23rd september,2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter 23d September, 2014

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Philippines expects to miss Q4 rice output forecast 4th quarter rice output goal at risk Rice prices stable in wake of ‘Mario’ – NFA Vietnam adds one more rice seller to highly concentrated markets High cost to pull down Thailand's rice exports in next decade: UTCC Rivals Closing In On Thai Rice Exports Liberia: Rice Shortage Amidst Price Skyrocket Liberians Complain Rice prices stable in wake of ‘Mario’ – NFA Goodyear using rice husk waste in tires Gov’t lauded over policy to stop rice importation Ebola's Toll: Farmers Aren't Farming, Traders Aren't Trading Canada Foodservice Professionals Tour Southern U.S. Rice Country Local Advisor Denies Support Foreign Importers Of Rice New materials Released on Conservation Compliance Japan Announces 3rd Ordinary Import Tender in FY 2014 Heralding the dawn of a new era in rice improvement Govt Stares at Another Food Grain Scam For Advertisement Specs & Rates: Contact: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874

News Detail….

Philippines expects to miss Q4 rice output forecast Reuters Posted at 09/23/2014 4:56 PM | Updated as of 09/23/2014 4:56 PM MANILA - The Philippines said on Tuesday it could miss its fourth-quarter rice output forecast by a small margin after two recent storms caused crop losses totaling 87,576 tonnes of unmilled grain.Major rice exporters such as Vietnam and Thailand are looking for any signs the Philippines, one of the world's biggest buyers, may need to import more, with Thailand in particular looking to unload grain from its huge stockpiles.

However, the Philippines' Department of Agriculture said in a crop damage report that the production loss accounted for only 1.2 percent of its forecast harvest of 7.32 million tonnes for the fourth quarter.The Philippines' state grains procurement agency, the National Food Authority (NFA), has been authorized to import an additional volume of up to 500,000 tonnes for emergency needs later this year, President Benigno Aquino said in July.That is on top of deals totaling 500,000 tonnes won by the governments of Thailand and Vietnam in a tender last week, with delivery expected between October and December.

The latest deals brought the Philippines' dutyfree purchases this year to around 1.7 million tonnes, the highest in four years. The private sector could also bring in up to 350,000 tonnes, subject to a 40 percent tariff.Storm Fung-Wong churned towards Taiwan on Saturday after killing at least five people in the Philippines and forcing some 200,000 people into temporary shelter to escape massive flooding.Tropical

storms regularly hit the country, with FungWong the second to hit in two weeks.

4th quarter rice output goal at risk THE PHILIPPINES said on Tuesday it could miss its fourth-quarter rice output forecast by a small margin after two recent storms caused crop losses totalling 87,576 tons of unmilled grain.Major rice exporters like Vietnam and Thailand are looking for any signs the Philippines, one of the world’s biggest buyers, may need to import more, with Thailand in particular looking to unload grain from its huge stockpiles.

However, the Department of Agriculture said in a crop damage report that the production loss accounted for only 1.2% of its forecast harvest of 7.32 million tons for the fourth quarter. state grains procurement agency, the National Food Authority, has been authorized to import an additional volume of up to 500,000 tons for emergency needs later this year, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III had said in July.

That is on top of deals totalling 500,000 tons won by the governments of Thailand and Vietnam in a tender last week, with delivery expected between October and December.The latest deals brought the Philippines’ duty-free purchases this year to around 1.7 million tons -- the highest in four years.

The private sector could also bring in up to 350,000 tons, subject to a 40% tariff.Tropical storm Mario (international name: Fung-Wong) churned towards Taiwan on Saturday after killing at least five people in the Philippines and forcing some 200,000 people into temporary shelters to escape massive flooding. Tropical storms regularly hit the country, with Mario being the second to hit in two weeks. -- Reuters

Rice prices stable in wake of ‘Mario’ – NFA September 22, 2014

Share this: Prices of rice in storm-affected areas in Luzon remain ―stable‖ in the wake of tropical storm ―Mario,‖ the National Food Authority (NFA) said yesterday.The NFA said rice supply and prices remained stable in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, and Metro Manila falling between P39 and P43 per kilogram for regular-milled rice (RMR).Well-milled rice (WMR) is being sold in these areas at P41 to P44.RMR in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) is being sold at P38 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P40P44 per kilogram.

In Region 3 (Central Luzon), RMR is sold at P39 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P40 to P44 per kilogram; Region 4 (Southern Tagalog) had RMR at P40 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P42 to P45 kilogram; Region 5 had RMR at P40 to P42 per kilogram and WMR at P43-P45 per kilogram; and Metro Manila had RMR at

P37-P42 per kilogram and WMR at P40-P45 per kilogram.

