17th July , 2014
Chinese COLOR SORTER as low as Pak Rs 22 Lakh Only A Time Limited Offer Contact: Cell: 0300 414 3493
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines…
NFA plans to import 400,000 MT of rice Pakistan working to remove obstacles in Iran barter trade Sans Demand AP Boiled Rice Millers at Kerala’s Mercy S. Korea to open its rice market under tariff system from next year Region Two rice farmers begin to receive payment for paddy Weak monsoon may result in 10% lower kharif output Kharif sowing gathers pace on monsoon revival Korea opens rice market starting 2015 Pakistan to export rice, wheat to Iran against electricity dues South Korea to scrap rice import caps, farmers stage protest Mechanical paddy transplanting under PPP launched
News Detail… NFA plans to import 400,000 MT of rice Anna Leah G. EstradaJul. 19, 2014 at 12:01am
State-owned National Food Authority said Friday it plans to import another 400,000 metric tons of rice in the second half to support the national stock, following the onslaught of typhoon Glenda.Presidential Assistant for Food Security Francis Pangilinan said the increase in rice imports was due to the high rate of rice withdrawals from government-owned warehouses.Pangilinan said the 400,000 MT would be used as additional buffer stock and to prevent the possible increase in rice prices.The planned new imports will be on top of the 800,000 MT of rice the NFA imported earlier this year.
This would bring total imports in 2014 to 1.2 million MT.“We will meet with the NFA Council on Tuesday next week to finalize the importation plan,” Pangilinan said.NFA said the import volume, once approved, was
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
expected to arrive by early September.“We need to manage the arrival period for our imports so that it will not drastically affect the prices of palay, which will be harvested during the same month. If the volume will arrive at the start of harvest season in September, this will not be released in the markets so that it will not affect palay prices,� Pangilinan said. NFA administrator Arthur Juan said at present, the total rice stocks were enough for 80 days. Juan, however, did not provide the details of the current stock inventory.He said the 400,000 MT of new rice imports would bring the country’s rice inventory to a comfortable level of about 90 days.
Pakistan working to remove obstacles in Iran barter trade July 18, 2014 OUR STAFF REPORTER
Islamabad Pakistan is vigorously working to clear the obstacles in barter trade with Iran, as Islamabad is all set to clear the power outstanding dues as well as ready to supply rice and wheat to Tehran on the account of commodity exchange.Pakistan wants to clear all pending issues with Iran before the Joint Economic Council (JEC), which is scheduled to meet this quarter. Therefore, an inter-ministerial committee headed by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has met twice in last two weeks to resolve the pending issues. An inter-ministerial committee met on Thursday on facilitating Pakistan-Iran trade, within the ambit of UN sanctions. Finance Secretary Dr. Waqar Masood briefed the participants on the decisions made in the last meeting held on July 5, 2014 and progress made so far. He informed that in consultation with all the stakeholders, there are avenues that can be followed for trading with Iran on non-prescribed items and through non-sanctioned entities. He said that NTDC is willing to clear outstanding dues of Iran on account of supply of electricity to border areas and in this regard, Commerce Ministry is taking appropriate steps for commodity exchange. It was further informed that Iran has already laid down transmission lines up to their border for possible power supply to Gwadar and adjoining towns. Secretary Commerce informed the Finance Minister that consultations are already at advanced stage for supply of Basmati rice and wheat to Iran on account of commodity exchange. He also informed that Iran has recently lifted ban on mango import from Pakistan and the gesture has set the pitch for enhanced barter trade. Finance Minister directed the concerned Ministries and Departments to resolve outstanding issues immediately and remove impediments in order to exploit full potential of bilateral trade. He
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
mentioned about putting on fast track all the pending issues for resolution in or before the Joint Economic Commission to be held soon. The Finance Minister said that during the Prime Minister’s visit to Iran, both the sides had reaffirmed their commitment that while remaining within the ambit of UN sanctions, mutual trade and cooperation will be enhanced with barter trade and commodities exchange mechanism.He said that we need to build mutual confidence to overcome the impediments in barter trade and commodity exchanges facilities enabling the two countries to benefit from their proximity and neighbourhood. Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, Governor State Bank Ashraf Wathra, Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Shahzad Arbab, Commerce Secretary, Rana Assad Amin, Advisor to Finance Ministry Additional Finance Secretary/SA to Finance Minister, Shahid Mahmood and senior officials of the Finance Ministry.
