27th october,2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

27th October, 2014

Today’s News Headlines…

First coarse rice export Rice sector attracts N256bn investments –FG Govt to procure Aman rice at Tk 32 per kg Bangladesh to export 50,000 T rice to Sri Lanka at $450/T Guyana announces record sugar and rice production BAAC to lend up to Bt23 bn in bid to shore up market prices Bangladesh raises local rice purchase price Thai Government Offers Rice Farmers Interest Free Loans TPP ministers left with hurdles before clinching a deal Farm plan gets go-ahead PACC to check for rice subsidy graft Crop Progress: 2014 Crop 96 Percent Harvested MSU foundation crop seed benefits farmers Wild rice crops take hit from weather Thai govt offers loans to farmers to delay rice sales Japan Announces 5th Ordinary Import Tender in FY 2014

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.

First coarse rice export Govt fixes price for Sri Lanka Staff Correspondent

around 3.5 crore tonnes of rice against the demand for around 3 crore tonnes, he said.The food minister said every year around 30 to 40 lakh tonnes of rice remains surplus.Even after that in the last fiscal year, the total food grain import was 29.93 lakh tonnes.

Of which, the amount of rice was 3.74 lakh

In Bangladesh's first-ever export of coarse rice, 50,000 tonnes will be sent to Sri Lanka at a rate of $450 per tonne, Food Minister Quamrul Islam has said.A Sri Lankan team would soon arrive in Dhaka to settle the deal and the rice would be exported within around 15 days, he told reporters yesterday after a meeting at the secretariat.

Bangladesh, in the past, exported some aromatic rice but this shipment to Sri Lanka would be the first-ever of non-fragrant rice.Currently, the price of coarse rice in the international market is between $400 and $420 per tonne while the government procures rice from the local markets at $436 per tonne, he said.Per kg of rice is sold at Tk 31 in the local market but Sri Lanka would be paying Tk 35 for per kg of the 50,000 tonnes of rice.

The country is going to export the rice as it has become self-sufficient in food, Quamrul claimed.At present, the country produces

tonnes. Asked about the rice-import despite the surplus, Qamrul said some high-quality rice, especially aromatic rice like Basmati, is usually imported on commercial basis.Besides, some of the rice may have been imported as fodder, he added.The food minister also said a decision to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat from Ukraine was taken recently.Wheat would also be imported from Russia and the discussions are underway, Qamrul said.

Rice sector attracts N256bn investments –FG OCTOBER 27, 2014 BY OKECHUKWU NNODIM 0 COMMENTS

Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

The rice sector has attracted N256bn ($1.6bn) worth of investments in the last three years, the Federal Government has said.The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Industry to build rice and cassava mills across the country.He said, ―Within a three-year period, we have been able to attract $1.6bn of investment into the rice sector. The largest one being Aliko Dangote that has put up in over N165bn, which is $1bn into commercial rice production and also commercial rice milling. ―I have no doubt that within three years, Nigeria will be exporting rice just like Thailand and India, and that is exactly the way it should be. However, we notice that as we have been producing a lot of rice, we don’t have enough mills to process the rice.‖Adesina said the country lacked integrated rice mills to process the locally produced rice to global standards.He said it was important for Nigeria to close the milling gap, and to achieve this, the country had to build integrated rice mills.He noted that the MoU was to facilitate the building of 10 rice mills and six cassava processing mills.

The minister said, ―The 10 integrated rice mills will each have the capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes, which means they all will be a total of 360,000 metric tonnes. So, this is a huge investment. The rice mills are going to be located in Kebbi, Zamara, Kaduna, Kano, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Ogun and Anambra states.―Government has no part in this venture. The role of the government is

to facilitate access to finance for private sector investors to invest in these mills and run them as private sector-driven operation. ‖The Managing Director/Chief Executive, BoI, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, said, ―We are now at the critical stage where there is a need for effective processing of the agricultural produce. The MoU will address the modalities to ensure that these 16 companies materialise in the next few months.―It is hoped that by the time the companies are operational, the amount of rice being imported will be significantly reduced if not completely eliminated.‖He stated that the MoU would allow for the release of loans to investors and noted that the credit would come with an interest of five per cent.

