22nd october,2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

22nd October, 2014

New Headlines Today  Vietnam touted as top agricultural producer but farmers still poor  BAAC disburses payments to help rice farmers in Surin  India’s Exim Bank support for Senegal’s rice sufficiency project  Food insecurity looms over flood-hit districts of Punjab  Production goal for rice intact -- exec  NACC to go it alone on rice case  Official logo of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)  Pakistan based BGA appealed to IPAB against GI tag of basmati rice to MP  Think Rice! Message Resonates with Thousands of Health Professionals at 2014 FNCE  Chef de Riz Named at International Rice Festival  CCC Announces Prevailing World Market Prices  Rice growers wrap up drought-diminished harvest  Japan’s rice industry gets a rethink as farmers retire but protection remains

Contact & Visit www.ricepluss.com mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 7th Floor,Suite 11 Central Plaza New Garden Town Lahore-54600 Landline :92 3584 5551 For Advertisement Specs & Rates: Contact: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874

News Detail….

Vietnam touted as top agricultural producer but farmers still poor VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is a top global producer of many agricultural products, but the farmers don’t pocket as much money as people think.

Vietnam, for example, is considered a ―giant‖ in cashew nut exports. Its cashew processing industry is described as ―powerful‖ with 465 production workshops with have the total capacity of one million tons per annum.This year, the country plans to export 180,000 tons of cashew nuts worth $1.8 billion. If counting the exports of byproducts and processed products, export turnover could reach $2.2 billion.However, the director of a Binh Phuoc-based cashew nut company said the profits of the Vietnamese cashew industry are no more than 10 percent of total turnover.

The modest profits are attributed to Vietnam’s heavy reliance on raw material imports, making it difficult for Vietnamese enterprises to control production costs and sell prices. In 2011, Lafooco, a well known

cashew-nut processor, incurred a major loss of VND152 billion because it imported raw cashew nuts from Africa at high prices and then exported at a loss of VND12,000 per kilo as world prices suddenly dropped. Total profits from the company’s 2009-2011 period were under VND116 billion.The Vietnamese cashew industry, with high turnover, but low profits and a weak foundation, is described as a ―giant with clay feet‖.

Vietnam is also the biggest rice exporter in the world, with 6.74 million tons of rice exported in 2013 and 7.2 million tons in 2014.However, despite high export volume and high export turnover, Vietnamese farmers remain poor and many of them are considering giving up farming.There also exists a big gap between Vietnam’s rice export prices and world prices. With the average export price of $400-450 per ton, which is $50-75 per ton lower than Indian, Pakistani and Thai prices for the rice of the same quality, Vietnam is believed to have the cheapest supply source.

In mid-2013, Vietnam even offered to sell its five percent broken rice at $365 per ton.Cassava, rubber and coffee – the other top Vietnamese farm produce – are also called ―giants with clay-made feet‖.In 2013, Vietnam exported 1.1 million tons of rubber and reaped $2.5 billion. The figures represented a 5.2 percent increase in export volume and a 12.9 percent decrease in value.

The sharp rubber price falls caused the rubber industry to suffer.

Export markets

Dr. Nguyen Van Nam, a renowned trade expert, commented that the biggest problem of Vietnam is that it ―puts all of its eggs in one basket‖, i.e., it relies too much on certain export markets. And if the markets stop importing Vietnamese farm produce, Vietnamese businesses and farmers will suffer.―Vietnamese have been bargaining away rice, cassava, rubber and coffee to China, an easy-to-please market which always buy products in large quantities,‖ Nam said.―China could possibly control the market in the future, and then would be able to determine Vietnam’s selling prices,‖ he warned.

Dat Viet

Each farmer will be allowed to receive 1,000 baht per rai, but not exceeding 15,000 baht in total.

Meanwhile, several farmers in Surin have opened bank accounts with the BAAC branches throughout the province to receive the subsidy. As of now, there are 160,000 farmers in Surin registered for the program.

They will receive a combined subsidy of 1.5 million baht.

