China to park $2b in reserves and triple its imports from Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: China has indicated to
park about $2 billion in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and extended a unique
but unprecedented offer to triple it imports from Pakistan.
One of the cabinet members, who was
part of the prime minister’s visit to China, confided to The News that Beijing
will park almost $2 billion in Pakistan’s reserves, but it is yet to be worked
out from both sides that out of $2 billion how much RMB -- Chinese currency --
will be kept in the reserves.
According to the cabinet member,
Finance Minister Asad Umar will announce in a press beefing about Chinese offer
to place $2 billion in Pakistan’s reserves and will let the masses know about
the details of the China visit relating to financial issues.
More importantly, Chinese Premier
Li Keianq, during the visit in clear words asked the top leadership of Pakistan
that they are ready to double the imports from Pakistan and if Pakistani
entrepreneurs have the capacity, after doubling the imports from $ 1.2 billion
to $2.2 billion, they would also increase imports from Pakistan by additional
$1 billion. So China, he said, is ready to triple the imports from Pakistan,
but it all depends upon the ability of Pakistani entrepreneurs.
In addition, Beijing will also
extend to Pakistan a special quota for export of sugar and rice which will also
help have a massive surge in exports to China. The cabinet member said that a
crucial meeting of Pakistan’s top officials is going to take place in Beijing
on November 9 with their counterparts to shape up the process to finalisation
of placing the dollars in Pakistan’s account to improve reserves situation and
carve out the modus operandi to improve the export of Pakistani goods to China.
In the November 9 meeting,
secretaries of finance, foreign affairs, commerce and governor State Bank of
Pakistan would figure out the mechanism and implementation plan to achieve the said
two targets. Both sides would also asses how much US dollars in cash and how
much Chinese currency (RMB) equal to how much value of dollars will be parked.
Pakistan and China have currency swap agreement for trade since Zardari regime
which was firmed up in Nawaz era and now it will shape up in a big way.
Currently, Pakistan exports range
$120-150 million per month which improved in the July, August, September,
October and November to $200 million per month. In the remaining months, the
Commerce Ministry wants to jack up its monthly export to $400 million to
materialise the offer of China.
Adviser to Prime Minister on
Commerce, Trade and Industries Abdul Razzak Dawood confirmed the development,
saying that Chinese premier has asked Pakistan that his country is ready to
double its imports from Pakistan which will be triple later on. He said this is
a tremendous offer from China and he is going to have marathon meetings with
Pakistani entrepreneurs from to carve out a plan to get maximum advantage of
the Chinese offer. He said that currently, Pakistani exports to China stand at
$1.2 billion per annum which can go up to $2.2 billion and then to $3.2
billion.
However, one of the top officials
who is also privy to the developments, told that Pakistan wanted market access
and unilateral concession of 313 tariff lines, but the Chinese premier by
setting aside these demands offered Pakistan’s top leadership that his country
is poised to increase its imports from Pakistan by 100 percent and later on it
would also increase them by another 100 percent.
The official said that Pakistan can
increase its exports by just $500 million by sending to Chinese market one
million tons sugar and one million tons rice. He said China’s imports stand at
$2 trillion, but Pakistani entrepreneurs lack the ability to harness even 1
percent share in China’s total imports.
Agriculture, textile sectors to benefit from China boost
KARACHI: Agriculture and textile
sectors are likely to be the primary beneficiaries if Pakistan’s exports to
China get doubled under the renewed discussions between the two countries, a
brokerage said on Thursday.
Currently, the bilateral trade is
immensely tilting in favour of China with Pakistan’s exports much below than
the imports from the neighbouring country.
Pakistan’s exports to China
amounted to $1.75 billion in the fiscal year of 2017/18, while imports from
China were recorded at $11.5 billion, resulting in trade deficit of $9.75
billion.
In 2017, cotton and yarn exports to
China fetched $940 million, followed by ores, slag and ash ($187m), copper and
articles ($134m), cereals ($94m), raw hides and skins ($71m), articles of
apparel and clothing accessories, knitted and non-knitted ($70m), fish and
crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates ($60m), edible fruit and
nuts, peel of citrus fruit or melons ($39m), salt, sulphur, earths and stone,
plastering materials, lime and cement ($38m), and mineral fuels, mineral oils
and products of their distillation, bituminous substances ($31).
Cotton and yarn exports account for
51 percent of total exports, followed by metals (17 percent).
Other top commodities are cereals,
leather, fisheries, fruits, construction and allied material and minerals. “We
believe companies like Nishat Chunian, Nishat Mills, and Gul Ahmed would be
beneficiaries as they are already exporting yarn to China,” Topline Research
said in a report. “Also this would be opportunity for all the players to make
entry into Chinese market.” Pakistan is currently exporting two billion dollars
worth of rice to global markets, which can further be enhanced by exporting to
China. Matco Foods and Habib ADM are likely to benefit from increase in rice
exports to China.
“Sugar sector can also benefit as
the government already approved export of surplus sweetener.
Government officials have already
underlined rice, sugar, textile and agricultural commodities, like fruits, in a
plan to increase exports to China.
A Pakistani delegation recently
concluded a four-day visit to China aimed at to garner support of the world’s
second biggest economy for the country’s patchy economic growth. Chinese government
agreed to widen market access to Pakistani exports, which are estimated to
double from the existing level.
The government has been stressing
the need of renegotiation of free trade agreement signed between the two
countries, while industry officials have been pointing at mispricing in
cross-border trade for long.
A business advocacy group
emphasised standardisation and transparency in data collection.
“There are great discrepancies
between Pakistan’s and China’s reported data (particularly for Pakistan’s
imports from China, where the discrepancy is $5.5 billion), due to possible
under-invoicing, which would mean that severe revenue losses and tax evasion
are taking place,” Pakistan Business Council said in a report.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/391335-agriculture-textile-sectors-to-benefit-from-china-boost
Worried about carbs? Healthy
white rice may soon be on the menu
An Australian organisation has developed a new
variety of white rice that retains more nutrients that are typically found in
wholegrain rice.PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
NOV 8, 2018, 11:08 AM SGT
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - While
delicious, there is no denying that white rice can wreak havoc on your diet -
that is, unless someone could make a refined version with the same benefits of
its wholegrain brother.
Luckily, Australia's Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has just done that -
creating a variety of rice that has an outer layer four to 12 times thicker
than usual.
That means it can be polished to
remove the outer layer to make a white rice that retains more of the nutrients
found in the wholegrain variety, according to the CSIRO.
"Our obsession with rice
isn't going anywhere, but unfortunately, our waistlines are, and too much white
rice isn't helping," Eliza Keck, a CSIRO communications adviser said on
the government agency's website.
"Thankfully, the demand for
healthier varieties of rice has been on the rise in recent years, and that's
where our innovation comes in."
The Australian organisation says
it has developed the rice with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and it has been
successfully tested by breeders in the Asian country.
The new variety has little to no
effect on the growth and yield of rice, CSIRO said.
The Asian nation, which consumes
over 100kg per capita of rice every year, has a strong incentive to see
healthier varieties become more popular as it battles with the world's most
diabetic population.
CSIRO is teaming up with Chinese
Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to see if
its innovation can also be applied to wheat, barley and sorghum, it said.
Farmers protest ‘golden rice’ tests
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:06 AM November 09,
2018
CLOSURE A group of farmers serves a
symbolic closure order to the Philippine Rice Research Institute office in
Nueva Ecija to protest the field tests of golden rice. – ARMAND GALANG
SCIENCE CITY
OF MUÑOZ — A group of farmers on Wednesday stormed the headquarters of the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) here to protest the scheduled
field tests of the genetically engineered variety called “golden rice” in this
city and in San Mateo town, Isabela province.
“We are
calling on our local leaders in Muñoz and San Mateo to reconsider the field
trials of golden rice until the farmers and the people have the full assurance
of its safety,” said Cris Panerio, national coordinator of Magsasaka at
Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag), which led protesters
from the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Isabela, and Pangasinan and the southern
Tagalog region.
The farmers
said golden rice was being promoted by a multinational company that wanted to
“control local food production by making farmers dependent on its seeds.”
They also
said the “poor traits [of golden rice] will contaminate our indigenous and
farmer-bred rice varieties and prove disastrous to the already volatile rice
production in the country.”
Tests
continue
Also
scheduled for field trials are purple antioxidant rice and “GM rice” fortified
with zinc and iron, according to Masipag.
But the
PhilRice will proceed with the tests, which, Karen Eloisa Barroga, the
institute’s deputy executive director for development, said were “important
steps in the regulatory process to ensure the safety and bioefficacy of golden
rice.”
