8th december,2020 daily global regional local rice e newsletter

Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter
1 | w w w . r i c e p l u s s . c o m , w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o s g s p o t . c o m
December 08 ,2020 Vol 11 Issue 12
www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com
mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874

Editorial Board
Chief Editor
 Hamlik
Managing Editor
 Abdul Sattar Shah
 Rahmat Ullah
 Rozeen Shaukat
English Editor
 Maryam Editor
 Legal Advisor
 Advocate Zaheer Minhas
Editorial Associates
 Admiral (R) Hamid Khalid
 Javed Islam Agha
 Zahid Baig(Business Recorder)
 Dr.Akhtar Hussain
 Dr.Fayyaz Ahmad Siddiqui
 Dr.Abdul Rasheed (UAF)
 Islam Akhtar Khan
Editorial Advisory Board
 Dr.Malik Mohammad Hashim
Assistant Professor, Gomal
University DIK
 Dr.Hasina Gul
Assistant Director, Agriculture KPK
 Dr.Hidayat Ullah
Assistant Professor, University
of Swabi
 Dr.Abdul Basir
Assistant Professor, University of
Swabi
 Zahid Mehmood
PSO,NIFA Peshawar
 Falak Naz Shah
Head Food Science & Technology
ART, Peshawar
Rice News Headlines…
 Food prices continue to surge in KP
 The ‘qissa’ of Basmati
 Japan space agency hails return of asteroid dust on Earth
 Syndicate deliberately violating govt order
 Traditional with a Twist from The Food Court
 China Under Food Crisis: Is the Situation So Worse in China That They
Are Forced To Import 100,000 Tons Of Rice From India After 30 Years?
 California Farmers Work to Create a Climate Change Buffer for
Migratory Water Birds
 India bucks China’s record export show
 Senate gives final OK to distribution of RCEF surplus as cash aid to rice
farmers
 New Orleans, Baton Rouge People in Business for Dec. 6, 2020
 2.6m tons of rice produced since late March
 About 838,770 tons rice valuing US$499.485m exported
 Govt importing rice to replenish depleting food reserve
 Opportunities for Vietnamese rice to strengthen position in global
market
 Myanmar Rice Exporters Seek Govt Help After Chinese Trader Flees
Owing Millions of Dollars
 Agency lowers rice self-sufficiency forecast
 Senate okays cash aid measure for farmers hit by typhoons
 Rice price rises in city markets
 Govt to import 5 lakh tonnes of rice
 Mark your calendars for December 10 & 15, 2020!
 USA Rice Meets with Biden USDA Transition Team
 USA Rice Millers' Association Welcomes New Member
 Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and cut smog

News Detail…
Food prices continue to surge in KP
ByAziz Buneri
PESHAWAR: The district administration has failed to control the prices of food items in the
provincial capital despite repeated instructions from the provincial government.
In the provincial capital, the price for pulses and rice have increased by Rs30 to Rs40 per kg in a
month while sugar prices are still on the rise despite the government‘s claims of resolving the
issue by the start of sugarcane crushing season.
Sugar is being sold at Rs115 per kg, rice at Rs170 per kg and milk at Rs130 per kg while fruits
and vegetable sellers in the city are also charging exorbitant prices. The prices of vegetables and
fruits have gone up on a daily basis.
Similarly, poultry in Peshawar is currently being sold at Rs236 per kg.
In the last two months, the price of chicken has gone up by Rs80 per kg while the price of eggs
has gone up by Rs81 per dozen. Farm eggs have gone up from Rs120 to Rs210 per dozen. Prices
of fruits in the city have also skyrocketed as pomegranates are being sold at Rs300 per kg, grapes
at Rs320 per kg, apples at Rs150 per kg, persimmon at Rs150 per kg and guava at Rs120 per kg.
Similarly, vegetable sellers are also ignoring the official price list. Okra per kilogramme is being
sold for Rs100, potatoes Rs90 per kg, onions Rs80 per kg, tomatoes Rs120 per kg, lemon Rs150
per kg, peas Rs300 per kg, ginger Rs600 per kg, green chilli at Rs200 per kg, garlic Rs250 per
kg, and cauliflower at Rs50 per kg.
Asim Shiraz, a Peshawar resident, told Profit that daily wage labourers are unable to earn their
one-time living due to the rising food prices and unemployment.On the other hand, traders have
said that the rise in prices of vegetables and fruits is due to the gap in demand and supply in the
market in addition to higher fuel and electricity during the winter season.According to vegetable
seller Mohammad Qasim, despite the fact that many vegetable items are currently available in
Afghanistan at low prices, prices here are going up due to issues at the Torkham border.
―If imports are relaxed, the prices of many food items in the province may come down,‖ he said.
https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/12/07/food-prices-continue-to-surge-in-kp-2/
The ‘qissa’ of Basmati
Basmati rice. It is the rice fit for kings. But today, these grains of rice are at the center of a fresh
fight between bitter rivals India and Pakistan. The reason? India applied for an exclusive
Geographical Indications tag to Indian-origin basmati rice with the EU‘s Council on Quality

Schemes for Agricultural and Foodstuffs. The application was published in an official EU
journal on September 11, 2020, after clearing internal evaluations. In India, basmati cultivation is
dictated by geography.
There is a ‗Basmati growing region‘, one which includes the states and Union territories of
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and
Uttar Pradesh. The cold weather of this region is suitable for Basmati cultivation. So, what does
Pakistan have to do with all this? Well, apparently, Pakistan too has a Basmati belt, the Kalar
bowl, a tract of land in the interfluve between the Ravi and the Chenab rivers, comprising the
Narowal, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura districts in Punjab province. Turns
out that India has a 65 percent share in the global Basmati market while Pakistan has the rest. In
fact, Pakistan‘s exports to the EU have almost doubled over three years since permissible levels
of pesticides on imported agricultural products to the bloc were reduced in 2018, while India has
repeatedly failed the tests.
Basmati is an export-oriented item for both India and Pakistan In 2019-20, India produced 7.5
million tonnes of basmati, of which 61 percent was exported, earning the country Rs 31,025
crore according to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. According to the Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics, the country exported 0.89 million tonnes of basmati in 2019-20. If India gets
the GI tag, Pakistan would be effectively kept out of the European market for basmati rice even
though it is a major producer. History of Basmati
Basmati is most likely of medieval origin. The history and folklore of basmati rice is an academic paper
published last year in the Journal of Cereal Research. It was written by Subhash Chander, Uma and Siddharth
Ahuja.
Subhash Chander Ahuja is a retired plant pathologist from the Rice Research Station, Chaudhary Charan Singh
Haryana Agricultural University in Kaul, Haryana. Uma Ahuja is a retired professor of Genetics and Plant
Breeding, College of Agriculture, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Kaul, Haryana.
Siddharth Ahuja is from the Department of Pharmocology, Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical
College, Nalhar, Mewat, Haryana. In section 3.1 titled Historical growing areas, their paper reads:
The Ain-i-Akbari records cultivation of Mushkeen in the subahs of Lahore, Multan, Allahabad, Oudh,
Delhi, Agra, Ajmer and the Raisen area of Malwa Subah
Mushkeen, also called Lal Basmati, is the red-husked variant of Basmati. Though not as popular as the light,
golden-husked variant today, the paper says, it was popular in the kitchens of the Mughal Emperors.
Significantly though, the paper reminds us that Basmati did grow in the Lahore and Multan provinces of the
Mughal Empire, which are today in present-day Pakistan.

