28th august ,2017 daily global regional & local rice e newsletter

Daily Global Rice

E-Newsletter

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August 28,2017 Vol 8 Issue VIII

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Rice News Headlines....

Agriculture Minister: Until April 2018, No Need to Import Rice IMF cautions on possible slippages in fiscal consolidation, public debt management and monetary policy Cut the rice, cut risk of diabetes Cut rice intake Thailand’s former PM Yingluck fled to Dubai: senior party members Swelling import has turned the economy upside down: Revenue Secy Rice worth us107 896mn exported in july Cane Farmers Can Help Reduce Rice Imports: Waibuta Reasons most consumers prefer foreign rice India, China jointly propose removal of US, EU farm subsidies Bumper crop of rice expected in Sindh Floods destroy 90,000 acres of paddy field Rice company set for $40 million profit

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News Detail...

Agriculture Minister: Until April 2018, No Need to Import Rice Saturday, 26 Augst 2017 | 17:16 WIB

Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman

JAKARTA, NETRALNEWS,COM - The government through the Ministry of Agriculture guarantees that until April 2018 there will be no rice imports.Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman said the current stock of rice reaches 1.74 million tons.

"We pray [for no import], because if we calculate our stock is 1.74 [million tons]. Our stock has reached April 2018," said Minister Amran, Saturday (8/26/2017).

According to Amran, the government currently also sets rice consumption up to 8 thousand-9 thousand tons per day. Therefore, he believes the supply of rice will be safe as well as to cover the needs of the rice for prosperity (rastra) amounting to 200 tons until December 2017.

"We estimate that the target of Bulog [Central Logistic Agency] is 1.1 million [tons], requested earlier by Mr. President, a consumption of one million [tons], if one million until December it means our stock is 1.7 [million] by the end of the year. That's more than enough," he said.

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In addition, Amran said the price of rice would be safe. This is because the government through the Ministry of Commerce has set the Highest Retail Price (HET) for medium rice amounting to IDR9,450/kg and premium rice IDR12,800/kg.

This provision will be regulated in a Commerce Minister Regulation which will be signed soon and will come into force on September 1. (*) http://www.en.netralnews.com/news/business/read/10270/agriculture.minister.until.april.2018..no.need.to .import.rice

IMF cautions on possible slippages in fiscal consolidation, public debt management and monetary policy The International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers the expected economic growth of 4.7 per cent this year acceptable owing to the floods and drought that impacted adversely on the economy.

However, in its latest Staff Country Report it cautions against any future increasing of public debt and revenue slippage and stresses the need for careful debt management, prudent monetary policy and the need to reign in losses in state owned enterprises.

Core weaknesses The fundamental weaknesses of the economy include the large foreign and public debt, high fiscal deficit, large losses of state owned enterprises, trade imbalance, weak balance of payments and inadequate foreign investment. Many of these weaknesses are not new but an inheritance from the previous twelve years.

The new Government also contributed to the fundamental weaknesses by its late 2015 fiscal policies.

There is a new resolve by the government to correct these weaknesses that impact on the future economic growth potential in the economy. However the inability of the government to pursue reforms owing to a lack of consensus within the coalition government, opportunist

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politics of the opposition and an ineffective administration weighs heavily on the resolution of these issues.

Public debt According to the IMF, the public debt rose from 82 to 84 per cent of GDP between 2015 and 2016 largely due to exchange rate depreciation and an increase in guaranteed debt. In 2017, public debt is expected to rise slightly to 85 percent of GDP due to the still large fiscal deficit and exchange rate depreciation. Furthermore, the IMF points out that if contingent State Owned Enterprises (SOE) debt is included, total public debt would rise to 94 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and decline below 90 per cent of GDP by 2020. The IMF says that the likelihood of such a scenario has increased due to delays in energy pricing reform and policy reforms aimed at economic efficiency and productivity.

Debt burden Although some view the public debt as not excessive, its servicing cost absorbs almost the entirety of government revenues and the government requires to borrow to meet its current and capital expenditure. This distorts priorities in expenditure on economic and social development, while increasing the debt burden. This cyclic problem could only be mitigated by a reduction of the fiscal deficit by increased revenue collection and cutting uneconomical expenditure.

A fiscal deficit A significant improvement in economic fundamentals has been the reduction of the fiscal deficit by an increase in revenue. Government revenue collection expanded to a record 14.2 percent of GDP in 2016. Fiscal policy is in the direction of a reduced fiscal deficit. The IMF considers the medium-term overall deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP appropriate for reducing the risk of debt distress, and would lower the public debt to GDP ratio to 76 percent of GDP by 2020. The IMF however warns of possible fiscal slippage, especially if the proposed Inland Revenue Act is not implemented.

