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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines…
Long-Grain Rice Prices Expected to Fall Rice Foundation Accepting Applications for 2015 Rice Leadership Development Program In Praise of the Trusty Rice Cooker Thai Rice Harvest Seen Dropping on Drought, Subsidy Lapse Senator, nutrition experts support research on healthier rice Philippines to import additional 500,000 tons of rice Bangkok rice FOB price Strategies for five years drawn up Vietnam, China border trade revenue hits 2.61 bln USD in H1 Govt to import rice from Vietnam Paddy plantation rate declines due to poor rains Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-July 23 Rice Dust Thai rice yield to hit 5-year low
News Detail… Long-Grain Rice Prices Expected to Fall 07/22/2014 03:01 PM
BATON ROUGE – Prices for long-grain rice, which makes up 85 percent of Louisiana's rice crop, are projected to drop this year, said LSU AgCenter economist Mike Salassi.The price of long-grain rice was $15.40 per hundredweight in 2013, but that could decrease to $13.30 per hundredweight this year.A 46 percent increase in rice acreage in Arkansas, the No. 1 rice-producing state, is likely to blame
The price of corn is down, so some Arkansas farmers switched to rice this year, Salassi said."Because that's such a large increase in long-grain acres, we're going to have more production, and that will push prices down," Salassi said. Last year, nearly 2.5 million acres of rice were harvested in the United States. That is the lowest since 1987, and down significantly from 2010, when 3.61 million acres were harvested.Although nationwide rice acreage has dropped, that is not the case in
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Southern states like Arkansas, Mississippi andLouisiana. There are about 455,000 acres of rice planted in Louisiana right now — a 9 percent increase from last year's 418,000 acres. While long-grain rice prices are expected to decline, the market price of medium-grain is expected to increase. Rice acreage in California, which is the No. 2 producer of rice in the United States, has decreased significantly because of extreme drought conditions. Most of the rice grown in California is short- and medium-grain, which are used in products such as cereals."What California does affects the medium-grain price," Salassi said. "Their acreage is down about 12 percent from last year because they're having one of their worst droughts in history, and rice is an irrigated crop. The limited availability of water is going to decrease the amount of rice they can produce and increase prices."If medium-grain prices stay up and drought in the West continues, "we may see a little more medium-grain rice grown in Louisiana, but traditionally we're a long-grain state," Salassi said.
Rice Foundation Accepting Applications for 2015 Rice Leadership Development Program STUTTGART, AR -- The Rice Foundation is accepting applications for the 2015 Rice Leadership Development Program. Rice producers or industry-related professionals between the ages of 25 and 45 are eligible to apply for the program. The application deadline is October 4.The Rice Leadership Development Program provides a comprehensive understanding of the rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development and communication skills. During a two-year period, class members attend four one-week sessions designed to strengthen leadership skills through studies of all aspects of the rice industry. The class is comprised of five rice producers and two industry-related professionals chosen by a committee of agribusiness leaders. The committee evaluates the applications of all candidates, reviews letters of recommendation and conducts personal interviews with the finalists. Interviews will be conducted at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, AR, in December. The program is sponsored by John Deere Company, RiceTec, Inc., and American Commodity Company through the Rice Foundation and managed by the USA Rice Federation.Additional information on the Rice Leadership Development Program and an application form can be found on the USA Rice website.
