Wednesday, May 29, 2019

29th May,2109 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


PH rice scientist Gregorio is new Searca director
posted May 28, 2019 at 09:40 pm by Brenda Jocson

Los Baños, Laguna―A rice scientist has been appointed as new director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.
Glenn B. Gregorio, PhD, who assumed office this month is the eleventh to hold the top SEARCA post for a three-year term since its establishment in November 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.
SEARCA is an inter-government treaty organization hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Gregorio is also an Academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines and is currently a professor at the Institute of Crop Science of the UPLB College of Agriculture and Food Science.
A distinguished rice scientist, Gregorio served the International Rice Research Institute for almost 30 years, including a five-year stint as International Rice Research Institute’s rice breeder in Africa, based at Africa Rice Centre station at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria from 2004 to 2009.
Throughout his career, Gregorio has bred more than 15 rice varieties, most of which are salt-tolerant varieties that have greatly helped farmers in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
He also led efforts to develop micronutrient-dense rice varieties to address anemia and malnutrition in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
But rice breeding is not Gregorio’s only forte. Prior to his appointment as Searca Director, he also served as Crop Breeding Manager for Corn at the East-West Seed Company, Inc. from 2015 to 2018, where he was the global lead of the sweet corn and waxy corn breeding programs for South and Southeast Asia, the Latin Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gregorio has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Outstanding Young Scientist Award (OYS 2004) and Outstanding Publication Award given by NAST; The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM 2004) in the field of Agriculture-Plant Breeding and Genetics;
The Ho Chi Minh Medal Award for great contribution to the cause of agriculture and rural development in Vietnam; Ten Outstanding Youth Scientists (TOYS 1981) of the Philippines given by the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines; 
Honorary Scientist, Rural Development Administration, Korea; and other awards for his outstanding research and research management achievements.
Gregorio has authored and co-authored at least 90 articles published in various scientific journals, chapters on rice breeding in 14 books, and five scientific manuals and bulletins.
He also mentored and supervised 20 PhD and 27 MS graduate students and more than 40 BS students in plant breeding and genetics at UPLB and other universities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America; and he continues to hone scientists and future scientists as a mentor and teacher.
Gregorio obtained his PhD in Genetics, MS in Plant Breeding, and BS in Agriculture at UPLB.

Indo-Pak border trade continues despite simmering tensions

Shahid IqbalUpdated May 28, 2019
Exports to Kabul dip 25pc. — AP/File
KARACHI: Despite tensions following the Pulwama incident and downing of an Indian Air Force jet, the border trade between the two arch rivals did not see much change and witnessed a six per cent decline during the first 10 months of this fiscal year.
However, Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan plunged by 25pc, damaging the country’s potential for higher exports across the Durand Line.
According to the latest report of State Bank, the trade volume of the two countries (Pakistan and India) was $1,699 million during July-April FY19 compared to $1,820m in the same period in last fiscal year, showing a decline of 6.6pc.
However, trade remained in favour of India as its exports to Pakistan were much bigger than imports. Pakistan’s exports to India declined by $39m to $298m and imports by $82m to $1,401m during the 10 months period.
Exports to Kabul dip 25pc
Meanwhile, China has emerged as Pakistan’s biggest trading partner in the last five years. During the 10 months, exports to China slightly increased but imports were drastically reduced by $989m or 10.6pc to $8.301 billion. Exports increased by $23m to $1.476bn in 10 months of this fiscal. China has increased market access for Pakistani products but the country lacks exportable products. Only agriculture products like rice saw an increase in exports.
The biggest loss was noted in trade with Afghanistan as Pakistan’s export to the country fell by 25pc in the first 10 months of this fiscal year.
Losing access to the Afghan market could cost heavily to Pakistan in future. Afghanistan opened up its market to India and China which means Pakistani exports are likely to see further decline. Imports from Afghanistan witnessed an increase and rose to $149m this fiscal year compared to $118m in the previous fiscal year.
Exports to Bangladesh slightly increased from $43m to $632m during the current fiscal while imports from the country declined to $49m against $58m in the same period of last fiscal.
Poorest trade relation was witnessed with Iran as trade remained limited to just $4.2m. Imports from the country stood at zero. Iran has been facing sanctions from the United States and other countries, hence hindering Pakistan’s economic relations with the neighbouring country.
‘India’s economy needs stimulus’
Meanwhile, India’s slowing economic growth is of serious concern and the country needs to urgently cut tax and interest rates to revive the economy, a top industrial body said on Monday in New Delhi ahead of the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term.
The economy grew 6.6 per cent in the three months to December — the slowest pace in five quarters — and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) said the bigger worry was that domestic consumption was not growing fast enough to offset a weakening global economic environment.
“The recent signs of slowdown in the economy stem not only from slow growth in investments and subdued exports but also from weakening growth in consumption demand,” FICCI said in a statement suggesting various measures the government could adopt in the next budget expected in a month.
“This is a matter of serious concern and if not addressed urgently, the repercussions would be long term.” Modi – who won a thumping majority in the general election despite the agricultural sector’s economic woes, a shortage of jobs and the stuttering economy – takes oath of office on Thursday and will need a finance minister who can help navigate through the challenges facing the economy.
Some of the issues are slowing industrial output and manufacturing growth, slumping car and two-wheeler sales, and a drop in airline passenger traffic.
FICCI said the new government should cut corporate and individual taxes, expand a programme of handing 6,000 rupees ($86) a year to poor farmers to boost consumption demand and consider tax concessions for export-oriented manufacturers.
The Confederation of Indian Industry, another industry body, said it was crucial to reduce the income tax burden and expand the scope of investment allowance to all sectors, while higher incentives should be given to exporters.
The FICCI also called for an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as real interest rates have remained high for a long time with commercial banks reluctant to pass on the benefits of recent cuts.
When Modi took power for the first time in 2014, global oil prices slumped. But as he gets set for a second term, rising oil prices could push the current account deficit higher.
The body also said the trade war between the United States and China could further slow down global trade and hurt India’s already sluggish exports.
“Amidst rising uncertainties and economic challenges on both the domestic and global front, there is an urgent need to re-energise the engines of growth and pump prime the economy,” FICCI said.
“The upcoming budget...is an opportunity for the government to boost consumption and investments through appropriate fiscal stimulus and policies.” Government bureaucrats have started consultations with industry bodies, such as the FICCI, before the budget.—Reuters
Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2019
Paddy Rice To Be Sown Over 46.48 Lakh Acres In Punjab
 Umer Jamshaid  20 hours ago  Tue 28th May 2019 | 12:10 PM

SIALKOT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 28th May, 2019 ) -:The agriculture department on Tuesday said that over 46.48 lakh acres of land would be brought under paddy crop in various rice growing areas of the Punjab during Kharif crop season.
Sources in Agriculture department told APP that in Sialkot district, 3.17 lakh acres land would be brought under paddy crop whereas over 16.18 lakh acres would be sown in Gujranwala district.
He said the department chalked out a well-knitted training programme to create awareness among the growers about the use of recommended seed and proper use of fertilizer to attain the fixed target in Punjab.
In this regard,the department deputed special training teams which were visiting various villages for providing proper guidance and assistance about the use of inputs, nursery sowing and transfer of plants into fields to the rice growers in the Punjab.
The local agriculture department initiated farmers training programme in 1,442 villages of SialkotDaskaPasrur and Sambrial tehsils of Sialkotdistrict.
Special training teams were busy in imparting training to the rice growers for enhancing per acre yield, sowing of paddy nurseries, utilization of irrigation water, pesticides and fertilizer as well as about the different verities of paddy in Sialkot district, the sources added.
Some progressive farmers were adopting modern technology for raising rice nursery by automatic machine in plastic trays at local agriculturefarm and ready for transplanting by "Rice Trans Planter" in Bajwat area of Sialkot.
It may be added that farmers community was reluctant and showing unwillingness to cultivate paddy crop in different areas of Sialkot district. The decline in paddy cultivation was the result of middle mans role and fast climatic changing conditions. However, Agriculture department was making adequate efforts to motivate the growers that they should bring their land under paddy crop in Sialkot.
Save the rice
·       Published at 03:39 pm May 27th, 2019

Courtesy:Reducing greenhouse emissions in Agriculture
Almost half the workforce in Bangladesh is engaged in agriculture, mostly focusing on rice production as it is our staple food (Pearson, Millar, Norton, & Price, 2018). Rice production is therefore essential for both our economic wellbeing and food security. However, Bangladesh faces multiple challenges in rice production, especially dependence on groundwater for irrigation in context to climate change (Islam & NurseyBray 2017) which has resulted in aquifer depletion and increase in salinity. 
About 62 percent of farmers use only groundwater while 11.3 percent use surface water for irrigation; the rest do not depend on irrigation but rely on rainwater (Ahmed et al., 2013). Dependence on irrigation pump surges during the dry season which stresses the national grid and increases dependence on diesel-powered pumps (Ahmed et al., 2013).  
Arsenic is another problem associated with rice production. Due to the presence of Arsenic in groundwater, the use of groundwater in irrigation results in Arsenic exposure on consumption. According to 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report globally, 13.5 percent of anthropogenic Green House Gas (GHG) emission comes from Agriculture, of which rice cultivation results in significant GHG emission, especially methane. It has been estimated that flooded rice systems (comprised of irrigated, rainfed and deep-water rice) accounts for 11 percent for all the anthropogenic greenhouse gases (Smith, 2012).
The technique of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) can significantly decrease the stressors as mentioned above of rice cultivation, especially the dependence on irrigation and arsenic contamination to the existing farming practices in Bangladesh. 
AWD is a management practice used to irrigate lowland rice; this is a practice of periodic drying and re-flooding of the rice field. Some of the benefits of AWD have been identified to reduce water use by 30 percent and GHG emissions by 50 percent while maintaining rice yields.
The use of AWD technique first began in China and India in the 1980s and 1990s respectively (Mushtaq, Dawe, Lin, & Moya, 2006), but it was in 2002 when the Philippines first evaluated it as a watersaving practice. Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) had its first trial of AWD in Bangladesh in 2005 (Lampayan, Rejesus, et al., 2015). Even though evidence from AWD trials and demonstrations in Bangladesh has shown significant benefits for the farmers, but unlike farmers in China and the Philippines, Farmers in Bangladesh have been least interested in adopting this technology.  
However recently under the project, Mitigation Options to Reduce Methane Emissions in Paddy Rice International Rice Research Institute IRRI and its implementing partners BRRI and Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) has made some significant changes in reintroducing AWD in Northwest Bangladesh. A recent workshop titled, “Large Scale Implementation of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Technology in Bangladesh” held on 4th May 2019, highlighted how AWD is being promoted in Rangpur and Dinajpur through the Focal Area Network (FAN). 
FAN is a rice-based multi-sectored network in Northwest Bangladesh, and this network comprises of farmers, organizations, academia, NGO’s and government agencies. Due to multi-stakeholder collaboration, out-scaling the AWD to thousands of farmers has been made possible this time around. Moreover, this project focuses on the collaboration of farmers and pump owners where both parties work together to map out irrigation strategies.
The impact study presented at the workshop highlighted that when combined with climate-smart agriculture options, namely nutrient management, sustainable residue management, benefits from the AWD technique can be maximized. A majority of the farmers under the project had experienced an increase in the yield. 
Farmers also claimed that their urea use had decreased by 25 percent. Apart from water saving from AWD technology, arsenic uptake by rice plants are also decreased by reducing the length of time the rice is growing anaerobically, and this may lower arsenic contamination in rice.
Article 8 of the revised Bangladesh National Agriculture Policy states the importance to promote AWD technology in agriculture, Bangladesh being a Signatory of Paris Climate Agreement, is committed to curbing its GHG emissions. As rice production is a significant contributor to Bangladesh's carbon emissions, AWD presents an opportunity to help address our emission targets. 
Moreover, this is not only a climate-smart but also a water-smart technology, with more benefits than losses, and tried method of multi-stakeholder collaboration learned from the IRRI project AWD seems like a win/win situation for us.

Rukhsar Sultana is an Intern at ICCCAD and has an MA in Environmental Studies with a background on wastewater management and plastic pollution.

