18th august ,2017 daily global regional & local rice e newsletter

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E-Newsletter

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August 18,2017 Vol 8 Issue VIII

Lack of sunshine may affect rice harvest Palay, corn production up 17% in H1 New rice variety still being pursued – GRDB Head Farm output to top 275 mt Government told to end fixation with rice Rice millers back war against smuggling Midday meal for college students launched in Bhadrachalam Iraq Parliament votes to end its grilling of acting trade minister Nyagatare rice growers optimistic as Rwf100m farm machinery is delivered Asia Rice -Prices drop in India and Thailand Imported rice brought in after duty cut New technology finds procedure to identify grain for sushi and breakfast cereals Rice import gets boost Local manufacturers putting millions into chicken and rice Stewardship will be critical for preserving Provisia rice Rice Research Fortified rice holds promise for combating malnutrition in Bangladesh: WFP Kebbi To Export Rice, Livestock To Earn Forex Nyagatare rice growers optimistic as Rwf100m farm machinery is delivered BD to cut duty on rice imports to cool local prices

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News Detail...

Lack of sunshine may affect rice harvest NHK -- AUG 17

Lack of sunshine caused by prolonged cloudy conditions and lingering rain in Pacific coastal areas of northeastern Japan may cause problems for the rice harvest.

Officials in the Miyagi and Fukushima prefectural governments have notified farmers that they should pay close attention to the state of their rice fields.

Rainy and overcast conditions have prevailed since late last month in the Tohoku region. This has reduced the number of hours of sunshine to significantly below the level of the average year.

The officials say the lack of sunshine is likely to lower the resistance of rice plants, causing a spread of disease. Infected plants are unable to produce grain.

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They call on farmers to check on their fields frequently and to spray pesticide immediately after finding infected plants.

The Meteorological Agency says the number of hours of sunshine between August 6th and 15th was 10 percent lower in Sendai City and 23 percent lower in Fukushima City than the average figures. http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/120831.php

Palay, corn production up 17% in H1 By: Karl R. Ocampo - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:16 AM August 17, 2017 Palay and corn outputs for the first semester of the year grew 17 percent year-on-year to 12.27 million metric tons (MT), putting the country‘s probable output at 19.2 million MT for 2017.

This would exceed the Department of Agriculture‘s (DA) target of 18.5 million MT for the entire year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. ―I believe we‘ve reached sufficiency in rice for the next year,‖ Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.

For the Philippines to reach self-sufficiency, it needs to produce the national food requirement while also maintaining a buffer stock to be used in times of need, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

For palay alone, production in the first half of the year reached 8.57 million MT, a 12.06 percent increase from the same period last year. Yield was at 4.09 million tons per hectare, a growth of 3.16 percent.

The improvement in output was due to the increase in harvest area to 947,000 hectares (has) this year from the previous 848,000 has, the PSA said.

Probable harvest area is also expected to swell in the coming months. This would be possible through government interventions and good weather conditions.

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―If no typhoons would hit the country, we might reach a level of productivity in rice which would be able to sufficiently supply the needs of the country [up to] 2019,‖ said Piñol.

DA previously pushed back its rice self-sufficiency goal by 2020 citing the lack of available budget

http://business.inquirer.net/235225/palay-corn-production-17-h1

New rice variety still being pursued – GRDB Head August 16, 2017

The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is still pursuing the creation of a new variety of rice which is expected to bring better yields to rice farmers across the country.

Although tight-lipped on the entire developmental process, GRDB General Manager Allison Peters has said the new variety is being closely monitored by scientists at the research station. ―There is a variety that the plant breeder is working on. We don‘t want to show our hand before it is ready, because, you know, seed paddy and developing a new variety takes several seasons.

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It‘s at a stage where we are cultivating it in farmers‘ fields, and we are looking at how it‘s behaving in those fields; but we can‘t tell you (that it will be ready by) next season, (and) we can‘t tell you the season after; but it‘s soon,‖ Peters said.

A GRDB team recently held an outreach in Region Six, where they discovered that farmers were using a Brazilian variety of rice commonly known as ‗100 day‘ to produce paddy. The farmers praised the Brazilian variety, highlighting that it requires less field maintenance, less attention, and has a shorter yielding period. Moreover, the overall results are usually better when compared with local varieties.

Ms Peters told the farmers that the Brazilian rice variety is an illegally imported brand, and it has serious implications for the local rice crop.

According to the Department of Public Information, the new variety of rice being developed locally is likely to eliminate the farmers‘ need to smuggle into Guyana brands of paddy from other countries; as it promises greater yields, with less risk of paddy bug infestation and other crop diseases.

The GRDB had, earlier in the year, projected that this new variety could be expected by 2018.

http://guyanatimesgy.com/new-rice-variety-still-being-pursued-grdb-head/

Farm output to top 275 mt OUR BUREAU

Rice, wheat, pulses expected to rise NEW DELHI, AUGUST 16: An increase in the estimated yields of paddy and wheat has helped the Government to revise its total foodgrain production projection for 2016-17 by over 2 mt to a record 275.68 mt in its 4th advance estimates, released on Wednesday.

The previous advance estimates, put out in May, projected the total grain yield at 273.38 mt.

Total foodgrain production in 2015-16 was 251.57 mt.

The yield of staples — rice and wheat — is expected to go up by nearly 1 mt each to 110.15 mt and 98.38 mt, respectively, in comparison with the 3rd advance estimate, according to the data.

Pulses up

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Pulses production too is expected to go up by 500,000 mt to 22.95 mt and the maize yield is pegged marginally higher than the previous estimate at 26.26 mt. What helped pulses production to go up is improved yields estimated from tur and gram, which are projected to be 4.78 mt and 9.33 mt, respectively.

Half a million bales (of 170 kg each) of additional cotton yield is expected as major cotton growing areas in the country received good showers in 2016-17. The total cotton output is projected to be 33.10 million bales as against the 32.58 estimated in May, according to the latest data. The estimated sugarcane yield would also be marginally higher at 306.72 million tonnes.

Oilseeds down At the same time, the Government corrected the projected output of several important crops, such as oilseeds and coarse cereals.

While oilseeds yield is expected to drop further to 32.10 mt from an earlier estimated 32.52 mt, coarse cereals output received a slight revision to 44.19 mt from 44.39 mt.

