30th October ,2018 daily global regional local rice e-newsletter

Senate urged to pass rice tariffication bill

October 28, 2018

 By Ryan Ponce Pacpaco

People's Tonight

A BICOLANO lawmaker has called on the Senate to pass its version of the rice tariffication bill as soon as the Congress resumes session in November to clear the way for its implementation next year, thus stabilizing retail prices of the staple and alleviating the plight of ordinary Filipinos reeling from the inflation surge.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte said President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of this import liberalization bill as a priority or urgent measure should prompt the Senate to act on it with dispatch as soon as the Congress resumes session on November 12.

“The prompt approval of the rice tariffication bill is the fastest way for both chambers of the Congress to help President Duterte tame inflation and ease its impact on consumers -- most especially this coming holiday season -- given that food expenses account for 9.7% of the consumer price index,” said Villafuerte.

Also, he said the speedy approval of this measure will go a long way in boosting palay productivity, which is a long-term approach to stabilizing the supply and price of the staple, because it provides for the establishment of a Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to bankroll farm modernization and other projects beneficial to local palay growers.

http://www.journal.com.ph/news/nation/senate-urged-pass-rice-tariffication-bill

Vietnam Jan-Oct coffee exports seen up 21.5 pct y/y; rice to grow 3.4 pct y/y

OCTOBER 29, 2018

HANOI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam’s coffee exports volume for the January-October period is expected to have grown 21.5 percent from the same period a year ago, while rice exports rose an estimated 3.4 percent during the same period, government data showed on Monday.

COFFEE

Coffee exports from Vietnam will rise an estimated 21.5 percent between January and October from a year ago to 1.58 million tonnes, equal to 26.3 million 60-kg bags, the General Statistics Office said in a report on Monday.

Coffee export revenue for Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer of the robusta bean, rose 1.1 percent to $2.98 billion in the 10-month period, the report said.

October coffee exports were estimated at 130,000 tonnes, worth $230 million.

RICE

Rice exports in January-October from Vietnam were forecast to rise 3.4 percent from a year ago to 5.24 million tonnes. Revenue from rice exports in the period was forecast to grow 16.1 percent year-on-year to $2.64 billion.

October rice exports from Vietnam, the world’s third-largest shipper of the grain, were recorded at 350,000 tonnes, worth $180 million.

ENERGY

Vietnam’s January-October crude oil exports plunged 45.4 percent year-on-year to an estimated 3.22 million tonnes.

Crude oil export revenue in the first 10 months of 2018 fell 24.8 percent to $1.82 billion.

Oil product imports in the 10-month period were estimated at 10 million tonnes, falling 5.1 percent from the same period last year, while the value of product imports rose 20 percent to $6.77 billion.

Vietnam’s January-to-October liquefied petroleum gas imports increased 5.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.2 million tonnes. (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Sunil Nair)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-crash-maintenance/indonesian-jet-flew-with-unreliable-speed-readings-the-day-before-it-crashed-idUSKCN1N40QZ

Five more rice mills get Chinese nod for exports

OUR BUREAUT+ T-

BENGALURU, OCTOBER 29

China has recently approved five more Indian rice mills for export of non-basmati rice, a move that could help fuel shipments to the country. On Monday, India again pitched aggressively for sale of its rice to China and urged the neighbouring country to open up its market further.

So far, a total of 24 Indian rice mills have received approval from Chinese authorities, Prashant Lokhande, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Indian Embassy in Beijing said in a statement.

For the first time, mills based in South India, such as Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd and Sri Lalitha Enterprises Industries Pvt Ltd, which have traditionally exported non-basmati rice, have received Chinese approval.

With world-class quality and cost competitiveness, India has emerged as the biggest exporter of rice in the world, Lokhande said. He hoped to have significant quantities of rice shipped to China at the earliest to cater to the $1.5-$2 billion rice import.

