29th april,2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily

Global

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Rice E-Newsletter April 29 , 2015 V o l u m e 5, Issue I

Substance in bag of rice should be wake-up call for millers APRIL 29, 2015 · BY STAFF WRITER · Dear Editor, This should be a wake-up call for all rice millers who are selling rice on the local and international market and for them to be more careful when catching rice and sewing the rice bag from the dump scale.The laboratory technician should take the blame for the carbon powder which was found in the army‘s bag of rice. A laboratory technician‘s job is to monitor the quality

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 1

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine of rice being produced from the mill or dump scale, whether it‘s local sales or for overseas markets.

The Caricom standard was formulated in an effort to improve the quality of rice being produced and sold on the local and overseas market at each mill.This is a weird case where millers would use gas tablets in bag rice. This is the first time I am hearing this, as a former rice bond clerk and laboratory technician working for decades at the government owned Guyana Rice Board (GRB).

I have never seen gas tablets used in consumers rice. I know that the Rhyzopertha dominica is a serious pest stored in paddy, both larva and adult and are destructive and can make a very small crack in the husks and enter the grain.

Corcyra cephalonica is a rice moth, primarily a pest of milled rice containing a high percentage of broken grains. If proper sanitation and storage is neglected, lumps often occur inside the bag of rice. There are cases where I know that gas tablets are used in bulk paddy for fumigation purposes, but I never heard of it being used in rice especially in sewed bags of rice. The tablets would be placed in the paddy at several location or points in the bulk bond which is well sealed, then covered with a thick plastic. After some time, the gas will explore and kill all the paddy pests. Any fumigant which kills insects will also harm people, so millers have to be careful who they employ in their operation.

This carbon powder placed in a brown paper bag into the sewn bag of consumer rice can very well be an inside job at the warehouse or at the dump scale. The miller needs to investigate which shift this rice was produced on and he can find the culprit.I personally know Mr Ramesh Ramlakhan because I used to visit his mills and interact with him during my tenure with the RPA as a field officer. He is one of the youngest, soft spoken, honest and hardworking rice millers who rose to the top in the milling industry.

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/opinion/letters/04/29/substance-in-bag-of-rice-should-be-wake-upcall-for-millers/

New saline-tolerant hybrid rice variety developed Mohamed Nazeer

Rice cultivators in the brackish water paddy tracts of the northern districts of the State, especially Kattampally here, can now cultivate a new saline-tolerant hybrid organic rice variety developed as part of the organic plant breeding programme of the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) at Pilikkode in Kasaragod. The new rice variety, named Ezhome-4, was released

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 2

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine exclusively for cultivation in the brackish water (‗kaipad‘ in local parlance) ecosystem which is being revived in different parts of the northern region, especially in the Kattampally region here.

This was one of the two new hybrid organic varieties commercially released by the RARS under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) recently. According to RARS researchers, Ezhome-4 is the result of the series of hybridisation programmes conducted in 2002. ―The new variety is equally suited for saline-prone naturally organic Kaipad paddy tracts and non-saline flooded tracts during first crop season and also for ordinary wetlands,‖ T. Vanaja, Principal Breeder and Investigator under the programme told The Hindu .―It gives high yield in traditional kaipad tracts as well as in newly rejuvenated Kattampally tracts,‖ she added. It gives an average yield of 5.1 tonne/hectare in the medium saline organic kaipad ecosystem with an average straw yield of 10 tonne/ha, Dr. Vanaja said.

The other new organic rice variety, ‗Jaiva‘ is for ordinary non-saline wetland tracts.Dr. Vanaja said that the organic rice variety was first put forward in an international conference on organic agriculture system when a paper on it was presented. She said that the paper was also published in the international Journal of Organic Farming in 2013. ‗Jaiva‘ is also the result of the hybridisation programme conducted 13 years ago, she said adding that the variety was successful in experimental trials in farmers‘ fields. Its average grain yield is 5.2 tonne/ha and straw yield is nine tonnes/ha under organic management. The research on the two new varieties spanning over a period of 13 years had been carried out at the RARS and in the Pepper Research Station at Panniyur here.

Government approves 460 million rice protection program Wednesday, 29 April 2015By NNT BANGKOK, 28 April 2015 - The Cabinet has approved a 460 million baht rice protection program for the 2015 production season.Finance Minister Sommai Phasee announced the program‘s approval after today‘s cabinet meeting. He said he expected participating farmers would increase to 1.5 million from last year‘s 800,000.Furthermore the Finance Ministry is planning to issue 10 and 20 year bond notes totaling 300 billion Baht. Funds received from the issuance would be used to repay the debt obligations of the State Railway of Thailand, the rice pledging scheme and the social security fund. http://www.pattayamail.com/business/government-approves-460-million-rice-protection-program-46607

NFA confirms rampant rice smuggling in Zamboanga

By Rosette Adel (philstar.com) | Updated April 29, 2015 - 6:15pm An NFA official exposed widespread rice-smuggling in Region 9 which includes Zamboanga City.Philstar.com/File MANILA Philippines — A National Food Authority (NFA) official confirmed the widespread smuggling of rice in Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao.NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay revealed the existence of rice smuggling in the whole of Region 9 which include Zamboanga City, before the joint House Committees of Agriculture and Food and Food

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 3

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Security.In a statement, Dalisay recalled his recent visit to Zamboanga before the House. He observed the very low price of rice in the market which is "a clear indication of a high rice inventory in the area.