The poor projections for oilseeds were on account of estimated lower yields of soybean, which as 13.7 mt as against the earlier estimate of 14 mt, and castorseed, whose projections came down to 1.42 mt from 1.54 mt estimated in the 3rd advance estimate.

Coarse cereals, on other hand, will break earlier yield records even at the revised output levels http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/farm-output-to-top-275mt/article9820194.ece

Government told to end fixation with rice

By Jasper Y. Arcalas AUGUST 17, 2017

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The Duterte administration must stop focusing on rice and allocate more funds to other agriculture subsectors if it wants to sustain the increase in farm output, economists from the Ateneo de Manila University said on Thursday.

Eagle Watch senior research fellow Alvin P. Ang said Philippine agriculture production remains ―too erratic‖ despite growing by 6.18 percent in the second quarter and by 5.71 percent in the first half. ―Agriculture is still important but [government resources] should not be focused on rice alone‖, Ang, who is also the director of Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, told the BusinessMirror.

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―We are now seeing the effect of the fixation with rice. Concentrating resources on just one commodity would make it difficult for the government to immediately assist other subsectors that would encounter problems,‖ he added.

Ang said the government should see to it that all subsectors would get a slice of the agriculture budget. ―What‘s happening right now is that there is a commodity being favored. Let‘s not forget we still have coconut, we have cassava and other high-value commercial crops that could give farmers bigger value added,‖ he said. ―The government should distribute [the budget]. That‘s why growth is erratic because only one sector is being assisted; the government should distribute that assistance,‖ Ang added.

The Ateneo economist also said the ―Build, Build, Build‖ Program of the government should also benefit the farm sector. ―The government must roll out a similar program for agriculture. It will not only focus on constructing farm-to-market roads, but will also target the provision of modern equipment,‖ he said. ―Of the current labor force, 26 percent is in the agriculture sector. A lot of people are still in agriculture so you cannot leave the sector behind, especially when you are growing by 6 percent,‖ Ang added.

Cielito A. Habito, former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority and senior fellow of Eagle Watch, said the government should put more emphasis on making local farmers competitive against their Asean counterparts.

Habito also agreed with Ang that the government should forego its rice-centric policies and programs to allow the farm sector to grow faster.

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―We have lagged behind other Asean countries, like Vietnam, which chose to go into growing coffee and high-value crops. This strategy is now contributing to their national income and feeding their own people,‖ he told the BusinessMirror. ―We have been too focused on rice that we have neglected coconut and fisheries. This fixation with rice is something that we should get out of,‖ Habito added.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed that agricultural output in the second quarter recovered and grew by 6.18 percent year-on-year.

The PSA said the crops subsector remained as the main driver of farm growth in the April-toJune period. ―The crops subsector registered an 11.72-percent increase in output. It shared 50.75 percent of the total agricultural production,‖ the PSA said in its report, titled ―Performance of Philippine Agriculture‖.

Palay production in the second quarter rose by 11.72 percent to 4.15 million metric tons (MMT), from 3.71 MMT a year ago. The PSA attributed this to the expansion in areas planted with rice and the availability of irrigation water.

Favorable planting conditions also encouraged more farmers to plant corn. Output rose by nearly 46 percent to 1.3 MMT, from 911,000 metric tons recorded in the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, PSA data showed that farm-production growth averaged 5.71 percent.

Data provided to the BusinessMirror by the PSA showed the second-quarter growth was the highest since 2011, when the agriculture sector expanded by 6.68 percent.

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In terms of first-semester growth, farm output this year was the highest since 1999, when it expanded by 9.82 percent. Between 1999 and 2017, agriculture production was the lowest last year, when it contracted by 3.39 percent.

The PSA said the agriculture sector‘s contribution to the country‘s GDP has been declining since 2006. Sans agriculture services and forestry, the sector‘s output contributed only 8.2 percent to GDP in the past 10 years. http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/government-told-to-end-fixation-with-rice/

Rice millers back war against smuggling Posted By: Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie On: August 18, 2017 In: Industry

The Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) has promised to provide information to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to curb the smuggling the product.The association will also support the Federal Government‘s value chain programme on local rice cultivation, milling, processing, and production.Its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mr. Peter Dharma, made these pledges in Kano, at the association‘s inaugural meeting.

Noting that Nigerians had, over the years, been losing enormous resources to the smuggling of food items into the country, he said ―Our association will work closely with the regulatory and policy makers to ensure standards in local rice milling.‖ He also stated that the association would support research into renewable energy source, which, he said, RIMAN will recommend to its members in the near future.Speaking on the occasion, NCS Area Commander Mr. Yusuf Abba hailed RIMAN‘s plan, noting that it would yield benefits to the country.

Abba, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller, Enforcement, Mr. Ago Hyacinth, said smugglers should no longer be allowed to sabotage the economy.A director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Muhammed Munir, said the Federal Government‘s injection of money into the sector would facilitate employment for citizens.The association at the inaugural meeting discussed the various issues on rice production in the country

http://thenationonlineng.net/rice-millers-back-war-smuggling/

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Midday meal for college students launched in Bhadrachalam THE HANS INDIA | Aug 18,2017 , 12:28 AM IST

Bhadrachalam: District Collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu launched the midday meals programme in Government Degree and PG College here on Thursday. Addressing the students, he said the programme was the first of its kind to be implemented in the district for degree and post-graduate students. The students who follow a good path will automatically reach their goals, he said, adding that the State government provides more facilities for them to ensure their success.

The Collector congratulated voluntary organisations, the Bhadradri-Kothagudem District Rice Millers‘ Association who donated rice for the programme. He asked the students to utilise the midday meals programme.

After the launch of the programme, Vasudha Foundation distributed notebooks to the students.

Joint Collector M Ram Kishan, District Civil Supply Officer Sarvothama Reddy, Tahsildar M Ram Krishna, college principal Dr Gopi, Vasudha Foundation Convener V Srinivas Raju and others took part in the programme

Iraq Parliament votes to end its grilling of acting trade minister Reuters | Published — Thursday 17 August 2017

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(L to R) Iraq Cabinet officials sit during a parliamentary session to vote on Iraq's new government at the parliament headquarters, in Baghdad, Iraq, in this file photo. (REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani/File Photo)

BAGHDAD: Iraq‘s Parliament has voted to end its grilling of acting Trade Minister Salman AlJumali over corruption allegations that mostly stemmed from a ministry deal to import Indian rice in 2016.Out of 202 members of Parliament, 104 voted that they were convinced by Jumali‘s answers made in Tuesday‘s session to lawmakers‘ questions about the deal, said Kawa Mohammed, a member of Parliament who attended the session.