Ministry encourages planting of Japonica rice

Chea Vannak / Khmer Times 

The Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging companies and farmers to begin planting Japonica rice after a series of tests show it can be grown successfully in the Kingdom.
For in depth analysis of Cambodian Business, visit Capital Cambodia
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Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon last week said that tests on Japonica rice have ended, yielding encouraging results. Those tests were being conducted in Kampong Thom province, and show that yields of Japonica are nearly twice as big as those of other varieties grown in the Kingdom.
A hectare of land planted with Japonica can produce 6.5 tonnes of rice, Mr Sakhon said in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page. On average, a hectare in Cambodia yields 3.5 tonnes of rice.
. .
During a visit to rice fields in Kampong Thom over the weekend, Mr Sakhon asked agriculture officials to promote the rice variety to farmers, arguing that this will help boost rice exports.
Huang Ming An, a researcher on Japonica rice at laboratory Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, told Khmer Times that the lab is now planting the grain on eight hectares in Kampong Thom province as part of a pilot programme.
Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, who is now negotiating contract farming agreements with local agricultural communities, plans to eventually expand Japonica fields to 300 hectares in the province, according to Mr Huang.
Tests on Japonica and its adaptability to the Cambodian soil have been conducted in some provinces in Cambodia since 2017 after the ministry signed an agreement in January with two Chinese laboratories, Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Centre and Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, to study the grain jointly.
The Japonica variety will be exported mainly to China, currently the biggest market for Cambodian milled rice, according to Mr Sakhon.
. .
Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice, said Japonica has great potential but that Cambodia is still not ready to plant it for commercial purposes.
“After many tests, we have concluded that Japonica rice can grow well in Cambodia with very high yields,” he said.
“However, the variety needs a lot of water, so we must now study how to reduce the amount of water required,” said Mr Saran, whose firm has also conducted tests on the variety.
According to Mr Saran, Japonica rice can sell well in South Korea, Turkey and some countries in the European Union.
“Currently, growing Japonica rice is still in the pilot stage. We need at least three to four years to understand the crop better and enter the commercial stage,” Mr Saran said.
Last year, Cambodia exported 626,225 tonnes of rice, a drop of 1.5 percent compared to 2017.
Local firms exported mainly three types of rice: fragrant rice (493,597 tonnes shipped, or 78.8 percent of total rice exports), long-grain white rice (105,990 tonnes, or 16.9 percent), and long-grain parboiled rice (26,638 tonnes, or 4.2 percent).
The largest market for Cambodian rice continues to be the EU, which imported almost 270,000 tonnes, equivalent to 42.9 percent of total exports.
By individual country, the largest buyer was China (170,000 tonnes), followed by France (90,000 tonnes), Malaysia (40,000 tonnes), Gabon (30,000 tonnes), and the Netherlands (26,000 tonnes).
₱1 trillion in public works needed to hit GDP goal
May 27, 2019 | 10:21 pm
THE government needs to spend P1 trillion on infrastructure if it is to meet a growth target of 6% in 2019, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said, as he detailed “catch-up” measures to facilitate spending delayed by the stalled 2019 budget.
In a hearing, Mr. Dominguez told the Senate finance committee, “To enable us to hit a GDP growth rate above 6% this year, national government needs to ramp up its spending. In 2019, national government disbursements are targeted to reach P3.774 trillion, equivalent to 19.6% of GDP. This is 10.7% higher than the actual disbursement in 2018. Meanwhile, total infrastructure disbursements would have to reach P1 trillion, equivalent to 5.2% of GDP, with the national government accounting for 808.7 billion pesos of targeted infrastructure spending.”
According to his remarks to the committee, contained in a joint opening statement he delivered also on behalf of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the budget delay led to a “missed opportunity” to create as many as 260,000-320,000 jobs and “derailed poverty reduction efforts, where as many as 420,000 more Filipinos could have been taken out of poverty.” It also cost the education department 4,110 new classrooms and delayed repairs to 18,575 more.
Mr. Dominguez added that an on-time budget would have added at least a percentage point to first quarter GDP growth, to about 6.6%, and possibly as high as 7.2%.
Speaking to reporters following the hearing, Mr. Dominguez added that he would like to lay the groundwork for more agriculture growth through increased funding for research and amendments to the Local Government Code.
“We need a program. Obviously, doing things the way it was done before is not going to work, so we need a new program to see what can be done to achieve at least 2% per annum growth (in agriculture),” Mr. Dominguez told reporters.



Mr. Dominguez said he plans to meet Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol Tuesday to discuss the Department of Agriculture’s catch-up plan.
“We are meeting tomorrow with Secretary Piñol; unfortunately, they were not able to present anything in the last two meetings,” Mr. Dominguez, a former Agriculture Secretary, said.
“We’ll meet tomorrow to review, to listen to what their plan is to bring about growth of at least 2% per annum in agriculture,” he said.
When asked how he would address concerns in the agricultural sector, Mr. Dominguez said he would increase funding in agricultural research.
“I certainly would make up for the backlog in agricultural research because knowledge is what drives growth,” he said.
“I’m talking about the Bureau of Agricultural Research, the research done by Agri schools in the country, PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute), etc.”
In addition, Mr. Dominguez said the DA should ensure effective implementation of its programs for farmers.
“I think that’s one, you increase the fund of knowledge, you make the environment for agriculture, make the conditions for farmers easier, you make sure they have sufficient water, access to roads, access to fertilizer,” he said.
“And you have to implement it and implement it in an effective way.”
He raised the need to review and amend the Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act 7160. “Lastly, I would really ask for the legislature to review the devolution of agricultural extension workers, because they‘ve been devolved to the local governments and quite frankly many time the local governments do not utilize them properly.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan
China’s Import Tariff Quotas for Agricultural Products, 2019-2023 Outlook - Agricultural Imports in Quota are Subject to Low Tariff Rates, while Those Out of Quota are Subject to High Tariff Rates - ResearchAndMarkets.com
May 27, 2019
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2019--
The “Research Report on China’s Import Tariff Quotas for Agricultural Products, 2019-2023” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
The Interim Measures for Administration of Import Tariff Quotas for Agricultural Products (hereinafter referred to as the Interim Measures) was a government document formulated by China’s National Development and Reform Commission and put into force on Feb. 5, 2002. The Interim Measures determines the annual import tariff quotas for agricultural products according to China’s schedule of concessions on goods in the accession to the WTO.
According to this analysis, by May 2019, the Interim Measures applies to agricultural products including wheat, corn, rice, sugar, cotton, wool and wool top. The import tariff quotas for wheat, corn, rice, sugar, and cotton are classified into the quotas to state trading enterprises and the quotas to non-state trading enterprises to give priority to state-owned enterprises. The import of wool and wool top is exclusive to designated companies.
It is believed that China’s tariff rate quota administration for agricultural products has both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it protects the domestic agricultural product market from the impact of large quantities of low-price agricultural imports. Low in-quota tariff rates ensure low-cost raw materials to the agricultural product processing enterprises in China.
On the other hand, the tariff rate quota administration triggers international trade disputes. For example, in Dec. 2016, the United States filed a lawsuit with the WTO against China’s administration of the import tariff quotas for wheat, rice, and corn. In Apr. 2019, the United States won WTO ruling against China’s use of tariff-rate quotas for rice, wheat, and corn, which it successfully argued limited market access for U.S. grain exports.
Besides, some applicants to the import tariff quotas are not agricultural product processing enterprises but trade companies. They resell agricultural products in quota to agricultural product processing enterprises with price markups. Consequently, agricultural product processing enterprises have to pay more for agricultural imports.
According to the author, the annual import tariff quotas for some agricultural products cannot be used up. For example, in 2018, China’s corn imports totaled 3.52 million tons, accounting for only 48.9% of the quota quantity of 7.2 million tons; the wheat imports totaled about 3.1 million tons, accounting for only 32.2% of the quota quantity of 9,636,000 tons.
Such surpluses are caused by strict eligibility criteria. Many downstream enterprises (such as feed processing enterprises and food processing enterprises) that fail to obtain the import tariff quotas purchase raw materials from other sources or even purchase agricultural products smuggled into China.
It is expected that the import tariff quotas for agricultural products will go out of date as China’s foreign trade develops and China’s economy becomes more global. However, most of these quotas will continue to exist from 2019 to 2023 because the Chinese government needs to protect the domestic agricultural product market and some state-owned enterprises can make profits from reselling tariff quotas.
Topics Covered
  • Introduction to China’s import tariff quotas for agricultural products
  • Analysis of advantages and disadvantages of China’s import tariff quotas for agricultural products
  • China’s import of agricultural products subject to tariff rate quota administration
  • Major enterprises granted with China’s import tariff quotas for agricultural products
  • Forecast on development of China’s import tariff quotas for agricultural products
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/o68lrw
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190527005185/en/
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Related Topics:Agriculture,International Trade
KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC CHINA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: NATURAL RESOURCES AGRICULTURE
SOURCE: Research and Markets
Copyright Business Wire 2019.
PUB: 05/27/2019 10:15 AM/DISC: 05/27/2019 10:15 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190527005185/en

GIEWS Country Brief: Nigeria 27-May-2019

REPORT
Published on 27 May 2019

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
1.     Normal progress of 2019 cropping season due to favourable weather conditions
2.     Above-average cereal harvest gathered in 2018
3.     Slightly below-average import requirements forecast
4.     Higher food prices in northeast due to persisting conflict
5.     Moderate economic growth and increasing food price inflation
6.     Assistance needs will remain high in 2019

Normal progress of 2019 cropping season due to favourable weather conditions

Following the timely onset of seasonal rains, planting of maize and yams in the south started in February/March. The harvest of green maize in the south is expected to start in June, while harvesting operations for yams will start in July. Rice, to be harvested from October, was planted in March. Planting operations for millet and sorghum, to be harvested from September, are still ongoing. The cumulative rainfall amounts since February were average to above average in most areas and the most advanced growth stage is tillering, observed for maize crop. Weeding activities are normally progressing for crops already in place.
Pastures and availability of water for livestock have improved in May compared to previous months in the main grazing areas of the country. The animal health situation is overall stable. It is noteworthy, however, that there was an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Plateau and Bauchi states between January and April 2019, which has been contained with the support of FAO-Nigeria. The conflict in the northeast and armed banditry in Zamfara and Katsina states continue to limit the access to normal grazing land for pastoralists.

Above-average cereal harvest gathered in 2018

The 2018 agricultural season was characterized by favourable rainfall and support of inputs from the Government and NGOs across the country. Field reports also indicate an increase in farming activities in the northeast due to improved security conditions and some engagement of some investors back to farming in relation to the economic recession experienced between 2015 and 2016. Despite the incidence of pests (including Fall Armyworm), the country’s aggregate cereal output in 2018 is estimated at about 28 million tonnes, about 12 percent above the five-year average. The 2018 harvest included 11 million tonnes of maize (7 percent above average), 8 million tonnes of rice (24 percent above average) and 6 million tonnes of sorghum (equivalent to the average).

Slightly below-average import requirements forecast

Domestic demand for imported rice remains strong despite trade restrictions introduced in 2015 by the Government. The country is the largest rice producer and importer in Africa, importing on average about 2.6 million tonnes per year. Wheat imports account for 5.4 million tonnes per year. Owing the above-average 2018 production, cereal import requirements for the 2018/19 (November/October) marketing year are set at 7.1 million tonnes, slightly below the average.

High levels of food prices in northeast

Market supplies and household food stocks are seasonally declining in most areas. Institutional purchases by the food industry and poultry farmers in major local markets as well as cross border purchases, mainly from Niger, are underway. Prices of coarse grains generally strengthened in April in line with seasonal trends. However, prices were well below the high levels of one and two years earlier reflecting the good level of market availabilities from the 2018 harvests. In the northeast of the country, food prices were relatively higher due to the negative impact of the Boko Haram conflict on market and livelihood activities.

Moderate economic growth projected, food price inflation increasing

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the economy is forecast to grow by about 2 percent (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2019, similar to the first quarter of 2018. Growth is supported by agriculture, transportation, storage, trade, construction of industrial investments and services, including communications. The year-on-year food inflation rate slightly increased to 13.70 percent in April 2019, higher than the 13.45 percent recorded in March of the same year as result of the increase in domestic food prices.
The Central Bank of Nigeria continues to provide direct intervention into the foreign exchange market in order to stabilize the Naira, the national currency. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) forecasts the exchange rate to drop from NGN 306.5 per USD 1 in 2018 to NGN 319.5 per USD 1 in 2019 due to lower oil prices, looser monetary policy and high inflation.

