3rd July, 2014
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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines…
Cops raid Bulacan warehouse with ‘repacked’ NFA rice Indian monsoon revives after weakest start in five years Worst over for Asia rice prices, but Thai stockpile still a threat: Russell Indonesia's Plan To Import Rice Over El-Nino Threat Hailed Rice grower drills into sowing techniques Panel proposes reforms to Japan's compulsory education system NACC and NCPO investigate possible rice stock corruption Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-July 3 Truant rains hit kharif planting in AP, Telangana Food exports down by 1.41%, rice exports up 14.5% in July-May 2014 BAAC targets 10% growth in loans Nominations Open for 2014 Rice Awards Pakistan Navy dispatches relief goods for IDPs More than 155,000 signed Oregon GMO labeling initiative
News Detail… CIDG raids mill repacking NFA rice for profit A team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) raided the warehouse JOMMAO Star Rice Mill Trading in Marilao, Bulacan, on Thursday (July 3) and caught red-handed workers as they were repacking rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) into sacks of commercial rice.Chief Inspector Rey Magdaluyo, chief of the CIDG in Bulacan, said he saw for himself what was happening as his team entered the warehouse.They seized over a hundred NFA rice sacks, while another police team flagged down two 10-wheeler trucks along MacArthur Highway.The trucks were on the way to JOMMARO Star, its cargo also to be repacked. Authorities confirmed that the rice came from the NFA warehouse in Pampanga.Police surveillance showed at least 3,000 sacks of NFA rice were brought to the warehouse every day.Secretary Francis Pangilinan, presidential adviser for food security, said the NFA authorities in Pampanga will be asked to explain the anomaly.A sack of NFA rice can be bought from government warehouses for P1,250, while commercial rice is
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sold at a minimum of P2,000 per sack.Easily, this trader would have made P870,000 repacking NFA rice to be sold as commercial grain.JOMMARO Star is registered under Roberto and Regina Paulenco.They were not around at the time of the raid but their manager Juancho San Luis was. He was arrested for refusing to cooperate with authorities, along with 20 other workers.They all face criminal charges in violation of the National Food Authority Act and the Price Act.The owners may also be charged with tax evasion since their business capital is only listed at P65,000.Bulacan's proximity to Metro Manila and the volume of rice produced and traded in the province make it easy to manipulate the supply of the staple.Authorities believe this is just the tip of the iceberg and they say the crackdown on hoarders and repackers is far from over. - Solar News Online from a report by Miguel Ortilla Photo: Chief Inspector Rey Magdaluyo, chief of the CIDG in Bulacan, says he saw for himself what was happening as his team entered the warehouse. (Image captured from a Solar News video clip)
Cops raid Bulacan warehouse with ‘repacked’ NFA rice July 3, 2014 7:54am Updated 5:47 p.m.) Police operatives on Thursday raided in Bulacan province a warehouse containing sacks of National Food Authority rice "repacked" and sold as the more expensive commercial rice.The warehouse in Marilao had the NFA rice sold as commercial rice, GMA News' Ian Cruz reported. A separate report by radio dzBB's Glen Juego quoted Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group spokesperson Chief Inspector Elizabeth Jasmin as saying the rice was packed to make it appear like commercial rice so it can fetch a higher price.However, the dzBB report did not immediately indicate if police arrested anyone in the warehouse.Last June, the NFA noted a hike in rice prices but said this is temporary, adding prices are likely to normalize in September, when farmers start harvesting.Still, NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez in an interview on dzBB radio appealed to the public on Monday not to waste food – especially rice – at this time.The NFA gave the public its hotline numbers 4533900 and 9813800 to report profiteering. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News
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Image:A PNP-CIDG operative questions mill manager Juancho San Luis who was supposedly caught in the act of repacking low-cost NFA rice into sacks of the more expensive commercial rice after the Jomarro Rice Mill in Brgy. Abangan, Marilao, Bulacan was raided on Thursday, July 3. GMA News
Indian monsoon revives after weakest start in five years Reuters | New Delhi | Published: Jul 03 2014, 20:14 IST Indian monsoon rains revived in the key planting month after recording the weakest first month of the JuneSeptember monsoon season in five years, weather officials said on Thursday.
