10th november,2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine www.ricepluss.com

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

10th November 2014

Today’s News Headlines…  Quota limit restricting rice export potential to China  Farm Bill workshops planned in Stuttgart, around Arkansas  Like Pinoys, young SE Asians shun agriculture as a career  Africa‟s richest man targets Nigeria‟s rice deficit  FPCCI advises rice exporters to seek zero-rated tax status  Productivity in coastal dists can be doubled: Scientist  BoI Suppots Backward Integration Efforts Of Rice Millers  Research on producing export-quality rice  Impact of automatic rice milling on performance of marketing system  Best Foods finds "Perfect Match" in Indian Culinary Forum  Genetically Engineered Food: The Criminality of the GMO Biotech Industry. “Poison First, Regulate Later”  International rice market: „Indian agriculture policy hurting Pakistan‟ Contact & Visit www.ricepluss.com mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 7th Floor,Suite 11 Central Plaza New Garden Town Lahore-54600 Landline :92 3584 5551 Contact us for Advertisement & Specs: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 321 369 2847 For Advertisement Specs+92 & Rates: Contact: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874

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Quota limit restricting rice export potential to China Pakistan from 0.5m tons to 0.75m tons November 10, 2014 SALMAN ABDUHU | Exporters ask embassy in Beijing to take issue of raising rice import quota for LAHORE - Although there is lot of potential to increase the export of rice from Pakistan to China, yet it is presently limited due to quota restrictions in China.This was stated in a letter written by the rice exporters simultaneously to Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and Pakistan embassy in Beijing.

The letter laid emphasis on more export of rice from Pakistan to China and requested the Pakistan envoy to raise the issue of enhancing rice import limit from Pakistan during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Beijing.Pakistani basmati rice is in great demand in China and Chinese exporters are willing to import more basmati rice from Pakistan, said a rice exporter.

He said that the exporters have dispatched request to Trade Development Authority of

Pakistan and Pakistani envoy in Beijing to take the issue of enhancing quota limit for Pakistan from 0.5 million tons to 0.75 million tons for basmati rice.

He underlined the need for initiating efforts to get enhanced quota from China to enhance export of basmati rice.

Pakistan has exploited fully its 500,000 matric tons rice export quota to China, earning around $200 million and if this limit is exceeded to 750,000 tons the country can fetch more foreign exchange to narrow trade deficit, the exporters said. The Beijing has recently inked an agreement to import around 1 million ton rice from Thailand paying $30 per ton additional cost.

If Pakistan govt convinces the Chinese authorities to raise rice import limit for Pakistan the Chinese buyers will also benefit, as their cost will be reduced significantly. Rice exporters noted that the balance of trade between Pakistan and Malaysia is tilted in favour of China for a long time and in order to narrow down the trade deficit, there is dire need for increasing export of non-traditional items as well as the existing items being exported to China.

The response of Chinese importers for Pakistani rice is overwhelming as compared to rice imported from Thailand and Vietnam.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine ―Our rice industry is not showing its full potential due to some internal barriers related to planning and strategic implementations.

Viewing the current scenario, rice exporters deserve the patronage of government at par with textile industry to develop rice export as one of the major foreign-exchangeearning sector. The embassy in Beijing should launch a concrete drive to market Pakistani rice in China by creating a personalized demand among Chinese people.‖The rice exporters are already exploring new techniques with China to improve the quality of rice.

Chinese buyers prefer to buy the rice with good milling quality. Hence, the rice exporters want TDAP and commercial counselor in Beijing to manage match making of the Chinese and Pakistani entrepreneurs in this sector to increase the demand of Pakistani rice in China.

Meanwhile, the Rice Exporters Association central chairman Rafique Suleman said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif‘s visit to China would help Pakistan to bring Chinese investment worth billions of dollars in different sectors which would help strengthen the national economy.

He said that China, in response to current visit of Prime Minister, has announced substantial investment in Pakistan for further improving economic ties between the private sectors of the two countries besides enhancing volume of trade.He said that

Pakistan with Chinese investment would achieve sustained growth in key sectors, including increase in per capita income and improvement in micro-economic in the years to come.

Research on producing export-quality rice.

Monday, 10 November 2014 - 8:13 Reports indicate that Sri Lanka will export the excess rice produced in the country in the future.According to the International Rice Research Institute for the past four decades, the global rice market has been dominated by a few exporters, Thailand, Vietnam, the US and Pakistan and they account for 60-70% of total exports.

Thailand is the top rice exporter in the world.The import side is fragmented with many countries importing a small amount of rice and the top six importers account for only 20-30% of the market share.

Farm Bill workshops planned in Stuttgart, around Arkansas The following workshops are being conducted by Tony Franco, FSA‘s chief of

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Farm Programs, Anita Wilson, Agricultural Program specialist with FSA, Coats and other FSA and Division of Agriculture specialists.