Foreign debt The IMF considers the external debt sustainable but high at 57 percent of GDP and vulnerable to currency risks. Furthermore the IMF points out that rollover needs will increase as external sovereign debt begins to mature in 2019. Therefore the IMF advocates advanced planning and medium-term debt management. Foreign debt increased this year too in order to service external debt obligations and enhance foreign reserves. It is important to strengthen the balance of payments by an improved trade performance as external debt servicing absorbs over one fourth of the countryâ€&#x;s export earnings.

Trade imbalance The large and persistent trade deficits are a foremost weakness in the countryâ€&#x;s balance of payments that lead to foreign borrowing. For instance in the first five months of this year, the trade deficit expanded by 23.5 per cent to as much as US$4.2 billion. If this trend continues the trade deficit is likely to increase to more than the 2016 trade deficit of US$9.1 billion and reach as much as US$10 billion or more.

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This widening of the trade deficit, despite an improvement in exports since March this year, has been brought about entirely due to an increase in imports that have nullified the gains in export earnings. During the first five months of 2017, exports grew by 4.3 per cent, while imports increased by twice as much – 8.6 per cent. Imports increased substantially due to higher imports of fuel and rice. Imports of fuel increased by 63 per cent, rice imports increased by more than twenty-fold. Drought conditions that destroyed as much as 40 to 50 percent of the rice crop necessitated the huge increase in rice imports. Both rice and wheat imports are likely to increase in the second half of the year as well.

This increase in imports has implications for monetary policy exchange rates and interest rates.

The rate of growth of aggregate demand and aggregate supply have an important bearing on the trade performance. Therefore monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies should be geared to ensuring a healthier trade balance.

Monetary policy The IMF points out that further monetary tightening would head off second-round effects of currently high inflation, rein in credit expansion and protect against potential capital outflows from further US interest rate hikes. It suggests other measures to slow credit growth, including raising the reserve requirement and employing macro-prudential instruments, such as broader use of limits on loan-to-value ratios in vulnerable sectors and a credit limit or increasing risk weights in the housing sector.

The IMF said that monetary policy should be tightened to rein in inflation and credit growth and particularly to ensure that credit growth was directed towards productive economic activity. The Sri Lankan authorities agreed to closely monitor credit growth, and would tighten monetary policy further by the use of macro-prudential measures, if necessary.

Conclusion The fundamental macroeconomic weaknesses have to be addressed to avoid a further weakening of the economy. The improvement in fiscal consolidation has been a significant achievement that must be sustained. The expansion of exports in the second half of the year and lesser imports of fuel may strengthen the economy. The additional revenue from the Hambantota port project would also strengthen the balance of payments and foreign reserves. Furthermore, the Government is preparing a reform package, which may be implemented later this year. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170827/columns/imf-cautions-on-possible-slippages-in-fiscalconsolidation-public-debt-management-and-monetary-policy-256614.htmlimage: http://www.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/str2_rice_annmarie_1-770x470.jpg

Cut the rice, cut risk of diabetes AUGUST 27, 2017 LIVING, VIEWPOINTS

BY MANGAI BALASEGARAM DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF LOCALLY PRODUCED RICE ARE DISPLAYED FOR SALE AT A LOCAL FARMERS MARKET IN DONGGONGON, SABAH, MALAYSIA, ON JULY 30, 2017. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG/SANJIT DAS

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One of my favourite meals as a child was a simple one, common across South-East Asia – rice with fish and a vegetable dish on the side, such as kangkong. Varieties of this dish are traditional here, as in Nasi Lemak, although I am partial to Nasi Dagang.Rice is central to these dishes.

Look at the names: the very first word is nasi (rice). What would they be without rice?

For many of us, myself included, rice is comfort food. As a child, Iâ€&#x;d be content with a bowl of steaming hot rice with a bit of butter and salt. In sickness, what do many of us eat? Rice porridge.

My travels have given me a taste for all kinds of ethnic and exotic foods, yet my penchant for rice persists. After a few days, I yearn for rice. Thatâ€&#x;s how, when travelling in Peru, I discovered Chinese Peruvian fried rice, a popular meal there.

My love of rice is definitive of my Asian heritage. Rice has been a much-loved staple food in the region for more than 5,000 years. I always considered it a special grain. It is after all, a common first food for babies everywhere because it rarely causes allergies.

But now, I consider rice the Achilles heel of the Asian diet.

