Rice Market Report

2021-02-22T11:08:00.001+00:00

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/policies-flawed-losses-up-rice-millers-215763

2021-02-22T11:07:00.002+00:00

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/features/damper-on-grain-gains-216016

2021-02-19T10:44:00.001+00:00

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/india-rice-exports-pick-additional-144639082.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANt_SCEIcDHltVxy1rA5xBze-BzPJdBryToRb93sNKe_yWWaRGRydnsSQDRZAjUiGR2RuCxUs5lL2C5Xr7Qx33knlY8BBiIUYEJ5v2J4pthaLvs6_TFZKcx5byGqaguAO9OwmrGNRIkphI1e_R-mI_DZHepB8E_G9r0x7qYl1dN1 Indian rice exports gained momentum this week after an additional port was opened in the country's biggest rice-handling facility, potentially easing congestion. Waiting periods at the Kakinada Anchorage Port had reached up to four weeks, compared with about a week normally, because of congestion at the port. "From Saturday we have started using Kakinada deepwater port," said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association of India, adding that this will reduce waiting times and accelerate overall exports. Rao said that exporters' resulting savings in demurrage fees could be passed on to farmers and overseas buyers. India's 5% broken parboiled variety of rice eased to $395-$401 a tonne from last week's multi-year high of $402-$408. Thailand's 5% broken rice narrowed to $540-$560 a tonne on Thursday, still near 10-month highs. "There's muted demand and less supply in the country. There's not much demand from overseas either because our prices are higher than competitors'," one Bangkok-based trader said. Vietnam's 5% broken rice fell to $505-$510 a tonne on Thursday as harvests in the Mekong Delta gathered pace, down from $510-$515 before the Lunar New Year holiday. Traders said they are buying more rice from farmers in expectation of rising demand from importers, pushing domestic prices of un-husked paddy to a 10-year high of between 6,200 and 7,000 dong per kg. Productivity of the winter-spring crop in the Mekong is relatively high, they added. Domestic prices in Bangladesh rose by 35% in 2020 amid low supply and increased demand during the pandemic, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The government has initiated imports of 2 million tonnes of rice and also lowered import duty on rice from 65.5% to 25%.

Upturn in fortunes forecast for Thai rice

2017-06-22T10:43:00.001+01:00

With state rice stockpiles nearly sold off and major rice-producing nations suffering bad weather, Thai rice exports are likely to hit a record high this year, say government and industry officials.

Mrs Duangporn says rice exports are likely to hit a record high this year. SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Thailand's 2017 rice exports are tipped to reach 11 million tonnes, the most ever, because of rising demand in rice-importing countries at a time that production in grower countries is falling.

Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Commerce Ministry's Foreign Trade Department, said several rice-importing countries have approached Thailand asking to buy more rice.

She said falling state rice stocks have ignited concerns that supply in rice-exporting countries is falling, spurring buyers to rush to secure supply.

"The decline in Thai state rice inventories has helped cut the pressure on global rice prices and also created more room for the price to rise further this year," said Mrs Duangporn.

State rice stocks rose to a historical high of 18.9 million tonnes prior to 2014 after an aggressive rice subsidy scheme, whereby the state offered to buy rice directly from farmers at higher-than-market prices.

The stocks have since fallen sharply to 2.1 million tonnes, of which 1.6 million tonnes was edible-grade white rice and 500,000 tonnes was inedible-grade rice suitable for ethanol production.

Falling government rice stocks also helped cut pressure on global prices, exporters said, adding the prices were expected to rise further over the next few months as there was fresh demand from traditional importing countries that have approached Thailand at a time of limited supply.

Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said those countries include Iran, Iraq, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

"Some clients that used to import Thai rice but stopped buying over the past several years because of quality issues have come back," said Mr Charoen.

But Thai rice supply is limited because of the 2016 drought and the government's policy to encourage farmers to switch to other lucrative crops such as sugar, which has substantially cut supply from the off-season rice crop.

Rice production from the off-season crop dropped by more than 40% from 9-10 million tonnes on average over the past few years to just 5 million tonnes this year, according to data supplied by the Agriculture Ministry.

That has pushed the price of Thai 5% broken grade white rice to US$462 (15,684 baht) a tonne, up from last month's $416 a tonne, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

"We can say that the Thai rice industry has passed through the crisis and is now on the rise," said Mr Charoen.

Louisiana rice crop better than expected

2014-10-07T14:49:00.000+01:00

The 2014 Louisiana rice crop is better than we expected "but not as good as last year," said Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.

The crop had its hurdles with a cool spring and a wet, muddy harvest. But Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station said the summer nights were not excessively hot, and that probably resulted in good yields and outstanding grain quality.

Linscombe said the 2013 crop year had perfect weather throughout the growing season, but the 2014 crop was challenged by weather at the start with a cool, wet spring, and a wet, muddy harvest. "In spite of that, our 2014 is going to be a good crop," he said.