By Mary Hightower UofA Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service Posted Nov. 9, 2014 @ 7:59 pm STUTTGART Nine new Farm Bill workshop sessions have been added to the more than one dozen already scheduled across Arkansas, including four sessions devoted to the computer-based Farm Bill decision aid, Robert Coats, professor-economics for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said. The following workshops are being conducted by Tony Franco, FSA‘s chief of Farm Programs, Anita Wilson, Agricultural Program specialist with FSA, Coats and other FSA and Division of Agriculture specialists.

The program includes FSA information requirements and the following topics will be covered include: Required information; Retain or Update Yields; Retain or Reallocate Base; Compare Agricultural Risk Coverage, or ARC, and Price Loss Coverage, or PLC; Consider Agricultural Risk Coverage – individual coverage; Supplemental Coverage Option, or SCO, and STAX offered under the federal crop insurance program ; Election and annual enrollment ; Web-based decision aid demonstration with examples.

The schedule and local contacts for registration for each Farm Bill workshop event include: - 6 p.m. Monday — West Memphis, MidSouth Community College. Contact Russell

Parker, 3239.

rparker@uaex.edu,

(870)

739-

- 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday — McCrory, Three County Fair Entertainment Building.

Contact Eugene Terhune, eterhune@uaex.edu, (870) 347-2556.

- 9 a.m.-noon Thursday — Portland, Portland Baptist Church. Contact Kevin Norton, knorton@uaex.edu, (870-853-2080.

- 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 17 — Keiser, Northeast Research and Extension Center. Contacts: Ray Benson, rbenson@uaex.edu, (870) 7622075; Keith Morris, FSA, keith.morris@ar.usda.gov.

- 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 17 — Manila. Airport Center.

Contacts: Ray Benson, rbenson@uaex.edu, (870) 762-2075; Keith Morris, FSA, keith.morris@ar.usda.gov.

- 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 18 — Marianna, Lon Mann Cotton Research Station. Contacts: Shawn Payne, spayne@uaex.edu (870) 3388027; Robert Goodson, rgoodson@uaex.edu, (870) 338-8027; Stan Baker, swbaker@uaex.edu, (870) 295-7720; Van Banks, vbanks@uaex.edu, (870) 7473397.

- 8:30 a.m.-noon Nov. 19 — Stuttgart, Rice Research and Extension Center. Contacts: Chuck Capps, ccapps@uaex.edu, (870) 9463231; Grant Beckwith, gbeckwith@uaex.edu, (870) 673-2661.

- 9 a.m.- noon Nov. 20 — Morrilton, Conway County Fair Grounds MultiPurpose Building. Contact: Kevin VanPelt, kvanpelt@uaex.edu, (501) 354-9618.

9 a.m.-noon Dec. 17 — McGehee, McGehee Men‘s Club, No. 1 Airport Road South.

Contact: Wes Kirkpatrick, wkirkpatrick@uaex.edu, 870-222-3972 and

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Gus Wilson, gwilson@uaex.edu, (870) 2658055.

This is happening in Thailand which has

The other workshops provide hands-on training on the farm bill decision aid developed by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University and the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. These sessions will be conducted by Scott Stiles, an extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Brad Watkins, a Division of Agriculture economist based at the Rice Research and Extension Center, will be available at the two Jonesboro meetings to discuss long grain and

agricultural products for more than 150

medium grain rice considerations.

been the world‘s major net exporter of years.Until today, it has remained the major exporter of rice (still the world‘s top rice exporter) rubber, and maize.

It has also acquired comparative advantages in the export of fruits, vegetables, and processed foods.But since 1989, or a quarter of a century ago, most young people have left the farm sector, reported a Thai economist,

Dr.

Nipon

Poapongsakorn,

formerly a research director, vice president,

Like Pinoys, young SE Asians shun agriculture as a career

and senior consultant at the Thailand Development Research Institute and dean of the

Like their Filipino counterparts, youngergeneration Southeast Asians continue to shun agriculture as a career and a means of livelihood. In search of the proverbial ―greener pasture‖, they flock to the cities and centers of population for white collar jobs that do not soil their hands. As to college education, they now shy away from Agriculture and choose other professions that earn them more income and with relatively less strenuous exertions.

Thammasat

University-Faculty

of

Economics. ―The massive movement of young workers out of agriculture has had profound impact on agricultural production,‖ said Dr. Nipon in his country report for the Southeast Asian Agriculture and Development Prime Series: Thailand being published by the Philippine government-hosted, Southeast

Asian

Los

Baños-based

Regional

Center

for

Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Dr.

Nipon,

who

holds

a

Discouragingly, this phenomenon has set in

doctorate (PhD) in Economics from the

Southeast Asia‘s top agriculture countries.