Indian monsoon rains revived in the key planting month after recording the weakest first month of the JuneSeptember monsoon season in five years, weather officials said on Thursday.A late surge in the monsoon rains has come as a relief to farmers who can now begin to plant summer crops such as rice, corn, cane, soybean and cotton."The monsoon has revived in many parts of central and north India," said B.P. Yadav, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre at the India Meteorological Department. India, one of the world's top producers and consumers of rice, corn, cooking oil, sugar and cotton, relies heavily on the summer rains as nearly half of its farmland is rainfed.July, the second month of the monsoon season, usually receives the maximum rainfall, accounting for about a third of the seasonal rainfall. Summer sowing activities pick up during the month as the monsoon rains cover the entire the country."The revival phase is expected to continue next week," said a weather official, who did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media. Annual rains arrived five days late than the normal June 1 start over the southern Kerala coast, and then covered half of India four days later than the usual date of June 15.India's farm sector shares around 14 percent of its nearly $2 trillion economy, and two-thirds of its 1.2 billion population live in rural areas.Rainfall was 53 percent below average for the week ended on July 2 as against 31 percent deficiency in the previous week as the monsoon advancement towards the central and north regions had stalled after the second week.However, Yadav
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said monsoon progress has resumed in the first two days of July, with the country receiving heavy rainfall in many parts of north India, including the capital city New Delhi. On Wednesday, a top official confirmed the revival in soybean areas of central and cane areas of north India, but warned the country was still likely to have a below-average rainfall in 2014 due to the weak start.
Worst over for Asia rice prices, but Thai stockpile still a threat: Russell BY CLYDE RUSSELL LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 3 Thu Jul 3, 2014 9:44am EDT
(Reuters) - Thai rice prices have bounced off a 6-1/2-year low, but a sustained rally looks unlikely as long as the huge stockpile built up under the former government's disastrous subsidy scheme remains unsold.Thai 5 percent broken white rice ended last week at $415 a metric ton (1.1023 tons), up 12 percent from $370 in the week to May 30, which was the lowest since January 2008.The current rally has been supported by concern that checks by Thailand's new military rulers on the state of government stockpiles will sharply lower exports. The military government, which overthrew the elected administration of ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in May, is seeking to establish exactly how much rice is in warehouses and what condition the grain is in.The checking of about 1,800 warehouses may take about 75 days, an official of the military government said on July 2. Local media reports suggest as much as 3 million tonnes may have gone missing from stockpiles, which are estimated at around 14 million tonnes.To put that in perspective, the most ever exported by Thailand in a year was 10.6 million tonnes in 2011, the year that Yingluck introduced her intervention scheme after a convincing election victory.Yingluck's signature policy was a rice pledging scheme that paid farmers about twice the market rate for paddy rice.Her government had, naively, expected that they would simply be able to pass higher prices on to customers, given Thailand's then status as the top exporter of the grain that is the staple for about two-thirds of the world's population. Instead, rice buyers turned to Vietnam and India, leaving Yingluck's government with an ever-increasing rice stockpile and massive bills to pay farmers.While not the sole reason for her ouster, the rice scheme proved unsustainable and put stress on the Thai budget, and Yingluck's lack of transparency over the program opened her government up to allegations of mismanagement and corruption.It's likely that Thai exports will be restricted while the new rulers assess the stockpiles, with the key question being what happens once that process is complete.
