30 september 2017 daily global regional local rice e newsletter

30 September ,2017 Daily Global Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com www.riceplus.blogspot.c om

Tributes pour in for the late Terry Hogan  Talia Pattison

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THE region is mourning the loss of a pioneer who dedicated his life to the rice industry and local government.

Former SunRice chairman and Coleambally rice grower Terry Hogan passed away on Wednesday night, with tributes flowing for the man who dedicated so much of his time to the area.

Mr Hogan served as a director on the SunRice board for 17 years, including five as chairman from 1996 to 2001.

His extensive involvement in and service to the rice industry were recognised with an Order of Australia Medal in 2003.

Mr Hogan was a long-serving director of the Ricegrowers‟ Association of Australia and Coleambally Irrigation; and served as Chairman of the Rice Co-operative Research Centre.

The medal was also presented for his more than 45-year commitment to local government, including 13 years as mayor of Jerilderie, with a 10-year stint between 2004 and 2014.

Mr Hogan retired from local government in May 2016.

SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur was saddened to hear the news of his passing.

“It was an honour to know Terry, who I greatly respected for his leadership and support, not just for myself, but for many current and future rice industry leaders,” he said.

“Terry undoubtedly played an integral role in driving the success of SunRice and the Australian rice industry and both will be indebted to his significant contribution.

“He will be sadly missed by the rice industry and those who had the privilege of knowing and working with Terry during his time with SunRice.

“Our thoughts are with Terry‟s wife Heather and the Hogan family at this sad time.”

In recent years former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer worked closely with Mr Hogan on the John Monash project.

“Terry Hogan was a great citizen who gave much to the community, State and Nation,” Mr Fischer said.

“My sympathy to the Hogan family, he will be greatly missed.”

A portrait of Mr Hogan hangs in the Murrumbidgee Council Chambers in Jerilderie. Council general manager Craig Moffitt said Mr Hogan was “a true gentleman” and “fierce community advocate”.

“Terry was an extremely passionate man, whose contribution to his community was exceptional,” he said. “He was someone with a progressive mind and a real desire to make a difference.”

Other recognition Mr Hogan achieved included receiving an Outstanding Service Award from the NSW Local Government and Shires Association among other honours during his life. http://www.irrigator.com.au/story/4957083/tributes-pour-in-for-a-great-leader-of-industry-andgovernment/

Vietnam's Jan-Sept coffee exports down, rice up Reuters Staff 2 MIN READ

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HANOI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Vietnam‟s coffee exports in the first nine months are expected to fall an estimated 20.5 percent on a year earlier, while rice shipments are set to rise 21.7 percent from the same period in 2016.

COFFEE Coffee exports from Vietnam will drop an estimated 20.5 percent in January-September from the same time last year to 1.12 million tonnes (18.7 million 60-kg bags), the General Statistics Office said in a report on Friday.

Exports revenue was estimated to rise 1.3 percent annually to $2.55 billion, the report said.

September shipments of beans in Vietnam, the world‟s largest robusta producer, are estimated at 90,000 tonnes, lower than August‟s exports of 95,000 tonnes, the report said.

RICE Nine-month rice exports from the world‟s third-largest shipper of the grain were forecast to rise 21.7 percent to 4.61 million tonnes.

Revenue from the January-September rice exports was seen rising 19.5 percent year-on-year to $2.03 billion.

Vietnam would ship an estimated 500,000 tonnes of rice in September, compared to 658,000 tonnes in August, the report said.

ENERGY Vietnam‟s January-September crude oil exports rose 9.7 percent year-on-year to an estimated 5.69 million tonnes, or 153,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Crude oil export revenue in the nine-month period rose 33.4 percent to $2.27 billion.

Oil product imports increased 11.4 percent to an estimated 9.73 million tonnes, while the value of imports jumped 42 percent to $5.11 billion.

Vietnamâ€&#x;s liquefied petroleum gas imports during the period increased 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.07 million tonnes.

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Richard Pullin) http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N1M638O

Vietnam raises rice export target for 2017 amid rising orders Thursday, 2017-09-28 10:23:36 Font Size:

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NDO - The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has revised its rice export target for 2017 up to 5.6 million tonnes from the previous 5.2 million tonnes set in July, as

export orders have grown continuously and reached a record high in August.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s rice export volume in the first nine months of 2017 was estimated at 4.57 million tonnes, bringing in US$2.02 billion, up 20.8% in volume and 18.6% in value.

Such a strong rise in rice shipments was boosted by the growth in both governmental and commercial orders from China, Malaysia, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Specifically, Vietnamese rice exporters have secured several contracts to provide 150,000 tonnes for Malaysia, 250,000 tonnes for Bangladesh and 175,000 tonnes for the Philippines.

Strong growth was also witnessed in new markets, such as Australia and a number of countries in Western Asia.

August was the month when Vietnamese rice traders reported the strongest growth, with a 70% increase in volume and 56.8% in value.

The month also witnessed a record high in new orders with nearly 842,000 tonnes in total, more than triple the volume in July and up 115% in comparison to a year earlier.

Vietnam’s rice exports are expected to continue growing as the Bangladesh Ministry of Food recently announced plans to purchase 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice.

Bangladesh has emerged as a new potential market for Vietnamese rice, as the two countries recently renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in May in which Vietnam will provide the South Asian country with up to one million tonnes of rice each year for the 2017-2022 period.

Following the MOU signing ceremony, Bangladesh stated that it wanted to buy approximately 250,000-300,000 tonnes of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice immediately.

The Philippines has also increased the quota on Vietnamese rice imports to 293,100 tonnes, while China is also expected to continue importing rice from Vietnam in order to meet its rising demand in the final months of the year http://en.nhandan.com.vn/business/item/5532102-vietnam-raises-rice-export-target-for-2017-amidrising-orders.html

12:00 AM, September 29, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:38 AM, September 29, 2017

32,000 MT of poor quality rice imported Govt rejects the consignments; importer looks for pvt buyers

Reaz Ahmad

The first two consignments of rice imported for replenishing the government's low food stock have been rejected over quality concern.

However, the Singapore-based Olam International, which brought the grains from Thailand, has kept two ships with over 32,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port for almost a month with intent to sell those to private buyers in Bangladesh.

Food department sources told The Daily Star that they had to reject the two shipments brought through international tender process at a time when the public granaries require immediate replenishment for running various food-aided programmes like Tk 10-a-kg rice for ultra poor and the Open Market Sale (OMS).

The government is already one month behind the schedule in the Tk 10-a-kg rice programme. It deferred twice the launch of the scheme under which some 50 lakh ultra poor were supposed to get 4.5 lakh tonnes of rice in September, October and November.

In such a situation, the food ministry plans to meet on October 2 for a stocktaking of the food reserve situation and the already-floated tenders for purchase of two lakh tonnes of parboiled rice from local private importers who have been allowed to use polybags instead of jute sacks.

The government has so far imported a little over two lakh tonnes of mostly white rice from Vietnam under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement since its rice stock hit an all-time low at 1.5 lakh tonnes at the beginning of fiscal 2017-18.

Though Dhaka struck a separate G2G deal with Cambodia as well, the rice is yet to reach Bangladesh ports.

Besides, a deal with Myanmar is yet to be approved by the cabinet body concerned.

Apart from the G2G arrangements, the Directorate General of Food also started processing imports of three to four lakh tonnes of parboiled rice through international tenders.

In early August, Singapore's Olam won the first of the bids under which it would supply the government with parboiled rice for $419.51 a tonne.

Olam dispatched over 32,000 tonnes of the stipulated 50,000 in the first two consignments in two ships at the beginning of September.

A food department team inspected the grains and declined to receive those, saying the rice brought from Thailand is too reddish and not up to the mark.

The setback comes at a time when the government badly requires to fast-track import of 15-20 lakh tonnes of food to boost its reserve as the country lost at least 20 lakh tonnes of Boro crop due to Haor flashfloods and fungal attacks.

The stock that the government could build so far is mostly of white rice. But most people have shown little or no interest in buying the rice variety channelled through OMS at a subsidised rate as they prefer parboiled rice.

Meanwhile, private traders have imported nearly seven lakh tonnes of rice over the last three months, giving a little stabilising effect on volatile domestic rice prices.

Qaid Siraj, proprietor of the Olam International's local agent Zarah Grains told this newspaper that the Thai rice looks a little reddish because of its varietal feature, but it's not substandard.

Since the government declined to take it, Olam kept the ships at the outer anchorage and was trying to sell it to private parties in Chittagong, said Qaid.

If no deal can be struck here, Olam would move the ships elsewhere, most likely to South Africa and sell the rice there, he added.

Ali Akbar, who heads the Seven Seas Shipping in Bangladesh, told this newspaper that two of their ships that Olam hired for shipping the rice to Bangladesh have been kept at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port for nearly a month.

"Yes, they [Olam] are paying for the demurrage. As Bangladesh's food department gave them no-objection certificate for selling the rice to private buyers, they are trying to do so," he said

http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/poor-quality-govt-rejects-32000-mt-imported-rice-1469278

#DOMESTIC NEWS SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 / 1:17 PM / 4 DAYS AGO

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Septmember 28, 2017 Reuters Staff 6 MIN READ

  Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-September 28 Nagpur, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Gram prices declined in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on lack of demand from local millers amid high moisture content arrival.

Easy condition in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and downward trend on NCDEX also affected sentiment.

About 200 of gram and 100 bags of tuar were available for auctions, according to sources.

FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand was poor.

TUAR * Tuar gavarani and tuar Karnataka reported higher in open market on increased demand from local traders amid thin supply from producing regions. * Moong Chamki recovered in open market on good demand from local traders amid weak supply from producing regions. * In Akola, Tuar New – 4,100-4,250, Tuar dal (clean) – 6,0006,200, Udid Mogar (clean) – 7,700-8,700, Moong Mogar (clean) 6,600-7,000, Gram – 5,500-5,650, Gram Super best – 7,800-8,300 * Wheat, other varieties of rice and other foodgrain items moved in a narrow range in scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS

Available prices

Previous

close Gram Auction

4,600-5,200

4,690-

5,400 Gram Pink Auction Tuar Auction Moong Auction

n.a.