University of Hawaii, also projected: ―The aging of the agriculture workforce would

Thailand

have profound implications in the Thai

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine agriculture and on the future system of

The

transformation

of

Vietnam‘s

elderly support.‖

agricultural economy into a major rice producer could be considerably attributed to

Despite this phenomenon, he said, Thai

the dissemination of modern cultivation

farmers

technologies of high-yielding varieties to

have

responded

in

two

ways: •

farmers in the Mekong Delta and the

They

employed

foreign

migrants,

estimated at about 0.4 million. Most foreign workers in Thailand are found in the fishing industry and in field crop (rubber tree tapping) and livestock farms.

•

Farmers

mechanized

leadership of its well-educated and farmerfriendly scientists who have dedicated their lives

and

professions

to

the

land

tillers.

This is exemplified by Dr. Vo Thong Xuan

some

farm

whose

more

than

three

decades

―of

dedicated and committed service toward the

activities.

promotion of diversified and sustainable ―The exodus of young rural workers has led

agriculture, particularly in rice production,

to a different pattern of farm mechanization

through

since the late 1980s,‖ the Thai economist

extension, teaching, and input of national

said. ―Now, only a few farms in remote

policies have impacted the lives of millions

areas still use buffalo.‖

of Vietnamese.‖

Dr. Nipon further noted that a new class of

―Dr. Xuan‘s

professional farmers has emerged: those

national, and international levels in the

who

government, private, and non-government

adopt

science-based

agricultural

his

scientific

publications,

work at the grassroots,

production – small contract farmers who

sectors

contributed

grow safe vegetables and fruits for exports,

transformation

large orchard farmers, highly intensive rice

agricultural economy from a net rice

farmers, and commercial poultry raisers.

importer to the world‘s second largest rice-

of

immensely the

to

the

Vietnamese

exporter,‖ stated a citation conferred on him Vietnam

as recipient of the prestigious Dioscoro L. Umali award given by SEARCA, the

Time was when Vietnam was a net rice importer. Now, it is the world‘s second

Philippine National Academy of Science

largest rice exporter.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and

Technology

(NAST),

and

DLU

Foundaton.

Indonesia

is

another

country

with

remarkable agricultural economy, but whose young

The award – which recognizes ―lifetime

also

are

shying

away

from

agriculture.

achievements of exemplary individuals who have advanced agricultural development in

This archipelagic country, according to

Southeast Asia‖ – is named after the late

records, achieved rice self-sufficiency in the

Dr. Umali, a long-time dean of the UP

mid-1980s after years of importing large

College of Agriculture and assistant director

quantities

general for Asia and the Pacific of the

demand.

United

Nations-Food

and

of

rice

to

meet

domestic

Agriculture As former Indonesian Agriculture Minister

Organization (UN-FAO).

Sharifudin Baharsjah stated when he spoke But like other countries undergoing various

at a forum in Makati City early this year: ―It

stages of development, ―employment in

(rice self-sufficiency) was accomplished by

Vietnam‘s agricultural sector is declining,‖

a dedicated government at all levels,

observed Dr.Nguyen Tri Kiem, a noted

supported

agricultural education administrator (college

farmers.‖

by

actively

participating

dean at An Giang University; Can Tho The instrument was the Green Revolution

University for 25 years, etc.)

Technology (GRT), initiated by the Noble As of 2004, he said in his report on Vietnam

Laureate Norman Borlaug and translated in

for the SEARCA series, there were 82

practical term for Indonesia by noted

million Vietnamese, 70 percent of whom

scientist Dr. AT. Mosher.

lived in the rural areas.

A very important GRT component was the ―Agricultural

employment

was

mostly

superior

rice

varieties

introduced

by

composed of self-employed agricultural

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

workers,‖ noted Dr. Kiem, who earned his

and developed further with the Indonesia

master‘s and doctorate degrees from UP Los

Agency for Agricultural Research and

Baños.

Development (IAARD).

Indonesia

Dr. Baharsjah, who has also been recipient of the Umali award, acknowledged that

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine maintaining

rice

self-sufficiency

in

In 1980, Coladilla recalled, 51 percent of

Indonesia faced major challenges: growing

UPLB‘s enrollment was in agriculture. It

population (238 million people as of 2010),

went down to 41 percent in 1995 and dived

high per capita rice consumption per year

to only 4.7 percent in 2012.

(138 kilograms), shrinking acreage of irrigated

fields

(50,000

stagnant

levels

of

ha/year),

rice

yield

and

―The trend is similar in other high education

(5

institutes (HEIs) in the country offering BS Agriculture program,‖ she added.

tons/ha).

Moreover,

he

Indonesians

noted,

are

shying

many away

young

What is discouraging, she further noted

from

during a SEARCA-organized conference in Los Baños not long ago, is that ―a typical

agriculture for office jobs.

farmer would not advise his children to get into agriculture for a career.‖

Philippines In the Philippines, the continued decline of enrollment in Agriculture as a career and the migration of young people in the rural areas to the cities continue to pose a grave threat

Africa‟s richest man targets Nigeria‟s rice deficit Reuters November 07, 2014

to the country‘s food security, a UPLB researcher also warned.

