflower, broccoli, salt, carnations, and gum, but the economic impact to Turkey was minuscule - and at less than $20 million, far below the relief the Turkish government expected. 

Turkey responded recently by banning the import of corn, wheat, crude sunflower oil, sunflower seeds, peas, and rice from Russia.  This annual trade is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion and clearly got the Russian government's attention.

An upcoming trade mission of Russian officials to Turkey to discuss ending the trade skirmish has been canceled until the new Turkish bans are lifted.  Sixteen tons of Turkish fruit has been rejected by Russia, and importantly here, the brisk trade in tomatoes, worth about $250 million annually, has been shut down.

While this is going on, 25,000 metric tons of U.S.-grown rice are on their way to Turkey, and two importers are considering purchasing another 50,000 metric tons according to the trade here.

USA Rice continues to keep a bold presence in country, with 95 earned media placements in January and February, and in-store demonstrations every week.

"Turkey has always been an important market for U.S. rice and I think we are a valued supplier," said Hugh Maginnis, vice president of international for USA Rice. "While this trade battle goes on between Turkey and Russia, it's important for the Turkish government and trade to know they can continue to count on the U.S. to deliver high quality rice that their people love and depend on.


MEXICO OPENS DOOR TO BRAZIL'S RICE. CORN NEXT?

MEXICO TURNS TO BRAZILIAN RICE.
3/27/2017
Description: http://images.agriculture.mdpcdn.com/sites/default/files/styles/square__500px/public/image/2016/05/10/SouthAmerica-Map.jpg

A move announced recently by Mexican diplomats may be a precursor of what could be happening in the coming months with the trading of major commodities involving the country’s trade war talks with the U.S.
The Mexican ambassador in Brazil, Eleazar Velasco Navarro, promised that he would allow rice imports from the South American country in an agricultural fair in Rio Grande do Sul. Rice growers associations in Brazil already give the entrance to the Mexican market as certain and say that only a “a few details lack.”
In 2015, Mexico harvested 158,350 tons of rice, which is 80.4% less than 30 years ago. In this period, consumption has grown from 850,000 tons to 1.1 million metric tons, with most imports coming from the U.S.
Brazil is a major player in rice production with 11.8 million metric tons, while the U.S. produces over 8 milllion metric tons annually.
Also happening: Mexican authorities announced that lemon imports from Argentina are just “a step away” from being permitted, in another setback for U.S. farmers with an estimated 10,000 tons less of California lemons sent into Mexico.
For Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Analytics & Consulting, this topic will become hotter for grain observers in the next 30 days, especially until it is known how fast U.S. corn planting goes. In his opinion, Mexico is trying to show its cards in the case of the Trump administration imposing a border tax.
“My sense is that Mexico would like to have a plan of action ready in case the border import tax takes on a more serious tone from the Trump administration. However, I am of the view, as an analyst speaking to clients, that the blockage and resistance President Trump is feeling on health care is a good indication of how difficult it will be for him to move more aggressively against our trading partners,” Zuzolo told Agriculture.com.
Mexican analyst Alfonso García Araneda, general director of Gamaa Derivates in Mexico City, says it’s still important to know how big the South American crop will be in order to know if there will be imports of corn from Brazil or Argentina. “A massive harvest in South America, particularly from Brazil, added to the appreciation of the dollar will ease and reduce the cost of imports, since the Mexican peso has advaned 15.03% since January,” said Araneda.
http://www.agriculture.com/news/crops/rice-knows-in-mexicous-trade-war-spat












 
by Hamza Rao | Published on March 29, 2017 

Aiming to develop wearable senors to heal wounds, team Smart Bandage will be competing in the Rice Business Plan Competition from April 6th to 8th in Texas USA.The competition is the world’s richest and largest graduate-level student startup competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.
This is the 17th year for the competition. In that time, it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes.
‘Smart Bandage’ aims to revolutionize healing of wounds through wearable sensors attached to your bandage. It’s a disposable and low cost bandage that wirelessly sends vital signs of the wound to remote medical staff on their cell phones or other devices in real time.