Despite some improvements in security, over 2 million people remain food insecure

As of April 2019, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) identified over 1.9 million people that have been displaced, of which 92 percent by the insurgency in northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Heightened tensions in recent months have triggered further displacements, with new arrivals mainly in northern and eastcentral Borno State, Geidam and Gujba (Yobe) as well as Madagali (Adamawa). Furthermore, the farmer/pastoralist conflict in the northcentral states continues to disrupt markets and main livelihood activities, causing population displacement in Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger states. Most of the displaced households are heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance. Another dimension to the threat to food security is the armed banditry and cattle rustling ravaging northwestern states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto. Rural farmers in these states are unable to cultivate their land essentially because of the threat of kidnapping and banditry attacks. Households have been displaced due to destruction of their houses and food stocks.
According to the March 2019 ‘’Cadre Harmonisé’’ analysis, about 2.05 million people were estimated to be in need of food assistance from March to May 2019, with a significant decrease from the 3.71 million food insecure people in March-May 2018. The reduced caseload is largely due to the improved security conditions compared to last year. This number is expected to increase to 4.95 million people during the June to August 2019, if no mitigation actions are taken.
Indonesian village being inundated with illegal plastic waste from Australia
Hidden among piles of rubbish in a tiny Indonesian village, everyday Aussie products have been discovered. Now locals have had enough.
news.com.auMAY 29, 20195:41AM
In a tiny Indonesian village called Bangun, a photographer has made a worrying discovery among the grim mountains of rubbish that pile up there.
Among the piles of waste, Graham Crouch saw items that everyday Australians would recognise in a heartbeat — the bright packaging of Coles and Woolworths products, standing out like sore thumbs.
His incredible pictures from the village in East Java show a flattened Woolies full cream milk carton and a discarded yellow Coles basmati rice packet, both thousands of kilometres from Australia and concealed among recyclable paper scraps.
The plastics are used to fuel fires at local tofu factories among other industries. Picture: Graham Crouch/The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia
Local media reports that many of the villagers in Bangun make their living by sorting through tonnes of waste, which is funnelled into the community from around the world — from China, to the US and, evidently, Australia.
Much of it is supposed to be recyclable like paper scraps, but in reality there’s thousands of tonnes of illegal scrap plastic buried among it.
And once that plastic is there, local rag pickers sort through it based on what it’s made of. Some they sell to distributors and some, that can’t be recycled, ends up being sold on to tofu factories where it is burned.
Most of us probably wouldn’t imagine that when we chuck our rubbish in the bin, it would end up here but, very soon, Australia could be in for a brutal reality check.
That’s because South-East Asian nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam are beginning to push back against being the world’s dumping ground.
The region has been swamped with plastic since the beginning of last year, when the Chinese government banned the import of waste from overseas. India followed suit in March.
Now, it appears the countries that picked up the burden have had enough.

Indonesia wants a total plastic import ban by 2022. Picture: Graham Crouch/The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia
In Indonesia — where Australia’s plastic are ending up — is vowing to crack down on the practice after an environmental audit found 30 per cent of material shipped into East Java as paper scraps was actually illegal scrap plastic.
Last week, environmentalists yelled slogans outside Australia’s consulate in the East Java capital of Surabaya with banners reading, “Indonesia is not (your) recycling bin” — in a protest called “Take Your Sh*t Back From Indonesia”.
They demanded that the Australian Government introduce stricter regulations on waste exports.
However, Indonesia’s Environment Ministry is already taking steps to reduce the environmental burden — calling for a total plastic import ban by 2022.
The pushback is spreading to other nations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam — which have all introduced laws to prevent contaminated foreign waste coming into their ports.
In Malaysia, a report last month showed that waste from around the world — falsely declared as other imports — was pouring into the country illegally.
It prompted environment minister, Yeo Bee Bin, to declare that enough was enough.
“Malaysia will not be the dumping ground of the world,” she said. We will send back (the waste) to the original countries.”

Soon Australia could be forced to deal with its own rubbish problems.Source:News Corp Australia
More than 150 illegal plastic waste sorting factories in Malaysia have already been shut down and it’s understood that several containers will soon be put on ships and sent, embarrassingly, back to Australia in the coming weeks.
The crackdown across several southeast Asian countries could pose a major headache for Australia, which exported 46 per cent more waste plastic in February than the monthly average since 2017, according to figures from the Environment and Energy Ministry.
Malaysia received more than 71,000 tonnes of our plastic in the last year alone.
For more than two decades, our plastic recycling industry was reliant on China — who we sold our mixed and often contaminated plastic waste, and they melted it down into new plastic goods to sell back to us and the rest of the world.
However, now countries are saying they don’t want it, a lot of it is now just stacking up in the yards and warehouses of Australian recycling companies — as we don’t have the facilities to reprocess it ourselves.
Incoming environment minister Sussan Ley may have a major headache on her hands. Picture: Hollie Adams/The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia
Analysis of our waste exports commissioned by the Department of the Environment and Energy shows that Australia would have a big problem on its hands if other nations stop receiving our rubbish.“If Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand enacted waste import bans similar to China’s, Australia would need to find substitute domestic or export markets for approximately 1.29 million tonnes (or $530 million) of waste a year, based on 2017-18 export amounts,” the analysis warned.
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) chief executive officer, Gayle Sloan, took aim at the federal government — saying it has “done nothing” since China shut us off.
She told ABC, the 1.2 million tonnes of recyclable materials households are producing could be turned into jobs and investment if the circular economy can only take off.
“We’ve had meetings, we had more meetings, and then we’ve had more talk, and we had no action,” she said

Farmgate price of rice still down

MAY 28, 2019
·       FARMGATE PRICE OF RICE STILL DOWN
As the Philippines awaits the entry of cheaper imported rice under the Rice Liberalization Law, farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice) further dropped in the second week of May, the Philippines Statistic Authority (PSA) said.
In its latest price monitoring report, PSA said the average farmgate price of palay fell by 0.5 percent to P18.35 per kilo from week-ago’s P18.45 per kilo. Year-on-year, it likewise fell by 12.6 percent from P21 per kilo.
PSA said prices of well-milled and regular milled rice also dropped at wholesale and retail trades.
The average wholesale price of well-milled rice dipped to P39.51 per kilo month-on-month. Yoy, it fell 3.9 percent from P41.12 per kilo.
At retail trade, the average price of well-milled rice was P43.16 per kilo, down 0.3 percent from a week ago and 1.7 percent a year earlier.
On the other hand, the average wholesale price of regular-milled rice was down by 0.5 percent to P35.82 per kilo week-on-week. Yoy, it was down 5.22 percent from P37.77 per kilo.
Its equivalent price at retail level was P38.74 per kilo, down 0.6 percent a week ago and 3.6 percent a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the farmgate price of yellow corngrain went down by 1.5 percent to P14.01 per kilo from P14.22 per kilo a week earlier. However, it rose by 0.7 percent yoy.
For white corngrain, farmgate price was P16.19 per kilo, up 0.2 percent from the previous week, but down 5.7 percent from last year’s P17.17 per kilo.
The wholesale price of yellow corngrain was P20.29 per kilo, up 0.2 percent from a week ago and 0.8 percent higher from last year. Its retail price was P24.86 per kilo, up 4.4 percent from last year’s P23.83 per kilo.
For white corn grain, the average wholesale price was P22.68 per kilo, up 12.4 percent from last year’s P20.17 per kilo. Its average retail price was P29.12 per kilo, down 2.7 percent from last year’s P29.92 per kilo.

NFA says rice procurement funds adequate after reports of delayed payments
May 28, 2019 | 10:10 pm
PHILSTAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
THE NATIONAL Food Authority (NFA) said it has sufficient funding to fulfill its domestic rice procurement mandate, despite high buying prices that have persuaded farmers to sell it 4.1 million bags of palay, or unmilled rice, as of May 20.
In a statement Tuesday, NFA Officer-in-Charge Administrator Tomas R. Escarez said he had to deliver reassurances amid reports of delayed payments to farmers in some NFA buying stations.
“NFA management assures those isolated instances are being addressed at the soonest possible time,” it said in the statement.
The NFA has lost its rice importing functions under the rice tariffication law, which liberalizes the import process for private entities. It has been relegated to maintaining a buffer stock from domestically-produced rice.
The NFA currently pays P20.70 per kilogram (kg) for palay, consisting of the P17.00 per kilogram support price and an additional P3.00 as a buffer stocking incentive (BSI); a P0.20 drying incentive; a P0.20 delivery incentive; and a P0.30 cooperative development incentive fee (CDIF).
The average farmgate price for palay paid by commercial rice buyers fell 0.5% week-on-week during the second week of May to P18.35 per kilogram (kg), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Mr. Escarez has advised NFA field offices to request funds in advance to be able to pay for palay deliveries from farmers.
As of May 20, the NFA has bought about 4.1 million bags of palay worth P4.2 billion. The NFA’s ultimate target is to procure 15 to 30 million bags to keep in inventory for emergencies. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Sri Lanka to get bumper rice harvest in Maha 2019

May 28, 2019 13:59 PM GMT+0530 |

  

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's rough rice output is expected to hit 2.9 million metric tonnes in the Maha 2019 cultivation season that has just finished, up from 2.4 million metric tonnes last year, ending a two years of drought.
Sri Lanka's rice production has been steadily recovering after plunging in 2016 due to the worst drought in four decades.
Sri Lanka's rice farmers had sown 760,000 hectares of rice on the back of good rain in 2019, up from 667,000 hectares last year, the Department of Agriculture said.
Maha cultivation fell to a low of 543 million hectares in 2016, following a bumper harvest in 2015, when 756,000 hectares of rice was cultivated.
About 45,000 hectares of rice had been damaged due to floods and pests, triggering crop damages of 89,000 metric tonnes.
After setting aside 170,000 metric tonnes for seed paddy, about 3.69 million metric tonnes would be available for milling.
The agriculture department estimates about 1.83 million milled rice would be produced, enough for 9.36 months of consumption. (Colombo/May28/2019)

Ministry encourages planting of Japonica rice

Chea Vannak / Khmer Times 

The Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging companies and farmers to begin planting Japonica rice after a series of tests show it can be grown successfully in the Kingdom.
For in depth analysis of Cambodian Business, visit Capital Cambodia
.
Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon last week said that tests on Japonica rice have ended, yielding encouraging results. Those tests were being conducted in Kampong Thom province, and show that yields of Japonica are nearly twice as big as those of other varieties grown in the Kingdom.
A hectare of land planted with Japonica can produce 6.5 tonnes of rice, Mr Sakhon said in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page. On average, a hectare in Cambodia yields 3.5 tonnes of rice.
. .
During a visit to rice fields in Kampong Thom over the weekend, Mr Sakhon asked agriculture officials to promote the rice variety to farmers, arguing that this will help boost rice exports.
Huang Ming An, a researcher on Japonica rice at laboratory Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, told Khmer Times that the lab is now planting the grain on eight hectares in Kampong Thom province as part of a pilot programme.
Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, who is now negotiating contract farming agreements with local agricultural communities, plans to eventually expand Japonica fields to 300 hectares in the province, according to Mr Huang.
Tests on Japonica and its adaptability to the Cambodian soil have been conducted in some provinces in Cambodia since 2017 after the ministry signed an agreement in January with two Chinese laboratories, Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Centre and Jiangsu Long An Agriculture, to study the grain jointly.
The Japonica variety will be exported mainly to China, currently the biggest market for Cambodian milled rice, according to Mr Sakhon.
. .
Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice, said Japonica has great potential but that Cambodia is still not ready to plant it for commercial purposes.
“After many tests, we have concluded that Japonica rice can grow well in Cambodia with very high yields,” he said.
“However, the variety needs a lot of water, so we must now study how to reduce the amount of water required,” said Mr Saran, whose firm has also conducted tests on the variety.
According to Mr Saran, Japonica rice can sell well in South Korea, Turkey and some countries in the European Union.
“Currently, growing Japonica rice is still in the pilot stage. We need at least three to four years to understand the crop better and enter the commercial stage,” Mr Saran said.
Last year, Cambodia exported 626,225 tonnes of rice, a drop of 1.5 percent compared to 2017.
Local firms exported mainly three types of rice: fragrant rice (493,597 tonnes shipped, or 78.8 percent of total rice exports), long-grain white rice (105,990 tonnes, or 16.9 percent), and long-grain parboiled rice (26,638 tonnes, or 4.2 percent).
The largest market for Cambodian rice continues to be the EU, which imported almost 270,000 tonnes, equivalent to 42.9 percent of total exports.
By individual country, the largest buyer was China (170,000 tonnes), followed by France (90,000 tonnes), Malaysia (40,000 tonnes), Gabon (30,000 tonnes), and the Netherlands (26,000 tonnes).

