10th November, 2014 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine
www.ricepluss.com
Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
10th November 2014
Todays News Headlines

Quota limit restricting rice export potential to
China
Farm Bill workshops planned in Stuttgart, around
Arkansas
Like Pinoys, young SE Asians shun agriculture as a
career
Africas richest man targets Nigerias rice deficit
FPCCI advises rice exporters to seek zero-rated tax
status
Productivity in coastal dists can be doubled:
Scientist
BoI Suppots Backward Integration Efforts Of Rice
Millers
Research on producing export-quality rice
Impact of automatic rice milling on performance of
marketing system
Best Foods finds "Perfect Match" in Indian
Culinary Forum
Genetically Engineered Food: The Criminality of
the GMO Biotech Industry. Poison First, Regulate
Later
International rice market: Indian agriculture
policy hurting Pakistan
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News Detail.
Quota limit restricting rice
export potential to China
Pakistan from 0.5m tons to 0.75m tons
November 10, 2014
SALMAN ABDUHU
| Exporters ask embassy in Beijing to take
issue of raising rice import quota for
LAHORE - Although there is lot of potential
to increase the export of rice from Pakistan
to China, yet
it is presently
limited due
to
quota
restrictions in
China.This
was stated in
a letter written by the rice exporters
simultaneously to Trade Development
Authority of Pakistan and Pakistan embassy
in Beijing.
The letter laid emphasis on more export of
rice from Pakistan to China and requested
the Pakistan envoy to raise the issue of
enhancing rice import limit from Pakistan
during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif to Beijing.Pakistani basmati rice is in
great demand in China and Chinese
exporters are willing to import more basmati
rice from Pakistan, said a rice exporter.
He said that the exporters have dispatched
request to Trade Development Authority of
Pakistan and Pakistani envoy in Beijing to

take the issue of enhancing quota limit for
Pakistan from 0.5 million tons to 0.75
million tons for basmati rice.
He underlined the need for initiating efforts
to get enhanced quota from China to
enhance export of basmati rice.
Pakistan has exploited fully its 500,000
matric tons rice export quota to China,
earning around $200 million and if this limit
is exceeded to 750,000 tons the country can
fetch more foreign exchange to narrow trade
deficit, the exporters said. The Beijing has
recently inked an agreement to import
around 1 million ton rice from Thailand
paying $30 per ton additional cost.
If Pakistan govt convinces the Chinese
authorities to raise rice import limit for
Pakistan the Chinese buyers will also
benefit, as their cost will be reduced
significantly. Rice exporters noted that the
balance of trade between Pakistan and
Malaysia is tilted in favour of China for a
long time and in order to narrow down the
trade deficit, there is dire need for increasing
export of non-traditional items as well as the
existing items being exported to China.
The response of Chinese importers for
Pakistani rice is overwhelming as compared
to rice imported from Thailand and
Vietnam.
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Our rice industry is not showing its full
potential due to some internal barriers
related
to
planning
and
strategic
implementations.
Viewing the current scenario, rice exporters
deserve the patronage of government at par
with textile industry to develop rice export
as one of the major foreign-exchangeearning sector. The embassy in Beijing
should launch a concrete drive to market
Pakistani rice in China by creating a
personalized demand among Chinese
people.The rice exporters are already
exploring new techniques with China to
improve the quality of rice.
Chinese buyers prefer to buy the rice with
good milling quality. Hence, the rice
exporters want TDAP and commercial
counselor in Beijing to manage match
making of the Chinese and Pakistani
entrepreneurs in this sector to increase the
demand of Pakistani rice in China.
Meanwhile, the Rice Exporters Association
central chairman Rafique Suleman said that
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs visit to
China would help Pakistan to bring Chinese
investment worth billions of dollars in
different sectors which would help
strengthen the national economy.
He said that China, in response to current
visit of Prime Minister, has announced
substantial investment in Pakistan for further
improving economic ties between the
private sectors of the two countries besides
enhancing volume of trade.He said that
Pakistan with Chinese investment would

achieve sustained growth in key sectors,
including increase in per capita income and
improvement in micro-economic in the
years to come.
Research on producing
export-quality rice.
Monday, 10 November 2014 - 8:13

Reports indicate that Sri Lanka will export
the excess rice produced in the country in
the future.According to the International
Rice Research Institute for the past four
decades, the global rice market has been
dominated by a few exporters, Thailand,
Vietnam, the US and Pakistan and they
account for 60-70% of total exports.
Thailand is the top rice exporter in the
world.The import side is fragmented with
many countries importing a small amount of
rice and the top six importers account for
only 20-30% of the market share.
Farm Bill workshops planned

in Stuttgart, around Arkansas
The following workshops are being
conducted by Tony Franco, FSAs chief of

