17th may,2017 daily global,regional local national rice e newsletter

Daily Global Rice

E-Newsletter

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May 17,2017 Vol 8 Issue V

Today Rice News Headlines...                             

MoU inked to boost rice exports to Saudi NFA seeks to import rice from private suppliers Pakistan rice exporters to boost Saudi market share Pak rice exporters sign MoU with Jeddah Chamber Trade ministry bows to pressure, allows duty free rice imports LSU AgCenter to host rice field days Coloured rice is under the microscope as medical students investigate health benefits Ricebran technologies oribt research coverage started at lake street capital Secretary Perdue Talks Trade, Farm Bill, and More with USA Rice NFA seeks to import rice from private suppliers Philippines set to privatise rice imports NFA approves G2P rice importation scheme NFA allows rice importation through private sector Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- May 03, 2017 Govt to import 50,000 tonnes of white rice Export Summary-Bangladesh seeks white rice; Iraq buys Australian wheat Arkansas Farmland Ravaged by Floods; Some Farmers May Not Recover Kogi Seeks World Bank Support to Boost Rice Production Than Imported Ones - Agric Minister Next auction for state-held rice called EDITORIAL - Importing rice South Jeolla farmers call on new administration to stop rice imports Ex-Cabinet official goes against the grain on rice importations Rice prices rising anew despite ‘good harvest’ Rice imports readied despite bullish grains outlook Government approves G2P rice imports Bangladesh Tenders to Import 50,000 Tons of White Rice Online Advertisement:mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 0321 369 2874 Riverina rice farming: Leigh Vial is a veteran of the rice industry www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com www.ricepluss.com Conveyor machinery rice mill in Thailand Monitor Latest Updates on www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com

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News Detail...

MoU inked to boost rice exports to Saudi

KARACHI: Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for long-term institutional collaboration between the two trade bodies, a statement received here on Monday said. ―Such visits are necessary to increase bilateral trade, commerce, and investment between both the countries and signing of this MoU would be a milestone towards achieving this objective,‖ Sheikh Mazen Mohammed Batterjee, vice chairman JCCI, told the signing ceremony held in Jeddah.

Batterjee also assured Pakistani rice exporters of Jeddah chamber‘s full support in achieving this goal of common good. Speaking on the occasion, Shah Jahan Malik, vice chairman REAP, said he was upbeat that after the signing of the agreement Pakistan would be able to increase its exports to the Saudi market. ―The 14-member joint delegation of REAP and Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI) is visiting Saudi Arabia from 11-19 May, 2017, as part of trade promotion activities to increase export of rice to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),‖ the statement said. It added that the delegation members visited the major super as well hypermarkets and held meetings with their top management. They also met with major Saudi rice importers of the

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western region, in one-on-one business networking session organised by the Consulate of Pakistan. ―After the meeting, the Pakistan consulate hosted a biryani dinner for potential Saudi buyers with an aim to promote Pakistani rice, which is equally famous for its long-grain, aroma, and taste across the world,‖ the press release said.

Mian Mehmood, president PSJCCI, told the media that Saudi Arabia is our major trading partner in food sector and imports over $1 billion worth of rice every year. ―Pakistani rice exporters should make the most of this opportunity to further increase the share of Pakistani rice in this market,‖ Mehmood said. He added that the PSJCCI is playing a very vital role in promoting trade in all the sectors between the two brotherly countries.

Appreciating the initiative taken by the REAP, Shehryar Akbar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, said the country was constantly striving to improve its technological-agricultural capacity to increase volume of its rice exports in the face of stiff competition from its competitors. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/204577-MoU-inked-to-boost-rice-exports-to-Saudi

NFA seeks to import rice from private suppliers May 16 2017 08:06 PM

MANILA - The government said it would soon import rice to boost its stocks ahead of the lean harvest season, and will buy from private suppliers, not governments, in a bid to increase competitiveness and transparency.

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The National Food Authority Council did not specify an amount, but demand from the Philippines, one of the world's biggest rice importers, could underpin prices in its main suppliers and major exporters Thailand and Vietnam.

The NFA had been seeking the council's approval to import as much as 250,000 tons under government-to-government schemes with Vietnam and Thailand. The committee which decides on the amount to be imported meets on Thursday.

"The NFA will shift from government to government importation to government to private importation, a move that is more competitive, less corrupt and transparent," the NFA Council said in a statement.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who chairs the NFA Council, said the shift away from governments would ensure accountability. Evasco recently accused some NFA officials of "making a cash cow out of government-led rice importations". The NFA management has denied any wrongdoing.

Rice inventories in the Philippines are running low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years in April, just enough to cover 10 days of national requirements.

To ensure supply availability throughout the year, especially during the typhoon season in the last quarter, the council said private traders can also import up to 805,000 tonnes under an annual quota scheme.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/09/17/luy-unfazed-after-napoles-acquittal-in-illegal-detention-case

Pakistan rice exporters to boost Saudi market share May 16, 2017

Sheikh Mahzen Batterjie, Vice Chairman, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI);

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delegation from Pakistan rice exporters‘ delegation from Pakistan, and official from the Pakistan Consulate General Jeddah, pose for a group photo

By Syed Mussarat Khalil Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Mian Mehmood, President of Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI), praised Saudi Arabia›s Vision 2030, saying it is a great vision and we are fully supporting it.

He was talking to media at Biryani dinner hosted by the Pakistan Consulate Jeddah for the Saudi buyers at Park Hayat hotel on Sunday.He said ―Saudi Arabia is our major trading partner in food sector and imports over $1 billion worth of rice every year, making great opportunity for our rice exporters and Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) to further increase the share of Pakistani rice in this market.‖ He said if we want to cover the GCC countries also, we should make processing plant inside Saudi Arabia, have packaging facilities and quality control as well.

He said the Chambers of both countries are playing a very vital role in promoting trade in all sectors between the two countries.

At the dinner, the Saudi buyers appreciated the supreme quality unique aroma and taste of Pakistani rice. Pakistani rice is part not only of Asian cuisine, but rather equally famous for its long size and aroma in the Arabian and Continental cuisines.

Earlier, Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and JCCI signed an MoU for long-term institutional collaboration between the two organizations. In the MoU signing ceremony, Sheikh Mahzen Batterjie, Vice Chairman, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), along with the members of the Food Committee of JCCI, welcomed the rice exporters‘ delegation from Pakistan, According to Arshad Munir Consular (Press) at Consulate General Pakistan, Batterjie said such bilateral visits are necessary to increase the bilateral trade, commerce and investment between both the countries and signing of this MoU would be a milestone towards achieving this objective. He assured complete support of JCCI toward efforts of the consulate for achieving this goal.

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Buoyed up by an encouraging response, Shah Jahan Malik, Vice Chairman REAP, who is heading the delegation from Pakistani, exuded confidence that they would be able to increase their share in the Saudi market. The delegation was very confident that the visit was fruitful and they would be able to meet their objective.

The exporters were in Jeddah on the first leg of their visit to the Kingdom. The 14-member joint delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI is visiting Saudi Arabia on May 11-19, 2017, as part of trade promotion activities to increase export of rice to Saudi Arabia.

The delegation members visited the major supermarkets/hypermarkets and had meetings with their top management along with their meetings with major Saudi rice importers of the Western Region, in one-on-one business networking session organized by the Consulate of Pakistan.

Shehryar Akbar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, appreciated the initiative taken by the Rice Exporters of Pakistan, and said that the country was constantly striving to improve its technological and agricultural capacity to increase volume of its rice exports in the face of stiff competition from its competitors and its rice quality matches the highest international standards.

He expressed the hope that the exporters will fully utilize the opportunities being offered by the Saudi market and take the rice export trade trajectory upward in the near future. http://saudigazette.com.sa/business/pakistan-rice-exporters-boost-saudi-market-share/

Pak rice exporters sign MoU with Jeddah Chamber Observer Report Jeddah Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and JCCI signed an MoU for long term institutional collaboration between the two organizations.Sheikh Mahzen Batterjie Vice Chairman Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), along with the members of the Food Committee of JCCI welcomed the rice exporters‘ delegation from Pakistan, in the signing ceremony of the MoU. He said that such bilateral visits are necessary to increase the bilateral trade, commerce and investment between both the countries and signing of this MoU would be a milestone towards achieving this objective. He assured complete support of JCCI towards efforts of the Consulate for achieving this goal.

Buoyed up by an encouraging response, Mr. Shah Jahan Malik Vice Chairman REAP, who is heading the delegation from Pakistani, exuded confidence that they would be able to increase

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their share in the Saudi market. The delegation was very confident that the visit was fruitful and they would be able to meet their objective.

The exporters were in Jeddah, on the first leg of their visit to the Kingdom. The 14 member joint delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PSJCCI is visiting Saudi Arabia from 11-19 May, 2017, as part of trade promotion activities to increase export of rice to the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The delegation members visited the major Supermarkets/Hypermarkets and had meetings with their top Management along with their meetings with major Saudi rice importers of the Western Region, in one-on-one business networking session organized by the Consulate of Pakistan.

A Biryani Dinner was also hosted by the Consulate for the Saudi Buyers to present Pakistani Rice as part of not only Asian Cuisine rather equally famous for its long size and aroma in the Arabian and Continental Cuisines. The buyers appreciated the supreme quality unique aroma and taste of Pakistani rice.

