1st september,2017 daily global regional local rice e newsletter

1st Sepemtember,2017

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Europe Basmati Rice Market Research Report 2017 Iranian importers default on Indian rice deals - trade sources Swiss ambassador interacts with rice growers Rice: Stirring Up Trouble in International Trade Harvey Moves Through Louisiana Rice traders who set higher price to face sanctions: VP Madhya Pradesh basmati claims spark protest, exporters, farmers call it unjustified Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice How India is paying the price of rice exports to Iran; the story is of crashed markets, reneging buyers Half and Half: A culinary journey from Nepal How a rice lover’s robot revolutionized the modern sushi industry How an Angry Man Revolutionized the Modern Sushi Industry Govt may find it tough to recover dues from rice mills Global and China Rice Cooker Market Analysis, Synthesis and Summation 2017 to 2022 The Food that Grows on Water: Harvesters and state agencies seek to protect Minnesota’s wild rice legacy Herbicide-resistant rice now under development near Biggs First rice export bilateral agreement signed Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice Rice basmati edges up on scattered demand Texas Farmer Describes Harvey Destruction We could $50 million to $60 million in losses from Harvey: US Rice Producers Association Baldwin: Weed problems increasing in Arkansas rice Rice in NE China enters harvest season California Rice is The Environmental Prices drop in major exporters on weak demand Rice yields already near self-sufficiency Relaxed regulations expected to boost Vietnam’s rice exports Another-300000mt-rice-import-gets-nod Summer-autumn rice crop output hits record in Long An Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- August 31, 2017 Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice First rice export bilateral agreement signed Bitcoin Payments Firm BitPesa Secures Greycroft As Lead Investor For $10 Million Total Funding Rice tops Iran’s imports

News Detail...

Europe Basmati Rice Market Research Report 2017 31 AUGUST 2017 BY TUSHAR BHATKE ―Europe Basmati Rice Market Research Report 2017‖ This report studies the Basmati Rice market status and outlook of Europe and major countries, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in Europe and major countries, and splits the Basmati Rice market by product type and applications/end industries.

European basmati rice market size reached to 437.46 million USD in 2017. The Global Basmati Rice Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2022 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Basmati Rice industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Basmati Rice market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.

The major players in Europe market include HBI Kohinoor Foods Amira Nature Foods East End Foods The Rice ‘n Spice International Van Sillevoldt Rijst Absolute Trading Best Foods Haudecoeur Matco Foods LT Foods.

KRBL Limited Lal Qilla HollyHolding Lazzatfoods Download sample pages of this report: https://goo.gl/cZfGEc About Us: Key Market Insights is a stand-alone organization with a solid history of advancing and exchanging market research reports and logical surveys delivered by our numerous transnational accomplices, which incorporate both huge multinationals and littler, more expert concerns.

Contact: Mr.Mannan sales@kminsights.com +1 (888) 278-768 Download sample pages of this report: https://goo.gl/cZfGEc http://www.military-technologies.net/2017/08/31/europe-basmati-rice-market-researchreport-2017/

Iranian importers default on Indian rice deals - trade sources Mayank Bhardwaj AUGUST 31, 2017 / 1:05 PM NEW DELHI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Iranian importers have defaulted on payments for about 125,000 tonnes of basmati rice from India, Tehran‘s top supplier of the premium aromatic grain, raising concerns about future shipments of the grade that fetches nearly $2 billion a year to New Delhi.Iranian buyers have refused to take the delivery of basmati rice containers worth nearly $125 million citing a crash in domestic prices, said the Indian sources directly involved in these deals.Higher imports from other suppliers, including Pakistan, had bumped up supplies to Tehran, they said.Reuters could not contact Iranian buyers involved in the deals.

Indian suppliers of these cargoes, mostly small exporters, said their Iranian partners had wilfully reneged on the contract. The containers are now lying at Iran‘s major cargo port of Bandar Abbas. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Swiss ambassador interacts with rice growers ISLAMABAD (APP): Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, Marc P George participated in a training session for rice growers and interacted with the farmers on Tuesday. The capacity building training workshop was organised by Rice Partners Pvt Ltd (RPL) in collaboration with MARS food, Helvetas Swiss Inter-cooperation in Sheikhupura, says a statement issued here on Tuesday. The Swiss ambassador was briefed about the Rice Partners contracting and control farming programme to improve the farmer's livelihood by the Chief operating Officer Muhammad Ali Tariq.

The chief operating officer said they are promoting sustainable rice production and water productivity in rice value chain with support of SDC, Helvetas Inter-cooperation and MARS food. He further said RPL started this contract farming programme in 2011 with 31 farmers and now in 2017 RPL has more than 600 farmers in their contract, whom they procure rice/paddy every year, and send quality rice to the global market.

Moreover, RPL has trained more than 10,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture, water productivity crop in rice value chain and crop management. RPL contract farming programme help the farmers a lot in terms of low cost on crop production, water efficiency in the rice cultivation and livelihoods of the farmers have been improved.

The Swiss Ambassador appreciated the unique model of contract farming system in rice value chain by RPL, The ambassador also addressed the rice farmers and said that his country also had the same water shortage issue but they have resolved it with good management.

He said, ―No country can alleviate poverty and hunger without agriculture, and similarly no country in the globe can tackle this challenge alone, we must work all together.‖ He further said that he is happy that the Swiss government is supporting the farmers of Pakistan to preserve the natural resources and produce quality product for entire world.

He also discussed the historical relation of Pakistan and Switzerland and role of SDC for empowering the communities of Pakistan. The ambassador also visited the rice processing plant and took briefing about details of plant, machinery and working system.

WAPRO Project Manager Zafar Iqbal gave a comprehensive presentation to the ambassador about contract farming system, outline of WAPRO project and its vitality in implementation of global best practices for improving resource use efficiency. He explained multiple interventions

initiated under the WAPRO project like Land Laser Levelling, direct seeding of rice, use of AWD tubes to save irrigation water and post-harvest management practices to reduce harvest losses. http://nation.com.pk/business/30-Aug-2017/newsbrief

Rice: Stirring Up Trouble in International Trade Aug 31, 2017 | 09:15 GMT Rice: Stirring Up Trouble in International Trade Aug 31, 2017 | 09:15 GMT

(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights   

Among basic commodities, rice is one of the most heavily protected by governments worldwide, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The global rice market will likely be vulnerable to disruption in the short term as exports remain concentrated among a handful of producers.

The rice industry will continue to be a point of contention in international trade negotiations — especially those that involve the United States, the only major rice exporter in which the bulk of the population doesn't consider the grain a dietary staple.

To most of the world, rice is more than just a food; it's a staple of national history and cultural identity. Across South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, the grain is a key ingredient in the everyday diet and a cornerstone of regional economies. But in addition to being one of the world's most popular commodities, rice is among the most vulnerable. Rice exports are currently concentrated among a handful of producers, protective trade measures are rampant in the sector, and the grain's variants cannot be easily substituted for one another — all factors that make the industry highly susceptible to disruptions in the market. These risks are unlikely to lessen in the near future, as rice seems all but certain to remain a sticking point in upcoming trade negotiations that involve the United States or its Asian competitors.

A Hot Commodity The world has consumed rice for centuries, but it has traded the grain for only a fraction of that time. Unlike wheat and corn, which have been incorporated into cross-border commerce for hundreds of years, rice didn't make its entrance into the global market until the tail end of the 20th century. The passage of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947, followed by

the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, breathed new life into the international exchange of goods and services.

Though the dawn of this liberal economic order has caused the global rice trade to quadruple

since the 1980s, those exchanges still involve less than 10 percent of the globe's total rice output.

Instead, a few producers — all of which are located in South Asia and the Asia-Pacific, with the exception of the United States — dominate rice exports worldwide. And in a region where government performance is often closely intertwined with the production and cost of rice, Asian officials have every reason to ensure that output and supply levels stay steady.

(Stratfor 2017) Of course, not all rice is created equal, at least in the eyes of the consumer. The grain boasts more than 20 different variants, broadly categorized as fragrant or non-fragrant, and buyers aren't always willing to trade one for another. Such preferences matter, since producers specialize in cultivating different strains. India and Pakistan, for instance, have a clear lead in the export of basmati rice (which, along with the jasmine variety, is one of the two most prominent types of fragrant rice) to the Middle East and Europe. In fact, thanks in large part to Indian exports, basmati rice production has exploded in recent years. Meanwhile, jasmine producers are clustered in Southeast Asia, where Thailand has long held the edge in output, though it has been joined by up-and-comers Vietnam and Cambodia in recent years.

(Stratfor 2017) As is true for many products, rice consumers also put a premium on quality. Producers whose grain is typically deemed lower quality, such as Vietnam, often compensate by trading their goods at a discount to those of higher-quality producers like Thailand. Governments routinely wade into the industry as well, propping up otherwise-uncompetitive growers and implementing price controls to protect local farmers. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, rice producers received $60 billion in subsidies in 2014 — a staggering figure, considering the total value of rice traded globally that year was roughly $20 billion.

Ingrained in Global Tradition Over the past few years, these protective measures have led to several important shifts in the international rice market. India, which has always been a large rice producer, surged to the top of the world's rice exporters with the help of subsidies and a weak rupee. The expansion of crops has only added to the considerable strain on India's water resources, and New Delhi will find it increasingly difficult to meet the industry's irrigation needs if it does not quickly enact water use reforms.

Much like India, China has also taken steps to bolster domestic rice production. But high rice prices buoyed by government funding, coupled with rising consumption at home, ironically have transformed China into one of the world's biggest rice importers. Despite the restrictive import quotas Beijing has implemented, rice grown outside China's borders is simply much cheaper than rice grown within them. So while the government's regulations have ensured that rice grown abroad accounts for a small percentage of the country's consumption, the sheer size of the Chinese market has guaranteed the nation a crucial role in the global rice market.

China's insatiable demand for imported rice won't disappear anytime soon. Nor will the subsidies Beijing provides for its farmers, though the government is expected to lower artificially high prices by 1.5 percent in the 2017-18 growing season. Determined to pry open the Chinese market, the United States filed a suit against China in the WTO late last year, citing Beijing's import quotas for rice, wheat and corn. But although Washington may have some success in gaining access to other grain products, rice is likely to remain closely protected because of its significance to Chinese culture. And given China's status as the world's largest rice importer, it will have the heft to dictate many barriers in the industry, including phytosanitary regulations —

a type of measure that will likely be at the center of Beijing's future trade talks with Washington.

Meanwhile, China's influence over global rice production reaches beyond its own consumption patterns and protective measures. Rice farmers in Thailand and Vietnam, for instance, rely heavily on the Mekong River to irrigate their crops, but China has sought greater control over the water source in hopes of boosting its influence throughout the region.

(Stratfor 2017) Nevertheless, Southeast Asian rice producers may pose a bigger threat to themselves than China does. The success of many regional governments is intimately linked to that of rice, and administrations often use aid for the sector to shore up their support among rural communities.

Thailand, for example, spent $16 billion between 2012 and 2014 to prop up local farmers in the face of growing competition from its neighbors and stubbornly low commodity prices abroad. The country's unstable political structure and dwindling funds, however, have led to numerous adjustments in the subsidy scheme, introducing more uncertainty into the market. And in countries where rice is part of a society's cultural fabric, such as Thailand, officials could try to keep the sector's subsidies in place long after they have proved financially unsustainable — to the detriment of domestic rice producers in the long run.

The heavy subsidies of the past few decades have already spurred overproduction in the international market. Despite attempts by the Thai and Vietnamese governments to persuade rice farmers to switch crops, global output has swelled to just over 42 million tons — lower than levels seen in 2014, but higher than those in 2016. Much of this year's growth can be attributed to Vietnam, whose rice production has risen alongside Middle Eastern demand. Because the populations of the Middle East and Africa are poised to increase in the years ahead, competition will intensify among the world's major rice producers as they seek to carve out a share of both markets.

The Root of Asian Trade Talks Protectionism isn't reserved for the developing world, either. Though Japan and South Korea play only minor roles in the global rice trade, each has tariffs of 200 percent or more in place in the sector and spends billions of dollars per year on rice subsidies. By comparison, producers in the United States, which is the only developed country with a place among the world's top five rice exporters, receive less political and social support than their Asian peers.

(Stratfor 2017) Because the United States grows far more rice than it consumes, American farmers rely on exports — and by extension, advantageous trade agreements — to make ends meet. This explains why U.S. rice producers were disappointed with the Trans-Pacific Partnership when it was initially signed: They gained little new access to the Japanese market, which was already prone to devaluing American rice by leaving it in storage or including it in food aid shipments.