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Studies show a link between high regular consumption of white rice with type 2 diabetes. It‟s a “unique risk factor” in Asian populations, says Dr Frank B. Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Rice is a driving factor behind Asia‟s escalating epidemic of type 2 diabetes.

A 2012 study by Harvard researchers found that the risk of developing diabetes rises by 10% with every extra serving per day of white rice.

The study looked at what people ate in Japan and China, where three or four servings of white rice per day was the average, and in Australia and the United States, where less than five servings a week was the average.

So it‟s not simply that we eat rice, it‟s that we eat a lot of it, and often. What you‟re eating the rice with also matters, and importantly, what kind of rice it is.

White rice is a relatively modern invention – it is brown rice milled and stripped of the outer hull, fibre and bran. The problem lies in the refining of rice. (Other refined, starchy carbohydrates would also carry a risk for diabetes, researchers say). http://www1.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/fried-2509089_640.jpg

Cut rice intake

On the glycaemic index (GI), a scale of 1 to 100 that measures how foods cause your blood sugar

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to spike (with sugar at 100), white rice ranks high. Jasmine or Japanese (sushi) rice has a GI of almost 90; Basmati is much lower at 59; some parboiled rice is even lower and brown rice is 55.

Sticky rice has a very high GI because it contains more of a certain carbohydrate (amylopectin rather than amylose).

The Harvard study found brown rice actually decreases the risk of diabetes by 16%.

My great-grandmother, who lived till 99 years in Sri Lanka, always ate red rice, which is similar to brown rice but has more vitamins. She was also very active.

“In the old days, when people spent a lot of time working in the fields, consuming a lot of white rice was not a problem,” explains Dr Hu. “When people become sedentary and overweight, consuming a large amount of refined carbohydrates like white rice becomes problematic in terms of raising the risk of diabetes and other metabolic diseases.”

Asians actually have a higher risk for diabetes – they develop the disease at younger ages and at lower degrees of obesity than Caucasians.

The high intake of rice and sugar, particularly sweetened drinks, in the region, and the large number of men who smoke, has led to diabetes skyrocketing in the region in recent decades.

Consider: in 1980, less than 1% of Chinese adults had diabetes; now that figure is about 12%, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

Asia is now the epicentre of the world‟s diabetes epidemic. In Malaysia, prevalence runs at 18%; but among adults older than 30 years, it‟s one in five.

We seem to be immune to such statistics. Interestingly, when Singapore‟s Health Promotion Board targeted white rice in the island‟s fight against diabetes, it caused an uproar.

I now take smaller rice portions and try to eat Basmati or red rice. But when eating out, it‟s hard to avoid rice.Researchers at a university in Shanghai are currently looking to breed a kind of black rice with normal rice, in order to create a high-protein rice lower in carbohydrate.

For now though, we need to cut back on the rice. For sure, we should think twice about having that extra portion http://www.star2.com/living/viewpoints/2017/08/27/cut-rice-intake/#k4xUh1oxVxrvm81X.99

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Thailand‟s former PM Yingluck fled to Dubai: senior party members

Thailand‟s Prime

former Minister

Yingluck Shinawatra has fled to Dubai, senior members of her party said on Saturday, a day after she failed to show up for

a

negligence

ruling in which she faced up to 10 years in prison.

Puea Thai Party sources said Yingluck left Thailand last week and flew via Singapore to Dubai where her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a 2008 jail sentence for corruption, has a home.

“We heard that she went to Cambodia and then Singapore from where she flew to Dubai. She has arrived safely and is there now,” said a senior member of the Puea Thai Party who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Deputy national police chief General Srivara Rangsibrahmanakul said police had no record of Yingluck, 50, leaving the country and were following developments closely.A Reuters reporter

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was stopped by security at the exclusive Emirates Hills community in Dubai, where Thaksin has a home.

A Taksin spokesperson in Dubai did not respond to attempts by Reuters to contact Thaksin.Police estimate that up to 3,000 supporters had gathered outside the court in Bangkok on Friday where Yingluck was due to hear a verdict in a negligence trial against her involving a rice buying policy of her administration.But Yingluck did not show up at the appointed hour and the court quickly issued a statement saying she had cited an ear problem as the reason for her noshow.

The court rejected the excuse and moved the verdict reading to September 27. It later issued an arrest warrant for Yingluck.Immigration police said they would arrest Yingluck on the spot if she is found.Overthrown in 2014, Yingluck had faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Her former commerce minister was jailed in a related case for 42 years on Friday.Political parties led or backed by the Shinawatras have dominated Thai politics, winning every general election since 2001.