Mr. Mian Mehmood the President of Pak-Saudi Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry while talking to media said that Saudi Arabia is our major trading Partner in Food Sector and imports over USD 1 Billion worth of rice every year making great opportunity for our rice exporters and REAP to further increase the share of Pakistani rice in this market. He said that the joint Chamber of both the Countries is playing a very vital role in promoting trade in all the sectors between the two brotherly countries.

Mr. Shehryar Akbar Khan Consul General of Pakistan appreciated the initiative taken by the Rice Exporters of Pakistan, and said that the country was constantly striving to improve its technological and agricultural capacity to increase volume of its rice exports in the face of stiff competition from its competitors and its rice quality matches the highest international standards.

He expressed the hope that the exporters will fully utilize the opportunities being offered by the market of KSA and take the rice export trade trajectory upward in the near future. http://pakobserver.net/pak-rice-exporters-sign-mou-jeddah-chamber/

Trade ministry bows to pressure, allows duty free rice imports ISAAC KHISA May 16, 2017

FILE PHOTO: Minister Kyambadde has issued new orders related to import of rice.Trade ministry bows to pressure, allows duty free import of unprocessed rice Uganda‘s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives now says it has allowed the duty-free import of up to 50,000 metric tonnes of unprocessed rice, commonly known as ‗brown rice‘, to boost supplies and check prices amid a fall in local production.The duty-free imports will be allowed for the initial four months effective last month.

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Prior to the tax waiver, importing a metric tonne of rice in Uganda attracted $345 or 75% of the value of import whichever is higher as a tax irrespective of the type of rice—husked, milled, processed or packed ready for distribution.Amelia Kyambadde, the trade ministry said on her twitter handle on May.16 that the import of brown rice under this scheme shall be within a short period and not re-exported to the regional markets.

But millers told The Independent that they were already importing duty-free unprocessed rice especially from Pakistan upon obtaining importing licences from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries ―As per import license condition, millers will have to commit to sell the processed rice at Shs3, 000 retail price from their retail outlets,‖ she said. ―The import license of unprocessed rice will be limited to a specific quantity of up to 5,000 metric tonnes per miller currently operating in Uganda.‖ She said her ministry shall issue import licenses to regulate the import of the agreed volume of the unprocessed rice under some conditions.

But the new developments comes at the time rice millers in the country are already importing unprocessed rice in response to the Ministry of Finance‘s decision to scrap tax on unprocessed

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rice on March 30 to tame rising food prices, illustrating how government entities are uncoordinated in implementing new initiatives.

Ongoing Ministry of Agriculture imports Earlier, millers told The Independent that they were already importing duty-free unprocessed rice especially from Pakistan upon obtaining importing licences from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries; and thus complicating the whole issue of which ministry is in charge of licences for rice imports.In a letter dated March 30 to the Uganda Revenue Authority, Matia Kasaija, the Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said the government waived tax on the import of unprocessed rice effective April 01 for the initial four months to stabilise price of the commodity, which had risen by about 30% since the beginning of this year.

The surge in the price of the commodity is attributed to the prolonged drought leading to food shortage in different parts of the country.

The latest National Food Security Assessment Report compiled by an inter-ministerial team, showed that the food insecurity that had afflicted 1.3 million people in November 2016, had ravaged 10.9 million people by January 2017, with at least 1.6 million Ugandans already suffering food crisis. ―Owing to the food security situation in the country and the need for an appropriate response, Cabinet approved an import duty waiver for unprocessed rice among others, to bring down food prices for those who can afford to purchase on their own,‖ he said. https://www.independent.co.ug/trade-ministry-bows-pressure-allows-duty-free-rice-imports/

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LSU AgCenter to host rice field days By: LSU AgCenter

Posted: May 15, 2017 04:01 PM CDT Updated: May 15, 2017 04:07 PM CDT CROWLEY, LA - The LSU AgCenter will hold a series of field days for rice farmers to provide information on the latest improvements for growing their crop. AgCenter scientists will explain their work related to fertility, variety development and controlling rice pests. ―These field days allow us to tell farmers about the work we are doing to help them improve their crop,‖ said Steve Linscombe, director of the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station. ―One of the highlights we will be discussing is our work with the new Provisia rice technology.‖ Upcoming field days are: — May 25. The Vermilion Parish Rice Field Day will begin at 3:30 p.m. starting at the Kent Lounsberry Farm east of Lake Arthur on La. Highway 14 and end at the Klondike fire station.

— May 31. The Southwest Louisiana Rice Tour will start with speakers at 8:30 a.m. at the Fenton Farmers Cooperative, followed by talks at the rice research plots located on the Jimmy Hoppe farm south of Fenton.

— June 1. The Evangeline Parish Rice Field Day will start at 8 a.m. near Mamou, at research plots located 3.5 miles west of Bieber Farms directly off Bieber Road. Signs will be posted on Bieber Road directing drivers to the location. The event ends at Bieber Farms.

— June 14. The Acadia Parish Rice Field Day will be held at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station South Farm. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. with presentations and a field tour starting around 9:30 a.m.

— June 28. The LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station Field Day will start with field tours at 7:15 a.m. with the last trailer leaving at 9 a.m., followed by a poster session and presentations.

— July 6. The St. Landry Rice and Soybean Field Tour will be held at the Charles Fontenot Farm near Palmetto beginning at 8 a.m. Signs to the field day location will be posted starting at Veazey Road in Palmetto off La. Highway 10.

— July 12. The North Louisiana Rice and Soybean Field Day will be held near Oak Ridge at the Vic Jordan Farm, starting at 9 a.m. The farm is 2.5 miles east of Oak Ridge on La. Highway 134.

Turn south on Tower Drive, which ends at the plots. The indoor program will start at 11 a.m. at the Rayville Civic Center, 817 Louisa St., Rayville.

http://www.arklatexhomepage.com/news/agriculture/lsu-agcenter-to-host-rice-field-days/714295013

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Coloured rice is under the microscope as medical students investigate health benefits To partake in the study contact email Esther Callcott at ecallcott@csu.edu.au ABC Rural

By Cara Jeffery Charles Sturt University researchers Esther Callcott and Kiara Thompson are investigating the health benefits of coloured rice.

(ABC Rural: Cara Jeffery) The health benefits of coloured rice are being investigated by PhD students at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.Purple, black, red and brown rice are under the microscope to see if they can inhibit obesity and its related diseases.Medical research students at CSU's Functional Grains Centre, Kiara Thompson and Esther Callcott, need participants for their study, which could lead to a new coloured rice industry in Australia.

"The seed coats of coloured rice are rich in antioxidants and our aim is to test the role of these chemical compounds in reducing blood clotting, inflammation and chemical damage to cells in overweight or obese people and in those who have type 2 diabetes," Ms Callcott said.

CSU medical researchers Kiara Thompson and Esther Callcott investigate the health benefits of coloured rice in the Charles Sturt University Functional Grains Centre laboratory.

(ABC Rural: Cara Jeffery) The researchers are seeking people to partake in the study who are aged 18 to 65 and are overweight or have type 2 diabetes, nonsmokers, who are not pregnant and who do not suffer any chronic diseases.Participants will be asked to complete a health and food questionnaire, body measurement, and give a sample of blood.

"Once we receive the participants blood sample we will add the coloured rice extract and we will perform multiple tests," Ms Thompson said.

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"We'll perform specific testing in regards to inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. They are tests that you would normally not get done at your doctors and the participants will receive all of their results at the end of the trial."

Coloured rice samples being used in research at Charles Sturt University Functional Grains Centre at Wagga Wagga by medical researchers Kiara Thompson and Esther Callcott who are investigating the health benefits of coloured rice.The results of the research will be relayed to NSW Department of Primary Industries rice breeding program, which provided the rice varieties for the study.

"Hopefully they use the information to breed coloured rice varieties that contain therapeutic levels of bioactive compounds, which can then be grown on a commercial scale and made available to consumers in Australia," she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-05-16/health-benefits-of-coloured-rice-investigated/8527654 Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ:RIBT) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a buy rating and a $2.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Maxim Group lowered RiceBran Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th.

Ricebran technologies oribt research coverage started at lake street capital RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ:RIBT) opened at 0.87 on Wednesday. RiceBran Technologies has a 52-week low of $0.69 and a 52-week high of $2.19. The company‘s market capitalization is $9.26 million. The stock‘s 50 day moving average price is $0.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.94.

TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: This piece was published by BBNS and is the sole property of of BBNS. If you are accessing this piece on another publication, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of US & international copyright and trademark legislation. The correct version of this piece can be read at RiceBran Technologies Company Profile RiceBran Technologies is a human food ingredient, functional food ingredient, packaged functional food and animal nutrition company. The Company is focused on processing and marketing of nutrient dense products derived from raw rice, an underutilized by-product of the rice milling industry. The Company has two operating segments. https://baseballnewssource.com/markets/ricebran-technologies-ribt-research-coverage-started-atlake-street-capital/766456.html.

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Secretary Perdue Talks Trade, Farm Bill, and More with USA Rice

By Michael Klein WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue met with a delegation from USA Rice today in a wide-ranging discussion of industry priorities including trade, flooding in the mid-south, the upcoming Farm Bill, labor shortages in California, food aid, and the importance of rice research programs.