The
PhilRice, in partnership with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), had
embarked on the development of a golden rice version of local grains, among
them PSB Rc82 (Peñaranda), a popular, high-yielding and widely grown rice
variety.
But the
tests must first determine if golden rice would be fit for Filipino consumers,
said Reynante Ordoño, PhilRice’s project leader for golden rice.
IRRI said it
believed golden rice might help address Vitamin A deficiency among Filipinos.
The grain is genetically engineered with beta carotene, which can be a new
food-based approach to improve the Vitamin A status of the malnourished poor,
it said.
In a study
conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute in 2013, about 2.1
million Filipinos, aged 6 months to 6 years, were considered Vitamin A
deficient.
Also found
to be suffering from the deficiency were pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Guided by
law
The
PhilRice’s involvement in the study of golden rice is guided by Republic Act
No. 8976 (Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000) that called for a food
fortification program to address malnutrition.
Golden rice
would only be made available to farmers and consumers once all the required
tests and evaluations were completed, Barroga said, adding that the PhilRice
and IRRI would “not push for the adoption of a crop that is not yet available.”
“As a
research organization, we are interested to see first its field performance,
safety and effectiveness in increasing Vitamin A among humans following
regulatory procedures,” Barroga said.
Joseph
Canlas, secretary general of Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon,
belittled the benefits of golden rice, saying homegrown rice is already rich in
beta carotene.
In this
city, the trials will be conducted at a 200-square meter lot inside the
PhilRice experiment center. The test site will be a controlled environment, so
even birds will be unable to fly in and pick up seeds, Ordoño said.
Healthy white rice may soon be on the menu
ANNA
KITANAKA
BLOOMBERG
| Fri, November 9, 2018 | 01:00 am
The Australian organization says it’s developed the
rice with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and it has been successfully tested
by breeders in the Asian country. (Bloomberg/File)
While delicious, there’s no
denying that white rice can wreak havoc on your diet -- that is unless someone
could make a refined version with the same benefits of its wholegrain brother.
Luckily, Australia’s Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has just done that - creating a
variety of rice that has an outer layer four to 12 times thicker than usual.
That means it can be polished to remove the outer layer to make a white rice
that retains more of the nutrients found in the wholegrain variety, according
to the CSIRO.
“Our obsession with rice isn’t
going anywhere, but unfortunately, our waistlines are, and too much white rice
isn’t helping,” Eliza Keck, a CSIRO communications adviser said on the government
agency’s website. “Thankfully, the demand for healthier varieties of rice has
been on the rise in recent years, and that’s where our innovation comes in.”
The Australian organization says
it’s developed the rice with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and it has been
successfully tested by breeders in the Asian country. The new variety has
little to no effect on the growth and yield of rice, CSIRO said. The Asian
nation, which consumes over 100 kilograms per capita of rice every year, has a
strong incentive to see healthier varieties become more popular as it battles
with the world’s most-diabetic population.
CSIRO is teaming up with Chinese
Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to see if
its innovation can also be applied to wheat, barley and sorghum, it said.
UPLB, Searca stage nutrition-sensitive agriculture
conference
Tagaytay—Realizing
the important role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA), the University of
the Philippines Los Baños Interdisciplinary Studies Center on Food and
Nutrition Security has convened an International Conference on NSA and Food
Systems.
This
conference aims to contribute to improving food security and health outcomes,
through production of diverse, safe and nutrient-rich food. It started
Wednesday and ends Sunday at the Development Academy of the Philippines in this
city.
Themed
“Strategic Approaches to Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Food Systems in
Southeast Asia”, the conference is in partnership with the Southeast Asian
Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Philippines, and Cavite
State University.
Searca
said the conference aims to increase awareness of various sectors on the nature
and scope of NSA, to identify the opportunities, challenges and issues
involving NSA in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, and to formulate
polices and strategies to enhance NSA in relation to food and nutrition
security.
In
line with its Umbrella Program on Food and Nutrition Security in Southeast
Asia, Searca is organizing the plenary session on case studies on integrating
nutrition into agriculture.
The
session will focus on lessons that can be drawn from success stories of
addressing nutrition across the different stages of the food system.
Topics
in this plenary session will be discussed by experts from various parts of the
world. Dr. Marco Wopereis, Director General of the World Vegetable Center, will
talk about mobilizing the nutritional power of vegetables.
Dr.
Leila S. Africa, Director and Professor of the UPLB College of Human
Ecology-Institute of Human Nutrition and Food will present outcomes of
Promoting Nutrition-Sensitive School Gardens and Feeding Programs through the
School-Plus-Home-Gardens Project: The Case of Laguna, Philippines.
Dr.
Wei Fang, Director of the Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment
Agriculture and Professor of Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering of the
National Taiwan University, will discuss how plant factories in Taiwan to
promote food and nutrition security in an urban setting.
Emily
Monville Oro, Country Director, and Dr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Program
Advisor of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), will
speak on sustaining and scaling-up nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
Rizal
G. Corales, Program Lead, Integrated Rice-based Agribiosystems of the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), will elaborate on the case of
Palayamanan as a strategy to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
Dr.
Mallikarjuna Swamy, Scientist II-Rice Breeder (Biofortification) and Lead,
Healthier Rice Breeding Group of the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), will tackle achieving nutritional security through development of
healthier rice: progress and prospects.
The
plenary session is chaired by Shun-Nan Chiang, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of
Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz, who is also a Searca Visiting
Research Fellow. Dr. Pedcris Orencio, Searca’s Program Head for Research and
Development, will provide the session synthesis.
US agribusiness looks to boost
sales to Cuba
11/8/18 4:32 PM
HAVANA — Representatives from the
United States’ agricultural sector arrived in Cuba on Thursday for a conference
aimed at promoting sales, one of the few U.S. business areas allowed to deal
with the island under a half-century-old trade embargo that Cuban leaders blame
for most of its economic troubles.
The U.S.-Cuba Agriculture
Coalition will explore potential opportunities for American agriculture
producers seeking a market on the island. Cuba imports most of its food
products from abroad, a multibillion-dollar market that has flourished despite
U.S. sanctions.
Relations between both countries
normalized somewhat after former U.S. President Barack Obama loosened the trade
embargo while in office. But President Donald Trump has intensified sanctions,
making it harder for Americans to travel to Cuba and conduct business.
In 2017, the United States sold
$260 million of food to the Cuba, but the figure was one of the lowest in this
decade and paled in comparison to the $450 million of U.S. food sold in 2012.
The island still cannot sell its
own products in the U.S. and is not given credit to help pay for imports as a
result of the embargo.
Cuba spends about $2 billion a
year to import food for its 11 million citizens, who are given almost free
rations each month of products such as chicken, rice and milk.
Phil Peters, a trip organizer,
said U.S. agribusiness is interested in exporting more products to Cuba and
improving regulatory conditions, and in “building a broader and more normal
relationship in which there is investment and shared business.”
About 30 participants were
meeting with officials at the conference and visiting farms and cooperatives in
the Caribbean nation. The group is scheduled to stay until Saturday.
“Our country finds itself fully
updating its economic model,” Cuban deputy agriculture minister Jose Miguel
Rodriguez de Armas said at the opening of the conference. “The concerns of the
agriculture sector are very important for the development of our country.”
FG, CBN Reject US Report On Rising Rice Importation
The federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
yesterday debunked the report by the United States Department of Agriculture
World Markets and Trade that Nigeria imported three million metric tons of rice
in 2018.
The US report had said the import figure is 400,000
metric tonnes higher than the quantity of the product that was imported in
2017. The report also stated that Nigeria’s local rice production dropped from
2016 to 2018 compared to the situation in 2015. The report ran contrary to
several claims by the Nigerian Government that local rice production had
increased while importation had dropped by up to 90 per cent. The report, which
was released in October, showed that since 2016, Nigeria had consistently
milled 3,780,000 metric tons annually which is a reduction from 3,941,000
metric tons recorded in 2015. But the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed,
while briefing journalists in the State House, described the report as false.
Mohammed, who said he had contacted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria
Customs Service (NCS), the Minister of Agriculture and rice millers on the
authenticity of the report, argued that they all dismissed the report as
untrue. According to him, whereas 1.2 million metric tons of rice was exported
to Nigeria in 2014, the figure declined to 644,000 in 2015 and went further
downward to 25,000 in 2016. However, the presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said the claim by the
administration of President Muhammadu Buhari that it has increased rice
production in the country is false.
