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BAAC: Plenty of cash on hand for loans â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

Published: 5 Oct 2013 at 00.00 Newspaper section: Business

The state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) is talking up a liquidity surplus of 160 billion baht available for new loans. Executive vice-president Somsak Kangteerawat says the excess liquidity is sufficient for loan expansion through regular business operations. The BAAC has been a source of funding for the government's rice pledging scheme. It has already spent 167 billion baht on top of 90 billion required by the government to finance the rice subsidy so far, as the 500-billion-baht budget set by the cabinet has been fully used. Of the total 500-billion-baht revolving budget, 410 billion was derived from money borrowed by the BAAC but guaranteed by the Finance Ministry, and the remaining 90 billion was from the bank itself. The rice pledging scheme, a vote-winning policy of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, has been lashed by several economists for initially setting a guaranteed price 40-50% above the global market price with no limit on buying volume. Despite losses of 137 billion baht in the first harvest year of the scheme, the government recently approved a 270-billion-baht budget to renew the scheme for this harvest year with slight changes. Under the new conditions, the pledging price for paddy from the main crop has been set at 15,000 baht a tonne for white rice and 20,000 baht for Hom Mali rice, with the pledged amount capped at 350,000 baht per farm household. The main crop runs from Oct 1 this year to Feb 28, 2014. The price for second-crop paddy has been set at 13,000 baht a tonne, capped at 300,000 baht for each household. The second crop runs from March 1-Sept 30, 2014. Mr Somsak said the government has not asked the BAAC for additional funds for the main crop of this harvest year. Although the government has approved the 270-billion-baht budget, whether this includes or excludes the 500-billion-baht budget remains unclear. As of this past Monday, the Commerce Ministry had repaid the state-owned bank 140 billion baht from selling stockpiled rice. The government bought 14.8 million tonnes from the main crop and 6-7 million tonnes from the second crop in the second harvest year compared with 21.7 million tonnes bought during the first harvest year. Separately, the BAAC yesterday launched a new savings deposit product carrying average interest of 1.42% excluding lucky draws, with a goal of 10 billion baht in deposits. It plans to raise 82 billion baht in deposits in its fiscal year ending next March 31. During the first six months to September, the bank saw its deposits increase by 35 billion baht, raising total deposits to 1.035 trillion.

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Agriculture council to begin tracking imported rice By Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter

In response to the false labeling of packaged rice products by major rice mills and distributors, including the mixing of cheaper imported rice with domestic rice, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基 ) said the council will set up an inventory system within two weeks to monitor imported rice. Reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Economic Committee yesterday, Chen said the council is planning to amend the Food Administration Act (糧食管理法 ) to ban mixing of imported rice and domestic rice in packaged rice products. The planned amendment will also allow the council to order rice companies committing serious violations to halt operations immediately or have their food trading license withdrawn, he said, adding that the upper limit of fines imposed for serious cases will be increased from NT$200,000 (US$6,800) to a maximum of NT$3 million. However, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺 ) questioned how the council plans to manage the quality of rice that restaurants, snack bars and the catering industry serve — as the rice they use is not packaged. She also questioned whether the council has any clue where the 144,000 tonnes of rice imported into Taiwan every year goes after passing customs inspections. As 65 percent of imported rice is purchased by the government as public grain, and often ends up being donated to low-income families or used for school lunch programs, she said if the Council does not monitor its

movement it may be taking the lead in mixing imported and domestic rice. In response, Chen admitted that the council does not monitor the distribution of imported rice at present, but will develop an inventory system and standard operating procedures to do so within two weeks. He also agreed that the COA will consult with the Ministry of Health and Welfare within a week on whether the catering industry should be required to reveal the sources of rice, similar to the mandatory labeling of beef sources. Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信 ) suggested that domestic rice grown in different areas should also be labeled to show where it was produced to avoid situations in which, for example, peaches from other parts of the nation are labeled as being from Lalashan (拉拉山 ) and sold at premium prices. Chen said it is not as easy to distinguish rice grown in different parts of the same country as it is to identify imported rice, but the council has encouraged the establishment of local labeling systems at township levels. So far this has helped in the establishment of nine local tea origin labeling schemes. This story has been viewed 358 times.

