27th September ,2018 Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice -eNewsletter

September 27 ,2018 Vol 9 ,Issue 9

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Rising seas threaten Vietnam’s top rice producer Viet Nam News/Asia News Network / 06:37 PM September 26, 2018

Rice uploading for export at the Southern Food Company in Hồ Chí Minh City. Saltwater intrusion in 2017 destroyed over 30,455 ha of rice fields in Kiên Giang Province, heavily affecting the country‘s rice export. VŨ SINH, VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK KIEN GIANG, Vietnam — After nearly two decades, Kien Giang Province may lose its position as the country‘s leading rice producer.

Because of climate change, Kien Giang province is struggling to maintain its place as Vietnam‘s biggest rice producer – a distinction it has held for nearly two decades.

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The province is well positioned to produce rice. Located on the coast, in an area in Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) with some of the country‘s richest soil, Kien Giang is home to more than 357,000 ha of rice paddies. It produces an average of over four million tonnes of rice each year.

But ever-rising seas have deposited saltwater deeper into the province, contaminating the three key production areas of Long Xuyen Quadrangle, West Hau River and U Minh Thuong and killing off hundreds thousands of hectares of rice over the last few years. ―Climate change is affecting the growth of local agriculture,‖ said deputy director of the province‘s agriculture and rural development department Do Minh Nhut.

He cited drought and the intrusion of saltwater as factors that had damaged more than 56,500 ha of fields in 2016 alone, reducing that year‘s yield by more than 481,200 tonnes compared to the previous year.

Saltwater intrusion continued in 2017, destroying over 30,455 ha. Heavy rain and flooding damaged an additional 7,150 ha.

Aquaculture Agriculture in Kien Giang is not only about rice. As a seaside province, it has developed its aquaculture by focusing on farming shrimp, fish, crabs, and clams.

According to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, aquaculture areas have grown steadily since 2015, producing more than 217,000 tonnes of seafood last year. ―Aquaculture has helped increase the value of Kien Giang‘s agriculture sector, lifting farmers out of poverty and raising their quality of life,‖ said department director Nguyen Van Tam. ―However, annual productivity has not yet reached its potential, especially in shrimp farming. One important factor is certainly the negative impact of climate change.‖ Tam said prolonged drought and the intrusion of saltwater had cost farmers more than 22,188 ha of shrimp farms in the 2015-2016 season. Similar environmental factors caused the loss of 6,000 ha in 2017 and 10,000 ha so far this year.

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With its economy threatened by climate change, Kien Giang is pushing ahead with new irrigation facilities to manage the rapid invasion of saltwater.

The province is investing VND950 billion (US$42.2 million) to finance new sluice gates along the An Bien-An Minh coastal dyke that will prevent saltwater intrusion and retain as much fresh water as possible. The funds will also go towards a massive network of irrigation channels in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle and West Hau River agricultural areas.

Although the province had already invested much of its own money, Kien Giang People‘s Committee chairman Pham Vu Hong said it would need more financial support from the central Government to protect its agricultural sector from climate change.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1036660/rising-seas-threaten-vietnams-top-rice-producer

Promising future for rice exporters VNA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 - 19:01:00 PRINT

Vietnamese rice exports are expected to grow stronger by the end of the year (Photo: VNA)

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Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese rice exports are expected to grow stronger by the end of the year after a brief lulling period, said Tran Van Cong, Deputy Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Over the first nine months of the year, Vietnam shipped 4.9 million tonnes of rice abroad, earning 2.5 billion USD, up 22 percent from the same period last year.

Cong said that this is an impressive result, attributing the achievement to the effective rice sector restructuring programme which channels focus on developing high-quality and fragrant rice to bolster exports to choosy markets.

Up to 80 percent of exports now are classified as high-quality rice and sold at more than 500 USD per tonne, he said, adding that market diversification has been a catalyst for Vietnamese rice shipments.

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China‘s sudden imposition of a 50 percent tariff on rice imports from July affected rice consumption in this market, especially sticky rice. At some points, Chinese traders paid only 380 USD per tonne for sticky rice, compared to the 530-540 USD per tonne at the beginning of the year. However, Vietnamese firms have worked to enhance rice exports to Iraq, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Ivory Coast, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In particular, the Government‘s new Decree No.107/2018/ND-CP, which will take effect from October 1, will remove difficulties and legal barriers for rice exporters to expand foreign markets. Accordingly, rice exporters will no longer be required to own rice storage, paddy milling, and grinding facilities with processing capacities of 5,000 tonnes of rice. In addition, customs procedures will be simplified, creating favourable conditions for enterprises to export more to large consuming markets like China, Europe, Africa, Iraq, Cuba, and the UAE. In the coming time, purchase demand will pick up in some countries, such as the Philippines which will be needing to import an additional 500,000-800,000 tonnes of rice by the end of this year to refill exhausted reserves and stabilise the domestic rice price.

Chinese enterprises have been working with firms from the Mekong Delta region to seek cooperation in rice trading. Meanwhile, Indonesia and several African countries also hold high demands for rice imports in response to output decline due to floods and storms.

Local firms are seeking ways to boost sticky rice shipments to Indonesia to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. The move has increased the cost of sticky rice from just below 400 USD per tonne in July and August, to 440 USD per tonne now.

Furthermore, as local firms reduce export costs, Vietnamese rice will gain a competitive edge over that grown in India and Thailand, Cong noted.–VNA https://en.vietnamplus.vn/promising-future-for-rice-exporters/139035.vnp

Thailand sells rice to China for first time in six months SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 / 9:48 AM /

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BANGKOK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Thailand‘s government on Wednesday said it had sold 100,000 tonnes of rice to China, the first such sale since March.Chinese state-owned food trader COFCO had halted purchases over the last few months due to ample rice supply in the country.

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Thailand had previously supplied 500,000 tonnes of rice to China as part of a pledged government-togovernment deal for 1 million tonnes of the grain struck in 2015.

The latest purchase of the 5-percent grade of white rice will be shipped next month, supporting local prices, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said in a statement. ―This is also a positive sign that the Chinese market‘s demand for Thai rice has returned and China might order more rice in 2018,‖ he said.Thailand has exported 8.22 million tonnes of rice so far in 2018, almost 3 percent higher than a year earlier. That amount is worth around 134 billion baht ($4.13 billion).

Thailand aims to export 11 million tonnes of rice this year. ($1 = 32.4400 baht) (Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat Editing by Joseph Radford) https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N1WC1WO

Food Innovation is Data Driven

By Lesley Dixon WASHINGTON, DC -- Journalists, experts, and industry leaders gathered last Friday at the International Food Information Council's Food Innovation Summit to discuss innovations in food technology and trends in consumer demand. Topics ranged from marketing buzzwords to advances in gene editing and blockchain, and discussion largely revolved around consumer trust in the agriculture industry.