At the height of heavy rains and flooding, the NFA deployed a rolling store in Pasig City and sold 300 bags of NFA rice.The agency said its monitoring teams scoured the markets in affected areas to ensure that rice was available to consumers and prices remain stable.Based on its monitoring, NFA said rice stock inventories remained within adequate levels in the storm-affected areas.As of Sept. 21, the NFA in Regions 1 to 5 had more than sufficient rice inventories to last for 17 to 59 days, based on the agency’s daily average sales in these areas.

NFA has also released a total of 3,570 bags of rice to various relief agencies for distribution to storm victims.The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received the bulk of the NFA rice with a total of 2,060 bags, as of Sept. 21.Other NFA rice recipients were local government units with 854 bags; nongovernment organizations with 481 bags; and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council with 175 bags.

(Ellalyn de Vera)

Vietnam adds one more rice seller to highly concentrated markets

VietNamNet Bridge – The government has decided that the Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood 1), together with

Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), will be the two leads to conduct negotiations and make direct transactions with highly concentrated rice markets (where there are few exporters of rice).

Concentration markets refer to markets to which Vietnam sells rice under large contracts after attending the bids invited by government agencies.Lam Anh Tuan, director of Thinh Phat Company Ltd, a member of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), noted that it is reasonable to allow Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2, the two most powerful food corporations, to act as the leads in the negotiations for rice export.

He noted that it would be better not to allow too many companies to join the negotiations on selling rice to concentration markets, because this would make it difficult for all of them to reach consensus.However, Nguyen Ngoc De, Rural Development Faculty’s Vice Dean, does not think the government’s decision would help make a breakthrough to the rice export.He believes that it would be better to allow more enterprises to join negotiations on rice export to concentration markets.―If only Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 can do this, this would be unfair for others,‖ he said.

Meanwhile, some experts frankly said they doubt that the two ―big guys‖ will be able to do their job well.Dr. Vu Trong Khai, a renowned analyst, noted that Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 both have been ―living off the sweat of farmers‖.―They do not care about farmers’ benefits and domestic production development,‖ he noted. ―They just try to win bids at any cost, so they offered the surprisingly low price last April to win the bid to provide 800,000 tons of rice to the Philippines.‖―What Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 do is to make Vietnam’s rice cheaper in the world market,‖ he said.The

problem is that though they offer low export prices, the two food corporations do not take a loss, because they will buy rice from farmers at low prices.Meanwhile, a private rice exporter in Mekong Delta, said that the current export mechanism (only one or two companies can get involved in the negotiations for export) makes it difficult for Vietnam to expand markets.―We can satisfy the requirements stipulated in Decree No 109 on rice export management. Therefore, we must be given the right to freely export rice if we want,‖ he said.―It is the farmers who suffer from the low export prices,‖ he said.Dr. Le Van Banh, Head of the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, who harshly criticized the low bidding price last April, commented that it was necessary to reconsider the two corporations’ capability.―They are very weak at trade promotion and market forecasting,‖ Banh noted.Dr. Vo Tong Xuan, the most renowned rice expert in Vietnam, said that it would be better not to allow Vinafood corporations to directly get involved in exports.They should be commissioned to develop markets and connect food companies to fulfill rice export contracts.

Thanh Ma Tags:rice market,rice export,vinafood,

High cost to pull down Thailand's rice exports in next decade: UTCC

September 23, 2014 6:17 pm Thailand's share in the international rice market will drop further in the next 10 years if the plantation system is not altered to lower the production cost, said an academic of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce.UTCC’s Foreign Trade Study Department Director Att Pisanwanich estimated that at the current cost, the annualised export value would drop by Bt8.7 billion in the next decade.UTCC’s study showed that during 20042013, Thailand’s rice export value dropped sharply from Bt94 billion per annum during 2004-2008 to Bt56 billion per annum during 2009-2013.

although there have been subsidy schemes," the study said.

The average production cost rose to 10,685 baht per tonne in 2013 from 4,835 baht in 2004, but the price only increased to 11,187 baht per tonne from 6,741 baht per tonne during the period, it said.The study said the average yield per rai increased to 457 kg in 2013 from 422 kg in 2004 but for second crop the yield dropped to 674 kg last year from 680 kg in 2004, it said.It said in Vietnam the average yield per rai is 1,200 kg.Meanwhile, centre director, Aat Pisanwanich, said Thailand was at risk of losing more market share and competitiveness in global rice trading, in particular in Asean market.