Pakistan‘s claim over Basmati is strengthened by the fact that the first mention of the word
‗Basmati‘ is in the popular tragic romance, Heer-Ranjha, written in 1766 or 1767 by the Punjabi
Sufi, Waris Shah. The academic paper Range and Limit of Geographical Indication Scheme: The
case of Basmati Rice from Punjab Pakistan is by French professor Georges Giraud. It was
published in 2008 in the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, Volume 11,
Issue 1. It mentions that the romance was translated into English in 1910 by Charles Frederick
Usborne, a British Indian Civil Servant and a scholar of Punjabi. The second paragraph of
Chapter 16 of Usborne‘s The Adventures of Heer and Ranjha describes several foods displayed
for a wedding. It says and I quote:
…All kinds of varieties of rice, even Mushki and Basmutti and Musagir and Begami and
Sonputti
It is worth noting that Heer-Ranjha is set in the town of Jhang on the east bank of the Chenab in
Pakistan‘s Punjab. Ironically, this paragraph was cited by the Indian government while
contesting Texas-based firm, RiceTec‘s attempt in the late 1990s to appropriate Basmati rice.
Even more ironically, India at the time was actively supported by the Pakistani government. Both
eventually succeeded in thwarting RiceTec‘s scheme. But even as the subcontinental twins
squabble over Basmati, Indian farmers are increasingly finding it hard to grow it.
The reasons are many. In just seven years, the price of Basmati has halved. Why? Because,
India‘s exports have been hit due to the pesticides controversy as well as US sanctions on Iran, a
major importer.
Exporters have not paid to rice mill owners, who in turn have reduced purchase of basmati from
local cultivators. This, then, is the current status of our Basmati farmers. Dayanand, a farmer of
Basmati from Ghummanhera village on the outskirts of Delhi, told Down To Earth that getting a
GI tag from the European Union would not improve his or his peers‘ lot. Returning to the
question of the GI tag, India and Pakistan have a bitter relationship. But the Republic of India
was founded on the principle of fairness. Morality, fairness and ethics dictate that India is on a
sticky wicket as far as claiming Basmati as entirely its own is concerned. Our move may destroy
Pakistan‘s basmati farmers. But will it improve the lot of our farmers? But in these times of
hyper-nationalism, populism and nativism, all such talk is anathema, sacrilege, and blasphemy.
And lest anybody‘s sentiments are hurt after seeing this, I tender my apology. As things stand,
my task is to inform. Until the final decision comes out on December 10, on who actually owns
it, just sit back…and enjoy your basmati…Bon Appetit.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/agriculture/the-qissa-of-basmati-74544

Japan space agency hails return of asteroid dust on
Earth
Published December 7, 2020, 6:46 AM
by Agence France-Presse
Japan space agency officials on Sunday hailed the arrival of rare asteroid samples on Earth
after they were collected by space probe Hayabusa-2 during an unprecedented mission.
A capsule carrying asteroid samples that was dropped off by the Hayabusa-2 probe created a shooting
star-like fireball as it entered Earth‘s atmosphere
In a streak of light across the night sky, a capsule containing the precious specimens taken
from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth after being dropped off by the probe.
Scientists hope the samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grams of
material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe.

―After six years of space travel, the box of treasures was able to land in Australia‘s
Woomera this morning,‖ Databus-2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda told a press conference.
The capsule carrying samples entered the atmosphere just before 2:30 am Japan time (1730
GMT Saturday), creating a shooting-star-like fireball as it entered Earth‘s atmosphere en
route to the landing site Down Under.
A few hours later, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the samples
had been recovered, with help from beacons emitted by the capsule as it plummeted to Earth
after separating from Hayabusa-2 on Saturday, while the fridge-sized probe was about
220,000 kilometres (137,000 miles) away.
―The capsule landed in perfect form, and the probe is moving on to another mission,‖ Tsuda
said.
The capsule, recovered in the southern Australian desert, will now be in the hands of
scientists performing initial analysis including checking for any gas emissions.
It will then be sent to Japan.
Megan Clark, chief of the Australian Space Agency, congratulated the ―wonderful
achievement‖.
―2020 has been a difficult year all around the world‖ but the Hayabusa-2 helped ―renew our
faith in the world, and our trust (in) and appreciation‖ of the science of the outer universe,
she said.
– Samples with organic material? –
The samples were collected by Hayabusa-2, which launched in 2014, from the asteroid
Ryugu, about 300 million kilometres from Earth.
The probe collected both surface dust and pristine material from below the surface that was
stirred up by firing an ―impactor‖ into the asteroid.
The material is believed to be unchanged since the time the universe was formed.

Larger celestial bodies like Earth went through radical changes including heating and
solidifying, changing the composition of the materials on their surface and below.
But ―when it comes to smaller planets or smaller asteroids, these substances were not
melted, and therefore it is believed that substances from 4.6 billion years ago are still there,‖
Hayabusa-2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa told reporters before the capsule arrived.
Scientists are especially keen to discover whether the samples contain organic matter, which
could have helped seed life on Earth.
―We still don‘t know the origin of life on Earth and through this Hayabusa-2 mission, if we
are able to study and understand these organic materials from Ryugu, it could be that these
organic materials were the source of life on Earth,‖ Yoshikawa said.
―We‘ve never had materials like this before… water and organic matters will be subject to
research, so this is a very valuable opportunity,‖ said Motoo Ito, senior researcher at the
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
Half of Hayabusa-2‘s samples will be shared between JAXA, US space agency NASA and
other international organisations, and the rest kept for future study as advances are made in
analytic technology.
– More tasks for Hayabusa-2 –
The work is not over for Hayabusa-2, which will now begin an extended mission targeting
two new asteroids.
It will complete a series of orbits around the sun for around six years before approaching the
first of the asteroids — named 2001 CC21 — in July 2026.
The probe will not get as close as it did to Ryugu, but scientists hope it will be able to
photograph CC21 and that the fly-by will help develop knowledge about how to protect
Earth against asteroid impact.
Hayabusa-2 will then head towards its main target, 1998 KY26, a ball-shaped asteroid with
a diameter of just 30 metres.

When the probe arrives at the asteroid in July 2031, it will be approximately 300 million
kilometres from Earth.
It will observe and photograph the asteroid, no easy task given that it is spinning rapidly,
rotating on its axis about every 10 minutes.
But Hayabusa-2 is unlikely to land and collect samples, as it probably would not have
enough fuel to return them to Earth.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/12/07/japan-space-agency-hails-return-of-asteroid-dust-on-earth/
Syndicate deliberately violating govt order
Posted By: daily industryon: December 07, 2020In: Bangladesh
Rice price hiked 34 pc this year
Rudro Rasel: The syndicate members are deliberately violating the government order to sell the
rice in the local market mainly due to negligence in conducting regular monitoring in an efficient
manner. The government is repeatedly warning to sell the rice at a convenient rate, but the
powerful syndicate members are deliberately violating the state order.
Although the government is committed to supply rice at an affordable price which is not enough
to ensure fair price, said industry insiders adding that strong political commitment is a must to
tackle the rice price hiking.
In the last week of October, the Food Ministry issued a press note to fix the rice price
considering the current vulnerable situation of the poor, ultra poor, marginal and underprivileged
people across the country.
However, the ministry fixed Tk 51.50 for selling per kilogram of ‗miniket‘ rice while it is Tk 45
for ordinary rice.
On the other hand, the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data disclosed that
coarse varieties of rice showed the maximum surge in prices in the last few weeks.
During a physical verification in different city markets, the Daily Industry correspondent found
that the coarse varieties were sold at Tk 48-52 per kilogram (kg) yesterday, medium varieties Tk
55-56 and the finer quality at Tk 60-72, a Tk 2.0-3.0 per kg hiked in the last one and a half week.
The TCB said the current rice price is 14 to 34 percent higher than that of the last year.
―It is very interesting that the farmers are not getting the fair price for their paddy, but rice
millers are gaining huge profit though violating government order and cheating with the
farmers‖, said Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) President Ghulam Rahman to the
Daily Industry yesterday.
Commenting on the rice price hiking, he said, the vested interest of the syndicate members and

influential rice millers are creating artificial crisis of rice, causing the price hiking in the local
market. He underscored the need for undertaking immediate action against the syndicate
members and the vested rice millers to stable the rice price.
Most people are facing severe hardship for generating their regular income centering the virus
pandemic and they are facing immense difficulties to purchase rice within their affordable range,
he observed.
Talking the paddy price, he said, farmers are depriving in getting fair price. ―If we fail to protect
the interest of the consumers and paddy farmers, country may face severe food crisis in the near
future‖, Rahman added.
He demanded for ensuring punishment those are involved to raise the rice price so that people
would be able to purchase the staple food for surviving their livelihood.
Meanwhile, the paddy farmers are not getting fair price, forcing them to cultivate other crops.
Different district correspondent informed that many farmers in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Kushtia,
Rajshahi, Khulna and Jashore regions have switched to maize, vegetables and tobacco this year
mainly for gaining lower price against paddy.
However, experts recommended the government to prevent the unethical activities of the
syndicate members for ensuring the price stability. At the same time, the policy makers will have
to facilitate the paddy farmers for ensuring bumper aman production and ensure food security.
http://www.dailyindustry.news/syndicate-deliberately-violating-govt-order/
Traditional with a Twist from The Food Court
Curious Kitchen | 2020-12-07
byAnneHambuda
The Food Court
Lunch and dinner time have just got a little tastier with the launch of The Food Court, a
cuisine delivery business that deals with experimental flavours and delicious home cooking.
The brainchild of media personality and style influencer Pinehas 'Zuluboy' Shikulo, The Food
Court has a simple and easy to navigate a menu of four main dishes, and does daily deliveries
during the week for midday and evening meals.
When I went to the headquarters of this business, which opened in the middle of November, I
was greeted by the aroma of food I had never experienced before, and my first meal with them
was something new and unexpected.

