Saturday, October 31, 2015

30th-october-2015-daily-global-regional-local-rice-e-newsletter-by-riceplus-magazine

Rice News Headlines...
ü  FEATURE: Miracle rice will survive climate change
ü  Simple Kit Tests Rice For Arsenic
ü  L&T Q2 net up 16% at Rs 996 cr; says investment climate subdued
ü  Farmers lock Kalanwali grain market
ü  USA Rice Highlights Trade Barriers for USTR  Grain Ship  Make way
ü  Rice millers take to the streets
ü  RPCs improve rice farmers’ income–PIDS
ü  Manipuri rice: A cure for cancer
ü  World first standard for sustainable rice launched
ü  Falling paddy prices a major concern for Hadoti farmers
ü  Beyond haze, El Nino drought poses poverty challenge for Indonesia
ü  Rice importation to stem inflation’
ü  Indonesia's Haze Crisis Could Get Even Worse
ü  Philrice news
ü  APEDA Commodity News from India

News Detail...

FEATURE: Miracle rice will survive climate change

October 30, 2015 by Michael Lerner in Research
Harvesting rice in Asia. Getty Images
his week was a momentous one for rice, the staple crop that provides well over half of Asia’s daily food intake. Facing a future of population growth and climate change, which is feared to make both droughts and floods more frequent and severe, it seems like miracles will be needed to keep the billions of people in Asia fed and healthy. But the future is actually looking brighter. On Monday food firm Mars (owner of the world’s largest rice brand, Uncle Ben’s)announced by 2020 it will source 100% of its rice in line with the first-ever standard created by the Sustainable Rice Program (SRP). And from Tuesday through Thursday, Taiwanese agricultural officials met with members of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines tofinalize the workplan for a collaborative rice development project.

Taiwan provided one of two parental lines of rice that IRRI used to create high-yielding IR8 (also known as “miracle rice”) in 1966, sparking the Green Revolution of the 1970′s and 80′s. And in the last few years, the 2nd Green Revolution has taken off, thanks to technology advances and international collaboration. New rice varieties are already high-yielding, drought- and flood-resistant, and more nutritious, and further improvements are underway. For example, researchers from China’s Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center have repeatedly reached new records for rice yields: 700kg per mu (0.0667 hectares) in 2000, 800kg per mu in 2005, and 1,026.7 kg per mu in 2014.
Taiwan has continued to play a major role in rice development, and it recently upped the ante. It willdonate $600,000 annually from 2016 to 2019 to the joint project with IRRI for the discovery of new rice genes and traits that can tolerate the negative effects of climate change.In an interview with the Asia Foundation in August, Dr. Robert Zeigler, director general of IRRI, spoke of the need to “double or triple the output of our existing agricultural lands,” and said “I’m absolutely convinced it can happen.” The tools available now “are miraculous compared to the tools we had 20 and 30 years ago,” he underscored, adding “Our understanding of the genetics of the plant, of how organisms interact in the field, is vastly more sophisticated. We have the tools to begin to manipulate how that plant interacts with its environment.
”One notable tool is the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project. This collaborative international research program has already surpassed its nominal goal and sequenced 3,024 rice varieties from 89 countries. They are now publicly available for free online, and will be very helpful to researchers looking to improve rice yields in the face of climate change. And there is still much more to be drawn upon—IRRI’s International Rice Genebank contains more than 127,000 rice varieties and accessions from all over the world. This virtually untapped reservoir of genes and associated traits can be used to make rice cultivation higher-yielding and more sustainable, with a smaller environmental footprint.Zeigler continued:
We also have tools that can communicate to farmers, even of marginal literacy, how to manage their crop to produce the most for a given investment. All of these come together in such a way that increases in productivity will be much more environmentally benign. The negative impacts of agricultural innovation in the past – excessive fertilizer use, excessive pesticide use – will be distant memories. We will be much more intelligent about the way we manage our crops.
He dates the start of the 2nd Green Revolution to July 31, 2008, when a farmer in India decided to stick with IRRI’s newly-developed Swarna Sub1 rice strain, despite local skepticism. Nicknamed “scuba rice,” it is extremely flood-tolerant, and can survive weeks entirely underwater and still provide abundant harvests afterwards. There are now over 5 million farmers in Eastern India who are growing Swarna Sub1 and other flood-tolerant varieties, and millions more have access to the seeds.
In the future, IRRI researchers are aiming to transfer the efficient photosynthesis capacity of corn and sugar cane to rice, which has a comparatively inefficient system. In fact, work is already underway. I’m certain that it’s possible to do – that we can create a rice plant that’s 50% more efficient in its use of sunlight, water, and nitrogen, so that we can produce the food that the planet needs on much less land,” said Zeigler, adding “That would be a third Green Revolution.”
“So I’m very optimistic that, even though climate change will present enormous challenges to society as a whole, if we continue down the path of research and development that we’re already following, the one thing we don’t have to worry about in the next 50 years is an inability to produce enough rice,” Zeigler stated.
And besides being qualitatively better, the rice of the future will also be grown, harvested, and sold in a more sustainable manner, thanks to the SRP’s standard. It is made up of 46 requirements in areas including productivity, food safety, worker health, labor rights, and biodiversity. A supplemental set of quantitative Performance Indicators will enable farmers and market supply chain actors to gauge the sustainability of a rice system, and to monitor and reward progress.
Coming up next will be Bangladesh’s debut of genetically-engineered Golden Rice, which unlike other strains of rice contains beta carotene. Long-running dependence on traditional rice leads to Vitamin A deficiency, most severely affecting pregnant women and small children– it is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children, and it results in the deaths of some 6.7 million children every year. However, consumption of only 150 grams of Golden Rice per day would supply half of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A for an adult. This target will be met easily, as Bangladeshis depend on rice for 70% of their daily calorie intakes. Following a successful trial of Golden Rice in its transgenic screen house, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute will be taking the variety to confined field trials in November.

Fortunately, the financing and patents for Golden Rice favor the region’s poor farmers as opposed to big biotech firms. In April 2011, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sanctioned a grant of over $10 million to IRRI to fund, develop, and evaluate Golden Rice varieties for Bangladesh and the Philippines. Furthermore, IRRI and Gates Foundation officials have confirmed that since the inventors of Golden Rice and the subsequent technology developer Syngenta allowed a royalty-free access to the patents, when the new rice is released for commercial farming in Bangladesh it will cost the same as other rice varieties, and farmers will freely be able to share and replant the seeds.
However, not everyone is on board with genetically modifying organisms, even if it’s limited to plants.
But most of the research and engineering being done now on rice is combining genes from several different strains. And even using genes from corn or sugar cane to boost photosynthesis and thus the efficiency of rice hardly makes it a “Frankenstein food” – it’s not as if pig genes would be added in. Food safety tests should be done regularly, but the world’s poor would certainly choose bountiful hybrid rice over precarious harvests of conventional rice. So these new miracle rice varieties should be scaled up rapidly.
http://blogs.blouinnews.com/blouinbeatsciencehealth/2015/10/30/feature-miracle-rice-will-survive-climate-change/

Simple Kit Tests Rice For Arsenic

 

Food Safety: Test kit could offer arsenic screening for rice producers in developing world
 In June, the European Union adopted limits on arsenic in rice.A field kit could give rice producers a simple, quick, and cheap way to screen their product for arsenic (Anal. Chem. 2015, DOI:10.1021/acs.analchem.5b02386). Rice absorbs arsenic from soil and irrigation water, where the element can occur both naturally and in residue from pesticides and fertilizers. Because inorganic arsenic is a carcinogen, the World Health Organization recently set maximum contaminant levels in white rice at 200 μg/kg. In June, the European Union adopted that limit, as well as one of 100 μg/kg for rice used in food for babies and children.Given these regulations, rice producers would benefit from screening their rice for inorganic arsenic before bringing it to market. But in Southeast Asia, the world’s top rice-exporting region, and other rice-producing areas in the developing world, this isn’t easy. The gold standard of analysis is high-performance liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS), which requires a lab with expensive instrumentation, expert operators, and reliable power.Jörg Feldmann of the University of Aberdeen and his colleagues wanted to find a simple device that would give rice producers a direct answer. So they adapted a commercial field kit called the Arsenator, which is designed to measure inorganic arsenic in drinking water by converting these species into arsine gas and reacting it with mercuric bromide, a color-changing reaction known as the Gutzeit reaction.