The minister also faulted the claim by the report that
local rice production in the country is declining, saying instead, local rice
production capacity has risen to 4.9 million metric tons. The CBN has also
clarified that the volume of rice importation into Nigeria (in metric tonnes)
has declined drastically in 2018, judging by figures obtained from various
official sources. Indeed, figures obtained from India and Thailand, which are
dominant rice exporters to Nigeria indicated that as at September, the latter
had so far exported about 5,161 metric tonnes of rice to Nigeria, while the
former sold only a paltry sum of 426 as at July 2018. Attributing the reduction
to concerted effort by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the
Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, in a
statement yesterday, also stressed that the Bank had not allocated any foreign
exchange for the importation of rice this year.
Okorafor, argued
that the figures being bandied in certain quarters were based on unrealistic
assumptions such as satellite mapping of farms, expected demand by politicians
for election campaigns as well as expected losses from flooding, all of which
led to unauthentic conclusions that the country had imported or could import
400,000 more metric tonnes. The spokesperson for the CBN further noted that the
combined figure of 5, 587 tonnes of rice imports from India and Thailand may
have been rice imported on not-valid-for-forex basis. Meanwhile, trade figures
for the second quarter of 2018 received from the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) showed that total imports value was N2,106.7 billion; -16.3% lower than
the first quarter (Q1), 2018 (N2518.26 billion) and – 19.9 per cent lower than
Q1, 2017 (N2,631.65 billion). The report on the Bureau’s site showed that the
value of imported agricultural goods in the second quarter of 2018 (N224.52
billion) increased by 21.7 per cent from Q1, 2018 (N184.49 billion) and lower
by -3.14 per cent from Q2, 2017 (N231.80 billion).
According to the report, raw materials imports in Q2
2018 (N261.10 billion) declined by -8.3 per cent compared to Q1, 2018 (N284.81
billion) and lower by -14.2 per cent in Q2, 2017 (N304.43 billion). The solid
minerals import in Q2, 2018 (N17.29 billion) increased by 37 per cent on a
quarter-to-quarter basis (N12.62 billion), but declined by -91 per cent on a
year-to-year basis (N193.16 billion). Energy goods imports in Q2, 2018 (N98.17
million) was 202.6 per cent higher than Q1 2018 (N32.45 million) and 288.5 per
cent higher than Q2, 2017 (N25.27 million). The NBS reported that the value of
manufactured goods imported in Q2 2018 (N1,175.86 billion) declined by -1.2 per
cent over the previous quarter (N1,189.97 billion) but increased by 1.6 per
cent over the same quarter in 2017.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the CBN had been collaborating to reduce the volume of rice
importation through what has become famed as the Rice Revolution. Meanehile,
the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said the
claim by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari that it has increased
rice production in the country is false. Atiku in a statement issued yesterday
by his campaign organisation said the recently released data from the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) World Markets and Trade Report has
proven the claims by Buhari and his government to be false.
President Buhari
boasted about it when he told British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on April 16,
2018, that: “We have cut rice importation by about 90 per cent; made a lot of
savings of foreign exchange and generated employment. People had rushed to the
cities to get oil money, at the expense of farming. But luckily, they are now
going back to the farms. Even professionals are going back to the land. We are
making steady progress on the road to food security.
” Atiku noted that the Minister of Agriculture, Chief
Audu Ogbeh, on May 2, 2018, also made similar claim. According to Ogbe,
“Unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2 per cent, it
has gone up to four per cent because seven giant rice mills have shut down
because Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone.” The former
vice-president, however, noted that the “World Markets and Trade Report of the
USDA, which is a public document disclosed that Nigeria imported three million
metric tons of rice in 2018, which is 400,000 metric tons more than the
quantity of the product imported in 2017. “It does not end there.
The report shows
that there has actually been a steep drop in commercial rice production from
its 2015 peak under the previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
administration.” Quoting the report further, Atiku added that “Nigeria had
consistently milled 3,780,000 metric tons annually-a drop from 3,941,000 metric
tons recorded in 2015.” Atiku, therefore, appealed to Buhari and his government
to be truthful to the Nigerian public, rather than claiming progress they have
not made, “because no matter how far and fast falsehood has travelled, it must
eventually be overtaken by the truth.”
‘Basmati hybrids hold $500mln export potential’
LAHORE: Hybrid technology can earn Pakistan an additional $500
million in rice exports and create Rs60 to 70 billion of economic activities, a
head of a research and development company said. Sajjad Sulaiman Malik, chief
executive officer of Emkay Seeds (Pvt) Ltd said the private company has
developed high-yielding Basmati rice variety having more than 40 percent
average yield potential if compared with output of contemporary varieties. “If
only 20 percent of basmati area is sown with new hybrids of fine rice varieties
in Punjab, the main growing area, Rs60 to 70 billion worth of additional
economic activity can be generated,” Malik said.
“Pakistan can fetch another $500 million with this bonus
production of basmati rice.” Basmati hybrids can produce up to 80 maunds per
acre of rice with proper application of production technology. These varieties
use less water and other inputs as it matures two weeks early if compared with
other basmati varieties. The company’s head said this is the beginning of
Pakistan’s rice revolution, which will start bearing fruits for farmers, rice
millers and exporters in near future. The company demonstrated test-trials of
the newly-developed basmati hybrids last week in Farooqabad of Sheikhupura district.
The two basmati hybrids of Emkay Seeds outperformed basmati super and Pusa
1121, an Indian variety with more than 40 percent yield advantage in small
scale trials.
The development of Basmati
hybrid, having excellent cooking quality and elongation is not an easy task as
many such attempts could not bear fruits in past. Several public sector
research institutions have failed to introduce basmati hybrid despite spending
millions of rupees. So much so, Chinese leader in development of coarse
varieties of rice hybrids have not either been successful despite making
untiring efforts. Malik attributed the resounding success in development of
basmati hybrid to Muhammad Bashir Cheema, who is Head of Plant Breeding and
Genetics of the company. “Eighteen years of struggle finally proved
successful,” he said. “We hope that in the next two years, these superior
quality basmati hybrids will be available for commercial plantation.
This is purely a home-grown solution for enhancing output of
basmati rice as Pakistan’s own scientists contributed in this direction.” On
the company’s plant breeding program, Malik said the task to develop rice
hybrid is quite challenging “but with continued effort our company pioneered
the development of both coarse and fine varieties of rice”.
Three basmati and two non-basmati extra-long fine grains with 8.5
millimeter length have been developed. The milling, cooking quality, taste and
aroma of some of these lines are on par with super basmati and other
contemporary varieties. Malik said the company has been successful in achieving
rare milestone of basmati hybrid development through normal breeding without
using any of the genetic engineering techniques involving genetically modified
organisms. The non-basmati hybrid developed by the company was the pioneer back
in 2008. However, these varieties could not compete with Chinese imported
hybrid seeds of coarse varieties due to various factors. In March 2008, the
company became the first to have a locally developed medium grain rice hybrid
(Emkay H-401) approved by the then ministry of agriculture.
“We have further refined
our medium grain rice hybrids for Sindh and expect to launch our new hybrid
varieties next year,” Malik said. A number of companies are currently importing
hybrid rice seed, mainly from China. The local variety would save foreign
exchange reserves. Emkay Seeds has also developed a high yielding bacterial
leaf blight-resistant rice hybrid that will perform better in hot spots. “We
have also developed a fairly robust research program on maize and are actively
developing and testing both single cross and double cross hybrid corn,” Malik
said.
“These hybrids are being tested alongside the leading hybrid corn
seed being sold in Pakistan by multinationals,” he added. “Significant progress
has been made and in 2019 these products will be taken into farmer fields for
large scale testing. We intend to diversify our activity by including other
crops in the research program, notably sweet corn, canola and vegetables.”
Study identifies relationship between smog and rice residue burning in
Punjab
"The
study will be instrumental in helping reduce the contribution of the
agriculture sector in the formation of smog."— AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: A new research study
carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United
Nations has found a relationship between smog and the practice of rice residue
burning by farmers in the rice belt of Punjab.
Findings of the study provide
scientific evidence of the causes of smog, and the relationship between smog
and crop residue burning. The study will be instrumental in helping reduce the
contribution of the agriculture sector towards the formation of smog, FAO
Representative in Pakistan, Mina Dowlatchahi said on Tuesday.
The study carried out under the
‘Remote Sensing for Spatio-Temporal Mapping of Smog’ project in collaboration
with the Punjab government, found that the formation of smog, however, was not
dependent only on the presence or increase of these pollutants, but certain
meteorological and weather conditions also help these pollutants suspend in the
lower atmosphere because of which the pollutants from a dense visible layer of
smog.