Sans Demand AP Boiled Rice Millers at Kerala’s Mercy By J Deepthi Nandan Reddy | ENS
Published: 18th July 2014 07:38 AM Last Updated: 18th July 2014 07:38 AM VIJAYAWADA: Boiled rice millers in the state are in a pitiable condition at present owing to the indifference of the government and the lack of proper mechanism to sell their produce at profitable rates.As the states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal, which used to depend on Andhra Pradesh for boiled rice, have almost become self-reliant, the only state in need of boiled rice now is Kerala. As a result, all the boiled rice is sent to Kerala and, with supply exceeding demand, the AP boiled rice millers are now at the mercy of Kerala rice traders.More than the demand-supply mismatch what is worrying AP boiled rice millers is that the Kerala traders do not issue C-Forms to AP boiled rice sellers. At present, 2 per cent Central Excise Tax (CST) is levied on the boiled rice sent to other states. If C-Forms are not produced, another 2 per cent will be imposed, which will place a burden on rice millers.“As we do not have any other market to send boiled rice to, Kerala merchants are cashing in on our weakness. When we send a consignment to Kerala, all charges from loading to unloading have to be borne by us, thus making the business less profitable,” said P Veeraiah, Krishna District Ricemillers Association president.
He said that on several occasions Kerala traders did not even make payments citing various reasons. AP boiled rice millers are so fed up with the increase in production costs and the problems faced from Kerala traders that most of them have shut down their units.“The production cost of boiled rice is double the cost of normal rice.
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
But the price we get for boiled rice is less when compared to normal rice.Also, with market shrinking, there is no other way but to stop operations. We cannot survive in the domestic markets unless the government puts in efforts to export our boiled rice which has good demand overseas,� summed up Bolla Rajeswara Rao, a boiled rice miller from Khammam.The number of boiled rice mills in Krishna district has come down to 20-25 from about 100. Another seven are up for sale but there are no takers.
S. Korea to open its rice market under tariff system from next year
SEJONG/SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government announced Friday it will open the rice market to tariffed imports, ending a 20-year waiver."As the result of an economic ministers' meeting held July 18, the government decided to open the country's rice market with tariffication from Jan. 1, 2015," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said. "The government decided that opening the rice market with import tariffs is inevitable, and also the best choice available," it added.South Korea's agreement with the World Trade Organization (WTO) that allowed the country to postpone its rice market opening for the past 20 years expires at the end of this year, leaving a choice between seeking another waiver or opening the market under tariffication. The government argued that another waiver would come with a large cost."The government had also reviewed the possibility of another waiver, but reached a conclusion that this would give the country no choice but to expand its mandatory import quota," Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-phil told a press conference in Seoul.The Philippines was recently given a five-year waiver from its rice market opening, but on condition that it expand its rice imports under the MMA by 2.3 times to over 800,000 tons per year, plus other undisclosed benefits to WTO members.For the past 20 years, South Korea's rice imports have increased in 20,000-ton increments per year under the MMA.MMA imports, to reach 409,000 tons this year, are currently subject to a 5 percent tariff. The MMA import quota is retained even after a country liberalizes its rice market. Minister Lee said the country's mandatory import quota, already accounting for about 9 percent of the country's annual consumption, will only become a problem even if it remains at the current level."When considering the downward trend in rice consumption, this amount will become a very heavy burden on the country's rice market in the future," he told the press conference.The ministry earlier said the country's overall rice consumption will likely reach 4.58 million tons this year, with its per capita consumption shrinking 1.75 percent on-year to 67.3 kilograms.Although Seoul did not specify the tariff rate in Friday's announcement, government officials have said that a rate of 400 percent to 500 percent would make the imports more expensive than locally produced products. "Based on local and global prices of rice and the amount of tariffs the country would impose on rice imports, it is believed the amount of rice imports in addition to the country's mandatory import quota will be insignificant even after the country opens its rice market," the agriculture ministry said.The ministry said South Korea will soon set the country's tariff rate on rice, which is subject to verification by the WTO. Negotiations on the terms of the market opening will begin in late September.
