2nd october,2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

2nd October, 2014

Rice NEWS HEADLINES…

 Azerbaijanis eat more rice  Thailand Halts Buying Crops as Junta Seeks Sales  Thailand approves $11 billion measures to lift economic growth  MOAC to assist 260,000 rice farmers to cope with oncoming drought  Plan to shift farmers from rice opposed  Taiwan Restaurant Chain Importing U.S. Rice  Application Deadline for Rice Leadership Program Nears  Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported  Govt gives cash boost to farmers 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.

Azerbaijanis eat more rice

blood pressure, help weight loss efforts,

1 OCTOBER 2014, 13:00 (GMT+05:00)

improve

Azerbaijanis are fond of their traditional foods,

which

are served at most gatherings.

One of these foods

is

the

delicious spicy Pilaf. Pilaf is the most common dish at Azerbaijani weddings and great

system

and

provide

protection against some disease.

By Nigar Orujova

other

immune

ceremonies.

Known

in

Azerbaijani as Ash and Plov, the dish is believed to come to Azerbaijan from Iran and India. Today, Azerbaijani cuisine has

These features have made it a fundamental food in many cultural cuisines around the world.This important cereal crop feeds more than half of the world's population. It is easy to cook. It is tasty and affordable in price.The Chairman of the Sustainable Development Research Center, Nariman Agayev says the rise in rice eating in Azerbaijan is connected with increase of population's income, and the more accurate calculation

of

this

product's

consumption.Most of the rice is imported to the country from abroad.

dozens of types of pilafs.Rice in Azerbaijani Pilaf is never sticky. The pilaf is usually

Azerbaijan mostly imports rice from India,

served

the

Pakistan, and Thailand, as the country's

accompanying sauces and stews in separate

climate makes it possible to produce rise

bowls.

only in two southern regions of Lankaran

The latest statistics show that rice eating has

and Astara.Local production meets the

increased 40 percent in Azerbaijan, which is

demand for rice only at 17 percent, and there

over 28,400 tons per year. Annual rate of

is no huge capacity in production of this

rice eating per capita is 7.4 kg in the

valuable crop in the country. However, the

country.Rice is a very healthy product,

production of rice has increased in 36

which is able to provide fast and instant

percent in recent years.There is an increase

energy. It stabilizes blood sugar levels and

in reaping of rice not cleaned from husk in

provides an essential source of vitamin B1.It

Azerbaijan. In 2013, the figure reached

can also boost skin health, increase the

49,000 tons. The areas under this rice are

metabolism, help digestion, reduce high

also expanding.

in

a

special

plate

with

Thailand Halts Buying Crops as Junta Seeks Sales

By Supunnabul Suwannakij October 02, 2014 Harvested rice collects in a catch bin from a combine during harvest in a field in Bang Pla Maa, Suphan Buri province, Thailand.

Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg Thailand’s junta is changing tack on agricultural policy, saying it will eschew buying farm products directly from growers as state purchases spur overproduction, distort the market and create stockpiles that are hard to sell.The government will instead look at measures to support earnings, based on incomes plus the payment of a sum to ensure farmers are able to make a living, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Petipong Puengbun Na Ayudhya said in an interview.

billion) buying rice and rubber at abovemarket rates.

The rice-buying program, which was described by the Food & Agriculture Organization as unsustainable, spurred the buildup of record reserves. Petipong said that one of his long-term tasks is to restructure farm output, focusing on quality over quantity. “We don’t want to use taxpayers’ money to disrupt the free, commercial system,” said Petipong, a 67year-old former bureaucrat. “It’s easy to buy stockpiles but difficult to sell them at the right time and the right place. In the long run, this isn’t going to work.”

Rural Voters Benchmark Thai rice prices dropped in May

There’ll also be incentives for growers to switch crops to curb oversupply, notably rice to sugar, said Petipong. The country is

to the lowest level since at least 2008 amid ample supplies, then rebounded 13 percent as the military administration restricted movement of reserves. Rubber in Tokyo and Thailand extended losses today to the lowest level in more than five years.“Removing distortion from the market is a good step,” Santitarn Sathirathai, an economist at Credit Suisse Group AG, said by phone from Singapore today.

the second-largest rice exporter and the biggest rubber shipper.The military seized power in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy four months ago, toppling the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, which spent about 900 billion baht ($28

“It will allow rice prices, which have been suppressed from oversupply, to improve, while high costs of rice production will be alleviated.”Junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who’s taken the post of prime minister, has

said he was forced to take over to avoid clashes between supporters of Yingluck and opponents, who’d accused her of corruption and buying the support of rural voters.

