Vietnam Minimum rice price to remain unchanged

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) decided June 3 to keep the minimum price for the purchase of Mekong Delta farmers’ summer-autumn rice harvests unchanged from last month at VND4,000 per kilogram. The price management mechanism will be flexible to encourage domestic sales and dispose of rice stocks, said VFA at a meeting held in An Giang Province in June 6. VFA member companies admitted that the consumption of summer-autumn rice would be slow. However, they said, it was necessary to start the buying now, otherwise, the situation will worsen and the region will again face the “bumper crop, low price” situation that hurt many farmers during the last winter-spring crop. In the last winter-spring crop, under Government instructions, VFA bought 1.5 million tons of rice from farmers at a minimum price of VND4,000 per kilogram to stabilize prices and help farmers profit by at least 30 percent. Farmers expect to harvest about eight million tons of unhusked rice in mid-June amid forecasts that prices will be low. According to VFA, some 712,000 tons of rice were exported in May while the target set for May was 650,000 tons. The delivery volume was the highest ever after beating the previous record delivery of 710,000 tons made in April 2009. The average export price was US$454.03 per ton, up US$42.54 over the same period last year. Rice exports surged sharply in April and May, to 1.4 million tons. However, rice stocks reduced only slightly as the exported rice was supplied from already available sources on the market. The stock left from the purchase of the last winter-spring rice harvests is now about 1.5 million tons.

Rice experts are set for crucial meet in Vietnam

Rice-producing countries, farmers, traders, exporters and importers will have an opportunity to learn more about rice businesses, new rice varieties, technology and market trends at the International Rice Congress 2010. This congress comes as farming area is declining, the effects of climate change are being felt, and global rice consumption is growing. The International Rice Congress 2010, the world's largest gathering of rice scientists, researchers and technology experts will be held from November 8-12 in Hanoi at the Vietnam National Convention Centre. Hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of and organised by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), this year's theme is "Rice for Future Generations". Phuc Tuong, principle scientist, water science, of IRRI's Crop and Environmental Science Division, said it is expected that more than 1,000 visitors will participate in this event. Tuong, who is also chairman of the organising committee of IRC 2010, added that a number of conferences will be held parallel to the event. The International Rice Research Conference and the Rice for the Future Generation Conference will focus on how science can help farmers to grow rice efficiently with satisfactory yields. In addition, it will also look to ensuring that succeeding generations of farmers can grow rice. The International Rice Policy and Investment Conference is a new forum created to provide more |information to those who want |to invest in related rice businesses such as farm machinery and tools, farm technology and farm management. Rice exhibitions will allow farmers, companies related to the rice industry and researchers to present their products and innovations. And a ministerial roundtable |discussion will create a forum for the private sector to share ideas |with government officials and agriculture ministers from member countries. Here, both sides will exchange ideas on a variety of issues such as climate change, balancing prices, foreign direct investment, sustainable development and rice security in Asia. Finally, it is a good occasion to celebrate the 50th IRRI anniversary. "It has also created a great opportunity for IRRI to connect more with the private sector to seek more financial support. IRC is also a vehicle to drive our long-term objectives in providing knowledge and technology," said Tuong. Samarendu Mohanty, head and senior economist of the Social Sciences Division of IRRI, said the rice business needed to draw more investment into manufacturing plants for machinery, rice mills, and also into research and development. "The investment will improve production potential in rice-producing countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and African nations where their production is still low," Mohanty said. Mohanty added that IRRI wants to see investment in the rice and agricultural sector put into improving yields and the rice-supply chain, rather than into purchasing land to grow rice for commercial purposes. "Investment in the agricultural sector has been declining for 20 years," said Mohanty.

Vietnam to Hold Coffee, Rice Export Volumes Steady

Vietnam, the world’s second-largest rice exporter and second-biggest producer of robusta coffee, aims to maintain its current export volumes of both commodities during the next decade, the country’s minister of agriculture and rural development said. “Our strategy in the next 10 years is to improve the quality and to add more values to the commodities to increase the export values, rather than concentrate on raising the volumes,” Cao Duc Phat said in an interview today at the World Economic Forum in Ho Chi Minh City. The volume of Vietnamese rice exports rose 25 percent last year to 5.95 million tons, while their value fell 8 percent from the previous year to $2.66 billion, according to the General Statistics Office in the capital, Hanoi. Vietnam ranks second in rice exports after Thailand. Vietnam’s export volumes of robusta -- one of the world’s two main commercial varieties of coffee, along with arabica -- rose 10 percent to 1.17 million tons, with their value dropping 19 percent to $1.7 billion. Brazil is the world’s top robusta producer, followed by Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam, the nation’s central bank, has devalued the dong, the country’s currency, twice since November. The dong has weakened 5.7 percent since Nov. 25, including that month’s devaluation, according to Bloomberg data. The Southeast Asian nation expects its economy to grow this year by between 6.5 percent and 7 percent, up from 5.3 percent last year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said today.

Philippines' 11 of 16 regions to register palay-production cuts in Q2

OF the 16 major rice-producing areas in the Philippines, 11 regions will suffer production cuts in the second quarter of the year, according to the survey conducted by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). In its May round of “Rice and Corn Situation Outlook,” the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) noted that Western Visayas will suffer the biggest decline in paddy -rice production at 60 percent to 75,225 metric tons (MT). The BAS noted that the second-biggest production decline will be posted by Calabarzon at 37 percent to 75,746 MT. Of the 11 regions that will register slashes in production, the Zamboanga Peninsula will suffer the least as paddy-rice production could go down by only 4.7 percent year-on-year to 54,510 MT. “Insufficient water supply from irrigation and rains due to El Niño resulted in unrealized planting intentions,” said the BAS in its report. For the April-to-June period, the BAS forecasted a contraction in area harvested by 6.2 percent and a drop in yield by 3.4 percent year-on-year. Other regions that will suffer paddy-rice production declines during the period include the Cordillera Autonomous Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Central Visayas and Soccsksargen. The agency noted that palay production for April to June could decline by 9.4 percent year-on-year to 3.11 million metric tons (MMT). For January to September, paddy-rice production is expected to contract by almost 1 MMT to 9.999 MMT from 10.89 MMT registered in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the BAS projected that 12 out of 16 corn-producing regions in the country will also post production declines during the period. Cagayan Valley, one of the major sources of corn in the Philippines, is expected to cut back production by almost 80 percent year-on-year to 70,950 MT. A year ago, the region produced 341,399 MT of corn. Another major source of corn, Soccsksargen is also projected to post a production decline of 42.7 percent year-on-year to 120,942 MT. Corn production for the entire Philippines during April to June will settle at 816,941 MT, lower by 36.83 percent year-on-year, according to the BAS. “Area harvested may contract from 455,000 hectares to 322,000 hectares due to unrealized planting intentions resulting from insufficient water supply. Yield is expected to drop from 2.84 MT per hectare last year to 2.54 MT per hectare this year,” said the BAS. For January to September, the country’s corn production is expected to go down by 17 percent year-on-year to 4.64 MMT. Production of yellow corn, the main ingredient used for animal feeds, is expected to contract by almost 24 percent to 2.96 MMT.