Contact: Chuck Wilson, (870) 673-7541
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In Praise of the Trusty Rice Cooker Every cook has her trusted tools. Those implements that help you through just about any prep process and make the kitchen feel like home. For many it’s a special chef’s knife that sits just right in the hand, a cutting board with the perfect amount of countertop acreage, or maybe a sauté pan that responds to the slightest change in flame.Me? I don’t feel completely right without my rice cooker.In the modern move toward purely functional and minimalist cooking rigs, a lot of cooks purge convenience appliances and gadgets for simpler, more versatile tools. These ―unitaskers‖ (garlic presses, asparagus tongs and electric bread machines among them) usually go into a donation or yard-sale box a few years after their emergence from gift wrap.So some serious cooks scoff at my trusty rice cooker, asking, ―Why not just use a little pot and be done with it?‖ The answer, for anyone raised in southern Louisiana, is simple. We use rice cookers precisely because they work every time. Period. No timers, no worries, no excuses. Measure once, push a button and get on with the other tasks at hand. (There are usually plenty.) For most of the dishes in our everyday repertory, a batch of bad rice means disaster. After spending a few solid hours cooking a good gumbo or simmering Aunt Agnes’s famous redfish court-bouillon, you think that we’re going to mess up the meal by serving it over gloppy rice? And rice, for such a simple food, is not terribly forgiving.Over the years, I’ve tried all the foolproof methods for cooking our cuisine’s foundational grain. The ―2 to 1‖ formula. The ―knuckle-deep in water‖ trick. The ―soaking method.‖ Several ―absorption techniques.‖ Toasting. Steaming. Boiling. Microwaving. Pilafing.And still, I find that each routine requires just enough time and attention that I’ll mess it up about 70 percent of the time. Set the ―guaranteed‖ 20-minute timer and on a bad night you’ll end up with a gummy blob of starch. Set the burner too low, and you’ll be rewarded with crunchy grains in tepid, salty broth. Goose the flame a bit and you have a scorched, crusty mess.
Thai Rice Harvest Seen Dropping on Drought, Subsidy Lapse By Supunnabul Suwannakij Jul 23, 2014 2:52 PM GMT+0500 Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg Rice production in Thailand will probably shrink to a five-year low as drought hurts yields and farmers curb planting after the end of a subsidy program, according to the Thai Rice Packers Association. Output in the largest shipper after India may drop 10 percent to about 34 million metric tons in 2014-2015, said Somkiat Makcayathorn, the group’s president.
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That would be the lowest level since 2009-2010, when the Southeast Asian nation produced 32.4 million tons, according to data from the Office of Agricultural Economics, the Bangkok-based state forecaster.While a smaller harvest would curb farm incomes, a decline in supply may ease the challenge faced by the country’s military junta as it seeks to sell off record stockpiles that built up under the now-defunct subsidy program. Dry weather may also hurt rice output in India this season, according to the Rome-based Food & Agriculture Organization, which forecasts the first contraction in global stockpiles in a decade Production has been affected by both drought and the lack of a price subsidy,‖ Somkiat said in a phone interview in Bangkok on July 21. ―The prospect of a production decline provides an opportunity for the junta to release stockpiles.‖Drought spread across 49 of Thailand’s 77 provinces since September, with rainfall in May 31 percent below the 30-year average, according to government data. Yields may decline 20 percent to 50 percent because of below-normal rain and inadequate water supplies, according to a Bloomberg survey of 10 farmers in the biggest growing provinces. El Nino
An El Nino weather pattern, which can parch South and Southeast Asia and hurt farm production, remains likely later this year, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said July 15, while adding that odds of a strong event are increasingly unlikely.Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was deposed by the junta in May, introduced the subsidy in 2011, spurring record output and reserves and ending the country’s 30-year reign as the biggest exporter. The program -- which paid farmers a guaranteed above-market rate for their crop -- lapsed in February and the junta is now checking warehouses nationwide to assess the quantity and quality of the grain reserves.Thai reserves increased from 5.62 million tons in 2011 to 12.8 million tons last year, as exports fell from 10.6 million tons to 6.72 million tons in the same period, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Output may drop to 30.5 million tons in 2015 from 31 million tons, the U.S. agency predicts.
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Biggest Shippers
Global ending stockpiles may contract 0.9 percent to 179.7 million tons in 2014-2015 on a milled basis, the United Nations’ FAO estimated in a quarterly report last week. The agency forecast a 1.2 percent drop in Indian supply to 157.5 million tons on a paddy basis.Should India’s crop decline significantly from last year on a poor monsoon, it would play quite favorably for Thailand, according to Darren Cooper, senior economist at the London-based International Grains Council. Thailand may reclaim its position of the leading rice exporter, Cooper said. Between July 3 and July 8, more than 100 teams checked 343 warehouses out of 1,787 in Thailand, junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on July 18. Irregularities, including rice missing from warehouses and quality deterioration, were found in 65 warehouses, Prayuth said in his weekly televised address.The price of Thailand’s 5 percent broken white rice, a regional benchmark, rebounded after the junta suspended sales for the inspections. The grade advanced to a four-month high of $433 a ton today, compared with $384 on May 28, the lowest since at least 2008. The price slumped 23 percent last year. Extra Purchases
The Philippines, the largest importer in Southeast Asia last year, may buy an additional 500,000 tons to help boost local supply, Francis Pangilinan, presidential assistant for food security, said in a statement today.―Thai rice is still competitive at current prices, which could boost exports to 10 million tons, becoming the top exporter,‖ said Somkiat, who’s also secretary general of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. ―Even without impact from dry weather, we should see a production decline because farmers barely make a profit from planting rice.‖To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok atssuwannakij@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net Jake Lloyd-Smith Image: A worker carries a sack of rice in the warehouse of the Sahakorn Kan Kasert rice mill
Senator, nutrition experts support research on healthier rice on 23 July 2014.
