China to aid with installation of phytosanitary
system in Pakistan
In a
meeting between Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed
Fakhar Imam and Yao Jing, Ambassador of China, it had been decided that China
will help in installing phytosanitary system for increasing fruit export and
building vocational & technical agriculture institutions for training farmers.
Fakhar
Imam said that Pakistan’s future will be much dependant on agriculture. He said
that both countries need to revisit the contours of agricultural sector and
that technical experts from both sides should directly interact with each other
to come up with concrete projects for agricultural research.
Federal
Minister said that Pakistan was facing problem of low yields, so there must be
exchange of germplasm as an area of cooperation which will provide an opportunity
to develop high yielding varieties for cotton, fruit, hybrid rice and wheat by
our research centers.
An MoU
had already been signed in March 2020 between Pakistan and China during the
visit of the President of Pakistan to China. The MoU is aimed at establishing a
Joint Plan Pest and Disease Control Centre in Pakistan. Establishment of the
Centre is extremely important as there is no such centre in Pakistan and the
nation is plagued by locusts.
Source: nation.com.pk
Wheat and flour crisis: Powerful hoarders amassed 5mmt
wheat illegally
ISLAMABAD: Scores of powerful
hoarders have illegally stockpiled over five million metric tons wheat this
year, officials of the Ministry of National food Security and Research reveal.
"Hoarding of wheat is a major
concern this (harvesting) season,” a senior official of the ministry told this
correspondent, asking not to be named. “An estimated five million metric tons
of wheat is being kept unlawfully either by an influential middlemen,
businessmen or flour mills owners,” he said.
The development happened at a time
when price of wheat flour surged by an alarming 65 percent in the open market
during past 21 months; an unusual indicator that exposed government’s weak
strategy over mechanism of controlling essential commodities’ prices.
Large quantities of the crop have
been hidden in rice mills, sugar mills, spinning mills and warehouses owned by
influential individuals, the official added. Most of these warehouses and mills
are located on the bordering areas of the four provinces, namely Kashmore,
Sadiqabad, Rahimyar Khan, Bhakkar, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar, amongst
others. “These hoarders have strong political backings,” the senior official
explained, “And a few are even in the current government,” he added.
A flour bag weighing 20 kg was
available for Rs640 (ex-mill price) during Sept 2018 which has now jumped up to
Rs1,050 to Rs1, 070 per bag in the open market in Punjab, Sindh and
Balochistan, while in KP it is touching up to Rs1,100 to Rs. 1,150, weeks long
investigation by The News revealed on authority. Over 30 percent increase in
flour prices was witnessed in past four weeks as price of a 20kg bag shot up
from Rs810 to Rs1,070, revealed official figures.
Pakistan has missed its target of
wheat procurement by around 20 percent this year. The government set a target
of lifting 8.2mmt wheat, which was 32 percent of the total production, but it
could only procure 6.6mmt.
“Extra profit of billions of rupees
was directly going into pockets of middlemen, hoarders, traders, flour mills
owners and artees,” informed officials further said, adding that total amount
of additional profit could not be counted but it must be over Rs100 billion in
past four months.
Wheat flour prices alarmingly
started soaring up since July last year, as the official record showed that a
20kg flour bag was being sold at Rs854 in open market during August 2019, Rs908
during January 2020, Rs912 during April 2020, Rs972 during first week of June
this year and now this 20kg flour bag has crossed upwards of Rs1, 045. Official
statistics also reveal that the provincial food departments have had 20 percent
less stocks as compared to last year which was 7.8mmt. Departments have
stockpiles of 6.9mmt wheat as on June 17, 2020, according to official data.
Punjab procured 4.08mmt this year,
lower than the 4.9mmt is lifted last year. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
procured 0.44mmt, a decline from 0.96mmt last year. However, Sindh and
Balochistan picked up a larger share of the crop, compared to 2019. This year,
Sindh procured 1.2mmt, while last year it only got 0.8mmt. Balochistan procured
0.92mmt.
