11th december,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 11th December, 2014

Volume 4 Issue: XI

Vol 4, Issue XII

Today’s News Headlines…  Thailand to sell rice at prices competitive with Vietnam  Commerce Ministry prepares to sell stockpiled rice in Africa and Middle East  New paddy variety developed for Bihar's rain deficient areas  Finding rice traits that tackle climate-change challenges  Mexico Re-imposing Import Duty on Asian Milled Rice  USA Rice's The Whole Grain Newspaper Launched  Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported  CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures  No ‘silver bullet’ in the 2014 farm bill  Could arsenic in rice be dangerous for children?  Beware of rice varieties contaminated with arsenic  Procurement agencies told to pay VAT on sale of paddy byproducts  Customs seizes P200M imported glutinous rice

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine News Detail….

Thailand to sell rice at prices competitive with Vietnam VietNamNet Bridge – Hai Quan newspaper has quoted foreign sources who say that Thailand will sell both newly harvested and inventoried rice at low prices. This will create challenges for Vietnam, which competes with other rice exporters by offering low prices.

“Reasonable prices are the biggest competitive advantage of Vietnamese rice.

But now, if Thailand also sells rice cheap, the Vietnamese competitiveness will not work,” an analyst commented.Dat Viet commented that Vietnam several times has failed in international bids, even though it offered very low prices to obtain contracts.Nguyen Ngoc De from Can Tho University commented that this was a result of the “sell cheap, buy cheap” policy pursued by Vietnamese exporters.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has urged relevant units to carry out surveys to discover how the Thai policy would affect Vietnam.In late November, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) unexpectedly lowered the floor export price to $380 from $410 per ton for 25 percent broken rice.Vo Tong Xuan, the leading rice expert in Vietnam, commented that the move shows the Vietnamese exporters‟ intention to speed up the sale of rice in the

world market.However, Xuan noted this is not good news for farmers, because when exporters sell rice cheaply, they will not pay farmers high prices for rice.Analysts noted that while Vietnamese enterprises are busy selling stocked rice in order to balance the export volume in the last months of the year, Thai exporters have used the time to gain the Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, Filipino and African markets.They said that the competition will be stiffer for Vietnamese exporters, who have to compete with Thailand, India, Pakistan and Cambodia.

In 2014, Cambodia‟s PhkaRomdoul for the third consecutive time is recognized as the most delicious rice in the world. Cambodia has made big progress from an unknown rice producer to a big rice exporter in the world.A report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed that Vietnam exported 443,000 tons in November, worth $217 million, raising total export volume in the last 11 months to 6.03 million tons, worth $2.79 billion.The average export price was $460.9 per ton, an increase of 4.61 percent over the same period last year.According to the National Steering Committee on Rice Export Regulation, the demand is still high with big importers in the region trying to increase imports.Meanwhile, some key markets continue making transactions.

China, for example, still tops the list of Vietnam‟s rice biggest importers, which consumes 31.1 percent of Vietnam‟s exports.

Dat Viet Tags:Thai rice,vietnamese rice,

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Commerce Ministry prepares to sell stockpiled rice in Africa and Middle East Published on Thursday, 11 December 2014 20:03 A paddy field in Hpa-an, Kayin State.

(Photo-Aung Zaw Htun/EMG) A policy to explore foreign rice markets and to ensure the product quality is currently in the pipeline, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

“We‟ve just started drawing it. The team responsible for this was formed very recently. It‟s a trade-related policy. The Export Strategy (NES) focuses particularly on exports. But the rice policy comprises manufacturing processes as well. In addition, we will prioritise drawing a rice export policy,” said Dr Maung Aung, an advisor to the ministry.These policies are meant to make rice exporting more consistent and to maintain the quality of Myanmar rice exports.Ministry officials are working under the guidance of the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) and other relevant

organisations.Dr Min Aung, a senior advisor at the MRF, urged the quick drafting process.

