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Aug ,2015

Vol 5,Issue XIII

September 03 ,2015

Vol 5,Issue XIV

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News Headlines....

Declining prices: governments weigh up option to protect agriculture sector

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for September 2: National Rice Month

Rice-pledging civil lawsuits on schedule, Wissanu says

Attaches tour rice, poultry, wine sites

Prime minister urges support to agriculture sector

Nigeria: Agric Ministry VS Stallion Group - Who Is Telling the Truth?

Antique‘s rice stocks sufficient, NFA‘s palay procurement on

Wet weekend predicted for South; rain deficit grows in North

Government to purchase the highest amount of paddy in Yala season

Rice output hits all-time high

DA urges farmers to plant crops for El Niño

Fortified Rice is Integral Part of Solution to Global Hunger

CAMBODIA PRESS-Rice millers request exemption from VAT

Food security a top priority for ASEAN ministers and senior officials

Weaker yuan presses Vietnam‘s rice price down

There should be no irrational resistance to GM crops: Principal Scientific Advisor

Govt advisor cautions against irrational resistance to GM crops

In Bengal, a rice economy rots away on food habits, subsidy

Restaurant Spy visits the Radcliffe Arms, Hitchin

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported

Himalayan Dine Inn's herbs and lentils could start a knife fight

Restaurant Spy visits the Radcliffe Arms, Hitchin

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported

News detail…

Declining prices: governments weigh up option to protect

agriculture sector

September 03, 2015

ZAHEER ABBASI

The federal government and provinces on Wednesday weighed various options to protect the

agriculture sector from declining prices of agriculture products in the international market. An

official said that a consultative meeting on agriculture products and Basmati rice was held on

Wednesday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair and various options were discussed

during the meeting. The official said the issue of high costs of agricultural inputs was discussed.

He said the Prime Minister directed to devise proposals to bring down the cost of inputs to

improve per acre yield and profitability after he was given a detailed presentation on the present

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situation as well as on future scenarios. Secretary Food Department of Sindh government

told Business Recorder that the meeting was a follow-up of a meeting held in August.

He said the meeting has not taken any decision and decided to hold another meeting in this

regard to further discuss the proposals. He said the decline in agriculture products prices in the

international market has created problems of exports. He said that farmers are suffering due to

high input prices at home and low output prices. Secretary Agriculture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

government said a committee was constituted by the Prime Minister to suggest as to how to

support small farmers. The meeting discussed implications of the government interventions to

manage the price fluctuations while keeping in view the interests of both producers and

consumers. A statement issued by the Prime Minister''s office after the meeting says that the

surplus stocks of agricultural products in international and domestic markets have put pressure

on the support price mechanism and profitability of the agricultural production has been

affected.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research informed the meeting that in Pakistan

agriculture is mainly a small farmers'' business, living in rural areas and any price shock has

damaging effects on millions of small farmers earning their livelihood from agriculture sector.

The meeting agreed that the Pakistani agriculture is suffering from global phenomenon and a

strategy is required to come out of this economic situation. The Planning Commission organised

a forum on agriculture pricing trends and its possible implications on rural economy in August

2015. The forum presented a set of recommendations for consideration by the government on

Wednesday''s meeting. The meeting deliberated in detail on the recommendations of the forum

regarding problems faced by the producers of major crops like rice, sugarcane, cotton, wheat and

vegetables. The Prime Minister directed that the Ministry of National Food Security may initiate

measures to attract investment in high-tech seed industry and asked if any legislation is required

to do that. The Prime Minister also directed to develop standards for use of agricultural

machinery to improve its efficiency.

Provincial governments were directed to initiate a process for implementation of the

recommendations for the agriculture forum. The meeting was attended by Engineer Khurram

Dastgir, Minister of Commerce, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance, Riaz Hussain

Pirzada, Minister for IPC; Sikandar Hayat Bosan, Minister for National Food Security; Ahsan

Iqbal, Minister for Planning and Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to the PM, federal secretary National Food

security, Secretary agriculture from Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Balochistan.

www.businessrecorder.com

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for September 2: National

Rice Month

Sep 02, 2015, 00:01 ET from U.S. Census Bureau

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile

America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

NATIONAL RICE MONTH

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Profile America — Wednesday, September 2nd. To highlight its importance, both as a crop and

as part of the changing U.S. diet, this is National Rice Month. Globally, rice is the world's most

important cereal grain. Reflecting both our increasing cultural diversity and awareness of good

nutrition, Americans have increased their annual consumption of rice from 1980's 9½ pounds to

today's 31 pounds each. Rice has been grown in America since the late 17th century and is

currently a $3 billion a year crop. While raising only 2 percent of the world's rice, the U.S. is the

leading non-Asian exporter, sending nearly $2.1 billion worth annually to overseas markets. The

grain is raised by farmers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources:

Rice month: http://usarice.com/all-about-rice/national-rice-month

Value of rice: http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/grains__oilseeds/rice-profile/

1990 per capita consumption: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0217.pdf

2014 U.S. per capita

consumption: http://www.uark.edu/ua/ricersch/pdfs/per_capita_rice_consumption_of_selected_c

ountries.pdf

Rice exports: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/exports/c0000.html

Percentage of world

volume: http://www.usarice.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=671&Itemid

=386

Leading states: http://www.ers.usda.gov/datafiles/Rice_Yearbook/table08.xls

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census

Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet

at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Rice-pledging civil lawsuits on schedule, Wissanu says

3 Sep 2015 at 13:44 1,355 viewed1 comments

WRITER: AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

Civil lawsuits against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and others to seek

compensation for her government‘s loss-ridden rice-pledging programme will be filed before the

statute of limitations expires, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam confirmed

Thursday.Mr Wissanu told the National Legislative Assembly today that civil lawsuits against

Ms Yingluck and other government officials could be filed late this year or in early 2016 at the

latest, far before the statute of limitations expired in February 2017.Two government committees

are handling the process.