The Nation -- BERNAMA

Rivals Closing In On Thai Rice Exports BANGKOK, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Thailand's position as among the top rice producers and exporters in the world is increasingly being challenged by rivals, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar who managed to increase their competitiveness.A study by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's International Trade Studies Centre said the country could lose around 87.5 billion baht in rice export in the next 10 years if it did not give attention to the development of the industry."The rice industry in Thailand has been static over the past decade with production cost increasing, thus affecting the income of farmers

Liberia: Rice Shortage Amidst Price Skyrocket Liberians Complain

By Massa F. Kanneh

Monrovia — Amidst Ebola crisis in Liberia, many shops and stores in Monrovia are experiencing shortages of basic commodities, especially Liberia's staple food, rice on the local market due to the deadly Ebola outbreak.Mohammed Diallo, who owns a shop on the Bushrod Island, says it has been two

weeks now since his shop ran out of stock.

Diallo, who makes bulk purchases at one of the top rice dealers in the country, SWAT says the company has been out rice for the past few weeks. The wholesale trader said that due to the shortage, dealers have also decided to increase the price of a 25Kg bag of rice from US$15.00 to US$17.00.Two weeks ago when FrontPageAfrica made inquiry in the wholesale price of rice, it was being sold at US$15.00, but in recent time the price has shifted to US$17 for 25kg bag of rice something the commerce ministry approves.

Though the government through the ministry of commerce and Industry has approved US$17 as wholesale price for a 25kg bag of rice, some retailers have already started selling for US$20 in Monrovia.

Families cannot afford Some families FPA interviewed say with such increase in the price of rice, they find it very difficult to feed their household. Natty Folley narrated how she used to buy and sell palm oil and feed her family but since the Ebola outbreak occurred, her business has slowed down tremendously. "I used to go in the bush and buy oil for America people, but see this thing (Ebola) have scared many people, no one wants to come, how we will get money to feed our family," Folley asked.Folley, 32, reiterated that she has about ten people living with her and she is the only breadwinner. She is afraid she will not be able to do so if the price of rice keeps increasing. "I went to a shop to buy the small bag of rice, the man told me LD$1,615 right on Newport Street, so how you expect me to buy a soup can and other things and I'm not in business already?"

Folley is meanwhile appealing to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to intervene, so that businesses can reduce the current price. She said this will allow poor people to be able to feed their families in the midst of the Ebola situation in the country. "Something needs to be done or else people will die from hunger.

People already worried about this Ebola thing, then rice business comes there, the President needs to do something."

Ministry of Commerce denial

The Ministry of Commerce has since denied any shortage of rice on the market, but blamed price increment on vessels being delayed at the port. Minister of Commerce and Industry Axel Addy told FPA late last month that business owners should not use the Ebola situation to exploit and increase prices."We don't want business owners, taking advantage of the current situation to increase prices because the operation is going on normally," he said. "We encourage the public to use the hotline, we will be all out there, we just dispatched a team on the field to address this issue."

Rice prices stable in wake of ‘Mario’ – NFA September 22, 2014 Prices of rice in storm-affected areas in Luzon remain ―stable‖ in the wake of tropical storm ―Mario,‖ the National Food Authority (NFA) said yesterday.The NFA said rice supply and prices remained stable in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, and Metro Manila falling between P39 and P43 per kilogram for regularmilled rice (RMR).Well-milled rice (WMR) is being sold in these areas at P41 to P44.RMR in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) is being sold at P38 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P40-P44 per kilogram.

In Region 3 (Central Luzon), RMR is sold at P39 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P40 to

P44 per kilogram; Region 4 (Southern Tagalog) had RMR at P40 to P41 per kilogram and WMR at P42 to P45 kilogram; Region 5 had RMR at P40 to P42 per kilogram and WMR at P43-P45 per kilogram; and Metro Manila had RMR at P37-P42 per kilogram and WMR at P40-P45 per kilogram.At the height of heavy rains and flooding, the NFA deployed a rolling store in Pasig City and sold 300 bags of NFA rice.The agency said its monitoring teams scoured the markets in affected areas to ensure that rice was available to consumers and prices remain stable.Based on its monitoring, NFA said rice stock inventories remained within adequate levels in the storm-affected areas.