“Some procedures in rice industry need to be relaxed. Rice merchants face difficulties, like losing market demand. On the other hand, the farmers also struggle with price drops and quality control problems. I advised the government to draw a policy that can relieve the anxieties of both farmers and merchants,” Dr Min Aung suggested.As agriculture is the central pillar of Myanmar‟s export economy, a policy that solves all the challenges such as growing local consumption, swelling foreign exports, quality assurance and maintaining a sustainable paddy industry is urgently needed.“Domestic consumption is the first priority. The livelihoods of farmers, merchants and each and every individual involved in the rice business is the secondmost important point,” said Tin Htut Oo, a presidential economic advisor.

The supply chain from the paddy field to the platter should be consistent under a policy, the presidential advisor said.“But such a policy is not available yet.”The NES, which is meant to enhance the quality and quantity of exports, is set to be released late this year.

It allocates rice, beans, fishery products, wood-based materials and garments as the country‟s highest potential export products.“The [rice] policy is currently being drafted. It is important and also related to the export strategy. Besides export process, domestic consumption and prices

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine are also needed to be considered. It takes a well-built policy to make sure the whole supply chain grows strong,� said Win Myint, the director of Department of Trade Promotion under the Commerce Ministry.

New paddy variety developed for Bihar's rain deficient areas

harvested around 50 lakh tonnes of paddy in 2013 as poor rains in July-August badly hit paddy transplantation.Rice production in Bihar was 36.4 lakh tonnes in 2009-10 which increased to 81.87 lakh tonnes in 2011-12 and 87 lakh tonnes in 2012-13.

Finding rice traits that tackle climate-change challenges

by Ann Perry

Patna, Dec 11 (IANS): Scientists in Bihar have developed a new paddy variety for rain deficient areas. It is likely to help millions of farmers in the state's drought-prone areas."A team of scientists at Bihar Agriculture University (BAU) at Sabour in Bhagalpur district, have developed a new variety of paddy for rain-deficient areas," Vice Chancellor M.L. Choudhary said Thursday.Choudhary said the aerobic variety is named Sabour Ardhjal and requires less water compared to other varieties."This variey will require 50 percent less irrigation compared to other paddy varieties," he said.

Ann Perry Cultivated rice competing with weedy red rice (the taller plants among the rows) near Stuttgart, Arkansas. ARS scientists are examining weedy red rice for characteristics that could be used to adapt cultivated rice to climate change.

Choudhary said that the outcome of the first trial of new variety in rain deficient areas in Munger, Patna, Gaya, Banka, Jehanabad, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nalanda districts was satisfactory.Millions of farmers in Bihar have been hit by consecutive droughts in the state in last five years. Last year the government declared 33 of 38 districts as drought-hit. The state recorded 25 percent deficit in its annual rainfall.After attaining record paddy production of over 80 lakh tonnes in the 2012 kharif season, Bihar Contact us for Advertisement & Specs: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2847

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine People around the world depend on food crops adapted to an array of temperature and precipitation regimes, but those conditions are in flux because of global climate change.

So scientists want to identify plant traits that could be used to develop food-crop cultivars that thrive despite—or perhaps because of— shifts in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, water availability, and air temperature. As part of this effort, Agricultural Research Service plant physiologists Lewis Ziska, Martha Tomecek, and David Gealy conducted a study of several rice cultivars to determine whether changes of temperature and CO2 levels affected seed yields.

They also looked for visible traits that could signal whether a plant cultivar has the genetic potential for adapting successfully to elevated CO2 levels.For their study, the scientists included weedy red rice, which infests cultivated rice cropland. Despite the plant's downside, previous assessments indicated that weedy rice growing under elevated CO2 levels had higher seed yields than cultivated rice growing under the same conditions.

The scientists used environmental growth chambers to study genetically diverse rice cultivars at current and future projections of atmospheric CO2 and a range of day/night air temperatures. They observed that on average, all the rice cultivars put out more aboveground biomass at elevated CO2 levels, although this response diminished as air temperatures rose.

For seed yield, only weedy rice and the rice cultivar Rondo responded to elevated CO2 levels when grown at optimal day/night air temperatures of 84 °F and 70 °F. The researchers were also intrigued by an additional observation: Only weedy rice gained significant increases of aboveground biomass and seed yield under elevated CO2

levels at the higher temperatures expected for rice-growing regions by the middle of the century.