The bandage is able to asses wound healing progress by recording Ulcer formation, Infection, Oxygen, Pressure, Temperature, Humidity, Blood glucose levels to help doctors take timely decisions.
Procedure of voting:
You can help this Pakistani team win the people choice award worth USD 5000 by clicking on the link and voting for Smart Bandage – University of Waterloo https://poll.fbapp.io/2017rbpc
Team:
The team includes co-founders Professor Atif Shamim, who holds a PhD in Electronics Carleton University. Inventor on 7 US patents, author of 50 international publications and an expert in the field of wireless micro-antennas.
Waqas Khan – Student University of Waterloo with expertise in commercializing technologies & product development, has served in multinationals from broadband to telecommunication industries based in Europe, UAE, & Pakistan and has successfully launched 4 startups.
Mian Talha Nasruddin – Head of Digital Channels & Partnerships at Jazz carrying a rich experience of customer insight generation he specializes in digital payments and has launched multiple brands over his career. He recently launched the largest incubation center in Pakistan where he is currently heading the JazzXLR8 program. He is also a serial entrepreneur with 3 successful business launches to date.
Mohammed Fahd Farooqui did his MS and Phd in Electrical Engineering in Texas A&M University USA and KAUST respectively. His area of interest is inkjet and 3D printed wireless sensors for biomedical and environmental applications. He is currently the inventor on 2 US Patents.
Sohaib Imran Rana who recently joined the team is a multi-faceted professional with 8 years of experience working in international environments KSA, USA, & Malaysia he is currently handling Marketing & Business Development.
About Competition:
The competition is the world’s richest and largest graduate-level student startup competition. It is hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/technology/this-amazing-pakistani-startup-is-competing-against-indian-startups-and-needs-your-help-to-win/

Beaumont Rice Mills turns 125


Published 11:43 am, Tuesday, March 28, 2017 Description: Joseph Long tosses 110 pound bags of rice onto the back of a truck at Beaumont Rice Mills on Wednesday. The company is celebrating its 125th year operating is Beaumont.  Photo taken Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor
: Guiseppe Barranco, Photo Editor
Joseph Long tosses 110 pound bags of rice onto the back of a truck at Beaumont Rice Mills on Wednesday. The company is celebrating its 125th year operating is Beaumont. Photo taken Wednesday, March 22, 2017 ... more
Flatbed trucks pulled up to a conveyor belt at Beaumont Rice Mills to load 60,000 bags of USA Milled Rice bound for Bangkok, Thailand.Thailand is the fifth-largest nation in the world in land available for rice production with more than 22 million acres. It's also the second-largest exporter in the world.
A drought in 2016 dropped production by more than 20 percent, so Uncle Sam stepped in with its food export program and Beaumont Rice Mills responded.
Workers at the mill on Pecos Street last week guided 3,000 tons' worth of the 110-pound bags onto the trailers headed for the Port of Lake Charles. From there, the rice will be shipped to Bangkok.
For Beaumont Rice Mills president Louis Broussard, the export program makes up perhaps 30 percent of his overall business, which this year is celebrating its 125th year of operation.
Broussard, 56, represents the fourth generation of Broussards running Beaumont Rice Mills. In 1892, Joseph Eloi Broussard Sr. acquired an interest in a grist mill, which grinds grain into flour, and converted it into a rice mill. It became the first commercially successful one in Texas.
On April 15, more than 300 Broussard family members from across the country will convene in Beaumont to observe the mill's 125th year.
State Rep. Dade Phelan secured a state House of Representatives resolution recognizing April 15 as Beaumont Rice Mills Day.
Broussard and his brother, Ben, are president and vice president.
Joe E. Polk, 40, is quality control supervisor. His great-great grandfather was Joseph E. Broussard Sr. Jacob Broussard, 24, also traces his lineage to the founder, his great-great grandfather, too. Jacob's dad is Louis Broussard.
On Wednesday, Jacob climbed a ladder with a broom to sweep rough rice from the roof over the conveyor belt to prevent grains from falling onto the bags loaded onto the trucks.
"To this day, local farmers are our customers," Louis Broussard said, commenting on what's in those 110-pound bags.
He estimated that 75 percent of what is bagged at the mill is from local farmers in Jefferson, Liberty and Chambers counties, a large swath of the Texas rice belt that swings west and south of Houston.
Beaumont Rice Mills' reach is global, with markets in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico and Haiti, for example.
The mill sold rice in Iraq before it stopped U.S. imports, and the mill sent rice to Iran. Cuba was a major customer, particularly for the mill's label, Sunset Rice, before the U.S. embargo in 1962 closed that market.
"Eventually, we'll get back into Cuba," he said. "Maybe not in my lifetime."
The Beaumont Rice Mills building at 1800 Pecos St. is as old as it looks, dating to 1892. Louis Broussard and everyone else who works in the third-floor offices climbs two narrow and steep flights of time-worn stairs to get there, the same ones Joseph E. Broussard Sr. climbed 125 years ago.In agriculture, uncertainty is ever-present. Farmers contend with drought, flood, pests, weeds and prices, low or high and government policy that is outside an individual's control.
"If our business model remains viable in the rice industry, we will build a new facility," Broussard said. "Expansion is the only way that we can carry the mill into the next generations."
DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/DWallach
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/Beaumont-Rice-Mills-turns-125-11033440.php