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
<All rights reserved by Yonhap News Agency>
Region Two rice farmers begin to receive payment for paddy JULY 17, 2014 · BY STAFF WRITER · 3 COMMENTS NEXT ARTICLE »
ice farmers in Region Two have begun receiving from millers, the monies they were owed from the last crop.According to information reaching Stabroek News, farmers have started to receive payments for their paddy from Golden Fleece Rice Investment. This publication was told that the government through the Ministry of Agriculture assisted a popular rice miller, Nazeemul Hakh with the sum of $400 million as an advance payment in order for him to pay rice farmers.However, while some farmers were given cheques, others were given …..To continue reading,login or subscribe now.
Weak monsoon may result in 10% lower kharif output Improved crop varieties have not been developed in rain-fed areas, admit scientists If monsoon remains weak in key States in the next week, then kharif production is likely to be lower by an estimated 10 per cent, a top official of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) has said here.While rice output may not be affected due to better rain in Northeast and irrigation facilities in Punjab and Haryana, soybean, cotton and groundnut harvest may be hit in crucial growing States such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.Till July 14, monsoon was said to be lower by 41 per cent with 53 per cent departure from normal in northwest India and 55 per cent lower in central India.“If it rains in the next one week as the Met office has predicted, then normal sowing can still commence,” said IARI Director H.S. Gupta on Wednesday. “Cotton and soybean can be sown up to July 25 provided it rains in Gujarat and Maharashtra which together account for about 60 per cent of the country’s cotton output,” he added. New rice variety
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have sown a newly developed short-duration rice variety called Pusa Basmati 1509 in almost 50 per cent area which will give a higher yield than the traditional Pusa Basmati 1121.Scientists admitted that for over a decade there has not been much emphasis on development of improved crop varieties in rain-fed areas which is why a monsoon deficiency situation lands dry-land farmers in trouble.“Our focus areas have been irrigated areas and the Gangetic belt. Poverty-stricken non-irrigated areas with low productivity have unfortunately so far been neglected,” a top
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
official said. Till last Friday, kharif sowing was lower than last year by almost 50 per cent owing to deficient and weak monsoon. Keywords: Kharif production, Kharif crops
Kharif sowing gathers pace on monsoon revival Ajay Modi
Last Updated: July 18, 2014 | 18:32 IST
Sowing of kharif crops such as paddy and pulses have picked up over the past week due to a revival in monsoon rainfall.Area under most crops, however, continues to lag over last year's corresponding number. Kharif crops have been sown in a total of 34.65 million hectares as of July 19, according to data from the agriculture ministry. This is 44 per cent lower than the corresponding area last year.The gap was more than 50 per cent a week ago. Paddy, which is milled to produce rice, has been sown on 12.73 million hectares, down 18 per cent from 15.48 million hectares last year.Pulses, another important kharif crop, have been sown on 2.15 million hectares, down 32 per cent from 3.16 million hectares in the corresponding period last year.Oilseeds have been sown only on 3.8 million hectares against the corresponding area of 15 million hectares last year.Cotton acreage is down from 10 million hectares to 5.6 million hectares.Significant sowing activity is expected to continue for the rest of July as good rainfall is likely for another 10 days. However, productivity could be affected due to delayed sowing. Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) show that the rainfall deficit (from the normal level) on a national level has come down to 35 per cent from 43 per cent last week thanks to a revival in rains.This year, the monsoon arrived on June 6, according to the IMD. The normal date for the onset of monsoon is June 1, which was also the date it arrived last year. The IMD had also scaled down its monsoon forecast from 95 per cent (announced in April) of the long-period average (LPA) to 93 per cent. LPA is the average rainfall received over a period of 50 years.
