July 28, 2015

Vol 5 ,Issue VII

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Rice Federation to Get $450,000 From Ministry

BY KANG SOTHEAR | JULY 28, 2015
The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) signed a memorandum of understanding with the
Ministry of Commerce on Thursday to receive $450,000 in financial support from the
government to increase Cambodias rice exports, according to a federation official.Hun Lak, vice
president of the CRF, which aims to link farmers, millers and exporters, said the Finance
Ministry would assist the federation through the Commerce Ministry with a one-time capital
infusion.
This is a seed capitalto support those who are involved in the rice sector, he said.The
capital will be used formarket development such as participating in overseas exhibitions,
joining government-to-government discussions and human resources development.Mr. Lak
added that the funds would be sent to the CRF after the ministry receives a comprehensive plan
for its use.Commerce Ministry officials could not be reached for comment.The government had
set a goal to export 1 million tons of milled rice this year, but has admitted that it is likely to fall
well short of that figure, and now plans to export about 600,000 tons of rice this year.
sothear@cambodiadaily.com
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/rice-federation-to-get-450000-from-ministry-89665/

Scientists Create New Rice Variety

Submitted by Diana Bretting on Tue, 07/28/2015 - 11:25

Nowadays getting permission to grow

rice is equal to an uphill battle, but
scientists have recently created a new
variety by transferring a barley gene
into a rice planet. One of the major
advantages of this genetically modified
variety is it produces considerably less
methane gas.The research on the rice
variety was published in the journal
Nature. As per some scientists,
reducing methane emissions that occur in flooded rice paddies as methane-producing bacteria
thriving on the carbohydrates secreted by rice roots in the oxygen-free soils is a big concern.Rice
paddies are one of the largest sources of atmospheric methane, the second most important
greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Methane is thought to be responsible for one-fifth of the
global warming effect.
2

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But the transfer of barley gene into a rice planet during this study resulted in rice with smaller
root systems and starchier grain, and the methane produced was 10% of the methane produced in
growing conventional rice.Lead author of the Journal report is Chuanxin Sun, a plant biologist at
the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said it was thought that such a research might
come from another major rice producing area, but it has occurred in China.Researchers for the
study conducted field trials in China for three years. This newly developed rice variety can boost
food sustainability without adding to global warming.Some experts are considering the findings
of the study as an important breakthrough in the field of genetically modified foods.
http://perfscience.com/content/2142317-scientists-create-new-rice-variety#sthash.Y3KgtArN.dpuf

Genetically modified rice makes more food, less greenhouse

gas
A 50 percent boost in rice, with methane dropping by 90 percent.
by Scott K. Johnson - Jul 28, 2015 8:33am PDT

Feng Wang

When it comes to major anthropogenic sources of methane (an important greenhouse gas),
livestock and leaky natural gas wells and pipelines might come to mind. However, rice
cultivation is also among the largest sources. Microbes in wetlands, where water saturation leads
to low-oxygen conditions, produce most of the worlds methane, and rice paddies are essentially
3

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human-controlled wetlands.Down in the warm muck of a rice paddy, the roots of the rice plant
release some organic compounds, and they eventually die off and decay themselves, providing
the food that microbes turn into methane. Researchers are working on ways to limit that methane
production, but this will always be a secondary concern for farmers. Yields rule the day,
especially as demand is growing. But a 2002 study hinted at a win-win: increase above-ground
growth at the expense of below-ground growth, and yield goes up while methane production
goes down.
A great idea, but how to make it happen? A group of researchers led by Swedish University of
Agricultural Sciences researchers Jun Su, Changquan Hu, and Xia Yan have used a gene from
barley to create a genetically modified rice plant that does just that.The barley gene causes the
plant to put more energy into above-ground growth, including the seeds. Having inserted the
gene into a couple rice cultivars, the researchers planted trials in several areas of China with
varying climates to see the results. Compared to a common cultivar grown as a baseline, the
genetically modified plants produced substantially less methane90 to 99 percent less,
depending on the growth stage.
To see what was happening, the researchers tracked the growth of the rice, as well as the
activity of genes in various parts of the plants. The genetically modified plants had stronger
flower clusters that produced more seeds, meaning a greater yield of rice per plantclose to 50
more percent by weight. And the starch content of those grains of rice was about 10 percent
higher. In total, above-ground weight increased by about 30 percent, while below-ground weight
decreased by 35 percent.Meanwhile, the abundance of methane-producing microbes living on the
plants roots decreased by half or more, apparently starved of food.
Measurements of gene expression confirmed that the barley gene was busy in the seeds and
stems of the modified plants. The gene boosted the conversion of sugars to starch, maintaining a
greedy demand for sugars in those parts that left less for the roots.In an article accompanying the
paper in Nature, Netherlands Institute of Microbial Ecology researcherPaul Bodelier celebrated
the study but cautioned that further trials will be necessary to make sure this crop would be ready
for long-term, widespread use. Since the microbial community around the plants roots changes,
there could potentially be knock-on effects that reduce the plants disease resistance or require
greater fertilizer use, for example.
Barring major trade-offs, a variety of rice that produces more food while releasing less methane
into the atmosphere would obviously be a boon
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/07/genetically-modified-rice-makes-more-food-less-greenhouse-gas/