New rice storage centres to cost Odisha exchequer dear

By Express News Service  |   Published: 30th March 2017 04:20 AM  |  
Last Updated: 30th March 2017 04:20 AM  |  
Description: http://images.newindianexpress.com/uploads/user/imagelibrary/2017/3/30/original/New5.jpg

SUNDARGARH: The decision of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (OSCSCL) to operate two Rice Receiving Centres-cum-Departmental Storage Centres (RRCs-cum-DSCs) in far-flung areas of the district will cost the State exchequer heavily due to manifold rise in transportation costs.
Sources said without consulting its local authorities, the OSCSCL finalised to operate an RRC-cum-DSC at B Korua in Balishankara block on Chhattisgarh border and another in the remote Hemgir block for 10 years. Each centre has food grain storage capacity of 25,000 quintals with a cost of Rs 8.20 per month per quintal and the facilities will be jointly run by the corporation and private players.
Rice mills located in Sundargarh, Subdega, Lefripara, Tangarpali and Bargaon blocks and Sundargarh Municipality would be badly hit. The millers said two free of cost departmental storage centres and three private godowns at a nominal rent located at viable points are catering to the needs of seven blocks. But instruction was issued to close them. Moreover, most of the rice mills are located in Sundargarh, Bargaon and Rajgangpur blocks which are 40 to 100 km from Balishankara and Hemgir.  
Under the present circumstances, the rice mills would dispatch rice stocks to the RRCs-cum-DSCs for storage under the public distribution system (PDS). Now, the lifting agents or transport contractors for these affected blocks and the municipality area would have to procure PDS stocks from these RRCs-cum-DSCs and return to the respective block offices before going for distribution to about 110 fair price shops located in remote areas.
Both the rice mill owners and transport contractors are peeved at the decision while the civil supplies authorities admitted that the decision would enhance transport cost manifold. Sundargarh Civil Supplies Officer (CSO) A Pradhan refused to comment.
Sundargarh District Congress Committee president Dushmanta Naik said the decision would bleed the State exchequer heavily and it is a fit case for Vigilance probe. Naik said the private players involved in the RRCs-cum-DSCs ignored viable locations and settled for distant areas for procuring cheap land

Rice exporters suffer losses due to sudden domestic price hike
The sudden surge in domestic rice prices in this year’s winter-spring crop has made a number of rice exporters suffer from losses in the first quarter.