The federal government has decided
to import 3mmt wheat, a record quantity for the first time in eleven years, in
an attempt to quell escalating prices and to replenish its stocks in
anticipation of decline in surpluses by end of this year. The Economic
Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has already given a go ahead for
import of 0.5mmt wheat, a move happening for the first time since 2009. As per
official data, Pakistan has been collectively maintaining up to 8.386mmt
surplus wheat since 2009 to 2018. Food departments recorded storage of 5.584mmt
surplus wheat during 2009-10, 6.01mmt during 2010-11, 4.119mmt during 2011-12,
2.498mmt during 2012-13, 3.376mmt during 2013-14, 4.955mmt during 2014-15, 5.03mmt
during 2015-16, 6.015mmt during 2016-17, 5.989mmt during 2017-18 and 1.336mmt
surplus wheat during 2018-19.
Meanwhile, the administration in all
districts have set in place measures to penalise hoarding, in order to ensure
there is no shortage of the food crop in the country. Interestingly, government
officials claim that the Pakistan Flour Mills Association lifted an estimated
2mmt of the crop, but the PFMA chairman told The News that he only purchased
60,000 to 70,000mmt from the open market as the provincial food departments did
not allow the Association to buy more.
Pakistan is likely to consume
27.47mmt of wheat from April 2020 to April 2021, according to official
statistics. But the total production in the country was only 25.457mmt.
However, if Pakistan were to import
wheat to fill the shortfall in demand, it could end up paying Rs1,963 per 40kg,
official figures reveal. The price of the ‘Red Hard Winter’ variety of wheat,
grown mostly in the United States, would be $266 per ton, including freight
charges of $50 per ton. Moreover, imported wheat will be available in cities
like Multan with an additional cost of Rs100 per 40kg, on account of
transportation charges, official documents noted.
According to Dr Aslam Gill, the
former wheat commissioner, wheat has now become a political commodity, the same
as sugar. “Politically influential people have been hoarding wheat in huge
quantities to control the market,” Gill said. “Price hike is not due to any
deficiencies in the supply chain, rather it is due to millers and the middle
men’s monopoly. Also, the failure of the food department to check such
practices.”
This year, the state-run Pakistan
Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) and provincial
governments set up 1,162 wheat purchasing centres across the country. The
centres were to facilitate farmers to sell their crops at fixed rates.
Separately, the Ministry of National
Food, Passco and secretaries of food departments of provinces set the wheat
procurement target of Passco at 1.8mmt wheat, of which purchase for Punjab was
4.5mmt, Sindh 1.4mmt, Balochistan 1mmt and KP 0.45mmt.
But due to the scarcity of the crop,
Passco will now be releasing 0.25mmt of wheat to flour mills to ease the
shortage and the resulting price hike. However, they fear that an early release
of wheat to flour mills and hoarding of surplus wheat may lead to another
crisis during October and November this year. As per the general practice,
Passco releases wheat to mills around August every year, not earlier.
Fresh price hike further burdens the
consumers after earlier increases in flour prices went unnoticed, Asim Raza
Ahmad, chairman PFMA said. If flour mills do not get permits for wheat
procurement within this week, the price of flour within the province will rise upwards
once more, he feared.
The country produced 249.556mmt
wheat during 10 years while its domestic consumption remained at 241.17mmt
wheat during those seasons. Pakistan exported record 10.5mmt wheat during past
ten years while it imported only 1mmt wheat during this period, revealed
official figures exclusively obtained by this correspondent.
Thus millers say a 20kg wheat bag
cost Rs960 in the open market while its grinding charges remain Rs80 to Rs90
conclusively covering all the charges.
Flour millers seek 23% cut in wheat price under open market
sale scheme
Published: July 3, 2020 7:11 AM
As per weather reports, kharif 2020 is going to be normal and next rabi
crop also may be bumper. So, the storage gap will eventually widen.
X
Wheat has to be milled for
consumption.
Flour millers have demanded the current wheat price under the open market
sale scheme (OMSS) be cut by 23% and also have assured the government that they
will lift 10 million tonne from the
official stock.
A decrease in the reserve price may help the government to reduce the
stockpiles of the cereal with the Food Corporation of India, which is double
than the buffer norm of 27.6 million tonne as on July 1.
Related News
After the lockdown was announced, the Centre had reduced the reserve price
of wheat at Rs 2,135/quintal and allowed direct sales from district level FCI
depots. This helped it to sell 0.57 million tonne while the target is to sell
1.5 million tonne in the entire fiscal. The wheat stock with FCI as on June 30
was over 55 million tonne.