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Irish researchers discover simple solution to worrying levels of
arsenic in our rice
Rab Kassie Sheeran
PUBLISHED28/07/2015 | 19:02
"Rice is by far our dominant source of inorganic
arsenic," says a professor at Queens University
Belfast.Too much arsenic is associated with a
range of health problems including, at worst,
bladder and lung cancer. Rice is the only major
crop grown under flooded conditions. It is this
flooding that releases inorganic arsenic, normally
locked up in soil minerals, which is then
absorbed by the plant.Washing and boiling rice in
a pan will not remove the toxin; this only reinfuses it after the water has evaporated.Research
done at Queens concluded that by cooking rice in the filter of a coffee percolator could reduce
the arsenic content greatly. Scientists reported that it took 20 minutes to cook white rice and 40
minutes to cook brown rice by this method.Researchers at Queens are currently developing rice
percolator cookers more suited to preparing rice.The UKs Food Standards Agency states
children under 4 and half years old shouldnt be fed rice milk as an alternative.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-researchers-discover-simple-solution-to-worrying-levels-ofarsenic-in-our-rice-31411167.html

Nigeria spends $2.4bn on rice importation in 3 years

Emefiele
July 28, 2015Premium Times

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday said the Federal
Government spent $2.41 billion on rice importation between January 2012 and May 2015.Mr.
Emefiele made this known at a stakeholders meeting with officials of Paddy Rice Producing
states and Rice Value chain investors in Abuja.He said the banks decision to ban foreign
exchange for importation of rice; fish and other items would not be reversed.
He said the apex bank has no plans to reverse the ban, adding that the reason for inclusion of rice
in the exclusion list was not far-fetched.He said, Figures available with the CBN show that from
the period January 2012 to May 2015, the country had spent over 2.41bn dollars on importation
of this commodity.Unfortunately, this trend has resulted in huge unsold stock of paddy rice
5

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cultivated by our farmers and low operating capacities of many integrated rice mills in
Nigeria.Mr. Emefiele said the CBN, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, would come up with a comprehensive financing model to support rice millers and
other investors in the sector.He said the bank decided to intervene in the sector through funding
and other packages because the country would not achieve its true potentials if it imported
everything it could produce locally.
He said, the bank will make funds more accessible to farmers through some of its funding
programme such as the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and the N220bn Micro Small
and Medium Enterprises Development fund.The funds will be made available to rice farmers
through the Microfinance Banks at an interest rate of nine per cent and any bank that charges
interest above that rate should be reported to the CBNWe appeal to the state governments to
provide lands for the farmers on a large scale and we will work with them to clear some of these
impediments.
We are at a stage where we must feed ourselves and all hands are on deck to ensure this work,
he said.The CBN boss said that those that defaulted in the payment of customs duty after
bringing in excess quotas of rice into the country at concessionary rates would be penalised.He
said the CBN would take up the issue to the highest level in government to ensure that the money
was paid.By exceeding their import quota, these importers have flooded the market with rice
that is sold below what is produced locally thus, making consumers ignore the locally produced
ones.We are going to enforce it and we will go to the highest level to enforce this to ensure that
they pay and I appeal to them to go and pay, he added.
The governor also assured rice producers that the bank would work closely with the Nigerian
Customs Service to address the issue of smuggling.Also speaking, Governor Atiku Bagudu of
Kebbi promised that everything would be done to support the CBN intervention.Mr. Bagudu
spoke on behalf of the 10 major paddy rice producing states, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa,
Sokoto, Ebonyi, Taraba, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Niger.He said the states had enough capacity to
produce rice that would help the country attain self sufficiency as well as for export purpose.
He also assured producers that they would expand infrastructure, as well as provide the right
atmosphere for people to invest in rice farming.Sonny Echow, Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the ministry was making plans to intervene
in rice production in the coming season.We are proposing to the CBN to help us set up a fund
for rice millers for our rice farmers.

