23rd October , 2013
Chinese COLOR SORTER as low as Pak Rs 22 Lakh Only A Time Limited Offer Contact: Cell: 0300 414 3493
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines…
DA raises palay output forecast Rice production in BD likely to rise by 2.0pc this fiscal Rice restriction backed Rajkot Foodgrain Prices-Oct 23 TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi-Oct 23 Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Oct 23 India set for bumper winter crops in wake of monsoon rains Govt plays Robin Hood to run its cheap rice scheme
NEWS DETAILS: Government reveals 4 approaches to improving rice mortgage scheme BANGKOK, 23 Oct 2013, (NNT) - Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office and Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Warathep Rattanakon has unveiled the government’s 4 approaches to the improvement of its rice mortgage scheme. According to Mr. Warathep, in order to increase effectiveness of its rice mortgage scheme, the Government has come up with four measures, which include reducing the price of rice being pledged, reducing the amount of rice allowed to be pledged per household, reducing rice production and scheme management costs, and focusing on more transparency. He said a few measures: increasing the scheme’s transparency and reducing the amount of rice allowed to pledged for each household can be implemented immediately, with the latter being used to control the amount of rice kept in the government’s warehouses. However, some of the ideas can not be implemented at this time, such as the reduction of the pledged prices so that it won't be a burden on the government’s budget, he said.
China moving toward strategic balance with U.S. inSoutheast Asia, says Thai l egislator By Surasak Tumcharoen (Xinhua) 14:43, October 23, 2013
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
China is not only moving to achieve a strategic balance with theUnited States in Southeast Asia but is also expanding its trade and investments in theregion, including Thailand, according to a ranking me mber of the Thai parliament.In an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday, House Committee on Foreign Affairs Cha irmanSunai Julpongsathorn said he viewed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's recent visit to Thailandas a " significa nt and historic step"in further strengthening the already strong ThaiChinarelations.Sunai said that Premier Li's a ddress before the Thai parliament was a concrete proof ofChina's strong attachment to Thailand and its desire to expand the bilateral trade andinvestment opportunities between the two countries. BANGKOK, Oct.23
While the United States has set up the TransPacific Partnership among the APECcountries, including the ASEA N member states, China has promoted the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership with the ASEAN blo c as well, Sunai said.Sunai said China was obviously moving to keep its leverage against the inroads by theUnit ed States in the Southeast Asian region which will become an ASEAN EconomicCommunity in 2015."While C hina is moving to keep the strategic balance with the U. S., the former willenormously benefit from economic d ealings with the APEC bloc in which Thailand will be aleading member. In particular, Thailand has a lot of far m goods such as rice and rubber tooffer to China as one of the world's biggest agricultural markets, which has s ome 1,300million consumers," he said.Premier Li and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra signed an MO U for barter tradeand economic cooperation in which Thailand would offer Thai rice and rubber to China andCh ina in return would contribute to the realization of an ambitious Thai highspeed railproject, for which part of an estimated 73 billion U.S. dollars in loan money will beearmarked. China has offered to increase the volume of Thai rice that it purchases from Thailand from200,000 tons to 1 mil lion tons plus 200,000 tons of Thai rubber per year."We do not only regard the Chinese as a world superpower b ut our brothers with whom wecould practically keep in touch. Remarkably, the highspeed train project is geared towardregional connectivity of which China and Thailand are the major partners," he said.China plans to transport tourists and goods aboard highspeed trains to Thailand's NongKhai province via Vientiane in Laos across the international Mekong River. The plannedinternational route will have access to th e Thai capital city through Nakorn Ratchasimaprovince, viewed as the gateway to the northeastern Thai region.