“Less than 13% of free grain alloted for PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana was
wheat. Rice is clearly the preferred option. Demand of wheat will continue to
remain subdued in the PDS channel even for the next five months,” said Sanjay
Puri, president of Roller Flour Millers Federation of India.
The only way for the government to liquidate the stock is to reduce the
price by at least Rs 5/kg to bring them close to international prices so that
value added wheat products can become viable for export, Puri told FE.
Wheat has to be milled for consumption. This is difficult during the
pandemic as most small Chakkis are mostly inoperative and consumer is unable to
utilise wheat alloted. Less than 13% of free grain alloted for PM Garib Kalyan
Ann Yojana was wheat.
Rice is clearly the preffered option for consumer. The alloted wheat is
mostly being diverted from PDS to market channels as it is not picked up by the
consumers. Demand of wheat will continue to remain subdued in the PDS channel
even for the next five months. The only way for Govt to liquidate the Wheat
stocks is to reduce the price by atleast Rs 5/ Kg to bring them close to
prevailing international prices so that value added wheat products can become
viable for export.
The annual allocation of wheat under the National Food Security Act and
other welfare measures is 26.4 million tonne and another 4 million tonne can be
offloaded for the PMGKAY scheme taking the total to around 30 million tonne for
this fiscal. The wheat procurement this year itself was a record 39 million
tonne, leaving a surplus of 9 million tonne.
As per weather reports, kharif 2020 is going to be normal and next rabi crop
also may be bumper. So, the storage gap will eventually widen and storage
crunch may affect crop storage losses or less storage gain, increased costs of
fumigation, damages, Puri said in a representation to the food ministry.
“If OMSS reserve rate is reduced by Rs 500/quintal for wheat, it will
improve lifting by at least 10 million tonne and market dynamics will give a
better rate to the consumer,” he said. Though the industry body has estimated
that the government will save Rs 8,500 crore as carrying costs by liquidating
10 million tonne of wheat, but it will be definitely more than an estimated
revenue loss of Rs 5,000 crore if OMSS rate is reduced.
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Import and die
Unrestricted poultry imports at a time of oversupply and depressed prices
may mean the death of the industry.
This unabated import flow must be addressed with a calibrated strategy.
Consider the table on the right.
ADVERTISEMENT
Farmers lost 38-49 percent of their production cost. On the other hand,
retailers got 40-60 percent more than the suggested retail price (SRP). The
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry jointly
determined that the SRP should be at most P60 above the farm-gate price. In
other words, the farmers suffered while retailers benefited. The Price Act law
was not effectively implemented.
In addition, there was a large oversupply. Frozen poultry inventory doubled
from 47 million tons last year to 82.6 tons this year. Of this increase, local
poultry supply rose by only 19 percent, while imports grew by 183 percent.
On May 8, with losses mounting and an oversupply increasing mainly due to
imports, the Urban Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) wrote the DA to request
import action. On May 28, Ubra showed a DA video where, at a scheduled meeting,
a DA official said local producers should regulate their production to make way
for imports. A higher DA official later clarified that this was not their
official position.
To date, Ubra says there is still no significant DA action on poultry
imports, which continue unabated. Since I was a vice president for Asia of the
United Nations Council for Trade and Development, I discussed with Ubra three
policy suggestions:
– In the past, the DA discouraged importation of rice and corn during
harvest time. Can the DA not do the same temporarily for poultry during this
time of oversupply?
– If late Sen. Eduardo Angara suspended poultry importation for 90 days
because it was facing a similar crisis, can the DA not follow this example?
– Since the rice quantitative restrictions (QRs) we got were given as a
trade off for decreasing the tariff on mechanically deboned meat from 35
percent to 5 percent, why has there been no action to restore the tariff to 35
percent since we no longer have rice QRs?
On operations, there were two recommendations:
– After 22 years, why has the DA still not implemented Sections 38-42 of the
Agriculture Fisheries Modernization Act, or Republic Act No. 8435? This
mandates the creation of a market information system. Being largely blind, it
is difficult to address smuggling and other critical agriculture issues.
ADVERTISEMENT
– Why has the DA not yet established quarantine facilities major ports of
entry? These could have detected the African swine fever that is destroying our
hog industry, and can prevent entry of the China swine flu that was announced
last June 30 as having “pandemic potential.”
