1st September, 2014
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Go online for Kolkata rice bucket challenge China produces slightly less early rice in 2014 China, Thailand seek alternative to 'rice for rail' plan Philippines may rerun rice tender after prices in sale too high FACTBOX-Asian rice schemes and subsidies Rice bank opens to delight of industry TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi- Aug 29 Rice already taking hits from drought as El Niño looms over Colombia Commerce Ministry plans rice auction in September Labour shortage dents Thai plans to boost rice exports Rice Board Free of Political and Government Interference is Pertinent to Revive Thai Rice Sector, Says TREA President Oryza.com staffer gets UN's Karmaveer Chakra award and Karmaveer Global Fellowship for Rice Bucket Challenge movement Happy Labor Day from Oryza!
NEWS DETAILS Go online for Kolkata rice bucket challenge Kolkata, Sep 1 (IANS): Are you ordering groceries online? Think about the underprivileged section of the society and click to participate in the online rice bucket challenge in Kolkata.Modelled on the popular ALS ice bucket challenge, the Indian version that encourages people to donate rice instead of dumping water, is gathering momentum in Kolkata with both online and offline events planned this month.The Indian spin-off started by Hyderabad-based Manju Latha Kalanidhi involves donating rice to people in need in a country which is the world's second largest consumer of rice. The Facebook page of the campaign says: "Desi challenge for desi needs, cook or buy one bucket of rice or biryani and feed the needy. Tag #RiceBucketChallenge and challenge your friends. Take a picture or video of your challenge and tag all your friends."The e-grocery store 'Salt n Soap' will flag-off an online campaign to
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add to the mass movement in mid-September in Kolkata."Shoppers will be encouraged to pledge a kilogram of rice when they place their orders. We have tied up with a few NGOs and the rice collected at the end of two-three weeks will be handed over to them," S. Roy, in-charge of business development at the online portal, told IANS Monday."We expect to collect around 500 kg of rice," Roy said.The challenge will also focus at the 'Joy of Giving' week Oct 2-8. But the citizens' initiative will be observed a week earlier in Kolkata to avoid a clash with the Durga Puja festivities during the first week of October, an organiser told IANS.According to the venture's Facebook page, over 50 donors lined up Sunday in Girish Park area to donate 1,500 kg of rice to over 500 recipients. This campaign was spearheaded by city-based businessman and activist Suraj Chokhani.India's rice stockpile is estimated at 21.2 million tonnes as of July 1, 2014. A report by the International Food Policy Research Institute places India at the 63rd spot among 78 countries in the Global Hunger Index.The ice bucket challenge is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on someone's head to promote awareness of the disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease, and encourage donations for research.The challenge dares nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and then nominating others to do the same.
China produces slightly less early rice in 2014 Updated: 2014-08-22 13:46 (Xinhua) BEIJING - China produced 34.01 million tons of early rice in 2014, a decrease of 125,000 tons, or 0.4 percent, from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday in a statement.According to the NBS, China's early rice planting area for 2014 stood at 579.5 million hectares, 0.2 percent less than last year, with yield per hectare down 0.2 percent to 5.87 ton.Huang Jiacai, a senior statistician with the NBS, said it was still a good harvest year for early rice given the unit yield is the second highest in history second only to 2013.
