3rd November,2015 Daily Global,Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

8/20/2019 3rd November,2015 Daily Global,Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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aily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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November 03,2

Vol 5, Issue XI

www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com


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Rice News Headlines...

Rice exporting companies rally as Iran opens up market for India

Drought hits Indonesia's rice farmers Govt eyes Rp 130 trillion investment in border areas

Guyana and Mexico looking to cement rice agreement

India Rice Shares Rise After Iran’s GTC Says Import Ban Ended

Upliftment of Iran's rice ban to boost Indian exports: KRBL

Aman output to be lower this time

Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

Farm Bureau Market Report-11/03/2015

California Calrose Wins "World's Best Rice" Yellow Rails & Rice Festival - A Festival Like No Other

Information interchange

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

Replace costlier dals with soya products for protein: Agri-economist

Ashok Gulati

Three Origins for Rice?

CRRI to launch climate-resilient varieties of paddy in two years

U.S. Ambassador Visits International Rice Research Institute

Celebrate, use science’s progress, researcher says

Commodity Report-November 3

Basmati growers blame cartels for low prices

PhilRice celebrates 30th anniversary

News Detail...

Rice exporting companies rally as Iran opens up market forIndia Dilip Kumar Jha | Mumbai November 3, 2015 Last Updated at 22:33 IST


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Lifting of Iran sanctions boon for basmatiBasmati rice exporters in a fix over falling pricesExporters expect Iran to issue fresh Basmati rice permits by DecBasmati exporters'

realisations down 18%KohinoorFoods appeals against KFL to theregulator.The share price of

companies engaged in basmatiricerose 18 per cent on Tuesday,following the news that Iranhas liftedthe ban on import of Basmati fromIndia. Iran contributes one-third ofIndia's overall basmatiexports.Kohinoor Foods' shares jumped 17.75 per cent to close at Rs51.40 apiece on Tuesday on the BSE.LT Foods and KRBL reported 13.12 per cent and eight per cent increase,

respectively, to close at Rs 260.30and Rs 224.7 a share, respectively.

Iran had invoked self-declared restriction on import of basmati rice from India following highimports in the past few years. The Iran government had stopped issuing rice import permits fromIndia. While Indian exporters continued to execute past orders, new orders dried up, resulting insharp decline in India's rice exports to Iran."It is a very good development as India would againsee a sharp increase in basmati rice exports to Iran, the world's largest importer for aromaticrice," said Gurnam Arora, joint managing director of Kohinoor Foods, the producer and exporterof Kohinoor brand basmati rice.Data compiled by the Agricultural and Processed Food ProductsExport Development Authority showed India's exports of basmati rice to Iran declined to940,000 tonnes in 2014-15 from 1.44 million tonnes (mt) in the previous financial year.

Trade sources attribute the decline in Iran's rice import from India to bitter political relations between the two countries. Last year, Iran had turned to Pakistan for import of basmati rice.Iran's comeback to Indian market would boost India's basmati rice exports," said RajanSundareshan, executive director, All India Rice Exporters' Association.Reports said Iran facedone of the worst droughts in the last monsoon season, resulting in estimates of lower rice production. According to Food and Agricultural Organization data Iran's total rice output in 2015rose to 1.7 mt, from 1.6 mt in the previous year.Iran's rice import is forecast to increase to 1.3 mtin 2015 versus 1.2 mt in 2014. But, with the drought estimated to damage standing crop, Iran'simport of rice could increase proportionately this year.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/rice-exporting-companies-rally-as-iran-opens-up-market-for-india-115110301699_1.html


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Drought hits Indonesia's rice farmers 2 November 2015 Last updated at 23:47 GMT

Indonesia's most important rice growing region is suffering from a severe drought.The situation

is putting a lot of strain on Indonesia's poorest farmers, many of whom live off the land.Eventhose who don't farm could suffer as the World Bank says that the price of rice could rise by 10%due to failed crops.Rebecca Henschke reports.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34705608


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Govt eyes Rp 130 trillion investment in border areas Marguerite Afra Sapiie, thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | Business | Tue, November 03 2015, 6:37 PM

Illustration. (Tribun Jateng/ Fajar Eko Nugroho)

The government plans to attract investments worth Rp 130 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to borderareas in the next five years to help propel development there.―We will work hard to attractinvestment to border areas as they are the gates of international trade, the main routes for cross- border transportation and central to economic development,‖ said Villages, DisadvantagedRegions and Transmigration Minister Marwan Jafar on Tuesday.According to Marwan, specialregulation was key, especially for easing the process of attaining permits. Although the

regulation could be issued as a ministerial regulation or presidential instruction, Marwan said hewould prefer a separate law.―We can draft a law on disadvantaged-regions development and adda special investment regulation for border areas as part of it,‖ Marwan told thejakartapost.com.

He also said that regional governments in border areas were all in support of his plan. Theyenthusiastically welcomed the development plans he said, agreeing that investment would indeed benefit them."Three governors and 12 regents from Kalimantan and Riau Islands have signed amemorandum of understanding with the ministry," said Marwan.The ministry has starteddeveloping infrastructure in border areas this year, including comprehensive integratedtransmigration to border areas. In the near future, it plans to develop integrated plantations andlivestock farms to boost regional economic growth.

