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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines

Ghana: We Have Not Evaded Taxes - Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire Rice Importers Cry Out Alcala glad David Tan has surfaced to answer rice smuggling raps Rice County Historical Society offers family research workshop "Rice millers forced to lift paddy" Food science research centre to open No quality check on paddy Alleged rice smuggler David Tan freed lawyer Rice sale to China delayed by legal limbo over 'caretaker' powers COLUMN-Rubber and rice price declines add to Yingluck's woes: Clyde Russell OA to demand price cuts for downgraded packaged rice C. Luzon flooded with Vietnam rice ACC to conclude probe on rice pledging corruption case on Jan 16 Finance Minister to testify in EC hearing on loan for rice subsidy program Foodgrains production may fall short of target 2015 Rice Importation Ban: Disregard US Report, FG Urged Tanzania: Rice Prices to Remain Stable
News Detail
Ghana: We Have Not Evaded Taxes - Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire Rice Importers Cry Out
14 JANUARY 2014EMBERS OF the Ghana-Cote D'Ivoire Rice Importers and Sellers have denied the assertions by Finatrade, a rice importing firm in Ghana, that they do not pay taxes and duties to the government.The Director in charge of Corporate Affairs of Finatrade, Mr. John Awuni, was reported on TV3 News on January 6, this year, as having said that members of the Ghana-Cote D'Ivoire Rice Importers have been evading taxes and duties, leading to the government losing over $40million dollars annually. Mr. Awuni's assertion was in response to recent policy by the government, banning the importation of rice into Ghana by land and limiting it through only the Kotoka International Airport and the nation's two harbours.But members of the association have vehemently denied the allegations by Mr. Awuni, describing it as an attempt to put the association in a bad light and to perpetuate their monopolistic agenda.A spokesperson for the
association, Yaw Korang, told a press conference in Kumasi that it is never true that they have not beenpaying taxes and duties when they import their products, stressing that members of the association have over the years been honouring their tax obligations at the nation's borders and also in the course of their trading.According to him, the claims by Finatrade were clearly a calculated attempt to put the association in a bad light and to achieve their agenda of being the sole importers of rice products into the country. "We have never on any occasion evaded tax or import duties as being alleged by Finatrade; we have, as responsible Ghanaians, paid our dues even in extreme challenges to business," Yaw Korang noted.The association is, therefore, challenging Finatrade and other interested parties to provide evidence of their assertions that members of the Ghana-Cote D'Ivoire Rice Importers have been evading taxes and duties.According to the spokesperson, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS), have all the necessary documents covering their taxes and duties and challenged Finatrade to verify from the two institutions themselves.Yaw Korang has, therefore, called on the government to tread cautiously in the handling of the matter in order not to bring untold hardships on the average consumer of rice products in the country. According to him, since the enforcement of the ban, prices of rice products have skyrocketed between 20-25 percent on the market.He contended that the poor Ghanaian may not eventually be able to afford rice, which he noted, has now become the common staple food for many homes, if the ban is not lifted.He further observed that the policy only seek to promote businesses of foreign importers at the expense of Ghanaians.They, therefore, called on the general public to join the call in getting government to review the ban in order to protect small Ghanaian businesses and to protect the poor Ghanaian from the effects of unfair market practices.
Alcala glad David Tanhas surfaced to answer rice smuggling raps