Agriculture Secretary William Dar has been prevented by some internal DA
personnel from knowing important details. We must work together to calibrate
our imports during this pandemic. Otherwise, industries like poultry will die,
and the government’s fight against poverty will be seriously undermined.
The author is Agriwatch chair, former Secretary of Presidential Programs and
Projects and former undersecretary of Agriculture and Trade and Industry.
Contact him via agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com
ICD, Ngp registers 60% jump in rice
exports
By
Ravi Chandpurkar :
On a monthly
average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers
compared to the previous year
Although
most businesses are facing plethora of problems owing to lockdown induced by
COVID-19, ICD, Nagpur managed by CONCOR has registered a jump in rice exports.
“The company has registered 60 per cent rise in exports of rice compared to the
year-ago period,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, Chief Manager of ICD, Nagpur while
speaking to The Hitavada. He said that there had been a substantial rise in
exports of rice especially during the months of May and June. On a monthly
average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers
compared to the previous year. Major supplies of rice comes from Gondia and
Raipur to CONCOR’s Inland Container Depot, MIHAN.
The
rice is mostly exported to countries in the Middle East and Africa. “On the
other hand, the imports have fallen by 50 per cent this year as compared to the
previous year. This year, on a monthly average 1,000 containers are being
imported as compared to monthly average of 2,000 containers of the previous
year at ICD, Nagpur,” he said. Lack of demand, prevailing economic situation
and strain in relations between India and China have contributed to the fall in
imports. Clothes, consumer durables and toys were mostly imported from China,
but these imports have dipped,” he said. CONCOR’s ICD, Nagpur has shifted 80
per cent of its operations to its new sprawling location at MIHAN.
The
remaining 20 per cent operations will be shifted within two months, he said.
The ICD, MIHAN is spread over an area of 110 acres compared to 35 acres at
Ajni. Shifting to MIHAN has not only given three times more space but advantage
of being closer to the industries located at MIHAN-SEZ, Butibori MIDC and
Hingna MIDC. With the new facility in MIHAN, CONCOR is offering 10 per cent
lower container handling and freight rates.
Currently
the handling rates of 20 feet container is Rs 2,500 and for 40 feet container
Rs 4,500. Similarly the freight rates for 20 feet container is Rs 28,000
whereas for 40 feet the rate is Rs 37,100. Other than container import and
export services, the new facility at MIHAN offers domestic railway wagon
handling services. Currently, the company is handling about three to four rakes
per month. Mostly dals, foodgrains and rice is handled on domestic routes by
rail, he further added.
Sections
Friday, July 3, 2020
search
Close
Commentary
Import and die
Unrestricted poultry imports at a
time of oversupply and depressed prices may mean the death of the industry.
This unabated import flow must be
addressed with a calibrated strategy. Consider the table on the right.
ADVERTISEMENT
Farmers lost 38-49 percent of their
production cost. On the other hand, retailers got 40-60 percent more than the
suggested retail price (SRP). The Department of Agriculture and the Department
of Trade and Industry jointly determined that the SRP should be at most P60
above the farm-gate price. In other words, the farmers suffered while retailers
benefited. The Price Act law was not effectively implemented.
In addition, there was a large
oversupply. Frozen poultry inventory doubled from 47 million tons last year to
82.6 tons this year. Of this increase, local poultry supply rose by only 19
percent, while imports grew by 183 percent.
On May 8, with losses mounting and
an oversupply increasing mainly due to imports, the Urban Broiler Raisers
Association (Ubra) wrote the DA to request import action. On May 28, Ubra
showed a DA video where, at a scheduled meeting, a DA official said local
producers should regulate their production to make way for imports. A higher DA
official later clarified that this was not their official position.
To date, Ubra says there is still no
significant DA action on poultry imports, which continue unabated. Since I was
a vice president for Asia of the United Nations Council for Trade and
Development, I discussed with Ubra three policy suggestions:
– In the past, the DA discouraged
importation of rice and corn during harvest time. Can the DA not do the same
temporarily for poultry during this time of oversupply?
– If late Sen. Eduardo Angara
suspended poultry importation for 90 days because it was facing a similar
crisis, can the DA not follow this example?
– Since the rice quantitative
restrictions (QRs) we got were given as a trade off for decreasing the tariff
on mechanically deboned meat from 35 percent to 5 percent, why has there been
no action to restore the tariff to 35 percent since we no longer have rice QRs?