―One of our programs is the planting of 1 million hectares of rice paddies near Papua‘s border.We've currently completed 30,000 hectares,‖ said Marwan, adding that the ministry also plannedto develop plantations in Kalimantan. (kes)(+)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/03/govt-eyes-rp-130-trillion-investment-border-areas.html#sthash.QZukzpVE.dpuf


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Guyana and Mexico looking to cement rice agreement

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Nov 3, CMC – The Guyana government says Mexico has indicated awillingness to fast track an agreement to purchase paddy rice from the Caribbean country.Astatement released by the Office of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said that Mexico‘s

Agriculture Minister Jose Calzada has given the assurance that he would fast track arrangementsto buy Guyana‘s paddy.The statement quoted him as saying that he would also seek to encouragethe private sector to enter into contracts with Guyanese millers.Last month, Nagamootoo metwith Calzada whilst attending the Open Governance Summit in Mexico City.

The David Granger administration has been seeking new markets after with the countryrecording increased production and a decision by Venezuela not to renew an agreement underwhich the rice was exported to that country in exchange for energy products.A governmentstatement here noted that Guyana‘s production in the first half of 2015 was 359,960 tonnes, 15.3 per cent more than last year‘s record high, first-half production of 312,283 tonnes.Meanwhile,the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is conducting an investigation into media reports

that ‗fake‘ seed paddy were being distributed to farmers. Technical advisers within the GRDB say the inferior quality may be as a result from bad storage.

http://antiguaobserver.com/guyana-and-mexico-looking-to-cement-rice-agreement/

India Rice Shares Rise After Iran‘s GTC Says Import Ban Ended

Claudia Carpenter and Pratik Parija November 3, 2015 — 4:56 PM PKT

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Indian rice shippers rallied after the head of Iran‘s gr ain buyer said its rice import ban ended.Theimport ban was lifted as of November, Ali Ghanbari, chief executive officer of Iran‘sGovernment Trading Corp., said in an interview in Dubai. The government imposed the ban to protect domestic farmers during their harvest, he said.KRBL Ltd. climbed as much as 11.5 percent, Kohinoor Foods surged as much as 20.5 percent and LT Foods increased as much as19.5 percent in Mumbai trading.Iran will probably issue new import licenses in December orJanuary, according to R. Sundaresan, executive director of the All India Rice ExportersAssociation

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/india-rice-shares-rise-after-iran-s-gtc-says-import- ban-ended

Upliftment of Iran's rice ban to boost Indian exports: KRBL

Nov 03, 2015, 03.49 PM | Source: CNBC-TV18 Upliftment of Iran's rice ban to boost Indianexports: KRBL Anil Mittal, CMD of KRBL said the rice industry had been badly impacted dueto the ban as Iran used to import nearly 1.2 million tonnes of rice from the Indian ricemanufacturers. Comments (1) Closing Bell 02:30 pm Iran government today lifted ban on import


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of rice. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Anil Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) ofKRBL said that the lift in ban by Iran is a positive for the rice industry and will boost riceexports. Due to availability of excess rice stocks, Iranian authorities had suspended imports ofrice from the rest of the world in October 2014. Mittal said the rice industry had been badlyimpacted due to the ban as Iran used to import nearly 1.2 million tonnes of rice from the Indian

rice manufacturers.

He expects 800 to a million tonne rice export to Iran post the upliftment of ban at the ongoinginternational prices. KRBL currently has 5-7 percent exposure to Iran, which contributes 5 to 6 percent to the company‘s turnover. The company will work on increasing its exposure to Iranwith the removal of import ban, he said. Below is the transcript of Anil Mitta l‘s interview withCNBC-TV18's Sonia Shenoy and Anuj Singhal. Sonia: How much of a positive would it be forcompanies like yours? A: It is a very positive news. The whole rice industry will have a very big boost. Actually, rice industry was into difficulties because of Iran since Iran used to importaround 1.2 million tonnes. So, this news will boost the industry itself, the total industry will bereally quite happy to have this news.

Anuj: So, if you could give us some numbers. Now that this ban is lifted what kind of exportnumbers will we see from India to Iran and what realisations would they have and how wouldthey compare to the other exporting regions? A: Since it has been recently opened it is a freemarket. This ban will definitely - the export numbers will be as per the international prices only.There will not be any special numbers for Iran but definitely the market which has practically been slowed down that will boost the export and we feel that 1 million tonne or 0.8 to 1 milliontonne will definitely be exported to Iran. Sonia: So, what is your own exposure to Iran, howmuch does KRBL export to Iran before the ban?

A: KRBL's exposure to Iran is comparatively very less, maybe total 5-6 percent. So, we are notvery active in Iran but it will definitely help us for the other destinations because of theslowdown of Iran other countries were also slowed down but with this news other countries alsomay pick up. Anuj: So, going forward how much do you hope to export to Iran and how muchwould that result in increased revenues and profitability? If you could give us some ball parknumbers. A: As far as KRBL is concerned,, our total exposure to Iran is 5-7 percent anddefinitely that will help the company to increase its turnover by 5-7 percent but with this newswe will start trying now to promote our rice to Iran as well. So, let us see.