To adapt the kit for rice, the team needed to find a way to get the arsenic from the rice into solution in a reliable way. Then they could use the Arsenator kit to produce and quantify arsine gas and determine the levels in the rice.Their method takes about an hour, and involves four steps. First, the researchers boil a 5-g sample of ground rice in nitric acid for about 30 minutes to extract inorganic arsenic in the form of arsenic acid. Once the solution cools, they transfer it to a flask, after which they can use the Arsenator kit: They add packets of sulfamic acid and sodium borohydride, which react with arsenic acid to produce arsine gas. A piece of filter paper atop the flask impregnated with mercuric bromide catches the gas, which reacts with the mercury compound to form a colorful complex, H2As–HgBr. The darker the paper becomes—ranging from light yellow to dark brown—the greater the concentration of inorganic arsenic in the rice.

To determine concentration, the color readout is compared visually with that of standards, or using a spectrophotometer if available. With a 5-g sample, the method has a quantification limit of 50 μg/kg inorganic arsenic, or half the EU limit for baby-food rice.The researchers analyzed 30 rice samples with the field kit and with HPLC-ICP-MS. The field kit results were reproducible within 12%, and were within 7% of those from the HPLC. Moreover, the kit produced less than 10% false-positive and false-negative results for assessing the EU limit on baby-food rice, and none for that on white rice. For a field-based screening method, this exceeded the researchers’ expectations, Feldmann says.Because it involves boiling a strong acid and produces arsine gas, the test must be done in a well ventilated room by trained personnel, and with proper waste disposal.Brian P. Jackson, an environmental analytical chemist at Dartmouth College, calls the method an “innovative adaptation.” Given the recent regulations on arsenic in rice, he says, “it seems reasonable to suppose that there’ll be a demand for a field test kit that will allow producers and suppliers to quickly know whether the rice is below the regulatory limit.”

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

L&T Q2 net up 16% at Rs 996 cr; says investment climate subdued

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today reported a 15.56 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 995.90 crore for the September quarter even as it said the investment climate remained "subdued" during the period.

By: PTI | New Delhi | October 30, 2015 4:18 PM

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today reported a 15.56 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 995.90 crore for the September quarter even as it said the investment climate remained "subdued" during the period.(Reuters)

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today reported a 15.56 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 995.90 crore for the September quarter even as it said the investment climate remained “subdued” during the period.The company said financial markets remained volatile and it will take time for the business activity to pick up.The engineering and construction major had reported a net profit (after tax, minority interest and share in profit of associates) of Rs 861.75 crore in the July-September quarter of the last fiscal.“Financial markets… remained volatile and the overall investment climate stayed subdued during the quarter… The ground level inputs indicate that it may take further time for significant pick up in business opportunities,” L&T said.
Its net sales increased by 10.55 per cent to Rs 23,393.22 crore in the second quarter as against Rs 21,159.35 crore.

“Larsen & Toubro recorded consolidated gross Revenue of Rs 23,605 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, registering a YoY growth of 11 per cent. The international revenue during the quarter at Rs 7,658 crore constituted 32 per cent of the total revenue,” it said.The company’s total expenses soared to Rs 21,495.13 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 19,373.65 crore in the corresponding quarter a year-ago.It said “slowing global economies, depressed commodity prices, weakening currencies and capital outflows are constraining the growth prospects of emerging economies” and added uncertainties in the financial markets and excess capacities have also impacted the investment sentiment.On the government’s development agenda through reform process and public expenditure the domestic macroeconomic parameters showed some early indications of recovery along with pick up in industrial production indices, and softening inflation and interest rates during the quarter, it said.

The infrastructure major said given its large order book, it is focusing on profitable execution and is optimistic about sustaining the performance in the near-term and also about its potential to gain from the emerging prospects as the economic environment improves.“The company secured fresh orders worth Rs 28,620 crore at the group level during the quarter ended September 30. The international order inflow during the quarter at Rs 10,973 crore constituted 38 per cent of the total order inflow. Major orders during the quarter were secured by the Infrastructure segment,” it said.Consolidated order Book of the group stood at Rs 2,44,097 crore as on September 30, higher by 14 per cent on an YoY basis with international order book constituting 28 per cent of the order book.Infrastructure segment achieved customer revenue of Rs 10,668 crore for the quarter registering a YoY growth of 11 per cent. International sales constituted 30 per cent of the total customer revenue of the segment during the quarter.
During the quarter, infrastructure segment secured new orders aggregating to Rs 16,682 crore.
Farmers lock Kalanwali grain market
Allege millers buying paddy below MSP in connivance with procurement agencies
 Gohana farmers protest delay in paddy purchase
Sonepat: Angered over the delay in purchase of paddy by HAFED, farmers led by BKU activists today locked the office of the Market Committee in New Grain Market, Gohana, raised slogans against the government and began an indefinite dharna there. Satyawan Narwal, president of the Rohtak Mandal and Rohtas Baniwal, district president of the BKU, said HAFED had so far purchased only 40,000 quintals of paddy whereas around three lakh quintals of produce was lying unsold in the market. "The farmers have been left at the mercy of private traders who are not giving the MSP to farmers," they alleged. They announced they would boycott Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rally at Rai in the district on November 5. —TNS

Farmers lock the main gate of the grain market at Kalanwali in Sirsa on Friday. Photo: Sanjeev Sharma
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Sirsa, October 30
Farmers today locked the main gates of the grain market in Kalanwali town of Sirsa alleging they were being fleeced by rice millers in connivance with officials of government procurement agencies and the market committee.No procurement could be held today as farmers did not allow vehicles to enter in or come out of the grain market in protest.“A cartel of millers and officials of the procurement agencies, market committee and the Food and Supplies Department is working in the grain market.
Millers go to any heap of paddy and offer rates ranging between Rs 1,100 to 1,400 per quintal at their whim without any open auction. After buying crop, they enter in the records of the procurement agencies and get MSP of Rs 1,450 per quintal from the government. Not only this, millers deduct 3 kg from each quintal,” said Jagsir Singh, a grain market trader and a former president of the Kalanwali Municipal Committee.He threatened the arhtiyas would force complete shutdown and hold a dharna from Monday if the fleecing of farmers did not stop.
Baldev Singh, a farmer, alleged he brought his paddy to the mandi on Tuesday, but it had not been purchased so far. “Yesterday, millers came with some officials of the procurement agencies and offered Rs 1,350 per quintal for my crop. When I insisted on the open auction for procurement, they went to the next heap. No agency has come to purchase my crop after that,” alleged Satnam Singh, a farmer from Kalanwali. Farmers Mandeep Singh Raju, Gurdas Singh and Lakranwali alleged they had complained to the authorities several times but to no avail.
USA Rice Highlights Trade Barriers for USTR
 Grain Ship 
Make way
ARLINGTON, VA - USA Rice has submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) a list of key trade barriers facing U.S. rice in foreign markets.  The barriers range from ongoing phytosanitary restrictions by Colombia on imports of U.S. paddy rice; a discriminatory and very complex tariff regime in the EU; the trade distorting impact of Thailand's rice support program; government management of rice imports in Japan and Taiwan; and Korea's new rice import regime.
 USTR is mandated by law to publish annually the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE).   The NTE sets out an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and protection of intellectual property rights.  The inventory facilitates U.S. negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers.