On operations, there were two
recommendations:
– After 22 years, why has the DA
still not implemented Sections 38-42 of the Agriculture Fisheries Modernization
Act, or Republic Act No. 8435? This mandates the creation of a market
information system. Being largely blind, it is difficult to address smuggling
and other critical agriculture issues.
ADVERTISEMENT
– Why has the DA not yet established
quarantine facilities major ports of entry? These could have detected the
African swine fever that is destroying our hog industry, and can prevent entry
of the China swine flu that was announced last June 30 as having “pandemic
potential.”
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
has been prevented by some internal DA personnel from knowing important
details. We must work together to calibrate our imports during this pandemic.
Otherwise, industries like poultry will die, and the government’s fight against
poverty will be seriously undermined.
The author is Agriwatch chair,
former Secretary of Presidential Programs and Projects and former
undersecretary of Agriculture and Trade and Industry. Contact him via
agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com
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ICD, Ngp registers 60% jump in rice
exports
By
Ravi Chandpurkar :
On a
monthly average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000
containers compared to the previous year
Although
most businesses are facing plethora of problems owing to lockdown induced by
COVID-19, ICD, Nagpur managed by CONCOR has registered a jump in rice exports.
“The company has registered 60 per cent rise in exports of rice compared to the
year-ago period,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, Chief Manager of ICD, Nagpur while
speaking to The Hitavada. He said that there had been a substantial rise in
exports of rice especially during the months of May and June. On a monthly
average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers
compared to the previous year. Major supplies of rice comes from Gondia and
Raipur to CONCOR’s Inland Container Depot, MIHAN.
The
rice is mostly exported to countries in the Middle East and Africa. “On the
other hand, the imports have fallen by 50 per cent this year as compared to the
previous year. This year, on a monthly average 1,000 containers are being
imported as compared to monthly average of 2,000 containers of the previous
year at ICD, Nagpur,” he said. Lack of demand, prevailing economic situation
and strain in relations between India and China have contributed to the fall in
imports. Clothes, consumer durables and toys were mostly imported from China,
but these imports have dipped,” he said. CONCOR’s ICD, Nagpur has shifted 80
per cent of its operations to its new sprawling location at MIHAN.
The
remaining 20 per cent operations will be shifted within two months, he said.
The ICD, MIHAN is spread over an area of 110 acres compared to 35 acres at Ajni.
Shifting to MIHAN has not only given three times more space but advantage of
being closer to the industries located at MIHAN-SEZ, Butibori MIDC and Hingna
MIDC. With the new facility in MIHAN, CONCOR is offering 10 per cent lower
container handling and freight rates.
Currently
the handling rates of 20 feet container is Rs 2,500 and for 40 feet container
Rs 4,500. Similarly the freight rates for 20 feet container is Rs 28,000
whereas for 40 feet the rate is Rs 37,100. Other than container import and export
services, the new facility at MIHAN offers domestic railway wagon handling
services. Currently, the company is handling about three to four rakes per
month. Mostly dals, foodgrains and rice is handled on domestic routes by rail,
he further added.
Related News
Latest News
Useful
Links
Useful
Links
Useful
Links
About
The Hitavada, The People's Paper, is
the largest selling broadsheet English daily newspaper of Central India.
The Hitavada is simultaneously published
from the cities of Nagpur, Jabalpur, Raipur and Bhopal.
© Copy Right 2020 All Rights
Reserved by TheHitavada.
ICD, Ngp registers 60% jump in rice
exports
By
Ravi Chandpurkar :
On a
monthly average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000
containers compared to the previous year
Although
most businesses are facing plethora of problems owing to lockdown induced by
COVID-19, ICD, Nagpur managed by CONCOR has registered a jump in rice exports.
“The company has registered 60 per cent rise in exports of rice compared to the
year-ago period,” said Santosh Kumar Singh, Chief Manager of ICD, Nagpur while
speaking to The Hitavada. He said that there had been a substantial rise in
exports of rice especially during the months of May and June. On a monthly
average 3,200 containers of rice have been exported as against 2,000 containers
compared to the previous year. Major supplies of rice comes from Gondia and
Raipur to CONCOR’s Inland Container Depot, MIHAN.