PHL rice stock good for 46 days–BAS report • •

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Category: Agri-Commodities 07 Oct 2013

THE country’s total rice inventory as of September 1 reached 1.53 million metric tons (MMT) which would be good for 46 days, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (Bas) said in its monthly report. Rice inventory as of September 1 was 6.1 percent higher than last year’s record of 1.44 MMT. Of the rice inventory, the National Food Authority (NFA) accounted for 32.4 percent. NFA depositories had 500,000 metric tons (MT) of milled rice. Households accounted for 35 percent of rice stocks, or 540,000 MT in September. The remaining 32.6 percent of rice stocks were held by commercial warehouses, the Bas said. “Compared with the 2012 records, this year’s stock levels in the households and commercial warehouses were higher by 1.3 percent and 27.2 percent, respectively. On the other hand, stocks in NFA depositories decreased by 4.8 percent,” the Bas report read. The attached agency of the Department of Agriculture said that compared with the previous month’s level, rice stocks in the households and commercial warehouses decreased by 15.9 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively. “In NFA depositories, volume of stocks, of which 41.5 percent were imported rice, was also lower by 22.2 percent,” the Bas report read. Meanwhile, the Bas said total corn stock inventory as of September 1 was estimated at 267,400 MT. This is 30.1 percent higher than last year’s record of 205,500 MT. “About 62.5 percent of September’s inventory was with the households and 33.8 percent were with the commercial warehouses. The NFA depositories accounted for 3.7 percent of the current stock level,” the Bas report read. Compared with last year’s levels, stocks in all sectors also went up. Household stock grew by 24.3 percent and those in commercial warehouses by 27.5 percent. Those in NFA depositories increased to 10,000 MT this year. Household stocks pegged at 167,100 MT was higher by 223.2 percent, while those in NFA depositories was 85.2 percent higher compared to the previous month’s stock level.

In Photo: Workers from the National Food Authority are arranging sacks of rice in the agency’s warehouse in Taguig. The country’s rice inventory as of September 1 reached 1.53 million metric tons. (Roy Domingo)

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After an almost 32 per cent drop in wheat procurement, government’s rice purchases in 2012-13, too, have fallen by three per cent to 34.1 million tonnes (mt) primarily because of low procurement in main producing states of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The rice procurement season runs from October to September. However, experts said this is unlikely to have any impact on the ambitious National Food Security Bill as stock in state-run warehouses is much more than the required quantity. In FY14, government has purchased around 26 mt of wheat till September, as against 38.1 mt in the whole of FY13. Though officially the wheat procurement season lasts till March, but more than 96 per cent of the crop is purchased in the first four months itself. The low procurement this year was because of increased purchases by private traders and a fall in overall wheat production. Meanwhile, Food Corporation of India (FCI) purchased 34.1 mt of rice from farmers in 2012-13, while last year it had purchased 35 mt. The decline in procurement has been in Andhra Pradesh, where purchases fell from 9.6 mt to 6.45 mt, while in Uttar Pradesh it fell from 3.35 mt to 2.28 mt. “Procurement has dropped because of increased purchases by private traders and also low output,” a senior government official said. Ashok Gulati , chairman of the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) told Business Standard that the drop in procurement of paddy is good as the government has ample stocks and this is not reflective of any long-term trend. According to FCI data, rice stock in central pool was estimated to be 21 mt, three times more than the required quantity of seven mt, while wheat stock was estimated to be 38.3 mt, as against the required quantity of 14 mt. The data showed that rice procurement in Punjab, Haryana and Chhattisgarh remained higher than the previous year. The government's rice purchase from Punjab rose to 8.55 mt in 2012-13 from 7.73 mt in the previous year. In Chattisgarh , it grew to 4.8 mt from 4.11 mt, while procurement from Haryana increased to 2.5 mt from 1.6 mt in the review period, according to the FCI data. FCI and state procurement agencies procured common variety paddy at Rs 1,250 a quintal and A-grade variety paddy at Rs 1,280 last year. Procured paddy was later milled into rice. The country had harvested 104.4 mt of rice in the 2012-13 marketing year.

Authorities asked to control imported rice to prevent mislabeling 2013/10/07 19:08:48

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) Agriculture authorities promised Monday at the urging of lawmakers to control imported rice after it has entered the domestic market, to prevent controversies such as imported rice being mislabeled as locally grown or consumers at restaurants mistaking imported rice they are served as being locally produced. The Council of Agriculture (COA) will complete a listing of imported rice channels within two weeks and also reinforce rice labeling measures, Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji pledged at a hearing of the Legislative Yuan's Economics Committee. Lawmakers at the hearing expressed grave concerns over an August scandal that saw Miaoli County-based Chyuan Shun Food Enterprise Co. -- one of three largest rice

mills and distributors in Taiwan -- selling rice labeled as Taiwan-grown but which was in fact much cheaper imported rice. Legislator Lin Tai-hua of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party said Taiwan imports 144,000 tons of rice every year under the obligatory import quota set by the World Trade Organization. The volume and place of origin of these imports are clearly documented when they enter Taiwan, she noted. However, the imported rice is lost track of as soon as it enters the domestic market, Lin went on. She voiced concern that the cheaper imported rice could find its way into government's granaries before being used to make public school lunches or military meals with no-one knowing where the rice comes from. This could attract public criticism of the government, Lin said. Promising to push businesses to label their rice with geographic origin, Chen said the COA will also work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to ensure that lunch box vendors and eateries around the country note the origin of the rice they use. Meanwhile, the COA is working on a proposal to increase the fine for mislabeling food products from between NT$40,000 (US$1,362) and NT$200,000 to up to NT$3 million, according to Chen. Chyuan Shun was caught in late August selling mislabeled rice and was fined NT$200,000 -- the maximum penalty possible -- for the inconsistency between the product and its labeling. A full recall of the company's problematic product -- a 4-kg pack of long-grain rice sold under the Sunsuivi brand name -- was then demanded. In addition, because the incident suggested bad management, the firm's right to use Taiwan Certified Agricultural Standards labeling was withdrawn. (By Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu) ENDITEM/J