Vietnam seals Philippines rice contracts Business Desk:Viet Nam News:Publication Date : 23-10-2013 Vietnam recently scored contracts to sell 120,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines ending a dry spell for the country's grain exports, said director of the Thinh Phat Food Co Lam Anh Tuan.Under the deal, Vietnamese rice export prices have been increased in recent weeks, with loading to begin next month.The 5-per-cent broken rice was quoted last week at US$400-405 a tonne, free-on-board (FOB) Sai Gon Port, up around 10 per cent
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
from early this month.Vietnamese rice sales have also risen following agreements with the Philippines and increased demand from China.The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said that China, Vietnam's biggest rice importer in the first eight months of this year, bought roughly 1.68 million tonnes, up 3.2 per cent over the same period last year. However, the association last week called on the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strictly monitor border rice sales to China, it was difficult to know how much of the grain was being sent across the border.It is said rice exported via border trade, was not included in the country's statistics and escaped quality restrictions, risking damage to the image of Vietnamese rice.VFA chairman Truong Thanh Phong forecast that the country's rice exports would reach 1.8 million tonnes in the fourth quarter this year, 128,000 tonnes below the targets, due to a slump in exports in September.Due to market factors and falling prices, the country's rice exports will
reach 7 million tonnes this year, lower than the 7.5 million tonne threshold set at the beginning of the year.By September 30, Vietnamese rice export volume had reached 5.2 millions tonnes.
Cross-border rice export to China harms official export VietNamNet Bridge – While the General Department of Customs (GDC) reported the sharp fall in the rice export turnover in the first nine months of 2013, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said Vietnam has no more rice to export. The problem is that a big amount of rice has been crossing the border into China. VFA’s Chair Truong Thanh Phong has confirmed that the rice export volume and turnover in the first nine months of the year by 13 percent and 17 percent, respectively, in comparison with the same period of the last year.Phong has also predicted that the plan on exporting 7 million tons of rice would be unattainable.However, while the rice exports through official channels decrease, the products still have been going out of the Vietnamese territory through unofficial channel.A preliminary report showed that some 1.2 million tons has crossed the northern border, mostly the Lao Cai border gate, to China.It was estimated that some 5,000 tons of rice crossed the Lao Cai border gate to China everyday in early October 2013, while the figure has increased to 10,000 tons. The rice price at the border area is VND9,000 per kilo, while there is no special requirement in quality.About 30 enterprises, with no rice export license, have been collecting rice in the domestic market to carry to China.Since the enterprises do not have licenses, they have been exporting under the names of other licensed enterprises, paying the commission of $1-2 per ton.In the latest news, Vietnamese rice price has been recovering thanks to the high exports to China and the contracts signed with the Philippines. This is thought to help farmers sell rice at better prices and reduce the high inventories caused by the sharp fall in the demand from the main import markets, which consume 2/3 of Vietnamese total rice exports. However, analysts have warned that this would do more harm than good. It would be worrying that the rice output is abundant, while Vietnam does not have enough rice to export through official channel. The crossborder export has been hampering the export through official channel.Local newspapers have quoted Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh as saying that the massive exports to China would put a pressure
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
on other enterprises. He said that Vietnam not only exports rice to China, but it also needs to increase the exports through official channels to ensure the benefits of involving parties.Anh went on to say that the sharp increases in exports across the border would affect the Vietnam – China trade relation, because the two countries have committed to join forces to push up the export through official channel.Phong of VFA, while admitting the unsatisfactory rice export performance so far this year, affirmed that many more orders would come from now until the end of the year. Meanwhile, he warned that the inventories may get exhausted if rice continues flowing to China.VFA has proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to instruct the northern enterprises that export rice to China to register the export with the local industry and trade departments, while it has recommended southern enterprises not to sign the export authorization contracts Compiled by C. V
Tags:rice
export,china,vietnam,smuggling,