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The planting area remained stable thanks to favorable policies implemented in Central China's provinces of Hunan and Hubei, which led to an increase of planting areas in the two regions, he said. Hunan is China's largest producer of early rice, with an output of 8.5 million tons and a planting area of 1.45 million hectares in 2014. Neighboring Jiangxi province ranked the second with an output of 8.2 million tons, according to the NBS.Early rice is mainly planted in eight central and southern provincial-level regions of China, including Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hubei, Anhui, Fujian and Hainan.China's total grain output consists of three parts -- early rice, summer grain and autumn production.In 2013, China's total grain output expanded 2.1 percent year on year to hit 601.94 million tons, marking 10 years in a row for increased grain production.Based on the data in 2013, early rice accounted for nearly 6 percent of total grain output.The summer grain crops, mainly wheat and early-season rice, account for about 22 percent of China's total grain output. Autumn grain crops, which include corn and middle- and late-season rice, account for the remaining 72 percent. China's grain self-sufficiency rate stood above 97 percent in 2013 and cereal imports reached 14 million tons, accounting for less than 2.6 percent of the country's cereal output, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
China, Thailand seek alternative to 'rice for rail' plan 2014-08-29 15:18Ecns.cnWeb Editor: Si Huan
(ECNS) -- China and Thailand are working to find another way for the former to participate in the south-east Asian country's high-speed rail project, after the "rice for high-speed rail" program drew to a halt due to turmoil in Thailand, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing Phaichit Viboontanasarn, commercial minister at the Thai embassy in Beijing.Viboontanasarn said his country and China agreed on not binding rice trade to Thai high-speed rail. "The agreement is more equitable for China in exporting high-speed rail trains and technology, and can benefit both countries more. "Measures for bilateral relations released last October when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Thailand revealed that China intended to participate in Thai high-speed rail projects, with agricultural products as part of payment. The plan ran aground in February as Thailand fell into political crisis.The commercial minister added that China would continue to buy Thai rice, and that it has shown interest in infrastructure investment in his country, while on the other hand, Thailand is interested in China's high-speed rail technology and its cost effectiveness.
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"I believe China will gain an advantage if the Thai government initiates bidding for the rail project," Viboontanasarn said.Thai authorities have reportedly approved a high-speed railway project linking the country and southern China late in July. However, Viboontanasarn commented that it would take longer as the railway needs to pass through Laos.
Philippines may rerun rice tender after prices in sale too high By The Vinh, TN News
Friday, August 29, 2014 11:19 Vietnamese workers load bags of rice bound for the Philippines onto a ship. Photo credit: Bao Cong Thuong
The Philippines, the biggest buyer of rice in Asia after China, will rerun a tender to buy 500,000 metric tons or seek supplies from another government after prices offered today were abovebudget.While the National Food Authority received offers for as much as 750,000 tons in the tender, the prices ranged from $460 a ton to $496.75 a ton, according to data from the agency. That’s more than the authority’s budget of $456.50 a ton for the sale. Four traders including Vinafood I and II of Vietnam, Louis Dreyfus and LG International Corp. had submitted bids.Supplies of the staple are needed before the end of next month, according to Presidential Assistant for Food Security Francis Pangilinan. Philippine stockpiles fell 12.2 percent to 2.03 million tons as of July 1 from the previous month, good for 59 days, according to the agricultural statistics agency. National Food’s stockpiles are good for 14 days, Rex Estoperez, a spokesman, said before the auction.“We will just have to ensure we will be able to bring in the volume of imported rice before end of September,” Pangilinan said in a statement today. “We will either do a rebid or government-to-government negotiation.”The Southeast Asian nation may import 1.6 million tons in the 12 months ending June 2015, making it the world’s fourth-largest buyer. Purchases will be the most since 2010, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. World inventory is poised to climb to the most in nine years in 2014 as production increases, the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization estimates, helping cool advances in prices. Benchmark Thai prices were $447 a ton for the 5-percent grade on Aug. 20, up from $384 at the end of May.National Food set a budget of 10.27 billion pesos ($235 million) for today’s tender, expecting 40 percent of volume to be delivered before Sept. 30.
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FACTBOX-Asian rice schemes and subsidies Fri Aug 29, 2014 2:30am IST Aug 29 (Reuters) - Indonesia's powerful anti-graft agency will launch a probe into the nation's subsidised rice scheme unless major flaws are fixed, threatening moves to expand the role of the state food buying agency into other staples such as corn, beef and sugar.Below are some facts on rice schemes and subsidies in Asia: BANGLADESH Bangladesh buys rice from local farmers to ensure a support price for them and builds stocks for welfare programmes and emergency needs. The government provides rice to the poor at subsidised rates. Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer at around 35 million tonnes a year, consumes almost all its production at home, but it often needs to import to cope with shortages caused by floods or droughts. CHINA China gives farmers subsidies and sets a minimum purchase price for the grain to reduce price volatility in the domestic market. INDIA India, the world's second-biggest rice consumer, spends 900 billion to 1 trillion rupees ($16.5 billion) per year to buy grains from farmers at a guaranteed price and to sell cheaper food to the poor. It has more than doubled the price it pays farmers for rice over the last decade. INDONESIA Indonesia's state food procurement agency, Bulog, is tasked with maintaining rice stocks of about 2 million tonnes. Although it prioritises domestic rice, Bulog also often relies on imports from Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, Bulog runs Indonesia's rice-for-poor programme called RASKIN. Although the number changes each year, RASKIN buys about 3 million tonnes of rice to sell at a discounted rate to poor families across Indonesia.