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Given rice cannot be stored indefinitely, it seems likely that the military will resume selling, probably in a steady manner rather than in a firesale.This may ensure that prices don't collapse, but it also means that prices for Thai grades are unlikely to rally in any sustained fashion, and will probably underperform those from Vietnam.Vietnamese 5 percent broken rice has more often than not traded at a discount to the Thai equivalent, but this changed in March this year when Yingluck's government starting trying to clear some of its stockpiles.Vietnamese rice ended last week at $425 a metric ton (1.1023 tons), a premium of $10 to the Thai grade.If Thailand does hold off exporting for a few months, this premium may disappear, but is likely to return should the military authorities resume exports after their checks. INCREASING THAI EXPORTS? The Thai Rice Exporters Association said on June 4 that it expects exports to reach 9 million tonnes this year, up from an earlier estimate of 7.5 million tonnes.This would be a sharp increase from the 6.6 million metric tons in 2013, and enough to allow Thailand to reclaim top exporter status from India and Vietnam.However, the association's forecast relies on a free market, without government intervention, and was made prior to the military's decision to stop sales from government warehouses while inventories are being assessed. Other factors may also influence rice prices, such as the possibility of lower exports from India given a weak start to the country's annual monsoon rainfall period.The possibility of an El Nino weather event, which brings lower rainfall to much of Southeast Asia, may also limit rice production in the region.How much rice major consumers such as the Philippines and Indonesia import will also be a factor. Indonesia won't import rice this year, industry website Oryza.com reported on Wednesday, citing a government official. This contradicts the views of industry official and analysts, who told Reuters that the Southeast Asian nation could double imports this year to 1.5 million tonnes.The Philippines has lowered tariffs on rice imports, which could boost its demand, with the nation already having bought 1.3 million tonnes from Vietnam this year.Overall, the balance of risks suggest that Asian rice prices are unlikely to fall in the short- to medium-term, but if the Thai authorities do clear their stockpile, it's hard to see a sustained rally until that process is complete. (Clyde Russell is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own. ) (Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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Image: A soldier checks sacks of rice at a warehouse in Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok July 3, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/CHAIWAT SUBPRASOM
Indonesia's Plan To Import Rice Over El-Nino Threat Hailed KUPANG, July 3 (Bernama) - Agribusiness observer from the University of Nusa Cendana Kupang Leta Rafael Levis has hailed the government's plan to import 500,000 tonnes of rice in anticipation of the impact of El Nino.The weather phenomenon is feared to hit the eastern regions of the country in August, Indonesia's ANTARA news agency reported. "The decision to import rice is a right one to ward off the impact of a long drought brought about by El Nino. There might be shortage in domestic supply of rice, soybean, tuber and other food products as a result of a long drought," Leta said Wednesday.Leta said the rice imports would strengthen stocks in areas which have strong indications of a long drought.
Most farmers in East Nusa Tenggara notably in Timor, Lembata and Sumba are already suffering the impact of El Nino since April this year."There was no rain when rice and corn began to bear fruits," he said.Deputy Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan said as El Nino has hit the country every year the government will continue to take precautionary measure to cope with the impact."What is important is that rice production would not be less than that in 2013," he said last week.Rusman predicted El Nino would hit the country in October, November and December.Despite precautionary measures, however, experts have dismissed fears that the El Nino impact would be serious.Supari, a climatologist from the Meteorology and Geophysics (BMKG) office, said there was no cause for much concern."The types of El Nino events that would hit Papua, Maluku, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara would not cause much damage," he said.Supari added there is little possibility of forest fires being triggered by El Nino this year as the weather phenomenon would be weak and there is sufficient rainfall. -- BERNAMA
Rice grower drills into sowing techniques Posted Thu 3 Jul 2014, 10:27am AEST Nuffield Scholar Peter Kaylock has been investigating ways to improve direct drilled rice crops on his property at Moulamein in south-west NSW. Laurissa Smith Topics: rice, moulamein-2733