Another Parliament source said it amounted to a vote of confidence in the minister and said there would be no further questioning of Jumali, who had denied the allegations.

The minister was questioned by lawmaker Alia Nussayif on Tuesday.

The minister told Parliament that of the 40,000-ton Indian rice cargo in question, just 4,000 tons were infected with a bug, and that portion of the order was rejected and funds returned.

Iraq, a major rice and wheat importer, has previously faced graft accusations linked to the Trade ministry, which purchases strategic commodities.

The Trade Ministry has been struggling to import grains for its food subsidy program this year after introducing new payment and quality terms that kept traders away from its international tenders.In May, the cabinet authorized the ministry to make direct purchases of wheat and rice to guarantee food security, a reflection of its struggle to secure enough interest in its tender process.

Iraq is expected to produce around 250,000 tons of rice this year suggesting a shortfall of about 1 million tons that will need to be filled by imports http://www.arabnews.com/node/1146401/middle-east

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Nyagatare rice growers optimistic as Rwf100m farm machinery is delivered By: PETERSON TUMWEBAZE AND KELLY RWAMAPERA PUBLISHED: August 18, 2017 The new tractors plough in the 1,750 hectares of Muvumba marshland. / Timothy Kisambira Rice growers in Nyagatare District are in a buoyant mood after receiving Rwf100 million worth of farm machinery, saying it will ease operations and boost production.Muvumba Perimetre Eight rice growers cooperative acquired the farm machinery (five tractors) using a loan from Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD).

The loan is part of BRD‘s strategy to support agriculture mechanisation in the country and boost output, officials said at the handover of the equipment in Nyagatare, Eastern Province on Tuesday.

Fulgence Nsengiyumva, the State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, said the equipment will go a long way in supporting efforts aimed at promoting agriculture mechanisation in the country. The minister added that mechanisation is essential to increase agriculture production, ensure food security as well as boost farmers‘ household income. ―The government is committed to supporting efforts that seek to increase agricultural production,‖ he said. He added that agriculture mechanisation was in line with the government‘s land consolidation programme.

Fulgence Nsengiyumva, State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, says that the equipment will go a long way in supporting efforts aimed at promoting agriculture mechanisation. / Timothy Kisambira According to him, mechanisation falls under a wider national programme to enhance productivity of the agriculture sector, which employs over 72 per cent of Rwandans. The sector currently contributes over 30 per cent to the country‘s GDP. Government targets 8 per cent growth rate for the sector by 2018 from 6 per cent presently as one of the ways of ensuring sustainable economic development. Commercialisation and

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mechanisation is one of the key components of the country‘s strategic plan for agriculture transformation to reduce household poverty and drive growth in the medium-term.

Speaking at the event, Dr Livingstone Byamungu, the BRD head of investments, said the farm machinery will enhance labour efficiency and farm production per worker.

Dr Livingstone Byamungu, the BRD head of investments, says the farm machinery will enhance labour efficiency and farm production per worker. / Timothy Kisambira Huge boost Sector experts say Rwanda should embrace modern and innovative farming technologies to ensure sustainable food production.

John Mujyarugamba, the president of Muvumba Perimetre Eight rice growers‘ cooperative, said lack of farm equipment like tractors and manpower has been a challenge in land preparation, adding that it was also costly for members. ―Those who could not hire tractors from other cooperatives used hoes, which is tedious and timeconsuming,‖ he said.

Munyarugamba added that with mechanisation, farmers will be able to transition from subsistence farming to commercial-oriented agriculture and hence support economic development. ―One of the major factors that hinder the development of the agriculture sector is the use of traditional farm equipment. It is, therefore, imperative that farmers embrace modern technologies to increase yield and quality along value chain,‖ he added.

The cooperative official said the machinery will help them increase production from five tonnes of rice per hectare to seven tonnes, thanks to ―time efficiency and deep tilling of the tractors.‖ This will enable the district to meet targets set out in performance contracts, according to Didas Kayitare, the Nyagatare District vice-mayor for economic development.

Fulgence Nsengiyumva, State Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, poses for a group photo with farmers. / Timothy Kisambira

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The cooperative operates in the 1,750 hectares of Muvumba marshland, which cost government over Rwf9 billion to upgrade for rice growing, according to Minister Nsengiyumva.

The marshland covers four sectors of Nyagatare - Rukomo, Tabagwe, Nyagatare, Rwimpasha and Musheri. ―The aim of improving the marshland was to boost food security and help reduce rice imports.

Since the marshland is big and can‘t be effectively utilised using hand hoes, government supports cooperatives to acquire tractors to boost output,‖ he said.

The minister pledged government support to farmers so that they are able to buy tractors and irrigation equipment at subsidised prices.

Push for mechanisation This is a reason the country embarked on its journey of mechanisation in 2009 with the objective of ensuring that least 25 per cent farm operations are mechanised by end of 2017. So far, about 35,000 hectares of land across the country is under mechanisation. With importation of different farm machinery, including 111 tractors and 252 power tillers, rice transplanters and combine harvesters, Rwanda‘s mechanisation has risen from less than 3 per cent in 2009 to more than 21 per cent presently.

Cattle keepers embrace rice farming Like in other districts in the province, it was not easy for farmers in Nyagatare to adopt rice growing as marshlands were used to graze animals.

However, Grace Kampirwa, a farmer in Muvumba marshland, said that has since changed. ―Farmers say that marshlands play ―double roles‖ where after harvesting rice, they use stems as cattle fodder while animal waste acts as manure in the marshland,‖ Kampirwa said. http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/218229/

Asia Rice -Prices drop in India and Thailand S HO A I B U R R E HM A N

A U G 1 7 T H, 2 0 1 7 2 1 :4 9

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BANGKOK: Rice prices in India and Thailand, the world's top two exporters of the grain, fell this week on low export demand, traders said on Thursday. India's 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices eased by $2 per tonne to $407 to $410 per tonne. "Demand from African countries is weak. Bangladesh is not buying from India as expected earlier. These factors are putting pressure on prices," said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

India's non-basmati rice exports are likely to slow over the next few months as its shipments have become too expensive on the world market due to a rally in the rupee and an increase in local paddy prices. In Thailand benchmark 5-percent broken rice was quoted at $376-382 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, down from $385-387 a tonne last week.