The
rice is mostly exported to countries in the Middle East and Africa. “On the
other hand, the imports have fallen by 50 per cent this year as compared to the
previous year. This year, on a monthly average 1,000 containers are being
imported as compared to monthly average of 2,000 containers of the previous
year at ICD, Nagpur,” he said. Lack of demand, prevailing economic situation
and strain in relations between India and China have contributed to the fall in
imports. Clothes, consumer durables and toys were mostly imported from China,
but these imports have dipped,” he said. CONCOR’s ICD, Nagpur has shifted 80
per cent of its operations to its new sprawling location at MIHAN.
The
remaining 20 per cent operations will be shifted within two months, he said.
The ICD, MIHAN is spread over an area of 110 acres compared to 35 acres at
Ajni. Shifting to MIHAN has not only given three times more space but advantage
of being closer to the industries located at MIHAN-SEZ, Butibori MIDC and
Hingna MIDC. With the new facility in MIHAN, CONCOR is offering 10 per cent
lower container handling and freight rates.
Currently
the handling rates of 20 feet container is Rs 2,500 and for 40 feet container
Rs 4,500. Similarly the freight rates for 20 feet container is Rs 28,000
whereas for 40 feet the rate is Rs 37,100. Other than container import and
export services, the new facility at MIHAN offers domestic railway wagon
handling services. Currently, the company is handling about three to four rakes
per month. Mostly dals, foodgrains and rice is handled on domestic routes by
rail, he further added.
Related News
Latest News
Useful
Links
Useful
Links
Useful
Links
About
The Hitavada, The People's Paper, is
the largest selling broadsheet English daily newspaper of Central India.
The Hitavada is simultaneously
published from the cities of Nagpur, Jabalpur, Raipur and Bhopal.
© Copy Right 2020 All Rights
Reserved by TheHitavada.
ADB projects food crisis amid Covid pandemic
FE REPORT |
Published: July 03, 2020 10:33:46 | Updated: July
03, 2020 12:44:41
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned of food insecurity in Bangladesh
during this protracted Covid-19 pandemic for its higher dependence on Indian
rice.
Bangladesh and two other South Asian peers-Nepal and Sri Lanka-would be
vulnerable to trade disruptions, given their high reliance on rice imports from
India.
The note of caution came from a latest report of the Manila-based lender
styled 'Food Security in Asia and the Pacific amid the Covid-19 Pandemic'.
The lender said the pandemic increased food security
risks in Asia and the Pacific as strict quarantine measures and export bans on
basic food items have affected all stages of food supply chain.
Since nearly 90 per cent of Bangladeshi workers are
working in the informal sector, it said, they would be at higher risk of
impoverishment because of the crisis.
From the South Asian perspective, the informal
workers are 70 per cent in this subcontinent, the ADB informed.
"Household food consumption and nutrition have
been significantly affected by loss of jobs and income and limited access to
food," the food security report said.
"Informal sector workers-70 per cent of total
employment in the SA region- in particular, are at higher risk," it added.
Citing the 2007-2008 food crisis, the report said it
was estimated that 45 per cent of the increase in rice prices and 30 per cent
in wheat prices resulted from trade restrictions during the crisis.
Compared with that crisis, the current food security
concern is mainly driven by supply disruptions and logistic constraints caused
by quarantine and lockdown measures, it apprehended.
As of May and since the COVID-19 outbreak, 22
countries have implemented restrictive food trade policy measures.
Learning lessons from the 2007-2008 crisis, regional
policy-makers need to be careful not to turn a health crisis into a food
crisis.
The report suggested keeping food supply chains
secure and functioning and mitigating the pandemic's impact on vulnerable
groups.
Policy responses to COVID-19 in Asia's developing
countries have focused more on social protection and production support than on
banning food exports, it said.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting both food
supply and demand with uncertain effects on food prices," the according to
the report.
"The likely path of food prices will be subject
to the duration of the pandemic, dynamics of food supply and demand as well as
policy actions to mitigate effects."
For consumers, the ADB has suggested governments
increase coverage, relax conditionalities and enhance the benefits of social
protection programmes, particularly during lockdowns.
These are critical to ensure that vital support
reaches those disproportionately affected by COVID-19's health and economic
impacts.
For producers, the ADB has advised enhancing
immediate support to smallholder farmers' access to markets.