2,100-2,600

n.a.

3,750-3,910

n.a.

3,900-

4,200 Udid Auction Masoor Auction Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,650

n.a.

4,300-4,500

n.a.

2,600-2,800 1,580-1,664

1,550-

Gram Super Best Bold

8,000-8,500

8,000-

8,500 Gram Super Best

n.a.

Gram Medium Best

n.a.

7,400-7,600

Gram Dal Medium

n.a.

7,400-7,600 n.a

Gram Mill Quality

5,700-5,800

5,700-5,800

Desi gram Raw

5,650-5,950

5,650-

12,500-13,200

12,500-

5,950 Gram Kabuli 13,200 Tuar Fataka Best-New

6,200-6,400

6,200-

6,400 Tuar Fataka Medium-New

6,000-6,200

6,000-

5,600-5,800

5,600-

6,200 Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,800 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New

5,000-5,400

5,000-

5,400 Tuar Gavarani New

4,100-4,200

4,050-

4,150 Tuar Karnataka

4,550-4,750

4,500-4,700

Masoor dal best

5,200-5,400

5,200-5,400

Masoor dal medium Masoor

4,800-5,000 n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New)

4,800-5,000 n.a.

6,800-7,200

6,800-

7,200 Moong Mogar Medium

6,300-6,600

6,300-

6,600 Moong dal Chilka

5,500-6,200

Moong Mill quality Moong Chamki best

n.a.

5,500-6,200 n.a.

7,000-7,500

Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 8,000-9,000

6,900-7,400 8,000-

9,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)

6,000-7,000

6,000-

7,000 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)

5,500-6,500

5,500-6,500 Batri dal (100 INR/KG)

5,000-5,500

5,500 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)

2,900-3,100

2,900-3,100 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,000

2,900-3,000

5,000-

Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)

3,800-4,400

3,800-

4,400 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)

1,900-2,000

1,900-

2,000 Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG)

1,700-1,850

1,700-1,850 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)

2,100-2,300

2,100-2,300 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)

2,200-2,400

2,200-

2,400 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)

1,900-2,100

1,900-2,100 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)

n.a.

3,100-3,600

n.a.

3,100-

3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)

2,200-2,700

2,200-2,700 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG)

3,100-3,400

3,100-

3,400 Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG)

2,800-3,100

2,800-3,100 Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG)

2,400-2,600

2,400-

2,600 Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG)

2,500-2,600

2,500-2,600 Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG)

2,300-2,400

2,300-2,400 Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG)

3,700-4,100

3,700-

4,100 Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG)

3,400-3,700

3,400-3,700 Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG)

4,800-5,000

4,800-5,000 Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG)

4,400-4,600

4,400-

4,600 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)

9,500-13,500

9,500-13,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)

5,000-7,500

5,000-7,500 Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG)

4,800-5,200

5,200 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 4,500-4,700

4,500-4,700

4,800-

Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)

2,000-2,100

2,000-2,100 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)

1,700-2,000

1,700-

2,000 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 34.9 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 24.8 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 35 and 25 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices)

https://in.reuters.com/article/nagpur-foodgrain/nagpur-foodgrain-prices-open-septmember-28-2017idINL4N1M939C

KERALA

Govt asks rice millers to fall in line SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KOTTAYAM, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 00:00 IST

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Meet held to fix revised quality parameters amid discord over low wholegrain recovery ratio for paddy The government will not give in to the pressure of millers who have fixed a low wholegrain recovery ratio for paddy, Food and Civil Supplies Minister P Thilothaman has said.

Speaking at a conference of farmers, officials, and padasekharam committee members at Vechoor to fix the revised quality parameters, the Minister said the millers had fixed the wholegrain recovery rate at 61% while the national average was 68%.

“The government has asked them to fix it at 64%. But the millers want it to be fixed at 60 to 61%, which is not acceptable,” he said.

The Food Corporation of India would fix the State‟s quota after giving weightage for the quantity procured internally, he said.

The low recovery rate would affect the State quota as well as the remuneration for the farmers.

The Minister said that in case the millers refused to procure paddy as per the parameters fixed by the government, alternative options would have to be thought about. He said the government would constitute a body consisting of the grama panchayat president concerned, paddy officer, and the agriculture officer to ascertain the quality of paddy being procured from a polder.

Millers warned of action Mr. Thilothaman said the government would initiate disciplinary steps against millers who procured high quality paddy from the polders and furnished low quality rice to the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation.

He also said the government would consider revising the daily wage of headload workers who carried paddy to the vehicle. “However, the government cannot entertain separate wage structure for different polders,” he said.

Millers have fixed the wholegrain recovery rate at 61% while the national average is 68%.

P Thilothaman Food and Civil Supplies Minister http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/govt-asks-rice-millers-to-fall-inline/article19773488.ece

Rice worth $223.937m exported in two months 64

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Rice field Islamabad Rice worth US$ 223.937 million has been exported during the first two months of current financial year.

During the period from July-August, 2017 rice exports from the country grew by 40.36 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureauof Statistics.

In last two months around 428,993 metric tons of rice worth US$ 223.937 million was exported as compared to the exports of 380,861 metric tons valuing US$ 159.543 million, it added.

Meanwhile, the exports of basmati rice grew by 10.35 percent and about 59,433 metric tons of basmati rice worth US$ 62.741 million was exported as compared to the exports of 59,192 metric tons valuing US$ 56.857 million of same period last year.

The exports of rice other than basmati also witnessed an increase of 58.98 percent, around 369.580 metric tons of rice costing US$ 161.198 million was exported as compared to

the exportsof 251,669 metric tons worth US$ 102.888 million of last year.

On month on month basis, rice exports from the country grew by 53 percent in August, 2017 as compared to the same month of last year, the data reveled.

About 227,998 metric tons of rice worth US$ 116.041 million exported in August as compared to the exports of 146,769 metric tons valuing US$ 75.569 million of same period last year.

Meanwhile, basmati rice worth US$ 86.290 million was exported last month, which grew by 2.15 percent as compared to the same month of last year.

Exports of basmati rice were recorded at 28,482 metric tons in the month of August as compared to the exports 30,446 metric tons of same period last year.

During the period from July-August 2017, food group exports of the country increased by 30.6 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year.

Country earned US$ 512.321 million by exporting different food commodities during first two-months of current financial year as compared to the earnings of the corresponding period of last year.—TNS https://pakobserver.net/rice-worth-223-937m-exported-two-months/

A woman harvests her rice crop at a paddy field in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district late last year. Heng Chivoan

Terms settled on deal to supply rice to Bangladesh: CRF Fri, 29 September 2017 Cheng Sokhorng Cambodia and Bangladesh have finalised terms on a massive rice deal that could see up to 1 million tonnes of rice purchased from the Kingdom over the next five years, with the first shipment due to begin

by November, a source close to the deal said yesterday.

Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), confirmed that an agreement had been made between the two governments after the relevant ministries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in August that hoped to replenish Bangladesh’s stockpiles after heavy flooding earlier this year decimated the country’s crops. ―We have already signed a price agreement with supply terms valid for six months in order to reach the export target of 250,000 tonnes,‖ he said. ―We will start to ship biweekly from November to April.

However, the total amount we will supply will be based on the level of local production and international market demand.‖ He added that the deal, which will be managed by the state-run company Green Trade, allows for flexibility in the next harvest season that will begin in January. While he declined to provide the agreed upon price for the deal, he said that the current market price for Cambodian white rice was at $430 a tonne.

In late August, Reuters news agency reported that Bangladesh had agreed to purchase Cambodian rice at $453 a tonne, while local officials insisted that price negotiations were still ongoing.

Soeng Sophary, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), said that the government would only play the role of helping the Cambodian rice sector access new markets, and that price agreements would be handled by the private sector. ―We are working on market access, but the private sector is responsible for fulfilling the agreements and reaching the export targets,‖ she said.

In 2016, Cambodia exported 542,144 tonnes of milled rice, a nominal 1 percent increase from the previous year while rice exports reached 300,000 tonnes during the first half of the year, according to MoC data. Most of the rice has been bound for China after it agreed to an export quota of 200,000 tonnes of rice this year.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ter ms-settled-deal-supply-rice-bangladesh-

crfConference seeks ways to build sustainable rice production chains VNA FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 - 18:15:00 PRINT

Scene at the conference (Photo: nhandan.com.vn) Hau Giang (VNA) – Measures to build linkages towards sustainable rice production chains in the context of climate change were the focus of a workshop in the framework of the recent investment promotion conference held in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang.

Tran Huu Hiep from the Southwest Steering Committee said that investing in production chains will prevent imbalanced investment. He also recommended that Hau Giang should pay due attention to selecting suitable key products based on local comparative advantages to prevent stretching investment.

Meanwhile, Doan Manh Truong from the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute suggested that Mekong Delta localities need to promote linkages through restructuring the rice market from purchasing, processing to consumption markets.

Transparent mechanisms for purchasing activities must be set up to prevent unhealthy competition and contract breakdown, he said, adding that priority should be given to facilitating businesses’ investment in advanced rice preserving and processing systems.

Truong highlighted that connections in rice production and consumption can also be established through cooperation in mechanization, the transfer of technology and scientific advances and development of services and product sale.

Hau Giang has over 200,000 hectares of rice with average rice productivity of 6.2 tonnes per hectare per year. The province has built over 3,300 hectares of large scale fields, drawing the participation of 3,200 local households.-VNA https://en.vietnamplus.vn/conference-seeks-ways-to-build-sustainable-rice-productionchains/118741.vnp

Fatima Fertilizer holds ‘Dhan Seminar’ 

RECORDER REPORT



S E P 2 8T H , 20 1 7

 G U J R A NW A LA Fatima Fertilizer in association with Government of Punjab and Rice Research Institute Kala Shah Kaku organized 'Dhaan Seminar' in Gujranwala. The seminar brought together more than 3,000 farmers. Chief guests included Secretary Agriculture, DG Agriculture, DG Agriculture Extension, DG Agriculture Research, President Kissan Ittehad, MNA Zafarwall, Hafizabad and Gujranwala.