"USA Rice's submission provides an easy-to-follow road map to our trade negotiators of the most serious overseas barriers to U.S. rice exports," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings.  "Over the past few years USA Rice has provided evidence of these trade barriers and lack of compliance by many of our competitors with the trade rules of the World Trade Organization.  We're anxious to strengthen our collaboration with the administration and other agriculture groups to remove these barriers and address WTO non-compliance."USA Rice's submission was in response to a Federal Register notice and the NTE report should be published during the first quarter of 2016, and the full submission can be accessed here.
 Contact:  Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for October 30 
Month
Price
Net Change

November 2015
$11.610
+ $0.075
January 2016
$11.895
+ $0.075
March 2016
$12.160
+ $0.075
May 2016
$12.415
+ $0.075
July 2016
$12.615
+ $0.025
September 2016
$12.240
+ $0.035
November 2016
$12.240
+ $0.035

Rice millers take to the streets

Leaders of political parties participating in a protest at Indira Parkin Hyderabad on Thursday.Rice millers across the Telangana state have come out against the latest policy of the central government, scrapping the levy of rice by Food Corporation of India even while continuing with the custom milling of paddy.They have got support from opposition parties, as declared at a demonstration organised by the Telangana Rice Millers Association here on Thursday. TDP floor leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao and state president L.Ramana, Ponnam Prabhakar from Congress, Chada Venkat Reddy from CPI announced their support to the millers’ agitation.A press statement by the Association alleged that close to 2000 rice mills in the state are facing closure owing to scrapping of levy. Pointing out that the custom milling charges too remained unchanged over long period, the millers demanded Rs.75 per quintal of paddy for raw rice and Rs.100 per quintal for boiled rice.
The output of raw rice has dropped to 62 per cent while the centre is insisting on delivery of custom milled raw rice at 67 per cent, they claimed. Addressing the millers, president of the South India Rice Millers Association Govardhan Reddy said the government was encouraging corporate feudalism by driving out small players so that the field is open for corporate giants.Demands by the Association include restoration of levy procurement, recognition of rice mills as procurement centres, and test milling of paddy at rice mills before fixing percentage of output among others.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/rice-millers-take-to-the-streets/article7821125.ece

RPCs improve rice farmers’ income–PIDS

by BusinessMirror - October 30, 2015
POOR postharvest facilities could cost farmers in at least four provinces some P286.96-million income losses, according to a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (Pids).In the policy note titled, How effective are our postharvest facilities?, PIDS consultants Nerlita M. Manalili, Kevin F. Yaptenco  and Alessandro A. Manilay said these losses were prevented by the rice processing centers (RPCs).In 2009 the Korean International Cooperation Agency (Koica) gave a grant worth P649 million to establish four RPCs equipped with modern milling and drying equipment.
“The RPCs also helped increase farmers’ income by offering higher buying prices, thereby serving as an incentive to farmers to patronize the facility,” the paper read.The RPCs were in Pangasinan, Davao del Sur, Iloilo and Bohol. The RPCs aimed to increase farmers’ income through the production of good-quality milled rice and the reduction of postharvest losses.Data obtained from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization and the International Rice Research Institute showed that the bulk of the losses worth P166.57 million would have come from rice mills.Other losses from dryers and poor drying facilities amounted to P82.88 million and P37.53 million, respectively.Apart from avoiding these losses, the PIDS consultants said the RPCs increased the average buying price for wet paddy compared to the buying price offered by private traders and millers.  
This was especially the case during the wet season with rice farmers benefiting from price margins of P0.79 to P1.11 per kilogram. The total gain in farmers’ income due to higher buying prices reached P13.9 million.“The RPCs also provided a safety net for farmers during periods of oversupply [wet season harvest], when private traders do not accept wet paddy or offer very low buying prices. The hindrances were found to be related mainly to project implementation in addition to the lack of working capital,” the paper read.
To maximize the benefits from the RPCs, the paper said the government must increase the operating capital of these facilities by P40 to P80 million.This will allow the RPCs to accommodate increased volume of paddy rice and additional cargo trucks of mixed sizes to pick up harvested paddy and deliver milled rice.However, the authors said additional investment on these RPCs from the Department of Agriculture (DA) must be subjected to performance evaluation of each facility.Each facility must produce good-quality milled rice products, healthy financial standing, and have a positive impact on rice farmers.“This can be considered as a second phase of the Koica project to ensure the sustainability of each RPC,” the policy note stated.The evaluation was conducted over a six-month period from October 2014 to March 2015. From the four RPC sites, other facilities funded by other programs of the DA that were within reasonable distance of an RPC.
Food terminals, flatbed dryers and rice threshers were included in the study. Site visits to three municipal food terminals, seven barangay food terminals, three flatbed dryers and threshers were conducted.The RPCs are one of the ways by which farmers aim to increase their incomes since studies estimated that postharvest losses can reach about 40 percent to 45 percent for cereals, seafood, fruit and vegetables, roots and tubers.In the country, studies estimated that postharvest facilities can result in losses of 15 percent for rice and 13 percent to 29 percent for major fruits and vegetables.

Manipuri rice: A cure for cancer

According to the American Chemical Society, “black rice is a nutritious and economical food source that is estimated to feed about one third of the world’s population.”Devakanta, a resident of Manipur and a thinking farmer has been able to adopt and improvise eco friendly methods of farming to increase harvest year after year. Passionate as a small scale entrepreneur to encourage small farmers to continue growing their indigenous rice varieties to improve the growing demands of more new methods of farmingAgriculture provides livelihood support to 70 % of region’s population and is the backbone of the Indian industry.
It produces 1.5% of country’s food grain production and continues to be a net importer of food grains even for its own consumption.Smart and innovative in his approach, what make him different from other farmers is his out of the box thinking in his organic farm, including cancer curing black rice called ‘chakhao poireiton’ and drought resistant varieties.India is one of the world’s biggest producers of rice along with China but very little is known about the rich variety of rice that is grown across the country.Manipur has a treasure trove of rice varieties, which can be grown in other states. Farmers grow about 20 varieties of black rice and chakhao protein and has excellent quality.
BLACK RICE: ORGANIC ANTIBIOTIC?

