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Rice E-Newsletter
April 24 , 2015
V o l u m e 5, Issue I
The Korean government says it will purchase an additional 77-thousand tons of surplus rice in an attempt
to prop up falling prices.Every year the government purchases rice that exceeds the nation's market
demand of four-million tons.Last year, the government had estimated a yield of roughly four.one-eightmillion tons, but the actual harvest topped that projection by 60-thousand tons.Korean farmers had asked
the government to purchase the excess rice,plus an additional 17-thousand tons that had been stockpiled
by local governments.
Reporter : mkji@arirang.co.kr
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sufficiency. It is also among the thorniest issues holding up an agreement the two nations hope to
unveil when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama meet in Washington next
week.Rice is a social and political force. There is nothing quite like it in the U.S., said Tom
Slayton, a former senior rice trade analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who
implemented an earlier U.S.-Japan rice agreement in the 1980s. The Japanese are protecting a
dinosaur, but its a dinosaur with a lot of clout.
Negotiators have been working for months on a deal that could become a part of a global deal
being hammered out among 12 Pacific countries. The so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would
link economies making up 40 percent of the worlds gross domestic product and strengthen U.S.
alliances in Asia, key trade and foreign policy goals for Obama.If the U.S., the worlds biggest
economy, and Japan, the third-biggest, can strike a bilateral deal, it would help pave the way for
the larger accord.Autos and agriculture have become the final snags. Japan wants the U.S. to
eliminate a U.S. import tariff that was put in place to protect an industry that supports 900,000
manufacturing jobs. U.S. farm groups want Japanese trade restrictions lifted - - including for rice
-- further opening a market thats already the biggest U.S. buyer of beef and pork.
Large Market
The U.S. was Japans largest export market and second-biggest source of imports in 2013,
according to the most recent government data. Last year, the U.S. sold $67 billion of goods to
Japan and bought $133.9 billion worth.The U.S. is the worlds fifth-biggest exporter of rice,
trailing Thailand, India, Vietnam and Pakistan. Japan, where the grain has been culturally and
economically important for millennia, imports almost none.The Japanese have always been
very, very tough negotiators on agriculture issues. Weve made progress, but rice is one of the
fences that are still up, said John Block, who served as U.S. Agriculture Secretary under
President Ronald Reagan.Hiroshi Oe, Japans TPP ambassador, said rice is considered a
politically sensitive product that must be protected, along with other grains, beef, pork, dairy and
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(Reuters) - Daily price limits for Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures will rise
starting in May, while soybean limits will not change following a semi-annual review, the CME
Group Inc, parent of the exchange, said on Thursday.Under exchange rules, the CBOT resets
daily limits for grains and oilseeds in May and November of each year, based on a percentage of
the average settlement price of benchmark contracts during a roughly nine-week observation
period.The new limits will go into effect on Thursday, April 30, for May 1 trading.For corn,
daily limit will move to 30 cents per bushel from the current 25 cents.
The limit for CBOT wheat will rise to 40 cents from 35 cents, and the limit for K.C. hard red
winter wheat will stay at 40 cents.For soybeans, the daily limit will remain at 70 cents per
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The Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) has developed a protein-rich rice variety, which also
high-yielding as well as tolerant to certain diseases, according to local sources.The Director of
the CRRI told local sources that the new variety has 10.5% protein content, which is about 3%
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higher than that found in normal varieties. He noted that the new variety has been developed by
crossing a protein-rich germplasm with a high-yielding rice variety called "Naveen". He added
that the scientists are planning to increase the protein content as well as yield of the new variety
by cross breeding it with high-yielding varieties.Presently, the new variety yields about 5.5 tons
per hectare and is well-suited to grow in the Indian eastern states, said the CRRI Director.
The CRRI Director also noted that normally farmers are not that inclined to adopt such new
varieties as the yield provided by them is very low. He added that the institute is planning to
carry out an awareness drive to encourage the farmers to adopt the new protein-rich variety. He
expressed confidence that farmers would be easily convinced as "Naveen" rice variety was quite
popular among farmers in eastern states.The new variety, which is yet to get a name, is cleared
by the Variety Identification Committee under the Ministry of Agriculture. The CRRI is planning
to release the new variety for cultivation within the next two months.The CRRI is also working
towards developing flood and saline-resistant rice varieties as well. So far, the institute
developed 115 rice varieties, according to the CRRI Director.