The seminar was focused on latest rice production technology, pest control and balanced use of Sarsabz Nitrate Fertilizers. Secretary agriculture in his speech to farmers asked them to start incorporating latest technology as that was the only way their prosperity could be guaranteed. For this purpose, the government of Punjab is setting up 72 Hi-Tech Mechanization Service Centres in partnership with Fatima Fertilizers all over Punjab. Latest agriculture farm machinery and services will be rented out to farmers

through these centres.

At the end of the program, Fatima Fertilizer distributed four Umra tickets, one tractor, two motorcycles and other such high value gifts among farmers through lucky draws.-PR

http://fp.brecorder.com/2017/09/20170928221919/GARS

plans to

launch hybrid rice seeds in Punjab  

Z A H I D B A IG

SE P 2 9 T H, 2 0 1 7

 LA H O R E After successful results of hybrid rice in Sindh, the Guard Agricultural Research & Services Ltd (GARS) is planning to launch hybrid rice seeds (coarse variety) for growers in Punjab from next season.

"We have completed test trials of our hybrid seed in Central Punjab and South Punjab, and want to make seeds available commercially from the next season witnessing encouraging results of the seed. At present, the IRRI rice is giving 50-60 maunds per acre in Punjab and we are quite hopeful that our hybrid seed would give 120-130 maunds per acre," said Guard Agricultural Research & Services Ltd Chief Executive Shahzad Ali Malik while talking to a group of journalists here on Thursday.

Shahrukh Malik, Executive Seed Division of the Company, Rizwan Younis General Manager and representative of Yuan Long Ping International Company from China were also present on this occasion.

Shahzad said the lifestyle of rice growers had improved in Sindh, tenants' kids were now going to schools and their income had increased since they started sowing the hybrid rice. He claimed that production had increased by 55-60 percent and hoped that same result would be gained in Punjab changing the socioeconomic conditions of Punjab farmers too.

The Company would be targeting Okara, Deepalpur, Pak Pattan and Haveli Lakha areas in the first phase. In Sindh, hybrid rice is being sown over 1.5 million acres of land and in Punjab potentially it could be sown over 4 million acres of land. Nevertheless, we will be making efforts to ensure its sowing over 500,000-700,000 acres of land in first stage, added Shah Rukh Malik Executive Seed Division.

He said trial in Punjab had been made on large scale and the Company arranged visits of farmers so that they could see themselves, yield and other potential of this variety.

Shahzad Malik, however, said they had to make lot of efforts prior to reaching this stage as some companies in the past imported seeds and sold it to farmers without research and trials. Those seeds were failed and created a negative impression of hybrid seed. "We had to make a lot of effort to dispel this impression."

He said some 55 companies were importing seeds in Pakistan and the government should formulate a law that only those companies could market their seed which are at least producing 40 percent of their marketed hybrid rice in Pakistan. Then these companies could gradually go to 100 percent production in the country. He disclosed that presently they were also producing 40 percent of their seed within the

country and making efforts to increase it.

Malik also showed his concern that after 18th amendment the companies were finding it hard to get their product registered with the provincial governments. He proposed that seed should be registered at federal level and an Authority should be constituted on the pattern of Drug Registration Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for medicine registration

http://fp.brecorder.com/2017/09/20170929222 191/What really triggered the rice

price hike?  

Tribune Desk



Last updated at 01:21 AM September 30, 2017

Published at 01:08 AM September 30, 2017

Rice prices have seen a significant rise in recent times, putting the masses in trouble. Different quarters hold several reasons responsible for the hike, such as weak food reserve, tremendous damage to paddy during both Boro and Aman seasons by monsoon flooding, and lacklustre attempt in importing rice.

In the backdrop of this crisis with seemingly no immediate solution on the cards, Bangla Tribune hosted a Boithoki roundtable, styled 'Chal Ato Chora Keno?', at its office in Dhaka on September 28 with representatives from traders‟ organisations and the government. The participants‟ take on the issue varied from disagreement with the topic to blaming the government or retailers or wholesalers for the price hike       

45

45SHARES

Rice not pricier anymore Speaking at the discussion, Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners‟ Association General Secretary Layek Ali opposed the Boithoki title claiming rice prices have decreased.

“It is true that the prices had gone up, but they have dropped lately. A type of rice‟s price had shot up to Tk43 from Tk38. However, now it has come down.”

He said: “Prices of rice and paddy are not the same. Why cannot the government see that? We could not provide rice to the government in the last Aman season. At that time, paddies were priced at Tk23 and rice at Tk33. How do we incur this much loss? Millers agree to face a 50-paisa loss, but how can they incur a loss of Tk3 to Tk4. So, why would the mill owners be blamed for the imbalanced prices set by policymakers and the government?”

“The prices of paddies are higher than rice in the market. Hence, we could not supply rice to the government warehouses. We had asked the government to give us an incentive, but to no avail. So, we could not supply rice. How can we do so while suffering losses?” Layek said.

He blamed the imbalanced prices of paddies and rice set by the government for the crisis.

Government should take responsibility for the rising rice prices Bangla Tribune Planning Editor Nazrul Kabir blamed the government‟s dependency on import for the price hike of rice. “Due to the emphasis on import, mill owners expressed discontent and raised the prices as well.

The government should take responsibility for this.”

He said: “At a press conference, the food minister said the media has increased the rice prices but one doth the scathe, another hath the scorn. Kawsar Alam Khan also did the same by blaming the retailers for the price hike.”

Nazrul further added: “It is not right to hold one accountable for another‟s deed. Even when the government was providing rice at Tk10 per kg, the price in the market rose to Tk70. The government must take responsibility for this too.”

He said: “Importers predict the rice crisis. Every business sector has an exclusive group who creates a syndicate and therefore increases the price of goods to make more profit. It is the common people who then come under the pressure of the soaring prices.”

In order to reduce the prices, Nazrul said the government and rice traders will have to work together to find solutions and take actions.

Retailers not reducing prices Kawsar Alam Khan, vice-president of Bangladesh Rice Merchant Association, claimed that retailers were the ones who were not curbing the prices. “I myself had to sell rice at higher prices. I sell rice at the wholesale level. How will the retailers manage to sell rice at lower prices then? They are the ones who push up the prices.”

He said: “The retailers used to make a Tk1 profit in one kg of rice. But they currently make a profit ranging from Tk3 to Tk5 per kg. These retailers are not reducing the prices.”

Though no crisis, rice worth Tk38 is being sold at Tk52 Bangla Tribune Business In-Charge Shafiqul Islam told the discussion that the only rice crisis the market saw was during the flood in the haor areas in early March. “Rice traders had taken advantage of that situation. But there is no crisis right now. Yet the rice, which is worth Tk38 is now being sold at Tk52.”

“However, as a journalist, I have found out is that the rice prices have started to decline at the wholesale level, which is good news.”

He said: “After the flood affected the haor areas and the crisis begun, rice mill owners like Abdur Rashid and Layek Ali stopped supplying rice to the government warehouses. Maybe they have rice hoarded in their warehouses. Maybe they slowly supplied from that stock to the market and raised the prices gradually.”

Shafiqul continued: “Soaring rice prices also impacts the other daily essentials and leads to instability in both the market and society. This year‟s price hike is unprecedented in Bangladesh‟s history and has badly affected the society. The Food Ministry is also responsible for failing to control the hike when it started following the rice crisis caused by the flood in the haor areas.”

Addressing Commerce Secretary Shubhashish, he said: “The government alone can figure out the reasons behind the price hike and the solutions. Deploy monitoring teams to the markets and have them only check the vouchers, you will easily find out the rates rice are being bought and sold at. Only the government can stop the price hike and it needs to step in to solve the crisis.”

Rice prices slightly down at wholesale markets According to Commerce Secretary Shubhashish Bose, the prices at wholesale markets have somewhat dropped. “But that is not the case in retail markets. We have had a meeting at the Food Ministry in this regard.

We have also decided on several steps to reduce the prices.”

He said: “Even though the Food Ministry was supposed to reserve some rice, not much was stored. Since we have been producing various other crops for past few years and did not encounter any natural disasters, we were not worried about storing rice. Compared to the government‟s target, more rice is usually produced.”

Regarding the price hike of rice, Shubhashish said: “Illegitimate hoarding of rice is responsible for this. Even though there is a policy on storing grains, nobody followed the rules.”

Flood in haor areas spurred rice price hike Explaining the cause of the rice price hike, Bangladesh Rice Mill Association Chairman Abdur Rashid said: “The unwanted truth is the rice prices are soaring. The crisis started because of the immense loss of paddy in the floods in the haor region. As the haor region only produces coarse rice, the current crisis is basically for those types of rice, which has also made coarse rice import necessary. That‟s why rice prices are going up. ” “The government is informed about the price hike. Though the importers were given special facilities to bring in more rice to tackle the crisis, they kept the rice shipments for a few days at the land ports in the borders and delivered late. Consequently, those special facilities did not help,” he added.

“Prices of the coarse rice have only increased, as there is no crisis of fine rice. But the prices will not go beyond control. The government needs to figure out the right policies to tackle the crisis and bring down the prices. Only the government can solve this,” Rashid further added. http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2017/09/30/really-triggered-rice-price-hike/

Will 2nd phase of Pakistan-China FTA work?