By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:34 pm | Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
MANILA, PhilippinesAgriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala called it a blessing that the suspected rice smuggler known by the name of David Tan has finally surfaced. Its a blessing that what we have been saying all along about a David Tan controlling rice smuggling in the country is true, said Alcala.Rosendo So, president of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) and Abono party-list founder, said: We look forward to seeing Davidson David Tan Bangayan next week, January 22. The Senate has invited David Tan through the DOJ (Department of Justice ), said So.Rice traders, cooperatives and rice millers know him, he is the one selling smuggled rice. Lets just wait when they face him in the hearing, said So. While Bangayan profusely denied being enmeshed in rice smuggling when he appeared at the National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, both Alcala and So noted that Tans lawyer, Benito Salazar, was the same counsel of two rice importers Starcraft International Trading Corp. and Silent Royalty Marketingthat have sued the
Bureau of Customs (BOC) for putting on hold the release of P21 million worth of rice shipments at the Davao port for lack of an import permit.He (Bangayan) was accompanied by his lawyer Benito Salazar. He is probably the same Benito Salazar representing Starcraft and Silent Royalty, said So. In a phone interview, Alcala said that Salazar has been doing the media rounds to villify the Department of Agrciulture and National Food Authority and force it to liberalize the importation of rice.Alcala said: He (Salazar) is the same lawyer who is running after us (the DA and NFA) because we stopped his clients rice imports.Salazar earlier argued that his clients would willingly pay the 50 percent duty on its rice imports but that the World Trade Organization (WTO), which governed global trading rules between nations including the Philippines, has already lifted quantitative restrictions on imports.But Alcala stressed that he was just upholding the rule of law as the 18-year-old Agriculture Tarrification Act or Republic Act 1878, which imposed import restrictions on farm products, has not yet been voided by Congress. For as long as RA 1878 is in effect, Salazars clients have to obtain permits from the NFA before shipping rice into the country o r else these shipments would be considered as smuggled and seized upon arrival, according to Alcala.They have to respect the law. These import restrictions are meant to protect our farmers. Are we for our farmers or foreign farmers? We have to protect our rice farmers because it is our goal to have self-sufficiency in the most consumed staple of Filipinos, said Alcala.
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Rice County Historical Society offers family research workshop

Posted: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 10:52 am | Updated: 12:32 am, Wed Jan 15, 2014. Rice County Historical Society invites anyone interested in researching family history to a special workshop at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Rice County Historical Society, 1814 N.W. Second Ave., Faribault.Susan Garwood will lead the session. She will introduce beginner researchers to online tools that could offer interesting details about family history.This is an in-depth workshop to teach basics of genealogical research and online resources. Computer and genealogy novices are welcome. Participants can garner tips on organizing genealogy and how to begin researching. Local experts will teach how to navigate the Dalby Database, Family Search, the Mormon genealogical research site, the Minnesota Historical Society website and Rice County Historical Society Research Center and archives.The fee is $20 for non-members and $15 for members. The fee includes 20 free copies, all handouts, Internet access and access to research files and archives. Seating is limited and participants are encouraged to bring laptops. Those who do not bring a computer may use one of RCHSs three computer stations.Reservations are required. For reservations or questions, contact the Rice County Historical Society at 507-332-2121.
"Rice millers forced to lift paddy"
Press Trust of India | Koraput (Odisha) January 14, 2014 Last Updated at 12:00 IST The rice millers' association in Koraput district of Odisha has alleged that it is being forced by officials to lift paddy under custom milling without quality analysis at procurement centres in ongoing kharif marketing season (KMS). The association feared it may not be able to provide quality rice to the government after custom milling as it is forced to accept non-fair average quality (non-FAQ) paddy. "The government has set guidelines to procure FAQ paddy, but quality check is not done at mandis. When we are being forced by officials to accept non-FAQ paddy then how can we deliver FAQ rice and targeted quantity fixed by the government," questioned president of the association Purna Chandra Patnaik. According to the association, officials forced it to accept non-FAQ paddy, citing that refusal to procure inferior quality paddy may lead to law and order situation at mandis. In this regard, the association has submitted a memorandum to commissioner-cum-secretary, food supplies and consumer welfare department, and a copy to the district administration, demanding examination of quality of paddy procured and stocked at various mills. "We urged the state government to send a team of experts to check quality of paddy, which we have received from procurement agencies. Though over 12 lakh quintal of paddy have been procured in the district during the KMS not a single bag of non-FAQ paddy has been found as quality check is not being done," said secretary of the association Gopal Panda. Admitting that quality check of paddy is not being done at mandis due to lack of adequate infrastructure, a senior official of the civil supplies department said it's the duty of regulated market committee (RMC) to analyse the quality of paddy at mandis. Secretary, RMC (Jeypore), U C Samantaray said, "It's not possible to check the quality of entire procured paddy at mandis. Random checking of paddy bags is being done to analyse quality." However, he maintained silence when asked as how many quintals of non-FAQ paddy have been identified during the KMS.Till Monday, the administration had given a total of 12,50,000 quintal of paddy to millers under custom milling, official sources said.
Food science research centre to open