Panelists tackled difficult questions about how to communicate effectively with the public in a world of rapid scientific advancements and rampant misunderstandings when it comes to labels like "natural" and "GMO." "The consumer has multiple definitions of freshness, and natural, and healthy, and unprocessed, so there's multiple ways to reach them based on what their perceptions are," said Samantha Cassetty, a nutritionist and food columnist with NBC. "We have to come up with the solutions for letting people know where their food is coming from and create these authentic stories for them."

A central theme of the talks was how increased transparency in supply chains and better management of data can aid the agriculture industry, from farmers to retailers, in providing the trust that consumers are increasingly demanding from their food sources.

"When you gain trust you have a better chance of getting acceptance or getting a message across than when you just go up against it. Consumers don't like to hear that their deeply held beliefs are wrong," continued Cassetty. "There's such a lack of understanding about farming and farming practices among consumers. People think of farms as Big Industry, and they don't realize that most farms are family businesses supporting communities, farms that have been

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around for 100 years. These farmers care about the sustainability of their land. That's their family business."

Tejas Bhatt, senior director at Walmart and a research scientist with a background in computer science, believes that blockchain could be a boon to greater transparency in food supply chains, and is spearheading Walmart's effort to implement the technology throughout its 28-country operation. "Blockchain is radically transforming the way we enable transparency and traceability across the supply chain. It's foundational to enabling that level of transparency before we get to the customer."

Bhatt also emphasized the shared benefit to stakeholders up and down the supply chain of adopting blockchain. "We approached this from a shared value proposition. We're telling our supply chains that if you give us visibility back to the farm, we will give you visibility to our stores. And you can see how your product is going from the distribution centers, to our stores, to the customers."

There was general agreement among panelists and participants that strong, clear communication with consumers about the food they eat is more important than ever in the ag industry, considering the technological and scientific advances of recent years.

"It's quite incredible when you think about historical farming versus modern farming today, traceability, and all the steps we take to ensure food safety," said dairy farmer Brian Fiscalini with Fiscalini Cheese. "I have the equivalent of a Fit Bit on every single cow."

W orld Rice Conference to be held in Hanoi A worker holds the newly-harvested rice crops during a harvesting competition in Hegang, northeast China‘s Heilongjiang Province. China, one of the key drivers of the world rice trade, is among the main participants at the 10th World Rice Conference. Xinhua

HANOI (Xinhua) – The 10th World Rice Conference will take place here on October 10-12, with the participation of rice millers, exporters, merchants, experts and policy makers from many countries, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade said yesterday.

During the three-day conference, 500-600 participants from such countries as China, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Uruguay will center this discussions on Vietnam‘s rice industry and market outlook, key drivers of the world rice trade, and rice technology and value addition.

They are to analyse various kinds of rice, including fragrant rice, broken rice, parboiled rice, basmati rice and glutinous rice to reveal key issues which will shape regional and international

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markets. The world‘s best rice and rice market achievement award 2018 presentation ceremony will be held on October 12.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam exported over 4.4 million tons of rice worth more than 2.2 billion US dollars, posting respective year-on-year rises of 8.2 percent and 23.6 percent.

Vietnam is focusing on using better rice growing, harvesting, postharvest, storage and transport practices and types so that rice will have uniform moisture contents, high weight, no foreign material, low percentage of discoloured, broken and damaged kernels, no presence of insects and molds, and high protein and vitamin content, said the ministry. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50537076/world-rice-conference-to-be-held-in-hanoi/

LSU AgCenter researchers conduct plant host study on Roseau cane scale By: LSU AgCenter Posted: Sep 26, 2018 11:16 AM CDT Updated: Sep 26, 2018 11:16 AM CDT

Leslie Avilés, a graduate student in entomology, inspects Roseau cane that is part of plant host experiment she conducted at a greenhouse on the LSU campus.

BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU AgCenter scientists conducting research on Roseau cane scale said a recent study showed this insect has not attacked commercial crops or marsh grasses important to Louisiana.

The scale could be one of the culprits causing die-off of Roseau cane in marshes within the lower Mississippi River Delta.

AgCenter entomologist Rodrigo Diaz said farmers were concerned that the scale may also find its way to grass crops.

Leslie Avilés, an entomology graduate student working with Diaz, conducted studies in the greenhouse and in the field on 17 types of grasses including agronomic crops sugarcane, corn, rice and sorghum and native marsh plants smooth cordgrass and California bulrush.

Avilés planted stems from each individual grass in containers. She also added a stem of Roseau cane heavily infested with the scale to each container and tied the stems together. ―For the experiment, we collected infested Roseau cane from the Mississippi River Delta,‖ Avilés said.

She also included scale-free Roseau cane in a container with infested cane as the control.

After a month she checked the stems for infestations.

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The first generation of the scale is called crawlers. Avilés said they hatch and attempt to move to a new stem to infest.

Avilés found crawlers on bulrush and cordgrass. They had attempted unsuccessfully to settle on those native grasses but did not mature into adulthood. No crawlers were found on the commercial crops. ―Our studies show that the scale was not a threat to agronomic crops and appears to be restricted to Roseau cane,‖ Diaz said.

Avilés also went to the mouth of the Mississippi where heavy infestations are found to see if the scale was infesting native grasses in the marsh. ―We found native grasses growing next to heavily infested Roseau cane,‖ Avilés said. ―We peeled back hundreds of samples from several species of marsh grasses and searched for the scale but didn‘t find any.‖ Diaz said several state agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, were interested in this study.

These results are good news to LDAF personnel because Louisiana farmers already have numerous pest issues that significantly effect crop yields and quality. LDAF implemented a quarantine that restricted movement of infested Roseau cane to mitigate movement of the pest across the state.

LDWF uses smooth cordgrass and bulrush in coastal restoration projects, and this information supports the continuation of that work. Also, agents with LDWF have been instrumental in getting Diaz and his researchers into areas in the marsh where scale infestations are prevalent. ―The logistics of getting to these locations is complicated,‖ Diaz said. ―Typically, we are taking a boat ride for an hour to remote places of the Mississippi River Delta.‖ Diaz said these marshes are vitally important to the ecology and economy of Louisiana.

LSU AgCenter associate vice president Rodgers Leonard said these research efforts are offering initial information about the biology and ecology of this pest, which can be used to better understand the impacts on Louisiana‘s natural resources and provide the basis for future management tactics https://www.arklatexhomepage.com/community/growing-strong/lsu-agcenter-researchersconduct-plant-host-study-on-roseau-cane-scale/1476900183

China Focus: Researchers expand test of saline soil rice to Loess Plateau Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-26 14:41:03|Editor: Liangyu

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XI'AN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The saline soil rice R&D team of Yuan Longping, the prestigious pioneer of hybrid rice, is expecting a harvest from a test field in the Loess Plateau, the world's highest soil erosion area.

The test field in Nanniwan, about 50 km away from the city of Yan'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is among six testing bases selected in May to pilot the team's rice growing technique.

Liu Zhaoliang, from the Qingdao Yuance Biological Group Co. Ltd., said the team has grown the rice in 53 hectares in Nanniwan, and the harvest will be made this week.