It will be too premature to comment on anything, but it is a good news. It is an excellent news forthe rice industry. KRBL stock price On November 04, 2015, KRBL closed at Rs 222.10, downRs 2.6, or 1.16 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 231.00 and the 52-week low wasRs 88.70. The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 13.94 per share as per thequarter ended September 2015. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 15.93. The latest book value of the company is Rs 53.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of thecompany is 4.15.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/upliftmentirans-rice-ban-to-boost-indian-exports-krbl_3949521.html?utm_source=ref_article


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Aman output to be lower this time

Sohel Parvez

Paddy output in the current aman season is likely to be lower for flood-induced crop damage andarea contraction for low domestic price, according to the United Nations' Food and AgricultureOrganisation.During the aman season, rice (paddy) production would be about 19.6 milliontonnes (13 million tonnes in husked rice), down 1 percent year-on-year, the FAO said in its foodand agriculture country brief on Bangladesh last week.

While widespread abundant rains during the harvesting season were beneficial to cropdevelopment, the passage of cyclone Komen on July 30 triggered some localised floods acrosssoutheastern parts of the country, causing minor damage to crops, it said.Furthermore, floodfrom monsoon rains towards the end of August also damaged crops, mainly aman, in 29 districts,according to a previous estimate by the Department of Agricultural Extension.The FAO saidincreased yields are expected to partially offset a 2 percent contraction in acreage in response tolow domestic prices at sowing time. It, however, did not state this season's plantation area.TheUN agency's forecast comes as farmers are set to start harvesting paddy from the current amanseason, which accounts for nearly 38 percent of the total annual rice production of 34.7 million

tonnes.

However, the DAE estimates that production will rise if farmers can bag safe harvest withoutfacing any natural calamity this month and the next, according to its Director General MdHamidur Rahman. This year, aman has been planted on 5.36 million hectares of land, up fromthe DAE's target of 5.26 million hectares, according to data from the agriculture ministry.―Weexpect production to rise, because acreage of high-yielding and hybrid varieties of rice hasincreased this season,‖ Rahman said.In 2014, Bangladesh bagged 13.19 million tonnes of husked


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aman rice from 5.53 million hectares, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.Despitethe possibility of a drop in aman output, total rice (paddy) production is likely to be 51.9 milliontonnes, which is close to 2014's record level, because of higher boro output, the FAO said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/business/aman-output-be-lower-time-166483

Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

Rice High Low

Long Grain Cash Bids - - - - - -

Long Grain New Crop - - - - - -

Futures: High Low Last Change

Nov '15 1190.0 1180.0 1189.5 +1.0

Jan '16 1220.0 1205.0 1217.5 +0.5

Mar '16 1245.0 1233.5 1243.5 +0.5

May '16 1268.5 0.0

Jul '16 1293.0 1293.0 1292.0 0.0

Sep '16 1253.5 0.0

Nov '16 1253.5 0.0

Rice CommentRice futures charted an inside day after gapping higher on Monday. Global production problems have helped

support the market since the summer. Traders will begin rolling out of November contracts soon to avoiddelivery as the contract expires. January completed a 62% retracement on Thursday to $11.55 and has bouncedoff support at that level.

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

Farm Bureau Market Report-11/03/2015

Rice

High Low

Long Grain Cash Bids - - - - - -

Long Grain New Crop - - - - - -

Futures:ROUGH RICE

High Low Last Change

Nov '15 1190.0 1180.0 1189.5 +1.0


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Jan '16 1220.0 1205.0 1217.5 +0.5

Mar '16 1245.0 1233.5 1243.5 +0.5

May '16 1268.5 0.0

Jul '16 1293.0 1293.0 1292.0 0.0

Sep '16 1253.5 0.0

Nov '16 1253.5 0.0

Rice CommentRice futures charted an inside day after gapping higher on Monday. Global production problems have helped support themarket since the summer. Traders will begin rolling out of November contracts soon to avoid delivery as the contractexpires. January completed a 62% retracement on Thursday to $11.55 and has bounced off support at that level.

California Calrose Wins "World's Best Rice"

King of the world

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA -- Last week, hundreds of delegates from more than 30countries gathered here for the 7th Annual TRT World Rice Conference, where it was announcedthat California Calrose rice was the recipient of the highly-coveted "World's Best Rice" award.A


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panel of culinary experts and prominent international chefs chose Calrose rice as the "World'sBest Rice" from an assortment of 25 entries submitted by delegates across the globe. CaliforniaCalrose beat out Cambodia/Thai Fragment Jasmine rice, the reigning "World's Best Rice" winnerfor the past three years.Jeremy Zwinger, chairman and host of the conference, presented theaward to Greg Van Dyke, a producer from Pleasant Grove, California, and member of the

California Rice Commission."I'm deeply humbled and honored to receive this historic award on behalf of the California rice industry, home of world renowned Calrose Premium Rice," said VanDyke. "For more than a century, multi-generational California rice farmers have self-fundedcutting edge research in natural line, non-GMO, premium japonica varietal development. As afifth generation California farmer, I am insanely proud to grow Calrose Premium Rice...the bestrice in the world!"