Yingluck won a parliamentary majority in 2011 after pledging to buy rice directly from farmers to lift incomes.

Thailand will spend 40 billion baht to boost rice farmers’ incomes with a one-time payment of 1,000 baht per rai (1,600 square meters) of land to compensate them for low prices this year, Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said at a briefing yesterday. The program is capped at 15 rai per farmer.

State Spending While agriculture accounts for about 8

data.The program was “simply unsustainable and hurting the finances of the country,” Concepcion Calpe, a senior economist at the FAO, said in February. The junta is auditing rice holdings to check quantity and quality, while seeking overseas sales amid concern that some of the reserves may have spoiled.

‘Bad Rice’ “In the past three to four years, we have lots of bad rice because of the policy of buying every grain,” said Petipong. Thailand needs to produce quality products instead of quantity products, and to lower production costs, he said.The changes may help Thailand to regain its position as the largest rice exporter, according to Credit Suisse’s Santitarn. India surpassed Thailand as the

percent of gross domestic product, rural residents make up almost 87 percent of Thailand’s 67 million population. Prayuth has pledged to quicken state spending, promote investment and create jobs to spur growth. The economy expanded 0.9 percent in the second quarter, rebounding from a contraction in the first three months.Rice production surged to a record under Yingluck’s administration as farmers were

biggest shipper in 2012 and maintained that ranking last year.

paid to produce the crop, which they sold to the state at guaranteed rates.

them,” said Petipong. “We need to help the poorest of the poor. We have to think very carefully about how to do this without distorting the whole system.”

Ending stockpiles more than doubled to 12.8 million tons between 2011 and last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture

The government has put on hold the planned sale of 200,000 tons of rubber from state stockpiles to ensure the raw material is sold at a reasonable price, said Petipong. Rubber farmers had threatened to protest this month against falling prices.“If there is any help for small farmers, it will have to go directly to

To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net Jake Lloyd-Smith, Tony Jordan

Thailand approves $11 billion measures to lift economic growth

BY PRACHA HARIRAKSAPITAK AND PAIRAT TEMPHAIROJANA BANGKOK Wed Oct 1, 2014 7:05am EDT Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha waves after a handover ceremony for the new Royal Thai Army Chief at the Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok September 30, 2014.

CREDIT: PERAWONGMETHA

REUTERS/ATHIT

(Reuters) - Thailand's military government approved plans for stimulus measures worth a combined 364 billion baht ($11.2 billion) on Wednesday in a bid to revive an economy laid low by months of political unrest.

Southeast Asia's second-

largest economy suffered a virtual paralysis in policy-making and uncertainty among investors in the months leading up to a military coup in May. Weak exports added to Thailand's woes as its economy contracted 0.1 percent in the first half of this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said the measures announced would help the economy return to its normal growth of 4-5 percent next year."After the termination of the marathon political protest and the establishment of the currentgovernment , there is a good chance for the economy to set off for steady growth again," he told reporters.Speaking after a cabinet meeting on the first day of Thailand's fiscal year, Pridiyathorn said the economy would begin feeling the benefits in the current quarter.

"Overall, the measures to stimulate the whole economy will use a total of 324.5 billion baht ($10 billion)," he said, adding that an additional 40 billion baht would be spent on one-off payments to farmers to support rice production."Current rice prices are lower than costs, so the government must help. But it will be for this year only," he said.

The other measures would target creating jobs and income as well as repairing schools, hospitals and irrigation systems, Pridiyathorn said."This is high-powered money that will boost income for people

with the least income," he said.The total value of the measures given by Pridyathorn, who is in charge of economic matters, was around three times the size of a figure given hours earlier by the prime minister.General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the military coup, had said that his government had approved measures worth over 100 billion baht.

Prayuth, whose government is expected to remain in power for at least a year before new elections are called, has said populist policies or costly projects that might burden a future administration will be avoided.Protests that had precipitated the ousting of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had focused on populist policies her critics said were used to buy votes.

USING UNSPENT FUNDS Pridiyathorn gave a breakdown of how the government would budget for the 324.5 billion baht. He said 129.5 billion baht had been added to the new 2015 budget, while 147 billion baht that remained unspent from the fiscal year just ended would be used.

And some 48 billion baht of unused government funds had been found, going back as far as 2005, he added.How fast the government could put the money into action was crucial for the economy's recovery, according to analysts."The subsidy for rice farmers could shore up their consumption in the near term.

