Today Rice News Headlines:

Korea Announcement of New Rice Tariff Jumps the

Gun
GMO debate grows over golden rice in the
Philippines
Using Bacteria To Combat Arsenic In Rice
Rice Month in Louisiana: Eight Tons of Rice
Donated to Area Food
Punjab has adequate capacity to lift, shell basmati:
milers
South Korea Plans Tariff of Over 500% on Rice
Imports
Commerce Ministry to keep rice price from falling
below 8,500 baht per ton
Indonesia Rice Production Forecast Slightly Below
Last Years Record Level
UPDATE 2-S.Korea sets rice import tariff at 513
pct from 2015
Rice exporters must have 500-tonne stockpiles
Monsoon rains weaken as late retreat looms
US$75 million facility to boost rice production
Govt decides to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri
Lanka
India's rice output, exports to climb on revival of
monsoon
New panel to look at rice prices
470 KMT of export wheat shipped from the port of
Taman in August
For Advertisement Specs & Rates:
Contact: mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
18
th
September, 2014
News Detail.
Korea Announcement of New
Rice Tariff Jumps the Gun
Korea's Minister of Agriculture
Lee Dong-phil
ARLINGTON, VA -- Korea's Minister of
Agriculture reportedly announced Thursday that
his country would impose a tariff of
approximately 513 percent on imports of rice
above a set quota beginning in 2015. The
announcement is in connection with Korea's
decision earlier this year to move away from a
system of rigid import quotas to a tariff-based
system."Korea is an important market for U.S.
rice, and today's announcement of an extremely
high duty without apparent consultation with
members of the World Trade Organization is
disappointing," said Robert Cummings, USA
Rice Federation COO.
"The WTO has guidelines for countries moving
to a tariff-based import system for rice, and final
tariff levels are subject to acceptance by WTO
members. Japan held consultations with the
United States and other affected WTO members
before Japan formally notified a final tariff level
to the WTO in the late 1990's when the country
moved to rice tariffication. We would expect
the Korean government to do the same."Korea
was granted 'special treatment for rice under the
WTO's Uruguay Round Agreement of 1994
which allowed the Korean government to set an
absolute import limit on rice imports in
exchange for agreeing to import a set annual
quota from WTO members.
WTO members extended special treatment for
an additional 10 years in 2004. Korea
announced earlier this year that it would move to
tariffication, and USA Rice has been in close
contact with U.S. negotiators to ensure that
tariffication at a minimum preserves current
market access for U.S. rice. The 2004
agreement extending special treatment required
Korea to import an annually increasing amount
of rice, reaching 408,700 metric tons in 2014. A
portion of that quota was divided into country
specific quotas (CSQ) among Australia, China,
Thailand, and the United States. The U.S. CSQ
is 50,076 metric tons (MT).The 2004 agreement
also requires that a certain percentage of Korea's
imports (30 percent in 2014) be made available
to the "table rice" or consumer market. The
United States has developed a market in Korea,
and has found consumer acceptance in the all-
important table rice market. U.S. exports were
just under 159,000 MT in 2013, and averaged
131,000 MT in 2011-2013.
Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458
GMO debate grows over
golden rice in the Philippines
September 17, 2014 at 6:37 PM EDT
Vitamin A deficiency is a deadly threat to kids
and pregnant mothers in the Third World. In the
Philippines, the best nutrient sources are rarely
part of the daily diet, so researchers have tried
adding vitamin A to rice, a staple food. Science
correspondent Miles O'Brien investigates the
debate thats grown up over the development of
golden rice, a genetically modified crop.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/gmo-debate-
grows-golden-rice-philippines/
Using Bacteria To Combat
Arsenic In Rice
Randall Mayes , Design & Trend
Sep, 18, 2014, 10:30 AM
Arsenic is a common contaminant in the fields
of India and other Asian countries. Rice plants
that absorb arsenic and are then exposed to
consumers have been linked to heart disease,
diabetes and genetic damage associated with
elevated risk for cancer, reports The New
York Times.When Harsh Bais grows rice
plants in trays of water in his greenhouse at
the University of Delaware, he can easily spot
the ones that have been exposed to arsenic.
They are stunted, with shorter stems and
shrunken, yellow-tinged leaves.But instead of
trying to breed new strains of rice or alter its
DNA, he is looking at the vast microbial
community that lives near the rice's roots.