Rice industry insiders optimistic

Hin Pisei | Publication date 28 May 2019 | 08:48 ICT
People pose for in front of an Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd rice storage facility in Kampong Thom during its inauguration in July. AMRU RICE (CAMBODIA) CO LTD
With more plans for rice storage and silos in Cambodia, industry insiders have expressed their optimism that a lack of facilities will not pose a challenge for the Kingdom’s rice market this year.
Cambodian Rice Federation vice-president Norng Veasna said thanks to efforts from the private sector’s rice millers and support from state institutions, the harvest season this year will not see the same issues as in the past few years.
Drying silos and rice storage facilities can currently be found in almost every province.
“I think we will not have any problems. Many small rice millers have evolved into the modern age and are very capable of drying hundreds or thousands of tonnes of paddy per day,” he said.
Veasna said there are more than 300 rice millers in Cambodia.
Last week, a group of Chinese investors expressed their intention to invest in rice storage facilities and drying silos in Cambodia. This came during a meeting with Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak.
Veasna said Cambodia last year produced a total of around 10.2 million tonnes of paddy.
Three new rice storage and drying facilities were put into operation late last year in Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces.
Each of the facilities has a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of raw paddy and is able to dry 1,500 tonnes of rice daily.
Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also launched a rice storage facility funded by the Korean government in Kampong Cham province’s Batheay district. Costing $2.8 million, it can dry 80 tonnes of rice per day and store 600 tonnes.
Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd CEO Song Saran, who has a large warehouse and dried silos in Kampong Thom and Battambang provinces, said he thinks that this year’s paddy rice harvest will not experience a shortage of dried silos and warehouses.
He said his company plans to buy between 100,000 and 200,000 tonnes of paddy in the upcoming rainy season harvest season.
“My company does not have any problems because we are ready for the next harvest season,” he said.
However, he stressed that a lack of funds and climate change still pose a problem for the sector.
Issues such as cooperation between investors and farmers in paddy harvesting, transport infrastructure and planning for exports are in need of a solution, he said.
Project launched to introduce low-carbon rice farming
By webfact, Yesterday at 04:20 AM in Thailand News
Project launched to introduce low-carbon rice farming
By The Nation

File photo

The Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the German government's international co-operation agency on Friday announced the launch of a joint public-private project aimed at transforming the central plains of Thailand to low-carbon rice farming.

The goal is to boost rice-producing capacity and add value to Thai rice and penetrate new markets.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach said his office had joined with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which is the German federal enterprise supporting sustainable development worldwide, to carry out the project, called Thai Rice NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions). 

The project received financial support worth 14.9 million euros (about Bt530 million) from the governments of Germany, the UK, Denmark as well as the European Union through the multi-donor Nationally NAMA facility project (2018-2023).

Under this project, some 100,000 local rice farming households covering 2.8 million rai of rice fields in six provinces of Chainat, Angthong, Pathum Thani, Sing Buri, Ayutthaya, and Suphan Buri would shift to a sustainable method of rice-growing. This is intended to increase their productivity while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to the rising global temperature, the minister said. 

The project's main objectives were; to create benefits to farmers in terms of the promotion of zero emission rice-growing and the promotion of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) for rice; to develop and expand business that provide technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice-growing; and to motivate the rice-producing sector to apply the method that can cut greenhouse gas emissions, Grisada said.

Deputy Permanent Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Doojduan Sasanavin, said Thailand has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20-25 per cent within the year 2030 in the Paris Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

This will be done by applying the King Rama IX's 'sufficiency economy' principle, reduce the use of fossil fuels and applying alternative energy that is environmentally friendly instead. 

The project - having a revolving fund and providing training to farmers - would have farmers shifting from their current method of rice growing to apply the low greenhouse gas-emitting way, use appropriate rice seed strain and related technologies (such as the land-levelling, the alternated wet and dry water management for rice fields, the fertiliser application based on soil testing and analysing, and the rice straw and stubble management to avoid applying a haze-creating method of burning). 

The agricultural technology service providing companies also got special "green loans" from Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, she said.

Doojduan said this project would benefits 454,200 rice farmers and agriculture technology service providers, while the 2.58 million rais of target rice field in the rainy season and off-season rice growing were expected to yield a total of 4 million tonnes per year.

Thailand to release 34 million tonnes of rice this year

VNA TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2019 - 19:45:00 
Illustrative image (Source: www.thaivisa.com)
Bangkok (NNT/VNA) -
 The Rice Policy and Management Committee of Thailand has announced rice stock release plans and expects over 34 million tonnes of rice throughout this year.

The Rice Policy and Management Committee on May 27 approved a project to provide over 180 million THB in funding to help farmers with rice harvests and quality improvement costs for the 2016-2017 season.

Over 34 million tonnes of rice are expected throughout this year, no fewer than 10 million tonnes of which will be exported.

The Rice Policy and Management Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha,
approved in principle the integrated production and marketing plans for 2019/2020 season. The plans will be implemented with regards to the demand and supply mechanism, export, domestic consumption, industrial uses and seedlings. Rice production in targeted areas will be improved and promoted for the 2019/2020 season while domestic marketing will be developed and the rice harvest and quality improvement costs will be shared.

A total of 28,792 farmers have registered for the slowed rice harvesting and compensation pay project, which amounted to over 180 million baht for 2016/2017 season. The assistance measure will be submitted to the cabinet for approval on May 28 or next week at the latest.

Additionally, the Rice Policy and Management Committee acknowledged the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ report on the projected production of over 34 million tonnes of rice throughout this year, accounting for a one to two million tonne increase from last year. The demands for export, domestic consumption, industrial raw materials and storing are projected to amount to 32.48 million tonnes, no less than 10 million tonnes of which will be bound for export.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce has released over 17.4 million tonnes of rice from its stock over the last few years with a small volume pending delivery.

The Marketing Organization for Farmers and Public Warehouse Organization are speeding up the release of rice from the untapped stock.-NNT/VNA

Court hands Weerawut 50 years for G2G scam

G2G rice deal scandal. (Bangkok Post file photo)
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions on Tuesday handed down stiff prison sentences to two more figures involved in the bogus G2G rice deal scandal.
Weerawut Wajanaphukka, who served as secretary to jailed former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, was handed a 50-year term, while Suthee Chuemthaisong, a close aide of Apichart “Sia Piang” Chansakulporn, an executive of the rice exporter Siam Indica Co Ltd, and a key player in the scandal received 32 years.
Suthee was also ordered by the court to pay 16.912 billion baht in damages to the Finance Ministry.
Both were sentenced in absentia. 
The court heard Weerawut worked under the commerce minister between August 2012 and June 2013. He was also appointed a member of the National Rice Committee and the subcommittee that released rice shipments in the controversial deal.
According to the court ruling, Weerawut was complicit in having two Chinese companies sign government-to-government contracts with the International Trade Department, which did not allow fair competition between private sector companies to take place.
Suthee was involved in the wrongdoing by liaising with the Chinese firms to pursue contracts under which the rice stocks would be sold at below-market prices.
However, the rice in question was never exported to China.
The court found Weerawut guilty of corruption in the G2G rice deal and Suthee of assisting Dr Weerawut in committing the graft.
On May 17, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ordered the seizure of Weerawut's assets, worth more than 896 million baht, after finding him “unusually wealthy”.
The asset seizure from Weerawut, who served as Boonsong’s secretary between August 2012 and June 2013, was sought by the Office of Attorney-General (OAG) after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) found him guilty of being unusually wealthy in November 2017.
According to the NACC, Weerawut failed to explain how assets totalling 896,554,760 baht were acquired while he served as an assistant secretary to Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol from August 2011 to January 2012, and later as secretary to Boonsong.
Boonsong was handed a 42-year jail sentence and his former deputy, Poom, was sentenced to 36 years over corruption in the fake G2G rice deals.
Buy paddy directly from farmers to boost production
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Staff Reporter :
Eminent economists and researchers on Tuesday urged the government to procure paddy directly from the farmers as soon as possible to improve the market price of paddy.
They came up with the call during a dialogue organised by 'Right to Food Bangladesh' in association with 'Action Aid' at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.
"If the government does not procure paddy from farmers soon, they will reduce production of rice, which will surely increase the prices of rice next year," Mohsin Ali, General Secretary of Right to Food Bangladesh, told the dialogue.
Khandker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, urged the farmers to get united against middlemen who pay them low prices while purchasing paddy.
Khaled, also vice-president of Right to Food Bangladesh, raised questions about the role of the Food Minister in this regard.  Â
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), opined, "Agriculture is the base of our country's economy. And the government should include agriculture and all other things related to it in its development planning."
Although the primary goal of the procurement programme that started on August 31 is to give "price support" to farmers, it is not benefitting them much, he said.
The government is buying only 1.5 lakh tonnes of paddy from farmers under the ongoing food grain procurement programme while 11.5 lakh tonnes of rice (equivalent to about 20 lakh tonnes of paddy) from millers.
The millers are buying paddy in the open market at low prices and selling rice to the government at higher rates. On the other, the government is buying almost 13 times more (in terms of paddy) from millers than from farmers.
This means millers are gaining more both ways and farmers are facing losses due to low selling prices in the open market.

Potato production favourable to environment

Apart from being a universal favourite, this root vegetable is easy to grow and environmentally sustainable

By AuthorTelanganaToday  |  Published: 28th May 2019  10:32 pm
International researchers have shown that potatoes are good for the environment, with a recently published paper indicating that its production is more environmentally sustainable than any other crop like pasta or rice. The paper, conducted by researchers from Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, England and published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, considered both greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption when growing the three food types, with potatoes proving to have the least negative impact on the environment.
Potatoes require only a moderate amount of water and fertiliser. Pest control comes naturally to potatoes, as they produce compounds that ward off insects and disease – and the crop yield for potatoes is also relatively high. If you’re a potato lover, you’re probably helping prevent food waste too. Potatoes can last in the pantry for a while before they start going bad. A baked potato dinner will be a much lower burden on the environment than most alternatives.

Mwea rice farmers bank on new hybrid grain to boost yields

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2019 9:17Rice farmers in Mwea. FILE PHOTO | NMG By LEOPOLD OBI
SUMMARY
o   The farmers say one hardly makes money from growing traditional rice due to poor yields.
o   Ms Wakiaga said she spends at least Sh30,000 on average to grow rice on an acre of land.
o   But at the end of the season after four months, she only pockets Sh20,000.
o   Mwea Irrigation scheme is the country’s leading rice producer, covering over 26,000 acres, with farmers largely growing pishori, a fragrant basmati rice variety.
Eunice Wakiaga wades through a paddy field, uprooting a ring of weeds nestled among her rice plantation.
After growing traditional pishori rice varieties for years, Ms Wakiaga is trying out a new hybrid which researchers have approved as high-yielding.
But while the farmer only planted the hybrid seeds last month, the traditional varieties have also jutted across the farms to jostle for space with the new ones.
“We have been planting the traditional pishori rice all along, so they keep sprouting back but we are weeding them out to enable us realise the full potential of the new hybrid ones,” said the rice farmer, who also decried water scarcity in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme, leading to strict rationing of the commodity.
The farmer says she used to plant 25 kilos of the traditional rice seeds on an acre, yet this time she only needed eight kilos. The huge disparity is due to seed viability, according to researchers.
Because the rice farmers have replanted some of the traditional seeds for decades, the old varieties have lost vitality over time, forcing farmers to grow more seeds in the nursery to that they can have enough seedlings to transplant.
Besides the seed rate, farmers have also spotted a number of differences between the old and the new varieties.