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October 7, 2013, 7:22 AM

Thailand Has No Easy Options to Pay for Rice Subsidy BANGKOK – Thailand has decided to continue its costly rice program, but critics are questioning how the government will find the money to pay for it.

Reuters

Prices of different types of rice offered for sale are displayed at a market in central Bangkok in July.

The controversial program turned three years old this past week, when the government announced it would maintain an earlier agreed-upon subsidy rate for the grain harvested in the wet season, and a slightly lower rate in the off season. It also limited the maximum value of rice each farming household can sell in order to curb the ballooning subsidy expense. The government’s decision to continue the program resulted in farmers of rubber and corn coming forward to ask for pledges to keep their price supports. It also

comes as the Thai government is struggling to recover from a technical recession, while aiming to lower its budget deficit to achieve a balanced budget by 2017. The rice subsidy program, running between October 2013 and September 2014, is expected to need around 270 billion baht, or $8.6 billion, to buy 11 million tons of rice. “It’s not clear where the new fund of 270 billion baht is coming from,” said Nipon Poapongsakorn, a researcher at Thailand Development and Research Institute, a nonprofit policy research center. “It’s a big problem, even though the government has already trimmed the subsidies.” Since the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra launched the rice subsidy program in 2011 – a populist campaign to help local farmers by buying rice at as much as 50% above market price – the Cabinet has approved a total budget of $16 billion, taken from a state-run bank, to fund the program. But the government has already spent about $21.4 billion in total since then, Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisal told reporters last month. The Commerce Ministry, which manages the program, has paid some $5 billion from rice sales back to the bank. Ms. Yingluck told reporters in September that the government would use the money from selling rice to fund the subsidy and urged the Commerce Ministry and Finance Ministry to work together to figure out how to make the math work.

There was no immediate response from the Commerce Ministry. Although Ms. Yingluck told reporters that the government isn’t considering taking out more loans, critics worry that the government may have no other option because it can’t sell rice fast enough to not keep incurring losses. Vichai Assarasakorn, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said borrowing would simply create additional problems. “If the government tries to raise the subsidy budget ceiling and borrow more to fund the program, it will send out a wrong message about its budget and invite more groups to ask for similar kinds of subsidies,” Mr. Vichai said. Borrowing would also hurt Ms. Yingluck, who has seen her popularity drop amid the fight over the farm subsidies and discontent among average Thais over the rocky economy. The government is trying to sell rice it bought at higherthan-market prices on the world stage to pay for the rice subsidy, but the cost of the government’s rice stocks has rendered Thai rice uncompetitive as global rice supplies grow. The subsidy incurred losses of about $4.3 billion loss in the first crop year. The Commerce Ministry offered 660,000 tons of rice via three tenders in July and August, but only sold about a third, or 240,000 tons. In August, the Commerce Ministry said it signed a contract to sell 500,000 tons of rice to Iran.

In September, Mr. Niwatthamrong said the government sold 1.2 million tons of rice to China and promised to show a sale contract to the public soon to ease public skepticism. Last year, the government said it had sold about 7 million tons of rice to foreign governments, but there has been little evidence. “So far the government produced no evidence and it stirred up a lot of speculation of irregularities,” Mr. Vichai said. “Such state-level transaction must have a record. It’s really bizarre.” The Commerce minister said last month the government’s rice stocks have fallen to about 10 million tons, from 17 million tons in June. The remaining stockpile is equal to the country’s total rice exports in 2011. Last month, a Commerce deputy minister said the ministry planned to ask Public Warehouse Organization, which is under the ministry’s supervision, to pay a lease that the government owes private mills and warehouses in the form of rice, instead of cash. The outstanding bill amounted to $32 million. “This kind of payment is normal and on a voluntary basis,” Commerce deputy minister Yanyong Puangrat told reporters late last month. “It’s aimed to boost liquidity of the operators [of warehouse and millers] and also provides a channel to offload the government’s rice stocks.”