Farm Programs, Anita Wilson, Agricultural
Program specialist with FSA, Coats and
other FSA and Division of Agriculture
specialists.
By Mary Hightower
UofA Division of Agriculture Cooperative
Extension Service
Posted Nov. 9, 2014 @ 7:59 pm
STUTTGART
Nine new Farm Bill workshop sessions have
been added to the more than one dozen
already
scheduled
across
Arkansas,
including four sessions devoted to the
computer-based Farm Bill decision aid,
Robert Coats, professor-economics for the
University of Arkansas System Division of
Agriculture, said. The following workshops
are being conducted by Tony Franco, FSAs
chief of Farm Programs, Anita Wilson,
Agricultural Program specialist with FSA,
Coats and other FSA and Division of
Agriculture specialists.
The program includes FSA information
requirements and the following topics will
be covered include: Required information;
Retain or Update Yields; Retain or
Reallocate Base; Compare Agricultural Risk
Coverage, or ARC, and Price Loss
Coverage, or PLC; Consider Agricultural
Risk Coverage individual coverage;
Supplemental Coverage Option, or SCO,
and STAX offered under the federal crop
insurance program ; Election and annual
enrollment ; Web-based decision aid
demonstration with examples.
The schedule and local contacts for
registration for each Farm Bill workshop
event include:
- 6 p.m. Monday West Memphis, MidSouth Community College. Contact Russell
Parker,
3239.
rparker@uaex.edu,
(870)
739-
- 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday McCrory,

Three County Fair Entertainment Building.
Contact
Eugene
Terhune,
eterhune@uaex.edu, (870) 347-2556.
- 9 a.m.-noon Thursday Portland,
Portland Baptist Church. Contact Kevin
Norton, knorton@uaex.edu, (870-853-2080.
- 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 17 Keiser, Northeast
Research and Extension Center. Contacts:
Ray Benson, rbenson@uaex.edu, (870) 7622075;
Keith
Morris,
FSA,
keith.morris@ar.usda.gov.
- 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 17 Manila. Airport
Center.
Contacts:
Ray
Benson,
rbenson@uaex.edu, (870) 762-2075; Keith
Morris, FSA, keith.morris@ar.usda.gov.
- 9 a.m.-noon Nov. 18 Marianna, Lon
Mann Cotton Research Station. Contacts:
Shawn Payne, spayne@uaex.edu (870) 3388027;
Robert
Goodson,
rgoodson@uaex.edu, (870) 338-8027; Stan
Baker, swbaker@uaex.edu, (870) 295-7720;
Van Banks, vbanks@uaex.edu, (870) 7473397.
- 8:30 a.m.-noon Nov. 19 Stuttgart, Rice
Research and Extension Center. Contacts:
Chuck Capps, ccapps@uaex.edu, (870) 9463231;
Grant
Beckwith,
gbeckwith@uaex.edu, (870) 673-2661.
- 9 a.m.- noon Nov. 20 Morrilton,
Conway County Fair Grounds MultiPurpose Building. Contact: Kevin VanPelt,
kvanpelt@uaex.edu, (501) 354-9618.
9 a.m.-noon Dec. 17 McGehee, McGehee
Mens Club, No. 1 Airport Road South.
Contact:
Wes
Kirkpatrick,
wkirkpatrick@uaex.edu, 870-222-3972 and

Gus Wilson, gwilson@uaex.edu, (870) 2658055.
This is happening in Thailand which has
The other workshops provide hands-on

training on the farm bill decision aid
developed by the Agricultural and Food
Policy Center at Texas A&M University and
the Food and Agricultural Policy Research
Institute at the University of Missouri. These
sessions will be conducted by Scott Stiles,
an extension economist for the University of
Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Brad Watkins, a Division of Agriculture
economist based at the Rice Research and
Extension Center, will be available at the
two Jonesboro meetings to discuss long grain and
agricultural products for more than 150
medium grain rice considerations.
been the worlds major net exporter of

years.Until today, it has remained the major
exporter of rice (still the worlds top rice
exporter) rubber, and maize.
It has also acquired comparative advantages
in the export of fruits, vegetables, and
processed foods.But since 1989, or a quarter
of a century ago, most young people
have left the farm sector, reported a Thai
economist,
Dr.
Nipon
Poapongsakorn,
formerly a research director, vice president,
Like Pinoys, young SE Asians

shun agriculture as a career
and senior consultant at the Thailand

Development Research Institute and dean of
the
Like their Filipino counterparts, youngergeneration Southeast Asians continue to

shun agriculture as a career and a means of
livelihood. In search of the proverbial
greener pasture, they flock to the cities
and centers of population for white collar
jobs that do not soil their hands. As to
college education, they now shy away from
Agriculture and choose other professions
that earn them more income and with
relatively less strenuous exertions.
Thammasat
University-Faculty
of
Economics.
The massive movement of young workers
out of agriculture has had profound impact
on agricultural production, said Dr. Nipon
in his country report for the Southeast Asian
Agriculture and Development Prime Series:
Thailand being published by the Philippine
government-hosted,
Southeast
Asian
Los
Baos-based
Regional
Center
for
Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture

(SEARCA). Dr.
Nipon,
who
holds
Discouragingly, this phenomenon has set in
doctorate (PhD) in Economics from the
Southeast Asias top agriculture countries.
University of Hawaii, also projected: The

aging of the agriculture workforce would
Thailand
have profound implications in the Thai

agriculture and on the future system of
The
transformation
of
Vietnams
elderly support.
agricultural economy into a major rice

producer could be considerably attributed to
Despite this phenomenon, he said, Thai
the dissemination of modern cultivation
farmers
technologies of high-yielding varieties to
have
responded
in
two
ways:
farmers in the Mekong Delta and the
They
employed
foreign
migrants,
estimated at about 0.4 million. Most foreign

workers in Thailand are found in the fishing
industry and in field crop (rubber tree
tapping) and livestock farms.
Farmers
mechanized
leadership of its well-educated and farmerfriendly scientists who have dedicated their
lives
and
professions
to
the
land
tillers.
This is exemplified by Dr. Vo Thong Xuan
some
farm
whose
more
than
three
decades
of
dedicated and committed service toward the
activities.
promotion of diversified and sustainable

The exodus of young rural workers has led
agriculture, particularly in rice production,
to a different pattern of farm mechanization
through
since the late 1980s, the Thai economist
extension, teaching, and input of national
said. Now, only a few farms in remote
policies have impacted the lives of millions
areas still use buffalo.
of Vietnamese.
Dr. Nipon further noted that a new class of
Dr. Xuans
professional farmers has emerged: those
national, and international levels in the
who
government, private, and non-government
adopt
science-based
agricultural
his
scientific
publications,
work at the grassroots,
production small contract farmers who
sectors
contributed
grow safe vegetables and fruits for exports,
transformation
large orchard farmers, highly intensive rice
agricultural economy from a net rice
farmers, and commercial poultry raisers.
importer to the worlds second largest rice-
of
immensely
the
to
the
Vietnamese
exporter, stated a citation conferred on him

Vietnam
as recipient of the prestigious Dioscoro L.

Umali award given by SEARCA, the
Time was when Vietnam was a net rice

importer. Now, it is the worlds second
Philippine National Academy of Science
largest rice exporter.


and
Technology
(NAST),
and
DLU
Foundaton.
Indonesia
is
another
country
with
remarkable agricultural economy, but whose

young
The award which recognizes lifetime
also
are
shying
away
from
agriculture.
achievements of exemplary individuals who

have advanced agricultural development in
This archipelagic country, according to
Southeast Asia is named after the late
records, achieved rice self-sufficiency in the
Dr. Umali, a long-time dean of the UP
mid-1980s after years of importing large
College of Agriculture and assistant director
quantities
general for Asia and the Pacific of the
demand.
United
Nations-Food
and
of
rice
to
meet
domestic
Agriculture
As former Indonesian Agriculture Minister
Organization (UN-FAO).
Sharifudin Baharsjah stated when he spoke

But like other countries undergoing various
at a forum in Makati City early this year: It
stages of development, employment in
(rice self-sufficiency) was accomplished by
Vietnams agricultural sector is declining,
a dedicated government at all levels,
observed Dr.Nguyen Tri Kiem, a noted
supported
agricultural education administrator (college
farmers.
by
actively
participating
dean at An Giang University; Can Tho

The instrument was the Green Revolution
University for 25 years, etc.)
Technology (GRT), initiated by the Noble

As of 2004, he said in his report on Vietnam
Laureate Norman Borlaug and translated in
for the SEARCA series, there were 82
practical term for Indonesia by noted
million Vietnamese, 70 percent of whom
scientist Dr. AT. Mosher.
lived in the rural areas.

A very important GRT component was the
Agricultural
employment
was
mostly
superior
rice
varieties
introduced
by
composed of self-employed agricultural
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
workers, noted Dr. Kiem, who earned his
and developed further with the Indonesia
masters and doctorate degrees from UP Los
Agency for Agricultural Research and
Baos.
Development (IAARD).
Indonesia
Dr. Baharsjah, who has also been recipient

of the Umali award, acknowledged that

maintaining
rice
self-sufficiency
in
In 1980, Coladilla recalled, 51 percent of
Indonesia faced major challenges: growing
UPLBs enrollment was in agriculture. It
population (238 million people as of 2010),
went down to 41 percent in 1995 and dived
high per capita rice consumption per year
to only 4.7 percent in 2012.
(138 kilograms), shrinking acreage of

irrigated
fields
(50,000
stagnant
levels
of
ha/year),
rice
yield
and
The trend is similar in other high education
(5
institutes (HEIs) in the country offering BS

Agriculture program, she added.
tons/ha).
Moreover,
he
Indonesians
noted,
are
shying
many
away
young
What is discouraging, she further noted
from
during a SEARCA-organized conference in

Los Baos not long ago, is that a typical
agriculture for office jobs.
farmer would not advise his children to get

into agriculture for a career.
Philippines
In the Philippines, the continued decline of
enrollment in Agriculture as a career and the
migration of young people in the rural areas
to the cities continue to pose a grave threat
Africas richest man targets

Nigerias rice deficit
Reuters
November 07, 2014
to the countrys food security, a UPLB

researcher also warned.
If agriculture becomes the least appealing
career
choice
among todays
younger
generation student, it will undoubtedly pose

serious threat in the countrys agricultural
labor force and the countrys food security,
said Jesusita Coladilla.
She cited UP Los Baos, the countrys
premiere agricultural university, whose BS
in Agriculture program enrollment continues
to decline.
LAGOS: Nigeria enjoys a perfect ricegrowing climate over a vast area yet it is the
worlds second biggest importer of the
staple, often from countries in its warm, wet
tropical latitude like top exporter Thailand.
Its one of those baffling Nigerian
paradoxes, like the fact that it is Africas top
oil producer yet suffers frequent fuel
shortages; or that it is sitting on the worlds
eighth largest gas reserves but can only
produce a few hours of power a day.As with
the other bottlenecks holding back Africas
biggest economy, decades of bad
governance and corruption lie at the root of
Nigerias agricultural dysfunction.