Vietnam Nearly 2.7 million tonnes of rice exported in five months

Over 700,000 tonnes of rice were exported in May, bringing the total amount of exported rice in the first five months to nearly 2.7 million tonnes worth around US$1.2 billion. These figures were released by the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) at a meeting held in An Giang province on June 3, to review the rice export over the first five months and plan for rice export in June and rice consumption in the summer-autumn crop. The VFA said that Vietnam’s export price of 5% broken rice is currently put at US$370 per tonne, an around US$30 per tonne increase over early April this year. According to the VFA, 700,000 tonnes of rice will be exported in June, making up 3.35 million tonnes in exported rice volume in the first six months, about 300,000 tonnes lower than that of the same period last year.

Droughts and floods threaten in vietnam next rice crop

Experts have warned of difficult times for the upcoming rice crop, from now to the end of the year, with serious droughts threatening the crops on the front end and severe flooding looming on the back. Director of the Central Hydro-meteorology Forecasting Centre Bui Minh Tang made the above statement at a meeting to review the results of the winter-spring rice crop and to launch plans for the summer-autumn crop. He also said that other obstacles, including the threat of the black dwarf stunted disease and shortages of hybrid rice varieties, would seriously affect the productivity of crops from now to the end of the year. According to Tang, the average rainfall from the beginning of this year to present had decreased 20 to 30 per cent in some areas compared to last year, while it had increased from 60 to 70 per cent in other areas. Rain in some areas couldn’t meet both the demands for agriculture production and irrigation work. Currently, water levels in the Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang and Son La irrigation lakes were at dead levels. In the future, the sunny weather would continue, especially in some northern and central provinces. It was forecast that the average temperature for this year could reach a record high. However, due to the long-lasting drought, storms and tropical low pressure zones would come later than in other years, near the end of the harvest. Central and north-central provinces would have to take measures to cope with the lack of water at the beginning of the crop and with flooding at the end of the crop, Tang said. Regarding measures to cope with diseases, director of Red river delta Thai Binh Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Huu Rong said that the province would plant 45,000ha of rice, an increase of 6,000ha compared to the winter-spring crop. All seeds will be treated with chemical substances before being sowed. Director of the Department of Cultivation Nguyen Tri Ngoc said that for rice crops in low-lying areas that could be affected by flooding, or for those with unstable productivity, farmers should shift to other kinds of crops. For the Song Hong (Red River) Delta, where 70,000 to 80,000ha of rice were planted in low-lying areas, farmers should plant rice varieties with high trunks and good water resistance. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that provinces needed to be well-prepared to carry out preventative measures against the black dwarf stunted disease and to protect against floods near the end of the harvest. Apart from proper conduction of irrigation systems in order to have effective solutions for drought and flood prevention, provinces needed to ensure that they had enough water pumps at pumping stations, and extra pumps to cope with severe flooding, Phat said. Despite difficulties such as drought and black dwarf stunted disease outbreaks, the winter-spring crop still harvested 5.5 million tonnes of rice, equal to last year’s same crop, according to deputy director of the Cultivation Department Pham Dong Quang. Many provinces had started to plant hybrid rice varieties, which accounted for the good yields, including central Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. The hybrid rice variety had a high quality and could adapt to a wide range of conditions. It also gave high productivity rates. MARD has targeted foster rice production for the coming crops to fulfil the year’s goal of producing 38 tonnes of rice.

Rice stock rises by nearly a fourth, but corn drops

DESPITE a prolonged dry spell that cut palay production by 11% in the first quarter, the country’s rice inventory at the start of May was up by 24% from a year earlier, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show. However, corn stock dropped 16% as of May 1 from the same period last year, the same data showed. Rice inventory increased to 3.32 million metric tons (MT) last May 1 from 2.68 million MT, year on year. The inventory was also 20% more than the 2.77 million MT at the start of April, the data show. Of the 3.32 million MT, 33% was in households, 14% in commercial warehouses and 53% in depositories of the National Food Authority (NFA). When compared with inventory from the previous year, household inventory was down by 6.4% while commercial warehouse stock was up by 3.6%. Meanwhile, NFA stock, of which 83% were imported rice, increased by 65% to 1.756 million MT from 1.063 million MT last year, according to the data. The May 1 inventory was estimated to be enough to supply the country’s daily needs of 36,300 MT for 93 days, the data show. "The bulk of the rice stock is due to the rice imports last year that have already arrived," NFA spokesman Rex C. Estoperez said in a telephone interview yesterday. The Philippines has ordered 2.45 million MT of rice this year, 2.25 million MT of which was bought by the government and are being shipped in tranches until this month, and the remainder is being brought in by private firms until Sept. 15. "We have a very good inventory of rice. We are ready for the lean months that is expected to start in July [and end in September]," said Mr. Estoperez. Palay production decreased by 11% to 3.49 million MT for the first quarter of 2010 from 3.94 million MT in the same period last year. The Department of Agriculture projected further decrease of 9% in second-quarter production to 3.11 million MT from 3.43 million MT last year, according to the department’s first-quarter report released last May 17. Palay production in the third quarter is seen to decrease by 4% to 3.39 million MT from 3.52 million MT from last year. Meanwhile, corn inventory as of May 1 went down by 16% to 195,000 MT from 232,000 MT in the same period last year. Corn inventory was also lower by 19% from April’s stock of 240,000 MT. Twenty-three percent of corn stock was held by households, 56% by commercial warehouses and 21% in NFA warehouses. BAS data showed a 43% decrease in corn stock in households and a 29% decrease in stock in commercial warehouses, year on year. There were no recorded corn stock in NFA warehouses in May last year. Corn production dropped by 16.8% to 1.6 million MT in the first quarter of 2010 from 1.92 million MT last year due to El Niño. Production was projected to decrease in the second quarter by 37% to 820,000 MT from 1.3 million MT for the same period last year, according to the Agriculture department’s first-quarter report. Moreover, the department projects a 6% decrease in corn production for the third quarter to 2.22 million MT from 2.37 million MT last year.

Rice Futures Fall to 20-Month Low as Demand for U.S. Grain Ebbs

Rice futures fell to a 20-month low in Chicago as demand for supplies from the U.S. declines and production increases. Last month, Iraq bought 90,000 metric tons from Thailand and Vietnam, the world’s biggest exporters. The price at $350 a ton was $100 less than U.S. supplies, said Dennis DeLaughter, the owner of Progressive Farm Marketing Inc. in Edna, Texas. Today, futures tumbled 3.9 percent, the most since January 2009. “When you have a lack of demand, you have a day like we had today in the futures market,” Delaughter said. “The U.S. is just too high. That means we have to go lower. The futures are being led by world demand, and it’s just not there.” Rice futures for July delivery fell 45.5 cents to $11.105 per 100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier, the price touched $11.06, the lowest level since Sept. 14, 2007. The most- active contract has dropped 25 percent this year. Favorable weather boosted crop prospects in the U.S., the fourth-biggest exporter behind Pakistan. “Most of the crop in Texas looks good, and in Arkansas, it looks good,” said DeLaughter, a rice grower. “Everything we’ve been hearing about the crop is that it looks great.”