These bacteria are the botanic equivalent of
the human microbiome , the trillions of
organisms that live in our guts, many
performing beneficial tasks like digesting food
and fighting off infection, according to New
York Times. "Research on the plant
microbiome is very hot because everyone is
trying to find things that can increase growth
and yield," said Bais, anassociate professor of
plant and soil sciences at Delaware. But he
added that for him, arsenic in rice was a
burning issue."An extensive study of the rice
microbiome is underway in the lab
ofVenkatesan Sundaresan, a professor of plant
biology and plant sciences at University of
California, Davis. Using DNA sequencing, he
has found at least a quarter-million bacterial
species in the rice microbiome, and
counting.P. agglomerans is the first microbe
that has been shown to reduce arsenic in rice.
While the microbe appears to keep most
arsenic out of the rice's stem and leaves, the
crucial question is how it affects the grain. The
researchers hope to find out this growing
season, reports The New York Times.The
research, funded by the National Science
Foundation, has not been published. But in
May, the scientists published a study in BMC
Palnt Biology on a different bacterium found
to suppress a fungal infection called blast,
which kills up to 30 percent of the world's rice
crop.

Rice Month in Louisiana:
Eight Tons of Rice Donated to
Area Food Bank
In good hands
BATON ROUGE, LA -- Louisiana Department
of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Dr.
Mike Strain, rice industry leaders, and
representatives of the Greater Baton Rouge Food
Bank (GBRFB) gathered at the Capitol Park
Museum in view of the state capitol yesterday to
proclaim September as Louisiana Rice
Month.Dr. Strain also presented Governor
Bobby Jindal's official proclamation declaring
September as Louisiana Hunger Action Month.
Joining the ceremony was Louisiana
Representative Jack Montoucet of
Crowley.Louisiana Rice Promotion Board
Chairman Kevin Berken was on hand to make
the industry's annual rice donation to the
GBRFB."The rice industry has a strong record
of support for the needy," said Berken.
"This year's donation of more than 16,000
pounds will provide nearly 200,000 servings of
rice to our neighbors in need."Louisiana Rice
Mill and Falcon Rice Mill of Crowley, Planters
Rice Mill of Abbeville, and Farmers Rice Mill
of Lake Charles provided rice for the
donation.The GBRFB is a regional food bank
that provides food to more than 130 charitable
agencies operating food pantries, group homes,
shelters, meal sites and special agencies in 11
parishes. In 2013, the GBRFB provided more
than 9.6 million meals to those in need.
Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009
Punjab has adequate capacity
to lift, shell basmati: milers
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
September 16, 2014
First Published: 22:58 IST(16/9/2014) | Last
Updated: 16:32 IST(17/9/2014)
The rice millers and exporters association,
Punjab, on Tuesday announced that it was
geared up to lift and shell the entire basmati
paddy produce without the state
governments intervention.The association
was reacting to apprehensions raised by the
state government and its proposal to take
help from millers from neighbouring
Haryana for lifting and milling of basmati,
the production of which is expected to
double this year as compared to last
year.Punjab agriculture minister Tota Singh
has already invited rice milers from
Haryana, seeking their help for lifting and
shelling basmati in Punjab.
The millers clarified that basmati produce
from the state did not have to be shelled in
Haryana as the arrangements were adequate.
While the state agriculture department says
that basmati is sown over 6.5 lakh hectares,
rice millers have claimed that area under
basmati (Pusa 1121, 1509 and traditional
varieties) is 7.8 lakh hectares in the
state.The Punjab basmati rice industry has
grown manifold with the policy initiated by
the state government to waive market fee
and rural development fund (2% each) on
the lifting of the crop, said association
director Ashok Sethi, adding that as a result,
farmers were choosing basmati varieties
over the coarse paddy grain.

Sethi said the concessions had attracted new
investment worth more than Rs. 500 crore,
thereby adding fresh production capacity of
300 metric tonnes per hour, which resulted
in 30% growth in the area under basmati
crop cultivation this year.We are alarmed
by statements made by some persons,
creating a fear psychosis that the existing
industry does not have sufficient milling
capacity to lift the increased basmati
produce this year, and policy-makers were
looking at the option of extending benefits
of rural development fund and market fee
exemption to millers and traders from other
states to purchase the bumper crop from
Punjab, said association president Arvinder
Pal Singh.