AKRON (Sept. 22, 2014) — Goodyear is producing fuel-efficient tires through the use of rice husk waste once destined for landfills.The Akron-based tire maker said it plans to use ash left over from the burning of rice husks to produce electricity as an ―environmentally friendly source of silica‖ for use in its tires. The company has tested silica derived from rice husk ash over the past two years at its Innovation Center in Akron and said it found the material’s impact on tire performance ―to be equal to traditional sources,‖ so now it’s negotiating with potential suppliers to purchase rice husk ash silica.

As of Sept. 21, the NFA in Regions 1 to 5 had more than sufficient rice inventories to last for 17 to 59 days, based on the agency’s daily average sales in these areas.NFA has also released a total of 3,570 bags of rice to various relief agencies for distribution to storm victims.The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received the bulk of the NFA rice with a total of 2,060 bags, as of Sept.

21.Other NFA rice recipients were local government units with 854 bags; nongovernment organizations with 481 bags; and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council with 175 bags. (Ellalyn de Vera)

―The use of rice husk ash will provide Goodyear an alternative source of silica while helping reduce the amount of rice husk waste being landfilled,‖ said Joseph Zekoski, interim chief technical officer. ―This illustrates Goodyear’s commitment to innovation and to the environment.‖According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, each year more than 700 million tons of rice is harvested worldwide, with the disposing of the rice husks posing an environmental challenge. As a result, the husks often are burned to generate electricity and reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfills.

Goodyear using rice husk waste in tires TagsEnvironmental Industry, Goodyear

Issues, Tire

Goodyear said the silica is mixed with rubber in tire treads to increase the rubber’s strength and help reduce rolling resistance, improving fuel economy and also having a positive impact on a tire’s traction on wet surfaces.Mr. Zekoski said the tire maker’s innovation efforts ―are focused on making tires more environmentally friendly—in their materials, in their performance and in the manufacturing process.―For example, we

continue to explore ways to increase the fuel efficiency of tires. We strive to help consumers keep their tires operating optimally, through innovations such as Air Maintenance Technology (AMT).

And we look to renewable resources, including soy bean oil, to replace petroleumbased materials in tires.‖More information about Goodyear’s efforts is available on its corporate responsibility website.Since 2008, Goodyear said it has required all of its manufacturing facilities to maintain Zero Waste to Landfill—―a corporate initiative to reduce our environmental impact by requiring all manufacturing plants to reduce, reuse and recycle manufacturing waste.‖

Gov’t lauded over policy to stop rice importation The Multi–Stakeholder Rice Producers and Marketers Association has lauded the government for the decision to abandon the importation of rice and encourage the patronage of rice produced locally.The Executive Secretary of the association, Zakaria Issah Nabila, said this in an interview with the host of Might Morning Flight, Shaibu Awudu.Mr. Nabila said ―it is sad seeing farmers toil to produce rice and at the end of the day marketing becomes a problem because of the influx of foreign rice on the local market‖.

Government promised to produce 20,000 metric tonnes of ―highest grade‖ quality rice by 2012 to reduce rice importation.To this end, interventions such as providing the necessary machinery and promotion of Private Public Partnership policy have been intensified to enable Ghana to increase rice production to meet the target according to then minister at the

presidency in charge of finance and allied institutions and now Agric minister, Mr. Fiifi Kwetey.Ghana as at the end of 2011, spent about 450 million dollars annually on rice importation to augment local demand.The country’s selfsufficient in the rice production stands at about 30 per cent, leaving a short fall of 70 per cent.Mr. Nabila called on the government to speed up the processes of making basic logistics available to rice farmers to enable them produce to the needed capacity to eliminate the importation of rice.

He said the Multi–Stakeholder Rice Producers and Marketers Association would vehemently resist any attempts by the government to back down on this decision.Mr. Nabila called on credit unions, rural banks and other financial institutions who support farmers to make their terms as flexible as possible to enable farmers access them to produce more rice to feed the country.

The Multi – Stakeholder Rice Producers and Marketers Association is a group in the Northern Region formed in 2012 to represent the production chain of rice in the region.

Ebola's Toll: Farmers Aren't Farming, Traders Aren't Trading Jackie Northam September 23, 2014

The Ebola outbreak is having a devastating effect on the economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, crippling major industries and forcing people out of work.The three nations hardest hit by the virus are among the poorest on the African continent. Combined, their GDP is less than 3 percent of Nigeria's, the regional economic powerhouse.After

emerging from years of conflict and instability, the three nations had been showing steady economic progress.

That's now come to a screeching halt. Last week the World Bankreported that Ebola could deal a "potential catastrophic blow" to their economies."For 2014, we estimate that the GDP losses to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from this crisis will be a combined $360 million, which is a huge proportion of these very small economies," said Jim Yong Kim, the bank's president. Kim said there are two kinds of contagion surrounding Ebola: One is the virus itself; the second is fear about its rapid spread.It's that fear that has forced the cancellation of many airline flights into the Ebola-stricken countries.