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Bernard Gitare who has been growing rice for the last seven years notes that new varieties not only germinate faster but also have wide- leaf blades. The common pishori is known for its thin blade and slow growth rate.
A kilo of the hybrid rice seeds costs Sh120.
“We used to plant pishori 270 and 360 varieties which gave us between 25 to 30 bags per acre but researchers told us this new variety can give us up to 40 bags per acre,” said Mr Gitare, adding that this is their first time to grow the hybrids.
The farmers say one hardly makes money from growing traditional rice due to poor yields.
Ms Wakiaga said she spends at least Sh30,000 on average to grow rice on an acre of land. But at the end of the season after four months, she only pockets Sh20,000.
“We spend a lot of money in inputs and labour yet the produce is not substantial. We are therefore monitoring this new hybrid variety if it will bring any significant difference,” she said.
The new hybrid rice currently under cultivation by a section of farmers in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, is one of the five hybrids released last year by the government for commercialisation after decades of research.
About 200 acres of the scheme are currently under the hybrid crop while another 1,000 acres will be planted in the main season.
Mwea Irrigation scheme is the country’s leading rice producer, covering over 26,000 acres, with farmers largely growing pishori, a fragrant basmati rice variety.
The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) in partnership with African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) are also evaluating another 10 hybrid rice varieties under the national performance trials.
The new high yielding varieties can give around 12 metric tonnes per acre, which could help Kenya bridge a widening gap in rice production.
Dr John Kimani, a rice breeder and Kalro-Mwea centre director, notes that rice consumption in the country is rising faster than output.
“As a result we have to improve our production for the country to meet the rising demand,” the scientist said.
A Food Balance Sheet (FBS) by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that rice is currently the seventh most popular food in the country,,with a per capita consumption of 20.6 kilos.
Last year, Kenya’s rice production significantly shot from 54,000 metric tonnes to 156,000 metric tonnes a year which is measly compared to the country’s 650,000 metric tonnes annual consumption.
The Government plans to bridge the consumption gap by boosting production to 438,000 metric tonnes by 2022 under its Big 4 Agenda, forcing researchers to work round the clock.
The rice grower says the popular basmati rice has been grown in the country since early 80s but after 30 years of replanting, its genetic make-up has degenerated, leading to lower yields and susceptibility to pests and diseases.
But despite its dwindling productivity, rice farmers continue to grow it due to high demand since consumers love its aroma.
In Asian countries, new rice varieties are introduced after every five years to make sure that farmers do not grow weaker seeds.
“We have done product profile and found that farmers cling to basmati because of the aroma and white, slender grain. The new varieties must have these traits so that we can replace the traditional ones,” Dr Kimani said.
He added that they would combine basmati traits with the high yielding genes from Korean germplasm to come up with a hybrid aromatic rice.
While Kenyan consumers love the aromatic rice, scientists say that aroma is just a scent and has nothing to do with the nutritional value of the crop. Nevertheless, they’ll still have to introduce it into the hybrid varieties due to market demand.
Dr Sanni Kayode, a lead scientist on rice research at AATF, said for the 10 new hybrid varieties to be considered for release, they must yield at least 10 percent better than the previous ones.
“Research is going on in five locations including Ahero in Kisumu County, Hola, Mwea and Malindi. The varieties must perform better in all the locations,” he said.
Dr Kayode said since Kenya’s rice consumption rate grows at 13 per cent while production goes up at three per cent due to urbanisation and change in lifestyle which is enhancing rice consumption, farmers need to grow superior and high yielding varieties.
On average, he says a Kenyan farmer harvests two tonnes per hectare compared to the global productivity of 4.5 tonnes per hectare.
“One of the best ways of achieving productivity is using high yielding rice varieties. There is also a need for private sector investment to help us close the gap,” Dr Kayode said.

Buy from farmers, not millers

12:00 AM, May 29, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, May 29, 2019

 

Govt. rice procurement policy short-changing the farmers

The government’s ongoing food grain procurement policy to help farmers has had the opposite results. Under the programme, the government is buying only 1.5 lakh tonnes of paddy from farmers, which is less than one percent of the total estimated production of around 1.96 crore tonnes this boro season and 13 times less than the 11.5 lakh tonnes of rice—equivalent to about 20 lakh tonnes of paddy—it is buying from millers. This means the ones who are actually benefitting from the programme are millers, not the farmers the programme is intended to assist.
Government agencies have claimed that it is buying the bulk of its products from millers as it lacks storage space for paddy, which requires more space than rice, and this problem is yet to be resolved because of policy issues. Under this setting, millers are buying rice at a low price from farmers and selling it at a high price to the government. And in the process, they are making a profit of Tk 5,850 per tonne, whereas farmers are making a loss of Tk 9,000.
The entire state of affairs is simply absurd. Given that this is a yearly affair, why hasn’t the government fixed its policy issues? Don’t policymakers recognise the urgency of the situation? Why are they still making policies that are counterproductive? Moreover, in the absence of storage space, why did the government even initiate this programme without any pre-planning? Did it not know that buying the bulk of its produce from millers will not benefit the farmers? If not, then what that means is that the ministry didn’t even bother to consult those its policy was intended to help which is just ridiculous.
This string of bad decisions by the authorities has done nothing but waste public resources. We call on the government to immediately fix the mess and to buy from the farmers directly.

 ‘Buy paddy directly from farmers as soon as possible’


02:55 PM, May 28, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:14 PM, May 28, 2019

 

Economists urge govt

Eminent economists on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 urge the government to procure paddy directly from the farmers at reasonable price as soon as possible. Photo: Abdullah Al Nayeem
Star Online Report
Eminent economists today urged the government to procure paddy directly from the farmers at reasonable price as soon as possible.
The call came up during a dialogue organised by Right to Food Bangladesh in association with Action Aid at the capital’s Jatiya Press Club today.
“If the government does not procure paddy from farmers soon, they will reduce production of rice, which will surely increase the prices of rice next year,” Mohsin Ali, general secretary of Right to Food Bangladesh, said in the session.
Khandker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, urged the farmers to get united against middlemen who pay them low prices while purchasing paddy.
Khaled, also vice-president of Right to Food Bangladesh, also raised questions about the role of the food minister in this regard.
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), opined, “Agriculture is the base of the country’s economy. And the government should include agriculture and all other things related to it in its development planning.”
Although the primary goal of the procurement programme that started on August 31 is to give “price support” to farmers, it is not benefitting them much.

Economists demand interest-free loan for farmers

Staff Correspondent | Published: 01:30, May 29,2019
      

 
Right to Food Bangladesh holds a discussion on fair price of agricultural produces at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Tuesday. — New Age photo
Agriculture economists, university teachers, former bureaucrats and farmer leaders on Tuesday demanded introduction of interest free loans for the farmers to enable them to overcome the losses they had incurred due to falling prices of un-husked rice and grow their next crops.
Boro rice growers incurred heavy losses due to the government’s ‘defective procurement policy’, they said while speaking at a national dialogue at the National Press Club.
Besides, they said, that massive rice imports hurt aman and boro rice growers.
They also said that the farmers continued to incur losses due to government’s procurement policy of buying rice from the millers.
Though the government fixed Tk 1040 for 40kg of boro rice this year but the farmers were forced to sell Tk 500 to Tk 600, they said
The National Dialogue on Fair Prices for Agricultural Produces including Rice, the Challenges and the Solution was organized by Right to Food Bangladesh and ActionAid Bangladesh.
Economist and chairman of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation as well as the Dhaka School of Economics Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said that fair price remained elusive to the farmers for long.
He demanded the creation of a ‘Price Commission’ in the Indian model to resolve the endemic crisis facing the farmers.
He also demanded introduction of interest free loans for the farmers and the creation of warehouses for the post-harvest storage of un-husked rice.
Kholiquzzaman stressed the need for strengthening farmers’ organizations under the elected local governments.
He called for bringing agriculture, farmers and farm labourers under the government’s development policy.
Bangladesh Bank’s former deputy governor Khondokar Ibrahim Khaled called for increasing agricultural subsidies to protect farmers from their recurrent losses.
He also demanded removal of middlemen from the agricultural supply chain.
He said that the farmers should forge unity and enter politics to be able to protect their legitimate interests.
Former agriculture secretary Anwar Faruque said that massive imports coinciding with bumper production of rice caused the current problems for the growers.
He advised the government to increase un-husked rice procurement instead of husked rice, extend interest free loans to the growers and formalize the agriculture value chain.
Agriculture economist and former research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Md Asaduzzaman said that the farmers’ losses were caused by the government’s lack of sincerity.
‘The market of un-husked and the husked rice are not the same,’ he said, as the buyers of husked rice by far outnumber the customers of un-husked rice.
Dhaka University economics professor Sayema Haque Bidisha said that public procurement system in India’s West Bengal was working well due to the policy of direct procurement of un-husked rice from the farmers.
She said that only proper and timely steps of the government could save the farmers from their recurrent crisis.
Farmer Munni Begum from Alokbali, Raipura, Narsingdi said that she did not even get the production price for her boro rice crop.
Another farmer Anjumanara Begum from Jamal said that she incurred heavy losses growing boro rice this year due to low price.
She demanded direct un-husked rice procurement from the framers by the government.
She also asked the government to stop husked rice procurements from the millers.
Farmer leader Hor Ballab Chowdhury from Horipur, Baniachang, Habiganj said that the government did not procure un-husked rice from the growers.
Farmers were losing interest in growing rice due to low price, he said.
Wave Foundation’s executive director Mohasin Ali who moderated the dialogue said that the government should immediately procure un-husked rice from the farmers.
Banik Barta Journalist Sanuar Said Shaheen presented the keynote paper while Action Aid director Asgar Ali Saberi, farmer leader Abdul Hai, Right to Food campaigner Atarur Rahman Miton also spoke.

Manipur: ICAR recommends devising climate proof plan, ready policy for agri development

By Our Correspondent  /  May 28, 2019  /  Comments Offon Manipur: ICAR recommends devising climate proof plan, ready policy for agri development
  
Correspondent
Imphal, May 28 (EMN): Expressing concern over the climate change in the state, a group of scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) centres, working in diverse discipline on Tuesday recommended the need for devising climate proof plan and climate ready policy for compatible agricultural development in Manipur.
Location-specific climate smart technology baskets need to be devised and should be demonstrated through participatory approach, for ensuring a climate resilient production system, and a climate resilient ecosystem, the scientists said.
Trend analysis of weather variables in Imphal under the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture revealed that the annual maximum temperature (1954–2014) has been increasing (0.1°C per decade), said the scientists in their research paper report published in Current Science journal in October 2018.
The 20 paged reports called “Climate resilient agriculture in Manipur: Status and strategies for sustainable development” is the result of year long work by as many as 11 ICAR scientists who have reviewed a number of sources of information.
Stating that as evident from the last 30 years’ climate data analysis, precipitation rate in northern parts is expected to increase, the scientists said. The southern districts are expected to experience higher temperature than that of the northern districts.
Total annual precipitation is expected to increase throughout the state. As evident from the last 30 years’ climate data analysis, precipitation rate in northern parts is expected to increase. Greenhouse gas emissions have also increased in Manipur from 1980 to 2005.
Projecting the loss of bio-diversity and extinction of rare/threatened flora and fauna besides projecting decline in crop yields by 10 percent in 2030 in view of the said climate variability, the scientists estimated that the food grain production and requirement of the state would be 77105 and 79323 thousand tonnes respectively by 2050.
Hence, there will be deficit of 2218 thousand tonnes of food grain by 2050, they predicted.
The total food grain production in Manipur (2014–15) was 594.28 thousand tonnes from an area of 292,950 ha.
Otherwise the total gross cropped area the state is 350,290 ha, which account for 15.24% of the total land areas.About 65.93% under rice cultivation.
There are enormous gene pool of rice, maize, cucurbits, legumes, tuber crops, turmeric, ginger and chillies in Manipur which houses more than 500 orchid varieties, 1200 species of medicinal plants, 50 species of fleshy fungi, 121 algae and a few moses, 200 plus fish species, 73 different types of birds, 31 endemic mammals, more than 53 species of bamboos and others, according to the report.

Aussie oat noodles target Chinese market


Wednesday, 29 May, 2019


Scientists from the Australian Export Grain Innovation Centre(AEGIC) are developing new oat products to meet growing demand in China.
As part of a jointly funded project with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), AEGIC is identifying Australian oat varieties suitable for emerging Chinese products, including oat noodles, oat rice and oat milk.
Lead Research Scientist Dr Sabori Mitra said AEGIC had successfully created healthy, high-quality dried noodles with an oat flour ratio greater than 50% and a long shelf life.
“The lack of gluten in oats limits their use in wheat-based products such as noodles, so AEGIC’s innovation to achieve high-percentage oat flour is an excellent result,” she said.
The project had also returned encouraging results in processing oat ‘rice’.
“Oat rice is created through a special process to remove to the outer bran layer of oat grains, while achieving a shelf-stable and nutritious product,” she said. “The process reduces cooking time, increases brightness, improves eating quality and maintains beta-glucan content.”
The oat rice can be cooked and eaten in a similar way to traditional rice, Mitra explained.
AEGIC Oat Program Manager Mark Tucek said oat consumption in China has increased dramatically since the mid-2000s, which could be partly due to an increasing interest in health and nutrition.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in supplementing their diets with healthier options, such as oats, which are loaded with beta-glucan and other high-value nutrients,” he said. “This represents a great opportunity to grow Australia’s share of an expanding market.”
High-quality milling oats can attract a premium of around $20/tonne. With an assumed milling oats price of $250/tonne, this could generate an extra $20 million each year for the Australian oats industry if the country captured 50% of the expected future market growth.
The second stage of the project will see AEGIC develop a wider variety of innovative oat foods and help provide pathways to market for commercial products.
The current project is a collaboration with Shaanxi Normal University (Xi’an, China), the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) National Oat Breeding Program.
Image caption: AEGIC Oat Program Manager Mark Tucek and Research Scientist Dr Sabori Mitra with some oat risotto and oat noodles prepared in the AEGIC labs. Image credit: AEGIC.