"According to Dalisay, NFA's authority is limited to the verification of import permits and other documents pertinent to the importation of a particular rice shipment.Meanwhile, the House House Committees on Agriculture and Food and Food Security, chaired by Representatives Mark Llandro L. Mendoza (4th District, Batangas) and Agapito H. Guanlao (Party-List-BUTIL), respectively, deliberated House Resolution 1828 denouncing the rampant rice smuggling to introduce appropriate measures to stop said illegal activities.Guanlao pointed out that the NFA's revelation is indeed alarming because Zamboanga is not even a rice-producing province.

Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Port Manager Liberto dela Rosa of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Zamboanga backed NFA's revelation saying that some unscrupulous traders are possibly using the 76 ports in Zamboanga as drop off points for their smuggled goods.Dela Rosa however admitted that the PPA has no authority to monitor illegal activities in the private ports.The author of HR 1828, Lilia Macrohon-Nu単o (2nd District, Zamboanga City) said the measure seeks to stop the smuggling of rice, logs, and sugar not only in Zamboanga City, but all over the country as well.Macrohon-Nu単o added that smuggling activities not only hurt the local farmers and legitimate traders but also the national economy. www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 4

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine "Smuggled goods, particularly smuggled rice, are killing the local rice farmers in Zamboanga City whose very aim is to send their children to school and to have decent means of living," Macrohon-Nu単o stressed.Dianne Silva, director of NFA Region IX, the Bureau of Customs is mandated to enforce the laws on anti-smuggling, including the job of confiscating illegally imported rice.To develop a protocol on proper coordination among different agencies involved against smuggling, the joint committees agreed to create a technical working group.The joint committees will invite resigned BOC Commissioner John Philip Sevilla and BOC Zamboanga district collector to clarify the issues raised in the next meeting. http://www.philstar.com/nation/2015/04/29/1449276/nfa-confirms-rampant-rice-smuggling-zamboanga

Rice terraces in northern Vietnam: A view to die for

By Meo Gia, Thanh Nien News

YEN BAI - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 09:35

The northern province of Yen Bai is famous for stunning terraced rice fields, and Lim Mong Valley is one of the best places to see the fields.The valley is located underneath the mountain pass Khau Pha. There lie the spectacular terraced fields that have enchanted a large number of tourists and photographers alike.People usually say the rice terraces in Lim Mong look best in the harvest season, when the rice plants turn yellow. But they do not know that June is also a www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 5

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine very good time to enjoy the beauty of the fields.In June, when first summer rains pour down the mountain, locals start to channel water from the mountain into the rice fields.The rice fields now have this brown, sparkling color, as a combination of the soil and the water. http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/rice-terraces-in-northern-vietnam-a-view-to-die-for-42657.html

Seed Foundation Facility Headed To Stuttgart

By TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board announced plans Tuesday to direct $2 million to help construct a seed foundation facility at the state‘s Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart.The facility will assist scientists and researchers to bring new higher yielding, high quality rice varieties to market so Arkansas farmers can profitably grow rice that meets worldwide demand. The center, along with the new Foundation Seed Facility, is operated by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture.

The new facility is expected to cost $8.6 million, and construction will begin this summer and be completed in 12 months.―The Rice Research and Promotion Board has always been forwardthinking in how it applies research to advance Arkansas agriculture, and we sincerely appreciate their commitment to ensuring Arkansas will remain the epicenter of rice production and rice research,‖ Mark Cochran, vice president for the UA System‘s Division of Agriculture, said. ―The board has been a valuable partner with us for more than 30 years now, and our united partnership means better results for our state‘s economy and all Arkansans.‖The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board consists of nine rice producers nominated by industry organizations and appointed by the governor. ―The cooperative relationship between the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the Rice Research and Promotion Board and the rice farmers of Arkansas is alive and well, as evidenced by the construction of this new Foundation Seed Facility,‖ Marvin Hare, chairman of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, said. ―This commitment is an excellent example of the great things we can accomplish when the entire rice industry works together toward the common goal of sustainable rice production in Arkansas. ‖The $2 million for the new facility will come through tariff rate quota funds generated for domestic rice research from the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which established an annual tariff rate quota for U.S. rice exported to Colombia.The funds are reserved only for research efforts and are allocated by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board.The www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 6

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board and the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board have both previously made contributions to the new facility as well.