FAO responded to a request from the
Punjab government in 2017 and initiated the project, which has now been
completed. It is a first of its kind evidence-based geospatial research which
will contribute to findings on emissions and drivers of smog. FAO will present
the report to the Punjab government next week with its recommendations.
The research findings were reviewed
by FAO global technical experts on information with a geographical component,
methods and tools and validated by a wide array of Pakistani experts and
institutions. Representatives of the ministry of climate change and the Punjab
government were present on the occasion.
Speaking to experts, the FAO
representative stated that the organisation remained committed to support the
government efforts to help devise appropriate strategies and action plans to tackle
smog in Pakistan.
Pakistan suffered one of the
highest death tolls in the world from air pollution in 2015, when, according to
UN estimates, thousands lost their lives because of the high level of fine
particles in the air.
This phenomenon engulfs several
cities in Punjab province, particularly Lahore, during the winter months and
has evolved into a public health and economic emergency.
Smog is one of the several forms of
air pollutants that cause harm to human functioning. Formation of smog,
however, is not dependent only on the presence or increase of these pollutants,
but certain meteorological and weather conditions also help these pollutants
suspend in the lower atmosphere because of which the pollutants form a dense
visible layer of smog.
FAO is also carrying out water
accounting in the Indus Basin using geospatial data and techniques.
Published in Dawn, November 7th,
2018
Dawn News
Rice exports to EU to be hit by tariffs
Cambodia is looking for new markets abroad for its
rice, following news of impending tariffs in the European Union. Hun Lak, vice
president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said the EU intends to impose
tariffs on Cambodian rice based on complaints raised by Italy and Spain.
“They produce their own rice and they requested that the EU
protects their rice instead,” Mr Lak said. “We enjoy the benefits of the Everything-but-arms
(EBA) treaty, but the new tariffs will affect our export to the EU by making
our rice less competitive. “We must diversify away from the EU market. We are
looking at China, one of the biggest markets for Cambodia,” Mr Lak said, adding
that Cambodia needs to continue to reduce the cost of production and
transportation while enhancing quality. Italy, along with six other European
Union countries, filed a request to the European Union to activate a ‘safeguard
clause’ that allows EU member states to impose barriers to protect against
trade imbalances. Fragrant rice now sells for $900 per ton, while white rice
fetches $500 per ton, said Mr Lak.
The EU intends to impose tariffs of 175 euros per ton during the
first year, 150 euros in the second year, and 125 euros in the next. Song
Saran, CEO of Amru Rice Cambodia, commented on the ‘safeguard clause’ on his
Facebook profile. “It is totally biased. The Italian and Spanish farmers
switched to Japonica variety because they get higher profit margins than they
do with the Indica variety. Then they blamed Cambodia and Myanmar for exporting
cheap Indica rice to the EU. “Our farmers have to switch to other varieties and
diversify their markets to keep fighting for survival. No one will help us,
only Khmers can help Khmers,” Mr Saran commented.
According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Cambodia
exported 389,264 tonnes of rice in the first nine months of 2018, a drop of 8.4
percent. China continues to be Cambodia’s top export market. In November last
year, Cambodia signed memorandums of understanding with the Export-Import Bank
of China and CITIC Group Cooperation to help the Kingdom increase paddy
production and boost rice exports. The agreements aim to increase rice exports
to China beyond the 300,000 tonnes now allowed by the quota in place.
Gov't, ruling party propose higher new
target price for rice
2018/11/08 15:49
Article View Option
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South
Korea's government and ruling party said Thursday they will submit a raised
purchase price for harvested rice to the National Assembly.
The ruling Democratic Party and
the government said it set the target price at 196,000 won (US$175) per 80
kilograms of the staple grain harvested from 2018 to 2022, slightly higher than
the originally proposed 188,000 won.
Agriculture minister Lee Gae-ho
earlier said the price should be over 194,000 won to reflect the country's
inflation rate over the past five years, while agriculture associations
demanded the price be set at over 200,000 won.
The price is adjusted every five
years to serve as a benchmark when the government calculates subsidies for
local farmers. It needs parliamentary approval before taking effect.
In South Korea, the government
annually purchases homegrown rice to stabilize a domestic market plagued by
chronic oversupply and provide subsidies to rice farmers.
The supply glut comes as a
growing number of South Koreans have been reducing their rice intake and
diversifying their diets with alternatives like wheat, barley, beans and corn.
The government's rice stockpile
reached 1.86 million tons in 2017, more than double the target level of 800,000
tons, the ministry said. It expressed concerns over the supply glut and the
associated rise in storage costs.
A shopper passes by the rice section in a large discount chain
in Seoul on Oct. 22, 2018. (Yonhap)
Philippines
seeking 203,000 tonnes of rice from state sellers
November 9, 2018 - 4:39 PM
A volunteer operates a crate lifter to carry sacks of rice for
victims of Super Typhoon Mangkhut at the Department of Social Welfare and
Development, National Relief Operations Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila, in
Philippines, September 17, 2018. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)
HAMBURG — The Philippines‘ National Food Authority has issued a
new international tender to state-owned agencies only to purchase up to 203,000
tonnes of rice, European traders said on Thursday.
The rice is sought for December
arrival.
The new tender continues a recent
surge in rice purchasing by the Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Oct.
9 scrapped 20-year-old import restrictions on rice to combat soaring prices by
increasing domestic supplies. Rising rice prices have contributed to increased
inflation in the country.
The authority on Nov. 1 also
issued a separate tender to both private trading companies and state sellers to
buy up to 500,000 tonnes of rice closing on Nov. 20.
Traders said the new tender for
203,000 tonnes involved offers being submitted on Nov. 13 to Nov. 14. “The
precise date is unclear so far,” a trader said.
A previous tender from the Philippines issued to state sellers only
ended without success when Vietnam and Thailand declined to offer.
The new 203,000-tonne tender
seeks well milled, long grain white rice of 25 percent broken grade. It is
sought in sacks in break-bulk shipment.
Some 50,000 tonnes was sought for
arrival in the Philippines by Dec. 15
and 153,000 tonnes by Dec. 31.
Unloading is sought in a series
of ports in the Philippines.
“The Philippines,
although in need of rice is being tough on prices which has made it difficult
to agree purchases lately,” one European trader said. “But 12 rice trading
houses attended the pre-bidding meeting for the private tender for 500,000
tonnes which closes on Nov. 20 so I think there is good interest among private
sellers.” — Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Mark
Potter
India rice
export prices driven up by higher local rates
NOVEMBER 8, 2018
Sumita Layek
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice export
prices in India recovered this week from their lowest in 21-months on increased
rates for local paddy, while trade was muted in Vietnam and Thailand as traders
waited for fresh orders from the Philippines.Labourers remove dried grass from
a rice field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, August 30, 2016. Picture
taken August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo
Top exporter India’s 5 percent
broken parboiled variety was quoted around $362-$369 per tonne this week,
versus $361-$367 last week, the lowest since January 2017.
Supplies from the new season crop
have started but are expensive due to the hike in government-fixed buying
prices, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.The
government in July raised prices paid to local farmers for common grade paddy
rice by 13 percent from a year ago to 1,750 rupees per 100 kg for the new
season crop.
The country’s production of
summer-sown rice is estimated to grow 1.8 percent this year to 99.24 million
tonnes.In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices stood at $380-$398
per tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, only a slight change from last week’s
$380-$400, as demand remained flat with no fresh overseas orders, traders said.“The
market still expects orders from countries like the Philippines before the end
of the year but so far things are fairly quiet,” a Bangkok-based rice trader
said.
“I think prices will likely drop towards the end of November and
start of December, a period when we are expecting new harvest,” another trader
in Bangkok said, adding lower prices could in turn attract fresh orders.
The Thai government remains
confident that the country could reach its 11 million tonne rice export target
before year-end.In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice edged up to
$415-$420 a tonne from $410-$415 a week earlier, but trade remained quiet.
“We have heard the Philippines will
reopen another bidding round for over 200,000 tonnes on Nov. 14, after failing
to secure offers from Vietnam and Thailand recently,” a trader based in Ho Chi
Minh City said. “I don’t think the next bidding round will have any impact on
prices of Vietnamese rice given that rates are already high. Vietnam didn’t
offer (during the last round) on Nov 6 because the import terms were more
stringent.”
Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in
Bangkok, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Arpan
Varghese and Kirsten Donovan
Farm exports go past $9 billion mark in H1
Higher pricing lifts export value despite
drop in volumes
BENGALURU, NOVEMBER 8
Higher price realisations for
commodities such as rice and buffalo meat, despite a decline in volumes, have
helped push up farm product exports in dollar value terms for the
April-September period in the current financial year over the corresponding
period last year.