During lockdown, it is challenging for farmers in
rural areas where updated information is limited to knowing where ad hoc or
non-regular markets are taking place.
The lender has also recommended free trade and regional
cooperation.
"Countries should collaborate to avert food
shortages and price spikes by ensuring free trade and strengthening regional
mechanisms for food security."
It also suggests direct online marketing, enhanced
price risk management system, movement toward agricultural technology,
institutional and legislative reforms, and targeted support to poor and
smallholder farmers through agricultural reforms.
However, Bangladesh is on a comfortable zone so far
as its rice production has been satisfactory in the last Boro season.
A recent World Agricultural Production report of the
US Department of Agriculture estimated that Bangladesh would have 36-million
tonnes or rice during the 2020-21 period.
The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute said the
country's annual consumption requirement of rice is 35-million tonnes and last
year's total production was higher than the estimated demand.
Until May 11, rice stock at public godowns was
0.99-million tonnes and wheat stock 0.28-million tonnes.
kabirhumayan10@gmail.com
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/adb-projects-food-crisis-amid-covid-pandemic-1593750826
Food inflation pushes CPI to 8.6pc in June
Monthly inflation was led by a spike in the prices
of wheat/flour, potatoes, pulses, condiments and spices
By
-
July 1, 2020
144
ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate
increased to 8.6pc year-on-year in June, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said
in its monthly report published on Wednesday.
The rate was 8.22pc year-on-year in May.
According to the data, urban CPI accelerated to 7.6pc YoY in June as
compared to 7.3pc in May, while rural CPI climbed to 10.0pc YoY when compared
with 9.7pc in May.
This took the FY20 national CPI average to 10.8pc as against 6.8pc in FY19.
As per Intermarket Securities Ltd analysis, the rise
in June CPI was primarily led by a jump in food inflation, while both Urban and
Rural Core inflation (NFNE) continued to drop.
Urban core inflation declined to 4.7pc in June vs.
5.4pc in May while rural core inflation declined to 5.8pc YoY vs. 6.4pc in the
previous month.
Higher food inflation was led by a spike in prices
of wheat/flour, potatoes, pulses, condiments and spices. This was somewhat
countered by a decline in tomato and onion prices. This led to a sharp increase
in both urban and rural food inflation to 12.9pc YoY and 15.2pc YoY vs. 10.6pc
and 12.9pc in May.
The CPI could have been higher if not for a 10.2pc
YoY decline in the transport index, which was led by a decline in petrol and
LNG prices (urban/rural down 13.0pc/11.5pc YoY).
Inflation in housing & utilities and education
indices during the month of June remained modest at 5.8pc and 1.1pc
respectively for the urban basket (indicating modest pull from aggregate
demand).
“Weak domestic demand is likely to keep inflation
lower even if supply-side shocks occur. In the same vein, the SBP has revised
its inflation target and expects FY21 NCPI to tread lower than the initial
projected range of 7-9pc.
“While the government’s decision to increase retail
fuel prices (by Rs26/litre) may prove inflationary, there are talks of a
potential Rs10/litre reversal in the coming days. We estimate that the CPI will
rise by 1ppt as a result of the increase in petrol prices, all else the same,”
said an Intermarket Securities report.
Explaining the reasons behind controlled inflation
in 2020, sources said that the government recently took various steps to
control the inflation rate like against hoarders and providing maximum relief
to the public through various packages, including subsidised on the selling of
goods at utility stores etc. The incumbent government, after the emergence of
the Covid-19 pandemic, had also taken several policy, administrative and relief
measures to help bring down inflation to single-digit. The rate had fallen to
8.2pc in May, which fourth successive month showing a decline.
The government also announced an economic relief and
stimulus package and reduced rates of petroleum products in March, April, May,
and June, sources said.
Moreover, the fall in global commodities prices — palm
and soybean oil prices; vegetable oils and sugar; prices of all major cereals
except for rice and wheat, soya and rapeseed oil prices helped inflation to
remain under control. Similarly, the demand for imported skimmed milk powder
and whole milk powder also dampened considerably.
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Despite COVID-19 outburst, agri sector expands by 2.67pc
Share:
July 01, 2020
LAHORE-Though the covid-19 pandemic struck a
devastating blow to a low economic base country like Pakistan, certain sectors
here survived while giving hopes of recovery to the national economy.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20, there was no significant
impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector as the sector grew by 2.67 per
cent.