The Shinawatras have been accused of corruption and nepotism by the Bangkok-based establishment who loath Thaksin. The family command huge support in the poorer, rural north and northeast.A spokesman for the military government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment about Yingluck‟s whereabouts.The rice buying scheme, a flagship policy of Yingluck‟s administration, proved popular with rural voters but the military government says it incurred $8 billion in losses.

Yingluck pleaded innocent to the charges against her and said she was the victim of political persecution.The military government has used sweeping powers to silence critics, including supporters of the Shinawatras, since 2014.The mood in the northeast, a Shinawatra stronghold, was somber on Saturday. Leaders of the red-shirt United Front For Democracy there said they weren‟t surprised Yingluck fled.“Most people I know feel glad that Yingluck has left the

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country,” said one red shirt leader, who declined to be named for safety reasons.“For now there will be less activity from the red shirts because of military suppression. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/08/26/thailands-former-pm-yingluck-fled-to-dubai-senior-partymembers/

Swelling import has turned the economy upside down: Revenue Secy August 26, 2017 02:08 AM KATHMANDU, August 26: Revenue Secretary Shishir Dhungana on Friday said that swelling import has turned the country's economy upside down.Responding to a query on the country's current economic scenario raised by Member of Parliament (MP) Bikash Lamsal, Dhungana painted a gloomy picture of the economy, stating that import was growing at an alarming rate, while export continues to growth at a disappointingly slow pace.

Speaking at a discussion on issues related to revenue at the meeting of the parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday, Dhungana said that country's total export earning is insufficient to finance import of a single import commodity - petroleum products.Statistics of compiled by government agencies shows that the nation imported petroleum products worth Rs 118 billion in the last Fiscal Year 2016/17 ending mid-July, while total export earning was only Rs 73 billion.

“Our trade deficit stands at a whopping Rs 803 billion,” Dhungana said, adding: “Another thing to worry is that import of agro-products has spiked in recent years.”Trade deficit occurs when a country is importing more goods than it is exporting. Nepal's total import was worth around Rs 1 trillion rupees in the last fiscal year, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).“That fact that we imported rice worth Rs 22 billion and coarse rice worth Rs 5 billion in the last fiscal year shows our growing dependency on imports even for agricultural products. We, the Ministry of Finance, alone can do nothing in this matter,” added Dhungana.

He also said that the government was provided different subsidies for purchase of equipment like hand held tractors, milk chilling machines and machines carrying live fishes for farm mechanization, as well as on purchase of chemical fertilizers to boost production of agro products.“What is worrying is even hilly districts of mid and far-western regions are now dependent on imported vegetables. This is an alarming situation,” he said and added that the government should encourage farm mechanization and give more incentive to exporters.

At the meeting, lawmakers questioned Dhungana why the ministry sets higher target for customs offices compared to economic activities and income tax within the country.

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MP Amrit Lal Rajbanshi said that higher targets for Department of Customs show that the government was emphasizing imports.

The government has set revenue target for the Department of Customs at Rs 336 billion for the current fiscal year, while revenue target for internal economic activities and income tax has been set at Rs 300 billion.

Dhungana said that only the growth in foreign exchange earnings by bringing more foreign tourists and also substituting import of petroleum products by generating more hydroelectricity can improve the country's financial health. “Patchworks like putting focus on export of 19 products under Nepal Trade Integration Strategy won't help much,� he added.PAC Chairperson Dor Prasad Upadhyaya said that the discussion will continue in the coming days as well. http://www.myrepublica.com/news/26308/

Rice worth us107 896mn exported in july

ISLAMABAD: Rice worth US$ 107.896 million has been exported during the first month of current financial year. Rice exports from the country during the month of July, 2017 grew by

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34.74 percent as about 200,995 metric tons of rice worth US$ 107.896 million was exported as compared the exports of 164,092 metric tons valuing US$ 83.974 million of same month last year.

During the period under review, exports of basmati rice increased by 28.49 percent and reached at 30,951 metric tons worth of US$ 32.990 million. The exports of basmati rice during July, 2016 was recorded at 28,725 metric tons valuing US$ 27.731 million, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Meanwhile, the country earned US$ 74.906 million by exporting about 170,044 metric tons of rice other then basmati rice, which was recorded at 135,367 metric tons valuing US$ 56.24 million of same period last year.

During first month of current financial year about 32,704 metric tins of vegetables of different kinds worth of US$ 10.330 million exported as against the exports of 32,791 metric tons valuing 8.147 million of same period of last year. The food commodities including wheat and sugar witnessed tremendous increase in their respective exports during first month of the current financial year by showing 100 percent increase. On the other hand food group imports into the country during first month of current financial year swelled by 43.15 percent as compared the imports of same month last year.