Sethi pointed that the Punjab government
had imposed 5.5 % as advance tax on the
import of paddy from other states, depriving
its own industry of purchasing basmati and
rice varieties that were not grown in
Punjab.The state government is denying us
the opportunity to run our units to full
capacity, he said, adding that some states
were enjoying zero-VAT regime on
foodgrains, whereas in Punjab they were
paying 5.5% VAT.
South Korea Plans Tariff of
Over 500% on Rice Imports
By KWANWOO JUN CONNECT
Sept. 18, 2014 3:48 a.m. ET

South Korea plans to impose a tariff of up to
513% on rice imports to help protect its
farmers. A farmer stands near a rice field in
Gimje, south of Seoul, in this file
photo. Reuters
South Korea plans to impose a tariff of up to
513% on rice imports to help protect its
farmers, months before the country opens up
its rice market to foreign competition. Rice
imports are a politically sensitive issue in
South Korea because most farmers strongly
oppose opening up the rice-market in fear
they will lose out to cheaper imports.South
Korea has been allowed to gradually
increase its rice import quotasinstead of
fully opening its rice marketunder an
agreement with the World Trade
Organization.
The deal expires at the end of 2014. Seoul
said in July it would scrap rice-import
capsfrom 2015.The South Korean
government on Thursday said it would
impose a tariff of 513% from early next year
on foreign rice shipments that exceeded its
annual quota of grain imports.South Korea's
annual quota for rice imports totals 408,700
tons this year, or about 9% of national
demand, with a 5% tariff imposed on the
imported grain.In a televised briefing,
Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-phil said the
tariff was "the highest possible level that an
agriculture agreement with the WTO allows
to protect the local rice
industry."Government data show the tariff
will help domestic producers of the grain
stay competitive in the local market. The
tariff will make the imported grain six times
more expensive than its original price and
up to three times more than that of local rice.
"Probably only a handful of Korean people
would be willing to pay the exorbitant prices
to eat foreign rice," said an agriculture
ministry official, who asked not to be
named.However, the measure didn't appease
a group of about 10 angry local farmers,
who briefly broke into a meeting of
government officials and ruling party
lawmakers discussing the opening of the
local rice market. Television footage showed
the protesters sprayed red pepper and threw
eggs at the officials.Seoul's latest tariff
decision comes amid a decline in the
country's per capita rice consumption, which
dropped to 67.2 kilograms last year from
80.7 kilograms in 2005.
A recent survey also showed Koreans have
little appetite for foreign versions of the
grain.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun
at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

Commerce Ministry to keep
rice price from falling below
8,500 baht per ton
Date : 18 2557
BANGKOK, 18 September 2014 (NNT) The
Ministry of Commerce has agreed to meet with
rice growers' representatives every two weeks to
ensure stability of rice price is achieved and to
address the demands of rice growers. Commerce
Minister Chatchai Sarikanlaya yesterday met
with representatives from five rice growers'
organizations to discuss measures to aid rice
growers, the appropriate price of rice and the
marketing of rice. It was agreed at the meeting
that the government would work to keep the rice
price from falling below 8,500 baht per ton.
easures to ensure this price level would vary
according to circumstances.
For the long run, cost of producing rice would
be reduced and improvement made to the yield
per rai of paddy. The representatives of rice
growers and Commerce Ministry officials will
meet every two weeks to follow up on these
drives, with the first meeting set to take place
next week, said the Commerce Minister. The
Ministry of Commerce is also looking to
implement the same model to oversee issues of
other crops.
Indonesia Rice Production
Forecast Slightly Below Last
Years Record Level

18 September 2014
INDONESIA - Harvesting of the 2014 main
(wet) season paddy crop, which accounts for
about 95 per cent of annual production, was
completed by June, while that of the 2014
secondary season crop is expected to start in
mid-October and continue into December.
Latest official forecasts put this years aggregate
rice production (including the 2014 main and
secondary seasons) at 69.9 million tonnes,
slightly below last years record level.
The expected decrease is the result of a slight
contraction in planted area, reflecting a shift
from paddy land to other crops, as well as
planting disruptions due to floods from mid-
January to late February, particularly in parts of
West Java.Harvesting of the 2014 main (rainy)
season maize crop was completed in April and
that of the 2014 secondary (dry) season crop will
start in mid-October and will be completed in
December.The 2014 aggregate maize output is
officially forecast at 18.6 million tonnes, similar
to last years above-average harvest and slightly
below the 2012 record output.The probability of
an El Nio event in the last quarter of the year
has been recently lowered to 60 per cent.