BAAC to finalize financial source for rice pledging scheme

Date : 7 ตุลาคม 2556 BANGKOK, 7 Oct 2013 (NNT) - According to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the Finance Ministry would finalize on the funding for the current season's rice mortgaging scheme within the middle of this month. Assistant Managing Director of the BAAC Somsak Kangtheerawat made the comment after the cabinet gave a budgetary approval of 270 billion baht to the Commerce Ministry for the scheme. Mr. Somsak expressed his confidence that the Ministry would finalize the source of the fund before the scheme kicks off at the end of October. Regarding the mortgage for off-season rice, Mr. Somsak said rice obtained after September 15th would not be accepted unless it gets approval from the Cabinet. As for other assistance measures, BAAC branches in 27 flooded provinces will extend the debt payment period for affected farmers by 1 year without readjusting interest rate. Mr. Somsak said that low interest loans will also be offered to those agriculturalists and other business operators, in its bid to help rehabilitate farmland and businesses. Finally, he said, additional assistance measures for farmers whose more than 50% of crops have been ruined will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration.

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Oct 07 Mon Oct 7, 2013 3:30pm IST

Nagpur, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices showed firm tendency again in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC)on increased festival season demand from local millers amid tight supply from producing regions because of rains. Notable rise on NCDEX in gram, upward trend in Madhya Pradesh pulses and reported demand from South-based millers also pushed up prices, according to sources. *

FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market in absence of buyers amid ample stock in ready position. TUAR * Tuar varieties reported higher in open market on increased seasonal demand from local traders amid weak supply from producing regions. * Udid varieties and watana white reported strong on good demand from local traders

amid thin arrival from producing regions. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,100-4,300, Tuar dal - 6,300-6,500, Udid at 4,7004,900, Udid Mogar (clean) - 5,500-5,800, Moong - 6,000-6,400, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,100-7,300, Gram - 2,800-3,000, Gram Super best bold - 4,0004,200 for 100 kg. * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity, according to sources. Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 2,470-3,100 2,470-3,040 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction 3,850-4,160 3,820-4,140 Moong Auction n.a. 3,800-4,000 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 4,300-4,500 4,300-4,500 Gram Super Best n.a. Gram Medium Best 3,850-4,100 3,850-4,100 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,700-3,750 3,700-3,750 Deshi gram Raw 3,100-3,200 3,100-3,200 Gram Filter Yellow n.a. n.a. Gram Kabuli 7,700-10,000 7,700-10,000 Gram Pink 7,600-8,000 7,600-8,000 Tuar Fataka Best 6,600-6,700 6,500-6,600 Tuar Fataka Medium 6,300-6,400 6,200-6,300 Tuar Dal Best Phod 6,000-6,100 5,900-6,000 Tuar Dal Medium phod 5,600-5,800 5,500-5,700 Tuar Gavarani 4,200-4,300 4,100-4,200 Tuar Karnataka 4,100-4,200 4,000-4,100 Tuar Black 7,000-7,200 7,000-7,200 Masoor dal best 5,400-5,500 5,400-5,500 Masoor dal medium 5,000-5,100 5,000-5,100 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 7,200-7,500 7,200-7,500 Moong Mogar Medium best 6,800-7,100 6,800-7,100 Moong dal super best 6,200-6,500 6,200-6,500 Moong dal Chilka 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 6,000-6,800 6,000-6,800 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,600-5,800 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,500 4,800-5,400 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,000 4,600-4,900 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 3,700-3,800 3,700-3,800 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,900-3,000 2,900-3,000 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,450 3,400-3,450 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,400 3,200-3,300 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 7,800-8,000 7,800-8,000 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,650-1,750 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,575-1,625 1,575-1,625 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,650-1,850 1,600-1,800

Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,400 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,700-2,000 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,900 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,600 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,650 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,500 Rice Swarna Best (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 Rice Swarna Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,350 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,500 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,300-4,900 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-12,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,200-7,500 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,500 Rice Chinnor Medium (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,800 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,650 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-1,900

1,850-2,350 1,700-1,950 n.a. 3,100-3,600 2,600-2,900 1,450-1,550 1,500-1,600 3,000-3,600 2,200-2,500 2,400-2,500 2,100-2,350 4,100-4,500 4,300-4,900 10,000-12,500 6,200-7,500 5,000-5,500 4,400-4,800 1,500-1,650 1,800-1,900

WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 31.3 degree Celsius (88.2 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 21.6 degree Celsius (72.6 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - 100 per cent, lowest - 81 per cent Rainfall : 0.0 mm FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 30 and 22 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)

Economy braving heavy odds FROM INPAPERMAGZINE

- File Photo Updated 2013-10-07 12:53:11 Share

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Despite all odds, the most notable on the exchange rate and the energy fronts, the economy, on balance, is making some progress. Major food crops look set to do well, cotton output so far is also down only seven per cent, large-scale manufacturing is gathering more steam, and in the services sector, retailing has picked up, particularly after the return of a semblance of peace and order in Karachi. In the agricultural sector, positives continue to outweigh negatives.

