Thursday, November 28, 2019

28th November,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter




Banning rice imports in 2022 not feasible – Importers & Exporters Association

Description: Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Sampson Asaki Awingobit

Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Sampson Asaki Awingobit
Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Sampson Asaki Awingobit, is warning that government’s plan to ban the importation of rice could cause more harm than good in the short to medium term.

He said boosting production and consumption of local rice lies in a holistic support to local farmers in terms of cultivation and marketing of the produce.

Making his claims on Eyewitness News, Mr. Awingobit expressed fears that there could be shortage of rice if government fails to boost local production and goes ahead with the ban.

He advised government to critically examine the entire rice value chain before it goes ahead with its intended ban.

“It is not feasible in the sense that, we don’t want a situation where government will create food insecurity in this country. With what they are bringing, if there is no demand, there will be no supply. If we say that in 2022, we will ban entirely, can we can sustain what we are currently producing let alone looking for surplus for export? So we should not just rush and say, we are banning. The fears I am having is that, the government just can’t be making pronouncements. Government should be interested in the produce on the farm lands from cultivation to harvesting to packaging to marketing. Government should look at the supply chain and support the farmer adequately. At the end of the day, if they ban and the importers go to buy it, it will even cost more than the one that is brought from outside.”

Government has announced that it plans to ban the importation of rice by 2022 to boost local rice production.

Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kennedy Osei Nyarko who gave the hint, sai the move is to reverse the significant amount of foreign rice consumed by Ghanaians.

But Mr. Awingobit maintains that although the ban on the importation may be helpful to the country in the near future, measures should adequately be put in place to ground its implementation in the long run.

“Government cannot use a short or medium term to solve this issue looking at the amount of money that we are spending to bring rice into this country. The country can be looking at a long-term solution. But for now, giving ourselves 2022 is not a solution if government bans the importation.”

The struggles of rice farmers have been relayed by Citi News reports after a campaign started by Citi FM and Citi TV CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah, urging Ghanaians to consume locally grown rice.

The struggles of rice farmers and millers have left huge quantities of rice at the risk of going waste at the Fumbisi and Gbedembilisi rice valleys in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region.

As part of more immediate measures to tackle the problem, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has been meeting with 20 major rice importers to solicit commitments to support rice production in the country.

In line with this, the Ghana National Buffer Stock Company also said it will make its licensed buying companies to purchase all rice produce going bad.

10 rice millers agree to purchase locally grown rice

Meanwhile, ten major rice millers have agreed to buy locally grown rice for processing at 60 percent capacity which translates to 350,000 metric tonnes annually, representing some 7 million bags of home-grown rice.

This emerged at a meeting spearheaded by Ghana’s lead campaigner for local rice consumption, Samuel Attah-Mensah and the John Agyekum Kufuor (JAK) Foundation with some 15 local rice millers.

Speaking to Citi News, the Head of Policy at the JAK Foundation, Nana Ama Oppong Dua, said the next phase of the discussions is a meeting with financial institutions to support this course.

“What we realized is that for the 300,000 metric tonnes that can be done by these 10 [millers] we need just about 125,000 hectares of land to be able to do that. From the statistics we have from the Ministry, we have 300,000 hectares of land under cultivation. So it means that even what we’ve planted is much more than the capacity of these 10 mills here.”

“So we are hoping that the other mills will even come on board to be able to do that. What we have also done is that we’ve even used very conservative estimates. What we are using for this 300,000 metric tonnes is 60 percent capacity of production so if we scale up to 100%, then we will be able to produce much more,” she noted.