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Farmers in the Mekong Delta harvest winter-spring rice


Vietnam exported 1.28 million tonnes of rice worth nearly 570 million USD in the first three months of 2017, down 18.1 percent in volume and 17.3 percent in value from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.Chairman of the Vietnam Food Association Huynh The Nang said although rice shipments fell in Q1, it was still positive compared to the previous years. Most of exported rice was destined for the Philippines, China and Africa, which are also the biggest rice importer of Vietnam, helping to keep domestic prices high in the winter-spring crop.

Businesses said it was abnormal that domestic rice prices rose sharply in the crop’s harvest season. Most of the firms that inked export contracts before the winter-winter crop have suffered from losses.Lam Anh Tuan, Director of the Thinh Phat Foodstuffs Co. Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, said businesses usually sign export contracts early so that when local rice prices decline in the harvest season, they will buy rice from farmers.

However, the situation changed this year when rice prices remained too high throughout the winter-spring crop, even higher than export prices, causing the companies a loss on the deals they had inked, he added.Many enterprises were unable to respond to the sudden price hike, failing to purchase and ship rice as scheduled. Some even refused to deliver goods as stated in contracts as they didn’t want to make losses, said Do Ha Nam – General Director of the Vietnam Intimex Joint Stock Corporation.

Soaring domestic prices also increased export prices which have already been 10 – 15 USD per tonnes higher than those offered by Thailand and India. As a result, it is hard for Vietnamese rice to compete with Thai or Indian goods in the same market segment.Nguyen Van Don, Director of the Viet Hung Co. Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, said his firm did not sign any export contracts from late February to March 20 to wait for market changes. 

It is unlikely that importers would buy Vietnamese rice whose prices are higher than those of Thailand and India. Meanwhile, the company would suffer from losses if it lowered prices which could not make up for purchase and delivery expenses, he elaborated.
Most of the surveyed businesses said the market is still unpredictable, but there may be favourable conditions for overseas shipment in the third and fourth quarters when Thailand will have finished selling its stockpiled rice
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/basmati-rice-exports-may-grow-to-rs-22000-22500-crore-in-fy18-report/articleshow/57894777.cms





Gov’t unit backs lifting of rice import quota, eyes 35% tariff

By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:11 PM March 29, 2017
Description: NFA rice
Rice imports. (AFP FILE PHOTO/Jay DIRECTO)
MANILA — State-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is pushing to slap a 35-percent tariff on rice while providing subsidies to farmers when the import quota expires by the middle of this year.
In a policy note published this month titled “Quantitative restriction on rice imports: Issues and alternatives” authored by Roehlano M. Briones, Ivory Myka Galang and Lovely Ann Tolin, PIDS said the government could pursue two policy options following the expiration of the so-called quantitative restriction or QR.
“First is to extend the QR for two more years. The second and the preferred option is to pursue tariffication, with revenues earmarked as safety net for rice farmers,” PIDS said.
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Specifically, “a 35-percent tariff rate seems appropriate as a tariff equivalent,” PIDS recommended.
Alongside slapping import duty on the Filipino staple food, PIDS proposed to financially support farmers. “A safety net for rice farmers can be as much as P20 billion annually and can be financed entirely by earmarking funds from the tariff revenue.”
PIDS further said “tariffication with safety nets will bring down the price of rice and ease the dislocation of rice farmers.”
But PIDS added that ultimately, “removal of the QR will also increase imports and depress palay prices.”
Based on PIDS’ projections under a scenario that the QR will be ultimately repealed while imposing a 35-percent tariff

