Saturday, December 06, 2014

6th December (Friday),2014 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Sindh Government and Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan agree to undertake joint efforts to promote rice cultivation, enhance capacity building of rice growers and increase rice export


Dec 4, 2014 Posted By MediaLine Pakistan In Government Institutions Tagged Chief Minister House

Karachi, December 04, 2014 (PPI-OT): The Sindh Govt and Management of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) agreed to undertake joint efforts to promote rice cultivation, enhance capacity building of rice growers and increase the volume of rice export for their bilateral benefits.The Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah formed committee headed by Sindh Minister for Agriculture Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar with Secretary Agriculture and representatives for reap as members and assigned them to work out schedule, starting from educating the rice growers through seminars, literature and mechanical exhibitions for their capacity building to increase par acre production, avoid harvesting losses and introduce new but qualitative specially late varieties which are suppose to be sown in the time when water is available in rice canal.
The Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah presiding over meeting with the 13 members delegation of Rice Export Association of Pakistan (REAP) which called on him under the leadership of Mr. Rafique Suleman Chairman (REAP) at CM House Karachi today, said that farmers / millers/ exporters were the main organs for increasing the volume of rice export and earn foreign exchange and the create the more demand of rice production, which ultimately will be more beneficial for the growers.
The Chief Minister Sindh said that though export was the Federal subject but he will talk to concerned ministries of Federal Govt to get the rice exporters of Sindh facilitated accordingly he assured. However, the Chief Minister Sindh directed the members of REAP also to attend the interests of the rice growers while determining the price of rice.He said that Sindh was Agro based province and more than 70% its population depend on Agro Products. He said Sindh was rich in rice quality and added that the rice verities Basmati and non
Basmati were very much popular in the world as such there is need of opening new windows of exports in the other countries.He said that whatever facilities fallen in the competency of Sindh Govt would be provided to the exporters, to encourage rice exporters and growers. However he stressed upon the exporters to try their best to project and export competitive rice varies to grip the International market.While talking about the Law and Order situation the Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that after targeted operation against the heinous crimes and terrorism, more than 65% crime rate has been decreased in Karachi and some crime like kidnapping for ransom was in respite.
He said that now the volume of trade and Business and investment was being increased in Karachi and rest of province, where situation was peaceful. The Chief Minister welcomed the gesture demonstrated by REAP delegation for undertaking joint efforts for capacity building of rice growers.The Sindh Minister for Agriculture Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar asked the reap management to have separate meeting with him along with his administration to sort out all problems of REAP on the spot. He also assured that Sindh Agriculture Department was ready for arranging joint seminars, workshops for the education of rice growers and also to implement the recommendations passed by experts in the Seminars.
The Chairman REAP Rafiq Suleman while talking in the meeting said that they became exporters because of rice growers as such they intend to enhance the volume of export with Govt facilities, create awareness and skill development of rice growers to encourage and enabling them to meet the future demand of rice production and earn more.He said that from July 2013 to Nov 2013 reap has exported 228.171 MT ton of Basmati rice and earns $ 224.674,164 million, whereas its export volume from July 2014 to Nov 2014 remained 5% more with 238,450 MT ton against the foreign exchange of $280.789,966 million.Similarly export volume of non
Basmati rice remained 877.817 MT ton against foreign exchange of $ 355.769,988 million from July 2013 to Nov 2013 and 1.019,537 MT ton against $411.911,517 million from July 2014 to Nov 2014 which according to him remained 16% higher than last year.However he said that they are experiencing some problems in the way of their smooth business including shortage of power especially at the Hawksbay area of Karachi which has badly affected their business. He demanded that industrial areas must be exempted from load shading.
He said that the REAP was in the way to explore and increase export opportunities specially in China Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya , Iran , Iraq and other countries for which Govt support is needed. The Secretary Agriculture Saqib Soomro briefed the meeting and said that over all total 4 million tons rice has been exported till date during 2014-2015 and added that against this export $ 2 billion have been earned.
For more information, contact:
Mr. Allah Bachayo Memon
Press Secretary
Chief Minister House
Tel: +92-21-99202019
Cell: +92-300-3524057 (Ext: 336)