Their menu serves the following:
'Okangoms' for N$30. They are three omahangu biscuits stuffed with either mince, beef,
marathon chicken or hake. It comes topped with spinach, chickpeas and cheese.
For the main meal, you can have their 'Nutty Rice', which is peanut butter-infused basmati rice
with slow cooked marathon chicken and potato stew, or the 'Hats Off', which is tomato infused
spiced basmati rice with chopped vegetables and topped with a touch of bacon and cheese.
Then there's the 'Boss Stuff' – spicy basmati rice with beer-battered hake and a side of sliced
peppers. This is the meal I had. You can also swap out the fish for a portion of goat meat if you
like.
―We take traditional and local food and give them a twist,‖ says Shikulo who is part of a team
that conceptualises the menu and the creative vision. They say they have many plans to expand

the brand in future.
The flavour combinations are some that I have never tried before, but took a liking to as soon as I
tried them.
The rice was fragrant and full of fresh flavours, making it something that could be eaten on its
own without the side, the fish was cooked just right and there was some horseradish sauce on the
side for dipping.
The sliced peppers on the side were tangy and tasted slightly pickled – something I was not
expecting at all but wanted more of.
The food somehow manages to find a way to balance high-end cuisine with something filling
that feels like it could have been made right in the comfort of your home.
Though the menu is still small, the flavours give you such a wide range that you want to keep
coming back for more.
Reviews on social media show that the business is doing well and has a good track record for on-
time deliveries, which can help small businesses stay afloat in these hard times.
For your own tasty takeaway, call them for N$25 deliveries on 085 748 2224 or follow them on
social media @thefoodcourtnam.
– Let's connect! Follow me on social media @annehambuda, on LinkedIn Anne Hambuda or
email me at annehambuda@gmail.com
https://www.namibian.com.na/97196/read/Traditional-with-a-Twist-from-The-Food-Court

China Under Food Crisis: Is the Situation So Worse in
China That They Are Forced To Import 100,000 Tons Of
Rice From India After 30 Years?
ByPriyadharshini Varadharajan
December 7, 2020
For the first time in 30 years, China has been forced to buy rice from India.
Why? Because rice is the staple food item for two-third of Chinese and china
may not have enough of it. A few months ago, there was news about how China
can be facing a bigger food crisis. The coronavirus, floods, epidemics, locus,
and trade wars triggered a food shortage. With President Xi Jinping launching a
public campaign to control wastage. Several Chinese experts say ‗ china could
be in the middle of food crisis‘ Beijing has deployed its entire media machinery to fight this
charge, the state heads have made claims of food crisis‘ with editorials opinion, and videos but
they have not been able to kill the story and now china is buying rice from China while the
border standoff continues. It could not be more clear China is short on food supply.
Rice supply from Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam has reduced. China needed more rice and
began importing from India reportedly at discounted prices. Indian traders have been contracted
to export 100,000 tons of broken rice for 300 dollars per ton. Broken rice is fragments of rice
gain broken in the field, during drying or transport, or by milling. Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar,
and Pakistan have been China‘s traditional suppliers but this time they have not been able to
supply what China needs, plus they were quoting a rate that was at least 30 dollars more for a ton
of rice. India is the world‘s biggest rice exporter and China is the world‘s biggest rice importer
and China needs more rice. China needs a lot more than rice. The many crises this year have
shaken up the food supply chains in China forcing the Chinese to buy up stocks of several goods
from overseas.
This comes after China‘s President Xi Jinping called the food wastage in China shocking and
distressing. Those words have led to a public campaign in China. Earlier this year Xi Jinping had
appealed. He wanted the Chinese to clean their plates. This statement kicked off a campaign to
conserve food, leading many to believe that China is witnessing a shortage. Months after his
appeal, China has launched a global hunt for grains. 2020 might likely be the year the president
would like to forget. His list of problems kept increasing, beginning with the coronavirus that led
to record unemployment, poverty, and economic slowdown, and a global backlash. Now, China
could be struggling to ensure it has enough food for every citizen.

With restaurants taking special measures to stop wastage. In August, Chinese cities were
rewarding customers to clean their plates with coupons and cash rebates and Upmarket hotels
like the Marriott trimmed their buffets by taking off dishes from the menu. The price of a buffet
at the Sheraton in Ningbo went down to 22 dollars per person because of their reduced food
option. In Wuhan, the original epicenter of this pandemic, the catering associations started
limiting portions that one can order in restaurants. They wrote an open letter asking restaurants to
be more mindful of the amount of food that they are served. A new rule for the order was created
and it is called the N1 model, which means a group dining at the restaurant will be served one
dish less. So, if there are 10 people, they will only be able to order 9 portions of food. There was
a clampdown on any site of extravagance.
The Chinese government started taking down food videos, which you may have seen these kinds
of videos where they eat vast amounts of food quickly. China felt that these videos encouraged
wastage, so they were censored from social media. Some others went a step ahead. A restaurant
in Central China asked customers to weigh themselves before they ordered their meals. But was
forced to apologize after facing a backlash. Why was this campaign necessary, because china
may not have enough fresh food to go around? Reportedly several food items are in short supply.
There is a shortage of ports after an outbreak of African swine fever. This year‘s corn crop has
been ruined by floods. Supplies of eggs, seafood, and green vegetables were affected too.
Chinese state media has displayed a very vital role in this campaign. When international media
raised doubts over shortage, the Chinese state heads hitched back saying that thriftiness or the
quality of being careful with money or resources especially avoiding waste is a part of Chinese
culture. A practice that dates back thousands of years. At the same time, reports of a bumper
harvest kept pouring in. For example, the recent one from September, Xinhua news reported that
china bumper harvested both summer and early rice in 2020. More recently, the global times
said, China‘s new hybrid rice has broken a world record becoming the highest yielding double-
cropping rice. Global times haven‘t forgotten to mention the food crisis‘, calling the claims-
mere speculation.
Why did China need to import rice from India? If it truly had a bumper harvest. Because the
mere suggestion of a food crisis would trigger panic in China. Food security is one of the oldest
concerns of the communist party. Because, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, millions
starved to death during a famine under the rule of Mao Zedong. After which, food shortage
became a trigger for possible public apprising like the Tiananmen square protest that happened
during a period of high inflation. History is aware of how brutally China crushed those protests.
So, if a food crisis breaks out in China, there could be social unrest and any social unrest would
be a direct challenge to the communist party. Therefore, the Chinese President has asked the
people to stop wasting food while Beijing is importing more supplies.
https://www.inventiva.co.in/stories/china-under-food-crisis-is-the-situation-so-worse-in-
china-that-they-are-forced-to-import-100000-tons-of-rice-from-india-after-30-years/

California Farmers Work to Create a Climate Change
Buffer for Migratory Water Birds
Flooded fields offer food and habitat for sandhill cranes, egrets and other species. But
changing crop choices and rising temperatures are a growing threat.
By LIZA GROSS
Dec 6, 2020
Dec 6, 2020
Waste grain is left in harvested fields on Staten Island in the California Delta as forage for
greater sandhill cranes, a state listed endangered species. Credit: Liza Gross
KNIGHTS LANDING, Calif.—On a warm, sunny afternoon in late November, Roger Cornwell
stopped his pickup near the edge of a harvested rice field to avoid spooking a great blue heron
standing still as a statute, alert for prey. He pointed to a dozen or so great egrets at the opposite
end of the field as a chorus of killdeer sang a high lonesome tune in the distance.
"We started bringing in the water this morning," said Cornwell, general manager of River
Garden Farms, which grows rice, alfalfa, corn, walnuts and other crops on 15,000 acres just west
of the Sacramento River, in California's Central Valley. "When we push water across a field,
we'll have tons of egrets in it because the mice and moles are being flushed."
In the Central Valley, where agricultural and urban development have claimed 95 percent of the
region's historic wetlands, flooded croplands provide food and habitat that help egrets, sandhill
cranes and other iconic water birds get through the winter. Inundating fallow fields mimics the
way rivers breached their banks 150 years ago, before engineers built thousands of miles of
levees, and funneled Sierra Nevada snowmelt through a vast network of aqueducts and canals to
farmers and more than 27 million Californians.
But many farmers are moving toward wine grapes, olives and other "permanent crops" that don't
provide the same habitat benefits as row crops. And now these land use changes, combined with
the uncertain effects of a warming world, have left scientists scrambling to safeguard critical
habitat in one of most important wintering regions for water birds in North America.
"Our wetland birds are among those showing the biggest declines," said Khara Strum, who
works with Cornwell as conservation manager for Audubon's Working Lands Program.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04122020/california-staten-island-sandhill-cranes-water-
birds-agriculture+&cd=1&h