BV Krishna Rao, MD, Pattabhi Agro Foods and President of the Rice Exporters Association, told BusinessLine that the approval by Chinese authorities holds “potential to export over a million tonnes of rice in an year's time”.

While India has been the largest exporter with annual shipments exceeding 10 mt for several years, it has barely any share in China, which imports about 5 mt from the Philippines, Vietnam and Pakistan. However, with the signing of a protocol on export of non-basmati rice in June, the first shipment was made in September.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/five-more-rice-mills-get-chinese-nod-for-exports/article25363211.ece

Nigeria: Flood Destroys Over 100,000 Hectares of Rice Farms in Jigawa - Rifan

Alhaji Adamu Maigoro, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Jigawa Chapter, on Friday said the recent flooding in the state destroyed over 100,000 hectares of rice farms.

Maigoro told newsmen in Hadejia that over 10,000 registered members of the association were affected by the flood.

"The 10,000 figures captured only the dry season rice farmers, who were supported with farm inputs earlier in the year.

Ekiti Pensioners lament unpaid gratuities

" If you are asking about the entire rice farmers affected, the figures will definitely rise up to over 50,000 farmers," he said.

The chairman listed areas hit by the flood to include; Ringim, Taura, Miga, Jahun, Auyo, Kaugama, Mallam-madori, Hadejia, Guri, Kirikasamma, Gwaram, Buji, Birnin kudu and Kazaure.

Maigoro appealed to government at all levels to support the affected farmers who were still struggling to cope with the heavy loss caused by the flood.

FG, Labour and the new minimum wage

"Though, government had assisted our members, we are still appealing to them to do more because rice farmers are still battling with the shock of the worst flooding in recent times," he said.

The chairman expressed concern over delay in the completion of Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme by the Federal Government.

"The first phase of the project, which starts from Auyo and ends at Hadejia, began 30 years ago but as I speak with you, it has not been completed.

"Phase two of the project is supposed to continue from Hadejia to Yobe.

"Though, this administration has shown interest in completing the project and even expanded it, there is an urgent need to complete it, if we truly government wants to end rice importation.

Monarch urges farmers to save for rainy day

"We are very passionate about this because Jigawa has the potential to meet the entire nation's rice demand," Maigoro said.

Newsmen report that no fewer than 21 persons died in the September flooding, which affected thousands of farmers and washed away over 100,000 hectares of farmlands.

https://allafrica.com/stories/201810260676.html

Rice Prices

as on : 30-10-2018 11:23:06 AM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.

	Arrivals			Price
	Current	% change	Season  cumulative	Modal	Prev. Modal	Prev.Yr %change
Rice
Cachar(ASM)	80.00	33.33	5402.00	2400	2400	9.09
Karimganj(ASM)	60.00	NC	1540.00	2400	2400	2.13
Vishalpur(UP)	21.00	-25	619.00	2375	2375	-
Jasra(UP)	20.00	-68.25	434.00	2300	2300	-
Naugarh(UP)	20.00	14.29	925.20	2255	2250	8.67
Wansi(UP)	20.00	11.11	824.00	2110	2115	-
Giridih(Jha)	13.32	8.2	818.14	3500	3500	NC
Sahiyapur(UP)	11.50	21.05	2303.50	2240	2240	-
Paliakala(UP)	11.00	-15.38	1111.10	2290	2280	-
Vilthararoad(UP)	10.00	NC	391.00	2150	2150	NC
Anandnagar(UP)	8.00	700	80.00	2100	2300	-
Tamkuhi Road(UP)	6.00	9.09	974.00	2150	2150	-
Chitwadagaon(UP)	6.00	-33.33	365.70	2100	2100	-1.41
Nautnava(UP)	5.00	400	36.50	2250	2250	10.29
Ruperdeeha(UP)	5.00	-50	254.00	1600	1600	-
Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)	4.00	60	47.20	1835	1815	-
Dibrugarh(ASM)	2.80	-48.15	744.50	2920	2920	29.78
Balarampur(WB)	1.80	NC	87.95	2640	2640	12.34
Chandoli(UP)	1.40	-17.65	236.30	2345	2360	-
Khair(UP)	1.00	-33.33	1173.60	2530	2530	-0.78
Jagnair(UP)	0.80	NC	80.40	2570	2550	1.18
Khairagarh(UP)	0.80	NC	115.20	2560	2560	1.59
Champaknagar(Tri)	0.60	-	1.20	3100	-	-
Achnera(UP)	0.60	-14.29	20.60	2550	2560	NC
Kasipur(WB)	0.51	-1.92	4.98	2650	2630	15.22

