News Detail

THAVER CALLS ON

POLICY MAKERS TO

BENEFIT FROM FALL IN

OIL PRICES WISELY January 2, 2015

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com

January 02, 2015 Volume 5, Issue I

Karachi, January 01, 2015 (PPI-OT): The

Union of Small and Medium Enterprises

(UNISAME) has called upon the policy

makers to benefit from the fall in oil prices

wisely and take this as golden opportunity to

curb inflation, reduce cost of production,

promote investment and increase

exports.President UNISAME Zulfikar

Thaver said the prospects are very bright for

2015 and Pakistan will become competitive

in many commodities but it is very

important that the government reduce its

own expenses and declare austerity as a very

first step.

Secondly full throttle action is required to

promote value addition and exports. Thirdly

a strict eye on imports is necessary to

discourage imports of the unnecessary.He

lamented that the government is not taking

steps to promote domestic industry and not

protecting it as a result imports are

increasing and many items which are

manufactured in Pakistan are being imported

in bulk and dumped in the market. The SME

units are discouraged and not planning to

increase production, to modernize and

upgrade their products due to tough

competition from imported items.The

importers are under invoicing their imports

and also importing goods with undeclared

money. There is no check on imports as

imports of all items are allowed whether

they are made in the country or not due to

WTO regulations the imports cannot be

disallowed.

Thaver urged the policy makers to examine

the imports and impose regulatory duty on

imports of items manufactured in Pakistan

otherwise Pakistan is fast becoming a

trading economy. The country is exporting

goods worth US dollars 24 billions and

importing goods worth US dollars 45

billions.Fortunately overseas Pakistanis are

remitting US dollars 15 billions which is

saving the situation otherwise the balance of

payments would be precarious. There is also

foreign debts and internal debts and deficits

which are increasing and increasing the

burden but the government is not serious

although it is a situation which could cause

deep concern to the economist.

UNISAME conducted a survey and found

that the new industries are not being set up

due to energy crisis, poor law and order,

competition from Chinese goods, lack of

marketing support for exports, poor

infrastructure for farm produce and poor

logistics.The other draw backs are lack of

finance, leasing, insurance and taxation

policies. Many entrepreneurs also

complained about corruption, extortion and

environment. Some even mentioned the high

handedness of government officials and

difficulties in lodging FIR and misconduct

of policemen.

One important issue raised was of lack of

information and entrepreneurs complained

that the related trade promotion bodies have

no satisfactory information bureau to answer

queries. One exporter of bananas wanted to

know what is the import duty on bananas in

different countries and nobody was in a

position to give the correct answer and the

exporter was keen to export the fruit to the

different countries as he was a farmer and

growing the fruit.

It is very important that the information

bureau is set up in the trade promotion body

capable of providing information as

information is the key requirement of any

entrepreneur. It is high time the government

gets into gear and takes positive bold steps

to benefit from the favourable aspects of

reduced oil prices and strengthen the

economy before the situation takes a turn. It

is expected that the oil prices will remain

such for about one year and in this period

the government must act diligently to benefit

from the situation.

Source with

thanks:http://www.unisame.org/thaver-calls-on-

policy-makers-to-benefit-from-fall-in-oil-prices-

wisely/

Nigeria’s yearly rice

imports from Vietnam hit

N84 billion

Thursday, 01 January 2015 19:05

Written by Roseline Okere

THE Federal Government’s yearly rice

import bill from Vietnam has hit about $500

million (N84 billion) according to the

Nigerian-Vietnam Chambers of Commerce

and Industry. Besides, Vietnam also spends

about $100 million to import agricultural

products such as raw cashew nuts, cassava

and oil palm from Nigeria. Indeed, Nigeria

spends about N365 million yearly on the

importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of

milled rice from different countries, such as

India, Thailand and Vietnam. President of

the chamber, Prince Oye Akinsemoyin, who

made this disclosure in an interview with

The Guardian recently, said Nigeria’s

imports cover a wide range of commodities,

including those of Vietnam’s strengths such

as rice.