Disease was not bad this year, even with heavy rainfall. The Rice Research Station recorded 33.6 inches of rain between May and August, compared to 13.2 inches for the same time period last year.

Linscombe said a large amount of south Louisiana acreage will be grown for a second crop, even though much of it was cut after the recommended Aug. 15 cutoff. "Some of the ratoon looks extremely good," he said.

Linscombe said more medium-grain rice was planted this year, in the range of 60,000-65,000 acres, because of the 150,000-acre reduction in California where drought resulted in a water shortage.

Linscombe said the usual decline in yields toward the late part of the harvest in south Louisiana was not as striking as usual. "The rice we were cutting in late August and early September was still yielding well. In the first week of September, we still had farmers cutting more than 60 barrels with good quality," he said.

Keith Collins, LSU AgCenter county agent in Richland Parish, said he first thought this year's crop in north Louisiana would be average. But as the harvest progressed, he has changed his mind.

"I think we're going to have an above-average crop," he said, adding that yields could be as good as last year's record crop.

He said many varieties are yielding just under 200 bushels with few reports of low quality milling.

But, he said, getting the crop out of the fields has been difficult with muddy conditions.

Keith Fontenot, LSU AgCenter county agent in Evangeline Parish, said the crop in his area has been good.

"We have had some producers who exceeded last year's crop," he said.

Fontenot said farmers are facing a stagnant market with low prices and not much rice being bought. "There's no movement of rice right now," he said.

Andrew Granger, LSU AgCenter county agent in Vermilion Parish, said the crop there resulted in above-average yields, but not quite as good as last year. But, he said, the wet harvest conditions have reduced the second crop for many farmers.

Rice prices are becoming an issue, making it difficult for some farmers to get financing for next year's crop, he said.

Plan to improve all aspects of rice industry in Thailand

2014-10-07T14:45:00.000+01:00

The Commerce Ministry will announce a "rice strategy" by the end of this month, aiming to improve the production, marketing and quality of Thai rice, while somehow improving farmers' lives without intervening in the "market mechanism".

Boonyarit Kalayanamit, director-general of the ministry's Internal Trade Department, said the plan was to ensure sustainable development for the entire rice industry from upstream to downstream.

"The rice strategy will emphasise how to increase farmers' incomes while focusing on innovation so that Thailand will be a centre for rice trading in Asean," he said.

The strategy will be outlined to government agencies, the private sector and farmers. It is expected to be ready this month to be proposed to Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya and the Rice Policy and Management Committee.

The strategy is meant to solve long-term rice problems from the production stage to marketing. The government will set up rice-plantation zones while also encouraging farmers to grow other economic crops on land that is not suitable for rice.

The ministry will also support marketing and trading strategies, while avoiding intervention in the market mechanism.

Other strategies include creating fairness in rice trading, enhancing rice standards and the trading system, encouraging more rice consumption, increasing production efficiency, encouraging innovation in the rice industry, and developing the logistics system for rice.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said traders were very worried that the market price for rice will be low during the upcoming harvest season.

Thai rice production in the 2014-15 harvest season is expected to be 24 million tonnes of paddy. India will produce about 103 million tonnes of paddy. As demand for rice consumption in India will be 90 million tonnes, that country will still be a major export rival for Thailand next year.

Vietnam is projected to have output next year of 28 million to 29 million tonnes of rice, of which about 7 million to 8 million tonnes will be exported. Vietnam has also become a major rival for hom mali rice exports to many markets, including parts of Africa. This year, Vietnam could ship 1.2 million tonnes of fragrant rice to Africa, up from 900,000 tonnes last year.

Chookiat said Thailand's large stockpiles would put upward pressure on the competitiveness and downward stress on the rice price in the world market next year. However, this also depends on demand in many markets, including China, the Philippines and Indonesia.

El Nino Threatens Export Plans as Burma’s Rice Industry Revs Up

2014-10-07T12:50:00.000+01:00

Hopes that Burma’s rice exports would reach 2 million tons this year look unlikely to be achieved due to the disruptive weather phenomenon known as El Nino, experts say.

Monsoonal rains needed to boost Burma’s late rice crop are expected to be lighter than usual due to the El Nino effect, leading to drier conditions.

Observers of the El Nino weather pattern, which occurs every few years due to warmer air currents generated in the Pacific Ocean, suggest it might be less severe than on previous occasions but could still disrupt various forms of agriculture across Southeast Asia. It could last until June 2015 and some meteorologists have suggested that December might be the worst month affected.

This year’s major wet season rice crops across Southeast Asia might escape the worst of El Nino, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Foreign Service said, “[but] dry season rice and corn crops, as well as palm oil, will become more vulnerable if El Nino develops and persists from October 2014 to April 2015.”

Burma exported 1.27 million tons of rice in 2013 and the Burma Rice Federation had said the figure for this year might reach the 2 million tons mark, boosted by higher demand from China and dislocation in the rice industry of rival exporter Thailand. However, even without any El Nino effect, the 2 million tons target is over-optimistic according to estimates made by the USDA.