Latest post-flood official estimates based on provincial crop reporting centres put this year’s cotton crop at around 11.95 million bales, but Suparco’s satellite imagery surveys show production could go up as high as 14.27 million bales. But since Suparco’s survey presents the situation as of end-August, whereas the provincial agriculture departments’ estimates are more recent, actual output may be somewhere in between. Up to October 1, overall cotton production stood at 3.275 million bales, against 3.447 million bales last year. Encouragingly, Sindh’s cotton output is up 35 per cent, which somewhat compensated for an 18 per cent loss seen in Punjab. Sugarcane crushing is set to begin later this month in Sindh and from early November in Punjab. Suparco estimates put this year’s production at 70 million tonnes. Sindh-based growers say moderate to heavy rains in lower Sindh has fattened cane stalks, before adding they expect a marginal increase in sucrose content in this year’s crop, as has been the case in the last few years. Meanwhile, Suparco has forecast milled rice production at around 6.5 million tonnes, which is in line with the latest estimates of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. Provincial crop reporting centres are, however, a little skeptic. Based on their projections, overall rice production would remain below six million tonnes. Sindh-based rice exporters say as harvesting of coarse rice is already in progress in some areas, it’s not difficult to assume that the rice output would not be as low as is being projected by some. But they say they have reports of delayed or smaller Basmati crops from all the three centres: Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, the over 6.4 per cent rupee depreciation against the dollar in the first quarter of this fiscal year continues to overshadow major developments in the economy. And now, the increase in fuel oil prices this month is enough to push up inflation even if the latest electricity tariff hike is reversed or revised downwards. But SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar says the ongoing smuggling of $25 million a day is one of the key reasons for the rapid rupee decline. He also blamed the rupee’s fall on forex mismanagement on the part of banks. That is why Mr Anwar recently summoned presidents and treasurers of all banks separately and warned them that the central bank would not put up with any nonsense in the future.

But bankers say heavy external debt payments, along with higher outward repatriation of profits and dividends by multinational companies here, was behind the rupee’s fall, in addition to the gap in external trade. The inflow of just more than half a billion dollars as the first tranche of a new $6.7 billion IMF loan also proved inadequate to provide support to the rupee. Speculation-driven decline in the rupee compelled the SBP to intervene in the market with full force in the last week of September. While the intervention provided overnight support to the rupee, it also evaporated millions of dollars the SBP had earlier bought from the market. In addition to the rupee’s decline, which itself was a reason for higher inflation during the first quarter of this fiscal year, flood-related damages to the food supply chain, a pickup in consumer demand and an increase in domestic fuel oil prices (chiefly due to the weaker rupee) all weighed down on the price line. Inflation, therefore, rose faster than projected, compelling the State Bank to increase its policy rate by 50 basis points to 9.5 per cent in mid-September. As expected, inflation for September fell to 7.4 per cent from 8.5 per cent in August. But July-September quarter inflation stood above eight per cent. In the external sector, larger inflow of foreign direct investment after the installation of the new government has raised hope that the overall private foreign investment during this fiscal year would be higher. Finance ministry officials say that by October 15, $300 million would come under the Coalition Support Fund, which would hopefully take some pressure off the rupee. They say that the country has already paid half a billion dollars to the IMF in the first quarter, and has to pay $2.5 billion more. On the other hand, out of the new IMF loan, we’ve received around $550 million, and will get $1.65 billion more before the close of the financial year. This gap becomes larger if we also include all other heads of external debt payment, including companies’ debt servicing and outward repatriation of funds from multinational companies operating in Pakistan. “Things that can help bridge this gap include installments of project financing from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank,” says an official of the ministry of finance. “Besides, with the stage set for auctioning of 3G spectrum rights in mobile technology and spadework progressing well for the privatisation of some stateowned enterprises, forex inflows would gradually accelerate, exchange rates would stabilise and forex reserves would rise.”

Rising remittances from overseas Pakistanis — up 7.05 per cent in JulyAugust FY14 against 2.36 per cent in July-August FY13 — also continue to build hopes. Whereas remittances from the US and UAE remained almost stagnant in the first two months of this fiscal, inflows from the UK and Saudi Arabia grew rapidly, by 25 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. The cumulative volumes of remittances from EU countries and four GCC states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) were not very large, but their growth rate in July-August was handsome — 18 per cent and eight per cent respectively. Export earnings in July-August this year were four per cent higher than in the year-ago period. But more importantly, two main categories of exports, i.e. food items and textiles, showed much higher growth of 10.2 per cent and 7.2 per cent respectively. Since the government has allowed additional exports of 500,000 tonnes of sugar to be completed before the arrival of the next crop, chances are that food exports would maintain a double-digit growth rate in the coming months as well. As for textiles, some challenges abound; a short cotton crop being the most obvious one. However, exports of cotton yarn have been growing very rapidly — thanks to deeper penetration of our exporters into Chinese markets — and readymade garment exports are also up on Bangladeshi garment industry’s woes. So, one can expect that overall textile earnings would remain strong in the future as well. — Mohiuddin Aazim

Panama rice production hits new low SUNDAY, 06 OCTOBER 2013 07:56

THE CULTIVATION of rice, a major staple of Panama’s national diet continues to plummet and has reached a record low.