One is fact-finding while the other is tasked with identifying those liable for compensation and

setting the compensation amount, he said.Apart from Ms Yingluck, six government officials

were possible targets for compensation demands, Mr Wissanu said.Civil lawsuits against private

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companies held liable in the rice scheme would need to be filed within one year, Mr Wissanu

said. But the process against them can move faster because inquiry committees don't need to be

established, he said.The state's losses in the rice-pledging scheme during Ms Yingluck's tenure

from 2011-2014 were estimated at more than 530 billion baht. Her government bought rice from

farmers at above-market prices that impeded resale. The government also had problems with

quality rice storage.

The Bangkok Post

Attaches tour rice, poultry, wine sites

By Scott Morris

This article was published today at 2:06 a.m.

STUTTGART -- Vangile Titi-Msumza, a South African agricultural attache based in

Washington, D.C., liked what she saw at a poultry farm in Farmington. Her counterpart from

New Zealand was excited to see rice and cotton production for the first time.Twenty-eight

agricultural attaches from 26 countries wrapped up a tour of farm and food processing operations

in Arkansas on Wednesday before moving on to visit similar facilities in Louisiana. The tour,

organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was designed to create export opportunities for

Arkansas farmers."It's developing relationships and creating opportunities and introducing the

attaches to Arkansas agriculture," Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward said. "That can

open up doors down the road."Ward spoke at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture

Rice Research Station in Stuttgart, where the group stopped for lunch and a presentation on rice

production in Arkansas.

The tour began with meetings Monday in Northwest Arkansas with representatives of Tyson

Foods Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores. Inc., and included visits to Post Winery and Vineyard in Altus

and Keo Fish Farms, and dinners hosted by agriculture trade groups.Titi-Msumza said she was

particularly interested to see how chickens were grown in Arkansas. She was pleased that they

were not densely packed into cages, which can increase the risk of disease."I was actually very

impressed," she said. "The United States is a very big country, so we need to appreciate

differences in approaches to agriculture among the states.

"Janine Collier, first secretary of trade and agriculture at the New Zealand Embassy, was

impressed by the rice and cotton operations she visited. New Zealand is a leading exporter of

dairy products, and she was interested in similarities between the way dairy and rice trade on the

global market.Yvette Wedderburn Bomershein, a director in the USDA's Foreign Agricultural

Service, which organized the tour, said a stop at American Vegetable Soybean and Edamame

Inc. in Mulberry was a good example of how the tour can be educational for even well-traveled

agricultural officials."There were people on the tour that didn't know what edamame was," she

said. "One person thought it was cheese."Raymond Chung, president of American Vegetable

Soybean and Edamame, was pleased to make a pitch for his product. His company already

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exports processed edamame to Asia, he said, and several tour participants told him edamame is

popular in Europe.

"Looking forward, I'm optimistic about the opportunity to export our product to places like

Europe," he said in a telephone interview.This year's tour marks the second time the service has

brought its annual orientation tour to Arkansas. Participants included delegates from the

European Union, individual European countries, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and

the Middle East.Ward plans to travel with Gov. Asa Hutchinson to Cuba later this month when

the governor leads a state delegation there to look for ways to develop trade ties as relations

between the two countries improve. A partial trade embargo is still in place, but Ward said Cuba

could constitute a $35 million market for Arkansas agricultural products if the embargo is lifted.

It's important to build relationships with Cuban officials now so that the state can capitalize if the

embargo is ultimately lifted.

Business on 09/03/2015

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/sep/03/attaches-tour-rice-poultry-wine-sites-2/?f=business

Prime minister urges support to agriculture sector By Our Correspondent

Published: September 3, 2015

PM also directed the concerned department to develop particular standards for use of agricultural

machinery to improve efficiency. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday has directed concerned

ministries to devise a strategy to bring down the cost of inputs, aimed at improving per-

acre yield and profitability of the agriculture sector.

The prime minister further asked the Ministry of National Food Security to initiate measures to

attract investment in high-tech seed industry and asked if there is any legislation required to do

that.He was chairing a high level meeting in the PM Secretariat to deliberate over issues and

problems being faced by the agriculture sector in the wake of downward trends in the

international markets.He also directed the concerned department to develop particular

standards for use of agricultural machinery to improve efficiency. Additionally, provincial

governments were directed to initiate a thorough process for implementation of the

recommendations made by the agricultural forum.Surplus stocks of agricultural products in

international and domestic markets have put pressure on the support price mechanism and

profitability of the agricultural production has been affected.

The meeting was informed that agriculture is mainly a small farmer‘s business in Pakistan.

Therefore, any price shock has damaging effects on millions of small farmers earning their

livelihood from the agriculture sector.The meeting agreed that the Pakistani farming

community is suffering from a global phenomenon and a strategy is required to come out of

this economic conundrum.

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The meeting was informed that in view of the situation, the Planning Commission organised a

forum on agriculture pricing trends and its possible implications on rural economy in August

2015. The forum presented a set of recommendations for consideration by the government in

Wednesday‘s meeting.The meeting deliberated in detail on the recommendations of the forum

with regard to problems faced by producers of major crops like rice, sugar-cane, cotton, wheat

and vegetables. It also analysed and evaluated implications of any government interventions to

manage the price fluctuations while keeping the interests of both the producers and consumers

in mind.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd

, 2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the

conversation. http://tribune.com.pk/story/949649/prime-minister-urges-support-to-agriculture-sector/

Nigeria: Agric Ministry VS Stallion Group - Who Is Telling

the Truth? Tagged:Governance,Nigeria,West Africa

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By Vincent A. Yusuf

The media, recently, have been agog with the war of words between the Federal Ministry of