NA offers solace on farm inputs, remains divided on crop prices


ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s view seemed to have prevailed in the National Assembly on Thursday as the house demanded that the government abolish general sales tax (GST) on agricultural machinery and other inputs, but sidestepped demands for increasing support prices of crops because of a stated division in a standing committee.
The house demand came in its adoption of a report of its standing committee on national food security and research after persistent demands by the farm lobby in the house for increases in the support prices of crops amid a glut and price fall in the domestic market.The 20-member committee, dominated by the ruling PML-N, recommended that “GST levied on agricultural machinery, fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural input items should be waived off in the best interest of farms”.Landowning lawmakers from both sides of aisle have been demanding increase in support price of wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane.
Neither the committee’s report nor its unanimous adoption by the house, without any debate, is binding on the government. But it reflected the government’s viewpoint which came six days after National Food Security and Research Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan told the house that the prime minister had set up a committee to recommend ways to lower the cost of agricultural production, “instead of raising support prices every now and then”.It also followed a government notification last month fixing lower electricity rates for agricultural tubewells.
It was PML-N member Raza Hayat Harraj’s strong advocacy in the house on Oct 28 of the farming community’s demand for higher support prices that had prompted Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to refer the question to the committee.Its report said Mr Harraj and “a few other members of the committee were strongly of the view” that the support price of wheat be increased to Rs1,500 from Rs1,300 per 40 kg “or the GST imposed on agricultural machinery and other agricultural inputs should be waived off”.But it said that after an intensive discussion, “the committee could not develop a consensus to fix the support price of wheat and other crops”.
TRANSIT TRADE: The report said the committee was informed that the government was taking “serious steps regarding Afghan transit trade” through Pakistan and that the food security ministry “assured the committee that Indian wheat would not be allowed to enter into Pakistani territory for its export to Afghanistan”.Yet, as a sign of its own emphasis, the committee too recommended that “Indian wheat may not be allowed to enter into Pakistani territory for its export to Afghanistan through Afghan transit trade”.
The committee also recommended that the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency probe the private sector’s import of what it called sub-standard wheat from Ukraine “in spite of the fact that huge quantity of our own wheat is available in the stock” to meet local requirements.Earlier, Jamaat-i-Islami members staged a walkout to protest against Wednesday’s police baton-charge on a demonstration of visually impaired people in Lahore. They did not return to the house before it was adjourned until 10.30am on Friday.
Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2014
Rice promotion event in Paris

Dated: 2014-12-05

Paris: The Embassy of Pakistan in Paris organized an exhibition of rice. The purpose of organizing the exhibition was to promote Pakistani rice in French market. The exhibition which was held in the premises of the Embassy had colorful and interesting features. A renowned French chef Alian STRIL presented three different French dishes made of BASMATI rice. Traditional Pakistani rice dishes like Biryani, Zarda and Kheer prepared by Pakistani cooks were also presented.
Different varieties of BASMATI and other rice were also put on exhibition. A signer presented classical and folk songs for the invitees. A number of French and Pakistani importers were invited to participate and meet some Pakistani rice exporters who were invited to Paris especially for this event. Earlier, the Embassy coordinated individual meetings between the importers and exporters of rice to discuss business proposals.
The guests took keen interest in the exhibition and were impressed by the quality, aroma and taste of rice. The import of rice from Pakistan to France was worth $ 31.72 million during the period January-September 2014, most of which was utilized by ethnic market. The purpose of the exhibition was to increase the volume of rice export from Pakistan to French market apart from ethnic one. It is expected that the exhibition will help increase the export.

