Wednesday, April 03, 2019

2nd April,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


2nd April,2019
Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Fatima AttarwalaUpdated April 01, 2019

AS Brexit continues to be debated by the UK parliament, questions regarding the future of Pakistan’s trade with the United Kingdom, and opportunities present in the exit, abound. While some exporters are optimistic or indifferent, others see dark clouds looming ahead. Description: https://i.dawn.com/large/2019/03/5ca02b5ba8a2a.jpg
Currently, Brexit is in confusion. Little-loved British Prime Minister Theresa May had gone as far as to offer to step down if her twice rejected Brexit deal was accepted. However, not only was this option not taken up, the parliament also failed to agree on any one of at least eight possible ways forward, which included giving up on Brexit altogether.
As the episode unrolls, it is desirable for Pakistan to keep an eye on proceedings. At $1.7 billion in 2018, as per the International Trade Centre, the UK is the third most important destination for Pakistani exports. Courtesy of the GSP Plus, products of Pakistan’s export interest are entitled to duty free treatment. Given the confusion surrounding Brexit, the impact on the country’s exports is unclear.
Other than a faint silver lining for rice, Pakistan and the UK’s export profiles are diametrically different. There appears to be little chance of Pakistan’s exports receiving a windfall in the form of Brexit
There appear to be mixed emotions amongst exporters regarding continuation of exports and opportunities present. The bulk of Pakistan’s exports to the European Union (including the UK) consist of textiles and rice. While there may be a mild opportunity for an increase in rice exports, textile exporters remain on the fence.
Know more: Brexit and Pakistan
“Though there is a big market for rice in Europe, we do not expect demand for Pakistani rice to be directly affected,” said Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Chairman Safdar Hussain Mehkri.
Part of the rice milling capacity in the UK is used to export to Europe. Right now it does not face any tariffs but it is likely that post-Brexit, rice going from the United Kingdom to Europe will face some duties.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s exports to the EU will continue to be given duty free access under GSP Plus. Therefore, if the cost of UK rice goes up, Pakistan’s rice exports may increase marginally to Europe, hoped Mr Mehkri.
On the other hand, the REAP chairman expected that some of the idle milling capacity in Europe may come into play as well since the UK’s share may decline. In that case, the market size will remain the same without any significant impact on rice.
Previously, Pakistan had been able to increase its share of Basmati exports to the EU as the Union had revised the maximum permissible residue level of Tricyclazole from 1mg per kg to 0.01 mg per kg.
As Tricyclazole is the cheapest and most widely used fungicide in India, its Basmati rice was restricted under the revision, allowing the only other Basmati rice producer, Pakistan, to step in. If the UK lowers its food standards post-Brexit, then the additional market share could be lost. However, as yet various ministers have reassured that standards will not be revised.
The opinions of textile exporters vary. Muhammad Abid Chinoy, manufacturer and exporter of fabric and home textiles was wary of the new procedures that may come in place post-Brexit.
“It is going to be a new story with new procedures in place. Previously, if our exports did not find a market in one country in the EU, we could send them to the UK and vice a versa. However, with new procedures, conforming will be an issue. We would have to unpack cartons and change stickers and that is too long and too arduous a process to be carried out,” he said.
However, Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association Muhammad Jawed Bilwani did not share Mr Chinoy’s opinion. While doubting whether Brexit would even take place, Mr Bilwani said that even if procedures change, our exporters are savvy enough to comply with new regulations.
“Bangladesh will lose its GSP status the same as Pakistan, while China does not benefit from GSP, so it is not like Pakistan’s competition will fundamentally change,” he said. Furthermore, trade with the UK is already in pound sterling rather than in euros so there will be no currency change either, he added.
Home textiles exporter Muhammad Ahsan Shah saw little change taking place post-Brexit. While there is central buying for most countries within the EU, the UK does not avail itself of the option. So for example, if Pakistan exports to Carrefour or Makro, orders for their UK outlets are handled separately from those going to other EU countries, he explained. Therefore, it is unlikely to disrupt the current export procedures.
The Brexit confusion persists but the UK government has given repeated assurances that Pakistan will continue to receive the same level of access it did under the GSP plus scheme. This renders null any need of a free trade agreement with the UK for preferential access.
While there are some fears that new, unexpected, regulations may create a learning curve for exporters that could adversely impact the trade balance, Mr Bilwani asserts that changes will take place gradually.
From the date of Brexit to Dec 31, 2020, the UK and the EU have agreed that no major changes will take place so that businesses may adjust. This transition period will allow Pakistani exporters to learn the ropes and adjust protocols accordingly as well.
It could be argued that imposition of tariffs by the EU on the Kingdom, if that is the road that is chosen, could provide an opportunity for Pakistan’s exports. However, other than a faint silver lining for rice, Pakistan and the UK’s export profiles are diametrically different so there appears to be little chance of exports receiving a windfall in the form of Brexit.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, April 1st, 2019
Pakistan to seek $1 bn export orders from China: Razak

Highlights

  • The much-awaited FTA-II, once it is signed, will help Pakistan double its exports to China
  • Pakistan will also place its request with Beijing seeking another $1 billion order for exports to China out of the FTA-II agreement
  • The exports to China currently stand at $1.2 billion which will surge to $2.4 billion after signing FTA-II
  •  
Description: https://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/akhbar/2019-04-01/451559_1767783_razak-dawood_akhbar.jpg
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China are set to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)-II when Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for Beijing on April 27 for three days wherein he will also attend the second OBOR (One Belt One Road) Forum for International Corporations. The much-awaited FTA-II, once it is signed, will help Pakistan double its exports to China, Razak Dawood, Adviser to PM on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment, told The News in an exclusive interview.
“Finance Secretary Younas Dagha and Commerce Secretary Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera will off to China on April 9 wherein they will hold talks with top Chinese officials on the initial FTA-II accord. However, on the sidelines of the OBOR Forum that will be attended by heads of states and delegates from over 100 countries, both the countries will ink the free trade accord-II in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jingping,” he said.
Pakistan will, the adviser disclosed, also place its request with top Chinese functionaries seeking another $1 billion order for exports to China out of the FTA-II agreement. Another $1 billion export order will help Pakistan triple its exports to China.
On November 9, 2018, he said, Beijing had placed the order with Islamabad of $1 billion exports to Chinese market. Under that particular order, Pakistan was to export sugar of 300,000 metric tonnes (MT), yarn 350,000 MT and rice 200,000 MT. Of $1 billion order, $300 million of rice and sugar will be exported by June 30, 2019. Almost 75 percent of the rice has been shipped and the rest of consignment will be completed by June 30, 2019. However, other consignments of sugar and yarn are to be executed by December 2019.
The exports to China currently stand at $1.2 billion which will surge to $2.4 billion after signing FTA-II, but out of second free trade deal, the target of export of $1 billion is to be executed by December, 2019 that will be followed by another $1 billion exports for which Pakistan will also request to China to extend order during the forthcoming visit.
About investment of $10 billion on establishing the deep conversion refinery and $1 billion on petro-chemical complex at Gwadar, Razak Dawood said that Pakistan experts’ delegation is to soon leave for Saudi Arabia to have interaction with their counterparts to discuss the technical issues and once the specifications are finalised, it will be easy to help Saudi Arabia assess the volume of investment that is exactly to be required for the both refinery and petro-chemical complex. However, he hoped that feasibility study by Saudi experts will be completed in 12 months.
When asked if Pakistan has initiated any endeavour to increase its export to Saudi Arabia, the adviser responded that Saudi Arabian counterpart has clearly said that if Pakistani entrepreneurs are ready to meet requirements of its tariff regime, which has not changed for the last 20 years and quality standards, his country’s doors are open. Now it is up to Pakistan’s entrepreneurs to make inroads for their products in Saudi Arabian market keeping in view the Saudi tariff regime and its quality standards.
About the recently signed MoUs with Malaysian companies, during the visit of Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad to Pakistan, the minister said that the said MoUs of $900 million are different as these were signed by private-to-private parties. The minister said he is 100 percent sure that MoUs valuing $900 million will be materialised and executed.
To a question, the minister brushed aside the impression that the government has abandoned the Look Africa Policy saying this policy is very much effective as Pakistan is currently exporting cement, and fully Pakistan made tractors to three African countries of Mozambique, Zambia and Kenya.
“I am much pleased that the engineering products like tractors are being exported without any subsidy to the said African countries,” the jubilant minister said and added that about 10,000 tractors would be exported by June 30, 2019. He said that cement export to African countries has surged manifold. The total exports of cement stands at $150 million.
“The export of cement has diverted to Africa because of slow down in construction activities in Pakistan and ban imposed by India on Pakistani products following Pulwama incident,” he concluded.

Five ways to help Pakistan overcome difficulties in cherry export to China

Published: April 1, 2019
Description: PHOTO: FILE
PHOTO: FILE
BEIJING: No restrictions have been placed on the entry of Pakistani cherries into China as long as they meet the standards, said a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) during China’s Two Sessions.
“A lot of countries are willing to export cherries to China. I have visited Turkey and other places of origin before. First, we should have strict inspection and quarantine standards; secondly, whether the price is competitive; thirdly, whether cherry production seasons are close,” he said when asked how Pakistani cherries could enter China.
The deputy to the NPC was once at a high place in the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). The second and third points mentioned above have already been talked in the article “China-Pakistan trade hotline: Pakistani cherries rival Chilean counterparts, yet hard to enter Chinese market.” As to the first point, Zhao Jinping, former director-general of the Research Department of Foreign Economic Relations, Development Research Centre of the State Council, was the first guest to mention it in the special programme on “Cherry and FTA”.
Closer relation between food safety and customs
Zhao believes that quality is not the only factor whether cherries can enter China or not. Besides, well performance in food safety, such as inspection and quarantine, and health standard system construction also contribute to imports of large quantities of Chilean cherries.
Being responsible for national health, every country should make sure the food that enters its territory meets safety standards. Therefore, strengthening food safety cooperation with Pakistan is a significant part of maintaining long-term, sustained and rapid growth in bilateral trade.
“I personally visited Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau when lots of imported fruits and vegetables were arriving there. For me, the cherries look very good and delicious, but technical experts can tell at a glance there are indeed tiny worm eggs in some part of the cherries.”
Zhao said China Customs is stepping up efforts to facilitate customs clearance. “The time for customs clearance is greatly reduced. The sampling rate, an important indicator, is now very low, only 1% or even a smaller portion of all imported items will be inspected. In this case, it is important to have a management system that ensures product safety in the entire process and meets health requirements.” China Customs, including the inspection and quarantine department, has established a long-term cooperation relationship with its counterparts from other countries and is making joint efforts for quality control.
“Pakistan Customs should further modernise and promote cooperation with China Customs,” said Zhou Rong, senior researcher at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China.
Cherry production in line with Chinese quarantine standards
GACC and SENASA reached an agreement on cherry quarantine on December 2, 2018. A month later, we found phytosanitary requirements for the import of Argentine cherries on the website of GACC, totalling over 6,800 words, which contain detailed regulations for orchards, packaging, refrigeration, pest monitoring and other factors in the cherry production process. Are these difficult for Pakistan?
“I do not think it is difficult, because our agricultural products, fruit and vegetable products, can be exported to the United States, the United Kingdom, Africa and other countries. They should go through inspection and quarantine as well. Pakistani mangoes are very popular all over the world, especially in European countries such as the United Kingdom, and the United States. The problem of the presence of fruit flies has been solved. If we can get support from China and secure some orders, then we will definitely meet this requirement, this is not a big problem,” said Amanullah Khan, Managing Director of Global Care.
“What we (are) concerned (about) most now is whether there are clear Chinese standards that we can follow to produce cherries, which will improve living standards of thousands of farmers in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan,” Dunya TV Chief Editor Akram Habib added.
Joint effort in China-Pakistan cherry orchard
The idea of Sino-Pakistani joint venture cherry orchard was first introduced by Habib. He believes that logistics and promotion of cherries can lead to an increase in mutual cooperation.
Zhou thinks that China should set up a joint venture cherry farm in Pakistan and the two countries can produce together to help Pakistan develop the cherry industry.
“If a new round of FTA is to be achieved, it is more pragmatic to help Pakistan increase its exports to China. If China can import Pakistani cherries, it will help solve our trade imbalance problem. Pakistan has an extremely large market and cheap labour, joint venture cherry orchard facilitates Pakistani cherry’s access to the Chinese market, I think it is an idea that should be taken seriously,” said Naveed Hussain, Editor of The Express Tribune.
More room for food export
from Pakistan
Talking about the trade imbalance between China and Pakistan, Zhao says it does exist. “We should have imported some goods from Pakistan, but not enough has been done on imports now. Pakistan also faces some financial and debt difficulties. We must try to help them alleviate the pressure.”
Zhao said the first two items with the highest proportion in Pakistan’s exports are textile and food. Food accounts for nearly 20% and it mostly comprises Pakistan’s specialty food. “China has expanded food import from Pakistan. I personally think it is worthwhile and there are opportunities. I suggest doing more in this regard.”
Amanullah agreed with Zhao’s idea. He said, “Whether it is fruit and vegetable or meat and dairy products, we have no problem in food export. Pakistan has established modern slaughterhouses that can produce 200 tons of beef and mutton per day. As far as I know, China imports from Australia and New Zealand, and it is very expensive, but exporting beef and mutton is not a problem for Pakistan.”
CPEC-made product
According to reports of the Chinese media, China has expressed interest in importing cherries, potatoes, wheat, citrus, rice and mangoes from Pakistan. The two sides have also enhanced coordination in hybrid rice seed inspection and halal meat products are expected to be exported to China.
According to industry insiders, some think that the import of halal meat products is easier than the cherry quarantine.
According to the catalogue of fresh fruit varieties and exporting countries/regions that have obtained inspection and quarantine access to China, as of end-October 2018, there were three kinds of Pakistani fruits, namely mango, citrus and orange.
According to the data released by Ni Yuefeng, Minister and Secretary of CPC Committee of the General Administration of Customs of China, at the National Customs Work Conference at the beginning of the year, the GACC has completed the inspection and quarantine access of 83 kinds of quality food and agricultural products from 43 countries including India, Panama and Argentina, and quarantine access consultation for 22 agricultural products last year. “I hope that there will be a ‘CPEC-made product’,” said Zhou in concluding remarks and in a message on the Pakistan Day.
The article originally appeared on the China Economic Net
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2019.
Discover beach treasures with Fossils Forever adventures
·       Kristyn Winch 
·       Apr 1, 2019 Updated Apr 1, 2019Top of Form
It’s not unusual for you to find Angela Rice with her head buried in the sand.
As owner of Fossils Forever, a new business dedicated to helping tourists and locals alike find shark teeth and other treasures along the Grand Strand beach, Rice has turned her passion for environmental education and shark tooth hunting into a fun job.
Rice moved from Connecticut to South Carolina in 2014 as a way to spend more time with her grandmother, who is a Myrtle Beach snowbird.
“She was wintering here,” Rice said of her grandmother. “I came down here not really planning to stay.”
Rice grew up with a love of hiking, camping and exploring the mountains and woods. Here, she found the beach as her nature outlet.
After finding a shark tooth by accident when visiting and learning from a fellow beachcomber that the tooth was thousands of years old, Rice did some research and became interested in discovering other fossils along the shore.
Rice has a degree in wildlife and fishery conversation and has worked 10 years in the environmental education field, volunteering with AmeriCorp, working as an educator at Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach and volunteering at the nature center at local state parks.
Longing for a new job and a way to work for herself, Rice launched Fossils Forever last fall.
“This had been a passion project in my head for a long time,” Rice said.
Rice offers fossil hunting tours along the beach between 50th Avenue and 82nd Avenue. Guests can register online for a time and Rice will scout out a location that best fits the group and provides the best opportunity for finding shark teeth and other treasures.
“I usually choose a 2-3 hour window around low tide,” Rice said. “More beach is exposed and there’s a better chance of seeing shells out there.”
Rice has given tours to homeschool groups and families and is open to “anyone who wants to learn.”
She also suggests shark tooth hunting as a playground play date alternative or a fun teambuilding outing for a small group of professionals.
Tours are limited to groups of 10 or less to allow Rice to work with every individual.
When Rice first began collecting shark teeth, she knew exactly how many she had and wouldn’t give them to anyone. After being approached by a child who was curious about what Rice was hunting for, she gave the boy a tooth from her pocket.
“I made this kid so happy,” she said.
That’s when she knew she wanted to help others experience this joy.
“It’s so fun,” Rice said. “You’re not on a computer. You’re not in a game. You’re literally out in nature and it’s exciting.”
All the fossils you will find on your adventure are authentic and native to the beach.
“We do not plant them out there,” Rice said.
While finding a fossil on your adventure is not guaranteed, “we haven’t had a time when people haven’t found one.”
In addition to shark teeth, you may find a fossilized shell or a stingray barb or grinding plate.
“Lately we’ve been finding a lot of sea biscuits,” Rice said. “They look like sand dollars but fatter.”
Rice will guide you to find your first shark tooth, but she said most hunters don’t need her help after a while.
“If I spot a shark tooth, I’ll make a giant circle around it. I do that with all ages. After a few circles, they don’t need a circle anymore,” she said. “You don’t want to point out every single one. It takes the fun out of it.”
Weather conditions constantly change, but Rice said shark tooth hunting is still fun on a colder day.
If conditions are not conducive to exploring, Rice will reschedule with groups for a nicer day.
In addition to sifting and digging with her guests, Rice shares educational information during her tours.
Whether it’s telling people why they need to stay off the dunes, sharing the importance of recycling or reminding kids to cover the holes they dig so sea turtles don’t fall in, Rice loves sharing her knowledge.
“It’s something so simple and they didn’t know that’s one thing they can do to protect the ocean,” Rice said. “I think people can see that I’m really passionate. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
To learn more about Fossils F