In negotiating trade agreements like FTA, Pakistan will remain disadvantaged as long as it keeps approaching the negotiation table with protectionism on its mind

30-Sep-17 by Jazib Nelson 

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It has become a common knowledge in policy and academic circles that Pakistan has failed to benefit from its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China. While trade volume between Pakistan and China has almost quadrupled since the FTA came into force in 2007, it has mostly favored the Chinese exporters. Pakistanâ€&#x;s trade balance with China has worsened by a whopping 240 per cent since 2007.

Trade experts have highlighted Pakistanâ€&#x;s weak negotiation with the Chinese on the matters of bilateral trade as one reason behind this poor performance. In addition to this, the fact that China has signed FTAs with ASEAN countries on even more concessionary terms has dissolved any tariff advantages Pakistani products had in the Chinese markets. For example, under Pak-China FTA, tariff rate of 3.7 per cent is imposed on import of cotton yarn from Pakistan, while Vietnam

enjoys a tariff rate of just 0.4 per cent under the ASEAN FTA. Similarly, tariff rate on rice which is Pakistan‟s second largest export product to China is 65 per cent as compared to 33.7 per cent for rice imports from Vietnam and Thailand.

The recent 8th meeting on the Second Phase of our FTA with China shows that both of these issues may be resolved. According to Secretary Commerce Younas Dagha, Pakistan has shared a list of 70 exportable products to be zero-rated immediately. The items include textiles, specifically, cotton yarn and readymade garments, along with leather food and fisheries products.

The list could include up to 300 products. If it materialises, Pakistani products will have a natural advantage over ASEAN countries.

Pakistan’s exports to China comprise low-end products. These can’t be relied upon to increase our export earnings significantly. One such product is cotton yarn which accounts for 42 per cent of our exports to China However, it remains to be seen if China will agree to this, because as per the Chinese reply, they will have to consult with their industry representatives before agreeing. But if they do agree to Pakistan‟s requirements, can we expect that our exports to China will increase enough to improve our trade balance?

Most of the Pakistani exports to China are low-end products. Being low-end products, they are not priced high enough to increase our export earnings significantly. One such product is cotton yarn which accounts for 42 per cent of our total exports to China. Due to various factors like high energy price and protectionism in the spinning industry, cotton yarn from Pakistan‟s regional trade rivals like Bangladesh and Vietnam is relatively cheaper. Protectionism, in particular, is more to be blamed here because it reduces incentive to become efficient and competitive which can decrease the cost of production. Even the quality of Pakistani cotton yarn is low compared to countries like India.

In Pakistan‟s case, protection of the spinning industry has another downside that can diminish the positive impact of zero-rated tariff for ready-made garments under the second phase of PakChina FTA. Pakistan has currently imposed a regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn to protect domestic spinning industry. The spinning mill owners wield serious political influence in the country. Due to their strong lobbying, a protectionist environment is created.

In July 2016, the price of cotton yarn increased by 15 per cent to Rs. 11, 500 per bag of 100 pounds from Rs. 9, 950 due to cartelisation of local manufacturers. Instead of importing cheap cotton yarn, ready-made garments manufactures have to use costly local cotton yarn. As a result, the regulatory duty has increased the cost of producing ready-made garments which has made them uncompetitive with regards to readymade garments produced in Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh. The cost difference of Pakistani exports compared to India and Bangladesh is already 6-8 per cent due to this practice.

If Pakistan wants to take full advantage of its FTA with China, it must withdraw this regulatory duty. Export of readymade garments has more potential to improve our trade balance with China.

Being on the high-end of the textile value-chain, it fetches higher price compared to export of cotton yarn. Promoting high-end textile export products isn‟t necessary in the context of Pak-

China FTA only. Pakistan will be able to target other markets as well where sizeable demand for high-end textile products exists.

The recent much-needed improvement in Pakistanâ€&#x;s overall trade deficit in the month of August 2017 has also come on the back of increase in exports of ready-made garments by 15.65 per cent.

Interestingly, in the same month, the export of cotton yarn has actually decreased by 4 per cent due to reduction in the demand of cotton yarn from China.

Pakistan can only win trade games with its rivals if it adopts the policy of trade liberalisation by reducing import tariffs across the board. The best way to do it is by reducing them in different phases rather than doing it abruptly.

The best performing economies in international trade are those who have followed the path of trade liberalisation. Even in negotiating trade agreements like Pak-China FTA, Pakistan will always be on the disadvantaged side if sits on the negotiation table with protectionism on its mind.

The writer is a researcher and works in the development sector of Gilgit

Published in Daily Times, September 30th 2017. http://dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/30-Sep-17/will-2nd-phase-of-pakistan-china-fta-work

USC outlets without pulses, ghee and sugar for over a month

Islamabad: The utility stores throughout the country including twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are without all kinds of pulses, ghee, cooking oil, sugar and rice for a month.

The Utility Store Corporation (USC) is supposed to a public welfare department where poor could avail opportunity to save some coins but people have been facing worst shortage of commodities at outlets for a month while government authorities seeing the whole drama with closed eyes in this regard.

The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) Senior General Manager (Procurement) Muhammad Munir told „The News‟ that consumers will never face shortage of items after some days. He said that they were fixing rates of pulses, sugar and other items as they wanted to provide all food items to public at low price. All kinds of tenders have been cleared as all items will be available at USC outlets throughout the country in some days, he claimed.

All utility stores throughout the country are without „daal moong‟, „daal channa‟, „daal masoo‟r, white „channay‟, white „lobia‟, red „lobia‟, „daal mash‟, black „channay‟, rice, sugar and utility ghee and cooking oil for a long time.

Talking to „The News‟ consumers have expressed serious concerns over the absence of basic commodities particularly „ghee‟, cooking oil, sugar, pulses and rice. They also said that the federal government was making only tall claims for provision of essential items on subsidised rates but the situation was entirely different.

“I was the regular customer of USC due to big difference in prices as compared to open market. But, now I am not visiting Utility Stores Corporation outlets due to higher rates and shortage of basic commodities all the time,” Bashir Ahmed Butt a customer said.

Dr. Shakila Imran, a consumer said if the government was serious to provide relief to the masses it should take solid measures for availability of items, prices and their quality. The concerned management was not taking interest in providing essential items to public and busy only in paperwork, she denounced. “I visited Utility Stores Corporation outlets, but I could neither save money nor get full items,” she said.

The poor consumer said that sugar is available at skyrocketing prices in open market shops as there was no sugar in utility stores for more than two months.

Consumers using „Utility ghee and cooking oil‟ have appealed to Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar to direct management of Utility Stores Corporation to improve the quality of their brands of ghee and cooking oil for betterment of larger segment of society, as it cannot afford to purchase costlier ghee and cooking oil of other brands.

The sale of utility ghee and cooking oil which was sold at Rs112 per kilogram was affordable for public but on January 24, 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its verdict banned sale of all low quality ghee and cooking oils.

It merits mentioning here that the sale of utility ghee and cooking oil was high against all other ghee and cooking oil brands which according to Utility Stores Corporation management worth billions of rupees at 63 outlets of the USC. „The News‟ has learnt reliably that after the SC verdict regarding ban on sale of low quality ghee and cooking oil, all branded ghee and cooking oil companies have increased rates of their brands by own and launched six to eight different kinds of other ghee and cooking oil brands as well. The price of 1-kilogram ghee pack is between Rs170-Rs190.

The reliable sources said it seems some hidden powers are fully trying to destroy the reputation of USC in the country only to privatize this public welfare department. The USC department is the only ray of hope for poor public where they could buy food items on subsidized prices, the sources said

U.S. Rice Exhibits and Makes an Impression at Turkey's Largest Food Show

By Hartwig Schmidt

ISTANBUL, TURKEY -- Last week, during the Istanbul World Food Exhibition, one of Turkey's largest food and beverage expos targeting foodservice and deli operators, USA Rice showcased U.S. medium grain and wild rice for the more than 35,000 traders on hand.

A USA Rice booth welcomed visitors with a display of many U.S.-grown rice samples, including recently launched U.S. wild rice packages sold here, along with brochures and other literature explaining U.S. rice import procedures, quality determination, types of U.S.-grown rice, and supplier lists.

Activities focused on medium grain rice varieties Calrose and Jupiter, and wild rice mixed with white rice that could increase profitability while providing nutritious and flavorful meals to restaurant patrons.

USA Rice partnered with Istanbul Chefs Association Chef Sabahettin Guney to prepare three unique recipes featuring U.S.-grown rice that were served at an official event lunch to hundreds of attendees.

Chef Sabahettin Guney

The recipes were: Wild Rice Pilaf cooked with USA Calrose Rice, Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Wild Rice, and Wild Rice Cream with Fruits, with the latter receiving the most positive feedback for its exciting flavors.

Fred Klose, manager of the California Wild Rice Advisory Board attended the show and met with traders and potential packers to understand the market and evaluate demand and interest in his organization's products.

"We joined USA Rice here with a few specific objectives, all of which were accomplished," Klose said. "We wanted to introduce wild rice mixes and varieties and showcase new uses for wild rice; we wanted to offer participants and targeted food professionals the opportunity to taste the products; and finally we wanted to educate the trade about U.S.-grown rice across the supply chain."

Feedback for USA Rice, and the California Wild Rice Advisory Board was positive, interest from food professionals and trade guests was high, and trade leads with major distributors across the region were generated, leading market watchers to suspect U.S. rice exports to Turkey are set to grow in the coming months.

USA rice works cooperatively with California and Minnesota to promote wild rice consumption internationally. California wild rice received funds from USDA's emerging markets programs to conduct these specific activities.

Bio-techs in crops to help Pakistan earn more revenues through exports  

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has bright prospects of doubling yields of rice, maize and other crops through application of bio-technology methods which would help the country make more revenues through their

exports.

Pakistan is still not importing Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods. Most European Union countries, Japan, Korea and China are importing genetically modified corn, soya, soya-meal, and canola.

In a media briefing, Tan Siang-Hee, Executive Director of `CropLife Asia' said Pakistan needs to introduce bio-technology and other modern methods to enhance farm production beyond self-sufficiency.