At the end of the 2012-2013 crop season 98,380 hectares of rice were cultivated, a drop of 11,190 hectares from the previous year says a report from the Comptroller General of the Republic. The decrease is related to the increase in imports of grain, the delay in disbursement of agricultural loans and climatic variations reports La Prensa "If the country continues to put off the establishment of agricultural policies in the long term. it will be very difficult to face a food crisis ," said Alexander Arauz , a member of the Rice Growers Association of Chiriqui. "The FAO [United Nations Food and Agriculture Oganization] promotes grain production, but in Panama these recommendations seem to fall on deaf ears, said Arauz . Authorities recommend that producers focus on competitive products .

P Chidambaram justifies increase in price of rice from govt pool PTI Oct 6, 2013, 08.15PM IST

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â&#x20AC;˘ (Chidambaram justifiedâ&#x20AC;Ś)

SIVAGANGA(TN): Union Finance Minister P Chidambaramtoday justified increase in the prices of rice from the government pool, saying the government paid more to farmers for procuring it. "We pay more for procurement of rice from farmers and naturally the price of rice will go up," he said after inaugurating the 1459th branch of public sector Vijaya Bankat Tayamangalam near here today. "Agriculture is the poorvikam (original vocation) of the country and if the farm sector did not prosper...then the country will not prosper," he said. "There is no rule of nature that farmers should remain poor for ever. When the Government provides better price for rice and wheat, naturally their prices will go up," he said. The government was determined to give a good price for the farm produce, he said. Stressing the need to increase food production as per the requirements of the country, he claimed that the agricultural sector had seen excessive growth recently and production of wheat and rice had doubled. He also urged farmers to avail farm loans as it comes at a cheap rate of interest. The UPA government had increased the loans given to farmers from Rs 85,000 crore in 2004 to Rs 7.5 lakh crore in this fiscal to improve the farm sector. The interest on farm loan was just seven per cent and if the principal and interest were paid properly then three per cent rebate was also given, he said.

Paddy output to grow 2 percent to 4.6 million tonnes: FAO KATHMANDU, OCT 06 The UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has forecast a positive paddy production for Nepal in 2013, largely due to timely and abundant seasonal rainfall. The FAO anticipates the 2013 paddy production in Nepal to recover by 2 percent, to 4.6 million tonnes, and is expected to compensate for the losses incurred last year. After a bumper paddy harvest of 5.07 million tonnes in 2011, erratic rainfall and a shortage of fertilisers caused the output to drop by 11.3 percent, to 4.5 million tonnes in 2012. According to the FAO, transplanting activities for the main season crops, due for harvest between August and September, were reported to be proceeding smoothly. Due to favorable production

conditions for the remainder of the season, and based on reports of an improved input supply situation, the FAO projected paddy output to recover this year. However, rice imported to Nepal this year is foreseen to end higher, with a predicted 400, 000 tonnes to be brought into the country. The FAO has increased the forecast for global rice trade in 2013 to around 37.5 million tonnes, up from about 200,000 tonnes. The upward revision is mainly based on the expectation of larger imports by China and Nepal this year. Nepalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rice import bill jumped to an alarming Rs 13.67 billion in the 2012-13 fiscal year, as the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s output failed to meet the growing rice demand. The Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) statistic show that the country imported 493,291 tonnes of rice last fiscal year, up from 398,482 tonnes in the previous year. Of the total import, semi and wholly milled rice amounted to Rs 8.66 billion, while imported rice in the husk stood at Rs 4.66 billion. Massive imports follow a projected rice deficit this year. The Ministry of Agriculture Development had estimated that Nepal will face a shortage of 900,000 tonnes of rice this year, despite a likely surplus in total food grain reserves. However, with improved an agriculture scenario, due to the increased coverage of paddy transplantation, improved seeds and sufficient distribution of chemical fertiliser, the ministry has also expected a good paddy harvest this year. With the exception of five Tarai districts that witnessed a late drought this season, the overall performance of paddy cultivation has been encouraging so far, the ministry said. Paddy transplantation has been successful on 97 percent of the total paddy fields this year. Posted on: 2013-10-06 08:58

Commodity Review: Phutti arrivals to slow down as Eid nears October 07, 2013 RECORDER REPORT 0 Comments

