25th August , 2014
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Indians switch ice for rice in new charity challenge Rice industry: Lack of branding hurts Pakistan, India moves ahead Central American Market Opportunities at Grain & Rice Americas Convention Iraq Reissues Rice Tender for Third Time farmers see opportunity in China N. Korea's imports of Chinese rice more than double Focus on aromatic rice will boost India’s exports Acreage Down in Kharif Crops Barring Paddy, Cotton Govt urged to give subsidy on agri-products: FPCCI Mozambique Hopes to Slash Rice Import Bill Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 25 Small scale rice dealers to demonstrate Netafim: Drip irrigation can increase rice yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions
NEWS DETAILS: Indians switch ice for rice in new charity challenge Ansuya Harjani 4 Hours AgoCNBC.com SHARES First came the Ice Bucket Challenge, and now there's the Rice Bucket Challenge – India's twist on the fundraising campaign that has taken the internet by storm. Unlike the Ice Bucket challenge, which involves pouring icy cold water on one's head to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), participants of the Rice Bucket Challenge do not dump rice over their heads. Instead, they are asked to buy or cook a bucket of rice and give it to someone in need. Alternatively, participants can donate medicines worth 100 rupees ($1.65) to the nearest government hospital. The project, launched over the weekend, is the brainchild of Indian
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journalist Manju Latha Kalanidhi, who was seeking "a local, practical and tangible" response to the Ice Bucket challenge. The movement rapidly garnered support from netizens across the world, with its Facebook page receiving more than 22,000 likes.
Rice industry: Lack of branding hurts Pakistan, India moves ahead Requires investment and patience; Pakistani exporters seemingly unwilling . By Farhan Zaheer Published: August 24, 2014 Requires investment and patience; Pakistani exporters seemingly unwilling . KARACHI: Most rice exporters are reluctant and hesitate in accepting the challenge of launching brands that would invariably fetch better returns. As a result, Pakistan has been unable to retain its highestever export volume of basmati rice achieved in fiscal year (FY) 2010-11.The country‘s rice exports increased during the last few years in terms of value not due to higher volumes but because exporters have been able to get a better price for basmati rice. In FY14, exporters got a record average price of basmati rice in the international market.Pakistan exported $1.85 billion worth of rice in FY14 in which basmati‘s share was just $846 million.However, the situation in the non-basmati rice category is even worse as its brands are almost nonexistent.Is it that difficult to launch a brand or is it just incompetence and complacency? Experts talk Successful exporters, who have been able to brand well, have mixed views.―I used to export basmati rice in bulk,‖ said Jawed Ali Ghori, managing director at Matco — arguably the country‘s biggest basmati exporter. ―Over time, I realised that I wasn‘t getting the right price and was also playing in the hands of importers who used to misuse their position.‖Ghori is the second generation in the rice business, which was set up by his father 50 years ago in 1964. Today, Matco exports rice to over 65 countries while its flagship brand Falak is sold in over 35 countries.―Since, I was exporting rice in bulk without branding, I was like any other rice exporter to importers. They used to cancel large deals over a small price difference, which would be as small as $10 per ton. That attitude of importers compelled me to make my product stand out.
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―After decades of bulk rice exports, I launched my own brand a decade ago and after a few years of struggle, I am getting the price I want.‖Industry officials say that Pakistan exports most of its rice with no proper processing or packaging, losing out on millions of dollars every year.―Rice exports in bulk quantity definitely dents the export earnings of Pakistan,‖ said Engro EXIMP Chief Executive Abdul Samad Khan said.Engro EXIMP is the subsidiary of Engro Corporation – one of the largest conglomerates in Pakistan – that started its rice business in 2010. Its basmati brand ‗Rymah‘ is now available in many countries. The company‘s rice sales, including exports, touched 58,500 tons in 2013, up 50% compared to 39,000 tons in 2012.―Pakistan‘s basmati rice exports have declined due to the success of Indian brands in the international market, but we can fight to regain the market share if we introduce good quality brands and invest in them,‖ he added.Khan informed that the leading branded basmati rice exporters are getting around $500 per ton higher than the non-branded basmati rice exporters. After taking out all the other expenses including packaging, leading Indian basmati rice exporters are easily pocketing $300 per ton due to branding. In FY14, Pakistan exported 733,860 tons of basmati rice worth $846 million out of which only around 70,000 tons were branded — not even 10% of the total basmati exports. Why is Pakistan far behind its competitors?
Industry officials say lack of professionalism is one of the reasons behind the low exports. Rice is still part of the small and medium size industries with only a couple of players.Indian companies crossed that bridge many years ago and have professional managers handling their business who know how to build and manage brands, said Khan.―Brand building requires investment and patience. The rice sector in Pakistan has generally not been willing to make that investment,‖ he stressed, adding that the industry also does not possess the scale to be able to afford the kind of investment required.