He said based on the current rice growing momentum, the per-hectare yield is estimated at 6,000 kg, which can meet the target for the pilot project.

"The barren land has been treated using a soil improvement technique. We have also introduced smart farming technology to help control the growing conditions," said Liu. The team is known for developing saline-alkali tolerant rice in China's coastal city of Qingdao and completing the first batch of drought-resistant rice varieties in Dubai.

Nanniwan is a highland area, where late Chinese leader Mao Zedong mobilized a campaign in the 1940s, urging a revolutionary spirit to reclaim farmland from the dry soil to become selfreliant on the grain supply.

However, rice fields in Nanniwan have declined from 467 hectares to 20 hectares due to low yield, as traditional farming can only reap about 3,000 kg of rice per hectare, which is far lower than the averaged yield in plain areas.

Liu said the team plans to take three to five years to recover the rice fields back to 467 hectares in Nanniwan and achieve a per-hectare yield of 9,000 kg.

About two-thirds of the people in China depend on rice as a staple food. Yuan, who developed the world's first hybrid rice in 1974, has set multiple world records in hybrid rice yields in previous years. The latest record was set in the super hybrid rice field in southwest China's Yunnan Province -- 17 tonnes per hectare.

Yuan's team selected six testing bases this year with different soil conditions in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, as well as Shandong and Zhejiang provinces in east China.

The pilot is aimed at introducing smart farming techniques and drought-resistant rice strains to develop water-saving farms suitable for areas with harsh soil conditions. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/26/c_137494015.htm

How to win friends online: It's not which groups you join, but how many 11 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

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Rice scientists crunch social media data to explain how communities affect friendships Date:September 26, 2018 Source:Rice University Summary:The chances that people will form new friendships primarily depends on the number rather than the types of organizations, groups and cliques they join, according to an analysis of six online social networks by data scientists.

Your chances of forming online friendships depend mainly on the number of groups and organizations you join, not their types, according to an analysis of six online social networks by Rice University data scientists.

"If a person is looking for friends, they should basically be active in as many communities as possible," said Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science at Rice and coauthor of a peer-reviewed study presented last month at the 2018 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining in Barcelona, Spain. "And if they want to become friends with a specific person, they should try to be a part of all the groups that person is a part of."

The finding is based on an analysis of six online social networks with millions of members, and Shrivastava said its simplicity may come as a surprise to those who study friendship formation and the role communities play in bringing about friendships.

"There's an old saying that 'birds of a feather flock together,'" Shrivastava said. "And that idea -that people who are more similar are more likely to become friends -- is embodied in a principal called homophily, which is a widely studied concept in friendship formation."

One school of thought holds that because of homophily, the odds that people will become friends increase in some groups. To account for this in computational models of friendship networks, researchers often assign each group an "affinity" score; the more alike group members are, the higher their affinity and the greater their chances of forming friendships.

Prior to social media, there were few detailed records about friendships between individuals in large organizations. That changed with the advent of social networks that have millions of individual members who are often affiliated with many communities and subcommunities within the network.

"A community, for our purposes, is any affiliated group of people within the network," Shrivastava said. "Communities can be very large, like everyone who identifies with a particular country or state, and they can be very small, like a handful of old friends who meet once a year."

Finding meaningful affinity scores for hundreds of thousands of communities in online social networks has been a challenge for analysts and modelers. Calculating the odds of friendship formation is further complicated by the overlap between communities and subcommittees. For instance, if the old friends in the above example live in three different states, their small

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subcommunity overlaps with the large communities of people from those states. Because many individuals in social networks belong to dozens of communities and subcommunities, overlapping connections can become dense.

In 2016, Shrivastava and study co-author Chen Luo, a graduate student in his research group, realized that some well-known analyses of online friendship formation failed to account for any factors arising out of overlap.

"Let's say Adam, Bob and Charlie are members of the same four communities, but in addition, Adam is a member of 16 other communities," Shrivastava said. "The existing affiliation model says the likelihood of Adam and Charlie being friends only depends on the affinity measures of the four communities they have in common. It doesn't matter that each of them are friends with Bob or that Adam's being pulled in 16 other directions."

That seemed like a glaring oversight to Luo and Shrivastava, but they had an idea of how to account for it based on an analogy they saw between the overlapping subcommunities and the overlapping similarities between webpages that must be taken into account by internet search engines. One of the most popular measures for internet search is the Jaccard overlap, which was pioneered by Google scientists and others in the late 1990s.

"We used this to measure overlap between communities and then checked to see if there was a relationship between overlap and friendship probability, or friendship affiliation, on six wellstudied social networks," Shrivastava said. "We found that on all six, the relationship more or less looked like a straight line."

"That implies that friendship formation can be explained merely by looking at overlap between communities," Luo said. "In other words, you don't need to account for affinity measures for specific communities. All that extra work is unnecessary."

Once Luo and Shrivastava saw the linear relationship between Jaccard overlap of communities and friendship formation, they also saw an opportunity to use a data-indexing method called "hashing," which is used to organize web documents for efficient search. Shrivastava and his colleagues have applied hashing to solve computational problems as diverse as indoor location detection, the training of deep learning networks and accurately estimating the number of identified victims killed in the Syrian civil war.

Shrivastava said he and Luo developed a model for friendship formation that "mimicked the way the mathematics behind the hashing work."

The model offers a simple explanation of how friendships form.

"Communities are having events and activities all the time, but some of these are a bigger draw, and the preference for attending these is higher," Shrivastava said. "Based on this preference, individuals become active in the most preferred communities to which they belong. If two people are active in the same community at the same time, they have a constant, usually small, probability of forming a friendship. That's it. This mathematically recovers our observed empirical model."

He said the findings could be useful to anyone who wants to bring communities together and enhance the process of friendship formation.

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"It seems that the most effective way is to encourage people to form more subcommunities," Shrivastava said. "The more subcommunities you have, the more they overlap, and the more likely it is that individual members will have more close friendships throughout the organization.

People have long thought that this would be one factor, but what we've shown is this is probably the only one you have to pay attention to."

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research.

Rice University. "How to win friends online: It's not which groups you join, but how many: Rice scientists crunch social media data to explain how communities affect friendships."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180926110103.htm>. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180926110103.htm

Kharif food-grain output to be record high, show initial government estimates

By Madhvi Sally, ET Bureau| Sep 26, 2018, 04.07 PM IST Sugarcane production is estimated at 383.89 million tonnes, higher by 6.99 million tonnes from the last year.

India is likely to post record high food-grain production this kharif season, with monsoon rains being normal in main cropproducing states, the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s initial estimates show.

Production of rice, sugarcane and oilseed is expected to be higher than last year, show the first advance estimate of the agriculture ministry, released on Wednesday. Coarse cereals, pulses and cotton are expected to see a fall in output. Production of kharif crops that are cultivated during the rainy season is expected to be 141.59 million tonnes in 2018-19, which is 0.61%, or 0.86 million tonnes, more than last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s 140.73 million tonnes, which is the highest so far. This will be 11.94 million tonnes more than the average production for the five years through 2016-17.