Total value of shipments under
Apeda’s product portfolio exceeded the $9 billion mark for the said period. In
rupee terms, the value of the shipments registered an increase of 8.9 per cent
aided by a weak currency at ₹61,789 crore (₹56,741 last year).
Despite a dip in volumes on
account of a slowdown in purchases by key buyer Iran, basmati rice exports in
value terms were up by about 6 per cent in dollar terms and around 12 per cent
in rupee terms on higher pricing. Iran had imposed a ban on basmati imports
from late July to protect its domestic growers.
The average realisations for
basmati were higher at $1,082 per tonne as against $997 in the corresponding
period of the previous year. In rupee terms, basmati rice exports stood
at ₹15,331 as against ₹13,706 crore.
Like basmati, non-basmati rice
shipments also suffered a slowdown on account of higher duty imposed by
Bangladesh and reduced purchases from African countries. However, the average
per-unit realisation was higher at $411 per tonne as against $407 in the
corresponding of the previous year. A similar trend was also witnessed in
buffalo meat shipments during the period.
Basmati is the largest product in
Apeda’s product portfolio, accounting for a 25 per cent share of total
earnings, followed by buffalo meat at 21 per cent and non-basmati rice at 17
per cent.
However, categories such as
pulses, fresh vegetables and dairy products witnessed a different trend,
wherein the volumes grew but the average per-unit realisations were down on
account of a dip in prices.
Pulses realisation down
The average realisation for
pulses saw a major decline of around 40 per cent during the first half this
year at $901 per tonne as against $1,512 in the corresponding previous year.
However, export volumes of pulses have more than doubled.
Similarly, average realisations
for fresh vegetables were down marginally, at $266 per tonne ($272) and for
dairy products at $2721 per tonne ($2,755).
Interestingly, exports of guargum
grew both in volumes and value during the period. The per-unit realisation for
guargum increased to $1,340 per tonne as against $1,254 in the corresponding
period last year.
South Africa Trade Mission Taps New Markets
By Sarah Moran
JOHANNESBURG/CAPE
TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA -- Last week USA Rice participated in a Trade Mission here
led by Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney
and organized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Thirty-four U.S. companies and cooperator groups attended, as well as leaders
from the Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota, and Utah Departments
of Agriculture.
The mission was based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but participants had the opportunity to engage with potential customers from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
"This trade mission is part of USDA's continuing effort to tap into new markets for U.S. agricultural products," McKinney said. "The Southern Africa region is typically a net importer of agricultural goods, but the majority of those imports currently come from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in Africa. We are excited about the potential to grow the United States' market share and cultivate new customers for high-quality, cost-competitive U.S. food and farm products."
"Rice consumption is fairly stable in South Africa with total rice imports exceeding one million MT in 2017," said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, who was on the trade mission. "The market is dominated by Thai rice with 77 percent market share, followed by India with 17 percent. However, in high end supermarkets there is a wide variety of rice types available including long grain milled and parboiled, as well as medium grain, brown, and fragrant rice types and wild rice mixes."
South Africa was a major importer of U.S. parboiled rice in the 1990s before sales shifted to Asian origins in the early 2000s. In 2017 U.S. rice sales totaled 800 MT, with a value of $736,000.
"South Africa is a price sensitive market, as are all other markets in the region," said Somogyi. "But there is always demand by higher income groups for high quality food products, which is where the opportunity for different U.S. rice types, including long and medium grain rice, can be found."
During the trip with McKinney, Somogyi expressed appreciation to USDA for helping to mitigate the impact of the retaliatory tariffs and trade tensions by organizing trade missions as well as through the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program, where USA Rice has submitted several innovative ideas to find new markets and to expand existing markets for increased U.S. rice sales.
The mission was based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but participants had the opportunity to engage with potential customers from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
"This trade mission is part of USDA's continuing effort to tap into new markets for U.S. agricultural products," McKinney said. "The Southern Africa region is typically a net importer of agricultural goods, but the majority of those imports currently come from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in Africa. We are excited about the potential to grow the United States' market share and cultivate new customers for high-quality, cost-competitive U.S. food and farm products."
"Rice consumption is fairly stable in South Africa with total rice imports exceeding one million MT in 2017," said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, who was on the trade mission. "The market is dominated by Thai rice with 77 percent market share, followed by India with 17 percent. However, in high end supermarkets there is a wide variety of rice types available including long grain milled and parboiled, as well as medium grain, brown, and fragrant rice types and wild rice mixes."
South Africa was a major importer of U.S. parboiled rice in the 1990s before sales shifted to Asian origins in the early 2000s. In 2017 U.S. rice sales totaled 800 MT, with a value of $736,000.
"South Africa is a price sensitive market, as are all other markets in the region," said Somogyi. "But there is always demand by higher income groups for high quality food products, which is where the opportunity for different U.S. rice types, including long and medium grain rice, can be found."
During the trip with McKinney, Somogyi expressed appreciation to USDA for helping to mitigate the impact of the retaliatory tariffs and trade tensions by organizing trade missions as well as through the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) program, where USA Rice has submitted several innovative ideas to find new markets and to expand existing markets for increased U.S. rice sales.
USA
Rice Daily
WASDE Report Released
WASHINGTON, DC -- This month's outlook for 2018/19 U.S. rice is
for fractionally higher supplies, reduced exports, and higher ending
stocks. The NASS November Crop Production report indicated 2018/19 rice
production is lowered slightly from the previous forecast to 218.3 million cwt
with California accounting for the entire reduction. The average all rice
yield is reduced 17 pounds to 7,522 pounds per acre. Despite lower
production, supplies still increased as imports are forecast up 1 million cwt
to a record of 28 million on higher medium- and short-grain imports into Puerto
Rico. The all rice export forecast is lowered 2 million cwt to 96 million
with all of the reduction in long-grain on continued strong competition in
Western Hemisphere markets from South American suppliers. All rice ending
stocks are increased 2.5 million cwt to 46.7 million and are 59 percent higher
than 2017/18. The projected 2018/19 all rice season-average farm price
(SAFP) is raised this month $0.30 per cwt at the midpoint to a range of $11.50
to $12.50, as a higher projected medium- and short-grain SAFP more than offsets
a lower long-grain SAFP.
Global 2018/19 rice supplies are increased by 17.7 million tons to 651.4 million, mostly due to revisions for China. USDA incorporated China's NBS rice production revisions from 2007/08 through 2017/18, which consequently raised its supplies over this multi-year period. The cumulative increases in China's ending stocks result in the large upward adjustment in 2018/19 global supplies. Additionally, China's 2018/19 production forecast is raised on larger harvested area, reflecting the NBS revisions for prior years. Global consumption is fractionally lower at 488.4 million tons as reductions in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are not completely offset by increases in other countries. World trade is lowered 600,000 tons to 48.9 million on reduced exports for India, Argentina, and the United States. Global ending stocks are raised 17.8 million tons to a record 163 million with China now accounting for 69 percent of 2018/19 world stocks, compared to 66 percent last month.
Go here to read the full report.
Global 2018/19 rice supplies are increased by 17.7 million tons to 651.4 million, mostly due to revisions for China. USDA incorporated China's NBS rice production revisions from 2007/08 through 2017/18, which consequently raised its supplies over this multi-year period. The cumulative increases in China's ending stocks result in the large upward adjustment in 2018/19 global supplies. Additionally, China's 2018/19 production forecast is raised on larger harvested area, reflecting the NBS revisions for prior years. Global consumption is fractionally lower at 488.4 million tons as reductions in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are not completely offset by increases in other countries. World trade is lowered 600,000 tons to 48.9 million on reduced exports for India, Argentina, and the United States. Global ending stocks are raised 17.8 million tons to a record 163 million with China now accounting for 69 percent of 2018/19 world stocks, compared to 66 percent last month.
Go here to read the full report.
USA Rice Daily
Fearing losses, Sangrur millers too refuse to
stock paddy
Nov 9, 2018, 1:56 AM; last updated: Nov 9, 2018,
1:56 AM (IST
Parvesh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, November 8
Many rice millers of the district have stopped
the stocking of paddy as they allege that the moisture content is above 20 per
cent whereas the permissible limit is 17 per cent.
“Around 300
millers of Sangrur have decided against the stocking of paddy, which is being
purchased in various grain markets of the district as its moisture content is
between 20 to 25 per cent. If we all stock paddy with moisture content higher
than the permissible limit of 17 per cent, it would cause huge losses to us,”
said Rajnish Kansal, state media incharge of Rice Millers Association, Punjab.