Moreover, Mexico agreed to eliminate duties on rice imports from Vietnam — one of the United States' main competitors in the Mexican market. Though Washington ultimately withdrew from

the multilateral pact, its history is telling of the challenges that lie ahead for the bilateral trade talks meant to replace it.

The United States' trade pact with South Korea is one such deal up for renegotiation — at least, Washington hopes. Seoul has already promised to reject any changes to the two countries' existing agreement that are not recommended by an objective joint commission. Should the talks reopen, however, rice may prove to be as sticky an issue as it was in 2007, when negotiators took the topic off the table to ensure the deal's initial implementation.

In the coming months, rice will remain at the heart of trade negotiations involving Asia's biggest rice producers and consumers. As we have seen in recent bilateral deals between the European Union on one hand and Japan, Mercosur and Canada on the other, even small points of controversy can delay or derail trade agreements, particularly when it comes to agriculture. And rice is no small matter to most Asian nations. Still, while some countries may be tempted to exclude the sector from trade talks in order to push them forward, the global rice market will continue to be plagued by the volatility and inefficiency that come with excessive subsidies if steps are not taken to moderate them

Harvey Moves Through Louisiana

By Deborah Willenborg SOUTHWEST, LA -- Tropical Storm Harvey is cutting a wide path across the mid-south as heavy rain and winds up to 40 mph move through rice growing regions in the area. Early yields had indicated an average year here and a bumper crop for northeast Louisiana so a lot is riding on what the weather does in the next couple of days.

Dustin Harrell at the LSU AgCenter in Rayne, LA, reported that approximately 95 percent of the rice in the southwest region of Louisiana had been harvested before the storm hit, with 10,000 acres or so unharvested at the time. Harrell said, "The hardest hit areas were Calcasieu, Cameron, Vermilion, and Jeff Davis Parishes. A lot of that rice was lodged and, what was not lodged has a lot of grain sprouted on the panicles due to continuous wet conditions. This will cause reductions in quality if this rice can be harvested quickly, or may cause complete loss if it cannot be harvested soon."

According to Harrell, the big unknown at the moment is the ratoon rice in that area. Ratoon rice is very important economically and it too can be lost if the ratoon stubble remains submerged for several days.

In Lake Charles, Ann Stone at Farmers Rice Milling Company, said, "Heavy rain caused us to lose 48 hours of business time, not being able to mill, ship out to customers, or receive rough rice."

Farmers in the area are keeping a close watch on their rain gauges and waiting patiently for the storm to head out.

About 36 miles northeast of Lake Charles, Eric Unkel plans to begin harvesting tomorrow on his place near Kinder. He said, "We didn't receive that much rain although it's still too wet to get trucks into the field to load out right now."

Josh Sikes stands in his flooded crop near Vinton, LA (photo by Bruce Schultz)

Kevin Berken, who farms rice and soybeans in Lake Arthur, 40 miles south of Kinder, had already harvested all of his first crop and reports getting about 16 inches of rain so far. "We've been lucky that the rain was spread out over the last five days and not a continuous downpour. My soybean crop is a different story - we don't know at this point how much of a negative effect the daily rains will have. It's not going to help that's for sure."

At Paul Johnson's operation located on the Jeff Davis/Cameron Parish line, all of his main rice crop is harvested, but the ratoon crop is still in the field. "We spent all day yesterday hauling hay bales by boat to low spots in our protection levees to try to keep rising water off of the farm," he said. "Right now about a third of my ratoon crop, about 30 percent of my overall annual production, is under water. Storm surge, strong southerly winds, and high tides make the drainage in our area a slow process."

Human rain gauge on Paul

"In comparison with all those to the west of us who have lost their homes and crops, we are in pretty good shape," Berken said. "Hopefully the waters will recede quickly and we can move on. We certainly don't need any more weather issues like the low pressure that has a possibility of heading our way for next week. That would drive the stake through our hearts.

Johnson's farm measures 17 inches of rain on rice

USA Rice Daily

Rice traders who set higher price to face sanctions: VP 29th August 2017 |

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla reiterated that the authority would impose sanctions against rice traders who set medium and premium quality rice price higher than its ceiling price.

"There will be monitoring and sanctions and, at least, revocation of the license for those who sell rice above the ceiling price," Kalla said here on Tuesday.

The government has formulated sanctions against traders who violate the regulation, while waiting for the imposition of rice ceiling price on Sept 1.

Previously, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita noted that national rice traders have agreed on the imposition of ceiling price for medium and premium quality rice, which would take effect on Sept 1.

The ceiling price would be imposed in both traditional and modern markets. It was set at Rp9,450 per kilogram for medium quality and Rp12.8 thousand per kilogram for premium quality rice in Java, Lampung, South Sumatra, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi.

In Sumatra region, apart from South Sumatra and Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan, the ceiling price for medium quality rice was set at Rp9,950 per kilogram and Rp13.3 thousand per kilogram for premium quality.

For Maluku, including North Maluku and Papua, the ceiling price for medium and premium quality rice was set at Rp10,250 per kilogram and Rp13.6 thousand per kilogram, respectively.

The government has categorized rice into three types, namely first category, which includes medium rice with minimum milling degree of 95 percent, maximum moisture content of 14 percent, and maximum broken rice of 25 percent.

The medium quality rice could be sold in bulk or in packages, but it must enclose the medium label and its ceiling price in the package.

The second category includes premium rice with 95 percent of milling degree, maximum moisture content of 14 percent, and maximum broken rice of 15 percent. Premium quality rice is sold in packages and must enclose the premium label and its ceiling price as well.

Another category is special rice quality that would be managed separately by the Agriculture Ministry. This will include Thai Hom Mali, Japonica, Basmati, sticky rice, organic rice, and GI (geographical indication) certified rice.

"For this special rice category, we are yet to set (the ceiling price)," Enggartiasto explained.(*)

Madhya Pradesh basmati claims spark protest, exporters, farmers call it unjustified

Indian farmers and traders enjoying premium in the world basmati rice markets due to the geographical indication (GI) status of the aromatic, longgrained cereal have come up against Madhya Pradesh‘s ―unjustified bid‖ to partake in the success.

By: Sandip Das | Published: August 31, 2017 6:06 AM

Indian farmers and traders enjoying premium in the world basmati rice markets due to the geographical indication (GI) status of the aromatic, long-grained cereal have come up against Madhya Pradesh‘s ―unjustified bid‖ to partake in the success. (Image: IE) Aditya Birla Capital shares make exchange debut; list at Rs 250, without IPO

Indian farmers and traders enjoying premium in the world basmati rice markets due to the geographical indication (GI) status of the aromatic, long-grained cereal have come up against Madhya Pradesh‘s ―unjustified bid‖ to partake in the success.

While the Chennai-based GI Registry is set to decide on MP‘s application for inclusion of the state‘s several districts as traditionally basmati-growing on Thursday, the current holders of the GI tag — 77 districts across seven states on the Indo-Gangetic Plain — have argued that if the central Indian state‘s plea is accepted, the GI would lose its goodwill and exclusive credentials.

Also, it will give a window for other countries including Pakistan and C hina to claim the GI benefits.

Exporters under the banner of the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) wrote to the commerce ministry saying inclusion of MP in basmati-rice-grown areas would ―open up a plethora of appeals to include other areas which would dilute GI credentials of India‖. The expansion of the GI region for basmati would hit India‘s exports of the item, even as exporters‘ price realisation is already under pressure. India exported basmati rice worth Rs 21,604 crore in 2016-17 against the all-time high shipments of Rs 29,300 crore in 2013-14 despite volumes having risen.

Currently, 11 districts in Pakistan also grow basmati rice and export the item to Europe thanks to an India-Pakistan agreement. ―This GI ownership of basmati riceis an understanding between the European Union and India-Pakistan giving us an edge over the rest of the world. Any distortion in the well-defined and historically established boundaries of the GI zone will damage the uniqueness and creditability of basmati,‖ AIREA president Vijay Setia said in a letter to commerce secretary Rita Teaotia. Setia has cautioned that many other countries are claiming that they too can grow basmati rice.

In February 2016, seven years after filing the application, the GI Registry granted GI certification for basmati rice to the Agricultural and Processed Food Exports Development Authority (APEDA) under the commerce ministry.

The registry also allowed stakeholders from Madhya Pradesh to submit fresh documents for inclusion in basmati-grown areas. The Madhya Pradeshgovernment in its submission had stated

that gazetteers from British times refer to cultivation of basmati rice in the state and that climatic conditions in the state are as favourable as in other states to growing the rice.

The districts of Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Sheopur, Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur and Narsingpur used to grow basmati rice, it said. Besides AIREA and APEDA, the Punjab and Haryana governments have already contested the evidence of Madhya Pradesh, describing those as unscientific and without any proper verification. India commands an 85% share in global basmati trade at present.

Following the GI notification, farmers in 77 districts of seven states — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir — have the special right to grow basmati rice. GI, a form of intellectual property right (IPR), is distinct from other forms of IPRs as it ascribes the exclusivity to the community in a defined geography rather than to an individual as in the case of trademarks and patents. A GI tag can be issued for agricultural, natural or manufactured goods that have a unique quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to its geographical origin.

A GI registration gives the registered proprietor and authorised users the legal right to the exclusive use of the GI, and no unauthorised person can use the tag. For example, Darjeeling tea, Kancheepuram silk, Mysore silk, Hyderabad haleem, Mizo chilli products, etc, sold with the GI tag get premium pricing as well. According to official data, 272 products have got GI certification for preserving their uniqueness so far http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/madhya-pradesh-basmati-claims-spark-protest-exportersfarmers-call-it-unjustified/833937/

Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice 12:00 AM, August 31, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 04:00 AM, August 31, 2017

Rejaul Karim Byron

The government is going to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of white rice from Cambodia at a price which is 5.34 percent higher than the rate it paid to Vietnam as it seeks to boost stocks. The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved a proposal to bring in 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from Cambodia under a state-to-state arrangement at $453 per tonne.Earlier in June, the government decided to import 2 lakh tonnes of white rice from Vietnam through state-to-state arrangement at $430 a tonne.

Yesterday's price is also higher than the international market rate this week.

The price of rice was $425 per tonne in Thailand, $435 in India, $445 in Vietnam and $403 in Pakistan this week, according to food ministry data.

Compared to neighbouring countries, the price of Cambodian rice is usually higher as the country does not use chemical fertiliser and pesticide in rice production, said a food ministry official.

The official said Cambodian rice has a reputation in the international market.

The purchase committee also approved imports of 50,000 tonnes parboiled rice through bidding at $407.89 per tonne. The lowest bidder, Regington Enterprises Ltd, will supply the staple.

In total, the import of 3 lakh tonnes of rice will cost Tk 1,109 crore. In the second week of August, the purchase committee gave consent to three deals on food grain imports, including 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and 50,000 tonnes of boiled rice.The development comes as rice production suffered major losses due to flash floods and fungal attacks.

The flash floods in six northeastern haor districts and the fungal attacks (rice blast) in 19 districts during the boro season led to the loss of 20 lakh tonnes of the staple, according to the food ministry.

At least 20 districts in the north and elsewhere have been flooded in the past few days, which might affect the aman crop.The rice imports from Vietnam and Cambodia aims to raise the country's food grain stock, which went below 2 lakh tonnes in recent times.Thanks to a number of recent government initiatives, rice stock increased to 3.16 lakh tonnes on August 21.

A cabinet committee meeting last week decided to import 20 lakh tonnes of food grains -- 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat -- this fiscal year.This is 11 lakh tonnes more than the government's earlier projected food import volume of 9 lakh tonnes. Over the past two months, the cabinet approved proposals to float tender to import 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice.

Yesterday, the cabinet also approved the import of 1.38 lakh barrels of octane from Indonesia's state agency PT Bumi Siak Pusako Zapin under a government-to-government arrangement at a premium of $4.55 per barrel.

The committee also approved a proposal to import LNG from Qatar and gave the go-ahead to purchase electricity from a number of private power plants.United Enterprise will set up a 115megawatt diesel-based power plant in Jamalpur district. The government will buy electricity from the plant at Tk 8.73 a kilowatt hour.

Besides, the tenure of two existing power plants was extended by five years. During the extended period, the government will buy electricity at Tk 2.51 per kWh from Ashuganj 55MW plant owned by Precision Energy Ltd. Earlier the tariff was Tk 2.91.The government will pay Tk 11.53 per kWh to buy power from 100MW Powerpac-Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant Ltd. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/govt-import-25-lakh-tonnes-rice-1456438

How India is paying the price of rice exports to Iran; the story is of crashed markets, reneging buyers There are whispers in the market that Iranian buyers are yet to pay for 1.25 lakh tonnes of rice—valued at nearly Rs 875 crore—that had been shipped out in 6,000 containers a few months back.