These are preliminary estimates and will undergo revisions based on further feedback from states, the government said. Cumulative rainfall in the country during the monsoon season till date has been 9% lower than the Long Period Average. However, rains in north-west and central India and southern Peninsula have been normal and hence most of the major crop producing

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states have witnessed normal rainfall, the government said.

Production of rice, the main kharif crop, is estimated to be 99.24 million tonnes, or 1.78% more than the previous year. ―The bumper production is a good sign for exports,‖ said BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters‘ Association. The excess production can be exported to China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, he said.

The next round of paddy planting will now take place in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and ―we expect 13-14 million tonnes of rice more production by February‖, Rao said.

The output of kharif pulses such as tur, moong and urad is estimated at 9.22 million tonnes, less than last year‘s production of 9.34 million tonnes.

Bimal Kothari, vice chairman of the India Pulses & Grains Association, said prices were ruling below the minimum support price (MSP), discouraging farmers from planting pulses. "Tur MSP is Rs 58.50 a kg while the government is selling at Rs 35-37 a kg. Same is the case for urad and moong. Prices will now remain stable and government has to ensure prices reach the MSP level to help farmers. Ban on imported pulses should continue,‖ he said.

Production of oilseeds such as groundnut, soyabean and castorseed is estimated to increase 5.66% over the previous year to 22.19 million tonnes, the government said. ―Soyabean is definitely high but groundnut is down. The government now needs to ensure that farmers gets the price so as to ensure higher planting this rabi season,‖ said BV Mehta, executive director at the Solvent Extractors Association.

Sugarcane production is estimated at 383.89 million tonnes, higher by 6.99 million tonnes from the last year.

With area under cotton being 0.89% lower this kharif season, the government estimates production to fall to 32.48 million bales (of 170 kg each) from 34.88 million bales in 2017-18.

However, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, said there could be a revision in production figures as the season progresses. The industry said the crop could be 33-35 million bales, which would still be lower than the previous year when it had estimated production at 36.5 million bales.

Total production of coarse cereals has decreased to 33.13 million tonnes as compared to 33.89 million tonnes in 2017-18. Production of maize is expected to be 21.47 million tonnes, which is higher by 1.23 million tonnes from last year, show the government estimates.

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Rice basmati weakens on low demand PTI | Sep 26, 2018, 14:48 IST New Delhi, Sep 26 () Rice basmati prices drifted lower by Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale grains market Wednesday owing to slackened demand against ample stocks position.

However, wheat strengthened on increased offtake by flour mills.

Traders said fall in demand from stockists and rice mills against sufficient stocks position on increased arrivals from growing regions mainly weighed on rice basmati prices.

In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa-1121 variety were down by Rs 100 each to Rs 7,700-7,800 and Rs 6,650-6,750 per quintal, respectively.

Non-basmati rice permal raw, wand, sela and IR-8 also settled lower at Rs 2,350-2,375, Rs 2,450-2,500, Rs 2,900-3,000 and Rs 1,975-2,000 as compared to previous levels of Rs 2,3752,400, Rs 2,500-2,550, Rs 3,000-3,100 and Rs 2,000-2,050 per quintal, respectively, in line with basmati trend.

On the other hand, wheat dara (for mills) edged up by Rs 15 to Rs 2,035-2,040 per quintal. Atta chakki delivery followed suit and traded higher by a similar margin to Rs 2,040-2,045 per 90 kg.

Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,350-2,450, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 2,035-2,040, Atta Chakki(delivery) Rs 2,040-2,045, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 250-280, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 275-310, Roller flour mill Rs 1,080-1,100 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,180-1,190 (50 kg) and Sooji Rs 1,240-1,250 (50 kg).

Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati rice Rs 9,900, Basmati common new Rs 7,700-7,800, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 6,650-6,750, Permal raw Rs 2,3502,375, Permal wand Rs 2,450-2,500, Sela Rs 2,900-3,000 and rice IR-8 Rs 1,975-2,000.

Bajra Rs 1,360-1,365, Jowar yellow Rs 1,600-1,650, white Rs 2,800-2,850, Maize Rs 1,420-1,425, Barley Rs 1,650-1,660. SUN KPS SHW SHW

â&#x20AC;&#x2014;PITC rice imports must use government fundsâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Bernadette D. Nicolas September 26, 2018

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Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol (PNA) THE National Food Authority Council (NFAC) could approve the Philippine International Trading Corp.‘s (PITC) proposal to import rice on the condition that it will use its own funds instead of tapping money from the private sector, the agriculture chief has said.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, who is also chairman of the NFAC, told the BusinessMirror that the PITC‘s proposed rice importation was tackled by the council on Monday and eventually deferred as it was deemed disadvantageous to other accredited importers.

Under its proposal, the PITC—a government-owned and -controlled corporation attached to the Department of Trade and Industry—would only serve as a consolidator and that private firms would finance the imports, which would be shipped at zero tariffs, according to Piñol. ―Actually, the NFAC said it will allow the importation if PITC funds are used,‖ he said via SMS. ―Because if it would be the private investors, then the distribution of rice will not be controlled.

Plus, they will also not pay tariffs.‖

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Piñol said the NFAC asked the PITC to revise its proposal and resubmit it to the council.

The NFAC did not give the PITC a deadline but, in case they resubmit their proposal, it would be taken up immediately, he said.

Furthermore, Piñol pointed out that existing laws are clear that the authority to import rice is vested in the National Food Authority (NFA). ―The law is very clear that all rice importation could only be done through the NFA,‖ he said.

The power to import rice and regulate its entry to the local market is vested in the NFA by virtue of Presidential Decree (PD) 4, which created the National Grains Authority, the forerunner of the NFA. Furthermore, Republic Act 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, amended PD 4 and gave the NFA the power to delegate the authority to import rice to accredited traders and importers.

However, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. on Tuesday announced that the PITC had already conducted an open tender for its rice imports that are expected to arrive in two weeks‘ time.

Furthermore, Roque said the PITC‘s rice importation did not need the NFAC‘s approval. ―This importation doesn‘t need the [NFA] Council‘s approval. This information was given by [Trade Undersecretary] Ruth [Castelo] to the President in Benguet, when we visited Benguet,‖ Roque said. ―And [Undersecretary] Ruth said that they imported rice of 25-percent brokens, which is sold [by the NFA] at P27 per kilogram,‖ Roque added.The DTI proposed earlier this month to allow the PITC to import about 150,000 metric tons of rice to beef up the NFA‘s current stockpile. https://businessmirror.com.ph/pitc-rice-imports-must-use-government-funds/

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VNA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 - 19:01:00

Vietnamese rice exports are expected to grow stronger by the end of the year (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vietnamese rice exports are expected to grow stronger by the end of the year after a brief lulling period, said Tran Van Cong, Deputy Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Over the first nine months of the year, Vietnam shipped 4.9 million tonnes of rice abroad, earning 2.5 billion USD, up 22 percent from the same period last year.