International companies have pulled workers out of the region; projects in key sectors such as mining are suspended.

Manufacturing and construction are also being hit, says John Panzer, an economist with the World Bank.

"We are seeing cement sales, for example, that are leading to construction, drop by 60 percent," says Panzer. "We are seeing fuel sales in Liberia reduced by 35 percent only in the month of August."The Ebola scare is clearly seen in the agricultural sector. Roughly half the populations of Liberia and Sierra Leone work on cocoa and peanut plantations, rice and cassava farms. Georgia Beans is the project director in Sierra Leone for ACDI/VOCA, an international development group, backed by USAID, that works with farmers. She says many farmers have fled in fear, but there isn't a clear reason why."Is it fear of going out and contracting

Ebola?" Beans wonders. "Is it fear of investing your assets when you don't know what's going to happen in the future?" She says farmers may be trying to decide whether they should plant seeds now or wait to see how the outbreak progresses.

Fear has also forced many surrounding countries to seal their borders, where normally much trade is done. Emmanuel Mugabi, who heads up ACDI/VOCA in Monrovia, says Liberians use the U.S. dollar for day-to-day currency, and other countries bring in goods in order to take advantage of the dollar.The closed borders also hamper work prospects for many Liberians who cross into the Ivory Coast every year to help with the cocoa harvest. The Ivory Coast, which produces nearly 40 percent of the world's cocoa, sealed its border with Liberia.

Analysts say there would be a huge impact on the world's cocoa industry if Ebola spread to workers on the cocoa farms and they had to be abandoned.Bill Guyton, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation, says the government in the Ivory Coast did the right thing by closing its borders."There are millions of farmers that grow the crop in West Africa," he says. "These are small-scale family farms, many of them in remote areas, so it is challenging both to communicate and to reach out to these farmers.

"The international risk consultancy group, IHS, says, so far, the Ebola epidemic has not had a major effect on economic activity outside Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. But it's tenuous — the World Bank

says if cases start showing up in surrounding countries, the economic cost could be in the billions of dollars.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Next we'll report on the economic effects of a health crisis. The crisis is Ebola in West Africa. And setting aside the lives lost, the cost to prosperity is devastating. Here's NPR's Jackie Northam.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: The three nations hardest hit by Ebola are among the poorest on the African continent. They're emerging from years of conflict and instability. But still, they've been showing steady economic progress in recent years.

That's now come to a screeching halt. Last week, the World Bank reported that Ebola could deal a potential catastrophic blow to their economies. Jim Yong Kim is the bank's president.

JIM YONG KIM: In 2014, we estimate the GDP losses to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from this crisis will be a combined $360 million, which is huge proportion of these very small economies.

NORTHAM: Kim says there are two kinds of contagions surrounding Ebola. One is the virus itself; the second is fear about its rapid spread. It's that fear that forced the cancellation of many airlines into the Ebolastricken countries. International companies have pulled workers out of the region and projects in some key sectors such as mining are suspended. Manufacturing and

construction are also being hit, says John Panzer, an economist with the World Bank.

JOHN PANZER: We're seeing cement sales, for example, that are leading to construction drop by 60 percent. We're seeing fuel sales in Liberia reduced by 35 percent only in the month of August.

NORTHAM: The Ebola scare is clearly seen in the agricultural sector. Roughly half the populations of Liberia and Sierra Leone work on cocoa and peanut plantations, rice and cassava farms. Georgia Beans is the project director in Sierra Leone for ACDI/VOCA, an international development group that works with farmers. She says many farmers have fled in fear.

GEORGIA BEANS: Is it fear of going out and contracting Ebola? Is it fear of investing your assets when you don't know what's going to happen in the future? Do you want to buy seed? Maybe you don't. Maybe you feel you need to hold onto your assets and your resources.

NORTHAM: Fear has also forced many surrounding countries to seal their borders, normally where much trade is done. That includes the Ivory Coast - Cote d'Ivoire which produces nearly 40 percent of the world's cocoa. Analysts say there would be a huge impact on the world's cocoa industry if some farms had to be abandoned. Liberia has a small cocoa industry, but usually many Liberians head to Cote d'Ivoire to help with the upcoming harvest. Not this year.

BILL GUYTON: Precautions have been set up to make sure that the virus does not spread into Cote d'Ivoire.