By: Tejinder Narang | Published: August 31, 2017 4:16 AM

There are whispers in the market that Iranian buyers are yet to pay for 1.25 lakh tonnes of rice—valued at nearly Rs 875 crore—that had been shipped out in 6,000 containers a few months back. (Image: IE)

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Aditya Birla Capital shares make exchange debut; list at Rs 250, without IPO

There is now the risk of non-payment/delayed payment/outright loss against large volumes of basmati rice shipped to Iran. There

are whispers in the market that Iranian buyers are yet to pay for 1.25 lakh tonnes of rice—valued at nearly Rs 875 crore—that had been shipped out in 6,000 containers a few months back. Small- and medium-sized exporters had entered into contracts with Iranian buyers for rice priced at Rs 65,000-70,000 per tonne—with the average value almost 25% higher than those realised in 2016-17. Reportedly, the Iranian rice market has crashed and buyers have reneged on the contract price. But after protracted negotiations, cargoes are being accepted at a discounted value of around Rs 44,000-50,000/tonne—which effectively means a price cut of about 30%, or an outright loss of Rs 260 crore.

Even then, the payment is being offered on a deferred basis, against future purchases by inflating invoice values. This is as per mutual convenience. However, such settlement may vary depending on the understanding between the parties. The result of nonpayment/loss at such scale is that payments to farmers for the paddy could also get delayed. Suppliers of PP bags, transporters and handling agents at the port may also remain unpaid. Since exporters generally avail pre-shipment credit from banks, ultimately, banks are exposed to the risk of non-payment—that may worsen the bad loan count. Iran has a regular requirement of Indian Pusa 1121 (parboiled) basmati rice, varying between 0.7 million tonnes (mt) to 1 mt annually depending upon its domestic output. Value-wise, Indian shipment to Iran touched $1.8 billion in FY14, but was down, at $0.57 billion, in FY17. India ships out about 4 mt of such rice in to international markets annually without any serious payment problems.

It is not the first time that shippers have had to face delayed-/non-payment by Iranian buyers. There have been defaults/short payments in past as well. There has been frequent recurrence of such non-payment, wherein sellers have either suffered a total loss or loss of profit. Even soyabean meal cargoes in the past have met a similar fate. It is immaterial whether the buyer is a private party or an entity run by the government of Iran.

The distinctive feature of this trend is that the same Iranian buyers often front new companies as purchasers, while Indian counter-parties conclude rice contracts at seemingly advantageous prices. Once the shipment is made, shipping documents are

forwarded usually on DP (documents to be delivered to buyer by the bank against payment) or other terms, but seldom against letters of credit.

Iranian buyers dither in making payments through banking channels; shipping documents are allowed to stagnate in Iranian banks or are declared deficient while rice is not lifted from the destination port. With the stalemate on payment and fear of cargo going bad, sellers rush to Iran to settle the matter—resulting in the Iranians forcing discounts or settlement at arbitrary terms.At a time when the government is focusing on farm income growth, it is important that this issue is resolved once and for all. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) is the India‘s controlling body for export of basmati rice. Allowing open and free exports of rice to Iran must be reviewed, and such exports need to be secured with suitable restrictions.

Put simply, this could be enforced through a ―canalised payment mechanism‖ via an authorised agency like Apeda. A possible procedural format for this could be as follows: An exporter/seller may sign a contract with an Iranian buyer with the stipulation of 100% advance payment to be made to Apeda within 7-10 days of the contract signing. The date of receipt of payment by Apeda could be treated as the effective date of contract. Apeda then notifies this date to both the seller and buyer; custom may clear cargo offered by seller for shipment after receipt of written acknowledgement from Apeda of payment having been received from Iran. The buyer can nominate its inspection agency with the condition that inspection at loading port being deemed final.

Apeda should effect payment to the seller after receipt of shipping documents that require compliance—as agreed in the contract—and issue a ―no objection certificate‖ to the bank of the seller so that foreign exchange earnings accrue to the seller/shipper. In case the seller defaults in making shipment, Apeda should remit the funds back to the buyer at the cost of seller, including any difference in the rate of exchange, and it shall not be liable for any quality/quantity/delayed shipment claims whatsoever. Apeda/the directorate general of foreign trade will also list buyers who have earlier reneged on commitments,

as also the brand names of the rice they sell in the Iranian market, and maintain an abeyance list for them.

The government can also nominate another trading PSU for the said purpose if Apeda is not willing to undertake this activity. Such a payment security system should be tried for at least two years, and depending upon its efficacy, can be reviewed thereafter. Exports without receipt of full payment retard economic activity. When a suitable security mechanism is introduced and fake importers are filtered out, buyers with respectable credentials and financial capabilities will trade with Indian counter parties. Exports will be truly rewarding when transactions are considered clean and above board and probability of disputes diminish. http://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/how-india-is-paying-the-price-of-rice-exports-to-iran-the-storyis-of-crashed-markets-reneging-buyers/833856/

Half and Half: A culinary journey from Nepal Thursday, August 31, 2017 By MARIA ELENA CATAJAN

THE flavors of Nepal will surely tickle your taste buds as the newest addition to food palate of the city, serving authentic Nepali cuisine has opened. Half and Half is a partnership between Juilan and Andria Shakya and longtime friend Bernie Figer, opening their doors to the public last month with the aim to bring authentic Nepalese and Himalayan food to the mountain city. All spices from the pure Himalayan salt to the cadmium and basmati rice is taken from the markets of Nepal sent to the city to assure an authenticity that make Half and Half, as the only Nepalese restaurant in the Cordillera.

Andria explains the name of the restaurant has a double meaning, pertaining to traditional hand gesture in Nepal when the words "Namaste" is uttered, putting two hands together in greeting ―So two hands or two halves make a whole.‖ Half and Half is located at Outlook Drive and houses a large dining area and basement pub serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and coffee.

The restaurant aside from the food is decorated with odds and ends of authentic stones, wood art, metal, gold and copper accessories with masks, metal crafts including Tibetan and Nepalese traditional crafts, prayer wheels and carvings all from the collection of Namaste, a local shop where Nepalese treasures can be found.

Andria said the meaning of the moniker is likewise meant to denote the fusion of cuisine they want to eventually serve, which will be a mix of Filipino, American, Chinese, Himalayan and Nepalese. ―We would want to serve a little of every culture. To give our customers a wholesome experience. Half of everything we can give to make a whole,‖ said Andria. Nepalese cuisine is

branded to be spice rich, blending flavors to make your ordinary chicken, beef, pork and vegetable base stand out, with the proper mix of spices. Best seller is the Nepali favorite steamed momo, a stuffed dumpling filled with grinded chicken or pork meat, one of the most popular dishes in Nepal. This dish is an example of Tibetan influence in Nepali cuisine. Another favorite is the Dhal Makhani, a lentil dish cooked in butter [makhan]. The dish literally means to cook lentils in rich butter for hours to yield a creamy, thick and best tasting soup like dish best paired with rice or roti [bread].

The Half and Half Samosa is taken from the well-known Nepal appetizer made from curried potato and peas filled into a pastry dough deep fried until crispy dipped in a green-spicy chutney usually served alongside the somasa. The star of the show is the Chicken biriyani, a one pot meal made out of basmati rice with marinated chicken full of flavors and spices and herbs. In Nepal, it is usually made with rice, chicken, green beans, and carrots with an added range of spices such as cardamom, bay leaves, coriander, ginger, onions, chili and garlic. The dishes are made by the 23–year-old self-taught Nepalese chef Nabin Lama, who holds a treasure trove of passed on recipes from Nepal which he is sharing in Half and Half and now to the entire city.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/feature/2017/08/31/half-and-half-culinary-journey-nepal-561557

How a rice lover’s robot revolutionized the modern sushi industry

BY TOM REDMOND, NAO SANO AND NAOMI SCHANEN

BLOOMBERG AUG 31, 2017

Kisaku Suzuki, creator of the world‘s first sushi robot, once ran a company that made candywrapping machines. And he was angry.Why had the Japanese government embarked on a policy to limit rice production, effectively paying some farmers to keep their paddy fields idle? For Suzuki, rice was the sacred heart of the country‘s economy. He started to think about how to make the staple food more popular, so that Japan had no reason to restrict the crop.

And that‘s when it came to him: He would use his firm‘s knowledge of candy-packaging machines to develop the robot. The idea, while off-the-wall in the mid-1970s, had a simple premise. If he could lower the cost of making sushi by mechanizing parts of the process and reducing the need for highly paid chefs, he could bring the previously elite dish to the masses, and in doing so increase demand for rice.

Four decades later, Suzumo Machinery Co.‘s robots are used by about 70,000 customers around the world, ranging from sushi chains to factories, and account for about 70 percent of the market for the equipment at restaurants, according to Suzumo‘s estimates. Kaiten sushi, also known as conveyor belt sushi, has become a ¥660 billion (about $6 billion) industry in Japan alone, partly thanks to Suzuki‘s invention.

An employee puts a bowl of rice into a Suzumo Machinery Co. sushi machine during a demonstration. | BLOOMBERG Cheap sushi ―couldn‘t have happened without our machines,‖ said Ikuya Oneda, who succeeded Suzuki as Suzumo president in 2004, a year before the founder died, and took over his life‘s work. ―You can certainly say that.‖

When Suzuki started to create his robot, he met nothing but resistance. In 1976, sushi was still largely a food for special occasions. It was mostly sold through a legion of small restaurants, where artisan chefs dispensed morsels with no price tags and charged how they saw fit.

Not surprisingly, those chefs were up in arms when they heard about Suzumo‘s plan. In their view, it took 10 years to train someone to make sushi. No machine could possibly do the job.

Suzumo asked some of the very people it was trying to depose to give their opinions on the prototype. ―They said, ‗This is no good, this is terrible, I don‘t know what this is,‘ ‖ said Oneda, 73, who became chairman of the company this year.

After three years, Suzumo was nowhere near its goal and running out of cash. We thought ―the company would go down the tubes,‖ Oneda said. ―We thought about quitting.‖ Suzumo stuck with the task, and two years later the sushi chefs finally said the machine was usable. In 1981, the company completed its first robot, which formed sushi rice into balls called nigiri. These days, it offers 28 different sushi machines. ―What they‘ve done is allow kaiten restaurants to democratize and make good Japanese food affordable and accessible,‖ said Robin Rowland, chairman and chief executive officer of Yo!, a U.K. sushi chain with almost 100 restaurants globally. ―We serve 7 million guests a year. You‘re talking about 500 to 600 dishes on our belts in the U.K. It‘s a lot of food. And you need to automate some of that.‖ But even so many years later, the debate still rages about the machines. For purists, if you use robots, it just isn‘t the same.Sushi rice produced by a Suzumo Machinery Co. sit in mold trays

during a demonstration at the company‘s factory in Kawashima, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 7. | BLOOMBERG ―It‘s an entirely different genre,‖ said Yoshikazu Ono, son and heir of Jiro Ono, the master chef featured in the documentary ―Jiro Dreams of Sushi.‖ ―Sushi isn‘t just balls of rice,‖ he said. ―The process is the most important thing. It requires relentless practice to make just one piece of sushi rice — things like how you select, prepare and cook the rice, how much water you use, and so on. You can‘t get that from a robot.‖

At the headquarters of Kura Corp., about an hour south of Osaka, Kunihiko Tanaka bristles when he hears that argument. For the president and founder of Japan‘s second-largest sushi chain, and a longtime Suzumo customer, the artisans are on the wrong side of history. ―The era where it‘s OK to make sushi with your bare hands is over,‖ Tanaka said, referring to artisan sushi chefs in general. ―They still do that, and say that is the real sushi. Things that should be changed should be changed.‖ Already, about three-quarters of Japanese people say that when they eat sushi, it‘s from a conveyor belt, according to a survey published by fisheries company Maruha Nichiro Corp. in March. Almost half of them choose restaurants based on price.

Michael Booth, a food writer whose latest book, ―The Meaning of Rice,‖ is set for publication in October, sees room for both types.