The phenomenon is often associated with below-
average precipitation and the past moderate El
Nio events resulted in production declines in
the country.Depending on the timing and
intensity of an eventual El Nio, the 2015 main
rainfed paddy crops, which are planted from late
October, may be negatively affected by the
event.
UPDATE 2-S.Korea sets rice
import tariff at 513 pct from
2015
Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:44am IST
* Seoul is scrapping import quotas but wants
to protect farmers
* Will inform WTO by end-Sept; WTO to
review from Oct
* Import tariff above 500 pct had been
expected
* 513 pct tariff will apply to imports above
409,000 tonnes (Adds agriculture minister's
quotes and farmers' reaction)
By Meeyoung Cho
SEOUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) - South Korea has
set a rice import tariff at 513 percent from
next year as it looks to protect farmers after
scrapping a cap on politically sensitive
imports of the grain in line with international
trade commitments.The World Trade
Organization (WTO) will be officially
informed of the level by the end of this month
and will start a review of the tariff in October,
the agriculture, trade and finance ministries
said in a joint statement on Thursday.Imports
of 409,000 tonnes a year - the amount shipped
in under a WTO quota agreement that ends
this year - would attract a tariff of 5 percent,
the statement said, and the 513 percent would
apply to shipments above that level.
Farmers groups had called for a tariff of at
least 400 percent and local media had reported
it would be at least 500 percent."The tariff to
be informed to the WTO has been decided at
513 percent, the highest level possible within
the ranges in a WTO agriculture agreement to
protect the domestic rice industry,"
Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-phil said in a
televised briefing.Earlier, about 10 people
from farmers' groups had briefly disrupted a
meeting between the government and the
ruling party over the import tariff, saying the
government was opening up the rice market
without any preparation.The Korean Peasants
League criticised the decision in a statement,
saying it was made without consulting
opposition parties and members of a rice
industry development committee.
But not all farmers' groups disagreed with the
scheme. Son Jae-beom, secretary general of
the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation,
said: "Switching to the tariff scheme is
unavoidable. We think protecting the industry
by imposing this appropriate level of 513
percent is more what is needed."Son, however,
also thought the government should have
made more effort to support farmers by raising
subsidies.
South Korea is broadly self-sufficient as
regards rice but, under the current WTO
agreement, it must buy 408,700 tonnes of
foreign rice this year, 9 percent of its demand.
The amount that must be purchased abroad
has gradually increased from 51,000 tonnes in
1995.Under the new scheme, Seoul would still
be required to import at least 408,700 tonnes a
year.U.S. and Chinese rice exporters have
been waiting for the Korean government's
decision on grain import tariffs since Seoul
said in July it would scrap caps on rice
imports from 2015.
The 20-year-old quota agreement with the
WTO expires at the end of this year.Although
the decision potentially opens up the market to
more imports, Seoul has said all along that
steep tariffs would be used to protect its
farmers.A free trade agreement between South
Korea and the United States took effect on
March 15 last year. Seoul has been in talks
with China on a similar deal and also wants to
join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership
trade pact.The tariff level would not be
amended as part of any free trade deals with
other countries, the joint statement said.
(Reporting by Meeyoung Cho; Additional
reporting by Chris Lee; Editing by Richard
Pullin and Alan Raybould)
Rice exporters must have 500-
tonne stockpiles
9/18/2014
The Nation (Thailand)
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation
The Commerce Ministry will
inspect exporters' rice stockpiles soon to
ensure they have at least the minimum
amount required under a new regulation,
while it will also encourage traders and
farmers to hold on to rice longer during the
upcoming harvest season.Boonyarit
Kalayanamit, ministry inspector-general and
spokesman, yesterday said that under a
primary plan to stabilise market prices,
Commerce needed to ensure that
every exporter had some stockpiled
rice.Under the new regulation, exporters are
each required to have a minimum of 500
tonnes of rice in their warehouses.
The measure will ensure that exporters have
enough stocks and absorb some of the rice
supply in the market, he said.Moreover, the
ministry will also encourage millers, traders
and farmers to keep more rice in their
warehouses, so that farmers do not face high
pressure to accelerate sales during the
harvest season.Under the plan, the
government will provide soft loans to traders
and farmers so that they can build or expand
their warehouses.The plan to
inspect exporters' stockpiles and support the
holding of more stock is part of the
government's measures to prevent rice prices
falling, to the detriment of farmers.
Boonyarit said Commerce Minister General
Chatchai Sarikalya would submit the
proposals for the Rice Policy and
Management Committee's approval soon.
He pointed out that Chatchai had recently
told farmers that the new government would
try to ensure that rice prices in the market
would not fall below Bt8,500 for a tonne of
white paddy.In addition, so that farmers
have better means of voicing their concerns,
the ministry has agreed with five farmer-
related associations to set up a bi-weekly
discussion group between its officials and
farmers' representatives.