The US agency predicted that rice production in Burma in 2014-2015 would most likely increase by 1 percent to 12.16 million tons, due to growing area expansion and improved water supply, and that rice exports would also be only marginally higher than last year—up about 1 percent to 1.31 million tons.

Burma’s government was “making an effort to provide farmers support in infrastructure development, mechanization [and] technology assistance,” the USDA said. But despite support programs, rice farmers in Burma could still not compete with other farmers in the region, including in Thailand and Vietnam, who received government support to compensate for lower prices, the agency said, citing trade sources.

Burma is forecast to be the fifth-largest rice producer in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region in the 2014-15 financial year —behind Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. But of these four, only Vietnam and Thailand are exporters.

“On the surface, rice markets remain calm and stable, but underlying market sentiments are rapidly changing because of weather disruptions in many rice-growing nations,” market watcher and rice scientist Sam Mohanty of the International Rice Research Institute said in a recent assessment.

“The global rice market faces the possibility of a production shortfall in the major rice-growing regions in South and Southeast Asia and also in China because of El Nino events. So far, the market has been quite nonchalant about this possibility because of large buffer stocks in key rice-growing countries.”

India, China and Thailand are well stocked with rice to see them through any possible disruptions in supplies, Mohanty said.

Burma’s rice federation sees China as offering the best market for expanding Burmese exports in coming years. About half of Burma’s rice exports went to China in 2013, despite the fact that the exports are technically illegal as there is not yet a health standards agreement on rice in place between the two countries.

Thai govt sells over 50,000 tonnes of rice to private firms

2014-10-06T09:09:00.000+01:00

The Thai government has approved the sale of more than 50,000 tonnes of rice from its stockpiles to private firms, a Commerce Ministry official said on Friday, as the authorities try to bring down huge stocks built up under a failed intervention scheme.

The rice was sold below the market price because it was old, Duangporn Rodphaya, head of the foreign trade department at the ministry, told Reuters, declining to give details. "The rice that is for sale is old, about two years old, so it has to be below the market price. But it's not way below the market. Private companies have additional costs to improve the quality. It's the same price we use for our tenders," she said.

The sales account for a fraction of the 18 million tonnes that Thailand had built up by this year under the intervention scheme, which effectively priced the grain out of world markets. An audit by the military government found that a fifth of that was either rotten or had gone missing.

Another official from the ministry, who declined to be named, said 59,600 tonnes of rice had been sold in the latest sale to four private companies for 570 million baht (S$22 million).

That would give an average price per tonne of around $295. It was unclear what grade of rice was sold. Benchmark five per cent broken rice is currently offered on the market at around US$425 (S$541) free on board.

The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which was ousted by the army in May, accumulated the stockpiles under a programme that paid farmers well above market rates for their produce.

The current government wants to offload the stocks to recover some of the cash spent, but the authorities want to carry out the sales gradually so as to avoid pushing prices much lower, Duangporn told reporters earlier this week.

The military-backed government has held two rice auctions and sold around 70,000 tonnes of rice in each.
Duangporn told the reporters a third would be held soon and that discussions for deals with the Chinese and Iranian governments were also in the works.

ASEAN integration seen to boost markets for Philippines organic rice produce

2014-10-06T09:03:00.001+01:00

Prospects appear bright for the country’s organically-grown products with the integration by next year of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Leo Cañeda, coordinator of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-led National Organic Agriculture Board, said producers of organic farm products could tap key cities or areas within ASEAN as primary target for market expansion when the region’s economic integration eventually rolls out.

He said products like organic high-value vegetables and rice produced in Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region could take the lead in the export expansion.

The region comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

“There’s so much opportunities and advantages for our organic farmers in the ASEAN economic integration,” he said at the opening of the four-day 1st Soccsksargen Region Organic Agriculture Congress and Trade Fair here on Wednesday.

But Cañeda said organic farmers or producers should be prepared and equipped with the proper skills and knowledge so they can properly market their products in the ASEAN.

He specifically cited the proper quality standards and other related requirements for organic export products.

ASEAN created a special task force last year to lead the development and promotion of the region’s standards on organic agriculture.

The task force is specifically working on the crafting of a common standard agreeable to and recognized by the ASEAN member-states to facilitate the trading of organic products in the region.

Region 12 has around 50 hectares of palay areas that are mainly producing organic premium rice varieties for exports.

Last year, the area’s organic rice producers have started exporting black rice and other colored, long grained and aromatic rice varieties to the Middle East and Singapore.

DA Region 12 is currently working for the entry of locally-produced premium rice to major markets in Russia, Italy, United States and other parts of the Middle East.

Thailand Rice export volumes soar nearly 60% in first eight months

2014-10-06T08:57:00.000+01:00

Rice exports in the first eight months of the year grew significantly, by almost 60 per cent year on year, to 6.59 million tonnes, thanks to strong demand in many markets and a high supply from government stocks, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

The association reported that the value of rice exports also increased by 22.4 per cent year on year to Bt105.83 billion.