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We will be making that recommendation to the CBN to facilitate a long term fund, he
said.Earlier, the millers stressed the need to address some of the bottlenecks affecting the
increase in rice production in the country.They also listed some areas where they needed
intervention to include: Investment in research, irrigation facility and stable rice policy, as well
as the need to tackle issue of smuggling.Others included bigger fields, funding, access to land,
establishment of more rice mills and increase in capacity of existing mills in the country among
others.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/187406-nigeria-spends-2-4bn-on-rice-importation-in3-years-emefiele.html

Rice Producers Group urges conclusion to

negotiations with China
The group, representing rice farmers in all six rice states covering close to 90 percent of the
U.S. rice crop, offered guidance to U.S. negotiators to help them finalize a deal that would be
acceptable and manageable to the U.S. industry.
By USA Rice Federation
Posted Jul. 28, 2015 at 9:25 AM

DALLAS, TEXAS

At a meeting earlier this month the USA Rice Producers' Group unanimously passed a motion
urging the conclusion of negotiations between the United States and China to establish a
phytosanitary agreement that would pave the way for U.S. rice to be exported to China.The
group, representing rice farmers in all six rice states covering close to 90 percent of the U.S. rice
crop, offered guidance to U.S. negotiators to help them finalize a deal that would be acceptable
and manageable to the U.S. industry.
The negotiations, between USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and
their Chinese counterparts (AQSIQ), have dragged on for years and hit snags recently when the
Chinese made demands the U.S. industry felt were not based on sound science."The Chinese are
demanding our industry set traps for insects that do not exist in the United States, and that we set
a totally unreasonable number of traps per square foot of storage space," said John Owen, a
Louisiana rice farmer and chairman of the USA Rice Producers' Group.The USA Rice Millers'
Association, whose members would be responsible for the trapping, agreed with the
producers."We're not opposed to trapping, but, any agreement needs to meet reasonable
standards that are consistent with international trade agreement precedents and be based on

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quantifiable, scientific data consistent with previous USDA/APHIS procedures," said Chris
Crutchfield, a California miller and chairman of the USA Rice Millers' Association.

Chinese negotiators are also demanding very specific package labeling that is both
unprecedented and many felt unfeasible."The labeling requirements are not appropriate for
inclusion in a phytosanitary protocol at all," said Dick Ottis, chairman of the USA Rice
Merchants' Association.The three organizations came together under the industry's national
organization, USA Rice, to adopt the joint resolution.Dow Brantley, an Arkansas rice farmer and
chairman of USA Rice, was pleased with the industry's unity and strong statement that both
supports, and guides, U.S. negotiators."There's no question we'd like to participate in the Chinese
market, but these ever-evolving demands being made by the Chinese government were making it
ever-less likely we were going to actually gain access to the market," Brantley said. "We
appreciate the efforts of the U.S. negotiators on our behalf, and are happy to provide input as a
united industry.

"Brantley said the market has great potential for the U.S. industry, and that his group has been
working for years to establish trade relationships and line up customers for the day the
phytosanitary deal is complete. However, he says if the final deal is based on unreasonable,
unscientific demands that can never be truly satisfied, there's little point to agreeing."The notion
that you can agree to something with the Chinese government now and fix it later is very nave,"
he said. "Once the ink dries on that deal, the Chinese are going to hold us to it, so it needs to be
a deal we all can live with today and that actually allows us to start sending our rice over there."

http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/article/20150728/NEWS/150729646

Customs seal 4 major rice importing firms over N23.6 bn debt

By NAN on July 28, 2015
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday sealed the warehouses and business premises of
four major rice importing firms over N23.6 billion unpaid rice duty and levies.The Public
Relations Officer of NCS, Mr Wale Adeniyi, told a news conference in Lagos that the service
would also not allow discharge of the companies imports in any of the nations ports.The
companies are Olam (Amuwo, Lagos), Stallion/Popular Foods/Masco Agro (Iganmu, Lagos)
Ebony Agro (Wuse, Abuja) and Conti Agro (Victoria Island, Lagos).Adeniyi said that altogether
the companies had imported a combined excess of 750,253, 03 tonnes of rice, for which the
service expected payment of extant duty and levies.

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The customs spokesman said
the service had written the
affected companies severally
to notify them of their duty
liability at normal rate if they
exceeded
their
quotas.Similarly,
we
published many notices in
national newspapers, including
where affected importers were
mentioned with outstanding
payments, Adeniyi said.He
explained that the importers
were the beneficiaries of 2014 Rice Import Quota Policy, which specified a preferential duty rate
of 10 per cent and levy of 20 per cent for their imports.