Monsoon rains weaken as late
retreat looms
BY RATNAJYOTI DUTTA
NEW DELHI Thu Sep 18, 2014 8:06pm IST
An ice-cream vendor takes shelter in his cart
as it rains in New Delhi September 11, 2014.

(Reuters) - Monsoon is set for a delayed
retreat this year as rains weakened last week
after a fortnight of heavy downpours over
major crop regions. Usually, the monsoon
season starts to diminish in early September,
and withdraws completely from the grain
bowl belt of northwest India by the middle
of the month.Monsoon rains strengthened in
northwest India, however, earlier this month.
The delayed retreat is likely to aid sowing
prospects next month for winter crops such
as wheat and rapeseed by improving soil
moisture content."Signs of the withdrawal
are visible in the western parts," said D.S.
Pai, lead forecaster of the Indian weather
office.The weather office treats dry weather
conditions for five straight days in western
India to be the basic criterion signifying the
retreat of the June-September rainy
season.Monsoon rains are vital because
more than half of India's farmland lacks
irrigation, and the farm sector accounts for
14 percent of the national economy.
The monsoon is the main determinant of
rural spending on consumer goods ranging
from lipstick to cars as two-thirds of India's
1.2 billion people live in villages.
Insufficient rains push up food prices.Rains
were a quarter below average in the week to
Sept. 17, the weather office said on
Thursday, a slide from the previous week's
64 percent surplus, the heaviest rainfall of
any week during this monsoon season.As
the monsoon retreats, summer crops such as
rice, corn, sugarcane, soybeans and cotton
no longer need heavy precipitation, though
sporadic rains can aid their
growth."Conditions are becoming
favourable for the withdrawal of the
monsoon from some parts of northwest India
during the next three days," Pai said.
(Editing by Dale Hudson)

US$75 million facility to
boost rice production
Dutch international development outfit SNV
Netherland Development Organisation has
secured a US$75million funding from the
USAIDs Financing Ghanaian Agriculture
Project (FinGAP) to boost the capacity of local
rice producers in the three northern regions.The
facility is expected to allow rice farmers to
access the necessary funds and logistics to
increase yields and produce quality grain that
will meet international standards in order to
attract investors, as well as improve the
economic lives of farmers in the beneficiary
regions.The move affirms the Dutch
organisations resolve to step up efforts to
support agribusiness organisations in the
beneficiary communities through financing the
rice value chain to boost production under its
Local Rice Farmers Can Feed West Africa
Project.

FinGAP is a five-year project set up by the
USAID to facilitate financial support to boost
the maize, rice and soya value chains in the
country as a form of intervention in a situation
where commercial banks consider the
agriculture sector to be a risk area for
lending.The Project Manager of SNV
Netherlands Development Organisation, Zakaria
Jalil, who disclosed this at a stakeholders forum
for rice farmers, aggregators and farmer
cooperatives in Tamale, urged the farmers to
form cooperatives to secure more funds for their
activities.The forum enabled the rice farmers,
processors and aggregators to discuss their
financial needs, and how funding from FinGAP
can benefit smallholder farmers when rice is
patronised from the farmers.