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Korea opens rice market starting 2015 Updated: 2014-07-18 PM 2:45:13 (KST)
Top of Form
Korea will open its rice market next year.Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-phil said Friday that it's simply too costly to import more rice, which was the trade-off for postponing rice market liberalization. Korea promised to open up its rice market under a 1994 agreement with the World Trade Organization.But because rice is a Korean staple food, the country was allowed to push back the date for 20 years, in exchange for gradually raising its rice import quota. That extension is set to expire at the end of this year. (Korean) "The import quota of over 400-thousand tons this year, which makes up 9 percent of the nation's total rice consumption based on 2013, is a heavy burden on the nation's overall rice market, especially since rice consumption continues to drop in Korea."(2014 409 2013 9% , .)While the government says it will protect the domestic market by imposing high tariffs on foreign rice, it did not provide specific numbers. Pundits are expecting the tariff rate to fall at around 4-hundred percent. They say. that level of tariff would ensure that Korean rice maintains its price competitiveness against Chinese or American rice, which can cost half the price, or even less. The government also laid out plans to support the nation's rice industry through an insurance program, meant to stabilize rural household incomes. Korean farmers, however, on Friday continued a massive protest that began the day before.They said they intended to protect the nation's food sovereignty that the government seems to have handed away. (Korean) "The government is giving our jar of rice to the U.S. and China or other countries that are rich in grain. This will never guarantee the food security of Koreans." ( .)The government plans to set the nation's tariff rate on rice and have it verified by the WTO by this September.It said it would work hard to gain full understanding from local farmers about the change. Hwang Ji-hye, Arirang News.
Reporter : emilyfwang@arirang.co.kr Watch Video=http://www.arirang.co.kr/news/News_View.asp?nseq=165597
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Pakistan to export rice, wheat to Iran against electricity dues July 2014, 16:52 (GMT+05:00)
Pakistan will give basmati rice or wheat to Iran against the electricity dues of over $100 million the former needs to pay to the latter against the import of electricity.In the presence of United Nations sanctions, it is not possible for Pakistan to pay dollars to Iran. Tehran has shown keen interest to import of basmati rice from Pakistan in return of electricity export.These issues have been discussed in an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on facilitating Pakistan-Iran trade, within the ambit of UN sanction on Iran, the Pakistani News newspaper reported on July 18, citing Finance Secretary Waqar Masood.Masood said that NTDC (National Transmission Dispatch Company) was willing to clear the outstanding dues of Iran on account of supply of electricity to border areas. In this regard, commerce ministry is taking appropriate steps for commodity exchange. It was further informed that Iran had already laid down transmission lines up to their border for possible power supply to Gwadar and adjoining towns.In the meeting, it has been highlighted that there are many items, which can be traded with Iran as the said items that (non-prescribed items) do not fall under jurisdiction of the UN sanctions. However, banks are hesitant for transactions. In the meeting, it has been decided to carve out the mechanism for trade of nonprescribed items through banks. Secretary Commerce informed the finance minister consultations are already at advanced stage for the supply of basmati rice and wheat to Iran on account of commodity exchange. He also informed that Iran had recently lifted ban on mango import from Pakistan and the gesture had set the pitch for enhanced barter trade. Masood briefed the participants on the decisions made in the last meeting held on July 5, 2014 and progress made so far.He said that in consultation with all the stakeholders, there were avenues, which could be followed for trading with Iran on non-prescribed items and through non-sanctioned entities.The finance minister directed the concerned ministries and departments to resolve the outstanding issues immediately and remove impediments in order to exploit full potential of bilateral trade. He mentioned about putting on fast track all the pending issues for resolution in or before the Joint Economic Commission to be held soon.The finance minister said that during the Prime Minister's visit to Iran, both the sides had reaffirmed their commitment that while remaining within the ambit of UN sanctions, mutual trade and cooperation would be enhanced with barter trade and commodities exchange mechanism. "We need to build mutual confidence to overcome the impediments in barter trade and commodity exchanges facilities enabling the two countries to benefit from their proximity and neighborhood," he said. Tags: Iran Pakistan trade, Iran Pakistan barter, Iran electricity
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
South Korea to scrap rice import caps, farmers stage protest BY MEEYOUNG CHO SEOUL Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:57am EDT