DA raises palay output forecast THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) has raised its palay production forecast for the year to 19 million metric tons from 18.4 million MT .“Based on new parameters, we’re targeting 19 million MT from 18.4 million MT,” DA Assistant Secretary and National Rice Program Coordinator Dante de Lima told reporters in an ambush interview, before the start of the 9th National Corn Congress yesterday.Mr. de Lima also discounted the effect of natural calamities on the country’s rice self-sufficiency.“We have a threshold of 600,000 MT allowable damage on palay,” he explained. “For this year, we have only used up 300,000 MT.”The threshold is the DA’s available supply of palay seeds to replace crops destroyed by calamities.Referring to an earlier memorandum from the National Economic and Development Authority, which recommended the importation of 500,000 MT of rice in anticipation of a 1.7-million-MT shortage, Mr. de Lima said: “The NEDA memo only quoted the BAS’s (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics) projected outlook for the year, not including its ending inventory. ”He explained that NEDA based its recommendation on the first semester output and forecast for the second semester, as of July.“They did not factor the ending inventory, NFA importation, private importation, and rice that was confiscated,” he said, noting also that the projected deficit was based on preliminary data.Mr. de Lima said that by year-end, the country will have an excess of 2.4 million MT of rice, which will serve as a 74-day buffer stock, based on the country’s average consumption of 34,000 MT per day.“That’s the projected ending inventory,” he said.For 2014, Mr. de Lima said that the agency targets 20 million MT of rice production, to be driven by increased yield per hectare and irrigation.As for next year’s rice importation, he said that the DA, through the NFA Council, will decide after BAS releases actual rice inventory and output for 2013 as well as a first-quarter outlook in January. -- EVG
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Rice production in BD likely to rise by 2.0pc this fiscal Nizam Ahmed Rice production in Bangladesh is likely to increase by almost 2.0 per cent to 34.4 million tonnes in the current fiscal year (FY) 2013-14 as the production of Aman rice, to be harvested in November, is likely to rise, monitors said on Tuesday.The production of rice in the country of over 155 million people was around 33.8 million tonnes in the previous FY, according to officials at the ministry of agriculture (MoA). The department of agricultural extension (DAE) under the MoA set the target of Aman rice production at 13.50 million tonnes in the current season against the production of 12.90 million tonnes in the previous season.The production of Aman which constitutes some 40 per cent of the total rice production of the country was nearly 0.80 per cent higher than that of the previous season in 2013.The country currently has a stock of some 8.0 million tonnes of rice, including 7.0 million tonnes in the private sector, enough to meet domestic requirement until mid-November when Aman harvest begins, MoA officials said.However, according to MoA officials, the average annual production of rice was around 34 million tonnes over the past several years, against 11 million tonnes of annual production on an average in early seventies.The country following a series of natural calamities, including floods, faced a severe famine in 1974, according to chroniclers. Since then the country was a food deficit country until the beginning of the new millennium.
Loss of cultivable land to the tune of some 80,000 hectares a year on an average is a matter of concern for the country which has some 15 million hectares agricultural land. However, to address the threat of land loss the relevant department has been introducing high -yielding new hybrid seeds almost every year and agricultural scientists are also evolving new varieties of seeds as the country has adopted a plan to increase rice production to some 46 million tonnes by 2050."Introduction of hybrid rice became essential as the country is losing lands due to urbanisation and rise of population by 2.5 million a year," said a senior official at the DAE.With the aim to increase rice production in the country the government has also taken elaborate programmes to disburse agricultural credit to farmers.Agricultural loan of some Tk 16 billion has already been disbursed in the first quarter of the current FY, according to officials at the ministry of agriculture. The amount disbursed in July-September period was nearly 10 per cent higher than the amount disbursed in the first quarter of the last FY, they said.The target of disbursement of farm loan was fixed at nearly Tk 146 billion in the current fiscal, they said.Meanwhile Bangladeshi agronomists have come up with a number of schemes to raise farm output in the land-strapped country. The schemes include a plan to expand four-crop system in the country for increasing rice production.At present four crops are grown only in about 9,000 hectares of land in
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
the country, three crops in 1.4 million hectares, two crops in 4.1 million hectares and one crop in 2.2 million hectares, out of some nearly 15 million hectares of available crop land, said officials at DAE.