If agriculture becomes the least appealing career

choice

among today‘s

younger

generation student, ―it will undoubtedly pose serious threat in the country‘s agricultural labor force and the country‘s food security,‖ said Jesusita Coladilla.

She cited UP Los Baños, the country‘s premiere agricultural university, whose BS in Agriculture program enrollment continues to decline.

LAGOS: Nigeria enjoys a perfect ricegrowing climate over a vast area yet it is the world‘s second biggest importer of the staple, often from countries in its warm, wet tropical latitude like top exporter Thailand.

It‘s one of those baffling Nigerian paradoxes, like the fact that it is Africa‘s top oil producer yet suffers frequent fuel shortages; or that it is sitting on the world‘s eighth largest gas reserves but can only produce a few hours of power a day.As with the other bottlenecks holding back Africa‘s biggest economy, decades of bad governance and corruption lie at the root of Nigeria‘s agricultural dysfunction.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine But unlike oil, where reform remains deadlocked by vested interests, the government is making serious efforts to clean up the farming sector and attract investment.Africa‘s richest man Aliko Dangote thinks he can resolve the rice conundrum. He plans to do this by investing in farmland and mechanising farming practices in a country where many farmers still depend on pre-industrial tilling techniques.

Given his track record in other areas, this is a project to watch.―Everything you need for rice is here, but unfortunately for a long time no one was interested,‖ he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Not having enough land was the first obstacle that faced him after he thought of the idea.He was surprised at how easily that got solved, as the governments of Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi, Edo and Kwara states between them offered 50,000 hectares to Dangote Industries.―I think this is enough for us to grow and process up to a million tonnes of rice in the next four years,‖ he says. ―I believe this is just the beginning.‖To back up his optimism, he points to his past success in producing cement.Dangote grew his company over a decade from a relatively small cement import business to a behemoth that manufactures nearly 30 million tonnes of the stuff a year, makes up a third of Nigeria‘s stock exchange and now has factories in various stages of completion across the continent. For decades Nigeria was one of the world‘s biggest cement importers. ―We (Nigeria) were producing less than 2 million tonnes of cement,‖ in 2004, the tycoon says.

Ten years later and Nigeria as a whole now produces some 40 million tonnes a year, said Dangote, whose cement empire worth an estimated $20 billion has earned him the label ―richest black person on the planet‖ from Forbes magazine.This month, Dangote Cement even had to cut prices to make up for falling sales amid oversupply.

Like cement, demand for rice among Nigeria‘s 170 million population is huge, so he won‘t need to think about export.

Dangote estimates the current rice deficit at 2 1/2 million tonnes a year.Nigerians eat rice in outsized portions and no party is complete without mountains of bright orange ―jollof‖ rice — a West African style of cooking the grains in tomato paste, onions and fiery peppers. Parboiled, not white rice, is favoured.

President Goodluck Jonathan made local production of rice a signature promise before he was elected in 2011. His government has an ambitious target to import zero rice by the end of 2015, using incentives for farmers like free fertiliser and tax breaks for investors. Jonathan will seek another term in February.Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina has cleaned up corruption in government handouts of imported fertiliser, which have been hampered by fraud and an inefficient supply chain stretching from the port to the remote villages where it ends up.

That was a major obstacle to development of the sector.Dangote says his own factories will soon be producing more fertiliser than Nigeria could ever need — 2.8 million tonnes a year — which would cut out the need for imports altogether.His plans for a

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 400,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery and petrochemical plant remain on track, he added.Rice smugglers from neighbouring Benin, Niger and Cameroon are the biggest threat to his business model, Dangote complains, but it still stands to be highly profitable

FPCCI advises rice exporters to seek zero-rated tax status our correspondent Friday, November 07, 2014 KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Thursday advised the rice exporters to prepare proposals for the government to clinch zero-rated tax status.

President FPCCI Zakaria Usman, in a meeting with a delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap), discussed various problems, which are causing high cost to rice exports, eroding the competitive edge in the global market. Usman suggested the exporters to submit proposals for the government to include rice in the list of sectors operating under zero-rated sales tax regime, such as textile, leather, surgical goods, exportable goods and carpet industries.

He further advised the delegation to prepare proposals to seek export development fund (EDF) for the installation of a dedicated line from K-Electric feeder to their cluster area to ensure smooth supply of power.Reap members, led by its Chairman Rafique Suleman, were asked to get land from its own resources and then apply for EDF for the construction of building and procurement of equipment and machinery

for the development of rice research institutes.

Exporters highlighted issues, such as nonavailability of containers especially for rice, ever-increasing container terminal charges, inordinate delay in refund claims on sale tax paid by the rice exporters on their electricity bills, transfer of fuel adjustment charges to the industry, etc.The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry chief deplored the poor services of container terminal operators (CTOs) during the examination of goods by anti narcotic force at ports.