Olaoluwa said the repayment period would be 10 years with three years moratorium.In another development, the Federal Government signed another MoU with Nigeria Breweries Plc for the development and commercialisation of hybrid sorghum as part of its sustainability programme.The government said that despite Nigeria being the largest producer of food sorghum in the world, the country had yet to reap the benefits of using it for the production of high energy food as it was done in other countries.Adesina said his ministry reached out to 96,000 sorghum farmers in 2013 with improved inputs, seeds and fertilizers in order to enhance the development of the value chain.

Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without

prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng.com

Govt to procure Aman rice at Tk 32 per kg Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com Published: 2014-10-27 16:09:05.0 BdST Updated: 2014-10-28 01:15:19.0 BdST The government has set a target to procure 300,000 tonnes of Aman rice this season at Tk 32 per kg.This is up by Tk 2 over the previous season's procurement price of Tk 30.

It had then collected 350,000 tonnes of rice.The decision was taken by the Food department’s planning committee in its meeting at the secretariat on Monday.Food minister Quamrul Islam told reporters after the meeting that procurement would start from November 15 and continue until February 28.

"The price has been set considering the growers' interest. The cost of growing Aman paddy this year is Tk 18 per kg and Tk 25 per kilogram after it is processed into rice, "he said.

This year the government will only procure rice under the programme, added Islam.He was joined in the meeting by his senior cabinet colleagues like Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and other senior officials

Bangladesh to export 50,000 T rice to Sri Lanka at $450/T DHAKA Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:35pm IST

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Bangladesh will export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka for the first time under a government-to-

government deal at $450 a tonne, including cost, freight and insurance, Food Minister Mohammad Karmul Islam said on Monday.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Guyana announces record sugar and rice production Sunday, October 26, 2014 | 9:55 AM

GEORG ETOWN , Guyana (CMC) – Guyana says it has

exported 400,000 tonnes of rice, the most in the country’s history.―It’s the very first time in our history, so as of Tuesday the amount of rice exported that left Guyana already was 401,000 tonnes. With the contract that we presently have to supply before the end of December, we have 137,000 tonnes of contract signed to be exported,‖ said Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy.Last year Guyana exported 395,000 tonnes with more than 50 per cent going to Venezuela with other significant buyers being Europe, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries.

intended target as ―we have enough cane in the field. I just hope we get good weather and we don’t get too many stoppages.‖In 2013, sugar exports accounted for 8.3 per cent of total exports valued at US$112.2 million, contributing 3.9 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Guyana and Panama signed a rice deal in September resulting in Guyana exporting 50,000 tonnes of rice to the Spanishspeaking country. Panama’s rice imports average 150,000 tonnes annually and with Guyana supplying 50,000 tonnes, it is hoped that the local private sector can bid to supply the remaining 100,000 tonnes.Ramsammy said new contracts for rice export are also on stream, but even with those Guyana already signed, it is on pace to surpass 500,000 tonnes.Meanwhile, there has also been an increase in sugar production with Ramsammy saying production has now surpassed 170,000 tonnes for the year, and is expected to exceed last year’s total of 186,500 tonnes.

The Rice Policy and Management Committee yesterday approved a budget for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to provide Bt23 billion in soft loans to encourage farmers to keep rice in their own warehouses so they do not need to accelerate sales during the upcoming harvest season.After the meeting, Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said this measure was aimed at holding back about 2 million tonnes of paddy rice from the market, particularly in the Northern and Northeastern regions.

―We still have about six -seven weeks to go for the crop, and if we are about 170,000 now, it means we have to make 46,000 tonnes for the 2014 year target of 216,000 which was the original target. We adjusted it to 219,000 tonnes,‖ he said, adding that he is confident that Guyana will meet the

BAAC to lend up to Bt23 bn in bid to shore up market prices The Nation October 25, 2014 1:00 am

The aim is to ensure that the market price of rice does not decrease too much during the harvest season that begins early next month.Under this programme, the BAAC will provide loans amounting to 90 per cent of the rice values, so that farmers can avoid interest burdens and other costs related to rice sales.Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said this measure should keep the paddy price of hom mali (jasmine rice) at Bt15,000-

Bt16,000 a tonne, and paddy sticky rice at Bt13,000.About 6 million to 7 million tonnes of paddy rice will be harvested from the upcoming main crop.