 on rice, “imports are expected to double and reach 4.4 million tons per year on the average from 2017 to 2022.”“Tariff revenues are expected to be around P27-28 billion during the same period. Meanwhile, farm gate and retail prices are projected to decrease by P4.56 per kilogram and P6.97 per kilogram, respectively,” it added.
As for extending the waiver for two more years or until 2019, as proposed by the Department of Agriculture, PIDS pointed out that “the government still has no clear strategy to fast-track domestic farmer competitiveness within two years.”
Also, “a QR extension means consumers shall continue to bear the burden of overpriced rice, with the poorest households bearing the brunt,” the PIDS added.
“The extension may also encourage some World Trade Organization (WTO) members to bargain for non-rice concessions,” PIDS warned.
State planning agency National Economic and Development Authority has disclosed the decision of the majority of economic managers to remove the Philippines’ quota on rice importation, as the government moves to lower the prices of the staple food.
Economic managers have been pushing the amendment of the decade-old Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, which had put the rice import quota in place.
In 2014, the WTO allowed the Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017, in a bid to buy more time for local farmers to prepare for free trade in the light of the government’s goal of achieving rice self-sufficiency.
Since the government imposes a quota on rice imports, domestic prices are vulnerable to shocks resulting from meager supply.
The QR puts the burden of rice supply and demand to the government, whereas the market forces are being limited by the quota system.
Pundits say importation should be done by the private sector in order to allow market forces to determine prices.
The extended QR slaps 35-percent duty on imported rice under a minimum access volume (MAV) of 805,200 metric tons. Importation outside of the MAV limit are levied a higher tariff of 50 percent.
The Philippines’ most favored nation rate—the additional tariff imposed when imported outside of Asean—on the commodity remains at about 40 percent.
In 1995, the WTO allowed the Philippines to impose a 10-year quota system for rice importation. The QR was extended in 2004, and then lapsed in 2012, before being renewed in 2014.  SFM


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/884849/govt-unit-backs-lifting-of-rice-import-quota-eyes-35-tariff