Positive growth of 2.90 per cent in important crops was observed due to an
increase in production of wheat, rice, and maize at 2.45 per cent, 2.89 per
cent, and 6.01 per cent, respectively. Similarly, the increase has been
witnessed in Fertilizer (5.81 per cent), Leather products (4.96 per cent),
Rubber products (4.31 per cent), Paper & Board (4.23 per cent) and
Non-metallic mineral products (1.82 per cent). Besides these sectors, the
pharmaceuticals also remained functional during the pandemic and in fact
registered growth.
The PES 2019-20 disclosed that the pace of contraction diminished in the
pharmaceutical sector as it registered 5.38 per cent decline during July to
March in FY-2020 as compared to 8.66 per cent decline in the corresponding
period. Also, the pharmaceutical sector recorded the highest sales in March while
it fetched $1.3 million Foreign Direct Investment in April 2020. Once the
textile industry was leading exports of the country but now the pharmaceutical
sector has been identified as the sector that could enhance the country’s
exports to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s
pharmaceutical industry is an essential, high technology and a strategically
important industry and at the present growth rate the market size for
pharmaceuticals will double in the next 10 years in Pakistan.
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But the impact of the pandemic will be severe in the coming months as the
IMF has revised down its world GDP projections and now expects a contraction of
4.9 per cent in 2020. “Apart from the last three months, the next twelve months
will also be very tough for the Pakistan economy,” said Taha Khan Javed, Head
of Equities at Al Meezan Investment. The outlook for Pakistan GDP is also
precarious with growth for next fiscal year expected to be only 1-2 per cent,
much below the normal growth 3-5 per cent we have seen in the past, he added.
He said that because of slowdown in economic activity especially in the informal
sector it is expected that millions of people will be unemployed, while exports
will also remain under pressure.
Yet, he added, few industries including the pharmaceuticals of the country
can play a vital role in their capacity to help the national economy. While
suggesting a way forward in this regard, Taha said that the pharmaceutical
industry should ramp up their production capacity.
FAO’s forecast for world
cereal production in 2020 has
been revised upward by 9.3 million tonnes this month and now stands at almost 2
790 million tonnes, with the global output set to surpass the record-high
reached in 2019 by as much 3.0 percent (81.3 million tonnes). Global wheat
production is pegged at 761.5 million tonnes, up 3.2 million tonnes from the
previous month and now at par with last year’s above-average outturn. The bulk
of the monthly increase reflects an upward revision to Australia’s wheat
production forecast (+5.5 million tonnes), mostly resting on improved yield
prospects underpinned by earlier widespread rainfall and favourable weather
forecasts for the remainder of the season. This, combined with a larger than initially
foreseen wheat acreage, is expected to lead to a more pronounced production
rebound in 2020, which would mark a significant turnaround compared to the
previous two years of drought-reduced harvests. Wheat production forecasts have
also been raised for India (+2.2 million tonnes), based on recent official data
pointing to a larger sown area and higher yields, and for the Russian
Federation, where conducive weather boosted yield expectations, resulting in
higher production prospects (+2.0 million tonnes). These increases more than
offset a cutback to the European Union (EU) wheat production forecast (-5.5
million tonnes) and the UK (-1.5 million tonnes) on reduced yield expectations.
The forecast of world coarse grains production in 2020 has also been raised to
1 519 million tonnes, up 5.7 million tonnes from the preceding month and 5.0
percent (73.0 million) from 2019. Larger outputs of barley in Australia, the EU
and Turkey are mainly behind the monthly upturn. By a lesser extent, the
forecast of world maize production has also been lifted since the previous
month, reflecting modest increases in the EU, where recent rains following
several weeks of dry weather benefited crops especially in southern France and
northern Italy. Likewise, Brazil’s maize output has been increased, now
slightly exceeding the previous year’s outturn and marking an all-time high.
FAO’s global rice production forecast for 2020 is now pegged at 509.2 million
tonnes, up 1.7 percent from 2019 and 400 000 tonnes above June’s expectations.
The slight upward revision primarily reflects improved prospects for South
American countries, where conducive weather raised yield expectations to all
time-highs, promoting a partial output recovery from last year’s reduced
harvest.