NORTHAM: Bill Guyton is the president of the World Cocoa Foundation. He says the government in Cote d'Ivoire needed to seal its borders to make sure not one person with Ebola gets on to the cocoa farms.

GUYTON: There are millions farmers that grow the crop in West Africa. These are small-scale family farms. Many of them are in remote areas, so it is a challenge both to communicate and to reach out to these farmers.

STUTTGART and ENGLAND, AR and NEW ORLEANS, LA -- In an effort to increase rice sales to the foodservice industry in Canada, last week the USA Rice Federation hosted Canadian foodservice professionals and media on a tour through rice country in the southern United States. The group included representatives from Aramark, a facilities management company; the Metro Toronto Convention Center, the largest

NORTHAM: The international risk consultancy group, IHS, says so far, the Ebola epidemic has not had a major effect on economic activity outside Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. But it's tenuous - the World Bank says if cases start showing up in surrounding countries, the economic cost could be in the billions of dollars. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

convention center in Canada; and the Canadian Restaurant News, a publication which targets the foodservice industry.

Copyright 2014 National Public Radio (Source).

Canada Foodservice Professionals Tour Southern U.S. Rice Country The roots of a good relationship

The four-day tour offered the Canadians a holistic look at the U.S. rice industry, from seed to table.In Arkansas, the group observed the harvest at rice farms in Stuttgart and England; toured packaging centers and mills at Riceland Foods and Producers Rice Mill; and, finally, got an overview of rice production at the University of Arkansas Rice Research & Extension Center.

The group also visited Russell Marine Group in New Orleans to learn about logistics and cargo inspection, and toured Eurofins and their analytical labs. "The group was one of the most engaged I've ever had the opportunity to host at

my farm," said Dow Brantley, Arkansas rice farmer and chairman of USA Rice. "They were interested in our whole process from farm to table. They had questions about food safety and quality, and I think they left feeling good about U.S. rice."

state at the inland entry points, based on the ―bring in as you pay basis‖.Mr Kyei told Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday that the foreign large scale rice importers however brings in the commodity through Tema and Takoradi ports and store the rice into customs bonded ware houses and only pay duty to the State when the goods are sold.

In the test kitchen

He denied the accusation of Small Scale Rice Dealers Association (SSRIDA) that he has connived with officials at the Trade Ministry as well as Ministry of Food and Agriculture to enforce the ban on inland rice importation asking: ―Within the 18 months the policy was introduced do you know how much we are losing as a country?‖

USA Rice has conducted marketing promotions in Canada for nearly two decades, but recent marketing activities have focused more on the foodservice sector, which is able to impact a larger audience (most recently see USA Rice Daily story, August 19, 2014). "Participants were specifically selected because of their potential to supply U.S. rice to thousands of Canadians," said Virginia Zimm, USA Rice's marketing contractor in Canada. "This was a real eye-opening experience for everyone and I think we'll see some lasting benefits from this visit." Last year, Canada was the United States' fourth largest rice export destination. The U.S. exported over 235,000 MT of rice to Canada in 2013, valued at $170 million. Exports for the first seven months this year are trending about 9 percent higher than last year.

Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457

Local Advisor Denies Support Foreign Importers Of Rice Mr Frederick Kyei, Special Advisor for Local Rice Production, has slammed the decision of Ministry of Trade and Industry to ban inland importation of rice, saying it is costing the country GH₵ 6.4 million a month.He said averagely Ghana losses one million Ghana cedis every week, since the small scale rice importers pay revenue to the

Mr Kyei who also described himself as a rice expert said there is no way he would support foreign importers of rice at the expense of Ghanaians since the indigenous traders are bread winners as well supporting the national economy.―Frustrating the business of SSRIDA is not helping the economy and rather giving monopoly to foreign importers of rice leading to price hikes.‖He said as local rice producers they are only looking forward to the day when Ghana would be self sufficient to emulate the example of Nigeria by banning all imports of the commodity.He said until that is done government must lift the ban to support the local traders to be in business.Mr Kyei debunked claims by the foreign importers that they are into large scale production of rice in Ghana and challenged them to point out where such farms exist.

GNA Do you have a story or an article to publish?

Please email us at spyghana79@gmail.com.

New materials Released on Conservation Compliance

WASHINGTO N, D.C. -- The National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Risk Management Agency (RMA), released new materials this week to help clarify conservation compliance provisions for crop insurance participants. Under The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), participants in Federal crop insurance programs must also comply with NRCS conservation provisions for Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation.Materials include a fact sheet, FAQ's, and an interactive compliance process flow chart. Visit the NRCS website or contact your local NRCS office for more information.