To manage white rice in the government stockpiles, the meeting agreed to continue releasing rice through various methods, such as auctions and government-to-government contract, Charoen said.In addition, Thailand is expecting to join in bidding for sales to the Philippines, which should be opened soon.Paddy white rice is currently trading at about Bt8,000 a tonne, he added.

Bangladesh raises local rice purchase price DHAKA Mon Oct 27, 2014 3:29pm IST Oct 27 (Reuters) - Bangladesh raised the price the government will pay to farmers for the upcoming season's rice to 32 taka ($0.40) a kilogram, up from 30 taka a year ago, the food minister said on Monday.The government will buy 300,000 tonnes of rice from local farmers starting from Nov. 15, Mohammad Kamrul Islam told reporters."The purchase will boost our reserves as well as ensure fair price for farmers," he said.Such procurement is crucial for the South Asian nation to feed its poor and keep domestic prices stable.

The government buys rice and wheat from local farmers to ensure a support price, build stocks for government's welfare programmes and to meet emergency needs.Bangladesh aims to produce more

than 34 million tonnes of rice in the current year, up from nearly 33.5 million in the previous year.The world's fourth biggest producer of rice, Bangladesh consumes almost all its production to feed its population of 160 million, but often needs imports to cope with shortages caused by natural calamities such as floods or droughts.

Although it did not import rice over the last two years, Bangladesh was ranked as the fourth-largest importer of the grain by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2011, with a volume of 1.48 million tonnes.The state grains buyer will import 250,000 tonnes of wheat at $297.50 a tonne in a government-to-government deal with Ukraine, as part of an effort to ensure food supplies. ($1 = 77.40 Taka) (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Thai Government Offers Rice Farmers Interest Free Loans Posted by: : Paul October 26, 2014

EbelingPosted

on:

Thai Government Offers Rice Farmers Interest Free Loans Thailand will offer interest-free loans to farmers as an incentive to delay sales of Rice, its Prime Minister said, as the interim government seeks to support farmers hurt by falling global commodities prices.Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday the state-run Bank for Agriculture and

Agricultural Cooperatives would provide 4month loans to Rice farmers to hold on to their stocks until after the harvest period, which begins in November, as a means of stabilizing prices.

Effective 1 November, Thai rice farmers would be offered 14,400 baht ($444) for every tonne of fragrant Rice paddy they produce and an additional handout of 1,000 baht/ tonne to store it themselves. Loans of 11,700 baht/tonne would be offered for holding back glutinous Rice.―We have policies that will take care of Rice farmers.

We are approaching the 1st harvest season and are taking measures to not let prices be affected,‖ Prayuth told reporters after a government meeting to discuss Rice policy Friday Thailand’s military-dominated government has been taking steps to appease farmers, an important support base for the administration that the Thai military overthrew in a 22 May coup d’etat.A $1.8-B state subsidy plan was approved last Tuesday to help Rubber farmers, who have threatened protests.Commodity prices are slumping at a critical time for the Thai government, which is struggling to revive an economy hurt by weak spending and exports.A poll on Friday showed exports probably fell for a third straight month.The commerce ministry is also offering 2 months of interest-free loans of 2,000 baht for every rai (0.16 hectare) of land used by farmers for their crops.

Deputy Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said the Rice loans would be capped at 20 tonnes or 300,000 baht per household, with a total cap on the project at 2-M/tonnes.Thailand had around 18M/tonnes of Rice in state stockpiles, accumulated under an intervention scheme by the ousted government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. An audit by the military government found that at least 20%

of the stockpile was either rotten or has gone missing.The stockpiles amassed under a program that paid farmers well above market rates for their produce won widespread rural support but priced the grain out of world markets.