A new centre for food science research is to be established at Charles Sturt University (CSU), after the university secured $2.15 million in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).The ARC Training Centre for Functional Grains, funded through the Industrial Transformation Training Centres program, will be a research hub for grain scientists from CSU, NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) andCSIRO. It will focus on three commodities: rice, pulses and canola.The Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation a collaborative research alliance between CSU and NSW DPI - will also be involved with the centre.Other partners include GrainGrowers, MSM Milling, Flavour Makers, Teys Australia, Woods Grains, Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC), Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Rural Industry Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).We want to improve the profitability of the Australian grains industry and transform the sector into a high-value export industry, said Centre Director and CSU Associate Professor in Food Science Chris Blanchard.Rice, pulses and canola account for $2.5 billion of earnings when sold as commodities, with even greater economic potential for the Australian economy through value adding.The centre has identified several aims:

Identifying the preferences of Australian and international grain customers Improving grain storage; developing new grain-based products with enhanced sensory and health attributes Training the next generation of food science researchers
We want to transform the three commodities by examining the functionality of food, particularly the growing demand for healthy food or food with novel applications, Associate Professor Blanchard said.What is called the functional food market was worth US$25 billion globally in 2011, yet Australia had only a 1.6% share.Associate Professor Blanchard and his team have been commended for securing the competitive ARC funding.The ARC received 13 proposals for 2014 under the Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme, with only seven of those successful, said CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann. Charles Sturt University s position in the food bowl of Australia offers natural linkages between researchers and food processors of these major commodities.
No quality check on paddy

Satyanarayan Pattnaik, TNN Jan 14, 2014, 04.01AM IST Tags:non-fair average quality (non-FAQ)|Koraput district rice millers' association|kharif marketing season (KMS) KORAPUT: The Koraput district rice millers' association has alleged that it is being forced by officials to lift paddy under custom milling without quality analysis at mandis (procurement centres) in ongoing kharif marketing season (KMS).The association feared it may not able to provide quality rice to the government after custommilling as it is forced to accept non-fair average quality (non-FAQ) paddy."The government has set guidelines to procure FAQ paddy, but quality check is not done at mandis. When we are being forced by officials to accept non-FAQ paddy then how can we deliver FAQ rice and targeted quantity
fixed by the government," questioned president of the association Purna Chandra Patnaik.According to the association, officials forced it to accept non-FAQ paddy, citing that refusal to procure inferior quality paddy may lead to law and order situation at mandis.
In this regard, the association has submitted a memorandum to commissioner-cum-secretary,food supplies and consumer welfare department, and a copy to the district administration, demanding examination of quality of paddy procured and stocked at various mills."We urged the state government to send a team of experts to check quality of paddy, which we have received from procurement agencies. Though over 12 lakh quintal of paddy have been procured in the district during the KMS but not a single bag of nonFAQ paddy has been found as quality check is not being done," said secretary of the association Gopal Panda.Admitting that quality check of paddy is not being done at mandis due to lack of adequate infrastructure, a senior official of the civil supplies department said it's the duty of regulated market committee (RMC) to analyze the quality of paddy at mandis.Secretary, RMC (Jeypore), U C Samantaray said, "It's not possible to check the quality of entire procured paddy at mandis. Random checking of paddy bags is being done to analyze quality."However, the official maintained silence when asked as how many quintals of non-FAQ paddy have been identified during the KMS.Till Monday, the administration had given a total of 12,50,000 quintal of paddy to millers under custom milling, official sources said.
Alleged rice smuggler David Tan freed lawyer

By MARK MERUEAS,GMA NewsJanuary 14, 2014 4:37pm NBI detains alleged rice smuggler 'David Tan'. Businessman Davidson Bangayan, believed to be the David Tan being linked to rice smuggling, turned himself in to Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Tuesday, January 14, to deny involvement in rice smuggling activities. He was later arrested by the NBI for violation of RA 7832 or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage. Danny Pata After being held for several hours, suspectedbig-time rice smuggler Davidson Bangayan was released Tuesday afternoon after he was able to clear his name.Bangayan's lawyer, Benito Salazar, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) released his client after he presented his driver's license and birth certificate showing he is not David Tan, the man being linked to rice smuggling activities. We were able to prove that my client is not David Tan. That is why
we went to Justice Secretary [Leila] de Lima and the NBI, precisely to clear my client's name, Salazar told GMA News Online. Bangayan appeared before Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier in the day to clear his name, after he saw his photo in the news in which he was being identified as David Tan. He saw his photo daw on TV last night so sabi niya hindi daw siya si David Tan. Siya daw siDavidson Bangayan but he does not use the name David Tan so hes denying that hes engaged in rice smuggling, De Lima told reporters.De Lima said Bangayan claimed he is engaged in the sale of scrap metal and fertilizer, but admitted that he also has a small rice business.De Lima said the NBI, which is investigating rice smuggling incidents, had earlier submitted to her a photograph of Bangayan and an initial report saying Bangayan and David Tan were one and the same person. She said Bangayan was eventually arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 126.The case, filed against a certain Rose Tan, and David Tan, among others, accused them of violating Republic Act 7832 or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.Salazar confirmed that the name indicated in the arrest warrant and in the RTC case was David Tan and not Davidson Bangayan.Salazar said his client has no plans of filing any charges against the NBI in relation to the apparent confusion in the identity of the wanted rice smuggler. KBK, GMA News Rice sale to China delayed by legal limbo over 'caretaker' powers
Rice sale to China delayed by legal limbo over 'caretaker' powers

Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation January 15, 2014 1:00 am THE CARETAKER government is likely to face a new threat of more protests by farmers, who have suffered from the delay of payments for their pledged rice.The sale of 1 million tonnes of rice to China has been delayed while a Bt130-billion loan waits for the green light from the Election Commission (EC).Some 100 farmers from Phichit gathered on Monday to block the inbound lanes of Route 11 from Wang Thong, Phitsanulok, to Tak Pha, Lamphun, threatening to escalate the protest to oust the government if their claims are not settled by today.Farmers from Ratchaburi, Nakhon Ratchasima and Khon Kaen also asked the government again for their payment for pledged rice, giving Wednesday as the deadline. They also threatened to block roads. The Commerce Ministry has delayed its plan to sell 1 million tonnes of rice to China. It is afraid of breaching the laws limiting the functions of a caretaker government after receiving vague guidance from the Election Commission.The ministry late last year asked for permission from the EC to sell rice, and the EC appeared to
give it the nod in a written response last week. However, Commerce Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan said yesterday that the reply did not specify the prices and periods of shipment. The ministry needs to clarify these points before it can finalise the deal with China.
The deal agreed by the Foreign Trade Department was to ship a total of 1 million tonnes to China over the course of this year. But in its reply to the ministry, the EC said it should not make long-term commitments that would affect the incoming government.Legal experts are studying the powers of a caretaker government to try to sort out whether the ministry can legally sign a rice contract for a period that would still be in effect when the new government is established.Wichian Phuanglamchiak, president of the Thai Agriculturists Association, said many farmers had been suffering from non-payment by the government for months."Farmers are desperately hoping that the government can pay the pledged cost to them soon, as they have many liabilities piling up such as the cost of harvesting their rice, driving their trucks and feeding their families," he said. Niwatthumrong said: "If the |China rice sale is postponed, the new government would be expected to |sign on to it in the near future."Thought farmers participating in the pledging programme have been complaining about late payments, the minister said postponing the China deal should not affect the government's ability to pay up. The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives should be able to get all payments up to date by the end of this month, he said.Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said he was waiting for |an appointment with the EC to explain the need to borrow Bt130 billion to pay for the 2013-14 harvest season."The loan is not an obligation |for the next government as the Cabinet in the third quarter of last year assigned the ministry to secure it," he said.Expenses might be lower than |the budget of Bt130 billion, depending on the proceeds from selling rice |from the state's stockpiles. As a |source of money, the financial market now has high liquidity. The government could tap BAAC's liquidity by offering it high rates of return, Kittiratt said. A report showed the government had already spent Bt701.8 billion for 50 million tonnes of pledged rice since 2010. The Commerce Ministry was able to sell rice worth Bt180 billion, but the government needs more to pay the pledging costs.The ministry also reported that about 10 million tonnes of rice were |now in government storage. Also, 5 |million tonnes have shipment contracts, while 10 million tonnes of paddy rice have entered the government's granaries under the current pledging round (2013-14).
COLUMN-Rubber and rice price declines add to Yingluck's woes: Clyde Russell
Mon Jan 13, 2014 11:59pm EST
Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.-By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 14 (Reuters) - If embattled Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra didn't already have enough to deal with as protesters try to force her from office, she could worry about the outlook for rubber and rice.These two commodities form the backbone of Thailand's agriculture, and their fortunes are crucially linked to Yingluck's given her reliance on support from the rural poor.Rice prices have been steadily declining for the past two years, and Yingluck can shoulder some of the blame as it's her government's intervention scheme that has created a massive overhang of global supplies of the grain. On rubber, she may also bear responsibility for falling prices, given that her temporary removal of an export tax in September boosted shipments from the world's top exporter.Problem is that the tax relief ended last month and rubber stocks in top buyer China are now the highest in almost a decade.Chinese buyers took advantage of the temporary tax relief to buy up cargoes, with imports reaching a record 350,000 tonnes in December, a jump of 67 percent year-on-year.The country breakdown of imports isn't yet available, but it's a fair bet the bulk of the increase came from Thailand, given the 38 percent jump in November.China's rubber imports were 2.47 million tonnes in 2013, a gain of 13.5 percent from the year earlier. In the 11 months to November, Thailand's increased its share of Chinese imports by 14.7 percent, supplying just over half of total volumes.The surge in imports has resulted in rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange gaining 8 percent to 190,158 tonnes last week - their highest since 2004. SNRTOTAL-DW.Total inventories in China could be nearly half a million tonnes including stocks in bonded warehouses in the port of Qingdao, well above monthly consumption of around 340,000 tonnes.While lower prices and strong auto sector growth are likely to encourage continued imports, it's likely the pace of growth will ease sharply from that of the last quarter of 2013.Benchmark Tokyo rubber futures for June delivery fell more than 3 percent to a five-month low of 246.4 yen ($2.38) per kilogram in early trade on Jan. 14.Prices have declined about 26 percent from the 2013 closing high of 334 yen per kilogram, reached in early February. Crude rubber inventories at Japanese ports are also at elevated levels, gaining 5 percent to 12,560 tonnes in the 11 days to Dec. 31, a 6-1/2-month high.With major buyers China and Japan enjoying comfortable inventories it would appear that the only way to keep their buying interest alive will be through lower prices.This will likely anger Thai rubber farmers, presenting a further headache to Yingluck, who is already facing mounting protests from rice farmers over late payments from her flagship subsidy scheme. RICE CASH CRUNCH The Thai government appears to be struggling to find cash to pay farmers delivering their crops under the rice mortgage scheme. The subsidy programme has resulted in a massive build-up of unsold stockpiles and seen
Thailand passed as the world's top exporter by bothIndia and Vietnam.Thai 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5P1 has spent most of the time since the July 2011 introduction of the subsidy scheme falling, declining from a peak of $620 a tonne in October of that year to $420 a tonne as of Jan. 10. Its traditional premium over Vietnamese rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 has evaporated and the rival grade was briefly more expensive than Thai supplies in November and December last year.This underscores the failure, in financial terms, of the rice pledging scheme and is resulting in increasingly desperate measures by Yingluck's government.Thailand's state-backed farm bank is trying to sell a 20 billion baht ($607 million) bond to pay farmers, who receive about a 40 percent premium to the market price for their crop.However, the bank's prior offering of 75 billion baht in November only raised half the planned amount, and it's unlikely the new offering will succeed unless generous terms are offered. Farmers, many of whom haven't received any cash for the main rice harvest in October, are threatening to join the anti-government protests, which are currently supported mainly by urban and middle-class residents, who generally back the opposition Democrat Party.Yingluck appears to be hunkering down and hoping to ride out the protests until a Feb. 2 general election that is likely to renew her electoral mandate.With the main opposition boycotting the poll, it's unlikely the vote will solve the problems or reconcile the interests of the rural poor and urban residents.However, if rice and rubber prices continue to trend lower, then Yingluck's rural support base may erode, and this could be a more serious threat than the protesters currently blockading government offices in the capital Bangkok. (Editing by Michael Urquhart)
OA to demand price cuts for downgraded packaged rice