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The RASKIN budget is between 18-20 trillion rupiah ($1.5-$1.71 billion) per year, with 15.5 million households receiving around 15 kg per month at 1,600 rupiah ($0.13) per kilogram. MALAYSIA Malaysia's rice sector is highly protected through price controls, subsidies, tariffs and buffer stocks. The government also provides subsidies to farmers and consumers, and imposes import duties to protect the domestic industry and for food security. Rice trade is controlled through a sole importer and distributor, Padiberas Nasional (BERNAS). THE PHILIPPINES Although the Philippines does not have a rice subsidy programme, the government often imports and sells rice at lower prices than sold by private traders. Costs of this scheme, run by the National Food Authority (NFA), was not immediately available, but debt levels at the NFA are currently more than $3.4 billion. THAILAND The world's biggest rice exporter does not distribute rice to its poor, and its military government has shelved a system under which the country would typically set aside up to 40 billion baht ($1.25 billion) to buy 20-30 percent of production each year, when prices fell during harvest. Under former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the cost of the rice-buying scheme rocketed to 130 billion baht each year. (1 US dollar = 60.4500 Indian rupee) (1 US dollar = 11,712.0000 rupiah) (1 US dollar = 31.8500 Thai baht) (Reporting by Michael Taylor in JAKARTA, Enrico Dela Cruz in MANILA, Anuradha Raghu in KUALA LUMPUR; Ho Binh Minh in HANOI, Ruma Paul in DHAKA, Fayen Wong in SHANGHAI, Krishna Das in NEW DELHI and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat in BANGKOK; Editing by Ed Davies and Joseph Radford)
Rice bank opens to delight of industry Fri, 29 August 2014
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Hor Kimsay
Cambodia Rice Bank (CRB) announced yesterday it was equipped to buy and store up to 100,000 tonnes of local rice.CRB, which was established in Battambang province in 2011 but took years to build the necessary infrastructure like silos and storage sheds, emerged yesterday with $30 million in capital.Phou Puy, chairman and chief executive officer of CRB, said the capital will be used to buy up Cambodia’s paddy rice from October – the beginning of new harvest season.“We hope that this bank will become a big centre in Cambodia to store rice to be ready for receiving big order from foreign buyers,” Puy said. He said exporters can loan or buy rice from the bank’s stockpiles while millers can sell to the mass storage provider.David Van, executive director of rice miller and exporter Boost Riche Cambodia, said the CRB was a much-needed piece of infrastructure for the sector capable of collecting and consolidating paddy stock to serve millers or exporters.“In a harsh operating environment without much government assistance . . . the private sector in the rice industry has to take initiative to solve its own problems hoping that along the way, a helping hand could be extended.”
TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi- Aug 29 Fri Aug 29, 2014 2:29pm IST TABLE-India Grain Prices - Delhi - Aug 29 Rates by Asian News International, New Delhi Tel: 011 2619 1464 Indicative Previous Grains opening close (in rupees per 100 kg unless stated) ---------------------------------------------------------Wheat Desi 2,400-3,200 2,400-3,200. Wheat Dara 1,900-2,700 1,900-2,700 Roller Mill (per bag) 1,800-2,100 1,700-2,000. Maida (per bag) 1,800-2,100 1,800-2,100. Sooji (per bag) 1,800-2,000 1,700-1,900. Rice Basmati(Common) 8,600-9,600 8,500-9,500. Rice Permal 2,200-2,500 2,200-2,500. Rice Sela 2,550-2,850 2,550-2,850. I.R.-8 2,150-2,450 2,150-2,450. Gram 3,550-3,750 3,500-3,700. Peas Green 2,800-3,100 2,800-3,100. Peas White 2,800-3,200 2,800-3,200.