Rice Prices

as on : 28-11-2019 03:44:42 PM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
Price
Current
%
change
Season
cumulative
Modal
Prev.
Modal
Prev.Yr
%change
Rice
Gadarpur(Utr)
3678.00
1.38
118055.00
2365
2525
-
Bangalore(Kar)
1982.00
23.03
113964.00
4650
4650
8.14
Pilibhit(UP)
1500.00
-62.5
79212.50
2490
2520
9.21
Hardoi(UP)
400.00
150
7740.00
2400
2450
-3.23
Manjeri(Ker)
290.00
NC
11600.00
3500
3500
NC
Kanpur(Grain)(UP)
260.00
44.44
5800.00
2150
2040
-3.37
Mysore (Bandipalya)(Kar)
251.00
-
502.00
2100
-
NC
Etawah(UP)
210.00
-46.15
2312.00
2540
2550
3.67
Varanasi(Grain)(UP)
200.00
14.29
3530.00
2450
2415
4.26
Mainpuri(UP)
151.00
22.76
3558.00
2535
2540
-7.82
Madhoganj(UP)
145.00
-19.89
3264.50
2320
2320
4.04
Gondal(UP)
140.00
14.75
7590.50
2460
2460
-1.60
Puranpur(UP)
140.00
-20
4487.00
2600
2510
11.11
Lucknow(UP)
126.00
51.81
3577.50
2450
6900
8.89
Bindki(UP)
120.00
20
7658.00
2370
2340
8.22
Bharthna(UP)
120.00
328.57
4081.00
2540
2550
3.46
Naugarh(UP)
115.00
9.52
4557.50
2520
2490
14.55
Agra(UP)
87.00
-11.22
4443.00
2560
2580
3.23
Kalipur(WB)
76.00
-2.56
2898.00
2400
2400
-
Gazipur(UP)
72.00
-12.2
6016.50
3160
3160
17.04
Thodupuzha(Ker)
70.00
NC
3010.00
2900
2900
-7.94
Aligarh(UP)
70.00
-12.5
4345.00
2550
2540
2.00
Muzzafarnagar(UP)
70.00
-26.32
4500.00
2655
2650
2.12
Kalna(WB)
63.50
1.6
1632.50
2980
2980
-0.67
Saharanpur(UP)
62.00
-7.46
1930.50
2635
2610
1.35
Azamgarh(UP)
60.00
NC
3442.50
2470
2470
9.29
Kayamganj(UP)
60.00
50
1749.00
2710
2730
14.83
Solapur(Mah)
52.00
-14.75
226.00
3630
3660
5.22
Gauripur(ASM)
50.00
11.11
2761.50
4500
4500
NC
Ghaziabad(UP)
50.00
66.67
2440.00
2850
2850
4.59
Khalilabad(UP)
50.00
11.11
975.00
2410
2390
9.55
Bankura Sadar(WB)
48.00
6.67
1105.00
2500
2500
-3.85
Ballia(UP)
45.00
-25
2695.00
2350
2435
-2.49
Allahabad(UP)
40.00
-11.11
1825.50
2700
2680
17.39
Sahiyapur(UP)
40.00
-42.86
1501.50
2470
2470
9.53
Pandua(WB)
40.00
14.29
2248.00
3100
3100
-1.59
Vasai(Mah)
38.00
NC
1631.00
3410
3385
7.91
Jangipura(UP)
38.00
5.56
1136.00
2360
2350
3.96
Palghar(Mah)
35.00
-
70.00
3200
-