"Pakistan is on track, and after attaining self-sufficiency in food, the country needs to adopt such modern technologies and methods which would help make agricultural production sustainable and improve conditions of the farmers," he said.

CropLife Asia is a Singapore-based international organization - carrying out research and development to introduce innovations in crop protection and plant bio-technology.

Dr Siang-Hee disclosed that 18 million farmers around the world have successfully adopted biotechnology; with this, the total beneficiary peasant families have reached 65 million.

Globally, a total area of bio-tech crops since 1996 has reached 185.1 million hectares in 26 industrialized and developing countries.

Dr Hee stressed the need for Pakistani farmers to be educated about introduction and benefits of biotechnology, improvements in infrastructure of agriculture as a whole, and suggested the government to take measures for value-addition, processing and efficient mechanism for export of fruits and vegetables.

Dr Siang-Hee said he also held a meeting with Minister for National Food Security and Research, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan, who informed that a consensus on issue of bio-technology would be developed through consultations with all stakeholders including farming community. The use of bio-

technology is already under consideration of the government and a committee has been formed, Bosan said.

Meanwhile, mobile applications were also becoming popular in Pakistan. One of the mobile operators, Mobilink had already launched Value Added Service (VAS) "Ba Khabar Kisaan" to connect farmers, agribusinesses and rural communities to increase productivity, profitability and innovation in the agriculture sector by providing timely and accurate information.

The app based service utilizing interactive voice response technology is providing farmers information and services related to agriculture such as optimized cultivation methods, modern farming techniques, health education for farmers, health precautions for plants, 24/7 helpline with training, weather information, crop insurance, market related information and a platform for sales.

Another operator Telenor, in continuation of its efforts to take digitization of Pakistani agriculture to the next level, has introduced a project called "Connected Agriculture Platform for Punjab (CAPP) which aims at empowering Pakistani farmers

http://www.brecorder.com/2017/09/28/372067/bio-techs-in-crops-to-help-pakistan-earn-morerevenues-through-exports/

Eriko SUGIKI VOLAT / Getty Images

The Japanese town of Inakadate is famous for its rice paddy "paintings."

Clara Olshansky September 28, 2017

Even the coolest corn mazes have nothing on rice paddies. Rice paddy art—you may remember these creations from Shenyang, China—is a ridiculously impressive form that turns whole landscapes into gorgeous works paintings. In this video from Great Big Story, you can see the stunning rice paddy creations of Inakadate, Japan, a village famous for its rice.

"I don't think people can really understand rice paddy art without seeing it," says Yukio Kasai, Inakadate's vice mayor, in the video. As gorgeous as the images in the video are (at 1:37, it starts to look like something out of a Wes Anderson movie), the small-screen representation can't capture the beauty of the paddies as they are in real life. Still, it's inspiring to know that these gorgeous, communal works of art are being made.

Glenn Waters in Japan / Getty Images

Inakadate's rice paddy creations began as a way to turn the village's rice fame into a way to draw tourists. Inspired by children planting rice by hand at local elementary schools, village officials now hold an annual conference to decide what the year's

rice paddy artworks are going to be. After the officials create a mockup of the image using seven colors (because the images are ultimately grown using seven different colors of rice), school art teachers turn the images into more artistically sophisticated drawings. From there, the officials go into the field and mark the areas for each color.

Hungry Yet - SakaMai Making the Truffle Uni Rice Pot at SakaMai in the Lower East Side.

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This year, 1,300 people participated in planting the images by hand. Then, three months after the original conception, the images are created. The images have come a long way from the first design they ever planted: a simple, local mountain with the name of the village printed below it, no more complicated than an Atari graphic. Today, the images are incredibly intricate illustrations, depicting scenes from mythology and folklore. The rice paddy art draws visitors from Tokyo, Osaka, and other parts of Japan, and it's no wonder.

TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / Getty Images

For more creative mini-documentaries, check out Great Big Story's YouTube channel.

http://www.foodandwine.com/news/ricepaddy-art-inakadate-japanChinese saline soil rice experiment a success 0 Comment(s)

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A rice growing experiment with saline-alkali soil has beaten expectations, laying the foundation for commercialization, Chinese scientists announced Thursday.

Four types of rice registered an estimated output of between 6.5 to 9.3 tonnes per hectare after testing at Qingdao Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center.

In spring, more than 200 types of rice were planted at the center in the coastal city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Diluted seawater was used on the soil to test which types could survive and prosper in saline environments.

Seawater from the nearby Yellow Sea was pumped into the center, diluted to a salinity of around 0.3 percent and channeled into the rice paddies, then increased to around 0.6 percent salinity, to intensify the effect on the rice.

Researchers had expected an output of around 4.5 tonnes per hectare, said Wang Kexiang, chief of center's technology department.

"The test results greatly exceeded our expectations," said Liu Shiping, a professor of agriculture at Yangzhou University, who is reviewing the results.

Certain types of wild rice that have not yet been modified by humans can survive salinity, but they typically have a yield of between 1.125 to 2.25 tonnes per hectare.

Yuan Longping, who led the experiment, said that he was very satisfied with the results. Known as China's "Father of Hybrid Rice," Yuan helped found the Qingdao center in October 2016.

Rice is a Chinese staple, and the mission of the center is to develop commercially viable rice tolerant of saline-alkali soil.

Increased health benefits Yuan said the increased harvest may encourage farmers to grow more such rice in the future.

"If a farmer tries to grow some types of saline-tolerant rice now, they most likely will get 1,500 kilograms per hectare. That is just not profitable and not even worth the effort," Yuan said.

"Farmers will have an incentive to grow the rice if we can double the yield," he said.

Increased productivity could also change the landscapes. China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one fifth could be cultivated, Yuan said.

Millions of hectares in humid regions of South and Southeast Asia are technically suited for rice production, but are left uncultivated or have very low yields because of salinity and problem soil, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the leading research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science, which is based in the Philippines.

Breeding varieties with in-built salt tolerance is considered the most promising, economical and socially acceptable approach, the IRRI said.

Theoretically, rice grown in saline soil carries added benefits. Calcium and other micro-nutrients are abundant in salty environments, so the rice could be rich in these nutrients.

It is also difficult for pathogenic bacteria to grow on saline-alkali soil, so rice grown there is less likely to be exposed to pests, which would mean pesticide use could be decreased, said Yang Hongyan from the Qingdao center.

Long way ahead Despite Thursday's announcement of the record-high output, breeding rice varieties that are tolerant to saline-alkali soil is an arduous task.

At the Qingdao center, scientists have gathered over 200 types of rice from around the world, planted them and installed sensors in the fields to monitor the environment.

So far, the center has also carried out experiments on 35 types of rice at 23 locations in China, to see which specific types of rice are most suitable for each area.

It usually takes several years to go through the various legal procedures involved in having one crop approved by the government for mass production and distribution on a commercial level.

In addition, to identify and breed potential types of rice, the center will study saline-alkali soil as well, which involves major engineering and soil amelioration processes.

But Yuan's team isn't daunted by the difficulties.

They are aiming to change 6.67 million hectares of previously saline land into arable land, and increase rice production to feed 80 million people, the scientists said.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.

Travelling rice seminar visits over 100 farm fields 56

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Islamabad Traveling rice seminar has so far visited over 100 rice farm field across the crop sowing areas of the country, besides visiting the outlets of different seed producing companies.

The travelling seminar was designed by PARC and Chines Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Company to travel in all the four ecological zones of the country in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.

This was a month long activity in which a group of hybrid rice researchers from China comprising on 12 scientists also participated and visited the rice farms and fields different areas of the country, said Programme Coordinator and Member Plant Science in Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) Dr Anjum Ali. Talking to APP here on Thursday, he said that the main aim of this joint initiative was to enhance per acre crop productivity, increase profitability and produce surplus commodity for exports enhancement.

In order to further enhance the local rice output China- Pakistan have decided to work together for conducting joint awareness programmes to adopt hybrid rice seeds, he added.

He informed that the Chinese scientists had trained 30 Pakistani agriculture scientists, selected from all the four provinces.

Besides, he said that they will also impart training to the members of the provincial field extension departments on hybrid rice cultivation.

They had also organize road-shows and field visits across the rice-growing areas to address the issues and challenges in promotion of hybrid rice seed, he added.

He further informed that the a revolutionary hybrid rice seed was recently developed by the Chinese researchers, which would help Pakistani farmers to enhance significantly their per acre yield.

The new developed rice seed variety would help to produce extra surplus, hence the country would be able to export more rice for exporting it to other countries, he added. The seminar would be concluded by next month would be able to https://pakobserver.net/travelling-rice-seminar-visits-100-farm-fields/12:00 AM, September 29, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:38 AM, September 29, 2017

32,000 MT of poor quality rice imported Govt rejects the consignments; importer looks for pvt buyers

Reaz Ahmad

The first two consignments of rice imported for replenishing the government's low food stock have been rejected over quality concern.

However, the Singapore-based Olam International, which brought the grains from Thailand, has kept two ships with over 32,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port for almost a month with intent to sell those to private buyers in Bangladesh.

Food department sources told The Daily Star that they had to reject the two shipments brought through international tender process at a time when the public granaries require immediate replenishment for running various food-aided programmes like Tk 10-a-kg rice for ultra poor and the Open Market Sale (OMS).

The government is already one month behind the schedule in the Tk 10-a-kg rice programme. It deferred twice the launch of the scheme under which some 50 lakh ultra poor were supposed to get 4.5 lakh tonnes of rice in September, October and November.

In such a situation, the food ministry plans to meet on October 2 for a stocktaking of the food reserve situation and the already-floated tenders for purchase of two lakh tonnes of parboiled rice from local private importers who have been allowed to use polybags instead of jute sacks.

The government has so far imported a little over two lakh tonnes of mostly white rice from Vietnam under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement since its rice stock hit an all-time low at 1.5 lakh tonnes at the beginning of fiscal 2017-18.