In Beltsville, Maryland, plant physiologists Lewis Ziska and Martha Tomecek examine the response of different rice cultivars to changes in carbon dioxide and temperature.

ARS scientists at Beltsville and Stuttgart, Arkansas, are working to …more .When Ziska and colleagues analyzed the study data for the weedy rice, they observed that seedyield increases under elevated CO2 resulted from an increase in panicle (seed head) and tiller production. Tillers are stalks put out by a growing rice plant, and as the plant matures, the seed heads—where rice grain is produced—develop at the end of the tillers.

Since rice tiller production is determined in part by a plant's genetic makeup, crop breeders might someday be able to use this weedy rice trait to develop commercial rice cultivars that can convert rising CO2 levels into higher seed yields. To the researchers, these findings also suggest that the weedy, feral cousins of cultivated cereals could have other traits that would be useful in adapting to the environmental challenges that may come with climate change.

"We know that atmospheric CO2 and air temperatures will increase together," says Ziska. "Ideally, we can develop plants that respond well to elevated CO2 levels and incorporate traits that favor plant survival despite temperature changes." Explore further: Rice yield increase of 30 percent enabled by use of a photosynthesis 'switch,' researchers learn

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine http://phys.org/news/2014-12-rice-traitstackle-climate-change.html

closely and will keep members up to date on events as they transpire.

Mexico Re-imposing Import Duty on Asian Milled Rice

Contact: Jim Guinn (703) 236-1474

Advantage: U.S. rice MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- Yesterday, the Government of Mexico (GOM) announced a re-imposition of a 20 percent duty on Asian rice to begin on vessels arriving after January 10, 2015.The GOM removed the long-standing duty on grains from all origins back in 2008 as a way to reduce the price of basic commodities to its population. With cheap prices and zero duty, Asian rice began to enter Mexico, and by 2013 and 2014 imports had skyrocketed, cutting into the traditional U.S. market for paddy and milled rice. The U.S. market share for milled rice, once more than 95 percent has fallen this year to 34 percent. Vietnam and Thailand are the primary origins making inroads today. Pakistan, once a player, can no longer export to Mexico due to phytosanitary issues.

"Local traders, packers, and millers we've spoken with believe the first few months of 2015 will present great opportunities for the sale of U.S. rice to Mexico, given our large high-quality crop and the new import duty on Asian origin rice," said Betsy Ward, USA Rice Federation's president and CEO.Ward went on to point out that the competitive advantage could end up being short-lived if the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is signed in 2015. "Mexico is anxious to conclude TPP talks, and as it looks now, Vietnamese rice would gain back some or all of its duty advantage under that agreement," she said.

USA Rice is monitoring this situation very

USA Rice's The Whole Grain Newspaper Launched

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The USA Rice Federation debuted a new publication at the 2014 Outlook Conference here this week to take the place of the organization's traditional annual report. The Whole Grain is a full-color 16 page tabloid-style newspaper that will be published quarterly and distributed widely to the U.S. rice industry.Outlook Conference attendees received a copy of the newspaper in their welcome packets, and more than 23,000 copies were mailed to growers, landowners, and others affiliated with the rice industry.

The cover story for this first edition of The Whole Grain was an in-depth look at the Mexican market - the top destination for U.S.-grown rice. Other stories included interviews with USA Rice Federation Chairman Dow Brantley, and president and CEO Betsy Ward; the recent rice export

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine victory in Iraq; the ground-breaking stewardship partnership between USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited, an update on the regulatory landscape, and several articles on the group's domestic promotions work, including how nutrition policy has enhanced sales opportunities for rice.

Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of marketing and communications said, "Our goal in switching up the format of the annual report in favor of the tabloid is to provide more engaging content to our members, and to go deeper into important issues than we can here in the Daily. We're looking forward to expanding our coverage, our circulation, and offering advertising opportunities in future issues." To receive additional copies of the tabloid to distribute in your community, please contactDeborah Willenborg at (703) 236-1444.