Chareon Charoen Laothamatas, president of the association, said demand had increased considerably since July this year, particularly for white rice in some African countries.

In the first eight months of last year, Thailand exported only 4.14 million tonnes of rice worth Bt86.47 billion.

In the JanuaryAugust period this year, Benin imported the most at 852,502 tonnes, followed by Nigeria with 474,561 tonnes, China with 432,220, Ivory Coast with 383,663 and South Africa with 335,529.

Brazil grain and feed update

2014-10-06T08:53:00.001+01:00

2013/2014 rice production is estimated at 8.3 mmt, a 3 percent increase from the
previous year. 2014/2015 production is forecast up 2 percent to 8.5 mmt on increased area. In the state
of Mato Grosso the increased area is attributed to the need to cultivate rice first when converting
degraded pastureland for other crops.
Rice Trade: 2013/2014 imports are estimated at 700,000 mt and exports at 900,000 mt, in line with
yearly trends. In August, Brazil shipped 31,500 mt of paddy rice to Turkey, despite onerous taxes and
transport costs. The rice industry sees this as success in expanding their global market share. The top
two destinations for Brazilian rice in 2014 are Venezuela and Cuba with 141,523 and 78,424 mt
respectively thus far. These two countries have constituted one third of rice exports between January
and August 2014.

Rice Consumption: Consumption remains steady with a slight upward trend due to population growth.
Average per person consumption is 41-43 kg per year and has held steady in recent years. Population
growth is expected to slightly outpace decreases in per capita consumption.

Paddy harvesting starts in Punjab, Haryana; late rains improve sentiment

2014-10-06T08:49:00.000+01:00

Newly harvested paddy has started arriving in the markets of Punjab and Haryana while late rains have helped boost the area under the crop to more than last year's levels, developments that bode well for the supplies of the staple grain and food inflation.

Scanty rains in the first half of the June-September monsoon season had threatened to hurt this year's farm output, which is critical to the overall economy in a country where more than half the workforce is employed in agriculture. But rains had picked up in the second half, and though still this season's average rainfall is 12% below what is considered normal, water levels in reservoirs are better than their 10-year average. Late rains are likely to help keep soil moisture longer, benefiting winter crops such as wheat.

According to agriculture ministry data, total crop plantings at 101.93 million hectares for the week ended September 26 were still 2% below last year's level. Rice plantings at 37.48 million hectares were more than last season's 37.42 million hectares, but areas under coarse cereals, oilseeds, pulses and sugarcane were less.

Early-sown basmati and other rice varieties have started reaching mandis in the two northern grain-bowl states, ahead of the procurement season that begins on October 1. Farmers have also started harvesting other summer crops of cotton, soyabean and pulses.

Regional basmati exporters have already entered the market and are buying the 1509 basmati variety at Rs 2,450 a tonnes, said Raj Sood, a trader from the Khanna mandi in Punjab.

According to officials at Food Corporation of India, the government's grain procurement agency, it estimates to procure 30.05 million tonnes of rice this year. Of this, it is expected to buy 8.2 million tonnes from Punjab, 4.35 million tonnes from Chhattisgarh and 4.1 million tonnes from Uttar Pradesh. As of September 1, the country had adequate stock of 21.7 million tonnes of rice in its buffer and strategic reserve.

Exporters are, however, concerned that with the discontinuation of a 3% interest subvention scheme, they will not be able to export the same quantity as they shipped last time. Gurnam Arora, joint managing director of Kohinoor Foods, said global prices were weak and an incentive was necessary for the industry.

Data from the India Meteorological Department showed that two-thirds of the country's 36 sub-divisions received normal to excess rainfall this monsoon season. The country's major 85 reservoirs were filled to 79% of their total capacity of 155.05 billion cubic metres, down from 85% last year, but better than the 10-year average of 76%.

Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have less water in the their reservoirs than last year, the Central Water Commission said. The rainfall deficit has been worst in Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh at 56%, followed by Punjab at 50%.

Heavy rain hits Mekong Delta Vietnam rice harvest

2014-10-02T11:36:00.000+01:00

Prolonged rains over the past week in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have severely affected the harvest and quality of the summer-autumn rice crop.

The delta is entering peak harvest time for the crop, but harvesting has been slow, as ripe rice plants have been toppled by heavy rains and wind.

Pham Thi Ngot, who cultivates 0.6ha rice in Tam Binh District in Vinh Long Province, said more than 70 per cent of her plants had collapsed and must be harvested by hand.

Ngot said she was also short of workers as demand for farm help was high this season.

Heavy winds and rain have toppled about half of 27,000ha of ripe rice in Vinh Long Province, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Le Quang Thao, deputy chairman of the Xuan Hiep Commune People's Committee in Vinh Long's Tra On District, said: "The quality of harvested rice has declined, as many of the seeds have germinated."