Agriculture and the Stallion Group over N17 billion rice import duties and levies.The ministry, last

week, in a publication pointed out that Stallion Group-one of the nation's rice importers, did not tell

the truth on the capacity of its rice mill in order to get more quotas on rice imports.According to the

ministry, the claim made by Stallion Group of installed 430,000 metric tonnes capacity rice mill as

against the 110,000 metric tonnes, was an attempt to evade tax duties and levies accruing to N17

billion.But Stallion Group, in a media statement, denied the allegation, insisting that the 430,000 MT

represented a combined capacity for both Popular Farms and Masco Allied Industries, its

subsidiaries.In another allegation, the ministry said that while the Popular Farms was given approval

to import 89,939 MT of rice in 2014, Masco Agro Allied Industries did not get any allocation to

import the product.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201509030716.html

Antique’s rice stocks sufficient, NFA’s palay procurement

on

September 03, 2015

Pilar S. Mabaquiao

SAN JOSE, Antique (PIA) - - The National Food Authority declared that Antique has sufficient

supply of rice with the latest inventory of 198,491 bags to last for 42 days.NFA Provincial

Manager Marianito Bejemino said the total inventory was derived from the combined stocks of

commercial rice dealers, households and NFA.Bejemino likewise said that palay procurement is

ongoing at NFA warehouses in San Jose and Culasi at the price of P17 per kilo for clean and dry

palay. Incentives are also given to farmers organizations.For palay which do not pass the

required moisture content, NFA has seven mechanical dryers with biomass furnace. It charges a

minimal amount of P12 per sack (of 50 kilos) depending on the moisture content of palay when

it was brought to the NFA warehouse.

Since last week of August, palay procurement increased said NFA Information Officer Elizabeth

Salazar.She said some farmers have taken advantage of the change in climate by planting early

thus, harvest time started early as well.Salazar encouraged farmers to sell their palay to NFA not

just because of the higher price but also to help government procure enough buffer stocks.Walk-

in farmers will be paid in cash up to P200,000 immediately after the transaction is completed or

they will be given a ceiling of 200 bags of palay per farmer per day for cash payment.For

subsequent delivery, farmers should get a passbook at NFA office free of charge.

(JCM/PSM/PIA6Antique)

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http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/981441249644/antique-s-rice-stocks-sufficient-nfa-s-palay-

procurement-on

Wet weekend predicted for South; rain deficit grows in

North

VINSON KURIAN

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPTEMBER 2:

South India can look to some organised rainfall during this weekend

even as the deficit over North-West and Central India has started

climbing further.The all-important monsoon trough, the backbone of

the weather system, lay in a shambles along the foothills of the

Himalayas.

Trough breaks up

It has broken up into two, which speaks of the severity of the

situation with rising surface temperature in Northwest India.The

parent trough lies nestled along the foothills while the breakaway half

is left stranded in the East of the country, its southern end dipping into East-central Bay of

Bengal.

Now, the tip of a trough dipping into the warm waters of the Bay is always a potential area of

‗cyclogenesis‘ (formation of low-pressure area) and will be watched with interest.The European

Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts initially saw possibility of a ‗low‘ developing

under the benign influence of a building typhoon racing in from the Pacific.

Poor confidence

But it is less confident of the scenario where it would need to be wary of a ‗minefield‘

developing to the east of the Philippines with explosive activity.The European Centre saw a

virtual line of fire evolving here with at least two fresh typhoons developing even as the

predecessor speeds away back towards the West-central Pacific.This east-northeast direction of

the typhoon away from Asia could snuff out hopes of the ‗low‘ in the Bay evolving to any

significant strength.In the absence of south-easterly winds from such a ‗low,‘ the way would get

cleared up further for the dry air to fill and penetrate towards Central and adjoining East

India.Meanwhile, the India Met Department has refrained from announcing the withdrawal of the

monsoon from Northwest India, which is getting increasingly dry by the day.

Southern comfort

A western disturbance with its comparatively cooler air is seen delaying the process, though it

will not take much longer for the announcement to come.In the south, a fresh rain-driving trough

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has materialised along the East Coast from Rayalaseema to Gulf of Mannar (off Sri Lanka)

across Tamil Nadu.Moisture-laden winds are blowing into the trough from around Sri Lanka into

the trough which is already bringing rainfall into parts of the peninsula.Most parts of Tamil

Nadu, Puducherry, south interior Karnataka and Kerala are forecast to receive rainfall during the

weekend.The US Climate Prediction Centre says above normal rainfall would be the theme here

during the period right until the middle of September.

(This article was published on September 2, 2015)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/wet-weekend-predicted-for-south-rain-

deficit-grows-in-north/article7608067.ece

Government to purchase the highest amount of paddy in

Yala season

The Government has allocated highest amount of funds for purchasing 120,000 metric tons of

Paddy in Yala season and 80,406 metric tons have already been purchased by yesterday,said PM

Ranil Wickramasinghe.It is the highest amount of Paddy which has been purchased by any

government so far.He exposed this while answering a question arose at the parliament

today(03).An amount of Rs.50.00 will be paid per one Kilo of paddy and the extent of the

purchasing paddy from each one will be limited for 2000 Kilo grams with the sole purpose of

extending this benefit to many more farmers.And further he said National Agricultural Authority

with full powers will be established and warehouses facilities also will be developed.The

problem is expected to discuss with the leaders of all political parties under the President's

direction, he said.

http://www.news.lk/news/politics/item/9540-government-to-purchase-the-highest-amount-of-paddy-in-

yala-season

Rice output hits all-time high

Yasir Wardad

Rice output in the country reached an all-time high of 34.708 million tonnes in the last fiscal

year (FY'15), registering some 0.3 million tonnes increase over FY'14, the latest data revealed.

Rice production achieved a 0.9 per cent growth in the year compared to that of FY '14 when

overall production was 34.41 million tonnes.Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) provisional

data, released on Wednesday, showed that in the line of success of Aman and Aus, Boro

production also reached an all-time high of 19.19 million tonnes in FY '15, increasing slightly by

0.63 per cent over that of FY'14 when production was 19.07 million tonnes, the then record.