SEED FACILITY WILL SUPPORT ARKANSAS FARMERS The facility will contain both seed cleaning and storage capabilities with the ability to serve more than 25 rice, soybean and wheat varieties each year. Along with the ability to clean seeds to Plant Board-specified guidelines, the facility will be able to handle both genetically modified and non-genetically modified seeds. Cold storage will also be available for long-term seed storage.The new facility will continue cooperative research efforts between the promotion board and the Division of Agriculture that have already resulted in the development of new technologies related to fertility, pest control, irrigation, and weed control, in addition to the development of new rice varieties.

BOARD CONTINUES SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE RESEARCH The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board was formed in 1985 by the General Assembly to administer the rice check-off program.Under the program, rice farmers contribute 1.35 cents per bushel for rice research and the first buyer of rice contributes 1.35 cents per bushel for promotion and market development efforts.The program provides approximately $2.5 million to $3 million annually for research efforts conducted by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture. http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/seed-foundation-facility-headed-stuttgart

Ghana government to provide leverage to ignite rice and cassava chain – Minister Category: General News APRIL 29, 2015 Fiifi Kwetey – Agric Minister

Mr Fifi Kwetey, Minister of Agriculture, has given the assurance that government would provide the leverage to ignite and link up the value-chain in the production of rice and cassava.The policy backups, such as, a mandatory percentage cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour, should bring real spread-out opportunities along the chain, he stated.Mr Kwetey made the remark at Hodzo near Ho on a two-day familiarization tour of selected key agricultural firms in the Volta and Eastern Regions.Rice and cassava production were game changers, he stressed, adding, the two, could change economic fortunes of individuals and the

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 7

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine nation.The Minister, on the first day visited the Brazil Agro-Business Group Limited, producers of rice on the vast plains around Kpenu, near Dabala and the Caltech Ventures Limited, which is in cassava production and processing at Hodzo, near Ho. Mr Kwetey, on the second day visited the rice fields of the Ghana Commercialization of Rice Programme (G-CORP) at Asutsuare.G-CORP is an Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a funded farmer-support project.The Minister also undertook a tour of the 1,200hectare banana fields of the Golden Exotics Ghana Limited, a French banana export firm, sprawling the vast savannahs around Asutsuare.Mr Kwetey said clearly, cassava, a crossvegetation root crop and rice were crops with very high stakes in Ghana‘s development.At all the stops, the Minister promised to actively tackle challenges faced by the firms, including tax rebates, spares for machinery land acquisition and access roads.

Mr Chris Quarshie, Managing Director of Caltech Ventures, said the company had been in business for nine years.He said current potential was 3,000 hectares cropping, but was doing only 1,000.Mr Quarshie said the company was expecting machinery after which, it would start the production of the derivatives on large scale.Some of the derivatives are ethanol and flour.Mr Quarshie, who took the Minister round the farms and the industrial production unit, told the excited Minister that, producing cassava derivatives locally, could save the country half a billion dollars and more annually.

Mr Roberto Jaconi, General-Manager Brazil Agro-Business Group Limited, briefing Mr Kwetey through an interpreter, said production was only 15 per cent of the expected 3,500 hectares, because there was slow response to requests for tax exemptions as incentives for machinery and other essential supplies.He said Ghana had huge potential in rice production, but the produce must be ―treated and promoted with the same parameters of quality as the imported rice‖.Mr Jaconi believed that in the future ―rice production will play a strategic role in the economic and social aspect of the country‖.Both the rice and cassava enclaves, have out- grower schemes, which bring along scores of locals into production.

At the Kpong Irrigation Offices, Mr Sampson Kwabla Tetteh-Ekpa, President of the Osudoku Agricultural Cooperative Society, told the Minister that members suffered 50 per cent postharvest losses.He said harvest was largely manual and that almost all equipment supplied the Cooperative Group, had broken down.The indication was that the Kpong Irrigation Dam was getting rickety, with pipes choky.Moses Adenusi, Project Co-ordinator of G-Corp, which provides, services for farmers and farming groups across the country said there was the need for farmers to have guaranteed source of quality rice seeds.He said brokered deals with millers against produce of farmers, under the aegis of G-Corp, had kept rice fields busy and the chain bustling.

Mr Peter Ajoeh, Agronomic Manager Golden Exotics, Ghana Limited, who took the Minister round the expansive banana fields, said plans were being pursued to eventually produce more and more of organic bananas, as the company had started the production of compost manure on www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 8

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine site.He said the company which produces 90 percent of export banana in Ghana was Fairtrade certificated.Mr Ajoeh said difficulty in the acquisition of land was delaying expansion of the farms.

Source: GNA

Savanna Agric Institute to enhance rice production The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) has secured a $1 million World Bank grant to enhance local rice cultivation in the northern ecological zones of the country.Dubbed the ―System of Rice Intensification (SRI),‖ the three-year project seeks to train rice farmers on the correct rice farming practices to ensure higher yields.It is being implemented by SARI in collaboration with the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAPP).