The imports of food commodities into the country was recorded at US$ 534.693 million as compared the imports of US$ 373.512 million of same month last year. The major food items which had registered increasing trend in their respective imports included dry fruits, nuts tea, spices, soya bean and palm oil.

The food commodities with negative growth in their respective imports including tea and leguminous vegetables (pluses) and milk cream and milk food for infantshttp://www.brecorder.com/2017/08/25/366684/rice-worth-us107-896mn-exported-in-july/

Cane Farmers Can Help Reduce Rice Imports: Waibuta Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Uraia Waibuta.

August 28

by Arieta Vakasukawaqa, NADI Western Division sugarcane farmers can assist Government reduce rice imports by using one acre of their land for rice farming: senior official said.Deputy Secretary for Agriculture, Uraia Waibuta said as most farmers in the area were more focused on sugarcane farmingWhile speaking at the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry/ HFC business forum at Tanoa Skylodge Hotel on Saturday. “Farmers in the West can plant an acre each so that we can self-sufficient tomorrow. This is something we need to do, we need to get our message across to farmers to work together to reduce our imports, at least one acre along the sugarcane belts.â€?He added that it would reduce Fijiâ€&#x;s import on rice by 15 per cent.

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He also said importing some basic vegetables and produce, Mr Waibuta said was one of the challenges they currently faced.Adding, that food security was a going problem in which the Agriculture Ministry is trying its best to combat.Mr Waibuta said they aimed to reduce rice import by 8000 tonnes.“We need 60,000 tonnes in order to feed out people,” he said.Mr Waibuta also said that the demand of dairy products in Fiji had increased over the years.

Adding, that farmers in the West could assist Government in meeting this demand.“We are encouraging farmers in the West to resort to dairy farming. The demand on beef, pork and lamb has is also increasing,” he said.Mr Waibuta said they would work on encouraging in the private sector to invest in the agriculture sector despite the high risks because the benefits would be attractive for them.

Meanwhile, he said that dalo farming had grown substantively over the years but the problem sometimes was it could get rejected from overseas because it didn‟t meet the required quarantine standards.Dalo, he added was one of the lucrative product not only in the region but the world as well.“Dalo is the number one crop now around the world and people are going for it, a lot of people who love our dalo, the prices are increasing and so as the demands from around the world,” Mr Waibuta said.In the Western Division, he added that few farmers in Sigatoka and Nadi had resorted to dalo as their basic produce apart from tomatoes and lettuce.With the changes within Fiji‟s agriculture sector, Mr Waibuta said it was important that they started modernising the structure. arieta.vakasukawaqa@fijisun.com.fj

http://fijisun.com.fj/2017/08/28/cane-farmers-can-help-reduce-rice-imports-waibuta-2/

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Reasons most consumers prefer foreign rice 28 August,2017

There have been many write ups on why the majority of consumers prefer foreign rice to our locally manufactured rice. I have also walked into arguments on why consumers shun the local rice and reasons why they should embrace it.

One of our problems in this country is that most times we do not admit the truth, not even to ourselves. We know the truth but we shy away from it. We try to politicise and even tribalise it.

If we do not admit our errors, it will never be corrected. We must come to terms with our mistakes and short comings before we can seek ways to rectify them. For months now, I have been struggling to finish a bag of locally grown rice I bought.

Despite the fact that rice meals are my favourite, I am struggling to go through the bag of rice because it is fraught with stones and sand. At the beginning, it‟s not obvious, but as one gets to the middle of the bag of rice, one starts seeing stones. When cooked, the texture is good, with the colour okay and it does not come out sticky. But there is nothing as bad as unexpectedly biting stone or sand when you are enjoying a great meal.

It completely turns one off. The said rice, „Mama‟s Pride‟ from the stables of Olam Rice, is cultivated in Nassarawa State. From the prints on the rice bag, it was processed by Agro and Technical Processing Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Olam Nigeria Ltd, Olam Rice farm, Rukubi,

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Doma LGA Nassarawa State. Ironically displayed on the rice bag also is the picture of an award for global quality excellence given to the company sometime ago.

Also displayed on the bag is the logo of quality (NIS) from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). Printed neatly below the logo is „Nigerian Mark of Quality‟ and „FT-1663‟. Of course, as can be seen from the rice bag, the company has also been issued with ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 certificates by SON, mocking everything the government regulatory body for excellence and quality stands for. I am not here to disparage locally grown rice but we need to call a spade a spade in order to move forward.

