17 th december,2015 daily global regional,local rice e_newsletter by riceplus magazine

8/20/2019 17 Th December,2015 Daily Global Regional,Local Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter

1 | w w w . r i c e p l u s s . c o m , w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o s g s p o t . c o m

December 17, 2015 Vol 5 Iss

www.ricepluss.com [email protected] 92 321 36


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Today Rice News Headlines...

RICE SECTOR: PAKISTAN OPPOSES INDIA-LED COUNTRIES' PROPOSALStripper front fits no¬-till billTurning rice farming waste to useful silica compounds

Rice numbers may shake out differently, but result is same: Part IIGov‟t eyes 300-400K MT add‟l rice imports in ‟16 amid El Niño Vietnam exports around 6.55 tons of rice in 2015: VFAMali: rice harvest shoots up by 13% from 2014Mali produces 2.45 mln T of rice as 2015/16 harvest nears endRice Importers Shun Lagos PortsArkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity ReportAPEDA Rice commodity NewsAgents Back Lifting of Ban on Rice Importation through Land BordersLSU AgCenter, LSU College of Agriculture, Southern Ag Center announce faculty, staffaward winners

News Detail...

RICE SECTOR: PAKISTAN OPPOSES INDIA-LED

COUNTRIES' PROPOSAL

December 17, 2015

MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN Pakistan has reportedly opposed India-led countries' proposal to purchase crops from farmerswhich can massively hit Pakistani rice sector, well informed sources told Business Recorder .Commerce Minister, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan is leading Pakistani delegation at the 10thWorld Trade Organisation (WTO) that began on December 15 in Nairobi (Kenya). "India-ledcountries are urging a permanent solution for public stockholding issue that will allow them to purchase crops from farmers and we fear that this would hurt Pakistan particularly our ricesector," sources quoted the Minister as stating.

Pakistan, source said, has taken a firm stance that it will never accept any solution that is harmful

to its farmers. The Commerce Minister held meetings with like-minded countries on this issue

and in his speech will state that Pakistan's Basmati exports have dipped by half during the lastfive years. The issue of market access for agricultural goods is an essential part of the DDA

negotiations on agriculture. A substantial improvement in market access for all agricultural and

food products are politically essential for the success of the agreement on agriculture.

Improvement in market access is by and large the most important of the three pillars for Pakistan

in negotiations.

http://www.brecorder.com/pages/author/mushtaq-ghumman.htmlhttp://www.brecorder.com/pages/author/mushtaq-ghumman.htmlhttp://www.brecorder.com/pages/author/mushtaq-ghumman.html


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The fastest growing area in agriculture and food products is the trade occurring between

developing countries. Since Pakistan has already made a considerable progress in unilaterally

liberalising its agriculture trade, it is in its own interest to push for substantial tariff cuts by other

developing countries. These benefits will come at virtually no cost to Pakistan. Thus Pakistan is

expected to propose limited special and differential treatment for developing countries,

especially for the high income developing countries. Under the existing agreement on

agriculture, Pakistan can introduce virtually any amount of green box programs, such as research

and development, marketing assistance, domestic food aid, infrastructure and input subsidies.

In addition, Pakistan can introduce new amber box programs, as long as they do not exceed the

10% de minimus level. In order to gain policy space, Pakistan can push for large reductions in

domestic support in developed countries; Pakistan would need this political cover to defend the

tariff cuts that it may be forced to accept. The cuts in domestic support in the EU & US may

provide benefits to Pakistani exports, the sources added. Commenting on export subsidies, the

source said Pakistan expects that an outcome on export competition in Nairobi should constitute

a very significant and meaningful outcome. Apparently, benefits to Pakistan for their eliminationmay, in fact, be negative because of NFIDC status, however, Pakistan is now self sufficient in

staple food supplies, rather "we face issues of competitiveness of agriculture commodities due to

price depressions," sources added.

The Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) allows developing countries to raise tariffs

temporarily to deal with import surges and price falls. The SSMs are invoked to protect the poor

and vulnerable farmers with smaller triggers and bigger tariff increases. Pakistan has no

offensive interests in SSM, as this can be used against its exports by developing countries;

therefore, Pakistan will not push it too much. Politically, China and Turkey are pushing for SSM

so Pakistan will not come to the forefront to oppose this decision. Bangladesh, on behalf of theLeast Developed Countries (LDC) Group, presented a draft submission that outlines the group's

priorities in negotiations with fellow WTO members ahead of the organisation's 10th ministerial

conference.