Manipur is famous for black rice called ‘chakhao poireiton’, a highly nutritious variety with high mineral content including iron and amino acids and what is more surprising is its cancer fighting ability. Black rice contains the antioxidant anthorcyanin, the same anti-cancer compound found in blueberries.Black rice is popular in many countries including Indonesia, Philippines and China. It is used in the preparation of rice cakes or noodles. Centuries ago in the ‘land of the rising sun’, China black rice was known as ‘Forbidden Rice’ because only nobles were allowed to eat it.Devakanta is working hard with 200 farmers to increase the cultivation of chakhao poireiton in many of his farms which inspires other farmers from Manipur to cultivate this rare rice.Black rice is a super food with several health benefits and similar to blueberries, salmon,tea,etc
Rice in Manipur is cultivated in different altitudes looking at the topographical area.
Dr Anjali Pathak, an organic consultant said, “I am recommending ‘chakhao poireiton’ to cancer patients who seek my advice and considering the high prices of allopathic drugs which also have terrible side effects, it is advisable to have black rice. Black rice, ayurvedic medicines and organic food can lead to a complete cancer cure.”The rice is also good to fight diseases like viral fever, influenza, preventing heart diseases, lowers bad cholesterol level in the body, and stabilize blood pressure.Certain types of carbohydrates, like black rice contain low glucose which makes them a great source of carbs for those who suffering from diabetes according to scientists.Black rice is a great alternative to white rice and it comes with fewer risks of sugar levels spiking up due to changes in lifestyle.The whole hearted project, is also being sold through some e-commerce sites for Rs 300-350 a kg. The government would have to chipped it in on elevating further if the black rice has medicinal properties and cancer curing ability.

World first standard for sustainable rice launched

Post a commentBy Niamh Michail+Niamh Michail , 29-Oct-20152015-10-29T00:00:00Z
Last updated on 29-Oct-2015 at 17:04 GMT2015-10-29T17:04:21Z
This week has seen the launch of the world's first United Nations-backed standard for sustainable rice cultivation.
While many of the world's major commodities benefit from their own standard for sustainability - palm oil has the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), soy has the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) and cane sugar has Bonsucro - rice has had to wait until this week, with the launch of the Sustainable Rice Platform's standard on sustainable rice cultivation.   In the same week Mars became the first major food company to announce it would source 100% of its rice sustainably by 2020.James Lomax, programme officer for food systems and agriculture at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is a member of SRP, told FoodNavigator: “The standard offers an objective means of benchmarking and comparing the sustainability of any rice production system, thus allowing farmers, managers, researchers and extension workers to focus field interventions and training more effectively and tailor[them] to actual needs.”
The standard has eight  impact zones which aim to increase sustainability at every level of cultivation.It  also has a set of key performance indicators that allow supply chain actors and farmers to measure sustainability and monitor success. These include profitability, pesticide-use efficiency and water productivity but also child labour and women’s empowerment. 


Falling paddy prices a major concern for Hadoti farmers

Mamta Singh  
KOTA: More trouble seems to be in store for Hadoti farmers. They were already under stress due to failure of their soyabean and urad dal crops. Now, they are fearing that paddy prices may nosedive due to bumper production in the country.In the last three years, paddy prices have fallen by more than 50%.

"In the past 18 months, we have observed that rice export to 
Iran and Middle East has stopped. We have a dead stock of approximately 5 lakh quintals piled up in mandis today. We are not getting buyers as there is no export demand. Paddy in processed form was being exported," said Avinash Rathi, president, Bhamashah Mandi. Prakash Paliwal, a bulk dealer in Bhamashah Mandi, said, "Yes, we were dealing in bulk movement of paddy to mills in Bundi, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, but these days, the business is not picking up. Ram Gopal Meena, ex-sarpanch and secretary, Hadoti Kissan Union (HKU), said, "We had increased the land under paddy cultivation.
Even the good quality paddy variety - 1121, which was priced between Rs 3,200 and Rs 4,200 in the mandis is today priced between Rs 1,600 and Rs 1,900. The condition of farmers is pathetic."Dasrath Kumar, a farmer from Kesoraipatan (Bundi) and general secretary, Hadoti Kissan Union, said, "The area under cultivation was increased in Hadoti from 48,000 hectares to 60,000 hectares. The government has not announced the support price of paddy so far. Non-basmati support price is Rs 1,300. Basmati rice should have a support price of at least Rs 3,800 per quintal. We have also written a letter to the Union agriculture minister in this regard."

The paddy production is estimated to be around 1,81,772 
metric tonnes by the agriculture department.

Beyond haze, El Nino drought poses poverty challenge for Indonesia

By Reuters October 30, 2015 / 12:26 WIB
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A wooden boat is seen stranded on the dry cracked riverbed of the Dawuhan Dam during drought season in Madiun, East Java , on October 5. Photo: REUTERS/SISWOWIDODO/ANTARA FOTO


By Nicholas Owen
On a dry and dusty sports field in central Java, Indonesian men dressed as traditional warriors take turns to battle with wooden staves, while village women crowd around, chanting: "All farmers let us pray that rain comes and washes our sorrow away."As in many parts of Java, Indonesia's main rice-growing island, seasonal rains are late coming to Karang Jati. A drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern, which scientists say could be the worst on record, means fields are fallow weeks after they would normally be sown. So the villagers have turned to a rain-making ritual to hasten the planting season.Crop failures caused by an El Nino drought presage more pain for Southeast Asia's largest economy, which is already growing at its slowest pace in six years, by squeezing incomes, fanning inflation and pushing more people into poverty.
All this piles pressure on Joko Widodo, Indonesia's first president from humble origins, on top of the haze crisis caused by slash-and-burn forest clearances, who made poverty reduction a priority but has seen it swell across this archipelago of 250 million people since he took office a year ago.The number of people officially classed as poor actually rose in the first six months of his presidency to 28.6 million in March from 27.7 million in September 2014.Twenty of Indonesia's 34 provinces are currently stricken by severe drought, according to the meteorology agency.The World Bank says that if there is a severe El Nino this year, rice production will fall by 2.1 million tonnes, or 2.9 percent, and rice prices will rise by 10.2 percent.That price rise will hit the poor hardest because they spend more of their income on food than the well off."Reduced agricultural incomes and higher prices could be devastating for poor households," the Bank said in a report, adding that rice imports may be needed if El Nino intensifies.
"NO RAIN, NO MONEY"
Widodo has provided more funds for cash transfers and social schemes, but so far has refused to sanction rice imports, keen that Indonesia should be self-sufficient in food."We are not talking about imports," Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro told Reuters in a recent interview. "We are trying to make sure the domestic stocks are available and accessible."Other countries at risk of an El Nino drought, such as the Philippines, have taken advantage of low global rice prices to boost stocks with foreign imports.Such measures at least cap inflation if crops fail, though they mostly benefit people in towns who consume rice, rather than the farmers who produce it - all they can do is pray for the weather to change.
"Our paddy fields depend on rainwater, so if there is no rain we suffer," said Darijan, a 60-year-old farmer in central Java who has started selling his soil to brick-makers to make ends meet.Agriculture accounts for nearly 14 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product, the highest among Southeast Asia's five main economies. One-third of the labour force works in farming, and more than half of poor households live off the land."What is very important ... to the poverty numbers is rice production and rice prices," Steven Tabor, the Asian Development Bank's head in Indonesia, told a recent conference. "And the beginnings of El Nino seem to suggest that we may be in for rising poverty towards the end of the year."As the drought drags on, Karang Jati's farmers such as 70-year-old Rohadi Rustam are anxious."If there's no rain, we have no money," he said, sitting by his sun-cracked fields. "That's how we farmers live."
-Reuters
(Additional reporting by Heru Asprihanto, Quincy de Neve and Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja in JAKARTA; Editing by John Chalmers and Simon Cameron-Moore)