AGI’s $109.5 Million Acquisition of Milltec Machinery

Description: http://www.globallegalchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/9261120f75.jpeg

Khaitan & Co acted as Counsel to Multiples Private Equity Fund on the sale
Ag Growth International Inc (TSX: AFN) (AGI) has completed its acquisition of Milltec Machinery Ltd, a Bangalore, India-based maker of rice milling and processing equipment, from Multiples Alternative Asset Management.
The purchase price was $109.5 million, with the potential for up to an additional $38.4 million based on the achievement of Ebitda targets.
AGI, a Winnipeg-based provider of equipment solutions for agriculture bulk commodities, said the deal enables its entry into the rice equipment industry and establishes its platform in India.
Indian private equity firm Multiples Alternative Asset Management acquired a minority stake in Milltec in 2014.
Khaitan & Co advised Multiples with a team including Vineet Shingal (Picture), Kaushalya Shetty, Shailesh Singh (M&A) and Bijal Ajinkya (Tax).
Law Firms: Khaitan & Co.;

These US scientists have a way to extract valuable elements from batteries and reduce electronic waste

The solvent, made of commodity products choline chloride and ethylene glycol, extracted more than 90 per cent of cobalt
The team from Rice University in the US used an environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvent to extract valuable elements
Scientists have created a solvent that can extract valuable elements from discarded batteries, and could potentially help reduce the amount of electronic wastes that end up in landfills. The team from Rice University in the US used an environmentally friendly deep eutectic solvent to extract valuable elements from the metal oxides commonly used as cathodes in lithium-ion batteries. The goal was to curtail the use of harsh processes to recycle batteries and keep them out of landfills.
The solvent, made of commodity products choline chloride and ethylene glycol, extracted more than 90 per cent of cobalt from powdered compounds, and a smaller but still significant amount from used batteries.
"Rechargeable battery waste, particularly from lithium-ion batteries, will become an increasingly menacing environmental challenge in the future as the demand for these through their usage in electric vehicles and other gadgets increases dramatically," said Pulickel Ajayan, a scientist at Rice University.
"It's important to recover strategic metals like cobalt that are limited in supply and are critical for the performance of these energy-storage devices," Ajayan said. "Something to learn from our present situation with plastics is that it is the right time to have a comprehensive strategy for recycling the growing volume of battery waste," he said.
"This has been attempted before with acids. They're effective, but they're corrosive and not eco-friendly," said Kimmai Tran, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Energy. "As a whole, recycling lithium-ion batteries is typically expensive and is a risk to workers," Tran said.
The solution is made of a chicken feed additive and a common plastic precursor and can dissolve a wide variety of metal oxides, Tran said. The researchersbuilt small prototype batteries and cycled them 300 times before exposing the electrodes to the same conditions. The solvent proved adept at dissolving the cobalt and lithium while separating the metal oxides from the other compounds present in the electrode.
They found that cobalt could be recovered from the solution through precipitation or even electroplating to a steel mesh, as this latter method potentially allowed for the deep eutectic solvent itself to be reused. "We focused on cobalt. From a resource standpoint, it's the most critical part," said Marco Rodrigues, a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the US. "The battery in your phone will surely have lots of it. Lithium is very valuable too, but cobalt, in particular, is not only environmentally scarce but also, from a social standpoint, hard to get," said Rodrigues.

McSteen lab finds a new gene essential for making ears of corn

Apr 01, 2019 11:04 AM EDT
Description: Barren Stalk (IMAGE)
A normal corn plant (left) and a barren stalk2 (ba2) plant (right). Plants with a mutation in the ba2 gene cannot grow ears, hence the name barren stalk.
(Photo : University of Missouri)
A team of scientists led by University of Missouri maize geneticist Paula McSteen has identified a gene essential for forming the ears in corn.
The new research, which appears in the journal Molecular Plant, extends the growing biological understanding of how different parts of corn plants develop, which is important information for a crop that is a mainstay of the global food supply.
"Corn is a vitally important crop, and the ears are the most crucial organ for plant yield. Knowing the genes that control this process and how they function together at a molecular level is crucial for efforts to increase crop yield," said McSteen, who is an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and a principal investigator in Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. "The information we glean from corn is also likely to be applicable to other cereals, including rice and wheat because they also form grains on branches."
The researchers found that a gene called barren stalk2, or ba2, affects the development of axillary meristems, which are special cells that give rise to the ears. As a corn plant grows, these cells are formed at nodes along the stalk. These nodes look like tiny grooves, or indentations, in the stem. When the plant is ready to make ears, these cells begin to divide and bud out from the stalk. These buds elongate to form the ear shoots and ultimately become the harvestable ears. The process is initiated by delivery of a hormone, called auxin, to the nodes that signals the cells to make ears.
To find the genes needed to produce organs like ears or anything else, geneticists look for plants that cannot make the organ properly. Plants with mutations in the ba2 gene never make ears, hence the name "barren stalk." The mutant plants do not have the grooves where the ears would form, which suggests that the gene functions early, before the earbud forms. The ba2 mutant was discovered in a large genetic screen for corn plants unable to make ears, and the gene was identified by molecular mapping to chromosome 2.
Previous screens like this identified a mutation in a different gene, called barren stalk1 or ba1, that is also essential for making an ear. This other gene plays a key role in a molecular signaling pathway that controls ear development. To test whether the newly identified barren stalk plants have a different problem, the researchers performed genetic crosses, known as a complementation test, and concluded that the phenotype they observed in their plant was caused by a mutation in a totally different gene.
"Interestingly, this is actually a lost-and-found case," said McSteen. "We found that our mutation had previously been identified and characterized back in 1930, but had been lost sometime in the intervening years. It's exciting to have been able to rediscover it and add it back to the stock."
Through a series of additional analyses, the scientists found that the ba2 gene interacts genetically with the ba1 gene and that the corresponding proteins form a complex. ba2 also interacts with other genes known to regulate ba1. Together, these findings demonstrate that ba2 is in the same molecular signaling pathway as ba1 and that the two genes work in concert to regulate the development of ears.
"The end goal is to identify all the genetic players involved in controlling how and when corn ears are made. By identifying this new gene and showing that it forms a complex with BA1 to control meristem development, we've been able to bring this important story further along than what had been known previously," said McSteen.
Other researchers involved in the study included Andrea Skirpan with Penn State University; Brian Waddell and Simon Malcomber with California State University; and Hong Yao, Michaela S. Matthes, Norman Best, Tyler McCubbin, Amanda Durbak, and Taylor Smith with the University of Missouri.
In an accompanying review article in the same issue of the journal, McSteen and colleagues describe the current state of genetic research on auxin in corn, rice, and Arabidopsis. The review focuses in particular on the genes known to be involved in "turning on" the auxin hormone and getting it to the right place in the plant.
"Auxin is important to understand because it controls everything. Understanding the function of genes involved in the synthesis, transport, and signaling of auxin has been difficult because of redundancy in gene function and expression. But now with new gene editing tools, like CRISPR technology, everyone is excited about being able to do this," said McSteen.

Worrying about food

posted April 03, 2019 at 12:20 am by Lito Banayo

Description: http://manilastandard.net/panel/_files/image/columnists_photos/_banayo.jpg"We must act now, and plan farther ahead."


Reports about the number of provinces affected by El Niño this year are getting to be cause for alarm.
The National Food Authority, for instance, which has lost its mandate to import rice, and has been confined to buy palay from local farmers for its buffer stock, will be hard put to fulfill its task, with El Niño hitting so many places.
The biggest source of palay purchases of NFA is Occidental Mindoro. The province is now suffering the worst drought in decades, its riverine sources of irrigation water drying up.
Of course, with the lifting of quantitative restrictions on rice imports, the private sector will likely increase its import volumes, and USDA predicts that we will hit a record total of 2.67 million metric tons this year.  
While that may reassure consumers particularly in the urban areas of affordable rice, we must not forget that farmers are themselves heavy rice consumers.  With El Niño drying up their fields and bringing down incomes from lower harvests, we need to worry about hunger in the countryside.
The impact of the free trade on rice could in the long term act as a disincentive for farmers to plant more palay, unless government can manage production well and assure farmers of higher incomes.  It is not going to be easy.
And El Niño brings stronger typhoons than usual.  With our surrounding oceans warming up due to it, the approaching typhoons churn up stronger winds and suck up more water that becomes rain.  “Ondoy” and “Milenyo” come to mind.  They happened during El Niño years.
Our Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teddyboy Locsin, brought up the spectre of climate change when he spoke before the United Nations recently and warned that unless the concert of nations banded together to seriously cool the planet now afflicted with global warming, we may be destroying the habitat of billions.
I recall a very disturbing movie that I watched ages ago, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, if memory serves me right still.
In that movie, the world had become a wasteland, with food becoming scarce, and a company produced “healthy biscuits” purportedly from plankton derived from the world’s oceans.  As the story unraveled though, it became apparent that the “plankton” was really from dead human bodies.  The product, which was also the title of the movie, “Soylent Green” was actually people.
Strides in biotechnology through the past decade have of course increased human capability to produce more food, but it comes at a high cost that poorer nations such as the Philippines still find unaffordable.
Further, the continuing decline in farmer population is another cause for alarm. The current age of Filipino farmers is 57 years old.  Their children disdain eking out a livelihood from farming, and are instead going to the urban centers to find work.  Who will till our farmlands and keep providing us with food?  
Then again, the continuing exodus from farms to urban centers will tend to make governments more biased toward favoring consumers to keep food inflation low. This means sourcing cheap food imports often at the expense of domestic farmers’ incomes.  The cycle will perpetuate itself—lower farm incomes equals less interest in farming equals less farmers equals lower production of food.  A worrisome specter.
Even now, plantations in Negros island and Mindanao are finding it difficult to get seasonal labor especially at harvesttime which is labor-intensive, because able bodied men would rather work in construction.  And with Build, Build, Build, the demand for construction workers keeps increasing.
The balancing act becomes more and more difficult.    
Water is another worry.  Angat Dam managers recently announced that they are reducing irrigation water for Bulacan and Pampanga farms in favor of Metro Manila’s needs.
In many parts of the globe, populations are beginning to have conflicts over water sources.  The Philippines itself does not have a surfeit of fresh water sources, with many of our islands being limestone structures with little, if any, groundwater sources.
Picture a situation where China and India decide to divert the headwaters from the snow-capped Himalayas, which now flow into the lowlands of Indo-China and Myanmar, through the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers.  
Unthinkable?  Never foreclose the dire possibility.
Of course all these jeremiads of doom are not likely to happen within our lifetime (at least this writer’s).  But what of the future generations, by 2050 or beyond?
Viewing northern Taiwan from the air as one’s plane encircles Taoyuan International Airport before landing, you see several man-made lakes, actually water-impounding catchments that are used mainly for irrigation.
Should we not be doing the same?
Even in urban centers, every drop of water must be conserved.  Imagine if we scooped the earth beneath the Quezon Memorial Circle, and made it a catchment basin for rainwater?
It also solves the flooding experienced in the area during heavy rainfall.
I once stayed in a Baguio City hotel where the builder-owner wisely caught the rainwater and diverted these to a catchment basin that was then recycled for toilet and maintenance use.  
In Tzu Chi Foundation hospitals all over Taiwan, the practice of recycling rainwater for everyday use is practiced.
Why ever not, indeed?
There are so many ways by which we can alleviate the problems that our country, and for that matter, our world will soon face in confronting the challenges of water and food shortages and climate change.
But we must act now, and plan farther ahead.