-36.00
Bhivandi(Mah)
35.00
133.33
1213.00
2300
2150
-0.86
Chitwadagaon(UP)
35.00
16.67
379.00
2310
2350
10.00
Jayas(UP)
32.10
61.31
1224.00
1950
2060
0.78
Islampur(WB)
32.00
10.34
612.00
3750
3800
-
Jaunpur(UP)
30.00
-23.08
999.20
2330
2330
2.64
Muradabad(UP)
30.00
-9.09
896.40
2600
2590
13.04
Lakhimpur(UP)
30.00
NC
2105.00
2370
2380
5.33
Dadri(UP)
30.00
-25
1483.00
2860
2850
4.00
Chintamani(Kar)
29.00
-34.09
1113.00
2350
2400
20.51
Lalitpur(UP)
28.00
-6.67
1612.00
2370
2360
-13.82
Raiganj(WB)
28.00
7.69
546.00
3650
3700
-
Ulhasnagar(Mah)
27.00
8
742.00
4750
4300
31.94
Pukhrayan(UP)
27.00
28.57
614.00
2220
2340
-0.89
Sitapur(UP)
26.50
-1.85
944.00
2450
2450
6.52
Bareilly(UP)
26.00
-69.05
2013.50
2475
2500
7.61
Rampur(UP)
26.00
13.04
554.50
2570
2560
9.83
Naanpara(UP)
25.60
34.74
967.00
2230
2210
37.23
Nalbari(ASM)
25.00
127.27
677.90
2500
2500
NC
Kopaganj(UP)
25.00
-35.9
1335.00
2475
2465
9.27
Bahraich(UP)
24.20
-18.79
2327.70
2460
2440
2.50
Saidpurhat (UP)
24.00
NC
328.00
3160
3200
61.31
Vishalpur(UP)
24.00
-25
546.80
2615
2690
14.95
Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)
24.00
-4
2075.00
2800
2800
NC
Dahod(Guj)
22.30
-71.95
703.30
4000
4000
-4.76
Devariya(UP)
22.00
46.67
1188.00
2450
2440
8.65
Farukhabad(UP)
21.00
31.25
936.50
2800
2800
18.64
Karimganj(ASM)
20.00
-50
1110.00
2450
2450
-
Pratapgarh(UP)
20.00
-11.11
197.00
2425
2400
6.83
Banda(UP)
20.00
25
276.50
2300
2320
4.07
Wansi(UP)
20.00
-9.09
1018.00
2110
2110
NC
Alipurduar(WB)
20.00
NC
660.00
2600
2600
-7.14
Jafarganj(UP)
19.00
-58.7
1142.00
2460
2465
4.68
Sirsaganj(UP)
17.00
-5.56
537.00
2640
2630
-4.00
Ghatal(WB)
17.00
21.43
479.50
2700
2650
8.00
Champadanga(WB)
17.00
21.43
695.00
3150
3150
3.28
Choubepur(UP)
16.80
-7.18
1674.00
2440
2450
3.83
Kolar(Kar)
16.00
-15.79
282.00
5349
4763
22.85
Purulia(WB)
16.00
14.29
302.00
2620
2640
NC
Badayoun(UP)
15.00
-25
818.50
2590
2580
14.10
Safdarganj(UP)
15.00
-6.25
739.00
2468
2460
8.25
Mahoba(UP)
13.10
72.37
270.30
2315
2310
-
Kannauj(UP)
12.00
NC
491.50
2720
2700
20.89
Shamli(UP)
11.00
NC
185.00
2630
2645