Though Dhaka struck a separate G2G deal with Cambodia as well, the rice is yet to reach Bangladesh ports.

Besides, a deal with Myanmar is yet to be approved by the cabinet body concerned.

Apart from the G2G arrangements, the Directorate General of Food also started processing imports of three to four lakh tonnes of parboiled rice through international tenders.

In early August, Singapore's Olam won the first of the bids under which it would supply the government with parboiled rice for $419.51 a tonne.

Olam dispatched over 32,000 tonnes of the stipulated 50,000 in the first two consignments in two ships at the beginning of September.

A food department team inspected the grains and declined to receive those, saying the rice brought from Thailand is too reddish and not up to the mark.

The setback comes at a time when the government badly requires to fast-track import of 15-20 lakh tonnes of food to boost its reserve as the country lost at least 20 lakh tonnes of Boro crop due to Haor flashfloods and fungal attacks.

The stock that the government could build so far is mostly of white rice. But most people have shown little or no interest in buying the rice variety channelled through OMS at a subsidised rate as they prefer parboiled rice.

Meanwhile, private traders have imported nearly seven lakh tonnes of rice over the last three months, giving a little stabilising effect on volatile domestic rice prices.

Qaid Siraj, proprietor of the Olam International's local agent Zarah Grains told this newspaper that the Thai rice looks a little reddish because of its varietal feature, but it's not substandard.

Since the government declined to take it, Olam kept the ships at the outer anchorage and was trying to sell it to private parties in Chittagong, said Qaid.

If no deal can be struck here, Olam would move the ships elsewhere, most likely to South Africa and sell the rice there, he added.

Ali Akbar, who heads the Seven Seas Shipping in Bangladesh, told this newspaper that two of their ships that Olam hired for shipping the rice to Bangladesh have been kept at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port for nearly a month.

"Yes, they [Olam] are paying for the demurrage. As Bangladesh's food department gave them no-objection certificate for selling the rice to private buyers, they are trying to do so," he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/poorquality-govt-rejects-32000-mt-imported-rice1469278http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpag e/poor-quality-govt-rejects-32000-mtimported-rice1469278http://www.dhakatribune.com/busine ss/2017/09/30/really-triggered-rice-pricehike/CPEC and Chinaâ€&#x;s food market

By Hasaan Khawar Published: September 29, 2017

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The writer is a public policy expert and an honorary Fellow of Consortium for Development Policy Research. He tweets @hasaankhawar

In an earlier article, I highlighted the enormous opportunity of Chinaâ€&#x;s $160 billion agricultural imports and $1 trillion-plus food market, with Pakistanâ€&#x;s negligible share. Can the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) change this?

While CPEC is expected to lead to a reduction in logistics costs, this will not automatically translate into greater exports. Market access requires an examination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade too. The second phase of negotiations of the Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (PCFTA) are now under way. These negotiations were long overdue and considering our inability to make use of the first phase signed in 2006, our domestic industry has a number of concerns.

Nevertheless, the question remains: what we should negotiate for and how we can benefit from this huge opportunity. Recently, I was involved in conducting some research on the subject, as part of a team sponsored by International Growth Centre. Our research attempted to provide some of the answers in Punjab‟s context.

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Let‟s look at Pakistan‟s agriculture exports. Textile and clothing make for more than half of our exports, followed by vegetables, accounting for 14%.

Food products are the fourth important item in Pakistan‟s exports, constituting almost 4%. As we can see, that not only bulk of our exports is reliant on agriculture but the top two food categories account for almost one-fifth of our exports.

Digging a bit deeper on our agricultural and agro-processed exports, we found a well-diversified basket of $4.06 billion, excluding cotton and livestock. Now out of this $4 billion+, how much do we export to China? Only a third of a billion dollars, with rice taking more than half, followed by the „beverage, spirits and vinegar‟ category, which takes another one-third. Although Pakistan‟s agricultural exports to China spread over 14 broad product categories, most of them are very small or negligible.

What is even more interesting is that China imports $76 billion worth of goods in these categories, with Pakistan claiming merely half a per cent share. Since we are exporting these products elsewhere, we must be somewhat competitive and since China is importing them, we know that there is an established market next door. So, what exactly is happening here?

Let‟s look at the example of rice. Pakistan is one of the top five world exporters of rice. Our rice exports of $1.9 billion in 2016 represented 5% of global rice exports. Rice exports to China, however, accounted for only 8% of

this. On the other hand, China imported $1.4 billion worth of rice, with Pakistan getting only 11% share. From where did China get the rest? Mostly Vietnam and Thailand with 3-5 times more rice exports than Pakistan.

Despite the fact that the bulk of Chinaâ€&#x;s imports is in non-basmati rice, there is still significant room to increase our exports. But the major impediment is nonfavourable tariffs. China maintains a special low tariff of 1% on import of a quota of 5.3 million tonnes of rice, however, beyond this quota, rice imports are subject to a tariff of 65%. The Asean countries, which are the top exporters of rice to China, enjoy preferential tariffs as a part of Asean-China FTA — 20% on non-basmati and broken rice and 50% on tariff in basmati rice. In case of Pakistan, no preferential tariff is applicable on any rice category, making us non-competitive.

The story of rice is not the only one. Similar stories are there in other product categories such as citrus, fruit juices, vegetables, etc, where either tariff or non-tariff barriers are hindering our exports to China that would otherwise be made.

Such insights should drive the ongoing PCFTA negotiations with China.

Fortunately, Punjab has taken up many of these issues with the federal government but other provinces need to do the same. And this exercise should go beyond agricultural products. The state can pave the way by negotiating better terms of trade for Pakistani exporters, while businessmen should explore why they arenâ€&#x;t exporting more.

Once we tap these opportunities, we could look for other high demand areas in China, where we can potentially develop production capabilities from the scratch. But that remains a story for another day.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2017

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1518708/cpecchinas-food-market/Chinese saline soil rice experiment a success 0 Comment(s)

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A rice growing experiment with saline-alkali soil has beaten expectations, laying the foundation for commercialization, Chinese scientists announced Thursday.

Four types of rice registered an estimated output of between 6.5 to 9.3 tonnes per hectare after testing at Qingdao Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center.

In spring, more than 200 types of rice were planted at the center in the coastal city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. Diluted seawater was used on the soil to test which types could survive and prosper in saline environments.

Seawater from the nearby Yellow Sea was pumped into the center, diluted to a salinity of around 0.3 percent and channeled into the rice paddies, then increased to around 0.6 percent salinity, to intensify the effect on the rice.

Researchers had expected an output of around 4.5 tonnes per hectare, said Wang Kexiang, chief of center's technology department.

"The test results greatly exceeded our expectations," said Liu Shiping, a professor of agriculture at Yangzhou University, who is reviewing the results.

Certain types of wild rice that have not yet been modified by humans can survive salinity, but they typically have a yield of between 1.125 to 2.25 tonnes per hectare.

Yuan Longping, who led the experiment, said that he was very satisfied with the results. Known as China's "Father of Hybrid Rice," Yuan helped found the Qingdao center in October 2016.

Rice is a Chinese staple, and the mission of the center is to develop commercially viable rice tolerant of saline-alkali soil.

Increased health benefits Yuan said the increased harvest may encourage farmers to grow more such rice in the future.

"If a farmer tries to grow some types of saline-tolerant rice now, they most likely will get 1,500 kilograms per hectare. That is just not profitable and not even worth the effort," Yuan said.

"Farmers will have an incentive to grow the rice if we can double the yield," he said.

Increased productivity could also change the landscapes. China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one fifth could be cultivated, Yuan said.

Millions of hectares in humid regions of South and Southeast Asia are technically suited for rice production, but are left uncultivated or have very low yields because of salinity and problem soil, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the leading research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science, which is based in the Philippines.

Breeding varieties with in-built salt tolerance is considered the most promising, economical and socially acceptable approach, the IRRI said.

Theoretically, rice grown in saline soil carries added benefits. Calcium and other micro-nutrients are abundant in salty environments, so the rice could be rich in these nutrients.

It is also difficult for pathogenic bacteria to grow on saline-alkali soil, so rice grown there is less likely to be exposed to pests, which would mean pesticide use could be decreased, said Yang Hongyan from the Qingdao center.

Long way ahead Despite Thursday's announcement of the record-high output, breeding rice varieties that are tolerant to saline-alkali soil is an arduous task.

At the Qingdao center, scientists have gathered over 200 types of rice from around the world, planted them and installed sensors in the fields to monitor the environment.

So far, the center has also carried out experiments on 35 types of rice at 23 locations in China, to see which specific types of rice are most suitable for each area.

It usually takes several years to go through the various legal procedures involved in having one crop approved by the government for mass production and distribution on a commercial level.

In addition, to identify and breed potential types of rice, the center will study saline-alkali soil as well, which involves major engineering and soil amelioration processes.

But Yuan's team isn't daunted by the difficulties.

They are aiming to change 6.67 million hectares of previously saline land into arable land, and increase rice production to feed 80 million people, the scientists said.

http://china.org.cn/business/2017-09/29/content_41665673.htm

SL’s exports growth on track but higher oil bill stretches trade gap 2017-09-29 10:27:34

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The restoration of the GSP Plus facility, higher prices received for tea and the weaker currency appear to have propelled Sri Lanka’s export earnings but the higher oil bill is showing signs of becoming a headache, threatening the attempts to contain the expanding trade gap in the import dependent economy. In July, Sri Lanka exports grew by 13.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) to cross a billion dollar mark – the second month to exceed a billion dollars during the year. But the imports, which grew by 11.1 percent to US 1.59 billion stretched the trade gap to US $ 575.3 million from US $ 541 million a year earlier.

As a result, the cumulative trade gap from January to July also widened to a high of US $ 5.3 billion from US $ 4.7 billion YoY as the US $ 11.7 billion expenditure on imports for the seven months exceeded the earnings from exports of just US $ 6.4 billion.