China, Pakistan likely to revise FTA

December 05, 2014
Pakistan and China are unlikely to revise Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at least for another two years because both sides have not finalised any mechanism for a tariff reduction in the second phase, well informed sources told Business Recorder. China proposes that tariff on 70 percent items be reduced to zero, on 10 percent items to be phased out, on another 10 percent on margin preference and 10 percent sensitive whereas Pakistan wants 35 percent at zero rate, 35 percent margin of preference and 30 percent on sensitive. Margin preference implies a concession of 10 to 50 percent on the existing tariff. For example, if tariff is 10 percent and margin is 50 percent then applied tariff would be 5 percent.
"Nothing has been done on the revision of FTA so far because tariff reduction formula acceptable to both the countries has yet to be worked out," the sources added. Both countries have an agreement to reduce tariffs to zero on up to 90 percent of tariff lines in the second phase of FTA. The sources said, Ministry of Industries and Production initiated a consultative process and on the feedback of domestic industry it proposed to Commerce Ministry to maintain the status quo for the next two to three years.
The plea is that the energy crisis has already marred the competitiveness of the local industry and a further tariff facilitation to Chinese imports would ruin local industry. According to sources, Pakistan could not fully avail the opportunities under the Pak-China FTA and its exports restricted to only 350 tariff lines which implies that FTA utilisation on the part of Pakistan was only five percent whereas China utilised FTA up to 57 percent. "One of the main reasons for below target utilisation of FTA is that duties levied on Pakistani products are still higher than those allowed to other trading partners, making Pakistani products in China uncompetitive," the sources added. Commerce Ministry, which is responsible to ensure a level-playing field for Pakistani exporters, maintains that Pakistani exporters could utilise only 5 percent of tariff lines due to a narrow export base and a lack of export surplus.
 "There have been some success stories that immensely benefited from the FTA which include two locally assembled mobile phone brands like Q-Mobile and Voice," sources revealed. These are not only successfully in catering to the needs of local market but they have also captured a sizable market share in the mobile telephony generated after the introduction of 3G regime. Likewise, motorcycle industry also benefited by providing low cost motorcycles to the consumers. Deep freezers/refrigerators/air conditioners segment has also been a success story which benefited from liberalisation of trade with China. According to Economic Survey 2012-13, FTA was signed on November 24, 2006 and operationalized on July 1, 2007.
China has given tariff preferences on 7550 tariff lines at 8-digit H.S. Code to items of Pakistan's export interest. Market access granted by China enabled Pakistan to maintain an overall growth trend in export performance in the first five years of implementation of FTA. Pakistan-China volume of trade, which stood at $4.1 billion in the year 2006-07, recorded an increase of 116% as it exceeded $8.9 billion in 2011-12. Pakistan's exports registered a 279 percent increase in 2011-12 as compared to 2006-07. Similarly, China's exports to Pakistan also increased by 90 percent during this period. Pakistan's exports of rice, raw cotton, all crude mineral, petroleum, chemical elements, chemical material and product, leather, cotton yarn, cotton fabric, article of apparel and medical and surgical instruments increased substantially from 2007-08 to 2011-12. 
Source with thanks : http://www.brecorder.com/top-stories/0/1248406/

Nuffield study investigates rice straw by-products for Australian growers

Updated Thu at 3:29pmThu 4 Dec 2014, 3:29pm
Is rice stubble just waste or is it worth saving ?
Australia is one of the few major rice growing countries that still burns the straw left behind after rice harvest.
It's burnt because the straw load, at an average 10.5 tonnes to the hectare, is too dense for seeders trying to plant a winter cereal crop back into the moist paddocks.
In India, Japan, most EU countries and the United States, where the practice is banned, stubble is converted into a range of products.It's used for erosion control after severe bushfires, as an additive for stockfeed and in biomass plants to create electricity.If a ban on burning rice stubble was enforced in Australia, the industry would struggle to manage the straw load within the winter cereal sowing window.
But with more research, Nuffield Scholar Antony Vagg says there are opportunities for growers to develop new markets.
The farmer from Bunaloo, near the New South Wales-Victorian border, has spent the last year visiting farms and research facilities in the US, UK, France, Egypt, Turkey, India and the Philippines.In India, the increase in biomass plants has turned rice hulls into a highly sought after product.The industry uses furnaces to burn the straw at a high temperature, which in turn boils the water solution to create steam.
He says converting rice hulls and straw into bio-energy could have broader applications for Australian rice processor SunRice.
"Rice hulls, was a big one.
"Although it's not directly related to my topic, it has huge potential here, " he says."Most places I went to, that grow large volumes of rice, were using rice hulls as a bio-enery source, mainly burnt for electricity."That was a huge eye-opener for me, but they also had some rice straw-powered plants as well."Mr Vagg says if growers can find a way to remove silica from the stubble, it'll provide a better return on the straw by-product.
"I saw it in Egypt.
"They were extracting silica and hydra cellulose, that they could sell for a high price, which would then justify having to do something with the straw to get rid of it."It's happening and its only very new technology."But if you can turn what people perceive as a low value straw into something, with a bit of extra processing, into a high-value product then you're more likely to have people adapt it."

Rice industry scholarships open

Dec. 5, 2014, 2:43 p.m.
Rice industry calls on people to apply for scholarships.PLICATIONS for the Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia’s (RGA) Tertiary Scholarships are now open.RGA president Les Gordon said the RGA awards two scholarships to the children or grandchildren of RGA members to assist with their tertiary education costs as part of their commitment to the industry’s long term future.