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Bajra Jowar white Maize Barley
1,400-1,900 1,300-1,800. 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700. 1,200-1,550 1,200-1,550. 1,350-1,750 1,350-1,750.
Source: Delhi grain market traders.
Rice already taking hits from drought as El Niño looms over Colombia Aug 28, 2014 posted by Steven Cohen
Colombia’s National Rice Growers Federation (FEDEARROZ) claims to have already lost some 42,000 acres of farmland due to drought, with more dry months expected as the “El Niño” weather phenomenon approaches this fall.The problem, according to FEDEARROZ President Rafael Hernandez, has grown particularly bad in the central Bajo Cauca region and droughtstricken northeast of the country, especially in the states of Cesar and La Guajira, where acute water shortages have exarcebated a stark human rights situation amid local indigenous populations.Losses have already been estimated at around $36 million, at least $15.5 of which goes directly to farmers, he said. If measures aren’t taken by the government soon, Hernandez warned, harvests of some 370,000 acres could be at risk in the similarly affected eastern plains region, should El Niño bring more dry spells during the usually wet Colombian fall and winter months.“The scariest thing, appart from the damages ot the harvest, is that if the El Niño is as bad as they have announced it will be this semester, we’re not going to be able to plant in those regions,” he said.“This is going to become a complicated social issue, because the growers have had important losses.”FEDEARROZ already expects 50,000 acres of farmland to be left unplanted this coming season, but a bad dry season could mean more multi-million dollars for growers, distributors, and sellers, as well as 48,000 or more lost jobs, according to FEDEARROZ figures. “Maybe it will rain in September in October [traditionally rainy months in the northeast], but based off of the announcement about the phenomenon, that’s what we think can be lost,” said Hernandez.Farmers will have no way of knowing exactly how bad things have gotten until the late winter and early spring, when the harvest season begins for crops planted this fall. Until then, FEDEARROZ officials will be particularly worried about
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the effects of El Niño on the major inter-Andean rice-growing regions to the southwest of the country, which have not been predicted as clearly by weather experts. For now, most of the largest producing states have experienced typical weather, with almost one million acres being harvested as usual. “The problem, however, is that we don’t know what’s going to happen in the second half of the year,” said Hernandez.Hernandez said that FEDEARROZ has made repeated requests to the government for actions to be taken, and rice farmers took a particularly active role in recent national agrarian strikes, demanding an end to contraband imports from Ecuador and Venezuela, among other things.But while the government has been relatively quick to lend aid to the country’s iconic coffee sector, rice growers have been frustrated by a lack of action from Bogota, said Hernandez, who also pointed to the relatively poor public allocation of water resources compared to other strong rice-growing economies. Japan, for example, has 70 water reservoirs for every four square miles of rice crop, according to Hernandez. Colombia, meanwhile, has 0.4.“That’s why we’ve insisted so much to the government on the need for [water] districts, for reservoirs and dams to store the water that flows over in winter and use it during these seasons,” he said.In the future, said Hernandez, better planning will be needed in order to fix deep structural weaknesss in the larger agrarian sector and compensate with the initial effects of a changing global climate.“Climate change is here to stay. If the government doesn’t take steps to build these reservoirs for planting regions, whether through concession or public-private alliances, in a not so distant future the country is going to start to have problems with food shortages.”
Commerce Ministry plans rice auction in September Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation August 30, 2014 1:00 am
Decent prices expected as demand is high The Commerce Ministry is preparing to hold another rice auction in September after teams sent by the military's ruling National Council for Peace and Order finished inspecting government stockpiles to determine volumes and quality on Thursday. Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the ministry would continue to sell small lots of rice to private traders during the off-harvest season over the next two months.