But unlike oil, where reform remains
deadlocked by vested interests, the
government is making serious efforts to
clean up the farming sector and attract
investment.Africas richest man Aliko
Dangote thinks he can resolve the rice
conundrum. He plans to do this by investing
in farmland and mechanising farming
practices in a country where many farmers
still depend on pre-industrial tilling
techniques.
Given his track record in other areas, this is
a project to watch.Everything you need for
rice is here, but unfortunately for a long time
no one was interested, he told Reuters in a
telephone interview. Not having enough
land was the first obstacle that faced him
after he thought of the idea.He was surprised
at how easily that got solved, as the
governments of Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi, Edo
and Kwara states between them offered
50,000 hectares to Dangote Industries.I
think this is enough for us to grow and
process up to a million tonnes of rice in the
next four years, he says.
I believe this is just the beginning.To
back up his optimism, he points to his past
success in producing cement.Dangote grew
his company over a decade from a relatively
small cement import business to a behemoth
that manufactures nearly 30 million tonnes
of the stuff a year, makes up a third of
Nigerias stock exchange and now has
factories in various stages of completion
across the continent. For decades Nigeria
was one of the worlds biggest cement
importers. We (Nigeria) were producing
less than 2 million tonnes of cement, in
2004, the tycoon says.
Ten years later and Nigeria as a whole now

produces some 40 million tonnes a year, said
Dangote, whose cement empire worth an
estimated $20 billion has earned him the
label richest black person on the planet
from Forbes magazine.This month, Dangote
Cement even had to cut prices to make up
for falling sales amid oversupply.
Like cement, demand for rice among
Nigerias 170 million population is huge, so
he wont need to think about export.
Dangote estimates the current rice deficit at
2 1/2 million tonnes a year.Nigerians eat rice
in outsized portions and no party is complete
without mountains of bright orange jollof
rice a West African style of cooking the
grains in tomato paste, onions and fiery
peppers. Parboiled, not white rice, is
favoured.
President Goodluck Jonathan made local
production of rice a signature promise
before he was elected in 2011. His
government has an ambitious target to
import zero rice by the end of 2015, using
incentives for farmers like free fertiliser and
tax breaks for investors. Jonathan will seek
another term in February.Agriculture
Minister Akinwumi Adesina has cleaned up
corruption in government handouts of
imported fertiliser, which have been
hampered by fraud and an inefficient supply
chain stretching from the port to the remote
villages where it ends up.
That was a major obstacle to development of
the sector.Dangote says his own factories
will soon be producing more fertiliser than
Nigeria could ever need 2.8 million
tonnes a year which would cut out the
need for imports altogether.His plans for a

400,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery and
petrochemical plant remain on track, he
added.Rice smugglers from neighbouring
Benin, Niger and Cameroon are the biggest
threat to his business model, Dangote
complains, but it still stands to be highly
profitable
FPCCI advises rice exporters

to seek zero-rated tax status
our correspondent
Friday, November 07, 2014
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FPCCI) on Thursday advised the rice
exporters to prepare proposals for the
government to clinch zero-rated tax
status.
President FPCCI Zakaria Usman, in a
meeting with a delegation of Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan (Reap), discussed
various problems, which are causing high
cost to rice exports, eroding the competitive
edge in the global market. Usman suggested
the exporters to submit proposals for the
government to include rice in the list of
sectors operating under zero-rated sales tax
regime, such as textile, leather, surgical
goods, exportable goods and carpet
industries.
He further advised the delegation to prepare
proposals to seek export development fund
(EDF) for the installation of a dedicated line
from K-Electric feeder to their cluster area
to ensure smooth supply of power.Reap
members, led by its Chairman Rafique
Suleman, were asked to get land from its
own resources and then apply for EDF for
the
construction
of
building
and
procurement of equipment and machinery
for the development of rice research

institutes.
Exporters highlighted issues, such as nonavailability of containers especially for rice,
ever-increasing container terminal charges,
inordinate delay in refund claims on sale tax
paid by the rice exporters on their electricity
bills, transfer of fuel adjustment charges to
the industry, etc.The Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry chief
deplored the poor services of container
terminal operators (CTOs) during the
examination of goods by anti narcotic force
at ports.
He told the delegation that a meeting with
government officials and other stakeholders
had decided CTOs would either hire skilled
manpower to improve services or take
assistance of a third party with professional
expertise in re-packing of goods and restuffing containers.The Reap members also
pointed out problems related to export
proceeds and charges of different freight
rates at variable rupee-dollar parity rates by
shipping companies.
They blamed non-monitoring of foreign
exchange policy by the State Bank of
Pakistan for this disparity.Usman urged the
shipping companies to reduce the charges
for rice as it is a low value and high volume
item as compared to other value-added
goods like textile etc. He said that he would
take up the foreign exchange issue with the
SBPs governor.Khurram Sayeed and Ismail
Suttar, vice presidents of Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, chairman
of FPCCI Standing Committee on Customs
and others were also present.
Productivity in coastal dists