Four elements of interest to LDCs - namely, duty-free quota-free (DFQF) market access, more

favourable rules of origin, the operationalisation of the services waiver, and cotton - led to the

adoption of decisions during the WTO's last ministerial conference in Bali, Indonesia two years

ago. Since then, the group's focus has mainly consisted in turning some of these outcomes into

legally-binding decisions. According to the draft document, WTO members agreed last month at

a dedicated session of the organisation's Committee for Trade and Development that the

secretariat would complete a study on the implementation of Hong Kong ministerial decision on

DFQF market access by mid-November 2015. This study will serve as a tool to provide

"necessary inputs towards finding convergence" in implementing DFQF market access "in time"

for the Nairobi conference, the draft submission says.


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"Preference granting countries shall make DFQF market access binding through appropriate

scheduling," the document suggests. The 2013 Bali decision on DFQF market access called on

developed and developing country members in a position to do so "to improve" their existing

DFQF coverage if they have not yet provided such market access for at least 97 percent of

products originating from LDCs. Last year, some countries - China, India, and Chile - made

announcements in that regard, with Chile submitting a formal notification. Many LDCs benefit

from non-reciprocal preferences, which are granted primarily by developed countries. Applying

DFQF to all LDCs, however, could effectively result in some of these countries losing some of

the competitive advantages that these preferences have provided.

With no substantial progress on DFQF in recent years, the debate has focused largely on

potential gains under a 97 percent DFQF scheme versus full coverage and on related rules of

origin. According to some informed sources, the LDC Group is proposing to resolve the DFQF

issue for all LDCs by conducting a tariff line analysis with regards to clothing. The objective is

to determine which tariff lines should be included under DFQF while preserving preferences

under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Cotonou PartnershipAgreement. These allow the US and the EU, respectively, to provide trade preferences to specific

LDCs. "If the issue surfaces in Nairobi Ministerial, which is not evident as of now, Pakistan

would reiterate its stance earlier taken in Hong Kong Ministerial and would strongly resist any

decision in this regard," said an official document.

The draft submission also praised the results of indications made at the high-level meeting held

this past February regarding the planned preferential treatment to LDC services and service

suppliers, in line with the 2013 Bali decision on the operationalisation of the services waiver, as

well as the notifications submitted so far. Ahead of the Nairobi ministerial, the document further

encouraged the actual notification of preferences to the Council for Trade in Services (CTS),including information about "preferential treatment made available, the sectors or sub-sectors

concerned and the period of time during which the member is intending to maintain those

preferences." Some sources indicated that LDCs have also been exploring ways of extending the

waiver beyond market access.

Though there is a provision in the waiver decision to allow such an extension, notifications so far

- with a few exceptions - have restricted themselves to Article 16 of the General Agreement on

Trade in Services (GATS), which deals with market access. Non-market access measures are not

automatically covered, but can be authorised by the WTO CTS. The LDC Group's draft

submission links the definition of "preferential treatment" in the context of the services' waiver to

"the removal of restrictions, and/or the provision of, special access or procedures, in favour of

LDC suppliers over non-LDC suppliers, unless the preference is accorded to LDCs drawn from

other pre-existing or future preferential arrangements." In this vein, the document encourages

preference-granting members which have already notified to improve their notifications.


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According to some experts familiar with the draft submission, the inclusion of a paragraph

related to the reduction of administrative procedures and fees for visas, work permits, resident

permits, and licenses in favour of LDC service suppliers and independent professionals appears

to be important, though is likely to be very sensitive to address. In cases where preferential

treatment was given to LDCs based on existing commitments or from their applied regimes that

contain restrictions, the document stipulates that WTO members "shall remove such restrictions

for LDCs.

" The document also calls for a modification of the duration of the services waiver so that

notified preferences can apply for 15 years from the date of notification. Pakistan has no

objection on the services waiver for LDCs. The draft submission also calls upon preference-

granting countries to streamline and simplify preferential rules of origin (RoO) so that these are

no more barriers to LDCs to fully avail their non-reciprocal market access opportunities. An

informal open-ended consultation on preferential rules of origin for LDCs held on Tuesday

reportedly examined a formal proposal on the subject from the LDC Group, in the context of the

overall Nairobi ministerial preparations.