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Joint Director (agriculture wing) at BBS Bidhan Baral told the FE that overall acreage has been

estimated at 4.84 million hectares in FY'15 in Boro season which was 1.03 per cent higher over

that of FY'14 when 4.79 million hectares came under Boro farming."But per hectare yield

declined negligibly this year in Boro season as it was recorded at 3.987 tonnes/ha in FY'15 which

was 3.99 tonnes/ha in FY'14", he said.However, BBS data showed that rice production in Aman

and Aus seasons were 13.19 million tonnes and 2.328 million tonnes respectively in FY'15,

which were also records."A total of 11.415 million hectares of land come under rice farming in

FY'15 which was 11.373 million hectares in FY '14 as per the estimation of Bangladesh Space

Research & Remote Sensing Organisation (SPARSO)," Bidhan Boral said.

The data of the state-run statistics provider showed that Aman output rose by 1.28 per cent and

Aus production also showed a slight rise by 0.08 per cent in FY '15 compared to those of FY

'14.The official said BBS jointly with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)

conducted rice yield survey adopting the new crop cutting design.DAE Director General Md

Hamidur Rahman said favourable weather condition and supply of quality inputs in time were

the keys to the growth.

Three kinds of rice -- Boro, Aman and Aus -- grow in different seasons in Bangladesh. The

seasons contributed 56 per cent, 38 per cent and 6.0 per cent to the total output, according to

BBS.Demand for rice in the country now stands at 31.0 million tonnes, Directorate General of

Food data showed.Despite the record output, private sector in the country imported a record 1.45

million tonnes of rice in FY'15, according to the ministry of food.

tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/09/03/106359

DA urges farmers to plant crops for El Niño

Thursday, September 03, 2015

FARMERS are encouraged to plant cash crops such as cassava, camote and corn, which do not

need much water in order to mitigate the effects of the strongest and longest El Niño

phenomenon.Engr. Leo Retamar, of the Bureau of Soils Management of the Department of

Agriculture, urged the public to plant such crops in the last quarter of this year until the second

quarter of next year to prepare for El Niño.Retamar, who was in Iloilo City to attend the regional

extension workers conference, said that 2015 is the International Year of the Soil.The farmers

need not avoid rice planting totally but have to plant cash crops to augment their income due to

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late production next year, Retamar said, adding that El Nino was forecast to start by October

2015 until end of June 2016.

Western Visayas has 320,000 hectares devoted to rice lands, with 33 percent devoted to rain-fed

and upland production, he said.Cloud seeding has been planned to induce rains especially in the

coming summer season.While there are still rains and sunshine in Western Visayas to induce

planting, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon are currently suffering from floods spawned by

heavy rains and typhoons. This is El Nino, the extreme for dry and dry seasons, Retamar

said.Meanwhile, the agriculture department is allocating P187 million as El Nino mitigation fund

for Western Visayas and P94.5 million was already released while the balance needs approval

from the Department of Budget and Management.The region has sufficient rice stock, although

production might be delayed. Rice farmers must not stick to one crop when there is no rain

coming, the DA official said. (LCP/Sunnex)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/local-news/2015/09/03/da-urges-farmers-plant-crops-el-nino-428220

Fortified Rice is Integral Part of Solution to Global Hunger

Conference attendees

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- More

than 40 participants from the rice

industry, academia, U.S. government

agencies, and private companies

gathered at Kansas State University

(KSU) last week to develop a unified

working agenda and promote

production capacity of fortified rice in

the United States. USA Rice has been

collaborating closely with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, U.S.

Agency for International Development, and the World Food Program, to ensure the increased use

of fortified rice in the U.S. government's global feeding programs. This event was the latest to

emphasize the importance of a new fortified rice formulation in addressing global hidden hunger.

With fortified rice being more readily recognized as an important tool in the fight against global

malnutrition, the primary area of focus is resolving outstanding logistics issues in the

complicated production chain in the U.S. This requires ongoing close coordination and

communication between the purchasing agencies, fortification entities, and the rice millers.

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Jamie Warshaw, a Louisiana rice miller and chairman of the USA Rice Food Aid Subcommittee,

attended the conference and said, "While the opportunities are enormous for the U.S. rice

industry, obstacles to increased use of fortified rice remain, including, for instance, customer

acceptance. The KSU event was an important first step in bringing the major stakeholders

together and coordinating a plan forward."

USA Rice is planning an informational session in Washington, DC next month to clarify some

of the remaining questions about fortified rice and facilitate its use. While the USA Rice session

will include many important stakeholders, the target audience will be the end users - the

humanitarian organizations who will work with U.S. government agencies to program

increasingly greater amounts of fortified rice in new and ongoing feeding initiatives.

Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457

CAMBODIA PRESS-Rice millers request exemption from

VAT - Phnom Penh Post

By REUTERS

PUBLISHED: 22:45 EST, 3 September 2015 | UPDATED: 22:45 EST, 3 September 2015

As Cambodia continues to struggle with its cost competitiveness in the rice sector, rice millers

and exporters met the General Department of Taxation on Wednesday asking for an exemption

from paying the 10 percent value added tax (VAT), the Phnom Penh Post reported.The

exemption will help ease prices in the sector, the newspaper reported, citing Kim Savuth, vice

president of the Cambodia Rice Federation. (http://bit.ly/1OfjiJf)

----

NOTE: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy. (Phnom Penh

Newsroom; Editing by Anand Basu)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3221957/CAMBODIA-PRESS-Rice-millers-request-

exemption-VAT--Phnom-Penh-Post.html

Food security a top priority for ASEAN ministers and senior

officials

"It is high time for ASEAN member countries, which are in the largest rice-growing regions of

the world to support the scientific research necessary for the sustainability of their rice sectors,"

said Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships of the

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), on ensuring food security and strengthening

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cooperation in agriculture across the region.Sixteen ministers are scheduled to visit IRRI on 12

September as part of the 37th meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry

(AMAF), in addition to the 15th AMAF Plus Three Meetings with China, Japan, and South

Korea hosted by the Philippines this year.