Waiguru urged to convene meeting over cheap imported rice

·        Munene Kamau  02nd Apr 2019 22:55:00 GMT +0300
The county government has been asked to convene a meeting to address importation of cheap rice.
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici (pictured) said the meeting should come up with ways of ending the practice that is threatening farmers' earnings.
“I am calling on our governor to urgently convene a forum comprising of all elected leaders and stakeholders where this issue can be addressed and resolved once and for all,” she said on Sunday in Ngurubani PCEA Church.
Cartels, she explained, import cheap rice whenever farmers start harvesting the crop, flooding the market since consumers can hardly differentiate between the real and fake Mwea rice.
The leader further recalled that before 1998 when the rice sector was liberalised, Government institutions such as the military and hospitals sourced rice from the Mwea Irrigation Scheme.
“I do not understand why these institutions should buy their rice from outside the country when here in Mwea we have high quality produce compared to that imported from the far East,” she said.
Morris Mutugi, a rice farmer, said the cartels reaped huge profits by adulterating the Mwea rice with their cheap imports.


State sets April 30 deadline for delivering rice, millers fear loss

Description: State sets April 30 deadline for delivering rice, millers fear loss
Parvesh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Sangrur, April 1
With the Food Corporation of India (FCI) failing to deliver rice from Punjab mills to its Central pool before deadline of March 31 and the state extending deadline to April 30, the state mills are facing space crunch as 24 lakhs metric tonnes (LMTs) of paddy is still lying in them.
Rice millers fear losses and have requested the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide space to shift rice expeditiously.
Rice millers disclosed that in October 2018 the Punjab government had allotted total 170 LMTs of paddy, which was to be milled till March 31 by 3,800 mills of state and total 113.46 LMTs of rice was to be delivered. Millers alleged that due to lack of space in the FCI pool, the movement of rice from them to the FCI pool is slow and 24 LMTs of paddy is lying in state mills.
“We met CMD, FCI, DV Prasad in Amritsar and submitted our memorandum. The FCI deadline is June 30, but the state’s was March 31, which has been extended to April 30. We want that the FCI should also fix March 31 deadline as rise in temperature will reduce moisture in paddy leading to drop in its weight causing losses to us. The CMD has called us to Delhi for further discussion,” said Gian Chand Bhardwaj, president of the Rice Millers’ Association of Punjab.
“The extension of deadline will cause losses to all 3,800 rice millers of the state,” said Rajnish Kansal, Punjab media secretary of the association.
Punjab FCI General Manager Arshdeep Singh Thind confirmed that a meeting took place between the CMD and rice millers. “Rice millers raised their concerns with our CMD, who listened to all their grievances. Our deadline is June 30 and lifting of rice from millers of Punjab is going on,” said Thind

Next in line: Sugar import liberalization

After the government manages to speedily pass the Rice Tariffication law, will the same be said for sugar?
Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
Published 10:04 AM, April 02, 2019
Updated 10:04 AM, April 02, 2019
Description: YOU'RE NEXT. After legalizing unimpeded rice imports, the government now sets its sights on sugar. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
YOU'RE NEXT. After legalizing unimpeded rice imports, the government now sets its sights on sugar. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – To combat rising prices of agricultural goods, it seems the government’s go-to solution has been to simply flood the market with imports.
The first victim and testing ground was the rice industry. The Rice Tariffication law or Republic Act 11203 was passed quickly last February 14 without a single item vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Former Philippine Rice Research Institute board of trustees member Teodoro Mendoza said that government “cheated” Filipinos by pushing the idea that imported rice is cheap.(READ: Philippines can meet own rice demand, says crop expert)
A drop in the actual price of commercial rice can come early as both consumers and traders await the influx of imported rice, which could adversely affect the livelihood of local rice farmers.
Now, sugar planters – and those who are part of the sugar industry’s value chain – are under threat as wellafter the economic managers decided to pursue deregulating sugar imports under the guise of making the industry more competitive.
Former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno had proposed to go after sugar even before the Rice Tariffication law was signed.
The proposal stems from sugar having a bad year in 2018. It will continue to do so up to this year. Last year saw high prices and low production, and even dwindling workers. (READ: Sugar rush prompts government to import)
Confederation of Sugar Producers spokesperson Raymond Montinola said that the industry at its current state, cannot compete with the likes of the country’s top source of sugar imports: Thailand.
Description: Large piles of cut sugarcane are set for crushing just outside the First Farmers Holdings Corp's milling facility in Talisay, Negros Occidental. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
Large piles of cut sugarcane are set for crushing just outside the First Farmers Holdings Corp's milling facility in Talisay, Negros Occidental. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
Montinola pointed out that this is because Thailand’s government subsidizes its sugar industry.
The local sugar industry, on the other hand, has been left to fend for itself through the Sugar Regulatory Administration, which tracks supply and control importation.
“Before you play with the big boys, you have to develop first your local industry for them to compete. Now we’re taking a misstep, a huge step, now we’re playing with the big boys without preparing our local industry,” Montinola added.
This year, the estimated production of sugar is expected to drop even lower at 2.079 million metric tons (MMT) from the original 2.23 MMT estimate. This bleak outlook can strengthen the move to allow unimpeded sugar imports but not everyone in government agrees.
Disharmony among the branches
Diokno’s proposal to deregulate imports was contested by the sugar industry. Surprisingly, even legislators came to the industry’s aid. (READ: Gov't must listen to stakeholders before deregulating sugar imports – Piñol)
Last March, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri already announced the Senate’s plan to hold an inquiry on the proposal of the economic managers.
In Negros Occidental, the sugar bowl of the Philippines and a hotbed of insurgency, even local government officials are pleading for government intervention.
Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson told reporters last March that even local officials feel threatened by the economic managers’ proposal to liberalize sugar imports.
While the province has been seeing an influx of investments in real estate and solar power farms, “sugar is the heart and soul and lifeblood of the Negros economy,” Lacson said.
Description: Pedro Ogates, General Manager of Hacienda Malaga Cuenca Agrarian Reform Cooperative, laments the lack of government help and the impending decline of sugar production in Negros Occidental as economic managers entertain the idea of deregulating sugar imports. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
Pedro Ogates, General Manager of Hacienda Malaga Cuenca Agrarian Reform Cooperative, laments the lack of government help and the impending decline of sugar production in Negros Occidental as economic managers entertain the idea of deregulating sugar imports. Photo by Anna Mogato/Rappler
“Admittedly, we can’t compete with the prices of [imported] sugar," he added, as it would heavily affect agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) who own from one-and-a-half to 3 hectares of land.
Amid clear opposition from the Senate and local government units of sugar-producing provinces, Socioeconomic Planning Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla said that liberalizing imports has its merits, too.
“What the economic managers believe is that liberalization will make things move. Too much control of the government is suffocating. So that’s [what they are] thinking,” she told Rappler.
“Economic thinking really dictates that let the market play. Let the market play. Too much restrictions will not yield good growth.” However, Sombilla also admitted that it's too early to tell what the next move will be, with the midterm elections bringing uncertainty in the latter part of 2019.

Dambulla gets temperature humidity controlled warehouse

Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 01:00
Description: The foundation laying ceremony of the 5 ,000 MT temperature and humidity controlled warehouse for agri produces was held in Dambulla on Saturday. Here Minister Dr Harsha De Silva with Deputy High Commissioner of India, Dr. Shilpak N. Ambule at the event
The foundation laying ceremony of the 5 ,000 MT temperature and humidity controlled warehouse for agri produces was held in Dambulla on Saturday. Here Minister Dr Harsha De Silva with Deputy High Commissioner of India, Dr. Shilpak N. Ambule at the event
In a bid to minimize the post harvest loss and have better storage facilities for agro based products, ground was broken to construct a 5,000 ton temperature and humidity controlled warehouse in Dambulla Dedicated Economic Center which has the largest Agri Collection Centre in Sri Lanka.
Minister for Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr Harsha de Silva, said that this new initiative would help reduce food wastage during excess harvest periods.
The 6-district-wide rice cooperative which was created via the Minister’s public distribution unit with a Rs one billion infusion in a bid to resuscitate SME rice millers, also started selling the ‘Shakthi Samba,’ brand which would offer the farmer a better price.
During the harvesting season, most of the agri products gets a low price due to the oversupply. However, with a temperature and humidity controlled warehouse which is now been built in Dambulla, it would help store Agri products for some time and release it to the market during off seasons. In Sri Lanka, it is estimated that around 40% of the harvest is lost due to lack of vegetable and fruit storing facilities.
“This would transform farmer lives as they would get a better price for their products.”
Understanding the demand for such ventures, the government during the last Budget provides tax concessions for investors in temperature controlled storage facilities, to woo more investments in this area.
India is successfully implementing these types of projects throughout India and as a good will gesture, Prime Minster Narendra Modi has granted Rs 300 million to kick start this project in Dambulla, which is dubbed as the ‘market that never sleeps” due farmers bring their products to sell from all over the country. Even several banks are opened 24 hours per day to felicitate these transitions.

In Egypt, rice import samples are judged in the kitchen
Nadine Awadalla, Maha El Dahan
APRIL 2, 2019

CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) - With steaming plates of rice and freshly sliced apples on the side, a group of Cairo-based food scientists work in their lab to decide whether the foreign grains will suit Egyptian palates.

Food scientists taste samples of rice to make sure they fit Egyptian standards, in a research centre affiliated with Egypt's agriculture ministry in Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
The scientists cook and taste samples of rice on offer at state tenders before they are accepted. The process, which began late last year, has so far eliminated Indian origin rice and approved of Chinese and Vietnamese offers.

Egypt has spent $46.8 million on Chinese rice in two tenders since November. A third is ongoing.

Egyptians are major rice consumers and take pride in the quality of their local crop. But after planting less local rice in 2018 to conserve water, Egypt tapped the international market in November, requesting samples for a cooking test.

Rice is a heavily discounted staple on Egypt’s subsidy programme, under which the state purchases foodstuffs that are offered to subsidy card holders, currently around 60 million people.

The scientists’ role is to ensure that the rice bought by the state is suited to familiar cooking methods and tastes.

“Here, as a unit, we are all (academic) doctors as well as mothers in our homes,” said Nahed Lotfy, director of the test kitchen. “We are all trained judges who have completed training courses.”

    Samples are anonymized, said Nasra Ahmed, one of the taste testers. “We get a sample on which we have almost no information at all,” she said. “Everything arrives with a code.”

Researchers inspect grains for water absorption, colour and smell. After cooking, the rice is presented to the tasters.

“We evaluate the product based on colour, taste, aroma, flavour, as well as general response,” Lotfy said.

Researchers cannot wear perfume or smoke cigarettes. Sliced apples and water act as palate cleansers.

PUSHING UP COSTS
Traders say the taste test drives up costs by forcing them to keep their offers open indefinitely while it takes place. They say the testing process is unique to Egypt.

“It is something that doesn’t happen globally,” Mostafa al-Naggari, a major Egyptian rice exporter and importer, told Reuters. “In other countries, the cooking instructions are simply written on the packet.”

On the private market, importers have contracted to bring in 150,000 tonnes of Indian rice from October until end April, with no complaints from Egyptian consumers.

Naggari, who buys Indian rice to supply Egypt’s private market, said he was not clear why Indian samples had failed the test.
“These are the rules of the tender and we will respect it, but I am happy selling rice on the private market.”

But Nomani Nomani, an advisor to the supply minister, said the cooking tests were necessary to avoid the rice piling up in subsidy stores like it did three years ago when Egyptians refused to buy it.
“Of course if an Indian rice sample that suits Egyptian taste is presented we will accept it, but the cooking test is necessary to make sure the rice we are importing suits consumers,” he told Reuters. https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1RE1EY-OZATP

Nigerians Are Ordering Pizza Direct From London, Says Government Minister

April 2, 2019 Updated: April 2, 2019
Affluent Nigerians are getting pizza delivered 4,000 miles from London.
Nigerian Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh told the Senate Agriculture Committee that some Nigerians are ordering pizza air-flown six hours from London to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, via British Airways.
Description: The 4,000 miles flight route from London to Abuja, NigeriaA screenshot from Google Maps taken on April 2, 2019 shows a 4,000-miles flight from London to Abuja, Nigeria.
“There are Nigerians who use their cellphones to import pizza from London. Buy in London, they bring it on British Airways in the morning to pick up at the airport,” Ogbeh complained at a Senate hearing on March 26.
A British Airways spokesperson wrote in an email, “It’s not much dough to get to Lagos on British Airways, our customers can get a slice [of] the action for just £539 [$707].”

During the hearing, Ogbeh was defending his ministry’s budget for 2019 which would provide support for local producers.
He said foreign imports were seen as status symbols by many people, and the obsession with foreign goods extends even to necessities like rice and tomato paste, according to The Daily Mail.
Ogbeh said that this demand for foreign produce is not because the products are better than locally produced goods—it’s all about status.

‘Nation of Importers’

Ogbeh described Nigeria as a “nation of importers,” according to Nigerian-based World Stage Group. For example, Nigeria spends $50,000 on toothpicks and $1 million on tomato paste annually. Importers have “hijacked” the economy of Nigeria, he said.
“They have taken it hostage and they have no intention of giving up. This regime is unpopular in part because it is trying to cut down imports,” he said.
Description: Nigerian Minister of Agriculture Audu OgbehNigerian Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images)
“I know what I am saying because I have been in this business for 41 years. We import sugar, handkerchief, toothpaste, even pencils,” he added.
Ogbeh said that international importers were the biggest obstacle to Nigeria’s efforts to encourage Nigerians to buy locally produced products.
“Unfortunately, when you do you make enemies; even the importation of rice that we are trying to reduce is creating for us enemies, heavy enemies, people, who can kill if they have the opportunity because you are spoiling their business,” he said.
Some locals prefer foreign goods even when they could be produced locally, such as rice.
Nigeria is one of the largest producers of rice and yams in Africa, and agriculture was once the country’s main industrial sector.
Nigeria is the world’s second biggest rice importer after China.
According to the World Bank, Nigerian imports as a percentage of GDP increased between 2015 and 2017.
Abdullahi Adamu, chairman of the Senate committee, called on the federal government to address high imports of fruits and vegetables.
“What is eating deep into our capacity to develop are the little things,” he said, according to Nigerian-based The Cable.
“Go to these major shopping malls in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, go to the sections where they sell vegetables, any of them, they are imported from South Africa.”
Total imports increased a hefty 48 percent year-on-year in December 2018, mainly driven by manufactured goods (88 percent) and raw materials (12 percent). The bulk of the imports came from China (32 percent) and India (8 percent).
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, has a population of more than 190 million people, and heavily relies on oil as its primary source of revenue.
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Fate of 10 Million Children Uncertain as Nigeria’s Religious Leaders Clash Over Education Initiative


Description: Fate of 10 Million Children Uncertain as Nigeria’s Religious Leaders Clash Over Education Initiative
BY TOLUWANI ENIOLA, SPECIAL TO THE EPOCH TIMES