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"The next auction will be held in the second week of September. The types of rice up for bid will be mixed to reflect demand for both export and domestic supply," she said. The ministry in early August called bids for 167,000 tonnes of rice. It sold 73,200 tonnes to 11 traders after bargaining for higher prices. The sale generated about Bt740 million.Duangporn said the government should be able to get suitable bids in next month's auction because demand in the rice market is high at present.The highest price offered for jasmine rice in the August auction was Bt28,000 per tonne. For the next sale, a ministry committee overseeing releases of rice from the stockpiles has adjusted some conditions for setting a floor price to ensure the bids are in accordance with expectations.According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the market price of 5 per cent white rice was quoted at US$441 per tonne as of August 27, slightly down from $447 per tonne the previous week because of a weaker baht. The price of the second-grade Thai jasmine rice was unchanged at $1,090 per tonne. Quality inspection Duangporn said the ministry would sell only rice that had passed the quality inspection ordered by the junta. It will not include the 90,000 tonnes left over from the last auction in next month's sale because it has not yet cleared the quality inspection.The ministry is confining its rice sales to small lots until the upcoming harvest season because it wants to keep close track of the exact volume and quality of the rice in the stockpiles.
It has been reported that the government has about 18 million tonnes of rice in its stocks, but about 10 per cent is missing or of a lower standard.Duangporn said that now that the 1,800 warehouses nationwide had been inspected, officials would spend the next two weeks documenting the results.
Labour shortage dents Thai plans to boost rice exports Thu Aug 28, 2014 9:00pm GMT * Labour shortage delays around 500,000 T rice shipments * Confusion over migrant worker policy contributes to shortage * Thailand may miss 10 million T export target for this year (.) By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat SAMUT PRAKAN, Thailand, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Thailand is facing delays in plans to export millions of tonnes of rice from state stockpiles because of a labour shortage at ports after hundreds of thousands of foreign workers fled amid fears of a military crackdown on illegal migrants.The military government has started selling rice from the stockpile amassed during a disastrous and costly subsidy scheme under the administration toppled by the country's armed forces in a coup in May.Thailand aims to ship 10 million tonnes of the grain this year, helping it regain the crown - lost under the subsidy scheme - of the world's top rice exporter.
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But shipments of around 500,000 tonnes have already been delayed due to a labour shortage, traders said on Thursday. Most of that rice was parboiled grade destined for African buyers, they added. The volume is equivalent to the combined stockpile held in North Africa.More than 200,000 Cambodians working in Thailand fled in June as rumours spread of the military enforcing measures to regulate illegal labour, according to the International Organization for Migration.Chan Nontakal was one of the Cambodians who fled. He has just returned to his job as a stevedore at the Phra Pradaeng port around 30 km (19 miles) south of Bangkok, one of Thailand's biggest rice export terminals."I fled Thailand in June when there were rumours about the army crackdown on migrant workers and that hundreds of those who were illegal would be in jail for months," said Chan. He and his crew clambered up steep wooden stairs, hauling 50 kilogram (110 pound) sacks of the grain on their backs from a barge to a ship destined for the Middle East. The barges bring rice from Thai paddy fields along canals to the ports.Registered and illegal foreign labour, mostly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, is key to the construction, manufacturing and fisheries industries in Thailand, Southeast Asia's second largest economy. The migrant workers do the work most Thais are unwilling to do. The government has denied there was a crackdown and says it has worked to bring migrants back."The government has even sponsored buses to bring them back to work since we don't want the disruption to last long as it will hurt our export sector," said an official at the Ministry of Labour who did not want to be named as she was not authorised to speak to the media.But many workers have not returned."Only around 50 percent have come back and we still face a severe lack of labour for rice stevedoring," said Nontawat Na-rasi, the owner of Srichang Crane & Maritime Co Ltd, which loads rice for several Thai rice exporters. "Around 20-30 percent of stevedoring companies are out of business due to labour shortages and that will have an impact on rice exports," he added.The exodus of workers exacerbated an existing labour shortage after two slow years in the export industry following the introduction of the rice subsidy scheme.Thailand shipped a record 10.6 million tonnes in 2011, before the subsidy scheme started.Exports fell sharply in 2012 and 2013 as the government bought rice from farmers at well above market prices, making the grain too expensive to export and leading to the buildup of an estimated 18 million tonnes in state stockpiles. That reduced the need for manpower to load vessels and barges, leading many migrant workers to seek employment elsewhere even before the exodus in June.The price of common grade Thai 5 percent broken rice had reached $639 a tonne in 2011 after the rice-buying scheme was kicked off, but is currently at $435 a tonne in line with shipments from other major Asian exporters such as Vietnam and India. SHIPMENTS PUSHED BACK Rakesh Sodhia of Fortuna International, which trades several grades of Thai rice, said he was aware of some June shipments that were delayed to August and September.Thailand exported 4.7 million tonnes of rice in the first half of 2014 and was hoping an increase in sales in the second half would help it meet the annual target.But delays due to the labour shortage could see Thailand miss its 10-million-tonne export target, traders said.