"With 50 percent of our crop exported each year, and 20 percent of that going to Mexico, we can't overstate the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement," USA Rice Chairman Brian King told the Secretary at the start of the meeting.

Keith Glover, chairman of USA Rice's World Market Price Subcommittee, continued the trade theme, reminding the Secretary about the lack of progress on signing the U.S.-China Phytosanitary Agreement for rice and the refusal of Iraq to purchase U.S. rice for the last year, despite a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and the government of Iraq."The message we gave the President on NAFTA was clear, 'don't go backwards,'" the Secretary said.

"On China, we don't have any disagreements on the phytosanitary deal, it's just going to be a question of putting our names on the dotted lines."The Secretary told the group that moving China forward on rice was definitely on his radar.

On the issue of Iraq, Perdue offered that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, "with the full U.S. economy in his portfolio, has sunk his teeth into agriculture because he understands how much ag helps with our trade surplus."

Missouri rice farmer Paul T. Combs discussed food aid saying, "USDA food aid programs are quite important to the rice industry, and we believe food aid should be food, not cash, which can more easily be corrupted." Curtis Berry, a Mississippi rice farmer, stressed the importance of the rice industry's partnership with the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) to promote U.S. rice around the world.

"Those promotion programs are very important to the rice industry, and we match every dollar we receive from the government with more than seven dollars from industry, so you can see we value the programs and believe in them," Berry said.

Sean Doherty, a California rice farmer, shared his concerns about labor shortages in California as a result of rhetoric coming out of the White House and also made the case for improved access to the Japanese market for U.S. rice.

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Also on the domestic front, Arkansas rice farmer Dow Brantley thanked Secretary Perdue for his recent trip to Arkansas to survey flood damage and reminded him about difficulties with the "practical to replant" regulations and used it as an opportunity to share rice priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill, including a safety net provision that works for rice, as the current Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program does, and a closer look at current policies that do not work, including the Actively Engaged provision.

"Really important, I think, is to give farmers an opportunity to adjust to any rule changes in the new Farm Bill, we didn't get that last time and it hurt a lot of people," Brantley said.

Texas rice farmer L.G. Raun talked about the exceptional conservation story the rice industry has to tell as the providers of so much habitat. He praised the work of USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service, stewards of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program of which the rice industry is a major beneficiary, and reminded the Secretary of the unique relationship between USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited that works to preserve habitat and improve water quality.

Louisiana rice farmer Jackie Loewer also praised robust rice research programs that are helping the rice industry remain competitive.

"All the issues you heard about today are important, but we really have a three-legged stool of trade, safety net programs, and research on which we sit," said Loewer, who is also the chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board.

"This could not have been a better meeting," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "It was apparent to all of us that Secretary Perdue is going to be a strong advocate for all of agriculture, but that he also understands the unique challenges confronting the rice industry and he is going to work with us, both domestically and internationally, to improve conditions for us."

NFA seeks to import rice from private suppliers Posted at May 16 2017 08:06 PM

MANILA - The government said it would soon import rice to boost its stocks ahead of the lean harvest season, and will buy from private suppliers, not governments, in a bid to increase competitiveness and transparency.The National Food Authority Council did not specify an amount, but demand from the Philippines, one of the world's biggest rice importers, could underpin prices in its main suppliers and major exporters Thailand and Vietnam.The NFA had been seeking the council's approval to import as much as 250,000 tons under government-togovernment schemes with Vietnam and Thailand. The committee which decides on the amount to be imported meets on Thursday.

"The NFA will shift from government to government importation to government to private importation, a move that is more competitive, less corrupt and transparent," the NFA Council

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said

in

a

statement.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who chairs the NFA Council, said the shift away from governments would ensure accountability. Evasco recently accused some NFA officials of "making a cash cow out of government-led rice importations". The NFA management has denied any wrongdoing.Rice inventories in the Philippines are running low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years in April, just enough to cover 10 days of national requirements. To ensure supply availability throughout the year, especially during the typhoon season in the last quarter, the council said private traders can also import up to 805,000 tonnes under an annual quota scheme. http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/16/17/nfa-seeks-to-import-rice-from-private-suppliers

Philippines set to privatise rice imports 16 May 2017 at 16:04 WRITER: REUTERS A farmer rests in the background as paddy rice is being loaded onto a truck in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, February 20, 2010.

MANILA, -- In a move that could have a significant impact on Thailand, the Philippines said on Tuesday it would soon seek rice to boost its stocks ahead of the lean harvest season -- but it will buy from private

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16 suppliers, not governments, in a bid to increase competitiveness and transparency.The National Food Authority Council, which regulates the state-grain buyer the National Food Authority (NFA), did not specify an amount, but demand from the Philippines, one of the world's biggest rice importers, could underpin prices in its main suppliers and major exporters Thailand and Vietnam.

The NFA had been seeking the council's approval to import as much as 250,000 tonnes under government-to-government schemes with Vietnam and Thailand. The committee which decides on the amount to be imported meets on Thursday.

"The NFA will shift from government to government importation to government to private importation, a move that is more competitive, less corrupt and transparent," the NFA Council said in a statement.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who chairs the NFA Council, said the shift away from governments would ensure accountability. Mr Evasco recently accused some NFA officials of "making a cash cow out of government-led rice importations". The NFA management has denied any wrongdoing.

Rice inventories in the Philippines are running low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years in April, just enough to cover 10 days of national requirements.

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To ensure supply availability throughout the year, especially during the typhoon season in the last quarter, the council said private traders can also import up to 805,000 tonnes under an annual quota scheme. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1250630/philippines-set-to-privatise-rice-imports

NFA approves G2P rice importation scheme Published May 16, 2017, 5:58 PM

By Argyll Cyrus Geducos The National Food Authority (NFA) Council has approved of the importation by the NFA via government to private (G2P) scheme, Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco announced Tuesday (May 16).

According to Evasco, this is to augment the agency‘s buffer stock for the coming lean months of July to September.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. (SIMEON CELI JR./Presidential Photo /

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However, Evasco said the Council is still waiting for the National Food Security Committee‘s (NFSC) recommendation on how much volume of rice importation should be activated from NFA‘s remaining 250,000 metric tons stand by authority.The NFSC is set to meet on Thursday.

Evasco also announced that the NFA will also shift from government to government (G2G) importation to G2P importation, a move that is more competitive, least corrupt, and transparent. ―Hence, instead of limiting the bidders to government counterparts, private suppliers from participating countries may now be allowed to participate in the bidding,‖ he said, adding that this will make the whole process covered by the Government Procurement Reform Act unlike the current G2G scheme. ―We have to make drastic changes in order to ensure a corrupt-free and competitive bidding process at the dNGA,‖ Evasco explained. ―Instead of a G2G, the Council will push for a G2P to increase accountability and transparency.

While G2G is exempt from the Government Procurement Reform Act, G2P is not,‖ he added. http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/05/16/nfa-approves-g2p-rice-importation-scheme/

NFA allows rice importation through private sector By: Leila B. Salaverria - Reporter / @LeilasINQ Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:39 PM May 16, 2017 The National Food Authority Council (NFAC) has decided to import rice through the private sector to augment the country‘s buffer stock of its staple food in the coming lean season, a month after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a stop to rice importation to protect farmers who had posted a high yield from their crops.

At the same time, the NFA will intensify the purchase of local produce from farmers to maintain a good buffer stock while waiting for the arrival of more stocks from rice importation, according to Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.

Evasco announced on Tuesday the NFAC decision, which he considered less prone to corruption compared to government-to-government procurement.

He the decision had Duterte‘s approval.The council was just waiting for the recommendation of the National Food Security Committee on the volume of rice to be imported. ―This is unanimous because the President, during the last Cabinet meeting, had been given the opportunity to listen to the position of the NFA Council where there is really a need for us to

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import,‖ Evasco said in a news briefing. ―That‘s why the President said that, since this time NFA will no longer have the monopoly of importing rice, so we should open importation through private sector.‖ This, he added, was a ―policy shift.‖ Duterte earlier fired Evasco‘s deputy, Undersecretary Maia Chiara Halmen Valdez, for supposedly allowing rice importation during the harvest season. Valdez allegedly overrode the decision of NFA administrator Jason Aquino not to extend the permits of rice importersj to obtain rice from abroad.

Duterte had also directed the NFA to buy rice from farmers for the buffer and only allow importation in case of a supply shortfall.

Asked on Tuesday if the change in the President‘s position vindicated Valdez, Evasco replied that ―to some extent it admits that there is really a need for us to import.‖ He also said the NFA administrator was present during the NFAC‘s meeting on Monday and was ―supportive‖ of the council‘s decision.Aquino earlier pushed for government to government rice importation, despite the council‘s position to allow private sector importation.

The NFA has to maintain a rice buffer stock enough for 15 days at any given time, and enough for 30 days at the onset of the lean months. Evasco said the country‘s daily consumption rate requirement is 32,720 metric tons or 654,600 bags.

According to Evasco, government-to-private rice importation was ―more competitive, least corrupt, and transparent.‖With private suppliers allowed to participate in the bidding to be allowed to import rice to the country, the process would be covered by the procurement law, unlike in a government-to-government scheme where there is no bidding, he said. ―We have to make drastic changes in order to ensure a corrupt-free and competitive bidding process at the NFA,‖ he added.