Contact: Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446

Yellow Rails & Rice Festival - A Festival Like No Other

Photo credit: John Schwarz

JENNINGS, LA -- One hundred and forty-five bird enthusiasts from 27 states and Canadagathered here Wednesday through Sunday for the seventh annual Yellow Rails and Rice Festival


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(YR&R). The festival brings birders together with rice farmers to highlight the role ofLouisiana's working wetlands in bird conservation while providing participants a unique venueto view the Yellow Rail.Although the Yellow Rail is fairly widespread it is rarely seen so birdenthusiasts welcome the opportunity to catch sight of the migrating Rails as they arrive insouthern Louisiana at the same time the ratoon rice crop is being harvested.Donna Dittman, a

founder of YR&R, said, "Although we designed this festival with fun in mind, its primary goal isto bring birders and farmers together to emphasize the value our area's working wetlands havefor wildlife."USA Rice is one of 50 organizations that sponsor the festival. The Louisiana RiceGrowers Association and Hoppe Farms provided gift bags of Louisiana-grown rice to festival participants.

Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009USA Rice Hosts Chinese Delegation

Information interchange

ARLINGTON, VA -- A twenty-member delegation headed by China's State Administration ofGrain visited USA Rice yesterday for an in-depth discussion of USA Rice's mission and promotion activities, and the U.S. rice industry. Representatives from the national government based in Beijing as well as members of provincial and local grain administration groups made upthe group. USA Rice COO Bob Cummings and Jim Guinn, vice president of international promotion, provided information on USA Rice's structure, membership, and collaboration withthe U.S. Department of Agriculture in the international promotion of U.S. rice.


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"Yesterday's meeting was a useful exchange of information about the rice sectors in bothcountries and provided a good opportunity to educate the Chinese about the market-driven natureof the U.S. rice industry," said Cummings. "We made sure the delegation was aware of ourindustry's focus on providing China's consumers with high quality U.S. rice once the market is

open to U.S. exports," concluded Guinn.

Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice FuturesCME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for November 3

Month Price Net Change

November 2015 $11.895 + $0.010

January 2016 $12.175 + $0.005

March 2016 $12.435 + $0.005

May 2016 $12.685 UNCH

July 2016 $12.920 UNCH

September 2016 $12.535 UNCH

November 2016 $12.535 UNCH

Replace costlier dals with soya products for protein: Agri-

economist Ashok Gulati By PTI | 2 Nov, 2015, 03.20PM IST

Amid skyrocketing pulses prices hurtingcommon man's budget, agri-economist AshokGulati today suggested that consumers shouldreplace costlier dals with soya products forhigh protein.EW DELHI: Amid skyrocketing pulses prices hurting common man's budget,

agri-economist Ashok Gulati today suggestedthat consumers should replace costlier dalswith soya products for high protein. "There isa lot of pulses problem these days. We cannot produce much of tur dal, but we have a hugesoya crop. We take pulses for protein. Whydon't we go for soya products like soya milk,


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tofu and reconstituted soya dals," Gulati said at an event organised by National Skills Foundationof India. Soya has 40 per cent protein, while pulses have only 20 per cent protein, he said whileemphasising the need to treat soya as protein crop and innovation in food-processing. At present,soya crop in the country is grown as an oilseed crop, he added. Gulati, former Chairman ofCommission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and a Padma Shri awardee, was speaking

on Technologies and innovation in agriculture: pushing the frontiers.

Pulses prices have risen unabated due to fall in domestic production by two million tonnes in2014-15 crop year (July-June) due to poor rains. Retail prices of tur and urad are ruling up to Rs190-200 per kg. CACP Chairman Ashok Vishandaas said retail prices of pulses have gone up toRs 220 per kg, but farmers are still suffering as they are not getting the right price. The pulses problem has aggravated because of increased focus on rice and wheat production, he added.Emphasising the need to raise productivity of farm labourers, Vishandaas said that around 50 percent of the population depends on agriculture, contributing only 13.8 per cent to the country'sGDP.

"This means, we are under-utilising our labourers. Can we move them out of agriculture andequip them with other skills?" he said. Echoing similar views, UN body FAO Indiarepresentative Shyam Khadka said only 2.3 per cent of the country's farmers are professionallytrained, as against 96 per cent in Korea, 75 per cent in Germany and 53 per cent in the US. Moreskills are required to be taught to farmers, especially in the area of post-harvesting, food processing and animal husbandry, among others, he said. Gulati also talked about innovation inagriculture sector that is competitive, inclusive, sustainable and scalable, while citing examplesof the success of Bt cotton, maize and Pusa basmati rice. Stating that new farm technologies infuture are going to come more from private sector, Gulati said the sector will not bring intechnology for free and diffusion of these technologies in India would be difficult if intellectual property right is not protected. PTI

Three Origins for Rice?Rice was domesticated three separate times across Asia, a new study suggests.