By Joy Lee, The China Post January 15, 2014, 12:05 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Bao-ji () yesterday said that all food sellers have to decrease the price of packaged rice that is downgraded so consumers will not be deceived.According to the COA, the officials started to enforce inspections on mislabeled packaged rice after many brand name food sellers were discovered to have intentionally mislabeled low-cost rice as more expensive local rice last year.However, the COA said, instead of improving the quality of rice products, many food sellers chose to change the names of those products or downgrade them on the label without decreasing their prices. The COA said that food sellers who made changes on labels in order to avoid having their food dealer certificates revoked were effectively lying to customers.Chen said that the COA cannot fine those food sellers since what they did was not against the regulations, but customers can choose not to purchase those products.Director Li Tsang-lang () of the Agriculture and Food Agency (,AFA) under the COA
also said that the Food Administration Act can only govern the labels and quality of rice and food products.However, consumers can boycott packaged rice with unreasonable prices, said Lee.According to the COA, some food sellers even used markers to change the labels of rice packages.The COA demanded that all food sellers take downgraded packaged rice off the shelves in order to properly change their labels. Rice in Bulk Is the Main Issue: Food Seller A food seller yesterday pointed out that the government should pay more attention to rice that is sold in bulk in order to ensure their quality.Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) deputy chief Chen Chien-bin ( ) yesterday said that all the rice sold in bulk should have labels marking their names and origins, and officials will also enforce inspections on those rice packages sold in bulk.Chen also said that the agency will randomly choose 80 to 90 packages of rice for monthly inspection starting this year. However, a food seller said that rice that is sold in bulk should be the main target for inspections since most of those products are not well labeled and customers cannot tell the quality of those rice products.Another food seller said that prices for rice are strictly controlled by the government, so rice sellers cannot increase prices freely based on the consumer price index. Therefore, only some food sellers will intentionally mislabel rice products in order to receive higher profits.
C. Luzon flooded with Vietnam rice