As to whether the importation of rice would be detrimental to farmers, Evasco said the Department of Agriculture should motivate, inspire and support the farmers to produce enough rice for the Filipinos.

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But while the country has yet to achieve rice self-sufficiency, the NFA would have to import. ―NFA should buy rice in the meantime that DA has not yet come up wth the formula that the Philippines would be sufficient with rice,‖ Evasco said. /atm

https://business.inquirer.net/229665/nfa-allows-rice-importation-private-sector

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- May 03, 2017 Reuters | May 3, 2017, 01.35 PM IST

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC/Open Market-May 3 Nagpur, May 3 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices showed weak tendency in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) auction on poor buying support from local millers amid increased supply from producing belts. Reports about bumper tuar arrival in all over Maharashtra and weak trend in Madhya Pradesh pulses also affected prices. About 3,900 bags of gram and 2,900 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources. FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor. TUAR * Tuar varieties quoted static in open market here on subdued demand from local traders amid ample stock in ready position. * Watana dal reported weak in open market here on lack of buying support from local traders. * Wheat varieties recovered in open market good seasonal demand from local traders amid thin arrival from producing regions like Punjab and Haryana. * In Akola, Tuar New 3,800-4,000, Tuar dal (clean) - 6,100-6,400, Udid Mogar (clean) - 9,500-10,900, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,100-7,400, Gram - 5,900-6,200, Gram Super best bold - 8,100-8,400 for 100 kg. * Rice and other commodities moved in a narrow range in scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin trading activity. Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 5,250-5,630 5,300-5,760 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction 3,400-3,880 3,500-3,940 Moong Auction n.a. 4,0004,400 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,500-1,596 1,500-1,590 Gram Super Best Bold 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800 Gram Super Best n.a. n.a. Gram Medium Best 7,800-8,200 7,800-8,200 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a Gram Mill Quality 5,800-5,900 5,800-5,900 Desi gram Raw 6,100-6,300 6,100-6,300 Gram Yellow 8,000-8,200 8,000-8,200 Gram Kabuli 12,400-13,500 12,400-13,500 Tuar Fataka Best-New 6,400-6,600 6,400-6,600 Tuar Fataka Medium-New 6,000-6,200 6,000-6,200 Tuar Dal Best

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Phod-New 5,500-5,800 5,500-5,800 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 5,000-5,400 5,000-5,400 Tuar Gavarani New 4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200 Tuar Karnataka 4,200-4,300 4,200-4,300 Masoor dal best 5,600-5,800 5,600-5,800 Masoor dal medium 5,200-5,500 5,200-5,500 Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New) 7,200-7,500 7,200-7,500 Moong Mogar Medium 6,700-7,000 6,7007,000 Moong dal Chilka 5,800-6,600 5,800-6,600 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 6,900-7,800 6,900-7,800 Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 9,900-11,000 9,900-11,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,800-9,000 7,800-9,000 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,400 5,800-6,400 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,600-5,800 5,600-5,800 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,500-3,800 3,500-3,800 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,100 3,000-3,200 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,500 3,300-3,500 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,9004,400 3,900-4,400 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,950-2,050 1,900-2,000 Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,700-1,800 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,150-2,350 2,100-2,300 Wheat Lokwan new (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,050 1,800-2,000 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,2002,350 2,100-2,250 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,150 2,000-2,100 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,600 3,200-3,500 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,800 2,500-2,700 Rice BPT new (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,500 3,000-3,500 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,500-4,000 3,500-4,000 Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200 Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,800 2,5002,800 Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,250-2,450 2,250-2,450 Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,700 2,600-2,700 Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,4002,500 Rice HMT New (100 INR/KG) 3,600-4,000 3,600-4,000 Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,800 4,500-4,800 Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200 Rice Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,500 4,200-4,500 Rice Shriram best 100 INR/KG) 6,500-6,800 6,500-6,800 Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 6,000-6,200 6,000-6,200 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,300-14,000 10,300-14,000 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,500-7,500 5,500-7,500 Rice Chinnor New(100 INR/KG) 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900 Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 5,500-5,800 5,500-5,800 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,400 5,200-5,400 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,200 1,900-2,200 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-1,900 1,800-1,900 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 42.1 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 27.5 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky.

Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 43 and 27 degree Celsius

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respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/nagpur-foodgrain-prices-open-may-032017/articleshow/58493143.cms

Govt to import 50,000 tonnes of white rice Dhaka | Update: 09:32, May 16, 2017

Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued an international tender on Monday to import 50,000 tonnes of white rice, officials said, its second tender in a week to build reserves and control prices of the staple.

The state agency, Directorate General of Food, came up with its first tender for rice since 2011 as local rice prices hit a record high and state reserves are at a six-year low.

It plans to import 600,000 tonnes of rice after flash floods hit fields about to be harvested, potentially wiping out 700,000 tonnes of crops.

Authorities are considering waiving the tax on rice imports, Badrul Hasan, the head of the Directorate General of Food, told Reuters last week.

He said the state agency also planned to import rice through government-to-government deals with producers such as Thailand, Vietnam and India because importing via tenders is a lengthy process.

In the latest tender, the deadline for offers is May 28 and the rice is to be shipped in 40 days after the deal is signed, a senior official at the state grains buyer said.

The world's fourth-biggest rice producer with more than 30 million tonnes per year, Bangladesh consumes almost all its production to feed its population of 160 million. It often requires imports, however, to cope with shortages caused by natural disasters like floods and droughts.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul, editing by Ed Osmond)

http://en.prothom-alo.com/economy/news/148211/Govt-to-import-50-000-tonnes-of-white-rice

Export Summary-Bangladesh seeks white rice; Iraq buys Australian wheat Reuters | May 16, 2017, 02.35 AM IST

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May 15 (Reuters) - Snapshot of the global export markets for grains, oilseeds and edible oils as reported by government and private sources as of end of business on Monday: RICE TENDER: Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued an international tender on Monday to import 50,000 tonnes of white rice, officials said, its second tender in a week to build reserves and control prices of the staple. The deadline for offers is May 28 and the rice is to be shipped in 40 days after the deal is signed, a senior official at the state grains buyer said.

WHEAT PURCHASE: Iraq's state grains board has purchased about 50,000 tonnes of wheat to be sourced from Australia in a tender which closed last week, European traders said on Monday.

PENDING TENDERS: RICE TENDER: Iraq's state grains buyer is seeking to purchase about 100,000 tonnes of rice to be sourced from the United States, European traders said. Offers are to be submitted on May 15 and must remain valid until May 21, they said.

RICE TENDER: South Korea's Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp issued an international tender to purchase around 65,000 tonnes of rice, European traders said. The tender registration deadline is May 15, they said.

WHEAT AND BARLEY TENDER: Jordan's state grain buyer issued new international tenders to purchase 100,000 tonnes of hard milling wheat and 100,000 tonnes of animal feed barley both to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said. Deadline for the wheat tender is May 16 and deadline for the barley tender is May 17, they said.

WHEAT TENDER UPDATE: Japan's Ministry of Agriculture said it received no offers for feedquality wheat or barley in a simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) auction that closed late on May 10.

The ministry had sought 120,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 200,000 tonnes of feed barley to be loaded by August 31 and arrive in Japanby October 31 in the tender that is usually conducted weekly. It is seeking the same amounts for each grain to be loaded and shipped during the same period in a similar tender that will be held on May 17.

CORN TENDER: Turkey's state grain agency TMO issued international tenders to purchase and import up to 180,000 tonnes of animal feed corn, European traders said on. The tenders close on May 18. The TMO will hold 15 separate tenders each for 12,000 tonnes of corn, with Russia not named as an accepted origin, traders said.

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RICE TENDER: Mauritius' state purchasing agency issued an international tender to buy up to 6,000 tonnes of long grain white rice sourced from optional origins, European traders said.

Tender deadline is May 19, traders said.

RICE TENDER: Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued an international tender to import 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice, state grains officials said, its first such tender in many years. The deadline for offers is May 21 and the rice is to be shipped in 40 days after signing the deal, a senior official at the state grains buyer said.

The head of the state grain buyer said the agency will import 600,000 tonnes of rice in an effort to replenish reserves and rein in prices of the staple.

(Compiled by Michael Hirtzer)

Arkansas Farmland Ravaged by Floods; Some Farmers May Not Recover Mary Kennedy , DTN Basis Analyst 5/15/2017 | 11:07 AM CDT 13

Arkansas farmers were devastated by recent flooding, and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture released a preliminary estimate of 64.5 million in losses to farmers. That estimate was just for the costs of seed and herbicides already applied, equipment and labor.

(Photo on the left taken by Andy Jett, Success, Arkansas, over his flooded farm; photo on the right of the Cache River flooding taken by Joe Christian, Jonesboro, Arkansas) On May 2, flooding from heavy rains inundated farm fields, homes and businesses in Arkansas.

The storms caught both livestock and row-crop farmers at a critical time, according to Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

"We have livestock farmers who have lost cattle in the floods, miles of fencing has been washed away and there are many rural roads and bridges that are impassable. And for the row-crop farmers, this will be a big blow, as much of the rice and corn had already been planted," Veach said in a news release on the AFB website.