By Karen Zusi | November 3, 2015FLICKR, INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The newly unraveled origins of domesticatedrice tell the story of early farming in Asia. Astudy led by researchers from the University ofManchester, U.K., suggests that rice wasdomesticated in three different regions of Asia,

leading to the four main varieties availabletoday. The results were published yesterday(November 2) in Nature Plants.The primaryvarieties of domestic riceare indica, japonica, aus, and aromatic, selectedfor various traits that make cultivation easier — for instance, rice that grows vertically and stays


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on the stalk when ripe.

To trace their roots, geneticist Peter Civán and colleagues focused on the genomic regionscorresponding to these traits. Using data from a 2012 Nature paper, they re-analyzed DNA from

1,083 varieties of modern rice and 446 samples of wild rice.Previous work suggested that thetraits unique to domesticated rice originated with a single group of ancestors in southern China,where japonica was first cultivated. Civán‘s team instead found that early farmers selected forsimilar traits in three different places — a convergent domestication process that resultedin indica, japonica, and aus rice. ―Aromatic varieties, like basmati, arose out of hybrids between japonica and aus rice,‖ Civán told New Scientist .Some experts have voiced skepticismabout the study.

The new paper is ―definitely wrong with the data analysis,‖ Bin Han, a geneticist at the ChineseAcademy of Sciences and senior author of the 2012 paper proposing one origin for domestic rice,

told Science in an email. Michael Purugganan, a plant geneticist at New York University whoalso proposed a single domestication event in 2011, told New Scientist that the research ―showsthat the question of the domestication history of rice remains open, with different approachesreaching different conclusions.‖Other researchers have been more supportive. Civán and hiscolleagues ―clearly demonstrate that the most parsimonious and coherent interpretation for thedata is that there were at least three independent domestications of [rice] from well differentiatedancestral populations in Asia,‖ Susan McCouch, a rice geneticist at Cornell University who wasnot involved with the study, told Science

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44404/title/Three-Origins-for-Rice-/

CRRI to launch climate-resilient varieties of paddy intwo years In what may come as a boon for paddy-dependent states like Odisha,scientists at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack are on the

brink of coming...By: FE Bureau | Bhubaneswar | November 4, 2015 12:05 AM

In what may come as a boon for paddy-dependent states like Odisha, scientists at the CentralRice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack are on the brink of coming out with a climate resilientvariety of paddy that will singularly be capable of defying both flood and drought.A seniorscientist of CRRI said: ―The CRRI has reached an advanced stage of developing a series of what

it terms ‗Climate Smart‘ variety of paddy with multi-trait gene packaging. These have progressed beyond lab-and-field stages and been tried out in the farm land across 10 centres in Odisha.‖This is a major breakthrough as scientists have been able to agglomerate genes that are resilientto opposite extremes of climatic conditions as flood and drought to design a single paddy varietythat would not only absorb the stress but also give high yield in such conditions, he added.


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CRRI director O N Singh said: ―With the launching of the ‗Climate Smart‘ paddy, farmers inareas facing extreme climatic conditions would be benefited a lot.Around six varieties of‗Climate Smart‘ paddy have been nominated to the Centre and the field trials are on in severalstates, encompassing different climatic and land conditions. The first of the ‗Climate Smart‘series is likely to be released within two years.Odisha recently tied up with International Rice

Research Institute, Manila to promote climate-resilient varieties in rain-fed areas. An MoU hasalso been signed to develop high-yield, stress tolerant paddy to overcome impact of climatechange. The partnership will also focus on formulating strategies for effective extension oftechnologies to field of the farmer at the farthest point.

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/markets/commodities/crri-to-launch-climate-resilient-varieties-of- paddy-in-two-years/160767/

U.S. Ambassador Visits International Rice Research

Institute

Ambassador Goldberg examines rice test plots with an International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) scientist.

Ambassador Goldberg receives an overview of IRRI‘s research agenda from Director GeneralDr. Robert Zeigler.

Manila, November 3, 2015 — U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg visited the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños on October 28, hosted by IRRI Director General Dr.Robert Zeigler. The visit underlined the importance of the United States‘ continued support forscientific work that improves the lives of people around the world. Ambassador Goldberg andDr. Zeigler discussed IRRI‘s work to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice

farmers and consumers, and ensure the environmental sustainability of rice farming. AmbassadorGoldberg was also eager to discuss the impact Typhoon Lando had on rice production aboutIRRI‘s research to mitigate the damage caused by the typhoon.

During the tour, Ambassador Goldberg visited the International Rice Genebank that currentlyholds over 100,000 rice varieties, which are maintained for the global good and available forresearch. He also visited IRRI laboratories where scientists gave an overview of current research


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projects aimed at increasing rice yields in areas prone to environmental stresses (e.g. flood anddrought). One research project of note is the C4 Project, headed by Dr. Paul Quick. The C4Project‘s focus is to enhance the photosynthetic process of rice, increasing the amount of energya rice plant can use to grow grain.