-6.07
Jhijhank(UP)
11.00
-31.25
54.00
2380
2440
-
Raath(UP)
11.00
57.14
36.00
2000
2000
NC
Atarra(UP)
10.00
11.11
352.00
2300
2380
4.55
Mohamadabad(UP)
10.00
-50
273.00
2710
2700
-
Kalyani(WB)
10.00
150
198.00
3450
3450
1.47
Nawabganj(UP)
9.50
-5
479.25
2420
2460
12.04
Amroha(UP)
8.00
60
93.80
2650
2650
1.92
Kasganj(UP)
8.00
-20
290.00
2570
2560
1.58
Khurja(UP)
8.00
33.33
468.30
2600
2620
NC
Mirzapur(UP)
7.50
-31.82
376.50
2420
2375
6.61
Raibareilly(UP)
7.50
-90.32
541.00
2375
2300
17.00
Auraiya(UP)
7.00
-93.46
439.60
2550
2550
14.35
Jhansi(UP)
7.00
-6.67
159.10
2285
2270
0.66
Lalganj(UP)
7.00
-88.33
424.00
2000
1750
18.34
Puwaha(UP)
7.00
-12.5
391.20
2600
2500
8.33
Etah(UP)
6.00
20
313.50
2570
2580
2.39
Badda(UP)
6.00
42.86
161.50
2600
2550
8.33
Bishnupur(Bankura)(WB)
6.00
-7.69
517.00
2600
2600
-1.89
Dibrugarh(ASM)
5.70
14
471.80
3100
3100
6.16
Tamkuhi Road(UP)
5.50
-15.38
657.40
2250
2250
4.65
Shikohabad(UP)
5.00
-50
159.50
2700
2650
-1.82
Nadia(WB)
5.00
-50
488.00
3750
3800
-6.25
Tundla(UP)
4.50
-18.18
248.70
1700
2565
-32.54
Kosikalan(UP)
4.00
-9.09
246.30
2520
2540
-3.82
Buland Shahr(UP)
4.00
-27.27
179.80
2640
2661
2.13
Jahangirabad(UP)
3.50
-12.5
198.50
2525
2525
NC
Uluberia(WB)
3.30
-8.33
45.80
2900
2900
NC
Ranaghat(WB)
3.20
NC
100.80
3700
3700
4.23
Baberu(UP)
3.00
15.38
70.10
2315
2320
-
Muskara(UP)
2.60
-33.33
48.20
2270
2300
0.44
Imphal(Man)
2.40
NC
54.80
4900
4900
-
Anandnagar(UP)
2.20
-12
244.80
2460
2465
4.68
Khatra(WB)
2.20
-18.52
591.60
2650
2650
NC
Kalimpong(WB)
2.20
83.33
42.30
2800
2800
-39.13
Gadaura(UP)
2.00
11.11
603.70
2300
2300
15.00
Ujhani(UP)
1.60
6.67
29.40
2520
2500
11.01
Jambusar(Kaavi)(Guj)
1.00
NC
111.00
3300
3200
22.22
Penugonda(Mah)
1.00
NC
34.00
4090
4090
0.25
Alibagh(Mah)
1.00
NC
124.00
4200
4200
-16.00
Murud(Mah)
1.00
NC
125.00
4200
4200
5.00
Charra(UP)
1.00
-50
60.20
2550
2530
2.00
Purwa(UP)
1.00
-50
14.00
2150
2150
-
Lamlong Bazaar(Man)
1.00
NC
27.00
4800
4800
-
Wazirganj(UP)
0.80
-84
11.60
2540
2650
-
Dasda(Tri)
0.70
16.67
2.60
2650
2625
0.76
Bishenpur(Man)
0.60
NC
16.50
4000
4700
-