―I want everyone to get a chance to taste what amazing sushi from Jiro tastes like, because it‘s a very, very different experience,‖ Booth said. ―But then again, cheap, mass-produced sushi is like the entry drug into the sushi world, and that can be a good thing, too. People are exposed and may become curious as to what great sushi tastes like.‖ A roll of maki-sushi exits a Suzumo Machinery Co. sushi machine during a demonstration at the company‘s factory. | BLOOMBERG In a sense, Suzumo dealt a blow to one part of traditional Japan, the artisan sushi business, so that another could prosper: the rice industry. It was an act of political subversion, attempting to derail the government‘s policy of controlling the price of rice. ―As tastes became westernized, demand for rice began to decline,‖ said Eiji Minemura, an official at the agriculture ministry. ―We took the policy of decreasing production to adjust to oversupply.‖ Oneda and his colleagues‘ actions show they never agreed. After developing their first sushi machines, they helped pioneer an iconic hamburger that uses rice patties instead of bread. They helped mechanize the kitchens of rice-bowl restaurants. And they even made a California roll sushi robot, as they targeted U.S. demand for the food as a healthy and trendy choice.

It‘s true that by one narrow definition, Suzumo didn‘t succeed. Japan has kept controlling rice production since first introducing the policy in 1971. And demand for rice has fallen.

Still, the company‘s share price has more than tripled since a low in February last year. Investors think Suzumo will benefit from the labor shortage in Japan, and the overseas sushi boom, Oneda said. Of the three analysts covering the stock, all recommend buying.

But for all the fanfare, Oneda — as he carries on Suzuki‘s legacy — is still thinking about the rice. ―Do you eat a proper breakfast?‖ he asked the Japanese reporter. ―What do you eat? I bet it‘s bread, right? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/08/31/business/tech/rice-lovers-robot-revolutionized-modernsushi-industry/#.WakCERWGN6p

How an Angry Man Revolutionized the Modern Sushi Industry

By Tom Redmond Nao Sano, and Naomi Schanen August 30, 2017, 9:00 PM GMT+5 August 31, 2017, 11:31 AM GMT+5  Kisaku Suzuki spurred cheaper dishes with first sushi robot 

He was upset about Japan‘s policy of cutting rice production

Kisaku Suzuki, creator of the world‘s first sushi robot, once ran a company that made candywrapping machines. And he was angry.

Why had the Japanese government embarked on a policy to limit rice production, effectively paying some farmers to keep their paddy fields idle? For Suzuki, rice was the sacred heart of the country‘s economy. He started to think about how to make the staple food more popular, so that Japan had no reason to restrict the crop.

Wrapped pieces of sushi exit a Suzumo Machinery Co. sushi robot.

And that‘s when it came to him: he would use his firm‘s knowledge of candy-packaging machines to develop the robot. The idea, while off-the-wall in the mid-1970s, had a simple premise. If he could lower the cost of making sushi by mechanizing parts of the process and reducing the need for highly paid chefs, he could bring the previously elite Japanese dish to the masses, and in doing so increase demand for rice.

Four decades later, Suzumo Machinery Co.‘s robots are used by about 70,000 customers around the world, ranging from sushi chains to factories, and account for about 70 percent of the market for the equipment at restaurants, according to Suzumo‘s estimates. Kaiten sushi, also known as conveyor-belt sushi, has become a $6 billion industry in Japan alone, partly thanks to Suzuki‘s invention.

Cheap sushi ―couldn‘t have happened without our machines,‖ says Ikuya Oneda, who succeeded Suzuki as Suzumo president in 2004, a year before the founder died, and took over his life‘s work. ―You can certainly say that.‖

An employee puts rice into a Suzumo sushi robot.

When Suzuki started to create his robot, he met nothing but resistance. In 1976, sushi was still largely a food for special occasions. It was mostly sold through a legion of small restaurants, where artisan chefs dispensed morsels with no price tags and charged how they saw fit.

Not surprisingly, those chefs were up in arms when they heard about Suzumo‘s plan. In their view, it took 10 years to train someone to make sushi. No machine could possibly do the job.

Suzumo asked some of the very people it was trying to depose to give their opinions on the prototype. ―They said, ‗This is no good, this is terrible, I don‘t know what this is,‘‖ said Oneda, 73, who became chairman of the company this year.

After three years, Suzumo was nowhere near its goal and running out of cash. We thought ―the company would go down the tubes,‖ Oneda said. ―We thought about quitting.‖

Suzumo‘s SSN-JLX compact sushi-making machine.

Suzumo stuck with the task, and two years later the sushi chefs finally said the machine was usable. In 1981, the company completed its first robot, which formed sushi rice into balls called nigiri. These days, it offers 28 different sushi machines.

―What they‘ve done is allow kaiten restaurants to democratize and make good Japanese food affordable and accessible,‖ says Robin Rowland, chairman and chief executive officer of Yo!, a U.K. sushi chain with almost 100 restaurants globally. ―We serve 7 million guests a year. You‘re talking about 500 to 600 dishes on our belts in the U.K. It‘s a lot of food. And you need to automate some of that.‖

But even so many years later, the debate still rages about the machines. For purists, if you use robots, it just isn‘t the same.

―It‘s an entirely different genre,‖ says Yoshikazu Ono, son and heir of Jiro Ono, the masterchef featured in the documentary ―Jiro Dreams of Sushi.‖ ―Sushi isn‘t just balls of rice. The process is the most important thing. It requires relentless practice to make just one piece of sushi rice -things like how you select, prepare and cook the rice, how much water you use, and so on. You can‘t get that from a robot.‖

At the headquarters of Kura Corp., about an hour south of Osaka, Kunihiko Tanaka bristles when he hears that argument. For the president and founder of Japan‘s second-largest sushi chain, and a longtime Suzumo customer, the artisans are on the wrong side of history.

A chef at a Kura Corp. sushi restaurant near Osaka uses a Suzumo sushi robot.

―The era where it‘s OK to make sushi with your bare hands is over,‖ Tanaka says, referring to artisan sushi chefs in general. ―They still do that, and say that is the real sushi. Things that should be changed should be changed.‖

Already, about three-quarters of Japanese people say that when they eat sushi, it‘s from a conveyor belt, according to a survey published by fishery company Maruha Nichiro Corp. in March. Almost half of them choose which restaurant based on price.

Michael Booth, a food writer whose latest book, ―The Meaning of Rice,‖ is set for publication in October, sees room for both types.

―I want everyone to get a chance to taste what amazing sushi from Jiro tastes like, because it‘s a very, very different experience,‖ Booth says. ―But then again, cheap, mass-produced sushi is like the entry drug into the sushi world, and that can be a good thing, too. People are exposed and may become curious as to what great sushi tastes like.‖ A piece of sushi made by Suzumo‘s SGP-SNB machine.

In a sense, Suzumo dealt a blow to one part of traditional Japan, the artisan sushi business, so that another could prosper: the rice industry. It was an act of political subversion, attempting to derail the government‘s policy of controlling the price of rice.―As tastes became westernized, demand for rice began to decline,‖ says Eiji Minemura, an official at Japan‘s agriculture ministry. ―We took the policy of decreasing production to adjust to oversupply.‖

Oneda and his colleagues‘ actions show they never agreed. After developing their first sushi machines, they helped pioneer an iconic Japanese hamburger that uses rice patties instead of bread. They helped mechanize the kitchens of rice-bowl restaurants. And they even made a California roll sushi robot, as they targeted U.S. demand for the food as a healthy and trendy choice.

It‘s true that by one narrow definition, Suzumo didn‘t succeed. Japan has kept controlling rice production since first introducing the policy in 1971. And demand for rice has fallen.

Still, the company‘s share price has more than tripled since a low in February last year. Investors think Suzumo will benefit from the labor shortage in Japan, and the overseas sushi boom, Oneda says. Of the three analysts covering the stock, all recommend buying. The shares rose 1.1 percent on Thursday in Tokyo.

But for all the fanfare, Oneda -- as he carries on Suzuki‘s legacy -- is still thinking about the rice.

―Do you eat a proper breakfast?‖ he asks the Japanese reporter. ―What do you eat? I bet it‘s bread, right? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-30/how-an-angry-candy-man-revolutionized-themodern-sushi-industry

Govt may find it tough to recover dues from rice mills There are over 3000 rice mills in Punjab. Every paddy harvesting season, the state government‘s procurement agencies supply paddy to these rice mills for milling (making rice from paddy).

Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba | Jalandhar | Published:August 31, 2017 12:04 am

Despite having announced a one-time settlement scheme, the Punjab government may not get back its dues from ―defaulter rice millers‖, several of which even sold their machinery years back and shifted to other businesses. (Representational Image/File)

Despite having announced a one-time settlement scheme, the Punjab government may not get back its dues from ―defaulter rice millers‖, several of which even sold their machinery years back and shifted to other businesses. Around 250 to 300 defaulters, most of them from

Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Sangrur, Firozpur, collectively owe the state government Rs 2,000-2,400 crore. Most of these mills owe between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore each to the government.

There are over 3000 rice mills in Punjab. Every paddy harvesting season, the state government‘s procurement agencies supply paddy to these rice mills for milling (making rice from paddy).

After the milling, a part of the rice produce is returned to the state government, which is further supplied to the central pool. Millers get milling charges from the government.

However, for years, these defaulter millers did not return the government quota after milling. ―Instead of returning the government‘s share, they sold it in the open market,‖ said a senior official in Punjab‘s Food and Civil Supplies department. ―Later, the government made a list of these defaulters and stopped supplying paddy to them,‖ he said.

Punjab Rice Millers Welfare Association president Rakesh Jain said he welcomed the ―one-time settlement scheme‖, which it was a long-pending demand. ―Now, we will motivate millers to pay government dues and avail of opportunity for the closed mills ahead of expected bumper paddy crop this time, which could touch 160 lakh tonnes,‖ he said http://indianexpress.com/article/india/govt-may-find-it-tough-to-recover-dues-from-rice-mills-4821397/

Global and China Rice Cooker Market Analysis, Synthesis and Summation 2017 to 2022 By admin August 30, 2017 Global and China Rice Cooker Market Research Report 2017 to 2022 presents an in-depth assessment of the Rice Cooker Market including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory landscape, deployment models, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for Rice Cooker Market investments from 2017 till 2022.

The research study focuses on Global and China Rice Cooker Market major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information.

In this report, the Global and China Rice Cooker Market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX millions by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2022.

This study answers several questions for stakeholders primarily which market segments they should focus upon during the next five years to prioritize their efforts and investments. These stakeholders includes : Joyoung(China), PHILIPS(Netherlands), Midea(China), Hurom(Korea), SUPOR(China), AICOK(US), SKG(China), Royalstar(China), Bear(China), MorphyRichards(UK), Deer(China), BRAUN(Germany), Panasonic(Japan), Breville(Australia), Bestday(Germany), Oster(US), EUPA(Taiwan, China), Electrolux(Sweden), NONTAUS(China), ACA(US), Airmate(Taiwan, China), Tribest(US), WELHOME(China Hong Kong), KENWOOD(UK), Petrus(China), Hamilton Beach(US), Eternal(China), Luby(China), Rota(China), Coway(Korea).

Sample/Inquire at : https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/083010031/global-andchina-rice-cooker-industry-professional-market-report-2017/inquiry Primary sources are mainly industry experts from core and related industries, and suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, service providers, and organizations related to all segments of the industry‘s supply chain. The bottom-up approach was used to estimate the Global and China market size of Rice Cooker Market based on end-use industry and region, in terms of value. With the data triangulation procedure and validation of data through primary interviews, the exact values of the overall parent market, and individual market sizes were determined and confirmed in this study.

Global and China Rice Cooker Market Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type

Market Segment By

By Capacity -Change (%)

By Heating Method -Change (%)

By Liner Material -Change (%)

By Operation Method

2016 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2017 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2018 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2019 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2020 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2021 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

2022 xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

-Change (%)

By Price -Change (%) Total -Change (%)

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

xx xx xx xx xx%

More Types in Details: 

Rice Cooker Market, by Capacity 2L and Below (1-2 people) 3L (2-3 people) 4L (3-5 people) 5L (6+) 9 Liters and Above



Rice Cooker Market, by Heating Method IH Electromagnetic Heating Three-dimensional Heating Chassis Heating



Rice Cooker Market, by Liner Material Black Crystal Clay Maifan Stone Kettle Others



Rice Cooker Market, by Operation Method Pushbutton Intelligent Control Touch Type



Rice Cooker Market, by Price Under $25 $25 to $50 $50 to $100 $100 to $200 $200 & Above

Browse Full Report at:https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/083010031/global-and-chinarice-cooker-industry-professional-market-report-2017/discount

Global and China Rice Cooker Market Sales (K Units) by Application (2016-2022)

Market Segment by Application

2012

2016

2022

Home Use Commercial Total

xx xx xx

xx xx xx

xx xx xx

Market Share (%)2022 xx% xx% 100%

CGAR (%) (2016-2022) xx% xx% xx%

The research provides answers to the following key questions:      

What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022?

What are the key factors driving the Global and China Rice Cooker Market?

Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global and China Rice Cooker Market?

What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global and China Rice Cooker Market?

What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global and China Rice Cooker Market?



What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Global and China Rice Cooker Market?

This independent 131 page report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. With over 170 tables and figures examining the Rice Cooker Market, the report gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leader‘s market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2022.

Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Storage Area Network Switch in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering Market Segment by Regions Asia Pacific China First-tier Cities Second-tier Cities Third-tier Cities

2012 xx xx xx xx xx

2016 xx xx xx xx xx

2022 xx xx xx xx xx

Share (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%

CAGR (2016-2022) xx% xx % xx% xx % xx%

Others Total

xx xx

xx xx

xx xx

xx% xx%

xx% xx%

The report provides a basic overview of the Rice Cooker Market industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.

Then, the report focuses on Global and China major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. What‘s more, the Rice Cooker Market industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.

The research includes historic data from 2012 to 2016 and forecasts until 2022 which makes the reports an invaluable resource for industry executives, marketing, sales and product managers, consultants, analysts, and other people looking for key industry data in readily accessible documents with clearly presented tables and graphs. The report will make detailed analysis mainly on above questions and in-depth research on the development environment, market size, development trend, operation situation and future development trend of Rice Cooker Market on the basis of stating current situation of the industry in 2017 so as to make comprehensive organization and judgment on the competition situation and development trend of Rice Cooker Market and assist manufacturers and investment organization to better grasp the development course of Rice Cooker Market.

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.

There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global and China Rice Cooker Market.

Chapter 1, to describe Rice Cooker Market Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Rice Cooker Market, with sales, revenue, and price of Rice Cooker Market, in 2016 and 2017; Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;

Chapter 4, to show the Global and China market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Rice Cooker Market, for each region, from 2012 to 2017; Chapter 5, 6, 7,8and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions; Chapter 10and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017; Chapter 12, Rice Cooker Market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022; Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Rice Cooker Market channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source. http://www.apexnews.co/rice-cooker-market/

The Food that Grows on Water: Harvesters and state agencies seek to protect Minnesota’s wild rice legacy August 30, 2017 by The Growler 14 Wild rice growing in the waterways around Cass Lake, Minnesota // Photo by Sascha Matuszak It’s late summer in Cass Lake, Minnesota, a logging and resort town on the western edge of the vast northwoods that stretches east to Thunder Bay, Ontario. For a few minutes before nightfall, the sky above town is streaked with the last glowing blush of the setting sun, and two loons call to each other from opposite sides of the lake. A small family of geese slips into the shallows as an eagle circles the lake one last time. Green beds of wild rice rustle gently in the breeze, growing a little taller with each day growing a little shorter. With harvest season just around the corner, anticipation in town is building.

During the next few days, reports start to fan out into the Northwoods community: “… Little Rice Lake, wild rice across lake, sparse to moderate density, most rice standing oneto two-feet, plants flowering; Kettle Lake, sparse wild rice across center of lake, moderate to good density rice along parts of shore and in some bays, most rice standing three-feet (some taller) …”

Ken Bruns, the 74-year old proprietor of A&B Wild Rice Processing, is already fielding calls.

His facility is located just off U.S. Highway 2, which runs east-west through Cass Lake. Bruns is too busy cleaning filters, repairing machinery, and figuring out what burned out one of his compressors to answer questions about where all the rice is at this summer.

He refers people to the Leech Lake Reservation Division of Resource Management, located just south of town. There, environmental land director Levi Brown is about to take a quick three-day vacation before the ricing season begins in earnest. When it does, he can expect as much as 350,000 pounds of green rice to pass through his office, 60 to 70 percent of which will be processed in Bruns‘ facility and sold to customers around the nation.

The ricing season isn‘t what it used to be. Bruns was born and raised in nearby Bena, Minnesota, and he harvested wild rice every fall until he retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 1995 and started up A&B Wild Rice Processing. Bruns still remembers school being let out so all the kids could jump in canoes, go rice, and earn money for clothes. ―Pretty much every car you‘d see would have a canoe on top,‖ he said. ―Sometimes two.‖

Ken Bruns, owner of A&B Wild Rice Processing, stands in front of parching equipment used to process fresh wild rice // Photo by Sascha Matuszak In the last half-century, the number of ricers has decreased, and by most estimates, so has the amount of rice available to harvest outside the reservation. Bruns chalks it up to laziness; Brown

points to development, pollution, and human activity. Even so, as mid-August rolls around, ricers across the Northwoods prepare for the month-and-a-half long harvest that can help people ride out a cold Minnesota winter.

This season, however, something new is happening.

After almost a decade of study and discussion, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released a new standard that shifts the focus from sulfate levels in wild rice waters to sulfide levels in the sediment. Sulfide, which is formed when bacteria break down sulfate, has been known to kill wild rice stands since the 1930s, and virtually all industry and development discharges sulfate into the groundwater. The current rule has been criticized for under-protecting wild rice in some cases, and over-protecting in others, while also failing to clearly define what water bodies the standard is intended to protect.

The revised rule attempts to address these concerns by specifically listing nearly 1,300 lakes, rivers, and streams governed by the standard and evaluating facilities that discharge to wild rice waters, such as wastewater treatment plants, mines, and industrial facilities, and, over time, determine if they need additional permit limits to protect wild rice. It also shifts the acceptability standard from 10 milligrams of sulfate per liter of the water to 120 micrograms of sulfide per liter. The new rule was released on August 21—right at the start of ricing season—and will be open to public comments until November 9.

The public review promises to be contentious, as Native tribes, environmentalists, and big industry study the new rule which, if approved, will go into effect sometime in 2018. The current

standard for sulfate in wild rice waters was rarely if ever enforced. The revised rule, however, has a decade of research and millions in state funds behind it, guaranteeing a larger state role in the future of wild rice and the lakes and rivers where it grows.

••• Stand of wild rice in Cass Lake, Minnesota // Photo by Sascha Matuszak The connection between sulfate and wild rice was discovered back in the 1930s by Dr. John Moyle, who wrote at the time: ―No large stands of rice occur in water having sulfate content greater than 10 ppm (parts per million). And rice generally is absent from water with more than 50 ppm.‖ Moyle‘s work led the MPCA to institute a standard in 1973 of no more than 10 ppm of sulfate in ―water used for production of wild rice.‖ The ambiguity of the phrase is one of the reasons the MPCA is revising the rules. Another reason is the state‘s poor record of enforcing the current standard, which, together with a steady decrease in wild rice stands and new information regarding the possible role sulfide played in that decrease, led to an MPCA-initiated review of available information about wild rice and sulfate. In 2011, following the MPCA review, the state passed legislation which provided funding to the MPCA for further study and directed the MPCA to revise the rule to clarify which water bodies are subject to the standard and to revise the standard as appropriate.

A 2008 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) study organizing and summarizing the existing science on wild rice was an important reference for the MPCA during the process of revising the standard. The 2008 study centralized much of the knowledge on wild rice and called for further study, giving the state the opportunity to dive deep into wild rice and establish a body of research future scientists and policymakers could draw upon to protect Minnesota‘s state grain.

The state also had the MPCA form the Wild Rice Standards Study Advisory Committee, ―to provide input to the Commissioner on a protocol for scientific research to assess the impacts of sulfate and other substances on the growth of wild rice, review research results, and provide other advice on the development of future rule amendments to protect wild rice.‖ The group includes tribal staff, representatives from municipal wastewater treatment facilities and other industrial dischargers, wild rice harvesters, wild rice research experts, and citizen organizations.

The committee has been meeting since October 2011, and has provided valuable input, even if the members themselves have been unable to reach any meaningful consensus. ―Everyone kinda serves their own interest,‖ said Darren Vogt, environmental division director for the 1854 Treaty Authority, an intertribal agency that protects the hunting and fishing rights of the Grand Portage and Bois Forte bands of Ojibwe.

Some Ojibwe bands, including the Grand Portage and Fond du Lac bands, participated in the standard-making process—allowing researchers access to reservation water bodies and staying

abreast of MPCA studies and surveys. Skeptical as they might be of the motives behind the study, the leaders of these Ojibwe bands decided participation was the best way to influence the process and ensure wild rice would remain protected.

Levi Brown and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, however, exempted themselves and their lakes from the process. The Leech Lake band argue that wild rice is a sacred part of Ojibwe culture and not to be poked, prodded, and categorized by researchers who have no connection to the grain, and who may also be influenced by big business.

In a 2011 letter to David Thornton, then assistant commissioner of the MPCA, Levi Brown outlined his people‘s reasons for not supporting the sulfate standard study. He wrote that manoomin, ―the good berry,‖ is sacred to Ojibwe culture and any attempts to study wild rice ―would only be a snapshot in time and not produce any conclusive information https://growlermag.com/food-that-grows-on-water-wild-rice/

Herbicide-resistant rice now under development near Biggs

Visitors to Rice Field Day Wednesday are carried by trucks through the vast fields of the Rice Experiment Station near Biggs.

Steve Schoonover — Enterprise-Record

By Steve Schoonover, Chico Enterprise-Record

POSTED: 08/30/17, 5:17 PM PDT |

Kent McKenzie, director of the Rice Experiment Station near Biggs, updates visitors to Rice Field Day Wednesday about progress on an herbicide-resistant rice being developed through ―induced mutation‖ rather than genetic engineering.Steve Schoonover — Enterprise-Record Biggs >> Researchers are developing a strain of herbicide-resistant rice, and they aren‘t using genetic engineering to do it.

That was the biggest news out of the 2017 edition of Rice Field Day, Wednesday at the Rice Experiment Station off Highway 162 near Biggs.

Several hundred people turned out for the event. It combines the annual meeting of California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation — which largely funds the experiment station — with updates on developments in the industry, a field tour and a luncheon. This year a display of huge ag equipment was added in the parking area across the highway.

Much of the information was highly technical, but the word about the herbicide-resistant rice was something even a non-farmer could appreciate.

A number of crops like corn, soybeans and alfalfa have been genetically altered so that they aren‘t killed by herbicides. That allows farmers to spray fields to kill weeds without losing their crops.

The process is controversial however, and hasn‘t been considered appropriate for crops like rice and wheat.

However the natural mutation process in rice has produced some varieties elsewhere that seem to have some resistance to some herbicides, according to Kent McKenzie, the director of the experiment station. Efforts to bring those to California have not been successful, he said.

So in 2014, McKenzie took over some greenhouse space and a 20-acre chunk of the research station and planted a variety of the rices already grown here, to see if a mutated variety was already here. ―It was spray and pray,‖ he said.

A few plants survived, and their seed was harvested. Nine of the plants from that seed were found to have resistance to the herbicide Oxyfluorfen, and an ―accelerated breeding program‖ was begun to produce enough plants for cross-breeding with other rice varieties and more extensive testing.

Field tests have been underway since 2015, and a patent for the new variety — dubbed ―ROXY‖ — was filed for last September.

Tests are continuing to see how the trait is passed on, and when in the growth cycle is the best time to apply the herbicide. ―There are still a lot of research questions to answer,‖ he told the tour group. He said it might take three to five years to get to the point where the seed was ready for market.

But that‘s not the biggest problem, he said. Oxyfluorfen is not currently approved for use on rice.

The process of getting that approval will take longer than it will take to develop the seed. ―The goal is to get this into the hands of California farmers,‖ he told the group.

Reach City Editor Steve Schoonover at 896-7750 http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20170830/herbicide-resistant-rice-now-under-development-nearbiggs

First rice export bilateral agreement signed 31.08.2017 | UkrAgroConsult The National League for Democracy-led government is set to sign its first ever government-togovernment (G-to-G) rice export bilateral agreement, according to the commerce ministry. The country is likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export rice to Bangladesh in early September.MYANMAR is about to export approximately 300,000 tonnes for the next five consecutive years. Detailed negotiations regarding the rate and arrangement will be finalised after the MoU is signed, U Than Myint, Minister of Commerce, said on August 29.\ ―The MoU is likely to be signed in Nay Pyi Taw following the visit of the Bangladesh commerce minister on September 7-9.―We roughly agreed to export over one million tonnes of rice to Bangladesh as they are in high demand for Myanmar rice for their increasing consumption demand.

―Bangladesh wants to import in around November but Myanmar has to adjust the quota for Bangladesh in order not to affect the trade agreements with other countries,‖ he said.