Andy Jett farms 2,500 acres of rice and soybeans in Clay County, Arkansas, and Ripley County, Missouri, near Success, Arkansas. "With our farm being near the Current River and Little Black River, we have seen our share of floods, but none this severe," he told me on May 8. "We are facing replanting over 400 acres of our 1,400-plus acres of rice and having to rebuild nearly all of the levees that we use to irrigate our rice."

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The Current River forms in the southeastern portion of the Missouri Ozarks and flows southeasterly out of the Ozarks into northeastern Arkansas where it becomes a tributary of the Black River, which flows into the White River, which heads to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

"The swiftness of the water and our close proximity to the Ozarks has deposited sand and gravel deposits in our precision-graded fields, a thing we've never seen before," Jett said. "This issue is going to have to be addressed before we can even get in to replant. We are usually finished with rice and planting soybeans around Mother's Day. So we have our work cut out for us the next few weeks."

Jett told me that, before the flood, he and his brother were completely done planting rice and had 90% of their soybean fieldwork finished. "Now, it's gonna be like basically starting over," he said.

On May 10, Jett told me that they're just now getting back in the field. "We are replanting and have a bulldozer pushing sand and gravel out of the fields."

Derek Haigwood, who farms corn, milo and rice in Jackson and Independence counties in northeast Arkansas, told me that the water was 4.5 feet over his levee. "We lost a huge percentage of the crops we had planted," he said. "We will start back replanting today (May 10).

Probably all soybeans."

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North of Wynne, Arkansas, Will Nicholson's farm sits on the west side of the ridge where he grows cotton, corn and soybeans. "We drain and dry fast," he said. "Our neighbors on the east side are still flooding on the St. Francis Bay, and the water over there is still rising. Waters in the west of the county are going down; the bayou is still high in far west Cross County, I hear. We had to replant 100 acres of beans this week. Guys are re-pulling rice levees instead of planting beans."

"Levees or dikes are little mounds you build in a rice field to hold a flood on the rice. We are rebuilding and reseeding them," said Jett.

Here is a link to the University of Arkansas Extension service weekly rice update on May 12 that addresses re-pulling and an update on the condition of the rice crop: https://goo.gl/‌ Joe Christian, secretary and treasurer of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, farms 3,500 acres, about half of it rice and the rest soybeans and corn. He told me, "I farm on the 'forgotten river' in Arkansas, the Cache, which is probably one of the most politicized rivers in America. I still have about half my ground in the Cache River bottoms and used to flood out about one out of seven years. The last five years, I've had some type of flooding that's caused me to lose some crop. In 2011, there was a record flood and this one may break it."

Here is a video taken over northeast Arkansas on May 2: https://www.youtube.com/‌. Video is courtesy of the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

The Cache River runs from the southeast Missouri line about 100 miles to the east-central part of the state into the White River below Clarendon, Arkansas. Christian told me that the Cache is said to have the most continuous hardwood trees in the lower 48 states. In the late 1960s, he said, they started dredging the river from where it flows into the White River north because of flooding, and they cleaned out seven miles before getting stopped by State Sen. Dale Bumpers along with Ducks Unlimited and other environmental groups. To this day, the lower Cache has not changed.

"On the upper Cache from a town called Grubbs (which Christian farms just north of), it's been cleaned out and maintained by local Drainage Districts for about 50 miles to the mouth. So the water comes down to Grubbs and has nowhere to go, but it backs up on about 100,000 acres of farmland on a big flood like this one. On the lower Cache, the water just stands on the hardwood timber -- now called the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge -- for much of the year. Now that it's a national refuge, we cannot clean the river out, even though it's killing a lot of the timber because water stands on it too long. So basically, this is a man-made problem that's affecting a lot of people's livelihood that could be solved with some compromise from all sides."

Christian told me that he and other farmers have pinned their hopes for a solution to the Cache on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who visited on May 7 and flew over the devastation.

On Friday, May 12, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson sent a letter to secretary Perdue regarding dates for replanting rice and the state's need for assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the wake of recent heavy rains and floods. Here is the letter: https://goo.gl/‌ Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state in the U.S. However, the current flooding may change that for this year. Christian told me that rice can stand sitting in water, but not for this long. Plus, the insurance replant date of June 10 will likely not be a reality.

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"I still have water on my fields as of May 10," said Christian. "It still has to dry out, and that means with no more rain."

Christian said that, so far, he isn't seeing any reaction to the flooding in the rice price, but eventually it may affect the domestic market because many acres may not be replanted.

Arkansas NASS reported that as of May 7, 92% of the state's rice crop had been planted, and 77% of the crop had emerged. NASS posted these comments from some of the Cooperative Extension Service county agents: "Evaluating rice crop after flooding. Some acres will need to be replanted and some acres will go back into soybeans. Levees washed out and will have to be repaired. Had some hail damage to soybeans, corn and cotton. Some cotton will be replanted," noted agent Branon Thiesse, Craighead County.

"We had an excess amount of water in our area this week. Nearly 100% of the producers who border a creek or river had their bottom pastures flooded. Several are waiting to see how much seed they may have lost and how much weed seed was washed in," noted agent Olivia Foster, Carroll County.

"Damage will take months to clean up and get the land back into production," noted agent Darin Henderson, Madison County.

Arkansas Farm Bureau Vice President Rich Hillman is from Lonoke County and farms rice, soybeans and wheat. In an interview posted on the AFB website, he said, "Margins are tight; razor thin." He said when famers have to start over after they've put a crop in and then put in another crop, they probably have to switch commodities. "You're already behind the eight ball before you get started," he said.

Hillman noted that some of the towns that are flooded have been underwater the past three years, and some are still trying to build back resources from 2011. He said that, in some places, water will exceed the historical levels seen in 2011.

"Some of the family farms will not be able to come out of this," said Hillman. "They won't be able to recover from this flood, and that's why it is so devastating."

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

Kogi Seeks World Bank Support to Boost Rice Production May 16, 2017

Jonathan Eze Kogi State Government has declared intentions to solicit support of the World Banks as part of efforts to scale up rice production. This was revealed by the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oloruntoba Kehinde at the weekend.

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According to him, the state government was thrilled with the success recorded by the World Bank in cassava production and its value chain under the Fadama 111 addition financing in Kogi.

The Commissioner, who described Kogi as ‗a confluence of opportunities‘, blessed with rivers, fertile expanse of land and able-bodied men, expressed confidence that the World Bank‘s intervention would make the state one of the largest producers of rice in North Central Nigeria.He stated that areas like Ibaji, Ejiba/Omi Dam, Bassa, Koton-Karfe, Lokoja, Omala, among others, had abundance of usable farm lands for rice and aquatic culture.

Kehinde also informed that the state government had asked for the lease of federal government‘s 4,500 hectares land around Omi Dam in Yagba West and Ibaji Local Government Areas for rice production.

Stallion Farms Bags Outstanding Rice Value Chain Award

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Stallion integrated rice value chain approach has been bequeathed with the Feed Nigeria Summit ‗Agro Processor of the Year Award‘ at the just ended Nigeria Agriculture Awards.

The award, which is its second, after the IBCA-‗Outstanding Projects and Business Leaders of the Year Award‘ bestowed on the company in March was in recognition of Stallion Popular Farms & Mills Limited concerted efforts at integrating rice value chain in Nigeria agrarian economy as well as its dogged resolves to humanise farmed rice and self-sustainability in food production. ―We owe this accomplishment to President Muhammadu Buhari‘s leadership aptitudes and his agrarian-business agenda‖, Stallion Popular farms & Mills Group Director, Hapreet Singh remarked.

He said the farm is leveraging on the policy impetus of the federal government‘s agricultural transformation agenda to bring sustainable and scalable growth to farmers.

The farm‘s effort to increase cultivated rice yield began in 2007 and has since been at the forefront of paddy agronomists in the country, working tirelessly to enhance rice production through scientific agricultural practices.

Singh, while receiving the award, on behalf of the farm at the occasion in Lagos, said the company hopes to increase locally farmed rice to 1.5million tonnes yearly from 450, 000 metric tonnes.

He said the farm has already deployed enhanced milling activities and set up more milling facilities through structured farming techniques. ―Our vision has always been to preserve and enhance rice production in Nigeria by ensuring genetic integrity of seeds, encouraging scientific agricultural practices and promoting worldclass processing techniques to emerge as industry benchmark for product quality,‖ Singh said.

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Also noting that part of the company‘s sustainable efforts was to integrate rice growing values among the locals, the group director said it has established procurement and collection centers; introduced co-operative associations as well as logistics and post-harvest epicenters and marketing midpoint, while it acts as a catalyst for achievable growth.

A farm division of Stallion West African conglomerate, Popular Farms & Mills Limited recently established collection centers across rice producing states in Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi to not only help farmers embrace modern farming techniques but help distribute farm inputs through farmers cooperatives and associations to inspire rice revolution in Nigeria.

Popular Farm is today renowned for producing premium varieties of rice from farmed paddy, which are branded and distributed nationwide as Royal Stallion Shinkafa, Tomato Aroso and Super Champion.

The agrarian establishment however promised to safeguard timely provision of certified seeds and fertilizers, and offer advisory irrigation, crop management and buy back mechanism to help farmers get good and profitable yields from their harvest.