India’s Exim Bank support for Senegal’s rice sufficiency project

Tags:agricultural products, rice production, farmers,

Dakar (Senegal), Oct 22 :

BAAC disburses payments to help rice farmers in Surin

The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has offered Senegal $62.95 million through letters of credit (LoCs) to support a rice self-sufficiency programme, deputy managing direct of the bank, David Rasquinha has said.With the latest offer, Exim Bank has so far offered Senegal a total of $269.36 million to support various projects through the LoCs. Under the LoCs, Exim Bank will reimburse 100 percent of contract value to the Indian exporters, upfront upon shipment of goods. The LoCs will be used for sourcing of goods and services from India.

Date : 22 ตุลาคม 2557

BANGKOK, 22 October 2014 (NNT) - The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) in Surin province have dispatched officials to investigate farmers who have registered for the government’s rice-subsidy program, to ensure that the money has not reached the wrong hands. Thousands of farmers in Chat Trakan District of Phitsanulok have queued up at the Agriculture Office in Chat Trakan, carrying certificates of ownership of their lands, as well as copies of their house registration and ID cards in order to register for the program.

In a press release, Rasquinha said the bank has used the LoCs in the past to support export of items like agricultural machinery and equipment, buses and vans, medical equipment and equipment for rural electrification project.Other projects that have been supported so far include a meat processing project, fisheries development project, IT training projects and an irrigation project.With the latest LoC to Senegal, Exim

Bank says it has provided 196 projects similar support to over 75 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with credit commitments of over $10.77 billion, available for financing exports from India.

Food insecurity looms over flood-hit districts of Punjab

By Amin Ahmed ISLAMABAD: The monsoon floods in September 2014 affected an estimated 2.413 million acres of cropped area in Punjab and there is a risk to the broader food security and wellness of affected communities, a multi-sector initial rapid assessment report states. The report projects damage to 77 per cent of the crops in the flood-hit areas of the five districts and stresses that the crop losses are likely to impact food availability in affected areas in Punjab.

The situation may aggravate because of impact on livestock sector, the report notes.

The multi-sector rapid assessment (MIRA) was carried out with a donor’s help. The National Disaster Management Authority and United Nations humanitarian coordinator jointly carried out surveys in Chiniot, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang and Multan districts. Given the difference in the development status, the southern districts of Punjab require additional assistance, it adds.

Extensive damage The report says that the damage to agriculture was extensive because at the time main crops stood ready to harvest.

Damage to crops and stored grain has the potential to create acute food shortage for people and livestock.

The assessment results showed that the floods have made a devastating impact on standing crops. Kharif crops including rice, cotton and sugarcane were damaged, which may result in lower crop yields. The assessment feared that the effects of flood may have some negative impacts on the major rabi crop of wheat. District-wise analysis of the affected areas shows Multan as the most affected district followed by Jhang, where around 93pc and 83pc of crop losses were reported, respectively, report says.

Food stocks hit

Another factor which can jeopardise food security of the households in the surveyed communities is the loss of their food stocks.

Overall, households in affected areas across the districts lost on average 42pc of their food stocks. Specifically, around 21pc of the households were reported to be in more vulnerable condition, as they lost huge proportion (75pc) of their food stock.

Reportedly, food stock losses were most serious in Districts Jhang, Multan and Chiniot where households lost about 50pc of their food stocks. Analysis of the food stock sufficiency shows that almost one-third of the households have food stocks which are sufficient to last for about only a week.

Situation in terms of food stock sufficiency was relatively alarming in Multan and Chiniot where almost half of the households have stock for less than a week time period.

The access to food is the physical and economic ability of a household to acquire adequate amounts of food.

In terms of economic access to food, the survey results indicate that overall around 38pc of the households surveyed have adequate resources to buy food.

Comparatively, among the five priority districts surveyed, Multan, Jhang, and Chiniot are more vulnerable to food insecurity in terms of economic access. On average, around 23pc, 28pc, and 37pc households in the flood affected areas of Multan, Jhang, and Chiniot, respectively, have adequate resources to purchase food, whereas other districts, Mandi Bahauddin (59pc) and Hafizabad (52pc) are in slightly better position. Prior to the current floods, these five districts were categorised as food secure districts.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014

Production goal for rice intact - exec THE GOVERNMENT is keeping its palay production target for the year, as updated preliminary estimates show a slightly smaller year-on-year output drop last quarter, an Agriculture official said yesterday.