The intervention price made Thai grain so expensive Thailand lost its position as the world’s #1 Rice exporter, overtaken by India and Vietnam.The price of Thai 5% broken Rice was $423/tonne, free on board, Friday.Prayuth ordered an immediate halt to state Rice sales after he took power in the coup.He said there will be no new intervention scheme to avoid distorting market mechanisms. ($1 = 32.4100 baht) Stay tuned…

HeffX-LTN Paul Ebeling

TPP ministers left with hurdles before clinching a deal Ministers from 12 countries engaged in a Pacific Rim free trade initiative said their talks advanced during a three-day meeting that wrapped up Monday in Sydney, but some contentious issues remain to be resolved before clinching a deal."We have made significant progress" on tariffs and making unified trade rules under the TransPacific Partnership initiative, the trade chiefs said in a joint statement issued after their first gathering since May. The shape of a TPP deal is "crystallizing," the statement said, adding they will "meet again in the coming weeks." The ministers are expected to meet again in Beijing in November on the sidelines of the Asia-

Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Japanese minister Akira Amari said.While the ministers emphasized advances in the talks, already in their fifth year, Japan and the United States failed to reach a muchawaited bilateral agreement seen as vital to advance the broad 12-country negotiations.

struggled to find common ground on auto trade issues.The TPP framework involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

The lack of progress between the largest TPP economies clouds the goal of striking a broad deal by the end of the year as proposed by the United States.After meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Monday morning on the margin of the plenary session, Japanese TPP minister Amari said the finish line for their bilateral talks is not yet in sight."The problems left are extremely difficult and we cannot solve them easily," Amari told reporters, adding that he plans to resume talks with Froman when the 12 ministers meet again.Asked whether a TPP summit meeting will also take place next month in Beijing, Amari said nothing has been discussed yet.

Farm plan gets go-ahead

U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier he wanted a document adopted on the ambitious free trade pact in time for his trip to the Chinese capital.Bickering between Japan and the United States over tariffs and auto trade issues has been one of the biggest sticking points in the ongoing negotiations for the TPP, which encompasses some 40 percent of global output.The two have long been at odds over Japanese tariffs on its politically sensitive farm products -- rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy and sugar -- and safeguard measures Tokyo seeks to introduce on beef and pork should their imports surge under the TPP. They have also

==Kyodo

Measures seek to stabilise crop prices  Published: 25 Oct 2014 at 06.54 |  Newspaper section: Business  Writer: Chatrudee Theparat

The National Rice Policy Committee yesterday approved a farm product management plan proposed by the Commerce Ministry aimed at stabilising crop prices. The plan includes a proposal to allow the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to extend loans to farmers for 90% of their rice crop value, up from 80% now. This will apply to glutinous and Hom Mali glutinous rice, said Commerce permanent secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara.

Under the plan, participating farmers will be offered about 14,400 baht a tonne for Hom Mali paddy and 11,700 baht a tonne for glutinous paddy.In addition, the committee chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chano-cha yesterday also approved an additional grant of 1,000 baht a tonne to participating farmers to help take care of paddy quality until the rice prices improve.In total, farmers who apply for the scheme of the bank will

be entitled to 15,400 baht a tonne for Hom Mali and 12,700 baht a tonne for glutinous paddy.Eligible participants will be allowed not more than 20 tonnes each or not more than 300,000 baht each.The government expects about 2 million tonnes of paddy will participate in the programme. The interestfree loan scheme will run for four months from Nov 1 until Feb 28 next year, the harvesting period for the 2014/2015 season.

millers to buy farmers' output at 100-200 baht a tonne above market prices.

Photo:A farmer in Suphan Buri tills the fields for his new crop.

PACC to check for rice subsidy graft Published: 27 Oct 2014 at 10.28

"During the project, farmers are also eligible to sell their paddy if prices rise," she said.

"But if prices stay unchanged or fall, the rice would belong to the bank and the government will take care of it."Ms Chutima said there would also another measure to help ease farmers' financial costs in handling their harvest by which the BAAC will offer loans of 2,000 baht a tonne to farmers with zero interest for two months.Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday's meeting did not discuss the next disposal plan of the government's rice stocks, as it is awaiting the outcome of a nationwide rice audit led by ML Panadda Diskul, the Prime Minister's Office permanent secretary.