Cong said that this is an impressive result, attributing the achievement to the effective rice sector restructuring programme which channels focus on developing high-quality and fragrant rice to bolster exports to choosy markets.

Up to 80 percent of exports now are classified as high-quality rice and sold at more than 500 USD per tonne, he said, adding that market diversification has been a catalyst for Vietnamese rice shipments.

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China‘s sudden imposition of a 50 percent tariff on rice imports from July affected rice consumption in this market, especially sticky rice. At some points, Chinese traders paid only 380 USD per tonne for sticky rice, compared to the 530-540 USD per tonne at the beginning of the year. However, Vietnamese firms have worked to enhance rice exports to Iraq, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Ivory Coast, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In particular, the Government‘s new Decree No.107/2018/ND-CP, which will take effect from October 1, will remove difficulties and legal barriers for rice exporters to expand foreign markets. Accordingly, rice exporters will no longer be required to own rice storage, paddy milling, and grinding facilities with processing capacities of 5,000 tonnes of rice. In addition, customs procedures will be simplified, creating favourable conditions for enterprises to export more to large consuming markets like China, Europe, Africa, Iraq, Cuba, and the UAE. In the coming time, purchase demand will pick up in some countries, such as the Philippines which will be needing to import an additional 500,000-800,000 tonnes of rice by the end of this year to refill exhausted reserves and stabilise the domestic rice price.

Chinese enterprises have been working with firms from the Mekong Delta region to seek cooperation in rice trading. Meanwhile, Indonesia and several African countries also hold high demands for rice imports in response to output decline due to floods and storms.

Local firms are seeking ways to boost sticky rice shipments to Indonesia to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. The move has increased the cost of sticky rice from just below 400 USD per tonne in July and August, to 440 USD per tonne now.

Furthermore, as local firms reduce export costs, Vietnamese rice will gain a competitive edge over that grown in India and Thailand, Cong noted.–VNA https://en.vietnamplus.vn/promising-future-for-rice-exporters/139035.vnp

NFA expects debt to swell after rice imports By: Karl R. Ocampo - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:20 AM September 27, 2018

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The National Food Authority‘s (NFA) debt is seen to balloon by about P49 billion to P185.9 billion as it plans to increase its rice imports for this year until the next to support the country‘s rice requirement.

Based on NFA‘s computation, the importation of about 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice could cost the government P7 billion. With the NFA Council‘s approval to import 750,000 MT of rice this year and its standby approval to import an additional million ton in 2019, the grains agency would need to borrow about P49 billion from the Bureau of the Treasury.

This would put the agency‘s total debt to the national government at about P185.9 billion.

The agency‘s decision came after Typhoon ―Ompong‖ left some 517,175 hectares of rice farms destroyed, leaving in its trail production losses of about 750,000 MT of rice.

After Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol‘s first meeting with the agency as the head of the NFA Council on Monday, additional imports were approved to ensure there would be enough rice supply despite the calamity.

As of Wednesday, NFA‘s pending loans stood at P136.9 billion—the bulk of which was incurred during the time of the Arroyo administration. During that time, in an effort to satisfy both farmers and consumers, the agency subsidized both the farm-gate and the market price of rice, which proved to be unsustainable.

Asked whether the NFA has the ability to pay off its loans, spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the agency has always been able to pay the Treasury through the proceeds it gets from selling NFA rice variants in the market. These variants are sold at a constant P27 and P32 a kilogram, depending on the quality.Just a few weeks ago, an agricultural group filed a graft complaint against former NFA Administrator Jason Aquino for allegedly diverting a portion of the agency‘s funds to pay off its maturing loans instead of using the money to stabilize the supply and prices of grains.For the first semester of 2018, NFA received the largest subsidy from the government‘s coffers at P5.2 billion, higher than the subsidy received by the National Irrigation Administration at P2.996 billion.AD NE

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Duterte‘s Administrative Order (AO) No. 13 is directed at the Department of Agriculture (DA), National Food Authority (NFA), Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) - September 26, 2018 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — As prices of goods continue to soar, President Duterte has issued an order removing non-tariff barriers to importation of rice and other agriculture products and streamlining administrative procedures for accrediting importers.

Duterte‘s Administrative Order (AO) No. 13 is directed at the Department of Agriculture (DA), National Food Authority (NFA), Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The Palace issued the order after the country‘s economic advisers recommended that steps be immediately taken to arrest inflation, which accelerated to 6.4 percent in August from 5.7 percent the previous month.

AO 13 also sought to minimize the processing time for applications for importation. ―There is an urgent need to tame the price spikes of basic agricultural commodities by adopting measures that remove non-tariff barriers and streamline administrative procedures to allow importation,‖ the order stated.

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In issuing AO 13, the administration said it seeks to address the shortfall in supply and ensure stable prices of agricultural products in the domestic market.

The Palace also seeks to liberalize the issuance of permits and accreditation to traders as well as temporarily allow importation by sugar-using industries to lower their input cost – but subject to reasonable regulations. ―(This) will facilitate the importation of food beyond what we call as the authorized Minimum Access Volume (MAV). This means that traders can import more and all the fees will be removed,‖ presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday, explaining the AO. ―There is a need to liberalize the issuance of permits and the accreditation of traders who import rice to break the monopoly of rice hoarders; and to temporarily allow direct importation of those utilizing sugar to import sugar if needed,‖ Roque added.

The President is also authorizing the NFA Council to approve additional rice importation beyond the MAV commitment for allocation to the private sector.

The DA is also allowed to issue the appropriate Certificate of Necessity to allow the importation of adequate volumes of fish to augment the 17,000 metric tons of fish already being distributed in the market.

In the order, the President directed the Bureau of Customs ―to prioritize the unloading and release of (imported) agriculture products‖ to minimize or eliminate red tape.

In signing the order, Duterte invoked Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, which mandates that the state ―ensure the availability of basic necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices at all times without denying legitimate business a fair return on investment.‖Based on the order, it‘s the duty of the state to ―provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering and cartels with respect to supply, distribution, marketing and pricing of said goods, especially during periods of calamity, emergency, widespread illegal price manipulation and other similar situations.‖ In AO 13, Duterte also ordered the creation of a surveillance team comprising the DTI, NFA, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police to monitor the importation and distribution of agricultural products.

The group is tasked to ensure the immediate distribution of agriculture products to warehouses and retail outlets, as well as prevent price manipulation.

As this developed, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea also signed Memorandum No. 26 for President Duterte directing the DA and the DTI to adopt measures aimed at reducing the gap between farm gate prices and retail prices of agriculture products.

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It also mandated the setting up of public outlets and cold storages where producers of agricultural commodities, as well as poultry producers, can sell directly to consumers.

Hearing deferred Fearing further economic backlash from the effects of the controversial Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, the Senate committee on ways and means is suspending deliberations on the second tranche of the tax reform measure at least until the Department of Finance (DOF) is able to present credible data that the proposed measure would not lead to loss of jobs.