can be doubled: Scientist

Productivity in the coastal areas in
Bangladesh can be doubled with coordinated
efforts to improved crop productions and
mitigate the risks of climate change, says a
senior scientist of the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI). Land and water
productivity in the polders of coastal
Bangladesh have tremendous potential to be
improved, profitable, and resilient to
problems brought about by climate change,
said Dr. Manoranjan Mondal, collaborative
research scientist under the Crop and
Environmental Sciences Division and the
Social Sciences Division of IRRI. The
scientist made the observation during a
presentation at the 4th International Rice
Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand,
according to an IRRI media release.
BoI Suppots Backward

Integration Efforts Of Rice
Millers
Olushola Bello
Nov 9, 2014 |
He said with support for rice millers and

sustained investments in rice backward
integration programme, Nigeria will attain a
net exporter status in the short to medium
term.Olaoluwa stated that Nigeria had
embarked on a revolution in terms of rice
production especially with the recent
memorandum of understanding (MoU) it
signed with the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development which
centred on the development of 10 medium
sized mills with the capacity of 36,000
metric tonnes each and six high quality
cassava flour mills across the country.
He stated that the visit to Adani was part of
federal governments effort to ensuring that
the objective of turning Nigeria from a
major importer into a net exporter of rice
was achieved.With the effort of backward
integration, Nigeria will significantly reduce
the amount of money that it currently spends
importing food. Already, the expenditure of
processed food has reduced from $6.9bn in
2009 to $4.3bn currently. We believe that in
the short-term, we should be in the position
not only to eliminate food importation
completely, but actually ensure that Nigeria
can be a net exporter of food items,
Olaoluwa said.
Research on producing exportquality rice
Efforts to scale up current paddy rice

production capacity has been boosted by the
Bank of Industry (BoI) with support for rice
millers. The managing director of BoI,
Rasheed Olaoluwa, expressed the banks
commitment to the project after an
inspection tour of the 42,000 capacity Tara
Rice Mill and its subsidiary 1,200 hectares
rice farm in Adani, Uzo Uwani local
government area of Enugu State.
Monday, 10 November 2014 - 8:13

Reports indicate that Sri Lanka will export
the excess rice produced in the country in
the future.According to the International
Rice Research Institute for the past four
decades, the global rice market has been
dominated by a few exporters, Thailand,
Vietnam, the US and Pakistan and they
account
for
60-70%
of
total

exports.Thailand is the top rice exporter in
the world.
The import side is fragmented with many
countries importing a small amount of rice
and the top six importers account for only
20-30% of the market share.
Impact of automatic rice

milling on performance of
marketing system
SA Sabur and SK Raha
In the past few years, rapid technological
change occurred in the rice milling sector of
Bangladesh. Several hundred automatic and
semi-automatic rice mills were set up in
various areas across the country. Between
2007 and 2012, the number of semiautomatic and automatic rice mills increased
from 457 to 650 and from 142 to 350,
respectively.
For instance, in Kushtia, one of the
important rice milling hubs, the share of rice
processed by automatic rice mills rose from
only 12 percent in 2009 to more than 60
percent in 2011. What are the factors behind
this development? This sector has attracted
many large investors to establish automatic
rice mills as demand for better-quality rice
with a longer shelf life has risen
substantially. Other factors include an
overall increase in the production of whole
grains as well as higher prices of grain and
bran produced in automated mills, and
which can be sold under branded names.
Automatic rice mills perform nearly all

activities through mechanical methods,
including sorting of stones and empty
grains, grain soaking, boiling, drying,
milling, polishing and bagging. These new
mills may have impacts on performance of
the rice marketing system.Recent study
commissioned by National Food Policy
Capacity
Strengthening
Programme
(NFPCSP) provided some information on
impact of technological change on milling
and marketing of rice in Bangladesh.
Among different types of mills, the capacity
utilisation of automatic mills is the highest
(56 percent). The profit of automatic mills is
almost three times higher than that of
husking mills and about twice that of semiautomatic mills.
This is due to a combination of (i)
substantially lower labour requirement per
tonne of rice (8.6 man hours compared to
21.1 man hours in husking mills) that largely
compensates the higher costs for energy and
machinery, and (ii) higher revenues given
the possibility to sell at higher prices the
higher quality rice and bran produced.
Rice recovery is also higher for automatic
mills: 68 percent and 66 percent for
automatic and semi-automatic mills,
respectively, compared to 65 percent for
husking mills.Automatic rice mills are
financially more viable as their internal rate
of return is 33 percent compared to 19