While also thanking Feed Nigeria Summit for creating a platform to acknowledge real positive change makers in the agrarian sector, Singh said the creation of integrated agricultural operations such as world-class rice mills at strategic locations would promote milling and paddy cultivation in the captive areas and consequently make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production.

Anambra State Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, who presented the award to the Farm representative, applauded Popular Farms and Mills expressive commitment towards federal government‘s exhaustive agenda in rice production. ―You have not only supported the country‘s agrarian objective for self-sufficiency in rice production but have also worked assiduously with local and state governments in ensuring food security. Your efforts are indeed remarkable,‖ he said https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/05/16/kogi-seeks-world-bank-support-to-boostrice-production/

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Than Imported Ones - Agric Minister

By Idris Ibrahim

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, on Tuesday gave reasons why imported rice is still more expensive than locally produced rice, despite government efforts.

Mr. Ogbeh, while responding to questions at a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, said one of the major reasons was that most of the imported rice was subsided by the foreign governments.

He said most of the imported rice are from Vietnam, India and Thailand.

Thailand subsides the export of rice, the minister said.

He explained that the imported rice arrive at about 9,000 per bag, and are then sold at about N13,000 per bag to consumers unlike the local rice sold at about N16,000 per bag.

Mr. Ogbeh also lamented the interest rates for farming loans.

"Our interest rates in this country is higher that the interest rate in most parts of the world," he said.

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh Another reason for the high cost of local rice, the minister said, is the price of diesel to run generators in the farms.

"Diesel went from N180 per litre to N300," he said.

The minister said the federal government was very considered about the high cost of local rice and he would be having a meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun to discuss rice prices among other matters.

The federal government through its Anchor Borrowers Programme has invested billions of naira in assisting mainly local rice farmers, with rice being the country's most consumed food."In the next one month, you'll have Nigerian rice in the shop at the best price we've ever had," the minister said. http://allafrica.com/stories/201705170060.html

Next auction for state-held rice called  

16 May 2017 at 08:00 NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

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Decaying rice in storage at a warehouse in Nakhon Pathom. APICHART JINAKUL The government yesterday called the second auction for 1.82 million tonnes of state-held rice that is fit for human consumption.The grains put up for the second auction are mixed grade in quality and suitable for human consumption, including Grade C, which is categorised as substandard quality for industrial use; Grade P, which has received ministry certification; and Grades A and B, meaning in slightly poor condition and in need of sorting for improvement.

The Foreign Trade Department yesterday disclosed the terms of reference for interested bidders and is scheduled to allow them to inspect the quality of the stocks at state warehouses until May 19.Interested bidders will be allowed to sign up for vetting on May 22. Qualified applicants are scheduled to propose their bidding prices on May 24.

Results are likely due by the first week of June.

Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said she expects the new bids to draw active interest from potential buyers as the rice represents the government's last stocks fit for human consumption.

The rest is just fit for industrial use, she said, adding that the new supply from off-season rice is yet to enter the rice market.

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The government is estimated to hold about 4.82 million tonnes of rice stocks, a sharp drop from the 18.7 million tonnes accumulated during 2011-14.

Since the May 2014 coup until April 19 this year, a combined 11.7 million tonnes of rice have been sold via auctions, fetching 112 billion baht.

From Jan 1 to May 9, Thailand exported 4.1 million tonnes, up 9% from the same period last year, worth US$1.74 billion (60.1 billion baht), up 6% in value.

The government aims to export over 9.5 million tonnes this year. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1250250/next-auction-for-state-held-rice-called

EDITORIAL - Importing rice (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 17, 2017 - 12:00am

After blowing hot and cold on the issue, the government has decided that the country needs to import rice. This time, however, the administration is reportedly avoiding government-togovernment deals, which an official said yesterday were prone to corruption. Instead the government will source rice from the private sector.

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Because of developments in previous years, corruption is one of the biggest concerns in any decision to import rice. Despite reports of a bumper rice harvest, officials said yesterday that the nation‘s rice buffer was becoming depleted, necessitating the importation of the staple.

In the recent past, industry experts have blamed the Philippine government for pushing up world rice prices due to massive importations that critics said were not necessary. Lessons should have been learned from rice scandals in the past. As the government prefers to resume rice importations, safeguards can be put in place to deter corruption, discourage price manipulation and rice cartels, and monitor the actions of public officials involved in negotiations and procurement.

President Duterte, who has promised a relentless war on corruption, must show that any rice importation under his watch will be different. Any importation must also balance the needs of local rice farmers, who are averse to imports, and consumers.

Rice, being the nation‘s staple, is a politically sensitive commodity. The last thing the President should want is a scandal hitting rice importations approved under his administration. If he believes importing rice is necessary at this time, he can turn it into a model of how to go about it properly, without forgetting the welfare of local farmers, and with no taint of corruption http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/05/17/1700658/editorial-importing-rice

South Jeolla farmers call on new administration to stop rice imports May.17,2017 17:09 KSTModified on : May.17,2017 17:09 KST

Farmers sow rice seedlings on the concrete tile ground during a rally on May 16 in front of the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) in Naju, South Jeolla Province. (provided by the Gwangju-South Jeolla branch of the Korean Peasants‘ League) Farmers say rice imports will lead to further price decreases, endangering farmers’ livelihoods A South Jeolla farmers‘ group held a demonstration to protest imported rice bidding that took place a week after the new South Korean administration took office.

Around 200 farmers with the Gwangju-South Jeolla branch of the Korean Peasants‘ League held a rally on May 16 in front of the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) in Naju, South Jeolla Province, to demand a halt to rice imports and the dismissal of Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Jae-soo.

In their protest, the demonstrators said the new administration had ignored farmers‘ appeals in going ahead with bidding for the import of 25,000 tons of rice. They also voiced concerns that ―leading examples of bad agriculture practices‖ by the Park Geun-hye administration (2013-16) could continue if the Moon administration does not pay attention to the issue.

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As part of their protest of the bidding, the demonstrators used five planting machines to sow rice seedlings on the concrete tile ground in front of the aT offices.

The farmers also said the administration had made rice imports a ―foregone conclusion‖ on May 16, after Kim placed an advertisement for bidding on overseas rice purchases on May 8, two days before the administration took office.―[Kim] should be dismissed immediately, and attention should be paid to the farmers‗ voices,‖ they said.The farmers went on to say the rice imports were a ―repudiation of the will of Baek Nam-ki, the farmer who died opposing them.‖ (Baek was a farmer who died last year after being knocked over by a police water cannon at an anti-Park administration protest.) ―[The administration] needs to give hope to farmers who are facing fears of plummeting rice prices as they do their planting,‖ they said.The farmers pledged to adopt even stronger protest measures after the busy season ends to ensure that rice imports are blocked.―At a time when rice stores have been piling up for three years and rice prices have fallen, [the administration] has insisted on encouraging prices to fall even more with rice imports, causing tremendous economic damage to the state and farmers,‖ said Kim Yeong-sun, head of the Gwangju branch‘s general affairs department.

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―Rice imports are the top example of bad agriculture practices. They threaten our food sovereignty and must be stopped,‖ Kim said.In a previous statement on May 15, the Korean Peasants‘ League noted that tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) since the tariffication of rice in 2015 mandate imports of 408,000 tons per year.―Yet [South Korea] has continued importing food rice even after the import obligation ended the same year because it is taking its cues from the US,‖ the group protested.On May 12, the league presented the Blue House with a petition demanding that bidding for food rice purchases be overturned.

By Ahn Gwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr] http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/795125.html

Ex-Cabinet official goes against the grain on rice importations | SunStar Skip to main content SunStar CEBU Wed, May 17, 2017 Cabinet official goes against the grain on rice importations Wednesday, May 17, 2017 By JEANDIE O. GALOLO WHILE the 10-point economic agenda of the Duterte administration is highly commendable to many, an economist sees some gaps that may hamper the Philippines‘ path toward sustained prosperity. In an interview, Cielito Habito, economist and former socioeconomic planning secretary during the presidency of Fidel Ramos (1992-1998), said one of the weak spots of the Philippines is its current policy on quantitative restrictions on rice imports. ―We have a trade policy that gives the National Food Authority (NFA) a monopoly on rice imports and the effect on that is that rice in the Philippines is twice as expensive (as that in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia). The impact on that on the poor is tremendous,‖ he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas‘ (BSP) Gearing Up for External Competitiveness forum in Cebu City Marriott Hotel yesterday.

A quantitative restriction or QR is a special advantage granted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the Philippines, which was initially intended to allow local farmers to catch up on rice production by setting a limit on the amount of rice that can be imported. Lifting it, however, would translate to a free flow of rice imports to the Philippines without a minimum access volume (MAV). Most of the country‘s economic managers believe this will translate to lower prices of rice. Others, however, maintain that this will put local farmers at a disadvantage. With the QR now, the MAV is set at 850,000 metric tons.

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37 The QR will expire on June 30. The WTO previously allowed the Philippines to extend the deadline for the QR twice. First, it was extended in 2005 for 10 years, and when the 2015 deadline came, the government requested for another two years extension. For Habito, lifting the QR would mean more affordable rice. Vietnam, which has the lowest production cost for rice, has an average market price of P21 per kilogram. In the Philippines, the cheapest rice varieties cost around P35 per kilogram. ―Most Cabinet members have recognized that QR should be removed. But there is a law that needs to be amended to do that,‖ the economist added.