The inspection is about 95% complete and is expected to be wrapped up by the midNovember when it will know the exact amount of existing state stocks.The government has vowed to take a more proactive approach to farm product management with plans to stabilise crop prices, particularly for rice, and accelerate sealing government-to-government rice deals with China and countries in Africa and the Middle East.A major part of the approach is to retain paddy prices at less than 8,500 baht a tonne for white rice, 16,000 baht for Hom Mali rice and a minimum of 13,000 baht for glutinous rice.The committee's measures for managing rice prices in light of the upcoming harvest from the annual main crop include asking

Online news: Crime

The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) will meet graftfighting agencies this week to organise nationwide inspections of the rice subsidy payments to farmers. Prayong Preeyajit, the PACC secretary-general, said the meeting will delegate inspection tasks among officials of the PACC, the Office of the Auditor-General, the National AntiCorruption Commission and the Department of Special Investigation.He said the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives has sent the names of farmers who registered to receive the state subsidy to the PACC's national anti-corruption centre.The inspectors will check if the recipients who collected the payments were entitled to them.

Prayut calls for integration of small paddy fields to cut costs   

Published: 27 Oct 2014 at 15.13 | Viewed: 1,585 | Comments: 3 Online news: General Writer: Patsara Jikkham

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha recommended on Monday that small paddy fields be integrated and share resources to cut costs in order to sustain Thailand's status as the world's largest rice exporter. Prime

crop.Regarding the government's rice stock of 18 million tonnes, Gen Prayut said his government was investigating how to sell it pending an examination to contain the rice storage cost of about 2 billion baht per month.

Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wants growers of small paddy fields to share resources for lower costs to boost Thailand's rice competitiveness. Gen Prayut said that Thailand lost its rice-exporting championship due to competition from other rice-exporting countries that had lower production costs. Therefore, he said, Thailand needed to urgently lower its riceproduction costs.

Industry analysts, however, have noted repeatedly that the actual reason Thailand lost its crown due to the previous government's failed rice-pledging scheme, which attempted to manipulate the international rice market by withholding stock to drive up prices. Competing nations took steps to unlock additional supply at lower prices.The general recommended that small paddy fields share machines and equipment. Small farmers naturally bore higher costs, Gen Prayut reasoned.How the government planned to convince farmers to break from tradition and provide services, such as harvesting, for free was not specified.The prime minister also said that the government was promoting the cultivation of quality rice including jasmine and glutinous rice.

He estimated that Thailand would export 11 million tonnes of rice this year, compared with 9 million tonnes last year. He commented that its rice yield might drop slightly next year due to the limited water reserve that prevented the second rice

Chukiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, earlier said Thailand had exported more than 8 million tonnes of rice in the first nine months of this year and the total export amount of 11 million tonnes would be possible if the country exported about 1 million tonnes per month in the rest part of the year.

(Photo by Krit Promsaka na Sakolnakorn)

Tune in to Rice

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- This month, the USA Rice Federation published 50,000 copies of a special edition cookbook featuring standout dishes from the popular Mexican television program "Cocinando con... (Cooking with...)" on KWTV. The cookbook "As Seen on TV: Chefs Cooking With...Rice" includes 35 stylish rice recipes

prepared by Mexico's most prestigious professional chefs representing restaurants, hotels, culinary institutions, and leaders of prominent gastronomic organizations. As Seen on Mexican Television: Rice Says It All One of the highlighted chefs, Juan Bagur, co-owner of Sal y Dulce Artesanos said, "Rice is a food that has a very important place in the gastronomy of my country.

Rice is healthy, versatile, and capable of having a thousand different flavors."The cookbook contains upscale appetizers, restaurant-quality main dishes, and elegant desserts to demonstrate the wide range of possibilities rice offers in gourmet gastronomy and to inspire creativity in contemporary cuisine. The three winners from the USA Rice Professional Chefs competition conducted at Centro Universitario ETAC in Mexico State earlier this year are featured in the cookbook.

One of the winners, Chef Luis del Sordo, Executive Chef at the Palm in Mexico City, stated, "To be a good cook, you must know how to prepare rice well. Rice says it all."