It will be implemented in six regions, namely the Northern, Upper East, Volta, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, and Kpong and Dahwenya in the Greater Accra Region.The initiative was first developed in Madagascar to train rice farmers in good farming practices and resources to ensure higher yields in rice production.Speaking at the launch, the Monitoring and Evaluation officer at WAPP, Mr Augustine Oppong Dankwa, said the project was going to train the farmers in the best rice farming techniques including seed treatment, soil preparation and the right quantities of manure and water to use during cultivation.

He said also that the application of too much water and seed by some rice farmers was not good for most of the rice farms.He explained that the farmers would be taken through field demonstrations on how to manage the amount of water and seeds during cultivation.Dr Dankwa urged the rice farmers to adopt the SRI initiative, since it as was effective, less tiresome and also helped the farmers to cultivate more rice from just little seeds.The Research Co-ordinator at SARI, Dr Wilson Dogbe, for his part, said most of the problems the rice sector faced were due to the challenges of climate change in the country.

He said although the rice sector had developed in the last 10 years, the country still produced only 30 per cent of rice, which he said was a very worrying state worrisome.Dr Dogbe added that the institution was going to develop new technologies and approaches to enable farmers grow rice in healthy and drought-free environments to promote the sector.Mr Amoah Duncan Raymond, a rice farmer in the Volta Region, in an interview, said the zone alone contributed 45 per cent of the rice produced in the region.He said some of the land in the zone were not suitable for the production of rice, since they were very rocky and hilly.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 9

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/artikel.php?ID=356128

APEDA India News International Benchmark Price Price on: 28-04-2015

Product

Benchmark Indicators Name

Price

Apricots 1

Turkish No. 2 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t)

5650

Turkish No. 4 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t) Turkish size 8, CIF UK (USD/t)

4125 3425

Greek provincial, CIF UK (USD/t)

1433

Greek Vostizza, CIF UK (USD/t)

1542

Australian 5 Crown, CIF UK (USD/t) Iranian natural sultanas (Gouchan), CIF UK (USD/t)

2934 1695

Turkish No 9 standard, FOB Izmir (USD/t)

1700

2 3 Currants 1 2 Sultanas 1 2 3 Source:agra-net

For more info

Market Watch Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 28-04-2015 Product

Domestic Prices Market Center

Variety

Unit Price : Rs per Qty Min Price Max Price

Jowar(Sorgham) 1 2

Rajula (Gujarat) Sangli (Maharashtra)

Other Other

1250 1700

2875 2700

3

Theni (Tamil Nadu)

Other

1200

1300

1 2

Derol (Gujarat) Koraput (Orissa )

Other Other

1300 1310

1300 1330

3

Haveri(Karnataka)

Local

1240

1260

Mousambi 1 2 3

Sirhind (Punjab) Aroor(Kerala) Mechua(West Bengal)

Other Other Other

2000 3000 2200

3000 3200 2700

Cauliflower 1

Aroor (Kerala)

Other

2500

2700

Bonai (Orissa) Gumla(Jharkhand)

Other Other

1500 1000

2000 1400

Maize

2 3 Source:agra-net

For more info

Egg

Rs per 100 No

Product 1 2

Market Center Mysore Nagapur

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 10

Price on 28-04-2015 Price 303 241

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 3 Source: e2necc.com

Namakkal

280

Other International Prices Product Onions Dry 1 2 3 Cucumbers 1 2 3 Grapefruit 1 2

Unit Price : US$ per package

Origin

Variety

Low

Price on 28-04-2015 High

Atlanta Baltimore

Mexico Texas

Yellow Yellow

24 18

Package: 50 lb sacks 25 18

Detroit

Nevada

Yellow

15

Baltimore Chicago

Canada Mexico

Long Seedless Long Seedless

11 13

Honduras

Long Seedless

10

Market Center

Miami Atlanta Baltimore

3 Miami Source:USDA

Florida Florida

Red Red

16 15

Florida

Red

13

15.50 Package: cartons film wrapped 12 13 10.50 Package: 4/5 bushel cartons 16 18 13

USA Rice Partners with Celiac Awareness Group on Video Urging consumers to get tested ARLINGTON, VA - May is Celiac Awareness Month, and USA Rice has partnered with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) to help draw attention to this often misunderstood genetic autoimmune disease with a video targeting television news."People with celiac disease are unable to safely eat food containing gluten something found in wheat, rye, and barley," explained Katie Maher, manager of domestic promotion for USA Rice.

"Since rice is naturally gluten-free, it constitutes a major food source for people with the disease, and our groups working together seemed obvious."USA Rice produced a three-minute video for distribution to television news stations around the country to help raise awareness and encourage people in "at-risk groups" to get tested - since as many as 83 percent of people with celiac disease are undiagnosed because they show no symptoms. Since the disease is genetic, anyone who has someone with celiac disease in their family is considered "at-risk," even if they show no symptoms.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 11

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The video contains interviews with a representative of NFCA, a world-renown gastroenterologist specializing in pediatric celiac disease, and representatives of the food service industry who are often on the front lines dealing with food allergies."Not only is the video informative, but it talks about the importance rice can play in treating this disease and it showcases a lot of rice being utilized," Maher added.The video will be released to the media tomorrow and will be available for all of May for use by local television news in its entirety or to help stations with their own stories. It coincides with NFCA's new PSA campaign, "Seriously, Celiac Disease" that urges family testing. You can preview the video here and learn more about NFCA at www.celiaccentral.org.

Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458

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). Prices are unchanged from the previous announcement.

World Price

MLG/LDP Rate

Milled Rough Value ($/cwt) ($/cwt)

Rough ($/cwt)

Long-Grain

15.44

10.00

0.00

Medium/Short-Grain

15.04

10.13

0.00

Brokens

9.31

----

----

This week's prevailing world market prices and MLG/LDP rates are based on the following U.S. milling yields and the corresponding loan rates: U.S. Milling Yields Whole/Broken (lbs/cwt)

Loan Rate ($/cwt)

Long-Grain

57.21/12.55

6.64

Medium-/ShortGrain

61.89/8.83

6.51

The next program announcement is scheduled for May 6, 2015.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 12

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for April 29 Month

Price

Net Change

May 2015

$10.160

+ $0.195

July 2015

$10.430

+ $0.195

September 2015

$10.700

+ $0.195

November 2015

$10.955

+ $0.195

January 2016

$11.205

+ $0.195

March 2016

$11.255

+ $0.195

May 2016

$11.255

+ $0.195

Japan needs to cut its rice farmers down to size

BY WILLIAM PESEK

BLOOMBERG APR 27, 2015 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been vowing for years to take on the vested interests impeding his country‘s economy. Until now, he hasn‘t done much to make good on those promises. But he was recently handed a perfect opportunity to do just that.Japan‘s 3.3 million rice growers, who together comprise only 2.5 percent of the population, now seem to be the biggest obstacle preventing Japan from completing one of history‘s biggest trade deals, the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership. By agreeing to cut Japan‘s tariffs on rice, Abe could save the TPP deal — and show the country‘s other powerful economic interests that he means business.Why is the rice lobby so powerful? It‘s a combination of history, culture and patronage.

An island nation poor in natural resources, Japan has long been obsessed with self-sufficiency, particularly when it comes to food. Rice isn‘t just the country‘s staple grain — it‘s an emotional symbol of nationalism; for millennia, Japanese have been taught that their cherished short-grain rice is the envy of the rest of the world. It‘s no coincidence that the Japanese word for rice, gohan, also means meal.In recent decades, rice has also become central to Japanese politics.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 13

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Farmers are the key constituency of Abe‘s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled with little interruption since 1955. Thanks to decades of careful gerrymandering, the votes of a few Japanese farmers working the land in Hokkaido or Kyushu now pack more punch than thousands of ballots cast in Tokyo or Osaka. No surprise, rice farmers have used their outsized influence to win massive tariffs on their foreign competitors.

Although it‘s easy to see why Abe‘s party would be reluctant to confront rice farmers over those tariffs, it would be well worth the effort. And this isn‘t just about saving the TPP deal. Twentyeight months into office, Abe desperately needs to initiate structural reforms to pull Japan‘s economy out of its rut. The Nikkei stock exchange has nearly doubled under his leadership, but those gains won‘t hold for long if the country‘s economic fundamentals don‘t justify them.

Abe‘s government has already made some efforts to dilute the power of farmers, but they‘ve been timid, at best. The LDP is revising the agriculture laws that regulate Japan‘s farm cooperatives. Set up in the 1940s to fight famine, those cooperatives have evolved into conglomerates that regulate supplies and sales, and dominate rural lending. Abe‘s government would like to open the farming industry to more diverse corporate ownership. It has also said it wants to double food exports, particularly beef, by 2020.But none of this addresses the so-called ―778 percent problem. ‖ That‘s how high Japan‘s rice import levies can run. Tariffs on sugar, another so-called sacred product, are as high as 328 percent. Japan should scrap these comically exorbitant taxes — or at least chop them down to double digits.If Abe does so, he should prepare for a prolonged fight.

Japanese farmers have plenty of practice at complaining about globalization, and it‘s not clear where the sympathies of the Japanese public would lie. Many Japanese profess concern that their national culture is in danger of being trampled by outside influences — and they‘re liable to include rice in their picture of national heritage.

The vast majority of Japanese still say they would never consider buying rice from Thailand, India, Vietnam, Pakistan or the United States, no matter how cheap.Abe would also have to muster the political will to take on his own party. He could start by following U.S. President Barack Obama‘s lead in framing a trade deal as a geopolitical imperative. The first casualty of China‘s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, after all, has been Tokyo‘s global stature.