India bucks China‘s record export show
Ananth Krishnan
DECEMBER 07, 2020 21:35 IST
exports surged 21.1%, the fastest pace in almost three years, to a record $268 billion last
month. | Photo Credit: AP
Bilateral trade deficit narrows sharply in November as India’s imports of Chinese
goods decline
India‘s imports from China as well as its trade deficit declined sharply in November,
marking an exception to a record month for Chinese exports around the world that
registered the fastest growth in almost three years and underlined China‘s continuing
recovery amid a pandemic-induced global slump.
Bilateral trade reached $78 billion over the 11-month period, sharply lower than 2019‘s
$84.4 billion. China‘s shipments to India at the end of November accounted for $59
billion, sliding 13% and helping narrow India‘s deficit to $40 billion, from $51.6 billion
in the year-earlier period. India‘s annual trade deficit with its northern neighbour had
shrunk by 2% in 2019 to $56.95 billion, marking the first decline since 2005.
The slump in China‘s exports to India was broadly expected after data from India‘s
Ministry of Commerce last week showed a 13.3% decline in India‘s overall imports in
November. India‘s imports of electrical and non-electrical machinery – items that have
traditionally had the biggest share in China‘s exports to the country -- slid by 13.4%,
the Centre‘s official data showed.
Overall, China‘s exports surged 21.1% in November, customs data showed, the fastest
growth since February 2018, Reuters reported. The pace of increase was almost double
October‘s 11.4% expansion. November‘s exports of $268 billion were the highest on
record amid the continuing global economic slump and lockdowns in many of China‘s
biggest trading partners.

Electrical machinery
Electrical machinery and equipment was India‘s biggest import from China in 2019,
worth $20.17 billion. Other major imports last year were organic chemicals ($8.39
billion) and fertilisers ($1.67 billion), according to data available with the Indian
Embassy in Beijing. India‘s top exports to China in 2019 were iron ore, organic
chemicals, cotton and unfinished diamonds. India was the fourth largest exporter of
iron ore to China after Australia, Brazil and South Africa.
India‘s exports to China were up 16% in November reaching $19 billion after 11
months of this year, likely driven by a recovery in Chinese imports of iron ore, which
were up 16% according to China‘s General Administration of Customs.
In November, China also agreed to import rice from India for the first time in three
decades, with 1,00,000 tons of exports of broken rice contracted for December to
February at $300 per ton, Reuters reported. The rice purchase was a ―purely
commercial move‖ as the price was ―far cheaper than that of its domestic counterparts‖,
Jiao Shanwei, editor-in-chief of a Chinese website on grains news, told the Global
Times.
https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-bucks-chinas-record-export-
show/article33272819.ece
Senate gives final OK to distribution of RCEF surplus as cash
aid to rice farmers
Published December 7, 2020 4:31pm
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News
Voting 19-0, the Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to
distribute cash assistance to rice farmers using surplus from rice tariff collections in the country
until 2024.

Senate Bill No. 1927, introduced by Senate committee on agriculture chairperson Cynthia Villar,
authorizes the Department of Agriculture (DA) to use the amount in excess of the annual P10-
billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to provide cash aid to rice farmers
owning one hectare or less of land.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, which was signed in February 2019, the government should
earmark P10 billion annually for the RCEF for six years.
From this fund, P5 billion will be allocated to rice farm machinery and equipment; P3 billion for
rice seeds; P1 billion for expanded credit assistance; and P1 billion for rice extension services
such as training for farmers.
Citing information from the Bureau of Customs, Villar previously said there is an estimated P5
billion tariff collection in excess of the RCEF—P2.3 billion in 2019 and P3 billion this year as of
September 30.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/767075/senate-gives-
final-ok-to-distribution-of-rcef-surplus-as-cash-aid-to-rice-farmers/story/
New Orleans, Baton Rouge People in Business for
Dec. 6, 2020
DEC 6, 2020 - 11:00 PMNew Orleans area
Amanda Phillips has rejoined Neel-Schaffer Inc. as a senior coastal engineer and project
manager, based in the firm‘s Mandeville office as part of the company's coastal science and
engineering department.

Phillips worked for Neel-Schaffer in 2015 and has nearly 20 years of experience, including
design and construction of coastal restoration projects throughout Louisiana. She holds a
bachelor's degree in biological engineering from LSU.
The UNO Research and Technology Foundation has named to its board of directors Ayame
Dinkler, chief administrative officer for LCMC Health; Kelisha Garrett, principal consultant
at Gen-X Consulting Group, executive director of the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber
of Commerce and chief operating officer and vice president of the Louisiana Chamber of
Commerce Foundation; Norma Grace, retired from the University of New Orleans as vice
chancellor for technology and economic development; and Todd James, director of strategic
planning for Broadmoor LLC.
Officers and other board members are David Gallo, chairman; Gary Solomon, vice
chairman; Michael Hecht, secretary; Paul Reuter, treasurer; Rebecca Conwell, president/CEO
of the UNO Research and Technology Foundation; Thomas Brown; Jeffery Ehlinger; Kenneth
Flower; Dr. Trivia Frazier; Robert Johnson; Thomas Leonhard Jr.; Dr. Alvin Merlin; Dr.
Gordon Mueller; Dr. John Nicklow, president of UNO; Riley Parker; and Dr. Matthew Tarr.
Craig Stevens, president and founder of Genesis 360 LLC, was appointed by Louisiana Gov.
John Bel Edwards to the Residential Building Contractors Subcommittee, representing the 6th
Congressional District.
The subcommittee works to protect the public from incompetent and fraudulent residential
contractors and promote integrity in the construction industry. Stevens served 25 years in the

U.S. Air Force, retiring as a captain, and started Genesis 360 LLC in 2011 offering construction,
grounds maintenance and building maintenance services around the country.
Baton Rouge area
City Year Baton Rouge has named to its advisory board this year Dennis Blunt, a partner
at Phelps Dunbar; Missy Epperson, head of the south Louisiana and Mississippi private wealth
management groups for Regions Bank; Sean Reilly, chief executive officer of Lamar
Advertising Co.; Theo Richards, business development manager at Capital Area Transit
System; Tinicia Turner, director for career and leadership initiatives at Franciscan
Missionaries of Our Lady University; and Marcus Williams, program director
for CSRS|Tillage.
Other advisory board members are board chair Laura Poché, Gwen Hamilton, Phillip May,
Matthew Rachleff, Dionne Rousseau, Robert Schneckenburger, Tommy Teepell, Erin
Monroe Wesley and board emeriti Lori Bertman and Jennifer Eplett Reilly.
Dustin Harrell has been named resident coordinator of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey
Rice Research Station, effective Feb. 1.
He replaces Don Groth, who is retiring at the end of January and started at the station in 1983 as
a plant pathologist before being named resident coordinator in 2017.
Ron Levy, currently the Louisiana Master Farmer Program coordinator and previously the
soybean extension specialist, was named the rice extension specialist. Donna Gentry was named
Master Farmer coordinator, having worked with the program since it began.

Harrell was the rice extension specialist and will continue his agronomy research. He has worked
at the Rice Research Station since 2006 as a research agronomist and became the rice specialist
in 2015. Harrell has a bachelor‘s degree in agriculture science from Texas A&M University, a
master‘s degree in soil science from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate from
LSU in agronomy.
Renee Amar has been named executive director of the Louisiana Motor Transport
Association.
Amar is vice president for policy and government affairs for the Pelican Institute for Public
Policy and previously served as director of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry's
small business and health care councils and deputy director of political action. Amar also
fundraised for LABI‘s four political action councils and recruited candidates for office and
developed endorsements. She spent eight years as the state director for the National Federation
of Independent Business and worked for the Louisiana Hospital Association for four years in the
governmental affairs department. She holds a bachelor‘s degree from Southeastern Louisiana
University and pursued her master‘s degree at LSU.
https://www.nola.com/news/business/article_f0e40cda-38af-11eb-85b2-07011ef5cbfd.html
2.6m tons of rice produced since late March
December 7, 2020 - 15:5
TEHRAN - Iranian farmers produced 2.6 million tons of rice during the current Iranian
calendar year (started on March 20), according to Director-General of the Agriculture Ministry's
Grains and Essential Goods Department Faramak Aziz-Karimi.
The mentioned production was cultivated in 800,000 hectares of land across the country, Mehr
News Agency reported.