The importers and their sister or associated companies have been blocked from the Nigeria
Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS), thus denying them access to make
declarations.All these will be done preparatory to instituting full legal proceeding to compel
them (importers) to pay what they owe Nigeria, when the courts are back from recess, the
customs spokesman said.Adeniyi said the service had issued several ultimatum to the companies
to pay the outstanding charges against them, adding that today, we are no longer issuing
ultimatum.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Rice Import Quota Policy was meant to fill
a national sufficiency gap which needed to be met in line with quotas allotted to the
beneficiaries. NAN also reports that the beneficiaries were rice millers who have invested in the
sector and created employment in the value chain.The policy states that the quantity imported in
excess of approved quotas will be subjected to the extant rate of 10 per cent duty and 60 per cent
levy.

News from USA Rice Daily

Tulane Opens $1 Million "Nitrogen Reduction Challenge"
Probably reduced nitrogen in that Green Wave

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NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Tulane University has announced the next phase of the "Tulane
Nitrogen Reduction Challenge," an international competition that will award $1 million to the
entrepreneur, researcher, or inventor with the best plan to reduce the amount of nutrients entering

the world's lakes, rivers, and oceans through storm water runoff and ultimately reduce the
hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hypoxia is oxygen-deprived water that causes massive fish kills and annual "dead zones" in
waters throughout the world. The goal of the prize is to help identify and nurture the most
innovative and adaptable technologies that will lead to positive environmental outcomes.
Individuals and others with nitrogen-reducing ideas should register for the Challenge by visiting
http://tulane.edu/tulaneprize/waterprize/ no later than September 15, and submit a one page
proposal. Those submitting the most viable proposals will be invited to create a 20-page
technical explanation, including descriptions of their team, resources, and capacity for
implementation.
An advisory committee of scientists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, farmers, and other
national experts will select five finalists from these entries. These finalists will test their
proposals on working farms during the 2016 growing season.

10

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Contact: Robbie Kroger (228) 396-0486

ME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for July 28

Month

Price

Net Change

September 2015

$10.980

+ $0.020

November 2015

$11.245

+ $0.020

January 2016

$11.515

+ $0.020

March 2016

$11.715

+ $0.020

May 2016

$11.900

+ $0.020

July 2016

$11.900

+ $0.020

September 2016

$11.910

+ $0.020

APEDA India News

International Benchmark Price
Price on: 27-07-2015

Product

Benchmark Indicators Name

Price

Chinese first grade granules, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2100

Chinese Grade A dehydrated flakes, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2000

Garlic

11

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3

Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

1800

Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

4600

Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

5100

Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

3000

Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

4470

Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

1890

Indian 200 mesh 5000 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

2990

Ginger

Guar Gum Powder

Source:agra-net

For more info

Market Watch
Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 27-07-2015
Domestic Prices

Unit Price : Rs per Qty

Product

Market Center

Variety

Min Price

Max Price

Jhagadiya (Gujarat)

Other

1990

3100

Cachar (Assam)

Other

2000

2500

Bonai (Orissa)

Other

2200

2400

Amod (Gujarat)

Other

1600

1800

Bonai (Orissa)

Other

1450

1600

Bolpur (West Bengal)

Other

1390

1490

Aroor (Kerala)

Other

3200

3400

Rice

Wheat

Mousambi
1

12

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2

Sirhind (Punjab)

Other

2000

3500

Mechua (West Bengal)

Other

2100

2600

Bargarh (Orissa)

Other

1200

1400

Aroor (Kerala)

Other

2800

3000

Sirhind (Punjab)