India FCI to sell 3 mt of foodgrain at discount

Following a government order, the Food Corp of India (FCI) will sell three million tonnes of food grains at discounted rates during the Jun-Nov period, an FCI official today said. According to the current order, wheat rates have been fixed at Rs 845 per 100 kg as against Rs 1,080 earlier, and rice at Rs 1,185 per 100 kg from its previous minimum support price of Rs 1,455. Last month, a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had declared an ad-hoc allocation of three million tonnes of food grains for sale to ration card holders from June onwards. Accordingly, the government has earmarked 1.69 million tonnes of wheat and 1.38 million tonnes of rice to be sold through the targeted public distribution system during May 31-Nov 30, the official said. Earlier, in January-February, the government had made an allocation of 2.55 million tonnes of wheat and one million tonnes of rice, but states had lifted just 4,20,000 tonnes of wheat and 5,02,000 tonnes of rice from this allocation till May 28. “The earlier scheme was valid till June 1, but in the latest order it has been discontinued and replaced with the new scheme. The sale price has also been reduced and we are expecting better response to the current scheme,” he said. As on May 1, FCI’s foodgrain stocks stood at around 60 million tonnes—33.7 million tonnes of wheat and 26.2 million tonnes of rice, way above the buffer norm requirement.

In India rice Paddy MSP could be hiked marginally

Vietnam to export 700,000 tonnes of rice in June

The Board of Management of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) will export 700,000 tonnes of rice in June, bringing the total export volume in the first two quarters to 3.35 million tonnes, 300.000 tonnes less than in the same period last year. Despite the signing of large export contracts, Vietnam still has plenty of rice stockpiled as its delivery is being affected by rainy weather. Speaking at a VFA meeting in An Giang on June 3 to review exports in the first five months, VFA Secretary General Huynh Minh Hue said businesses exported 712,007 tonnes of rice in May at an average price of US$417.74 per tonne. In the first five months, Vietnam exported 2.689 million tonnes of rice at an average price of US$454.03 per tonne, US$42.54 higher than the average price in 2009. The VFA Board of management and businesses expressed concern that the Ministry of Finance has not yet set a price for the 2009-2010 winter-spring crop, which may present a problem for the association and its members. According to the VFA, even though rice prices are seeing a slight rise, farmers will have trouble selling their rice due to a slow-down in the market and the low quality of the summer-autumn rice.

India gets permission to export Basmati rice to China

India will soon be exporting its sweet-smelling rice to China, which recently gave its nod for Indian Basmati to enter its markets. "We have finally got permission to export Basmati to China. This is a new thing," said a high ranking Indian official in Shanghai. The issue of Basmati's exports was raised at the last meeting of the Joint Economic Forum in China last January, which had focused on ways to address market access and trade imbalance. So far, the Gulf region has been the biggest market for Basmati rice, but Indian government has been looking to diversify markets to other countries such as China. India's Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar said efforts were being made to improve the profile of Indian products in China. "We are focusing on trade promotion in 17 different cities in China with special focus on IT, pharmaceuticals, agricultural and engineering products," he said. The bilateral trade has grown exponentially in the last ten years - though there was a slight dip last year to $43.2 billion due to the global recession. But, in the last six months, trade has again picked up and increased by 60 per cent, compared to the same period last year. India's exports to China have also risen by 75 per cent, but they have mainly been raw products, like minerals, cotton and cotton yarn. Besides Basmati, India is aiming to increase exports of other agricultural items such as mangoes and okra. "We have been in negotiation for two years for export of okra," an Indian official said. Indian President Pratibha Patil Sunday met chief of Shanghai Communist Party, Yu Zhengsheng, where the issue of improving the trade balance came up. According to Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the senior Chinese leader also stressed the need for balancing trade. She said Yu conveyed that this imbalance was "not good" for China in the long term and assured Patil that the Chinese government was giving serious thought to the problem. President Patil also raised the issue of setting up of Chinese banks in India. There were 11 Indian banks operating in China, with four of them - State Bank of India, Bank of India, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda - having full-fledged offices. On the last day of her six-day trip, Patil will be addressing businessmen and entrepreneurs at the China Business Forum Monday.

Monsoon arrives but no decision yet on support price

The South-West monsoon has arrived in Kerala. The Met Office is sanguine about the monsoon as atmospheric conditions are said to be developing favourably. After the unkind decline in precipitation last year which resulted in sharp fall in kharif output (especially rice, coarse cereals and oilseeds), farmers are eagerly awaiting the onset of monsoon to begin their sowing operations. But the tragedy is that the Ministry of Agriculture is still grappling with a final decision on minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops, although rains are almost knocking at the door. The anxiety in the air and among peasants is hardly shared by those in Krishi Bhawan. It is unclear what is holding up the decision and announcement. This correspondent tried to speak with no less than four senior level officials in the Ministry. Almost everyone was out attending meetings - surely not the same meeting. At least one senior official was said to be travelling. A middle-level official, who, for obvious reason should remain unidentified confessed that no decision has been taken on MSP. He was unsure when the decision would be made. Prodded to guess if the announcement about MSP would be made in the next few days, he regretted his inability to mention a timeframe. The India Meteorological Department has forecast a normal South-West monsoon for this year. The high and mighty in the Government including the Prime Minister have laid great hope on monsoon rains to augment domestic farm output and rein in food inflation.