What it takes to develop a brand? According to Khan, a good brand-building effort can take a minimum of around two to three years in the international market. It requires introduction in at least six to seven markets in the Middle East and investment during the brand-building period.The concepts in launching a domestic or international rice brand are almost the same, but the execution for each market is different, he said, adding that the company has to invest in market
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research separately to gauge consumer product and price preferences, find the right distributors, and ensure placement. the writer is a staff correspodent Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2014.
Central American Market Opportunities at Grain & Rice Americas Convention Wider canal = More rice? PANAMA CITY, PANAMA -- The USA Rice Federation's Sarah Moran, director of international promotion, attended the seventh annual Grain & Rice Americas convention here on August 21-22. More than fifteen countries were represented at the convention sponsored by The Rice Trader. Discussion topics included the Panama Canal expansion, rice and risk decisions, managing commodity futures, El Ni単o in 2014, and the evolution of China's grain market. Several speakers mentioned Central America as a growth market for rice but also highlighted the increased threat of less expensive rice of other origins entering the market. Moran said discussions with individual representatives from the Central American market, including millers and exporters, continue to revolve around the quality of U.S.-grown rice."The quality issue is not going away," said Moran. "Our producers are aware of it and have high hopes that this year's higher quality crop will have a positive impact on the current market environment." Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
Iraq Reissues Rice Tender for Third Time Iraq's Minister of Trade has re-advertised an international tender to purchase a minimum 30,000 milled tons of rice from Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, Uruguay, Vietnam, and the United States. Tenders will be open until September 8, 2014; offers must be valid until September 12, 2014.This particular tender is being opened a third time as the Iraqi Grain Board (IGB) has rejected two previous offers. The tender was initially issued on June 9 and reissued on July 23, for purchasing rice from the same origins. The IGB rejected all previous offers due to high prices.
The global rice market winks at El Ni単o and Thai problems farmers see opportunity in China Josh Sheppard, a fourth-generation rice grower in Biggs, Calif., about 60 miles north of Sacramento, said he would welcome Chinese buyers because they probably would pay more for his grains than U.S. customers. (Carl Costas / For The Times)
By DAVID PIERSON
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BusinessChinaAgricultureU.S. Department of AgricultureImportsSmithfield Foods
Until a few years ago, no one would have considered exporting much rice to China, but that's changing U.S. agricultural producers must either accommodate China or risk being shut out of its consumer market Rice consumption in China is so high the country could eat through America's annual production in 17 days Greg Yielding was given a quixotic task: travel to China and determine if consumers there would be willing to eat American rice.So he set up tables at some of the most popular supermarkets in southern China, hung American flags and began dishing out steamy samples of rice from Arkansas and California."At first they'd say, 'There's rice in the U.S.?" said Yielding, head of emerging markets for the U.S. Rice Producers Assn., a Houston-based trade group. "And we'd have to show them a map to explain that it's grown in California and the South. Then they'd try it, and they would really like it."Chinese importers, distributors and grocery chains lined up. Selling U.S. rice to China seemed like a slam-dunk. But eight years after Yielding's first venture on behalf of the U.S. industry, not a single shipment of American rice has officially made it into Chinese hands.
N. Korea's imports of Chinese rice more than double 2014/08/25 15:00
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's imports of Chinese rice grew sharply in July, data showed Monday, apparently due in part to efforts to stabilize the price of the staple food in the impoverished country.North Korea bought US$7.02 million worth of rice from the neighboring country last month, up 115 percent from $3.27 million a year earlier, according to Chinese trade data from the Seoul-based Korea International Trade Association.'Focus on aromatic rice will boost India's exports'
Focus on aromatic rice will boost India’s exports KOLKATA: India should focus on production of indigenous aromatic rice varieties so that export avenues open up, an expert with the Philippine-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Saturday."The outlook towards production and export of rice needs to be changed in India to witness the benefits of higher revenue and profit margins in the international market," said Samarendu Mohanty, head of the IRRI Social Science Division. He was addressing the India International Rice Conference here organized by Indian Chamber Of Commerce from August 21-22.
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Acreage Down in Kharif Crops Barring Paddy, Cotton 25 August 2014
INDIA - With paddy transplantation picking up across key producing States, sowing of kharif crops has seen a steady increase this week.