PH rice scientist Gregorio is new Searca director

posted May 28, 2019 at 09:40 pm by Brenda Jocson

Los Baños, Laguna―A rice scientist has been appointed as new director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.
Glenn B. Gregorio, PhD, who assumed office this month is the eleventh to hold the top SEARCA post for a three-year term since its establishment in November 1966 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization.
SEARCA is an inter-government treaty organization hosted by the Philippine government on the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Gregorio is also an Academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines and is currently a professor at the Institute of Crop Science of the UPLB College of Agriculture and Food Science.
A distinguished rice scientist, Gregorio served the International Rice Research Institute for almost 30 years, including a five-year stint as International Rice Research Institute’s rice breeder in Africa, based at Africa Rice Centre station at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria from 2004 to 2009.
Throughout his career, Gregorio has bred more than 15 rice varieties, most of which are salt-tolerant varieties that have greatly helped farmers in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
He also led efforts to develop micronutrient-dense rice varieties to address anemia and malnutrition in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
But rice breeding is not Gregorio’s only forte. Prior to his appointment as Searca Director, he also served as Crop Breeding Manager for Corn at the East-West Seed Company, Inc. from 2015 to 2018, where he was the global lead of the sweet corn and waxy corn breeding programs for South and Southeast Asia, the Latin Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gregorio has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Outstanding Young Scientist Award (OYS 2004) and Outstanding Publication Award given by NAST; The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM 2004) in the field of Agriculture-Plant Breeding and Genetics;
The Ho Chi Minh Medal Award for great contribution to the cause of agriculture and rural development in Vietnam; Ten Outstanding Youth Scientists (TOYS 1981) of the Philippines given by the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines; 
Honorary Scientist, Rural Development Administration, Korea; and other awards for his outstanding research and research management achievements.
Gregorio has authored and co-authored at least 90 articles published in various scientific journals, chapters on rice breeding in 14 books, and five scientific manuals and bulletins.
He also mentored and supervised 20 PhD and 27 MS graduate students and more than 40 BS students in plant breeding and genetics at UPLB and other universities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America; and he continues to hone scientists and future scientists as a mentor and teacher.
Gregorio obtained his PhD in Genetics, MS in Plant Breeding, and BS in Agriculture at UPLB.

SMB mulls new Vietnam brewery

SAN MIGUEL Brewery, Inc. (SMB) plans to spend about $70 million (about P3.5 billion) for the construction of a new brewery in Vietnam to address the demand for the company’s products in the Southeast Asian country.
SMB Chairman Ramon S. Ang said the company is currently conducting a market study for the facility.
Kung magtatayo kami, at least two million hectoliters na plantaPag-aaralan pa namin ’yun (If we’re going to build, it will have to produce at least two million hectoliters. We’re still going to study that project,” Mr. Ang told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Mandaluyong on Tuesday.
SMB President Roberto N. Huang noted that the company’s capacity in Vietnam is only at 200,000 hectoliters, while it experiences an oversupply in other international markets.
“The per capita kasi in Vietnam is higher than the Philippines. Dito nasa 19 (liters). SaVietnam, umaabot na ng 44 liters per capita. Mataas. Kaya there is a good market there (Per capital here is around 19 liters. In Vietnam, they reach about 44 liters. That’s high. So the market is good there),” Mr. Huang said.
In its 2018 annual report, SMB said volume and profit weakened last year due to a significant decline in its W1n Bia brand and flat San Miguel volumes. It looks to “aggressively grow” San Miguel volumes this year by targeting to increase distribution in bars, hostels, karaoke, wedding sites, and modern trade outlets.
Meanwhile, Mr. Huang said the company is also waiting for confirmation on whether it can push through with the construction of a beer brewery in the United States. The company earlier said it had plans to set up a facility in Los Angeles, California to meet the demand for its products in North America.
“We have to wait for their confirmation. It’s not just a matter of capacity. We also have to talk to some people there if a brewery can really be put up kung walang reklamo ’yung (if there are no complaints from the) community and everything,” Mr. Huang said, adding that SMB has already acquired the site.
The top executive said that planning for the US brewery will take about six months, but may take longer since it is an overseas project.
“But we will see if we can already set groundbreaking. Pag ka nag-groundbreak na kami, e tuloy tuloy na (Once we break ground, it will push through), just like what we were doing in the Philippines,” Mr. Huang said.
RICE IMPORTS
Meanwhile, Mr. Ang, who is also president and chief operating officer of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said the company is already preparing to import rice, following the approval of the Rice Tariffication Law.
Merong ilang site na may port na hinahanda, para in case meron na talagangimplementing guideline para makatulong kami to stabilize the price of rice (There are a number of sites that we’re preparing, in case there are already implementing guidelines so we can help stabilize rice prices),” Mr. Ang said.
Rice trading will be handled by SMB’s parent, SMC.
Mr. Ang said the company could potentially import rice from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. He also noted that the company will age the rice, the by-product of which can then be used for its feed mills and breweries.
“Broken rice dun, na walang halaga, nagagamit ng brewery ’yun to produce alcohol. Kaya napakabagay sa amin ’yun. At the same time, makakatulong kami na magingstable ’yung pricing (That’s broken rice that has no value, and can be used by the brewery to produce alcohol. It is a match with our business. At the same time, we can help stabilize prices). So farmers can also have a very stable income,” he explained. — Arra B. Francia

AgriNurture looking at $100 million from potential foreign investor

Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 29 2019 01:50 PM
MANILA -- AgriNurture Inc is "looking" at a possible $100 million (P5.2 billion) investment from an Asian partner to help fund its expansion, president and CEO Antonio Tiu said Wednesday.
After expanding to rice from mangoes, bananas and pineapples, AgriNurture is looking at micro lending for farmers, Tiu told ABS-CBN News."Over the next 5 years, we will aggressively pursue inclusive growth in the agri sector by empowering our small partners," he said on the sidelines of the company's 10th listing anniversary at the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Farmers who avail of the loans will also have access to seedlings and fertilizers, he said.
With rice imports, the staple grain could account for half of the company's total revenues, he said."It's just rice portfolio is exceeding growth because of economies of scale. Rice, we bring in shiploads. Fruit, we export only by container. That's a big difference," he said.
Incorporating technology in farming will help lure young people to agriculture, who may not think of it as sexy, he said.
Happening this morning: Tony Tiu’s Agrinurture celebrates 10th listing anniversary @ANCALERTS

Imports dip 19.3% in 1Q


Comments /   674 Views / Wednesday, 29 May 2019 01:52
 
·       Imports drop 5 consecutive months, March sees 12.6% drop 
·       All imports excluding fuel see drop, CB says reduction due to policies, expected change in 2Q 
·       But exports increase 5.6% in 1Q, record highest-ever earnings of $ 1.13 b 
·       Industrial and mineral exports grew but agricultural exports declined
·       Apparel records highest-ever monthly earning surpassing $ 500 m 
·       Trade deficit contracts to $ 1.6 b from $ 2.9 b in 1Q 2018 
·       Reserves at $ 7.6 b, rupee appreciates 3.8% to date 
Imports dropped a steep 19.3% in the first quarter of 2019, even though export earnings increased by 5.6% year-on-year as the trade deficit contracted to $ 1,661 million from $ 2,982 million recorded in the first quarter of 2018, the Central Bank said yesterday.

Releasing the latest External Sector Performance Report, the Central Bank said imports had declined for five straight months, with March seeing a 12.6% drop, on a year-on-year basis, to $ 1,729 million. The Central Bank attributed the drop to policies aimed at discouraging imports and said that an import pick-up may take place in the second quarter as these policies were reversed. All imports other than fuel saw a decline as economic activity slowed.

In March 2019, the deficit in the trade account narrowed to $ 592 million, compared to $ 871 million in March 2018. The considerable reduction in the trade deficit in March 2019 was due to a notable decline in import expenditure by 12.6% (year-on-year) which was further supported by the increase of export earnings by 2.6% (year-on-year), the report said. 
The financial account was further strengthened in March with the proceeds of the International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) amounting to $ 2.4 billion and net inflows of foreign investments to the Government securities market during the month, although some net outflows were observed from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).

Along with the significant reduction in the trade deficit and significant inflows to the financial account, the Sri Lankan Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar by 3.8% by end March 2019 compared to end 2018. Despite the marginal depreciation of the rupee in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, it recorded an appreciation of 3.8% during the year up to Tuesday.

On 13 May, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fifth Review under Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approving the disbursement of the sixth tranche amounting to SDR 118.5 million (approximately $ 164.1 million). The Executive Board also approved an extension of the arrangement by one year, until June 2020, and rephased the remaining disbursements.

The country’s gross official reserves stood at $ 7.6 billion, which was equivalent to 4.3 months of imports at end March 2019. The deficit in the trade account narrowed significantly in March this year in comparison to March 2018 due to record high export earnings and considerable reduction in imports.

Expenditure on imports continued to decline due to the policy measures adopted by the Central Bank and the Government. On a cumulative basis, the deficit in the trade account contracted significantly during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018.

Terms of trade, which represent the relative price of imports in terms of exports, deteriorated by 3.3% (year-on-year) in March due to the decline in export prices at a higher rate than the decline in import prices. Meanwhile, on a cumulative basis, terms of trade deteriorated marginally during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018.

“Merchandise exports recorded the highest-ever monthly earnings of $ 1,137 million in March 2019 registering a moderate growth of 2.6%, due to the higher base in March 2018. The growth in exports was driven by the improved performance in industrial and mineral exports while agricultural exports declined,” the report said.

Under industrial exports, earnings from textiles and garment exports increased notably in March 2019, recording the highest-ever monthly earnings which surpassed $ 500 million for the first time. This growth was mainly due to higher demand for garment exports from traditional markets, namely the USA and the EU, as well as non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia and China. Export earnings from textiles and other textile articles also increased in March.

Earnings from petroleum exports increased in March, reversing the declining trend observed during the past three months, led by an increase in both volume and prices of bunker and aviation fuel. Export earnings from base metals and articles increased driven by iron and steel articles and aluminium articles. Export earnings from food, beverages and tobacco increased during the month owing to the improved performance in all sub categories except vegetables, fruit and nuts preparations.

Printing industry products, and chemical products also contributed towards the increase in industrial exports in March. However, earnings from machinery and mechanical appliances, gems, diamonds and jewellery, rubber products, leather, travel goods and footwear, and transport equipment exports declined in the period concerned.

Earnings from agricultural exports declined in March, mainly driven by subdued performance in tea, minor agricultural products, natural rubber and unmanufactured tobacco exports. Although the volumes of tea export increased in March, export earnings from tea declined due to lower average export prices. However, earnings from coconut exports increased due to the increase in export of both coconut kernel and non-kernel products. Earnings from spices, seafood and vegetable exports also rose marginally during the month.

Export earnings from mineral exports, which account for about 0.4% of total exports, rose mainly driven by export of titanium ores.

The export volume index in March 2019 increased by 10.6% while the export unit value index decreased by 7.2%, implying that the growth in export earnings was solely driven by the increase in volumes. Expenditure on merchandise imports declined considerably in March 2019 by 12.6%, on a year-on-year basis, to $1,729 million, recording a decline for the fifth consecutive month.

This reduction was mainly due to the effect of the policy measures implemented by the Central Bank and the Government to discourage certain non-essential imports and the significant depreciation of the currency. However, considering the favourable developments in the external sector and measures introduced in Budget 2019, such policy measures were withdrawn in March 2019. Low expenditure on intermediate and consumer goods contributed to the decline in imports during March 2019, while expenditure on investment goods increased. Total imports, excluding fuel, also declined significantly.