What brought about the popularity of imported long grain rice is because it comes par boiled, completely sorted of debris, stones, sand and chaff. It is a lot easier and more convenient to cook even when cooking for large crowd. Before the entrance of foreign rice, you had to pick stones etcetera from rice. As kids then, on Saturdays, we were made to pick stones and dirt from rice in preparation for the Sunday lunch. No matter how thorough one is, some stones and grains of sand still go into the supposedly sorted rice unnoticed.

However, there are Nigerian rice brands that are completely de-stoned. Long grain Ebonyi Gold is so good that it can compare favourably with any imported rice. There are many other local brands like that. The Nigerian rice industry has really come a long way. We have recorded a lot of improvement. The past administration with its Minister of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, updated agriculture in Nigeria more than any other government in our recent history.

More than eight modern rice mills are currently producing rice in Nigeria but we need to identify our areas of challenges and weaknesses and work to improve on them. So many locally produced rice brands still contain stones and sand. In an interview with a staff of Olam Rice at their Iganmu Lagos office, he said that Olam Rice is usually stone-free as the company uses mechanised farming system.

The staff who pleaded anonymity explained that “I am not exonerating the company, neither am I saying that the consumer is right. We will carry out investigations. If it is an internal problem then the consumer will be compensated.” Requesting for the batch number, he promised that investigations will be carried out.

Explaining further, he said the company carry out random sampling of their products to ascertain the quality, adding that “one of the reasons we have batch numbers is in order to trace problem when such arises.” However, when the reporter demanded for the contact of the official spokesperson of the company, he declined, insisting that he was too busy to attend to the media.

“In fact, at the moment, (24th August 24, 2017), he is in Abuja with the senators,” he declared.

He equally declined to pass the reporter‟s contact details to the said official spokesperson for the company.

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The Olam staff requested the reporter to forward the batch number found on the rice bag to him.

Responding through a text message, he said, “I checked, but this is not matching our batch format. This is not our rice. Since we have multi screening system, stones are not possible in our finished product.” We need to focus on how to get rid of stones and sand from our rice. The issue of pricing also must be tackled. It must be made pocket friendly if we want consumers to patronise them.

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, even admitted in May this year that locally produced rice is more expensive than the imported ones. While responding to questions at a Town Hall meeting in Abuja, Ogbe pointed out that one of the major reasons was that most of the imported rice was subsided by the foreign governments. He disclosed that most of the imported rice are from Vietnam, India and Thailand. He further explained that the imported rice arrive at about 9,000 per bag, and are then sold at about N13,000 per bag to consumers unlike the local rice sold at about N16,000 per bag.

Though market research reveals that currently 50kg imported rice like „Caprice‟ sells for about N16,500 while the same size of Abakaliki rice sells for about N18,000. Ogbeh also decried the interest rates for farming loans. He said: “Our interest rates in this country are higher than the interest rate in most parts of the world.” He also revealed another reason for the high cost of local rice as the high cost of diesel to run generators in the farms, noting that “diesel went from N180 per litre to N300. ” As the popular saying goes, „Rome was not built in a day‟. If rice is not de-stoned, we appeal to producers to just notify consumers by printing it on the bag and if it is free of stones, they should also visibly print it on the bag. Already, some local rice producers do that. The ones free of stones usually are more expensive. Consumers have a right to that information. http://thenationonlineng.net/reasons-consumers-prefer-foreign-rice/

India, China jointly propose removal of US, EU farm subsidies 28-Aug-2017 India and China joint proposal on elimination of $160 billion of trade-distorting farm subsidies in the US and EU has come as a game changer in global farm trade negotiations at the WTO China and India have called for the elimination of what is called the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) or „the most trade distorting element in the global trade in agriculture‟. Photo: Bloomberg

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Geneva: China and India have jointly proposed the elimination of $160 billion of trade-distorting farm subsidies in the US, European Union and other wealthy nations, a move that has come as a game changer in global farm trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization, say trade envoys familiar with the development.

As the WTO‟s 164 members prepare for the crucial eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires starting on 10 December, China and India have turned the tables by calling for the elimination of what is called the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) or “the most trade distorting element in the global trade in agriculture.” The US which has consistently blocked reforms in global farm subsidies during the current Doha Round of trade negotiations, particularly since 2008, wants to eliminate the special and differential flexibilities availed by developing countries in agriculture, particularly investment and input subsidies made available to hundreds of millions of the world‟s poorest farmers, according to a trade envoy who asked not to be quoted.

In the proposal, floated last month, the two largest developing countries argued that AMS have to be eliminated before any other reform in the global farm trade can be taken up for consideration. The proposal suggested that the US, the EU, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and Norway continued to distort global farm trade by safeguarding their exclusive entitlements on AMS which they had secured in the previous Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The six industrialized countries (the EU is regarded as a single unit, although it is made up of 28 countries) are entitled to providing farm support through de minimis.