Thai traders say demand is sluggish overall and the incoming off-season white rice grain, which

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is being harvested from mid-August through to September, has led to the slight drop in prices. "Prices are unlikely to fluctuate much until the end of August with incoming grains during this period", a Bangkok-based rice trader said. Rice exporters in Thailand continue to look to fresh demands from markets like Bangladesh and the Philippines but the lack of major deals on the horizon has contributed to lower prices.

"Many rice mills in the country are still clearing their rice stocks and with no new overseas demands the price has dropped slightly," another Thai rice trader said. In Vietnam benchmark 5 percent broken rice was unchanged at $395-$405 a tonne this week, FOB Saigon.

Traders have attributed the lack of price fluctuation on low demand, as harvesting began for the summer-autumn crops amid early seasonal flooding. "Rice output will be lower for sure because floods came earlier in the Mekong Delta. Some of the rice was submerged before it could be harvested. But prices may not rise if demand stays low," a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said. Another trader said prices could rise on low supply after harvesting is completed in midSeptember. "Farmers will hold back rice to wait for a desired price," he added.

Meanwhile Bangladesh was looking at importing more rice from India, and is in talks with Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand as it looks to replenish stocks. Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year following flash floods in April that hit output. It plans to slash the duty on rice imports to 2 percent from 10 percent to solve a food shortage, officials said, the second cut in less than two months.

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"It will help traders to import more rice, especially from neighbouring India," a senior food ministry official said, who asked not to be named. Bangladesh has bought 250,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a state-to-state deal and is issuing a series of invitations to tender after its initial plans to import the grain from Thailand and India suffered a setback over high prices http://www.brecorder.com/2017/08/17/365315/asia-rice-prices-drop-in-india-and-thailand/

Imported rice brought in after duty cut August 18, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:42 AM, August 18, 2017

Price drops by Tk 2.50 per kg at import level

Around 600 trucks carrying 18,000 tonnes of rice began unloading in Hili land port area of Hakimpur upazila in Dinajpur yesterday. The trucks had been waiting for more than a week as rice traders expected a duty cut. As the government finally moved to slash duty on imported rice by 8 percent, the trucks began to unload. Photo: Collected

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Rezaul Karim Byron The price of rice at importer level came down by Tk 2.50 per kg as the latest duty cut became effective yesterday following issuance of a circular by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

According to the circular, the rice import tariff was lowered from 10 percent to two percent. The move came a day after a cabinet committee meeting decided to cut the import duty to keep the rice price stable.

Chitta Majumder, a rice importer, said their cost of rice import from India would come down to Tk 35.50 to Tk 36 from Tk 38 to Tk 38.50 a kg under the new tax rate.

Prices of coarse rice would come down below Tk 40 per kg within two to three days due to a cascading effect of the tax cut, Chitta, proprietor of Majumder Traders, told The Daily Star yesterday.

The retail prices of coarse rice shot up to Tk 47-48 in June-July, a 47 percent increase from last year's price band of Tk 30-34. However, the prices later stabilised at Tk 43-45, according to data of Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

The importer said they had been waiting for over a week on the announcement of the tax cut. He hoped rice prices would ease as about 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of rice would be imported in the next four or five days.

Flashfloods in six northeastern haor districts and fungal attacks (rice blast) in 19 others during the Boro season damaged about 20 lakh tonnes of rice crop earlier this year.

At least 20 northern districts and some others elsewhere in the country have been hit by flood in the last few days.

Against this backdrop, the cabinet committee meeting at the secretariat on Wednesday approved the government's decision to import 20 lakh tonnes of food grains -- 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat -- in the current fiscal year. The revised import target is 11 lakh tonnes more than the government's earlier projected food import volume of 9 lakh tonnes.

Yesterday's duty cut was the second this year after the government in June had slashed the rice import duty to 10 percent from 28 percent.

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Under the new duty structure, importers will have to pay only Tk 1.56 crore instead of Tk 7.82 crore in tariff for releasing 24,000 tonnes of rice stuck at several ports.

Chitta Majumder said 15 lakh tonnes of rice was being imported by the government. Local importers could bring the rice into Darshana, Khulna at quickest time, he told this correspondent.

The government has so far floated international tenders seeking to buy 3.5 tonnes of rice.

Local importers, said Chitta, had supplied rice to the government in 2009 promptly. If the government floated local tenders, the importers would have been able to import rice from India and reach it to government granaries, he added.

DELIVERY OF RICE BEGINS Rice importers started clearing customs at Hili Land Port in Dinajpur's Hakimpur upazila yesterday. They also started unloading rice, imported from India, from trucks that reached the port 12 days ago.

Around 600 trucks carrying 18,000 tonnes of rice had been stranded at the port since August 5 when the importers stopped clearing customs in anticipation of a duty cut.

Rice was unloaded from 400 trucks yesterday, said Moshiur Rahman Mondal, assistant commissioner of customs at the port.

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http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/imported-rice-brought-after-duty-cut-1450282 Red Cross to send test shipment of rice from Pakistan to stricken Yemen GENEVA/HODEIDAH, Yemen (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to send a test shipment of rice to Yemen this month in its first attempt since February to deliver food aid via the port of Hodeidah, which is held by Houthi fighters allied to Iran.

The port has been repeatedly hit by air strikes from a Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting in Yemen since 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi to power. It normally handles some 80 percent of Yemen's food supplies as well as humanitarian aid, "A certain number of maritime companies are starting to use Hodeidah port," ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet said. "We are going to test the waters, so to speak, and send a cargo of rice from Pakistan."

The shipment was expected to leave Pakistan next week and arrive at the Red Sea port the week after, she said.

The Saudi-led coalition says the Houthis have been using Hodeidah to smuggle weapons into the country, and Hadi's government has proposed to the United Nations that it monitors the facility.

The ICRC suspended stopped using Hodeidah port in February. Jaquemet said it had been bringing in supplies to Yemen by land from Jordan via Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced at least 2 million and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, including roads, hospitals and schools, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine. It has also fanned the spread of cholera, infecting some half a million people and killing nearly 2,000.

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The chairman of the board of Red Sea ports, which includes Hodeidah, said on Wednesday that the Saudi-led coalition in January had stopped the delivery of four mobile cranes organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) to replace cranes destroyed by the coalition last year.