Extreme positions Another challenge to this administration is its tax reform proposal, which has met opposition from some members of Congress. Among the most controversial provisos, so far, is the removal of tax exemptions on cooperatives. Habito said that since the Department of Finance proposes to lower the income tax to 20 percent, it is only proper that the government removes some tax exemptions on some sectors. Another challenge, he said, is the Duterte administration‘s tendency to take ―extreme positions‖ in labor, with the issue of ending contractualization, as well as on the environment. Duterte‘s appointee to head the environment department, Gina Lopez, has been rejected by the Commission on Appointments. ―Government policymaking is a balancing act.

You cannot be in extreme positions,‖ the former Cabinet official advised. He said there was no need for Cabinet secretaries with different positions to disagree publicly. For instance, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia supports the lifting of the QR on rice, while Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol wants another extension. Instead, Habito advised these officials discuss these matters in private so as not to confuse the public. Generally, however, prospects for the Philippine economy remain bright. In the end, Habito said, it is the implementation of the government‘s socio-economic agenda, especially on infrastructure development, that matters most. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2017/05/17/ex-cabinet-official-goes-against-grain-riceimportations-542333

Rice prices rising anew despite ‘good harvest’ GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 17, 2017 - 12:00am

It‘s almost June. Rice retail prices are inching up again. A repeat looms of the price surges of June 2013 and 2014. The government could be repeating past mistakes.To recount those two consecutive years, the agriculture department had bragged of dryseason bumper harvests in March-April. Supposedly the Philippines was fast becoming self-sufficient in rice. Still there were supply shortages by June. Rates spiked 33 percent per kilo. Consumers howled. Senate inquiries ensued. Unnamed price manipulatorshoarders were blamed. Yet no one was indicted for economic sabotage.

In the Senate hearings emerged claims that protectors were abetting the crooks. Insiders said there were two factions at the National Food Authority. One was aligned with the vaunted ―Goliath of Rice Smuggling.‖ The guy was facing lawsuits ranging from electricity theft to importing garbage, but nothing close to rice staple. The other faction was controlled by a big

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trader in Binondo, Manila. So sly was he that he has caused the sacking of NFA officials since 2014.

There was another bumper crop this March-April 2017. So why are prices rising?

The answer is in the supply, as usual. Domestic production has always been short. Rice farmers have been neglected for decades. They hardly receive help in the form of irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides, high-yield seedlings, post-harvest facilities, and warehousing. Bureaucrats steal the meager funds the government plunks into ―agricultural competitiveness enhancement.‖ The NFA keeps importing rice, by itself or through selected traders, instead of letting the private sector freely do it. From private rice imports, the NFA could have earned tens of billions of pesos a year in tariffs. Add that to its P5-billion annual budget, and the NFA would have had money not only to buy local harvests but also modernize rice farming. But then, the kickbacks are in overpriced imports, selective licensing, cargo handling, sacks, and other items. The past agriculture and NFA chiefs were charged with P3.2-plunder in 2013-2014, although the Ombudsman sat on the case.

This year the NFA permitted selected traders to bring in 650,000 tons by end-February. For various reasons – suppliers‘ delivery lapses, shipping delays – 150,000 tons missed the deadline.

The administrator forbade them from extending till March. It was already harvest time. Any more rice imports would have dampened farm-gate prices, and farmers would lose money.

Meantime, the NFA Council ignored the administrator‘s request to import by June 250,000 tons, via government-to-government deals with Thailand or Vietnam. That's only part of the NFA‘s intended 1.3-million-ton import for the whole of 2017. The Council knew there could be hankypanky in G-to-Gs. Vietnam‘s counterparts of the NFA, Vinafoods-1 and -2, know only too well the ―kalakaran,‖or percentage, that Filipino officials expect.

With each guarding the other, the rice stocks thinned out. The safe supply level was unmet. It should have been 650,000 tons from the selected traders, but this fell short of 150,000 tons. Add to that the 1.3 million tons that NFA committed to buy within 2017, but 250,000 tons of that did not come in on time. By June there would be shortage of 400,000 tons.

The giant smuggler and rival big Binondo trader know the situation, of course. The bumper harvest was insufficient to fill domestic demand. There was a 150,000-ton shortage of private imports before March. With only 500,000 tons brought in, the importers would up their price to recover the cost of the withheld 150,000 tons. Going in their favor is the much-announced refusal of the NFA Council to allow the G-to-G of 250,000 tons.

Quietly last week, President Duterte reportedly allowed the entry of the 150,000 tons earlier debarred by the NFA administrator. The latter in turn also rushed private imports from India and Pakistan. Timely arrival and distribution of those imported stocks to the 16 NFA warehouses

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nationwide would somehow lessen the domestic supply shortage. But the country will enter the lean months starting late June.

Come July the country should have lifted its ―qualitative restrictions‖ on rice. Under a commitment since 2005 to the World Trade Organization, the NFA no longer may select a few importers under the MAV (minimum access volume). Anyone may henceforth import, so long as the tariff is paid. Once pegged at 50 percent, that tariff presently is at 35 percent.

The government is caught in a bind. If it lets in a free-flow of rice imports, prices would drop from natural competition. Consumers would benefit, but farmers would go hungry – unless subsidized with the earnings from the tariffs. If the government continues to restrict imports, the WTO and agriculture importing countries may impose sanctions. They may ban or tighten through their own higher tariffs their imports of Philippine sugar, bananas, pineapples, even semiconductors and overseas Filipino workers. *** http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/05/17/1700659/rice-prices-rising-anew-despite-good-harvest

Rice imports readied despite bullish grains outlook May 17, 2017 HIGHER PRODUCTION of palay and corn may be sustained this quarter on an increase in harvest area and on prospects that there will be sufficient rainfall, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said yesterday.

Both staple grains are the biggest components of the crop sector that accounted for 54% of total value of agricultural production in the first quarter of 2017.

The April issue of PSA‘s Rice and Corn Situation and Outlook report showed that palay will likely increase by 11.13% to 4.13 million metric tons (MT) in the second quarter from 3.71 million MT in 2016‘s comparable three months.

The second-quarter data will result in a 11.78% uptick to 8.55 million MT in the first semester from 7.65 million MT during the same January-June period in 2016.

PSA similarly sees corn production surging by 44.58% to 1.32 million MT in the quarter ending June from a year-ago‘s actual 0.91 million MT, pushing the first-half tally by 30.25% to 3.68 million MT from 2.83 million MT in 2016.

Increments in harvest areas resulting from availability of irrigation water, sufficient rainfall

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during planting period, and improved access to seeds will boost output, the PSA said.

Ariel T. Cayanan, the Agriculture department‘s undersecretary for operations, told reporters on Monday farm production growth could hover around 5% in the second quarter due to favorable weather.

Farm output recovered from a contraction in the fourth quarter, expanding 5.28% in the first quarter from a year ago. ―Planting intentions of palay and corn farmers for the July-September 2017 harvest may surpass their output levels compared to their respective records in 2016,‖ the PSA said.

NOT GOV’T-TO-GOV’T Ahead of the lean harvest season that usually starts in July, the government would seek rice to boost its stocks and will buy from private suppliers, not governments, in a bid to increase competitiveness and transparency.

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The National Food Authority Council, which regulates the state-grain buyer the National Food Authority (NFA) did not specify an amount, but demand from the Philippines, one of the world‘s biggest rice importers, could underpin prices in its main suppliers and major exporters Thailand and Vietnam.

The NFA had been seeking the council‘s approval to import as much as 250,000 tons under government-to-government schemes with Vietnam and Thailand. The committee which decides on the amount to be imported meets on Thursday. ―The NFA will shift from government to government importation to government to private importation, a move that is more competitive, less corrupt and transparent,‖ the NFA Council said in a statement.Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, said the shift away from governments would ensure accountability. Mr. Evasco recently accused some NFA officials of ―making a cash cow out of government-led rice importations‖. The NFA management has denied any wrongdoing.

Rice inventories in the Philippines are running low, with government stockpiles shrinking to the least in more than three years in April, just enough to cover 10 days of national requirements.

To ensure supply availability throughout the year, especially during the typhoon season in the last quarter, the council said private traders can also import up to 805,000 tons under an annual quota scheme. -- Krista Angela M. Montealegre and Reuters http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=rice-imports-readied-despite-bullishgrains-outlook&id=145328

Government approves G2P rice imports

By Alexis Romero and Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 17, 2017 12:00am Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who oversees the operations of the NFA, said the NFA Council approved the importation of rice via government to private scheme (G2P)in a meeting last Monday. He said the decision represented a policy shift from government to government (G2G) rice importation, which he described as ―prone to corruption.‖ File MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte has allowed the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice from the private sector to augment its buffer stock for the lean months, an official said yesterday.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, who oversees the operations of the NFA, said the NFA Council approved the importation of rice via government to private scheme (G2P)in a meeting

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last Monday. He said the decision represented a policy shift from government to government (G2G) rice importation, which he described as ―prone to corruption.‖

―The NFA will also shift from government-to-government importation to government to private importation (G2P), a move that is more competitive, least corrupt and transparent,‖ Evasco said in a press conference yesterday in Malacañang.―Instead of limiting the bidders to government counterparts, private suppliers from participating countries may now be allowed to participate in the bidding, making the whole process covered by the Government Procurement Reform Act unlike the current G2G scheme,‖ he said. Evasco said the NFA Council‘s decision to adopt the G2P scheme was unanimous. He said Duterte is supportive of the move. ―The President, during the last Cabinet meeting, has been given the opportunity to listen to the position of the NFA Council, that there is a need for us to import. The President said this time, the NFA would no longer have the monopoly of importing rice. We should open the importation through the private sector,‖ he said. NFA administrator Jason Aquino was present during the council meeting and was supportive of the decision, Evasco said. Aquino previously called for the importation of rice through the G2G scheme.

The Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council requires the NFA to maintain a rice buffer stock good for 15 days at any given time and 30 days at the onset of the lean months of July to September. The country‘s daily consumption rate requirement is 32,720 metric tons or 654,000 bags. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol previously called for the importation of

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250,000 metric tons of rice to serve as the country‘s buffer stock for the lean months through the G2G scheme. Piñol said the importation should only be done for the lean months and that buying rice from local farmers remains the priority.

Evasco said the NFA would have to continue importing rice until the country becomes rice selfsufficient. ―You know, the Philippines has never been self-sufficient in terms of rice. Since time immemorial, we have been importing rice. There are two modes to import rice. One is government-to-government. Unfortunately this G2G has been abused. This has been used for corrupt practices because there is no bidding involved,‖ Evasco said. ―We have to make a drastic decision in order to ensure a corrupt-free and competitive bidding process at the NFA. Hence, instead of doing a G2G, the council will push for G2P to increase accountability and transparency,‖ he said.

Evasco instructed the NFA to ensure that cartels would not manipulate rice prices. ―I‘m calling on the NFA management to really guard against the emergence of cartels. After all, it‘s the NFA that issues the certification of eligibility and import permits,‖ the cabinet official said.

Private-led rice importation approved Evasco said the NFA council has also approved the importation of 805,000 metric tons of Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of rice this year. MAV is the volume of commodities allowed to be imported by a member country as ac commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Aquino previously rejected the extension of rice importation under the MAV scheme, which has been endorsed by the NFA council.

Last month, Duterte fired Evasco‘s undersecretary Halmen Valdez, who reviewed the NFA‘s decision to deny the importation of rice. Duterte said he could not figure out why Valdez was pushing for importation, which he said would compete with the farmers‘ products.

Evasco believes that the policy shift was an acknowledgement that there is really a need for the Philippines to import rice http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/05/17/1700565/government-approves-g2p-rice-imports

Bangladesh Tenders to Import 50,000 Tons of White Rice Dhaka. Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued an international tender on Monday (15/05) to import 50,000 tons of white rice, officials said, its second tender in a week to build reserves and control prices of the staple. The state agency, Directorate General of Food, came up with its first tender for rice since 2011 as local rice prices hit a record high and state reserves are at a six-year low.It plans to import 600,000 tons of rice after flash floods hit fields about to be harvested, potentially wiping out 700,000 tons of crops.

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Authorities are considering waiving the tax on rice imports, Badrul Hasan, the head of the Directorate General of Food, told Reuters last week.He said the state agency also planned to import rice through government-to-government deals with producers such as Thailand, Vietnam and India because importing via tenders is a lengthy process.

In the latest tender, the deadline for offers is May 28 and the rice is to be shipped in 40 days after the deal is signed, a senior official at the state grains buyer said.The world's fourth-biggest rice producer with more than 30 million tons per year, Bangladesh consumes almost all its production to feed its population of 160 million. It often requires imports, however, to cope with shortages caused by natural disasters like floods and droughts http://jakartaglobe.id/international/bangladesh-tenders-to-import-50000-tons-of-white-rice/

Riverina rice farming: Leigh Vial is a veteran of the rice industry JAMES WAGSTAFF, The Weekly Times May 16, 2017 7:00pm

DOCTOR, researcher. Nuffield scholar, board director. Leigh Vial hasn‘t struggled with a shortage of hats to wear over the years. And now, standing in a rice crop on the flat Riverina

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plains of southwest NSW, it‘s clear his current choice of hat, that of farmer, is a perfect fit.While many people eat rice, Leigh lives and breathes it. He has immersed himself in the industry since his parents bought their family farm west of Moulamein, in 1970.A 25-year veteran of the rice industry, he returned to the farm in 2015 after three years with the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research in Laos and four years heading the International Rice Research Institute‘s experiment station project in the Philippines.

A director of SunRice, Australia‘s rice marketing company since 2015, Leigh said the outlook for rice was sound despite irrigation reform and competition for water from emerging summer crops such as cotton.―We‘re certainly in a good area for growing high-quality rice and that is part of the reason we‘re here,‖ he said. ―In that rice-growing season we get lots of radiation, lots of heat and there‘s no pathogens worth mentioning — it‘s rice-growing heaven.‖ MIXED ENTREE THE Vial farm now covers 2428ha, including 1012ha of grazing country, 810ha of winter crops and, depending on the year, 120-200ha of rice, with the help of his manager Neville Willox and his nephew Donald.In terms of profitability, the self-replacing Merino flock of 1500 ewes now comes up trumps, prompting Leigh to say he wished ―we had more of them‖.

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The flock, on Bluebush bloodlines from Hay, lambs from the last week of May and produces an average 21-22 micron fleece at shearing in March.The winter cropping program comprises wheat, barley, canola and some lentils planted this year under pivot irrigation. Dryland wheat yields average about two tonnes/ha.

Leigh said the farm, which receives an annual average rainfall of 300-325mm. was looking a picture of health following a good spring and solid autumn break.The wet weather caused a late start and finish to the rice season, which wrapped up earlier this month. A lot of the crop went into the ground slightly behind schedule in late October and was followed by a summer that Leigh said was ―cool to start with and that slowed things up‖.

AIR SUPPORT RICE is sown at a rate of 120-150kg /ha. Leigh uses mainstream medium-grain varieties reiziq and sherpa and occasionally a short-grain variety such as opus which are ―a bit more temperamental‖.With aerial sowing, water goes on the rice bays a week before sowing. If drill sowing, bays are flushed after sowing then irrigated every 10 days or two weeks until permanent water is applied. ―We do both according to the quality of the layout, according to the duck situation, according to any weed issues we believe we have,‖ Leigh said. ―Next season will be interesting because there‘s clearly a substantial population of ducks, so maybe more drill sowing.‖ The Vials have a 2400-megalitre water entitlement from the Edward River, which borders the property, and purchase water on top of that.In an average year the rice requires 12-13 megalitres to the hectare, slightly less — 10-11 megalitres a hectare — for shorter-season varieties.Rice is harvested in April and Leigh said the industry benchmark in terms of yields was 10 tonnes/ha with last year‘s cropping surpassing 11 tonnes/ha for the first time.Rice is delivered to SunRice‘s Moulamein depot.

PRICE POINT LEIGH described rice prices as ―subdued,‖.SunRice‘s indicative price of $300-$320 a tonne for medium-grain rice this season, down on previous years due to increased world supply. ―In a global sense, medium-grain production is up, Californians are back into the room (following several years of drought) and there‘s some parts of the world that are now producing medium grain that didn‘t,‖ Leigh said.

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Leigh said challenges ahead included water clawbacks under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

The Vials didn‘t grow rice in 2006-07 and 2007-08 because of the drought. ―Our production is more variable than it used to be,‖ Leigh said. ―Once upon a time it was all based around how much area you could find, now it‘s all about water, water, water.‖Leigh said there were about 800 rice businesses delivering to SunRice which had been reasonably stable in recent years.He said many traditional rice growers had switched to cotton in recent years. ―Two decades ago, nearly all the activities other than rice were something of a side issue,‖ Leigh said. ―Now cotton is a core user of water, horticulture — particularly the expansion of nut crops — is a core user. There is no doubt rice production has more competition for water and that means we must pull up our socks. We must improve our offering to rice growers to ensure we keep a vibrant industry.‖ Leigh said, despite resistance from some growers, SunRice‘s single-desk export marketing system provided ―tangible benefits‖ to growers, through transport advantages, economies of scale and ―substantial bargaining power in a corrupt and messy global rice market‖. ―Rice markets in a global sense would have to rate No. 1 as the most opaque, corrupt and politically manipulated markets in the world,‖ he said.

GLOBAL ROAMING IN Laos, Leigh led a section of the ACIAR, under the auspices of AusAID, to carry out agricultural research and a skills exchange.Leigh, who completed a PhD while in Laos, described its rice industry as ―pretty primitive‖ but ―rapidly changing‖.He said Laos‘ rice production was predominantly rain-fed, with a 1500-2000mm the average annual rainfall. But farm labour is intensive, with Leigh estimating, it would take one person up to 30 days to transplant a hectare.

Given labour rates, which doubled in Leigh‘s time in Laos and had doubled again since, there was a ―machinery-driven evolution taking place‖.On the home front, Leigh is positive about Australian agriculture, thanks to low interest rates, helping farmers deal with low commodity prices. /www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/on-farm/riverina-rice-farming-leigh-vial-isa-veteran-of-the-rice-industry/news-story/19447676f9bd1cda97dc8e215117ae8b

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Conveyor machinery rice mill in thailand File: #152404912 | Author: auttakorn

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