Import expenditure on intermediate goods declined in March 2019 mainly driven by gold imports which continued to be stagnant following the imposition of customs duty on gold in April 2018. Expenditure on wheat and maize declined owing to the lower import volume of wheat. Plastic and articles, food preparations and vehicle and machinery parts imports also contributed to the decline in intermediate goods.

In contrast, expenditure on fuel imports increased in March owing to higher import volume and prices of crude oil despite a reduction recorded in refined petroleum and coal imports. In addition, expenditure on fertiliser imports increased in March 2019 mainly driven by higher import volumes when compared with March 2018. Further, import expenditure on textiles and textile articles led by fabrics, base metals led by iron and steel and mineral products led by cement clinkers increased during the period concerned.

Reflecting lower imports of most items in both food and beverages and non-food consumer goods, import expenditure on consumer goods declined significantly in March. Expenditure on personal motor vehicle imports declined significantly in March, continuing its year-on-year declining trend observed since December 2018. However, imports of personal motor vehicles recorded an increase in comparison to the previous month.

Policy measures on motor vehicle imports were changed with the withdrawal of margin requirements against letter of credits (LCs) and upward revision of excise duties on motor vehicles. In addition, import of rice declined with lower import volumes as there was sufficient domestic production of rice in the market while sugar and confectionery imports reduced due to lower import volumes and prices.

In addition, expenditure on most non-food consumer goods such as clothing and accessories, telecommunication devices, home appliances and household and furniture items declined during the month. However, expenditure on dairy products, cosmetics and toiletries, printed materials and stationery imports increased in March.

Import expenditure on investment goods increased in March, driven by higher imports of building material and machinery and equipment. Reflecting higher imports of cement and articles of iron and steel, import expenditure on building material increased. Import expenditure on machinery and equipment increased during the month, mainly due to imports of cranes. In contrast, expenditure on transport equipment declined in March due to lower expenditure incurred on the importation of tankers and bowsers and buses compared with the corresponding period of 2018.

Import volume and unit value indices decreased by 8.9% and 4.1%, respectively, in March, indicating the decline in import expenditure during the month was driven by the reduction in both volumes imported and price, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018.