Revised third-quarter estimates as of Sept. 1 which the Philippine Statistics AuthorityBureau of Agriculture Statistics (PSA-BAS) released on Tuesday showed it now believes production of unmilled rice fell 10.5% to 3.01 million metric tons (MT) in the JulySeptember period -- compared to the 11% drop to 2.99 million MT estimated in an Aug. 15 report -- from 3.36 million MT the past year.

The report said that while harvest area may have contracted to 774,120 hectares (ha) last quarter from the past year’s 774,670 ha, yield likely improved to 3.89 MT/ha from 3.86 MT/ha due to ―sufficient water supply, less incidence of pests and diseases, and more fertilizer use.‖ ―We are working on the target 19.07 million MT (for the whole year),‖ Edilberto M. De Luna, the Agriculture department’s assistant secretary for field operations, said in a telephone interview, adding that ―target is 7.681 million MT in the fourth quarter.

‖PSA-BAS had reported in August that it initially expected a 3.4% annual drop for this quarter, leading to a 1.2% dip this semester, after palay production grew 4.78% annually to 8.38 million MT in the first half.PSA-BAS bases its estimates on what is already planted as well as farmers’ planting plans. In the latest report it released on Monday, PSA-BAS said ―[a]bout 1.68 million hectares, or 89.2% of planting intentions for the October-December 2014 crop have been realized.‖―We were able to catch up on planting... despite effects of Typhoon Glenda (international name

Rammasun, which struck in mid-July),‖ Mr. De Jesus explained when asked on the upgraded third-quarter estimates for palay.

Rice has been estimated to contribute more than 3% to gross domestic product, more than a tenth to total farm output, and has significant weight in the theoretical basket of widely used consumer goods which forms the basis for official inflation rate calculations.

NOT SO FOR CORN The same report on Tuesday, however, downscaled third-quarter estimates on corn

production ―due to the adverse effects of typhoon Glenda on standing crop, hot weather... and incidence of rat and bird infestation‖.

Production of this grain is now estimated to have hit 2.38 million MT last quarter, down 8.3% from 2.60 million MT a year ago. The revised estimate compares to an expected 7.8% fall to 2.4 million MT in the August report, which also bared a projection of an 18.9% increment for this quarter.While the latest report did not give a fourth-quarter estimate for corn, it noted that ―[a]round 515,000 ha, or 82.3%, of planting intentions for the October-December 2014 harvests have been realized‖.The August report had bared a projection of 7.61 million MT for corn production this year, 31% more than 2013’s 7.38 million MT. Output grew 4.7% to 3.48 million MT last semester from 3.32 million MT a year ago on expanded harvest area and yield.Sought for comment, Senen U. Reyes, senior management specialist at the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agribusiness, said the government’s grain targets seemed realistic.―Full-year palay growth is realistic, although fourth-quarter production increment of around 600,000 (MT) over last year is a bit high but still attainable...,‖ Mr. Reyes said, noting that ―[f]ourth-quarter production accounts for about 40% of the total.‖―For corn, the 8 million MT may be realistic, although this will greatly depend on the 2.14 million (MT) in Q4 which seems very high against 1.45 million (MT) in 2013,‖ he added.―It would be the first time that Q4 production will exceed 2 million (MT).‖The government is

expected to report official third-quarter agriculture data next month. -- EBD

NACC to go it alone on rice case Published: 22 Oct 2014 at 06.40 | Viewed: 3,729 | Comments: Newspaper section: News Writer: King-oua Laohong

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will decide whether to try and indict Yingluck Shinawatra over the ricepledging scheme next month, after a joint panel failed to reach a conclusion on the issue. National Anti-Corrruption Commission (NACC) chairman Parnthep Klanarongran, centre, together with other NACC members, explain how the anti-graft body works and take questions from reporters at a press conference to mark the 8th anniversary of its establishment Tuesday.

The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) last month refused an NACC recommendation to indict the former premier in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.Instead, the OAG called for a joint panel to re-investigate the case, saying the NACC's probe was incomplete.But the panel of NACC members and public prosecutors, which started work on Sept 9, has been unable to finish its investigation within the

14-day deadline it was set.NACC spokesman Vicha Mahakhun said the panel could not come to a conclusion on the matter even though the NACC has been "flexible" about the 14-day time frame.

(Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd

Official logo of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) He said the NACC will decide what action to take on Nov 7, to stop the case dragging out further. He said the agency has the authority to submit the case to the court by itself, if the joint panel cannot reach a conclusion.The commission has said it believes there are sufficient grounds to allegations that Ms Yingluck was negligent in failing to solve corruption and losses in the rice-pledging scheme.

The anti-graft agency, meanwhile, marked its 8th anniversary yesterday by hosting a press conference on its achievements.NACC chairman Parnthep Klanarongran said the anti-graft body has handled a total of 34,528 corruption cases since its inception. Of these, 25,012 cases have been closed, while 9,516 are still under investigation.A total of 20,641 cases involve bribery, embezzlement and document forgery, while 11,314 cases are linked with malfeasance and dereliction of duty, Mr Parnthep said.

He said the number of cases submitted to the NACC has increased by about 3,000 each year.Mr Vicha said corruption cases involving local administrative organisations have accounted for half of all state corruption cases over the past eight years.Other state agencies facing corruption complaints include the Interior Ministry, the Land Department, the Royal Thai Police, the

Education Ministry, and the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, Mr Vicha said.

Narsinghpur deserves the Geographical Indication tags.

Pakistan based BGA appealed to IPAB against GI tag of basmati rice to MP

Think Rice! Message Resonates with Thousands of Health Professionals at 2014 FNCE At the Think Rice! tower with Dietitian Christine Palumbo (left)

21-OCT-2014 Pakistan-based Basmati Growers’ Association (BGA) challenged Geographical Indication (GI) tag of basmati rice to Madhya Pradesh (MP) in Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in second week of October 2014. It has appealed against the order of the Assistant Registrar of Geographical indications that gave the basmati rice produced in Madhya Pradesh the coveted tag. MP was seeking the tag for its Basmati rice since a long time.

In their plea, BGA claimed that basmati is a name for slender, aromatic and long variety of rice that is grown in the specific geographical area at the foothills of the Himalayas in Pakistan. IT also claimed that rice only grown in certain areas of Punjab in Pakistan, where the rice kernels are grown on conventional rice lands and they interact with the environment, atmosphere, soil and climate to yield exquisite rice can be called basmati in the true sense.

Earlier, Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA) of India also rejected the MP’s claim that basmati rice grown in areas namely especially Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Sheopur, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur and

ATLANTA, GA -- The USA Rice Federation found a new way to interact with attendees at this year's Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE).

More than 8,500 registered dietitians, nutrition science researchers, policy makers, healthcare providers, and food industry leaders were wowed by the interactive Think Rice! tower which gave attendees the opportunity to share the ways they encourage their patients and clients to incorporate rice when building a healthy plate.

Well-known registered dietitian and author Christine Palumbo joined USA Rice staff to respond to dietitians' questions about rice nutrition and inform attendees about the role of rice in a healthy diet.

"Conversations with FNCE participants are

important," said Palumbo. "It provides USA Rice with immediate feedback on the type of information and materials this group needs when they're working with select audiences like diabetic or gluten-intolerant patients."

"FNCE attendees are already huge proponents of brown rice, so our outreach to them is more about helping them communicate the health benefits of whole grain rice to their patients," said Katie Maher, manager of domestic promotion programs.

"The dietitians were impressed with the variety of whole grain rice available and were even more enthusiastic to learn this rice is grown right here in the U.S. so they can recommend a safe and nutritious food while also reducing food miles," Maher said.

The Think Rice! tower will next be seen at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock in December.

Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444

Chef de Riz Named at International Rice Festival From left: Letha Vincent, Shannon Dietz, Bella Begnaud, Diana Francis, and

winners from the rice-dish categories included Bella Begnaud of Lafayette, children's division and Junior Chef de Riz winner; Cameron Simon of Abbeville, intermediate division; Kody Arton of New Iberia, teen division; and Diana Francis of Lafayette, adult division.

The contest is an opportunity for youth and adults to showcase the many ways that rice can be incorporated into the family diet.

"The Volunteers for Family and Community Club appreciate the annual support of this contest by USA Rice," said Letha Vincent, contest organizer and chairwoman of the Rice and Creole Cookery Contest.

Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009

CCC Announces Prevailing World Market Prices WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation today announced the following prevailing world market prices of milled and rough rice, adjusted for U.S. milling yields and location, and the resulting marketing loan-gain (MLG) and loan deficiency payment (LDP) rates applicable to the 2014 crop, which became effective today at 7:00 a.m., Eastern Time (ET). Rough rice prices are unchanged this week.

USA Rice's Mary and Randy Jemison.

CROWLEY, LA -- One hundred and fortyone dishes were entered in the 78th annual International Rice Festival's Rice and Creole Cookery Contest sponsored by the USA Rice Federation on October 17. Shannon Dietz of Baton Rouge claimed the title of Chef de Riz (cooker of rice). Overall

Rice growers wrap up drought-diminished harvest Capital Press

Published: October 21, 2014 4:53PM

California rice farmers are wrapping up their harvest of a crop that's expected to be 23 percent smaller than last year's.

Good yields on many of the acres that were planted will help make up at least a small part of the loss of revenue, as will sales of rice straw.

WILLIAMS, Calif. — As rice growers in California wrap up their harvest of a drought-diminished crop, good yields and more widespread sales of rice straw are helping them to at least partly make up for lost acreage.The rice harvest was 85 percent complete as of Oct. 19, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Leo LaGrande, a grower here, finished work over the weekend and said his yields deteriorated as the season went along.―We had some fields that looked good earlier and we thought it would be better, but it didn’t quite mature to the yields we wanted,‖ he said. ―I would call it an average year for us. ‖But yields remained strong for Marysville, Calif., grower Charley Mathews, who also finished harvesting last weekend, he said.

Good weather during crop development led to rice that grew tall and went flat, making for slow going during harvest, he said.―It helps,‖ Mathews said of the big yields. ―The yields might be up ahead of last year’s state average, but not enough to close the gap in our shortfall (in acreage). ‖California rice growers are expected to produce 36.8 million hundredweight, down 23 percent from last year, NASS estimated.

About 140,000 acres of rice went unplanted this year because of water shortfalls — a 25 percent decrease from last year’s crop, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation.LaGrande had to leave about one-quarter of his land unplanted, he said.―We thought we were very fortunate

because some of our neighbors had to leave 100 percent out,‖ he said.However, the yield forecast of 8,000 pounds per acre would be a 1 percent increase from last year and would tie records set in 2004 and 2008, according to NASS’ office in Sacramento.

The optimistic outlook for yields follows a spring planting season that was more drawnout than usual because exchange contractors along the Sacramento River agreed to space out their water delivery schedules to maintain the right river temperatures for winter run salmon.Rice is typically planted between mid-April and mid-May, with harvests coming six months later, but many growers didn’t get started until mid-May and were still planting in June. Those that were still harvesting this week ran into a rainstorm on Oct. 20 that stopped their work.While farmers welcome the rain, their water worries aren’t over.

Many are unsure if there will be enough water to decompose rice straw left in fields.Willows, Calif., grower Larry Maben may pump water from wells into his fields after harvest if there isn’t enough rain, which is ―an awfully expensive source of water,‖ he said.―It’s going to be kind of a balancing act,‖ Maben said.With not as much water available for decomposition, more producers are baling and selling straw ―than I’ve ever seen,‖ said Mathews, who’s on the USA Rice Federation’s executive committee.

University of California researchers reached out to growers this summer to promote converting their rice straw into ―strawlage,‖ a feed that the scientists say is on a par with a low-quality alfalfa. UC Cooperative Extension advisors said the straw would be a good alternative for livestock producers confronted with feed shortages because of

the drought.The straw can also be used for erosion control in forest fire recovery projects, Mathews said.

While decomposition helps the soil, growers can make up for the lack of straw by adding nutrients before planting next spring, he said.LaGrande said he’ll probably bale 60 percent of his rice straw, the majority of which will be fed to cattle.―It’s huge,‖ he said. ―I think the dairy industry is grabbing onto it more every year. And this year with the drought, some cattlemen who really never tried rice straw before are buying into it. At $300 a ton for alfalfa or $40 a ton for rice straw, you’re going to try it.‖

Japan’s rice industry gets a rethink as farmers retire but protection remains

―This is simply the consequence of retiring farmers asking me to cultivate their rice paddies for them,‖ Yokota said.―I am one of very few full-time farmers in this area, and the people who were retiring didn’t have anyone in the family to continue growing rice. But they don’t want to sell the land.‖ While many of Japan’s farmers get by with centuries-old farming methods, Yokota and his colleagues share workload information and data such as temperature and water levels — monitored by sensors installed in each paddy — on their smartphones.