He put the country‘s total annual demand for rice at about three million tons and said:
"Considering the level of cultivation this year, domestic production meets about 85 percent of the
country's needs."
According to the official, this year, mechanized harvesting was carried out on about 690,000
hectares of land, which shows a 10 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Aziz-Karimi had previously said that the average area under rice cultivation in the country in the
past three years was about 605,000 hectares, of which 70 percent is concentrated in Gilan and
Mazandaran provinces (about 427,000 hectares).
Iran produced 2.9 million tons of rice during the past Iranian calendar year of 1398 (ended on
March 19).
In October 2019, Deputy Agriculture Minister Abdolmehdi Bakhshandeh had announced, ―Iran
has become completely self-sufficient in rice production as it plans to cut up to two million tons
of imports a year.‖
The Statistical Center of Iran estimates that Iranians consume approximately 35 kilograms of rice
per person each year. That would mean a domestic demand of nearly three million tons for a
country of 83 million people.
Bakhshandeh said rice self-sufficiency would save Iran more than $1.1 billion in imports, adding
that it would also be a major success amid efforts to minimize the impacts of the American
sanctions on food security in the country.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/455501/2-6m-tons-of-rice-produced-since-late-
March#:~:text=TEHRAN%20%2D%20Iranian%20farmers%20produced%202.6,Goods%20Dep
artment%20Faramak%20Aziz%2DKarimi.
About 838,770 tons rice valuing US$499.485m exported
About 838,770 tons rice valuing US$499.485m exported
Reported by: `CT Report December 7, 2020
ISLAMABAD: About 838,770 metric tons of rice valuing US $ 499.485 million exported during
first four months of current financial year as compared the exports of 1,176,228 metric tons
worth US $633.797 million of corresponding period of last year.According the data of Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics, rice exports from the country during the period from July-October, 2020-21
decreased by 21.19 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year.

During the period under review about 170,729 metric tons of Basmati rice worth US $168.745
million exported as against the exports of 283,458 metric tins valuing 259.099 million of same
period of last year.
The exports of basmati rice during the period under review reduced by 34.87% as compared the
exports of same period of last year, the data reveled.
However, during last four months, exports of vegetable grew by 20.16% as about 156,286 metric
tons of vegetables worth US $ 66.554 million exported, which was recorded at 197,596 metric
tons valuing US $ 55.386 million of same period of last year.
During the period from July-September, 2020-21, exports of meat and meat preparation
registered growth of 5.83 % as 30,403 metric tons of meat and meat products worth of US $
102.968 million exported as compared the exports of 25,442 metric tons valuing US $ 97.300
million of same period of last year, it added.
It is worth mentioning here that in last four months of current financial year food group imports
into the country grew by 43.49 percent as different food commodities costing US $ 2.272 billion
imported as against the imports of 1.583 billion of the same period of last year.
On the other hand, food group exports from the country during the period review went down by
16.77 percent as it was recorded at US $ 1.331 billion from July-October, 2020 as compared to
US $ 1.359 billion of the corresponding period of last year.
On month on month basis, the exports of food commodities post 13.42 percent reduction in
month of October, 2020 as compared the same month of last year, whereas imports into the
country during the period under review grew by 15.14 percent
https://customstoday.com.pk/about-838770-tons-rice-valuing-us499-485m-exported/?_
Govt importing rice to replenish depleting food reserve
Reaz Ahmad
Published at 03:24 pm December 5th, 2020
File photo Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
Food directorate‘s reluctance to buy paddy from farmers resulted in poor stock
The government is set to import 100,000 tons of rice amidst a depleting food stock in
hand.
Despite having a relatively good domestic cereal year for a Covid-19 pandemic period,
the government is required to go for the import largely because of the food directorate‘s
failure in buying paddy from farmers and not replenishing the food reserve in time.

Food Ministry officials confirmed Dhaka Tribune that the country‘s food reserve has hit a
new low in recent years, forcing the government to go for import of the staple amidst the
global food prices‘ jump during the Covid-19
pandemic.
The food directorate‘s failure to procure sufficient volume of paddy directly from the
growers in the last Boro season and not replenishing the fast-dwindling rice reserve
pushed it to float two international tenders on November 15 and 19, seeking to import
100,000 tons of parboiled rice.
Its current drive for procuring Aman paddy from farmers is also far from gaining
momentum, food officials told Dhaka Tribute.
Riding on a high projection of domestic cereal production, the government kept a
budgetary provision to import only 100,000 tons of rice for the entire 2020-21 financial
year. However, now officials fear if public granaries are not replenished with domestic
procurement during this Aman season, Bangladesh may have to pay higher import bills
for rice.

The government resorted to rice import during the peak of domestic rice harvest season
as the staple‘s reserve in public granaries dwindled to only 0.55 million tons on
December 2. On the same date last year, the government had a comfortable rice stock of
one million tons.
Bangladesh‘s food department has gone to the international market for importing rice at a
time when the world food prices rose for a sixth month running in November, hitting
almost a six year high with the index posting its biggest monthly increase since July
2012, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations food agency, said on
Thursday.
Against a target of procuring 800,000 tons of paddy from farmers in the last Boro season,
the food directorate managed to buy only 220,000 tons.
Again, in the current Aman season, the food directorate‘s success in buying paddy from
farmers is anything but satisfactory. Against a 200,000 tons paddy procurement target
(during November-February procurement period), the directorate bought a paltry 27 tons

from farmers as of December 2, and against a target of buying 650,000 tons of rice from
the millers, the directorate bought only 507 tons in the first month.
The food directorate‘s new initiative of e-buying paddy directly from farmers through a
digital app has not worked well so far, prompting the department to ask its field officials
to activate the app-driven procurement process properly.
Experts note such inefficiencies and half-hearted procurement drives conducted by the
directorate resulted in a situation where the government‘s rice reserve dipped so low.
It remains a puzzle why the government has been pushed to a situation where it is being
forced to import rice when its domestic cereal production projections are showing gradual
rise in yields.
According to the government‘s Food Planning and Monitoring Unit‘s (FPMU) latest
trimonthly Bangladesh Food Situation Report, the country‘s cereal output rose by 3.4%
from 2018-19FY to 2019-20FY and is projected to rise further in the current fiscal year,
2020-21.
Somehow these year-on-year growth projections are not being reflected in the
government‘s food stock management largely because of the food directorate‘s
inefficiency and reluctance in procuring paddy directly from the rice farmers.
In the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal, the government buys a fifth of paddy
output grown by the farmers in a year; whereas, the food directorate in Bangladesh hardly
manages to buy 5% of the total rice output.
Experts note that the government is leaving much room open in Bangladesh‘s rice market
for private traders and millers to rule, and often these two groups dictate price terms,
much to the misery of poor rice farmers.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/agriculture/2020/12/05/govt-importing-rice-to-
replenish-depleting-food-reserve

Opportunities for Vietnamese rice to strengthen position in
global market
SGGPSunday, December 06, 2020 12:13
At the end of the year, the weather in the South has started getting cold. This is also the
time when the water in the fields downstream began to recede. Many farmers along the
National Highway 61C, which connects Hau Giang and Can Tho provinces, are rushing to
plow the soil to sow the winter-spring rice crop.
Farmers in Hau Giang Province grow rice by rice planting machine. (Photo: SGGP)
Mr. Thieu Van Hai, Director of Hai Thanh Agricultural Cooperative in Hau Giang Province, and
farmers have continued to choose fragrant rice varieties for production. This is also an important
highlight of Mekong Delta farmers, opening up opportunities to polish the brand of Western rice.
It is not a coincidence that Mr. Thieu Van Hai was hired by farmers in Chau Thanh A District in
Hau Giang Province to be the director of Hai Thanh Cooperative. Mr. Hai has been the pioneer
in growing fragrant rice for the past 15 years. With 1.5 hectares of land, the income from fragrant
rice is 20-30 percent higher than regular rice varieties, helping him to accumulate to expand the
growing area of fragrant rice to 6.6 hectares. Mr. Hai has become a good example for farmers in
the cooperative to produce fragrant rice unanimously.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the 2020-2021 winter-
spring rice crop, the Mekong Delta region sows over 1.55 million hectares of rice with an
estimated output of 10 million tons of rice. It is most likely that in the dry season of next year,