Contact: Colleen Klemczewski (703) 2361446

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 86,800 MT for 2014/2015 were reported for Haiti (29,300 MT), Libya (28,800 MT), Japan (13,000 MT), Honduras (12,000 MT, including 8,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), and Guatemala (5,000 MT), according to today's Export Sales Highlights report.

43 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Libya (28,800 MT), Haiti (23,700 MT), Japan (21,600 MT), Colombia (13,300 MT), and Honduras (8,500 MT). This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period November 28 December 4.

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for December 11

Net Change

Month

Price

January 2015

$12.085

- $0.175

March 2015

$12.355

- $0.155

May 2015

$12.625

- $0.135

July 2015

$12.825

- $0.135

September 2015

$12.185

- $0.050

November 2015

$12.110

- $0.025

January 2016

$12.110

- $0.025

Decreases were reported for unknown destinations (8,000 MT). Exports of 110,300 MT--a marketing-year high--were up 71 percent from the previous week and Contact us for Advertisement & Specs: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2847

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine No ‘silver bullet’ in the 2014 farm bill Dec 10, 2014Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press Most farmers are gamblers at heart. They risk everything when they plant their crops in the spring in the hope they will be rewarded at harvest.But growers should not “bet the farm” when they sign up for the Agricultural Act of 2014, says Greg Cole, president and chief executive officer at AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, which is based in Little Rock, Ark. “Don‟t look for a silver bullet in this farm bill because it‟s not there,” said Cole, who was one of the speakers for a panel discussion on “The 2014 Farm Bill: What You Need to Know” at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock.“Here‟s the key thing in making your selection,” said Cole, referring to the complex options available under the new law. “Try to look at it from a more global basis in terms of what can you live with and what can you not.

Here‟s the most important thing you can walk away with: Don‟t bet your farm on this farm bill safety net to make your decision. ”Cole, who also spoke at the annual Rice Outlook Conference following the passage of the 2008 farm bill, said he believes this farm bill is much more complex and less forgiving when producers make a mistake in signing up for the programs.“I said this many times when we journeyed through the farm bill debate and I attended many meetings representing Farm Credit: The curtailment or elimination of direct payments will affect the rice industry of eastern Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta more than anywhere else,” he said.

Direct payments

“Obviously, you as a producer liked the direct payments and we as ag lenders liked it, too, because you knew how much you were going to get, when you were going to get it and it was timed to be in cycle with that crop. Now the world has changed.

We‟re dealing with a lower safety net, a radically different structure having more of an insurance counter-cyclical feature and a shallow loss concept.”

RELATED How can you make the right farm bill decisions Farm bill decision aid goes live as USDA announces farm bill rules There‟s no doubt the provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 are more complex than previous farm bills. Cole and panelists Dr. Joe Outlaw, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, and William Cole, a crop insurance agent from Batesville, Miss., who chairs the Crop Insurance Professionals Association, encouraged farmers to seek help in making their decisions.“You have to live with the decision for the life of the farm bill though the pricing environment will change over that time, and you‟re making year-to-year crop loans,” said Greg Cole.

“These payments will be hard to quantify, they‟re paid in arrears or after the fact and will actually be paid when you‟re almost ending the next crop.”Because of the complexity, he said, ag lenders will need to evaluate credit requests on a more individual basis and look at many aspects to determine the borrower‟s risk-bearing ability, Cole noted.“Consideration will need to be given to the safety net selection in concert with the crop insurance selection and the overall marketing plan and all this has to be interfaced in with the provider‟s lending

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine capacity. No doubt the complexity will increase for the borrower and for the ag lender.”In the days ahead, the key to success may well be making the best uses of the resources available and making the best decisions, he noted.

“There‟s good decision tools like Joe (Outlaw) alluded to, the online tools that are available, the interface with crop insurance agents, peer groups and other key folks.Cole urged farmers not to risk everything on the safety net in the new law. “Don‟t allow the government to keep you in business for this is only one component of a whole menu of risk management tools that you have in your operation and your overall management equation.