A TPP trade deal would strengthen Japan‘s U.S. alliance, and link both countries with others nations that together comprise 40 percent of the world‘s gross domestic product.The TPP deal would also act as a Trojan horse for further domestic economic reform. Once Japan commits to opening its economy, its most inefficient businesses will have no choice but to change. Rice farms are undoubtedly among them, and Abe shouldn‘t shy from forcing them to get a head start. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/04/27/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-needs-to-cut-its-rice-farmers-down-tosize/#.VUDjgyFVhBc?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+April+29%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+13% 2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Tanzania: Pakistan Rice Imports Frustrate Farmers www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 14

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Tanzania

By Finnigan Wa Simbeye

IN Kilombero District, hundreds of kilometres from East African Community headquarters in Arusha, smallholder rice farmers are still struggling to sell their rice from 2012/13 season."Prices are still very low but have slightly appreciated from 600/- to 750/- a kilogramme on average," said Ms Christina Magwila.

The mother of four said prices plummeted by more than 50 per cent last year when Kilombero Plantation Limited, the single largest client of her rice, failed to buy the commodity from over 5,000 smallholder farmers due to saturated local market."I sold my rice at a loss because I needed school fees for my two secondary school girls and their primary school sibling," said Ms Magwila who like many other smallholder rice farmers in the country, is struggling to absorb the huge loss caused.

KPL Chief Executive Officer, Mr Carter Coleman said his company posted a whopping 4bn/loss as a result of the Pakistan rice imports in 2013 and a similar amount due to a 25 per cent price fall caused by a bumper harvest in 2013/14 season."Some 40,000 tonnes of cheap Pakistani rice that was exempt from the Common External Tariff of the East African Community was imported, dropping the wholesale price by 54 per cent and impoverishing hundreds of thousands of rice smallholders," Mr Coleman said while responding in an interview.The government had initially issued permits for the importation of 120,000 tonnes of rice to offset an alleged shortage in the local market but suspended the imports in March last year after an outcry by commercial and smallholder rice farmers.

KPL still had 1,000 tonnes of rice from the 2012 season and another 5,000 tonnes from 2013 season which could not be sold at a profitable price due to the cheap imports by mid last year.Local rice producers further faced problems to export the grain to Rwanda and Uganda because crooked traders blended local rice with Pakistan imports forcing governments of the two countries to slap a 75 per cent import duty. Coleman is angry with Ugandan authorities for continuing to impose the 75 per cent duty on Tanzanian rice exports contrary to EAC's Customs Union Protocol.

"There is no substantial Pakistani rice in Tanzania, please get your government to lift the tariff on our rice as you are bankrupting Tanzanian farmers," said Coleman in an emotional message directed at former Ugandan Ambassador to China, Philip Idro.In his response, Ambassador Idro argued that so long as local rice was blended with Pakistan rice, it will continue attracting hiked duty because it violates the rules of origin as per EAC Customs Protocol. "This means that we have to do our part and that is why Uganda is going ahead to hold onto the 75 per cent tax, even if alone," Ambassador Idro stressed.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 15

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine He warned that local rice producers who create jobs and add value to the economy should regularly update policy makers on the disaster which imported rice is causing on the EAC region's economies.But the jinx of Pakistan rice imports does not only seem to haunt local farmers, but also their peers in Kenya where the government has a bilateral agreement with Pakistan to swap tea and rice trading.Last week, a delegation of East African Farmers Federation led by its President Philip Kiriro, visited East Africa Cooperation Minister, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe and raised the issue of Pakistan rice imports frustrating regional trade.

EAFF Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Muchiri said Kenyan rice farmers are failing to exploit the EAC Customs Union Protocol because their commodity to Rwanda and Uganda is slapped with a 75 percent duty."You know Kenya has a trade agreement with Pakistan whereby they buy tea while we import their rice. Unscrupulous businessmen are mixing the Pakistan rice with local rice in Kenya which has attracted a 75 per cent import duty in Uganda and Rwanda," Mr Muchiri said."I understand this problem has also affected rice farmers here, I hope that you as Chairman of the Council of Ministers can help us address this," he pointed out saying EAFF is working with United States Agency for International Development in assisting farmers acquire skills, identify markets and observe quality and standards.

Currently after investing heavily in rice production, local farmers produce over 1.2 million metric tons of the commodity against annual demand of less than one million tonnes.Responding to the EAFF delegation's request, Dr Mwakyembe said he will raise the matter with his peers during the next Council of Ministers meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 3. "Much of this rice is smuggled into our region, we should find a solution against this," said Dr Mwakyembe.He pointed out that EAC's biggest trading prowess lies in agriculture produce which involves the majority of people in the region hence the need to protect the market for such commodities.

Dr Mwakyembe invited EAFF officials to make their presentation before an EAC Council of Ministers which will thereafter deliberate on the matter.Earlier this year, EAC Finance Ministers agreed a 35 per cent Common External Tariff (CET) on imported rice for the region, a move which has strongly been opposed by rice farmers and former Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister, Christopher Chiza.