In July, the industrial exports grew by 11.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 757 million while the agricultural exports grew by a notable 21.8 percent yoy to US $ 253 million.

Textiles and garments led the industrial exports as the earnings from such grew by 9.6 percent YoY to US $ 467 million in July, registering the highest monthly value recorded so far during the year.

This is a reversal of the trend seen during the previous two months. ―Garment exports to the EU market increased by 10.6 percent YoY to US $ 188 million in July 2017 signaling the positive impact of the restoration of the GSP Plus facility in May 2017‖, the Central Bank said in a statement.

For the seven months, the textiles and garments exports rose by 3.0 percent YoY to US $ 4.8 billion.

Meanwhile, earnings from rubber products exports grew by 15.2 percent YoY to US $ 78.5 million, the food and beverage exports by 47 percent YoY to US $ 33.5 million and petroleum products exports by 21.5 percent YoY to US $ 36.6 million during July.

The agricultural exports, which were led by predominantly tea exports, grew by a notable 21.8 percent YoY to US $ 253.3 million and out of which, tea earned US $ 143 million registering a growth of 33 percent YoY, supported mainly by the higher prices fetched at the auctions and partly by higher volumes.

―The average export price of tea increased by 27.8 percent to US $ 5.36 per kg in July 2017 from US $ 4.19 per kg in July 2016 and US $ 4.86 per kg reported at end 2016.

The volume of tea exports grew by 3.8 per cent to 26.7 million kgs in July 2017, recording the highest export volume of tea so far during the year‖, the statement added.

The cumulative earnings from tea exports for the seven months reached US $ 871 million, up 20 percent YoY. Meanwhile, the rising oil prices in the world market pushed the oil bill and thereby the intermediate goods imports.

The oil bill in July rose sharply by 52 percent YoY to US $ 216 million, largely driven by the importation of refined petroleum. The seven-month petroleum bill was up 47 percent YoY to US $ 1.36 billion.

The average import price per barrel of crude has gone up to US $ 49.75 in July 2017 from US $ 46.10 in July 2016 but the prices are now flirting US $ 60 a barrel—a development that could cause a lot of trouble for Sri Lankan policy makers. Further, the gold imports have also grown substantially during July to US $ 62 million registering a growth of 182 percent YoY. Besides, imports expenditure on textiles and textile articles also rose by little under 20 percent YoY with higher expenditure on fabrics and fibre, indicating a likelihood of increased exports of textiles and garments in the period ahead, the Central Bank said.

These commodities pushed the total imports of intermediate goods by 28 percent YoY to US $ 902 million in July and by 14 percent YoY to US $ 6.3 billion for the seven months.

Meanwhile, under the consumer goods imports, food and beverage imports led purely by the rice imports, grew by 10.2 percent YoY to US $ 133 million while the non-consumer goods imports, of which the bulk comprised of vehicles, edged down by 0.6 percent YoY to US $ 201.3 million.

In July Sri Lanka imported vehicles worth of US $ 62. 2 million, up 16 percent YoY while for the seven months the country spent US $ 432 million on vehicle imports, down 9.0 percent YoY from the same period last year.

The investment goods imports fell by 12.7 percent YoY to US $ 352 million, but the country’s construction sector grew strongly during the 2Q17.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/SL-sexports-growth-on-track-but-higher-oil-billstretches-trade-gap-137487.htmlWill

Adhere To 48-Hour Deadline For Paddy Lifting: Punjab Government

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today promised strict adherence by his government to the 48-hour deadline for lifting of paddy and payment to farmers for their crop in the ensuing kharif season.

All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: September 28, 2017 21:58 IST

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Amarinder Singh promised strict adherence by his government to 48-hour deadline for lifting of paddy.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today promised strict adherence by his government to the 48-hour deadline for lifting of paddy and payment to farmers for their crop in the ensuing kharif season.

Addressing a meeting of rice millers, led by All India Rice Miller Association and Punjab State Rice Millers Association, the Chief Minister also promised revival of sick rice milling units to be taken up on priority by his government.

The Chief Minister said everything was in place for smooth procurement of paddy in this season, when an estimated 182 lakh tonnes of the crop was expected to come into the market, as against the previous season's target of 165 lakh tonnes, said an official release.

The mandis were witnessing 182 per cent increase in arrival of cotton crop as compare to last year, as a result of the collective efforts of the state government, PAU and farmers, backed by favourable weather conditions, said the Chief Minister, expressing satisfaction over the bumper production of cotton.

Reiterating his government's commitment to early redressal of the various problems faced by the beleaguered industry, Mr Singh pointed out that his government had recently announced a One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme to provide an opportunity to all defaulter rice millers to clear their past dues.

Around 1,500 of the total 3,500 defaulting and sick milling units would benefit by the scheme, he said, adding that this was one of the several measures initiated to bring the industry back on the path of progress.

Responding to a demand from the rice millers, Mr Singh said he would take up the issue of 'Bardana' use and transportation charges with the central government next week at his meeting with Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

On the issue of millers in surplus paddy districts being given more paddy at a rate of 140 per cent of their original entitlement, he assured that no miller would be forced to mill paddy beyond his capacity and only those willing to mill extra paddy would be considered.

The Chief Minister called upon the rice milling industry to collaborate with the state government in ensuring smooth procurement of paddy in the forthcoming kharif season.

Collective efforts always yield positive results, he said, recalling the success of the collaboration between the farmers and the government in tackling the recent whitefly attack on cotton crops.

With farming community and the agricultural scientists of the Government of Punjab coming together, the spread of the whitefly was successfully prevented, he added.

Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Lal Singh blamed the previous SAD-BJP government for the "mess" in the industry, saying the Akalis and BJP had "plundered" the state, leaving it under a massive debt burden of Rs. 2.08 lakh crore as a result of its "ill-conceived and corrupt" policies.

Under Amarinder Singh led government, the state was witnessing a turnaround with more than 300 new rice mills already set up in just six months, said Lal Singh, promising to act as a bridge between the milling community and the government to resolve any issues of concern. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/will-adhere-to-48-hour-deadline-for-paddy-lifting-punjabgovernment-1756522

One last mission for the country Just when she thought her career was winding down, Duangporn Rodphaya got the call to help offload the state's massive rice stocks. By Phusadee Arunmas  

30 Sep 2017 at 04:00 1,730 viewed0 comments NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

Mrs Duangporn began working three decades ago on policies involving major commodities, particularly rice.

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When one is asked to take on a project, it pays to have strong expertise in the field. Duangporn Rodphaya's career is a case in point. In her first job three decades ago as a junior civil servant, she began working on state policies dealing with major commodities, particularly rice.

That background came in handy in 2014, when she was assigned to discharge 18 million tonnes of state rice stocks, the largest amount ever.

"It was a historic release of rice stocks that no one had had to deal with before, and you needed to release the stocks at a time that the world market had plenty of rice," Mrs Duangporn recalls.

In 1977, a young Duangporn graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Chulalongkorn University and started her career in the commodities division of the Commerce Ministry's Foreign Trade Department. Her duties included work on government-to-government rice deals, mostly with China and some of Thailand's traditional rice clients in the Middle East.

The role taught her about the trade, logistics and quality standards of rice.

Mrs Duangporn, 59, spent nearly half of her working life dealing with rice traders, exporters, retailers and farmers, with the goal of stabilising Thai rice prices. After more than a decade dealing with rice, she moved on to several departments in the Commerce Ministry.

In 2003, Mrs Duangporn shifted to the Bureau of Merchandise Trade Administration, overseeing import-export issues and the standards of Thai products, before moving to the Bureau of Trade

Interests and Remedies in 2004, working on protection of Thailand's interests in the world market.

During 2013-14, she was assigned as deputy director-general of the Intellectual Property Department. This position seemed to take her quite far away from the Foreign Trade Department, which oversees rice-exporting issues.

It appeared that she would spend the rest of her working life in other jobs in the Commerce Ministry before retiring peacefully at 60. But things got interesting in 2014, when the National Council for Peace and Order staged a coup on May 22.

The ouster of the caretaker government formerly led by Yingluck Shinawatra set the stage for exposure of Thailand's biggest rice scandal.

The debacle began in 2011, when Yingluck took power after her party's landslide election win.

During the campaign she had promised to buy every single grain of rice in the country for 15,000 baht a tonne. That was roughly double the market price of 7,000-8,000 baht at the time.

The Yingluck government's rice-pledging scheme brought 18 million tonnes of rice into state stockpiles, with no clear plan for how to deal with the supply.

Yingluck was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on May 7, 2014, but the massive rice stocks and burdensome management and warehouse rental costs remained, leaving the military-led government to sort out the mess.

The question went to the Foreign Trade Department, where some personnel were seen as lacking strong expertise in rice and others were under suspicion of taking part in corruption under the rice-pledging scheme.

"At that time I was working in the Intellectual Property Department," Mrs Duangporn says.

"However, I sometimes offered comment and suggestions to the Commerce Ministry's permanent secretary to help tackle the [rice] problem.

"I do not want to be offensive against anyone in the previous government, so I will not say something about who caused this huge problem and why they did it. But what everyone knew by that time was that the rice stocks were involved in massive corruption cases and no one wanted to deal with it."

One day, Mrs Duangporn was asked by the government to take the position of director-general of the Foreign Trade Department. She would be tasked with getting rid of the 18 million tonnes of rice stocks as quickly as possible.

She declined the post several times until one day the permanent secretary asked: "If it is not the right time for you to lend a helping hand to our nation, when will it be the right time for you?"

It was a question that shook Mrs Duangporn. "It's now or never," she said before accepting a job that would require all of her dedication.

She started inspecting rice inventories across the country and set up a committee with a clear action plan to gradually and cautiously release rice stocks. It was during this time that every riceproducing country was enjoying a bumper crop. The global rice glut kept pressure on prices as Thailand's own rice stocks were starting to decay.