Along with the proceeds of the ISBs, as at end March, gross official reserves were estimated at $7.6 billion, equivalent to 4.3 months of imports. Total foreign assets, which consist of gross official reserves and foreign assets of the banking sector, amounted to $ 10.5 billion as at end March, equivalent to six months of imports.
ABOUT US ARCHIVES CONTACT HOME COLUMNISTS FT CLICK FT LITE CARTOON OPINION AND ISSUES SECTORS SPORTS HOME / TOP STORY/ IMPORTS DIP 19.3% IN 1Q Imports dip 19.3% in 1Q Comments / 674 Views / Wednesday, 29 May 2019 01:52 Facebook         Imports drop 5 consecutive months, March sees 12.6% drop  All imports excluding fuel see drop, CB says reduction due to policies, expected change in 2Q  But exports increase 5.6% in 1Q, record highest-ever earnings of $ 1.13 b  Industrial and mineral exports grew but agricultural exports declined Apparel records highest-ever monthly earning surpassing $ 500 m  Trade deficit contracts to $ 1.6 b from $ 2.9 b in 1Q 2018  Reserves at $ 7.6 b, rupee appreciates 3.8% to date  Imports dropped a steep 19.3% in the first quarter of 2019, even though export earnings increased by 5.6% year-on-year as the trade deficit contracted to $ 1,661 million from $ 2,982 million recorded in the first quarter of 2018, the Central Bank said yesterday.  Releasing the latest External Sector Performance Report, the Central Bank said imports had declined for five straight months, with March seeing a 12.6% drop, on a year-on-year basis, to $ 1,729 million. The Central Bank attributed the drop to policies aimed at discouraging imports and said that an import pick-up may take place in the second quarter as these policies were reversed. All imports other than fuel saw a decline as economic activity slowed.  In March 2019, the deficit in the trade account narrowed to $ 592 million, compared to $ 871 million in March 2018. The considerable reduction in the trade deficit in March 2019 was due to a notable decline in import expenditure by 12.6% (year-on-year) which was further supported by the increase of export earnings by 2.6% (year-on-year), the report said.  The financial account was further strengthened in March with the proceeds of the International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) amounting to $ 2.4 billion and net inflows of foreign investments to the Government securities market during the month, although some net outflows were observed from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Along with the significant reduction in the trade deficit and significant inflows to the financial account, the Sri Lankan Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar by 3.8% by end March 2019 compared to end 2018. Despite the marginal depreciation of the rupee in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, it recorded an appreciation of 3.8% during the year up to Tuesday. On 13 May, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fifth Review under Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approving the disbursement of the sixth tranche amounting to SDR 118.5 million (approximately $ 164.1 million). The Executive Board also approved an extension of the arrangement by one year, until June 2020, and rephased the remaining disbursements. The country’s gross official reserves stood at $ 7.6 billion, which was equivalent to 4.3 months of imports at end March 2019. The deficit in the trade account narrowed significantly in March this year in comparison to March 2018 due to record high export earnings and considerable reduction in imports. Expenditure on imports continued to decline due to the policy measures adopted by the Central Bank and the Government. On a cumulative basis, the deficit in the trade account contracted significantly during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. Terms of trade, which represent the relative price of imports in terms of exports, deteriorated by 3.3% (year-on-year) in March due to the decline in export prices at a higher rate than the decline in import prices. Meanwhile, on a cumulative basis, terms of trade deteriorated marginally during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. “Merchandise exports recorded the highest-ever monthly earnings of $ 1,137 million in March 2019 registering a moderate growth of 2.6%, due to the higher base in March 2018. The growth in exports was driven by the improved performance in industrial and mineral exports while agricultural exports declined,” the report said.  Under industrial exports, earnings from textiles and garment exports increased notably in March 2019, recording the highest-ever monthly earnings which surpassed $ 500 million for the first time. This growth was mainly due to higher demand for garment exports from traditional markets, namely the USA and the EU, as well as non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia and China. Export earnings from textiles and other textile articles also increased in March.  Earnings from petroleum exports increased in March, reversing the declining trend observed during the past three months, led by an increase in both volume and prices of bunker and aviation fuel. Export earnings from base metals and articles increased driven by iron and steel articles and aluminium articles. Export earnings from food, beverages and tobacco increased during the month owing to the improved performance in all sub categories except vegetables, fruit and nuts preparations. Printing industry products, and chemical products also contributed towards the increase in industrial exports in March. However, earnings from machinery and mechanical appliances, gems, diamonds and jewellery, rubber products, leather, travel goods and footwear, and transport equipment exports declined in the period concerned. Earnings from agricultural exports declined in March, mainly driven by subdued performance in tea, minor agricultural products, natural rubber and unmanufactured tobacco exports. Although the volumes of tea export increased in March, export earnings from tea declined due to lower average export prices. However, earnings from coconut exports increased due to the increase in export of both coconut kernel and non-kernel products. Earnings from spices, seafood and vegetable exports also rose marginally during the month. Export earnings from mineral exports, which account for about 0.4% of total exports, rose mainly driven by export of titanium ores. The export volume index in March 2019 increased by 10.6% while the export unit value index decreased by 7.2%, implying that the growth in export earnings was solely driven by the increase in volumes. Expenditure on merchandise imports declined considerably in March 2019 by 12.6%, on a year-on-year basis, to $1,729 million, recording a decline for the fifth consecutive month. This reduction was mainly due to the effect of the policy measures implemented by the Central Bank and the Government to discourage certain non-essential imports and the significant depreciation of the currency. However, considering the favourable developments in the external sector and measures introduced in Budget 2019, such policy measures were withdrawn in March 2019. Low expenditure on intermediate and consumer goods contributed to the decline in imports during March 2019, while expenditure on investment goods increased. Total imports, excluding fuel, also declined significantly. Import expenditure on intermediate goods declined in March 2019 mainly driven by gold imports which continued to be stagnant following the imposition of customs duty on gold in April 2018. Expenditure on wheat and maize declined owing to the lower import volume of wheat. Plastic and articles, food preparations and vehicle and machinery parts imports also contributed to the decline in intermediate goods.  In contrast, expenditure on fuel imports increased in March owing to higher import volume and prices of crude oil despite a reduction recorded in refined petroleum and coal imports. In addition, expenditure on fertiliser imports increased in March 2019 mainly driven by higher import volumes when compared with March 2018. Further, import expenditure on textiles and textile articles led by fabrics, base metals led by iron and steel and mineral products led by cement clinkers increased during the period concerned. Reflecting lower imports of most items in both food and beverages and non-food consumer goods, import expenditure on consumer goods declined significantly in March. Expenditure on personal motor vehicle imports declined significantly in March, continuing its year-on-year declining trend observed since December 2018. However, imports of personal motor vehicles recorded an increase in comparison to the previous month.  Policy measures on motor vehicle imports were changed with the withdrawal of margin requirements against letter of credits (LCs) and upward revision of excise duties on motor vehicles. In addition, import of rice declined with lower import volumes as there was sufficient domestic production of rice in the market while sugar and confectionery imports reduced due to lower import volumes and prices.  In addition, expenditure on most non-food consumer goods such as clothing and accessories, telecommunication devices, home appliances and household and furniture items declined during the month. However, expenditure on dairy products, cosmetics and toiletries, printed materials and stationery imports increased in March. Import expenditure on investment goods increased in March, driven by higher imports of building material and machinery and equipment. Reflecting higher imports of cement and articles of iron and steel, import expenditure on building material increased. Import expenditure on machinery and equipment increased during the month, mainly due to imports of cranes. In contrast, expenditure on transport equipment declined in March due to lower expenditure incurred on the importation of tankers and bowsers and buses compared with the corresponding period of 2018. Import volume and unit value indices decreased by 8.9% and 4.1%, respectively, in March, indicating the decline in import expenditure during the month was driven by the reduction in both volumes imported and price, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. Along with the proceeds of the ISBs, as at end March, gross official reserves were estimated at $7.6 billion, equivalent to 4.3 months of imports. Total foreign assets, which consist of gross official reserves and foreign assets of the banking sector, amounted to $ 10.5 billion as at end March, equivalent to six months of imports. Share This Article Facebook Twitter DISCLAIMER: 1. All comments will be moderated by the Daily FT Web Editor. 2. Comments that are abusive, obscene, incendiary, defamatory or irrelevant will not be published. 3. We may remove hyperlinks within comments. 4. Kindly use a genuine email ID and provide your name. 5. Spamming the comments section under different user names may result in being blacklisted. COMMENTS FT Quick Guide Travel / Tourism IT / Telecom / Tech Financial Services Business News Today's Columnists Combating invisible financing for terrorism Wednesday, 29 May 2019 CCTV footage played the key role in identifying the suicide bombers of the Easter Sunday attack.However, the ways and means of breeding such terrorism on Sri Lanka’s soil is still under investigation.In the aftermath of the Easter attack, there is An unpardonable pardon Wednesday, 29 May 2019 We are back in primitive tribal times. The power of pardon is a feature of human society with ancient roots. It originates from the tribal custom exercised by the tribal chief to soften the harsh rigour of embedded tribal customs. Under civilised con New constitution as a panacea for all ills and people’s mandate Wednesday, 29 May 2019 Victor Ivan, one of the proponents of 19A, in his latest edition published in Daily FT on 24 May under the caption ‘Sri Lanka needs urgent surgery,’ has once again advocated a strong argument to bring a new constitution as a solution to the curre Delimitation of electoral boundaries in SL: Multi-member electorates – perceptions and realities Wednesday, 29 May 2019 This article is the fourth in a series of articles on delimitation of geographical boundaries in Sri Lanka. Following on the third article, ‘Smaller electoral units needed to serve the people better’ (Sunday Island of 10 February and Daily FT of COLUMNISTS MORE OPINION & ISSUES MORE Combating invisible financing for terrorism An unpardonable pardon A paradigm shift in our media culture is imperative “A single flower does not make Spring!” OPINION & ISSUES MORE Special Report Recovery marketing plan for Sri Lanka Tourism SPECIAL REPORT MORE FT View Changes that count Look beyond infrastructure A second chance for tourism?  Carving out voter bases FT VIEW MORE INSIDE SECTORS Agriculture Business Lifestyle CSR / Events Dining Entertainment / Art Entrepreneurship Fashion Financial Services Energy Front page Healthcare HR In Depth International IT / Telecom / Tech Leadership Leisure Letters to the Editor Management Marketing Motor News Other Sectors Shipping / Aviation Special Report Technology Travel / Tourism Youth / Careers / Higher Education ALSO FOLLOW US ON CONTACT General : +94 0112 436 998, +94 0112 479 780 Fax : +94 0112 447 848 Circulation : +94 0112 479 626, +94 0112 479 628 Advertising : +94 0112 479 519, +94 0112 479 531 Technical : helpdesk@wijeya.lk , +94 011 538 3437 Group Sites : Lankadeepa Dailymirror Sunday Times Daily FT Ada Deshaya Tamil Mirror Mirror Sports HI TV Kelimandala Wisden Sri Lanka Life LW Mirrorcitizen Hitad Print HI Magz Times Jobs Times Education Wijeya Tamil Radio WNL Home e-papers : Lankadeepa Sunday Lankadeepa Daily Mirror Ada Tamil Mirror Daily FT Deshaya Wijeya e-paper portal Services : Home delivery Webmaster Web Ads Editorial Help Desk News Alerts Book Print Ads All the content on this website is copyright protected and can be reproduced only by giving the due courtesy to 'ft.lk' Copyright © 2004 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. ABOUT US ARCHIVES CONTACT HOME COLUMNISTS FT CLICK FT LITE CARTOON OPINION AND ISSUES SECTORS SPORTS HOME / TOP STORY/ IMPORTS DIP 19.3% IN 1Q Imports dip 19.3% in 1Q Comments / 674 Views / Wednesday, 29 May 2019 01:52 Facebook         Imports drop 5 consecutive months, March sees 12.6% drop  All imports excluding fuel see drop, CB says reduction due to policies, expected change in 2Q  But exports increase 5.6% in 1Q, record highest-ever earnings of $ 1.13 b  Industrial and mineral exports grew but agricultural exports declined Apparel records highest-ever monthly earning surpassing $ 500 m  Trade deficit contracts to $ 1.6 b from $ 2.9 b in 1Q 2018  Reserves at $ 7.6 b, rupee appreciates 3.8% to date  Imports dropped a steep 19.3% in the first quarter of 2019, even though export earnings increased by 5.6% year-on-year as the trade deficit contracted to $ 1,661 million from $ 2,982 million recorded in the first quarter of 2018, the Central Bank said yesterday.  Releasing the latest External Sector Performance Report, the Central Bank said imports had declined for five straight months, with March seeing a 12.6% drop, on a year-on-year basis, to $ 1,729 million. The Central Bank attributed the drop to policies aimed at discouraging imports and said that an import pick-up may take place in the second quarter as these policies were reversed. All imports other than fuel saw a decline as economic activity slowed.  In March 2019, the deficit in the trade account narrowed to $ 592 million, compared to $ 871 million in March 2018. The considerable reduction in the trade deficit in March 2019 was due to a notable decline in import expenditure by 12.6% (year-on-year) which was further supported by the increase of export earnings by 2.6% (year-on-year), the report said.  The financial account was further strengthened in March with the proceeds of the International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) amounting to $ 2.4 billion and net inflows of foreign investments to the Government securities market during the month, although some net outflows were observed from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). Along with the significant reduction in the trade deficit and significant inflows to the financial account, the Sri Lankan Rupee appreciated against the US Dollar by 3.8% by end March 2019 compared to end 2018. Despite the marginal depreciation of the rupee in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, it recorded an appreciation of 3.8% during the year up to Tuesday. On 13 May, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Fifth Review under Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approving the disbursement of the sixth tranche amounting to SDR 118.5 million (approximately $ 164.1 million). The Executive Board also approved an extension of the arrangement by one year, until June 2020, and rephased the remaining disbursements. The country’s gross official reserves stood at $ 7.6 billion, which was equivalent to 4.3 months of imports at end March 2019. The deficit in the trade account narrowed significantly in March this year in comparison to March 2018 due to record high export earnings and considerable reduction in imports. Expenditure on imports continued to decline due to the policy measures adopted by the Central Bank and the Government. On a cumulative basis, the deficit in the trade account contracted significantly during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. Terms of trade, which represent the relative price of imports in terms of exports, deteriorated by 3.3% (year-on-year) in March due to the decline in export prices at a higher rate than the decline in import prices. Meanwhile, on a cumulative basis, terms of trade deteriorated marginally during the first three months of 2019 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. “Merchandise exports recorded the highest-ever monthly earnings of $ 1,137 million in March 2019 registering a moderate growth of 2.6%, due to the higher base in March 2018. The growth in exports was driven by the improved performance in industrial and mineral exports while agricultural exports declined,” the report said.  Under industrial exports, earnings from textiles and garment exports increased notably in March 2019, recording the highest-ever monthly earnings which surpassed $ 500 million for the first time. This growth was mainly due to higher demand for garment exports from traditional markets, namely the USA and the EU, as well as non-traditional markets such as Canada, Australia and China. Export earnings from textiles and other textile articles also increased in March.  Earnings from petroleum exports increased in March, reversing the declining trend observed during the past three months, led by an increase in both volume and prices of bunker and aviation fuel. Export earnings from base metals and articles increased driven by iron and steel articles and aluminium articles. Export earnings from food, beverages and tobacco increased during the month owing to the improved performance in all sub categories except vegetables, fruit and nuts preparations. Printing industry products, and chemical products also contributed towards the increase in industrial exports in March. However, earnings from machinery and mechanical appliances, gems, diamonds and jewellery, rubber products, leather, travel goods and footwear, and transport equipment exports declined in the period concerned. Earnings from agricultural exports declined in March, mainly driven by subdued performance in tea, minor agricultural products, natural rubber and unmanufactured tobacco exports. Although the volumes of tea export increased in March, export earnings from tea declined due to lower average export prices. However, earnings from coconut exports increased due to the increase in export of both coconut kernel and non-kernel products. Earnings from spices, seafood and vegetable exports also rose marginally during the month. Export earnings from mineral exports, which account for about 0.4% of total exports, rose mainly driven by export of titanium ores. The export volume index in March 2019 increased by 10.6% while the export unit value index decreased by 7.2%, implying that the growth in export earnings was solely driven by the increase in volumes. Expenditure on merchandise imports declined considerably in March 2019 by 12.6%, on a year-on-year basis, to $1,729 million, recording a decline for the fifth consecutive month. This reduction was mainly due to the effect of the policy measures implemented by the Central Bank and the Government to discourage certain non-essential imports and the significant depreciation of the currency. However, considering the favourable developments in the external sector and measures introduced in Budget 2019, such policy measures were withdrawn in March 2019. Low expenditure on intermediate and consumer goods contributed to the decline in imports during March 2019, while expenditure on investment goods increased. Total imports, excluding fuel, also declined significantly. Import expenditure on intermediate goods declined in March 2019 mainly driven by gold imports which continued to be stagnant following the imposition of customs duty on gold in April 2018. Expenditure on wheat and maize declined owing to the lower import volume of wheat. Plastic and articles, food preparations and vehicle and machinery parts imports also contributed to the decline in intermediate goods.  In contrast, expenditure on fuel imports increased in March owing to higher import volume and prices of crude oil despite a reduction recorded in refined petroleum and coal imports. In addition, expenditure on fertiliser imports increased in March 2019 mainly driven by higher import volumes when compared with March 2018. Further, import expenditure on textiles and textile articles led by fabrics, base metals led by iron and steel and mineral products led by cement clinkers increased during the period concerned. Reflecting lower imports of most items in both food and beverages and non-food consumer goods, import expenditure on consumer goods declined significantly in March. Expenditure on personal motor vehicle imports declined significantly in March, continuing its year-on-year declining trend observed since December 2018. However, imports of personal motor vehicles recorded an increase in comparison to the previous month.  Policy measures on motor vehicle imports were changed with the withdrawal of margin requirements against letter of credits (LCs) and upward revision of excise duties on motor vehicles. In addition, import of rice declined with lower import volumes as there was sufficient domestic production of rice in the market while sugar and confectionery imports reduced due to lower import volumes and prices.  In addition, expenditure on most non-food consumer goods such as clothing and accessories, telecommunication devices, home appliances and household and furniture items declined during the month. However, expenditure on dairy products, cosmetics and toiletries, printed materials and stationery imports increased in March. Import expenditure on investment goods increased in March, driven by higher imports of building material and machinery and equipment. Reflecting higher imports of cement and articles of iron and steel, import expenditure on building material increased. Import expenditure on machinery and equipment increased during the month, mainly due to imports of cranes. In contrast, expenditure on transport equipment declined in March due to lower expenditure incurred on the importation of tankers and bowsers and buses compared with the corresponding period of 2018. Import volume and unit value indices decreased by 8.9% and 4.1%, respectively, in March, indicating the decline in import expenditure during the month was driven by the reduction in both volumes imported and price, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2018. Along with the proceeds of the ISBs, as at end March, gross official reserves were estimated at $7.6 billion, equivalent to 4.3 months of imports. Total foreign assets, which consist of gross official reserves and foreign assets of the banking sector, amounted to $ 10.5 billion as at end March, equivalent to six months of imports. Share This Article Facebook Twitter DISCLAIMER: 1. All comments will be moderated by the Daily FT Web Editor. 2. Comments that are abusive, obscene, incendiary, defamatory or irrelevant will not be published. 3. We may remove hyperlinks within comments. 4. Kindly use a genuine email ID and provide your name. 5. Spamming the comments section under different user names may result in being blacklisted. COMMENTS FT Quick Guide Travel / Tourism IT / Telecom / Tech Financial Services Business News Today's Columnists Combating invisible financing for terrorism Wednesday, 29 May 2019 CCTV footage played the key role in identifying the suicide bombers of the Easter Sunday attack.However, the ways and means of breeding such terrorism on Sri Lanka’s soil is still under investigation.In the aftermath of the Easter attack, there is An unpardonable pardon Wednesday, 29 May 2019 We are back in primitive tribal times. The power of pardon is a feature of human society with ancient roots. It originates from the tribal custom exercised by the tribal chief to soften the harsh rigour of embedded tribal customs. Under civilised con New constitution as a panacea for all ills and people’s mandate Wednesday, 29 May 2019 Victor Ivan, one of the proponents of 19A, in his latest edition published in Daily FT on 24 May under the caption ‘Sri Lanka needs urgent surgery,’ has once again advocated a strong argument to bring a new constitution as a solution to the curre Delimitation of electoral boundaries in SL: Multi-member electorates – perceptions and realities Wednesday, 29 May 2019 This article is the fourth in a series of articles on delimitation of geographical boundaries in Sri Lanka. Following on the third article, ‘Smaller electoral units needed to serve the people better’ (Sunday Island of 10 February and Daily FT of COLUMNISTS MORE OPINION & ISSUES MORE Combating invisible financing for terrorism An unpardonable pardon A paradigm shift in our media culture is imperative “A single flower does not make Spring!” OPINION & ISSUES MORE Special Report Recovery marketing plan for Sri Lanka Tourism SPECIAL REPORT MORE FT View Changes that count Look beyond infrastructure A second chance for tourism?  Carving out voter bases FT VIEW MORE INSIDE SECTORS Agriculture Business Lifestyle CSR / Events Dining Entertainment / Art Entrepreneurship Fashion Financial Services Energy Front page Healthcare HR In Depth International IT / Telecom / Tech Leadership Leisure Letters to the Editor Management Marketing Motor News Other Sectors Shipping / Aviation Special Report Technology Travel / Tourism Youth / Careers / Higher Education ALSO FOLLOW US ON CONTACT General : +94 0112 436 998, +94 0112 479 780 Fax : +94 0112 447 848 Circulation : +94 0112 479 626, +94 0112 479 628 Advertising : +94 0112 479 519, +94 0112 479 531 Technical : helpdesk@wijeya.lk , +94 011 538 3437 Group Sites : Lankadeepa Dailymirror Sunday Times Daily FT Ada Deshaya Tamil Mirror Mirror Sports HI TV Kelimandala Wisden Sri Lanka Life LW Mirrorcitizen Hitad Print HI Magz Times Jobs Times Education Wijeya Tamil Radio WNL Home e-papers : Lankadeepa Sunday Lankadeepa Daily Mirror Ada Tamil Mirror Daily FT Deshaya Wijeya e-paper portal Services : Home delivery Webmaster Web Ads Editorial Help Desk News Alerts Book Print Ads All the content on this website is copyright protected and can be reproduced only by giving the due courtesy to 'ft.lk' Copyright © 2004 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. 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