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Hon. Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, supports research on healthier rice. (IRRI Headquarters, 23 July 2014)
LOS BAÑOS, Laguna - Rice is the largest part of the Filipino diet and healthier versions of the staple can go a long way in helping solve key health concerns, as well as improve public health in general.Philippine Senator Cynthia A. Villar made this statement today at the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), affirming contributions made by rice scientists, in a keynote message during the Forum on Food Nutrition and Security.Villar, chair of the Philippine Senate's Committee on Agriculture and Food, also said that ―IRRI’s Healthier Rice Program plays an important role in fighting the prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among Filipinos.‖In celebration of Philippine Nutrition Month, IRRI organized the forum jointly with the Provincial Nutrition Action Office of Laguna Province, the Philippine National Nutrition Council (NNC) of the Philippine Department of Health, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), and other partner organizations. More than 200 representatives from the academe, the health and nutrition community, local government, and policymakers participated in the forum, held on July 23.In line with the approach promoted by global nutrition
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experts advocating a toolkit approach of interventions, Villar said that "to supplement healthier rice varieties, there is also a need to encourage Filipinos to eat more vegetables." Collaborative efforts among IRRI, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and others to develop healthier varieties of Asia’s major staple figured prominently in a series of information sessions for nutrition action officers. Speakers included experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Philippines, FNRI, NNC, PhilRice, and a local women's group called Sulo ng Pamayanan. Sulo is a nonprofit group organized by IRRI that helps women become effective leaders in the local community.A day-long exhibit featured work on improving the nutritional status of Filipinos by the following: World Food Programme, PhilRice, FNRI, Helen Keller International-Philippines,Institute of Human Nutrition and Food of U.P. Los Baños, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, ACF International, and Long Live Pharma.―Rice science can contribute to closing gaps in nutrition, in the Philippines and in other rice-consuming countries,‖ said Bruce Tolentino, IRRI’s deputy director general for communication and partnerships. ―We remain committed to the fight against micronutrient deficiency through our healthier rice program.‖IRRI is developing rice varieties that have higher levels of iron, zinc, and beta-carotene. These rice varieties can complement current strategies to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. The Institute supports the efforts of the Philippine government—through the DOH, NNC, and the FNRI—to end malnutrition in the Philippines and in other rice-consuming countries
Philippines to import additional 500,000 tons of rice Reuters
Posted at 07/23/2014 12:06 PM | Updated as of 07/23/2014 4:31 PM MANILA - The Philippines will import an extra 500,000 tonnes of rice to increase its thin stockpiles after a typhoon damaged crops last week, in a deal that could help boost export prices in key producers such as Vietnam.The fresh demand announced on Wednesday by the Philippines' food security chief, Francis Pangilinan, brings the country's total rice purchases for this year's needs to nearly 2 million tonnes, the highest in four years, making the country one of the world's biggest rice buyers."We have agreed that we will import an additional 500,000 metric tonnes of rice," Pangilinan told local radio. "There will be a tender and (the shipment) is expected to come in by end of August, first week of September."Pangilinan met with the country's economic managers on Tuesday to seek approval for the fresh rice imports.Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest storm to hit the Philippines since Super Typhoon Haiyan in November, killed 97 people and damaged $172 million worth crops and infrastructure. "We lost some 50,000 metric tonnes from the typhoon and local harvest is not expected to start until end of September," Pangilinan said.