Flood tolerant paddy can make Bangladesh rice exporting nation

Renowned rice scientist and country manager of IRRI-Bangladesh Dr MA Bari has said the country can export rice in near future after meeting its own demand through expanded farming of flood tolerant variety paddies. Bangladesh can produce an additional 60-lakh tonnes of paddy annually to ensure its food security by brining all 12 lakh hectares potential low-lying and flood-prone lands under farming of four such variety paddies amid adverse impacts of climate changes, he said. He said this while distributing seeds of flood tolerant variety paddies among the farmers of sadar union, Belgachha, Halokhana, Mogalbasa, Kanthalbari, Panchgachhi, Jatrapur and Ghoghadaho unions at Bhogdanga union office premises in Kurigram on Saturday. NGO Solidarity organised the seed distribution ceremony with the assistance of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Inter Co-operation with its executive director and valiant freedom fighter Harunur Rashid Lal in the chair. Officials of Solidarity, local farmers, public representatives, member of Technical Working Group of Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia and Staff Reporter of BSS Mamun Islam, BSS Kurigram Correspondent Abdul Khalek Faruk, addressed. Dr Bari said Bangladesh goes to large-scale countrywide farming of epoch-making flash-flood tolerant variety paddies from this season after official release of two varieties of the seeds to ultimately produce an additional six million tonnes paddy annually. Distribution of 50 tonnes seeds of Swarna Sub1, BR11 Sub1, IR64 Sub1 and Sambamasuri Sub1 flood-tolerant variety paddies among 25,000 farmers in 21 districts throughout the country has now been nearing completion, he said. A total of 2,000 hectares land would be brought under farming of these paddies in these districts under six agriculture zones this season and the same will also be cultivated on demonstration plots in Rajshahi and Jessore zones to attract the farmers. He urged the farmers to preserve their seeds after harvests of the paddies and suggested all partner NGOs and organisations for taking necessary steps to commercially produce, preserve and distribute quality seeds of these paddies in future. On the other hand, the farmers expressed their happiness following release of the seeds of flood tolerant Swarna Sub 1 as BRRI dhan 51 and BR 11 Sub 1 as BRRI dhan 52 varieties last month by the technical committee of the National Seed Certification Board. Harunur Rashid Lal said his organisation Solidarity successfully cultivated these submergence variety paddies last year and has taken an extended programme for its farming in all nine upazilas in Kurigram during this Aman season. "We are now completing distribution of 4,560 kg seeds of these four flood tolerant entries among 2.280 farmers to bring a total of 304 hectares land under the farming of these paddies in Kurigram this season," he said. It is possible to produce additional two lakh tonnes rice annually in Kurigram alone through farming of these paddies on 40,000 hectares that go under flash-flood water and remain inundated for 10-16 days every year damaging huge Aman paddies, he added. He said that the farmers are now preparing to cultivate these paddies, which can sustain 10 to 17 days submergence under flash flood waters paving the way for producing five tonnes paddy per hectare in the vast flash flood prone areas. Dr Bari said, scientists of BRRI, IRRI, Central Rice Research Institute and Norendra Dev University of Agriculture Technology of India and University of California (UC, Davis & Riverside) developed and validated the epoch-making technology. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have been providing financial assistances through IRRI to increase seed productions and disseminate the technology under its Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa & South Asia (STRASA) programme. Preparations of seedbeds and transplantation seedlings of all four Sub 1 entries will be completed by July 30 to start harvest with the short duration IR 64 Sub 1 from the end of September and the total harvest will end along with traditional T-Aman, Dr Bari said.

Malaysia Rice imports to continue if too costly to grow own

Malaysia may continue to import rice if the cost of expanding the “Rice Bowl” areas in the country is higher than the cost of importing the commodity. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum said currently, the country was importing 30 per cent of the rice needs and the government was studying from the various aspects whether imports would be continued or otherwise. “We are studying whether to produce 100 per cent of our rice consumption or to continue importing 30 per cent of the national consumption,” he told reporters after closing the Kedah Regional Development Authority (KEDA) Meeting the Clients Day programme at Napoh, here yesterday. At the moment, he said, emphasis would be given to efforts at upgrading the areas under the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) to produce better quality rice. “Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, the ministry is allocating RM140 million to upgrade the areas under MADA. It includes giving compensation to residents because the rivers and canals in the MADA area are located on their land,” he said. Meanwhile, Johari, who is also the member of parliament for Kubang Pasu, said KEDA would build a “Rest and Service Area” (RSA) at Keda Napoh to enable visitors to the area to rest as there was no rest area there currently. The project, costing about RM5 million, would be implemented in June and expected to be ready next year, he added.

Thailand Rice Price - Weekly

Domestic and export prices declined slightly by 1-2 percent due to quiet foreign demand and a weakening Thai Baht. Farmers selling their supplies in this period will gain from the price insurance scheme as market prices are above the benchmark prices.

Australia has rice bumper crop

Rice growers have almost finished harvesting their best-yielding crop in years with production heading towards 200,000 tonnes and the average yield on completed crops around 11 tonnes to the hectare. The harvest looks set to more than triple last year’s 63,000 tonnes and is a big improvement on the 19,000 tonnes produced in 2008, which was the smallest since 1928. It is still well below the average annual crop of around 1.2 million tonnes before the drought set in from 2002.

Uruguay Rice harvest 1.15 million tons

Uruguay's rice harvest reached 1.15 million tons; good prospects for
next crop Uruguay's 2010 harvest of clean, dry rice reached 1.15 million
tons with an average yield per hectare of 7.094 kilos. Total area
planted was 161.900 hectares according to Uruguay's Ministry of
Agriculture Statistics Office.
Crop and yields are below those of the last four years which averaged
8.000 kilos per hectare. Late and abundant rainfall last November
delayed 18% of the area to be planted until December which caused
problems during seeding time, says the report based on a poll taken
between April 20 and 30.
An estimated 94.000 hectares (almost 58% of the rice area) won't be
planted for the next crop because of crop rotation. The land will be
left for pasture to feed livestock.
Regarding next year's harvest all farmers interviewed said they would
repeat rice although a few had yet to decide what area. However assuming
similar planting intentions to this year the total area for the
2010/2011 crop could reach 198.000 hectares, the largest in the last
twelve years (1998/1999).
This has been boosted by a more regular rainfall than when the previous
poll in April 2009.

Iraq buys Vietnamese rice in second tender this month

IRAQ, one of the world's largest importers of wheat and rice, has bought

90,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice after a tender was issued more than two
weeks ago, an Iraqi grain board official said on Thursday.

"The rice tender has been set to buy 60,000 tonnes from Vina Food
Company and 30,000 tonnes of rice from VIP, an Iraqi-Vietnamese
company," said Hassan Ibrahim, director general of the Iraq Grain Board.
"The purchase was on FOB terms."

Falling rice prices revive demand for OPEC-like cartel

Asian benchmark rice prices are set to fall further due to swelling

supplies, reviving prospects of an OPEC-like cartel of key producers,
the head of a leading Indian rice trading firm said on Thursday.

The idea of an OPEC-like cartel failed to take off after initial
deliberations two years ago when the world faced an acute shortage of
the staple, driving benchmark prices in Thailand to a record high of
$1,000 a tonne.

"I now see a possibility of an alliance of producers like Thailand,
Vietnam, China and India, among others. It will bring stability in
prices which are heading southward," Karan A Chanana, managing director
of the Amira group, a leading rice producer, told Reuters in an interview.

A body of key rice producing nations will help stave off expected fall
in prices in both India and Asia, said Chanana, also a former
secretary-general of the All India Rice Exporters' Association .

The price of 100 B grade Thai white rice RI-THWHB-P1, at $460 per tonne,
has fallen more than a quarter since the middle of December, and traders
in the Thailand, the world's top exporter, say prices are expected to
drop further due to swelling supplies in the region. See [ID:nSGE64P0B5]

EXPORT BAN

While forming a consortium of producers would arrest a sharp drop in
Asian prices, lifting a two-year old ban on exports of non-basmati rice
would help India avoid a glut.

"The government must allow exports of non-basmati rice after the monsoon
season to avoid any excess stock. There is a case for non-basmati
exports now," Chanana said.

The government prefers to watch the progress of monsoon before easing
trade curbs, as the annual June-September rains irrigate 60 percent of
the country's farms.

India, the world's second-biggest producer of the grain, clamped down on
exports of common grades of rice in 2008, joining other leading
producers in their protectionist measures to bolster domestic supplies.