Kansal alleged that at many places, the
officers concerned of various purchase agencies were missing and arhtiyas were
weighing the paddy without checking the moisture content.
Some farmers
sitting in the Sangrur grain market alleged that the delay in sowing paddy had
delayed its harvest and now, the moisture content had increased.
“Had the
government not pressured farmers to delay the sowing of paddy, the moisture
would not have crossed the permissible limit. Its not our fault, it is the
fault of the state government so it must give us relaxation in this regard,”
said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the BKU Ugrahan.
The coordination
committee of all purchase agencies met Sangrur Deputy Commissioner (DC)
Ghanshayam Thori on Friday and submitted a letter, demanding a solution for the
problem. In the letter, purchase agency employees have alleged that the
moisture content in paddy had reached 25 per cent and there was tension in
grain markets as arhtiyas were weighing paddy with high moisture content while
rice millers were refusing to stock this paddy.
The DC said the
administration would take all required steps for the safety of purchase agency
officers.
“Normally, up to
22 per cent moisture gets reduced to the permissible 17 per cent during a
48-hour lifting period. We have been appealing to farmers to not bring paddy
with moisture content beyond 22 per cent,” said the DC.
Rice farmers
fault Atiku, USDA on importation
Rice importation not increasing – Farmers
By Ginika Okoye
Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria (RIFAN) has faulted and described as `fraud’, the publication quoted by
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that rice importation increased in 2018 when compared to
previous years.
The Presidential Candidate of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP), had quoted United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) World Market and Trade (USDA) report that the three million
tonnes rice importation was 400,000 tonnes more than the quantity of rice
imported in 2017.
The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) World Market and Trade Report alleged that Nigeria imported
three million tonnes of rice in 2018.
But Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, the
National President of RIFAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on
Thursday that the publication was meant to create fake impression.
Goronyo said that local rice
production as at 2018 stood at nine million tonnes while the annual consumption
capacity in the country was between 7.5 and 8.5 million tonnes.
He appreciated the efforts of the
Federal Government through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to reduce rice
smuggling, noting that it had yielded fruitful results.
“If there is anybody that will
speak on the availability or in-availability of rice, it should be my
association.
“Those people making those
publications are enemies of the efforts the government is making to feed its
people with locally produced rice.
“We have never done well in rice
in the past 20 to 30 years than what we produced this year.
“You know that there was a flood
but had it been there was no flood, we cultivated more than 15 million tonnes
but even with the flood, our farmers are happy, they are harvesting currently
for those that were not affected.
“The minimum we are expecting
after harvest is about nine million metric tonnes even with the flood and our
consumption capacity is between 7.5 and 8.5 million metric tonnes per annum.
“So you can see that even with
the flood that affected our farmers, we still have more than enough rice to
consume in Nigeria.
“We were used to taking our huge
money outside and throw it to local farmers in other countries and create job
opportunities, wealth and make other countries economic viable.
“The government is not only using
the customs to enforce laws on rice importation and smuggling but also using
primary producers which are farmers by providing all necessary input at a
subsidised rate to make rice affordable and available in Nigeria,’’ he
explained.
The national president said that
rice farmers would also begin the cultivation of rice for the dry season by the
end of November.
He disclosed that farmers were
also expecting a minimum of nine million tonnes from the dry season farming
rice cultivation.
Goronyo commended the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for providing inputs and
mechanisation services to help farmers increase production.
On the high price of locally
produced rice, he said that farmers and millers were making efforts to ensure
price control of the product.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is
providing inputs and mechanisation services to rice farmers.
“The price of rice from the
millers is still between N13, 500 and N14, 500 per 50 kg bag.
“We produce and sell at
affordable price, millers sell at affordable price but when it goes to the
market, the price becomes exorbitant.
“That is why we are making
efforts to see that we have control over this kind of price inflation. We
should help our country to progress,’’ he said.
RiceBran to
acquire Arkansas milling facility
11.07.2018
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — RiceBran
Technologies on Nov. 5 exercised its option to acquire the assets and
operations of Golden Ridge Rice Mills’ milling facility in Wynne, Ark. Total
consideration of the transaction is expected to be approximately $7 million to
$8 million, with newly issued shares of RBT accounting for slightly more than
half of the transaction and the assumption of debt for the remainder.
“We believe we are paying a
mid-single digit multiple of enterprise value to EBITDA based on our current
expectations for Golden Ridge’s operations,” RiceBran said. “We estimate that
Golden Ridge’s operations will add approximately $20 million in sales as well
as meaningful EBITDA in 2019 with significant room for expansion of stabilized
rice bran (S.R.B.) production. We expect this mill to be an important component
of our S.R.B. supply in the Arkansas region while providing us with a platform
to develop new products derived from S.R.B. to expand our growth
opportunities.”
RiceBran entered into an S.R.B.
supply agreement with Golden Ridge Rice Mills in July. The three-year supply
agreement calls for Golden Ridge to supply RiceBran with (and RiceBran to
purchase) at least 9.6 million lbs of S.R.B. annually, which would represent a
32% increase in the company’s S.R.B. supply when compared to the total 2017
S.R.B. production volume.
As part of the supply agreement,
RiceBran secured a six-month option to purchase Golden Ridge’s milling assets.
Now that RiceBran has exercised that option, the company will have 120 days
from the exercise date to complete the purchase of the milling business assets.
Brent Rystrom, chief operating
officer and chief financial officer, in July said the potential acquisition of
Golden Ridge’s rice milling operation would give RiceBran a permanent physical
presence to locate additional product and production capabilities.
“We believe owning and
operating mills will become an important part of our operating model going
forward in addition to maintaining and building our partnerships with non-owned
mills,” he said.
News of the Golden Ridge mill
acquisition came the same day RiceBran issued third-quarter financial results.
RiceBran sustained a loss of
$1,627,000 in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, which compared with income of
$3,299,000, equal to 30c per share on the common stock, in the same period a
year ago. Net sales were virtually unchanged, increasing to $3,463,000 from
$3,445,000. RiceBran said growth has been constrained by the lingering effects
of supply chain disruptions at its facility in Mermantau, La.
“Third-quarter adjusted
EBITDA showed improvement compared to second quarter 2018, as our Mermentau,
La., facility restarted production during the quarter, helping to reduce the
higher freight costs associated with shipping from our California facilities,”
RiceBran said. “Gross margins continued to be negatively impacted by higher
freight costs, reduced production at our Dillon, Mont., facility due to a large
capital expenditures project related to attaining plant certification that is
expected to be completed late in the fourth quarter of this year, as well as an
approximately 18% increase in raw bran prices.”
RiceBran said it now expects 2018
annual revenue to range from $14.5 million to $15.5 million, up from previous
guidance of $14 million to $15 million.
NFA holds
pre-bid conference for 500K MT rice import
November 7, 2018
49
MANILA — A total of 12 rice suppliers from Asian countries attended
a pre-bidding conference on Wednesday at the National Meat Inspection Service
(NMIS) auditorium along Visayas Ave. in Quezon City for the government’s rice
importation program.
The importation is for 500,000
metric tons of 25-percent broken, long grain white rice, as additional
government buffer stock.
The National Food Authority (NFA)
conducted the pre-bidding conference to allow prospective bidders to clarify
the provisions of the Terms of Reference (TOR) covering the importation.
The opening of bids is set for
November 20.
The 500,000 MT is divided into
nine lots, with 14 designated discharge ports as follows: Subic — 118,000 MT;
Manila — 75,000 MT; La Union — 65,000 MT; Batangas — 40,000 MT; General Santos
City — 32,500; Tabaco — 30,000 MT; Cagayan De Oro — 26,700 MT; Cebu — 25,000
MT; Iloilo — 20,000 MT; Tacloban — 20,000 MT; Zamboanga — 17,300 MT; Davao —
12,500 MT; Surigao — 10,000 MT; and Bacolod — 8,000 MT.
The first half or 250,000 MT
should be delivered not later than Dec. 31, while the remaining 250,000 MT
should arrive in the country not later than Jan. 31, 2019.
The NFA Council has approved the
importation of an additional 500,000 MT on top of the previous two batches of
250,000 MT rice imports delivered between June and October, and the 250,000 MT
offered for bids last Sept. 18, where only three suppliers won the award for
47,000 MT.
Another bidding for the remaining
203,000 MT will be scheduled, as the second bidding conducted on Tuesday under
a government to government scheme failed to attract offers from the governments
of Vietnam and Thailand, the only countries with a Memorandum of Agreement for
Rice Trade with the Philippines.