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Inventories at the Philippines' state grains procurement agency, the National Food Authority, were currently good for 82 or 83 days of national consumption, below a requirement for a 90-day buffer stock, he said. "We need to augment our stocks," he said. "If we don't intervene, local rice prices will remain high or even rise further."The latest purchase will add to a series of deals from last November to import a total of 1.5 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam, the country's traditional supplier.Prices of Vietnamese low-quality 25-percent broken rice were quoted at $385-$390 a tonne a week ago, up around 5 percent from the week before and the highest in nearly seven months amid limited supply and regional buying. The country was Asia's fourth-biggest rice importer in 2013 and the world's eighth-largest. The government approved a total 705,000 tonnes of rice imports last year, of which about 300,000 tonnes arrived early this year.The Philippines recently shifted away from setting a target date for a plan to be completely self-sufficient in the production of rice likely keeping its doors open to imports beyond the current goal of 2016.The United States' Department of Agriculture has forecast that the Philippines may need to import as much as 2 million tonnes of rice this year and 1.8 million tonnes in 2015.
Bangkok rice FOB price Xinhua, July 23, 2014Adjust font size: The following are Bangkok Rice FOB Prices, as offered by the Rice Exporters Association of Thailand, for the week: Unit: U.S. dollar/Metric Ton This week Last week Jasmine Rice (Thai Hom Mali Rice) Grade A (crop year 2012/13) 1192 1177 Grade A (crop year 2013/14) 1087 1073 White Rice White Rice 100% Grade B 449 443 White Rice 25% 385 380 Endi
Strategies for five years drawn up Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation July 23, 2014 1:00 am
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The Commerce Ministry and relevant state agencies, as well as stakeholders in the rice industry, yesterday finished chalking out five development strategies, and six marketing strategies for implementation from 2015-2020.The strategies will be finalised again next week and proposed to the National Council for Peace and Order by the end of this month. The proposals call for the setting up of a "rice board" to pursue strategies in the long run without any political involvement. The five development strategies are: Develop rice farmers and rice production and the value chain. Farmers will be educated on cost reduction and encouraged to become "smart farmers" so that they no longer need to rely on government subsidies. The government will cooperate with private enterprises to establish a community knowledge centre to encourage farmers to grow quality rice, serve the demands of niche markets, increase value-addition, and create a fair trading system.l Involved agencies such as the Agriculture Ministry, farmers, local millers, and cooperatives will join forces to develop the rice-trading system as "modern trading" so that farmers can lower their costs. The farmers will be encouraged to adapt more mechanisation for cultivation and harvesting.l Zoning for alternative crops will be promoted in some areas, as some land is not suitable for growing rice. The government will also develop plantation areas and improve irrigation systems, logistics, transport, and soil quality in areas that are suited to growing rice.l Support research and development of rice seeds and growing methods. The government will cooperate with private enterprises to launch insurance for rice production in case of natural disasters, while a rice fund will be established to support research and development in the rice industry. Under this step, the Finance Ministry will collect a 1-per-cent fee from the rice traders' revenues and incomes of exporters. The fund will have a Bt2-billion annual budget. Rice board Charoen Laothamatus, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said a "rice board" comprising all stakeholders government agencies, farmers, millers, exporters and academics - should be set up. The board should have independent authority, and draw up a national road map for development of the rice industry.l Develop a rice-trading system and support the market mechanism. The Agriculture Futures Exchange of Thailand will be modernised and put under the Stock Exchange of Thailand.In addition, the six marketing strategies include the creation of a fair trading system. More rice-polishing plants will be promoted in the next five years, to cover at least 80 per cent of the country's rice-plantation areas. Thailand will be promoted as a global centre for rice polishing. The standard of Thai rice grains will be improved to international standards and in addition, domestic consumption of Thai rice will be increased by 5 per cent within five years. Thailand will be promoted as a rice-trading centre. Rice-export volume and value are targeted to increase by 10 per cent in five years, while at least five new export markets will be penetrated. Thailand will also adopt international standards of rice production and trading, such as carbon credits and waste management. The logistics system in the rice supply chain will be developed under the ministry's strategy.To ensure farmers' incomes, Thai Rice Growers Association president Vichian Phuang-lumjiek has called for the government to set
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up a middle price for paddy rice in the market at Bt10,000-Bt12,000 a tonne so that farmers will be able to earn some profit.He pointed out that production costs had climbed in the past few years to more than Bt6,000 a tonne. Rice farmers do not seek high subsidies or any pledging, but they at least need to make some profit.