India has also fixed a floor price of $900 per tonne for exports of

Vietnam To Sign Deals To Export 4.6m Tons Of Rice Says Vietnam Food, Association

Vietnamese firms expect to sign contracts to export a total 600,000 tons

of rice to African countries in May, raising the country's total rice
export volume under contracts to 4.6 million tons, said Pham Van Bay,
vice chairman of the Vietnam Food Association.

In the first 20 days of May, local firms had signed deals to sell nearly
400,000 tons to Africa, for US$350 a ton of 5% broken rice, FOB, up
US$20/ton from April.

A delegation of the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation, or Vinafood 2,
has arrived in Brazil to seek opportunities to boost rice export to the
South American market.

Brazil plans to import more than one million tons of rice, giving
chances to Vietnamese rice firms as India and Thailand, two of the
world's biggest rice exporters, are unlikely to supply.

Vietnam plans to export six million tons of rice in 2010, of which 3.3
million tons will be delivered in the first half.

Bangladesh Rice output may drop 7% a year

Rice productivity could decline by 7.4 percent every year until 2050 due

to changing weather.

A study report projects that lost agricultural productivity could amount
to a total loss of $3 billion every year (Tk 210 billion) totalling $121
billion in lost GDP during a 45-year period between 2005 and 2050.

The report on investment in agriculture for higher growth, productivity
and adaptation to climate change projects a likely scenario under the
current weather patterns and finds that the total economy-wide impact in
terms of lost GDP during the period could go up to a staggering $121
billion.

Authored by M Asaduzzaman, research director of Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies along with Claudia Ringler and James Turlow from the
International Food Policy Research Institute, and Shafiqul Alam from the
agriculture ministry, the report states that climate change also has
broader economy-wide implications.

The study estimates that this would cost Bangladesh $26 billion in terms
of lost agricultural GDP over the 45-year period, equivalent to $570
million per year, "an average annual 1.15 percent reduction in total GDP."

But given Bangladesh's dependence on agriculture, especially in terms of
employment and contribution to GDP, with over 50 percent of the labour
force engaged as farm labourers and accounting for a fifth of the
national GDP, the economy-wide impact of lost agricultural productivity
is quite staggering.

The paper was presented at the first technical session of the two-day
Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum that began on Wednesday in Dhaka.

Devoting much space and emphasis on climate change the report states
that existing climate variability can have pronounced detrimental
economy-wide impacts. "Future climate change will exacerbate these
negative effects."

Earlier in the morning, prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the
forum, organised by the Bangladesh government.

Mahbub Hossain, executive director of BRAC, pointed to the

India Rice output may exceed 100 mn tonnes

Rice production of the country may cross 100 million tonnes in the

2010-11 crop year provided there is normal monsoon, Planning Commission
member, Mr Abhijit Sen, said on Wednesday.

"Rice output is likely to be over 100 million tonnes this year if Met
department's monsoon forecast comes true," Mr Sen told reporters on the
sidelines of a function.

If production crosses 100 million tonnes, it will be a new record
surpassing the earlier high of 99.18 million tonnes in 2008-09 crop year
(July-June).

Rice production declined to 89.31 million tonnes in 2009-10 crop year
owing to severe drought, which hit almost half of the country.

Sharing his views on allowing wheat and rice export Sen said, "India can
export wheat next year but no subsidies should be provided. If rice
export is allowed then it should be with export tax on the commodity."

The government had banned wheat export in early 2007 and rice export in
April 2008 to increase domestic supplies and curb prices.

According to official estimates, the country has harvested a record
wheat crop of 80.98 million tonnes in 2009-10 crop year (April-June)
against 80.68 million tonnes in the previous year. Though there is a ban
on wheat and non basmati rice export, the government has allowed the
shipments in small quantities to neighbouring countries and African
nations on diplomatic grounds.

Delivering the 17th Dr B P Pal Memorial lecture today, Mr Sen pointed
out that there is a huge gap in technology reaching agricultural fields.
He suggested the government research body Indian Council of Agricultural
Research to identify villages to prove the success of their technology.

"Gap between lab and fields is a great worry for us. If agriculture
needs to keep moving, we must focus on technology that not only
increases yields but also farmers income," he said.

Mr Sen also observed the country's agriculture is running on subsidies,
which is problematic in the long run as it can "mess up with incentives".

Vietnam Rice Price - Weekly

Rice price offers from exporters remained at low levels last week

because of low buying demand. However, both local paddy and export
prices are expected to increase shortly since the crop harvest has been
completed.

Paddy prices have remained unchanged for over two weeks due to weak
demand from export market.

Thailand develops premium rice to compete vs Vietnam

Thailand, the world's top rice exporter, must expand its shares of the

market for premium-grade grain because it is losing out to Vietnam in a
Southeast Asian price war for lower-quality white rice, a senior
official said.

Thailand aimed to produce an extra 160,000 tons of premium-grade white
rice in the current 2010-11 crop, expanding planted area by around
64,000 hectares, said Prasert Gosalvitra, director-general of the rice
department in the Agriculture Ministry.

"The 160,000 tons is a conservative figure as we will not only increase
plantations but also increase our yield as well," Mr. Prasert told
Reuters on Monday.

Thailand currently produces around seven million tons of premium
fragrant rice out of total annual production of 30 million-32 million
tons. Premium-grade fragrant rice was quoted at $900 per ton this week.

Simple white rice grades were quoted at around $435-$465 per ton,
traders said. That is down by about a quarter this year and well under
half the record high of $1,080 per ton set in April 2008.

Thailand's fragrant rice is popular, but output is limited as it can be
grown only once a year.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) implemented
a free trade deal on rice this year.

This has cut import tariffs on rice to zero, and Vietnam has seized the
opportunity to export more grain to member countries due to its
competitive prices.

The Philippines, the world's biggest rice importer, has been a big
customer. It has ordered a record 2.45 million tons of rice for this
year, of which more then 90% will come from Vietnam.

Vietnamese 5% broken grade white rice was at $360 per ton this week,
well below the same grade of Thai rice at $435 per ton, exporters said.
"We can't compete with Vietnam on white rice any more. We need to go
upmarket, where I think we can do well as Vietnam can't produce
premium-grade rice," said Chookiat Ophaswongse of the Thai Rice
Exporters Association.