The committee held its first hearing yesterday on the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High Quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill passed by the House of Representatives.

Senators said they were not satisfied with the explanation of DOF officials. ―The government should really take this issue on jobs seriously. The bill should stay true to its name – that it would create more jobs rather than kill them,‖ Sen. Sonny Angara, chairman of the committee, told Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

The senator also expected the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to present its cost-benefit analysis of the incentives contained in the measure. But no representative from NEDA was present during the hearing.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the economic affairs committee, said a cursory examination of the measure left him confused as it showed the allocation of as much as P6 billion to fund safety nets for workers who may be displaced with the enactment of the bill. ―We‘re branding the bill as creating work but we‘re receiving mixed signals here,‖ Gatchalian said.

The senators said they welcome the intention of the bill to rationalize fiscal incentives to businesses by making them performance-based, time-bound and transparent to make sure that those benefitting from tax breaks and other incentives really contribute to the economy.

Director Dominique Tutay of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) told the panel the bill might lead to job losses.

Tutay said DOLE and DOF have yet to complete their joint study on the impact on jobs of the measure.

She revealed that based on their job displacement monitoring, 30,000 jobs in the industry and services sectors were lost in the first quarter of 2018.

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Job loss fears Following the passage of bill in the House, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) released a statement warning that the bill would force them to lay off 140,000 workers.

They said several multinationals are now locating their expansions outside the country, largely due to the uncertainty over the status of their current tax incentives.

The House version provides for P500 million to be used for cash grants for displaced workers.

An additional P500 million would be allocated for targeted training and skills upgrading.

Chua explained the allocations are just ―contingency funds for possible job losses.‖ Based on data from the DOF, a total of 1.7 million direct and seven million indirect jobs were generated by companies registered with investment promotion agencies (IPAs).

Angara has stressed the primary goal should be to create high-paying jobs, especially in the countryside. ―It seems that the grant of incentives is uneven across regions. We want to spread growth and development in the provinces,‖ he said.

DOLE official Tutay said the agency would be able to complete its study on the impact on jobs in two weeks.

The leadership of the House of Representatives, meanwhile, will start hearing on Monday the fourth package of TRAIN. ―This is a reform as significant as the recently signed TRAIN law that it aims to complement as it deals with the financial sector which contributes a lot to the economy and plays a crucial role in financing large-scale investments such as the build, build, build program,‖ committee on ways and means chair Rep. Estrellita Suansing said, referring to House Bill 8252 which seeks to provide neutrality in tax treatment, tax system, tax competitiveness and increase capital mobility and financial inclusion.

DOF‘s Chua, who was present during the committee briefing, said the revenue impact of this measure is around P13 billion on its first year. It is expected to decline as some tax rates become lower.

The finance official also stressed the government should look at the measure from a long-term perspective. ―Sometimes, when we just look at one provision of one package, we do not see the full benefit,‖ he said, apparently referring to the much-maligned TRAIN 1, widely blamed for rising inflation.

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Chua said the government aims to address the deficiencies of the financial sector and institute necessary reforms to at least achieve revenue neutrality so that important government projects get regular and adequate funding.

Suansing, an ally of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and who took over the post of her predecessor lone Quirino Rep. Dakila Cua, said TRAIN 4 aims to make taxes on capital income and financial intermediaries simpler, fairer and more efficient.

HB 8252 or TRAIN 4 is authored by Suansing and her husband, incumbent Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr. of Sultan Kudarat.

Package 2 or the Trabaho bill seeks to lower corporate income tax while expanding the tax base.

Train Package 3 proposes improvements in the valuation of property so that the government can finance many of its local social services and programs.

The last package, also called ―Package 2 Plus,‖ targets taxes on mining and excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco. – with Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/09/26/1854856/duterte-removes-non-tariff-barriers-agri-imports

With rice tariffication, what happens to food security?

By Rene E. Ofreneo September 27, 2018 “We’re a blessed Nation because we can grow our own food and, therefore, we’re secure. A Nation that can feed its people is a nation more secure.” 

President George Bush, on the occasion of the signing of the US Farms Bill (2002), which is renewed every five years and which allocates massive subsidy to American agriculture.

With the proposed lifting of the quantitative restrictions on rice, the private sector shall be able to import rice – freely so long as it pays for the tariffs set by the government. No more importation monopoly of the National Food Authority (NFA). No more rice inflation? No more rice pila’s?

Price stability is the main argument of the proponents of rice importation liberalization. To them, food security is simply the ability of a country to buy agricultural products wherever they are produced, cheaply. This is the theory of the agricultural trade liberalizers. This is the reason

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the country tariffied agriculture in 1995 (with the exception of sugar and rice), after the Senate ratified Philippine membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The proponents of agricultural trade liberalization embellished the food security argument further by adding that small farmers who cannot compete with cheap producers in other countries need not worry. They can shift to the production of higher-value agricultural products. Accordingly, Philippine agriculture would be a runaway winner under agricultural trade liberalization. They even came up in 1994, at the height of the Senate debates on WTO membership, with the following macro-economic forecasts: agricultural gross value added of P60 billion a year, agricultural net export earnings of P3.2 billion a year, and 500,000 new jobs in the agri sector every year.

And yet, Philippine agricultural performance from 1995 to the present has been dismal, if not catastrophic — widening net agricultural trade deficits, share of the agricultural sector in the GDP shrinking to less than 10 percent, deepening massive poverty in the countryside, and, food inflation, averaging close to five percent a year from 1995 to 2017. Thus, with rice tariffication, a number of farmer and civil society organizations such as the PATAMABA, Integrated Rural Development Foundation and Freedom from Debt Coalition are raising critical issues which policy makers are still unable to answer.

First, with tariffication, is the government surrendering the entire rice industry business to the private rice traders, who have a leech-like hold on palay trading, rice storage and rice distribution? Numerous Congressional hearings, from the time of President Corazon Aquino up to the present, have come up with ugly findings on the cartel-like behavior of the traders, including cases of smuggling and collusion with corrupt NFA officials on the hoarding and mislabeling of rice. With the tariffication and the further downsizing, if not abolition, of the NFA, these traders shall now have the whole business field to themselves — from palay procurement at home to rice importation, from milling to storage, and from wholesale to retail distribution. They can dictate the farm gate prices that palay farmers would get and the prices for various rice varieties that consumers are willing to buy. How can the government then level the playing field? Who will prevent the rice importers-traders from re-milling cheap imported rice and mixing this with quality rice produced in the Philippines and sell this as ―regular milled rice‖?

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Second, what happens to the goal of rice self-sufficiency? With the influx of cheap imported rice, how can the marginal rice farmers compete? Some of the answers to competitiveness are well known: better seed varieties, cheap and efficient irrigation, land mechanization, grain dryers, good transport facilities from the farms, and quality rice mills. These have been identified and discussed in past studies. These have been the object of the Agriculture and Food Modernization Act (AFMA) and the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Act (ACEF). And yet, both the billion-peso AFMA and ACEF programs have failed to deliver the promised modernization and prosperity for the farmers. The culprits: the big C (corruption) and the lack of a strong visionary leadership in the agricultural sector. Now what is the assurance that the so-called tariff revenues to be set aside for the local rice-farming sector shall be able to transform the sector?