Other

1300

1500

Brinjal

Source:agra-net

For more info

Egg

Rs per 100 No
Price on 27-07-2015
Product

Market Center

Price

Pune

345

Nagapur

332

Namakkal

330

Source: e2necc.com

Other International Prices

Unit Price : US$ per package

Price on 24-07-2015

Product

Market Center

Origin

Variety

Low

Onions Dry

High
Package: 50 lb sacks

Atlanta

Colorado

Yellow

25

26

Chicago

California

Yellow

20

22

Detroit

Mexico

Yellow

23

23.50

Carrots

Package: 20 1-lb film bags

Atlanta

California

Baby Peeled

18

20.50

Chicago

California

Baby Peeled

17

17

13

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3

Dallas

Arizona

Baby Peeled

18

Apples

18
Package: cartons tray pack

Atlanta

Virginia

Red Delicious

19

19

Baltimore

Washington

Red Delicious

22

24

Dallas

Washington

Red Delicious

18

19.75

Source:USDA

Forecasting the Weather From a Bowl of Rice

Jul 28, 2015
Saori Kako at Panasonics rice-cooker factory in Kobe, Japan.
Takashi Mochizuki/The Wall Street Journal
Saori Kako, a rice-cooker developer
at Panasonic 6752.TO -1.05% Corp.,
knows the taste, texture and appearance
of rice so well she can tell what the
weather is like just by looking at a
steaming bowlful.When rice comes out
fluffy, I know its sunny, she said,
revealing one of
her weather
indicators.Ms. Kako has been eating at
least seven bowls of rice a day since she
joined the Osaka-based company in
1992 in the quest for the perfect
combination of flavor and feel.She is one of Panasonics rice ladiestasters of rice who have
dedicated themselves to developing a deep knowledge of Japans many rice varieties and the
subtle effects of cooking methods on texture and flavor. Most of Japans appliance makers have
rice-tasting staff.
Their expertise is needed to develop the sophisticated functionality of the latest rice cookers
that are becoming increasingly popular not just among Japanese consumers but also among
visitors to Japan.The pickup in demand for Japanese rice cookers is particularly strong in Asia,
helped by a much weaker yen, a burgeoning number of foreign tourists to Japan and word-of14

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mouth recommendation. Japanese appliance makers are responding to this demand by ratcheting
up their efforts to cater for specific consumer needs.At Panasonic, for example, rice cookers for
Chinese customers have a porridge setting and a quick-cooking mode to better serve local
cooking habits, while those aimed at Southeast Asian buyers are more focused on basics to keep
prices down.
Tech-minded Japanese consumers are offered cookers they can operate with their
smartphones.Japans farming ministry says the nation has several hundred kinds of rice, many of
them with fancy names such as Love at First Sight or Seven Stars. They all have different
characteristics from size and flavor to moisture retention. Change the soil or the location and the
taste will change again, experts say.To help nurture experts who can distinguish between the
many varieties, a Japanese rice industry association runs a qualification system that has certified
3,000 people as rice masters.
Of these, 400 have the highest, five-star master rating.In more practical terms, Ms. Kakos job is
to find the best cooking method for each of variety of rice by adjusting the heating time,
temperature and steaming duration.Panasonics rice cookers for Japanese consumers come with a
takiwake function enabling users to adjust steaming patterns to best fit the rice being cooked,
using software that Ms. Kako has developed.While she can figure out the optimal cooking
method for each type of rice, she says her knack of predicting the weather from a mouthful of
rice is more of a mystery. She even clambered up a mountain once to test whether atmospheric
pressure was the key factor. It wasnt, she said.I still dont know exactly how I can do that,
Ms. Kako said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/07/28/forecasting-the-weather-from-a-bowl-ofrice/?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+
13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Sunrice eyes Iran after Middle East sales surge

Date July 28, 2015

Sunrice chief executive Rob Gordon see opportunities in the Middle East, including Iran. Photo: Louie
Douvis

The newly minted US-Iran nuclear deal will deliver an "avalanche of trade" for Western
businesses, predicts the boss of Australian agricultural giant Sunrice.Sunrice's sales to the
Middle East have already surged 41 per cent to $141 million in the past 12 months, and chief
executive Rob Gordon expects more growth to come as sales extend to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and
even strife-torn Syria."The branded rice market across the Middle East in 2012 was worth $4
billion. And in 2017 we anticipate it will be worth $8 billion," Mr Gordon said.

15

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Consumer support includes a Sunrice recipe website in Arabic. Photo: Supplied
"We were obviously unable to supply that market fully when we were in the midst of our
drought. But since we have had Australian rice to sell again we have re-established ourselves as
the market leader."

Sunrice, Australia's last grain export monopoly, has almost doubled its market share in Saudi
Arabia and Jordan to 60 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.Mr Gordon said the company had
also sold rice "pretty much throughout" the Syrian civil war and has begun investigating

Iran, which struck a deal with the US and five

other world powers last month to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of trade
sanctions.
16