Vietnam, China border trade revenue hits 2.61 bln USD in H1 23.07.2014 The total revenue of border trade between Vietnam and China hit 2.61 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2014, up 13 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnam's Border Trade Steering Committee.Statistics of the committee show that the bilateral border trade maintained uptrend with an average growth of 4 percent per month.During the six-month period, Vietnam enjoyed a surplus of 800 million U.S. dollars in border trade, up 126 percent year-on-year, local Tien Phong (Pioneer) online newspaper quoted the committee as saying on Wednesday.Rice was the item having the largest export revenue during the period. A total of 529,000 tons of rice worth some 198 million U.S. dollars was exported to China from January to June. Around 97 percent of the rice was exported to China through the border gate in northern Lao Cai province, some 354 km north of Hanoi, said the committee. Vietnam exported nearly 96,400 tons of fresh litchi and over 152,600 tons of watermelon to China via border, earning 62.2 million U.S. dollars and 9.1 million U.S. dollars, respectively.Despite the growth, Vietnam is still in great need to complete, amend and supplement decisions, policies relating boundary residents, in order to deal with tax fraud and ensure smooth border trade, said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu.China remained the biggest exporter to Vietnam in the six months, as Vietnam spent around 20.4 billion U.S. dollars buying goods from China during the period, up 21.1 percent year-on-year.As for the total trade between the two countries, Vietnam saw a deficit of some 13.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 21.2 percent year-on- year, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office
Govt to import rice from Vietnam Linda Yulisman, The Jakarta Post | Business | Wed, July 23 2014, 10:49 AM Indonesia will gradually start to import rice this month to boost stockpiles as lower domestic output is expected this year.The country had secured 50,000 tons of rice from Vietnam, comprising medium as well as premium types, State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chairman Sutarto Alimoeso said on Monday. It had spent approximately Rp 300 billion (US$25.8 million) for the purchase of the Vietnamese rice sold at around Rp 6,000 each kilogram, he added.
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―The move particularly responds to failed harvests earlier this year due to massive flooding in some areas,‖ Sutarto said, citing losses of 300,000 tons of rice from the floods affecting 116,000 hectares of farming land in a few rice-producing regions.Bulog normally buys rice from local farmers, but the flooding had hampered the firm’s effort to absorb domestically produced staple food to build its stockpiles.In addition to this, a number of farmers might also cancel plans to plant the crop as there has been an early warning about El Niño, which would affect output.Bulog’s move to import rice this year is line with the expectation of agriculture experts, who have said that lower output might be seen due to the late planting season at the end of last year in addition to the long drought caused by El Niño. The government aims to control 2 million tons in annual rice reserves in Bulog. As of May, Bulog’s stockpiles amounted to 1.9 million tons, lower than in the same period in 2012 and 2013 when the firm was maintaining more than 2 million tons.Lower stockpiles are feared to weaken the government’s ability to take necessary measures to curb the price of the country’s main corp.The rise in the price of rice has been a big concern as it usually triggers inflation. However, the government had repeatedly said that it would not import rice this year as it expected bigger output from last year.The importation is being executed after the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said in its first forecast of domestic production earlier this month that domestic rice production, measured by the output of unhusked paddy rice, would decline 1.98 percent from last year to 69.87 million tons in shrinking farmland areas and productivity. To offset the slide, the government has released an indicative figure for imports of around 500,000 tons.Sutarto, however, declined to elaborate on the overall figure of rice imports planned, saying that his firm would closely monitor rice-price fluctuation and would act accordingly based on needs.―If the initial purchase [of 50,000 tons] proves sufficient, we will stop imports, and do otherwise if demand has yet to be met.Basically we want to avert the bad impact of an insufficient supply,‖ he explained.Sutarto underlined that Bulog would prioritize domestic purchase instead of importation when rice from local farmers was sufficient, although its price could be higher than imported rice.