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In addition the US and EU provide more than $150 billion through what are called the green box subsidies that are also found to be trade-distorting. “In contrast most developing Members have access only to de minimis [support] resulting in a major asymmetry in the rules on agricultural trade,” China and India argued in their proposal, and reviewed by Mint. While most developing countries, including China and India, cannot provide product-specific amber box (most tradedistorting) subsidies, the industrialized countries are able to provide product-specific subsidies on any product as high as their scheduled AMS commitment.

“This provides significant flexibilities to these six industrialized] members to provide support to their agriculture, thereby distorting production and trade.” The US has continued to provide product-specific support to the tune of 10% of the value of product for 30 products for at least one year during the period 1995-2014. It provided subsidies exceeding 50% of value of production for dry peas (57%), rice (82%), canola (61%), flaxseed (69%), sunflower (65%) , sugar (66%), cotton (74%), mohair (141%), and wool (215%). The EU provided more than 50% of product-specific support for several products. Dairy producers in the US received more than 50% of the product-specific support in seven out of 20 years (1995-2014).

The US also provided more than 90% for dairy and sugar products in certain years, China and India maintained. The products for which the EU concentrated its trade-distorting support include butter (71%), skimmed milk powder (67%), apples (68%), courgettes (51%), cucumber (86%), lemon (60%), pear for processing (82%), tinned pineapples (108%), tomatoes for processing (61%), rice (66%), olive oil (76%), white sugar (120%), tobacco (155%), and silkworms (167%).

“Barley (ten years), common wheat (9 years), and tobacco (9 years) are products that have consistently benefited from very high level of subsidies as a percentage of value of production” in the European Union, according to China and India. Canada, which is also mentioned in the joint proposal, provided 10% of the value of production to seven products during the period 1995-2013. Canada‟s farm subsidies are mostly concentrated for products such as milk (14 years), sheep meat (nine years) and corn (five years). In effect, “the imbalances in the existing Agreement on Agriculture where only some Members [the US, the EU, Canada, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland] have access to bound AMS [entitlements] allows them much more policy space,” the two Asian giants argued.

Despite availing these entitlements for the past 20 years and continuing to insulate them from any further reform, the US along with the EU and other industrialized countries are working hard to cap/reduce the de minimis support for developing countries, including China and India, according to the joint proposal. Brazil, which created the G20 group of developing countries along with India and China for bringing development-friendly reforms in global agriculture, has now joined hands with the European Union for demanding the capping/reduction of the de minimis rather than elimination.

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Against this backdrop and “in order to achieve the long outstanding reforms in agricultural subsidies, the AMS entitlements of developed members must be eliminated as prerequisite for consideration of other reforms in domestic support negotiations,” China and India argued. “Only in this way will it help reduce some of the inequities built into the WTO rules in favour of developed members.” http://www.livemint.com/Politics/XSZUqh4PKXUGOuZhMJ1RcK/India-China-jointly-proposeremoval-of-US-EU-farm-subsidie.html

Bumper crop of rice expected in Sindh

RICE growers in Sindh expect a bumper crop this season as the province has surpassed the sowing target by up to 80,000 hectares thanks to timely supplies of irrigation water in early May.The increase in acreage has been witnessed in the upper Sindh, mainly in districts located on the right bank of the Indus river.These areas are fed by non-perennial off-taking canals of Sukkur and Guddu barrages, which supply water only in the summer.Growers say such water supplies are unusual in the right-bank districts, which normally get water flows in late May or early June.

However, while water was available in the irrigation channels emanating from the right side of the Sukkur barrage in May, tail-end farmers of these canals are still facing water shortage, irrigation officials say.This is primarily due to the fact that these canals have become heavily

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silted over the years, and with no massive desilting drive in sight the situation is only going to get worse.

Moreover, while flows in each canal are at the maximum level, actual discharges remain inadequate, hence shortage in tail-end reaches.The provincial government fixed the sowing target for rice at 750,000 hectares this season, the same level compared to a year ago.Significant increase in acreage has been witnessed in Badin, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur and Larkana Significant increase in acreage has been witnessed in Badin, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur and Larkana. All these districts except Badin are located on the right bank of the Indus river.

Rice has been sown on 155,000 hectares in Badin and on 114,000 hectares in Jacobabad.However, some farmers are not happy about the price they get. Fahad Panhwar, a rice grower from Jacobabad, says the cost of production varies between Rs25,000 and Rs30,000 per acre while the yield comes to around 75 maunds for irri-6. Farmers then sell it for Rs900 per 40kg, he says.