Published on October 30, 2018

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article25367694.ece

Attendees 'Think Rice' at Annual FNCE Show 

By Lesley Dixon

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Last week, more than 10,000 dietitians, food policy makers, healthcare providers, nutrition scientists and researchers, and food industry leaders from around the globe gathered in the nation's capital to attend the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' 2018 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE).  As an exhibitor, USA Rice promoted U.S. rice messaging, addressed nutrition and food safety questions, and debuted the new "RD-Approved Guide to U.S.-grown Rice" toolkit that was distributed via branded USB flashdrives.

At the new USA Rice booth, visual aids helped attendees understand the differences in U.S.-grown rice varieties and, of course, everyone lined up to test their knowledge on the famous Think Rice trivia wheel.

"The FNCE show is a very important event in the Domestic Promotion annual plan," said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice manager of domestic promotion, who manned the booth.  "The conference and expo brings together our target audience for USA Rice's nutrition and foodservice programs, and provides a great platform for USA Rice to position itself as the ultimate resource when it comes to all aspects of the U.S. rice industry from nutrition to sourcing and recipe production."
 
Outside of the booth's traditional offerings, USA Rice conducted a survey of more than 150 health professionals to gain stronger insight on rice attitudes and usage.

"Collecting real industry feedback gives us a better understanding of consumer interests and needs, while reinforcing our message that U.S.-grown rice is a central component of a healthy, well-balanced diet in both schools and homes," said Jacobs.  "We'll be sharing these findings as soon as they have been tallied and interpreted."

Reschke appointed to wild rice task force

on Oct 28, 2018 at 9:15 p.m.

1

Reschke appointed to wild rice task force

Natural Resources Research Institute Aquatic Vegetation Scientist Carol Reschke has been appointed to Governor Dayton's Wild Rice Task Force. Her expertise will help the group of experts and stakeholders find a compromise solution to wild rice restoration and protection in Minnesota.

Reschke is currently researching the microbial communities of wild rice and competing emergent plants that often displace wild rice.

The Governor appointed Task Force is comprised of representatives from Tribal Nations, industry, environmental advocacy groups, scientists, state government agencies and others.

NRRIs is to deliver research solutions to balance our economy, resources and environment for resilient communities.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/announcements/4520718-reschke-appointed-wild-rice-task-force

ast updated:

Millers get paddy worth ~700 cr without giving bank guarantee

30, 2018, 12:03 AM; Oct 30, 2018, 12:03 AM (IST)

Process on guarantee, mortgage to be completed in 2-3 days: DFSC

Paddy being loaded at the anaj mandi in Karnal. Sayeed Ahmed

Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, October 28

In a major lapse, the Food and Civil Supplies Department has allegedly issued paddy worth around Rs 700 crore to around 70 new and leased rice mills without obtaining bank guarantee or documentation pertaining to mortgage of property equivalent to 5 per cent of cost of allotted paddy for custom milled rice (CMR).

Officials concerned refused to confirm the figures of paddy. Sources in the department said 5,000 metric tonnes (MT) paddy was given to a mill with 2 MT capacity, 6,000 MT to a mill with 3 MT capacity and 7,000 MT to a mill with 4 MT capacity.