Contact: Reece Langley (703) 236-1471

Japan Announces 3rd Ordinary Import Tender in FY 2014 Announcement:

22 September 2014

Tender:

26 September 2014

Offer details:

43,000 mt

Country Specified or Global

Global Tender

Nonglutinous milled rice (medium grain)

Nonglutinous milled rice (long grain)

TOTAL

24,000

19,000

43,000

Shipping period: From 10 November 2014 to 10 December 2014 (medium grain) From 10 November 2014 to 20 December 2014 (long grain

Heralding the dawn of a new era in rice improvement Category: Agri-Commodities 22 Sep 2014 TRADITIONAL rice varieties encompass a huge range of potentially valuable genes. These can be used to develop superior varieties for farmers to take part in the uphill battle of feeding an ever-increasing world population (estimated to reach 9.6 billion by 2050).The genes linked to valuable traits can help breeders create new rice varieties that have improved yield potential, higher nutritional quality, better ability to grow in problem soils, and improved tolerance of pests, diseases and the stresses, such as flood and drought, that will be inevitable with future climate change.Much

of this diversity is conserved within the International Rice Genebank Collection (IRGC) at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, head of IRRI’s T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center (TTC GRC), said the IRGC now holds a global collection of more than 121,000 types or accessions of rice. Yet, breeders have harnessed only less than 5 percent of the germplasm collection there in active breeding efforts. ―But all that is changing with a very exciting development to make the IRGC useful beyond our wildest dreams,‖ he exclaims.

A single genome cannot reveal the large stockpile of genetic diversity in rice and, hence, many potentially important genes are not present in the handful of lines that have been sequenced over the last decade. So, to drastically change this dynamic, IRRI ―in collaboration with BGI in Shenzhen, China and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)‖ has completed the sequencing of 3,000 rice genomes of varieties and lines representing 89 countries (see figure) now housed in the IRGC (82 percent) and CAAS’s genebank (18 percent). ―This is an unparalleled development in plant science for a major food crop,‖ says Ken McNally, senior scientist in the TTC GRC and a project team member.

On top of that, the open-access, open-data journal GigaScience (produced by BGI and BioMed Central) published, on World Hunger Day 2014, a data note and commentary on the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project (3K RGP). Most significantly, released at the same time was the project’s entire 13.4-terabyte dataset in a citable format in the journal’s affiliated open-access database, GigaDB, which instantly quadrupled the previous amount of publicly available rice sequence data. The 3K RGP is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and

the Chinese Technology.

Ministry

of

Science

and

Zhikang Li, project director at CAAS, said the 3K RGP is part of an ongoing effort to provide resources, specifically for poverty stricken farmers in Asia and Africa. ―We are aiming to reach at least 20 million rice farmers in 16 target countries (eight on each continent),‖ he says. ―With decreasing water and land resources, food security is— and will be—the most challenging issue in these countries.‖ Echoing Sackville Hamilton, Li says, ―As a scientist in rice genetics, breeding, and genomics, it is a dream come true for me to help solve this problem.‖ ―The population boom and the worsening climate crisis have presented big challenges on global food shortage and safety,‖ adds Jun Wang, BGI director. ―BGI is dedicated to applying genomics technologies to make a fast, controllable and highly efficient molecular breeding model possible. The 3K RGP opens a new way to carry out agricultural breeding.

Joining forces with CAAS, IRRI and BMGF, we have made a step forward in big-data-based crop research and digitalized breeding. We believe this will get us closer to the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of the human race. ‖Robert Zeigler, IRRI director general, says access to the sequence data of these 3,000 rice genomes will tremendously accelerate the progress of breeding programs. ―The collaborative 3K RGP,‖ he says, ―will add an immense amount of knowledge to rice genetics and enable detailed analysis by the global research community to ultimately benefit the poorest farmers who grow rice under the most difficult conditions.‖To reach their goals, the three institutes have not only released the large volume of data, they are also making available through the IRGC seeds for each rice accession that has been sequenced. ―Having available banked seeds is essential to make full use of this germplasm and the data about it,‖ Dr. Sackville Hamilton says.A major part of the project is to directly link the genetic information (genotype)

to the physical traits (phenotype) of these different accessions.

This will require careful assessment and curation of each accession for the agriculturally important traits mentioned earlier, which breeders can then link to genetic markers in the now available genome sequences.Current breeding practices, which have essentially remained the same since the development of agriculture, typically employ the observation of apparent physical traits to guide parent selection for making crosses with the hope that the offspring will show a new combination and an improvement of the desired traits. However, the underlying genetic makeup of the offspring can often confound breeders’ expectations. So, they often have to resort to time-consuming trial and error involving multiple successive generations.