The series of rice importations
by the NFA is intended to continuously replenish the NFA’s buffer stocks, in
line with the President’s directive for the government to have sufficient food
stocks at all times. (PR/PNA)
Vietnam Rice Festival 2018
to take place in Long An in December
Wednesday, November 07, 2018 13:12
The third Vietnam Rice Festival will be held in Tan An city, in the
Mekong River Delta province of Long An, from December 18 - 24, as heard at a
press conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 6.
Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)
The logo of Vietnam's national rice
brand will be announced at the opening ceremony for the festival.
The festival will feature numerous
activities, including a rice contest, an exhibition on Vietnamese rice exports
and a number of important seminars.
The festival aims to provide trade
promotion solutions in the field of agriculture and rural development, as well
as support enterprises and farmers in their operations, contributing to
improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice in the world market.
The event also offers an opportunity
for managers, businesses, scientists and farmers to approach and update market
information and advanced technologies in rice production and business from
around the world.
Over 400 organisations and
enterprises across the country have registered to take part in the third
Vietnam Rice Festival.
The first and second editions of the
festival were held in Hau Giang province in 2009 and in Soc Trang province in
2011, respectively.
Northern
localities work hard to improve rice productivity
Illustrative
photo (Photo: VNA)Nam Dinh (VNA) – Vietnam’s northern region harvested some 5.6 million tonnes of rice during the summer-autumn crop, up more than 320,000 tonnes from the same period last year, heard a recent conference.
Tran Xuan Dinh, deputy head of the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said at the conference that each hectare of rice produces an average of 5 tonnes, up 0.35 tonne against 2017.
Since the beginning of this year, the localities have shifted over 10,480 hectares of rice to other crops, a year-on-year rise of 1,800 hectares, the official said.
As of early October 2018, the northern provinces had cultivated nearly 280,000 hectares of vegetables, mostly corn, sweet potato, soybean and peanut, he added.
Many localities have applied science and technology in production, Dinh said, taking the organic rice farming model in Hanoi’s Chuong My district and the rice production-consumption chain in Nam Dinh province which have yielded high economic values as examples.
It is forecast that the region will face water shortages during the upcoming winter-spring crop.
Given this, northern midland and mountainous provinces have taken the initiative in shifting rice cultivation to other crops.
Apart from forming large-scale rice fields, regional localities have also continued with technological application in production in order to raise productivity and quality.
MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh urged cities and provinces to roll out preferential policies and incentives to attract investors in agriculture and rural areas, while developing linkage chains among farmers as well as between farmers and businesses to ensure markets for local products.
He also suggested expanding services of enterprises, cooperatives and farmers’ groups in the supply of varieties, materials and pesticide, and irrigation to cut production cost and improve efficiency.
The region is expected to cultivate more than 1.1 million hectares of rice and garner some 7.2 million tonnes in the upcoming winter-spring crop.-VNA
A
tourist enjoys the scenery of Ban Pha Mon’s beautiful rice terraces.
GRAINS of life
lifestyle November 09, 2018 01:00
By Jintana Panyaarvudh
The Nation
Chom Thong, Chiang Mai
The Nation
Chom Thong, Chiang Mai
A small Karen village in the Chiang Mai hills
sets out to draw visitors with its new farmer-based tourism initiative
For most of us, especially in Asia, rice is an integral part of
our culinary traditions and our diet. It’s a staple too for the Pga K’nyau
residents of Ban Pha Mon but to these ethnic Karen people, the grain itself
means so much more.
Located in Chiang Mai’s Doi Inthanon National Park, seven
kilometres off the main highway, the small rural community of Ban Pha Mon is
home to Pga K’nyau Karen who migrated from China and Myanmar and settled down
in this village in Chom Thong District more than 130 years ago.
Farmers harvest rice as the sun bathes the fields in gold
A breathtaking sea of terraced rice fields and the mountains in
the background have turned Pha Mon into something of a tourist attraction since
it became part of a community-based tourism initiative more than 10 years
ago.
More recently, the villagers have been conducting further research
into ways they can use their strongest point – the stunning rice terraces– to
draw more tourists to their home.
“We have a bond with rice. Rice is our life, spirit, and soul.
Rice is more valuable than money. If you don’t eat rice you will die,” says
Boonta Pharueksachimpli, one of the village leaders.
“Every seed [of rice] has its life. It dies three times a year to
feed humans,” he adds.
After harvesting, farmers thrash the rice to separate the paddy
from the plant.
According to Pga K’nyau beliefs, the rice dies the first time when
it is sown in the field, a second time when it is harvested and a third time
when it is cooked, Boonta explains.
Legend has it that a millionaire and a widow argued over whether
rice or money was the most important thing in life. The millionaire gave
priority to money while the widow believed rice was more important.
One day, the son of the millionaire cried so hard that the father
soaked some money in water and had his son drink the water. But still the boy
cried. The father later saw rice immersed in water and brought the rice for his
son to eat. And the son stopped crying.
Karen women demonstrate how to make “Khao Mud”, a local rice-based
dessert.
The Karen have been planting rice ever since and have always given
priority to the crop.
With a population of 645, Pha Mon village currently has around 264
rai of rice fields. The community produce some 10,000 tons a year, most of it
for local consumption, with the balance sold to the Hmong people, another ethnic
group living in north of Thailand.
Boonta Pharueksachimpli, second left, and Pha Mon’s research team.
Here, perhaps more than elsewhere, the farmers pay attention to
every step of the crop cycle from the preparation of the earth, to sowing and
growth, Boonta says.
Before they even start, the farmers conduct more than 30 elaborate
procedures along with spiritual rites, he adds.
For example, they will select one member, who they believe will be
able to get a good yield, as the leader to take charge of all the processes
that year.
A sign reading “Ban Pha Mon, a model village for farmer-based
tourism” at the entrance to the village
Then they must choose the most auspicious day of the week to start
planting.
That choice is based on the day that delivered the best-growing
rice seedling during the experimental planting they organise ahead of the
season.
In Thailand’s central and northeast regions, two to three crops
are usually planted during the year but here too the Karen are an exception,
planting rice just once in the 12-month cycle.
“Our rice grows for six months. We start to plant from end of May
and harvest in October to early November,” says Boonta, who last year led a
group of villagers to conduct research into using rice to promote tourism under
the farmer-based tourism scheme. Under this initiative, villagers will organise
tour programmes that focus on the farmer’s way of life.
A friendly Pga K’nyau grandma in traditional dress laughs as she
watches the visitors
The research for the farmer-based tourism project, which was
launched last year, is supported by the Thailand Research Fund [TRF]’s
community-based research division and is aimed at empowering and strengthening
villagers and farmers through research as well as through using tourism to
generate extra income to elevate their quality of life.
Ban Pha Mon is one of 10 communities in the pilot project and TRF
anticipates that villagers and farmers could earn between Bt500,000 to
Bt700,000 per year from tourism, with each household benefiting from no less
than Bt35,000 annually.
After a year of studying and collecting information, Boonta and
his team could see that their village has the potential for farmer-based
tourism.
They can trace back their rice history through eight species, showcase
some ancient farming tools as well as the rituals and local wisdom used in the
planting of rice terraces and demonstrate the evolution in the way of rice
planting.
The researchers are now in the process of finalising the design of
route trips and rice walking tours and expect to launch the tour programme for
tourists next year before the next planting starts.
The tentative walking route will start from the rice terrace where
tourists will learn how the farmers plant and harvest the rice and even have a
go at it themselves.
Visitors will also witness the spiritual rites conducted before
and during planting, as well as after harvesting to protect the crop from
dangers caused by nature and humans.
Along the route, tourists will be able to learn about the ecology
as well as about the herbs and plants the villagers use to cure certain
ailments.
Demonstrations of how the rice is processed into other products,
including desserts, will also be included.
Tourists can choose to stay overnight in a villager’s home to
fully immerse themselves in community life. Numbers will however be limited to
no more than 20 visitors a day.
“Bue Pha Doh” rice is the most popular rice species among the
Karen.
Revenue sharing will use the same model as the community-based tourism
scheme, with those earning income for the tourism services allocating some five
to 10 per cent to the commune for public interest spending, including
scholarships for students, healthcare for the elderly and building firebreaks.
“The Karen have a unique way of planting and thinking about their
rice. To them, rice is like God. They believe people eat the ‘virtue’ or
‘value’ of rice,” says Somkid Kaewtip, dean of the School of Administrative
Studies at Maejo University and an adviser to the TRF’s research division.
The research findings will also change the way others perceive
rice, he adds.