He told the delegation that a meeting with government officials and other stakeholders had decided CTOs would either hire skilled manpower to improve services or take assistance of a third party with professional expertise in re-packing of goods and restuffing containers.The Reap members also pointed out problems related to export proceeds and charges of different freight rates at variable rupee-dollar parity rates by shipping companies.

They blamed non-monitoring of foreign exchange policy by the State Bank of Pakistan for this disparity.Usman urged the shipping companies to reduce the charges for rice as it is a low value and high volume item as compared to other value-added goods like textile etc. He said that he would take up the foreign exchange issue with the SBP‘s governor.Khurram Sayeed and Ismail Suttar, vice presidents of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, chairman of FPCCI Standing Committee on Customs and others were also present.

Productivity in coastal dists can be doubled: Scientist

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Productivity in the coastal areas in Bangladesh can be doubled with coordinated efforts to improved crop productions and mitigate the risks of climate change, says a senior scientist of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). ‗Land and water productivity in the polders of coastal Bangladesh have tremendous potential to be improved, profitable, and resilient to problems brought about by climate change,‘ said Dr. Manoranjan Mondal, collaborative research scientist under the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division and the Social Sciences Division of IRRI. The scientist made the observation during a presentation at the 4th International Rice Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand, according to an IRRI media release.

BoI Suppots Backward Integration Efforts Of Rice Millers Olushola Bello — Nov 9, 2014 |

He said with support for rice millers and sustained investments in rice backward integration programme, Nigeria will attain a net exporter status in the short to medium term.Olaoluwa stated that Nigeria had embarked on a revolution in terms of rice production especially with the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) it signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development which centred on the development of 10 medium sized mills with the capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes each and six high quality cassava flour mills across the country.

He stated that the visit to Adani was part of federal government‘s effort to ensuring that the objective of turning Nigeria from a major importer into a net exporter of rice was achieved.―With the effort of backward integration, Nigeria will significantly reduce the amount of money that it currently spends importing food. Already, the expenditure of processed food has reduced from $6.9bn in 2009 to $4.3bn currently. We believe that in the short-term, we should be in the position not only to eliminate food importation completely, but actually ensure that Nigeria can be a net exporter of food items‖, Olaoluwa said.

Research on producing exportquality rice

Efforts to scale up current paddy rice production capacity has been boosted by the Bank of Industry (BoI) with support for rice millers. The managing director of BoI, Rasheed Olaoluwa, expressed the bank‘s commitment to the project after an inspection tour of the 42,000 capacity Tara Rice Mill and its subsidiary 1,200 hectares rice farm in Adani, Uzo Uwani local government area of Enugu State.

Monday, 10 November 2014 - 8:13 Reports indicate that Sri Lanka will export the excess rice produced in the country in the future.According to the International Rice Research Institute for the past four decades, the global rice market has been dominated by a few exporters, Thailand, Vietnam, the US and Pakistan and they account for 60-70% of total

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine exports.Thailand is the top rice exporter in the world.

The import side is fragmented with many countries importing a small amount of rice and the top six importers account for only 20-30% of the market share.

Impact of automatic rice milling on performance of marketing system SA Sabur and SK Raha In the past few years, rapid technological change occurred in the rice milling sector of Bangladesh. Several hundred automatic and semi-automatic rice mills were set up in various areas across the country. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of semiautomatic and automatic rice mills increased from 457 to 650 and from 142 to 350, respectively.

For instance, in Kushtia, one of the important rice milling hubs, the share of rice processed by automatic rice mills rose from only 12 percent in 2009 to more than 60 percent in 2011. What are the factors behind this development? This sector has attracted many large investors to establish automatic rice mills as demand for better-quality rice with a longer shelf life has risen substantially. Other factors include an overall increase in the production of whole grains as well as higher prices of grain and bran produced in automated mills, and which can be sold under branded names.

Automatic rice mills perform nearly all activities through mechanical methods, including sorting of stones and empty grains, grain soaking, boiling, drying, milling, polishing and bagging. These new mills may have impacts on performance of the rice marketing system.Recent study commissioned by National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP) provided some information on impact of technological change on milling and marketing of rice in Bangladesh.

Among different types of mills, the capacity utilisation of automatic mills is the highest (56 percent). The profit of automatic mills is almost three times higher than that of husking mills and about twice that of semiautomatic mills.

This is due to a combination of (i) substantially lower labour requirement per tonne of rice (8.6 man hours compared to 21.1 man hours in husking mills) that largely compensates the higher costs for energy and machinery, and (ii) higher revenues given the possibility to sell at higher prices the higher quality rice and bran produced.

Rice recovery is also higher for automatic mills: 68 percent and 66 percent for automatic and semi-automatic mills, respectively, compared to 65 percent for husking mills.Automatic rice mills are financially more viable as their internal rate of return is 33 percent compared to 19

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine percent and 25 percent for husking and semi-auto rice mills, respectively.