Cotton: Millers breathed a sigh of relief as cotton prices took a u-turn last week, easing off the back of improved supplies. Sources say that ginners who were refusing to sell below a certain price are now scrambling to load off some stock before the market gets disrupted by the Eid holidays. Seed cotton prices on the open market this week are reportedly lower by as much as Rs 300/40 kilogram, and even the finer grade is being sold cheap, said the market source. The official spot rate in the meantime shed some weight, going back to last week's rate of Rs 6,900 per maund after reaching a high of Rs 7,050 per maund, during the week. However, traders say that similar fluctuations in price will be common this season as the tighter supply side dictates a market that pins heavily on export oriented mill demand. Going forward the upcoming few weeks will be crucial with phutti arrivals slatted to slow down as Eid nears. Transportation will be diverted to moving sacrificial animals to urban marketplaces hence a logistic constraint may make for another round of price hike in the domestic fiber market.

Meanwhile, on the international front, a weakening US dollar triggered an across-the-board revival of interest in agricultural and industrial commodities and bought about a rally in fiber prices. Consequently, the most-active December cotton contract on ICE futures ended up by 0.27 cent, or 0.3 percent, settling at 86.87 cents/lb, with volume nearly 35 percent over its 30-day average, as per preliminary Reuters data. Rice The week saw Thai exporters bring down their quotes as Pakistani rice regained some vigour in the international market. The benchmark five percent broken Thai rice was being quoted around $415-425 per ton, down about $5 per ton from Friday and about a $55 per ton premium over Viet five percent rice (of summer-autumn crop 2013) shown around $360-$370 per ton. The Indian five percent rice meanwhile was quoted around $415-$425 per ton, still at a premium of about $30 per ton over Pakistani five percent rice (of new crop) which was being quoted around $385-$395 per ton, up about $5 per ton from last week. In the meantime , the FAO has lowered the global rice production forecast for 2013 to 496.3 million tons (milled basis), down about one million tons from the previous forecast, but up close to one percent from around 490.9 million tons in 2012. The newly released report on rice production estimates for the upcoming season says that the downward revision is mainly due to an anticipated decline in rice production in China by around 2.9 million tons due to unfavourable weather conditions this year. Production forecasts were also lowered for Pakistan and Panama. Additionally, rice production has also hit a plateau in Vietnam, as poor price prospects in the international market deter the domestic farmers from planting paddy on their field, the FAO says. Rice production, however, is expected to increase in India, Sri Lanka, the US, with India leading the pack once more. Overall production in Asia is expected to increase to around 450.6 million tons, up about 1.1 percent from last year. Hence the prospects of a tight Asian market are unchanged as another year of high production and low regional demand will turn up the competition between the major exporting nations in the continent. Wheat Statistics on the newly released FAO report 'Crop prospects and Food situation' red flagged the marked hike of prices of wheat in the Pakistani market. The report said the hike in prices in Dollar terms were the highest in the region, inciting worries about national food security in a country where almost all the nation is dependent on the production windfalls from a single province. The report comes at a time when average price of wheat flour has hit nearly Rs47 per kilogram this week in domestic markets in southern parts of the country and the country braces itself for a spate of low quality imports of cheap wheat from the Black Sea region. In comparison, prices of wheat and wheat products decreased in India, reflecting ample domestic availability of the staple commodity following a near record harvest. Similarly, prices in Bangladesh-which are also closely linked to those in India -have been decreasing in the previous months as the country enjoys a healthy glut of supplies after the government decided to order in early imports to avoid any shortage of the essential grain. Overall, however, the report revises the estimates of the 2013 winter harvest-which was gathered earlier during the

year- primarily off the back of lower crop estimates in India and Pakistan- where plantings and yields have been depressed during the last few years for a number of reasons. The planting of the 2014 winter crop will begin in October in Pakistan and the one potential upside to the higher price dynamic of wheat in the domestic market is that it will help boost the plantation of the staple commodity as growers try to cash in on the high prices the crop will be fetching come harvest time. Sugar Sugar prices this week saw a hike in various parts of the country as wholesalers reportedly increased their prices to factor in the POL price hikes. Consequently, sugar will be sold at Rs54 per kilogram in the wholesale market and the rate at which consumer's buy it might go up to Rs60 per kilogram in the coming weeks said sources. In the meantime, the second TCP tender for 50,000 tons came out on Friday and is scheduled to be opened on the 22nd of October. The week also saw the SBP release the much awaited circular on Monday, officially announcing the intent to allow sugar mills to export a total of 500,000 tons of the commodity- from which 250,000 ton allowed to be exported with immediate effect from October-end. However, the circular mandates that the mill owners will first need to clear the outstanding arrears of Rs1.7 billion that is due to growers. Post this, quota will be allocated on first come first serve basis by SBP and export will be allowed within a time window of 45 days. Sources report that millers will be offering up their produce in the range of $470-480 per ton FOB and that these prices are likely to garner some major interest from the nearby Middle Eastern markets.