Yokota may be an accidental giant among rice growers, but some are betting that people like him are the best hope for fixing an inefficient system, with wider calls for a shake-up of the pampered agricultural sector.

by Harumi Ozawa AFP-JIJI Oct 21, 2014 Online: Oct 21, 2014 Print: Oct 21, 2014 Last Modified: Oct 21, 2014 RYUGASAKI, IBARAKI PREF. – Shuichi Yokota may be the future of Japan’s struggling rice industry.The 38-year-old is about half the age of most growers and he relies on cuttingedge technology to cultivate vast paddies that eclipse the bulk of the country’s rice fields.And Yokota does not fear foreign competition — a

near taboo in a nation where rice is protected by subsidies and massive tariffs.His farm in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, has ballooned more than fivefold in 15 years into an operation spanning 112 hectares — almost 30 times the size of the tiny commercial rice fields commonly found in the area.

Prices have tumbled as Japan’s rice consumption has halved in 50 years, and there are fears the sector is rotting from the inside despite — or some say, because of — decades-old protectionism.Aging farmers are also facing fresh competition, with Aeon Co., the country’s largest supermarket chain, jumping into the rice business.―The situation is extremely serious — this is the dawn of a very difficult time,‖ said Yoshito Yamada, a 66-year-old farmer in the city of Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture.

Whether it is a bed for a piece of raw fish, an accompaniment to almost every meal, or the main ingredient in sake, rice is Japan’s unparalleled staple and enjoys a revered status.Hundreds of years ago it was a currency, a symbol of wealth and power, and a ritual offering that still forms a key part of the Shinto religion, as well as sumo wrestling.―Nothing gets done here without rice,‖ said Sachiko Goto, head of the Tokyo Sushi Academy, a training school for chefs.That reverence has translated into strong protections for tiny plots tended by families who inherited land through generations — resulting in a hefty premium in stores.

The government has for decades stabilized prices by controlling supply and penalizing overproduction to protect farmers — a key voter base — from volatile world markets.This policy, known as ―gentan‖ and referring to small-scale cultivation, effectively made rice farming a part-time job left to older relatives while younger family members worked in other sectors.But, as with much of the graying nation, many farmers are now retiring — the average is about 66 years old — with few people interested in replacing them. That has left some 400,000 hectares of farmland unused across the country, an area almost twice the size of Tokyo. ―What needs to be done is encourage older farmers to retire and then gather small pieces of land into one big lot for someone capable like Yokota,‖ said Masayoshi Honma, an economics professor at Tokyo

University.It is estimated that ditching rice tariffs — which can reach 778 percent — would see local prices fall by about ¥341 per kilogram, according to the agriculture ministry.An average 5-kg bag in Tokyo costs from ¥1,500 to ¥2,000, up to three times the price of a comparable bag in Sydney, Bangkok or Beijing.

Despite resistance to change by the powerful agricultural lobby, some older rice farmers such as Yamada blame the subsidy system for a now stagnant sector.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last year he would end production quotas from 2018 and abolish some cash handouts to rice farmers while expanding other payments — leading to claims the policy was toothless.Despite his plan to shake up the economy, Abe has avoided taking an ax to rice tariffs that have long been seen as untouchable.

The levies have kept imports of foreign rice to a trickle — 77 tons last year against domestic production of 8 million tons — and they remain a key stumbling block in Japan’s trade talks, including the negotiations for the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade bloc.Despite fears the industry would crumble if it had to compete globally, Yokota insists competition could be an opportunity to tap new markets.―If our supply exceeds domestic consumption, then we will bring it overseas — the TPP wouldn’t be a threat in that sense,‖ he said.

Image:An egret flies over a rice paddy owned by farmer Shuichi Yokota in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, in mid