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Panel proposes reforms to Japan's compulsory education system A government panel on Thursday proposed education reforms focusing on giving flexibility to Japan's nine-year compulsory schooling system.In its report submitted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the panel on education reform also proposed gradually making preschool education charge-free.The panel also cited as an idea to be studied lowering the age requirement for compulsory education by one year to cover 5-year-olds.In Japan, compulsory education is usually divided into six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. Schools offering the nine years in an integrated manner are special cases. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to submit a bill to the Diet next year to create a new category of nine-year schools so local education boards can decide whether to establish them.The panel also proposed considering using public funds for so-called free schools, or alternative schools mostly run in Japan for truant children, and setting up more night junior high schools for people who have not completed compulsory education.On higher education, the panel proposed creating new institutions to provide
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practical vocational education, saying current vocational education at colleges and vocational schools is insufficient. ==Kyodo
NACC and NCPO investigate possible rice stock corruption Thursday, 03 July 2014 By NNT
BANGKOK, 2 July 2014 - Mr. Panthep Klanarongran, President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has disclosed that NACC officials will investigate areas involving possible fraud in the rice-pledging scheme, along with total rice stocks as well as the rice distribution process, to gather information for further investigations. National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) officials and representatives of other related sectors have also been requested to join the NACC in the probe.Rice mills and storage warehouses, which have claimed unusual rice stocks, will be the first inspected.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-July 3 Thu Jul 3, 2014 2:37pm IST Nagpur, July 3 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) recovered on renewed demand from local millers amid weak supply from producing regions. Delay in monsoon arrival in Vidarbha, firm trend in Madhya Pradesh pulses and weak overseas supply also pushed up prices, according to sources.
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FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram mill quality and desi gram reported higher in open market on increased buying from millers amid thin arrival from producing belts. Stockists were reportedly active because of delay in monsoon arrival.
TUAR * Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market on subdued demand from local traders amid ample stock in ready position.
* Moong and udid varieties zoomed up in open market increased seasonal demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing belts. Healthy rise in Madhya Pradesh Moong prices also boosted sentiment.
* In Akola, Tuar - 3,800-4,100, Tuar dal - 5,700-6,000, Udid at 6,500-6,800, Udid Mogar (clean) - 7,600-8,100, Moong - 7,200-7,600, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,600-9,300, Gram - 2,100-2,300, Gram Super best bold - 3,100-3,400 for 100 kg.
* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity, according to sources.
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Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS
Available prices
Gram Auction
2,100-2,690
Gram Pink Auction
n.a.
Tuar Auction
2,100-2,650 2,100-2,600
3,400-4,520
Moong Auction
3,380-4,475
n.a.
Udid Auction
4,400-4,700
n.a.
Masoor Auction
4,300-4,500
n.a.
Gram Super Best Bold Gram Super Best
Previous close
2,600-2,800 3,700-3,800
3,700-3,800
n.a.
Gram Medium Best
3,300-3,500
3,300-3,500
Gram Dal Medium
n.a.
Gram Mill Quality
2,950-3,050
2,900-3,000
Desi gram Raw
2,750-3,000
2,700-3,000
Gram Filter new
3,200-3,400
Gram Kabuli
8,000-9,500
Gram Pink
7,300-7,500
Tuar Fataka Best Tuar Fataka Medium
n.a.
3,200-3,400 8,000-9,500 7,300-7,500
6,400-6,700 6,200-6,400
6,400-6,700 6,200-6,400
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Tuar Dal Best Phod
5,700-5,950
Tuar Dal Medium phod
5,700-5,950
5,400-5,700
5,400-5,700
Tuar Gavarani
4,400-4,500
4,400-4,500
Tuar Karnataka
4,200-4,300
4,200-4,300
Tuar Black
7,700-8,000
Masoor dal best
6,100-6,300
Masoor dal medium Masoor
7,700-7,800 6,100-6,300
5,900-6,100 n.a.
n.a.
Moong Mogar bold
8,500-9,300
Moong Mogar Medium best Moong dal super best Moong dal Chilka
5,900-6,100
8,200-9,000
7,900-8,300
7,700-8,100
7,400-7,800
7,500-8,500
7,500-8,100
Moong Mill quality
n.a.
Moong Chamki best
7,600-8,900
n.a.
Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) Batri dal (100 INR/KG)
7,800-9,000 7,600-8,000
6,200-7,000
5,500-6,400
3,900-4,800
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) Watana White (100 INR/KG)
7,700-8,000
7,400-7,800 6,000-6,800
5,500-6,400
3,900-4,800
2,850-2,950 2,900-3,200 3,500-3,600
2,850-2,950 2,900-3,200 3,500-3,600
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Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)
4,900-5,500
1,200-1,500
Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)
4,900-5,500
1,200-1,500
1,550-1,800
1,550-1,800
1,200-1,400
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)
1,900-2,200
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)
1,200-1,400 1,900-2,200
1,600-1,800
n.a.
n.a.
2,500-3,200
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)
1,600-1,800
2,500-3,200
2,000-2,400
2,000-2,400
Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG)
1,100-1,300
1,100-1,300
Wheat Best (100 INR/KG)
1,500-1,800
1,500-1,800
Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)
2,900-3,200 1,600-1,800
2,900-3,200 1,600-1,800
Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG)
2,700-2,900
2,600-2,800
Rice HMT (100 INR/KG)
4,000-4,300
4,000-4,300
Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG)
4,600-5,200
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)
10,400-13,000
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)
4,600-5,200 10,400-13,000
7,300-10,000
5,000-5,400 1,300-1,500 1,600-1,700
7,300-10,000
5,000-5,400 1,300-1,500 1,600-1,700
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WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 40.5 degree Celsius (104.9 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 28.1 degree Celsius (82.6 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a. Rainfall : nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 41 and 27 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
Truant rains hit kharif planting in AP, Telangana KV KURMANATH HYDERABAD, JULY 3: Nothing seems to be rolling in favour of farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh this year. As they wait for a decision on waiver of loans, lakhs of farmers are also looking at the skies praying for rain.Sowing has not begun in most parts of both these States. Wherever it has, farmers are desperately looking for a few showers to protect their crops.All the major crops of paddy, maize, groundnut and cotton have been hit. This might hit the overall productivity and production.As the monsoon has failed to spread evenly as per schedule, the deficit in some parts of the States ranges from 50 to 90 per cent. Farmers in Telangana have been able to plant only in 11 per cent of the total area of 40 lakh hectares under kharif. “About 8,000 hectares of area under maize in Mahboobnagar district are withering,” a senior official in the Agriculture Department told Business Line.The coverage of foodgrains is just 75,000 hectares, one-third of the usual area that should have been covered by now.The situation in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, is no better.Farmers there have covered just seven per cent of the normal area of 42 lakh hectares. By this time, plantings should have been completed in at least 20 lakh hectares. Nellore, the only district where the coverage in better, too has reported a 25 per cent drop in plantings.“The monsoon is inactive. Isolated showers were received, resulting in agricultural operations being affected. We have an overall deficit of 57 per cent in rainfall,” an official of AP Agriculture Department said. Plantings of
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foodgrains have been completed in only 50 per cent of area of 1.51 lakh hectares as paddy, the predominant kharif crop in the coastal areas, has been sown only in 42,000 hectares (80,000 hectares). According to India Meteorological Department, monsoon is 54 per cent deficient in coastal Andhra Pradesh and 82 per cent in Telangana. Surprisingly, it is 8 per cent excess in the Rayalaseema region.On the other hand, the Central Water Commission data shows poor storage level in Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam reservoirs. While storage level is zero in Srisailam, in Nagarjuna Sagar the water level is only four per cent of the capacity.On the other hand, the levels in Sriramsagar, Somasila and Lower Maniar are higher than last year.Last year, the rabi crop in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was affected as these regions were battered by at least three cyclones. (This article was published on July 3, 2014)
Food exports down by 1.41%, rice exports up 14.5% in July-May 2014 APP July 03, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Although the rice exports form the country increased by 14.5 percent, the overall food exports from the country witnessed negative growth of 1.41 percent during July to May fiscal year 2013-14 compared to the corresponding period of last year.The over all food exports from the country during July-May 2013-14 were recorded at $4.295 billion compared to the exports of $4.357 billion in July-May 2012-13, according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).The food products contributed in negative growth in trade included vegetables, exports of which dropped by 14.03 percent from $234.320 last year to $201.455 in 2013-14 while the exports of leguminous vegetables (pulses) decreased from $4.463 million to $2.820 million, showing fall of 36.81 percent. Exports of tobacco decreased by 13.50 percent by declining from $22.909 percent to $19.817 percent while the exports of wheat decreased by 86.79 by going down from $53.436 million to $7.058 million.Spices and sugar exports from the country also witnessed decrease of 16.16 percent and 46.12 percent respectively as the exports of spices declined from $61.202 million to $51.312 million while the sugar exports decreased from $474.768 million to