saltwater intrusion and drought will come soon and happen severely. Provinces such as Kien
Giang, Hau Giang, and Tien Giang, which are heavily affected by saltwater intrusion and
drought, must grow rice early to avoid saline intrusion at the end of the crop. More than five
years ago, the rate of low-grade rice varieties in the Mekong Delta was quite large in the
production structure, when farmers still used the IR50404 rice variety, which accounted for 30-
40 percent. During that time, the prices of Vietnamese export rice were always far behind those
of Thailand in the market. But now that has changed.
‗High-quality rice varieties currently account for about 80 percent of the growing area, whereas
low-grade varieties like IR50404 rice variety only hold less than 8 percent. Noticeably, the
proportion of ST rice varieties has risen from 3 percent to 5 percent,‘ Mr. Tran Chi Hung,
Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hau Giang Province, said.
Following Tra Vinh and Dong Thap provinces, farmers in Hau Giang Province are now
replicating the smart rice production model. Mr. Tran Van Dang, a member of Hai Huynh
Cooperative in Vi Thuy District, is one of the Hau Giang farmers enthusiastically participating in
smart rice production. After three crops under this model, Mr. Tran Van Dang said that the smart
rice growing model helped him to have more knowledge and understanding of rice-growing
techniques to meet the new trend in response to climate change. Profits were higher than
conventional rice cultivation from 20-30 percent. His family earned over VND75 million from
two hectares of rice last winter-spring rice crop.
Agricultural engineer Ho Quang Cua, the father of the ST fragrant rice varieties, optimistically
commented that high-quality rice varieties currently account for 1 million hectares in the
Mekong Delta, and the low-grade IR50404 rice variety has gradually shrunk. The ST24 and
ST25 rice varieties, which recently won an international award, have covered one-third of the
rice-growing area in the Ca Mau peninsula. Nearly one-third of farmers in the Mekong Delta are
classified as the best rice farmers in Asia. That is the basis for Vietnamese rice to enhance its
position.
The export prices of Vietnamese rice in December this year fluctuates around US$460-US$520
per ton. This is the first time in the past five years, the level of export prices of Vietnamese rice
exceeds $450 per ton. It is expected that Vietnam's rice exports will reach 6 million tons this
year.
Vietnam's rice exports are at a high level this year, due to many factors, such as the needs of the
world market. However, it is important that the quality of rice has been improved and maintained
stably, so it can compete with Thai rice, said Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien, General Director of
Gentraco Company in Can Tho City.

Looking back on rice exports in 2020, enterprises in the Mekong Delta scored when the EU-
Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) officially took effect in August. This is a door opening
up many opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to export to the EU market.
Accordingly, Vietnam's rice products will be exempt from export tariffs to the EU when the
EVFTA takes effect. Of which, 80,000 tons of rice will enjoy tax incentives. Some enterprises,
such as Loc Troi Group and Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, have
quickly exported fragrant rice to the EU market. After ST24 rice, ST25 rice received the world's
best rice award, creating a certain position for Vietnamese rice in the market. In the domestic
market, the price of ST25 rice has reached a fairly high selling price of VND35,000 per kilogram
or over $1,000 per ton. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand when the export price of ST
rice variety to the EU market is above $1,000 per ton.
With diverse ecological characteristics, the Mekong Delta provides rice products, which satisfy
many different segments, including specialty rice, high-quality rice, and rice for the niche
market. This is a remarkable advance of Vietnamese rice. As the rice export quotas have been
untied over the past years, it has helped more than 100 enterprises to participate in the export
market, with many different export segments, creating a driving force for the establishment of
raw material growing areas for high-quality and specialty rice.
According to rice experts, if the quality of exported rice is controlled well, shortly, not only will
Vietnam's export quotas on the EU market increase, but it will also urge many partners to seek to
buy Vietnamese rice. The opportunity to polish the brand is opening up for Western rice.
By Cao Phong – Translated by Bao Nghi
https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/opportunities-for-vietnamese-rice-to-strengthen-position-in-
global-market-89635.html
Myanmar Rice Exporters Seek Govt Help After
Chinese Trader Flees Owing Millions of Dollars
Workers unload rice at the Bayinnaung Trade Center in Myanmar's commercial capital, Yangon,
in 2018. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy
By NAN LWIN 7 December 2020

YANGON—Myanmar rice traders plan to seek help from the Ministry of Commerce and
Chinese officials after a Chinese trader disappeared without paying for more than 2.6 billion
kyats (nearly US$2 million) worth of their rice, according to the rice wholesale center in Muse,
Myanmar‘s largest trading hub on the Chinese border. The trader, Luo Jianfang, who also owes
more than 8 billion kyats to Chinese traders based in Ruili, Yunnan province, holds shares in a
number of trading firms, one of which is closely linked to the Chinese government organ
responsible for managing state-owned enterprises.
Luo, who represents Zhongshang Affiliates (Zhong Shang Lian Hang), disappeared without
transferring payment after receiving more than 2.6 billion kyats worth of rice from Myanmar
traders, U Min Thein, the vice chairman of the Muse Rice Wholesale Center in Shan State told
The Irrawaddy.
U Min Thein said Luo had been purchasing rice from Myanmar traders for more than six
months. He said many local traders favored his company because it purchased at a higher price
compared to other Chinese companies.
―Luo signed all the agreements with Myanmar traders as a representative of the company. The
traders trusted Luo, as they also have strong records of [doing business with] the company,‖ U
Min Thein said.
The Irrawaddy has learned that Luo owns a 20-percent share in the company, the full name of
which is the Yunnan Pilot Free Trade Zone China Commercial Food Trading Company Ltd.
(CCFC), while another entity—the Yunnan Pilot Free Trade Zone Zhongshang Shiye (China
Industries) Company Ltd.—owns a 51-percent stake. This company in turn is controlled by
China Southwest Enterprise Company Management Co. (Chongqing), which owns 70 percent of
the shares, and is itself fully owned by China‘s Commercial Network Construction and
Development Center (CCNCC).
The CCNCC is directly under China‘s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration
Commission of the State Council (SASAC), which supervises and manages the state-owned
assets of enterprises under the supervision of the central government. SASAC is responsible for
appointing top executives of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and approving any mergers or sales
of stocks or assets, as well as drafting laws related to SOEs.
Other shareholders in CCFC include a private Kunming trading business, which holds 24
percent, and a private businessperson named Chen Bo, who holds 5 percent. Luo also holds the
remaining 30 percent stake in the parent company of CCFC—Yunnan Pilot Free Trade Zone
Zhangshang Shiye Company Ltd.

Outside of these two state controlled enterprises, both of which were registered in the second
quarter of 2020, Luo does not have any other businesses registered under his name.
CCFC is located within China‘s Yunnan Pilot Free Trade Zone Dehong Area, which is also a
part of the planned China-Myanmar cross-border economic cooperation zone (CBECZ) in Ruili-
Muse. The zone is one of the projects included in the framework agreement for the China-
Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a component of Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s
ambitious grand infrastructure scheme, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Yunnan Province‘s Dehong Prefecture first unveiled its plan for the Ruili-Muse cross-border
economic cooperation zone in 2007. During Xi‘s trip to Myanmar in January, the Myanmar
government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate negotiation of the
framework agreement on the China-Myanmar Ruili-Muse CBECZ.
China aims to attract domestic and foreign enterprises, logistics, and capital and technology
flows to the zones, promoting the acceleration of cross-border production capacity, cross-border
finance, e-commerce, agriculture, energy, logistics and cooperation on tourism.
No traders on either the Myanmar or Chinese sides have had any contact with Luo since Dec. 2.
According to the rice traders in Muse, Chinese rice importers have already visited factories
believed to be owned by Luo in Ruili and Wanding, where they disassembled and removed all
the machinery and anything else of value.
U Min Thein said a team from the rice wholesale center is collecting data, including the number
of Myanmar exporters affected and how much they lost to Luo.
―We will ask the Ministry of Commerce to mediate the issue. We will also contact the Chinese
Embassy in Myanmar if needed.‖
The rice traders are now planning to hold a meeting to figure out how to get help from the
Myanmar government and the Chinese side.
The Ministry of Commerce said it is awaiting detailed data from the rice traders in order to open
negotiations with the Chinese side.
U Minn Minn, the director general of the Department of Trade under the Ministry of Commerce,
told The Irrawaddy the ministry is trying to gather all the details of the case, including the
number of traders who sold rice to Luo.