"The crucial role that IRRI

fulfills is providing the scientific

foundation, technical support,

and capacity-building to each of

the ASEAN member-countries

in pursuing their own national

rice and food security

programs," Tolentino said.Each

ASEAN member-nation has its

own strategy and approach for

meeting targets in this

area.Some Southeast Asian

countries, such as Vietnam or

Thailand, export rice, while the Philippines or Indonesia, among others, are rice importers.

Myanmar is on its way to regaining its agricultural competitiveness. In the 1950s Myanmar led

the ASEAN countries in rice exports.Brunei and Singapore, on the other hand, do import rice,

and only the best quality rice. Moreover, Singapore is making investments to become the

ASEAN center for biotechnology."So, each of these countries has differing approaches to

achieving their food security goals. But all of these countries are bound together because there is

a common ASEAN-wide framework for food security," Tolentino explained.That framework,

according to him, which also includes a strategic action plan on food security, does not simply

focus on strengthening the national capacity of each of the ASEAN member countries to produce

any agricultural commodity, but also facilitation of trade.

The strategic action plan was conceptualized as part of the ASEAN member states‘ need for a

long-term agricultural development plan that focuses on sustainable food production and trade,

especially in the context of problems brought about by the food price crisis in 2007–2008.The

ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework, along with the Strategic Plan of Action on Food

Security in the ASEAN Region, enables sharing of any agricultural commodity. A close

inspection of various countries reveals variation in natural resources for rice production. This is

also the case for other crops and agricultural commodities.

"In effect, there will be a country agenda and there will be a regional agenda, tied together by

trade. ASEAN countries could look at exporting high-quality rice to, say, Europe, for example.

And Africa is a major growth area because of its rising demand for rice. All these topics,

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including IRRI‘s support to the Philippine Department of Agriculture‘s Food Staples Sufficiency

Program will be part of the discussions during the ASEAN event next week," he noted.

http://irri-news.blogspot.com/2015/09/food-security-top-priority-for-asean.html

Weaker yuan presses Vietnam’s rice price down

VietNamNet Bridge - As predicted, importers have tried to lower Vietnam’s rice price after the Chinese government’s

devaluation of the yuan.

VnExpress quoted the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) as reporting that the rice price and sales

may fall significantly because of the yuan depreciation.Chinese enterprises, which have to pay 4

percent more for rice import contracts with the payments in US dollars, are trying to force the

price down to offset the loss they incur due to yuan depreciation.This coincides with Reuters‘

prediction made in mid-August that Vietnam‘s rice export price would decrease on the yuan and

dong devaluation and the abundant supply.VFA then announced the lower floor export price of

$330 per ton, a 2.9 percent decrease, for 25 percent broken rice. The decision was released in the

context of the sharp fall of 8.8 percent decrease in exports in the first seven months of the

year.Le Thanh Danh from Vinafood 1 confirmed that Chinese have asked to renegotiate the

prices, reasoning the yuan devaluation, which has made Vietnamese exporters suffer.

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16

Danh said on Nong Nghiep that Vietnam now bears pressure as India and Pakistan are offering

rice at relatively low prices.Therefore, Vietnam‘s exports to China have seen the price decrease

significantly to $340 per ton of 5 percent broken rice and $330 per ton of 15 percent broken rice.

The price levels represent a $7-8 per ton decrease compared with some months ago. The price of

rice exported through unofficial channels – across the border gates – has also fallen. Every kilo

of rice sold across the northern border has seen the price fall by VND300.Some businesses in the

Mekong River Delta estimated that over 1 million tons of rice have been exported to China this

year across the border.

Nguyen Van Don, director of Viet Hung Rice Export Company, warned that Chinese importers

may cut the volume of rice to buy from Vietnam and buy from Thailand and Myanmar

instead.As the export price decreases, the rice price in the domestic market has also gone down.

VFA said the price of 5 percent broken rice in Mekong River Delta has decreased by VND100

per kilo over the week before.Analysts warned that not only rice but other farm produce will also

suffer from the weaker yuan, because China is a big consumer of Vietnamese produce. China

alone consumed 38.1 percent of Vietnam‘s 3.72 million tons of rice exports so far. It consumes

25 percent of Vietnam‘s rubber and 13 percent of Vietnam‘s cashew nut output. The country

consumed 90 percent of 2.89 million tons of cassava sold in the last seven months of the year.

Kim Chi

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/140328/weaker-yuan-presses-vietnam-s-rice-price-down.html

The Prime Minister says in parliament that the government

considers it as its responsibility to safeguard both the paddy

farmer and the consumer

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe delivering a special

statement in parliament today said that the government

considers it as its responsibility to safeguard and provide

maximum benefits to the paddy farmers as well as the

consumers. The highest ever paddy harvest in the Yala

Maha season in Sri Lanka's history has been recorded this

year. The government has set aside funds to purchase 120

thousand metric tons of paddy of the Yala season. More

than 90 thousand 400 metric tons have been purchased by yesterday. A kilo of Kirisamba and

Samba is being purchased for 50 rupees and a kilo of Nadu for 45 rupees.

The Prime Minister added that in order to hand over the benefits to a larger number of farmers,

the paddy purchasing from a single farmer has been restricted to 2000 kilos. Farmers are

receiving a stable price for their produce at 180 purchasing centers. A congestion has occurred

due to the rush to sell paddy stocks. The Prime Minister further said that in order to resolve the

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17

problem, the government was compelled to utilize the services of civil defence task force and to

hold mobile services.

In a massive operation of this nature, shortcomings may be a common occurrence of

shortcomings. The Prime Minister also said that any criticism should be leveled to rectify the

mistake and not to gain political advantages. He added that a more methodical procedure should

be implemented to purchase the paddy harvest in the coming Maha season.