500,000 bags arrive in Subic amid calls for probe of 3 top smugglers Philippine Daily Inquirer
8:06 pm | Tuesday, January 14th, 2014
CABANATUAN CITY At least 500,000 bags of rice imported by the government from Vietnam meant for Central Luzon have arrived at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales amid allegations that the importation is tainted with irregularities including the involvement of three alleged smugglers.In a statement, Amadeo de Guzman, National Food Authority (NFA) director in Central Luzon, said the rice shipment that was now in Subic was part of the 500,000 metric tons of rice that the government is importing from Vietnam as buffer stock.But in a separate statement, activist lawyer Argee Guevarra said the government importation should be investigated for irregularities amid what he said was the involvement of three top smugglers. According to De Guzman, an additional 25,000 bags of Vietnam rice would arrive in Subic later this month for Central Luzon together with 200,000 bags meant for Cagayan Valley.With this imported rice, a sufficient supply of this staple food is already assured for the region this year, De Guzman said. 3 smugglers
In his statement, Guevarra said the Bureau of Customs should run after three personalities who were known to be working with the NFA to bring in imported rice that was overpriced.One of the smuggling operators is based in Cebu and is known only as David Lim. Another is operating from Binondo and is known only as Jojo Soliman and another is a woman who is known among agriculture officials as the Janet Lim-Napoles of the agriculture department.Smugglers will always be present. What makes this worse is that they do it in collusion with the NFA and agriculture officials because it is the government that is doing the importation, Guevarra said. These corrupt officials sell importation permits to allow smuggled rice to enter the country, he added.According to the NFAs De Guzman, the Vietnam rice is meant to augment the current rice stocks which were badly affected due to the successive calamities that hit the country in 2013.It will augment the NFAs food security buffer which was depleted due to the abnormally huge requirement for Central Luzon, De Guzman said. Rice producer Central Luzon is a premier rice-producing region, which produces enough rice to earn a rice sufficiency level of 138 percent. Its rice harvests represent 18 percent of the Philippines total rice production. Nueva Ecija is the countrys top rice-producing province, with a yearly average yield of 1.13 million MT.Tarlac, another rice producer in Central Luzon, has a yearly average yield of 470,000 MT.Guevarra said rice cartels were now relying on import permits from NFA and the government importation scheme had given them a window of opportunity to continue smuggling rice into the country.He said the new leadership at the customs bureau should review the legal framework that allowed public sector monopoly of rice importation. Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon, with reports by Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Delfin Mallari, Inquirer Southern Luzon
ACC to conclude probe on rice pledging corruption case on Jan 16

Date : 14 2557
BANGKOK, 14 January 2014 (NNT) The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is set to make a decision this January 16 whether charges will be lodged against individuals alleged to have committed fraud in the rice pledging scheme. NACC Spokesman Vicha Mahakhun, in his capacity as head of the subcommittee P investigating the governments rice pledging program, made known that the panel would complete the probe on I Thursday and would hold a press conference to announce the verdict as to who would be charged for fraud. He said, thus far, much information had been obtained from the questioning of the complainants witnesses. C
T U Previously, the fraud allegations were submitted to the NACC by former Democrat MP Warong Dejkijwikrom. R
Among E
the alleged were former Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, the entire cabinet, commerce ministry officials and private entrepreneurs involved. Asked which of the alleged were most likely to be in trouble, Mr Vicha disclosed there were 3-4 of them, including Mr Boonsong and former Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade Manas Soiploy.