percent and 25 percent for husking and
semi-auto rice mills, respectively.
The milled rice from semi-automatic and
automatic rice mills is good in terms of
brightness, colour, size, etc. and is sold at
higher price in the market. However, experts
argue that this polished rice is not good in
terms of nutrient content as some nutrients
are lost during over-polishing.
Relatively high buyer concentration exists in
village paddy markets: on average the four
largest buyers account for about 60 percent
of total paddy traded within a village
market, with a minimum of 30 percent and a
maximum of 85 percent. Although price is
set mainly through bargaining, automatic
rice millers are in a better position to set the
price compared to husking rice millers.
Compared to local paddy markets, more
competition exists among rice mills as the
four largest mills process on average only 11
percent of total product milled in each
district, which varies between 24 percent in
Dhaka and only 1 percent in Bogra. There is
evidence of exit of rice mills, particularly
husking mills, from the market and the main
reason is identified as the loss in the
business.Of all intermediaries, the millers
take the highest share of total profit at 45.7
percent.
Next to millers, the share of total profit is
the highest for rice retailers (17.9 percent),
followed by rice wholesalers cum retailers
(12.7 percent), rice wholesalers (7.7
percent), paddy middlemen (5.3 percent),

paddy traders (4.4 percent), paddy stockists
cum wholesalers (4.1 percent), and rice
stockists (2.2 percent). Rice markets are
found more integrated now domestically and
internationally.Under changed situation
caused by technological changes, various
measures can be adopted for smooth
functioning of marketing system of rice in
Bangladesh.
Farmers'
marketing
cooperatives/
associations may be formed for increasing

the bargaining power of paddy famers in the
local market so that they can sell paddy
jointly to the traders or can send to distant
markets for getting higher prices. NGOs
may help in this process.
Contractual arrangements between growers
and millers may ensure more attractive and
stable prices for farmers, as well as regular
supply of quality paddy to millers. The
buying prices of paddy should be publicly
displayed in all markets by buyers'
association/market committee.
Dissemination through cell phone of paddy
prices in local markets can also enhance
competition. Credit facilities can be made
available to support the modernisation of
husking mills to semi-automatic or
automatic mills.However, many husking
mill owners will eventually need to find
alternative sources of income.
They should not be forced to abandon their
mills, but it is inevitable that the total

number of mill owners will decline in the
future. Given the rapid evolution of the
milling technologies, it is appropriate to
assess the nutritional value of refined rice
obtained from automatic rice mills through
different stages of processing, for example,
polishing and whitening.To adequately
inform consumers on the quality of different
types of rice, labelling of rice bags should be
made mandatory and include information on
its nutritional value. In order to enhance
market monitoring, a database on all types
of intermediaries including rice mills should
be maintained.
This could be based on a centralised listing
of all business licences granted to different
types of intermediaries. Market integration
implies that price stabilisation interventions
in some main markets in consumption area
can be effective even in distant markets in
producing area within Bangladesh.
The authors are professors at the Department
of Agribusiness and Marketing at
Bangladesh
Agricultural
University,
Mymensingh. This article is largely based
on a study commissioned by NFPCSP,
FAO, Bangladesh.
Published: 12:00 am Sunday, November 09,
2014
Best Foods finds "Perfect

Match" in Indian Culinary
Forum
What could be the best acknowledgement
for a brand from a body of professional
experts who swear by its superior quality,

unmatched packaging and distinguishable
aroma and delectable taste! Undisputedly
The BEST!
Having carved a distinctive niche for itself
both in India and globally, Best Foods, one
of the leading premium basmati rice
companies in India today got the most
coveted accreditation from the Indian
Culinary Forum (ICF), India's leading
association of professional Chefs for the
most trusted brands on a host of parameters
such as excellent quality, length of grain,
delightful aroma and unmatched packaging.
The prestigious ICF accreditation for Best
Foods was announced on the occasion of the
11th Annual Chef Awards for the
International Chefs Day and lends a unique
credibility to the brand, recognizing it as one
of the strongest rice brands in the market
promising exceptional consistent quality and
packaging.
This was announced at a press conference
today in New Delhi.As the staple food for
most Asians, rice is no longer new to the rest
of the world. Rice has evolved multifold and
consumers now try and experiment with
ingredients and flavours.
With ascent of lifestyle, exposure to
international culinary tastes coupled with the
new palate that consumers are demanding
have given enough room for brands to
innovate and live up to the fast-changing
culinary standards.Cashing in on the trend,
Best Foods, one of the largest players in the
branded premium basmati rice segment has
been acknowledged by an expert panel of
ICF and has passed the stringent tests on the
goodness of rice.

On the occasion of the International Chefs
Day, ICF is hosting the 11th Annual Chef
Awards, followed by the Grand Gourmet
Dinner where leading chefs would be
experimenting with rice and dishing out
innovative recipes using premium basmati
rice from Best Foods. The rationale is to
maximize the product experimentation,
visibility and valuable feedback from the
Who's Who in the culinary world.Speaking
on the occasion, Dr. Aayushman Gupta,
CEO, Best Foods Ltd., remarked, "Best
Foods was conceived with a single-minded
objective to delight consumers across the
globe with superior quality of rice.
Delighting consumers has been our passion
and we are working towards it on a constant
basis. We aim to establish ourselves as
thought leaders in the industry with a vision
to form a strong consumer connect through
tactical initiatives.
To this end, we are targeting different
consumers viz. housewives, working
women, young executives, B2B segment,
restaurants, clubs etc where we can touch
upon their lives with our products. Our
partnership with ICF has been strategic and
is a step in that direction. Getting the
accreditation from ICF to testify our brand
will bring in greater credibility and sure to
take us closer to our consumers.
We are truly delighted by this
acknowledgement from ICF. We are proud
that our packaging will bear a new look and
will be ICF certified henceforth. We hope to
strive to make our brand better, bigger and
robust in time to come."Detailing out the
new initiatives, Dr. Gupta further elaborated,
"Best Foods has chalked an ambitious plan
for the coming years.
Today we are clocking at Rs 2600 crs. With
an increase in demand for basmati rice due
to factors such as increasing domestic prices