"I was not consulted on this issue which is detrimental to our farmers," Engineer Chiza said promising to strongly oppose the attempt. He said Kenya which includes Pakistan rice on its list of sensitive products, imposes a 35 per cent duty hence wants the whole block to adopt the rate."My fear is that Kenyan rice imports with a lower rate will continue be smuggled into Tanzania," Eng Chiza who has since been shifted to Prime Minister's Office, warned. Finance Minister, Saada Mkuya Salum said the CET is negotiable and can be hiked by individual countries if need arises to curb cheap imports.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 16

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Seed foundation facility headed to Stuttgart Posted: Apr 29, 2015 7:29 AM PSTUpdated: Apr 29, 2015 7:29 AM PST

By Talk Business staff

The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board announced plans Tuesday to direct $2 million to help construct a seed foundation facility at the state's Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart.The facility will assist scientists and researchers to bring new higher yielding, high quality rice varieties to market so Arkansas farmers can profitably grow rice that meets worldwide demand.

The center, along with the new Foundation Seed Facility, is operated by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture.The new facility is expected to cost $8.6 million, and construction will begin this summer and be completed in 12 months.―The Rice Research and Promotion Board has always been forward-thinking in how it applies research to advance Arkansas agriculture, and we sincerely appreciate their commitment to ensuring Arkansas will remain the epicenter of rice production and rice research,‖ Mark Cochran, vice president for the UA System's Division of Agriculture, said. ―The board has been a valuable partner with us for more than 30 years now, and our united partnership means better results for our state's economy and all Arkansans.‖The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board consists of nine rice producers nominated by industry organizations and appointed by the governor.―The cooperative relationship between the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the Rice Research and Promotion Board and the rice farmers of Arkansas is alive and well, as evidenced by the construction of this new Foundation Seed Facility,‖ Marvin Hare, chairman of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, said. ―This commitment is an excellent example of the great things we can accomplish when the entire rice industry works together toward the common goal of sustainable rice production in Arkansas.‖The $2 million for the new facility will come through tariff rate quota funds generated for domestic rice research from the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which established an annual tariff rate quota for U.S. rice exported to Colombia.The funds are reserved only for research efforts and are allocated by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board.The Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board and the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board have both previously made contributions to the new facility as well.

SEED FACILITY WILL SUPPORT ARKANSAS FARMERS The facility will contain both seed cleaning and storage capabilities with the ability to serve more than 25 rice, soybean and wheat varieties each year. Along with the ability to clean seeds to Plant www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 17

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Board-specified guidelines, the facility will be able to handle both genetically modified and nongenetically modified seeds. Cold storage will also be available for long-term seed storage.

The new facility will continue cooperative research efforts between the promotion board and the Division of Agriculture that have already resulted in the development of new technologies related to fertility, pest control, irrigation, and weed control, in addition to the development of new rice varieties.

BOARD CONTINUES SUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURE RESEARCH The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board was formed in 1985 by the General Assembly to administer the rice check-off program.Under the program, rice farmers contribute 1.35 cents per bushel for rice research and the first buyer of rice contributes 1.35 cents per bushel for promotion and market development efforts.The program provides approximately $2.5 million to $3 million annually for research efforts conducted by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture.

Ali Baba: A Shawarma Oasis Ali Baba Grill brings speedy — and tasty — no-frills Middle Eastern street eats to deep East Oakland.

By Luke Tsai @theluketsai

Ali Baba Grill 10151 1/2 Foothill Blvd., Oakland 510-632-2222 Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Fri. 1-2:30 p.m.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 18

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Reservations not accepted Cash, all major credit cards Sample Menu Combo Shawarma ... $8.99 Fried Chicken Wings (6) ... $5.99 Gyro Sandwich ... $5.99 Philly Cheesesteak ... $5.99 Hummus ... $2.99 If you're looking for the comforts of a sit-down restaurant experience, Ali Baba, a Palestinianowned shawarma and kebab joint that opened recently deep in East Oakland, might not be what you have in mind. The restaurant is just as small as the "1/2" in its street address indicates — maybe a hundred square feet, occupying the smaller half of a building whose primary tenant is a fairly standard liquor store. You order through a plexiglass takeout window, and the only available seating is a window counter and a single round table, around which three of us sat on high stools on a recent weeknight, trying in vain to fit our bevy of styrofoam containers — each filled to overflowing with grilled meats, turmeric-tinged basmati rice, and wedges of warm pita bread — onto the limited surface area.

But if you've explored Oakland's endlessly surprising food scene for long enough, then you know that this is the part of my review where I talk about how there is more than meets the eye. And that's true in this case yet again. Ali Baba is located on a stretch of Foothill Boulevard mostly occupied by auto repair shops in a section of town that could perhaps best be described as a kind of food desert.But I'll be back — mostly for the shawarma, the Middle Eastern take on a spitgrilled meat preparation that's a close cousin to the Greek gyro and the Turkish doner kebab. In America, this mostly consists of a compressed-meat mixture of minced, heavily seasoned lamb and beef that, in its final form, falls somewhere on the spectrum between a sausage patty and a lamb-y stir-fry, with a saltiness and a crisp-edged tenderness that will appeal to both the Spam lover and the connoisseur of charcuterie.