Mahmood Molvi, chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, points out that hybrid seeds give higher per-acre yields. Some seeds categorised as F1 and F2 led to drop in yields last year, but the crop‟s outlook has improved this year, he says. “I myself have grown rice on 400 acres in Shikarpur.”

A farmer from upper region‟s Qambar-Shahdadkot district says growers are also sowing late hybrid varieties, therefore the transplantation of crop from nurseries is still under way.

Luckily, areas fed by distributaries like Noorpur, Dhori, Patoja, Shahhan of the Saifullah Magsi canal in Shahdadkot district and adjoining areas started getting adequate water flows as early as April 28 which helped farmers prepare nurseries, he adds. “We are better off in terms of water supplies this year after a long time.”

Another reason for increased rice cultivation is a decline in the acreage of sunflower crop in upper Sindh. In Shikarpur district, rice sowing has increased due to a World Bank-funded agriculture project under which growers are getting implements to improve per-acre productivity.

Similarly, the rice acreage in lower Sindh‟s Badin district, which is fed by Kotri barrage canals, increased by up to 40,000 hectares as farmers who could not grow cotton and chilli in early Kharif due to the unavailability of water switched over to rice. Early Kharif sowing for cotton begins in March and April in lower Sindh.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture‟s general secretary says pest attacks are frequently being reported and cloudy weather remains unfavourable for crop as it affects grain formation.

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In the December-January period, rice millers bought the irri-6 variety for Rs750 to Rs850 per 40kg and basmati for Rs1,600 per 40kg, he says. However, basmatiâ€&#x;s rate increased to Rs2,400 per 40kg later on due to better export demand.

Figures for the actual rice acreage will still be higher if its cultivation in prohibited areas of Sindh is taken into account.

Though cultivation is banned in areas fed by left bankâ€&#x;s perennial canals of Sukkur and Guddu barrages like Rohri, Nara and Ghotki feeder canal, influential landowners still cultivate crops on these lands.While the crop sown on this area does not reflect in official estimates, it eventually finds its way to the market.Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 28th, 2017 https://www.dawn.com/news/1354361/bumper-crop-of-rice-expected-in-sindh

Floods destroy 90,000 acres of paddy field

Bago, Ayeyarwady, Magwe and Yangon regions have been the areas most affected by flooding during the rainy season. Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times

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SOME 90,000 acres of riceland have been destroyed due to flooding as of August 18, a huge decline compared to 300,000 acres of paddy washed out in 2015, the government said.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation said that of the estimated 15 million acres of rainy-season rice crop for this fiscal year, some 10.5 million acres had been cultivated before the rainy season peaked in late July, submerging 400,000 acres of rice. “We cannot say that all of the submerged paddy has been destroyed. Only around 90,000 acres have been destroyed,” U Myo Tint Htun, deputy secretary at the ministry‟s office, said, but he added that the figure can increase because the rainy season has not yet ended.

Bago, Ayeyarwady, Magwe and Yangon regions have been the most affected by the floods, with more than 400,000 acres of farmland under water up to August 18, but water levels have almost receded in those areas, said U Myo Tint Htun. U Myo Tint Htun said the irrigation department has prepared for this year‟s flooding season more intensively, building canals that drain the paddies fast, and this was a factor in the decline of damage to the crop. U Thein Aung, president of the Freedom of Farmer League, said Ayeyarwady has not been affected much in the cultivation of rainy-season paddy this fiscal year because there was not much heavy rain at the time of the planting season in early June.

“Some areas of the cultivation are under water, but loss is not much worth saying compared to the last three years,” he said. U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary general of Myanmar Rice Federation, said Myanmar can meet the export goal as the floods did not significantly affect the cultivation of crops. “In the last fiscal year we could only export 1.8 million tonnes. I think 200,000 tonnes was lost because of the floods,” he said.

The government export target is 4 million tonnes of rice by 2020, double the 2 million tonnes export target for fiscal 2017-2018. The ministry has access to more than 50,000 buckets of seed which can be immediately distributed around the country to those in need to ensure this year‟s target would be met. https://www.mmtimes.com/news/floods-destroy-90000-acres-paddy-field.html

Rice company set for $40 million profit

By Grain Central, 28 August 2017

SunRice, the consumer brand and trading name of Ricegrowers Limited and one of Australia‟s largest exporters of processed branded foods, anticipates its FY18 Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) will be around $40 million. https://www.graincentral.com/news/agribusiness/rice-company-set-for-40-million-profit/

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