The WFP confirmed the report and said the cranes, which were funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were sent back to Dubai after waiting offshore for more than a week.

A coalition spokesman said the WFP had not coordinated with the alliance before it went ahead and sourced the equipment, adding that the Houthis wanted the cranes to create a source of income from imports to finance the war effort.

He suggested that the cranes be installed instead in al-Mokha port, which is under coalition control.

"It will lift its capacity and help lift the suffering from the Yemeni people by ensuring that revenues go to the legitimate government through the central bank to spend on salaries of Yemenis," Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.

Author Name: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-saudi-iraq-idUSKCN1AW1LA

New technology finds procedure to identify grain for sushi and breakfast cereals 18 Aug 2017, 11 a.m.

NEW: NSW Department of Primary Industries researcher Dr Mark Talbot (right) discusses

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advances in detecting cracks in rice to identify grain suitable for sushi and cereal products with Dr Chris Blanchard.

AS THE world continues to move forward with technological advances, it's no different when it comes to rice.

An innovative image analysis system developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientists has given the rice industry an accurate and time-saving procedure to identify grain suitable for sushi and popular puffed rice products, including breakfast cereals.

NSW DPI researcher Mark Talbot said the automated system detected the potential of rice to crack during cooking, speeding up the process and saving labour to deliver high quality grain. ―Heavily cracked rice will turn into mush during the cooking process for sushi and puffed rice, so it‘s very important the industry identifies the potential for rice to crack before grain goes to market,‖ Dr Talbot said. ―Now in use at SunRice, the technology has replaced manual assessment to help to keep consumers happy and protect premiums for growers. ―Rice which cracks during the milling process is downgraded, with producers receiving higher payments for grain with low cracking percentages. ―In the past, cracked grain was assessed by eye - clearly a painstaking and subjective test for thousands of rice grains. ―Automated image analysis allows thousands of grains to be analysed in minutes, instead of hours by eye, reducing human error and labour and a boon for industry and consumers.‖Measuring cracks in soaked rice was recently identified as a good indicator of cooking quality.Known as the Hanasaki test, rice is soaked for 60 minutes before processing through the automated crack detection and counting system to determine cracking percentages.

DPI scientists at the Yanco Agricultural Institute are working closely with SunRice to fine-tune the system as a quality test for the rice industry. http://www.irrigator.com.au/story/4863914/scientists-are-cracking-the-rice-code/

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Rice import gets boost Govt cuts duty to 2pc to facilitate import as 20 lakh tonnes of crop lost in flood, diseases; importers who held back rice in ports save over Tk 6 crore in duty

Indian trucks with rice parked at the Benapole Land Port yesterday. Importers delayed unloading the rice anticipating a reduction of import duty on the staple. The government decided to reduce the duty to 2 percent yesterday. Photo: Star Staff Correspondent Disclosing for the first time this year's crop loss figure, the government yesterday decided to slash the tax on rice imports to 2 percent from 10 percent.

Flashfloods in the six northeastern haor districts and fungal attacks (rice blast) in 19 districts in the Boro season have caused 20 lakh tonnes of crop loss, said the food ministry.

At least 20 districts in the north and elsewhere in the country have been flooded over the past few days.

Against this backdrop, a cabinet committee meeting at the secretariat yesterday approved the government's decision to import 20 lakh tonnes of food grains -- 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5

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lakh tonnes of wheat -- in the current fiscal year. This is an 11 lakh tonnes addition to the government's earlier projected food import volume of 9 lakh tonnes.

The decision to cut import duty has been sent to the law ministry for vetting, said a press release of the National Board of Revenue last night.

All of this comes at a time when private importers have been dragging their feet for the last 10 days in releasing nearly 24,000 tonnes of rice from some 800 trucks, which remained stuck at Hili and Benapole land ports.

After import of the staple from India, the traders refrained from having those released from the ports in anticipation of a tax cut.

This happened when rice prices were showing an uptrend both in wholesale and retail markets in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. The government took note of the situation and finally decided to act.

This is the second duty cut for rice import this year. Earlier in June, the government slashed it to 10 percent from 28 percent.

After the latest duty cut, importers would be requiring to pay Tk 1.56 crore only instead of Tk 7.82 crore in tariff for releasing the 24,000 tonnes of rice stuck at various ports.

The meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee, attended by several ministers and secretaries, made the duty-cut decision to encourage import and tackle any probable food crisis.

While announcing the decision before journalists, Food Minister Qamrul Islam, however, clarified that despite the duty cut, rice price would not decrease by Tk 8 or Tk 10 a kg. He did not say though how much the consumers would have to pay.

"Rice price is within the people's purchasing capacity," claimed Qamrul.

Prices of largely consumed coarse rice marked a 47 percent increase, from Tk 30-32 a kg a year back to Tk 42-45 a kg now in Dhaka markets.

The meeting, also attended by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, took stock of the country's current flood situation and also the low food reserve.

Muhith said there was no food crisis, but imports were required to offset the stock shortfall. ―This decision of the government to import food grains does not indicate that there is a food crisis in the country,‖ said Food Minister Qamrul, claiming, ―In fact, there is no food shortage in the country."

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The government is importing 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from Vietnam, while private importers brought in over 8 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat from India. The government has also recently signed a deal with Cambodia to import up to 10 lakh tonnes of rice in the next five years. Around 2.5 lakh tonnes of the staple will reach Bangladesh by October this year, the minister said while speaking of the government's initiative http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/rice-import-gets-boost-1449682

Mark McKinnon Announced as Outlook Conference Keynote

By Michael Klein

ARLINGTON, VA -- One of the most successful, influential, and respected political and media advisors in the modern era, Mark McKinnon, has been announced as the keynote speaker for this year's USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Antonio, Texas.McKinnon is the creator, executive producer, and co-host of Showtime's realtime documentary series on the 2016 election and the Trump presidency, The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth - the highest rated unscripted program ever on the network.Prior to stepping in front of the camera, McKinnon was the chief media strategist to five successful presidential primary and general election campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain. He also worked for Texas Governor Ann Richards and to advance many causes, notably those dedicated to bipartisanship, civil dialogue, and political problem solving. He has been praised by politicians and leaders on both sides of the aisle for his expertise and his integrity.

For the Outlook audience McKinnon will explain how lessons he learned crafting successful political messages can be used to tell the agriculture story to audiences unfamiliar with the territory, as well as share some of his unique up close experiences with world leaders and candidates.