Rice restriction backed By Anna Leah G. Estrada | Posted 14 hours ago | 50 views The Agriculture Department said Wednesday China, India, and Indonesia endorsed the country’s bid to continue the local protection for rice for another five years.The agency said during last week’s deliberation in the World Trade Organization Council, the three countries supported the Philippines’ bid for the continued special treatment for rice until 2017.The Philippines under the agreement with the World Trade Organization, committed to a minimum access volume of 350,000 metric tons for rice, with tariff rate of 40 percent annually. MAV refers to the minimum volume of farm produce allowed to enter into the Philippines with a 40-percent tariff, while shipments outside MAV pay higher rates.The country is currently in negotiations with the WTO to extend the quantitative restriction on rice imports until 2017.The quantitative restriction on rice allows the government to limit the volume of imported rice that enters the country to prevent possible drop in prices and protect local farmers.At present, rice is the only commodity in the Philippines that enjoy special treatment in the
Rajkot Foodgrain Prices-Oct 23 Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:34pm IST Oct. 23(Reuters) - Market delivery prices of food grains and pulses at Rajkot in India's western state of Gujarat opened on a steady to firm trend, traders said Wednesday. * * * FOOD GRAINS & PULSES * Gram and Besan prices firmed up due to retail demand. * Moong and Moong Daal improved due to thin supply.
Prices of food grains and pulses in rupees per 20 kilograms, and deliveries in 100-kilogram bags:
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
TABLE-India Grain Prices-Delhi-Oct 23 Delivery Auction price Previous price FOOD GRAIN Wheat Lokwan 00,972 318-421 318-401 Wheat Tukda 00,970 315-535 315-505 Jowar White 120 265-375 263-365 Bajra 0,070 250-310 210-300 PULSES Gram Udid Moong Tuar Maize Vaal Deshi Choli
0,600 0,165 0,222 0,000 135 085 1,200
450-0,767 0,685-0,865 0,950-1,026 000-000 290-295 0,585-0,825 1,155-1,405
500-0,732 0,680-0,850 0,950-1,040 705-810 297-320 0,650-0,930 1,150-1,400
Rajkot market delivery prices in rupees per 100 kilograms: Today's Price Previous close FOOD GRAINS Wheat Mill quality 1,650-1,660 1,650-1,660 Wheat (medium) 1,925-1,950 1,925-1,950 Wheat (superior best) 2,050-2,075 2,050-2,075 Bajra 1,460-1,470 1,460-1,470 Jowar 1,900-1,950 1,900-1,950 PULSES Gram 3,200-3,250 3,150-3,200 Gram dal 3,750-3,800 3,750-3,800 Besan (65-kg bag) 3,100-3,150 3,000-3,050 Tuar 4,600-4,650 4,600-4,650 Tuardal 6,400-6,500 6,400-6,500 Moong 5,450-5,500 5,400-5,560 Moongdal 6,400-6,500 6,200-6,300 Udid 4,050-4,100 4,050-4,100 RICE IR-8 2,450-2,500 2,450-2,500 Parimal 2,250-2,300 2,250-2,300 Punjab Parimal 2,650-2,700 2,650-2,700 Basmati Medium 4,800-4,900 4,800-4,900 Basmati Best 9,400-9,500 9,400-9,500
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-Oct 23 Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:39pm IST Nagpur, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) moved down on subdued demand from local millers amid increased supply from producing regions. High moisture content arrival and easy condition in Madhya Pradesh pulses also affected these commodities, according to sources. *
*
*
*
FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram mill quality recovered in open market on renewed demand from local traders amid fresh enquiries from South-based traders. TUAR * Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply position. * Batri dal showed weak tendency in open market in absence of buyers amid release of stock from stockists. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,200-4,400, Tuar dal - 6,400-6,600, Udid at 4,700-4,900, Udid Mogar (clean) - 5,500-5,800, Moong - 6,000-6,400, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,100-7,300, Gram - 3,100-3,400, Gram Super best bold - 4,200-4,400 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 2,550-2,851 2,560-2,910 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction 3,850-4,150 3,850-4,240 Moong Auction n.a. 4,200-4,400 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 4,400-4,800 4,400-4,800 Gram Super Best n.a.