Considering an average of around 6,000 MT allotted to each mill, around 4 lakh MT costing around Rs 708 crore at a rate of Rs 1,770 per quintal had been allotted to millers so far without seeking their documents.

On October 18, the Additional Director (Procurement) issued a circular, directing procurement agencies to take 5 per cent bank guarantee with guarantee of two rice mills which had delivered CMR during the last three years.

New rice millers had to mortgage the property equal to 5 per cent of the value of paddy allotted with additional guarantee of two rice mills which had delivered CMR during the last three years. Kushal Boora, DFSC, admitted the issuance of paddy to some millers without taking bank guarantee.

He said they received the order on bank guarantee on October 19 and started the process to collect bank guarantee and documentation of mortgage. “We will complete this process in two or three days,” he said.

Minister Karan Dev Kamboj claimed it to be a lapse. He said an inquiry would be initiated to fix responsibility. If anyone was found guilty, action would be taken against the erring officials, he added.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/millers-get-paddy-worth-700-cr-without-giving-bank-guarantee/675685.html

Tiny gyroscope the size of a grain of rice could help shrink gadgets even further

David Nield

October 28th, 2018

This optical gyroscope is 500 times smaller than existing models(Credit: Caltech)
The electronics inside consumer gadgets are often miniaturized versions of bigger components – like phone cameras, for instance – and that applies to the gyroscopes used to help a device orientate itself in 3D space. Now scientists have worked out a way of making these gyroscopes much, much smaller.
How small? Well, smaller than a grain of rice in fact. If you're hoping your next phone is going to be an easier fit inside your pocket – or even small enough to clip to your wrist – then this is one of the innovations that might help.
"The proof-of-concept device is capable of detecting phase shifts 30 times smaller than state-of-the-art miniature fibre-optic gyroscopes, despite being 500 times smaller in size," explains the team behind the work.
Today's wearables, smartphones, and drones use microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors as gyroscopes, to work out how they are being rotated: it's how your phone knows to switch from portrait to landscape mode when you turn it around.
These electronic gyroscopes are much smaller than the rotating, nested wheels that made up the first models, but they're not always as accurate as they could be. That's led to the development of optical gyroscopes that use a split beam of light to get their bearings – what's known as the Sagnac effect.
While optical gyroscopes improve accuracy, up until now they haven't been any smaller than a golf ball. That brings us to the new research from scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), who have used a technique they call "reciprocal sensitivity enhancement" to make optical gyroscopes substantially smaller.
The Sagnac effect works by detecting very slight variations in the two beams of light split from a single source: those differences can be decoded by the gyroscope to judge rotation and orientation. The trick that the researchers have pulled off is to weed out some of the noise from these signals while maintaining the variations essential to the Sagnac effect (so "reciprocal" in affecting both light beams together).
That reduced noise – or "sensitivity enhancement" – means the whole system can work with weaker signals, and that means everything can be shrunk right down. The work has been published in Nature Photonics.
As is the case with any research of this type, it's going to take a long time for the technology to make its way from the laboratory to a gadget being sold on the shelves of your local electronics store, but now you know what's in the pipeline: super-small gyroscopes that are more accurate than ever before.

https://newatlas.com/tiny-optical-gyroscope-grain-of-rice/56976/

Death by Harvest: A Story of Tractor Breakdowns!

Tractor breakdowns prevented a smooth second half of our 2018 California rice harvest. It was rare having all three of our harvest combines cutting rice at the same time.

Click Next Link to Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDuKZpZ6_ig&feature=youtu.be

President Xi to visit Pakistan next month

ImaduddinOctober 28, 2018

BEIJING: Chinese President, Xi Jinping will visit pavilion being set up by Pakistan at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) which is scheduled to be held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

“Pakistan, a country of honor, is setting up its pavilion to display its products and it is hoped that President Xi Jinping will visit our pavilion,” Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid told APP here on Sunday.