The milled rice from semi-automatic and automatic rice mills is good in terms of brightness, colour, size, etc. and is sold at higher price in the market. However, experts argue that this polished rice is not good in terms of nutrient content as some nutrients are lost during over-polishing.

Relatively high buyer concentration exists in village paddy markets: on average the four largest buyers account for about 60 percent of total paddy traded within a village market, with a minimum of 30 percent and a maximum of 85 percent. Although price is set mainly through bargaining, automatic rice millers are in a better position to set the price compared to husking rice millers.

Compared to local paddy markets, more competition exists among rice mills as the four largest mills process on average only 11 percent of total product milled in each district, which varies between 24 percent in Dhaka and only 1 percent in Bogra. There is evidence of exit of rice mills, particularly husking mills, from the market and the main reason is identified as the loss in the business.Of all intermediaries, the millers take the highest share of total profit at 45.7 percent.

Next to millers, the share of total profit is the highest for rice retailers (17.9 percent), followed by rice wholesalers cum retailers (12.7 percent), rice wholesalers (7.7

percent), paddy middlemen (5.3 percent), paddy traders (4.4 percent), paddy stockists cum wholesalers (4.1 percent), and rice stockists (2.2 percent). Rice markets are found more integrated now domestically and internationally.Under changed situation caused by technological changes, various measures can be adopted for smooth functioning of marketing system of rice in Bangladesh.

Farmers'

marketing

cooperatives/

associations may be formed for increasing the bargaining power of paddy famers in the local market so that they can sell paddy jointly to the traders or can send to distant markets for getting higher prices. NGOs may help in this process.

Contractual arrangements between growers and millers may ensure more attractive and stable prices for farmers, as well as regular supply of quality paddy to millers. The buying prices of paddy should be publicly displayed in all markets by buyers' association/market committee.

Dissemination through cell phone of paddy prices in local markets can also enhance competition. Credit facilities can be made available to support the modernisation of husking mills to semi-automatic or automatic mills.However, many husking mill owners will eventually need to find alternative sources of income.

They should not be forced to abandon their mills, but it is inevitable that the total

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine number of mill owners will decline in the future. Given the rapid evolution of the milling technologies, it is appropriate to assess the nutritional value of refined rice obtained from automatic rice mills through different stages of processing, for example, polishing and whitening.To adequately inform consumers on the quality of different types of rice, labelling of rice bags should be made mandatory and include information on its nutritional value. In order to enhance market monitoring, a database on all types of intermediaries including rice mills should be maintained.

This could be based on a centralised listing of all business licences granted to different types of intermediaries. Market integration implies that price stabilisation interventions in some main markets in consumption area can be effective even in distant markets in producing area within Bangladesh.

The authors are professors at the Department of Agribusiness and Marketing at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. This article is largely based on a study commissioned by NFPCSP, FAO, Bangladesh.

Published: 12:00 am Sunday, November 09, 2014

Best Foods finds "Perfect Match" in Indian Culinary Forum What could be the best acknowledgement for a brand from a body of professional

experts who swear by its superior quality, unmatched packaging and distinguishable aroma and delectable taste! Undisputedly The BEST! Having carved a distinctive niche for itself both in India and globally, Best Foods, one of the leading premium basmati rice companies in India today got the most coveted accreditation from the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF), India's leading association of professional Chefs for the most trusted brands on a host of parameters such as excellent quality, length of grain, delightful aroma and unmatched packaging.

The prestigious ICF accreditation for Best Foods was announced on the occasion of the 11th Annual Chef Awards for the International Chefs Day and lends a unique credibility to the brand, recognizing it as one of the strongest rice brands in the market promising exceptional consistent quality and packaging.

This was announced at a press conference today in New Delhi.As the staple food for most Asians, rice is no longer new to the rest of the world. Rice has evolved multifold and consumers now try and experiment with ingredients and flavours.

With ascent of lifestyle, exposure to international culinary tastes coupled with the new palate that consumers are demanding have given enough room for brands to innovate and live up to the fast-changing culinary standards.Cashing in on the trend, Best Foods, one of the largest players in the branded premium basmati rice segment has been acknowledged by an expert panel of ICF and has passed the stringent tests on the goodness of rice.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine On the occasion of the International Chefs Day, ICF is hosting the 11th Annual Chef Awards, followed by the Grand Gourmet Dinner where leading chefs would be experimenting with rice and dishing out innovative recipes using premium basmati rice from Best Foods. The rationale is to maximize the product experimentation, visibility and valuable feedback from the Who's Who in the culinary world.Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aayushman Gupta, CEO, Best Foods Ltd., remarked, "Best Foods was conceived with a single-minded objective to delight consumers across the globe with superior quality of rice.

Delighting consumers has been our passion and we are working towards it on a constant basis. We aim to establish ourselves as thought leaders in the industry with a vision to form a strong consumer connect through tactical initiatives.