Delta farmers have also had trouble sundrying their rice because of the rainy weather. In addition, there are not enough dryers on hand.

In Can Tho City, although farmers have harvested more than half of the city's 40,000ha of rice, few traders have bought the grain, citing low quality.

Rice companies have urged farmers to reduce the size of fields and plant only high-quality varieties.

The remaining cultivation areas should be switched to other cash crops, they said.

In Kieng Giang Province, the country's rice-production leader, heavy rains have also hindered harvesting.

Kien Giang's pump stations have been operating at full capacity over the past several days to draw water out of rice fields.

In addition, the price of hiring a worker to harvest one hectare of rice has gone up to VND500,000 (US$24).

Kien Giang has planted 230,000ha of rice for this summer-autumn crop.

In Hau Giang Province, farmers have harvested more than 25,000ha of 76,600ha of the summer-autumn crop, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Because of rains, farmers have been unable to dry rice and, as a result, the grain has germinated, leading to lower selling prices, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Bangladesh rice output hits a record high

2014-10-02T11:35:00.000+01:00

Rice production edged up to a new high last fiscal year due to an increase in yield in all three crops seasons for favourable weather and a more balanced use of fertiliser.
Production rose to 3.44 crore tonnes in fiscal 2013-14, from 3.38 crore tonnes a year ago, thanks to a record boro output.
Boro yield rose 1.6 percent year-on-year to 1.90 crore tonnes in fiscal 2013-14, according to a recent estimate by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Despite the rise in output, imports started to show an upward trend in fiscal 2014-15 that began in July. Some 4,840 tonnes of rice were imported during July to September 28, according to data from the food ministry. During July to September 18 last year, 990 tonnes of rice were imported.
"Maybe some importers are bringing in rice from neighbouring countries to reap price benefits," said Abul Bashar Chowdhury, chairman of Chittagong-based BSM Group.
This was another year of increased rice yield despite falling cultivable land to grow the staple.
The country stands well above its annual food grain consumption requirement of less than three crore tonnes, according to a study by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
The research organisation estimated that the daily per capita food grain consumption was 509 grams, including rice at 462 grams.
As a result, retail prices of rice have remained stable in the past couple of months. One of the main reasons behind this is a high level of global production of rice and wheat.

Food grain prices have been the lowest in recent years worldwide, Chowdhury said.
Banking on higher production and increased public stocks, the government has decided to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka under a special arrangement.
The government decision comes at a time when damage to aman seedlings due to recurrent floods is feared to affect production.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said most farmers were able to replant the seedlings of the second biggest crop on their affected fields after the floods.
But recent floods in some districts have affected crops, mostly aman paddy, on 1.13 lakh hectares of land, said a senior official of the DAE, seeking anonymity.
The DAE targeted to bring 52.50 lakh hectares of crop land under aman cultivation. So far, 55.05 lakh hectares have come under transplantation, the official said.
"Farmers replanted more than 90 percent of the seedlings in the fields damaged by the floods. But the recurrence of the floods is more depressing," he said.
The DAE aims to ensure production of 1.34 crore tonnes of rice from aman cultivation. It also targets 24 lakh tonnes of the staple during the aus season by ensuring cultivation on 10.55 lakh hectares.
The US Department of Agriculture lowered its prediction on Bangladesh's rice harvest last month. It says Bangladesh may harvest 3.46 crore tonnes of rice in the current fiscal year, down from its previous projection of 3.48 crore tonnes.

Heavy rain hits Mekong Delta rice harvest

2014-10-01T08:22:00.002+01:00

Thai government sells 70,000 T of rice from stocks in 2nd tender: official

2014-10-01T08:21:00.000+01:00

The Thai government has sold another 70,000 tonnes of rice from the 140,000 tonnes it planned to sell in its second tender in September, a senior commerce ministry official said on Monday.
After the army took power in May and inspected rice stocks nationwide, state warehouses were estimated to hold around 18 million tonnes of rice, about a fifth of which was unlikely to be sold as it was believed to be missing and rotten.
The government said it aimed to sell around 100,000 tonnes of rice from stocks monthly, to gradually cut burdensome storage costs without depressing global prices.
"The 70,000 tonnes were awarded to 11 exporters who bid at prices close to market rates," said Duangporn Rodphaya, head of the commerce ministry's department of foreign trade, which oversees the government's sales of rice stocks.
The common grade Thai 5 percent broken white rice was offered at $440 per tonne.
In the first tender in August, the government sold 73,000 tonnes of rice out of 167,000 tonnes on offer, due to low bids.
Senior officials said the government is due to evaluate the quantity and quality of rice stocks next month to devise ways to deal with the grain and make up losses incurred by the previous government's money-guzzling rice buying scheme.
The rice support scheme helped bring former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to power in a landslide election in 2011 due to support from farmers, mostly in the remote areas of the country's northeast.
However, the scheme backfired when the government failed to sell rice to pay arrears to angry farmers, leading to months of protests that ended in a military coup in May.