He said that Pakistan would exhibit its main products and highlight the development process and achievements in science and technology, information technology and other areas besides projecting the government’s priorities.

Ambassador Khalid said that Pakistani companies and entrepreneurs would introduce their market potential and exhibit products at the expo and play an important role to further enhance economic cooperation with Chinese companies and the business community.

Pointing out other factors of the expo beneficial for Pakistan, he said, the business groups and companies from the US, Europe and other parts of the world would also be participating and exhibiting their products.

The expo would see the participation of more than 2,800 companies from 130 countries and regions, and 160,000 buyers from over 80,000 Chinese and foreign companies.

“Our businessmen and traders will have an opportunity to interact with only their Chinese counterpart but also introduce themselves to the business community of other countries as well,” he added.

According to experts, the expo would create more opportunities for extensive and in-depth trade cooperation between Pakistan and China.

A look at China’s market reveals that it was the world’s biggest destination for agricultural products including grains, cotton, sugar, meat, and milk – and Pakistan produces almost all of these in abundance.

Connecting the agro potential of Pakistan with China’s opening up measures, the expo would help in exploring new trade avenues.

One-third of Pakistan’s total agricultural export was rice. Just a few years back, China was the second largest buyer of Pakistan’s non-basmati type rice but the continuously evolving arrangements have changed the scenario.

Nonetheless, traders and governments from both countries had recently shown a willingness to resume their high-volume trade.

After a positive response from the Chinese side to Pakistan’s request for preferential treatment during the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions, it was expected that the commodity’s export to China would increase.

Pakistan was the world’s fourth largest producer of cotton and had Asia’s third largest spinning capacity. Several factors, including the higher competitiveness of products and the U.S. dollar’s surge against the local currency, boosted its textile exports to around nine percent in the last financial year.

Fruits also formed a strong part of Pakistan’s export base. Most prominent among these was a citrus variant known as kinnow which hit a record high export figures of 370,000 tons in the 2017-18season. Experts believed that Pakistan had an immediate capacity of exporting 50 to 80 thousand tons of kinnow to China in the next three years.

Mangoes, revered as the king of fruits in Pakistan, were another of its major exports. Shipping starts in the month of May but was mostly headed to Europe. This year’s increased queries from Chinese buyers, however, would lead to an expanded share in China.

https://www.brecorder.com/2018/10/28/449560/president-xi-to-visit-pakistan-next-month/

Indian makes pitch to export rice to China; urges it to open up its USD 2 bn rice market

PTI|Oct 29, 2018, 05.55 PM IST

A K Gupta of the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, said that though India exports more than 12 million MT of rice every year, none comes to China.

By K J M Varma

BEIJING: The world's biggest exporter of rice, on Monday made a big pitch to export its rice varieties to China and urged it to open up its USD 2 billion rice import market based on an agreement signed between the two nations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in June.

A protocol on the exports of non-Basmati Rice from India to China was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at Qingdao in June on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.

Subsequently, the Chinese authorities visited India to inspect the rice mills and last week approved 24 Indian rice mills for exports of rice to China, the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

Out of the 24 approved mills, six attended a seminar and business to business meeting. In which 44 Chinese importers including China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) took part.

The China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Products (CFNA) partnered with the Indian Embassy for the event.

With world class quality and cost competitiveness, India has emerged as the biggest exporter of rice in the world, Prashant Lokhande, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Indian Embassy, said outlining the nature of the bilateral trade and prospects of exports of Indian rice.

Thanking the Chinese authorities for opening up non-basmati rice imports from India, he hoped to have significant quantities of rice shipped to China at the earliest to cater to USD 1.5 billion to USD 2 billion rice import market of China, the statement from the embassy said.

Bian Zhenhu, the president of CFNA, expressed satisfaction on the growth of bilateral trade between the two countries.

A K Gupta of the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, said that though India exports more than 12 million MT of rice every year, none comes to China.