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Branded player: Sunrice's sales to the Middle East have surged 41 per cent to $141 million in the
past year. Photo: Supplied
Mr Gordon said the agreement presented a significant opportunity for Western businesses,
considering Iran's population of almost 80 million."This deal on the nuclear issue I think is likely
to open up an avalanche of trade with Iran," he said. "We have done a few initial market
soundings."I'm not flagging that we have got firm plans. I'm just saying that it's a potential
market for a lot of Western companies in the next year or two."Sunrice has increased its
exposure to the Middle East, where it has had a presence for more than 30 years, by spending
more on marketing its product as a brand rather than a commodity.This has meant sponsoring
cooking shows and television personalities, as well as launching a recipe website in Arabic.
Mr Gordon said becoming a branded player in the region rather than a commodity exporter set
Sunrice apart from its competitors in California and Egypt."They are not doing any work to
inform the consumer on how to use the product or to inspire creativity."What we are doing is
providing a total solution for the consumer, as opposed to the Californians, who are effectively
taking a commodity, sticking it in a bag, putting a brand on it and flogging it in the
supermarkets."We have done a lot of research in market to find out what motivates consumers in
the Middle East, and particularly the main grocery buyer. They love creativity and a lot of their
culture and family life revolves around meal times celebrating being together and food being
part of that."Sunrice has launched an Indian-grown basmati rice in the region under its Sun
White brand, and is planning to introduce more products, including its rice chips.
"This is all part of our strategy of doing a lot of our thinking here and when we find a winner,
rolling it out quite rapidly through our distribution networks in the Middle East, through the
Pacific and into Asia."Mr Gordon said the company's plan to list on the ASX would
accelerate its Middle East expansion.Sunrice is seeking feedback from its farmer shareholders to
craft its shift from the smaller National Stock Exchange to the ASX.It most likely will take a
form similar to Australia's biggest milk processor, Murray Goulburn, which listed a non-voting
unit trust this month to maintain 100 per cent farmer control.But Mr Gordon said the company
wasn't in a rush to list on the ASX, saying it had enough balance sheet firepower to fuel its
international growth plans."While we have got balance sheet capacity today because we have
paid down close to $100 million of debt in the last couple of years, if we start pulling off these
initiatives and accelerating them then we will need to get external sources of capital," he
said."And the best place to get that is the ASX."
http://www.smh.com.au/business/sunrice-eyes-iran-after-middle-east-sales-surge-20150728-gim256.html#ixzz3hH3uUcYx

High nighttime temperatures a concern for rice producers

Jul 28, 2015Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press

The overwhelming concern at this point has to do with the daytime and nighttime
temperatures, Dr. Hardke said. We have had an unfortunate run of nighttime temperatures that
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are remaining at or above 75 degrees at night, and we know from a decade of research that that
can have a significant impact on grain quality, primarily related to chalkiness.

Delta Farm Press

The Arkansas rice crop is making
good progress, especially if you
consider what it endured at the
beginning of the 2015 season, says
Jarrod Hardke, Extension rice
specialist with the University of
Arkansas.But weather continues to
be a major factor, particularly the
high nighttime temperatures that
have been occurring in the states
rice-growing areas and much of the Mid-South Rice Belt. Dr. Hardke spoke on the current
agronomic outlook for the Arkansas rice crop during the University of Arkansas Food and
Agribusiness Webinar on July 22.The overwhelming concern at this point has to do with the
daytime and nighttime temperatures, Dr. Hardke said.
We have had an unfortunate run of nighttime temperatures that are remaining at or above 75
degrees at night, and we know from a decade of research that that can have a significant impact
on grain quality, primarily related to chalkiness.Looking back at the two most recent
problematic years from the standpoint of grain quality 2010 and 2011 Arkansas nighttime
temperatures did not get below 75 degrees for a period of 25 to 30 days spanning across July and
early August. Those are the types of conditions were looking at for the moment, and we hope
we can get out of because we dont want to have similar grain quality as in those years, he said.
In addition, we also had problems with bacterial panicle blight in those years, which we may be
at risk from especially for the part of our crop that was pushed into a later-planted
window.Some of Arkansas rice crop was not planted until June due to the incessant rains that
fell across the state in April and May. June plantings appear to increase the risk of bacterial
panicle blight.On a more positive note, he said some of the newer varieties being grown in the
state currently do not appear to be as susceptible to bacterial panicle blight as varieties that were
being grown in 2010 and 2011.
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In 60 percent of the acreage being grown in Arkansas this year, the cultivars would be rated
moderately susceptible or better to bacterial panicle blight, he noted. When I say better, I mean
moderately susceptible to resistant. In 2010 and 2011, that number was only about as high as 40
percent.So were in a little safer area than we were then if we do have some issues with it, says
Hardke.Incidences of other traditional rice diseases sheath blight and leaf blast appear to
have gone down because of the higher temperatures. That is one bonus for this time of year, he
said. But if Im also talking about bacterial panicle blight, it doesnt make people feel that much
better about things.Hardke says he feels comfortable with USDAs projection of 1.39 million
planted acres for Arkansas 2015 rice crop.
I had thought initially our medium grain acreage might be slightly higher than the 240,000 in
the June USDA Acreage Report, but that is, in fact, close to the numbers I have at this
time.Farmers still have a long way to go to make this crop, said Hardke. We do have
problems with grass escapes that are being cleaned up and some that are beyond the point of
being cleaned up. My concern is that if we have fall weather with high winds and a lot of grass
escapes like these that they will start to lodge the rice.And growers are not likely to repeat the
record yields of the last three years, he said. I think we will probably be in the upper 150s
(bushels per acres) is where I feel comfortable at this point. That would be down from the 168bushel average of the last two years. 2015 has certainly been a much tougher year than the last
two, particularly in getting it planted this spring.
To hear Dr. Hardkes comments, go
to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&feature=youtu.be&t=40m55s
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/high-nighttime-temperatures-concern-riceproducers?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+Decem
ber+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