Strong domestic demand to fuel faster Philippine growth in 2019: ADB

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-03 16:20:03|Editor: xuxin
MANILA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' economic growth is likely to quicken this year as strong domestic investment and consumption are expected to offset slowing demand from advanced economies and possible farm losses due to the dry spell brought about by the El Nino weather phenomenon, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released on Wednesday.
In the newly published Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019, which is ADB's flagship annual economic publication, the ADB projects Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6.4 percent in 2019 and 2020, up from 6.2 percent in 2018.
The low unemployment rate, a sustained rise in remittances and slowing inflation all bode well for continued improvement in private consumption, the report said.
Moreover, the ADO said increased public investments in social services and infrastructure will also greatly contribute to economic growth.
"The Philippine economy is on a healthy growth trajectory, with public and private investment sustaining strong growth for the economy this year and next," said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird.
"The risks to the growth outlook are tilted on the downside, with rising local investments likely offsetting any impact from a faster-than-expected slowdown in the global economy," he added.
The ADO said the rollout of priority public investments in infrastructure, such as bridges, expressways, ports and railways nationwide, will ensure that prospects for private investment remain bright, given better access to markets and job opportunities.
"Momentum in private construction is expected to be sustained by continued strong demand for office and retail space and housing," the report said.
In addition, the ADO said the services and manufacturing sectors will also be the main growth drivers in the near term. Strong retail trade and expansion in business process outsourcing will continue to spur growth in services.
Inflation is expected to ease to 3.8 percent in 2019 and 3.5 percent in 2020, against 5.2 percent in 2018, as global oil prices moderate, food supply improves with a recent law replacing quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs, and last year's monetary tightening continues to be effective, according to the report.
A major policy challenge is the structural and policy impediments to agriculture growth, the report said, adding that agriculture has been underperforming for the past two decades, growing by an average of 1.5 percent annually from 2011 to 2018.
With half of the country's population residing in rural areas and agriculture providing a quarter of the country's total employment, the farm and off-farm income generating activities are critical for fostering inclusive growth.
The ADO said the law liberalizing rice importation and establishing the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund provides a unique opportunity to lift rural incomes by enhancing farm productivity and helping farmers to produce higher value crops.
"But more needs to be done, such as investing in rural infrastructure, better irrigation, crop insurance, and innovation that engage private sector providers of extension services to farmers," the report said.
At the same time, the ADO said it is important for the government to support emerging growth industries in rural areas such as tourism which generate off-farm income.

Rice tariffication to bolster PH’s WTO membership

By Joann Villanueva/PNA
MANILA — The implementation of rice tariffication will further bolster the Philippines’ advantages vis-à-vis its membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In a reply to questions from the Philippines News Agency (PNA), IHS Markit Asia Pacific Chief Economist Rajiv Biswas explained that the law institutionalizing tariff on rice imports over the previous policy of maximum access volume (MAV) should be taken not just for its benefits to rice consumers but in terms of the country’s WTO membership.
He explained that for the country to benefit from global trade liberalization “it needs to comply with WTO laws”, which include removal of non-tariff barriers.
“This is a crucial consideration which has underpinned the decision of the Philippines government to legislate for rice tarrification,” he said.
Thus, the economist stressed that questions on whether the domestic economy will benefit from this legislation is just a minor issue since the primary consideration is how the country will benefit from being a WTO member.
“With almost every other country of the world being a WTO member, the answer globally seems to be a clear YES to the membership of the WTO, so therefore the Philippines is also likely to be a winner from the trade liberalization benefits of WTO membership,” he added.
The Rice Tariffication Law took effect in March this year.
Relatively, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa projects better domestic inflation dynamics because of rice tariffication.
He said this measure “will go a long way to building the macroeconomic stability of the Philippines.”
This, as rice farmers are expected to get helped by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement fund, which is specified in the law, to improve productivity and be at par with their foreign counterparts.
“The passage clearly helps anchor inflation expectations and should help BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) refrain from hiking rates in the face of rice induced inflation in the future,” he said.
Mapa explained that ensuring that BSP’s key rates are in accommodative territory “will go a long way to ensuring that growth is stable and robust.”
“Sustained growth will in turn help boost the PHL credit rating in both the near and medium term,” he added.
In 2018, the BSP’s policy-making Monetary Board (MB) increased the central bank’s key rates by a total of 175 basis points due to elevated inflation rate.
Inflation exceeded the government’s two to four target bank last year and peaked at 6.7 percent in September to October 2018.
However, it has decelerated, with the February 2019 figure already at 3.8 percent, with the help of non-monetary policy measures.
Monetary officials forecast this trend to be sustained in the coming months, with the full-year average projected at three percent for this and next year.

Strong domestic demand to fuel faster Philippine growth in 2019: ADB

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-03 16:20:03|Editor: xuxin
MANILA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' economic growth is likely to quicken this year as strong domestic investment and consumption are expected to offset slowing demand from advanced economies and possible farm losses due to the dry spell brought about by the El Nino weather phenomenon, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released on Wednesday.
In the newly published Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019, which is ADB's flagship annual economic publication, the ADB projects Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6.4 percent in 2019 and 2020, up from 6.2 percent in 2018.
The low unemployment rate, a sustained rise in remittances and slowing inflation all bode well for continued improvement in private consumption, the report said.
Moreover, the ADO said increased public investments in social services and infrastructure will also greatly contribute to economic growth.
"The Philippine economy is on a healthy growth trajectory, with public and private investment sustaining strong growth for the economy this year and next," said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird.
"The risks to the growth outlook are tilted on the downside, with rising local investments likely offsetting any impact from a faster-than-expected slowdown in the global economy," he added.
The ADO said the rollout of priority public investments in infrastructure, such as bridges, expressways, ports and railways nationwide, will ensure that prospects for private investment remain bright, given better access to markets and job opportunities.
"Momentum in private construction is expected to be sustained by continued strong demand for office and retail space and housing," the report said.
In addition, the ADO said the services and manufacturing sectors will also be the main growth drivers in the near term. Strong retail trade and expansion in business process outsourcing will continue to spur growth in services.
Inflation is expected to ease to 3.8 percent in 2019 and 3.5 percent in 2020, against 5.2 percent in 2018, as global oil prices moderate, food supply improves with a recent law replacing quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs, and last year's monetary tightening continues to be effective, according to the report.
A major policy challenge is the structural and policy impediments to agriculture growth, the report said, adding that agriculture has been underperforming for the past two decades, growing by an average of 1.5 percent annually from 2011 to 2018.
With half of the country's population residing in rural areas and agriculture providing a quarter of the country's total employment, the farm and off-farm income generating activities are critical for fostering inclusive growth.
The ADO said the law liberalizing rice importation and establishing the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund provides a unique opportunity to lift rural incomes by enhancing farm productivity and helping farmers to produce higher value crops.
"But more needs to be done, such as investing in rural infrastructure, better irrigation, crop insurance, and innovation that engage private sector providers of extension services to farmers," the report said.
At the same time, the ADO said it is important for the government to support emerging growth industries in rural areas such as tourism which generate off-farm income

IRR on rice tariffication now with DA, Palace says

posted April 02, 2019 at 11:30 pm by Nathaniel Mariano
The implementing rules and regulations of the country’s new rice tariff law are now in the hands of the Department of Agriculture, the Palace announced on Tuesday.
In a statement after the 36th Cabinet meeting on Monday evening, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the IRR for the Rice Industry Modernization was already approved by the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Budget and Management.
“The IRR of the Rice Tariffication Act was likewise tackled. The IRR is already signed by the NEDA and the DBM while it is still pending with the legal department of the DA,” Panelo said in a statement Tuesday.
“The IRR is expected to formulate a rice industry roadmap for the development of this sector,” he added.
In order to liberalize rice importation by replacing quantitative import restrictions with tariffs, President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Republic Act No. 11203 last February.
Under the law, unlimited rice importation will be allowed. Potential investors, however, must first secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35-percent tariff for shipments from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. For non-ASEAN countries, the government requires the collection of a 50-percent tariff for rice imports.
The law also mandates the creation of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. The Palace has previously assured the public that the government will handle the multi-billion-peso fund with more accountability and transparency.
According to Panelo, the Agriculture secretary shall oversee the proper and responsible utilization of the rice fund as mandated by RA 11203.
He added that the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization shall also conduct a periodic review of the rice fund.
Panelo also called on the rice stakeholders to be actively involved in ensuring anti-corruption safeguards during the crafting of the envisioned Rice Industry Road map and the law’s IRR.​

Name of BISP not being changed, new schemes to run alongside it: Fawad Chaudhry

Dawn.comUpdated April 02, 2019
Description: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry addresses a press conference on Tuesday. — DawnNewsTV
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry addresses a press conference on Tuesday. — DawnNewsTV
Days after the federal government's reported intention to amend the name of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) drew ire of the PPP, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday announced that the name of the cash transfer poverty programme would not be changed.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, the minister revealed that the recent controversy regarding reports of a planned change in the name of BISP was discussed by the federal cabinet in its meeting today, and clarified that "the name of the programme is not being amended."
The minister announced that the cabinet, which met with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, had decided to raise a new division for poverty alleviation, which he claimed was a first in Pakistan's history. It will be called the Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Division.
Description: Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. — Photo courtesy Radio Pakistan
Dismissing rumours of BISP being done away with, he said the government has introduced a poverty alleviation programme under which various social welfare schemes such as the Sehat Insaf Card, business loans and low-cost housing programme will be run.
"BISP will continue in its place but these programmes will be launched in addition to it under the umbrella of the 'Ehsas' programme," the minister revealed.
It was earlier reported that during his visit to Sindh's Ghotki district on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had reportedly agreed with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf allies that the name of BISP should be changed after they alleged that the PPP was misusing the poverty alleviation project.
The PPP had vowed to resist the reported plan tooth and nail, with its chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari alleging that the government was "conspiring" to wrap up BISP by initially changing its name and then reducing its funds.

IPL telecast banned in Pakistan

The federal cabinet also decided to ban the telecast of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches in Pakistan in the wake of "propaganda" carried out by India against Pakistan in recent weeks, Chaudhry said.
He said the government believes that political conflicts should not be allowed to impact sports and culture.
"However, we saw the attitude that [India] maintained against Pakistani citizens, actors, artists and cricketers," the minister said, adding that the wearing of military caps by Indian cricket players during a match against Australia was "the limit" for Pakistan.
Additionally, Chaudhry recalled that the official Indian broadcaster was made to pull out of the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the middle of the tournament following the Pulwama attack in order to harm the league.
He said the Ministry of Information had proposed the cabinet ban on IPL because after "India made an organised effort to harm cricket in Pakistan, it doesn't make sense for us to allow an Indian domestic tournament to be promoted here".
After the cabinet's endorsement of the ban, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) will ensure that IPL matches are not shown on any TV channels, Chaudhry said.

PM 'displeased' with Qureshi-Tareen spat

Responding to a question regarding PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi's objection to stalwart Jahangir Khan Tareen's presence at official meetings, Chaudhry said Prime Minister Khan had "expressed displeasure" over the spat between the two leaders.
The premier advised the leaders against taking party matters out into the public, the minister revealed, stressing that everyone in PTI had the right to voice their opinion.
Among other decisions taken by the cabinet, a budget of Rs57.3 billion has been approved to be transferred to the former Fata region for Khasadar and other security forces, the information minister said. "It is very important the merger of Fata [with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] is completed," he added.
Separately, the cabinet confirmed the appointment of Air Marshal Arshad Malik as the CEO of the Pakistan International Airlines.
New boards have been constituted of: the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, to be chaired by Shamsuddin Ahmed Sheikh; Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd, to be chaired by Qamar Javed Sharif; Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, to be chaired by Dr Shamshad Akhtar and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, to be chaired by Syed Dilawar Abbas.
Prime Minister Khan during the meeting directed officials to prepare a comprehensive policy roadmap for the development of wheat, cotton and rice crops in Pakistan.


Pakistan inflation hits five-year high, reaches 9.4pc in March

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ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation surged to 9.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis in March 2019, as per the statistics of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Statistics reveal that inflation increased by 1.4pc in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 0.6pc in Feb 2019 and an increase of 0.3pc in March 2018.
The prices of food items that witnessed an increase on a month-on-month basis included onions (39.28pc), fresh vegetables (24.43pc), tomatoes (18.83pc), chicken (15.88pc), pulse moong (12.68pc), fresh fruits (12.52pc), gur (2.88pc), sugar (2.74pc), beans (1.23pc), fish (1.18pc), spices (0.91pc), pulse gram (0.60pc), vegetable ghee (0.58pc), rice (0.41pc), pulse masoor (0.31pc), bakery & confectionary (0.31pc), cigarettes (0.27pc), wheat flour (0.20pc), cooking oil (0.18pc), tea (0.17pc), milk fresh (0.17pc) and wheat (0.16pc).
On the other hand, food items that witnessed a decrease included eggs (6.32pc), potatoes (5.00pc), betel leaves & nuts (2.09pc), gram whole (0.70pc) and wheat (0.41pc).
A MoM increase was also witnessed in non-food items including text book (3.95pc), cotton cloth (2.30pc), medical equipment (2.24pc), motor fuel (1.54pc), kerosene oil (1.51pc), household servant (1.35pc), plastic products (1.32pc), stationery (1.18pc), drugs and medicines (1.16pc), construction wage rates (1.16pc), education (1.00pc), transport services (0.97pc), personal equipment (0.96pc), construction input items (0.79pc) and motor vehicle (0.67pc).
On a year-on-year basis, food items increased by up to 315.3pc, as the price of tomatoes increased 315.30pc, fresh vegetables 28.18pc, pulse moong 22.69pc, sugar 18.20pc, spices 17.66pc, gur 17.18pc, onions 15.85pc, honey 15.23pc, cigarettes 14.73pc, meat 13.33pc, dry fruits 11.75pc, beans 10.09pc, pulse gram 9.87pc, eggs 8.30pc, sweet meat 8.28pc, milk powder 8.07pc, fish 8.02pc, tea 7.87pc, condiments 7.43pc, vegetable ghee 7.18pc and rice 5.11pc.
On the other hand, prices of products that registered a decrease included betel leaves & nuts (37.02pc), potatoes (15.57pc), gram whole (5.15pc), fresh fruits (1.38pc) and chicken (1.20pc).
Core inflation measured by non-food non-energy CPI (Core NFNE) increased by 8.5pc on YoY basis in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 8.8pc in the previous month and 5.8pc in March 2018.
On MoM basis, it increased by 0.5pc in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 0.2pc in the previous month, and an increase of 0.7pc in the corresponding month of last year.
Core inflation, measured by 20pc weighted trimmed mean CPI (Core Trimmed) increased by 7.9pc on a YoY basis in March 2019 as compared to 7.7pc in the previous month and by 4.1pc in March 2018.
On MoM basis, it increased by 0.4pc in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 0.2pc in the previous month and an increase of 0.2pc in the corresponding month of last year.