Paddy plantation rate declines due to poor rains KATHMANDU, JUL 23 - The monsoon rains which started pouring last week has cheered farmers in the eastern and western Tarai, but farmers in the flatlands of the Central, Mid-Western and Far Western regions have not been similarly thrilled. According to the Ministry of Agricultural Development, paddy transplantation in the eastern and western Tarai reached 50 percent and 66 percent of the total paddy fields respectively as of July 20. The transplantation in the Western Region was 49 percent during the same period last year, well above this year’s rate.The ministry said that transplantation in the Far Western, Central and Mid-Western regions reached 32 percent, 39 percent and 42 percent respectively.
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In the same period last year, transplantation was completed on 70 percent, 44 percent and 47 percent of the fields in the Far Western, Central and Mid-Western regions respectively. The national average has been recorded at 51 percent as of July 20 against 64 percent in the same period last year.The transplantation rate, which was 23.2 percent of the country’s total 1.52 million hectares of paddy fields until July 6, rose to 51 percent as some of the key areas received good rains. Nepal’s rain-fed farmlands are largely dependent on the monsoon for cultivation. Meanwhile, the average transplantation rate in the Tarai has been recorded at 47 percent. The Tarai contains 1.06 million hectares of paddy fields. Paddy transplantation in the mountain and hill regions has been recorded at 51 percent and 61 percent respectively.The monsoon arrived in Nepal 10 days behind the normal date of June 10, and there has been a pause in rainfall across the country as of the first week of July.According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD), rainfall in the month of June this year was below normal across the country. Of the total 16 meteorological stations updated under MFD, Okhaldhunga received highest rainfall, but was still 22 percent below the normal rainfall.
In July, most places witnessed rainfall ranging from scanty to heavy in some places. ―Though the rainfall is not as heavy as expected during monsoon, brief thundershowers have been recorded throughout the country since the start of July,‖ said Shanti Kandel, a meteorologist at the MFD. The country will still see rainfall activity (but not heavy downpours as witnessed last week) for the next two to three days, she said.―As the rain distribution pattern has been mixed, paddy transplantation in some regions that received sufficient rains last week has picked up while it has been disappointing in other parts of the country,‖ said Hem Raj Regmi, chief statistician at the ministry.The ministry’s statistics show that transplantation in Dang and Banke in the MidWest, Kanchanpur and Kailali in the Far West and Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Rautahat in the Central Tarai has progressed very slowly. Transplantation has been completed on 18.6 percent of the total 36,462 hectares of paddy fields in Banke. Likewise, the plantation rate in Kanchanpur is 23 percent of 46,655 hectares, Dang 24.6 percent of 38,300 hectares and Dhanusha 27 percent of 65,500 hectares. Likewise, transplantation in Mahottari and Sarlahi has been completed on 30 percent of the land.Regmi said that transplantation in these districts slowed due to inadequate rains. In addition to a rain deficit, four Tarai districts-Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Rautahathave been facing labour shortages.Since the last few years, the Central Tarai districts have been suffering from a shortage of farm labour, and almost 20-25 percent of the paddy fields are left uncultivated every year.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-July 23 Wed Jul 23, 2014 2:37pm IST Nagpur, July 23 (Reuters) - Gram prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) firmed up again on increased buying support from local millers amid weak supply from producing region because of heavy rains since past three days. Notable hike on
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NCDEX, upward trend in Madhya Pradesh gram prices also boosted prices here, according to sources. * * * * FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply position. TUAR * Tuar gavarani and tuar Karnataka recovered in open market on good demand from local traders amid weak supply from producing belts because of rains. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,200-4,400, Tuar dal - 6,000-6,400, Udid at 7,000-7,200, Udid Mogar (clean) - 8,000-8,500, Moong - 7,200-7,600, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,600-9,300, Gram - 2,500-2,800, Gram Super best bold - 3,400-3,700 for 100 kg. * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity, according to sources. Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 2,370-2,810 2,300-2,740 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a. 3,800-4,350 Moong Auction n.a. 4,400-4,700 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 3,900-4,200 3,900-4,200 Gram Super Best n.a. Gram Medium Best 3,500-3,600 3,500-3,600 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,250-3,350 3,250-3,350 Desi gram Raw 2,850-2,950 2,850-2,950 Gram Filter new 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200 Gram Kabuli 8,000-9,500 8,000-9,500 Gram Pink 7,200-7,400 7,200-7,400 Tuar Fataka Best 6,800-6,950 6,800-6,950 Tuar Fataka Medium 6,500-6,600 6,500-6,600 Tuar Dal Best Phod 6,100-6,250 6,100-6,250 Tuar Dal Medium phod 5,700-5,950 5,700-5,950