However, sources familiar with the meeting noted that reactions to the rules of origin proposal

were mixed, with some delegations raising concerns that the terms were too ambitious given the

few weeks remaining before the ministerial conference. Other questions that were raised

included whether some of the proposal's elements would entail creating legally-binding

obligations, along with whether the terms of the proposal were significantly different to what is

covered in the 2013 Bali decision on the subject. "If any ministerial decision is proposed,

Pakistan would analyse the situation and then decide, however, as of now, no such proposal is in

the pipeline. Generally, Pakistan has no defensive interests in this proposal," the sources added.

The draft submission also refers to the difficult issue of cotton, calling for a "satisfactorysolution" on the subject as part of the Nairobi decisions.

The document raises four points related to DFQF market access for cotton and cotton-by

products specifically; the reduction and elimination of domestic support and cotton export

subsidies; as well as technical and financial assistance". Regarding food security, the draft

submission calls for a ban on applying export restrictions by any non-LDC WTO member on

foodstuffs imported by LDCs if the exporting member is a net exporter of the foodstuff

concerned. The text also provides for an exemption of the de minimis calculation for purchase of

food at administered prices by LDCs under public stockholding schemes for food security

purposes. Pakistan has not yet fully committed to DFQF on cotton; however, we have given

positive signals to DFQF on C4 proposal and have also highlighted Pakistan's efforts to

regularise its cotton sector.

http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1256620/


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Stripper front fits no-till bill TOM MCKENNY

17 Dec, 2015 01:00 AM

THEY'RE cheaper on fuel, easier on harvesters and process more grain than straw,and may fit the bill in no-till, but they‟re not for everyone.That‟s the feedback

from a series of demonstrations of a Shelbourne Reynolds stripper front run by the

east coast distributor, NSW Deere dealer Hutcheon and Pearce that took

insouthern NSW and Victoria.Farmers from Victoria‟s Streatham district watched

the front in action stripping an Oxford barley crop last week.

Fitted with a rotating

front drum with six

rows of stripping fingers

rather than a standard

draper style feeder, theShelbourne has been

extensively used in rice

for many years in

Australia but is making

inroads into

conventional cereal

crops with interest

coming from no-tillers

wanting to maximise the

preservation of standingstubble.

Hutcheon and Pearce sales consultant Myles O‟Kane said the fronts were a rice harvesting

favourite as they minimise the amount of trash going through the header which in rice often still

sports shades of green.“The Shelbourne has a combing action with fingers guiding the crop into a

keyhole which strips the head off,” he said.The hydraulically driven rotating stripper drum has

six rows of stainless steel combing fingers that are fitted in replaceable 60cm sections.Mr

O‟Kane said the drum was “designed to run as slow as possible at around 450 to 500 rpm”, was

designed for cereal crops and would suit no-till systems.“It is a cereal front and you look at the

machine as a tool in your cropping system - it is not a direct replacement for a draper front - it is

another purpose built tool.”The demonstration at Streatham saw a Shelbourne XCV42 (42‟ / 12.8m) designed to suit 12.2/36 metre CTF application, fitted to an Emmett‟s supplied John Deere

S680. The demo program has generated keen interest according to Mr O‟Kane.“Everyone has

been pretty excited by the results it is leaving - they like the idea that you are not putting all the

straw through the harvester and throwing it out the backside," he said.

http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/machinery/general-news/stripper-front-fits-notill-bill/2749692.aspx


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Tom McKenny is the national machinery writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media

Email: [email protected]

http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/machinery/general-news/stripper-front-fits-

notill-bill/2749692.aspx

Turning rice farming waste to useful silica compounds UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

The researcher who developed the process says it could save approximately six tons of carbon

emissions per ton of silica compounds produced. He estimates the cost of the technique to be 90

percent less than the current process, with virtually no carbon footprint.Developed by Richard

Laine, a professor of materials science and engineering, the new technique is believed to be the

first simple, inexpensive chemical method for producing high-purity silica compounds from

agricultural waste.Much of the world's agricultural waste contains silica, and the search for a

practical way to extract it stretches back 80 years.

While the new process could be used to produce silica and silicon-containing chemicals from

many types of agricultural waste, Laine focused on using the hulls left over from processing

rice.The hull is the outermost layer of the rice grain. It's removed when rice is processed.

Hundreds of millions of tons of the hulls are produced around the world every year. Many are

burned to produce electricity, and the ash that's left over contains high levels of silica. Some of

this ash is used in construction or as insulation, but much of it is dumped in landfills.But while

the world is awash in silica-rich rice hull ash, getting that silica out has proven to be a major

challenge. The difficulty stems mostly from the incredibly strong chemical bond between silicon

and oxygen, one of the strongest that exists in nature.