The 3K RGP data will provide a major step forward by helping breeders to take advantage of the natural trait variation that is found across the select genebank accessions in the project.

Knowing fully the genetic makeup of a particular rice accession will allow researchers to identify genetic markers related to specific traits, and better understand how different genetic interactions affect plant phenotypes.

With this information, breeders will be able to make more intelligent choices in accession selection for making crosses, resulting in more rapid development of rice varieties for deploying in poor and environmentally stressed locations around the world.

Hei Leung, IRRI principal scientist and team member, says the IRRI 3K RGP team is committed to moving quickly to take the sequence data and make detailed analyses. ―Through the Global Rice Science Partnership, IRRI is leading the development of an informal global effort—the International Rice Phenotyping Network—to systematically evaluate the 3K RGP sequenced lines and to connect plant performance to specific genes,‖ he says. ―By closely integrating these resources into breeding programs based on modern molecular

breeding and selection strategies, varietal development in hundreds of rice breeding programs will be accelerated over the next five years, delivering improved varieties to farmers and consumers at a faster pace than before.‖ ****

The article was first published in IRRI Rice Today.

Govt Stares at Another Food Grain Scam

By Hemant Kumar Rout

Published: 23rd September 2014 06:02 AM Last Updated: 23rd September 2014 06:02 AM BALASORE: In yet another scam in making, huge quantity of rice has been misappropriated by rice millers in the last kharif season in the State. Around 51,983 tonnes of custom milled rice (CMR) is yet to be delivered by millers against the paddy delivered to them during 2012-13 kharif season.An investigation revealed that nine

districts and 25 rice mill owners are in the big defaulters’ list.

The cost of the rice to be received from the millers is estimated at around Rs 140 crore.While the Vigilance Department has arrested Civil Supply Officer (CSO), Marketing Inspector of Bhadrak district besides the managing director of a rice mill for allegedly misappropriating over 5,000 tonnes of rice, police have registered cases against six millers in Balasore district.

Sources said total 54,17,029 tonnes of paddy was procured in the 2012-13 kharif. At the rate of 68 per cent of rice produced from the paddy, 36,72,213 tonnes of rice were to be delivered. But, only 36,20,230 tonnes have been received by the Civil Supply Department.Of the six agencies, Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) Limited, State Cooperative Marketing Federation (MARKFED), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), Tribal Development Cooperative Corporation (TDCC), Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Levy, the OSCSC Limited has procured 50,02,311 tonnes of paddy across the State.It is learnt that instead of delivering 34,01,571 tonnes of rice, the millers have so far supplied 33,56,497 tonnes.

There is no trace of nearly 45,077 tonnes of rice. While FCI has received 3,808 tonnes of rice against 5,600 tonnes of paddy it had procured, MARKFED has a backlog of 2,924 tonnes followed by NAFED 143, TDCC 665 and Levy has 3,178 tonnes of rice.Nine districts are found to be big

defaulters for OSCSC. While Balasore tops the list with a backlog of 7,997 tonnes of rice, Ganjam is yet to deliver 6,800 tonnes followed by Bhadrak 5,080 tonnes, Sambalpur 3,456 tonnes, Jagatsinghpur 3,362 tonnes, Khurda 2,122 tonnes, Kalahandi 1,873 tonnes, Cuttack 1,759 tonnes and Sonepur 1,638 tonnes of rice.According to proceedings of the weekly paddy procurement review meeting held on September 2 under the chairmanship of Commissionercum- Secretary of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department, notice has been issued to 25 millers for defaulting by the General Manager (procurement) and FIRs have been lodged against 10 millers. ―OSCSC shall call for explanation from district managers for not taking steps for timely lodging of FIRs. The Corporation has a battery of lawyers who should take steps for vacation of orders of High Court on not taking action against defaulting millers,‖ the proceeding stated.It has also come to the fore that 42,00501 tonnes of paddy have been procured so far in 2013-14 kharif season against 54.17 lakh tonnes of paddy procured in the same time last year. Till last week, 18,43,082 tonnes of rice have been delivered against the target of 28,36,625 tonnes.Sources said Collectors have been instructed to ensure that the entire CMR for 2013-14 kharif is delivered by September 30. They have also been instructed to issue warning to the defaulting millers and CSOs of the districts which have delivered less than 50 per cent of the due CMR.