A national agricultural authority with full powers will be established to purchase agricultural

produce. More storage facilities are to be provided especially to stock paddy. The Prime

Minister also said that the purchase paddy stocks will be dispatched to small and medium scale

paddy mills through tender procedures. The aim is to stabilize the rice market. Long term

solutions will be found through discussion with political party leaders under the initiative of the

President. The paddy marketing board activities will be carried out without causing any injustice

to the farmer and the consumer.

http://www.slbc.lk/index.php/en/tamil-news-update/1740-the-prime-minister-says-in-parliament-that-the-

government-considers-it-as-its-responsibility-to-safeguard-both-the-paddy-farmer-and-the-consumer.html

There should be no irrational resistance to GM crops:

Principal Scientific Advisor

Alka Sirohi

Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Dr R. Chidambaram, while speaking at

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18

an event organised by industry body, Assocham in New Delhi said that there should be no

irrational resistance to GM crops, after the completion of careful research, field trials and

approval of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).Whilestressing on the need for

climate resilient agriculture he said that mitigation and adaptation strategies must include soil

health restoration and development of new crop varieties including genetically modified (GM)

crops.

In Focus

Hestressed on the need for more widespread techniques to improve irrigation facilities in India.

While saying highlighting that farmers in India consume about 80 per cent of state water supply,

he said there was a need to make a saving there. On the need for developing high-yielding

basmati rice varieties, R. Chidambaram said that he would love to have a Grid for basmati rice

research.While inaugurating the '4th Bio-Nano Agri Summit' the Principal Scientific Advisor to

the Government, according to a press release by the Assocham,also pitched for using

'agricultural drone with appropriate sensors' while citing an example of NETRA, an unmanned

aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

that was used to track damage and marooned people.

He said that nanoscience based viable advanced technologies (that are both economic and

scientific) must be developed to counter negative effects of declining landholdings, increasing

number of marginal farmers and land degradation."Agriculture contributes less than 20 per cent

of India's GDP, accounts for over 10 per cent of India's exports and employs over half of our

workforce, the latter number is three per cent for the USA," said R. Chidambaram.

http://www.merinews.com/article/there-should-be-no-irrational-resistance-to-gm-crops-principal-scientific-

advisor/15909323.shtml&cp

Govt advisor cautions against irrational resistance to GM

crops

NEW DELHI, SEPT 3:

A senior Government advisor on Tuesday pitched for ―no irrational resistance‖ to genetically-

modified (GM) crops and believed that nanotechnology could help Indian agriculture overcome

problems of declining landholdings, increasing numbers of marginal cultivators and land

degradation.―There should be no irrational resistance to GM crops once careful research has been

done, field trials have been completed, and Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

approval has been obtained,‖ said R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Indian

Government, said at the ‗4th Bio-Nano Agri Summit‘ hosted by Assocham here on

Thursday.Chidambaram was talking about the need for climate resilient agriculture and

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19

mitigation and adaptation strategies had to include development of new crop varieties, including

GM crops, alongside soil health restoration.

―Agriculture contributes less than 20 per cent of India‘s GDP (gross domestic product), accounts

for over 10 per cent of India‘s exports and employs over half of our workforce, the latter number

is three per cent for the USA,‖ he said.He highlighted the need for more techniques to improve

domestic irrigation facilities to save water with farmers consuming ―about 80 per cent of State

water supply‖ and also suggested the need for a grid for basmati rice research and the use of

unmanned aerial vehicles such as indigenously-built NETRA in agriculture.Chidambaram also

pushed for technologies to prevent food wastage and pest attacks on crops. ―While ensuring food

and nutritional security, we have to provide mechanism for ensuring increased farmers incomes,‖

he said.

(This article was published on September 3, 2015)

Business Line

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In Bengal, a rice economy rots away on food habits, subsidy

Mill closures swell bank NPAs

Namrata Acharya | Kolkata September 1, 2015 Last Updated at 22:35 IST

Each public sector bank can pick a

niche area: R GandhiPublic sector

banks: The market may be jumping

the gunLetters: Better bankingPotato

prices firm on fresh loading in cold

storages.The closure of 500 of 1,200

rice mills in West Bengal over two

years is weighing heavy on the non-

performing loans of banks. Changing

food habits, rising food subsidy and

falling exports have brought the rice

economy in Bengal, the highest rice

producing state in the country, to the

verge of a crisis. With the size of

loans of rice mills between Rs 4 crore and Rs 15 crore, and around 200-250 accounts turning into

NPAs in the past few months, the amount of NPA addition could be between Rs 800 crore and

Rs 3,000 crore, according to DN Mondol, president of the Bengal Rice Mills Association.

―The market for rice in West Bengal is shrinking, and there is no upgradation in technology. The

parboiled rice produced in Bengal was in high demand in eastern India, Bangladesh and Africa.

However, Bangladesh has attained self-sufficiency in rice, leading to a shrinkage of exports. Due

to lifestyle changes, the consumption of rice is also going down. The mills have also complained

about delays in payment for levy rice,‖ said the manager of apublic sector bank in Burdwan

district.

West Bengal produces 15 million tonnes of rice every year, mostly rice that has been partially

boiled in the husk. Of this, the state government procures 2.2 million tonnes through the levy

mechanism. Ever since the Trinamool Congress government came to power, the procurement has

more than doubled from around one million tonnes. Much of this owes to the state government‘s

scheme for providing 35 kg of rice per month at Rs 2 a kg in the Naxal-affected blocks of the

state.Under the levy mechanism, mills last year procured paddy at around Rs 1,310 a quintal,

while the government bought rice from the mills at Rs 2,060 a quintal. The effective cost for

mills for buying a quintal of rice works out to Rs 2,046 because a quintal of paddy yields 64 kg

of rice.