"Mark's take on politics and telling your story is so interesting, I am really looking forward to

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hearing his thoughts on the current political landscape, but also on how it all specifically relates back to the rice industry," said USA Rice Chairman Brian King. "He's the perfect speaker to help us kick off two days of expanded learning, networking, and a bigger and better trade show, and I can't wait."

The USA Rice Outlook Conference will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, on December 10-12, 2017. King said additional programming and sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities will be announced in the coming weeks

Local manufacturers putting millions into chicken and rice Aug 16, 2017, 12:17pm CDT

Manufacturers in the Mid-South are planning to invest more than $80 million in chicken and rice.On Wednesday, Tyson Foods Inc. announced it would expand its Union City operations, doubling its production capabilities. The $80 million investment will create more than 300 new jobs and add 25,000 square feet as well as new production lines.

Hens will be allowed at new housing development ERNST VIKNE / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ―Customer and consumer demand for protein, especially chicken, is increasing so we‘re investing in projects that build on our strengths, expand our capabilities and increase our capacity,‖ Tyson‘s Doug Ramsey, group president of poultry, said in a release. ―Expansions like this position us to grow and support our customers.‖ Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and the facility should be operational by mid-2019.

Tyson already has more than 1,000 employees in West Tennessee. The company also operates facilities in Goodlettsville, Newbern and Shelbyville, employing about 5,000 people across the entire state.

Just two days before Tyson's announcement, Riceland Foods and Riviana Foods Inc. also revealed plans to build a new rice extrusion facility in Jonesboro.

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The facility will produce and market extruded products for domestic and international markets through the Rivland Partnership. Rice flour and extruded rice products are used in rice noodles, nutrition bars, breakfast cereals and other products that replace wheat-based ingredients for the gluten-free market. ―This investment is another effort to move our family-farmer‘s rice higher up the value-added food chain," said Danny Kennedy, president and CEO of Riceland Foods. "Extruded food products can be found in many segments of today‘s nutrition market place, and this project puts our rice in this high-value market."

The companies said the project represented "a multimillion-dollar investment" but did not disclose the exact cost.

The new extrusion facility is expected to create between five and 10 new jobs. According to Riceland COO Carl Brothers, the production of raw materials at the same location gives the company an advantage in terms of cost and efficiency. ―Our Rivland Partnership has been very successful and we are excited about this new opportunity to manufacture and sell extruded rice products in the United States,‖ said Bastiaan G. de Zeeuw, president and CEO of Riviana Foods. ―We currently produce and market extruded rice products in Europe and with that expertise we can jump-start the project through which we will better serve our customers and expand our portfolio of high quality rice products. https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2017/08/16/local-manufacturers-putting-millions-intochicken.html

Stewardship will be critical for preserving Provisia rice Farmers will need to consider crop rotation planning before they begin planting Provisia rice varieties in 2018 or 19.

Forrest Laws | Aug 16, 2017 Tim Walker says it‘s been 15 or 16 years since scientists with the LSU AgCenter and officials with American Cyanamid and Horizon Ag announced the Clearfield technology that helped change weed control in rice.

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Dr. Walker, general manager of Horizon Ag, and BASF are now preparing growers to begin planting the new Provisia rice, which is tolerant to quizalofop or Provisia herbicide, on a limited basis in 2018.

Hopefully, it won‘t be 15 or 16 more years before another new technology is developed, but Dr. Walker is urging growers to practice good stewardship when they try Provisia in 2018 or 2019.

That includes using the proper crop rotation strategies such as not planting Provisia rice following Clearfield varieties.

He and other speakers discussed the new system and other new Clearfield varieties during presentations at the Horizon Ag Field Day on the Mark Wimpy Farm near Jonesboro, Ark., on Aug. 10 http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/stewardship-will-be-critical-preserving-provisia-rice

Rice Research

Singaporean Scientist Wins ASEAN Award For Rice Research Dr. Yin Zhongcao has received the Outstanding Rice Scientist of Singapore Award at the ASEAN Rice Science and Technology

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Ambassadors Awards held in the Philippines. SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE AsianScientist (Aug. 16, 2017) - Dr. Yin Zhongchao, a Senior Principal Investigator at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL), Singapore, has been conferred the Outstanding Rice Scientist of Singapore award at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Rice Science and Technology Ambassadors Award held at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Auditorium in Quezon City, Philippines.

In conjunction with ASEAN‘s 50th Founding Anniversary, the award highlights the key role agriculture and rice plays in the ASEAN economy and culture as well as the increasing importance of scientific research towards ensuring food and economic security in the region. Yin and his team have, over the years, isolated various specific resistance genes leading to the generation of rice lines that have broad-spectrum and durable resistance to many strains of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, a bacterium which can cause significant devastation in rice fields.

They have also developed new and improved rice varieties using marker-assisted selection to breed and develop rice varieties that have many important agronomic traits, leading to increased yields and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. Their research has appeared in many scientific journals and is widely cited by the scientific community. Yin‘s work extends beyond the lab where he has been active in sharing knowledge and building capability with researchers from various ASEAN countries in the area of rice research. His collaborators include scientists from China, Indonesia, Laos, the United States.

He also works closely with the International Rice Research Institute which has facilities located across the world. Cooperating with the Syiah Kuala University on the development of rice lines that are suitable for cultivation in Aceh, Indonesia, Yin has contributed towards the rebuilding of communities in Aceh after the 2004 Tsunami. More recently, Yin‘s efforts have also contributed towards the deposition of Singaporean rice varieties at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a backup secure seed facility to ensure security and availability of seeds to future generations to overcome the challenges of climate change and population growth. ―I would like to congratulate Yin for his outstanding work and for the recognition he has received,‖ said Mr. Peter Chia, Chief Executive Officer of TLL. ―I hope this would serve as an example to inspire more scientists in pursuing breakthrough science, and beyond that achieve impact to communities. We look forward to more collaborative opportunities to work with our partners in ASEAN to meet the growing aspirations of our region.‖ Yin‘s research was the subject of an entry that won first place in the youth category at the 2017 Asian Scientist Writing Prize. ——— Source: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory; Photo: Shutterstock. Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: https://www.asianscientist.com/2017/08/topnews/yin-zhongchao-asean-award-rice-research/

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Fortified rice holds promise for combating malnutrition in Bangladesh: WFP Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com Published: 2017-08-17 18:06:19.0 BdST Updated: 2017-08-17 18:43:36.0 BdST A new study has shown that consuming fortified rice can significantly reduce anaemia and zinc deficiencies among the poorest women in Bangladesh.Conducted by the research centre icddr,b and on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme or WFP, the study measured the impact of providing rice enriched with micronutrients to women participating in the government‘s vulnerable group development (VGD) programme.