The Hindu Business Line reports that for the first time this season, paddy acreage has topped last year‘s levels and stood at 335.18 lakh ha against 333.79 lakh ha during the corresponding period a year ago. The acreage in paddy had been lagging due to delay and scanty rain in the first half of the four-month monsoon period.Total kharif acreage stood at 935.06 lakh ha on Friday, compared with 975.87 ha in the year-ago period.Besides paddy, cotton is the only other crop that has exceeded last year‘s level in acreage. Cotton has been sown on 118.81 lakh ha against 111.34 lakh ha in 2013-14. Acreages of pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds continued to lag last year‘s levels. In the case of soyabean, the acreage was lower by about nine per cent at 109.03 lakh ha against previous year‘s 120.32 lakh ha.Soyabean planting, impacted by delayed monsoon and poor quality seeds, was lower in almost all major States, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. However, in Karnataka soyabean has gained marginally.Despite revival of rains in several parts of the country, the seasonal deficit till 21 August stood at 19 per cent. Water storage levels in 85 important reservoirs of the country as stood at 101.253 BCM (billion cubic metres), which is 65 per cent of total storage capacity of these reservoirs.The present storage position during current year is less than storage position of last year but better than the average storage of last ten years, according to the Central Water Commission. TheCropSite News Desk
Govt urged to give subsidy on agri-products: FPCCI PPI August 24, 2014
KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) expressed concern over issue of food security despite importance of this global issue.It was discussed in World Trade Organisation (WTO)‘s 9th Ministerial Conference in December 2013 at Bali Indonesia and was not come to definite solution instead kept the matter pending till next conference.Zakaria Usman President FPCCI said the declaration of the said conference to continue the food security subsidy favours, the Indian instance to grant subsidies to its various agriculture products.In a letter to Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir he said Pakistan being agro-based country and exporter agro based products to the various countries lagged behind its competitors in the region.The India is demanding subsidy on agricultural products from Pakistan under Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), this would
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imbalance the regional trade and Pakistani products. He said the government should object and oppose the demand of subsidy by India.Usman informed the Minister in such situation the Indian farmers would be in a position to supply their products at cheaper prices with the help of government financial support (subsidies). Consequently, export of rice from India will be available at cheaper prices in the international markets as compared to Pakistani rice.Pakistani exporters will not be in a position to compete Indian exporters on base of subsidies besides WTO and International Monetary Fund put condition on Pakistan not to provide subsidies on agriculture produces.
In the letter the FPCCI suggested the government could provide subsidy on those agriculture products, which were concerned with the Global Food Security issue.Food processing industry, dairy products, agriculture equipments and machinery may be included in those products. The supply of energy and other utilities may be subsidised for food processing and agriculture industry.He proposed inland freight subsidy could also be covered in this clause; however the major factor of in competitiveness of Pakistani products in the international markets was the cost of shipping. The reason behind high cost of shipping is the lack of Pakistan own shipping line. He said National Shipping Corporation has become inactive and freight outward from Pakistan is monopolised by few international shipping lines.
Mozambique Hopes to Slash Rice Import Bill Maputo — The Mozambican government hopes that by 2020 the country will produce 80 per cent of the rice it consumes and import only 20 per cent.Currently Mozambique is importing about 350,000 tonnes of rice a yea, at a cost of 140 million US dollars.Mahomed Vala, the national director of agricultural services, on Friday expressed the determination to cut this figure dramatically.He was speaking to reporters during a one day meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Projects to Improve Rice Productivity. This committee covers the Chokwe irrigation system in the southern province of Gaza (the largest irrigation system in the country), and the Maganja da Costa irrigation system in the central province of Zambezia.The projects in these two irrigation schemes, now in their final phase, are being financed by Japan and Vietnam, The meeting is discussing the achievements, impact and sustainability of the projects since implementation began in 2011.Vala admitted that rice production remains largely at household subsistence level. Low productivity was due to such factors as poor access to modern agricultural inputs, rudimentary techniques, inefficient water management, and obsolescent irrigation infrastructures. Vala said that Mozambique has 900,000 hectares of land appropriate for rice cultivation, but currently only 230,000 are being exploited.He was convinced that productivity can be improved by the use of appropriate technology, including improved seeds and other inputs, and by improving harvest and post-harvest operations.He said that such improvements have allowed some small Mozambican producers to increase their yields fourfold or more - from 800 to 1,000 kilos per hectare too four tonnes per hectare. This, Vala added, was the result of the Intensive Technology Transfer Programme.He was also optimistic about an increase in the capacity of the country's rice processing industry. ―Within the next two years, the country will be processing
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180,000 to 200,000 tonnes of rice a year, just in Chokwe and in the Lower Limpopo irrigation scheme in Gaza‖, he predicted.These and other improvements would make it possible to cut back rice imports by 80 per cent.In Chokwe, gains are expected from the use of a newly designed manual rice seeder to plant the crop. The seeder has been developed under the bilateral cooperation with Japan.In Maganja da Costa, under trilateral cooperation between Mozambique, Japan and Vietnam, a package of improved rice cultivation techniques has been disseminated among farmers, and a local association of irrigators has been trained to operate and maintain the irrigation installations. Le/pf (423) Mozambique Govt, Rebels Sign Peace Deal Mozambique's government and rebel movement-turned political party
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 25 Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:25pm IST
Soyabean mandi of Nagpur APMC, wholesale foodgrain market remained closed today on the occasion of Pola, a two-day farmers' festival. Soyabean mandi, wholesale foodgrain market and oil market will also be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, due to Tanha Pola.