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21

However, the profit of Rs 14 per quintal turns into a loss of over Rs 50, when the cost of milling

and transport is added. According to mill owners, against the Rs 80 per quintal cost of milling,

the government provides only Rs 25 per quintal.The market price of paddy, on the other hand, is

lower than the government procurement price. At present the market price of rice is Rs 1,700-

1,800 per quintal. Moreover, earlier, around three million tonnes of rice from West Bengal was

exported annually to Bangladesh. This has come down to nearly 700,000 tonnes.

The demand for parboiled rice has also declined substantially as rising income has led the

demand shift to better quality rice. In the rural market, the key market for parboiled rice, demand

for non-PDS rice has shrunk because of government subsidy schemes.Data from the NSSO

survey on household consumption suggests between 2004-05 and 2011-12, the monthly per

capita consumption of rice in urban areas declined from 6.77 kg to 6.24 kg. The monthly per

capita consumption of PDS rice in rural areas increased from 0.61 kg in 2004-05 to 0.95 kg in

2011-12. But the monthly per capita demand for rice from non-PDS sources in rural areas

decreased from 9.08 kg to 8.97 kg.

The trend is not restricted to West Bengal, as per capita monthly rice consumption in rural India

declined to 5.98 kg in 2011-12 from 6.38 kg in 2004-05. In urban India, the fall in rice

consumption was 0.2 kg per person per month. Per capita consumption of PDS rice has,

however, doubled in rural India and risen by 66 per cent in urban India since 2004-05, implying

the share of PDS purchases in rice consumption has risen substantially, according to the NSSO

Himalayan Dine Inn's herbs and lentils could start a knife fight

This food should be a spread for a crowd to share, fight over

By Ed Bedford, Sept. 2, 2015

"My name is Bhim. The name means ‗bravery.‘‖Bhim‘s as tall standing as I am

sitting, but he‘s stocky, fit-looking, and confident. He‘s wearing a Nepalese -style cap,

with a little replica of two crossed knives on the front. Oh, right.

The meal: pakoras, dhal soup, samosas, papadum, and paneer pakauda, all for about $15

Ghurka.

Ghurkas are the famed fighting men of Nepal who have fought wi th the British Army

for the last couple of hundred years.―Ghurkas? Fierce,‖ my cousin Bob told me once.

He had worked alongside them once when he was in the army, doing field exercises

with the Brits. ―I was so glad we were on the same side.‖The one thing they always

carried was their khukuri, their fighting knife, a scary-looking bent blade halfway

between a knife and a scythe.Bhim points to one hanging on the wall. ―We do

everything with it, from harvesting to fighting enemies,‖ he says.This is happening

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22

inside a new place that used to be a Pakistani eatery named ―Maizbaan.‖ It‘s called

―Himalayan Dine Inn‖ now, and looks kinda similar. Big old cavern on Broadway.

Bhim

The ―Coming Soon‖ signs had been up for the longest time,

so today, when the sign says ―Grand Opening,‖ I‘m in like

Flynn. Inside‘s been given a lick of paint and fresh red

tablecloths, blue carpet, lime-green skirting, cheddar-

cheese-gold walls, hanging dish ceiling lights, and red,

white, and gold gathered curtains. And your nostrils detect

curry in the air. In some ways you feel you‘re in some great

old Indian hotel.He hands me a menu. I know it‘s going to

be mostly like Indian food, with lots of curries, clay-oven-baked breads, and chutneys.

Oh, dang. Too late for their lunch special, basically a chicken or vegetable curry with

rice, which goes for $6.95.Natch, the menu starts off with chicken tikka masala,

tandoori chicken breast cooked in a creamy tomato sauce with ―Himalayan

herbs.‖Aha. Himalayan herbs? I remember hearing about these. It‘s what distinguishes

Nepalese cooking from Indian cooking. Seems an herb called jimbu is one of the

scarce plants that can handle the great heights and the cold of the most fantastic

mountains on Earth. It grows all over them, basically holds them together when the

snows melt. Tastes like onion and chives, helps sharpen up any dish. Good for you,

too, for, like, flu and stomach pains. Also the timur berry. Puts some pepper heat in

your mouth.

Five-lentil soup

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Whatever. Chicken tikka masala is by far the most popular

Indian-style dish for Westerners, Bhim says.Then there‘s

the new kid on the block: momo. Basically, Tibetan street

food that came over to Nepal with the Tibetan exodus after

the Chinese took over. Momos are more Chinese than

Indian. Steamed dumplings. Here, a plate of ten chicken

momos, stuffed with ground chicken, cabbage, cilantro, and

onions and served with chutney, goes for $8.95. They have

a vegetarian version for $7.95.And, yeah, if you‘re vegetarian,

Indian/Pakistani/Nepalese food is maybe the most interesting food you can get.

Because these guys have been into it forever. One of the easiest ones to order is the

vegetable biryani, which is basically a mess of flash-cooked veggies mixed into

basmati rice, plus raisins and nuts and those Himalayan spices ($8.99).

Onion and cabbage pakauda

Bhim says all the chicken dishes come with basmati rice or

naan, a flatbread that Gypsies, the Roma, brought from

India to the Mediterranean back in the day. So, naan >

flatbread > pita > pizza! Does anyone thank the Gypsies for

bringing us pizza? All eight chicken curries go for $10.99,

including the delicious-sounding coconut chicken curry and

chicken vindaloo, the one with potatoes and the onion-

sauce gravy.A whole lot of the same dishes, but with lamb

as the meat, go for a couple of bucks more (like, $12.99) and seafood equivalents are

$13.95. Good news is most vegetarian dishes, like aloo bhanta (delicious-sounding

curry of eggplant and potatoes), go for a couple of dollars less than t heir meat

brothers.

Paneer pakauda

Sigh. I love all this stuff. But soon enough, your eyes start

to glaze over. Decisions, decisions. Usually, when in doubt,

go for samosas. I ask Bhim for a couple ($4.95). Heck, I

also go for a couple of pakoras — fritters of different

kinds. I get a paneer pakauda (same as pakora) made of

cheese, cabbage, potatoes ($4.95), and a vegpakaud,

basically a deep-fried mess of chopped-up onions ($4.95).