Source with thanks: ORYZA.com
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Rice of Kashmir
Dr. G A Parray
Before the introduction and popularization of China varieties, many indigenous landraces including
Mushkbuduj were grown on large scale across Kashmir Himalayas. More than 100 landraces have been
documented from Kashmir valley, however, majority of them got fast replaced from fields by the high
yielding varieties and were pushed only to some specific pockets of Valley, where they are being grown
by a few households. Great genetic erosions have occurred since last five to six decades during which
major proportion of local rice biodiversity was lost.
The reasons attributed to the loss of heritage rice of Kashmir are their low yielding potential,
susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses particularly to paddy blast and less share of benefits to the
growers because of unscrupulous activities of brokers (milling and marketing of the product). In the
backdrop of these facts Mushkbuduj revival programme was undertaken in 2007 by Khudwani Centre of
SKUAST-Kashmir with the objective to conserve local biodiversity through utilization for socioeconomic development of rice growers under Vice Chancellor Dr. Tej Pratap and Director Research Dr.
Shafiq A Wani.The demand for original Mushkbuduj was felt from different sections of the society.
SKUAST-Kashmir developed the purified version of Mushkbuduj and devised an integrated nutrient and
disease management modules through rigorous experimentation for six long years at Khudwani
Centre.During Kharif 2011, the performance of purified version against the older version was
demonstrated in the farmers field in the Sagam village of district Anantnag.
A popular niche belts of local heritage rice of Kashmir. Simultaneously, the seed multiplication
programme was undertaken in the farmers field in the same season in compact blocks by providing them
pure seed produced at the Khudwani Centre. The year 2013, proved a success story during which an area
of 50 ha in five adjoining villages was brought under Mushkbuduj and about 1500q of seeds were
produced. This programme was also highly applauded by Governor N N Vohra during 3rd Agriculture
Science Congress organized by SKUAST-K.In this regard SKUAST-Kashmir invited market
entrepreneurs and millers for creating smooth and sustainable market facility to safeguard interests of
farmers and other stake holders.
The programme has been proposed to extend and to bring other niche belts and equivalent ecologies of
Kashmir valley under aromatic rice cultivation. A Jammu based rice exporter has also now entered into
the procurement, milling and trading of branded Mushkbuduj.During 2014, 4000-5000q seeds of aromatic
rice were produced in the village Sagam, although, it was an unfavorable year for rice crop owing to
floods and cold stress at critical stage of crop growth. The Jammu based rice exporter again lifted the
major portion of the harvest and provided handsome cash to farmers at their threshing floor. Presently,
there is surplus stock available in the market and people can have the taste of the heritage rice of Kashmir
valley.
Mushkbuduj which few years back was diminishing at an alarming rate is now available in the market in
its original form. The areas that produce Mushkbuduj, is expected to surpass 300 ha in Kharif 2015. This
special rice variety cannot be grown everywhere as it needs specific agro-ecology and peculiar climatic
conditions and furthermore needs expertise in production/protection technology and availability of good
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CUTTACK: The Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), which celebrated its 69th foundation
day here on Thursday, has decided to focus on developing next-generation rice varieties."Our
priority is to develop rice varieties, which can grow quickly and produce up to 10 to 12 tonne a
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The food ministry has at last asked the National Board of Revenue to slap duty on rice imports in
a last ditch move to arrest the downward spiral of prices of the grain and prevent farmers from
racking up unsustainable losses.Millers and analysts termed the initiative to be 'too late' as the
harvest of boro paddy has already begun and the grain is trading at Tk 100 per maund (40
kilogram) below last year's prices.The rice prices are also lower than those that prevailed at this
time last year, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.The government should have
imposed the duty much earlier as many farmers and millers have already incurred losses for
rising imports from India, said Bappi Saha, a rice miller from Netrokona district.