He listed Vietnam’s major exports to

Nigeria to include rubber, electric and

electronic products, footwear, plastics,

handicraft and fine art articles and

construction materials, while the country

imports from Nigeria raw cashew nuts,

fruits, cotton and minerals. Akinsemoyin

stated: “Basically, Nigeria exports

Agricultural products.

At the moment, Vietnam is the largest

importer of Nigeria’s raw cashew nuts.

Vietnam’s cashew import from Nigeria is

about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports

agricultural items like Cassava with which

Vietnam produces starch and the raw

materialsVietnam imports sea foods from

Nigeria, like shrimps, fish; also oil palm,

which is processed to palm oil, which goes

into local production of creams and

cosmetics Vietnam imports food items like

coconut and also beans and fruits from

Nigeria.

Vietnam exports rice to Nigeria; Vietnam

is one of Nigeria’s trading partners in rice

exportation. Vietnam’s rice export to

Nigeria will be about $500 million per

annum. Vietnam exports garments, fabrics

to Nigeria as well as shoes and fashion

accessories. Many of the cosmetics

companies in Vietnam are looking for

distributors in Nigeria. Vietnam exports

furniture, artifacts and art work for interior

décor”. He disclosed that many companies

from Vietnam are willing to invest in

Nigeria.

According to him, “the chamber is now

looking at setting up institutions that will

further foster the relationship between

Nigeria and Vietnam; we are encouraging

investors from Vietnam to make in road to

Nigeria economy, companies like Viettel is

willing to invest $7 billion into the Nigerian

Telecommunication sector. Arrangement is

already going on to avail them the

opportunity to bid for the relevant spectrum

to be able to operate as one of the telecom

operators in the country. “PetroVina is also

interested in investing in the Exploration and

Production (E&P) sub-sector of the

country’s Oil and Gas sector, PetroVina is

interested in the upstream and the midstream

sectors. We are trying to attract investments

that will be able to provide employment for

Nigerians. The kind of investors that will be

able to have multiplier effects on the

Nigerian economy”.

source with

thanks:http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/bus

iness/192379-nigeria-s-yearly-rice-imports-

from-vietnam-hit-n84-billion

Cambodia's rice export up

2 pct last year

(GlobalPost/GlobalPost)

Cambodia's rice export up 2 pct last year

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) --

Cambodia exported 387,061 tons of milled

rice in 2014, a 2 percent increase from

378,856 tons in a year earlier, an official

report said Thursday.Cambodian rice has

been sold to 57 countries and regions around

the world, said the data compiled by the

Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice

Export.Five main buyers are France, Poland,

Malaysia, China, and the Netherlands.Kim

Savuth, Vice President of the Federation of

Cambodian Rice Exporters, said a sluggish

growth in rice export was due to fierce

competitions with other countries' rice,

especially Vietnam and Thailand.Cambodia

is an agrarian country with some 80 percent

of the population being farmers.

In 2010, the Southeast Asian country set a

goal of exporting 1 million tons of milled

rice by 2015. However, Prime Minister Hun

Sen admitted last month that the country

was unlikely to achieve the self-imposed

target due to a lack of milling capacity and

funding.He said the rice export figure in

2014 clearly proved that achieving the 1

million tons target in 2015 is

unlikely.Copyright 2014 Xinhua News

Agency.Xinhua is China's state-run news

agency.All rights reserved. This material

may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,

or redistributed.

source with

thanks:http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/new

s/xinhua-news-agency/150101/cambodias-rice-

export-2-pct-last-year

Gov't grain stockpile

crushing China's domestic

market

Staff Reporter

2015-01-02

09:50 (GMT+8)

Harvesting at a rice field in Harbin,

Heilongjiang, Sept. 2011. (File

photo/Xinhua)

The grain inventory the Chinese government

stockpiled to bolster prices and protect the

livelihood of farmers is now stilling tall and

idle without a modern food processing

industry to consume it, reports the Chinese-

language China Business News.Mu

Yiankuei, owner of a major food processing

firm, said that despite the good intentions,

the government's practice has given rise to

some grave side effects, including the

disruption of the normal circulation of grains

on the market and hindrance of the healthy

development of the food processing

industry.