The government has announced that, for the fiscal year 2016-17, it exported two million tonnes of rice. For this fiscal year, it has exported almost 1.5 million tonnes of rice, according to the Ministry of Commerce‘s official statistics. We need to reduce production costs and logistics costs in order to compete with neighbouring rice exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam. - U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary-general of MRF Myanmar has to strike a balance between rice exports and supplying its domestic market. In this fiscal year, if it exports more than 2 million tonnes, it will lead to a price surge domestically.―Bangladesh wants to start importing in November this year.―But Myanmar is also exporting to Africa, the EU, Japan and other countries such as Sri Lanka which import rice from Myanmar without G-to-G bilateral agreements.―Hence, we need to maintain the supply to existing markets while trying to expand into new markets,‖ U Than Myint said.Myanmar has been under negotiations with Bangladesh since July regarding an MoU for a government-to government bilateral agreement, said U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary-general of Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). ―We need to reduce production costs and logistics costs in order to compete with neighbouring rice exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam.―As Myanmar‘s rice price depends on the Chinese border market, it would be nice to stabilise the price by diversifying the market,‖ he said.U Ye Min Aung, managing director of Myanmar Agribusiness Public Holding and secretary general of the MRF said that the country has further MoUs in the pipeline with Sri Lanka and China. The signing of those MoUs are expected to take place in October.―Signing MoU is just the framework for fixing the quantity, importing years, fixing the business agencies recommended by the respective commerce ministries.―China usually signs an MoU every year. This year, China would like to buy around 200,000 tonnes. Sri Lanka is planning to purchase 200,000 tonnes each year but the number of years has not been fixed yet,‖ he said http://www.blackseagrain.net/novosti/first-rice-export-bilateral-agreement-signed

Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice Rejaul Karim Byron

12:00 AM, August 31, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 04:00 AM, August 31, 2017 The government is going to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of white rice from Cambodia at a price which is 5.34 percent higher than the rate it paid to Vietnam as it seeks to boost stocks. The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved a proposal to bring in 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from Cambodia under a state-to-state arrangement at $453 per tonne.Earlier in June, the government decided to import 2 lakh tonnes of white rice from Vietnam through state-to-state arrangement at $430 a tonne.

Yesterday's price is also higher than the international market rate this week.The price of rice was $425 per tonne in Thailand, $435 in India, $445 in Vietnam and $403 in Pakistan this week, according to food ministry data.Compared to neighbouring countries, the price of Cambodian rice is usually higher as the country does not use chemical fertiliser and pesticide in rice production, said a food ministry official.

The official said Cambodian rice has a reputation in the international market.The purchase committee also approved imports of 50,000 tonnes parboiled rice through bidding at $407.89 per tonne. The lowest bidder, Regington Enterprises Ltd, will supply the staple.In total, the import of 3 lakh tonnes of rice will cost Tk 1,109 crore.

In the second week of August, the purchase committee gave consent to three deals on food grain imports, including 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and 50,000 tonnes of boiled rice.The development comes as rice production suffered major losses due to flash floods and fungal attacks.The flash floods in six northeastern haor districts and the fungal attacks (rice blast) in 19 districts during the boro season led to the loss of 20 lakh tonnes of the staple, according to the food ministry.

At least 20 districts in the north and elsewhere have been flooded in the past few days, which might affect the aman crop.The rice imports from Vietnam and Cambodia aims to raise the country's food grain stock, which went below 2 lakh tonnes in recent times.Thanks to a number of recent government initiatives, rice stock increased to 3.16 lakh tonnes on August 21.A cabinet committee meeting last week decided to import 20 lakh tonnes of food grains -- 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat -- this fiscal year.

This is 11 lakh tonnes more than the government's earlier projected food import volume of 9 lakh tonnes. Over the past two months, the cabinet approved proposals to float tender to import 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice. Yesterday, the cabinet also approved the import of 1.38 lakh barrels of octane from Indonesia's state agency PT Bumi Siak Pusako Zapin under a government-togovernment arrangement at a premium of $4.55 per barrel.

The committee also approved a proposal to import LNG from Qatar and gave the go-ahead to purchase electricity from a number of private power plants.United Enterprise will set up a 115megawatt diesel-based power plant in Jamalpur district. The government will buy electricity from the plant at Tk 8.73 a kilowatt hour.Besides, the tenure of two existing power plants was extended by five years. During the extended period, the government will buy electricity at Tk 2.51 per kWh from Ashuganj 55MW plant owned by Precision Energy Ltd. Earlier the tariff was Tk 2.91.

The government will pay Tk 11.53 per kWh to buy power from 100MW Powerpac-Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant Ltd http://www.thedailystar.net/business/govt-import-25-lakh-tonnes-rice-1456438

Rice basmati edges up on scattered demand 31 AUGUST 2017 Last Updated at 2:16 PM

New Delhi, Aug 31 Rice basmati prices rallied up to Rs 150 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on mild demand in restricted activity.However, other grains traded in a tight range in limited deals and pegged at the last levels.Traders attributed the rise in rice basmati prices to some demand from stockists and retailers.

In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa- 1121 variety settled higher at Rs 6,4006,600 and Rs 5,100-5,200 from previous levels of Rs 6,300-6,500 and Rs 5,000-5,050 per quintal, respectively.

Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,100-2,350, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,755-1,760, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,760-1,765, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 260-300, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 950-960 (50 kg), Maida Rs 990-1,000 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,030-1,040 (50 kg).

Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 6,400-6,600, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 5,100-5,200, Permal raw Rs 2,1502,175, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,225, Sela Rs 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,825-1,850, Bajra Rs 1,205-1,210, Jowar yellow Rs 1,425-1,475, white Rs 2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,320-1,325, Barley Rs 1,460-1,470. https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/rice-basmati-edges-up-on-scattered-demand/1135820

Texas Farmer Describes Harvey Destruction AUGUST 30, 2017 12:52 PM ―I‘ve never dreamed of a hurricane like this," says Texas producer Dennis DeLaughter. © Chris Bennett

By Chris Bennett Farm Journal Technology and Issues Editor ―This is water of biblical proportions. I‘m talking about unimaginable flooding,‖ says Texas producer Dennis DeLaughter.In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Texas growers are reeling as the agriculture industry begins to assess damage levels. All things considered, DeLaughter is a fortunate farmer, despite being surrounded by water and battered by 100mph winds.Southwest of Houston in Edna, DeLaughter grows seed rice at four farming locations, but he had nothing in the field when Harvey made landfall. With no second crop to follow cutting, his harvest was finished and the grain safely stored. Most growers use commercial storage in DeLaughter‘s area -concrete tanks with hopper bottoms off the ground and safe from standing water.

He says three of his farms are relatively intact, but the fourth (and largest) is an inaccessible question mark. Blocked by a rising river to the west and a swollen creek to the east, he‘ll have to wait at least several days to find out how the farm fared.

When Harvey struck, DeLaughter was 50 miles due east from the storm‘s center. On the hurricane‘s subsequent backup, the eye went over his headquarters. ―The storm moved slightly west and slammed the Rockport area. As the crow flies, we‘re 60 to 70 miles from Rockport, where the storm spent most of its fury.‖ DeLaughter, a highly respected producer and investment adviser, says estimates over damage totals are impossible without proper assessment: ―People can‘t even get to farms to assess their situations. The amount of water is hard to describe. Multiply what you‘ve seen before by 100 and imagine it spilled all over the countryside.‖ DeLaughter served on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations and he currently serves as an ATAC member under the Trump administration. He is a licensed floor trader with the Chicago Board of Trade and a former chairman of the U.S. Rice Producers Association. At 65 years old, DeLaughter says nothing in his life or career compares with the destruction of Harvey.

In the early 1990s, DeLaughter lived in East Bernard and recalls a particularly terrible flood: ―I had a friend in the rice industry and the Bernard River flooded his house with 6‘ of water. I helped him float his furniture right out the front door. I thought that was the worst I‘d ever seen, but today as a result of Harvey, the Bernard River is cresting a full 4‘ higher and it‘ll be 10‘ in his house.‖

―We‘ll get a better handle on the damage as the days go by, but I‘ve never seen a hurricane back up like this,‖ DeLaughter adds. ―I‘ve never dreamed of a hurricane like this.‖ https://www.agweb.com/article/texas-farmer-describes-harvey-destruction-naa-chris-bennett/

We could $50 million to $60 million in losses from Harvey: US Rice Producers Association Dwight Roberts, U.S. Rice Producers Association, discusses the potential impact on Texas rice farmers from Hurricane Harvey.

Watch the Video by clikcking the next link: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/we-could-dollar50-million-to-dollar60-millionin-losses-from-harvey-us-rice-producers-association/vi-AAqZNQf http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/we-could-dollar50-million-to-dollar60-million-in-losses-fromharvey-us-rice-producers-association/vi-AAqZNQf

Baldwin: Weed problems increasing in Arkansas rice Ford Baldwin | Aug 31, 2017

We need some help on rice weed control and we need it fast. We have a lot of clean rice fields in Arkansas, but we also have a lot of ugly fields. In some areas of the state we have the most grown-up fields I have ever seen. Barnyardgrass and weedy rice seem to be the two main

culprits, but sedges and sprangletop are rampant as well. I have seen field after field flat on the ground by heading, and I wonder if some of them will even be harvested.

A lot of the weedy fields are under the care of excellent consultants who know what they are doing and have thrown the herbicide ―kitchen sink‖ at the weeds to no avail. I hate to think how much money has been spent on some of these fields, but I know it is not sustainable.

Perhaps we can blame some of the problem on a wet year and residual herbicides dissipating much quicker than normal.

There is no question that herbicide resistance in barnyardgrass, the sedges and weedy rice is playing an increasing role. In some of the worst fields I have seen, the envelope on continuous rice and especially continuous Clearfield has been pushed too far.

There is a new sedge that I received numerous calls on this year — white sedge or white margin sedge. It is an annual sedge that gets very large and has a white shiny look to the leaves. The head resembles yellow nutsedge, but it is much larger and darker in color.

Control at this point is somewhat anecdotal. Apparently it is walking right through the ALS inhibitors. One consultant tried some propanil plus Basagran on it as a small field trial and had good results.

We are fortunate to have some new rice herbicides coming, and they cannot get here quick enough. Provisia rice, Loyant, and Rogue are all getting close. All of these have promise, and at the same time each will have some things we will have to learn to work with.

We also need a registration for Warrant in rice. This herbicide has shown a lot of promise in research, but any interest in a registration seems to be on-again, off-again.

If we cannot get these new herbicides in place soon we will have increasing acres we cannot grow rice on. However, we cannot simply continue trying to fix a herbicide problem with

another herbicide. A long look needs to be taken as to why a lot of acres are in the mess they are in and correct some overall management issues http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/baldwin-weed-problems-increasing-arkansas-rice

Rice in NE China enters harvest season Source:Xinhua Published: 2017/8/31 10:43:10

Photo taken on Aug. 30, 2017 shows rice fields in Yaoxin Township, Mongolian Autonomous County of Dorbod, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The rice here will enter harvest season. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Photo taken on Aug. 30, 2017 shows rice fields in Yaoxin Township, Mongolian Autonomous County of Dorbod, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The rice here will enter harvest season. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Photo taken on Aug. 30, 2017 shows rice fields in Minyi Township, Zhaoyuan County, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The rice here will enter harvest season. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Photo taken on Aug. 30, 2017 shows rice fields in Yaoxin Township, Mongolian Autonomous County of Dorbod, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The rice here will enter harvest season. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Photo taken on Aug. 30, 2017 shows rice fields in Minyi Township, Zhaoyuan County, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The rice here will enter harvest season. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1064065.shtml

California Rice is The Environmental CropraentValley rice fields provide unparalleled ies.

HABITAT VALUE California rice fields provide habitat and nourishment for approximately seven million ducks and geese migrating along the Pacific Flyway each year. Ricelands are increasingly crucial to hundreds of thousands of shorebirds that nest in the fields year round. For example, recent studies have shown that California ricelands currently provide more than half of the nutritional requirements of wintering waterfowl in the Sacramento Valley.

Ricelands provide more than 300,000 acres of equivalent wetland. In other words, this amount of new wetlands habitat would have to be created to support the same waterbird populations that California's ricelands support today. Acquiring and restoring this amount of land to create wetland for wintering waterfowl populations would initially cost about $2 billion and about $35 million annually for upkeep.

Rice fields provide a substantial wildlife resource benefit that comes essentially free to the public as long as California rice remains viable http://calrice.org/wildlife/

Prices drop in major exporters on weak demand Suphanida Thakral Bangkok (Reuters) - Rice prices dropped this week in Thailand, Vietnam and India due to weak demand for the staple, traders said on Thursday.Thai benchmark 5-percent broken rice was quoted at $370-$375 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Bangkok, down from $375-$377 a tonne last week.