Farmers get as low as Tk 450 for each maund of BRRI Dhan 28, the most popular rice variety
during the boro season. The lowest price of the same variety was Tk 550 per maund during the
harvesting period last year, he said.The present price of paddy is much below the government
estimate of farmers' production cost of Tk 20 each kilogram during the current boro season.The
demand for paddy remains lukewarm among millers. Because of that, we are suffering from
losses. We cannot clear our stocks for the imports.Saha said the farmers will be unable to
recover their investment unless the government takes steps immediately.
Acknowledging the downward trend of rice prices owing to imports, the food ministry finally
sought the NBR's help yesterday -- a move that comes four months after the parliamentary
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VIJAYAWADA: Rice millers from across the country, at their one-day conference to be held
here on April 25, will seek a uniform price to be paid by the government for custom milling of
rice given to them after procuring it from farmers.Speaking to newsmen here Thursday, AP Rice
Millers Association Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, said the Centre was paying different prices in
different states for custom milling. Though the rice millers were not against the government
taking over procurement of paddy from farmers, they should give it to millers for custom milling
for an attractive price, he said. In AP, the price paid by the government for custom milling was
Rs 15 per tonne while it is Rs 85 per tonne in Odisha and Rs 30 in Telangana, he said.
Cane growers and rice farmers will not accept being left out of TPP trade talks. Photo: Peter Braig
Crucial TPP trade pact in 'grabbing distance'
TPP pill difficult to swallow for pharmaceuticals
No new penalties for Australian internet pirates under TPP
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Claims of rice stockpiles being sold through government-to-government (G2G) scheme by the Yingluck
Shinawatra administration were "total lies", National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) member
Vicha Mahakhun told members of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) yesterday.The scheme, he
said, played a key role in "one of the most scandalous corruption cases in Thai history". However, former
commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said the allegations were part of a political game by the
NACC, claiming the commission had chosen to single out and annihilate a political group by using
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"double standards". He also accused the NACC of rushing the case through without taking into account
important witnesses and evidence, which led to false conclusions.
The other two accused, former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol and former director of the
Commerce Ministry's Foreign Trade Department Manus Soiploy, also said they had hard evidence to
prove their innocence. The NLA held a second meeting yesterday to deliberate on impeachment cases
against public officials in relation to alleged corruption in the G2G scheme. The first meeting was held
earlier this month.At yesterday's meeting, which was chaired by NLA president Pornpetch
Wichitcholchai, Vicha presented the case statement on NACC's behalf. Boonsong and Poom came armed
with a team of 11 lawyers. In the question-and-answer session, Vicha questioned the very existence of the
Chinese government representatives who had engaged in the deal. He pointed out that Beijing had
claimed that these "state enterprises" were not their representatives.
Vicha also asked why the companies Kwang-Tung Stationary and Hai-Narn Grain and Oil Industrial
Trading - who the Pheu Thai-led government claimed were representatives of the Chinese government sold the rice back to Thai local distributors. He backed this claim by saying local firms Nakorn-Luang
Ka-Kao and Thai-Fah 2551 had both come forward to say they bought rice from the Chinese companies.
He also said documents issued by the Foreign Trade Department recording the so-called sale to China
only accounted for a single ex-warehouse transaction. Vicha said the deal was in fact with North Korea
and the transaction had to be cancelled because no payment was ever made.
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The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives says it has successfully offered help to all troubled
rice and rubber farmers as planned.Speaking about the governments performance during the
past six months, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Pitipong Puengbun na Ayuddhya said
the government had distributed over 60 billion baht to rice and rubber growers affected by falling
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The government ann-ounced on Wednesday that it would distribute Tk 302 million (30.2 crore) among
farmers in the form of incentives during the current Aus paddy season aiming to help scale up
production."We will provide Tk 302 million to 210,000 (0.21 million) farmers of 48 districts. The money
will be disbursed within the next ten days," Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury told the
journalists while announcing the incentives at the conference room of the Ministry of Agriculture on the
day. The incentive will be provided in cash and also in the form of agricultural inputs like seeds and
fertilisers."Under the incentive programme additional 70,000 tonnes of rice will be produced. The total
value of the produce will stand at Tk 2.31 billion (rice Tk 2.24 billion and straw Tk 70 million). The ratio
of expenditure to income is 1:8," she mentioned.Asked about distribution of the incentive, she said the
government would maintain utmost transparency in distributing the cash, seeds and fertiliser to the
farmers.