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Rice exports to China still under last year’s quota: CRF

Sok Chan / Khmer Times  
27, 2019

China has not yet purchased milled rice from Cambodia for the period 2019-2020, with the country still trying to fulfill its quota for the year 2018.
For in depth analysis of Cambodian Business, visit Capital Cambodia
.
Kao Thach, CEO of Rural Development Bank (RDB), told Khmer Times that Cofco – China’s largest food processor, manufacturer and trader – has not placed any orders yet for Cambodian milled rice for the year 2019. The quota for 2019 is 400,000 tonnes.
“We don’t know whether they will purchase our rice or not. It seems like they don’t want to buy, so we are pushing,” he said.
Mr Thach noted that some local rice exporters are shipping rice to China based on the quota for 2018 – 300,000 tonnes.
“We are afraid that when the quota for 2018 is complete, we won’t receive new orders. It is difficult to sell,” Mr Thach said.
China has pledged to purchase 400,000 tonnes of rice from Cambodia this year. The pledge was made in January during a meeting in Beijing between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
From January to October this year, Cambodia shipped 184,844 tonnes of milled rice to China, according to the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality (SOWS-REF).
Exports to China accounted for 40 percent of Cambodia’s total exports of 457,940 tonnes, a 5 percent hike over the corresponding period last year.
In 2018, the Kingdom was unable to meet its rice export quota in the Chinese market, shipping only 170,000 tonnes out of the 300,000 allowed.
Lun Yeng, secretary-general of the Cambodian Rice Association, said that until this month, Cambodia is shipping rice to China based on the quota of 300,000 tonnes set for 2018. He said the old quota must be fulfilled before the new quota of 400,000 tonnes for 2019 can begin.
“Now we have almost completed the old quota of 300,000 tonnes since we had a very small amount left. Next month we will complete the old quota, and we will continue with the new one,” he added.
“We already have a quota for 2019, but China has not implemented it yet because first it has to complete the old quota for 2018,” Mr Yeng added.  “We do not have a fix contract with China, so when they want to purchase, they will discuss the price and request a quote from us. No price is set in advance,” he added.
“For the new export quota of 400,000 tonnes for 2019, we already signed an initial agreement on November 5 in Shanghai for 125,000 tonnes. This means that for the period 2019-2020 they will buy at least 125,000 tonnes as per this agreement,” Mr Yeng said.
In principle, the new quota should be implemented this November, but they start with a lower amount, Mr Yeng noted.
“Now, China’s Cofco is not purchasing, so our rice millers are considering whether they should buy more rice to store in their warehouses or not,” he added.
Mr Yeng said rice millers have already purchased paddy from farmers and now all warehouses are full because China has not placed new orders yet.
“If China starts ordering, rice millers can start purchasing paddy from farmers. They can clear the old stock and purchase new one,” he added.
According to the figure from SOWS-REF, the European Union is the second-biggest buyer of Cambodian rice, purchasing a total of 155,950 tonnes of milled rice from January to October – an increase of 34 percent when compared with the same period last year.
The report showed that 83 companies exported Cambodian rice to the international market, including Baitang (Kampuchea) Plc, the biggest rice exporter, who shipped 60,358 tonnes. Amru Rice (Cambodia), the next biggest exporter, shipped 41,068 tonnes.
27 November,2019 09:18 am
Description: https://img.dunyanews.tv/news/2019/November/11-27-19/news_big_images/520574_91859104.jpg
During the period from July-October, rice worth $633.739 million was exported.
(APP) – Rice exports from the country during first four months of current financial year grew by 43.76 per cent as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of the previous year.
During the period from July-October, rice worth $633.739 million was exported as compared to the exports of $440.828 million of same period of last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The rice exports during the period under review, witness significant increase as it went up from 800,078 metric tons in first four months of last financial year to 1,141,334 metric tons in same period of current financial year.
The exports of basmati rice also increased by 55.32% as about 279,257 metric tons of basmati rice worth $256.817 million were exported as against the exports of 161,812 metric tons valuing $165.351 million of same period of last year, it added.
Meanwhile, country earned $376.922 million by exporting about 862,087 metric tons of others rice, which stood at 638,266 metric tons valuing $275.477 million in the period under review.
In first four months of current financial year, about 54,177 metric tons of fish and fish products valuing $129.655 million also exported as compared to the exports of 44,513 metric tons worth $109.776 million of same period of the last year.
The exports of meat and meat products witnessed 53.57% increase in four months of financial year 2019-20, as 27,554 metric tons of the above mentioned commodities worth $97.885 million exported which was recorded at 17,566 metric tons valuing $63.722 million in same period of last year, the data added.
It may be recalled here that food group exports from the country during first four months of current financial year increased by 16.21%, where as imports of the food commodities into the country decreased by 20.34% as compared to the corresponding period of the last year.
The imports of the food group came down to $1.583 billion during the period from July-October, 2019-20 from $1.987 billion of the same period of the last year.