Producer CEOs “You as agricultural producers are owners of your business, you‟re CEOs. You have full responsibility and accountability. And as I talked about the migration of the intellectual business model, your success will be directly tied to the people you surround yourself with to either influence your decision or make the decision.”Those can be people like your accountant, your agronomist, your tax consultant, your FSA representative, your ag lender. “Again, the goal is to build the intellectual capital to generate the financial capital,” said Cole.

If they don‟t already have the information, Cole urged growers to determine their cost of production, both variable and fixed and on a per-acre or per-bushel or pound basis.“My observation is that many producers are not strong in that area,” he said. “You need to look at your total cost structure. Are you growing paychecks and payments greater than acres? Do you have a focused scale for your operation?”Cole said his organization is already reviewing loans for 2015 and finding that some growers are

losing money, some are breaking even and some are making a little money following the general downturn in prices of recent months.

“I asked what‟s the difference there?” he said. “It‟s in that fixed cost, and looking at the total amount of payments that you‟ve got, your living costs and those variables.

Knowing your numbers is going to be critical.”

What can it do for you?

“Each producer has to step back and ask „what do you want this farm bill to do for you?‟” said Outlaw. “For many years our producers have used the direct payments because they were steady, and you knew what was going to happen. People were using those as a gigantic crutch.“That‟s just me being me. If I made you mad, I‟m sorry.

But the reality is we‟ve got to decide what we‟re going to use in this farm bill. A lot of producers are saying I‟m going to take whatever I can get the most money for the fastest because that‟s the way I feel about this, and I don‟t know if we‟re going to get anything else.

“Others are saying I need to know that if things get to a certain level of bad prices I‟m going to have that safety net provided by the government. Each person has to step back and make that decision for themselves.”Outlaw noted that farmers can enter a wide range of prices in the new farm bill decision aid tool developed by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M. “I‟m suggesting that people put in the prices that if they happen, farmers don‟t want to have to go see their lender if this happens. Those are the prices I want to analyze not high prices that don‟t matter because you‟re not going to get anything.”

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine For more information and to see the new decision aid, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

Source with thnaks: http://deltafarmpress.com/government/nosilver-bullet-2014-farmbill?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+December+11%2C+2014 &utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13%2C+2013&utm_me dium=email

Could arsenic in rice be dangerous for children?

CTV Vancouver: Limiting children's rice intake?

Parents told to limit children‟s rice intake A new report may have you reevaluating how much rice you feed your children.

Sandra Hermiston and Lynda Steele, CTV Vancouver Published Wednesday, December 10, 2014 6:00AM PST Last Updated Wednesday, December 10, 2014 7:46PM PST

A new report may have you reevaluating how much rice you feed your children.Rice and many products containing rice have significant levels of inorganic arsenic, which is linked to cancer. Now, new guidelines

have been released for limits on how much rice you and your children should eat.Consumer Reports analyzed Food and Drug Administration data on more than 600 foods that contain rice and found some with worrisome levels of inorganic arsenic.

“We found that hot rice cereal and rice pasta can have much more arsenic than we saw in our previous tests. So we now recommend that children rarely eat these foods, which means not more than twice a month,” said Dr. Michael Crupain, director of Consumer Reports‟ Food Safety and Sustainability Center.Consumer Reports also recommends children under five limit rice drinks, rice cakes and ready-to-eat rice cereals.

“Levels of arsenic vary. We based our recommendations on the higher levels in each food group to offer consumers the best protection,” said Dr. Crupain.As for rice itself, Consumer Reports‟ lab tests in 2012 found high levels of inorganic arsenic in white rice and even higher levels in brown rice. Other types of rice and other grains had much lower levels of inorganic arsenic. Some good choices include sushi rice from the U.S. and white basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan. On average, they had half the amount of arsenic as most other types of rice.