Most likely, the land areas devoted to rice farming will continue to shrink. The rice industry in Central Luzon and Region IV has been disappearing since the 1980s due to urbanization and industrial development. In a study by Elvira Manalad of Paragos-Philippines, huge swathes of rice lands all over the country are also disappearing because of the widespread ―conversion‖ of lands supposedly covered by agrarian reform and the unchecked ―land banking‖ operations of the big realty companies and housing/village/resort developers. The rainfed rice lands are the most vulnerable to the agents of these companies and developers. Their job is made easier by the absence of a National Land Use law and the weak monitoring by the Department of Agrarian Reform of the land conversions.

So one of the biggest concerns of farm unions and CSOs is the waning capacity of the government, in a liberalized and deregulated economy, to pursue food security and agricultural sovereignty. Like in the United States and other countries, these unions and CSOs define food security as the capacity of the nation to grow its own food and feed its own people. Food security means that whatever the volatility in agricultural commodities in the global market there are, the country will be able to survive because domestic production is stable and sufficient. Of course, food security does not mean stopping all agricultural imports. The point is that the Philippines, given its land resources and knowhow, should be able to produce in sufficient quantity its basic food requirements.

In the case of rice, the goal of self-sufficiency remains an important one because rice is one of the thinly traded commodities in the world market. Thus, if a rice shortage occurs in the two

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major sources of imported rice, Thailand and Vietnam, the Philippines is likely to have a political and economic problem that is too hot to handle. https://businessmirror.com.ph/with-rice-tariffication-what-happens-to-food-security/

NFA must continue buying local rice

By BusinessMirror Editorial September 26, 2018 The Senate is currently stepping up efforts to convert the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice into tariffs, a move that is expected to bring rice prices down and ease inflation. Economic managers have been banking on the scrapping of the rice quota to make rice more affordable, particularly to the poor, who spend at least a fifth of their income on the staple. The poor, who cannot afford to buy more expensive sources of protein, such as pork or chicken, consume more rice to fill their stomachs.

By removing the QR on rice, Manila is effectively signaling to the world that it is ready to allow the entry of cheaper rice. The QR on rice, or import quota, has allowed the Philippines to limit the entry of cheaper staple from neighboring Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand. With the removal of the nontariff barrier, economic managers expect that the average retail price of rice would go down by as much as P7 per kilogram (kg).

The downside of the removal of rice QR is the competition cheap rice imports would pose to locally produced palay. Based on the BusinessMirrorâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s computation, 5 percent broken rice from Vietnam can be purchased at P20 per kg. Even at a 40-percent tariff, the landed cost is anywhere from P28 to P30 per kg. The amount is much lower than the current average price of P43.86 per kg, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Assuming that rice imports would not be hoarded by unscrupulous traders (unlike other farm products, rice can be stored longer), the influx of cheap rice would spell doom for farmers who remain uncompetitive compared to their counterparts in Vietnam and Thailand. If importing rice is more cost-efficient, traders who used to scramble for locally produced palay would rethink their plans. Farm-gate price could go down if traders suddenly become uninterested in local rice.

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While consumers will have their cheap staple, some 2.4 million rice farmers would be hardpressed to look for alternative crops.

This scenario can be avoided if Congress would still allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy palay from farmers. There are proposals from economic managers to stop the NFA from intervening in the market, which means the agency should stop buying and selling rice. But this should not be done right after Congress has removed the QR on the staple. The food agency must be allowed to at least continue buying rice from farmers for buffer-stocking purposes for two years.

This is one of the measures that we believe the government should consider when it crafts a plan that would help farmers adjust to a new rice-trade regime. Congress can consider allocating part of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for the NFA‘s palay-buying program.

The tariffication of rice is expected to be completed this month, and the Department of Agriculture would unveil its road map for the sector once the measure is signed into law. We hope that the DA is conducting the necessary consultations with sectors affected by the removal of the quota. This will ensure that strategies employed by the government will have an impact on those whose lives have long depended on the most important grain in the country. https://businessmirror.com.ph/nfa-must-continue-buying-local-rice/

NFA incentives to rice farmers like hiking palay buying price‘

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Bernadette D. Nicolas September 26, 2018

In Photo: Photo shows farmers harvesting rice in La Union.

THE National Food Authority Council (NFAC) has effectively increased the government‘s support price for palay to P20 per kilogram (kg) when it decided to approve the grant of more incentives to rice farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol made the pronouncement on Monday, but clarified that the National Food Authority‘s (NFA) direct support price for palay remains at P17 per kg.

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Piñol is currently the chairman of the NFAC, the highest policy-making body of the NFA.

―The buying price of NFA remains at P17 per kg but we will come up with incentives that when quantified would reach P20 per kg,‖ Piñol said in a news briefing following the NFAC‘s first meeting under his chairmanship.

He said the NFA would give additional transportation incentives to farmers who would sell their crops to the government. They would also be entitled to receive farm equipment, among others.

The grant of additional incentives is effective immediately, according to Piñol.

He said the NFA would also be ―flexible‖ with its 14-percent moisture content requirement for palay and would purchase even wet palay. ―We will be flexible in terms of the moisture content. The government must help the farmers,‖ he said. ―The farmers would say the NFA‘s support is limited. The government is out there to help the people. Our directive is to help the farmers.‖

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Despite the increase in the NFA‘s palay support price, the food agency‘s selling price would remain at P27 per kg for regular-milled rice and P32 per kg for well-milled rice, Pinol said.

At present the NFA buys palay from farmers at a support price of P17 per kg and gives additional incentives totaling P0.70 for individual farmers and P1 for cooperatives.

The NFA has been pushing for an increase in its support price as farmers prefer to sell to traders who buy palay at P20 per kg to P25 per kg.

Piñol have repeatedly stated that the NFA will not be able to purchase palay locally if their buying price would remain at P17 per kg.The agriculture chief said traders could even hike their offer and cause the average farm-gate price to remain above the P20-per-kg mark this main harvest season following the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong in some rice-producing provinces.

Lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan Bloc have recently filed a resolution to provide the NFA a supplemental budget of P10 billion to beef up its palay procurement program. The resolution also mandates the NFA to automatically buy palay at P20 per kg.

NFA stockpile The NFA buys uNmilled rice from farmers to beef up its stockpile, which is also made up of imports.

The depletion of the NFA‘s rice buffer stock, is being tagged as one of the major factors behind the increase in the retail price of commercial rice.On Tuesday Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said rice imports were delayed because NFA Administrator Jason Aquino had preferred the government-to-government (G2G) mode of importation.

Because of the delay, Roque said prices of goods went up and forced the government to import more food items, including rice.Roque claimed that it was Aquino who ―purposely delayed‖ the importation. He said some importers may sue the NFA chief because of this.