Laine found two easy and inexpensive ways to break that bond: ethylene glycol, or antifreeze,

and ethanol, or grain alcohol. The antifreeze combined with a small amount of sodium hydroxide

weakens the chemical bonds between the silica and the rice hull ash at the beginning of the

process, dissolving the silica into a liquid solution.The solution is then heated to 390 degrees

Celsius, forming a polymer of silica and antifreeze. While this stage does require energy, it's

more than offset by the energy produced when the rice hulls are burned at the beginning of the

process. And because the carbon released when the hulls are burned was previously absorbed by

the rice plant, the process is considered carbon-neutral. The heating produces a silica-antifreeze

polymer that's then filtered to remove the ash.

Grain alcohol is then added at the end of the process. It's chemically similar to antifreeze, so it

easily swaps in to replace the antifreeze, which is then recycled. The liquid silica can then be

distilled out of this second solution and used to make a high-purity precipitated silica product for

industrial use.Laine has formed a Michigan company, Mayasil, to commercialize the technology.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Headquartered in Ann Arbor, It's in the process of building a 'pre-pilot' plant that will be used to

develop a scaled up manufacturing process. If the scale-up is successful, Laine predicts that it

will fundamentally change the way silica products are made and used."I think eventually, we'll

be producing high-purity silica and other silicon compounds right next to the rice fields," Laine

said. "It will be possible to process rice and produce high-grade silica in a single location with

little or no carbon footprint. It's really very exciting."

###

Laine recently received the 2015 Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Award from the Michigan

Department of Environmental Quality for his work on this. Mayasil is a spinoff of Mayaterials, a company

Laine founded in 2003 i

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/uom-trf121715.php

Rice numbers may shake out differently, but result is same:Part II

Dec 17, 2015Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press

The Rice Outlook Conference typically includes state outlook reports where Extension economistslook at their crystal balls and try to figure out what growers will plant the following year.Unfortunately, most of the crystal ball gazing is producing negative numbers for 2016, says TexasA&M University‟s Joe Outlaw. It‟s not just rice, but other crops aren‟t looking any better at this juncture, he says

http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/rice-numbers-may-shake-out-differently-result-same-part-ii

Gov’t eyes 300-400K MT add’l rice imports in ’16 amid El

Niño

By: Ben O. de Vera

@BenArnolddeVera

Philippine Daily Inquirer

01:40 AM December 18th, 2015

THE GOVERNMENT may have to import a lower volume of excess rice ranging between

300,000 and 400,000 metric tons in the first half of 2016 on improved domestic production

prospects, the country‟s chief economist said on Thur sday.“We have the results of the latest

survey of the areas or hectares actually planted [with rice] and farmers‟ intention to plant. This

http://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-lawshttp://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-lawshttp://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-lawshttp://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-laws


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was done after Typhoon „Lando.‟ It turned out that the expected production for the first quarter

of next year and even the harvest this year would be higher than what was initially estimated,”

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director-General and Economic

Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told reporters.

Earlier, Balisacan said the government may have to import up to 1.3 million metric tons of riceon top of the 500,000 metric tons already ordered for the first half of 2016.“We don‟t need that

much of rice imports now. We probably need to import around 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons,”

Balisacan said.This intervention formed part of the Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Niño

(Rain), aimed at mitigating the dry spell‟s impact on food supply, ensuring stability of food

prices, as well as providing assistance to farmers and households in affected areas.

The budget needed to be spent on El Niño mitigation projects may reach P19 billion, Balisacan

said.The Neda chief said President Aquino approved the budget for Rain last week, of which

P6.6 billion was already appropriated in the 2015 budget while the rest would be sourced from

government savings.Balisacan added that also to be part of Rain are an assistance package foraffected farmers and well as a cash for work program.“There will be additional sources of

income for farmers or rural population who would be adversely affected by the drought. With

these interventions, we would expect to generate an additional 200,000 or 300,000 metric tons

[of rice], so that in effect reduces substantially the need to import,” he said

http://business.inquirer.net/204284/govt-eyes-300-400k-mt-addl-rice-imports-in-16-amid-el-nino#ixzz3ufFLYZ3o

Vietnam exports around 6.55 tons of rice in 2015: VFA

The Vietnam Food Administration (VFA), the country's food safety watchdog, said that Vietnamexported nearly 6.55 tons of rice of all kinds, of which high-grade white rice and fragrant rice

accounted for 47 percent.VFA said that the country is likely to export around 1.5 million tons of

corss-border rice to China. High-grade and fragrant rice continued keeping high proportion in

export of the agricultural produce.