Brown basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan had about one-third less inorganic arsenic than other brown rice.Other good options are bulgur, barley and faro, as well as gluten-free grains like amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.In response to the Consumer Reports‟ investigation, the USA Rice Federation issued this statement: “Research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. rice industry shows arsenic levels found in U.S.-grown rice are below safe

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine maximum levels established this year by the World Health Organization. Studies show that including white or brown rice in the diet provides measureable health benefits that outweigh the potential risks associated with exposure to trace levels of arsenic. The U.S. rice industry is committed to growing a safe and healthy product; we continuously test our crop, and research ways of reducing the already low levels of arsenic found in rice even further.

The Food & Drug Administration issued this statement: “The FDA‟s ongoing assessment of arsenic in rice remains a priority for the agency. Last year, the FDA released what we believe to be the largest set of test results to date on the presence of arsenic in rice and rice products, and we are planning to release a draft assessment of the potential health risks associated with the consumption of arsenic in these same foods. Until that review is completed, the agency continues to recommend that consumers, including pregnant women, eat a well-balanced diet containing a variety of grains. Parents should feed infants and toddlers a variety of grains as well, and consider options other than rice cereal for a child‟s first solid food.”Published studies and ongoing FDA research indicate that cooking rice in excess volumes of water, five to six times that of the rice, and draining the water can reduce the arsenic content, though it may also reduce the nutritional value of the rice.

Kolkata, Dec 10 (IANS): Cultivating rice varieties that accumulate less amount of arsenic can tackle the challenge of exposure to the carcinogen that affects the population in over five Indian states, an expert said here Wednesday. Though drinking water contamination is known to be the prime cause of arsenic exposure, toxic effects have been observed in people whose only source of the carcinogen is rice. (Read: 4 ways your food could be contaminated before they reach your plate) „India‟s major problem in terms of environmental mutagens (mutating agent) is arsenic. Five states have been affected and more reports are coming in everyday. „Very recently we have proven a link between rice containing high levels of arsenic and DNA damage and this becomes crucial since rice is a staple in India,‟ Asian Association of Environmental Mutagens Societies (AAEMS) president Ashok K. Giri told IANS on the sidelines of the 4th Asian Conference on Environmental Mutagens at the Indian Institute of Chemical

source with thanks: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/couldarsenic-in-rice-be-dangerous-for-children1.2135546#ixzz3LdgByVd8

Beware of rice varieties contaminated with arsenic Agencies Dec 11, 2014 at 11:18 am

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Biology (under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) here.

(Read: Genes play a role in arsenic poisoning) Elaborating on the findings, he said rice is the crop most susceptible to absorbing arsenic during cultivation. Giri noted that residents in rural West Bengal who consumed rice contaminated with more than 200 microgram/kg of arsenic showed higher frequencies of DNA damage. „But there should not be any panic because there are plenty of rice varieties which accumulate less arsenic so if you can cultivate those then there shouldn‟t be a problem,‟ said Giri, also an emeritus scientist, Molecular and Human Genetics Division, of the institute. (Read: Indian scientists develop precise arsenic detection tool) Chronic arsenic exposure through groundwater contamination affects around 160 million people worldwide and majority of them reside in southeast Asia, particularly, Bangladesh, India, China and Taiwan. In addition, air pollution and fluoride toxicity are other issues that need immediate attention, he said.

Photo source: Getty images

Procurement agencies told to pay VAT on sale of paddy byproducts Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Hindustan Times Chandigarh , December 11, 2014

First Published: 11:07 IST(11/12/2014) | Last Updated: 11:10 IST(11/12/2014)

The state excise department has served notices to the district drawing and disbursing officers of all five grain procurement

agencies in Punjab and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to pay valueadded tax (VAT), since 2011-12, on the amount generated by the sale of byproducts of paddy by rice shelling mill owners.The liability of each state procurement agency — Punsup (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited), Pungrain (Punjab Grains Procurement Corporation Ltd), Punjab State Warehousing Cor poration ( PSWC ) , Punjab Markfed and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited (PAIC) — and the FCI, on this count could run into crores of rupees, as estimates suggest that every kharif season, rice millers in the state sell byproducts of paddy — rice bran, rice husk and small broken rice (Kinki) — valued at around ` 800 crore in the open market.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine In case VAT is paid, the agencies also become liable to pay income tax. In fact, the income tax department has also served notices on the agencies.On its part, the state government and the FCI are in a catch22 situation as the profit earned by rice shelling mill (which shells rice on the behalf of the state procurement agencies) owners by selling the byproducts is part of the milling charges allowed by the Centre.Since 2003, the Centre has frozen these milling charges at Rs. 15 per quintal on the condition that the profits generated by the rice shelling mills owners would be retained by them and this would be considered part of the milling charges.