The fall in prices can be attributed to the release of new crops.―Export market demand is currently at a low level, perhaps due to buyers waiting to see whether a further slump in prices will occur or not,‖ said a Bangkok-based trader.Prices in Thailand are expected to fall next week and remain relatively stable until the end of October, according to rice traders.

Vietnam benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 tightened slightly to $385-$390 a tonne this week, FOB Saigon, from $385-$395 last week.This drop has occurred as fresh demand was scarce after harvesting ended for the summer-autumn crops.―The market has been quiet on low demand. Prices have declined in Thailand, so Vietnam‘s prices also went down,‖ a trader in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Thailand and Vietnam are the world‘s second and third biggest rice exporters.In India, the world‘s biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice prices fell by $3 per tonne to $400 to $403 per tonne.Weak demand is the result of a strong rupee which dents export margins.―We are out priced. Buyers are asking for less than $400 per tonne, which is not possible due to strong rupee,‖ said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.India‘s nonbasmati rice exports are likely to slow over the next few months as its shipments of the grain have become too expensive due to a rally in the rupee and an increase in local paddy prices.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is set to buy 250,000 tonnes of white rice at $453 a tonne from Cambodia in a government-to-government deal, officials said.It had earlier imported 200,000 tonnes of white rice at $430 a tonne and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $470 a tonne from Vietnam in a state-to-state deal at rates much higher than in tenders.

Demand from Bangladesh has been crucial to rice prices in the global market this year as the country‘s government is battling to build buffer stocks to combat high domestic prices after flash floods in April wiped away around 1 million tonnes of rice output.A farmer spreads fertilizer in his rice field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, August 30, 2016.

REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/crude-falls-as-flooding-from-harvey-roils-u-s-oilindustry-idUSKCN1BC3EQ

Rice yields already near self-sufficiency

BY NEIL ALCOBER, TMT ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2017BUSINESS

THERE‘S no need to increase rice yields to 6 metric tons (MT) per hectare for the Philippines to become self-sufficient in the next five years, a senior International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) official said.―I think 6 … is a bit too high target and it‘s not necessary … If we can go to about 4.5 … we are already self-sufficient by that point,‖ IRRI Deputy Director Bruce Tolentino said in a roundtable interview with editors and reporters of The Manila Times. ―You don‘t have to be to have a very, very high target,‖ he added.With the Philippines rice yields having hit 3.87 MT per hectare last year, Tolentino said: ―It‘s doable and I think I would say that kind of a target is achievable within the medium term.‖Underscoring the importance of new technologies to ensure the continued sustainability of production, he said Filipino rice farmers

should now use climate-resilient crops and other interventions given increased weather-related risks. ―I do believe that Filipino farmers are very technology-friendly, and if we focus on improving yields, I believe we can achieve it,‖ he said.―It‘s not necessarily higher yield, but at least it‘s a loss prevention,‖ the IRRI official added.

Tolentino also said that it was very important to have consistent programs and investments to attain rice self-sufficiency in the next five years.―These include irrigation, rural infrastructure, improving seeds, and the local government units must be assisted so that they can extend the technology to farmers,‖ he said.

Tolentino said that while self-sufficiency was ―powerful message‖ for ordinary Filipinos, other goals could be considered such as ideal yields or even nutritional benefits.

Existing science already allows for higher yields and nutritional values, he noted that the country was lacking in terms of investments in agriculture research and development, and not just in terms of rice. ―I do believe that public budget should also be increased for our other commodities such as coconut, corn, and high-value crops… [T]he investment in the budget of the government should be spread out even in among all of these crops so that the farmers have a choice and they‘re not imprisoned by just one crop,‖ he said. ―You cannot support rice farmers only. http://www.manilatimes.net/rice-yields-already-near-self-sufficiency/347964/

Relaxed regulations expected to boost Vietnam’s rice exports Thursday, 2017-08-31 01:47:07 NDO - A new draft decree containing relaxed regulations on rice trading is expected to boost rice exports as Vietnamese rice traders are struggling with an oversupply of the grain in conjunction with falling demand.

Removing hurdles to rice exporters According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), following many years of implementation, the government‘s decree on rice trading, known as Decree 109, has been effective in singling out competent rice traders and directing them to make long-term investments. Currently the number of rice traders is steady at 150, with improved storage, milling and drying capacity. They have also developed rice plantations and signed contracts with farmers.

But as the rice export sector is struggling, Decree 109‘s compulsory requirements, such as the ownership of storage and milling facilities, are no longer considered relevant as they could barely be met by enterprises producing small quantities of speciality and organic rice. The decree has also exposed many weaknesses concerning contracts, floor prices and the management of the relevant agencies.

Therefore a new decree is currently being drafted by the MOIT to replace Decree 109, helping to fine-tune the legal framework for rice trading activities in a way that will make it easier for enterprises to export their rice products.

According to the MOIT‘s Export-Import Department, the draft decree will no longer require traders to own the storage, milling or processing facilities, which can be hired from other companies. Exporters of organic rice, parboiled rice and rice with improved micronutrients also will not have to meet business conditions and secure licences but will only have to notify the MOIT of their contracts.

The draft decree also amends a number of regulations aimed at streamlining administrative procedures and specifies the responsibilities of the relevant ministries, agencies and local authorities in rice trading management. For example, rice exporters will not have to register their contracts at the Vietnam Food Association but only need to notify the MOIT through its online portal.

MOIT Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that the new decree succeeding Decree 109 has been formulated with reforms in mind and submitted to the Ministry of Justice for feedback, before being submitted to the government for approval. He emphasised that during the process, regulations will continue to be reviewed to ensure that the final version will facilitate rice exporters as much as possible.

Enterprises‘ high expectations Rice is one of Vietnam‘s key exports so the draft decree to replace Decree 109 has received widespread attention from the business community. Director of the Dong Thap province-based Loan Hung Company Pham Hong Loan said in order for Decree 109 to bring substantive benefits to rice traders, what is important is the re-organisation of the rice production process from variety selecting and planting to harvesting, milling, advertising and exporting.

She added that when the rice value is enhanced, through a chain of production, enterprises will be the main player in purchasing rice at market prices, while the government will solely play the role of outlining strategies, regulating the market and assisting enterprises with market information.

Director of Trung An Hi-tech Agriculture Company Pham Thai Binh said abolishing the floor price policy will help rice traders to export more, while notifying rice contracts through the MOIT‘s online portal will help enterprises cut costs and protect the information in their contracts. According to Director of Thinh Phat Company Lam Tuan Anh, the new decree should include regulations on the quality for each specific type of rice, in accordance with a set of national standards, because quality is an important factor to the competitiveness of rice exporters. Furthermore, small enterprises should be allowed to export small quantities of Vietnam‘s high-quality rice in order for them to penetrate demanding and niche markets. The government should solely play the role of providing market information, forecasting prices and accessing foreign distribution networks. http://en.nhandan.com.vn/business/item/5463602-relaxed-regulations-expected-to-boostvietnam%E2%80%99s-rice-exports.html\

Another-300000mt-rice-import-gets-nod Cabinet purchase body endorses total 15 procurement proposals Sun Online Desk

30th August, 2017 09:58:24

The Cabinet Purchase Committee on Wednesday approved 15 procurement proposals, including the import of 300,000 metric tonnes (mt) of rice.Of the approved import, 250,000 mt of Atap (sunned) rice will be procured from Cambodia under a government-to-government deal at a total cost of Tk 939.97 crore as the price has been set at $453 per mt, reports UNB. The remaining 50,000 mts, which are non-Bashmoti parboiled rice, are being imported from the international market through quotation. A Singaporean company, Regington International, won the contract to supply the rice at the total cost of Tk 196.77 crore as its per metric tonne price has been fixed at $407.89. The meeting, held with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair, gave

the approval amid the growing concern over the possible food grain shortage due to the loss of crops in countrywide flooding.

The government has already withdrawn duty on rice import and also declared some banking facilities to encourage the import of food grains in the private sector. Last week, the Cabinet body approved a similar proposal for the import of 150,000 mt of food grain of which 100,000 mt was wheat and 50,000 mt was rice.The cabinet body approved six separate tender proposals of Rural Electrification Board (REB) to procure 21 sub-stations of 33/11 kV capacity for its different projects.

Of these, local supplier EnergyPac won the 5 contracts to supply 18 sub-stations at the total price of Tk 119.64 crore while another local company, Sunrise Energy, won one contract to supply 3 sub-stations at a cost of Tk 20.11 crore.However, another tender proposal for procuring two sub-stations went unapproved as the REB was asked to resubmit the proposal.

Power Division‘s proposal for awarding a project to a local company, United Enterprise, to set up a 115 MW HFO-based power plant on build-own-operate basis at Jamalpur district got the committee‘s nod.The state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will purchase electricity from the plant for the next 15 years at a tariff of Tk 8.7312 per kilowatt hour.

Power Division‘s two more proposals to extend the tenure of the contract to buy electricity from two rental power plants received the approval of the cabinet body.Of these, Precision Energy‘s

55 MW gas-based rental power plant‘s contract was extended for another five years with a new tariff of Tk 2.90 per unit against the previous tariff of Tk 2.91 per unit.

PowerPac Mutiara Keraniganj 100 MW HFO-based power plant‘s contract tenure was extended for five years with a new tariff of Tk 11.52 per unit against the previous tariff of Tk 11.63 per unit.The cabinet body approved a pricing formula and contract document for import of LNG (liquified natural gas) for 15 years from RasGas Company of Qatar.

A proposal of the Railway Ministry to appoint a consultant for the construction of single-line dual-gauge rail-track from Dohazari to Gondum board with Myanmar via Ramu of Cox‘s Bazar also received the committee approval. It also approved a proposal of the Energy Division to import 16,000 mts of octane from Indonesia under a government-to-government deal. The premium for the petroleum import was fixed at $4.55 per barrel. http://daly-sun.com/post/251588/Another-300000mt-rice-import-gets-nod

Summer-autumn rice crop output hits record in Long An VNA THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017 - 21:15:00

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Long An (VNA) – The summer-autumn rice crop in the Mekong Delta province of Long An is estimated to give a record yield of more than 1 million tonnes this year.

Farmers in Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) in the province have so far harvested more than 90 percent of the summer-autumn rice crop out of the total 224,000 ha.

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Van Hoang said only over 100ha of the summer-autumn crop was lost due to flooding this year.

The provincial authorities asked for the State funding worth 20 billion VND to upgrade dykes and protect more than 200,000ha of rice in Dong Thap Muoi, and additional 3 billion VND (130,000 USD) to repair pumping stations in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Kien Tuong townships.

The province has also paid attention to flooding control and building transport routes to prevent floods and serve Dong Thap Muoi tourism.

Dong Thap Muoi is set to focus on intensive food farming, aquaculture, forestry, ecological tourism and border economy.-VNA http://en.vietnamplus.vn/summerautumn-rice-crop-output-hits-record-in-long-an/117236.vnp

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- August 31, 2017 AUGUST 31, 2017 / 1:20 PM /

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-August 31 Nagpur, August 31 (Reuters) – Gram and tuar prices reported higher in Nagpur Agriculture Produceand Marketing Committee (APMC) here on good buying support from local millers amid weak supplyfrom producing regions. Fresh hike on NCDEX in gram, upward trend in Madhya Pradesh gram pricesand reported demand from South-based millers also boosted prices. About 950 of gram and 500 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources.

FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Desi gram raw recovered in open market on renewed seasonal demand from local traders.

TUAR

* Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here on subdued demand from local traders amid ample stock in ready position.

* Rice BPT and Shriram varieties reported strong in open market on increased festival season demand from local traders amid weak supply from producing regions.

* In Akola, Tuar New – 4,300-4,600, Tuar dal (clean) – 6,300-6,500, Udid Mogar (clean) – 8,200-8,800, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,800-7,400, Gram – 5,500-5,800, Gram Super best – 8,800-9,200 * Wheat, other varieties of rice and moved in a narrow range in scattered deals and settled at last levels in thin trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Gram Auction Gram Pink Auction Tuar Auction Moong Auction Udid Auction Masoor Auction

Available prices 5,450-6,130 n.a.

3,700-4,550 3,900-4,200

4,300-4,500

n.a.

Gram Super Best Bold

Gram Medium Best

2,100-2,600

n.a.

Wheat Mill quality Auction

Gram Super Best

5,400-6,100

3,900-4,550

n.a.

Previous close

2,600-2,800 1,600-1,728 9,000-9,500

n.a.

1,600-1,710 9,000-9,500

n.a.

8,000-8,200

Gram Dal Medium

n.a.