The scholarships are named after two past leaders of the rice industry, Greg Graham and Peter Connor. Greg Graham was president of the RGA when he died suddenly on New Year’s Day in 1983. He was actively involved in the irrigation and rice industry, as well as his local community of Deniliquin.Peter Connor was a leading rice grower in the Coleambally area, and was vice president of the RGA as well as a board member of the Ricegrowers’ Co-operative Limited.
The Greg Graham Memorial Scholarship provides $4000 to assist a student with the costs of tertiary education. This award is sponsored by Rice Research Australia Pty Ltd.The Peter Connor Book Award, awarded to the runner-up of the Greg Graham Memorial Scholarship winner, consists of $1300 to put towards the cost of books and course materials.
Last year’s winner of the Greg Graham Memorial Scholarship was Luke O’Connor, Deniliquin, who is studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management.Luke said the scholarship significantly helped fund his university studies and allowed him to comfortably afford the costs of living away from home and achieve good results in all his subjects.“We are grateful for the generous support of Rice Research Australia and very pleased to be able to offer the scholarship in 2015. I would encourage university students who are studying agriculture related courses to apply for the scholarship,” Mr Gordon said.Applications close Friday January 16, 2015. Download forms from the RGA website or call (02) 6953 0433.
Study: State’s drought most severe in at least 1,200 years

FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE - Irrigation water runs along the dried-up ditch between the rice farms to provide water for the rice fields on Thursday, May 1, 2014, in Richvale, Calif. Californiaís drought-ravaged reservoirs are running so low that state water deliveries to some metropolitan areas have all but stopped, and cutbacks are forcing growers to fallow fields. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

By Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News, progers@mercurynews.com

POSTED: 12/04/14, 10:50 PM PST | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO # COMMENTS
The last three years of drought were the most severe that California has experienced in at least 1,200 years, according to a new scientific study published Thursday.The study provides the state with breathtaking new historical context for its low reservoirs and sinking water tables, even as California celebrated its first good soaking of the season.
Analyzing tree rings that date back to 800 A.D. — a time when Vikings were marauding Europe and the Chinese were inventing gunpowder — there is no three-year period when California’s rainfall has been as low and its temperatures as hot as they have been from 2012 to 2014, the researchers found.“We were really surprised. We didn’t expect this,” said one of the study’s authors, Daniel Griffin, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s department of geography, environment and society.
The report, published in the journal of the American Geophysical Union, was written by researchers at Massachusetts’ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Minnesota.The scientists measured tree rings from 278 blue oaks in central and Southern California. Tree rings show the age of trees, and their width shows how wet each year was because trees grow more during wet years.
The researchers compared the information to a database of other tree ring records from longer-living trees like giant sequoias and bristlecone pines, dating back 1,200 years.Meanwhile, the rain that California received this week provided a promising start to a winter that water managers say needs to be relentless and drenching to break the drought cycle.“It’s a good beginning,” said Art Hinojosa, chief of hydrology at the state Department of Water Resources. “But we need storm after storm after storm if we have any hope of getting out of the drought this year.”
By April, he said, California needs at least eight more major storm systems like the one this week — as well as many smaller systems — to fill its dangerously low reservoirs and break the drought. Rain and snow this winter needs to be at least 150 percent of average for the reservoirs to fill, Hinojosa said.This week’s storm was the biggest to hit California in roughly two years. Many parts of the state received between 2 and 4 inches of rain, doubling or tripling their totals since July.
More important, several of the state’s large reservoirs began to receive moderate amounts of runoff, as the parched ground became saturated. Lake Shasta gained about 6,000 acre-feet through midnight Wednesday, and Oroville Reservoir in Butte County added 17,000 acre-feet. But that new water boosted Shasta’s storage by less than 1 percent, leaving it at only 23 percent full. It added 3 percent at Oroville, which is now 26 percent full, the lowest level in its history for this time of year.