India to ease rice export ban

India is planning to bring some changes in the rice export ban as the overflowing warehouses with the staple food grains compels the country to ship premium non basmati rice. The government of India is expected to allow the private parties to export around 150000 metric tons of non basmati premium rice to the Middle East, said a Food Ministry official. The state godowns are filled with buffer stock food grains and no place for the accommodation of newly harvested grains. India, the world's second-largest rice producer after China, banned rice exports in 2007 to increase local supplies and curb prices. Federal warehouses currently have 26.2 million tons of rice stocks, nearly triple the requirement. The variety that the government is expected to allow for export by private parties is Red Matta, which is grown in the Southern State of Kerala. The demand for Red Matta is seen higher from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar due to Keralites, who settled in there, the official added. Exports of common rice varieties from India may further depress international rice prices that hit a 14-month low of $11.51 per hundredweight in the second week of May on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Sri Lanka to increase rice fields

Sri Lanka is likely to have a surplus of rice as paddy fields neglected owing to war in the north and east return to full production, government and private sector officials said. Eastern province governor Mohan Wijewickrema said previously neglected paddy fields in the region, which has about a quarter of the island's paddy land, are now under cultivation. About 83,000 acres of land in the east, abandoned for 20 years or more because of the ethnic war, is now back in production, while many irrigation tanks have been repaired. Free seeds had been given to farmers along with other support to displaced farmers to prepare land, Wijewickrema said. Paddy lands in the north are also being cultivated following the end of the ethnic conflict last May, which has resulted in an economic revival in the north-east region as well as the rest of the country. "With the expected production in the north I'm sure we can have a surplus," Wijewickrema said. Wijewickrema was speaking at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to announce the launch of an agricultural trade exhibition, 'Ag-Biz East', aimed at linking the region's farmer with business. The July 16-17 event to be held in the eastern port town of Trincomalee is organized by the National Agribusiness Council and the United States Agency for International Development with provincial government support. Unless there is a shift in food consumption patterns, ways to manage the excess production would have to be found, Wijewickrema said. "Our agricultural strategy in the long-run will be shifting from subsistence agriculture to commercially-oriented agriculture," he said. "High-value crops must replace traditionally low-value crops. It may be necessary to diversify rice cultivation within the national policy." Anura Ekanayake, chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said the end of the war offers opportunities to exploit the north-east region's resources with modern technology. "There has been a sharp increase in agricultural production, not only rice but also vegetables and other crops," he said. "So much so, concern has been expressed that we might face a glut, not perhaps this year, but most certainly the next year."

Uruguay’s rice harvest reached 1.15 million tons; good prospects for next crop

Uruguay’s 2010 harvest of clean, dry rice reached 1.15 million tons with an average yield per hectare of 7.094 kilos. Total area planted was 161.900 hectares according to Uruguay’s Ministry of Agriculture Statistics Office. Crop and yields are below those of the last four years which averaged 8.000 kilos per hectare. Late and abundant rainfall last November delayed 18% of the area to be planted until December which caused problems during seeding time, says the report based on a poll taken between April 20 and 30. An estimated 94.000 hectares (almost 58% of the rice area) won’t be planted for the next crop because of crop rotation. The land will be left for pasture to feed livestock. Regarding next year’s harvest all farmers interviewed said they would repeat rice although a few had yet to decide what area. However assuming similar planting intentions to this year the total area for the 2010/2011 crop could reach 198.000 hectares, the largest in the last twelve years (1998/1999). This has been boosted by a more regular rainfall than when the previous poll in April 2009.

In Vietnam rice threatened by sea water

In some places seawater has entered 50-70 km into the mainland. About 40 percent of rice growing areas has been affected by saltwater while one third of the rural population in the delta don’t have sufficient freshwater for daily activities. Many canals have dried up in An Giang and Dong Thap provinces because of prolonged dry and hot season, forcing locals to use unsafe water from contaminated canals or stagnant pools. Ben Tre Province is affected the most by the phenomena. Saltwater encroachment there is more severe than that elsewhere in the region. At the same time, Bac Lieu Province suffers great damage from the shortage of seawater for shrimp production, causing heavy losses for local shrimp breeders. “We are trying to meet both the demand for freshwater of rice growers and the needs of seawater of shrimp breeders, but it is very hard for us to keep a harmony between the two demands at the same time,” said a local official. Saving rice production without damaging shrimp breeding is the challenge at hand for Bac Lieu authorities.

Vietnam offers second cheapest price for rice

Vietnam Food Association (VFA) on Thursday said Vietnam offers second cheapest prices in global rice market after Myanmar. In a statement issued here, VFA said the country now has advantages in developing and exporting white rice but it has not yet become a competitor against Thailand in field of fragrant rice export. Rice trade in the international market is increasing after Philippines announced its demand to import over two million tonnes of rice and Indonesia could cancel the plan of exporting two million tonnes of rice because of prolonged droughts. This is also the reason that's why brokers and intermediaries are offering Vietnam's rice at $320-350 per tonne of Vietnam processed 3 percent-broken rice. However analysts said Vietnam's rice export price has inched up recently. export surpassed $1 billion till the end of second week in May. In the first 14 days of May, the country has exported 304,994 tonnes of rice valued at $135.7 million, raising the accumulative rice export volume to 2.3 million tonnes worth $1.06 billion. In comparison to the same period of last year, the rice export volume was 300,000 tonnes lower; however, the export turnover was similar, proving that the rice export price this year stayed at higher level than that of last year. At present, the farmers in Mekong Delta provinces have finished harvesting their spring-summer crop. The rice price to produce 5 percent broken rice stayed at 5,500-5,600 dong per kilogramme and the 5 percent-broken rice finished products were offered at about 6,500-6,600 dong per kilogramme.

India to export rice to Bangladesh

India has again relaxed its ban on export of food grains to facilitate supply exclusively to Bangladesh. The Indian commerce ministry partially lifted the two-year-old prohibition on overseas shipment of rice to allow export of altogether 100,000 tonnes of the grain to Bangladesh. India's decision to allow rice export to Bangladesh came just a few days after New Delhi relaxed the ban on export of wheat to facilitate supply of 400,000 tonnes. India's foreign trade DG, R S Gujral, stated that three Indian Public Sector Undertakings – Minerals and Metal Trading Corporation Limited (MMTCL), State Trading Corporation Limited (STCL) and Project, Equipment and Commodity Limited (PECL) – would export 100,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice (parboiled) to Bangladesh. While STCL will export 50000 tonnes, the MMTCL and PECL will supply 25000 tonnes each. Gujral said that export would be undertaken directly and only by the designated Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). He also stated that (Bangladesh) would be advised to enter into contract only with the designated Indian PSUs "in terms of GATT provisions". The PSUs would buy rice from the market from all over India at a price as close to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as possible, so as not to disturb the existing price situation in the market. The MSP for the common grade paddy has been fixed at Indian Rs 10 per kg, and at Indian Rs 10.3 for the Grade A variety for (October-September) 2009-2010. India had banned basmati rice export in April 2008, but relaxed the prohibition on a few occasions earlier to facilitate supply to neighbouring countries and also to African countries. According to the latest data, India's rice procurement was estimated to be 27.66 million tonnes for 2009-10 marketing year, down by about 0.3 per cent over the previous year. The food corporation of India expects that government rice procurement would touch the 30 million tonne mark in 2009-10.

Pakistan rice exports to reach record level

Pakistan, the world’s fifth biggest rice exporter, may ship a record 4.1 million metric tonnes by the end of next month, as much as 37 percent more than last year, according to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan. “We have exported 3.5 million tonnes of rice and are hoping to export another 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes by the end of June,” Chairman Malik Jahangir told bloomberg.com in a telephonic interview from Lahore. The country will earn $2.25 billion from the exports compared with $2.02 billion in the 12 months to June 2009, Jahangir said. Pakistan is looking forward to increasing exports to help expand its economy. The increased shipments may exacerbate a drop in global prices and boost competition with Vietnam and Thailand - the world’s two biggest exporters. “Vietnam threw their non-basmati rice in the market, so we had to lower our prices as well,” said Rafique Sulaiman, vice chairman of the association. Rice futures declined 0.2 percent to $11.60 per 100 pounds on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, and are 22 percent lower over the past year. Thailand’s 100 percent grade B white rice, a benchmark for Asia, was last set at $481 a tonne on April 28 compared with $571 about a year ago. Pakistan set a target for rice output at 6.4 million tonnes this year, compared with 6.9 million tonnes last year, according to Federal Agriculture Minister Nazar Muhammed Gondal in October. The grain is Pakistan’s second biggest export after textiles.