This effort could potentially double average rice yields. The Rockefeller and Ford Foundationsinitiated funding for IR RI in 1960, to cover the first years of the Institute‘s operations and capitalcosts. The U.S. government became a donor to IRRI when the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) provided a grant in 1965. USAID has since been a major supporter ofIRRI‘s work in developing agriculture equipment suited for Asia‘s small-scale rice farms. TotalU.S. government funding through USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has exceededUSD 229 million as of 2014. For more information about IRRI research and development pleasevisit their website at: http://irri.org/

http://manila.usembassy.gov/press-photo-releases-2015/ambassador-goldberg-irri.html

Celebrate, use science’s progress, researchersays Tom Doran, Field EditorTuesday, November 03, 2015 2:00 PM

Maize has tremendous genetic diversity. The nestedassociation mapping population is beginning to tap intosome of this diversity to help improvecorn.BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A plant geneticist‘s

biggest fear is the impact the anti-GMO movement willhave on the globe‘s poorest people by denying themaccess to the technology.Pamela Ronald, professor anddirector of the Laboratory for Crop Genetic Innovationat University of California-Davis, noted this concern inher keynote address at the International Biotechnology

Symposium presented by the Illinois Soybean Association.Her friends and family have expressedanxieties over genetically engineered products and ask her if they are safe to consume.―The process of moving genes between species is not a new technology.

After 40 years of commercial use in medicine, cheeses, wines and plants, there has not been a

single instance of harm to human health or the environment ,‖ Ronald said.What I say is I‘m notasking you to believe me. Science is not a belief system. My opinion doesn‘t matter. Let‘s lookat the evidence.―After over 20 years of careful study and rigorous peer review by thousands ofindependent scientists, every major science organization in the world has concluded that thegenetically engineered crops currently on the market are safe to use and that the process ofgenetic engineering is no more risky than older methods of genetic modification.―These are precisely the same organizations that most of us trust when it comes to other important scientificissues such as global climate change and the safety of vaccines.‖


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Organic Partner Ronald‘s husband, Raoul Adamchak, is an organic farmer, and they co-authored Tomorrow‘sTable: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food.―Imagine some of the reactions that weget. An organic farmer and a plant geneticist? Can you agree on anything? Well, we can, and it‘snot difficult because we have the same goals,‖ Ronald said.―We want to help nourish the

growing population without further destroying the environment, and I believe this is the greatestchallenge of our time.―Genetic improvement is not new. Almost every food that we eat today has been genetically improved using some types of genetic method.―Raoul and I believe that insteadof worrying about the genes in our food, we must focus on how we can help children grow uphealthy, we must ask if farmers and rural communities can thrive and be sure that everyone canafford the food and, finally, we must minimize environmental degradation.‖

Rice Advancements

Ronald‘s work focuses on improving rice varieties through genetic engineering, and she offeredtwo examples of how farmers have benefited.Rice is the staple food for more than one-half of the

world‘s population, and each year 40 percent of the crop is lost to pests and diseases. Tominimize loss, farmers in Asia, as farmers do here, rely on varieties that carry resistant genes, anapproach first demonstrated in England more than 100 years ago.Ronald helped isolate the XA21gene that makes rice resistant to bacterial infection and engineered it into plants.She later wasapproached by a colleague, Dave Mackill, who was working on rice that would be more resilientduring flooding.

―David said flooding is a big problem for 70 million rice farmers that live on less than $2 a day.That‘s because although rice does well in standing water, most rice varieties will die if they aresubmerged for more than three days. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictsthat floods will increase as the climate changes, and indeed we‘ve seen increased flooding eachof the last five years,‖ she said. Ronald, Mackill and graduate student Xenong Xu worked overthe next decade to identify and isolate a gene that may help. That gene, Sub1, was discovered,and the variety containing the gene was produced by the International Rice Institute. The variety produces three times more grain than a conventional variety after a 17-day flood.Last year, withthe support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 3.5 million farmers grew Sub1 rice.

Safe Technology ―A lot of people don‘t mind genetic modification when it involves taking a rice gene from one plant even though it‘s a wild species and moving it into a modern plant,‖ Ronald said.―Many people don‘t even mind radiation breeding and they don‘t mind breeding two different speciestogether using graphs, but when it comes to inserting genes from viruses and bacteria into plants,some people ask why scientists would do that. Because it‘s the safest most effective and cheapesttechnology to advance sustainable agriculture and enhance food security.‖She also gaveexamples of how genetically engineered papaya, eggplants, golden rice and other crops have benefited production and consumers.

―What scares me most about the loud arguments on plant genetics and the thread ofmisinformation is that the poorest people who most need the technology may be denied access


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because of the vague fears and prejudices of those who have enough to eat,‖ she said.―We have ahuge challenge in front of us. Let‘s celebrate science‘s progress and use it. It‘s our responsibilityto do everything we can to alleviate human suffering and safeguard the environment.‖

Tom C. Doran can be reached at 815-780-7894 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at:

@AgNews_Doran.

http://agrinews-pubs.com/Content/News/MoneyNews/Article/Celebrate-use-science-s-progress-researcher-says-/8/27/13498

Commodity Report-November 3 Published November 3, 2015

In today‘s commodity report we have the CDFA Monthly Beet Curly Top Virus Report, theWeekly Rice Summary, the California F.O.B. Price for Extra Grade and Grade A Nonfat DryMilk, the California Shell Eggs: Daily Egg Report and other commodity end of the day marketnumbers.