It also provided a platform to the participants to
network to support each other in the production
and marketing of rice as each participant is
unique in the service along the rice value chain.
Mr. Jalil said the forum was to provide the
platform for players in the rice value chain to
discuss funding constraints that militate against
high rice yields, needed to feed the nation and
also export to generate revenue for other
developmental projects.

The project, he said, was also to seek
opportunities to support processors and
aggregators to purchase rice from farmers and
encourage more production in the subsequent
years.He stressed that the aggregators and
farmer cooperatives have standing MoUs with
AVNASH rice mills to supply rice this season,
but funding challenges do not allow speedy
mobilisation of rice to AVNASH as farmers
demand cash before rice is off-taken.He said
FinGAP is therefore a worthy partner in
leveraging funding to support the rice value
chain projects and urged beneficiaries to take the
opportunities to put their houses in order to
access the funds and thus contribute their quota
to enhancing the economy.Since the inception of
the SNV rice project, about 1,700 farmers and
processors have benefitted from business
brokering services -- leading to beneficiaries
gaining access to tractor services, fertiliser,
seeds, working capital and extension services;
resulting in the production of 1,400 acres of rice
to boost rice projects in the Northern Region.
Mr. Dominic Ansah of FinGAP noted that his
organisation is working with 21 financial
institutions to provide financial support to
farmers.He said FinGAP in its first year
facilitated US$4million credit to small-,
medium- and large-scale enterprises.FinGAP
provides capacity building and prepare small-,
medium- and large-scale rice, maize and soya
farmers, processors, input dealers and other
actors to access credit easily to support their
activities he added.The participants thanked
SNV for the funding opportunity and indicated
that although the SNV does not give direct
financial support, its actions have facilitated
opportunities that seek to connect capacities in
the rice value chain.
Govt decides to export 50,000
tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka
Staff Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 2014-09-18 17:23:57.0
BdST Updated: 2014-09-18 17:25:01.0
BdST
The government will export 50,000 tonnes of
rice to Sri Lanka, the finance minister has
said.Bangladesh had exported some amount
of aromatic rice before, but such a large
quantity would be exported for the first
time.This was decided at a meeting of the
Cabinet Committee on Purchase Affairs held
on Thursday."The amount of rice stocked in
Bangladesh now is 1.1 million tonnes. Sri
Lanka is a friendly country. We are treating
this as a test case," AMA Muhith told
reporters after the meeting.He said
government-level talks would fix the price
in accordance with international prices.
The export would not create a crisis since
the country had 'adequate' stock, added
Muhith.According to the food ministry,
Bangladeshs rice stock was 1.1 million
tonnes until August this year.However, the
export would require an amendment to the
statutory regulatory order (SRO).The SRO
bars the export of all varieties of rice except
aromatic ones until June 30, 2015.
India's rice output, exports to
climb on revival of monsoon
Last Updated: Thursday, September 18, 2014, 14:10