Bayer AG : Leading rice experts and scientists call for more public-private partnerships and collaboration across the rice value chain 10/08/2013 | 04:20am US/Eastern Recommend:

New Delhi, India, October 8, 2013- Against the backdrop of a growing world population, public and private institutions are requested to find innovative ways of sustainably increasing rice production in order to feed more people and keep rice affordable. How this can be approached is the main topic of an international conference in New Delhi, India, attended by more than 200 key stakeholders from rice producing countries across Asia Pacific. The two-day 'Rice Future Forum' organized by Bayer CropScience aims at stimulating fresh perspectives on topics ranging from the importance of government policies in supporting the rice farming community, research and innovations, to promoting collaboration and sustainability across the rice value chain. Harnessing innovation to address challenges in rice production in Asia

Rice is a key crop in Asia and a staple food for more than half of the world's population, especially in Asia and Africa. With an expanding world population and a corresponding increase in food consumption, production needs to be raised. However, demand has grown faster than productivity increases in recent years. In addition, farmers today face numerous challenges, from the impact of weather fluctuations, labor shortage, to limited resources including arable land and water. "Rice is life, literally, in Asia and through working very closely with the rice farmers, we have a deep understanding of their challenges and needs," said Tobias Marchand, Head Region Asia Pacific, Bayer CropScience. "The backbone of rice farming in Asia is smallholder farmers. If we want to improve their livelihood and the economic situation at large, we need to focus on rice. In this context, we believe that helping farmers to sustainably increase their yield is of utmost importance." At the Rice Future Forum, Bayer CropScience presents its innovative and integrated portfolio of solutions based on advanced technologies. One of these examples is the 'Much More Rice' initiative - an integrated rice production program based on hybrid seeds, crop protection products, as well as consultancy and advisory services. Working closely with farmers to better understand their needs, the 'Much More Rice' solution is designed to improve rice yields and quality, while at the same time promoting sustainable agriculture. Originating in Vietnam, the 'Much More Rice' solution has seen resounding success and has spread to other countries in Asia, including China, Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. Results from more than a thousand trials proved an average increase in yield of about 20 percent, leading to a corresponding increase in farmer income. Joining hands to promote sustainability across the rice value chain However, boosting rice productivity and quality in a sustainable manner cannot be the lone effort of a single corporation. While the private sector continues to invest in science, products and services, wider challenges - such as insufficient education and training, political and economic instability, poor infrastructure, as well as loose legal frameworks - call for the collective efforts of many other multistakeholders. Stressing the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors and across the rice value chain, the event is co-hosted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Besides a well-represented group of stakeholders in the audience, including government officials, policy makers, research institutions, academia, media, farmers and farmer associations from across the region, the event also features prominent speakers from companies and associations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft f端r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Ministry of Agriculture from the Government of India, and Kellogg, among others. "At Bayer CropScience, we believe that agricultural innovation can only benefit farmers and society at large if there is a coordinated and concerted effort between the public and private sectors to create an enabling environment. This means facilitating public-private partnerships to research, develop, commercialize and promote new solutions," said Hartmut van Lengerich, Head of Cereals and Fungicides Strategy at Bayer CropScience. He continued: "We are therefore committed to working in strong collaboration with governments, the industry and non-governmental organizations to drive partnerships and help address the challenges facing rice farming." For example, Bayer CropScience has a long-standing partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to work together to expand the rice database and provide the impetus for breeding new high-yielding rice varieties, as well as enabling access to the many benefits of hybrid rice for farmers and rice communities. The company is also one of the founding partners of the German Food Partnership (GFP), a cooperative network between the German and European private sector and public sector institutions in emerging and developing countries. GFP's multi-stakeholder projects are based on innovative and holistic concepts and targeted towards enhancing food security and nutrition, as well as economic development. Key projects include looking at how to improve the health of local communities in Africa and Asia by enhancing the

nutrition value of rice. About Bayer CropScience Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. This year the company looks back on 150 years of working to fulfill its mission "Bayer: Science For A Better Life". Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 8,383 million (2012) and is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 20,800 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at:www.press.bayercropscience.com. About the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) IRRI, or the International Rice Research Institute, is a nonprofit independent research and training organization. IRRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. IRRI develops new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques that help rice farmers improve the yield and quality of their rice in an environmentally sustainable way. It works with public and private sector partners in national agricultural research and extension systems in major rice-growing countries to do research, training, and knowledge transfer. Its social and economic research also informs governments to help them formulate policy to improve the equitable supply of rice. About the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture. The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi. The Council is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. With 99 ICAR institutes and 53 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world. Find more information atwww.bayercropscience.comandwww.ricefutureforum.com. Factsheet for download:Factsheet Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website atwww.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

In Philippines, Crop Researchers Try to Floodproof Rice • •

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FILE - A rice farmer sows seeds in Oton, Iloilo, Philippines.

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