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$255.800 million.Meanwhile the food products witnessed positive growth in trade including rice, exports of which increased from $1.758 million to $2.013 million, showing an increase of 14.50 percent. Among the rice varieties, the exports of basmati increased by 12.29 percent whereas the exports of other rice commodities expanded by 15.64 percent. The exports of fish and fish preparations increased by 15.25 percent by going up from $291.301 to $335.732 million whereas the exports of fruits increased by 16.84 percent from $357.748 million to $417.997 million.The oil seeds, nuts and kernals exports from the country increased by 136.72 percent from $33.535 million to $79.383 million whereas the exports of meat and meat preparations increased by 10.24 percent from $194.032 million to $213.893 million. The exports of all other food commodities witnessed negative growth of 19.98 percent by falling from $871.070 last year to $697.054 million in 2013-14.Country’s overall trade deficit narrowed by 5.66 percent during first 11 months of current fiscal year as exports expanded by 3.71 percent while imports witnessing negative growth of 0.57 percent as compared to the same period of last year. On year-on-year basis, the trade deficit witnessed sharp decrease by 27.60 percent in May 2014 when compared to the deficit of the same month of last year.According to break up figures, the exports from the country during JulyMay 2013-14 were recorded at $23.112 billion against the exports of $22.286 billion recorded during July-May 2012-13.On the other hand, the imports into the country during the period under review were recorded at $40.777 billion against the imports of $41.011 billion during the corresponding period of last year.Meanwhile, on year-onyear basis the seafood exports from the country increased by 18.24 percent by going up from $35.520 million last year to $42 million in 2013-14.On month-on-month basis, the exports of seafood increased by 7.64 percent in May 2014 compared to the exports of $39.018 million during the April 2014, the data revealed.
BAAC targets 10% growth in loans Savings certificates of B30bn enter market Published: 3/07/2014 at 06:04 AM Newspaper section: Business
The state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) expects its net outstanding loans will grow by 100 billion baht or 10% for the 2014 fiscal year ending next March 31.Executive vice-president Suraphong Nillaphan said 10% growth in credit was quite steady compared with recent years.The BAAC's growth target for outstanding loans is based on an assumption that the country's economy will expand 3-4% this
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year.The Bank of Thailand recently slashed its forecast for the country's economic growth this year from 2.7% to 1.5% but raised the projection for next year to 5.5% from 4.8% on expectations that the economic rebound will gain pace in the second half after the military's takeover of power ended the months-long political stalemate. The BAAC's loans in fiscal 2013 rose by 120 billion baht to 996 billion from 876 billion in the previous year.Even though demand for new loans from rice farmers has hardly changed in recent years, farmers may switch to other crops or even cultivate crops earlier, affecting loan demand in certain periods.BAAC pesident Luck Wajananawat recently said the bank is set to offer at least 137 billion baht in low-rate loans to rice farmers for planting this year's main crop as part of the junta’s measures to help them cope with low paddy prices.About 17 billion baht will be lent to rice farmers who have silos in the upper North and Northeast to encourage them to delay selling paddy, which should prevent the market price from falling further, while 20 billion will go to agricultural cooperatives to buy paddy directly from farmers to process and pack milled rice into bags for sale. Another 100 billion will be for working capital. The BAAC aims to raise 80 billion in deposits this fiscal year through its savings products.It yesterday officially launched its Taweesin savings certificates worth 30 billion baht, with certificates worth 3.5 billion already sold.The three-year certificates with a face value of 500 baht will offer a return of 18 baht per unit, which does not take into account prizes from monthly draws. First prize for the draw will be as much as 20 million baht and the combined prize value will be 58 million per draw.The BAAC contributes one baht for every sold certificate to help its customers whose homes and assets were hit by the recent earthquake in Chiang Rai province. The bank's contribution will be 60 million baht if all the certificates are sold. It has provided financial assistance to its quake-hit debtors by extending the repayment period for loans by one year and offering loans for residential repairs at a rate below the minimum retail rate (MRR) for the first three years.The BAAC's MRR now stands at 7% per year.The bank's outstanding deposits amounted to 1.1 trillion baht at the end of its 2013 fiscal year, up from 99 billion in the previous year.