“Their ‘ways of rice’ are closely linked to their way of life. So
understanding their way of planting rice will help outsiders enjoy a better
understanding of the Karen,” Somkid says.
IF YOU GO
- Ban Pha Mon is located in Chiang Mai’s Doi Intanon National
Park, seven kilometres off the main highway and about 90km from downtown Chiang
Mai.
- To arrange a visit, call (081) 166 4344 or join the conversation
at Facebook/baan.phamon.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/thailand/30358224
A tourist enjoys the scenery of Ban Pha Mon’s beautiful rice
terraces.
GRAINS of life
lifestyle
“Bue Pha Doh” rice is the most
popular rice species among the Karen.
Revenue sharing will use the same
model as the community-based tourism scheme, with those earning income for the
tourism services allocating some five to 10 per cent to the commune for public
interest spending, including scholarships for students, healthcare for the
elderly and building firebreaks.
“The Karen have a unique way of
planting and thinking about their rice. To them, rice is like God. They believe
people eat the ‘virtue’ or ‘value’ of rice,” says Somkid Kaewtip, dean of the
School of Administrative Studies at Maejo University and an adviser to the TRF’s
research division.
The research findings will also
change the way others perceive rice, he adds.
“Their ‘ways of rice’ are closely
linked to their way of life. So understanding their way of planting rice will
help outsiders enjoy a better understanding of the Karen,” Somkid says.
NEF signs deal with IRRI to
distribute rice seeds among farmers
·
UNB NEWS
·
PUBLISH DATE - NOVEMBER 08,
2018, 08:15 PM
·
UPDATE DATE - NOVEMBER 08,
2018, 09:19 PM
Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza speaks at a program at
the IRRI Bangladesh Office (IBO) in the capital on Thursday. Photo: UNB
Dhaka, Nov 8 (UNB) – Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza
has expressed the hope that the philanthropic activities of Narail Express
Foundation (NEF) will inspire all to come forward to ensure country’s overall
betterment.
“I serve the country. But I prefer the overall development of
Narail as I hail from there. I want to make it as an iconic organisation so that
all people are inspired by its activities and come forward with the same
initiatives in their localities,” said the inspirational iconic
cricketer.
He said this after an agreement was signed between the NEF and the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at the IRRI Bangladesh Office
(IBO) in the capital on Thursday.
Mashrafe signed the deal as the NEF chairman while Dr Humnath
Bhandari as IRRI Representative of Bangladesh.
The deal is an initiative of
cooperation to promote and disseminate five tonnes improved varieties and
quality rice seeds among selected 1,000 farmers of three upazilas of Narail for
augmenting the rice production in the country’s southwestern district.
The 35-year-old cricketer said many farmers of the country are losing interest in farming and instead migrating to cities due to low income.
The 35-year-old cricketer said many farmers of the country are losing interest in farming and instead migrating to cities due to low income.
Terming the deal ‘a great opportunity’ to work with farmers and
agronomists, he said, “We want to connect people, providing them what we have,
receiving donation irrespective of small or big.”
“We’ll make something good for farmers who work hard day and night
to grow food for the country. Hope we can be inspired by them,” Mashrafe added.
BRRI Director General Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir and NEF Secretary
Tarikul Islam Anik also spoke on the occasion.
The seed distribution will begin on November 12 among the
low-income farmers from Narail Sadar in association with NEF partner IBO and
its National Agricultural Research and Extension System (NARES).
The NEF has already selected the beneficiary farmers before the
2018-2019 Boro season in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural
Extension (DAE) and IBO.
IBO also extended its hand to
provide technical support through a Training of Trainers (ToT) while BRRI,
BINA, ACI are facilitating the supply of seeds.
The NEF has established volunteer network in Narail district for fulfilling various socio-cultural agenda -- enhancing civil facilities, emphasising on specialised education system, introducing humane education at schools, eradicating unemployment, increasing cultural activities, providing various trainings on sports, making attractive tourist spots centring the Chitra River, transforming the district town into an ICT one and making an entertainment-friendly city.
The NEF has established volunteer network in Narail district for fulfilling various socio-cultural agenda -- enhancing civil facilities, emphasising on specialised education system, introducing humane education at schools, eradicating unemployment, increasing cultural activities, providing various trainings on sports, making attractive tourist spots centring the Chitra River, transforming the district town into an ICT one and making an entertainment-friendly city.
DA
promotes brown rice consumption
By: Emme
Rose Santiagudo
THE Department of Agriculture (DA)
Region 6-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is promoting brown rice
consumption to the public.
During the launching of the 2018
National Rice Awareness Month celebration at SM City Iloilo Northpoint Activity
Center on Nov 5, 2018, DA Regional Executive Director Remelyn Recoter said that
public awareness of brown rice is slowly increasing.
“Increasing ang awareness, kay damo
na gapangita brown rice. With the current situation nga damo
na mga health conscious consuming public, gusto
man nila magkaon brown rice,” Recoter said.
Recoter added that compared to
well-milled rice, brown rice is healthier because of its additional nutrients.
According to Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice), is naturally superior to white rice in terms of
fiber, protein, good fats, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B9, and E, minerals, and
antioxidants.
Clinical studies also show that
regular consumption of whole-grain cereals, including brown or whole rice, may
help reduce the risks of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
While many consumers are confused
with the variety of brown rice, PhilRice emphasized that brown rice is actually
not a variety but just rough rice (palay) without the outer covering or husk.
When it comes to production, brown
rice is environmentally friendly and energy efficient because 50-65% is saved
on fuel since the polishing and whitening steps are eliminated.
Brown rice production also puts
more value to the produce of the farmers through its heavier weight, thereby
boosting their income.
Eating brown rice can also help
achieve rice self-sufficiency because of its 10% higher milling recovery.
In terms of supply, Recoter said
that the rice processing complex situated in Brgy. Amamaros, Pototan, Iloilo
has the capacity to mill brown
rice once there are orders.
“There are brown rice produces in
the province of Iloilo and we give priority interventions to them,” she added.
UPLB, Searca stage nutrition-sensitive agriculture
conference
Tagaytay—Realizing
the important role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA), the University of
the Philippines Los Baños Interdisciplinary Studies Center on Food and
Nutrition Security has convened an International Conference on NSA and Food
Systems.
This
conference aims to contribute to improving food security and health outcomes,
through production of diverse, safe and nutrient-rich food. It started
Wednesday and ends Sunday at the Development Academy of the Philippines in this
city.
Themed
“Strategic Approaches to Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Food Systems in
Southeast Asia”, the conference is in partnership with the Southeast Asian
Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Philippines, and Cavite
State University.
Searca
said the conference aims to increase awareness of various sectors on the nature
and scope of NSA, to identify the opportunities, challenges and issues
involving NSA in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, and to formulate
polices and strategies to enhance NSA in relation to food and nutrition
security.
In
line with its Umbrella Program on Food and Nutrition Security in Southeast
Asia, Searca is organizing the plenary session on case studies on integrating
nutrition into agriculture.
The
session will focus on lessons that can be drawn from success stories of addressing
nutrition across the different stages of the food system.
Topics
in this plenary session will be discussed by experts from various parts of the
world. Dr. Marco Wopereis, Director General of the World Vegetable Center, will
talk about mobilizing the nutritional power of vegetables.
Dr.
Leila S. Africa, Director and Professor of the UPLB College of Human
Ecology-Institute of Human Nutrition and Food will present outcomes of
Promoting Nutrition-Sensitive School Gardens and Feeding Programs through the
School-Plus-Home-Gardens Project: The Case of Laguna, Philippines.
Dr.
Wei Fang, Director of the Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment
Agriculture and Professor of Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering of the
National Taiwan University, will discuss how plant factories in Taiwan to
promote food and nutrition security in an urban setting.
Emily
Monville Oro, Country Director, and Dr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Program
Advisor of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), will
speak on sustaining and scaling-up nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
Rizal
G. Corales, Program Lead, Integrated Rice-based Agribiosystems of the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), will elaborate on the case of
Palayamanan as a strategy to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
Dr.
Mallikarjuna Swamy, Scientist II-Rice Breeder (Biofortification) and Lead,
Healthier Rice Breeding Group of the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), will tackle achieving nutritional security through development of
healthier rice: progress and prospects.
The
plenary session is chaired by Shun-Nan Chiang, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of
Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz, who is also a Searca Visiting
Research Fellow. Dr. Pedcris Orencio, Searca’s Program Head for Research and
Development, will provide the session synthesis.
http://www.manilastandard.net/lgu/luzon/280009/uplb-searca-stage-nutrition-sensitive-agriculture-conference.html