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Gram Medium Best 3,950-4,300 3,950-4,300 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,950-4,050 3,900-4,000 Desi gram Raw 3,500-3,600 3,500-3,600 Gram Filter Yellow n.a. n.a. Gram Kabuli 7,700-10,000 7,700-10,000 Gram Pink 7,600-8,000 7,600-8,000 Tuar Fataka Best 6,700-6,850 6,700-6,850 Tuar Fataka Medium 6,500-6,600 6,500-6,600 Tuar Dal Best Phod 6,100-6,200 6,100-6,200 Tuar Dal Medium phod 5,700-5,900 5,700-5,800 Tuar Gavarani 4,250-4,400 4,250-4,400 Tuar Karnataka 4,200-4,300 4,200-4,300 Tuar Black 7,100-7,200 7,100-7,200 Masoor dal best 5,400-5,500 5,400-5,500 Masoor dal medium 5,000-5,100 5,000-5,100 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 7,500-7,800 7,500-7,800 Moong Mogar Medium best 7,100-7,300 7,100-7,200 Moong dal super best 6,600-6,900 6,600-6,900 Moong dal Chilka 6,100-6,400 6,100-6,400 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 6,500-7,200 6,400-7,000 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,500 5,000-5,500 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,000 4,800-5,000 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 3,600-3,700 3,700-3,800 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,900-3,000 2,900-3,000 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,350-3,400 3,350-3,400 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,400 3,300-3,400 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 7,900-8,100 7,900-8,100 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,650 1,600-1,650 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,300 1,850-2,300 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,900 1,700-1,900 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,600 3,100-3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,900 2,600-2,900 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,500 1,400-1,500 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,600 1,500-1,600 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,500 2,800-3,500
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,500 2,200-2,500 Rice Swarna Best (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,400 2,300-2,400 Rice Swarna Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,250 2,000-2,250 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 4,100-4,500 4,100-4,500 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,900 4,400-4,900 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-12,500 10,000-12,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,200-7,500 6,200-7,500 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,500 5,000-5,500 Rice Chinnor Medium (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,800 4,400-4,800 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,500-1,650 1,500-1,650 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-1,900 1,800-1,900 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 30.4 degree Celsius (86.7 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 22.2 degree Celsius (72.0 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a. Rainfall : nil FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky. Rains or thundershowers likely. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 30 and 23 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
India set for bumper winter crops in wake of monsoon rains A combine harvester is used to harvest wheat in a field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad March 14, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Amit Dave/Files By Mayank Bhardwaj and Meenakshi Sharma NEW DELHI/MUMBAI | Wed Oct 23, 2013 2:04pm IST (Reuters) - India looks set for bumper harvests of winter crops such as wheat, chickpeas and rapeseed in the wake of a strong monsoon that has left the soil moist and topped up reservoirs.The crops will follow bountiful summer harvests of rice and soybeans due to the rains, with New Delhi looking to boost agricultural growth to cool double-digit food inflation and revive a slowing economy as manufacturing struggles.With next year's wheat output seen matching 2013's strong 92.46 million tonnes, the government - already sitting on piles of rotting grain as its storage overflows - could allow more exports. Greater
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
supply from the world's second-biggest producer of wheat would be a bearish factor for global prices which climbed to their highest since June this week.A jump in production of chickpeas and rapeseed should cut expensive imports of pulses and vegetable oils as the government battles to narrow a gaping current account deficit."Winter crop prospects are definitely bright as a good monsoon and late, extended rains have left plenty of moisture in the soil, setting the stage for farmers to harvest bumper crops of wheat, pulses and oilseeds," said Devinder Sharma, an independent food and trade policy analyst. Farmers in one of the world's leading producers and consumers of food sow winter crops from October, a month after the June-September monsoon rains ebb, with harvesting starting from March.They principally plant rice, sugarcane, corn and cotton in the rainy months of June and July, while wheat, chickpeas and rapeseed are the main winter-planted crops. SUBSIDISED FOOD "A few broad indicators like area, sales of seeds and soil moisture indicate that wheat acreage will be as good as the