(Reuters) - South Korea will scrap caps on rice imports from 2015, potentially opening up the politically sensitive market to more imports from countries such as the United States and China, in a move that has been fiercely resisted by many farmers.Seoul said steep tariffs would be used to protect its farmers. While this is likely to prevent a short-term surge in imports, farmers are worried that it could open the floodgates to foreign sales down the line in a country where locally grown rice has traditionally enjoyed almost mythical status.Under pressure to open its markets, Seoul has little room for maneuver over the issue with a 20-year-old World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on import quotas expiring at the end of 2014. "The rice market will be protected by setting maximum tariffs in accord with the WTO," agriculture minister Lee Dong-phil said in a statement. At a news briefing, he added that this level would be from 300-500 percent. That would bring prices for imported rice in line with local grain.Around 30 farmers gathered in front of a government complex in Seoul to protest against the move, with an official from left-wing farmers' group the Korean Peasants League saying farmers should have been consulted more thoroughly.The government has held a series of discussions with the public on plans for its rice policy and some farmers have accepted that change was inevitable, instead focusing on the exact level of tariffs."We consider the switch to the tariff scheme for rice unavoidable," said Son Jaebeom, secretary general of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation.He said that tariffs should be at least 400 percent and that the level should not be amended as part of any free trade deals with other nations. CHINA, UNITED STATES Under the current WTO agreement, South Korea must buy exactly 408,700 tonnes of foreign rice this year, or 9 percent of its demand. The amount that must be purchased abroad has gradually increased from 51,000 tonnes in 1995.Under the new scheme, Seoul would still be required to import at least 408,700 tonnes a year, with the
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
higher tariff rate charged on any imports beyond that, agriculture ministry officials said.China usually accounts for at least half of total imports, the United States for 20-30 percent and Thailand for 10-20 percent, government data shows.Of the 159 WTO members, only South Korea and the Philippines have tight controls on rice imports. The Korean government, farmers and civic groups have been closely monitoring negotiations between Manila and WTO members on the future of its restrictions. OPEN DOOR? Opponents led by the left-wing farmer groups have said the tariff would eventually fall via free trade deals, opening the door to more imports and hitting domestic growers hard."We have many concerns about whether the duty can really stay at 300-500 percent levels as the government now vows, because the agriculture ministry's roles include not only stabilizing production but also helping provide food at low cost for the country's people," a farmer said at a public consultation in June.Government officials have said that rice would be excluded from any free trade agreements, with Agriculture Minister Lee repeating that position on Friday. A free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States took effect in March 15 last year, while Seoul has been in talks with China on a similar deal and also wants to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.To reassure farmers further, Lee said that a higher emergency tariff could be introduced if imports suddenly spiked. A pick up in imports has the potential to benefit Chinese growers, who produce the glutinous Japonica variety of rice preferred by Koreans and found in dishes such as bibimpap, a spicy mixed rice meal with vegetables. But a source at China's agriculture ministry has said the country would focus on its own food security and would not increase rice exports to South Korea even if caps were removed. The United States also exports Japonica, although market participants in South Korea said Chinese rice is closer in flavor to locally grown grain.South Korea aims to produce 4.15 million tonnes of rice in the crop year that ends in October 2015, down 2 percent from a year earlier as the number of rice fields shrinks, a government official said in April. Its appetite for the grain is estimate at 4.07 million tonnes during the crop year.(Reporting by Meeyoung Cho; Additional reporting by Ju-min Park, Christine Kim, Chris Lee in Seoul, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Niu Shuping in Beijing; Editing by Joseph Radford and Ed Davies) Image : A farmer holds a sickle on a rice field in Gimje, south of Seoul, September 22, 2009. CREDIT: REUTERS/LEE JAE-WON
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Mechanical paddy transplanting under PPP launched Swiss-based agribusiness company Syngenta launched mechanical paddy transplanting programme under the public private partnership (PPP) with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), reports BSS.The world leading multinational company in the agriculture sector launched the transplanting programme in Bagatipara upazila of Bogra District as part of its flagship Tegra programme. Tegra is a Syngenta promoted integrated modern agronomic services to the rice growing farmers.The programme replaces traditional rice production process with mechanized seedling, transplanting and herbicide application for growing paddy. Syngenta has been promoting this solution for paddy farming in Bangladesh since 2012, which already brought farmers about 20 percent more yield than traditional rice farming. As part of the expansion initiative of Tegra, Syngenta launched the mechanized transplanting programme in Bagatipara early this month.Rahamatullah Sarkar, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DEA), Natore was the chief guest at the event when Dr Saiful Islam, principal scientific officer of BRRI was the special guest. Dr Ziaur Rahman, TEGRA Rice Programme Lead gave welcome address and detailed benefits of Tegra. Some other high officials of the DEA were present at the programme along with a good number of farmers from the neighborhoods.
For Advertising SPECS & RATES Contact: Advertising Department Mujahid Ali mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2874
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874