"The longer we kept the stocks, the higher the losses to the government," Mrs Duangporn says.

"So it was time to pull off the bandage and accept the truth."

She and her team set a target to offload the entire 18 million tonnes of rice stocks within three years.

Starting in 2014 and continuing through this year, Mrs Duangporn and her team classified the rice by various grades and offloaded the stocks in precise amounts from time to time.

"We needed to be very careful in releasing the stocks," she says. "Do not forget that Thailand is also a major rice producer that grows about 33 million tonnes of paddy a year. We needed to make sure that our stock sales would not hurt our rice growers. So we stopped selling rice during the harvesting period to avoid adding pressure on price."

Mrs Duangporn and her team endured criticism, particularly from those who had praised the massive farm subsidies. But finally she and her team succeeded in releasing all 18 million tonnes of rice stocks within three years, as planned.

The triumph helped unchain the Thai rice industry and let it move freely under real market forces, with no additional price pressure from state stocks. It also marked Mrs Duangporn's swan song as a civil servant.

"My task is over," she says, "and I will not feel any loneliness in retirement, since it's time for me to take care of my family members, who kindly allowed me to do my job for many years without any complaint, particularly my mother-in-law."

She has used most of her savings to buy a 20-rai coconut orchard in Ratchaburi province, a region famed for producing premium-grade coconuts.

When asked what she'll do in retirement, Mrs Duangporn says: "I will take care of my coconut orchard. It's time to taste and smell the aromatic coconut juice."

Govt asks rice millers to fall in line SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

KOTTAYAM, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 23:41 IST

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Meet held to fix revised quality parameters amid discord over low wholegrain recovery ratio for paddy The government will not give in to the pressure of millers who have fixed a low wholegrain recovery ratio for paddy, Food and Civil Supplies Minister P Thilothaman has said.

Speaking at a conference of farmers, officials, and padasekharam committee members at Vechoor to fix the revised quality parameters, the Minister said the millers had fixed the wholegrain recovery rate at 61% while the national average was 68%.

“The government has asked them to fix it at 64%. But the millers want it to be fixed at 60 to 61%, which is not acceptable,” he said.

The Food Corporation of India would fix the State‟s quota after giving weightage for the quantity procured internally, he said.

The low recovery rate would affect the State quota as well as the remuneration for the farmers.

The Minister said that in case the millers refused to procure paddy as per the parameters fixed by the government, alternative options would have to be thought about. He said the government would constitute a body consisting of the grama panchayat president concerned, paddy officer, and the agriculture officer to ascertain the quality of paddy being procured from a polder.

Millers warned of action Mr. Thilothaman said the government would initiate disciplinary steps against millers who procured high quality paddy from the polders and furnished low quality rice to the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation.

He also said the government would consider revising the daily wage of headload workers who carried paddy to the vehicle. “However, the government cannot entertain separate wage structure for different polders,� he said http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/govt-asks-rice-millers-to-fall-inline/article19772089.ece THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > BUSINESS

Training session held for rice growers

By APP Published: September 28, 2017

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Rice. PHOTO: REUTERS

SHEIKHUPURA: Rice growers were asked to adopt Sustainable Rice Platform

(SRP) standards during a training session held on Wednesday.

The SRP standards are designed to achieve higher yield per acre of the crop.

The training session was organised by Rice Partners Pvt Ltd (RPL) in collaboration with Helvetas Swiss Inter cooperation and MARS food with over 120 rice growers attending the event, said a press release.

Pakistan could eat India’s share of basmati rice exports ADVERTISEMENT

Talking to rice growers, the facilitator highlighted the rapidly increasing water scarcity in the country to emphasise the need for stricter quality standards.

RPL Senior Advisor Riaz Mann highlighted the importance of laser land

leveling, direct seeding of rice (DSR), AWD technology and reducing postharvest losses for sustainable rice cultivation.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2017 https://tribune.com.pk/story/1518042/training-session-held-rice-growers/

Rice worth

$223.937m exported in two months

Islamabad Rice worth US$ 223.937 million has been exported during the first two months of current financial year. During the period from July-August, 2017 rice exports from the country grew by 40.36 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In last two months around 428,993 metric tons of rice worth US$ 223.937 million was exported as compared to the exports of 380,861 metric tons valuing US$ 159.543 million, it added. Meanwhile, the exports of basmati rice grew by 10.35 percent and about 59,433 metric tons of basmati rice worth US$ 62.741 million was exported as compared to the exports of 59,192 metric tons valuing US$ 56.857 million of same period last year. The exports of rice other than basmati also witnessed an increase of 58.98 percent, around 369.580 metric tons of rice costing US$ 161.198 million was exported as compared to the exports of 251,669 metric tons worth US$ 102.888 million of last year. On month on month basis, rice exports from the country grew by 53 percent in August, 2017 as compared to the same month of last year, the data reveled.

About 227,998 metric tons of rice worth US$ 116.041 million exported in August as compared to the exports of 146,769 metric tons valuing US$ 75.569 million of same period last year. Meanwhile, basmati rice worth US$ 86.290 million was exported last month, which grew by 2.15 percent as compared to the same month of last year. Exports of basmati rice were recorded at 28,482 metric tons in the month of August as compared to the exports 30,446 metric tons of same period last year. During the period from July-August 2017, food group exports of the country increased by 30.6 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year. Country earned US$ 512.321 million by exporting different food commodities during first two-months of current financial year as compared to the earnings of the corresponding period of last year.— TNS Author Name: https://pakobserver.net/rice-worth-223-937m-exported-two-months/

U.S. Rice Exhibits and Makes an Impression at Turkey’s Largest Food Show ISTANBUL, TURKEY -- Last week, during the Istanbul World Food Exhibition, one

Chef Sabahettin Guney

of Turkey’s largest food and beverage expos targeting foodservice and deli operators, USA Rice showcased U.S. medium grain and wild rice for the more than 35,000 traders on hand. A USA Rice booth welcomed visitors with a display of many U.S.-grown rice samples, including recently launched U.S. wild rice packages sold here, along with brochures and other literature explaining U.S. rice import procedures, quality determination, types of U.S.-grown rice, and supplier lists. Activities focused on medium grain rice varieties Calrose and Jupiter, and wild rice mixed with white rice that could increase profitability while providing nutritious and flavorful meals to restaurant patrons. USA Rice partnered with Istanbul Chefs Association Chef Sabahettin Guney to prepare three unique recipes featuring U.S.-grown rice that were served at an official event lunch to hundreds of attendees. The recipes were: Wild Rice Pilaf cooked with USA Calrose Rice, Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Wild Rice, and Wild Rice Cream with Fruits, with the latter receiving the most positive feedback for its exciting flavors. Fred Klose, manager of the California Wild Rice Advisory Board attended the show and met with traders and potential packers to understand the market and evaluate demand and interest in his organization’s products. "We joined USA Rice here with a few specific objectives, all of which were accomplished,” Klose said. “We wanted to introduce wild rice mixes and varieties and showcase new uses for wild rice; we wanted to offer participants and targeted food professionals the opportunity to taste the products; and finally we wanted to educate the trade about U.S.-grown rice across the supply chain." Feedback for USA Rice, and the California Wild Rice Advisory Board was positive, interest from food professionals and trade guests was high, and trade leads with major distributors across the region were generated, leading market watchers to suspect U.S. rice exports to Turkey are set to grow in the coming months. USA rice works cooperatively with California and Minnesota to promote wild rice consumption internationally. California wild rice received funds from USDA’s emerging markets programs to conduct these specific activities.

Author Name: https://www.usarice.com/news-resources/daily/usa-rice-daily/2017/09/29/u.s.-rice-exhibitsand-makes-an-impression-at-turkey-s-largest-food-show

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1334059/one-last-mission-for-the-country

Culture night teaches Pakistan tradition Austin Lewis, Staff Writer • September 28, 2017 • Leave a Comment

Austin Lewis

Students with the Center for International Programs cheer after performing a dance routine during the Pakistani cultural night at Ruston Hall Wednesday night. The Pakistani night was one of several cultural nights that will take place throughout the semester.

Curious eyes scanned around all sides of the Ruston Hall multipurpose room. All walks of life met in one place to experience the wonders of Pakistan Tuesday evening.

Danish Kumar and Kiran Naeem, both exchange students from Pakistan, guided the masses through the presentation. Not only was this the first cultural experience for a lot of the students attending the event, but this semester is Kumar and Naeem‟s first time experiencing America.

“People are so loving and caring here. I haven‟t met anybody that has behaved toward me in a negative manner yet,” said Naeem.

The presentation covered everything from regional customs, marriage traditions, famous people and many more engaging bits of Pakistani trivia.

Naeem burst out into song several times during the presentation, giving us an auditory sample of what the traditional songs of her home country were like. “Pakistanis don‟t really like all that rock „n roll like here in America,” Naeem joked before one of her musical numbers.

The finale of the presentation was a true spectacle. As if the audience wasn‟t already engaged enough, both of the speakers and several other volunteers came together to perform a few dances native to Pakistan. Everything was on point from the traditional garb to the dance choreography. As the final pose was struck the room erupted into a thunderous applause.

A line immediately formed behind a set of folding tables which were covered in dishes of traditional Pakistani food. The students served Buyani rice and chicken along with a side of Pakistani batter-fried potatoes to the audience.

“The food was really spicy, but I liked it a lot. It had a good kick to it,” said Catelynn Doffin, freshman political science and public relations major.

The event was made possible to start by Nicole Vernon, program coordinator for the Center for International Programs. She said once she gets everything set up, it‟s all on the students to make the rest happen. The students create the presentation, decide what events will take place during it and choose the dishes that will be served.

“I encourage any student to come out because you get to experience the culture of a country without even going there. You really get to learn so much,” Vernon said.

The Center for International Programs attempts to hold a cultural night every other Tuesday, depending on holidays and campus scheduling per semester. The next cultural night will be England and Wales. All are encouraged to attend.