Finance Minister to testify in EC hearing on loan for rice subsidy program

Published on January 14, 2014 by TFP No Comments
BANGKOK, 14 January 2014 Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong will meet with the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday in a hearing to clarify guidelines for the borrowing 130 billion to finance the 2013/2014 rice support program of the government.Mr Kittiratt on Tuesday confirmed the borrowing of 130 billion baht conformed to a Cabinet resolution and it would not create new debt for the country. The loan would neither affect the government s fiscal discipline, he said.As for payments for farmers in the rice subsidy scheme, the minister said the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives were continuously paying them.
(NNT: Suwit Rattiwan)
Foodgrains production may fall short of target

B. CHANDRASHEKHAR
TOPICS India,Andhra Pradesh,economy, business and finance,agriculture
Production is likely to be 207.29-lakh tonnes against the target of 224.96-lakh tonnes Foodgrains production in the State is likely to fall short of the target by about 18-lakh tonnes in 2013-14. The shortfall is being attributed to damage of standing crops due to cyclones in the coastal districts and because of excessive rains in other areas.The shortfall is mainly contributed by drop in the production of paddy (rice) by 10.5-lakh tonnes and that of pulses by 5.02-lakh tonnes.The production of cotton cultivated in over 24lakh hectares, a record, oilseeds and sugarcane have also been estimated to be much below the targets set by the State Government.According to Director of Economics and Statistics D. Dakshinamurthy, foodgrains production is likely to be 207.29-lakh tonnes against the target of 224.96-lakh tonnes, an 8 per cent dip in the expected output. Similarly, the production of pulses has been put below expectation at 12.74-lakh tonnes against 17.76-lakh tonnes. The production of foodgrains has suffered due to low productivity (yield) caused by unfavourable weather conditions during the crucial stages of crops, though the extent of crops cultivation has matched or exceeded the targets fixed by the government. Paddy has been cultivated in 43.95-lakh hectares against the target of 44lakh hectares but the yield is 3,115-kg per hectare against expectation of 3,350-kg.
However, cultivation of pulses has fallen short of target by over 5-lakh hectares as the sowings were badly hit badly with untimely and excessive rains. As a result, they were sown only in 16.42-lakh hectares against the target of 21.85-lakh hectares.Excessive rains have also dashed the hopes of cotton farmers who were expecting bumper production this year. Against the estimated 78-lakh bales production, only 52.35-lakh bales production is being expected now.In contrast, cultivation of oilseed suffered badly due to scanty rainfall in Anantapur district where groundnut is the major crop. Groundnut covers about 80 per cent of oilseed cultivation in the State. Against the target of 23.86-lakh hectares, oilseed were sown in 19.49-lakh hectares. Production has been affected in greater proportion due to low yields. Keywords: Foodgrain production, foodgrain shortage, paddy production, coastal Andhra districts
2015 Rice Importation Ban: Disregard US Report, FG Urged