India Rice production in 2014 pegged at 88 million tonnes

2014-10-01T07:57:00.000+01:00

As the four-month southwest monsoon season comes to an end on Tuesday, sowing of major kharif crops has picked up pace with the total area crossing 100 million hectares in 2014, a tad lower than last year's 104 million hectares.

Area under rice, the main foodgrain grown during the kharif season, was estimated at 37.48 million hectares, more than 37.42 million hectares in 2013, when India received normal rains. According to officials in the know, the incremental rise in paddy area is because of basmati planting.

Rice production is estimated to be 88.02 million tonnes in 2014, four per cent less than last year's figure, the agriculture ministry's latest data showed.

This showed the yield declined moderately during the period. The total kharif acreage this season was pegged at 101.92 million hectares, which is lower than the 104.46 million hectares acreage during the same time last year. Good retreating monsoon in some parts of north and central India boosted planting, officials said.

According to the government's first advance estimate, India's foodgrain production in 2014-15 kharif season is expected to fall by nine million tonnes to 120.27 million tonnes , compared to the same period last year, on account of uneven southwest monsoon in the first part of the 2014 season.

As on September 29, monsoon was about 12 per cent below normal, a big improvement from the 40 per cent deficit seen in July.

The biggest impact of erratic rains is expected to be on coarse cereals, pulses and groundnut.

The estimates show that coarse cereal production in the kharif season is expected to be around 27.05 million tonnes, against 31.25 million tonnes in 2013-14 - a fall of 13.4 per cent.

Production of pulses in the kharif season is expected to be 5.2 million tonnes against 6.02 million tonnes last year, while that of oilseeds is expected to be 19.66 million tonnes, down from last year's 22.40 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry data also showed that the area under cotton has also risen to 12.65 million hectares from 11.43 million hectares during the year ago period.

However, acreage of other major kharif crops as on September 26 is still lower than last year's level.

The area under coarse cereals currently stands at 18.23 million hectares, pulses at 10.10 million hectares, oilseeds at 17.75 million hectares, sugarcane at 4.87 million hectares and jute and mesta at 8.15 million hectares.

The area under these crops is still lower than the year-ago period because sowing operations got delayed due to late arrival of southwest monsoon. With kharif crops covered in less area, the overall production is expected to be affected.

Aiming to make up for the shortfall in some summer crops, the Centre had asked state governments to focus on 3.37 million hectares, which were left unsown due to delayed monsoon, during the rabi season.

The government has set a rabi production target of 94 million tonnes for wheat this year.

Thailand Commerce Ministry pushes for expansion of organic rice cultivation

2014-10-01T07:51:00.000+01:00

The Commerce Ministry is planning to increase the market shares of Thai organic rice in both domestic and world markets, to resolve the problems of falling rice prices and tap the rising popularity for health products among consumers.

Director-General of the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) Jintana Chaiyawannakarn has gone down to inspect an organic rice production farm owned by the Farm Suk Company in Saraburi central province.

According to Ms. Jintana, the farm provides a model for other organic rice growers to boost quality of their produce. She also said that the demand for organic rice is continuously on the rise, as a number of consumers have become increasingly cautious about their health.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kan Traithong, the owner of Farm Suk, revealed that the capital cost for an organic rice farm is only around 3,000 baht per rai since the crop does not require pesticides or chemicals.

Organic rice currently fetches a price of up to 10,000 baht per ton in the market. The high demand, both in local and international markets, has made organic rice an attractive source of investment.

More rice exports expected for Thailand as pledging scheme ends

2014-06-05T08:32:00.002+01:00

The Thai Rice Exporters Association on Wednesday raised the forecast for rice exports as the end of the state pledging scheme would help bring down prices.

The association said it expects the country to export 9 million tonnes of rice in 2014. This is 20 per cent more than the previously-estimated 7.5 million tonnes.

Rice exports fell in Thailand after the deposed government in October 2011 began buying rice from farmers at above market price, making export rates uncompetitive.

India overtook Thailand as the world’s top rice exporter in 2012 as the scheme, which was meant to help poor farmers, caused a hike in export prices.

The price of Thai 5-per cent broken rice reached US$650 per tonne in October 2011 while India was selling the grain overseas at far lower rates.

The Thai grain is now selling at between US$380 and US$385, while Vietnamese rice costs US$400-US$405.

Some 800,000 farmers were owed payment for months after the rice pledging scheme ran into financial trouble.

The scheme ended in February this year.

Thailand’s current military junta began paying money owed to the farmers after it seized power in a coup.

Thai farmers urge military govt to launch new rice support scheme

2014-06-05T08:30:00.003+01:00

Rice farmers in Thailand are asking the military government to come up with a new market intervention scheme to stem the decline in prices of the grain.