The Sierra snowpack told a similar story. A week ago, it was at 24 percent of the average for this time of year. Thursday, after a week of snow, it was at 39 percent — still far below normal.
But more rain and snow is on the way.The Weather Service issued a report late Thursday saying that because of storms brewing as far away as Hawaii, projections out to Dec. 18 show that “wetter than normal conditions are favored.”Experts emphasize that a three-year drought cannot be erased in a few days. Not only are reservoirs low, but there are huge “rainfall deficits” built up from the past three years.
Overall, 94 percent of California remains in “severe drought,” according to Thursday’s edition of the Federal Drought Monitor, a weekly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies.It was the tree-ring study showing California suffering its worst drought in 1,200 years, however, that received the most attention Thursday.The researchers took core samples, which don’t harm the living trees, of oaks as old as 500 years and oak logs dating back more than 700 years, the University of Minnesota’s Griffin said. And they sanded down the wood with extremely fine-grain sandpaper, magnifying the rings 40 times under a microscope and measuring them to within one one-thousandth of a millimeter.
They then compared the findings to the North American Drought Atlas, a detailed collection of other tree-ring data that goes back 1,200 years and includes measurements from ancient trees such as giant sequoias and bristlecone pines. The atlas calculates temperature and rainfall for those years by comparing the tree rings with tree rings from the past 100 years, when modern records were kept.







Although there are 37 times over the past 1,200 years when there were three-year dry periods in California, no period had as little rainfall and as hot of temperatures as 2012-14, the scientists concluded.With climate change already warming the earth, the last three years in California could become a more recurring event, they said.

“This kind of drought is what we expect to see more of in the future,” said Griffin. “Maybe the future is now.”Mercury News staff writer David E. Early contributed to this report. FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE - Irrigation water runs along the dried-up ditch between the rice farms to provide water for the rice fields on Thursday, May 1, 2014, in Richvale, Calif. Californiaís drought-ravaged reservoirs are running so low that state water deliveries to some metropolitan areas have all but stopped, and cutbacks are forcing growers to fallow fields. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) 
Thai suspension of rice sales to bring benefits to Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam hopes the rice price in the world market will increase as Thailand has asked its farmers to stop selling rice in anticipation of a price hike.

The Thai government has reported major losses from the rice subsidy program initiated by the previous government. The country has continued to help farmers store rice, hoping the price will increase in the world market.Thai 5 percent broken rice is trading at $405-415 per ton, a slight decrease of $10-15 per ton from early November. The current price is $100 per ton lower than that of five years ago.

The Thai government recently issued $1.5 billion worth of bonds to raise money to pay debts related to the rice price subsidy programs. It had reportedly incurred a loss of 680 billion baht, or $21 billion from the rice subsidy program which has been implemented since 2004.In an effort to raise the rice price, the government has called on Thai farmers to store 2 million tons of rice, promising to pay 1,000 baht per ton, or $77, to farmers to ensure the good quality of rice in stock.The policymakers hope that the absence of Thai rice in the world market will increase the price in the world market by 8,500 baht per ton, or $263.An official of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) commented that the support from the Thai government to its farmers would benefits other rice exporters, including Vietnam, India and Pakistan, as well.

The official said there would be two scenarios to occur when Thailand stores rice. First, the move would not only help push up Thai rice prices, but also make other exporters’ rice more valuable.Second, once Thailand keeps its rice in stocks, this would encourage other rice production countries like Vietnam, India and Pakistan to increase rice production as rice exports can sell at good prices.

This scenario has been happening over the last few years. When Thailand did not market its rice, Vietnam successfully raised its export price. If this occurs in 2015, Vietnam would continue benefiting from the Thai policy.However, VFA still can see risks, saying that the situation would be worse if the Thai government stops subsidizing farmers and launches stored rice into the market.The official also noted that Vietnam’s rice price will also be determined by many other factors in 2015, including demand from China and the Philippines.


According to Oryza.com, the Filipino government plans to import 600,000 tons of rice in 2015 to satisfy domestic demand. The country is negotiating with Bangladesh about next year’s contracts.According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam exported over 6 million tons of rice in the first 11 months of the year, with turnover of $2.8 billion. The figures represented a 3 percent decrease in the export amount, but a 2 percent increase in value if compared with the same period in 2013.
TBKTSG
Commerce Ministry to step up measures to boost prices of agricultural products
 Date : 5 ธันวาคม 2557
BANGKOK, 5 Dec 2014 (NNT) - The Commerce Ministry is drafting a plan to ensure stable and better prices of rice in the next 3 months when new output comes into the market. It is also drawing up the 2015 roadmap to improve prices of agricultural products, promote exports and look after the cost of living.
Minister of Commerce General Chatchai Sarikalya has ordered an advance plan be drawn up in preparation for the new rice harvest to enter the market in March 2015. He said a working group has been established to work closely with the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, to make sure new grains will fetch the highest price possible when they enter the market in the next three months.
The Minister indicated that his ministry is also in the process of drafting a roadmap for next year which would focus on improving prices of agricultural products, promoting exports and taking care of the living expenses. He expected that the roadmap would be finished this month.