Govt focusing on export led growth, increasing FDI: Commerce adviser   

Fawad MaqsoodApril 2, 2019
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood Tuesday said the government was focusing on export-led growth and increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.
“We are committed for stopping the de-industrialization and the upcoming industrial and textile policy would have positive impact on the industrial sector and its growth,” the adviser said, while addressing to Pre- budget consultations and launch of the book “Growth and Inequality in Pakistan “ organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Friedrich –Ebert- Stiftung (FES) here. He said the government had lowered the duties on finishing good and raised the duties on the raw product for increasing the value addition in industrial sector of the country.
Razak said the government had involved all the stakeholder for negotiation on the new industrial and textile policy to evolve comprehensive policy document with consensus.     He said the government was not in favor of subsidy to any industrial sector, but “we will arrange funds support them for revival.” Talking about Sino- Pak Free Trade Agreement, he said that Pakistan was negotiating with China on FTA- II to remove imbalances on different tariff lines and get market excess on terms China has provided to Association of South East Asian Nation(ASIAN).
He said that “We have had 10 rounds of negotiations with Chinese and hopefully FTA negotiation will be concluded this month to reach an agreement.”
He said that China and Pakistan were friendly countries and both side needed to benefit from bilateral trade and get access in both markets.
While on Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Indonesia, the adviser said that Indonesia has issued formal notification for correction of Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by offering immediate market tariff free access for 20 products of Pakistan’s.
The priority products include mangoes, broken rice, ethanol, tobacco, yarn and fabric, home textile, terry towel, apparel and knitwear, he added. He said that Pakistan and Indonesia wanted to upgrade the PTA to Free Trade Agreement for expanding bilateral trade and economic relations.
Subsequently, three review meetings were held and Indonesia acknowledged concerns expressed by Ministry of Commerce regarding adverse effects of IP-PTA on Pakistan’s exports and finally agreed to unilaterally grant tariff free access to 20 Pakistani products. Talking about Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), he said that SMEs would also be a priority in coming industrial policy.
He was of the view that that under-invoicing and smuggling were the main challenges and the government wanted to resolve all these issues with comprehensive strategy.




Pakistan consulate holds biryani rice tasting event

 2019-04-01 18:16:00

Description: http://saudigazette.com.sa/uploads/images/2019/04/01/1207246.jpg
Ali Hussam Asghar, senior vice chairman, REAP, is giving his views with Pakistan Consul General Shehryar Akber (right) and Sheikh Mazen Batterji, vice chairman JCCI, also at the occasion. — Courtesy photo
By Syed Mussarat Khalil


Saudi Gazette


JEDDAH —
 Pakistan Consulate in Jeddah held Pakistani Rice Tasting Dinner (Biryani Night)’ organized at the Park Hyatt Hotel (Al Andalusia Restaurant) Al Hamra area. The event coincided with the visit of a 17-member Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) delegation to Saudi Arabia as part of trade promotion activities to increase the export of rice to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The delegation is headed by Ali Hussam Asghar, Senior Vice Chairman of REAP.

Sheikh Mahzen Batterjie, Vice Chairman, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), who was chief guest at the occasion, welcomed the delegation to Jeddah. He also appreciated the efforts of the consulate in developing a good relationship between business communities of both countries. He said Jeddah Chamber is playing a pivotal role in increasing the bilateral trade, commerce and investment between the countries

Shehryar Akbar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, said the consulate appreciates the initiatives taken by the Rice Exporters of Pakistan, which would support our efforts to increase the exports of rice to the Kingdom. He shared that the consulate has made an extensive program for the delegation which includes meetings, business to business networking session and meetings/visits to the leading supermarkets and hypermarkets in the Western Region.

Asghar, Senior Vice Chairman REAP, said this visit is under the vision of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and defense minister, and Prime Minister Imran Khan which they underlined during their recent bilateral visits. He expressed satisfaction and appreciated the arrangements of the visit by the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Embassy in Pakistan and Pakistan Consulate and commercial section in Jeddah. He said Pakistan basmati rice has already a very good market in Saudi Arabia due to its good quality while pesticide issue with rice of other regional producers provides it more space. We need to grab that space, he added. He told that Saudi Arabia imports over $1 billion worth of rice every year making a great opportunity for REAP to further increase the export of rice. The delegation had a quite good response in Riyadh and hope to have good interaction with rice leading Importers in Jeddah as well, he added.

After their interaction with their Saudi counterparts, the members of the delegation were very confident that they will meet their objective and the visit will be successful. They were hopeful of tremendous scope for the export of Pakistani basmati rice to Saudi Arabia, because of its supreme quality, unique aroma and taste



Pakistan: Containing Post Harvest Losses – OpEd

Reportedly, post harvest losses range from 10% to 20% for different crops in Pakistan. To achieve food security, containing such colossal losses should be the top priority of the Government of Pakistan (GoP).
Analysts are of the consensus that if such losses are contained, twin benefits can be achieved: 1) increasing income of farmers and 2) boosting exports from the country.
Pakistan is among the top producers of various staple food grains that include rice, wheat and maize. The country exports substantial quantity of its top quality Basmati and other varieties of rice. Lately, the country has been producing around 25 million tons wheat per annum and joined the club of wheat exporting countries. Boosting production of maize can help in containing import of edible oil, estimated over US$2 billion per annum.
Despite producing substantial quantities of staple food grains, farmers face hardship due to huge postharvest losses. The prime reason for high losses is lack of modern grain storage silos. Although, State Bank of Pakistan offers financing for the construction of warehouses on concessional rates, little success has been achieved.
As stated earlier, Pakistan produces 25 million tons wheat per annum valued around US$7.5 billion. As against this the country has less than 6 million tons storage capacity. The remaining quantity has to be kept either in unscientific warehouses or in open. As a result significant percentage of total production goes stale and rendered unfit for human consumption after the monsoon season or eaten up by rats etc. Even if one estimates loss of 10% (2.5 million tons), its value comes to US$750 million. Saving this quantity can help Pakistan in boosting its GDP as well as exports significantly.
Farmers, particularly smaller ones suffer due to financial exclusion. As a large number of farmers usually borrow from informal financial system, they are forced to sell their produce at the earliest. One of the suggestions to save farmers from ‘distress selling’ is construction of grain storage silos, where they can store their produce, borrow from financial institutions by offering their produce as collateral and meet their immediate cash requirement. This can become ‘warehouse receipt financing system’ being propagated by State Bank of Pakistan.
Creation of an efficient warehouse receipt financing system can also pave way for ‘trading of warehouse receipts’. Under the proposed system the farmers will not be obliged to sell their produce physically, but transfer ‘constructive’ ownership by selling the receipts. Following this system will save transfer of the produce from one warehouse to another warehouse. To make this a norm, creations of value chain is necessary. This will comprise of modern grain storage silos, collateral management companies, quality certification entities and logistic providers.
Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (PMEX) has set a precedence by offering its electronic trading platform for red chilli. In this venture its value chain partners are Pakistan Agricultural Coalition (PAC), SGS Pakistan and Agility Pakistan. PAC provides on-farm technical services, SGS offers quality certification and Agility provides logistic facilities.
Capitalizing on PMEX’s red chilli experience, it is proposed that deliverable contract of wheat be listed and offered for trading at its electronic trading platform. The system will offer certified quality of wheat for sale, facilitate real time price discovery, guarantee delivery of the produce and prompt payment to the sellers. This will yield two benefits: 1) facilitating disbursement of pre and postharvest loans by the financial institutions and 2) minimizing postharvest losses by offering modern storage facilities.
The added advantage will be linking of grain storage silos across the country with the PMEX trading system. It will not require movement of wheat from one city to another city, till the buyer (who wishes to take physical delivery) acquires ownership title. Under this system availability of wheat at different point of delivery will also facilitate the buyer to choose a point of delivery of his/her own choice. Presence of designated banks in the system will also free buyers/sellers from indulging in cash transactions. They will be able to transfer funds with the click of a key.
Since the GoP is responsible for ensuring ‘food security’, real time display of wheat quantities available at different locations will ensure better monitoring and surveillance of the movement of the produce. Since all the integral components are available, all the stakeholders, the GoP being the biggest, must join hands to list deliverable contracts of wheat at PMEX, facilitate its trading at an electric trading platform and free the farmers from the shekels of informal lenders.

Pakistan to seek $1b export orders from China: Razak

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China are set to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA)-II when Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for Beijing on April 27 for three days wherein he will also attend the second OBOR (One Belt One Road) Forum for International Corporations.
The much-awaited FTA-II, once it is signed, will help Pakistan double its exports to China, Razak Dawood, Adviser to PM on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment told The News in an exclusive interview.
“Finance Secretary Younas Dagha and Commerce Secretary Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera will off to China on April 9 wherein they will hold talks with top Chinese officials on initial FTA-II accord. However, on the sidelines of the OBOR Forum that will be attended by heads of states and delegates from over 100 countries, both the countries will ink the free trade accord-II in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jingping,” he said.
Pakistan will, adviser disclosed, also place its request with top Chinese functionaries seeking another $1 billion order for exports to China out of FTA-II agreement. Another $1 billion export order will help Pakistan triple its exports to China.
On November 9, 2018, he said, Beijing had placed the order with Islamabad of $1 billion exports to Chinese market. Under that particular order, Pakistan was to export sugar of 300,000 metric tonnes (MT), yarn 350,000 MT and rice 200,000 MT. Of $1 billion order, $300 million of rice and sugar will be exported by June 30, 2019. Almost 75 percent of the rice has been shipped and the rest of consignment will be completed by June 30, 2019. However, other consignments of sugar and yarn are to be executed by December 2019.
The exports to China currently stand at $1.2 billion which will surge to $2.4 billion after signing FTA-II, but out of second free trade deal, the target of export of $1 billion is to be executed by December, 2019 that will be followed by another $1 billion exports for which Pakistan will also request to China to extend order during the forthcoming visit.
About investment of $10 billion on establishing the deep conversion refinery and $1 billion on petro-chemical complex at Gwadar, Razak Dawood said that Pakistan experts’ delegation is to soon leave for Saudi Arabia to have interaction with their counterparts to discuss the technical issues and once the specifications are finalised, it will be easy to help Saudi Arabia assess the volume of investment that is exactly to be required for the both refinery and petro-chemical complex. However, he hoped that feasibility study by Saudi experts will be completed in 12 months.
When asked if Pakistan has initiated any endeavour to increase its export to Saudi Arabia, the adviser responded that Saudi Arabian counterpart has clearly said that if Pakistani entrepreneurs are ready to meet requirements of its tariff regime, which has not changed for the last 20 years and quality standards, his country’s doors are open. Now it is up to Pakistan’s entrepreneurs to make inroads for their products in Saudi Arabian market keeping in view the Saudi tariff regime and its quality standards.
About the recently signed MoUs with Malaysian companies, during the visit of Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad to Pakistan, the minister said that the said MoUs of $900 million are different as these were signed by private-to-private parties. The minister said he is 100 percent sure that MoUs valuing $900 million will be materialised and executed.
To a question, the minister brushed aside the impression that the government has abandoned the Look Africa Policy saying this policy is very much effective as Pakistan is currently exporting cement, and fully Pakistan made tractors to three African countries of Mozambique, Zambia and Kenya.
“I am much pleased that the engineering products like tractors are being exported without any subsidy to the said African countries,” the jubilant minister said and added that about 10,000 tractors would be exported by June 30, 2019. He said that cement export to African countries has surged manifold. The total exports of cement stands at $150 million.
“The export of cement has diverted to Africa because of slow down in construction activities in Pakistan and ban imposed by India on Pakistani products following Pulwama incident,” he concluded.

Inflation hits 9.41 per cent, highest in five years

BY STAFF REPORT , (LAST UPDATED 2 DAYS AGO)
Description: https://cache.pakistantoday.com.pk/Imran-Khan-and-Asad-Umar-1.jpg
–Energy costs in particular have risen sharply, hit by a series of devaluations of the rupee
ISLAMABAD: Consumer price inflation rose in March to its highest since November 2013, adding to economic headwinds besetting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
Inflation rose to 9.41 per cent year-on-year, up from 8.21pc in February, Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday, lifted by sharp rises in food, fuel and transport costs that have squeezed household budgets.
On Friday, the central bank lifted its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.75pc, citing continuing inflationary pressures as well as high fiscal and current account deficits.
Consumer price inflation has jumped sharply over the past year, climbing from under 4 percent at the start of 2018.
Energy costs in particular have risen sharply, hit by a series of a devaluations of the rupee, and the government on Sunday announced a 6 rupee rise in petrol prices to 98.88 rupees a litre.
Pakistan’s currency has lost over a quarter of its value over the past year.
As per the PBS data, the prices of food items that witnessed an increase on a month-on-month basis included onions (39.28pc), fresh vegetables (24.43pc), tomatoes (18.83pc), chicken (15.88pc), pulse moong (12.68pc), fresh fruits (12.52pc), gur (2.88pc), sugar (2.74pc), beans (1.23pc), fish (1.18pc), spices (0.91pc), pulse gram (0.60pc), vegetable ghee (0.58pc), rice (0.41pc), pulse masoor (0.31pc), bakery & confectionary (0.31pc), cigarettes (0.27pc), wheat flour (0.20pc), cooking oil (0.18pc), tea (0.17pc), milk fresh (0.17pc) and wheat (0.16pc).
On the other hand, food items that witnessed a MoM decrease included eggs (6.32pc), potatoes (5.00pc), betel leaves & nuts (2.09pc), gram whole (0.70pc) and wheat (0.41pc).
A MoM increase was also witnessed in non-food items including text book (3.95pc), cotton cloth (2.30pc), medical equipment (2.24pc), motor fuel (1.54pc), kerosene oil (1.51pc), household servant (1.35pc), plastic products (1.32pc), stationery (1.18pc), drugs and medicines (1.16pc), construction wage rates (1.16pc), education (1.00pc), transport services (0.97pc), personal equipment (0.96pc), construction input items (0.79pc) and motor vehicle (0.67pc).
On a year-on-year basis, food items increased by up to 315.3pc, as the price of tomatoes increased 315.30pc, fresh vegetables 28.18pc, pulse moong 22.69pc, sugar 18.20pc, spices 17.66pc, gur 17.18pc, onions 15.85pc, honey 15.23pc, cigarettes 14.73pc, meat 13.33pc, dry fruits 11.75pc, beans 10.09pc, pulse gram 9.87pc, eggs 8.30pc, sweet meat 8.28pc, milk powder 8.07pc, fish 8.02pc, tea 7.87pc, condiments 7.43pc, vegetable ghee 7.18pc and rice 5.11pc.
On the other hand, prices of products that registered a YoY decrease included betel leaves & nuts (37.02pc), potatoes (15.57pc), gram whole (5.15pc), fresh fruits (1.38pc) and chicken (1.20pc).
Core inflation measured by non-food non-energy CPI (Core NFNE) increased by 8.5pc on YoY basis in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 8.8pc in the previous month and 5.8pc in March 2018.
On MoM basis, it increased by 0.5pc in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 0.2pc in the previous month, and an increase of 0.7pc in the corresponding month of last year.
Core inflation, measured by 20pc weighted trimmed mean CPI (Core Trimmed) increased by 7.9pc on a YoY basis in March 2019 as compared to 7.7pc in the previous month and by 4.1pc in March 2018.
On MoM basis, it increased by 0.4pc in March 2019 as compared to an increase of 0.2pc in the previous month and an increase of 0.2pc in the corresponding month of last year.
It is pertinent to mention that the country has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund on what would be its 13th bailout since the late 1980s.
Finance Minister Asad Umer told the Financial Times last week that an agreement was likely by May but officials say there are still wide differences over issues ranging from lifting exchange rate controls to bringing down the twin deficits.
Khan’s government has however secured loans over $8 billion from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China besides credit oil facility on deferred payment of $3 billion each from Riyadh and the UAE.