On construction projects, the impact may take time. Speeding up disbursements is key for the government to tackle," Kampon Adireksombat, economist with Tisco Securities, said.Wednesday's cabinet meeting was the third since the appointment of a cabinet stacked with military figures last month and the most significant to date.The junta had already administered what was effectively a swift cash injection into the rural economy shortly after taking power by paying billions of dollars owed to rice farmers through a failed subsidy scheme that was created by Yingluck's government.The military government has also extended tax breaks and subsidies for some fuel and public transport.Last week, the central bank cut its forecast for 2014 export growth to zero from 3 percent but maintained that the economy can expand 1.5 percent this year.For 2015, it predicts economic growth of 4.8 percent, down from 5.5 percent seen previously. ($1=32.4 baht) (Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing

by Simon Cameron-Moore)

MOAC to assist 260,000 rice farmers to cope with oncoming drought BANGKOK, 2 October 2014 (NNT) Permanent-Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) Chawalit Chukachorn has revealed that the

ministry has come up with measures to help rice farmers deal with the oncoming drought season. According to Mr. Chawalit, the water levels in many reservoirs across the nation have reached a critically low level.

Therefore, he has requested farmers living near the Chao Phraya’s riverbanks in 22 provinces to refrain from double crop farming activities.

The ministry has also come up with alternative ways to assist at least 260,000 local farmers by paying them 300 baht per day to carry out canal dredging operations for a period of four months. Each household is expected to receive at least 24,000 baht per month through this program. Dredging up the canals would allow water to flow from natural river sources to irrigate their farms. It is estimated that the project would require a budget of 2 billion baht. Mr. Chawalit stated that he would on October 3rd request the Interior Ministry to avoid declaring 22 provinces as drought disaster zones.Meanwhile, distinguished scholar Mr. Niphon Puapongsakorn said that the 300 baht wage per day policy would be an important economic stimulus measure to help out the farmers.

Plan to shift farmers from rice opposed

OPPOSITION has begun to emerge against a plan to encourage farmers to abandon rice and grow different crops - in return for financial compensation.The plan aims to tackle problems arising from drought and low rice prices.Water shortages have frequently threatened paddy fields. For example, rice farmers in at least one province yesterday staged a rally in front of a local irrigation office to demand that a dam release water into their areas.

Northeastern Rice Farmers Association president Panupong Pattarakhon-ngam yesterday said he was aware of the drought threat, but he could not agree with the government plan."Such a plan doesn't tackle the problems at their root. If drought poses a threat, the government should provide efficient irrigation," he said.

The Department of Agricultural Extension has begun work on the scheme to encourage farmers to switch to other types of produce such as energy crops. In return, they would be offered Bt5,000 compensation per rai in the first year, Bt3,000 per rai in the second, and Bt2,000 per rai in the third year.At present, paddy fields cover about 70 million rai (11.2 million hectares) of land in Thailand.

Jitima Janphrom, Saichon Srinuanjan, Wattana Khamchu The Nation October 2, 2014 1:00 am Govt notes drought woes, low prices

Panupong described such a plan as a populist scheme that would hurt rice farmers in the long run."We grow rice not just for sale. We grow it for our family's consumption too," he said.He said the size of paddy fields in Thailand had already been

shrinking naturally in response to demandand-supply mechanisms.On the rice price, Panupong said the problem was now serious because the government was still trying to release a vast amount of rice from its stockpiles.The rice-pledging scheme was one of the previous government's populist programmes.It ended with a huge stockpile and financial losses because it offered rice farmers too high a price, critics say.It still owes money to some participating farmers.

Several of these farmers yesterday submitted a petition to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha via the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the PM's Office, calling for faster payments to clear up the arrears.The 121 farmers from Nakhon Sawan and Phichit provinces lamented they had been waiting for payments amounting to Bt20 million from the scheme for nearly a year.The farmers have threatened to stage a protest if the payment does not arrive by October 15.

Taiwan Restaurant Chain Importing U.S. Rice Directly

KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN -- TaiShihFu, one of the largest local restaurant chains here with 51 stores, began importing U.S. rice directly in early 2014 for use in their popular meal box."TaiShihFu's management reached out to our promotions team about importing U.S. rice directly," said Bill Farmer, the USA Rice Federation's director of Asia Programs. "We encouraged them to test additional U.S. rice samples from the local market to evaluate quality and texture, and we were pleased they determined that use of U.S. rice could improve the quality of their meal products."U.S. rice makes the meal Farmer said the promotions group helped TaiShihFu navigate the tendering process and the company began participating in SBS-USA tender bidding in 2013. They were awarded 230 metric tons last year, and 300 metric tons so far this year.TaiShihFu has announced plans for significant expansion throughout Taiwan, which should translate into growing use of U.S. rice accordingly.