Many grain processing enterprises have

been forced to close down because of a lack

of grain supply, one example being rice

factories in northeastern China. Nearly 80%

of them have folded their operations.The

grain purchase has entailed a heavy financial

burden on the government, which has been

spending several hundreds of billions of

yuan in buying up grains a year. These are

on top of the costs for infrastructure, custody

of the stockpiled grains and interest on funds

for the purchases.

The stockpiled grains are typically kept in

warehouses for one to three years before

their release into the market, greatly

affecting their quality. In addition, the

government purchase has jacked up

domestic grain prices, inducing imports or

even the smuggling of low-cost grains from

neighboring nations into China. In the same

vein, it has distorted the domestic market.

In one instance, farmers looking to make an

extra buck off of higher prices in

northeastern China, prices set off by

official grain purchases, began selling their

maize en masse from northern China.

According to rough statistics, over 5

million tons of maize flowed from Hebei to

Liaoning province in 2014.Mu Yiankuei

urged the government to intensify its

support for the development of a modern

grain processing industry, thereby laying a

firm foundation for grain safety and

management.

Source with

thanks:http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-

subclass-

cnt.aspx?id=20150102000028&cid=1202

Nigeria's Yearly Rice Imports

From Vietnam Hit N84 Billion

By Roseline Okere

THE Federal Government's yearly rice import

bill from Vietnam has hit about $500 million

(N84 billion) according to the Nigerian-Vietnam

Chambers of Commerce and Industry.Besides,

Vietnam also spends about $100 million to

import agricultural products such as raw cashew

nuts, cassava and oil palm from Nigeria.Indeed,

Nigeria spends about N365 million yearly on the

importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of

milled rice from different countries, such as

India, Thailand and Vietnam.

President of the chamber, Prince Oye

Akinsemoyin, who made this disclosure in an

interview with The Guardian recently, said

Nigeria's imports cover a wide range of

commodities, including those of Vietnam's

strengths such as rice.He listed Vietnam's major

exports to Nigeria to include rubber, electric and

electronic products, footwear, plastics,

handicraft and fine art articles and construction

materials, while the country imports from

Nigeria raw cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and

minerals.

Akinsemoyin stated: "Basically, Nigeria exports

Agricultural products. At the moment, Vietnam

is the largest importer of Nigeria's raw cashew

nuts. Vietnam's cashew import from Nigeria is

about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports

agricultural items like Cassava with which

Vietnam produces starch and the raw

materials.Vietnam imports sea foods from

Nigeria, like shrimps, fish; also oil palm, which

is processed to palm oil, which goes into local

production of creams and cosmetics Vietnam

imports food items like coconut and also beans

and fruits from Nigeria.

Vietnam exports rice to Nigeria; Vietnam is one

of Nigeria's trading partners in rice exportation.

Vietnam's rice export to Nigeria will be about

$500 million per annum. Vietnam exports

garments, fabrics to Nigeria as well as shoes and

fashion accessories. Many of the cosmetics

companies in Vietnam are looking for

distributors in Nigeria.Vietnam exports

furniture, artifacts and art work for interior

décor".He disclosed that many companies from

Vietnam are willing to invest in Nigeria.

According to him, "the chamber is now looking

at setting up institutions that will further foster

the relationship between Nigeria and Vietnam;

we are encouraging investors from Vietnam to

make in road to Nigeria economy, companies

like Viettel is willing to invest $7 billion into the

Nigerian Telecommunication sector.

Arrangement is already going on to avail them

the opportunity to bid for the relevant spectrum

to be able to operate as one of the telecom

operators in the country.

"PetroVina is also interested in investing in the

Exploration and Production (E&P) sub-sector of

the country's Oil and Gas sector, PetroVina is

interested in the upstream and the midstream

sectors. We are trying to attract investments that

will be able to provide employment for

Nigerians. The kind of investors that will be able

to have multiplier effects on the Nigerian

economy".

Source with

thanks:http://allafrica.com/stories/20150102146

0.html

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices

Open- Dec 31

Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:03pm IST

Nagpur, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Gram prices

reported higher in Nagpur Agriculture Produce

and

Marketing Committee (APMC) on increased

marriage season demand from local millers amid

thin arrival from producing belts. Freshs rise in

Madhya Pradesh gram prices and enquiries from

South-based millers also pushed up prices,

according to sources.