First, though, Bhim brings up a bowl of Five Lentil (dahl)

Soup with masala (―They areghana dahl, urad dahl, mung dahl, massor dahl, urad

dahl,‖ says Bhim. They taste good. Basically, you think lentils. And you kind of need

the liquid because the dishes, when they arrive, are all deep -fried and sauced up with

chutneys.

Samosas and papadum

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So, those dishes? The paneer pakauda is the least interesting, a fairly tasteless bunch

of yellow cakes that depend on the sauces to give them meaning. But the veg pakaud

onions are a lot of fun, especially with the mint sauce they

have with them.But, once again, the samosas win. They‘re

just tasty and filling enough to make you want more. But

even though I‘m already full, I sort of wish I‘d gone for

one of the curries, because they are a whole world of taste

in themselves. But, hey, Nepalese Cooking 101. We‘ve

started the adventure. Next time, the $6.95 lunch special.

Then bring 20 of my best friends. Because this food should

be a spread for a crowd to share, fight over.

Hopefully not with khukuris.

Prices: Two samosas (stuffed with potato, veggies), $4.95; paneer pakauda (deep-fried cheese,

cabbage, potatoes), $4.95; veg pakaud (deep-fried onions, sauce), $4.95; 10 chicken momos

(dumplings stuffed with ground chicken, cabbage, onions, with chutney) $8.95; veggie momos,

$7.95; vegetable biryani (with basmati rice, raisins, nuts), $8.99; Himalaytan tarkari mixed

(tandoori baked chicken breast, lamb cubes, shrimp, veggies in Himalayan sauce) $12.99; lamb

vindaloo, $12.99; aloo bhanta (curry of eggplant and potatoes), $9.95

Hours: 10:00 a.m –10:15 p.m. daily (till 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday)

Buses: All downtown

Nearest bus stop: Broadway and Ninth

Trolleys: Orange and Blue Lines

Nearest trolley stop: City College

San Diego Reader

Restaurant Spy visits the Radcliffe Arms, Hitchin

By Hertfordshire Mercury | Posted: September 02, 2015

Lobster bisque

I expected trouble. And I was right.

The delightful Radcliffe Arms, in Hitchin, does not have a solitary burger of any description on

its dinner menu.Not that I would have expected one. This is a wonderful gastropub, with a small,

but perfectly formed, menu which had me salivating from the first glance.But, my dining

companion, as we have learned, is a burger freak. Never one to step outside her comfort zone,

she hones in on a menu looking for anything that comes sandwiched between two pieces of

bread.But the Radcliffe Arms had nothing even vaguely resembling a burger. She even called for

the bar menu to see if one was hidden away from the fine diners. But nothing.

Fearing I was going to have a toddler-type tantrum on my hands, I went through the menu with

her, trying to highlight the things she might be tempted to try.There was lamb and duck and steak

. . . I even pointed out that a steak was like having a burger but without the bread. But she was

having none of it.I decided to adopt the policy that works for parents dealing with the terrible

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twos and simply ignore her.I had already made my choice – although I admit it wasn't easy. This

is a gastropub that caters for all my needs and food loves.

I would happily have had any combination of dishes, but in the end I went for a lobster bisque

for starters.Apparently, the Radcliffe had had a lobster event the previous night and had used the

extra lobsters to add to the specials board.My only previous experience with lobster had involved

racing them across a deck in a Long Island yard before plunging them, screaming, into hot water.

It had been an emotional time.But as I hadn't had the opportunity of bonding with my lobster this

time, I was able to sit back and enjoy it.Meanwhile, my dinner guest had made a decision. Duck

– with chips!The confit of duck leg and a spring roll of braised duck was supposed to be

accompanied by sweet potato mash, but chips go with everything, right?

And after all her moaning and foot-stamping, not only did she enjoy it, but she kept talking about

it for days afterwards, to anyone who would listen.I'd decided on the fillet of sea bass steamed en

papillote. It was the first time I had eaten anything cooked in paper and I wasn't sure what the

correct dining etiquette was. Are you supposed to remove the paper? I decided to just unwrap the

fish and tip in my braised basmati rice, peas, shrimps and baby carrots – which I guess was a

posh version of eating fish from a newspaper.The Radcliffe is very popular and it isn't difficult to

see why.

Relaxing before dessert, I realised that it felt like I was sitting in someone's living room. The

decor – the flamingo wallpaper is amazing – is very similar to what you'd see in someone's house

and the dining room felt very laid-back.There's also a conservatory area and I'm guessing that is

even more relaxed.When it came to dessert, I'd left the best until last – and that was saying

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something as every mouthful I'd had had been divine.Strawberry and balsamic crème brulee with

a black pepper tuile ticked all the boxes, especially when it came to that satisfying crunch of

caramel on the top.There was no stopping my dining companion now as she enjoyed a peach and

apricot cheesecake.I think it's fair to say the Radcliffe had been forgiven!

www.mercury.com

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for September 3

Month Price Net Change

September 2015 $11.795 + $0.105

November 2015 $12.060 + $0.105

January 2016 $12.350 + $0.105

March 2016 $12.590 + $0.095

May 2016 $12.815 + $0.085

July 2016 $12.980 + $0.080

September 2016 $12.095 + $0.100

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 66,000 MT for 2015/2016, up 97 percent from the previous

week, were reported for Venezuela (29,500 MT), Mexico (19,600 MT), unknown destinations (7,200

MT), and Panama (3,000 MT), according to today's Export Sales Highlights report. Decreases were

reported for Guatemala (1,300 MT), Costa Rica (200 MT), and Russia (100 MT). Exports of 156,400 MT,

up 74 percent from the previous week, reported to Venezuela (59,500 MT), Iraq (31,500 MT), Mexico

(24,800 MT), Japan (12,000 MT), and Costa Rica (6,800 MT). This summary is based on reports from

exporters from the period August 21-27, 2015.