Rice importation to stem inflation’

by David Cagahastian - October 30, 2015
The current period of depressed rice prices presents an opportunity for the Philippines to counter inflationary pressures that will be caused by the effects of El Niño and the havoc wreaked by Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu).Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said the Philippines can exploit this opportunity by importing more rice to make sure the country will have ample supply.
“To stabilize rice prices, the Philippines should take advantage of external sources of rice to fill in the gap in domestic demand and anticipated lower domestic production due to the ongoing dry spell and the damage of recent Typhoon Lando,” the Department of Finance (DOF) chief economist said.In an economic bulletin released on Thursday, Beltran pointed out that despite the El Niño, which is expected to persist well into the early part of 2016, rice prices in the world market had continued its steady decline.This decline in the prices of rice is due to the higher supply coming from the major rice-producing countries in the world, such as Vietnam and Thailand.
However, in the Philippines, the price of rice is threatening to go up, not only because of the recent devastation by Lando in the rice-producing provinces, but mainly due to the declining production of this staple, of which the Philippines had become one of the biggest importer in the world from its previous position as a net exporter of this commodity.In another economic bulletin released last week by Beltran, it was pointed out that the devastation caused in Central Luzon had pushed back the country’s rice reserves by at least seven days, putting the country’s rice reserves at a precarious level of below 50 days’ worth of supply.
These estimates had already prompted the National Economic and Development Authority to recommend the importation of another 1 million metric tons of rice for the first semester of 2016 alone to stave off possible inflation that will result from the destruction of locally produced rice.Ironically, in the world market, the price of rice had been steadily declining due to high levels of supplies and the resulting lower prices of fertilizers due to the persisting depressed cost of oil.For example, data from the World Bank indicated that the price of Thai rice, which represents the world-market price, had declined by 16.4 percent in 2014 from its price in 2013, which was at $506 per ton.This further declined by another 9 percent in 2015 to settle at a low $385 per ton.The World Bank estimates the prices of Thai rice to rise by a range of 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent each year starting 2016 up to 2020.
“While the global grains market appears to be in a comfortable position, the World Bank cautions that the impact of the dry spell is likely to be predominantly local rather than global, because markets are currently well-supplied, unless a significant player is significantly affected so as to send ripples in the international market,” Beltran said in his latest economic bulletin, reiterating the need for more importation of rice.
According to Ateneo Economics Prof. Cielito Habito in a recent forum, the agricultural sector had been a drag to the country’s GDP growth, with the agricultural sector actually contracting in the second quarter of this year by 0.5 percent. This contraction is due to the decline in the production of key crops, such as palay (-0.3 percent); corn (-15.7 percent); and sugarcane (-15.4 percent).The jobs generated in the industry and services sector amounting to some 768,000 new jobs from January to July  had also been offset by the jobs lost in the agricultural sector alone for the said period, estimated at 877,000.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/rice-importation-to-stem-inflation/

Indonesia's Haze Crisis Could Get Even Worse

There are some indications that more trouble could be ahead.
 By John McBeth
October 30, 2015
The haze from land-clearing fires blanketing Sumatra, Kalimantan and peninsular Southeast Asia for the past two months has now extended to Papua, with the blame falling on an agriculture development project aimed at turning the easternmost district of Merauke into an unlikely food bowl.
President Joko Widodo has ordered a nation-wide moratorium on peatland cultivation as the burning season drags on, exacerbated by what may be strongest drought-inducing El Nino weather phenomena in 18 years that threatens failed crops and higher food prices.According to Dutch earth scientist Guido van der Werf, the 115,000 fires detected across Indonesia this year until 25 October have churned out more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. On many days, that exceeds the 15 million tons of fossil fuel emissions recorded daily across the whole of the US.The fires have so far razed 1.7 million hectares, but those in peatland are notoriously difficult to extinguish, giving off the most smoke and burning at a depth of five and 10 metres which makes them impervious to aerial water bombing.
While the effects of the so-called El Nino Southern Oscillation have been moderate so far, Indonesia’s National Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts it will strengthen over the next two months and last well into next year.Similar estimates come from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), leading the World Bank to forecast the possibility of lower GDP growth and higher inflation next year.The Bank’s latest quarterly report says a severe El Nino could damage up to 400,000 hectares of paddy land and cut rice output by more than one million tons. An Indonesian Agriculture Ministry study estimates that, in turn, may halve farmers’ household income.
While the southern slopes of Papua’s central highlands are routinely socked in by low-hanging afternoon cloud, the smoke from forest fires is a new hazard, shutting the airport in the southeast coastal mining town of Timika for days on end.Much of the smoke is now drifting westwards from the controversial Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate. The estate is part of the Indonesian Government’s drive for food self-sufficiency—a policy many economists think is misplaced.
Ever since President Suharto achieved rice self-sufficiency nearly four decades ago, Indonesians have come to regard importing rice as a sign of failure—and a source of political instability if the price isn’t properly managed.
That’s what lay behind Suharto’s failed million-hectare rice project in Central Kalimantan’s peatlands in the mid-1990s, which was launched to meet increased consumption but caused an environmental disaster instead.Merauke is a similarly massive and environmentally-fraught undertaking, involving at least 36 companies and designed to produce 2 million tons each of rice, corn and sugar, 167,000 tons of soybeans and 937,000 tons of palm oil from 1.3 million hectares of newly-cleared forest land.Conceived by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government—and now supported by the Widodo administration—it has been described by Land Deal Politics Initiative as a ‘textbook land-grab’ of ancestral lands and a ‘strategic location for national development fantasies’.
Global Forest Watch currently counts more than 700 hotspots around Merauke, spreading across the nearby border into Papua New Guinea where the Ok Tedi copper mine has already been closed because of a water shortage.Climatologists attribute a much drier October to the progressive strengthening of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, which cools surface waters in the east and reduces rainfall across Australia and Indonesia.Longer-term climate predictions aren’t encouraging either.A 10-year-long study released last year showed that the sea current, pushing warm waters from the western Pacific into the Indian Ocean through Indonesia’s network of straits, is acting differently and could transform the climate in both ocean basins as a result.Indonesia is the only tropical location in the world where two oceans interact in this manner, with the so-called Indonesia-Through-Flow (IFT) playing a role in everything from Indian monsoons to the region’s increasingly frequent El Nino’s.
The main in-flow passage through the archipelago is the Makassar Strait which separates Borneo from Sulawesi. Some water then enters the Indian Ocean through the Lombok Strait, between Lombok and Bali, while the bulk flows east into the Banda Sea and out through the Ombai Strait and Timor Passage.According to American and Australian scientists, the IFT has become shallower and more intense in the same way water passes through a kinked hose. That suggests that climate change may worsen the effects of the El Nino and its wet sister, La Nina.
The 1990s in Indonesia were largely characterized by sustained El Nino conditions—particularly towards the end of the decade—which then changed to large swings between El Nino and La Nina conditions in the 2000s.Indonesians remember El Nina from 2010-2011 when the cooling of the Pacific meant they didn’t have a dry season at all. So do hapless Queenslanders, who were deluged with rain for eight straight months and suffered the worst flooding in their history.Now comes yet another severe El Nino, which began in late August when the trade winds weakened and the surface water being driven across the central and eastern Pacific became progressively warmer because of its longer exposure to solar heating.
The worst of these such events occurred in 1997-98. With rainfall well below the average for March and April, a year-long drought set in, triggering calamitous bush-fires across Kalimantan and Sumatra as farmers sought to replace depleted food crops.Lead researcher Janet Sprintall, of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, believes changes in the IFT could shift rainfall patterns across the whole Asian region. In other words, the seasons could be turned completely on their heads, with all that means for agriculture and fisheries in Indonesia and many of its Southeast Asian neighbours.If the climatologists are right, the future may already be here. As the situation continued to deteriorate this week—and the haze spread for the first time across western Java—President Widodo cut short his visit to the US and flew home to take charge of the mass evacuation of mothers and children from the worst-hit areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
It has never been this bad, not even in 1997-98. Like his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s experience with the devastating 2004 Aceh tsunami, Widodo now has a national disaster on his hands—this time, manmade. The haze crisis could have even bigger consequences for Indonesia and its neighbours than the tsunami.
John McBeth is a Jakarta-based correspondent. This piece originally appeared on The Strategist, the official blog of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, here and is republished with kind permission.
http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/indonesias-haze-crisis-could-get-even-worse/
Philrice news