For instance, in the first 11 months of the year, high-grade white rice accounted for nearly 28.5

percent of the whole amount of rice for export, an increase of 36.5 percent compared to same

period of 2014 and fragrant rice was 23 percent of total amount of rice for export, an increase of

18.5 percent compared last year.Major market for Vietnam rice export is nation in Asia with the

percentage of 74 percent. Price of exported rice maintains US$375 per ton, an increase of US$35a ton compared to October. VFA predicted it is a difficult year for the country‟s rice export

because of low demand in the first two month of 2016.In addition, it will face fierce competition

with Thai‟s rice in stockpile.

http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Business/2015/12/116807/


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Mali: rice harvest shoots up by 13% from 2014

Mali has produced 2,451,321 tonnes of rice as it

approaches the end of the 2015/16 harvest, up 13 percent from last season but short of an initial

forecast, government statistics showed on

Thursday.The landlocked country, the second-

largest rice producer in Africa behind Nigeria,

will largely finish harvesting this month and

continue marketing its production next year.The

remaining harvesting is unlikely to add

significantly to the season's total output.

"The increase this year is generally explained by good rain, an increase in planted land, newstrains like 'Nerica', the use of more fertiliser especially with the help of subsidies," said Balla

Keia, head the rural development ministry's statistics division.Last season, the West African

country produced 2,166,830 tonnes of paddy rice and had projected a record 2,599,450 tonne rice

crop, with a surplus of 285,000 tonnes above expected domestic consumption.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/world/Mali-rice-harvest-shoots-up-by-13-from-2014-

401590

Mali produces 2.45 mln T of rice as 2015/16 harvest nears

end Thu Dec 17, 2015 12:27pm GMT

BAMAKO Dec 17 (Reuters) - Mali has produced 2,451,321 tonnes of rice as it approaches the

end of the 2015/16 harvest, up 13 percent from last season but short of an initial forecast,

government statistics showed on Thursday.The landlocked country, the second-largest rice

producer in Africa behind Nigeria, will largely finish harvesting this month and continue

marketing its production next year.The remaining harvesting is unlikely to add significantly to

the season's total output.

"The increase this year is generally explained by good rain, an increase in planted land, newstrains like 'Nerica', the use of more fertiliser especially with the help of subsidies," said BallaKeia, head the rural development ministry's statistics division.Last season, the West Africancountry produced 2,166,830 tonnes of paddy rice and had projected a record 2,599,450 tonne ricecrop, with a surplus of 285,000 tonnes above expected domestic consumption. (Reporting byTiemoko Diallo; writing by Makini Brice; editing by Joe Bavier and Jason Neely)


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http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL8N1462IR20151217

Rice Importers Shun Lagos Ports17 Dec 2015

Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel H ameed Ali (retired)

John Iwori

As the Yuletide countdown

begins, Nigerian importers

have shunned the nation‟s

seaports situated in Nigeria‟s

commercial centre, Lagos,

THISDAY checks haverevealed.Lagos is home to

Nigeria‟s busiest port, Apapa.

It is also home to the largest

port in the country, Tin Can

Island Port (TCIP), Apapa,

among other terminals

dedicated to specific

cargoes.THISDAY checks

showed that Nigeria‟s staple food and the most sought after commodity in this period of the year,

rice is no longer imported into the country through the nation‟s seaports, especially the ones

situated in Lagos.It was gathered that most importers now prefer using the international land

borders, particularly Seme and Idiroko.

This followed the decision of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to lift the ban on the use of the

international land borders to import rice into the country.Already, NCS has revealed that not less

than N1.2 billion has been raked in as revenue generated from rice imports through the land

borders in October and November 2015.It also said a total quantity of rice imported through the

land borders stood at 17.596 metric tons (MT). The amount generated has given credence to the

decision of the NCS to allow importers and licensed customs agents to use of Nigeria‟s

international borders to import the staple commodity into the country.CS said in a statement that

these figures were disclosed at a strategy session convened by the Comptroller-General of

Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali (retired).

http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL8N1462IR20151217http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL8N1462IR20151217http://af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFL8N1462IR20151217


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Ali was said to have convened the meeting at NCS Headquarters, Abuja which was attended by

the top echelon of the service to review revenue performance for 2015.According to the

statement, two months ago, the Comptroller-General of NCS had approved the removal of the

restriction placed on importation of rice through the land borders.“The removal was predicated

on the large scale rice smuggling through the land borders, resulting to huge revenue loss and

distortions in the price of the item in the local markets .

