29th june (monday),2015 daily exclusive oryza e rice newsletter by riceplus magazine

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June 29 ,2015




Philippines Advises Rice Farmers to Begin

Planting, Taking Advantage of Recent Rains

Jun 26, 2015

The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) has advised farmers to begin rice planting for

the 2015 main crop in order to take advantage of the current intermittent rains in the country,

according to a news release on the government website.“If you start planting now, by July, when

it is expected to rain the most, your rice crops would have passed its flowering stage, thus there

is a better chance that harvests will be maximized,” The Agriculture Secretary was quoted as

saying during a media interaction.He noted that farmers in the rain fed areas can be benefitted

from the intermittent rains but cautioned them that the current rains may not signify the end of El

Nino weather pattern.




The Agri Secretary said the dry spell is expected to start weak in July this year and grow

moderate by August, persist till December and again start weakening until early 2016. He said

the government is taking measures to help farmers adapt to climate changes and to minimize the

impact of adverse weather conditions on their output.“We are ready to schedule cloud seeding

operations in case there is a need to induce rains during long dry seasons,” he was quoted. He

assured that the Agriculture Department will install water pumps and solar water pumps in some

regions which need an increase in water supplies.

Weather agencies have been warning of a dry weather condition due to El Nino from July this

year. In the second week of June, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated

Philippines's 2015 second quarter (April - June) production to decline by about 4.3% to around

3.898 million tons from last year's 4.073 million tons due to a decline in harvest area prompted

by dry spell and insufficient water supply as well as incidence of pests and diseases in some rice

growing areas.

Oryza Afternoon Recap - Chicago Rough

Rice Futures Pull back below $10.000 per cwt

despite Massive Gains in Wheat and Corn

Jun 26, 2015

Chicago rough rice futures for Sep delivery settled 8 cent per cwt (about $2 per ton) lower at

$10.245 per cwt (about $226 per ton). The other grains continued their rally today, led by huge

gains in wheat; Soybeans closed about 0.2% higher at $10.0200 per bushel; wheat finished about

5.7% higher at $5.6225 per bushel, and corn finished the day about 2.3% higher at $3.8500 per

bushel.U.S. stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors digested earnings and the latest headlines

on the Greece debt crisis. The major indices are on track for their first weekly loss in three.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called an urgent cabinet meeting on Friday evening to

discuss a bailout deal, a government minister told Reuters.

The country's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said in a Reuters report that Saturday's meeting

with the euro group of finance leaders will try to converge on a deal that includes debt and

funding. He added that Greece has made concessions and that Athens rejects a 5-month funding

proposal from lenders. Earlier, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a

Reuters report he was "quite optimistic but not over-optimistic" of a deal with Greece on a cash-




for-reform deal at a crucial meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Saturday. European stocks

edged out a mostly higher close amid hopes of resolution on Greece. Chinese stocks plunged on

Friday, with the Shanghai Composite tumbling more than 7%, its biggest one-day loss in five

months.

The only U.S. economic data out Friday was the Michigan Consumer Sentiment, which posted a

final read of 96.1 for June. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 47 points, or

0.26%, at 17,936. The S&P 500 traded 2 points lower, or 0.10%, at 2,100, with utilities leading

five sectors higher and information technology the greatest decliner. The Nasdaq fell 35 points,

or 0.70%, at 5,076. Gold is trading about 0.1% lower, crude oil is seen trading about 0.2% lower,

and the U.S. dollar is seen trading at about 0.3% higher at about 1:00pm Chicago

time.Thursday, there were 1,703 contracts traded, down from 1,738 contracts traded on

Wednesday. Open interest – the number of contracts outstanding – on Thursday increased by 117

contracts to 9,933.

Oryza Weekly: Thailand Prepares for

Another Rice Auction; India Monitors

Potential El Nino Impact

Jun 26, 2015

The Oryza White Rice Index (WRI), a weighted average of global white rice export quotes,

ended the week at about $404 per ton, down about $6 per ton from a week ago, down about $3

per ton from a month ago and down about $57 per ton from a year ago.

Thailand

Thailand 5% broken rice is today shown at about $370 per ton, up about $5 per ton from a week

ago, down about $5 per ton from a month ago and down about $15 per ton from a year ago.

Thailand exported around 945,597 tons of rice in May 2015, up about 7% from around 883,736

tons in May 2014, according to Bloomberg.