National Rice Awareness Month highlights brown rice
With the theme, Be RICEponsible in your own way now (BROWN) 4 good, DA through its Be Riceponsible campaign, enjoins the public to celebrate the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) this November. This year, NRAM highlights the production and consumption of brown rice. “The theme is also highly promoting the consumption of brown rice since it is a good way to be healthy, to help our farmers have advantage come ASEAN integration, and of course, contribute to rice self-sufficiency because of its 10% higher milling recovery.” said Hazel V. Antonio, Director of the Be RICEponsible Campaign of DA.“BROWN rice would be the focus of the Be RICEponsible campaign for a year but we still want to encourage other acts of RICEponsibility, thus the theme,” she added.The celebration of NRAM officially starts on 3 Nov at the Liwasang Aurora, Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC), Quezon City.
Part of the celebration is the conduct of brown rice feeding programs, cooking contest, and exhibits to promote brown rice consumption. Food establishments are also encouraged to serve brown rice during the Brown Rice Day on 13 Nov. Other activities include the rice mix day on 20 Nov, and the annual Run4Rice on 21 Nov for NCR and 28 Nov for other regions.Different agencies both from public and private sector will also take their part in the celebration of NRAM through reciting of Panatang Makapalay during flag ceremony, serving of brown rice in school and office cafeterias, and disseminating information.Aside from the opening program, the Rice Science Museum of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will have a mobile exhibit at QMC to help consumers appreciate rice production.NRAM is celebrated every November pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 524, s.2004.

Rice Science Museum opens branch in Isabela
In time with the National Museum and Galleries Month in October, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has established its second branch of Rice Science Museum in San Mateo, Isabela.With the opening exhibit theme titled, Bountiful Harvest, the branch museum highlights the role of Isabela, Philippines’ second highest rice-growing province, in providing enough food for the country. The museum also showcases the interaction among the rice varieties – hybrid, inbred, and traditional, in helping the farmers achieve better yield.“Our exhibit shows that all varieties, whether traditional or modern, contribute in ensuring our food supply. Our rice collections from Cordillera are planted for household consumption and few for exports; while our displays from irrigated lowland are cultivated for the national market,” Johanna Portilla, museum curator said.Based on statistics, Isabela produces 15% of the aggregate annual and has a rice self-sufficiency rate of 224%.“We want the Isabelinos to be aware and be proud of this achievement and for the youth to appreciate our rice farmers and our rice heritage. Our sections on traditional and modern farm implements will also educate the public on agricultural development and how these implements have changed the ways of farming," she said.
Portilla also said that the museum also contains a section showing the differences between hybrid and modern varieties so farmers may be well-informed in choosing what varieties to plant.Meanwhile, the main Rice Science Museum in Nueva Ecija recently hosted the Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined exhibit in partnership with the Ayala Museum.Ditas Samson, senior curator and head of publications and research of the Ayala Museum, said that the 25 painting reproductions of the country’s second national artist show three themes that tie up the cycle of life in a rural town in the 1940s and 1950s.
 “Planting rice is not only a popular folk tune but is also a beloved scene in Philippine painting….. Botong’s three themes of hometown, the land, and celebration show the joyful and symbiotic relationship of man and nature in ensuring progeny and produce, and a life of peace and abundance,” she said.The senior curator said that by presenting informative and relevant exhibition on rice culture, traditions and technology to the general public and to students, the Rice Science Museum is playing its role in ensuring the food supply of the nation by encouraging young minds to think of agriculture as a career and have a role in feeding the nation.The Rice Science Museum is a Department of Tourism (DOT) - accredited tourist facility and a Local Government Unit-licensed tourist establishment based in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. It also has a branch in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
APEDA Commodity News from India

International Benchmark Price
Price on: 28-10-2015
Product
Benchmark Indicators Name
Price
Apricots
1
Turkish No. 2 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t)
4875
2
Turkish No. 4 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t)
4375
3
Turkish size 8, CIF UK (USD/t)
3625
Sultanas
1
Australian 5 Crown, CIF UK (USD/t)
2945
2
South African Orange River, CIF UK (USD/t)
2575
3
Turkish No 9 standard, FOB Izmir (USD/t)
2200
White Sugar
1
CZCE White Sugar Futures (USD/t)
816
2
Pakistani refined sugar, EXW Akbari Mandi (USD/t)
541
3
Thai VHP, FOB Thailand (USD/t)
460
Source:agra-net
For more info
Market Watch
Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 29-10-2015
Domestic Prices
Unit Price : Rs per Qty
Product
Market Center
Variety
Min Price
Max Price
Jowar(Sorgham)
1
Kolar (Karnataka)
Local
2300
3500
2
Deoli (Rajasthan)
Other
1100
1900
3
Amreli (Gujaratl)
Other
1510
2300
Maize
1
Bagalakot (Karnataka)
Local
1268
1400
2
Kurali (Punjab)
Other
900
1250
3
Akluj (Maharashtra)
Yellow
1431
1431
Orange
1
Chala (Kerala)
Other
4000
4100
2
Solan (Himachal Pradesh)
Other
2000
3000
3
Mumbai (Maharashtra)
Other
1000
3000
Onion
1
Surat (Gujarat)
Other
2000
4000
2
Devala (Maharashtra)
Other
1500
3600
3
Barnala (Punjab)
Other
2200
2800
For more info
Egg
Rs per 100 No
Price on 29-10-2015
Product
Market Center
Price
1
Ahmedabad
350
2
Chittoor
343
3
Hyderabad
315
Source: e2necc.com
Other International Prices
Unit Price : US$ per package
Price on 28-10-2015
Product
Market Center
Origin
Variety
Low
High
Onions Dry
Package: 40 lb cartons
1
Atlanta
Peru
Yellow
26
26.75
2
Chicago
California
Yellow
31.50
32.50
3
Miami
Nevada
Yellow
27.50
27.50
Cucumbers
Package: cartons film wrapped
1
Atlanta
Canada
Long Seedless
18
18.25
2
Baltimore
Spain
Long Seedless
14
15
3
Miami
Honduras
Long Seedless
10
10
Apples
Package: cartons tray pack
1
Atlanta
Virginia  
Red Delicious 
24
24
2
Chicago
Washington
Red Delicious 
26
26.50
3
New York
Washington
Red Delicious 
27
27
Source:USDA

Measures set to stop rice prices falling

 PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION
October 31, 2015 1:00 am
THE COMMERCE Ministry, in cooperation with the Thai Rice Exporters Association, has launched measures to prevent rice prices falling during the upcoming main-crop harvest.The goal is to prevent white paddy rice trading below a range of Bt8,000-Bt8,500 per tonne, while the price of paddy jasmine rice should be maintained at no lower than Bt13,500.Charoen Laothamatas, president of the association, said yesterday that its members had agreed to spend a combined Bt50 million to purchase 100,000 of jasmine rice from the market at about Bt26,000 per tonne to absorb supply from the market during the next four months.