She said farmers would get the cash through bank accounts. The selected farmers would give their
signatures/thumb prints at the time of receiving the agricultural inputs.Upazila Agriculture
Implementation Committee, upazila level agriculture officer and union council chairmen and members
concerned will select the deserving farmers for the facilities. Out of the amount (Tk 302 million), Tk 243
million will be given to farmers for cultivating the Ufshi variety of Aus and Tk 59 million for the Nerica
variety.
The districts are Noakhali, Jessore, Jhenidah, Bogra, Lal-monirhat, Meherpur, Gai-bandha, Natore,
Joypurhat, Tangail, Mymensingh, Moul-vibazar, Khulna, Satkhira, Sirajganj, Pabna, Kishoreganj,
Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Gopa-lganj, Kushtia, Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Madaripur, Bhola and
Bagerhat.The government has set a target to produce around 35 million tonnes of rice this year. Apart
from giving the incentives for Aus paddy cultivation, the government has already disbursed Tk 240
million in the same form for cultivating wheat, mustard, Boro paddy and BARI Khesari.
A total of 210,000 farmers in 48 districts will cultivate the Ufshi variety of paddy on 210,000 bighas of
land during the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15.A total of 180,000 farmers will cultivate Ufshi Aus on
180,000 bighas in 48 districts while 30,000 farmers will grow the Nerica variety of paddy on 30,000
bighas in 37 districts.Each of the farmers will get Tk 1,350 for the Ufshi Aus paddy production and Tk
1,970 for the Nerica variety.About Tk 400 will be given for irrigation of both Ufshi and Nerica varieties
and Tk 400 for removing unwanted wild plants for cultivating the Nerica variety.Each of the farmers will
get 5 kg seeds of the Ufshi variety and 10 kg seeds of the Nerica variety.Besides, each farmer will receive
20 kg urea, 10 kg Muriate of Potash (MOP) and 10 kg Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) for cultivating
both the varieties of Aus paddy.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
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The government has purchased 150,000 MT of paddy from farmers island-wide at a cost of Rs.
7.2 billion during the Maha season 2014/2015, Secretary to the President P.B Abeykoon told a
media briefing held at the Government Information Department today (24).He said that the the
country was receiving massive paddy harvests and the government had allocated Rs. 10 billion to
purchase paddy during the Maha season.
Accordingly, funds would be provided to farmer associations through District Secretariats.
Paddy would be purchased at government stipulated prices, making use of over 180 paddy
storage facilities in the country, while providing relief for farmers, he added.He noted Cabinet
decision to place stipulated prices for Keeri Samba at Rs. 50 per kilo, Samba at Rs 45 per kilo
and Nadu at Rs. 40 per kilo.
http://www.news.lk/news/business/item/7328-govt-purchase-150-000-mt-of-paddy-president-s-secretary
Nyankpala, April 23, GNA A project to overhaul the rice seed system and improve farmers'
access to all rice seeds in the Northern and Upper East Regions has been launched.The three-year
initiative dubbed: 'Rice Seed Scaling Project,' is being implemented by the Africa Rice Centre, in
collaboration with the Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) Project, Savanna Agricultural
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The U.S. and Mexican rice industries are particularly interested in the potential commercial impact if
Mexico agrees to eliminate import duties on rice from Vietnam. Vietnam is a TPP partner and rice from
that country faces a 20 percent import duty in Mexico while U.S. rice enters duty free under the North
American Free Trade Agreement.
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WASHINGTON, DC- Following nine years of collaboration with USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS), USA Rice has reached a feasible resolution with Peru's National Service of
Agrarian Health (SENASA) to fully open Peru's market to U.S. rice exports. According to the agreement,
import permits, phytosanitary certificates, and fumigation will be required and USA Rice will publicize
specific technical requirements once they are finalized.