Nominations Open for 2014 Rice Awards MEMPHIS, TN -- Rice Farming magazine is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Rice Awards. The three categories are Rice Farmer of the Year, Rice Industry Award, and Rice Lifetime Achievement Award. To access the nomination form, please click here. It also is helpful to send letters of recommendation for the nominee from other individuals in the rice industry who are familiar with his/her accomplishments. A panel of judges from across the Rice Belt will select the recipients of the 2014 Rice Awards. The deadline for submitting nominations is July 25, 2014 and the award recipients will be honored at the December 2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.The Rice Awards are sponsored by Rice Farming, Horizon Ag, and the USA Rice Federation.
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Contact: Michael Klein, (703) 236-1458
Pakistan Navy dispatches relief goods for IDPs Dated: 2014-07-03
Islamabad: Pakistan Navy has dispatched its first consignments of 41 tonnes dry ration from Karachi & Islamabad for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) of Khyber Pakhtoon Khuwa, today. The food packages comprising flour, rice, sugar, lentils, cooking oil, dry milk and tea, are being collected at Special Camps established by Pakistan Navy at Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad.All the units and platforms of Pakistan Navy are enthusiastically contributing and depositing their contributions to support their brethren in this hour of need.Pakistan Navy is fully committed to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to the IDPs in this hour of need and fully determined to extend all out support to assist the IDPs and expressing empathy and solidarity with their displaced brethren in North Waziristan.
More than 155,000 signed Oregon GMO labeling initiative Tracy Loew, Statesman Journal2:59 p.m. PDT July 2, 2014 Backers of a petition initiative to require labeling of GMO foods delivered 155,611 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State today – nearly twice the number needed to qualify for the November ballot.The signatures were collected in just six weeks, in every corner of the state, showing that there is grassroots support that will help them win in November, organizers said at media event at the Capitol."We mobilized our entire army," chief petitioner Scott Bates said. "The next step is for our hundreds of volunteers to turn into thousands." Similar initiatives were recently defeated in California and Washington, where opponents massively outspent backers.The campaign expects that spending to happen in Oregon as well, said Sandeep Kaushik, of Oregon Right to Know.But consumer awareness likely has reached a level where that could be overcome, he said.Ray Seidler, a former EPA scientist, holds a bag of genetically modified corn seed at a rally on the Capitol steps Wednesday July 2, 2014. Supporters came to celebrate their signature gathering which qualifies a ballot measure on the November ballot to require labeling of genetically engineered foods .(Photo: KOBBI R. BLAIR / Statesman Journal)
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And the initiative has been carefully said, to rebuff opponents' previous such as that it would apply to pet food (it believe Oregonians have a right to know the food they eat and feed their Kaushik said. "That includes foods that engineered in a laboratory."In a written statement, opponent Oregonians for Food & Shelter called the labeling initiative costly and misleading.
crafted, he arguments, won't)."We what's in families," have been
"This is all for a flawed food labeling system that would only exist in Oregon and is so badly written that it wouldn't even give consumers reliable information about which foods are actually made with GMOs and which aren't," executive director Scott Dahlman said.If the Secretary of State's office verifies at least 87,213 valid signatures, the measure will go to voters in November. tloew@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/SJWatchdo
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