"This amount of purchased rice will not be traded in the market, but will be stocked for three months to ensure that there is no oversupply during the harvest season," he explained.

The measure should help guarantee that the price of paddy jasmine rice does not fall below Bt13,500 a tonne, and that farmers can get a profit of at least 15-30 per cent from their output, he added.The association could consider increasing the overall purchase volume if it eventually found there was an oversupply problem, its chief said.
For white paddy rice, the ministry expects prices will be no lower than Bt8,000-Bt8,500 a tonne in the coming months, due to higher demand for white rice in many markets - mainly the Philippines, Indonesia and African countries.Moreover, Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the ministry would suspend its plan to release rice from the government's stocks via auction during the harvest season from November to February, in a bid to prevent prices falling.In the meantime, it will only consider selling rotten rice for use in the production of biomass or as base-material supply for energy production, she said.About 16 million to 17 million tonnes of paddy rice are expected to be harvested during the main-crop harvest, well below the normal level of about 23 million tonnes due to the drought problems faced by farmers this year.
To help farmers, the government earlier came up with a measure to allocate Bt26.42 billion to provide soft loans for them to stock rice in their barns during the harvest season.This should help absorb about 2 million tonnes of rice from the market.Charoen also projected that Thailand should be able to export at least 9.5 million to 10 million tonnes of rice this year, and around 10 million tonnes next year.With high demand in the market, the amount of rice in the government's stockpile should be reduced to 5 million tonnes next year, he said.With about 13 million tonnes currently held in the stockpile, the Commerce Ministry said that 1 million to 2 million tonnes could be sold this year under government-to-government contracts.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Measures-set-to-stop-rice-prices-falling-30271977.html
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Oct 30
·          
Nagpur, Oct 30 Gram prices today zoomed up in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and
Marketing Committee (APMC) here on increased demand from local millers amid tight supply from
producing regions. Healthy rise in Madhya Pradesh gram prices, upward trend on NCDEX and
reported demand from South-based millers also helped to push up prices, according to sources.

    FOODGRAINS & PULSES
    GRAM
   * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor.

     TUAR
   * Tuar varieties quoted static in open market in thin trading activity, matching the
     demand and supply position.

   * Moong varieties reported down in open market on poor demand from local
     traders amid good arrival from producing regions.

   * Udid varieties recovered strongly in open market here on increased festival season
     demand from local traders amid thin supply from producing belts.
                                                                                          
   * In Akola, Tuar - 11,500-11,800, Tuar dal - 18,200-18,400, Udid -
     12,900-13,300, Udid Mogar (clean) - 15,900-16,500, Moong -
     11,000-11,200, Moong Mogar (clean) 12,100-12,400, Gram - 4,700-4,900,
     Gram Super best bold - 6,400-6,700 for 100 kg.

   * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market
     in weak trading activity.
      
 Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

     FOODGRAINS                 Available prices     Previous close  
     Gram Auction                4,000-4,700         4,000-4,500
     Gram Pink Auction            n.a.           2,100-2,600
     Tuar Auction                n.a.                7,800-9,200
     Moong Auction                n.a.                6,000-6,400
     Udid Auction                n.a.           4,300-4,500
     Masoor Auction                n.a.              2,600-2,800
     Gram Super Best Bold            6,400-6,800        6,400-6,800
     Gram Super Best            n.a.            n.a.
     Gram Medium Best            6,100-6,300        6,100-6,300
     Gram Dal Medium            n.a.            n.a
     Gram Mill Quality            5,000-5,300        5,000-5,300
     Desi gram Raw                4,900-5,000         4,900-5,000
     Gram Filter new            5,700-6,000        5,700-6,000
     Gram Kabuli                5,800-7,100        5,800-7,100
     Gram Pink                        6,200-7,000        6,200-7,000
     Tuar Fataka Best             18,000-18,500        18,000-18,500
     Tuar Fataka Medium             17,000-17,300        17,000-17,300
     Tuar Dal Best Phod            16,500-17,000        16,500-17,000
     Tuar Dal Medium phod            15,500-15,900        15,500-15,900
     Tuar Gavarani New             11,800-12,400        11,800-12,400
     Tuar Karnataka             12,900-13,100        12,900-13,100
     Tuar Black                 18,800-19,300        18,800-19,300
     Masoor dal best            8,600-8,800        8,600-8,800
     Masoor dal medium            8,300-8,500        8,300-8,500
     Masoor                    n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Mogar bold            12,200-12,500       12,400-12,900
     Moong Mogar Med            11,500-11,700        11,600-11,800
     Moong dal Chilka            9,500-10,100        9,700-10,300
     Moong Mill quality            n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Chamki best            9,000-10,000        9,400-10,300
     Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)    16,500-17,500       16,300-17,100    
     Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)    15,000-16,000        15,000-15,700   
     Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)        10,800-11,500        10,800-11,200    
     Batri dal (100 INR/KG)        5,600-5,900        5,600-5,900
     Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)          4,300-4,500         4,300-4,500
     Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)            3,600-3,700        3,600-3,700
     Watana White (100 INR/KG)              3,400-3,600           3,400-3,600
     Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)    3,500-3,700        3,500-3,700  
     Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)        1,600-1,700        1,600-1,700
     Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG)    1,550-1,750        1,550-1,750  
     Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)         1,550-1,750        1,550-1,750
     Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)    2,500-2,650        2,500-2,650   
     Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)   2,300-2,400        2,300-2,400
     Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)    n.a.            n.a.
     MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)    3,400-3,800        3,400-3,800    
     MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)    2,700-3,100        2,700-3,100          
     Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)        3,000-3,400        3,000-3,400   
     Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG)        2,600-2,800        2,600-2,800   
     Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)         1,600-1,800        1,600-1,800
     Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)      2,100-2,200        2,100-2,200  
     Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG)      1,800-1,900        1,800-1,900  
     Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG)        3,400-3,800        3,400-3,800   
     Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)        3,100-3,300        3,100-3,300   
     Rice HMT Shriram best(100 INR/KG)    4,200-4,600        4,200-4,600   
     Rice HMT Shriram med.(100 INR/KG)    3,600-4,100        3,600-4,100   
     Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)    8,000-10,000        8,000-10,000    
     Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,000-7,500        7,000-7,500   
     Rice Chinnor best(100 INR/KG)    5,200-5,400        5,200-5,500   
     Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG)    4,600-5,000        4,700-5,000   
     Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)        1,900-2,200        1,900-2,200   
     Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)         1,700-1,900        1,700-1,900

WEATHER (NAGPUR) 
Maximum temp. 30.0 degree Celsius (86.0 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
19.3 degree Celsius (66.6 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : 11.1 mm
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely towards evening or night. Maximum
and minimum temperature would be around and 30 and 20 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but
included in market prices.)
 http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/10/30/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL3N12U3SU20151030

Thai rice exporters to finance storage in effort to support market

Reuters | Friday, Oct 30, 2015
3
Reuters
Friday, Oct 30, 2015
BANGKOK - Thailand's rice export industry group will finance storage of 100,000 tonnes of Asia's staple food in an attempt to stem falling prices as farmers bring in their main crop, the head of the group and the Thai commerce minister said on Friday.