The government of Thailand has requested farmers in the Central region to further delay rice

planting till August, when it expects rains to resume, from the earlier set July as 22 of the 76

provinces are still fighting drought conditions.

The government has not agreed to honor the farmers' demands to pay a compensation of about

1,000 baht per rai (around $185 per hectare) to suspend rice planting. But the Agriculture

Minister said he would propose a package of measures to assist farmers in the economic cabinet

meeting next week.

The Commerce Ministry plans to auction about 1.395 million tons of rice on July 7.




The drought in Thailand and subsequent anticipated reduction in paddy output from the 2015

main rice crop will not affect shipments to Malaysia, according to the Agriculture and Agro-

based Industry Deputy Minister.

Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is planning to improve the output and

quality of Thai sticky rice as it is plagued with inefficient production systems and farmers lack

requisite technological knowledge and support.

India

India 5% broken rice is today shown at about $390 per ton, up about $20 per ton from a week

ago, up about $15 per ton from month ago, and down about $45 per ton from a year ago.

The pace of India's 2015-16 Kharif (main) rice crop (June - December) which began on May 8,

reached around 2.328 million hectares as of June 26,below last year's level of around 2.5 million

hectares, according to preliminary data released by the Indian Agriculture Ministry.

El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole are being watched closely but so far there has been no

adverse affect on production expectations. Separately, an Indian grains analyst has warned that

India’s absence in global rice trade could lead to extreme volatility and exorbitant prices.

A new study finds that Indian paddy yields are becoming resilient to droughts.

The state purchasing agency in Mauritius has purchased 6,000 tons of long-grain white rice

from India in a tender that closed June 3.

The government is considering increasing production of oilseeds and pulses in some states that

are covered under the Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India scheme, with hopes it will

reduce dependence on imports.

Vietnam

Vietnam 5% broken rice is today shown at about $350 per ton, unchanged from a week, down $5

from a month ago and down about $60 per ton from a year ago.

Vietnam has exported around 641,000 Tons of rice in June 2015, up about 13% from last month

and about 18% from last year. Vietnam's rice export in the first six months of this year declined




about 6.2% y/y to around 3.06 million tons, Bloomberg quoted data from the Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development.

The paddy output from Vietnam's 2015 winter-spring crop has declined slightly by about 0.7% to

around 20.7 million tons from around 22.25 million tons last year due to lower yields, according

to Reuters.

Agricultural experts in the country have noted that various rice farming technologies are

outdated and urged the government to facilitate restructuring of the rice industry and total

agricultural mechanization in the country.

Pakistan

Pakistan 5% broken rice is today shown at about $380 per ton, unchanged from a week ago,

down about $30 per ton from a month ago and down about $65 per ton from a year ago.

Members of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan are seeking a special package from the

government to help alleviate the problems of rice growers and exporters.

The President of the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has suggested that

the government should consider the pros and cons of setting up a Rice Board, especially how it

would impact the rice industry and its stakeholders, according to a statement by the group. He

also noted that the government should know the intentions of the stakeholders who are

demanding such as Board.

Central & South America

Brazil 5% broken rice is today shown at about $550 per ton, unchanged from a week and a

month ago and down about $115 per ton from a year ago.

The Brazilian paddy rice index maintained by CEPEA reached around 33.69 real per 50

kilograms as of June 22, 2015, down about 0.06% from around 33.71 real per 50 kilograms

recorded on June 15, 2015. In terms of USD per ton, the index reached around $219 per ton on

June 22, 2015, up about 1% from around $217 per ton recorded on June 15, 2015.

Five percent broken rice from Uruguay and Argentina is today shown at about $565 per ton,

unchanged from a week and a month ago, and down about $10 per ton from a year ago.




U.S.

The U.S. 4% broken rice is today shown at about $455 per ton, unchanged from a week ago,

down about $15 per ton from a month ago and down about $120 per ton from a year ago.

Other Markets

The government of Indonesia is looking to redesign its rice-for-the-poor program after finding

irregularities in the implementation of the program.

Cambodia, which offered a relatively higher bid in the recent Filipino tender, is working to offer

a more competitive bid in the next Filipino rice tender.

Rice farmers associations in Nigeria have requested the Federal government to relax rules

related to accessing credit in order to boost rice production and ensure food security in the

country.