He said the ministry will send a request to the Chinese side seeking to tackle the issue step by
step. ―We need to talk with [officials from] Dehong first. And we will also talk with the Yunnan
government level if it is needed. We may need to negotiate with the embassy as well.‖
He added, ―We still haven‘t received the exact figure from the traders. We need to identify them
first.‖
Despite the company‘s location in the planned China-Myanmar CBECZ, the issue cannot be
handled under the CBECZ‘s rules and regulations, as the Myanmar side has not yet started
implementation of the project, according to U Minn Minn.
―We can‘t approach the issue under the CBECZ rules and regulations since it has not gone live
yet,‖ he said.
You may also like these stories:
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https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/myanmar-rice-exporters-seek-govt-help-chinese-trader-
flees-owing-millions-
Agency lowers rice self-sufficiency forecast
By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:05 AM December 05, 2020
The logistical roadblocks brought by the coronavirus pandemic and the series of typhoons that
ravaged thousands of hectares of farmlands have put a dent in the Department of Agriculture‘s
(DA) target of raising the country‘s palay production by 8 percent.Agriculture Secretary William
Dar said in his keynote address at the 2019 Rice Achievers Award early this week that while
Filipinos were still assured of an adequate rice supply until year‘s end, the country‘s rice
sufficiency level this year might increase by only 2.7 percent.

The succeeding onslaught of strong typhoons in the country affected major rice-producing
provinces such that from a rice self-sufficiency level of 87 percent last year, the DA was forced to
revise its target of increasing local production to 90 percent from the previous 94 percent.
Rice production for this year is expected to reach 19.32 million metric tons, 5-percent lower than
the initial forecast of 20.34 million metric ton (MT).
―Due to a series of typhoons, we lost about 322,041 [MT] of palay, which is roughly equivalent to
an eight-day rice supply. Hence, our adequacy level is about 90 to 91 percent. However, rest
assured we have enough rice by the end of December 2020, equivalent to three months‘ supply,‖
Dar said.
Between January and September, the local rice industry yielded 11.9 million MT of rice. This is
usually augmented during the last quarter when farmers harvest the most produce, but climate-
induced disasters drowned several farmlands. Nonetheless, the agency is still expecting 7.42
million MT of harvest, which will bring total production for this year to 19.32 million MT.
https://business.inquirer.net/313082/agency-lowers-rice-self-sufficiency-
forecast#ixzz6g20B3ePf
Senate okays cash aid measure for farmers hit by typhoons
December 7, 2020 | 7:38 pm
PHILSTAR.COM
A MEASURE tapping rice tariffs to provide cash assistance to farmers affected by the pandemic
as well as the November typhoons was approved on third and final reading at the Senate
Monday.
With 19 affirmative votes, no negatives and no abstentions, the chamber approved Senate Bill
No. 1927, which will be financed automatically from any rice import tariffs collected in excess
of the P10 billion funding commitment to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
―Sa kabila ng paghagupit ng sunod-sunod na bagyo na bilyong pisong halaga ang winasak sa
sektor ng agrikultura, patuloy pa rin pagbagsak ng presyo ng palay (Farmers have suffered

damage from consecutive typhoons and low prices of palay),‖ Senator Francis N. Pangilinan said
in a statement.
―Kumbaga sa maysakit, nasa kritikal na kondisyon sila ngayon. Emergency ito dahil dito rin
nakasalalay ang ating food security (Their condition is critical. It is an emergency because we
depend on farmers for food security).‖If signed, the proposed Cash Assistance for Filipino
Farmers Act of 2020, automatically sets aside any rice import tariffs in excess of the RCEF‘s
P10 billion for cash assistance to farmers until 2024.
Eligible for aid are farmers owning one hectare of rice land or less. Beneficiaries will be
identified via the Department of Agriculture‘s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.
The November typhoons caused at least P12 billion worth of crop damage.
Senator Cynthia A. Villar had said in the October hearing on the proposal that preliminary data
showed P13.861 billion were collected by the Bureau of Customs between January and
September. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
https://www.bworldonline.com/senate-okays-cash-aid-measure-for-farmers-hit-by-typhoons/

Rice price rises in city markets
YASIR WARDAD | Published: December 05, 2020 10:41:28 | Updated: December 07, 2020
10:57:41
Focus Bangla file photo
Rice continued to become dearer in the current Aman harvesting season which the insiders
attributed to the paddy price hike in the country's main growing regions.
Edible oil prices also witnessed further hike last week increasing sufferings of the commoners
who had already dug deep into their pockets to meet the rising living expenditures triggered by
the price hike of other essentials last month.The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh
(TCB) said coarse varieties of rice showed the maximum surge in prices in the last few weeks.
In the city markets on Friday, the coarse varieties were sold at Tk 48-52 per kilogram (kg),
medium varieties Tk 55-56 and the finer quality at Tk 60-72 - a Tk 2.0-3.0 per kg hike in the last
one and a half weeks.

The TCB said the current rice price is 14-34 per cent higher than that of the last year.
Insiders said, prices of paddy has reached its all-time high in the growing hubs during the
ongoing Aman harvesting season which contributed to the latest surge in rice prices.
Secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association K M Layek Ali said the
minimum price of coarse rice is now Tk 44 a kg at mill-gates amid high paddy costs.
He said paddy is being sold at a record high of Tk 1,100-1,350 per maund (40 kgs) in this
harvesting season.
He also said that big farmers and seasonal traders are storing paddy in large volumes anticipating
a decline in production due to the five spells of flood in the country this year.
On the other hand, the government's stock of the staple has been declining notably in the
backdrop of its failure to achieve rice procurement target from the domestic source this season,
adding to the prevailing concerns about the food security.
The Aman procurement season is November-February and the Directorate General of Food
(DGoF) has been able to purchase only 525 metric tonnes of the rice since November 07 last
against a target of 0.85 million tonnes until February 2021, according to DGoF.
The public rice storage has plunged to 0.55 million tonnes until December 02 which was 0.90
million tonnes in the corresponding period of last year, according to the DGoF data.The
government has set a target to buy from the domestic sources 50,000 tonnes of white rice at Tk
36 a kg, 0.6 million tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk 37, and 0.2 million tonnes of paddy at Tk 26 a
kg in this season.The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) recorded that 88 per cent of
Aman harvest has been completed out of 5.89 million hectares of land.The government had a
target of growing 15.5 million tonnes of rice during this Aman season which is unlikely to be
achieved, said the insiders.Meanwhile, the costs of soybean oil surged further as a five-litre jar
price increased to Tk 580-625 depending on companies which were Tk 540-580 earlier.
One litre bottled soybean oil price rose to Tk 120-125 and loose soybean to Tk 112-116 per litre-
-- Tk 5.0-7.0 a litre hike.Palm oil prices too showed a considerable hike in the past week. Palm
oil rise by Tk 5.0-6.0 per litre as super palm was traded at Tk 104-106 a litre on the day.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/rice-price-rises-in-city-markets-1607143288

Govt to import 5 lakh tonnes of rice
Sohel Parvez
12:00 AM, December 07, 2020 / LAST
MODIFIED: 03:41 AM, December 07, 2020The
government may import up to 5 lakh tonnes of
rice to replenish the country's depleting food
stocks and tame the soaring prices of the staple,
according to a senior official of the food
ministry.The Directorate of Food has already
floated a tender to buy 100,000 tonnes of
parboiled rice from abroad. Meanwhile, the
government placed an order for 50,000 tonnes of
rice last week and plans to purchase another
100,000 tonnes from foreign sources soon."We
will buy more rice from the international market
instead of depending too much on local millers,"
Food Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum
said yesterday.The food ministry aims to buy
300,000 tonnes of rice from abroad in the first
phase."And we have a target to purchase
500,000 tonnes of rice in total this year," she
added.The food ministry has decided to increase rice imports due to a lack of interest among
local farmers and millers to supply the cereal grain to state warehouses. This is a result of
reduced yields caused by inclement weather and recurrent flooding.
The Directorate of Food has decided to buy 200,000 tonnes of paddy from local growers and
600,000 tonnes of rice from millers for the current Aman rice season.
But since the beginning of the procurement period last month, it could buy only 507 tonnes of
parboiled rice and 27 tonnes of paddy as of December 2.
The food ministry is trying its best to reach the previously set target to ensure fair prices for the
farmers, Khanum said.
Asked about the reluctance among millers to supply rice to state warehouses, Khanum said they
have not asked the local producers to supply rice to the warehouses.