Envoy urges Pakistani investors to explore Kazakh market

By

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·        Kazakhstan holds 28th position in the Ease of Doing Business ranking and facilitates foreign investors by providing one-window solutions’ 
LAHORE: Pakistani businessmen must take advantage of the unique business opportunities offered by Kazakhstan, as it would not only help them earn huge profits but would also enhance the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries, said Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Barlybay Sadykov during his visit to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.
LCCI President Almas Hyder presented the address of welcome while Senior Vice President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir and Vice President Faheemur Rehman Saigal also spoke on the occasion.
The ambassador noted that Pakistan was one of the leading countries in agriculture, textile, surgical instrument, pharmaceutical and other products that have a great demand in Kazakhstan. “Pakistani exporters should come forward and explore the new markets in Central Asian states,” he urged.
He said that Kazakhstan was one of the largest economies of Central Asia with an abundance of oil, gas, metal and other minerals. He added that China and Russia were investing heavily in Kazakhstan, as the country holds 28th position in the Ease of Doing Business ranking and provides one-window solutions for foreign investors.
“The import of raw material for manufacturing is duty-free, while electricity price is very low in Kazakhstan,” he stated.
The ambassador said that Kazakhstan was a doorway to half a billion consumers, adding that the Pakistani businessmen should step into joint ventures with their Kazakh counterparts in order to cater to this huge market.
LCCI President Almas Hyder, in his address, said that international ranking of Kazakhstan in Ease of Doing Business was impressive. He noted that Kazakhstan was the world’s largest land-locked country abundant with vast mineral resources.
“Pakistan and Kazakhstan are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and enjoy good diplomatic relations. However, these ties are not reflected in terms of bilateral trade,” he said. “Three routes, including China, Afghanistan and Iran, connect Pakistan and Kazakhstan. The shortest route for trade can help boost mutual trade and economic ties between the two countries.”
He informed that the items that were exported to Kazakhstan included rice, oilseeds, medicaments, bandages, surgical instruments, apparel and spices, whereas imports from Kazakhstan comprised of salt of oxometallic acids, dried vegetables, machinery, tea, waste & scrap of paper and paperboard etc.
Hyder said that in order to enhance the level of bilateral trade, more tradable items should be identified keeping in view the market demands in two economies.

Kazakh Ambassador Stresses Enhancing Trade With Pakistan

 (@FahadShabbir)  
Description: Kazakh ambassador stresses enhancing trade with Pakistan

Mbassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Barlybay Sadykov said on Tuesday that trade volume between Pakistan and Kazakhstan is very low, and Kazakhstan has unique business opportunities with huge profit margins that must be availed by Pakistani businessmen through joint ventures

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 2nd Apr, 2019 ) :Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Barlybay Sadykov said on Tuesday that trade volume between Pakistan and Kazakhstan is very low, and Kazakhstan has unique business opportunities with huge profit margins that must be availed by Pakistani businessmen through joint ventures.
Talking to business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), he said that Pakistan is one of the leading countries in agriculturetextile, surgical instrument, pharmaceutical and various other products which have a great demand in KazakhstanPakistaniexporters should come forward and explore the new markets in Central Asian states.
The ambassador said that Kazakhstan is one of the largest economies of Central Asia and abundant with oilgas, metal and various other minerals. He said that China and Russia are heavily investing in Kazakhstan. It holds 28th position in doing business and has one-stop-shop for foreign investors. He mentioned that import of raw material for manufacturing is duty-free while electricity price is very low.
The ambassador said that Kazakhstan is a doorway to half a billion consumers. Pakistan businessmen should step into joint ventures with the businessmen in Kazakhstan and avail huge benefit.
Earlier, in his welcome address, LCCI President Almas Hyder said that international ranking of Kazakhstan in 'Ease of Doing Business' is impressive and termed Kazakhstan as a phenomenal country, citing that it is the world's largest land-locked country and abundant with vast mineral resources.
Pakistan and Kazakhstan are member states of the OIC and have good diplomatic relations but these ties are not actually reflected in terms of two way trade.
He said that three routes including ChinaAfghanistan and Iran connect Pakistan and Kazakhstan. He said that shortest route for trade can help boost mutual trade and economic ties.
The items of exports to Kazakhstan include rice, oil seeds, medicaments, bandages, surgical instruments, article of apparel and spices etc. whereas the imports from Kazakhstan comprise of salt of oxometallic acids, dried vegetables, machinery, tea, waste and scrap of paper and paperboard etc.
Almas Hyder said that in order to enhance the level of trade, more tradable items should be identified while keeping in view the marketdemands in two economies.
LCCI Senior Vice President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir and Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal also spoke on the occasion, while former LCCIoffice-bearers and Executive Committee Members were also present.

New USA Rice Partner Bites into Conservation  
Special to the USA Rice Daily
from Colonel Smut (Ret.)


WINNIGPEG, CANADA -- The success of the U.S. rice industry's conservation efforts is a result of the commitment and hard work of the men and women in the industry who are dedicated to principles of sustainability and to the partners that help support their efforts with additional resources.  Those partners can range from some of the largest consumer goods companies and retailers in the world to research institutions, foundations, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  And a new NGO has just joined their ranks.

The conservation group Mosquitoes Unlimited (MU), based here, has committed to joining the industry's conservation partnership program with an eye to expanding their own reach as well.

"Our goal of improving the quality and quantity of mosquito habitat aligns perfectly with the rice industry goal of having healthy and vibrant ecosystems that can both produce a healthy, nutritious and safe crop, but also maintain countless species of wildlife," said Komarno Wenzi, director of mosquito reestablishment for the group.  "And the farmers, their families, and workers actually provide an excellent source of nutrition for the mosquitoes as well.  It's a win-win situation."

MU is flush with cash after receiving millions of dollars from a group of cities in the U.S. northeast that paid the group to cease and desist all activities promoting mosquito habitat preservation and reintroduction in their jurisdictions.

"We're happy to invest these resources with a noble effort and we look forward to a bountiful harvest for us both," Wenzi said.


Falling growth rate of rice yield worrying: IRRI chief
12:00 AM, April 02, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:06 AM, April 02, 2019
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Matthew Morell
Rice yield is increasing but the rate of increase has slowed down in recent years in a worrying development for Bangladesh, said Matthew Morell, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The growth rate of rice yield slowed to 1 percent in 2011-2017 from 2.8 percent in 2001-10.
“This needs to increase to ensure the staple for the growing population,” he told The Daily Star in an interview last week in Dhaka.
Continuous population growth is a major challenge for Bangladesh as it enforces tough choices in the form of making more land available for agriculture or urbanisation.
“Bangladesh is a country that does not have new frontiers to find new land, and you also have pressures on water availability and water quality.”
Over the last five and a half decades, the international agency helped Bangladesh develop more than 100 high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice by working with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and other state research agencies.
And cultivation of HYVs has resulted in increasing yield and enabled the nation to triple its annual production to about 3.50 crore tonnes from about 1 crore of the cereal just after independence, according to official data.
In fiscal 2016-17, the annual average yield of the staple food stood at 3.07 tonnes per hectares in contrast to 1.09 tonnes in 1970-71, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
In recent years, the yield of rice from each hectare hovered around the 3 tonne-mark.
The yield increase is linked to a number of factors, including the introduction of new varieties and improvement in farm management practices at farmer's level, Morell said.
Mechanisation of rice production and operating larger farm sizes are necessary to increase productivity.
Bangladesh has released several climate-smart rice varieties, three of which are drought-tolerant, six submergence-tolerant and 10 salinity-tolerant.
Cultivation of the varieties has reduced production loss from climatic stresses, significantly increased rice production in stress-prone areas and income of farmers, and improved food security, he said.
Asked about food safety concerns, Morell said: “We agree with the concern and we agree with the general desire to reduce unnecessary use of chemicals.”
IRRI promotes practices such as integrated pest management that minimise the use of synthetic pesticides.
“This has beneficial effect on rice agro ecosystem and human health and it also addresses food safety concerns.”
Rice, in general, is safe, but there are few things that need to be checked from time to time such as heavy metal and arsenic contamination and pesticide use.
“These are really very significant problems. We should be monitoring the rice crop to make sure there are not any issues that we need to be concerned about.”
For Bangladesh, it is cadmium and arsenic contamination that need to be checked from time to time. Arsenic is present in soil and water and cadmium in soil, so regular screening is needed.
IRRI is developing methods to detect to heavy metal presence in rice, Morell said.
It has established an IRRI South Asia Regional Centre in Varanasi, India. The centre's lab facilities can analyse rice grain quality and identify metal contamination in rice.
“Bangladesh can take advantage of this facility,” the IRRI chief said.
On the genetically-engineered Golden Rice, he said the variety has got approval from regulatory agencies from the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It is currently going through the regulatory process in Bangladesh and in the Philippines.
In Bangladesh, the application was lodged to the National Committee of Biosafety in November, 2017.
“It's about 15 months. They are examining the dossier. So, we would hope that they will make their decision in the coming months.”
On concerns related to Golden Rice, he said the IRRI has very rigorous criteria for releasing the variety.
“This is why we went to go through the regulation process in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. These are some of the toughest regulatory agencies in the world and Golden Rice met the criteria set by them.”
The variety can be made available to farmers the way other HYVs were.
IRRI said BRRI scientists are introducing the beta-carotene producing Golden Rice trait into the popular, high-yielding local inbred rice varieties (BRRI Dhan 29).
This means that farmers will be able to save their seeds for replanting in succeeding planting seasons, it added.
On the risks of cultivation of the crop here, Morell said: “It's a very well understood product and there is beta-carotene in many plants. This is something that occurs naturally in other plants. So, I do not see any particular risks here in Bangladesh.”
For policymakers, Morell said the science and technology are needed in many areas to help improve productivity.
“But it is no good if that knowledge stays in the laboratory. It needs to come out to the farmers. That's an important area for policymakers to think about.”

China develops new rice strain with high yield, disease resistance

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-01 16:33:59|Editor: Yurou
NANJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have bred a new strain of rice with both high disease resistance and high yield, Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) announced.
A research team led by Professor Yang Donglei of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement and NAU in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, utilized a high-yield gene, coded Ideal Plant Architecture1 (IPA1), to enhance the plant's disease resistance against the bacterial blight of rice without undermining yields.
Yang's team found that downregulation of miR-156 and overexpression of IPA1, a target gene of microRNA-156 (miR-156) that has access to the regulation of multiple processes in the grain's growth and development, would improve disease resistance but reduce rice yield.
To find a way out of the dilemma, researchers set an "alarm" on the novel strain of rice to signal bacterial blight invasion and thus raised expression of IPA1 to enhance disease resistance.
"We call the new strain of rice 'HIP,'" Yang said, noting that the team has identified miR-156-IPA1 as a regulator of the crosstalk between growth and defense and bred the new strain of rice.
Further research showed that without pathogenic infection, IPA1 expression of the new plant strain only increases slightly, which enhances yield-related traits including fewer tiller buds, larger spikes and thick stems.
The research findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Plants, one of the top international academic journals on plant biology.

IRR for new rice tariff law already approved by NEDA, DBM – Palace

Published April 2, 2019, 3:40 PM
By Genalyn Kabiling
The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the county’s new rice tariff law have been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Malacañang announced Tuesday.
Description: Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo (OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the rules and regulations to implement the Rice Tariffication Act were tackled during the Cabinet meeting convened by President DUterte last Monday.
“The IRR is already signed by the NEDA and the DBM while it is still pending with the legal department of the Department of Agriculture (DA),” Panelo said.
“The IRR is expected to formulate a rice industry roadmap for the development of this sector,” he added.
Last February, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11203 that lifts the import limit on rice and instead imposes tariffs on the staple.
Under the new law, a 35 percent import tariff will be imposed on rice imports coming from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For non-ASEAN member states, the government will collect a 50 percent tariff for rice imports.
The law also provides for the creation of the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. At least 50 percent of the Rice Fund will be used for rice farm machineries and equipment; 30 percent for rice seed development, propagation and promotion; 10 percent for expanded rice credit assistance; and, 10 percent for rice extension services.
Any excess from the tariff revenues would be used for rice farmer financial assistance, titling of agricultural rice lands, expanded corp insurance program on rice, and crop diversification program.
#

Wandile Sihlobo: The good news about food prices

Apr 02 2019 05:00 
Wandile Sihlobo

There could be some positive news ahead for weary consumers when it comes to food prices, with global trends having a positive impact on SA.
Here's what the data suggests.
The March 2019 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided further evidence that the world will have fairly large maize, soybean, and rice supplies in the 2018/19 season.
Meanwhile, wheat production could decline from levels seen in the 2017/18 season.
The USDA lifted its estimate for 2018/19 global maize production marginally from last month to 1.1 billion tonnes. This is 2% higher than the previous season. The increases are mainly in South America and the Black Sea region.
Moreover, the agency placed its 2018/19 global rice production at 501 million tonnes, up by a percentage point from the levels observed in January 2019, and the 2017/18 production season.
The 2018/19 global soybean production estimate was roughly unchanged from January 2019 levels at 360 million tonnes. But this is 6% higher than the 2017/18 production season.
The uptick is mainly on the back of an expected large harvest in the United States, China, and Argentina. The data for 2018/19 global wheat production show a marginal decline from January 2019, with production set to reach 735 million tonnes. This, however, is a 4% decline from the 2017/18 production season.
Impact on food prices
While production of most commodities is expected to increase in the 2018/19 season, prices might not decline nor stabilise due to expectations of a rise in global consumption of grains and oilseeds, among other factors.
This is already evident in the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Cereal Price Index, which averaged 169 points in February 2019, up by 4% from the corresponding period in 2018.
Nonetheless, I suspect that there won’t be a significant uptick in overall global food prices, as slowing meat and dairy products prices could overshadow the increases in grains, and sugar products prices.
In fact, the FAO Food Price Index, which comprises grains (cereals), vegetable oils, meat, dairy and sugar products, averaged 167 points in February 2019, down by 2% from the same period last year.
What does this mean for SA?
From a South African perspective, the relevance of the aforementioned points is through a number of channels, with the most direct one being that the country is a net importer of rice and wheat.
In terms of rice, prices could remain stable to downwards in the near term as global rice stocks could increase by 5% year-on-year, boosted by large supplies, despite the anticipation of an increase in global consumption.
Given that South Africa’s 2019 rice imports could amount to 1.1 million tonnes, up by 10% from 2018, a potential decline in global rice prices as a result of increased production will benefit the consumers.
The key contributing countries to the expected increase in production are India, Vietnam, Thailand, the United States, China, Bangladesh and the Philippines. These are some of the countries that supply to South Africa.
Also, worth noting is that although South Africa’s wheat production has recovered from levels seen in the drought year, with the 2018/19 harvest estimated at 1.84 million tonnes, up by 19% from the previous season, the country will remain a net importer of the commodity.
The imports, however, could fall by 36% from the 2017/18 season to 1.4 million tonnes. In the first week of March 2019, about 376 789 tonnes had already been imported. The leading suppliers are Germany, Russia, Argentina, Ukraine, and Canada.
Overall, the outlook for global food prices is fairly positive, although some commodity prices could show an uptick from time to time. 
Wandile Sihlobo is chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz). Follow him on Twitter: @WandileSihlobo