The National Food Authority of the Philippines will meet in the first week of July to discuss

supply and the import of an additional 250,000 tons.

The Philippines weather agency anticipates the onset of the rainy season within the next few

days. The Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA) has advised farmers to begin rice planting

for the 2015 main crop in order to take advantage of the current intermittent rains in the country

The Philippines Rice Research Institute, along with the Department of Agriculture and the

International Rice Research Institute, are developing rice varieties that can withstand adverse

weather conditions and are resistant to pests and diseases. The Philippines hopes to achieve rice

sufficiency with NextGen varieties.

The EU farm Ministers Council has reached an understanding over the EU organic legislation.

Basmati rice imports by EU nations declined to around 223,549 tons during the period of

September 1-June 18, a decrease of about 27% from the same period last year.

The government of Liberia needs to empower rice farmers to increase production, according to

the Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and

Fisheries.




Bangladesh rice farmers are looking forward to using new saline-tolerant rice varieties, as

salinity in recent years has left some rice acreage to lie fallow.

Bangladesh rice science researcher Dr.Md.Nazmul Haque has developed 850 new high-yielding

rice varieties with a new method called "Transgressive Sagreegant Breeding" (TSB), according

to local sources.TSB produces rice varieties that are superior in characters to the parent plants.

The researcher used a local rice variety called 'Dola Aman Dhan' to create several hybrid

varieties with various indica rice varieties that have life span of about 105-145 days and are

suitable to grow in adverse climate and yield about 33-40 maund per bigha (around 8.25 - 10

tons per hectare).

Myanmar currently exports milled rice to the EU at zero percent duty under the Everything But

Arms agreement, but Myanmar exporters are struggling to meet European rice standards.

The chairman of the Rice Council of Tanzania has urged the government to settle the rice export

issue with the East African Community, as Kenya and Uganda have banned rice imports from

Tanzania due to its rice shipments being mixed up with low quality Indian and Pakistani rice.

The government of Togo has distributed 300 tons of improved rice seeds to farmers in efforts to

increase rice production in the country.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has stopped the sale of U.S. dollars to importers of 40 items,

including rice, as part of its efforts to protect foreign reserves, which have declined significantly,

and to reduce pressure on the naira.

The Country Program Manager of Eastern Africa Grain Council has warned that Rwanda and

Uganda have decided to levy a 75% tax on Tanzania rice imports mixed with cheap Asian rice.

South Korea’s state-run Agro Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation is looking to buy about

59,104 tons of non-glutinous rice in international tenders for delivery between October 15 and

December 15.

Nepal Tries Integrating Duck and Rice

Production




Jun 26, 2015

Breeding ducks in rice farms has proved useful in increasing productivity, reducing pests and

diseases and reducing fertilizers in countries such as Japan and China. Rice-Duck farming, as it

is called, is based on the symbiotic relationship between paddy fields and ducks.

As ducks eat weeds, insects and other pests and their droppings serve as organic fertilizers and

their swimming oxygenates the water and mixes the soil without hurting the rice plants.

Pesticides and insects such as mosquito and drosophila are consumed by ducks easily.

Taking a cue from the countries, which are successfully using this method, rice farmers in Nepal

began an integrated rice-duck farming and showed a significant increase in rice productivity and

farmers' net income. Also farmers who have adopted this method in Nepal have stopped the use

of chemical fertilizers and avoided expenses on pests. On the contrary, neighboring farmers

cultivating by traditional method had used three times of fertilizers.

It is an appropriate technology to address the food insecurity and climate change as well.

India Rice Planting Slightly Behind Last Year

While Monsoon Rains Remain Above Normal

Jun 26, 2015

The pace of India's 2015-16 Kharif (main) rice crop (June - December) which began on May 8,

has been pretty good in the week June 19 – 26 due to above-average rainfall in most of the rice

growing areas.However, as of June 26, the total area planted at around 2.328 million hectares is

below last year's level of around 2.5 million hectares, according to preliminary data released by

the Indian Agriculture Ministry.According to the Indian Meteorological Department, India

received 28% above normal rainfall since June 1, providing required support to the kharif rice

and other crop plantings.

A likely drought-inducing El Nino this year is expected to lower production prospects this year.