Small scale rice dealers to demonstrate The Small Scale Rice Dealers Association of Ghana (SSRIDA), on Saturday announced plans to stage a protest against the Ministry of Trade and Industry.The demonstration scheduled for Tuesday, September 2 at 0900 hours is as a result of several appeals to the authorities to reopen the Sampa post in the Brong Ahafo Region for members to do business.A letter signed by Mr Yaw Korang, Coordinator, SSRIDA-GH said: ― Even a directive by the then Minister of Trade, Mr Haruna Iddrisu on July 17 to open the border post and lift the ban on inland importation of rice has been grossly treated with contempt,‖.He said as law-abiding citizens, members are ready for instructions for a peaceful, well-organised and successful demonstration.Members are expected to converge at Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle before proceeding to the Ministry.
Netafim: Drip irrigation can increase rice yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions By SHARON UDASIN
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08/24/2014 19:18 In conjunction with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Netafim has long been studying rice crops in India. A drip irrigation farm. Photo: REUTERS By integrating drip and micro irrigation technologies within the world‘s rice paddies, farmers can simultaneously contribution to the international struggle against greenhouse gas emissions and increase their crop yields, according to Israeli irrigation giant Netafim.In conjunction with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Netafim has long been studying rice crops in India, finding that "flooding" irrigation – which is still practiced heavily around the world – is causing "tremendous greenhouse gas emissions compared to the more economical drip irrigation."By employing drip irrigation to both water and fertilize the paddies, the company said it has significantly reduced the amount of greenhouse gases released and can prevent the penetration of nitrates into groundwater. ―We‘re talking about huge amounts of gas emissions,‖ Dubi Raz, chief agronomist for Netafim, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.Established in 1965, Netafim originated in the drip irrigation discovery of water engineer Simcha Blass. While still based in Israel, the company now has subsidiaries in countries on every continent around the world, excluding Antarctica.The dominant greenhouse gases generated in rice growth are methane and nitrous oxide. Methanogens produce methane gas under anaerobic conditions in the rice fields, while nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria that operate under anoxic conditions generate nitrous oxides.In rice paddies irrigated by flooding, Netafim researchers in the southern Tamil Nadu state found that about 2.9 milligrams of nitrous oxides are generated per square meter each day. Whereas, those paddies irrigated by drip methods only produce about 0.5 milligrams of nitrous oxides per square meter daily, Raz explained.Not only is it important to use drip irrigation technologies to water the rice plants, but it is also critical to use these methods for fertilization, he stressed. This way, the plants can absorb all of the water and nutrients they need without risking downward seepage of nitrates from fertilizers into the groundwater and surrounding environments – a phenomenon that has caused heavy damage globally in places such as the Great Barrier Reef, Raz explained. ―The plant will take everything and nothing will go down,‖ he said.Employing drip irrigation, he added, is ―much friendlier to the environment.‖A similar study about the relationship of traditional rice field cultivation and greenhouse gas emissions occurred in Thailand, at King Mogkut's University of Technology in Thonburi in 2005. In that study, researchers looked at various options for reducing the enormous greenhouse gas emissions emanating from the paddies, such as draining the flooded fields and altering fertilizer application methods.The American study,
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presented to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in 2006 by researchers from Coloardo State University, Montana State University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, explored the production of greenhouse gases in the US agricultural sector as a whole. As in the other studies, these researchers also conclude that a more efficient use of nitrogen can reduce nutrient runoff and improve water quality in both the ground and surface waters.Because rice has been grown for 5,000 years using flood irrigation, it is somewhat of a challenge to prove the advantages of revolutionizing the watering technologies of a global industry.Nonetheless, Raz said that Netafim‘s research teams have now reached the point at which they are yielding three times the amount of rice on their drip irrigated commercialsized plots than similarly sized flooded fields. They are currently in the process of launching a full-fledged commercial effort among local Indian farmers, in conjunction with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and the government, Raz explained.―If in the end it is not commercial, people will not invest,‖ Raz said. ―We have to show economically wise people that they will get back their investment, that there are high yields.‖
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