Tags: India's rice output, India's rice
exports, Monsoon, Monsoon rains, Rice
global prices, Basmati rice
Mumbai/New Delhi: India`s summer-sown
rice output is likely to cross the previous
year`s level due to a pick up in monsoon
rains, raising prospects for higher overseas
sales in 2015 by the world`s biggest exporter
of the grain, trade officials said.Robust
exports from India could keep a lid on
global prices that have surged 12 percent in
the past three months and help cut bulging
government stockpiles built as a result of
bumper harvests over the past several years.
"There were concerns over production due
to poor rainfall in June. The pick-up in rains
from mid-July changed the situation. Now,
the crop is in good shape," said B.V.
Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi
Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, a leading exporter.In
June, monsoon rains were 43 percent lower
than the 50-year average, raising concerns
about output of the rice crop that guzzles a
lot of water. But rains picked up in the past
few weeks, narrowing the rainfall deficit to
11 percent.
"Overall rice production will definitely be
higher than last year but it is a little early to
quantify by how much," said Rajen
Sundareshan, executive director of the All
India Rice Exporters Association.Indian
farmers do the bulk of the rice planting in
the rainy months of June and July, with
harvests from October. The summer-sown
variety accounts for the bulk of India`s total
rice output.Farmers harvested a record
106.54 million tonnes of rice in the 2013/14
crop year, including an output of 91.69
million tonnes from the summer-sown
crop.Buoyed by attractive prices in the
export market, farmers have planted more
areas with aromatic basmati rice, as it needs
less water and is more sturdy, said Rajeev
Setia, executive director of Chaman Lal
Setia Exports Ltd.India and Pakistan
exclusively grow the premium long-grain,
aromatic basmati in the foothills of the
Himalayas. Increasingly farmers are
growing it in the northern plains.
The superior variety carries a premium over
non-basmati, or common grades of rice.
Basmati rice accounts for a tenth of India`s
total rice production.India toppled Thailand
two years ago to become the world`s top rice
exporter as a government intervention
scheme priced Thai rice out of the export
market and as Delhi lifted a four-year ban on
non-basmati rice sales in 2011 to trim
stocks.But Indian exports slowed down from
April as local prices hardened amid a cut in
export rates by Thailand to trim its
inventory. A bumper Indian harvest will
moderate prices and make its grain
competitive in the world market, exporter
Rao said.
CHINESE APPETITE
Indian rice exporters are lobbying the
government to persuade China to import
non-basmati rice from India during the
three-day visit of Chinese President Xi
Jinping this week.China is the world`s
biggest producer of the grain, but rising
demand is forcing it to ramp up imports
from Asian countries such as Vietnam,
Thailand and Pakistan."China has signed
protocols with other rice exporters like
Vietnam and Pakistan.
During Chinese president`s visit we could
sign the protocol with China," Rao
said.India had already signed a protocol with
China for basmati rice export in
2006.Traders believe India can export more
than 1 million tonnes of non-basmati rice to
China. "It has freight advantages over
Pakistan," said an exporter, who did not
wish to be identified.
New panel to look at rice prices
Published: 18 Sep 2014 at 08.22 | Viewed: 2,170
| Comments: 1
Newspaper section: Business
Writer: Phusadee Arunmas
A panel that includes representatives from
the Commerce Ministry and farmers will be
set up to address low paddy prices and work
out strategies to handle rice
issues. Boonyarit Kalayanamit, inspector-
general of the Commerce Ministry and
spokesman for Commerce Minister Chatchai
Sarikulya, said the panel would meet every
two weeks starting from next week to
discuss rice prices and how to stabilise them,
with a goal of shoring them up at a
minimum of 8,500 baht a tonne.The minister
called a meeting yesterday with five farmer
groups the Thai Farmers Association, the
Thai Agriculturists Association, the Thai
Farmer Support Association, a network of
Thai farmers, and the Community Rice
Center.
They all agreed the new panel would play a
vital role in sorting out farmers'
problems.Mr Boonyarit said the ministry
pledged to work closer with the state-owned
Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Cooperatives to offer soft loans to farmers in
the Northeast and Upper North, where rice
barn owners have delayed rice sales.The
ministry is also committed to working out
ways to improve the grains' quality, cutting
production costs and raising
productivity.The ministry will also establish
"Mr Rice", a new unit to coordinate with
other rice-related agencies and monitor the
industry and related issues.
Internal Trade Department figures show as
of Tuesday, paddy prices this year with
moisture of less than 15% were quoted at
7,500 to 8,200 baht a tonne. In related news,
Mr Boonyarit said the ministry had been
accelerating sales of state rice stocks but
noted a key stumbling block was rice quality
inspections, which took time.Rawee
Rungruang, who leads a network of farmers,
hailed the new panel.It will allow the
government and state authorities to hear and
see their real problems so they could work
out accurate measures demanded by farmers,
he said.Mr Rawee urged authorities to
monitor paddy prices closely, saying the
market was expected to feel the pinch in
November and December, when the new
harvest from the main crop would be
churned out.
470 KMT of export wheat
shipped from the port of
Taman in August
19.09.2014
This amount far exceeds monthly
shipments observed since the ports
opening in August 2011. 33 KMT of
wheat was shipped abroad that month,
215 KMT in August 2012, and 286
KMT in August 2013.

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