Weekly Rice Summary

In California, medium grain milled rice prices mostly steady. Secondheads and Brewers rice prices mostly steady. Rice by-products: RiceBran prices mostly steady; ground hull prices not well tested. As ricestocks rise, market prices continue to remain weak for new millingseason. According to NASS as of Oct 1, Rough Rice stocks totaled 8.31million CWT and Milled Rice stocks totaled 3 million CWT which was

10% and 170% respectively above a year ago.USDA National Weekly Rice Summary (.pdf) with all prices for all areas.California F.O.B. Price for Extra Grade and Grade A Nonfat Dry Milk

Week Ending Avg. Price($/lb.) Total Sales (lb.)

October 30, 2015 $0.8416 8,933,046

October 23, 2015 $0.8814 9,725,038

Calif ornia Shell Eggs: Daily Egg Report

Prices are steady. The undertone is sharply higher. Retail and food service demand is moderateto fairly good. Warehouse buying interest is usually on an as needed basis. Offerings andsupplies are moderate. Market activity is moderate. Monday‘s shell egg inventories declined4.2% in the Southwest and 7.2% in the Northwest.Shell egg marketer‘s benchmark price for negotiated egg sales of USDA Grade AA and GradeAA in cartons, cents per dozen. This price does not reflect discounts or other contract terms.

RANGE

JUMBO 253

EXTRA LARGE 253

LARGE 247

MEDIUM 233

Check the November USDA Commodity Report Calendar for today‘s commodity reportsreleased by USDA.


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Now Tuesday’s Commodity Market ending market numbers for other commodities:

Corn December Corn ended at $3.80 1/2 up 4 cents, March ended at $3.88 3/4 increasing 3 1/2 cents.

Soybeans January Soybeans ended at 8.79 up 1/4 cent, March ended at $8.81 1/4 losing 1/4 cent.

Wheat December Wheat ended at $5.16 1/2 up 8 1/2 cents, March ended at $5.19 1/2, increasing 7 1/2cents.

Rough Rice January Rough Rice ended at 12.175 up 0.005 cent, March ended at 12.435 gaining 0.005 cent.Live Cattle December Live Cattle ended at $140.225 decreasing $1.45 and February ended at $142.65 losing$1.05 and April ended at $141.45 off $0.825.

Feeder Cattle November Feeder Cattle ended at $190.65 losing $1.625 and January ended at $182.175decreasing $1.05 and March ended at $178.775 down $0.75.

Lean Hogs December Lean Hogs ended at $58.225 unchanged and February ended at $61.075 down $0.90

Class III Milk October Class III Milk ended at $15.43 increasing $0.01 and November ended at $15.26 down$0.04 and December ended at $15.15 losing $0.11.

#2 Cotton December #2 cotton ended at 62.57 down 0.72, March ending at 62.44 dropping 0.69.

Sugar #11 March sugar #11 ended at 15.49 up 0.38 and May ended at 15.05 increasing 0.34.

Orange Juice January Orange Juice ended at 134.65 up 1.80, March ending at 134.20 gaining $1.70.

Gold December gold ending at $1114.10 decreasing $21.80 a troy ounce, February at $1115.00 losing$21.80 and April gold ending at $1115.70 down $21.80.

Crude Oil WTI December Crude Oil WTI ended at $47.90 gaining $1.76 and January ended at $48.80 increasing$1.76 and February ended at $49.62 up $1.75.

Brent Crude December Crude Oil Brent ended at $50.54 up $1.75, January ended at $51.34 increasing $1.73and February ended at $52.15 gaining $1.70.

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Basmati growers blame cartels for low prices

“They are feeling cheated by the State government”

After cotton farmers, basmati growers in Punjab and Haryana are in for a shock as populararomatic rice varieties like PUSA 1121 are fetching ―far lower‖ prices than what they got lastseason.While growers accuse rice exporters of indulging in cartelisation for distress sales,


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exporters blame weak global demand and oversu pply for the ―basmati crisis‖.Disappointed with―low‖ prices for their crop, farmers‘ unions have now decided to launch an agitation against thegovernment which encouraged growers to switch over to premium varieties but failed to ensure profitable prices.Popular basmati variety PUSA 1121, which has started arriving in mandis ofPunjab and Haryana, is priced in the range of Rs 1,300 to 1,800 per quintal against Rs 3,000 per

quintal last season, traders said.

Similarly, another variety PUSA 1509 is hovering around Rs 1,200-1,300 per quintal.However,after the intervention of Punjab and Haryana governments, this variety is now being purchased atMSP rate.―First cotton farmers faced heavy losses because of crop damage. Now rice farmers arein problem as they are unable in getting good price for their crop which they had sown under thecrop diversification programme. They are feeling cheated by the state government,‖ BhartiyaKisan Union (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said on Sunday.

Stir planned Mr Kokri said as many as 12 outfits, including four farm labour organisations, will launch athree-day sit-in starting November 4 at Moga and Amritsar, which are in the basmati growing

belts of Punjab.―We demand Rs 5,000 per quintal for PUSA 1121 and Rs 4,500 per quintal forPUSA 1509 variety,‖ Mr Kokri said.Rice growers accused exporters of making ―high profits‖ byway of forming a ―cartel‖, thereby forcing them to sell crop at lower rates.―If prices of basmati paddy have come down from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 18 per kg then why retail price of basmati ricecould not drop in the same way? Consumers are still purchasing basmati rice at same rate of Rs80-100 per kg,‖ said Puneet Singh Thind, convener of Rashtriya Kisan Sangathan.