The previous price-support scheme floated by former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ended in February after causing billions of dollars in losses to the government and leading to an estimated 90 billion baht (S$3.5 billion) in unpaid dues to farmers.

The Thai military, which seized power in May after months of political turmoil, is moving to pay the arrears. A senior finance ministry official said on Tuesday the ministry has secured a loan for 50 billion baht to pay farmers.

But farmers said more needed to be done for them. "We still need the government's price supporting scheme. It may not be the same as Yingluck's scheme, but it could be a new measure to help farmers when prices are falling," Prasit Boonchoey, head of the Thai Rice Farmers Association, told Reuters.

Thailand Big demand at scheme’s loan auction

2014-06-05T08:29:00.001+01:00

The 50-billion-baht loan facility of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) for paying rice farmers drew strong demand from local banks yesterday, with almost three times oversubscription and rates set lower than those of government bonds.

Chularat: Low rates are unprecedented

The state-backed farm bank's three-year term loans carry a slightly lower rate than the Bangkok Interbank Offered Rate of 2.2792%, marking the first state-enterprise bonds with a lower rate than comparable government bonds, said Chularat Suteethorn, director-general of the Public Debt Management Office.

The loans charge interest at 27 basis points lower than three-year government bonds.

Total demand at yesterday's term-loan auction was 145 billion baht. Twelve financial institutions took part, with the state's Government Savings Bank emerging as the winner.

The healthy demand reflected financial institutions' confidence in a return to normal after the military coup on May 22, in contrast with the problems faced by the former Yingluck Shinawatra government.

The rice-pledging scheme was at the heart of the previous government's agenda, but it also drew ire over hefty losses and corruption.

Finance permanent secretary Rungson Sriworasat recently said losses incurred from the pledging scheme over the previous five crops could be lower than 500 billion baht.

The Yingluck government was months behind schedule in repaying 92 billion baht to about 850,000 rice farmers, as its hands were tied by a caretaker status that gave it limited authority to borrow fresh funds.

The newly installed military junta has made pledging payments a priority as a pump-priming measure to alleviate farmers' financial burden and create a multiplier effect to boost the country's economic growth.

The BAAC, which bears responsibility for payments to farmers under the rice-pledging scheme, has paid out 40 billion baht to farmers in a week.

The Fiscal Policy Office has said payouts to rice farmers could boost the country's GDP by 0.2 percentage points this year.

Ms Chularat said the BAAC would draw down 30 billion baht of the 50-billion-baht loan facility on Friday and the remaining 20 billion on June 13.

Farmers call for new Thailand rice price pledge

2014-06-02T21:36:00.001+01:00

Farming industry leaders have called on the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to issue a policy guaranteeing rice sales at 10,000 baht per tonne for the next crop, amid fears the price of the grain is falling.

Growers made the demand after the NCPO began to pay long-overdue funds to farmers owed cash under the former government's rice pledging scheme, which guaranteed a rice price of 15,000 baht per tonne in 2011.

Songpon Poonsawat, chairman of the Council of Farmers in Ang Thong province, said his organisation would propose short-term assistance packages for the NCPO to consider, to help farmers suffering as a result of low rice prices.

“We would be happy if the NCPO could guarantee our rice price at 10,000 baht per tonne for the next crop. Each farmer has invested at least 5,000 baht per rai,” Mr Songpon said.

"If not, we may suffer big losses from selling the rice, because the current market price is about 5,000-6,000 baht per tonne."

Mr Songpon suggested the intervention be carried out for the next two crops, until the market price of rice returns to normal. He argued the situation would improve if rice stockpiles were sold off.

According to Ministry of Finance inspectors, the rice-pledging project is projected to have cost the country 500 billion baht, while millions of tonnes of rice have disappeared from stocks.

Mr Songpon said the former government tried to sell a huge amount of rice stock, which forced the market price of the grain to drop.

In the long-term, he said the new government should draft a policy educating farmers on how to reduce the cost of rice production, while officials should also encourage so-called rice zoning, which promotes the planting of rice in certain areas to improve the quality of the product.

He said farmers are currently planting low-grade rice, because they want to produce enough yield to join the rice pledging scheme, but this is harming Thailand's reputation for producing premium-grade rice.

Ubonsak Bualuang-ngam, chairman of the Committee on Central Agriculture, said the next government should support co-operatives for farmers, to strengthen the farming industry.

Mr Ubonsak said the co-operative system empowers farmers to set their own prices and encourages them to plant more premium rice.

Reducing or eliminating the use of chemicals in rice production would help reduce the cost of production, he said, adding that organic rice zones must be developed to promote and support chemical-free rice and benefit people's health.

Rice exports to Thailand dive

2014-05-29T17:24:00.002+01:00

Rice exports to Thailand plummeted in the first four months of the year as a result of that country’s surplus, which reached record levels at the end of 2013.

Between January and April, Cambodia exported just 1,550 tonnes of rice to Thailand, down 89 per cent from the 14,250 tonnes shipped in the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s monthly reports.