Gram Mill Quality

5,900-6,000

8,000-8,200

n.a 5,900-6,000

Desi gram Raw

5,700-5,900

Gram Kabuli

5,650-5,850

12,500-13,500

Tuar Fataka Best-New

12,500-13,500

6,800-7,400

Tuar Fataka Medium-New

6,800-7,400

6,400-6,600

Tuar Dal Best Phod-New

6,400-6,600

6,300-6,500

Tuar Dal Medium phod-New Tuar Gavarani New

6,300-6,500

5,800-6,200

4,650-4,850

5,800-6,200

4,650-4,850

Tuar Karnataka

5,000-5,200

5,000-5,200

Masoor dal best

4,700-5,000

4,700-5,000

Masoor dal medium Masoor

4,400-4,600 n.a.

4,400-4,600

n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New)

7,500-8,000

Moong Mogar Medium

6,700-7,200

Moong dal Chilka

5,600-6,600

7,500-8,000 6,700-7,200

5,600-6,600

Moong Mill quality

n.a.

n.a.

Moong Chamki best

7,000-8,000

7,000-8,000

Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 8,600-9,600

8,600-9,600

Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)

6,500-7,600

Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) Batri dal (100 INR/KG)

6,500-7,600

4,800-5,300

5,000-5,500

Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)

4,800-5,300

5,000-5,500

3,000-3,200

3,000-3,200

2,900-3,000

2,900-3,000

Watana White (100 INR/KG)

3,500-3,700

Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)

3,600-4,800

Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)

1,900-2,000

3,500-3,700 3,600-4,800

1,900-2,000

Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)

1,850-1,950

1,800-1,900

2,100-2,300

Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)

2,100-2,300

2,100-2,400

2,100-2,400

Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)

n.a.

Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)

3,000-3,600

2,200-2,700

3,300-3,500

Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG)

n.a.

3,000-3,600

MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)

Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)

2,200-2,700 3,200-3,500

2,900-3,200

2,600-2,900

2,900-3,100

2,600-2,900

2,500-2,700

Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG)

2,500-2,700

2,300-2,400

3,800-4,200

Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)

1,900-2,000

2,300-2,400 3,800-4,200

3,500-4,000

3,500-4,000

Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG)

5,000-5,500

4,800-5,200

Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG)

4,600-4,900

4,400-4,700

Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)

10,000-14,000

Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG)

Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)

5,100-7,600

4,800-5,000

Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)

10,000-14,000

4,800-5,000

4,300-4,500

2,000-2,200 1,800-2,000

5,100-7,600

4,300-4,500 2,000-2,200

1,800-2,000

WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 31.1 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 24.6 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil

FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky with possibility of moderate rains. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 32 and 25 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, butincluded in market prices) https://in.reuters.com/article/nagpur-foodgrain/nagpur-foodgrain-prices-open-august-31-2017idINL4N1LH3KA

Govt to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice Rejaul Karim Byron

12:00 AM, August 31, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 04:00 AM, August 31, 2017 The government is going to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of white rice from Cambodia at a price which is 5.34 percent higher than the rate it paid to Vietnam as it seeks to boost stocks. The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved a proposal to bring in 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from Cambodia under a state-to-state arrangement at $453 per tonne.Earlier in June, the government decided to import 2 lakh tonnes of white rice from Vietnam through state-to-state arrangement at $430 a tonne.Yesterday's price is also higher than the international market rate this week.

The price of rice was $425 per tonne in Thailand, $435 in India, $445 in Vietnam and $403 in Pakistan this week, according to food ministry data.Compared to neighbouring countries, the price of Cambodian rice is usually higher as the country does not use chemical fertiliser and pesticide in rice production, said a food ministry official.

The official said Cambodian rice has a reputation in the international market.The purchase committee also approved imports of 50,000 tonnes parboiled rice through bidding at $407.89 per tonne. The lowest bidder, Regington Enterprises Ltd, will supply the staple.In total, the import of 3 lakh tonnes of rice will cost Tk 1,109 crore.

In the second week of August, the purchase committee gave consent to three deals on food grain imports, including 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and 50,000 tonnes of boiled rice.The development comes as rice production suffered major losses due to flash floods and fungal attacks.The flash floods in six northeastern haor districts and the fungal attacks (rice blast) in 19 districts during the boro season led to the loss of 20 lakh tonnes of the staple, according to the food ministry.At least 20 districts in the north and elsewhere have been flooded in the past few days, which might affect the aman crop.

The rice imports from Vietnam and Cambodia aims to raise the country's food grain stock, which went below 2 lakh tonnes in recent times.

Thanks to a number of recent government initiatives, rice stock increased to 3.16 lakh tonnes on August 21.

A cabinet committee meeting last week decided to import 20 lakh tonnes of food grains -- 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat -- this fiscal year.This is 11 lakh tonnes more than the government's earlier projected food import volume of 9 lakh tonnes. Over the past two months, the cabinet approved proposals to float tender to import 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice.

Yesterday, the cabinet also approved the import of 1.38 lakh barrels of octane from Indonesia's state agency PT Bumi Siak Pusako Zapin under a government-to-government arrangement at a premium of $4.55 per barrel.The committee also approved a proposal to import LNG from Qatar and gave the go-ahead to purchase electricity from a number of private power plants.

United Enterprise will set up a 115-megawatt diesel-based power plant in Jamalpur district. The government will buy electricity from the plant at Tk 8.73 a kilowatt hour.Besides, the tenure of two existing power plants was extended by five years. During the extended period, the government will buy electricity at Tk 2.51 per kWh from Ashuganj 55MW plant owned by Precision Energy Ltd. Earlier the tariff was Tk 2.91.The government will pay Tk 11.53 per kWh to buy power from 100MW Powerpac-Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant Ltd. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/govt-import-25-lakh-tonnes-rice-1456438

First rice export bilateral agreement signed SU PHYO WIN 31 AUG 2017

The National League for Democracy-led government is set to sign its first ever government-togovernment (G-to-G) rice export bilateral agreement, according to the commerce ministry. The country is likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export rice to Bangladesh in early September.

MYANMAR is about to export approximately 300,000 tonnes for the next five consecutive years. Detailed negotiations regarding the rate and arrangement will be finalised after the MoU is signed, U Than Myint, Minister of Commerce, said on August 29.―The MoU is likely to be signed in Nay Pyi Taw following the visit of the Bangladesh commerce minister on September 7-9.

―We roughly agreed to export over one million tonnes of rice to Bangladesh as they are in high demand for Myanmar rice for their increasing consumption demand.―Bangladesh wants to import in around November but Myanmar has to adjust the quota for Bangladesh in order not to affect the trade agreements with other countries,‖ he said.

The government has announced that, for the fiscal year 2016-17, it exported two million tonnes of rice. For this fiscal year, it has exported almost 1.5 million tonnes of rice, according to the Ministry of Commerce‘s official statistics.

We need to reduce production costs and logistics costs in order to compete with neighbouring rice exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam. - U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary-general of MRF Myanmar has to strike a balance between rice exports and supplying its domestic market. In this fiscal year, if it exports more than 2 million tonnes, it will lead to a price surge domestically.―Bangladesh wants to start importing in November this year.―But Myanmar is also exporting to Africa, the EU, Japan and other countries such as Sri Lanka which import rice from Myanmar without G-to-G bilateral agreements.―Hence, we need to maintain the supply to existing markets while trying to expand into new markets,‖ U Than Myint said.

Myanmar has been under negotiations with Bangladesh since July regarding an MoU for a government-to -government bilateral agreement, said U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary-general of Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).―We need to reduce production costs and logistics costs in order to compete with neighbouring rice exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam.―As Myanmar‘s rice price depends on the Chinese border market, it would be nice to stabilise the price by diversifying the market,‖ he said.

U Ye Min Aung, managing director of Myanmar Agribusiness Public Holding and secretary general of the MRF said that the country has further MoUs in the pipeline with Sri Lanka and

China. The signing of those MoUs are expected to take place in October.―Signing MoU is just the framework for fixing the quantity, importing years, fixing the business agencies recommended by the respective commerce ministries.―China usually signs an MoU every year.

This year, China would like to buy around 200,000 tonnes. Sri Lanka is planning to purchase 200,000 tonnes each year but the number of years has not been fixed yet,‖ he said. https://www.mmtimes.com/news/first-rice-export-bilateral-agreement-signed.html

Bitcoin Payments Firm BitPesa Secures Greycroft As Lead Investor For $10 Million Total Funding AUG 30, 2017 @ 09:00 AM 2 Laura Shin , FORBES STAFF Amid rapid growth, African payments company BitPesa has received follow-up funding to its Series A led by Greycroft Partners, the venture capital firm with experience investing in payment companies such as Venmo and Braintree.The Luxembourg-based startup, which was founded in 2013 and has now raised $10 million to date, received an additional new investor, Plug and Play, while the majority of existing shareholders also topped up. Previous investors include Draper Associates and blockchain-focused venture funds Blockchain Capital, Pantera Capital and Digital Currency Group.

This follow-on financing comes after BitPesa raised $2.5 million in January. ―We had had a year of huge growth, and the growth just continued into the spring,‖ said chief executive officer Elizabeth Rossiello. A year ago, the company was handling trade volumes of $1 million a month, and it now manages $10 million a month, with 25% month-over-month growth. Its team has roughly doubled in the last year to almost 40. ―I chose to invest in BitPesa because I was extremely impressed by Elizabeth personally and her whole command of the industry,‖ said Greycroft founder and managing director Alan Patricof. ―I meet a lot of entrepreneurs and she had unique understanding of what she wanted to accomplish and the kind of company she wanted to build and how she was going to do it.‖(Listen to Rossiello describe her background on my podcast Unchained; show notes here.)teo BitPesa BitPesa enables companies to easily, quickly and cheaply make payments to and from Africa, as well as within Africa. ―Some of the most exciting growth we‘ve seen has been pan-African, [in which we come] in between two African currencies where most the other payment providers or banks don‘t service. So you would not see an African-African currency pair very often, even if it‘s a neighboring country — and that‘s something that‘s been really exciting to share with most of our customers,‖ said Rossiello.

Their clients include small, mid-sized and some of the largest African companies, particularly in the industries of travel, ecommerce, digital advertising and marketing and other digital businesses. BitPesa charges a percentage-based transaction fee that‘s about a third of what such companies would pay using traditional payment services, while completing the transactions in an hour compared to days or weeks.

What makes the speed and low cost possible is the Bitcoin blockchain on the backend — the company exchanges local currency for bitcoins, moves the money on the Bitcoin blockchain, which processes a new block of transactions every ten minutes, and then cashes out in another fiat currency.While Bitcoin has surged to all-time highs this year, nearly quintupling since January 1, the cryptocurrency has also faced a number of challenges, including an internal civil war between the developers and the so-called miners who run the network that resulted in a split that created a second currency called Bitcoin Cash. While the price recently reached another high after a technical upgrade on the network buoyed optimism, it could face yet another split come November. Despite these problems, Rossiello said, ―We‘ve experimented with other currencies and we‘re open to using them, but we‘ve found Bitcoin to be the most liquid to date.‖ BitPesa moved its headquarters from the Cayman Islands to Luxembourg earlier this year. ―It‘s been important for us to have a presence in Europe in both Francophone and Anglophone Europe as well as in Africa,‖ she said. Many customers are moving money in and out of Africa, in addition to within Africa.

In addition to continuing its expansion to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the company is also planning a pilot in trade finance, an area fraught with inefficiencies, high cost and frustration. For instance, if a Nigerian rice importer needs to pay a Vietnamese rice company, that Vietnamese rice company‘s bank in Singapore may reject all transactions and letters of credit from Nigerian banks. That could require the Nigerian importer to come up with $300,000 upfront to pay for rice it hasn‘t sold yet. Traditionally, the importer might go to the World Bank‘s International Finance Corporation, but obtaining a letter of credit there could take weeks, and the wire transfer itself could also take a week, whereas BitPesa can make the payment within the hour. ―At any time, these institutions have thousands of wires being crisscrossed around the world, some being canceled, some lacking paperwork and lacking information,‖ said Rossiello. ―And the whole process is heavy on paper and delayed payments, and by working with us, we can make the payments much easier and act as brokers.‖Greycroft‘s Patricof has worked in Africa, having traveled there with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a United States foreign aid agency. Greycroft has also invested in another Africafocused company, Flutterwave, whose work is complementary to BitPesa‘s.―It‘s been great to partner with the Greycroft team which has dug so deep and gotten to know our market and plus has such a payment pedigree,‖ said Rossiello https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/08/30/bitcoin-payments-firm-bitpesa-secures-greycroft-as-

Rice tops Iran’s imports 30 August 2017 17:51 (UTC+04:00)\ Access to paid information is limited https://en.trend.az/iran/business/2791727.html