USDA economist predicts improving stocks situation for rice

Jul 27, 2015Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press

But its the numbers in the background that could be a sign of better times. Examples: total
supplies in the 2015-16 marketing year are expected to decline for a second consecutive year due
to a smaller carry-in from the 2014-15 year, and the markets are expected to see the largest
consumption and residual use on record (up 1 percent from 2014-15).

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U.S. rice producers could be seeing a small beam of light at the end of the tunnel when it comes
to world rice supplies. But it may be too early to get your hopes up concerning the possibility of
higher rice prices.USDA is projecting record 2015-16 global rice production of 480.3 million
tons (milled basis), which would be up 1 percent above 2014-15, according to Nathan Childs,
senior agricultural economist with USDAs Economic Research Service.But its the numbers in
the background that could be a sign of better times.
Examples: total supplies in the 2015-16 marketing year are expected to decline for a second
consecutive year due to a smaller carry-in from the 2014-15 year, and the markets are expected
to see the largest consumption and residual use on record (up 1 percent from 2014-15).Dr. Childs
reported those numbers during the latest in the University of Arkansas Division of Agricultures
Food & Agribusiness Webinar Series. To watch a video of Dr. Childs presentation, click
on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&t=2m24s.
U.S. rice producers are expected to harvest 152.5 million hundredweight of rice in 2015. That is
down 9.5 million cwt from earlier estimates and lower than 2014s production, according to Dr.
Childs. But it is still 13.8 million cwt above the previous four-year average of 138.7 million
hundredweight.
http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/usda-economist-predicts-improving-stocks-situationrice?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+1
3%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Rice disease-resistance discovery closes the loop for scientific