"Instead, we are bringing it from abroad since they [local farmers] cite shortages in the domestic
market. Let them supply it there," she added.
This is the first time in three years that the government turned to overseas markets to refill food
stocks and intervene in the market through various social safety net schemes to curb a spike in
the price of a staple food.
Food stocks dipped 43 per cent year-on-year to 7.9 lakh tonnes as of December 2 this year,
according to the food ministry.
Khanum also said the government has started providing cash under some of the social safety net
programmes such as Test Relief, Food for Works and Vulnerable Group Feeding in a bid to
move away from the previous practice of providing food grains.
"So reduced food stock is unlikely to become a problem," the food secretary said.
In order to contain artificial price spikes, the food ministry has kept watch so that no one can
hoard the grain, she added.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/govt-import-5-lakh-tonnes-rice-
Mark your calendars for December 10 & 15, 2020!
The US Rice Producers Association is excited to announce the second & third installments
of RMTC’s Virtual Seminars.
These seminar events will feature presentations by rice industry experts shared via a live
Zoom feed as well as a virtual booth space for our sponsors and exhibitors to share
valuable information and connect one-on-one with attendees.
Register Today and Stay Tuned for Details!
Register for Seminar 2
December 10, 2020
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Register for Seminar 3
December 15, 2020
Click Here to Register
The Rice Market & Technology Convention is an annual event that provides an
unprecedented program filled with world-class economists, scientists, and other members
of the rice industry. In addition, the RMTC organizes a series of sessions, workshops and
other case studies in which all conference delegates will have the opportunity to engage in
conversation with these world-renowned experts as well as a wold-class exhibit space.
See Past RMTC Highlights
USA Rice Meets with Biden USDA Transition Team
By Ben Mosely
WASHINGTON, DC -- The CEO Ag Council hosted a meeting last Friday with leaders from
President-Elect Biden's transition team covering the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward is a member of the group, comprised of 21
CEOs of major farm, commodity, and agribusiness organizations, that meets regularly and
maintains a continuing dialogue with White House and Administration officials around the needs
of farmers and rural communities.
Over the summer, the council compiled a report for both the Trump and Biden campaigns on
current, critical issues for agriculture including the need to strengthen agricultural market
demand, increase engagement with the agricultural community in developing climate solutions,
and address rural challenges related to the pandemic. "The CEO Ag Council is diligent about
keeping ag issues front and center, no matter who occupies the White House," said Ward. "We
appreciate the transition team's interest in hearing from farm and agricultural organizations as
they work to build a foundation to support agriculture within the Biden Administration."
USA Rice remains in close communication with political appointees and career staff at USDA to
ensure rice industry priorities and issues are understood and accounted for during the transition
period.
USA Rice Daily

USA Rice Millers' Association Welcomes New Member
By Deborah Willenborg
ARLINGTON, VA -- Poinsett Rice and Grain recently joined the USA Rice Millers' Association
(RMA) as a mill member. The company is a grain merchandising, storage, and milling facility
with locations throughout northeast Arkansas.
Ryan Carwell, president at Poinsett, will be the RMA board representative, with Randy and
Joseph McNeil as alternates. Carwell currently serves as chair of the USA Rice Merchants'
Association.
"Poinsett Rice and Grain has been in business since 1988, and part of USA Rice through our
Merchants' Association," said RMA Chair Keith Glover. "I believe, with their experience and
expertise, they will be an asset for the RMA, as well."
For more information on membership opportunities with USA Rice, please contact Jeanette
Davis at (703) 236-1447.
USA Rice Daily
Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and
cut smog
Reuters
Rina Saeed Khan, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Dec 08, 2020
By Rina Saeed Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan, Dec 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Air pollution is a long-standing
problem in Pakistan, but every October and November contaminates in the air in Punjab
province shoot up as farmers burn rice stalks left behind after harvesting to clear their fields to
plant wheat.
Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and cut smog
During these cooler months, the provincial capital Lahore, which is surrounded by rice-growing
districts, is covered with thick smog.
―It is a health emergency – the air quality monitors in Lahore routinely show hazardous levels in
November,‖ said Farah Rashid, a climate and energy program coordinator for green group
WWF-Pakistan.
Now the Punjab government hopes to tackle the problem by providing 500 rice farmers around
Lahore with a set of machines that together eliminate the need to burn crop stubble.
The machines include a shredder that breaks down rice stubble and mulches it into the ground
and a seed drill – called the Happy Seeder – that follows to sow wheat through the mulch.
―It‘s a useful technology,‖ said farmer Aaamer Hayat Bhandara, who has used both machines at
a friend‘s large farm, and has pushed the government to subsidize them.
―These machines used together could really make life much easier for us farmers,‖ said
Bhandara, from Pakpattan in Punjab province.
Malik Amin Aslam, climate change advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan, called air pollution a
―silent killer‖ and said Lahore‘s smog had increased in intensity and frequency over the last five
years.
He explained that rice farmers traditionally use combine harvesters to cut their rice in October,
leaving behind about four inches of stubble.
With less than two weeks before they have to ready their fields to sow wheat, burning is the
fastest way to clear the land, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In Pakistan, rice is grown on an area of about 2 million hectares (5 million acres), mainly in the
Punjab and Sindh provinces. Many of the fields are cleared by burning every year.
In October and November, Lahore‘s Air Quality Index level can jump to over 300, a number that
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says corresponds to a ―health warning of emergency
conditions.‖
CUTTING EMISSIONS

Farmers say the new farm equipment can help combat smog, but note that crop burning produces
only a small share of the province‘s pollution.
―The stubble is burned only for a few weeks in the winter. It is a fact that the problem becomes
worse during this short period,‖ Bhandara said.
―But farmers are not the only reason for this pollution,‖ he added.
A 2018 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the underlying causes
of smog in Punjab noted that agriculture – mainly rice residue burning – accounts for 20% of
total air pollutant emissions.
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Article content continued
That puts it behind industry, which produces a quarter of the air pollution in the province, and
transport, which contributes more than 40%.
Tackling air pollution – and leaving stubble on the soil as mulch, rather than burning it – also has
the benefit of reducing carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
In India, where farmers have been using the rice stubble shredder and Happy Seeder for the past
few years, a group of scientists published a report last year stating the technology could cut
greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78%.
Ejaz Ahmad, an environmental expert with the Institute of Urbanism in Islamabad, said any
efforts to curb air pollution will benefit Pakistanis.
―The Happy Seeder seems like a useful machine,‖ he said.
CHOSEN BY LOTTERY
In Mandi Bahauddin district, where famed Basmati rice is grown, Muhammad Afzal, an
agriculture officer at Punjab‘s Government Agriculture Seed Farm, has been experimenting with
the Happy Seeder for the past two years.
―Stubble management is a serious issue for farmers,‖ said Afzal, who helps farmers adopt new
farming techniques.
Pakistan has penalties for rice stubble burning, including fines of up to 20,000 Pakistani rupees
($125) per acre – but most farmers have little other choice and simply continue the practice and
pay the penalty when they are charged.
But a growing number are looking for alternative solutions, Afzal said.

The total cost for the stubble shredder and Happy Seeder is about 637,500 rupees ($4,000), and
the government this year is paying about 80% of the price for 500 farmers, he noted.
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Article content continued
―For those who can‘t afford it, bigger farmers are willing to rent out the machines. In the future,
more service providers will come up to rent them out,‖ Afzal said.
One drawback to the machines, he noted, is the need to mount them on the back of a tractor –
and not just any tractor will do.
―It requires a large, 85-horsepower tractor,‖ he noted, something most rice farmers in Pakistan
do not have.
Bhandara, the farmer in Pakpattan, said the subsidized machines also are only available in certain
districts around Lahore, in the so-called smog ―red zone.‖
―The subsidized machines should be made available to rice farmers in South Punjab and Sindh as
well, otherwise they are too expensive for most farmers,‖ he said.
Despite the limitations, the Happy Seeder has proven so popular that the government has had 10
applicants for each of its 500 machines, according to Aslam, the climate change advisor.
He said authorities are using a lottery system to decide who gets the subsidized equipment.
The government has plans to expand the Happy Seeder program next year and cover the whole
of the Punjab rice belt by 2023, Aslam noted.
In the meantime, he added, it is already working on a technology upgrade.
―The agriculture extension department has developed a prototype to combine the two shredder
(and) seeder machines into one ‗Pak Seeder‘, which will be even more effective and efficient‖ –
plus 30% cheaper, he said. ($1 = 159.3100 Pakistani rupees) (Reporting by Rina Saeed Khan;
Editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation,
the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who
struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/environment-pmn/pakistan-looks-to-new-tech-to-curb-crop-
burning-and-cut-smog

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