To this end, we are targeting different consumers viz. housewives, working women, young executives, B2B segment, restaurants, clubs etc where we can touch upon their lives with our products. Our partnership with ICF has been strategic and is a step in that direction. Getting the accreditation from ICF to testify our brand will bring in greater credibility and sure to take us closer to our consumers.

We are truly delighted by this acknowledgement from ICF. We are proud that our packaging will bear a new look and will be ICF certified henceforth. We hope to strive to make our brand better, bigger and robust in time to come."Detailing out the new initiatives, Dr. Gupta further elaborated, "Best Foods has chalked an ambitious plan for the coming years.

Today we are clocking at Rs 2600 crs. With an increase in demand for basmati rice due

to factors such as increasing domestic prices and export demands, we are geared to target Rs. 5000 Crs in FY 17. Our presence in export market has grown phenomenally. We are striving for an increased market share in the domestic market. To this end, we have expanded our product portfolio and have added brown rice and ready-to-eat products.

Our stand-alone exclusive brand stores are doing well and consumers are delighted to shop from these outlets.

From an existing 35 stores, we intend increasing the same to 800 stores in coming 2-3 years. We are investing substantially in our plants to meet our target growth."Hailing this development, Chef Devender Kumar, President, ICF remarked, "We are on a dedicated mission to delight taste buds and experiment with food and have found the "Perfect Match" in Best Foods. We have done an intensive research and have experimented with Best Foods rice on every single stringent criteria.

The quality, aroma and length of grain etc. are just what we desire to prepare from a basic to the most exotic dish! It is a delight to every Chef and we are extremely happy to have partnered with Best Foods. We have plans to use rice from Best Foods to take the culinary experience to a new level."

Source: Equity Bulls Posted On: 2014-11-09 01:32:23 Click here to send ur comments or to feedback@equitybulls.com

Genetically Engineered Food: The Criminality of the GMO Biotech Industry. “Poison First, Regulate Later�

By Colin Todhunter Global Research, November 09, 2014

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Region: Asia Theme: Biotechnology and GMO

The GM Contamination Register database has been run by Genewatch and Greenpeace for about ten years and contains cases dating from 1997 to the end of 2013 [1]. The authors of a new paper, published in the International Journal of Food Contamination, analysed the 400 or so cases in the database by crop and country [2].

GM rice accounts for about a third of contamination cases, despite the fact there is officially no GM rice grown anywhere in the world. The authors suggest this high level might be related to the routine testing of imports of GM rice at national borders. The highest rates of contamination are in imported foodstuffs to Germany, but this is probably because that country does a lot of testing.

They also focused on cases of contamination arising from unauthorised GM crops: those without any authorisation for commercial growing anywhere in the world. Nine cases were discovered of GM contamination of these unauthorised (non-commercialised) GM crops that haven‘t undergone any environmental or food safety analysis.

The authors argue that once GM contamination has happened, it can be difficult to contain.

It is not only the GM contamination itself (cross-pollination, mix-ups, etc.) that contributes to the number of cases but also the testing regime (both routine and targeted). The paper concludes that for

perhaps all experimental GMOs, there is no overall protocol for testing available, making detection of any GM contamination difficult, if not impossible.

Don Westfall, biotech industry consultant and vice-president of Promar International some 13 years ago, was quoted by the Toronto Star on 9 January 2001 as saying that the hope of the GM industry is that over time the market is so flooded with GM organisms that there‘s nothing you can do about it; you just sort of surrender.

It is not just a vague hope, however. It‘s an intentional, criminal strategy by the industry.

Genetically engineered wheat is not approved to be grown for commercial use in the US or anywhere else in the world. Yet last year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that unapproved GE wheat had been found growing in an Oregon wheat field. Since 1994, Monsanto has conducted 279 field trials of RoundUp Ready wheat over more than 4,000 acres of land in 16 US states [3]. The USDA has admitted that Monsanto‘s GMO experiments from 1998 to 2005 were held in open wheat fields. The genetically engineered wheat escaped and found its way into commercial wheat fields in Oregon (and possibly 15 other states), causing self-replicating genetic pollution that now taints the entire US wheat industry.

Prior to this, in 2006, the USDA granted marketing approval of geneticallyengineered Liberty Link 601 of Bayer CropScience. (GE) rice variety following its illegal contamination of the food supply and rice exports [4]. The USDA effectively sanctioned an ‗approval-by-contamination‘ policy.

In 2005, biologist Pushpa Bhargava alleged that there were reports that unapproved

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine varieties of several genetically modified crops were being sold to farmers in India.

And Arun Shrivasatava wrote in 2008 that illegal genetically modified okra had been planted in India and poor farmers had been offered lucrative deals to plant ‗special seed‘ of all sorts of vegetables [5]. He asks: who knows at how many places illegal genetically engineered rice have been planted?

The story of open air trials of GM crops in India is a story of blatant violations of biosafety norms, hasty approvals, a lack of monitoring abilities, general apathy towards the hazards of contamination and a lack of institutional oversight mechanisms [6].