The agencies and the FCI have not been able to decide on whether to pay up or file an appeal with the department or move court.Punjab excise and taxation commissioner Anurag Verma said, “The procurement agencies can take up the issue with me and their requests will be examined.

The notices were sent to streamline the VAT collection system. The department will not collect any unauthorised tax.”The state government is unable to decide on the matter, as one of its departments (excise and taxation) has served notices on the subsidiaries of the other department (food and civil supplies).The managing directors of the procurement agencies have sought an opinion from the food and civil supplies department, but are yet to receive any response.

rice to these agencies. This rice is then handed over to the FCI for distribution, transport and storage. The excise and taxation department has argued that since rice millers work on the behalf of the procurement agencies, the latter is liable to pay VAT. “We only take rice from rice shellers. If VAT is recoverable from us, then income tax is also chargeable. So far, the government has been unable to decide on the matter,” said a top officer in the food and civil supplies department.He added that before the excise department started using coercive methods for recovery, the issue had to be settled.On their part, cash-strapped procurement agencies claim to have no money to pay the VAT and the income tax.They also want to avoid paying up as once it is paid, the levying of tax would become standard practice.

Source with thanks: http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chan digarh/procurement-agencies-told-to-payvat-on-sale-of-paddy-byproducts/article11295415.aspx

Customs seizes P200M imported glutinous rice

By Jigger J. Jerusalem

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

Friday, December 12, 2014

After procuring paddy from farmers, the state procurement agencies hand it to rice shellers, who after shelling the paddy return

AROUND a hundred container vans filled with thousands of bags of imported glutinous rice (“pilit”) were seized by the

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Northern Mindanao at the Mindanao Container Terminal subport in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.Lawyer Roswald Joseph Pague, BOC-Northern Mindanao administrative officer, said the imported items from Vietnam were seized by the Customs through the alert order issued by Jessie Dellosa, the deputy commissioner for the intelligence group.Pague said of the Customs opened some 60 container vans on Thursday, December 11, while the rest will be subjected for verification. Each container van contains more or less 520 bags of rice.

The worth of the imported goods is estimated at P100 million to P200 million, he said.The BOC-Northern Mindanao decided to take custody of the vans when it found out that the consignees failed to file import entry at the Customs office.Upon reaching the port, he said the consignee must file an import entry within 30 days or the imported items will be declared by the BOC as abandoned.This non-filing of appropriate import documents is unlawful under section 1801 (Abandonment of Imported Articles) of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.BOC-Northern Mindanao records showed the consignees were identified as EC Peninsula and New Dawn, Pague said.

However, he added, the consignees filed their respective affidavits of disclaimer, essentially denying that they are the importers of the seized goods.Pague said the suspected smugglers of the imported rice, once they are identified, would be facing charges of violation of tariff and customs code, and National Food Authority (NFA)

regulation, which requires consignees to secure import permit before the items could be cleared by the BOC.He added once verification of the confiscated bags of rice is done, the Customs would auction these off as soon as possible.

The confiscation of the imported goods, Pague said, is an indication the BOCNorthern Mindanao is doing its job in going after smugglers of varied form.“We are sending a very strong message to those who want to engage in smuggling in our ports.

The Bureau of Customs will not tolerate this illegal act. Individuals or companies which will try to conduct smuggling activities will be caught and we will enforce the full extent of the law to make sure they will face the consequences of their actions,� Pague told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in a phone interview Thursday.

Source with thanks:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayande-oro/local-news/2014/12/12/customsseizes-p200m-imported-glutinous-rice381566

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