New rice info system makes interventions more efficient

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The adoption of a newly developed rice-monitoring system would now enable the government to craft sound policies and programs for the country’s rice sector, according to an International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) expert.
The IRRI turned over to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) the operation and maintenance of the Philippine Rice Information System (Prism) on March 29.
“This technology is really for the [first-hand] use by the Department of Agriculture and PhilRice. It is very useful for assessing the total crop of rice, very useful in assessing the real-time status of the regions, and very useful for budgeting and for forecasting,” IRRI Deputy Director General for Communications and Partnership Dr. V. Bruce Tolentino said. “It will make the work of the department much more accurate and more efficient.”
Prism is an online database-system initiative between the DA and the IRRI to support the DA national rice program by providing accurate and real-time monitoring data on the country’s rice production, according to the IRRI.Prism aims to strengthen the capacity of the DA to make sound decisions in achieving food security by delivering actionable information on rice crop seasonality, area yield and yield-reducing factors using data collected from satellites, crop models, smartphone-based surveys, statistics and maps, the agency added.
“In Prism,  we can get [data in relative real time every 10 days, because we have the satellite images. We just have to assess the images, and we do not have to go to the field to the survey-based,” Tolentino said, comparing the differences between the data-gathering methods of Prism and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in coming up with palay production-related reports.
“Based on the images alone, we have preliminary assessment of the crop already, because we know when the crop was planted, so we can have an estimate on when the harvest will be, and that would mean we can forecast the crop production,”  Tolentino added.The IRRI said the database of Prism relies on data gathered via remote sensing, crop models, in-field crop surveys, farmer interviews, weather data, official statistics and other fieldwork. Some of the data provided by Prism include the total area planted with palay, the estimated production per hectare, the health status of the crops and external factors that would affect production, such as incoming typhoons or abnormalities in weather patterns, according to the IRRI.
“This means that due to the abundance of information provided by Prism to the government and policy-makers, they could make decision on total harvest [in a given period], as well as decisions on trade, whether it will [be for] export or import. This is now real-time information that is
available to the department for decision-making,”  Tolentino said.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Ariel T. Cayanan said Prism would serve as the go-to database of the DA for its planning and monitoring of the development of the country’s rice production.
“This is something we don’t want our stakeholders to miss—to take advantage of the technology we have. For example, there’s an incoming typhoon, through this, we could see the path of typhoon, and we would learn immediately the potential damages that it could cause,” Cayanan said. “So, now, if the crops that are going to be affected by typhoon are mature enough for harvest, then we can deploy some postharvest facilities to save them.”
Cayanan also said Prism would not replace the role of the PSA as the government’s primary source for palay data, but instead would serve as a complementary to it.
“The message was very clear. It was highly noted that the PSA, the DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] and other major components [of rice sector] already agreed that they will coordinate—not to compete or contrast, which would be more appropriate—but to coordinate to come up with data and information needed by the farmers,” Cayanan said.
He disclosed the budget for the creation of Prism is around P25 million to P35 million. Cayanan estimated that it would be the same amount of funding needed to sustain and further more improve Prism.
“Until next year it will be having a budget coming from PhilRice. But as it progresses, we will have to find source of sufficient budget for Prism, which could come from the GAA [General Appropriations Act],” Cayanan said.
Dr. Eduardo Jimmy Quilang, Prism project leader and PhilRice deputy executive director for research, said it took them at least four years to develop Prism from 2013 to 2017.
Quilang said Prism would also release monthly and quarterly reports on the country’s rice production. “Prism has an 85-percent accuracy assessment of the products we produce, like the rice map. We have field implementors who do ground validation,” Quilang said.
“For example, if a certain area is indicated as a rice farm in the Prism, the personnel would go there. If they see that rice is not really planted in that specific area, then they would put a red mark on it in the Prism data base. So, that’s how we measure our accuracy,” Quilang added.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said his department is having difficulties crafting programs for the country’s cash crops due to the lack of “reliable and accurate” agricultural data and statistics. “I believe we cannot do sound planning if the data that we use and the statistics we rely on are not accurate.”
Piñol said he has ordered the nationwide validation of all agricultural data, adding that the current and available agricultural data and statistics in the country are “inaccurate and outdated”.  “In fact, we’re currently designing a program wherein we will really go down to the village level, and we are going to use drone technology for the data collection.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/new-rice-info-system-makes-interventions-more-efficient/

The Tahri That Binds: How A Sweet Rice Dish Connects A Woman To Her History

March 29, 20175:51 AM ET
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Pooja Makhijani for NPR
I have always found it difficult to explain my family's syncretic faith traditions to both white Americans and to other South Asians. We are Hindu Sindhis, originating from an area around the Indus River, in what is now modern southeast Pakistan. On our home altar, familiar Hindu idols — Lakshmi, Ganesh, Krishna — share space with images of the 10 Sikh gurus and Jhulelal. Jhulelal, a river deity, is not only the patron saint of Hindu Sindhis, but is also revered by Sufi Muslims. For many, my religion is an outlandish concoction of incompatible faiths. But one thing that brings it all together is our traditional foods.

My grandparents left newly formed Pakistan in 1947, after the Partition of British India, in one of the largest mass migrations in human history. They settled in refugee camps in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh before migrating to Pune, an Indian city with a large Sindhi diaspora and where my parents were born.
In independent India, my family felt spiritually alienated, because their practices were viewed as not "truly Hindu" by their new neighbors. As communities in exile often do, Sindhi Hindus formed tight-knit, transnational networks, and these practices, as well as language and food, became a vital connection to their roots.