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Rice loading is a labour intensive job and with a labour shortage like this, exports could fall far short of 9 million tonnes, one Bangkok-based trader said.Stevedore Chan is toiling as part of a five-man crew, much smaller than optimal for the job, said foreman Tho Sookchan."This is not even half of the manpower we need," he said. "Normally, we use up to 20 men to load the sacks onto the ship." (Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Richard Pullin) Š Thomson Reuters 2014 All rights reserved
Rice Board Free of Political and Government Interference is Pertinent to Revive Thai Rice Sector, Says TREA President Sep 01, 2014
In an exclusive interview to Oryza, Pol.Lt.Chareon Laothamatas, President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) has shared a number of issues relating to the Thai rice sector starting from the damage caused by the so-called populist rice paddy pledging scheme introduced by the previous government to the impact of recent reforms initiated by the present military government. Oryza: A lot of happenings in the Thai rice sector since the previous government introduced the so-called populist rice pledging scheme. What is your comment on the scheme? Chareon Laothamatas: Populist (rice paddy) pledging scheme did extensive damages to Thai rice industry. Our export dropped 40% and 18 million tons of milled rice left idle in the warehouses. Financial loss is estimated to be $20 billion. Oryza: The military government has abandoned the rice pleading scheme and declared that no price support would be provided to farmers. What has been the farmers, traders and exporters reaction to this stance? Chareon Laothamatas: With new military government abandoning the (rice) pledging scheme, we returned to market mechanism again. (Rice) farmers will have to endure short term effect on lower paddy price, until the government can dispose the current inventory. As traders, we are grateful for the change, and will work hard to take back our market shares. Oryza: The military government listed a number of measures to help rice farmers reduce production costs. Are the farmers really enjoying those benefits? Do you think these measures would ensure better incomes to farmers?
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Chareon Laothamatas: The measures such as lower costs for fertilizers, insecticides and seeds are in place to help (rice) farmers reduce their production costs. All these are short-term measures to relieve farmers from their immediate plight. In a long run, we are planning to work on land reform, better irrigation system, and mechanization of farming, which will help reduce production cost and provide better income for farmers. Oryza: Coming to exports, Thailand has lost its world's number one rice exporter status to India for the last two years. How is the government planning to reclaim its status in the international market? How well do the TREA and the government coordinate with each other in framing export strategies? Chareon Laothamatas: Actually we are back to No. 1 again in the first 6 months of 2014. Our strategy now is for TREA to work closely with our government to try to take back some of the G-2-G contracts. We already successfully secured some amounts from COFCO and BULOG. Oryza: The military government has resumed the rice sales but the first auction ended with several confusions on pricing. In order to avoid such confusions, what kind of strategies (for pricing) do you think the government should adopt? How can the government arrive at the realistic selling price? Chareon Laothamatas: The first auction sold around 75,000 tons of various kind of rice. The reason that they did not sell the whole amount was due to quality concerned. Auction rice that did not meet Thai government standards will not be sold to ensure good quality. Also we are not in urgent need to sell our inventory, our main objective now is to sell new rice which will begin harvesting next month onward. Oryza: The government sold nearly 700,000 - 800,000 tons of rice in different auctions before the military government took over. Do you think many exporters garnered huge quantities of rice at low prices? Chareon Laothamatas: Yes, but I think they mostly sold out already. Oryza: Thai export prices have certainly improved after the government halted sales from its stockpiles. Do you think the necessary correction has taken place or are you expecting a further correction? Chareon Laothamatas: I think Thai rice