In its second forecast for 2015, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has its estimate for

this year's monsoon rains to 88% of normal, from a previous estimate of 93% due to reports of a

strengthening El Nino. It is expecting rainfall to be 85% of the normal in the states of Haryana,

Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The IMD expects the El Nino pattern to reach to moderate




to a strong one during the monsoon season (June – September).The government of India, in its

third advance estimates for major crops, has estimated India's rice production for 2014-15

marketing year (October 2014 - September 2015) at around 102.54 million tons, down about 4%

from an estimated 106.65 million tons in 2013-14, according to a statement from the agriculture

Ministry.

The total Kharif crop sown area stands at 16.6 million hectares as on June 26, 2015, up about

24% from around 13.4 million hectares during the same period last year, according to the

Agriculture Ministry.

Indian Basmati Rice Exporters Foresee Bleak

Year Ahead; Seek Export Subsidy from

Government




Jun 26, 2015

Indian basmati rice exporters are foreseeing a bleak year ahead as export deal with Iran, India's

biggest basmati buyer, getting delayed as well as low international rice prices, according to local

sources.The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

data shows that India's basmati rice exports have declined marginally to around 3.7 million tons

in FY 2014-15 (April - March) from around 3.76 million tons exported during the same period in

FY 2013-14. The decline is largely attributed to fall in basmati rice shipments to Iran.

Iran, which accounts for more than a third of India's basmati rice exports temporarily banned rice

imports in November 2014 citing excess stocks. India’s basmati rice exports to the Middle East

nation in FY 2014-15declined about 35% to around 935,568 tons from around 1.44 million tons

last year, according to APEDA.So far, there is no clue about the resumption of rice imports by

Iran. Visit by a delegation from the Commerce Ministry did not yield any positive results. “The

government of Iran takes a rice import decision based on the current paddy crop. Since




September is the normal harvesting season, any decision on bilateral rice import will be taken

only around that time. Normally, they reduce customs duty on import from the Most Favoured

Nation. So, we will have to wait a couple of months for any purchase agreement to get signed

with India,” the Director General of Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) was

quoted as saying. He noted that demand for basmati also declined this year due to emergence of

some competitors as well as some buyers using last year's stocks without ordering for new

stocks.

Demand from other countries such as Saudi Arabia and the European markets supported India's

basmati rice sales this year. Saudi Arabia remained largest buyer of India's basmati rice in 2014-

15 with 966,931 tons, up about 17% from 2013-14. Global prices of rice have declined

significantly and basmati rice prices are currently ruling near $1,000 per ton from around $1,400

- $1,500 per ton during the same time last year. The All India Rice Exporters Association

(AIREA) President noted that basmati rice exporters had witnessed a loss of about 30% in 2014-

15 due to increased production costs as well fall in prices. He noted that considering total

production, procurement, storage and export costs of basmati rice, a sale price of about $1,800

per ton would help exporters breakeven, he says. But prices are currently much lower than this

figure, leading to concerns that exporters may face losses for a second consecutive year.He urged

the government to protect the interest of India's basmati exporters through some form of export

subsidy.

Don't Just Eat Rice; Eat With Rice

Jun 26, 2015

A U.K.-based camping and outdoor equipment manufacturer is planning to launch a new range

of eco-friendly tableware and kitchenware made with rice husk, according to a U.K.

magazine.The range of products will include mugs, tumblers, plates cutlery, bowls, set of round

or rectangular storage containers as well as other kitchen accessories. Items can be purchased as

a set or individually.

The rice husk ware is made of discarded rice husk and are extremely eco-friendly and

biodegradable as well as be safely be used in microwave also. The material looks like plastic but

uses up to 70% less CO2 to make than conventional plastic. The products are certified by the

German Institute of Standardization (DIN).The company is planning to release the rice husk




ware in September 2015. The price would be in the range of £2.99 (around $3.15) for a tumbler,

£34.99 (around $55) for a set of storage boxes and £58.99 (around $93) for a complete set.

Bangladesh Researcher Develops 850 High-

Yielding Hybrid Rice Lines

Jun 26, 2015

Bangladesh rice science researcher Dr.Md.Nazmul Haque has developed 850 new high-yielding

rice varieties with a new method called "Transgressive Sagreegant Breeding" (TSB), according

to local sources.TSB produces rice varieties that are superior in characters to the parent

plants.The researcher used a local rice variety called 'Dola Aman Dhan' to create several hybrid

varieties with various indica rice varieties that have life span of about 105-145 days and are




suitable to grow in adverse climate and yield about 33-40 maund per bigha (around 8.25 - 10

tons per hectare).