USA Rice Family Grows    

ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Federation has confirmed that Sarah Moran, manager of international promotion, and her husband, John, have welcomed a future rice consumer into the world.On Saturday, November 22, at 2:04pm, Jack Eamon Moran made his debut.  He weighed in at nine pounds even and 20 inches long.  Mom and baby are doing well and resting at home. Sarah will be on maternity leave until mid-February 2015.

Contact:  Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457
Source: US Rice Federation

USA Rice Congratulates Winners of "Healthy Brown Rice on the Menu Contest"     

Healthy U.S. brown rice is a winner 
ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Federation has announced the winners of its annual "Healthy Brown Rice on the Menu Contest" for K-12 school menu planners.  Participants in the contest were asked to prepare a healthy, flavorful brown rice dish from three recipe categories-rice bowl, breakfast, and lunch.

This week, a press release announcing the winners was distributed to top media outlets consistently read by more than 130,000 K-12 operations.  These award-winning entries showcase the versatility of brown rice and demonstrate how schools are using brown rice to create meals that meet nutrition standards.

Each winner will receive a 50 pound donation of whole grain rice thanks to USA Rice sponsors:  InHarvest, Producers Rice Mill, Riceland Foods, Mahatma Rice, SunWest Foods, and Uncle Ben's.  Grand prize winners receive paid 2015 School Nutrition Association Annual Conference registration, a commercial size rice cooker for their school, and a consumer size rice cooker for their home kitchen donated by Aroma Housewares.

These grand prize dishes combined nutrition with sensational flavors:

Breakfast:  Roxanne Szalejko, Food Service Director for Northwood Academy Charter School in Philadelphia, PA; Coconut Cream Breakfast Brown Rice includes U.S. brown rice, coconut, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and raisins.

Lunch:  Kay Briles, Head Cook/Manager for Greenfield Elementary School in Baldwin, WI; Turkey Brown Rice Casserole features U.S. brown rice, ground turkey, red onion, red peppers, frozen peas, cream of chicken soup, and slivered almonds.

Rice Bowl:  Angie Gaszak, Nutrition Coordinator for Saint Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, MN; Chicken Sofrito Rice Bowl combines U.S. brown rice, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, thyme, garlic jalapeño peppers, onion, and chili powder, finished with red pepper strips and lime juice.

"Brown rice is such a versatile, whole grain menu item that we can use it in a wide variety of dishes while appealing to our diverse district palates, meeting our nutritional goals, and keeping the food costs in line," said Gaszak.  "Our students love our brown rice and it has been one of the most widely accepted whole grain menu items."

"Healthy brown rice meals can now be found in every part of the country, as more schools see how easy it is to help students achieve their whole grain servings," said Katie Maher, USA Rice domestic promotion manager.  "There are so many innovative ways to use U.S. brown rice to create menu items that deliver nutrition and flavor as well as happy kids and empty plates."

For more information and recipe ideas featuring U.S.-grown rice, visitwww.MenuRice.com.



CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for December 5

Month
Price
Net Change

January 2015
$12.065
- $0.055
March 2015
$12.325
- $0.050
May 2015
$12.575
- $0.050
July 2015
$12.775
- $0.050
September 2015
$12.050
- $0.050
November 2015
$11.950
- $0.050
January 2016
$11.950
- $0.050

 

2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference


 

December 7 - 9, 2014

VENUE
Statehouse Convention Center
One Statehouse Plaza
Little Rock, AR 722201
 HOTEL
Little Rock Marriott
Three Statehouse Plaza
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: 501-906-4000
Contact: Jeanette Davis, jdavis@usarice.com, Phone: 703-236-1447