The huge collection in just two months has vindicated our position. If we had stuck to our

previous directive, this much quantum of rice would still have been smuggled anyway, and we

would have lost over a billion naira revenue as this critical period of our economic downtown,”

NCS said.Meanwhile, data collated by the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and obtained by

THISDAY showed the vessels and various cargoes expected in the country from now till January

1, 2016.The data popularly called “Shipping Position” showed that out of the 30 vessels expected

within the period under review, none of them is laden with rice.

The Shipping Position, also revealed that within the period under review none of the vessels is

carrying the staple commodity.According to the data, three key terminals in Lagos Port Complex

(LPC), Apapa known for the handling of bulk cargo including rice were not any vessel laden

with the commodity. The terminals, ENL, ABTL and GDNL were not expecting to receive rice

in the period under review.The NPA document shows that the ENL Terminals would receive

12,895 MT of general cargoes, which are not likely to include rice. Other cargoes expected at the

bulk terminals include 3,496MT of fish and 27,500MT of bulk fertiliser expected to arrive at

ENL Terminals this month.

Tags: Nigeria , Featuered , Business , NSC , Colonel Hameed

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/

Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

Rice

High Low

Long Grain Cash Bids - - - - - -

Long Grain New Crop - - - - - -

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/#72115774http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/#72115774http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/#72115774http://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Nigeriahttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Nigeriahttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Nigeriahttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Featueredhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Featueredhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Featueredhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Businesshttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Businesshttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Businesshttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=NSChttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=NSChttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=NSChttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Colonel+Hameedhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Colonel+Hameedhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Colonel+Hameedhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/http://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Colonel+Hameedhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=NSChttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Businesshttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Featueredhttp://www.thisdaylive.com/go/search/?search=Nigeriahttp://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/rice-importers-shun-lagos-ports/228265/#72115774


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Futures: High Low Last Change

Jan '16 1099.5 1086.0 1095.5 +5.5

Mar '16 1126.0 1113.0 1122.0 +5.0

May '16 1155.5 1150.0 1152.0 +5.5

Jul '16 1170.0 1170.0 1178.0 +4.5

Sep '16 1175.0 1175.0 1178.5 +1.5

Nov '16 1180.0 +1.5

Jan '17 1180.0 +1.5

Rice Comment

Rice futures may be attempting to stabilize after the recent downturn which took over $1.50 off

the market in a matter of a few short days. January is holding just below $11 but could retest

support at the recent low of $10.76. Below that level, support is the contract low of $10.20. The

domestic cash market is quiet and export demand is slow as well, which is typically the case

around the holidays. Global rice stocks are forecast to decrease for the third year in a row as

consumption is expected to outpace production, which means there could be some upside

potential in this market

http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/

APEDA Rice commodity News

International Benchmark Price

Price on: 17-12-2015

Product Benchmark Indicators Name Price

Rice

1 CZCE Early Rice Futures (USD/t) 396

2 Pakistani 100%, FOB Karachi (USD/t) 318

3 Pakistani 15% Broken (USD/t) 315

http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/


14/19



Wheat

1 CZCE Wheat Futures (USD/t) 404

2 NYSE Liffe Feed Wheat Futures (USD/t) 166

3 NYSE Liffe Milling Wheat Futures (USD/t) 191

Sultanas

1 Australian 5 Crown, CIF UK (USD/t) 2879

2 South African Orange River, CIF UK (USD/t) 2569

3 Turkish No 9 standard, FOB Izmir (USD/t) 1900

Source:agra-net For more info

Market Watch

Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 17-12-2015

Domestic Prices Unit Price : Rs per Qty

Product Market Center Variety Min Price Max Price

Maize

1 Davangere (Karnataka) Local 1300 1450

2 Rahata (Maharashtra) Other 1350 1375

3 Dahod (Gujarat ) Yellow 1475 1525

Paddy(Dhan)