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Tuar Gavarani 4,550-4,650 4,500-4,600 Tuar Karnataka 4,650-4,850 4,600-4,800 Tuar Black 8,000-8,300 7,900-8,200 Masoor dal best 6,200-6,450 6,200-6,450 Masoor dal medium 6,000-6,300 6,000-6,300 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 9,600-10,100 9,500-10,000 Moong Mogar Medium best 8,500-8,700 8,400-8,600 Moong dal super best 8,100-8,700 8,000-8,600 Moong dal Chilka 7,900-8,400 7,800-8,300 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 7,900-9,100 7,800-9,000 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-8,900 8,500-8,900 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,600-7,800 7,600-7,800 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 6,000-6,800 6,000-6,800 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,200-5,000 4,200-5,000 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,750-2,900 2,750-2,900 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,300 3,100-3,300 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,600 3,500-3,600 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,600 5,000-5,600 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,500 1,200-1,500 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,850 1,600-1,850 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,400 1,200-1,400 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,200 1,900-2,200 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-3,300 2,600-3,300 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,500 2,100-2,500 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,100-1,300 1,100-1,300 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,800 1,500-1,800 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,200 2,900-3,200 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800 Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,900 2,600-2,800 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,300 4,000-4,300 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,700-5,200 4,700-5,200 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,400-13,000 10,400-13,000 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,300-10,000 7,300-10,000 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,300-1,500 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700
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Maximum temp. 23.7 degree Celsius (74.6 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 20.7 degree Celsius (69.2 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a. Rainfall : 140.1 mm FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky. Intermittent rains would occur, times heavy. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 25 and 21 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.) Note: There is no reoprt availlable for 22 July.
Rice Dust Rice dust and grains pour out of its decayed sack while a porter is restacking a pile for counting at a warehouse of the Marketing Organisation for Farmers in Chachoengsao on Tuesday. (Photos by Pattanapong Hirunard) Pledged rice turns to dust in Chachoengsao Wassana Nanuam Sonthanaporn Inchan CHACHOENGSAO — Inspectors checking supplies of rice stockpiled under the former government’s failed rice-pledging scheme opened a locked warehouse here to find bags of dust mixed with insect waste. Authorities said they were disappointed to find that a substantial portion of rice at the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF) facility in Chachoengsao's Phanom Sarakham district had deteriorated, spoiled and been eaten by weevils.The inspection team enters the locked warehouse.Inspector-general of the Interior Ministry Wasiwa Sasisamit said MOF had been storing 88,005 sacks of government rice since 2012. The inspection team, which included soldiers from the 111th Infantry Regiment, arrived to find a scattered pile of rice sacks that supposedly contained 5% broken white rice. Inspectors ordered the bags restacked so they could be counted. As workers did so, some sacks broke open, shooting dusty clouds of what used to be rice into the air. It was then the officials noticed how many of the bags seemed flatter than normal. As inspectors moved further inside the warehouse, they found plenty of rice dust, dead weevils and bug waste covering many sacks and the floor. Similar damage was noticeable in another pile of 1,792 sacks of 25% broken white rice.The view from inside the Chachoengsao warehouse. Suspicions were raised when many of the sacks appeared flatter than normal.Boromwit Waruprapha, deputy commander of the 111th Infantry Regiment, planned to file a complaint with local police, but members of the inspection team convinced him to wait for a quality test and calculation of how much rice was damaged.
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Col Boromwit said that soldiers earlier had inspected the warehouse and found rotten rice, so they had locked the MOF facility until ministry officials could examine it. The same depot made headlines last year after local cassava farmers reported the strong odour of weevil waste emanating from the warehouse. A Senate rice subcommittee had even visited the warehouse and found rice dust damaged by weevils and insect waste on the floor. Warehouse staff, addressing concerns about missing rice, said good-quality rice had been sold, but that other dating back to 2012 had deteriorated. Thus, the Interior Ministry's Mr Wasiwa said, rice may not have been stolen. It simply had been eaten by weevils. After assuming power, the National Council for Peace and Order ordered a check of the quality and quantity of government rice stocks. About 100 inspection teams are checking stockpiles nationwide, a task not expected to conclude until September.