Contact: Jim Guinn (703) 236-1474

Application Deadline for Rice Leadership Program Nears

STUTTGART, AR -The deadline for submitting applications for the Rice Leadership Development program is this Saturday, October 4. Rice producers and other industry-related professionals are encouraged to apply for the next class, which will be announced in December at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, AR. For more information on the program or an application form, visit http://www.usarice.com.

Contact: Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

Govt gives cash boost to farmers B364bn stimulus wins approval from cabinet Published: 2 Oct 2014 at 06.00 Newspaper section: News Writer: Chatrudee Theparat & Patsara Jikkham The cabinet has approved a cash injection of up to 15,000 baht each for more than three million rice farmers nationwide as part of its 364.5billion-baht stimulus package launched yesterday.

The package approved by Gen Prayut Chan-ocha's cabinet is aimed at boosting the economy over the next three months.The cash injection to low-income rice farmers worth 40 billion baht is crucial in helping stimulate the economy, said Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 66,800 MT for 2014/2015 were up 44 percent from the previous week and 62 percent from the prior four-week average, according to today's Export Sales Highlights report.

Increases were reported for Haiti (23,800 MT), unknown destinations (14,600 MT), Japan (12,000 MT), the United Kingdom (3,300 MT), and Honduras (3,000 MT). Exports of 29,400 MT were down 57 percent from the previous week and 18 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were to Haiti (14,300 MT), Mexico (4,300 MT), Jordan (2,700 MT), Canada (2,500 MT), and South Korea (2,000 MT).This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period September 1925.

who oversees economic affairs.

"This measure will really boost the economy since we will directly pay cash into farmers' deposit accounts," he said.Under the scheme to be paid by Oct 20, some 1.8 million households,

each possessing no more than 15 rai of farmland, will get the one-time aid for cultivation costs at a rate of 1,000 baht a rai.Another 1.6 million households, each of which owns more than 15 rai, will get 15,000 baht per household.A total 3.4 million households are eligible for the aid.They have already registered and have accounts with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC)."This is not a populist scheme. It simply helps stimulate the economy and helps farmers cope with their financial burden," MR Pridiyathorn said.

"We don't want to gain popularity among farmers but we want to help those who really need help," said the deputy prime minister.He said the value of rice is currently low at around 8,000 baht per tonne and it tends to drop lower once supplies from the new rice crop enter the market in November.Prime Minister Prayut said economic indicators had been less than ideal over the past few months on the heels of the sluggish world economy.The government was trying its best to solve the country's problems systematically, he added."We're tackling the issues no government has ever dared touch. If this backfires on us, so be it," he said.

"We have to keep in mind our problems are deep-rooted and we're trying to address them sustainably," he said.Other stimulus measures include expediting payment of 129 billion baht from the 2015 investment budget across all ministries.Another 147 billion baht will be spent on projects under the 2014 Budget which are slated to be implemented in the last three months of the present fiscal year.Another 23 billion baht from the remaining Thai Khem Kaeng project will be spent on repair work under the Education and Public Health ministries as well as on irrigation projects.

The spending will include construction and repair work for 8,000 schools, thousands of hospitals throughout the country, damaged roads caused by the 2011 floods, and the dredging of canals and waterways."This measure is aimed at creating new jobs nationwide which will boost people's purchasing power, particularly in rural areas," he said.The government would also accelerate the spending of money left over from budgets since 2005 worth a total 24.9 billion baht."These measures should be able to drive Thailand's economic growth for the rest of this year and into next year," MR Pridiyathorn said.He projected next year's economic growth will be at 4-5%.

The Thai economy has struggled over the past few months, with exports dropping by 7.4% in August, the largest decline in 32 months.

Inflation was at 1.75% in September, the lowest level this year, mainly due to lower oil prices, the Commerce Ministry reported yesterday.In another development, the State Enterprises Policy Commission, chaired by Gen Prayut, resolved yesterday to have the second-phase development of Suvarnabhumi airport be the first state enterprise project to use the the Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) system.The system was jointly designed by the United Kingdom and the World Bank to promote transparency and accountability in the construction sector.Kulit Sombatsiri, directorgeneral of the State Enterprise Policy Office, said the commission assigned the agency to apply for membership of CoST on Sept 22.The board has agreed to use this system to promote transparency in construction, procurement projects and joint investments for large state enterprises.

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