He appealed Chinese importers to try rich varieties of Indian rice which can suit all tastes and requirements including as ingredient in the processed food, he said

www//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66416543.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Royal launch for high-yield hybrid Sembada 188 rice

October 30, 2018

|     Rokiah Mahmud     |

BRUNEIANS will soon be seeing a new type of rice on their meal plates, the Sembada 188, after initial planting for the variety took place at the Wasan Agricultural Development Area (KKP Wasan) yesterday.

Gracing and launching the event was His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who chipped in to plant the first seedlings of the high-yield paddy.

The project, aimed at boosting local rice production, is a collaborative effort following research done by the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) and PT Biogene Plantation of Indonesia.

It is scheduled to be carried out for three seasons – the first phase in May 2016 and ended in March this year.

Studies have found that Sembada 188 has an average yield of five to six tonnes per hectare per season.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam plants the high-yield hybrid variety paddy. – JAMES KON

The variety’s seeds are being imported from Indonesia through Yaz & Wyn Enterprise, a local company appointed as the sole distributor for the seeds in Brunei Darussalam.

The Sembada 188 pilot planting project launched yesterday covers 35 hectares of agricultural land and involves 19 farmers from Setia Kawan Cooperative (KOSEKA).

“Before deciding on Sembada 188, we went through three planting trials which began three years ago, using Sembada B9, Sembada 188, Sembada 626 and Sembada 989 seeds,” Head Director of PT Biogene Plantation Bambang Puwardi Priyono explained in an interview.

“Out of the four, Sembada 188 has been chosen for the collaboration as it is capable of producing twice the yield compared to other varieties.”

https://borneobulletin.com.bn/royal-launch-for-high-yield-hybrid-sembada-188-rice/

Idol si Trump! Gov Marcos: Make agriculture great again

Oct 29, 2018 @ 17:33

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said she wants to make agriculture in the country “great again.”

The Ilocos Norte politiko said that despite the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) producing high-yielding rice strains, these were not distributed to many farmers.

Marcos said the Ilocos Norte provincial government had to directly support its farmers.

“This is why we poured local government support to farmers in Ilocos Norte, including the needed infrastructure,” she said.

“We buy rice directly from the farms at the right price and sell them at the same price in our Kadiwa stores,” Marcos added.She also urged other provinces to emulate Ilocos Norte’s agricultural programs.

“If the Ilocos Norte provincial government can do it, we can do it in other provinces as well. Let’s make agriculture great again!” Marcos said.

http://northluzon.politics.com.ph/idol-si-trump-gov-marcos-make-agriculture-great-again/

China sets new hybrid rice yield record

By Xu Hailin Source:Global Times Published: 2018/10/30 16:38:40

China has set a new world record for super hybrid rice yields at 18 tons per hectare at a demonstration base in Handan, North China's Hebei Province.

The rice was planted in 6.8 hectares of a demonstration base at the Hebei Silicon Valley Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the only private academy of agricultural sciences in Hebei.

Researchers harvested 18 tons per hectare of the Xiangliangyou 900 super hybrid rice. The amount was verified by five third-party experts from Wuhan-based Huazhong Agricultural University and Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Three smaller fields with a total area of 0.23 hectares were chosen randomly and examined for yield, Xinhua reported. The yield per hectare of the Xiangliangyou 900 super hybrid rice in 2017 was 17.25 tons.

"Thirty percent more than the yield of previous varieties of super hybrid rice, the record shows that the revolutionary third-generation technology is mature enough to be adopted in fields across China," Li Xinqi, a research fellow at the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, a division of the China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The rice could meet China's demand for food, offering powerful support to the country's grain security," Li said.

Good seeds, good fertilizers and proper management of the fields were the reasons for the increasing yield, Tu Shuxin, a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"Government policy support is indispensable in promoting the rice," Li noted.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1125106.shtmls