Thai rice yield to hit 5-year low Published: 23 Jul 2014 at 10.53 Online news: Local News Writer: Bloomberg News
Rice production in Thailand will probably shrink to a five-year low as drought hurts yields and farmers curb planting after the end of a subsidy programme, according to the Thai Rice Packers Association. Farmers tend to their rice farms in Bang Sa-ai district of Ayutthaya. This year's rice crop is expected to be the smallest in five years due to the end of the rice-pledging scheme and drought across most the kingdom.Output in the largest shipper after India may drop 10% to about 34 million metric tonnes in 2014-2015, said Somkiat Makcayathorn, the group's president. That would be the lowest level since 2009-2010, when the Southeast Asian nation produced 32.4 million tonnes, according to data from the Office of Agricultural Economics, the Bangkok-based state forecaster.While a smaller harvest would curb farm incomes, a decline in supply may ease the challenge faced by the country's military junta as it seeks to sell off record stockpiles that built up under the now-defunct subsidy programme. Dry weather may also hurt rice output in India this season, according to the Rome-based Food & Agriculture Organization, which forecasts the first contraction in global stockpiles in a decade."Production has been affected by both drought and the lack of a price subsidy," Mr Somkiat said in a phone interview in Bangkok on July 21. "The prospect of a production decline provides an opportunity for the junta to release stockpiles."Drought spread across 49 of Thailand's 77 provinces since September, with rainfall in May 31% below the 30-year average, according to government data. Yields may decline 20%-50% because of below-
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normal rain and inadequate water supplies, according to a Bloomberg survey of 10 farmers in the biggest growing provinces.El Niño An El Niño weather pattern, which can parch South and Southeast Asia and hurt farm production, remains likely later this year, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said July 15, while adding that odds of a strong event are increasingly unlikely.Rice farmers in Sukhothai province suffer from drought as the Yom river has almost dried up,affecting farming areas. This year's rice crop is expected to be the smallest in five years due to the end of the rice-pledging scheme and drought across most the kingdom. - Surapol Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was deposed by the junta in May, introduced the subsidy in 2011, spurring record output and reserves and ending the country's 30-year reign as the biggest exporter. The programme — which paid farmers a guaranteed above-market rate for their crop — lapsed in February and the junta is now checking warehouses nationwide to assess the quantity and quality of the grain reserves. Thai reserves increased from 5.62 million tonnes in 2011 to 12.8 million tonnes last year, as exports fell from 10.6 million tonnes to 6.72 million tonnes in the same period, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Output may drop to 30.5 million tonnes in 2015 from 31 million tonnes, the US agency predicts. Biggest Shippers Global ending stockpiles may contract 0.9% to 179.7 million tonnes in 2014-2015 on a milled basis, the United Nations' FAO estimated in a quarterly report last week. The agency forecast a 1.2% drop in Indian supply to 157.5 million tonnes on a paddy basis.Should India's crop decline significantly from last year on a poor monsoon, it would play quite favourably for Thailand, according to Darren Cooper, senior economist at the London-based International Grains Council. Thailand may reclaim its position of the leading rice exporter, Mr Cooper said.Between July 3 and July 8, more than 100 teams checked 343 warehouses out of 1,787 in Thailand, junta leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said on July 18. Irregularities, including rice missing from warehouses and quality deterioration, were found in 65 warehouses, Gen Prayuth said in his weekly televised address.The price of Thailand's 5% broken white rice, a regional benchmark, rebounded after the junta suspended sales for the inspections. The grade was at $427 a tonne on July 16, compared with $384 on May 28, the lowest since at least 2008. The price slumped 23% last year."Thai rice is still competitive at current prices, which could boost exports to 10 million tonnes, becoming the top exporter," said Mr Somkiat, who's also secretary general of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. "Even without impact from dry weather, we should see a production decline because farmers barely make a profit from planting rice.
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