Amira Nature Foods Ltd Regains Compliance with NYSE Listing Requirements

April 02, 2019 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amira Nature Foods Ltd (the "Company") (NYSE: ANFI), a global provider of packaged specialty rice, today announced that it has received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that the Company has regained compliance with the NYSE's continued listing standard regarding the price of Amira's ordinary shares.
The Company had received notification regarding the price deficiency on November 16, 2018. The NYSE requires that the average closing price of a listed company's shares be no less than US$1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading day period and close above US$1.00 per share on the last trading day of the month to regain compliance. The Company has been notified by the NYSE that is has cured the price condition and regained compliance with all NYSE continued listing requirements as of March 29, 2019.
Further information on the Company, including an updated investor presentation and other information, can be found on the Company’s website at www.amira.net.
About Amira Nature Foods
Founded in 1915, Amira has evolved into a global provider of packaged specialty rice, with sales in over 40 countries today. Amira sells Basmati rice, premium long-grain rice grown only in certain regions of the Indian sub-continent, under their flagship Amira brand as well as under other third party brands. Amira sells its products primarily in emerging markets through a broad distribution network. Amira’s headquarters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and it also has offices in India, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases that we or our members of management use such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” “forecast,” “estimate” or other words or phrases of similar import. Specifically, these statements include, among other things, statements that describe our expectations for the global rice market, the financial impact of new sales contracts on our revenue, our expectations regarding the successful efforts of our distribution partners, and other statements of management’s beliefs, intentions or goals. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on our results of operations, financial condition, or the price of our ordinary shares. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to our continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange; our ability to perform our agreements with customers; our ability to recognize revenue from our contracts as planned; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; our reliance on a few customers and distribution partners for a substantial part of our revenue; our ability to implement our plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect to our business and realize additional opportunities for growth; and the other risks and important considerations contained and identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

Wendy Eguez
The Amira Group
+447340071854

Rice tariffication pushes farm-gate price down to P18/kilo mark

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:03 AM April 02, 2019
A month after President Duterte signed the Rice Import Liberalization Law that would soon allow the unimpeded entry of imported rice in the country, prices of palay and rice continued to dip as of the third week of March.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) price monitoring report, the average farm-gate price of palay has been on the downtrend for four consecutive weeks now. It posted a decline of 0.26 percent and 6.96 percent from week-ago and year-ago levels, respectively, to P18.98 a kilogram.
This is the first time that the average farm-gate price of palay slipped to the P18 a kilo mark after breaching P25 last year, the highest on record.
Similarly, the average retail price for regular-milled and well-milled rice decreased to P40.30 a kilo and P44.33 a kilo, respectively.
While the Rice Import Liberalization Act came into force last month, the National Economic and Development Authority has yet to release the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR). Officials said they were targeting to approve it this week.
The rice industry has yet to measure the full impact of the law on the country’s own rice price and supply. Sans the IRR, traders could not yet submit their applications for importation.
The decline in prices in recent weeks was due, in large part, to expectations of more supplies coming in.
According to industry leaders interviewed by the Inquirer, the trend should continue once the IRR is already in place.
Economic managers said opening the local rice industry to more imports could cut retail rice prices by half and ease inflation by 0.5 to 0.7 percent.
Besides dealing with competitors, local rice farmers are also concerned as to how they would survive the dry spell and drought brought by the El Niño phenomenon, which already damaged P2.69-billion worth of rice crops.


Drought
FIRST PERSON - Alex Magno (The Philippine Star) - April 2, 2019 - 12:00am
Yesterday, the World Bank lowered its growth forecast for the country from 6.5% to 6.4%. This might seem marginal. But it does signal some deterioration This will not be a happy year for our farmers.
As of March 31, government statistics show that the “weak” El Niño we are experiencing produced agricultural damage amounting to P4.35 billion. Of this total, production losses for rice are estimated at P2.69 billion.
And we are just at the beginning of the dry season.
In addition to the drought, our rice farmers will have to adjust to the effects of the new tariff regime for rice trading. In place of quantitative restrictions on rice imports, traders are now free to import rice provided they pay the 30% tariff on the commodity.
The tariff barrier, while high, is not enough to fully protect local production. Our farmers spend about P12 to produce a kilo of rice. They will be competing with farmers from Thailand and Vietnam who produce rice at P8 and P6 per kilo respectively. The most profitable source of rice imports is Vietnam, where the cost of production is only half ours.
Although the shift to a tariff regime will benefit consumers and suppress inflation through lower rice prices, it will also put pressure on farm gate prices for the commodity. This will lead to even lower incomes for rice farming communities.
Rice farming is already unattractive. The crop may be described as a poverty trap, producing the lowest possible income per unit of land devoted to it. This explains the high rates of migration out of the rice producing areas and the rapid aging of the farmer population.
Our cost of producing rice cannot be sustainable in a free trading regime. But if we return to the old regime of quantitative restrictions (inconsistent with our commitments to the WTO), we will continue penalizing our consumers with a very high food price regime.
Also, rice is the most water intensive crop to produce. This will add to the strain on our fresh water supplies.
Being an archipelago of small islands, we do not have the impressive river systems we see in mainland Asia. Many of our small rivers dry up during the dry season. Much of the water we use for irrigation require the use of pumps, adding to the cost of production.
Over so many years, our agricultural authorities saw subsidies for irrigation as the “solution” to thin crop revenues. But this does not eliminate the costs. It merely reassigns them.
The previous administration pursued the worst possible agricultural strategy given our situation. It sought to achieve rice self-sufficiency, advocating free water to achieve this. This is not a sustainable strategy.
The better strategy is to abet diversification of our agriculture, encourage the use of new crop varieties that are less dependent on water and adopt market-driven solutions. By allowing itself to be drawn into the false utopia of rice self-sufficiency, the previous administration set us up to the rice shortages we experienced last year.
Theirs was a political strategy to win the support of rice farming communities. It was not a sustainable economic strategy.

Downsides

in confidence in our ability to sustain rapid economic expansion into the medium term.
WB senior economist Rong Qian identified two factors explaining the lower growth prospects: the El Niño phenomenon and the delay in the passage of this year’s budget. The former is an unavoidable weather cycle; the latter is self-inflicted by our toxic politics.
Because of these two downsides, we could expect growth forecasts to be lowered further if: a) the drought becomes more severe than expected; and, b) there is further delay in enacting our budget. We could be testing the 6% growth rate we have come to expect as the norm for this moment in our economy’s emergence.
The proposed 2019 budget is now in the hands of President Duterte. Unable to resolve its row with the House of Representatives, the Senate passed to the Chief Executive the task of accepting or vetoing about P75 billion in allocations the senators consider to be last-minute insertions by the congressmen.
President Duterte must now make a judgment on the constitutionality of the congressional insertions. The congressmen prefer to refer to them as “itemization” of sums already approved by the bicameral conference. 
Should the President choose to use his line-item veto power and remove the questioned items, this will produce a national budget smaller than originally planned. But this is preferable to a reenacted budget.
Already the delay is costing our domestic economy dearly. It has held up strategic infrastructure projects necessary to stimulate our domestic economic expansion. The delay caused us to lose some of the heady growth momentum built up over the past two years.
Should the executive branch fail to win Comelec approval to exempt its strategic projects from the usual election ban on public works, the cost of the delay will be more serious. The lost time, as the Finance Secretary put it, could never be recovered.
But it is possible to do other things to help recover the momentum undermined by our toxic politics and a weather event.
Our economic managers could work double-time to catch up on the construction schedules in the remaining three quarters of this year. Our monetary authorities could help spark investments by lowering policy rates as the market seems to expect.
Still, the drought could still get worse and our politicians could insist on their unproductive games.

Customs seize 1,942 bags of foreign rice, other goods in Katsina State

.Published Date Apr 1, 2019 14:40 PM

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone B, has seized no fewer than 1,942 bags of foreign rice and other goods in Katsina State in two months.
The Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Mustapha Sarkin-Kebbi, made this known on Monday during a news conference.
He said that the unit also seized 350 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 400 cartons of spaghetti, 160 bags of foreign sugar and six fairly-used vehicles.
According to him, the customs also seized 39 vehicles which the smugglers used in conveying the prohibited items into the country.
He noted that the seized items have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N107.2 million.
The controller commended the Customs officers for their efforts, urging them to keep up the good efforts for the betterment of the country.
“The Customs made about 74 seizures between February and March, 2019, in Katsina State alone.
“Two persons were arrested in connection with the smuggling activities and will be prosecuted.
“We have more problem in Katsina than in other states, may be due to the mentality of people involved in that illegal business.
‘’Everyday our officers go out for duty, they will seize smuggled items.
“Smugglers are becoming more sophisticated. If they see there is problem here, they will turn to another place but we are also equal to the task,’’ Sarkin-Kebbi said.
He urged the relevant authorities to intensify efforts toward enlightening the border communities on the dangers associated with smuggling activities.
“The smugglers need to be sensitised in order to change their minds from smuggling of illicit items into the country,’’ the controller said. (NAN)

Customs seize 1,942 bags of foreign rice, other goods

Monday, April 1, 2019 3:53 pm
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone B, has seized no fewer than 1,942 bags of foreign rice and other goods in Katsina State in two months.
The Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Mustapha Sarkin-Kebbi, made this known on Monday during a news conference.
He said that the unit also seized 350 jerry cans of vegetable oil, 400 cartons of spaghetti, 160 bags of foreign sugar and six fairly-used vehicles.
According to him, the customs also seized 39 vehicles which the smugglers used in conveying the prohibited items into the country.
He noted that the seized items have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N107.2 million.
The controller commended the Customs officers for their efforts, urging them to keep up the good efforts for the betterment of the country.
“The Customs made about 74 seizures between February and March, 2019, in Katsina State alone.
“Two persons were arrested in connection with the smuggling activities and will be prosecuted.
“We have more problem in Katsina than in other states, may be due to the mentality of people involved in that illegal business.
‘’Everyday our officers go out for duty, they will seize smuggled items.
“Smugglers are becoming more sophisticated. If they see there is problem here, they will turn to another place but we are also equal to the task,’’ Sarkin-Kebbi said.
He urged the relevant authorities to intensify efforts toward enlightening the border communities on the dangers associated with smuggling activities.
“The smugglers need to be sensitised in order to change their minds from smuggling of illicit items into the country,’’ the controller said.

DA: Rice output goal for 2019 still attainable


Description: https://39byfk2z09ab1y1bzj1l5r82-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/agri01-040119-696x363.jpg
The Department of Agriculture (DA) remains optimistic that Philippine unmilled rice output would reach a record high of 20 million metric tons (MMT) despite the onslaught of El Niño.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the DA is banking on the increase in wet season harvest to offset palay damaged by the weather
phenomenon.
“On rice production, we are still targeting to produce over 20 million metric tons despite El Niño,” Piñol said in an interview with reporters last week.
“Our reported loss is around 120,000 metric tons, which has not yet been validated. We could recover that in the wet season,” Piñol added.
Piñol said the DA revised its initial 2019 palay target of 20.085 MMT to 20 MMT due to the damage caused by El Niño.
The country’s palay output in 2018 declined by 1.09 percent to 19.066 MMT, from 19.276 MMT recorded in 2017. The reduction in output was attributed to a series of weather disturbances, including a super typhoon,
last year.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), palay production in 2018 declined slightly due to a contraction in harvest area and yield.
In its March forecast, the PSA also revised downward its projected palay output in the first quarter to 4.62 MMT from its initial estimate of 4.65 MMT.
The latest estimate of the PSA indicated that palay production in the January-to-March period would remain flat.
“Harvest area may contract by 3.3 percent from 1.194 [million] hectares in 2018,” the PSA said.
“However, yield per hectare may increase to 4 metric tons from the previous year’s level of 3.87 MT,” it added.
Rice imports during El Niño years usually exceed 2 MMT as the weather phenomenon dries up farms and destroys standing crops.
For 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Philippine rice imports could reach a record of 2.6 MMT, but this will be driven largely by strong appetite from traders following the effectivity of the rice trade liberalization law.
In its monthly grains report, the USDA projected that rice exports to the Philippines would expand by 4 percent to 2.6 MMT, from 2.5 MMT in 2018.
“[The 2.6-MMT import volume] is a record not seen since the international price spike in 2008 and would make the Philippines the second-largest global importer in 2019,” the report read.
Government data submitted to the World Trade Organization indicated that this could be the biggest volume of rice to be imported by the Philippines in history, overshadowing the volume it purchased in 2008.
In 2008, Philippine rice imports reached 2.39 MMT, of which 2.297 MMT were bought by the National Food Authority (NFA). In 2010, the country’s rice purchases from abroad reached 2.369 MMT.