and export demands, we are geared to target
Rs. 5000 Crs in FY 17. Our presence in
export market has grown phenomenally. We
are striving for an increased market share in
the domestic market. To this end, we have
expanded our product portfolio and have
added brown rice and ready-to-eat products.
Our stand-alone exclusive brand stores are
doing well and consumers are delighted to shop
from these outlets.
From an existing 35 stores, we intend
increasing the same to 800 stores in coming
2-3 years. We are investing substantially in
our
plants
to
meet
our
target
growth."Hailing this development, Chef
Devender Kumar, President, ICF remarked,
"We are on a dedicated mission to delight
taste buds and experiment with food and
have found the "Perfect Match" in Best
Foods. We have done an intensive research
and have experimented with Best Foods rice
on every single stringent criteria.
The quality, aroma and length of grain etc.
are just what we desire to prepare from a
basic to the most exotic dish! It is a delight
to every Chef and we are extremely happy to
have partnered with Best Foods. We have
plans to use rice from Best Foods to take the
culinary experience to a new level."
Source: Equity Bulls
Posted On: 2014-11-09 01:32:23
Click here to send ur comments or to
feedback@equitybulls.com
Genetically Engineered Food:

The Criminality of the GMO
Biotech Industry. Poison
First, Regulate Later
By Colin Todhunter
Global Research, November 09, 2014

Region: Asia
Theme: Biotechnology and GMO
The
GM
Contamination
Register
database has
been run by
Genewatch and
Greenpeace for
about ten years
and contains cases dating from 1997 to the
end of 2013 [1]. The authors of a new paper,
published in the International Journal of
Food Contamination, analysed the 400 or so
cases in the database by crop and country
[2].
GM rice accounts for about a third of
contamination cases, despite the fact there is
officially no GM rice grown anywhere in the
world. The authors suggest this high level
might be related to the routine testing of
imports of GM rice at national borders. The
highest rates of contamination are in
imported foodstuffs to Germany, but this is
probably because that country does a lot of
testing.
They also focused on cases of contamination
arising from unauthorised GM crops: those
without any authorisation for commercial
growing anywhere in the world. Nine cases
were discovered of GM contamination of
these unauthorised (non-commercialised)
GM crops that havent undergone any
environmental or food safety analysis.
The authors argue that once GM
contamination has happened, it can be
difficult to contain.
It is not only the GM contamination itself
(cross-pollination, mix-ups, etc.) that
contributes to the number of cases but also
the testing regime (both routine and
targeted). The paper concludes that for
perhaps all experimental GMOs, there is no

overall protocol for testing available,
making detection of any GM contamination
difficult, if not impossible.
Don Westfall, biotech industry consultant
and vice-president of Promar International
some 13 years ago, was quoted by the
Toronto Star on 9 January 2001 as saying
that the hope of the GM industry is that over
time the market is so flooded with GM
organisms that theres nothing you can do
about it; you just sort of surrender.
It is not just a vague hope, however. Its an
intentional, criminal strategy by the
industry.
Genetically engineered wheat is not
approved to be grown for commercial use in
the US or anywhere else in the world. Yet
last year, the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) announced that unapproved GE
wheat had been found growing in an Oregon
wheat field. Since 1994, Monsanto has
conducted 279 field trials of RoundUp
Ready wheat over more than 4,000 acres of
land in 16 US states [3]. The USDA has
admitted that Monsantos GMO experiments
from 1998 to 2005 were held in open wheat
fields. The genetically engineered wheat
escaped and found its way into commercial
wheat fields in Oregon (and possibly 15
other states), causing self-replicating genetic
pollution that now taints the entire US wheat
industry.
Prior to this, in 2006, the USDA granted
marketing
approval
of
geneticallyengineered Liberty Link 601 of Bayer
CropScience. (GE) rice variety following its
illegal contamination of the food supply and
rice exports [4]. The USDA effectively
sanctioned an approval-by-contamination
policy.
In 2005, biologist Pushpa Bhargava alleged
that there were reports that unapproved