The new varieties consist of longer stem and biomass that give the rice plants additional strength

during storms and strong winds. These varieties can be cultivated both at high and low lands and

are suited to grow in areas with low temperature, saline soil, and water logged conditions

throughout the year in Aus, Aman and Boro seasons. Also these varieties require less fertilizer

and are highly pest and disease resistant.He also told that the new varieties contain high zinc and

iron content than the traditional varieties. Zinc content can be increased up to 46.38 parts per

million (ppm) in these varieties, while the highest content so far in Bangladesh in only 22 ppm

(in BRRI Dhan 64).

The Dr.Haque has tried these varieties with some farmers in his district Bogra and obtained good

results but the research needs to be promoted at the larger scale and rechecked before extension

of the newly developed rice varieties, said the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE), Bogra.The DAE Extension in Bogra found some promising rice lines which

are suitable to release across the country.Dr.Haque urged the government to include the rice

varieties to the national resource after patenting by genome sequencing. He expressed confidence

that the research would help to promote future rice research in the country.

Vietnam Rice Exports Recover in June 2015,

Reports MARD

Jun 26, 2015

Vietnam has exported around 641,000 Tons of rice in June 2015, up about 13% from last month

and about 18% from last year. Vietnam's rice exports in the first six months of this year declined

about 6.2% y/y to around 3.06 million tons, Bloomberg quoted data from the Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development.Meanwhile, the paddy output from Vietnam's 2015 winter-

spring crop has declined slightly by about 0.7% to around 20.7 million tons from around 22.25

million tons last year due to lower yields, according to Reuters.Paddy output in the Mekong

River Delta (MRD) accounted for around 13.48 million tons, while the northern region

accounted for around 7.22 million tons. Most of the rice produced in MRD is exported.




Pakistan Rice Sellers Lower Some of Their

Quotes; Other Asia Rice Quotes Unchanged

Today

Jun 26, 2015

Pakistan rice sellers lowered their quotes for 25% broken rice by about a $5 per ton to about

$335-$345 per ton today. Other Asia rice sellers kept their quotes mostly unchanged

today.

5% Broken Rice

Thailand 5% rice is indicated at around $365 - $375 per ton, about a $20 per ton premium on

Vietnam 5% rice shown at around $345 - $355 per ton.

India 5% rice is indicated at around $385 - $395 per ton, about $10 per ton premium on Pakistan

5% rice shown at around $375 - $385 per ton.

25% Broken Rice

Thailand 25% rice is shown at around $345 - $3505 per ton, about a $20 per ton premium on

Vietnam 25% rice shown at around $325- $335 per ton.

India 25% rice is indicated at around $350 - $360, about $15 per ton premium on Pakistan 25%

rice shown at around $335 - $345per ton, down about $5 per ton from yesterday.

Parboiled Rice

Thailand parboiled rice is indicated at around $365 - $375 per ton.

India parboiled rice is indicated at around $365 - $375 per ton, about a $30 per ton discount to

Pakistan parboiled rice shown at around $395 - $405 per ton.

100% Broken Rice




Thailand broken rice, A1 Super, is indicated at around $315 - $325 per ton, about $5 per ton

premium on Vietnam 100% broken rice shown at around $310 - $320 per ton.

India's 100% broken rice is shown at around $280 - $290 per ton, about a $15 per ton discount

to Pakistan broken sortexed rice shown at around $295 - $305per ton.

Thailand Agriculture Ministry Plans to

Improve Sticky Rice Output, Quality

Jun 26, 2015

Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is planning to improve the output and

quality of Thai sticky rice, according to local sources.The Deputy Minister for Agriculture and

Cooperatives told local sources that there is a need to overhaul the Thai sticky rice sector as it is

plagued with inefficient production systems and farmers lack requisite technological knowledge

and support.He noted that the government has assigned the Rice Department to introduce new

technology to farmers under its Smart Farmer campaign in order to reduce their production costs

and reduce dependency on chemical fertilizers.The Minister added that the campaign will be

initiated in the provinces of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen during the rice

farming season, then in 15 other provinces during the off-season farming period.

Documents

29th june (monday),2015 daily exclusive oryza e rice newsletter by riceplus magazine