Description: A Longing For Lentils, Or How I Learned To Find Home Where The Daal Is

THE SALT

A Longing For Lentils, Or How I Learned To Find Home Where The Daal Is

Once a year, we went to Ved Mandir, a run-down, drafty temple in central New Jersey to celebrate Cheti Chand, the Sindhi New Year and a celebration of the birth of Jhulelal. There, my aunties and uncles sang passionate devotional songs in praise of Jhulelal, and danced the ecstatic chhej (a Sindhi folk dance).
As I got older, I categorically rejected all these trappings of my subculture. It was much easier to be a "mainstream" Indian and to assume more conventional Hindu practices. But now that I'm an adult — and a parent — I'm reclaiming all the quirky bits of my culture and faith.
Jhulelal is known by various names and worshiped in many forms; his shrine in Pakistan receives both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims. But this white-bearded saint who sits on fish and whose image is found in nearly all Sindhi homes was originally a marginal deity for a particular group of Sindhis who prayed to the Indus River, according to Steven Ramey, associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama and author of Hindu, Sufi or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond.
After Partition, however, the singer Ram Panjwani, known as a cultural ambassador of the Sindhi community, recast Jhulelal into a Sindhi icon. "Panjwani] consciously popularized Jhulelal as a Hindu Sindhi deity," says Ramey. Panjwani set Muslim and Hindu spirituals about the glory of Jhulelal to music. These hymns were then published and distributed among the diaspora.
Description: How A Broken-Hearted Young Girl Found Healing In Her Grandmother's Vadais

THE SALT

How A Broken-Hearted Young Girl Found Healing In Her Grandmother's Vadais

There are many rituals associated with the holiday Cheti Chand, which falls on March 29 this year, but two continue to hold both nostalgia and meaning for me: pallao payan, when devotees hold their garment hems, or the ends of their mother's sari, as I once did, to pray to Jhulelal, and the consumption of tahri or sweet rice, during langar, the communal meal at the end of the celebration.
During langar, we sit cross-legged on the floor while volunteers scoop heaps of this sticky, aromatic rice onto our plates. Tahri is complex in flavor. Its varying ingredients — sugar or jaggery, fennel seeds, cardamom, and caraway seeds — give it a sweet, bitter, peppery and earthy taste. Its perfume is sharp and slightly aggressive.
Because of Sindh's location on the Silk Road, its cuisine has been influenced influenced by Persian, Arab and central Asian cooking. The Mughal Empire's Muslim rulers' decadent staples, such as saffron and pistachios for example, are showcased in tahri. During langar, tahri was often served with sai bhaji, a green, leafy vegetable and lentil stew, or bhee aloo, lotus stem and potato curry, both considered comfort foods for this uprooted population.
A spoonful of tahri instantly transports me to the Cheti Chand functions of my childhood — of family members chanting, "Jeko chawundo Jhulelal, tehnija theenda bera paar (Whomever calls the name of Jhulelal, their ship will safely reach the shore)," while greeting each other on that special day.
This week, I'll be cooking bowlfuls for my daughter, who has a sweet tooth. She, too, may turn away from all of this one day. But I'm doing my best to hold onto that which has survived through war, migration and globalization, just as my own parents and grandparents did.
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The author's tahri, from a family recipe
Pooja Makhijani for NPR

Tahri

This family recipe comes to us from the author.
Ingredients:
§  1 cup Basmati rice
§  2 cups water
§  ½ cup sugar
§  4 cardamoms pods
§  few strands of saffron
§  ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
§  pinch of salt
§  4 tablespoons ghee
§  ¼ cup silvered almonds, chopped pistachios, and chopped cashews (for garnish)
§  ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (for garnish)
1.     Heat ghee over medium heat in heavy-bottomed pan. Sauté cardamom pods and rice until cardamom is fragrant and rice is coated.
2.     Add water, saffron, fennel seeds, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.
3.     Cook until water has reduced by half, and rice is half-cooked.
4.     Add sugar, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until rice is cooked.
5.     Garnish with nuts and caraway seeds.
Pooja Makhijani is a New Jersey-based journalist, essayist, and children's book writer. Visit her online home at poojamakhijani.com