1 Pulpally (Kerala) Other 1800 2000

2 Dehgam (Gujarat) Other 1320 1375

3 Sainthia (West Bengal) Common 1030 1050

Orange

1 Ropar (Punjab) Other 1000 1800


15/19



2 Chala (Kerala) Other 2000 2100

3 Mechua (West Bengal) Other 2300 2700

Cauliflower

1 Thodupuzha (Kerala) Other 2800 3200

2 Shillong(Meghalaya) Other 1700 2300

3 Ahmedabad (Gujarat) Other 1000 1600

Source:agmarknet.nic.in For more info

Egg Rs per 100 No

Price on 17-12-2015

Product Market Center Price

1 Pune 443

2 Chittoor 418

3 Hyderabad 403

Source: e2necc.com

Other International Prices Unit Price : US$ per package

Price on 17-12-2015

Product Market Center Origin Variety Low High

Onions Dry Package: 50 lb sacks

1 Atlanta Texas Yellow 13.50 13.50

2 Chicago Nevada Yellow 13 14

3 Dallas Colorado Yellow 15 16.75

Cabbage Package: 50 lb cartons

1 Atlanta Georgia Round Green Type 10 10

http://agmarknet.nic.in/http://agmarknet.nic.in/http://agmarknet.nic.in/http://e2necc.com/http://e2necc.com/http://e2necc.com/http://e2necc.com/http://agmarknet.nic.in/


16/19



2 Detroit Texas Round Green Type 16.50 16.50

3 Miami Georgia Round Green Type 12 14

Grapefruit Package: 4/5 bushel cartons

1 Atlanta Florida Red 22 22

2 Chicago Florida Red 19.50 23

3 Miami Florida Red 17 18

Source:USDA

Agents Back Lifting of Ban on Rice Importation through

Land Borders17 Dec 2015

Associati on of L icensed Customs Agents

Sandra Ukele

Licensed customs agents in the country have hailed the decision of the Comptroller-General of

Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) to lift the ban on rice importation

through the land borders.Describing it as a “welcome development”, the customs licensed agents

said the move would help Nigeria curtail the losses arising from the old policy.They, however, stated that rice millers are now importing the staple commodity into the country

instead of producing it.

The agents, under the auspices of the Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme

Chapter told journalists in Seme that the idea behind the new pronouncement by the CGC should

be encouraged.They argued that the move was a way of creating the needed job opportunity in

the country and boost the nation‟s economy through farming in this sector besides helping to

diversify the economy from depending on oil.According to the agents, the only way to stop

smuggling of the product was to stop the millers of the same staple food from turning themselves

into importers rather than concentrate on their milling business.


17/19



One of the agents who did not

want his name in print said: “I

think we should not look at this

issue from any sentiment but

from logical point of view. My

view is that I do not think

anybody will go through the

borders to incur extra cost unless

there is an intention to defraud

government. I think as of now

this process of going through the

land borders does not do that.“We must support our local farmers. We strongly advise the

Customs to suspend the lifting of ban on rice through land borders and continue to operatethrough the sea borders.” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PAKRISTO

Maritime Company Limited Mr. Patrick Ozobialu said: “When you talk about rice production in

a country, it is not something you start today and tomorrow you start getting result. It is a gradual

thing.

It takes over a ten years planning."But now you cannot say because you want to stop the

importation of rice through the land border. That means they should be coming in through the

sea. And through the sea you know that it is only one man that is licensed to bring rice through

there So what they are saying is that rice should not come through any other source except

through the sea and we know that it is only one man that is importing rice through the sea and

now he is using a proxy in the senate to champion this his course.”

Ozobialu added: “I it should not be sold more than N6,000. So you see when one a civil servant

collects N18,000 minimum wage, he goes to market to buy a bag of rice at either N9,800 or

N11,000 how would the person buy other things needed in the house and does such worker meet

up with other necessities of the family? But normally with crayfish and pepper you can prepare

this staple food for the family but if we are paid such ridiculous amount as wages and we buy

rice at N11,000 then how much would be left for other expenses?”

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/agents-back-lifting-of-ban-on-rice-importation-through-land-

borders/228259/


18/19



LSU AgCenter, LSU College of Agriculture, SouthernAg Center announce faculty, staff award winners

By Maddy Williams | [email protected] 12/17 2015 04:47AM

Updated 12/17 2015 04:47AMWriter: Craig Gautreaux

BATON ROUGE, La. —

The LSU AgCenter, the LSU College of Agriculture and the Southern University AgCenterannounced the winners of their annual faculty and staff awards at a ceremony held Dec. 16 at theLSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden.Jimmy Meaux, Calcasieu Parish county agent, wasthe recipient of the Floyd S. Edmiston Award for his exceptional work with the LouisianaCooperative Extension Service. Meaux spent 20 years working with youth during the early partof his career but is now primarily responsible for agricultural and natural resources within his parish, including work with row crops and animal enterprises such as crawfish and cattle.