Thursday, 04 December 2014 21:47
Posted by Imaduddin
KARACHI: Sindh Government and Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) on Thursday agreed to undertake joint efforts for promoting rice cultivation, capacity building of rice growers and increase the volume of rice export for their bilateral benefits.
Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah formed committee headed by Sindh Minister for Agriculture Sardar Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar with Secretary Agriculture and representatives of REAP as members, said an official statement.The committee was assigned to work out schedule starting from educating the rice growers through seminars, literature and mechanical exhibitions for their capacity building to increase per acre production, avoid harvesting losses and introduce new but qualitative specially late varieties which are supposed to be sown in the time when water is available in rice canal.
The Chief Minister presided over a meeting with the 13- member REAP delegation, which called on him under the leadership of Chairman REAP, Rafique Suleman here at the Chief Minister House. Syed Qaim Ali Shah said the farmers, millers and exporters were the main organs for increasing the volume of rice export and earn foreign exchange and the create the more demand of rice production, which ultimately will be more beneficial for the growers.He said though export was the federal subject but he will talk to concerned ministries of the Federal Government to extend maximum facilities to the rice exporters of Sindh.
However, he urged REAP members to also take care of the interests of the rice growers while fixing the price of rice.He said that Sindh was agro-based province and more than 70 per cent of its population depends on agro products. He said Sindh was rich in rice quality. The rice verities basmati and non-basmati were very much popular in the world. There is need for opening new windows of exports in the other countries.He assured Sindh Government would support to the rice exporters to its capacity to encourage rice exporters and growers.He emphasized on the exporters to try their best to project and export competitive rice varieties to grip the international market.
About the law and order situation, the Chief Minister said that after targeted operation against the heinous crimes and terrorism, crime rate has decreased by more than 65 per cent decreased in Karachi. Sindh Minister for Agriculture, Sardar Ali Nawaz Khan Mahar advised the REAP members to have a separate meeting with him along with his administration to sort out all problems of REAP on the spot.He also assured that Sindh Agriculture Department was ready for arranging joint seminars, workshops for the education of rice growers and also to implement the recommendations passed by experts in the seminars.The Chairman REAP Rafiq Suleman said that they became exporters because of rice growers as such they intend to enhance the volume of export with Government facilities, create awareness and skill development of rice growers to encourage and enabling them to meet the future demand of rice production and earn more.

He said that from July 2013 to Nov. 2013 REAP exported 228.171 metric tones of basmati rice and earned $ 224.674,164 million. Whereas, its export volume from July 2014 to Nov.2014 remained 5 percent more with 238,450 million tones against the foreign exchange of $ 280.789,966 million.Similarly, export volume of non-basmati rice remained 877.817 million tones against foreign exchange of $ 355.769,988 million from July 2013 to Nov.2013 and 1.019,537 million tones against $411.911,517 million from July 2014 to Nov. 2014 which according to him remained 16 percent higher than last year.He said the rice exporters are facing some problems to do their business smoothly including shortage of power especially at the Hawksbay area of Karachi which has badly affected their business.

He demanded that industrial areas must be exempted from load shading.He said that the REAP was in the way to explore and increase export opportunities specially in China, Malaysia , Indonesia, Kenya, Iran , Iraq and other countries for which Government support is needed. Sindh Secretary Agriculture Saqib Soomro briefed the meeting and said that over all total 4 million tons rice has been exported till date during 2014-2015 and earned $ 2 billion.

Lesser paddy purchase in Punjab, Haryana as basmati acreage rises

By PTI | 5 Dec, 2014, 08.10PM IST
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"Paddy procurement in Punjab is likely to remain more or less what has been purchased so far as crop arrivals have now been negligible in grain markets," official said.ET SPECIAL:

CHANDIGARH: With paddy crop arrival almost coming to an end, crop procurement in Punjab and Haryana is likely to remain at about 147 lakh tonnes, almost 16 per cent lesser than what was targeted before the start of purchase during Kharif marketing season 2014-15. Punjab and Haryana had targeted to procure 175 lakh tonnes of paddy for the central pool. "Paddy procurement will be lesser than the target because of rise in basmati acreage," an official of Food Corporation of India (FCI) told here. So far, paddy procurement in Punjab has reached 117.62 lakh tonnes as against initial target of 140 lakh tonnes.
"Paddy procurement in Punjab is likely to remain more or less what has been purchased so far as crop arrivals have now been negligible in grain markets," official said. In Haryana also, paddy purchase is unlikely to touch the targeted figure of 35 lakh tonnes with crop lifting reaching 29.72 lakh tonnes so far.
"Farmers are now bringing lesser quantity of paddy crop in grain markets," said an official of Haryana Food and Supplies department. Lesser paddy procurement means lesser contribution of rice from Punjab and Haryana to the central pool. Punjab and Haryana had seen paddy procurement at 127 lakh tonnes and 35.87 lakh tonnes respectively during the last season. Area under basmati crop this season in Punjab went up by 55 per cent to 8.62 lakh hectares this year, with around 30 per cent of total paddy being under basmati. The output was expected to reach 34 lakh tonne as against 22.65 lakh tonne recorded last season, creating a "glut like" situation.