The premium cookbook is an essential tool to demonstrate to the foodservice sector how to increase profits with rice by using it in contemporary, sophisticated presentations.

The publication also promotes USA Rice's Facebook site, Youtube channel, and websites, particularly www.arrozgourmet.com.mx which is aimed at the upscale foodservice industry and gourmet home cooks.

Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457

Crop Progress: 2014 Crop 96 Percent Harvested WASHINGTON, DC -- Ninety-six percent of the nation's 2014 rice acreage has been harvested, according to today's U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress Report.

Rice Harvested, Selected States Week Ending

State

October 26, 2013

October 19, 2014

October 26, 2014

20092013 average

Percent Arkansas

91

91

95

93

California

94

85

95

76

Louisiana

100

100

100

99

Mississippi

98

89

96

95

Missouri

88

78

91

90

Texas

100

100

100

100

Six States

93

91

96

91

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Preliminary): Closing Rough Rice Futures for October 27.

Month

Price

Net Change

November 2014

$12.235

- $0.170

January 2015

$12.475

- $0.155

March 2015

$12.740

- $0.150

May 2015

$12.975

- $0.110

July 2015

$13.155

- $0.110

September 2015

$12.520

- $0.110

November 2015

$12.495

- $0.110

MSU foundation crop seed benefits farmers Oct 26, 2014Vanessa Beeson, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station | Delta Farm Press

Mississippi State University’s foundation seed program, a unit of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, has provided seed to Mississippi seed distributors and growers for 55 years.

Brad Burgess, MSU director of research support for variety testing and foundation seed, oversees the program.

Major crops include sweet sorghum, soybean and rice. MSU also produces foundation sweet potato slips and some minor crops as well.―The purpose of our seed stock program is to provide a basic and practical link between public plant breeders and seed producers around the state,‖ Burgess said. ―Mississippi is our first priority, but we try to accommodate other states and even other countries if the need is there and supply is available. ‖The journey of certified seed is complex.

There are three classes in the seed certification system, according to Burgess.―Foundation seed is the highest class — then registered seed and finally, certified seed,‖ Burgess said. Foundation seed is the closest progeny to breeder seed available to seed distributors and growers.

Registered seed comes from foundation seed, and certified seed is grown from registered seed. ‖To be considered for foundation seed, breeders must first submit an application.

From there, factors such as the seed’s purity, germination and genetic identity are evaluated by the state seed certification agency to ensure high standards are met.

Once the foundation seed process begins, the state seed certification agency assesses seed quality every step of the way.MSU’s foundation sweet sorghum seed fulfills need on a national level. During the 2014 season, seed orders of four varieties — Dale, M81E, Top 76-6 and Theis — were filled for

producers in 27 states.This year, MSU’s Foundation Seed Stocks also received an international request.

are rice and sweet potatoes.MSU produced two varieties of rice seed for the 2015 season: Rex and Mermentau.

Vernal soybeans

―Both varieties have progressed well, and we expect plentiful supplies of quality seed for producers in 2015,‖ said MSU foundation seed assistant director Randy Vaughan.

―In the mid-1990s, a new soybean variety was released from the USDA’s Soybean Breeding Unit in Stoneville, Miss. In the few years that followed its release, MSU increased foundation seed of the variety, called Vernal, which was produced by numerous seed producers locally,‖ Burgess said. ―As most varieties do, demand gradually fell off after a few years until Vernal was no longer in sufficient demand to warrant continued production. ‖The variety has a wide area of adaptation, suitable for climates in other Southern states and Mexico, according to Burgess.This past spring, a Mississippi native who now produces agricultural seed in Mexico requested that MSU once again produce Vernal foundation seed so he could grow, produce and sell it in Mexico. ―In order to accommodate this request, we needed a source of viable breeder seed,‖ Burgess said. ―Fortunately, USDA’s Soybean Breeding Unit had a small supply.

The field production is developing well and nearing maturity.‖Once the seed matures and passes certification and inspection, it can be shipped to the producer in Mexico.Two foundation seed crops that are in high demand in the state of Mississippi

Sweet potato program MAFES administrates the foundation sweet potato seed program at the Pontotoc RidgeFlatwoods Branch Experiment Station.