Concerns have also been expressed in Europe over the contamination of basmati rice exported by India [7].

Just this week, the West Bengal government says it had received information regarding ―infiltration‖ of commercial seeds of GM Bt brinjal from Bangladesh [8]. Bangladesh has gone ahead with the commercial release of the GM vegetable Bt-Brinjal – a variant engineered by inserting a gene from soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that produces an insecticidal toxin.

Pradeep Majumdar, agriculture advisor to State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stated: ―Commercial seeds may have infiltrated… they might have been smuggled in. We have to ascertain the various effects of Bt-Brinjal on local indigenous species before taking any step else farmers will suffer.‖ According to the GMWatch website, if this has occurred, it will follow the timehonoured GMO industry tactic of ―contaminate first and push for regulatory authorisation afterwards‖.

Bt brinjal has never undergone independent safety testing but the industry‘s own tests show it is toxic [9,10].

West Bengal State Agricultural Minister Purnendu Bose stated: ―We have heard that in Bengal districts bordering Bangladesh, seeds of Bt-Brinjal have been found. We will not introduce GMs now and definitely not without proper study.‖ In India, the previous government had ordered a freeze on field trials of GM food crops but the current government recently gave the go-ahead to field trials of two varieties of GM brinjal and mustard.

Last year, a group of scientists and NGOs protested in Kolkata and elsewhere against the introduction of transgenic brinjal in Bangladesh – a centre for origin and diversity of the vegetable – as it would give rise to contamination of the crop in India.There concerns are now being validated.As has been shown elsewhere, once the GM genie is out of the bottle, there may well be no going back.

Notes 1] http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/ 2] Price B, Cotter J (2014). The GM Contamination Register: a review of recorded contamination incidents associated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), 1997–2013. International Journal of Food Contamination 2014, 1:5. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s405 50-014-0005-8 3] http://www.globalresearch.ca/themonsanto-engame-genetically-engineeredwheat-on-oregon-farm-contaminationacross-north-america/5337514 4] http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/6 80/ge-animals/press-releases/886/usda-torubber-stamp-contamination-of-food-with-

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine illegal-genetically-engineered-rice-bannedin-japan-and-europe# 5] http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-death-ofrice-in-india/9562 6] http://indiagminfo.org/?page_id=175 7] http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/indiadenies-gmo-contamination-basmati 8]http://www.businessstandard.com/article/news-ians/commercial-btbrinjal-seeds-infiltrating-bengal-from<bangladesh-114110501181_1.html 9]http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-newsitems/12803 10] http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bt-brinjalcan-damage-liver-&-hit-immunity-of-a-humanbeing./1/126821.html

International rice market: „Indian agriculture policy hurting Pakistan‟

By Our Correspondent Published: November 9, 2014 Hindrance: India‘s decision to give subsidy to its farmers is hurting Pakistan, which is facing various challenges due to successive floods.

PHOTO: APP

KARACHI: Pakistan cannot afford to lose its foreign rice market, especially when exports are facing a decline due to harsh competition, said the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)

Zakaria Usman.

In a press statement on Saturday, the FPCCI chief addressed concerns and said that subsidies from the Indian government to its rice exporters have significantly affected the competitiveness of Pakistan rice exports.

Rice holds an important position in the country‘s agriculture sector, which brings more than $2

billion foreign exchange every year. Pakistan is the fourth largest rice producer after China, India and Indonesia.With the decline in international prices of agricultural products, the export of rice from Pakistan is also dropping in terms of quantity. Pakistan‘s rice export volume has declined during the last three month (JulySeptember 2014) from $363 million compared to $404 million in the same period last year.

Usman further stated that FPCCI has repeatedly informed the government and stakeholders about the subsidy on rice by Indian government in the name of food security.―We have highlighted the consequences of the Indian policy and its impacts on Pakistan‘s exports,‖ he said.Millions of farmers rely on rice cultivation as their major source of employment. The Indian step is currently hurting millions of Pakistani farmers who are already facing various challenges due to floods in Pakistan.

This may create serious food insecurity for Pakistan in the future.He urged the government of Pakistan to oppose the Indian decision to grant its farmers subsidies at the World Trade Organization (WTO), terming it a trade distorting step. Being the member of the WTO, Pakistan always supports free trade, liberalisation and market competition, according to Usman.He further stated that Pakistani exports will not be in a position to compete because the government cannot provide subsidies to its producers because of International Monetary Fund‘s (IMF) conditions.

He demanded zero-rated facility and other fiscal and administrative measures in favour of rice exporters.

In May 2014, FPCCI released a report on the ‗Political Economy of Subsides‘ where early warnings were issued about the declining trends in Pakistani exports. This report was sent to policymakers and all concerned departments, the release added.Usman indicated that policymakers should understand the economic wisdom behind the suggestions and recommendations of FPCCI. In the past, FPCCI has recommended several policy measures regarding infrastructure development, foreign investment and fiscal policy. Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2014.

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