Hun Lak, president of rice export firm Mekong Oryza Trade, said the decline was due to Thailand’s rice stockpiles, which were accumulated under a state purchasing program launched in 2011 and scrapped at the end of last year.

Thailand accumulated rice stockpiles of reportedly more than 12.8 million tonnes at the end of 2013, equal to about a third of the global export market.

“The overstock of rice in Thailand reduced the demand from Thai traders for Cambodian rice,” Lak said.

“Also, rice prices in Thailand are declining as a result, meaning buyers simply cannot make a profit by importing Cambodian rice,” he added.

Thai rice prices sunk from $1,100 per tonne to $950 per tonne in February as the state-run rice pledging scheme came to an end and the Thai government began selling off its stockpiles. Consequently, Cambodian exporters reduced their prices from $950 to $880 per tonne to compete.

Lim Bunheng, president of Loran Company, said Cambodian farmers depend on Thailand and Vietnam for exports largely due to a lack of local facilities to polish and clean rice – the final stage before the product is fit for international standards.

“I hope the situation will get better after June – when more of Thailand’s stockpiled rice is sold off – because it is having an impact on our industry now both in terms export volume and price,” he said.

Sok Puthyvuth, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, called on rice exporters to seek other markets rather than “sitting and waiting” for the situation to get better.

“We should take this chance to start to diversify markets to potential countries like China, Indonesia as well as countries in the EU for our rice while waiting for Thailand to settle things,” he said.

Thailand imported 23,550 tonnes of Cambodian rice in 2013, making it the Kingdom’s sixth largest destination for rice exports.

Northern India to Endure Scorching Heat and Drought Due to Weak Monsoon

2014-05-29T17:23:00.000+01:00

The yearly advance of the southwest monsoon is vital to both people and agriculture across India and rest of the Indian subcontinent.
The normal onset of the southwest monsoon occurs during the second half of May across Myanmar before reaching southern India at the beginning of June.
This year the monsoon was actually several days ahead of schedule reaching Myanmar, but it has stalled over the Bay of Bengal during the past week.

As a result, the onset of the monsoon in southern India will likely be up to a week late across parts of the south, but the beneficial rains are forecast to increase during the second week of June.
The heaviest rains are expected to be focused from the western Ghats to the west coast during this time. Scattered rains are expected across the southeast.
With an El Nino expected to build during the second half of the year, rainfall across central and northern India could be impacted greatly.

As a result, the northward advance of the southwest monsoon is forecast to be delayed for most of central and northern India allowing temperatures to soar well above normal for much of the month of June.
Several long stretches of temperatures over 42 C (108 F) are possible in New Delhi and the surrounding region.
Long-range forecasts are for below-normal monsoon rainfall in these areas, stretching into neighboring Pakistan. Concerns continue to rise that a drought will develop across northwest India and Pakistan as a result of prolonged dry and hot weather followed by a weak monsoon.
India is a large supplier of rice and cotton globally, and these crops could suffer greatly as a result of the impending hot and dry conditions. According to Accuweather.com Commodity Weather Expert Jason Nicholls, "Both crop yields and quality are likely to be impacted by drought later this summer in northwest India and Pakistan."

Farther south, the monsoon should arrive before the full impact of the oncoming El Nino occurs. The best chance for a near-normal monsoon will be in the southwest.
With rainfall expected to be below normal for much of India during this monsoon season, any rainfall from tropical cyclones would be increasingly important.
The Bay of Bengal will likely produce several tropical cyclones during the summer months as a near-normal season is anticipated. Although flooding is always a threat from landfalling tropical cyclones, this will be offset by the positives of rainfall during a stretch of otherwise below-normal rainfall.

Jordan requests import of 20,000 tons of rice as exception to Egypt ban

2014-05-28T11:00:00.002+01:00

Jordan’s Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted a formal request to the Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade last week to allow the import of 20,000 tons of Egyptian rice to Jordan as an exception to the ban on rice exports, said Issa Haider Murad, chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce.

“We have asked Egypt also to provide various agricultural products, supply commodities and fruits in order to compensate for the shortfall that Jordan witnessed in these categories following the deterioration of commercial traffic with Syria, as well as Jordan accommodates a large number of Syrian refugees, Palestinians and Egyptian workers,” he said.

Jordan imports a type of medium grain rice similar to Egypt’s products from a number of places including the United States, Spain and Italy, although the Egyptian variety is cheaper. Jordan imports other types of rice from Thailand and Pakistan, and the nation’s rice imports reach up to 80,000-100,000 tons per year.

Egypt consumes approximately 2.5m tons of white rice per year while it produces approximately 3.5m tons, translating into a surplus of up to 1m tons per year. Several years ago, the government began scaling back cultivation to cut water consumption, imposing a ban on exports in 2008.

Jordan was one of the first countries to declare its support for the roadmap announced by former defense minister and army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on 3 July last year, following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.