Sweet potato foundation seed are actually roots produced from virus-tested stock plants called ―mother plants,‖ which are maintained in a sterile, isolated area under ideal environmental conditions. There are two phases of MSU’s virus-tested foundation sweet potato seed program.

The first is the development of slips from mother plants of specific varieties.MSU produces 80,000 to 90,000 slips in the first phase, which a certified grower then propagates in his field as the second phase.

Currently, MSU uses only one certified grower to propagate sweet potato slips.Mark Shankle, plant and soil sciences research professor at MSU, oversees the program. ―We micro-propagate the slips in the lab and grow them in the greenhouse, which is equivalent to six acres planted in the field,‖ Shankle said. ―From there, the certified grower propagates additional plants from

field cuttings to supply 50 acres of generation 1 foundation seed. After passing certification inspection, the seed can be harvested and sold to producers for use in their production fields the following year. ‖Depending on demand, MSU typically grows three varieties of sweet potatoes: two Beauregard varieties and a new variety called Orleans. However, over the past 14 years, the number of seed sources in the program has increased from two to 32 different varieties that can be produced from mother plants maintained in isolation.MSU Foundation Seed Stocks recently launched a new website where seed distributors and growers can learn more about the program as well as place orders for future foundation seed.

Rice orders are typically received by March of each year for delivery the following year.

Sweet sorghum seed orders are accepted for immediate fulfillment from Feb. 15 through June 15 each year.

Visit http://mafes.msstate.edu/foundationseed/ to learn more.

Image:WORKERS HARVEST Mermentau rice foundation seed at the R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center at Mississippi State University on Sept. 25, 2014. (Photo by Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station/Randy Vaughan)

Wild rice crops take hit from weather

Disastrous harvest raises prices, concerns By: Bill Redekop Posted: 10/25/2014 1:00 AM | The beauty of wild rice, or any rice for that

matter, is you just add water, whether to cook it or grow it.But in the past year, Mother Nature has added water like never before and doused the crop, resulting in one of the worst harvests in history.

The wild rice harvest across the country, in particular Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, is yielding barely 30 per cent of average. Prices are already soaring and the disastrous harvest is expected to cause a shortage by some time next year."People say, 'How the heck does wild rice drown when it grows in water? ' But if it gets too deep, the plant actually does," said Tracy Wheeler-Anderson, who owns Naosap Harvest in Cranberry Portage, Man., just south of Flin Flon.They don't actually die, but the grain, or rice, stays submerged and doesn't mature."We had tons of rain last fall, which put water tables way up. Then we had abnormal amounts of snow. Then in spring, tons of rain again. All of our lakes, the water levels are way higher than normal," said Wheeler-Anderson.In addition, there were strong winds this year

that shook the emergent grain off plants.

"The ducks were happy," she said.

Naosap's supplier is her husband and his two brothers, who have been harvesting wild rice for three decades. The brothers harvest 18 northern lakes -- rules allow a maximum six lakes per licensed harvester. They are looking at a crop right now of 70,000 pounds, versus more than 200,000 pounds in a good year.

Shoal Lake Wild Rice Ltd., operated by Winnipeg's Ratuski family for 70 years, is hearing the same figures from its suppliers -crops are down 60 to 70 per cent in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Lake of the Woods area, said company president Murray Ratuski."Every area had a bad crop," said Ratuski. "The reason isn't just high water, but a cool spring, short summer, and early fall and the rice didn't mature." Wild rice is also very sensitive to even a light frost."There is certainly a shortage in Canada this year, and price will reflect that," said Ratuski. Restaurants will also have trouble finding supply, he said.

The people hurt most may be aboriginal harvesters. George Starr of Sagkeeng First Nation, who has gathered wild rice by hand for many years, said a person could always make a couple of thousand dollars for a week's work harvesting wild rice, but not this year."There was hardly any. I wouldn't even try. There was none," said Starr.A larger harvester, Eric Sylvester of Birch Narrows Dene Nation in northwest

Saskatchewan, who harvests by machine from a pontoon boat, saw his crop cut in half to 25,000 pounds this year.