Asia rice prices barely changed, but set to fall soon

Asian rice prices changed only slightly this week as fresh demand from the Middle East and the Philippines helped support Vietnamese prices, traders said. But rice prices in Thailand, the world’s biggest exporter of the grain, were unchanged and likely to fall over the next few weeks as traders braced for the government to release its stocks. In Vietnam, the second biggest rice exporter, prices edged up this week on loading demand for Iraq and the Philippines after a major harvest had ended, Vietnamese traders said. The Vietnamese 5 percent broken grade white rice rose to $360-$365 a ton, free on board basis, from $350-$365 in late April. The 25-percent broken rice also increased to $330 a ton from $325-$330 a ton. "The harvest has ended and farmers raise their paddy prices when they see ships are coming to load rice," another trader said. He did not give an exact shipment volume this week but said at least 50,000 tons were now being loaded at Saigon Port. At Saigon Port, Vietnam’s largest port, several ships were loading rice for Iraq and also to fill small orders from private companies in the Philippines. Manila has allowed private firms to import 200,000 tons of rice until mid-September. So far this year Vietnam has exported more than 2.2 million tons of rice, of which 72 percent has gone to Asian countries, followed by 14.6 percent to Africa and 9.6 percent to the Middle East, the Vietnam Food Association said. In Thailand rice prices were quoted mostly unchanged on the back of government intervention, which helped prop up prices. But prices lacked momentum on thin demand as cheaper prices lured most buyers to shift to purchases from Vietnam, exporters said. The price of benchmark 100 B grade Thai white rice was quoted unchanged at $465 per ton. "Prices are now supported by limited supply as most of the rice is bought and kept in the government stocks," a Thai exporter said. Thai rice prices were expected to fall over the next few weeks and were likely to drag down Asian rice prices in general on concerns over rising supply as rumours spread that the Thai government would release its rice stocks soon, traders said. "Buyers expected the Thai government to release stocks after they settle the chaos there, so prices may drop," one trader said, without giving any timeframe for the lower price. The Thai government has declared a week-long holiday this week as it tackles escalating anti-government protests in the capital, Bangkok that have killed 39 people and wounded more than 300. The cabinet agreed on Tuesday a framework to sell some of the 6 million tons of rice stocks on the market, urging the commerce minister to sell them at an "appropriate" time and in quantities of no more than 300,000 tons each. But it gave no further details on when the rice stocks should be sold.

India Govt permits export of one lakh tonnes of rice to Bangladesh

The government today permitted the export of one lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice to Bangladesh on diplomatic grounds, even though there has been a ban on shipments since 2008. The export will be undertaken by state-owned trading firms -- STC, MMTC and PEC-- who have been asked to source the grain from the open market at a rate close to the minimum support price (MSP). Although there has been a ban on the export of non-basmati rice since April 2008, the government had permitted rice to be shipped to neighbouring countries and the African continent on several occasions in the past. In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that the prohibition should not be applied in this particular case. "Export (of the non-basmati rice) will be undertaken directly, and only by the designated PSUs (STC, MMTC and PEC)," the DGFT said. "PSUs will buy rice from markets across the country...at a price as close to the MSP as possible, so as not to disturb the existing price situation in the market," it added. The MSP for the common grade of paddy has been fixed at Rs 1,000 per quintal, and at Rs 1,030 per quintal for the Grade A variety for marketing year (October-September) 2009-10. While STC would export 50,000 tonnes of rice, MMTC and PEC have been assigned 25,000 tonnes each. On May 17, rice procurement was estimated at 27.66 million tonnes for the 2009-10 marketing year, down by about 3 per cent over the previous year. FCI expects rice procurement by the government in marketing year 2009-10 to touch the 30 million-tonne mark. Last week, the government had permitted the export of four lakh tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh from the Central pool, at about Rs 15.43 a kg.

India Kharif season may see normal sowing in rice

The ensuing kharif season may see “normalcy” returning to rice in more ways than one. To start with, assuming a not-too-bad South-West monsoon, production could rebound to 80 million tonnes (mt) or more, from the sub-75 mt of kharif 2009. Last year's monsoon failure did not hit Punjab and Haryana: The near-universal irrigation cover with farmers, in conjunction with dry weather conditions (that helped minimise incidence of pests and diseases), actually led to higher output in the two States. On the other hand, the drought definitely impacted other major rice-growing areas, especially Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. One could expect all these States to report larger crop sizes this time round. AP, for one, is looking to produce 8.4 mt of rice this kharif, the same as it did in 2008. “Last year, our paddy area dropped from 28 lakh hectares (lh) to 20.63 lh. We hope to get back to 28 lh this time,” the State's Agriculture Minister, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, told Business Line. Inclusive of Rabi, the State is targeting a rice output of 14.3 mt for 2010-11, against the previous year's 10.65 mt. Global markets It is not only domestic production that might witness a restoration of normalcy; the same applies to global rice markets as well. Thai rice with 25 per cent broken content, is now quoting at $400 a tonne, having shed roughly $100 since the start of this calendar year and down from the average $600-plus levels of 2008. The same quality rice of Vietnamese and Pakistani origin is selling even lower at $325-330 a tonne. While the current world prices are still higher than their 2007 average of $290-300 a tonne, the bull run of the last couple of years - benchmark Thai rice almost scaled $900 a tonne in May 2008 - seems to have run its course. Rice output The US Department of Agriculture, in its latest May 12 outlook update, has projected global rice output for 2010-11 at an all-time-high of 459.74 mt. Global ending stocks for 2010-11, at 96.6 mt, and stocks-to-use ratio, at 21.3 per cent, are both slated to touch their highest since 2002-03. The agency has forecast record production this year for Thailand (20.60 mt), Vietnam (24.75 mt), Myanmar (11 mt), Indonesia (40 mt), Bangladesh (32.3 mt), Philippines (10.8 mt), Nigeria (3.6 mt), Iran (2.05 mt) and even the US (7.62 mt). Brazil (8.4 mt), China (137.5 mt) and Cambodia (4.95 mt), too, are poised to harvest bigger crops. The takeaway from all this is that the rice trade is re-entering a period of normalcy, if not glut. This is the case not only globally, but even in India, where publicly-held rice stocks are currently at their highest comparative levels, notwithstanding last year's production setback. Price spikes Farmers planting paddy this time are, therefore, unlikely to benefit from any price spikes (unless, of course, there is a repeat of last year's disastrous monsoon). Even a lifting of the ban on non-basmati exports may not help in the face of ample supplies from Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the US. Bulk of the crop – a third or more – would, then, end up in Government godowns.