The study, released on Thursday in Dhaka, also found that fortified rice, when combined with training and cash grants for investment, can also contribute to women‘s empowerment.

The study determined that the prevalence of anaemia dropped by 4.8 percent and zinc deficiency reduced by 6 percent among women consuming fortified rice.

The research compared VGD women who received 30kg of fortified rice and an investment grant of Tk 15,000 ($185), with those who received 30kg of normal (non-fortified) rice per month.

This is the first time that the use of fortified rice in a government safety net programme has been tested in Bangladesh. Fortification in salt (with iodine) and oil (with vitamin A) is common in Bangladesh.

The VGD programme reaches more than one million ultra-poor women and their families, totalling about five million people. ―The findings are very promising,‖ said Christa Räder, WFP representative in Bangladesh. ―Now we have a much better understanding of how integrating fortified rice into government safety net programmes can help improve women‘s micronutrient status.‖ Why rice fortification?

The overall objective of rice fortification is to fight micronutrient deficiencies among the poorest.

Low dietary diversity and scanty intake of nutrient-rich foods remain a challenge in Bangladesh, despite a significant decline in poverty in recent years.

Deficiencies in vitamin A, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin B12 and folate are widespread. These micronutrient deficiencies, especially among adolescent girls and women, are a key factor in the

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persistence of undernutrition as a woman‘s health significantly affects the health and development of her future children.

Under-nutrition slows economic growth and perpetuates poverty. Productivity losses to individuals through underdeveloped physique and cognitive functions as well as increased health costs are estimated at roughly 10 percent of lifetime earnings.

Rice is the main staple food in Bangladesh and the poorest often eat only rice with some vegetables and spices. Regular milled rice although high in carbohydrates is low in micronutrients.

With rice being the main commodity distributed through the government‘s food-based social safety nets reaching the ultra-poor, the introduction of fortified rice can address the widespread nutritional deficiencies and help ensure an active and healthy life.

Fortified rice kernels look, taste and cook like ordinary rice but are enhanced with essential micronutrients.

They are combined with regular rice at a WHO approved ratio of 1 to 100 which means in 10kg regular rice 100 gram fortified rice can be added.

Way forward State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki, her ministry‘s Secretary Nasima Begum, and Ambassador of the Netherlands Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere were also present at the launch of study findings.

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Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, senior director of the nutrition and clinical services division of icddr,b, presented the findings.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs has allocated more than $1 million to distribute fortified rice in 35 upazilas covered by the VGD programme in fiscal 2017-2018.

The Scaling-up Rice Fortification Initiative is supported by the Embassy of Netherlands in Bangladesh and implemented by government agencies in collaboration with WFP. Fortified rice kernels look, taste and cook like ordinary rice but are enhanced with six essential vitamins and minerals: vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B12, folic acid, iron and zinc. They are mixed with ordinary rice at a WHO ratio of 1:100 which means in 1kg ordinary rice 10 gram fortified rice is mixed.

The WFP said they would take further steps to support the private sector in making fortified rice commercially available at affordable prices and creating demand among consumers.

The state minister said the government would finance the continuous scaling-up of fortification in the VGD programme.

The ambassador of Netherlands, Cuelenaere, said the research is relevant to the government, the development partners and garments sector and private partners.―There is huge potential in reaching out to the vulnerable through the government safety nets, the development partners in advocating and supporting fortified rice, the garments sector in sensitising and distributing rice to their workers and the private sector in commercialising fortified rice.‖ The research includes a gender analysis to identify, whether the rice fortification initiative has the potential to contribute to intra-household dynamics and enhancing women‘s empowerment. http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2017/08/17/fortified-rice-holds-promise-for-combatingmalnutrition-in-bangladesh-wfp

Kebbi To Export Rice, Livestock To Earn Forex August 17, 2017 Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi says the state is planning to produce rice and livestock in commercial quantities for export to earn foreign exchange.Bagudu said this in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday when he received a team of agricultural experts from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

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He said that Kebbi had recorded a 300-per-cent increase in rice and wheat production, adding that the state was second to Yobe in livestock production in the country.He called on international research organisations to make a critical assessment of the agricultural policy of his administration which was particularly aimed at fully developing the state‘s agricultural potential.

Bagudu also appealed to IITA to provide research outlets in the state so as to boost the capability of the state‘s farmers in grains production and processing.He said that the state also had a great potential in the production of crops like groundnut, soya beans, cowpeas, sesame seeds, banana, cocoyam, yam, millet, bambara nut, sugarcane, guinea-corn, cassava and ginger.

Speaking, the leader of the research team, Dr Kenton Dashiell, said that the institute had a global recognition as a centre of excellence for agricultural research and resources.He said that the team was on a research mission to the state to learn about its agricultural potential.Dashiell said that as specialists in soya bean cultivation, the visit would be an opportunity for the team to examine the state of soya bean production in Kebbi.

Also speaking, Alhaji Sahabi Augie, the State Chairman of Rice Farmers Association (AFAN), said that the association would collaborate with IITA in efforts to boost rice production in the state.He appealed to the institute to assist farmers in the state by supplying them with improved rice seedlings so as to boost their production.

NAN recalls that the state recently initiated some strategies to attain sufficiency in rice production by partnering with WACOT Rice Limited on rice production.WACOT Rice Limited, a member of TGI Group, is helping Nigeria to strengthen its position as a major rice producing country in the West African sub-region.It has invested in rice processing plants, while supporting the Kebbi Government to roll out sustainable agricultural standards and practices throughout the rice-production value chain.The TGI Group recently inaugurated a modern rice mill, which has an installed capacity of producing 120,000 tonnes of rice every year, in Argungu https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/08/17/kebbi-export-rice-livestock-earn-forex/

Analysis Milling Machinery Market Share Growth Trend Analysis Analysis of definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. Besides this, the Rice Milling Machinery market report also contains development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Rice Milling Machinery report also focuses on the main product portfolios, geographical segments, applications, and the competitive analysis of the Rice Milling Machinery Market that are stated.