integrity

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By University of California, Davis July 28, 2015 | 12:35 pm EDT
Disease-resistant rice plants, depicted at left, recognize the newly identified RaxX protein in the
invading bacteria and can fend off the attack, while non-resistant rice plants cannot recognize the
disease-causing bacteria and fall victim to it.
Photo by Kelsey Wood/UC Davis graphic
When disease-resistant rice is invaded by disease-causing bacteria, a small protein produced by
the bacteria betrays the invader. Upon recognizing that protein, the rice plants sense that a
microbial attack is underway and are able to mount an immune response to fend off bacterial
infection, reports a research team led by the University of California, Davis.Identification of the
tiny protein, called RaxX, holds promise for developing more disease-resistant crop varieties and
therapeutic treatments for blocking microbial infections in both plants and animals, said the
researchers, who found particular satisfaction in this discovery, two years after retracting the
announcement of a similar find.
Results of the new study are reported July 24 in Science Advances, an open-access journal
published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The paper is available
online from the journal at http://bit.ly/1OmytAd.
Discovery unlocks clues to disease protection
In this new study, researchers discovered that the RaxX protein was present in at least eight
species of the disease-causing Xanthamonas bacteria that are known to attack rice the staple
food for half of the worlds population as well as maize, cassava, sugar cane, tomatoes,
peppers, wheat, alfalfa, onions, banana and citrus.
Our research team is delighted to announce the discovery of the RaxX protein, a new class of
microbial signaling molecules," said Pamela Ronald, a professor of plant pathology, who
directed the study.
Ronald noted that her laboratory is currently investigating the role of RaxX during bacterial
infection of rice in the absence of the immune receptor.
The researchers have noticed that RaxX closely resembles a class of plant signaling factors that
promote growth and modulate the immune response. They suspect that the bacteria could be
mimicking these natural plant-signaling factors to inhibit the plant immune response and thereby
enhance the competitiveness of the bacteria.
In the long term, the researchers hope to use this information to develop new strategies to
prevent infection in various crops.
New findings have special significance
Publication of the new study is particularly poignant for Ronald and lead co-authors Rory Pruitt
and Benjamin Schwessinger, because it brings the research team full circle in correcting
unintentional errors that led the Ronald lab in 2009 to misidentify the protein now known to be
RaxX.
Pruitt and Schwessinger both worked on the new study as postdoctoral scholars in the Ronald
lab, and Schwessinger is now an independent research fellow at the Australian National
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University in Canberra, Australia.Ronalds laboratory has been studying rice genetics and
disease resistance for more than two decades and in 1995 announced that a gene called Xa21
confers resistance to the bacterial blight pathogen. Bacterial blight, one of the worst bacterial
plant diseases in the world, has been found in virtually every crop species including rice.
The discovery of Xa21 was widely acclaimed by the scientific community and sparked further
research into other key parts of the disease-resistance puzzle. Researchers were confident that if
Xa21 produced a receptor in the plant cell that was capable of recognizing and thwarting a
bacterial invasion, there must be a complementary protein in the bacteria that triggered that
immune response in the plant.
In 2009 the Ronald lab announced discovery of a bacterial protein called Ax21, which their
research indicated was the protein that triggers the immune response by the Xa21 plant receptor.
A second related study, based on identification of Ax21, was published in 2011.
Then in 2013, as researchers in the Ronald lab began repeating the earlier experiments in
preparation for a new study, they discovered that a bacterial strain had been mislabeled in the
previous work and that one of the tests used in the earlier study turned out to be quite variable.
These errors had led to the misidentification of Ax21 as the bacterial protein that sparks an
immune response by the Xa21 receptor in the plant cells.
After finding the errors, Ronald retracted two papers from her laboratory about this research,
published in 2009 and 2011 in the journals PLOS One and Science, respectively. She chronicled
the story of that process in an October 2013 Scientific American blog posting titled, Lab Life:
The Anatomy of a Retraction, which can be found at http://bit.ly/1KdEDli.
In tandem with this weeks announcement of the RaxX protein, Ronald and her laboratory
colleagues have prepared a new posting for the Scientific American blog, which tells the story of
the new discovery and the closure it brings in setting the scientific record straight. It is scheduled
for posting on July 24, concurrent with publication of the new study in Science Advances.
Collaborators and funders
Collaborating with Ronald, Schwessinger and Pruitt on the new study were researchers from UC
Davis; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of Tbingen, Germany; University
of Texas at Austin; UC Irvine; and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.
Funding for the study was provided by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S.
Department of Energy, the European Molecular Biology Association, the Human Frontiers
Science Program, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India, the Welch
Foundation, and Monsantos Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program.
UC's Global Food Initiative
UC Davis is participating in UCs Global Food Initiative launched by UC President Janet
Napolitano, harnessing the collective power of UC to help feed the world and steer it on the path
to sustainability
http://www.agprofessional.com/news/rice-disease-resistance-discovery-closes-loop-scientificintegrity

GMO Rice Can Fight Global Warming

AUTHOR JOHN DOWMAN PUBLISHED JULY 28, 2015

Genetically formed rice that often borrows just one gene from just about may stunningly scale
down methane rays among the situation, simultaneously docile as much as 50 % more cereal
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grain for a worlds inhabitants, new research suggests. nfortunately, because this is geneticallymodified (GM) rice, the learned group expects an uphill battle getting permission for the
commercial farming of this new, greener rice.Rice is considered very important to ones table.
Methane is thought to be responsible for one-fifth of the global warming effect.It is also
agricultural commodity with third-highest worldwide production.

This new variety emitted less methane and grew starchier seeds compared to ordinary rice. As
per some scientists, reducing methane emissions that occur in flooded rice paddies as methaneproducing bacteria thriving on the carbohydrates secreted by rice roots in the oxygen-free soils is
a big concern. It made starched grain and a smaller root system than the unaltered variety.With
much of that population growth set to come in the 49 least developed countries-which the United
Nations estimates will double in size from approximately 900 million in 2013 to 1.8 billion in
2050-and more than half of the worlds current population depending on rice as a staple, theres
no guessing at what most of those will be eating. Essentially, the new rice enhances productivity
per acre while reducing the carbon footprint at the same time.
Chuanxin Sun told Scientific American: This type of rice may be particularly useful in a
predicted climate with higher temperatures, which will accelerate methane emissions from
paddies, as methane emissions are temperature dependent.The new rice sounds like a win-win
for good yields and reduced climate impact, Paul West, lead scientist for the Global Landscapes
Initiative at the University of Minnesotas Institute on the Environment. The study and research
on this rice was recently published in the journal, Nature.
http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/gmo-rice-can-fight-global-warming-5147/

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