It's the second bad crop in a row for him."It makes a big difference in cash flow. You still have all your operating costs, your equipment, your lease," said Sylvester, who harvests wild rice to supplement his income.

Northern Saskatchewan has many small aboriginal operators, thanks in part to the crop's inclusion in the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance program. There is no such program for wild rice in Manitoba.Wild rice is a specialty food. Shoal Lake Wild Rice website calls it "the caviar of grains." The company cleans, grades, dries and roasts the rice, giving it its crunchy taste and rich mahogany colour. It sells over $2 million worth of product per year and markets it under labels Canoe or Floating Leaf (in spring, a long skinny leaf floats to the surface and photosynthesizes sunlight to grow the wild rice stalk below).

Ratuski will try to offset the shortfall in Canada with imports from California, where the crop is grown in man-made lakes that are then drained to allow for machine harvesting. But some customers will have to be turned away.The company won't be forced to lay off staff because it makes other food products and is also an accredited copackager of other companies' products, he said.The poor harvest is making wild rice "a bit harder to find," but the Neechi Commons grocery store in Winnipeg is still sourcing

product, said produce manager Iain Brynjolson. bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 25, 2014 A15

Thai govt offers loans to farmers to delay rice sales

BY KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA BANGKOK Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:37am EDT Oct 24 (Reuters) - Thailand will offer interest-free loans to farmers as an incentive to delay sales of rice, its prime minister said, as the interim government seeks to support farmers hurt by falling global commodities prices.Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Friday the state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives would provide four-month loans to rice farmers to hold on to their stocks until after the harvest period, which begins in November, as a means of stabilising prices.

Effective Nov. 1, farmers would be offered 14,400 baht ($444) for every tonne of fragrant rice paddy they produce and an additional handout of 1,000 baht per tonne to store it themselves. Loans of 11,700 baht per tonne would be offered for holding back glutinous rice."We have policies that will take care of rice farmers. We are approaching the first harvest season and are taking measures to not let prices be

affected," Prayuth told reporters after a government meeting to discuss rice policy.

Thailand's military-dominated government has been taking steps to appease farmers, an important support base for the administration that the generals overthrew in a May 22 coup.A $1.8 billion state subsidy plan was approved on Tuesday to help rubber farmers, who have threatened protests.Commodity prices are slumping at a critical time for the government, which is struggling to revive an economy hurt by weak spending and exports.A Reuters poll on Friday showed exports probably fell for a third straight month.

The commerce ministry is also offering two months of interest-free loans of 2,000 baht for every rai (0.16 hectare) of land used by farmers for their crops.Deputy Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said the rice loans would be capped at 20 tonnes or 300,000 baht per household, with a total cap on the project at 2 million tonnes.Thailand had around 18 million tonnes of rice in state stockpiles, accumulated under an intervention scheme by the ousted government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. An audit by the military government found that a fifth of the stockpile was either rotten or had gone missing.

The stockpiles amassed under a programme that paid farmers well above market rates for their produce won widespread rural support but effectively priced the grain out of world markets.The intervention price made Thai

grain so expensive Thailand lost its position as

no

the world's top rice exporter, overtaken by India and Vietnam. The price of Thai 5 percent broken rice was $423 a tonne, free on board, on Friday.Prayuth ordered an

distorting market mechanisms.

immediate halt to state rice sales after he took power in the coup. He has said there will be

new

intervention

scheme

to

($1 = 32.4100 baht) (Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Pracha Hariraksapitak; Editing by Martin Petty and Jane Baird)

Japan Announces 5th Ordinary Import Tender in FY 2014

Announcement: Tender: Offer details: Country Specified or Global

Thailand Global Tender

27 October 2014 31 October 2014 51,000 mt Non-glutinous milled rice (medium grain)

24,000 24,000

avoid

Non-glutinous milled rice (long grain)

TOTAL

7,000 20,000 27,000

7,000 44,000 51,000

Shipping period: Thailand: From 15 December 2014 to 25 January 2015 G.T. Medium Grain: From 15 December 2014 to 15 January 2015 G.T. Long Grain: From 10 December 2014 to 20 January 2015

For Advertising SPECS & RATES Contact: Advertising Department Mujahid Ali mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2874