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Ask Sample PDF @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/request-sample/10945183 Rice Milling Machinery Market Regions includes North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India. Rice Milling Machinery Market majorly assists by providing brief insight into innovations, opportunities and new improvements in the Rice Milling Machinery Market and its interconnected industries. There is a regional as well as a global study of fundamental trends and dynamics of Rice Milling Machinery Market for the given forecast period. Among the many aspects covered, Rice Milling Machinery Market Analysis will give well describes understanding of business strategies, latest and upcoming developments, market study, competitive players.

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Wboy

Belarusian Gomselmash to test grain harvester in Pakistan Economy 16.08.2017 | 18:43 fvkoktgm Photo courtesy of `

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Gomselmash GOMEL, 16 August (BelTA) –

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The Belarusian mechanical engineering company Gomselmash will test its grain harvester Palesse GS575 in Pakistan in September-October, BelTA learned from Yuri Rafeyev, Head of the company's Non-CIS Sales Office. A grain harvester Palesse GS575 was shipped to Pyramid Logistics Company, a dealership of Gomselmash in Pakistan, at the end of July 2017. The dealership is located in the city of Dera Ismail Khan. The region is famed for its fertile soils where crops are harvested several times a year and the irrigation canals drain water from the Indus River, further improving crop yields.

―Our machine will be used in rice fields. Rice gets ripe in early autumn there. The machine is fitted with the necessary adapters,‖ noted the source. A team of Belarusian specialists is in Pakistan now. They will prepare the harvester for operation, will tune and maintain the machine during the test. Last year Gomselmash tested three mounted rotary field forage choppers Palesse CH15 and a mounted mower-conditioner Palesse CT42 in Pakistan with positive results. The Pakistani market has its own peculiarities. Small farms represent the backbone of the country's agriculture, this is why primarily mounted agricultural machines are in demand.

―Nevertheless, we hope that the small and maneuverable economy-class self-propelled harvester Palesse GS575 will fit the bill. The machine was actually designed for countries where grain crops are cultivated using small fields with a low yield,‖ said Yuri Rafeyev. The Belarusian holding company Gomselmash is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machines in the world. The company offers grain harvesters and forage harvesters, ear corn harvesters and potato harvesters, mowers, and other agricultural machines. The Palesse brand is used to market 16 types of agricultural machines, 75 basic models and modifications, 70 kinds of adapters and implements for harvesting various crops.

Read full text at: http://eng.belta.by/economics/view/belarusian-gomselmash-to-test-grainharvester-in-pakistan-10411-2017/ If you use BelTA‘s materials, you must credit us with a hyperlink to eng. http://eng.belta.by/economics/view/belarusian-gomselmash-to-test-grain-harvester-in-pakistan104111-2017/belta.by.

Red Cross to send test shipment of rice to stricken Yemen Stephanie Nebehay and Abduljabbar Zeyad GENEVA/HODEIDAH, Yemen (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to send a test shipment of rice to Yemen this month in its first attempt since February to deliver food aid via the port of Hodeidah, which is held by Houthi fighters allied to Iran.The port has been repeatedly hit by air strikes from a Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting in Yemen since 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized President AbdRabbu Mansour Hadi to power. It normally handles some 80 percent of Yemen's food supplies as well as humanitarian aid,"A certain number of maritime companies are starting to use Hodeidah

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port," ICRC spokeswoman Iolanda Jaquemet said. "We are going to test the waters, so to speak, and send a cargo of rice from Pakistan."

The shipment was expected to leave Pakistan next week and arrive at the Red Sea port the week after, she said.The Saudi-led coalition says the Houthis have been using Hodeidah to smuggle weapons into the country, and Hadi's government has proposed to the United Nations that it monitors the facility.

The ICRC suspended stopped using Hodeidah port in February. Jaquemet said it had been bringing in supplies to Yemen by land from Jordan via Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced at least 2 million and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, including roads, hospitals and schools, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine. It has also fanned the spread of cholera, infecting some half a million people and killing nearly 2,000.

The chairman of the board of Red Sea ports, which includes Hodeidah, said on Wednesday that the Saudi-led coalition in January had stopped the delivery of four mobile cranes organized by the World Food Programme (WFP) to replace cranes destroyed by the coalition last year.

The WFP confirmed the report and said the cranes, which were funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were sent back to Dubai after waiting offshore for more than a week.

A coalition spokesman said the WFP had not coordinated with the alliance before it went ahead and sourced the equipment, adding that the Houthis wanted the cranes to create a source of income from imports to finance the war effort.He suggested that the cranes be installed instead in al-Mokha port, which is under coalition control."It will lift its capacity and help lift the suffering from the Yemeni people by ensuring that revenues go to the legitimate government through the central bank to spend on salaries of Yemenis," Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a statement

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-dunford-idUSKCN1AX0EF?il=0

BD to cut duty on rice imports to cool local prices DHAKA: Bangladesh will slash the duty on rice imports to cool high local prices of the staple grain, the country´s food minister said on Wednesday, the second cut in less than two months.

The import duty on rice will be lowered to 2 percent from 10 percent, Food Minister Kamrul Islam told reporters, down from 28 percent in June. Bangladesh, the world´s fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year due to depleted stocks and record high local prices following flash floods in April that cut around 1 million tonnes of rice production.

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"We have taken the decision anticipating major floods that could further cut rice production," Islam said, adding the circular outlining the cut would be issued in a day or two. Growing demand from Bangladesh could help stoke Asian rice prices that hit multi-year highs in June.

The government is making a frantic effort to build buffer stocks as it aims to import as much as 1.5 million tonnes of rice in the year to June.

Bangladesh has bought 250,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a state-to-state deal and is issuing a series of tenders after its initial plans to import the grain from Thailand and India suffered a setback over high prices.

The government is in talks with Cambodia and Myanmar to import rice while it is also engaged in a second round of discussions with Thailand and India. Rice is a staple food for Bangladesh‘s 160 million people and high prices pose a problem for the government which faces a national election next year. Bangladesh produces around 34 million tonnes of rice annually but uses almost all its production to feed its population. It often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods or droughts.

Bangladesh also has a major wheat import need after floods damaged its crops but tough state purchasing conditions and slow ship unloading in ports mean trading houses are unwilling to sell grain to the Asian country https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/223905-BD-to-cut-duty-on-rice-imports-to-cool-local-prices

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