‘Thinning supply’

Piñol said, however, that the country cannot simply depend on imports as thinning rice supply will not be enough to meet the requirements of the world’s expanding population.
A local agronomist also said in February that the implementation of the rice trade liberalization law will not necessarily make imports cheaper, as the projected hike in the demand for the staple could make it more expensive and lead to another price crisis.
Additional pressure on thinning rice supply, University of the Philippines Los Baños Agriculture Economist Teodoro Mendoza said, could jack up international and domestic prices as the Philippines is one of the biggest rice importers.
Higher demand for rice in countries like Africa, India and China could further exert pressure on international prices and lead to volatility, Mendoza said.
“It has already happened in 2008 when we imported 2.5 MMT. We were the world’s largest [rice] importer at that time. We also triggered the increase in rice prices which reached $1,000 per metric ton,” he said.
“At that time, our exchange rate was at 47 to the dollar, but now, if rice prices will increase to $1,000 per MT, rice prices, including transportation costs, could reach about P65 per kilogram [kg],” Mendoza added.
Mendoza said the law will eventually discourage farmers from planting rice as prices will go down. He noted that when the President signed the law, the prices of rice already have fallen to around P15 to P17 per kg, from P20 per kg.
He also said the law will displace some 10 million Filipinos working as farmers and farm hands, and other workers in allied industries. This, Mendoza said, could cut rice self-sufficiency level to 70 percent from the current 93 percent.

Vietnam's rice export decreases 23.6 pct in Q1

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-01 17:24:20|Editor: Yurou
HANOI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported over 1.3 million tons of rice worth 567 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, seeing respective year-on-year drops of 11.5 percent and 23.6 percent, according to its Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Monday.
In addition to its big rice markets such as China, the Philippines and Malaysia, Vietnam is intensifying rice export to France, the Netherlands, the United States, Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, South Korea, Japan, other members of the European Union, and other African countries.
Vietnam plans to export 6 to 7 million tons of rice this year, compared with roughly 6.1 million tons worth nearly 3.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, according to the agriculture ministry.
The country will intensify application of advanced technologies in growing paddy rice so that it can churn out 43.5 million tons of rice from 7.5 million hectares of paddy rice-growing area in 2019, said the ministry's Department of Crop Production.
As of mid-March, Vietnam had planted nearly 3.1 million hectares of winter-spring rice crop, up 0.8 percent against the same period last year. However, the winter-spring paddy rice output in its Mekong Delta is estimated at 10.8 million tons, down 37,900 tons against the previous winter-spring crop, said the department.

Egypt's GASC gets offers for Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese rice in tender: traders

·       MARCH 30, 2019 / 5:51 PM /
·        
·       CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), received five offers on Saturday for Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese rice in an international purchase tender for the grain, traders said.
·       GASC said on March 12 it was seeking white rice with 10 percent to 12 percent broken parts for two arrival periods, the first between June 1-15 and the second between June 16-30.
·       Bidders have to present samples for testing by the Agriculture Ministry.
·       Traders gave the following breakdown of the offers:
Reporting by Maha El Dahan in Dubai; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Catherine Evans

China develops new rice strain with high yield, disease resistance

Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-01 16:33:59|Editor: Yurou
NANJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have bred a new strain of rice with both high disease resistance and high yield, Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) announced.
A research team led by Professor Yang Donglei of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement and NAU in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, utilized a high-yield gene, coded Ideal Plant Architecture1 (IPA1), to enhance the plant's disease resistance against the bacterial blight of rice without undermining yields.
Yang's team found that downregulation of miR-156 and overexpression of IPA1, a target gene of microRNA-156 (miR-156) that has access to the regulation of multiple processes in the grain's growth and development, would improve disease resistance but reduce rice yield.
To find a way out of the dilemma, researchers set an "alarm" on the novel strain of rice to signal bacterial blight invasion and thus raised expression of IPA1 to enhance disease resistance.
"We call the new strain of rice 'HIP,'" Yang said, noting that the team has identified miR-156-IPA1 as a regulator of the crosstalk between growth and defense and bred the new strain of rice.
Further research showed that without pathogenic infection, IPA1 expression of the new plant strain only increases slightly, which enhances yield-related traits including fewer tiller buds, larger spikes and thick stems.
The research findings were published in the latest issue of Nature Plants, one of the top international academic journals on plant biology.

Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana : 130,005 tonnes of rice harvested for first quarter – GRDB GM



04/01/2019 | 05:02pm EDT
…36% of crop harvested so far
As government continues to invest to sustainably develop all stages of the rice production chain, farmers across the country are expressing their satisfaction as harvesting figures for the first rice crop of 2019 have proven favourable.
While harvesting is only 36 percent complete, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has reported that a total of 200,008 tonnes of paddy, which is equivalent to 130,005 tonnes rice have been harvested as of March 28th, 2019.
GRDB's General Manager, Nizam Hassan, made this disclosure as he lauded the efforts of farmers and the extension officers in ensuring that the industry prevails amidst ever-growing challenges.
'Despite the challenges access to water in some areas, we were able to cultivate 88,147 hectares of farmland, which is 7,112 hectares more than the last or autumn crop of 2018. Some Regions did extremely well and we congratulate our rice farmers for their efforts, hard work and commitment to the sector,' Hassan said.
Farmers in Baiboo/Cane Grove and Golden Grove/Mahaica, Region Four have completed 69 percent of their harvesting for this crop with a total of 276,100 bags of paddy harvested so far- an equivalent to 17,538 metric tonnes of paddy.
Additionally, harvesting figures illustrate that farmers in Region Two have completed 61 percent of harvesting, with those in La Bel Alliance-W/Castle harvesting 196,125 bags of paddy and those in Queenstown-Reliance harvesting 151,330 bags of paddy thus far. Overall, a total of 47,049 metric tonnes of paddy have been harvested in this Region.
Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder has lauded the efforts of Guyana's rice farmers in ensuring continued success of the industry, noting that they continue to express commitment to the sector's growth and development. He also urged farmers to continue to apply the advice of the extension officers in executing the six point practice to ensure maximum production and productivity is achieved.
According to the subject Minister, while Government has been implementing key policy initiatives to ensure the industry prevails, it is necessary for all players within the industry play their part.
'We have been doing exceptionally well when it comes to production and productivity but it is the farmers who deserve the applause for always returning to the fields and doing what need to be done during every stage of the crop cycle,' Minister Holder said.
Other Regions like Three, Five and Six have reportedly harvested 8,460.33, 59,710.93 and 67,249.63 metric tonnes of paddy respectively as of March 28th.
With harvesting ongoing, GRDB hopes to achieve its 2019 first crop production target which is 520,000 tonnes on paddy by the end of the harvesting process.
Farmers across country are currently receiving favourable prices as paddy prices ranges from $ 2400 to $3300 per bag or $36,912 to $50,754 per tonne.
Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana published this content on 01 April 2019 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 01 April 2019 21:01:12 UTC


In Egypt, rice import samples are judged in the kitchen

APRIL 2, 2019 / 6:07
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CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) - With steaming plates of rice and freshly sliced apples on the side, a group of Cairo-based food scientists work in their lab to decide whether the foreign grains will suit Egyptian palates.
A food scientist tastes samples of rice to make sure they fit Egyptian standards, in a research centre affiliated with Egypt's agriculture ministry in Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
The scientists cook and taste samples of rice on offer at state tenders before they are accepted. The process, which began late last year, has so far eliminated Indian origin rice and approved of Chinese and Vietnamese offers.
Egypt has spent $46.8 million on Chinese rice in two tenders since November. A third is ongoing.
Egyptians are major rice consumers and take pride in the quality of their local crop. But after planting less local rice in 2018 to conserve water, Egypt tapped the international market in November, requesting samples for a cooking test.
Rice is a heavily discounted staple on Egypt’s subsidy program, under which the state purchases foodstuffs that are offered to subsidy card holders, currently around 60 million people.
The scientists’ role is to ensure that the rice bought by the state is suited to familiar cooking methods and tastes.
“Here, as a unit, we are all (academic) doctors as well as mothers in our homes,” said Nahed Lotfy, director of the test kitchen. “We are all trained judges who have completed training courses.”
Samples are anonymized, said Nasra Ahmed, one of the taste testers. “We get a sample on which we have almost no information at all,” she said. “Everything arrives with a code.”
Researchers inspect grains for water absorption, color and smell. After cooking, the rice is presented to the tasters.
“We evaluate the product based on color, taste, aroma, flavor, as well as general response,” Lotfy said.
Researchers cannot wear perfume or smoke cigarettes. Sliced apples and water act as palate cleansers.

PUSHING UP COSTS

Traders say the taste test drives up costs by forcing them to keep their offers open indefinitely while it takes place. They say the testing process is unique to Egypt.
“It is something that doesn’t happen globally,” Mostafa al-Naggari, a major Egyptian rice exporter and importer, told Reuters. “In other countries, the cooking instructions are simply written on the packet.”
On the private market, importers have contracted to bring in 150,000 tonnes of Indian rice from October until end April, with no complaints from Egyptian consumers.
Naggari, who buys Indian rice to supply Egypt’s private market, said he was not clear why Indian samples had failed the test.
Slideshow (7 Images)
“These are the rules of the tender and we will respect it, but I am happy selling rice on the private market.”
But Nomani Nomani, an advisor to the supply minister, said the cooking tests were necessary to avoid the rice piling up in subsidy stores like it did three years ago when Egyptians refused to buy it.
“Of course if an Indian rice sample that suits Egyptian taste is presented we will accept it, but the cooking test is necessary to make sure the rice we are importing suits consumers,” he told Reuters.
Reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Maha El Dahan; Editing Aid

El Niño damage to rice and corn crop tops ₱5B

Description: rice farmerA farmer plows his rice field in this Feb. 17 file photo. The Department of Agriculture said that El Niño crop damage mainly to rice and corn is now estimated at P5.05 billion. -- PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said that El Niño crop damage mainly to rice and corn is now estimated at P5.05 billion, on lost volume of 276,568 metric tons (MT), as a result of the dry spell.
“Everyday that passes where there is no rain, there will be greater damage, and so the total damage to crops, mainly rice and corn, has breached the 5-billion level,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told reporters Tuesday.
The DA estimated Tuesday that the dry spell has affected 177,743 hectares of agricultural land and 164,672 farmers as of April 2.
Its estimate for March 31 was P4.35 billion.
While damage to rice remained relatively stable at P2.69 billion and lost volume of 125,590 MT affecting 111,851 hectares and 108,845 farmers, damage estimates for the corn crop expanded to P2.36 billion and 150,978 MT worth of lost production affecting 65,892 hectares and 55,827 farmers.
Mr. Piñol said that the crop damage mainly hit farmers who risked planting crops after sustaining storm damage in regions II (Cagayan Valley), V (Bicol Region), and X (Northern Mindanao). The DA said Region II accounted for 28% of the damage, Region V 16.54%, and Region X 6.71%.
The Bicol Region was hit by tropical depression Usman in December, which killed at least 50 people, while the region also sustained infrastructure and crop damage worth P1.5 billion.
“Towards the end of the year, nagkaroon ng bagyo sa Bicol [there was a storm in Bicol]. We provided interventions and because there was rain the farmers took the risk and planted again. So this crop sustained the damage and the same applied in Region II,” he said.
He said damage to the rice crop accounted for only 0.63% of the 2019 rice production target of P20.085 million MT (MMT), which remains unchanged. Damage to the corn crop is about 1.2% of the expected total for the year.
“We don’t expect that the damage actually will have an adverse impact on our national production… We are still keeping our national projection of 20 million metric tons (for rice), lower by about 500,000 MT than our previous target,” he said.
“We’re not saying na [that] it’s negligible because P5 billion is P5 billion, but in comparison with our national production target, the loss would only amounts to 0.63%,” he said.
He said the damage is levelling off because all the crops that can be damaged by the dry spell have been damaged, with no new planting in the last two months. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Basmati rice: Time for cautious optimism?

Description: Basmati_Rice_TPCI

• Exports of Basmati rice from India are expected to grow to a record high of Rs 30,000 crore in 2018-19. • This export performance has been achieved despite several challenges including pesticide issues in EU and Saudi Arabia and payment issues with Iran. • Improvement in average realisations and increasing paddy prices have been critical factors driving growth. • However, prospects of peaking prices and overdependence on a few markets could pose challenges for exporters in the coming fiscal. India’s basmati rice exports are expected to reach a record high of Rs 30,000 crore in 2018-19, overcoming the previous peak of Rs 29,300 crore in 2013-14, according to a report by ICRA. Key factors driving the growth are strong demand from Iran, improvement in average realisations and consecutively increasing prices of paddy over the last three years.Description: Print Exports reached Rs 24,919 crore (3.37 million MT) in the first 10 months of 2018-19, growing by 17% yoy. Average export realisations increased by 14% over the previous fiscal year, due to increase in paddy prices and rupee depreciation vis-à-vis the US dollar. Ironically, the fear of US sanctions also prompted aggressive buying by Iran in the first half. Basmati rice is expected to continue its growth momentum in 2019-20, with a projected growth of 4-5% yoy. In the current fiscal, production has come down by around 5% as some of the farmers shifted to non-basmati due to significant increase in its MSP. The increase in prices could continue upto the first half of FY 2020. Basmati rice exporters faced a number of challenges during the year, prominent among them being planned adoption of strict pesticide rules by Saudi Arabia, the pesticide residue issue in the EU, payment problems with some Iranian importers and imposition of trade sanctions on Iran by the US. European Commission had reduced the maximum mandated levels of Tricyclazole to 0.01 parts per million (ppm)as compared to 1 ppm from January 1, 2018. This is prominently used by farmers in PB1 and Pusa 1401, the Basmati rice varieties that have the maximum share in exports to the EU. The loss owing to EU pesticide rules was estimated at Rs 1,000 crore during the first nine months of FY 2018-19, as exports declined by 60% to reach 1.62 lakh tonnes during the period. Despite India’s request to permit a phased reduction of the pesticide over three years, authorities in the EU have been stringent on their position. Last year, Indian rice exporters had nearly Rs 1,000 crore stuck in Iran, primarily due to a default by an Iranian importer. In December 2018, India signed an MoU with Iran, wherein the latter agreed to accept payments in rupees. According to the arrangement, domestic oil refiners make their payments to Iran via a UCO Bank account of the National Iranian Oil Co. Iran then uses this money to pay for imports from India like medicines, medical devices and food grains. The loss in the EU market was compensated to some extent by Middle Eastern countries. The issues with Saudi Arabia also seem to have been sorted out, and the institution of the rupee payment mechanism between India and Iran should facilitate trade in the future.  Description: Print However, Indian basmati rice exports remain heavily reliant on a few markets. In 2017-18, Iran and Saudi Arabia accounted for over 40% of the exports of basmati rice from India by value. During April-February, 2018-19, Iran took nearly 1/3rd of the share of exports. Indian exporters are exploring some other markets including China, US and Latin America, but the response is not so significant. China is considered to be a highly lucrative market, which imports around 5 MT of rice annually. As of October 2018, Chinese authorities had cleared 24 rice mills in India for exports of non-basmati rice. Around 400-500 tonnes of Indian non-basmati rice has been exported to China so far. But the market would take some time to mature, and essentially imports non-basmati rice at present. Given that diversification in the export basket won’t come so quickly, basmati rice exporters who are carrying inventory face a significant risk of overdependence on a few markets. They need to be careful, as prices of the commodity also appear to be peaking, according to experts.