previous year, implying almost similar production," said Indu Sharma, chief of the state-run Directorate of Wheat Research in Haryana, a major wheat growing state in northern India.India, second to China in wheat production, in 2013 recorded its sixth straight year in which output exceeded appetite. Local demand hovers around 76 million tonnes a year.To cut stocks, the government has exported nearly 4.5 million tonnes of wheat since December 2011 - the first time it allowed exports since a ban in 2007 - and has asked state-run traders to ship out another 2 million tonnes. The government buys more than a third of India's total wheat output to supply subsidised food to the poor. It has recently expanded its food welfare programme to feed 70 percent of its 1.2 billion population.Purchases by the state-run Food Corporation of India make the government the biggest hoarder of the grain. As a result, open market prices have remained high despite bumper harvests, giving farmers good returns on wheat."If we do not see any pest attack, unseasonal rains and higher temperatures in February-March, we see farmers getting good yield on their average (annual) planting of nearly 29 million hectares," Sharma said. BRIMMING Indian reservoirs are brimming after this year's 6-percent higher than average monsoon rains. That means lower irrigation costs and less use of diesel for pumps, helping the government in its fight to curb fuel use in the world's fourth-biggest energy consumer.To cash in on good soil moisture, farmers are also likely to plant more area with the main winter-sown oilseed rapeseed, as well as chickpeas. The latter, known locally as chana, is the most popular edible pulse in India, used in everything from curries to samosa."I am putting in 10 acres of land under chana as against 8 acres last year because the weather is conducive and yields are expected to be higher," said Keshav Prasad Rathi, a farmer-cum-trader from Akola in western Maharashtra, India's No.2 chickpea growing state.Farmers and traders said the next chickpea harvest would be near the record levels of 8.8 million tonnes produced in the crop year to June 2013. That is good news for India which has to rely on Canada, Myanmar and Australia for around 2.5-3.5 million tonnes of imports of protein-rich pulses. If weather conditions do not change abruptly, rapeseed production should exceed the 7.82 million tonnes harvested in the previous year, said a Mumbai-based industry official.Higher output of rapeseed, which has the highest oil content among India's nine main oilseeds, will help cut imports by the world's biggest vegetable oil
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874
importer.But any major jump in output would also depress oilseed and cooking oil prices, reducing growers' returns on the crop. Unlike wheat, the government does not buy oilseeds from farmers and promises to intervene only when prices fall below a support price fixed by the farm ministry.(Additional reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta in New Delhi; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Joseph Radford)
Govt plays Robin Hood to run its cheap rice scheme Manu Aiyappa, TNN | Oct 23, 2013, 09.35 PM IST
BANGALORE: A state government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul, said writer George Bernard Shaw. This appears to hold true of Congress government’s Anna Bhagya scheme. The government has increased the levy on rice mill owners by 10-fold to run its recently launched flagship scheme. “Earlier the government was collecting 1.5 lakh tonnes per year as levy. But after the cheap rice scheme, it was raised to 13.5 lakh tonnes,” saidKarnataka Rice Mill Owners Association(KRMOA) vicepresident B M Nanjaiah. The association has threatened to launch a protest against the move in November. They are planning a meet on November 6 to impress upon the government to limit the levy to one lakh tonnes. That’s not all. The government has also ordered not to stock over 3,000 quintals of paddy in each rice mill. Mill owners say it is impossible to meet the new target set by the government considering they could meet only 33 per cent of the target of 1.5 lakh tonnes last year. Food and civil supplies minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said: “The decision was taken in line with directions from the Centre which has asked states to collect levy of 25% from rice owners. We have fixed the levy rice target for each mill on basis of the electricity it consumes.” The minister said he is ready for a dialogue with mill owners on the issue. “Last year, they failed to meet the 1.5 lakh tonnes target. Did the government harm them? We understand their plight. These things can be sorted out through dialogues. Where is the need to protest?” Rao asked. Nanjaiah, however, said mill owners would each incur a loss of Rs 20,000 for hulling 100 quintals of paddy if they were to give levy as per the new government order. ovt doesn’t pay on time If the target of 13.5 lakh tonnes is met, the government will have to pay Rs 3,000 crore to mill owners in exchange of rice but they take their own time to reimburse the amount B M Nanjaiah, vice-president, Karnataka Rice Mill Owners Association
Advertising SPECS & RATES Contact: Advertising Department Mujahid Ali mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2874
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874