varieties of several genetically modified
crops were being sold to farmers in India.
And Arun Shrivasatava wrote in 2008 that
illegal genetically modified okra had been
planted in India and poor farmers had been
offered lucrative deals to plant special seed
of all sorts of vegetables [5]. He asks: who
knows at how many places illegal
genetically engineered rice have been
planted?
The story of open air trials of GM crops in
India is a story of blatant violations of
biosafety norms, hasty approvals, a lack of
monitoring abilities, general apathy towards
the hazards of contamination and a lack of
institutional oversight mechanisms [6].
Concerns have also been expressed in
Europe over the contamination of basmati
rice exported by India [7].
Just this week, the West Bengal government
says it had received information regarding
infiltration of commercial seeds of GM Bt
brinjal from Bangladesh [8]. Bangladesh has
gone ahead with the commercial release of
the GM vegetable Bt-Brinjal a variant
engineered by inserting a gene from soil
bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that
produces an insecticidal toxin.
Pradeep Majumdar, agriculture advisor to
State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,
stated:
Commercial seeds may have infiltrated
they might have been smuggled in. We have
to ascertain the various effects of Bt-Brinjal
on local indigenous species before taking
any step else farmers will suffer.
According to the GMWatch website, if this
has occurred, it will follow the timehonoured GMO industry tactic of
contaminate first and push for regulatory
authorisation afterwards.
Bt brinjal has never undergone independent

safety testing but the industrys own tests
show it is toxic [9,10].
West Bengal State Agricultural Minister
Purnendu Bose stated:
We have heard that in Bengal districts
bordering Bangladesh, seeds of Bt-Brinjal
have been found. We will not introduce
GMs now and definitely not without proper
study.
In India, the previous government had
ordered a freeze on field trials of GM food
crops but the current government recently
gave the go-ahead to field trials of two
varieties of GM brinjal and mustard.
Last year, a group of scientists and NGOs
protested in Kolkata and elsewhere against
the introduction of transgenic brinjal in
Bangladesh a centre for origin and
diversity of the vegetable as it would give
rise to contamination of the crop in
India.There concerns are now being
validated.As has been shown elsewhere,
once the GM genie is out of the bottle, there
may well be no going back.
Notes
1] http://www.gmcontaminationregister.org/
2] Price B, Cotter J (2014). The GM
Contamination Register: a review of
recorded contamination incidents associated
with genetically modified organisms
(GMOs), 19972013. International Journal
of Food Contamination 2014, 1:5.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s405
50-014-0005-8
3]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/themonsanto-engame-genetically-engineeredwheat-on-oregon-farm-contaminationacross-north-america/5337514
4]
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/6
80/ge-animals/press-releases/886/usda-torubber-stamp-contamination-of-food-with-

illegal-genetically-engineered-rice-bannedin-japan-and-europe#
5]
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-death-ofrice-in-india/9562
6] http://indiagminfo.org/?page_id=175
7] http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/indiadenies-gmo-contamination-basmati
8]http://www.businessstandard.com/article/news-ians/commercial-btbrinjal-seeds-infiltrating-bengal-from<bangladesh-114110501181_1.html
9]http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-newsitems/12803
10] http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bt-brinjalcan-damage-liver-&-hit-immunity-of-a-humanbeing./1/126821.html
International rice market:

Indian
agriculture
policy
hurting Pakistan
By Our Correspondent
Published: November 9, 2014
Hindrance: Indias decision to give subsidy to its
farmers is hurting Pakistan, which is facing
various challenges due to successive floods.
PHOTO: APP
KARACHI:
Pakistan cannot afford to lose its foreign rice market,
especially when exports are facing a decline due to
harsh competition, said the Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)
Zakaria Usman.
In a press statement on
Saturday, the FPCCI
chief
addressed
concerns and said that
subsidies from the
Indian government to
its rice exporters have
significantly affected the competitiveness of
Pakistan rice exports.
Rice holds an important position in the countrys
agriculture sector, which brings more than $2
billion foreign exchange every year. Pakistan is

the fourth largest rice producer after China,
India and Indonesia.With the decline in
international prices of agricultural products, the
export of rice from Pakistan is also dropping in
terms of quantity. Pakistans rice export volume
has declined during the last three month (JulySeptember 2014) from $363 million compared
to $404 million in the same period last year.
Usman further stated that FPCCI has repeatedly
informed the government and stakeholders about
the subsidy on rice by Indian government in the
name of food security.We have highlighted the
consequences of the Indian policy and its
impacts on Pakistans exports, he said.Millions
of farmers rely on rice cultivation as their major
source of employment. The Indian step is
currently hurting millions of Pakistani farmers
who are already facing various challenges due to
floods in Pakistan.
This may create serious food insecurity for Pakistan
in the future.He urged the government of Pakistan to
oppose the Indian decision to grant its farmers
subsidies at the World Trade Organization (WTO),
terming it a trade distorting step. Being the member
of the WTO, Pakistan always supports free trade,
liberalisation and market competition, according to
Usman.He further stated that Pakistani exports will
not be in a position to compete because the
government cannot provide subsidies to its producers
because of International Monetary Funds (IMF)
conditions.
He demanded zero-rated facility and other fiscal and
administrative measures in favour of rice exporters.
In May 2014, FPCCI released a report on the
Political Economy of Subsides where early
warnings were issued about the declining trends in
Pakistani exports. This report was sent to
policymakers and all concerned departments, the
release added.Usman indicated that policymakers
should understand the economic wisdom behind the
suggestions and recommendations of FPCCI. In the
past, FPCCI has recommended several policy
measures regarding infrastructure development,
foreign investment and fiscal policy. Published in
The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2014.

10th November, 2014 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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