The measure is the latest announced by Thai authorities as they seek to soften the impact on farmers of selling their grain at prices near an 8-year low.Rice exporters will buy the rice at market price and the Thai Rice Exporters Association will foot the bill for storing it from December through February, Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn told reporters.Taking the rice off the market for a few months would help stabilise prices, she said.Thailand is one of the world's largest rice exporters and is still sitting on stockpiles of millions of tonnes of rice built up under the generous subsidy scheme of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The military government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ended the subsidy scheme when it overthrew the remnants of Shinawatra's government in May 2014. Prayuth criticised the subsidies as vote-buying measures and offered little support to Thailand's rural poor during his first year in power.
But with the economy performing poorly and discontent rising with Prayuth's government in the countryside, the junta has announced a raft of measures since August aimed at boosting the rural economy.
The cabinet on Tuesday approved a US$1.13 billion (S$1.6 billion) plan to fund soft loans and grants to farmers.The cost of storing the rice will be around 50 million baht (S$2 million), said Charoen Laothamatas, head of the Thai Rice Exporters Association."We have to help each other. As Thais, we're all in this together," Charoen told Reuters. "We don't want to see farmers suffer."The 100,000 tonnes of rice is worth around 2.6 billion baht. Thailand has stocks of about 13.3 million tonnes but aims to reduce that to 4 to 5 million tonnes by the end of next year, Charoen said.Thailand would export no less than 10 million tonnes of rice next year, he said. That would be around the same level as the 9.5 to 10 million tonnes the association expects Thailand to export in 2015.The government is negotiating deals with Iran and African countries, he added.
http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/thai-rice-exporters-finance-storage-effort-support-market

Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

A comprehensive daily commodity market report for Arkansas agricultural commodities with cash markets, futures and insightful analysis and commentary from Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity analysts.
Noteworthy benchmark price levels of interest to farmers and ranchers, as well as long-term commodity market trends which are developing. Daily fundamental market influences and technical factors are noted and discussed.
Soybeans
High
Low
Cash Bids
899
787
New Crop
910
866


Riceland Foods


Cash Bids
Stuttgart: - - -
Pendleton: - - -
New Crop
Stuttgart: - - -
Pendleton: - - -


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Nov '15
886.75
876.75
883.75
+5.00
Jan '16
887.50
878.75
885.75
+5.50
Mar '16
890.50
882.25
888.75
+5.50
May '16
895.50
888.00
894.50
+5.50
Jul '16
901.00
893.75
900.25
+5.75
Aug '16
899.25
894.75
898.25
+5.00
Sep '16
892.00
888.25
891.25
+5.00
Nov '16
891.25
884.00
890.00
+5.50
Jan '17
895.50
895.00
895.25
+5.25

Soybean Comment

Soybeans ended the market on a high note after trending lower most of the week. Soybeans continue to find support in strong demand; however the supply situation is limiting gains. With another record crop forecast in South America it will be difficult for beans to maintain a rally and close back above $9.


Wheat
High
Low
Cash Bids
514
504
New Crop
520
440


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Dec '15
523.50
515.00
522.00
+7.00
Mar '16
527.00
519.50
525.50
+6.00
May '16
530.00
523.00
529.00
+5.50
Jul '16
530.75
524.00
530.00
+5.00
Sep '16
538.00
531.25
538.00
+5.00
Dec '16
549.00
543.00
548.50
+3.75
Mar '17
556.50
556.50
557.50
+2.75
May '17
558.00
+2.00
Jul '17
538.00
538.00
545.00
+1.25

Wheat Comment

Wheat saw more gains today as prices closed up 30-cents from last week. While wheat remains fundamentally weak, prices rallied this week based on technical support. Prices will need to see some fundamental support if prices are to break resistance at recent highs near $5.31. Wheat continues to maintain support near $5.00.


Grain Sorghum
High
Low
Cash Bids
390
314
New Crop
390
334



Corn
High
Low
Cash Bids
402
355
New Crop
411
377


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Dec '15
383.75
378.75
382.25
+2.25
Mar '16
393.00
388.75
391.50
+1.75
May '16
398.75
394.50
397.25
+1.50
Jul '16
403.00
398.50
401.50
+1.50
Sep '16
403.00
399.00
401.50
+1.50
Dec '16
409.25
405.25
408.00
+1.50
Mar '17
419.00
416.00
417.75
+1.50
May '17
423.00
422.00
423.50
+1.50
Jul '17
429.00
425.75
427.00
+1.25

Corn Comment

Corn prices closed higher today as the market ended up 3-cents on the week. Corn prices managed to hold support near $3.75 this week. The market continues in a sideways pattern with support at $3.75 followed by $3.60 and resistance near $3.90 followed by $4.00. Corn prices continue to see little fundamental support for prices as a weak export market and good harvest remain a drag on prices. As long as stocks are able to hold near 1.5 billion bushels this market could see some support return once harvest is complete.


Cotton
Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Dec '15
63.44
62.36
63.32
1
Mar '16
63.29
62.31
63
0.79

Cotton Comment

Cotton futures ended the week on a positive note. December is holding support at 62 cents for the time being. A weaker dollar was supportive today as were forecasts for thunderstorms in Texas that will further delay harvest. The crop is 42% harvested nationwide, but behind schedule in the eastern costal states that are still waiting for fields to dry out to be able to evaluate the condition of the crop and get the pickers rolling.


Rice
High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids
- - -
- - -
Long Grain New Crop
- - -
- - -


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Nov '15
1168.0
1136.5
1161.0
+7.5
Jan '16
1196.5
1160.0
1189.5
+7.5
Mar '16
1220.5
1187.0
1216.0
+7.5
May '16
1241.5
+7.5
Jul '16
1261.5
+2.5
Sep '16
1224.0
+3.5
Nov '16
1224.0
+3.5

Rice Comment

Rice futures were higher across the board today. Recent price action signals a move to the 62% retracement level of $11.18. Global production problems have helped support the market since the summer, however, disappointing U.S. yields have likely been built into prices at this point.


Cattle
Futures:
Live Cattle:
High
Low
Last
Change
Oct '15
140.400
139.000
139.250
-0.875
Dec '15
142.850
141.300
141.700
-1.100
Feb '16
144.350
143.225
143.375
-0.950
Apr '16
143.025
141.950
142.050
-1.100
Jun '16
133.750
132.600
132.775
-1.075
Aug '16
130.875
129.925
130.350
-0.900
Oct '16
132.850
131.800
132.000
-1.200
Dec '16
133.950
132.925
133.250
-0.950
Feb '17
133.500
132.650
132.800
-0.925
Feeders:
High
Low
Last
Change
Nov '15
192.125
190.150
190.750
-1.175
Jan '16
184.200
182.325
182.700
-1.550
Mar '16
180.400
178.625
178.925
-1.900
Apr '16
180.750
179.225
179.650
-1.750
May '16
180.500
179.025
179.475
-1.700
Aug '16
181.175
179.525
180.025
-1.725
Sep '16
179.800
178.750
179.000
-1.925
Oct '16
178.225
-1.875

Cattle Comment

Cattle prices closed lower today. For the week live cattle were down almost $2 and feeders were off $2.50. The market continues to try and move higher; however prices have found resistance near 144 and 195 for live and feeders, respectively. Additional strength in the cash prices and boxed beef will be needed to maintain recent gains.


Hogs
Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Dec '15
61.150
59.025
59.225
-0.650
Feb '16
64.500
62.450
62.475
-0.525
Apr '16
68.775
66.875
67.250
+0.125
May '16
73.450
72.525
72.600
+0.475
Jun '16
77.150
75.200
75.950
+0.600
Jul '16
76.700
75.000
75.875
+0.850
Aug '16
75.675
74.200
75.000
+0.750
Oct '16
66.275
64.775
65.800
+0.625
Dec '16
63.900
62.875
63.600
+0.700

Hog Comment



Shell Eggs

National Turkeys

Delmarva Broilers


http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/