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―The Council has given the authority to import but he delayed it because he has a preference for G2G,‖ he said, noting that the G2G importation is the ―worst‖ mode of importation as this is prone to corruption. ―So many [importers] will be filing cases against him because of the losses sustained by them as a result of orchestrations so that they cannot import pursuant to the open tender system,‖ Roque added.

Roque said he is also thinking of filing graft and corruption and technical malversation cases against Aquino once he leaves the Cabinet. ―Since he did not spend the money to buy rice from local farmers so that the government will have enough buffer stock, we are importing now and we are giving money to foreign farmers,‖ he added.

President Duterte is set to appoint retiring Army chief Lt. Gen. Rolando Bautista to replace Aquino, whose resignation he already accepted, according to Roque.

During his televised interview with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo, Duterte said Aquino had asked to be relieved from his post since he is ―tired. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/kharif-food-grain-output-to-be-recordhigh-show-initial-government-estimates/articleshow/65965049.cms

Palace to NFA: Release rice stocks to markets Malacañang on Tuesday issued Memorandum Order No. 28 directing the National Food Authority (NFA) to immediately release existing rice stocks in its warehouses to boost rice supply in the market and protect consumers from profiteers and hoarders.

Workers unload sacks of NFA rice at the NFA Warehouse in Visayas Ave, Quezon City, June 26 2018.

(Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In the order, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea directed the NFA to ―immediately release to markets approximately 230,000 metric tons of rice currently in stock in the warehouses across the country.‖Aside from this, the food agency has also been ordered ―to release 100,000 metric

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tons of rice previously contracted to be delivered before the end of September.‖―Subject to applicable laws and issuances, the NFA is further directed to adopt measures to ensure access by consumers to regular milled and well-milled rice,‖ the order read.

It noted that certain administrative constraints and fees unduly add to the costs of importation of basic agricultural commodities and contribute to price increases. ―There is a need to promulgate measures to stabilize the prices of basic agricultural commodities at reasonable levels, to maintain their sufficient supply in the domestic market and to provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering, and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing and pricing of said goods,‖ the memorandum read.

Seamless delivery Malacañang likewise issued two other directives to ensure efficient delivery of imported agriculture products to the markets.

In Memorandum Order No. 27, the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have been directed to adopt measures to ensure the efficient and seamless delivery of imported agriculture and fishery products from the ports to markets.

The concerned agencies have been authorized to issue ―food lane passes for truckers and suppliers carrying agricultural products.‖ Memorandum Order No. 26, on the other hand, directed the DAand DTI to adopt measures to reduce the gap between farm gate prices and retail prices of agricultural products.

Among the measures include establishment of public outlets and cold storages where producers of agricultural commodities as well as poultry producers can directly sell to consumers.

The concerned agencies have been directed to submit to the Office of the Executive Secretary a progress report within a month.

The three memorandum orders, signed by Medialdea by the authority of President Duterte last September 21,are effective immediately.

Incentives Meanwhile, the NFA Council, the highest policy-making body of National Food Authority (NFA), said it is planning to give incentives to farmers who will sell rice at government‘s buying price of P17 per kilo.

This was revealed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who now chairs the NFA Council.

The NFA has been using the low buying price of palay as an excuse not to procure palay from local farmers and instead relied on the importation of rice from other countries to boost its stock.

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The agency claimed that local farmers prefer selling their produce to private traders at P20 per kilo or more.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released this month showed that the average farmgate price of palay has reached P23.66 per kilogram nationwide.

The highest farmgate prices of palay were reported at P29.00/kg in Lanao del Norte and P28.00/kg. in Pangasinan and Laguna. (With a report from Madelaine B. Miraflor) https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/25/palace-to-nfa-release-rice-stocks-to-markets/

QC council passes 2 ordinances increasing rice subsidy to employees September 27, 2018, 11:46 AM

By Chito Chavez The Quezon City Council passed two ordinances increasing the quarterly rice subsidy for city hall personnel from P1,500 to P2,000 and the longevity pay for career civil servants from P200 to P300 for every five years of service.

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Quezon City Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN) ―We need to make sure that our own city employees have a decent living. In light of the rising prices of goods, we want to start by helping with the most basic commodity – rice,‖ Quezon City Vice Mayor Belmonte, the presiding officer of the city council said.

Authored by Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr., ordinance No. 2727 states the quarterly rice subsidy for all Quezon City hall regular employees will increase from P1,500 to P2,000.

The assistance is ―in consonance with the city government‘s desire to alleviate the economic plight of its own workers from the widespread crisis and prolonged high-cost of rice‖. The subsidy will be given at the end of every quarter.

Ordinance No. 2728 also authored by Ferrer mandates the increase in longevity pay of career civil service employees of the local government of Quezon City from P200 for every five years of service to P300 for the same period.

The civil servants must have rendered at least five years of continuous service to avail of the loyalty bonus.

According to the ordinance, career civil service employees ―deserve to be rewarded financially by the virtue of their loyalty and dedication to public duty‖.

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For both increases, the vice mayor pointed out that, ―Incentives such as this help us reduce corruption by making sure that the public servants in Quezon City are well-compensated.‖ Belmonte stressed the need for the city government to provide ample support to the city‘s honest and dedicated public servants especially during these rough times.

She said she is currently working on a scheme that will provide more incentives and reward local government employees for their honesty and good behavior. ―We will make sure that bad behavior is punished and penalized, but good behavior is rewarded because values ang gusto natin baguhin dito (we want to change values here),‖ she said. https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/27/qc-council-passes-2-ordinances-increasing-rice-subsidy-toemployees/

Bumper rice harvest in eastern granary county(1/6) 2018-09-26 13:34:49Ecns.cnEditor :Yao Lan

A drone photo shows rice harvesting in a field in Taihe County, East China‘s Jiangxi Province, Sept. 25, 2018. The county is one of China‘s commodity grain bases. (Photo: China News Service/Sima Tianmin) http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2018-09-26/detail-ifyyknzp7229696.shtml

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Xi Jinping inspects rice farms in northeast China's Heilongjiang Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday arrived in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province for an inspection tour.

Xi started his tour Tuesday afternoon at the Jiansanjiang branch of Heilongjiang Farms and Land Reclamation Administration to inspect the conditions of grain production and harvest.

Known as China's "green rice city," Jiansanjiang is one of the most important commodity grain bases in the country.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) conducts an inspection tour in Jiansanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, September 25, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

Chinese President Xi Jinping conducts an inspection tour in Jiansanjiang, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, September 25, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

It is located in the heartland of the Sanjiang Plain, an alluvial plain created by three rivers. There are currently 15 large and medium-sized state-owned farms in Jiansanjiang, covering an area of 12,400 square kilometers. It has 754,667 hectares of arable land and 678,667 hectares are used to grow rice, according to the branch's official website.

A total of 96.35 billion kilograms of grain have been produced in Jiansanjiang over the past 60 years, including 86.75 billion kilograms of commodity grain, the website shows. https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d514f304d444e7a457a6333566d54/share_p.html

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