With basmati not turning out to be profitable, farmers will again switch to water-consumingnormal varieties of paddy which at least ensures minimum support price.―With the kind of ratesfarmers are getting for their basmati crop, they will stop growing it and shift to ordinaryvarieties,‖ said an official of Punjab agriculture department in Amritsar.Amritsar district is oneof the leading producers of basmati in Punjab. Out of the total area of 1.80 lakh hectares under paddy in Amritsar, basmati is sown under 1.36 lakh hectares this year.

‘Weak demand’ Rice exporters ascribed low rate of basmati to weak global demand and heavy inventory of crop.―There is weak demand for basmati in overseas markets at present. For example, Iran has not yetstarted placing orders.Basmati market in countries like Iraq and Yemen has shrunk which alsoled to dip in demand for Indian basmati,‖ said Kohinoor Foods Joint MD Gurnam Arora.―Heavyinventory is lying with exporters,‖ Mr Arora said, adding that prices of all commodities ininternational markets were down.Total basmati area in Punjab and Haryana is about 8 lakhhectares and 6 lakh hectares respectively. – PTI

“With the kind of rates farmers are getting for their basmati crop, they will stop growing it and shift toordinary varieties” http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/basmati-growers-blame-cartels-for-low-

prices/article7831116.ece?ref=tpnews

PhilRice celebrates 30th anniversary


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With 70 varieties bred, 24 rice machines developed, 23 patents applied for, and innumerableachievements in rice R&D, PhilRice will celebrate its 30 th anniversary on 5-6 November.Since1985, the Institute with its Central Experiment Station within the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, has been leading efforts on rice R&D. PhilRice has provided cost-reducing andyield-enhancing technologies on rice.The Science City of Muñoz has since witnessed several

developments in relation to its rice industry.

Muñoz is now heralded as among the major rice seeds hub in the country. ―Muñoz is privilegedto host PhilRice. Along the national highway, one cannot notice the proliferation of rice seedcenters, making the Science City a major rice seeds hub in the Philippines. This certainly createsa domino effect in terms of livelihood creation from people manning the rice fields, sales agents,to the many of input dealers in the City,‖ said Mayor Nestor L. Alvarez of the Science City ofMuñoz. From Nueva Ecija, PhilRice radiates its impacts through its branch stations located inBatac City, Ilocos Norte; San Mateo, Isabela; Los Baños, Laguna; Ligao City, Albay; Murcia, Negros Occidental; RTRomualdez, Agusan del Norte; Central Mindanao State University,Bukidon; and Midsayap, North Cotabato.―We are eager to do more so our research outputs will

reach more farmers, particularly the resource- poor farmer,‖ said Dr. Calixto M. Protacio,PhilRice executive director.

PhilRice‘s Dr. Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang, deputy executive director for development, noted thatthe Institute has managed to increase its visibility recently through national campaigns such asthe Be Riceponsible Campaign. Said initiative has managed to convince local governments toissue ordinances on half-cup serving of rice on major food establishments to arrest the issue onrice wastage. ―We are all united to help reduce rice wastage in the Philippines,‖ Quilang said.Meanwhile, PhilRice‘s Eden Gagelonia of the Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division(REMD) noted the massive efforts of the Institute to mechanize rice industry. ―We havedeveloped quite a number of machines to help reduce drudgery in farming. A number of thesemachines, such as the drumseeder, were developed for women,‖ Gagelonia said.In 2015, Philricereceived the Anak ni Juan Award from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines(IPOPhl). It recognizes PhilRice as the agency with the most number of patents applied.

―It is a great privilege to have been awarded as the top institute, which explored its creativity andinnovativeness. The award is a testament to the intensive knowledge production going on in theInstitute,‖ said Jerry Serapion, PhilRice‘s Intellectual Property Management-ITSO manager.As aresearch Institution, a key task of PhilRice is to advance various frontiers of rice science. As of2015, more than 25 scientific publications have been produced by the Institute‘s researchers andscientists. These were published in some of the most reputable journals in the world such as the Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment, International Journal of Ecology andConservation, Philippine Journal of Crop Science, and the Philippine Agricultural Scientist.Meanwhile, past executive directors of PhilRice have advised that the Institute should be able to properly position itself in the light of climate change and other threats to rice food production.―PhilRice should focus its programs, harness its networks and partners, and think outside the box indeveloping, together with our farmers and concerned stakeholders, options for a competitive, sustainable, andclimate-smart agriculture,‖ said Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian, PhilRice executive director from 2000 -2008. Thirtyyears of dedicated and focused work on rice research and development. With few hits and misses, PhilRice hasreached its 30th anniversary. On 5-6 November, many activities are lined up to celebrate the milestones in the life ofthe country‘s lead agency on rice research and development. Philrice news

3rd November,2015 Daily Global,Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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