Increase in Basmati Rice Prices Concerning: AIREA


Nathi Ram Gupta, President All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), released a statement on increase in basmati rice prices. AIREA cautioned rice millers and exporters regarding the recent surge in prices of basmati rice. AIREA emphasized further on payment risks involved in export of rice to Iran.
AIREA’s Advisory for Basmati Rice Exporters
The report suggested an abrupt spike in Basmati paddy and rice costs despite no such incidents in the global market. Accordingly, the rice cost increased by Rs 300 per Quintal and paddy cost has increased by Rs 150 per quintal. Further, it also notified that the consignments of Basmati Rice held at the Iranian ports have regained flow. This news provides a sense of relief to the rice exporters.
Despite the relief, the advisory forewarned exporters about trading with Iran. A meeting organized with Secretary and Additional Secretary of Department of commerce resolved that there are no guarantees on dealing with Iran. After the meeting officials clearly stated no assurances regarding the payments from Iran for exports. Thereby, creating a sense of alert among the exporters as mentioned above.
Raising the alert, AIREA also mentioned that money of exporters held up in Iran estimated at Rs 5000 crore in UCO Bank and Rs 6500 crore in IDBI bank. However, experts from AIREA predict no gain for exporters. As they foretasted that these amounts will soon be depleted, if and when they are released. In addition to that, the ambiguity regarding the use of these funds for the sole purpose of rice export was highlighted.
AIREA’s Request for Caution
Through this letter, AIREA’s President Nathi Ram Gupta advised the members to have a grip on the prices of the Bamati Paddy and Basmati Rice. An abrupt and extreme rise in basmati rice prices would have a negative influence on trade. Further, it was accentuated that in the future basmati rice export to Iran must be dealt with extreme caution.
The Iran Payments Issue
Approximately, India exports more than 1 million tons of Basmati rice to Iran. Ever since US sanctions on Iran’s crude oil, Indian exporters are in fray over payments from Iran. Payments from Iran come through the Rupee mechanism via UCO Bank and IDBI bank. Since India stopped importing crude oil from Iran, exporters expected recovering payments from Iran would be a problem in the coming months. However, payments started getting delayed from June 2019 and finally funds released this week.
Experts suggest a bumper crop of basmati rice FY 2019-20. If basmati rice millers start purchasing paddy at these high prices they will suffer losses in the coming months. The basmati rice industry is already suffering from huge bad debts owing to speculation and unstable prices of the commodity. In conclusion, rice millers should be very careful about the basmati rice prices.
Lack of access to credit affecting our operations – Local Rice Millers
Millers allege that most financial institutions expressed interest in funding importers
The Rice Millers Association of Ghana, has blamed inadequate financing for their inability to purchase the huge volumes of rice produced by farmers across the country.

The Millers allege that most financial institutions expressed interest in funding importers rather than local producers.

Citi TV and Citi FM CEO, Samuel Attah-Mensah has been leading a campaign to boost the consumption of locally produced rice.

Speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs program, The Point of View on Monday, the Convener of the Rice Millers Association of Ghana, Yaw Adu Poku, said the collateral demands by the banks discourage them.

“We are not buying because way back in February most of the millers started going to our bankers and telling them about what we are anticipating to help them; but unfortunately the financial houses are not ready to come in especially if we are talking about agro projects, financial houses across board are not interested in it and the requirements they are asking from is way over our heads”.

Speaking on the same program, the Managing Director of Citi FM and Citi TV Samuel Attah-Mensah, who’s the lead campaigner for the consumption of Ghana Rice, says the looming unemployment that will arise from the sector is a national security threat; hence the intervention.

“If you have over one hundred and fifty thousand people in that chain in the five northern regions put together, that’s a clear national security issue. You are not hoping that these people will go home hungry. The next you see is that an army of people will come down south and look for work, so by not attending to them, we create a bigger problem” he warned.

Meanwhile, as part of Citi FM and Citi TV’s ‘Eat Ghana Rice’ campaign, the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation in partnership with lead campaigner, Samuel Attah-Mensah, is set to meet some local rice millers today, Tuesday, 26th November, 2019.

Over fifteen major rice millers across the country are expected to attend the meeting.

Nana Ama Oppong Dua, the Policy Adviser at the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation, spoke about the essence of the meeting.

“We are going to discuss issues like financing, the mill capacities , storage and varieties; we are expecting that after this meeting we will be able to collate all the capacities of the various mills at least the major ones and continue the engagement with importers”.
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