The Extension Excellence award went to Terrebonne Parish county agent Barton Joffrion. He has

spent his entire 39-year career in the parish. He started as a 4-H agent, served as a fisheries agent

and now is primarily doing horticultural work. Joffrion played an instrumental role in

establishing an urban forestry board in Houma and is working on a research project with area

Master Gardeners pertaining to the crape myrtle bark scale.Dustin Harrell, the LSU AgCenter

rice specialist stationed at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Crowley, received the

G&H Seed Company Inc. Research Award. Harrell helped identify a nutrient deficiency problem

in Louisiana rice fields that was causing significant yield loss and came up with

recommendations to rectify the problem. He has also done extensive work in ratoon stubblemanagement leading to higher yields on ratoon or second-growth rice crops.

The recipient of the Doyle Chambers Research Award was Eric Webster, a weed scientist with

the AgCenter. He is responsible for developing rice weed management strategies, which in

Louisiana are unique because of the abundance of fields that are used for both rice and crawfish

production. Webster is also responsible for testing new rice varieties and their susceptibility to

damage from herbicides.The Denver T. and Ferne Loupe Extension Team Award was presented

to the Louisiana Master Farmer Program group. Team members are Ernest Girouard, Master

Farmer coordinator; James Hendrix, northeast region Master Farmer agent; Allen Hogan,

southern region Master Farmer agent; and Donna Morgan, central region Master Farmer agent.The Louisiana Master Farmer program was established by an act of the Louisiana legislature,

and more than 200 farmers have completed the program and are certified Master Farmers.


19/19



The Rice Sheath Blight Resistance Team was named the Tipton Team Research Team Award

winners. Members of the team are plant pathologists Don Groth and Jong Ham, rice breeder

Steve Linscombe and agronomist Jim Oard. The group is responsible for developing new rice

varieties that are resistant the sheath blight, the most common and prevalent disease found in rice

produced throughout the southern U.S. The team also makes recommendations on rice growing

methods that can reduce the incidences of sheath blight.

Vermilion Parish 4-H agents Shannan Waits and Hilton Waits received the 4-H Youth

Development Faculty Award. The two were instrumental in the development of a new service-

learning project called Keeping Louisiana on the Map. The project focuses on raising

environmental awareness of coastal erosion and includes activities such as beach sweeps,

wetlands planting and field trips to important coastal research centers.

Two staff members were recognized for their efforts. Carol LeDoux, administrative program

specialist for the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station and Southwest Region in Crowley,

received the Ganelle Bullock Outstanding Service Award. Gerry Romero, a research associate atthe Central Research Station in Baton Rouge, was named the winner of the Outstanding Service

Award for Associates.

Richard Keim, associate professor in the AgCenter‟s School of Renewable Natural Resources,

was the winner of the 2015 Article of the Year for Louisiana Agriculture magazine with his

article on water management on Catahoula Lake and the implications of woody vegetation. Also,

service awards were presented to two faculty members for their three years of service on the

magazine‟s editorial board. They are Dustin Harrell, agronomist and state rice specialist, and

Michael Blazier, a forestry associate professor at the Hill Farm Research Station in Homer.

For the Southern University Ag Center, Fatemah Malekian, professor in nutrition and food

science, was named the winner of the Chancellor‟s Outstanding Research Scientist Award.

Kenyetta Nelson-Smith, associate specialist in community and economic development received

the Chancellor‟s Outstanding Specialist Award. The winner of the Chancellor‟s Outstanding

Faculty Award was Andra Johnson, assistant director of research in the School of Agriculture,

Research, Extension and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University.

Receiving the LSU College of Agriculture Teaching Awards were Kayanush Aryana, professor

in the School of Animal Sciences; Jeff Beasley, associate professor in the School of Plant,

Environmental and Soil Sciences; Brian Marx, professor in the Department of ExperimentalStatistics; Georgianna Turri, associate professor in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences;

and Maud Walsh, a professor in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences.

http://www.arklatexhomepage.com/news/lsu-agcenter-lsu-college-of-agriculture-southern-ag-

center-announce-faculty-staff-award-winners

17 th december,2015 daily global regional,local rice e_newsletter by riceplus magazine

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