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"Peru is one of those markets that has great potential for increased U.S. rice exports and we are grateful to
USDA Under Secretary Ed Avalos for his work in improving market access for U.S. rice, said USA Rice
Director of International Promotion Sarah Moran. "To this end, USA Rice will commence promotional
activities in Peru this year, targeting importers, millers, foodservice operators, chef associations and other
HRI operators."Exports to Peru increased nearly 1,000 percent from 2013 to 2014 and there is now
potential for increased exports. The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA), which was
implemented in 2009, allows for 104,970 milled tons (MT) of U.S. rice to enter Peru duty free in 2015.
Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458
Price
Net Change
May 2015
$9.980
- $0.080
July 2015
$10.230
- $0.060
September 2015
$10.495
- $0.055
November 2015
$10.740
- $0.055
January 2016
$10.985
- $0.045
March 2016
$11.035
- $0.045
May 2016
$11.035
- $0.045
From PoliticoPro
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there is no biotech rice left in the U.S. supplies. EU rice imports from the U.S. sank from
275,000 tons in 2005 to just 100,000 tons in 2006, the year that Bayer CropScience's unapproved
biotech Liberty Link 601 rice was found in U.S. rice supplies, according to USDA data. By
2013, U.S. rice exports to the EU had sunk to just 177 tons.
Getty
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As the federal crop insurance program grows more complex, farmers are having a hard time
keeping up.
By DAVID ROGERS
4/21/15 5:07 PM EDT
Its not quite calculus, but its getting pretty close with all the bells and whistles Congress has
added to the federal crop insurance program now the biggest part of the safety net for
American farmers.The newest refinement is something called yield exclusion, or YE for short, a
little-debated provision in the 2014 farm bill which was added in the final talks on behalf of
cotton and grain producers in the South and West hurt by the severe droughts of recent years.
Story Continued Below
As its name suggests, the idea is to let growers exclude those especially bad years which lower
their production score so important to calculating what level of revenue protection they can buy.
Among the qualified counties, preliminary data from the Risk Management Agency released
Tuesday shows that about 19 percent of the policies sold thus far have taken advantage of the
new provision. But its corn, not cotton, leading the way an added dividend on top of the
concessions already won by corn growers in the commodity title.
Among 410,771 corn policies, for example, 28 percent or 115,452 chose yield exclusion. But
among 73,681 cotton policies, the RMA said 19 percent or 13,904 took advantage of the YE
option.Soybeans are close behind at 16 percent. Together corn and beans two mainstays in the
Midwest account for 78 percent of the policies excluding one or more years.For most
Americans, crop insurance is one big rabbit hole better left to Alice or at least the House and
Senate Agriculture committees. But jumping into the numbers is also an education to the
challenges faced in shaping a farm safety net that is meaningful for major crops from one region
to the next.
For policymakers, thats more and more the bottom line, as crop insurance has surpassed
traditional commodity price support programs. But it also raises questions about how to balance
the risks to the producer versus those to the taxpayer subsidizing the system.A recent report from
the Government Accountability Office warns that higher-risk regions are already costing the
program well beyond the premiums set by the RMA. Add in the new YE provision, and it puts
RMA in something of a bind, caught between what seem to be two conflicting mandates.For the
farmer, its really a crash course in calculus. So many variables are in play, each impacting the
optimal outcome.
Take a look at the most common form of coverage today: revenue insurance. The two major
elements are a farms expected yield, based on its average production history or APH, and the
anticipated market price for the crop, which is based on futures contracts for each season.
Multiplying these two establishes a farmers expected revenue. From that, he or she then decides
what percentage or guarantee is affordable to keep the bankers at bay and ensure enough of a
return to get back into the field next year.Since market prices are beyond a farmers control,
APH becomes all the more important. And even prior to the new farm bill, there were provisions
to allow a grower to sub out some bad years or take advantage of new multipliers to reflect
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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/new-crop-insurance-math-new-challenges-for-farmers117195.html#ixzz3YJf7u5Cz
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