price(s) are at the bottom. We are not in a hurry to sell our inventory at the moment and we have the holding power now and can wait for a better time to sell if need to. Oryza: How do you perceive competition from India and Vietnam as import demand from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and China is increasing? Are you confident that Thai rice exporters would be capable of attracting maximum number of orders? Chareon Laothamatas: Yes, we will try to compete and secure as much quantity as possible. Oryza: Is the government's decision to sell around 500,000 tons of rice a month and complete the sales of around 18 million tons in the next three years too ambitious? Do you think the prices would head
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southwards again due to such sales? Are you convinced with the government's assurance about the quality of the stockpiled rice? Chareon Laothamatas: The new directive is to sell our inventory as need (arises), no quantity and time frame have been fixed. We will put all our our effort to sell new rice first, and wait for opportunity to release our inventory in the world market. Besides, old rice can consume in domestic market, and we are not too worried about it now. Oryza: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has suggested a number of other measures such as setting up a Rice Board etc to strengthen the Thai rice sector. Do you think this will yield the desired results? What measures are needed according to you to reinstate the lost charm of the Thai rice sector? Chareon Laothamatas: For long term solution, we suggested the NCPO to set up Rice Broad which comprises farmers, millers and exporters representatives. This Board will frame long term strategies which will benefit Thai rice industry as a whole. We want this Board to be free of political influence and protected by the constitution. If successful, we can remain as world No. 1 rice exporter for a long time. Oryza: There are no signals of elections happening in the country in the near future. Do you think a prolonged military rule in the country would affect Thai rice exports? Chareon Laothamatas: It will really depend on the NCPO performance. Everything looks promising now. I hope it will remain this way for some time, so that a lot of mistakes from previous governments can be remediable. Tags: TREA, Rice Board, Thai rice sector, Thai rice exports, Chareon Laothamatas
Oryza.com staffer gets UN's Karmaveer Chakra award and Karmaveer Global Fellowship for Rice Bucket Challenge movement Sep 01, 2014
Manju Latha Kalanidhi, senior editor with Oryza.com who is the founder of the global movement called 'Rice Bucket Challenge' and is based in Hyderabad, India, will be honoured with the Karmaveer Chakra Award and the Rex Karmaveer Global Fellowship by iCONGO, an international confederation of NGOs, and the United Nations. The awards are given for doing something small, yet significant, to make a difference in the world.She has been with Orzya.com since June and has put up her first post/story on the Oryza website. She will receive the award on March, 23, 2015 at an august gathering in New Delhi, where she shall be felicitated and recognised as a Karmaveer Hero, Jeroninio Almeida,
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founder of iCONGO said.Manju's initiative will be promoted by agencies in a global scale. Apart from this, she will be featured in the second edition of iCONGO’s book Karma Kurry. The organisation is slated to sign a deal to sell 12 crore copies.Currently, the Rice Bucket Challenge page has reached 5,46,000 people and has garnered about 60,000 likes and several thousands of rice distribution. As part of the challenge, people should donate rice (whatever they can afford to) to someone deserving and post the picture of their act on www.facebook/ricebucketchallenge and motivate three others to do the same. Lakhs of people in India and abroad have connected with the concept and it has started spreading across the globe. Air Asia's staffers took up the challenge and BITS students of Goa, India, are the latest to join the campaign.Oryza.com wishes her all the best in her endeavours. Tags: Oryza, manju latha kalanidhi rice bucket challenge india hyderabad rice donation facebook
Happy Labor Day from Oryza! Aug 31, 2014
Oryza editorial team is working limited hours for the rest of this weeked and will be back in full force Tuesday. Our best wishes to you and your families. Tags: labor day
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