14 Jan 2014
By Crusoe Osagie Stakeholders in the agricultural sector have urged Nigerians and the Federal Government to disregard comments from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggesting that Nigeria will not attain self-sufficiency in rice by 2015.Describing the declaration as selfish, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Ken Ukaoha, called on the federal government to move on with its scheme targeted at redeeming the nation from dependence on imported rice to feed Nigerians.Nigeria currently spends about a billion Naira daily importing rice, a development, which the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says is helping to put farmers to work in countries like the united states,India and Thailand, while putting farmers out of work in Nigeria.According to the NANTS boss, all of the nation's efforts must be channelled towards achieving food security in the country because "a country that cannot depend on itself for the food with which its citizens are sustained is not truly an independent nation.
"He explained that it is not the first time to hear such sweeping statements from United States, pointing out that the same story had been told in the past concerning corn and wheat, simply because these commodities are export revenue earners for them. When a major importing nation is making good effort to disentangle itself from the import-dependence viscious cycle, there are bound to be resistance from exporting countries like the US.Also calling for the disregard of the USDA rice figures, Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr Dele Oye, urged the government to proceed in the pursuit of the 2015 deadline for the ban on rice importation, calling it an easy way out of the unecessarily high cost of feeding Nigerians. According to Oye, Nigeria has no business with food insecurity, due to the wide variety of food crops that grow well and produce bountilfuly in the country's agroecology."Why do people always associate our country's food security with rice? When did we begin to eat rice in this quantity? We are the highest producers of Yam and Cassava in the world. We produce maize, millet, guinea corn, plantain, coco yam, cowpea, soya beans, and various other staple food crops in abundance. So, from where did they get the information that if we do not have enough rice, then our people would starve? they cannot be father from the truth"The NACCIMA vice president explained that even if local production of rice fails to meet local consumption of the commodity in Nigeria by 2015, all that will happen is that people will switch from rice as their major source of carbourhydrate to other sources such as garri, yam, cocoa yam, plantain and millet among others. Statistics from the United States government obtained by THISDAY last week faulted the claim of the Federal Government that Nigeria will achieve self-sufficiency in rice production in the year 2015.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwumi Adesina had last year announced that going by the massive increase in rice production across the country occasioned by the implementation of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) of the federal government, indigenous rice producers will be able to produce all the rice needed in the country by 2015. This sets the stage for a ban on the importation of the commodity that year. But a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report yesterday stated that rice farmers and millers in Nigeria believe the decision to ban rice imports completely in 2015 could be counter-productive and requires a review to protect the interests of the local rice industry. According to the USDA, Nigerias rice imports in 2013-14 are estimated to reach around 3 million tonnes, up about 3.4 percent from about 2.9 million tonnes of rice imports in the 2012-13. This is mainly because the projected increase in rice production in 2013-14 falls short of consumption requirement.The USDA noted that
Nigerias rice production in 2013-14 is expected to reach around 2.7 million tonnes, up about 12.5 percent from previous year's production of about 2.4 million tonnes. However, rice consumption in Nigeria is projected to increase to around 6 million tonnes in 2013-14, up about 11 percent from around 5.4 million tonnes in the previous year.Responding to the USDA report, Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Olukayode Oyeleye, warned that whatever information comes from the United States with respect to rice must be taken with a pinch of salt, considering the fact that the US is one of the biggest exporters of rice to Nigeria and the policy banning rice importation by 2015 will therefore impact on them negatively."There is the likelihood of a political undertone to what is coming from the US in Nigeria's quest for self-sufficiency in rice production and consumption. It is the same thing we expect to happen with our policy that targets reduced wheat importation," Oyeleye said.
Tags: Business, Nigeria, Featured, RICE, Importation Ban
Tanzania: Rice Prices to Remain Stable

BY HENRY LYIMO, 14 JANUARY 2014
TRADERS say food prices, especially of rice are expected to fall further following bumper harvest in southern highland regions including Mbeya last year.Economists have predicted deeper drop of the country's inflation rate on the back of favourable prices of rice and other food crops. Rice is a staple food in many parts of the country, particularly coastal areas.The National Bureau of Statistics (TBS) said last week that annual headline inflation declined to 5.6 per cent in December, last year, from 6.2 per cent a month earlier due to slower rise in prices of commodities during the month.According to TBS, the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate decreased to 5.6 per cent in December. Overall, the trend indicates that the speed of price increase for goods and services decreased significantly in 2013, when compared with the speed of price increase in 2012, the statistics body said.The annual average headline inflation rates have decreased to 7.9 per cent in 2013 from 16.0 per cent in 2013.This trend is highly attributed to the decrease in prices for food items. 'Business Standard' survey showed rice price range of between 1,800/- and 1,100/- per kilogramme at major food markets in Mwananyamala, Sinza and Mwenge. For wholesale price at Buguruni and Tandale, it ranged from 1,500/- to 1,100/-. The highest price is for rice from Mbeya which is the most preferred and the lowest is for the one sourced from Ifakara in Morogoro Region.Rice traders told the 'Business Standard' that the prices have stabilised since early last year when they reached an all time high due to poor harvests in rice growing areas in 2011.They said they expected rice price will not rise as they were assured of its abundant supply, because large stocks of rice harvested in 2013 were still in godowns in Mbeya. They said the stocks of the food from last year's harvests would not be finished before the new harvest season begins next April and May.According to them, food stores and godowns in Mbeya were full of rice and traders were in a rush to clear the stock before the new season."Rice is plentiful.
People in Ifakara have not sold theirs and so is the case in Shinyanga. We are selling rice from Mbeya and it is still abundant," said Kassim Mohamed, a trader at Mwananyamala market.
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TOPICS India,Andhra Pradesh,economy, business and finance,agriculture

2015 Rice Importation Ban: Disregard US Report, FG Urged

Tanzania: Rice Prices to Remain Stable

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