 In neighbouring Haryana, 40 per cent of total area under paddy which is 11.38 lakh hectares is under basmati crop Total area under paddy in Punjab and Haryana was pegged at 28.20 lakh hectares and 11.50 lakh hectares respectively in kharif season.
Notably, because of "deficient" rains this year, farmers of both Punjab and Haryana had to spend Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 per acre extra money on diesel and deepening of tubewells for irrigating paddy. Governments of Punjab and Haryana had sought financial assistance of over Rs 2,300 crore and Rs 850 crore, respectively, from the Centre to deal with delayed monsoon and prolonged dry spell conditions.


Source with thanks: The Economic Times India


Rice could make cholera treatment more effective

posted by news on december 4, 2014 - 7:30pm
   


Cholera is caused when the bacterium Vibrio cholerae infects the small intestine, resulting in severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can result in dehydration and death. The main treatment involves oral rehydration therapy, where the patient drinks water mixed with salts and glucose. But although proven to be enormously effective, there are concerns that the glucose content might actually worsen the disease. EPFL scientists have now shown that this is indeed the case, as glucose increases the toxicity of the cholera bacterium, whereas replacing glucose with starch can reduce its toxicity by almost 75%. Their work is published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Cholera Treatment: Effective, but Could Be Improved
The usual treatment for cholera comes in the form of "oral rehydration therapy" packs. Essentially, it involves feeding the patient water mixed with electrolyte salts and glucose. The idea is to replace the patient's lost fluids and essential salts, while the glucose acts as a source of carbon and helps the intestine to absorb the salts more efficiently. The patient continues the therapy until the infection has ran its course.
Up to half of cholera patients would die without treatment, but oral rehydration therapy has been shown to lower the deaths to around 1%. However, there are concerns that using glucose in the rehydration mixture can actually exacerbate the disease. The problem is that the infecting bacterium also consumes glucose, and that increases the expression of its genes that make it toxic. On the other hand, some field studies have shown that using more complex carbon sources, like starch from rice powder, might be more effective. Despite this, there has never been a decisive study linking oral rehydration recipes with their effect on how the disease spreads.
The cholera bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, infects humans by releasing a protein called the "cholera toxin". Consequently, regulating the genes that produce the cholera toxin can either increase or decrease the bacterium's capacity to spread disease.
Alternatives to Glucose
Melanie Blokesch and Andrea Rinaldo at EPFL have now correlated data from a recent cholera outbreak in Haiti with the effectiveness of oral rehydration therapy. Blokesch's lab grew the cholera bacterium with different sugars (e.g. glucose, sucrose) and starch from potatoes and rice to see how each would affect the cholera toxin genes.
The scientists found that both the activity of the genes, as well as the production of the cholera toxin itself were increased when the bacterium was fed with glucose, but they were considerably decreased when it was fed with starch from rice. Although the explanation for this is complicated, one of the reasons is that the type of sugar available (e.g. glucose, starch etc.) to the bacterium affects the mechanisms that regulate the activity of its toxin-producing genes. Ultimately, this effect influences the bacterium's ability to infect humans.
The team of Andrea Rinaldo focused on matching this data to the actual cholera epidemics in Haiti. Using data from the outbreak of cholera that started in 2010 in the region, they developed a mathematical model of the disease's epidemiology. They then modified the model to include oral rehydration therapy based on rice starch instead of glucose. The results showed that using this alternative approach could have a 30% reduction of cholera cases (375'000 instead of 520'000 cases) on the island within the first 14 months of the epidemics.
The results feed into the current discussion of cholera treatment, and strongly suggest a review of current approaches. "Of course, we're not saying 'stop doing oral rehydration therapy with glucose right away' because it works so well," says Melanie Blokesch. "But still, the data suggests that the regimen can be significantly improved, and that the community needs to start discussing this possibility again - especially in areas endemic to cholera."