* * * *

FOODGRAINS & PULSES

GRAM

* Desi gram raw zoomed up again in open

market on good marriage season demand

from local traders amid tight supply from

producing regions.

TUAR

* Tuar gavarani recovered nominally in open

market on renewed demand from local

traders amid weak supply from producing

regions.

* Moong and udid varieties touched to a

record high in open market on increased

seasonal demand from local traders amid

tight supply from producing regions. Weak

production reports also activated stockists.

* In Akola, Tuar - 4,700-4,900, Tuar dal -

7,100-7,400, Udid at 6,700-6,900,

Udid Mogar (clean) - 7,500-7,700, Moong -

7,800-8,000, Moong Mogar

(clean) 9,700-10,100, Gram - 2,500-2,700,

Gram Super best bold - 3,600-3,900

for 100 kg.

* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained

steady in open market

in thin trading activity, according to sources.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market

prices in rupees for 100 kg

FOODGRAINS Available prices

Previous close

Gram Auction 2,900-3,400

2,870-3,350

Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-

2,600

Tuar Auction n.a. 4,000-

4,200

Moong Auction n.a.

6,200-6,400

Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-

4,500

Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-

2,800

Gram Super Best Bold 4,150-4,300

4,150-4,300

Gram Super Best n.a.

Gram Medium Best 3,900-4,000

3,900-4,000

Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.

Gram Mill Quality 3,000-3,100

3,000-3,100

Desi gram Raw 3,100-3,400

3,100-3,400

Gram Filter new 3,300-3,700

3,300-3,700

Gram Kabuli 8,600-9,900

8,600-9,900

Gram Pink 7,300-7,500 7,300-

7,500

Tuar Fataka Best 7,700-7,800

7,700-7,800

Tuar Fataka Medium 7,450-7,600

7,450-7,600

Tuar Dal Best Phod 7,000-7,200

7,000-7,200

Tuar Dal Medium phod 6,600-6,800

6,600-6,800

Tuar Gavarani 5,550-5,650

5,500-5,600

Tuar Karnataka 5,800-6,000

5,800-6,000

Tuar Black 8,300-8,700

8,300-8,700

Masoor dal best 7,300-7,500

7,300-7,500

Masoor dal medium 7,000-7,200

7,000-7,200

Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold 10,500-10,800

10,300-10,600

Moong Mogar Medium best 9,800-

10,200 9,700-10,200

Moong dal Chilka 9,500-10,000

9,200-9,800

Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 8,300-9,800

8,000 -9,600

Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)

8,200-8,500 8,000-8,200

Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,700-

7,900 7,600-7,800

Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 6,000-

6,200 5,800-6,000

Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,300-4,500

4,300-4,500

Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,800-3,000

2,800-3,000

Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,200

2,900-3,200

Watana White (100 INR/KG) 2,900-

3,100 2,900-3,100

Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,850-

4,450 3,850-4,450

Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,600

1,300-1,600

Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,800-

1,900 1,800-1,900

Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,400

1,200-1,400

Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-

2,500 2,100-2,500

Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)

1,950-2,200 1,950-2,200

Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a.

n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,800-

3,200 2,800-3,200

MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-

2,500 2,300-2,500

Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,400

1,300-1,400

Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,550-1,850

1,550-1,850

Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 3,000-

3,300 3,000-3,300

Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800

1,700-1,800

Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,400-

2,600 2,400-2,600

Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,800-

4,200 3,800-4,200

Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,500-

5,300 4,400-5,300

Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-

13,000 10,000-13,000

Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)

7,000-9,600 7,000-9,600

Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,500

5,100-5,500

Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,900-

2,100 1,900-2,100

Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300

2,100-2,300

WEATHER (NAGPUR)

Maximum temp. 28.8 degree Celsius (73.8

degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.

15.2 degree Celsius (59.4 degree Fahrenheit)

Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.

Rainfall : nil

FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or

thunder-showers likely towards evening or

night. Maximum

and minimum temperature would be around and

29 and 18 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available

(For oils, transport costs are excluded from

plant delivery prices, but

included in market prices.)

Source with

thanks:http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/31/n

agpur-foodgrain-idINL3N0UF2JO20141231