Rice Losses in Philippines Bigger Than Estimated

Rice production in the Philippines may decline by a more-than-estimated 902,000 metric tons in the first nine months of the year, widening a production deficit in the world’s biggest importer. Output through September will drop 8.3 percent to 9.994 million tons, down from 10.896 million tons a year earlier, as dry weather caused by El Nino parched crops, the Department of Agriculture said today. That compares with the 800,000 tons in losses forecast by the government in a worst-case scenario in February. Higher losses will curb supply in the Philippines after sales from state stockpiles rose to a record 626,254 tons in the first four months of the year as politicians bought unsubsidized grain to distribute to voters during campaigning for the May 10 elections, according to National Food Authority data. Lower supply and a larger-than-expected decline in output may prompt the government to return to the global market to replenish stockpiles, potentially pushing prices higher. The state-owned National Food Authority and private importers bought a combined record 2.45 million tons of rice for this year’s supply, helping drive prices in Chicago to last year’s high of $16.27 per 100 pounds in December. The Philippines lost 1.38 million tons of its September-December rice harvest to storms. ‘Running Low’ National Food may return to the import market in September to buy between 150,000 tons to 200,000 tons to rebuild stockpiles after a firmer assessment of the September-December harvest has been made, Rakesh Singh, a rice trader at New Delhi- based Emmsons International Ltd., said by phone today. “If they feel they are running low on stocks, they may enter the market in small quantities,” Singh said. Rough rice for July delivery dropped 1.1 percent to $11.68 per 100 pounds in Chicago at 11:40 a.m. in Singapore. The most- active contract has slumped 22 percent this year. “The dry spell caused by El Nino pulled down the area harvested and yields in the major producing regions of Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen,” the government said in a statement today. The nation’s corn output will likely decline 17 percent to 4.642 million metric tons in the first nine months of the year, from 5.591 million tons a year earlier, the government said.

Philippines to stop Rice purchase for 2009-2010

The government may have completed rice imports for 2010 and its next purchases would likely be for 2011’s needs, given healthy stockpiles and a relatively moderate impact of dry weather on crops, a government official said on Monday. Manila, the world’s biggest rice buyer, has ordered a record 2.45 million tons of rice imports for this year. Shipments of 2.25 million tons are due to be completed by June and the remainder would be brought in by private firms up to Sept. 15. "NFA has no more plans to import for 2010," Rex Estoperez, spokesman for state grain agency National Food Authority (NFA), told Reuters. "We might import but that would already be in preparation for 2011. NFA has enough stocks in its warehouses," he said. Estoperez could not say when Manila would resume imports. The country normally begins buying rice in the final quarter of a year to meet the next year’s requirements.

Vietnam rice price weekly report

Rice price offers from exporters were fairly stable last week in the face of low export demand. Minor price reductions for 15 percent broken and 25 percent broken rice quotations were reported, because exporters wanted to attract buyers of specifically these kinds of rice. Paddy prices were unchanged last week. It is likely that paddy prices will rise slowly, since the Mekong River Delta rice harvest has ended.

Thailand weekly rice price report

Export prices continued to decline slightly by 1-2 percent due to quiet foreign demand. Foreign buyers buyers are waiting to see how the government’s proposed modifications of the direct purchase, which is waiting for Cabinet approval, will play out. The new modifications will provide millers with the necessary incentives to participate in the program by allowing them to swap lower quality second-crop rice with government’s high quality rice stocks at 1:1 ratio, as long as they buy current off-season crop 300 baht/ton of paddy above benchmark prices. Under this scheme, the farmers, in addition to receiving the extra 300 baht/ton for their paddy, will receive full compensation. The government expects that 300,000 tons will be exchanged under this program.

Early Monsoon to Aid India Rice Sowing

India’s monsoon, which accounts for four-fifths of the nation’s annual rains, reached the eastern coast three days early, boosting prospects for planting of rice, cotton and corn. Monsoon has set in over parts of south Bay of Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar islands and most parts of the Andaman Sea and condition are “favorable” for further advance over the next 48 hours, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement on its website. These areas usually receive rain about May 20, according to the bureau. India’s 235 million farmers, the world’s second-biggest producers of rice and wheat, rely on the rainy season to water their crops as about 60 percent of arable land isn’t irrigated. Winter-harvested crops, including rice, corn, lentils, cotton and soybeans, are planted after the monsoon begins. “There’s optimism that a normal monsoon will lead to a rebound in agricultural output, particularly rice,” Viresh Hiremath, head of research at Karvy Comtrade Ltd. said in a phone interview from Hyderabad today. “The key to a good harvest will be the distribution of rains over the season.” Global production of rough rice, the staple for half the world’s population, will rise to a record 710 million metric tons in the 2010 calendar year, as harvests in India and the rest of Asia recover from drought, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on May 10. Still, India’s rice production may fall 10 percent for the current year to 89.3 million tons in 2009-2010 from 99.2 million tons a year earlier after the weakest monsoon in more than three decades reduced rice yields, according to the farm ministry. “El Nino is on the decline and that’s spreading optimism rains this year will be normal and certainly better than last year,” Karvy’s Hiremath said. Rains this year may be 98 percent of the 50-year average, the India Meteorological Department said on April 23. Showers may reach southern Kerala coast on May 30, the weather bureau said on May 14. The bureau, which failed to predict last year’s drought, considers rainfall to be normal if it is between 96 and 104 percent of the long-term average. Rainfall may increase over south India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and northeastern states from May 21, the weather bureau said.

India Rice output estimated at 99 mt

Ahead of the planting of kharif rice crop from next month, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pegged India’s rice output up by 13 per cent at 99 million tonnes in 2010-11, on higher prices and a normal monsoon. Last year, the country’s rice production had slumped to a five-year-low, at 87.5 million tonnes, because of a poor monsoon, it said in its latest report. About 85 per cent of the country’s total rice output is grown during the kharif season (between June and September), while the rest of the 15 per cent is cultivated during the rabi season (between November and February). “The major factors shaping the 2010-11 crop outlook are both market and weather-related. Rice production is projected to increase to 99 million tonnes (milled), up 13 per cent from 2009-10,” the USDA said. The official forecast of a normal monsoon, which was announced recently, and the higher minimum support price (MSP) for rice are expected to boost farmers’ planting intentions in the upcoming kharif season. Farmers expect procurement prices (MSP) to either improve or remain firm in 2010-11, it noted. Last year, the government increased the minimum support price (MSP) of rice to Rs 1,000 a quintal for the common variety, and Rs 1,030 a quintal for the Grade A variety. The USDA further said, “If the current weather forecast holds, it will be in contrast to last year’s unfavourable monsoon season.” While the monsoon is critical for the rain-dependent kharif crop, it also plays an important role in replenishing irrigation reservoirs vital for rabi (winter) crop irrigation. The area under cultivation is expected to increase by 10 per cent to 45 million hectares from last year, while yields are expected to rise by 3 per cent to 3.3 tonnes a hectare. Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh produce the most rice during the kharif season.