I'm told that shawarma tastes best when the meat is shaved directly off the vertical spit, though for takeout orders, which form the bulk of Ali Baba's business, it seems the cooks mostly grill pre-cut slices on the flat-top. In any case, I had no complaints. Nine dollars buys a combo shawarma plate (mine came with the lamb and chunks of well-seared and well-seasoned chicken). The meat had been tossed with grilled onions and bell peppers, everything seasoned beautifully. The rice was perfectly cooked. And a house-made cucumber-yogurt sauce provided just enough tartness to cut into the shawarma's salty richness. I ate it like a rice bowl, mixing in fiery chili-seed-flecked Asian-style sambal and the yogurt sauce to taste. There was also toasted pita so that you could make your own little sandwich.

The East Bay is not without its share of exemplary sit-down Middle Eastern restaurants, including downtown Oakland's small cluster of Afghan kebab houses. But the kind of quick-anddirty Mediterranean street meat that reigns supreme in say, Chicago's Greektown, or that you can buy from the ubiquitous Halal chicken carts of New York City, is a relative rarity here in the Bay Area. (A half-hour wait is part and parcel of the experience, even at a casual, takeout-oriented

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 19

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine place like Temescal's Oasis Food Market, which, in Oakland, is Ali Baba's only peer in the shawarma-grilling arts.).According to Ali Jaber, the restaurant's owner, namesake, and chef, this is Ali Baba's biggest selling point — that the food is served quickly, even though everything is cooked fresh to order, and most of the ingredients are all prepared in-house and are of a higher quality than you might expect. The meats are all Halal-certified, and many of them soak for at least 24 hours in Jaber's top-secret marinade before they hit the grill.

The marinade is key to Ali Baba's other signature item, its kebabs, or grilled meat skewers — the oblong lamb meatballs known as kefta kebab, and, for the less adventurous, spice-rubbed, golden-yellow cubes of chicken breast — slightly dry, in the way that grilled chicken breast tends to be, but delicious when dunked into that bright, tangy yogurt sauce.Even though Jaber is Palestinian, Ali Baba also dabbles in the other Mediterranean cuisines, including a no-nonsense version of a gyro sandwich that consisted almost entirely of meat, with just a dab of tzatziki and a little bit of lettuce and tomato to lighten it up. (The meat, incidentally, was the same as for the shawarma, as far as I could tell — just cut into thicker slices and served with different condiments.).

The falafel and hummus combination suffered only in comparison to the restaurant's more meatcentric pleasures. The uniform, sesame-seed-flecked, and vaguely fancier-shaped falafels — "made here from A to Z," according to Jaber — were just fine, even if they weren't quite as crunchy or as light as the best versions in town. The hummus, on the other hand, was top-notch — airy in texture, just garlicky and lemony enough, and crowned with a generous drizzle of high-quality olive oil. A side order, served with a foil-wrapped bundle of toasted pita, will only cost you $2.99 — it's hard for me to imagine a trip to Ali Baba without picking up a tub.

Like many of the ethnic eateries in deep East Oakland, Ali Baba has a handful of menu items designed to appeal to local tastes, which run more toward traditional soul food — batter-fried fish and shrimp being the most obvious concession here. (The restaurant's previous tenant was a fish fry joint, after all.).Yet even the most blatantly Americanized parts of the menu yielded pleasant surprises. For instance, while the fried chicken wings were served with a tub of traditional Buffalo-style dipping sauce on the side, these were a step above your typical soggy, mass-produced victims of freezer burn. Instead, Ali Baba's cooks toss the wings in fresh herbs, spices, and panko-like bread crumbs to order, resulting in flats and drumettes with exceptional crunch, packed with enough flavor to render the hot sauce mostly irrelevant.

Meanwhile, the Slow-Food-powers-that-be and the Food Authenticity Police will surely seek to revoke my credentials after I ordered the heavily processed, decidedly un-Palestinian Philly cheesesteak. A cheesesteak at a shawarma joint? Once the cook started to make my sandwich, though, it made perfect sense. The melted cheese was standard American, and the bread was a squishy sesame roll that fell apart too easily. But the meat was neither freshly grilled steak, nor the pre-frozen Steak-umm supermarket variety, but rather slices of that same tender, heavily seasoned shawarma meat I'd previously enjoyed over basmati rice. The technique was the same — meat stacked atop a pile of sliced mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions on the flattop so that the vegetables soaked up all of the juices and rendered fat as they cooked down. Meanwhile, the cook used metal spatulas to chop away at the shawarma right on the grill, in true Philly style.Oh sure, it was a bit of a salt bomb — salty meat combined with salty processed cheese. But I'm not ashamed to admit I polished the whole thing off. www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 20

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874