Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Thailand Government Urged to Build 10 Million Ton Storage Space for New Rice

Thailand Government Urged to Build 10 Million Ton Storage Space for New Rice

Thailand’s Public Warehouse Organization (PWO) is urging the government to allow private companies to build additional storage space for at least 10 million tons to help the government run the rice mortgage program in future.

The executive VP of PWO revealed that it is expected that the government would have to store about 6.5 million tons of rice from the new harvesting season, while the PWO can store only 4.5 million tons.

The official suggested that about 10 private companies be allowed to construct storage space of about one million tons each. He said, "If 10 companies joined the plan and each has the capacity of one million tonnes, then we could hold up to 10 million tonnes and not be concerned about slow sales."

The PWO is considering allowing private traders to store rice under rent to the government and reducing the deposit from 100% of rice value to about 70% for private companies which join the rice mortgage program.

Thai rice exports have plunged over 45% this year after the mortgage scheme pushed rice prices higher by about $100 per ton than rivals Vietnam and India. Slow sales have resulted in record high stocks of about 11 million tons rice. Thailand's rice production in 2012-13 is estimated to reach 21.1 million tons, up 3% from 2011-12, and the government has said that the rice mortgage program will continue to 2013.

Source: Oryza/16August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodian Rice Exports Fall Short of Government Hopes

Cambodian Rice Exports Fall Short of Government Hopes

Cambodia’s rice exports in 2012 may fall significantly compared to last year, due to high fuel prices, soaring logistics costs and high prices.

According to local sources, Cambodian rice shipments to Europe this month are at a $200 markup per container over those from Thailand and Vietnam. They say that shipping costs to Europe has surged almost 50% in the last three months, while soaring fuel prices have pushed logistics costs higher, making Cambodian rice unattractive in the international market.

This year the Cambodian government is targeting 400,000 tons of rice exports. However, Cambodia’s milled rice exports for the first quarter 2012 is almost one-tenth of the target at 38,409 tons. Observers say that the Cambodia’s rice exports will be hit badly this year, barely reaching half of 2011 rice exports of 173,000 tons.

Cambodia is aiming to increase rice production to about 9.5 million tons by 2015, and export around 5 million tons annually. The country has signed agreements with some European nations which exempt rice imports from Cambodia of import duties. However, traders say that in May Cambodian rice became more expensive Italian rice even with tax waivers. Cambodia was slated to sign an agreement with the Philippines this week, but the deal is shaky as delays have prompted the Philippine government to say yesterday that it may forego the Cambodia deal.

Source: Oryza/18May2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: U.S. Rice Bids Fall as Crop Ratings Improve

U.S. Rice Bids Fall as Crop Ratings Improve

The U.S. cash rice market was dead today as bids from buyers dropped amid a selloff in the futures market. As of today, old crop offers from farmers declined around $14.95 per cwt delivered (about $330 per ton), while bids from mills and exporters dropped to around $14.30 per cwt delivered (about $315 per ton) and $14.40 per cwt delivered (about $317 per ton), respectively, however there were no sellers willing to entertain these bids.

As for new crop, farmers continue to ask for $15.55 per cwt fob farm (about $343 per ton) January/February/March shipment, however bids from mills and exporters were decreased to around $14.65 per cwt (about $323 per ton) and $14.90 per cwt (about $328 per cwt, respectively for the same shipment period, and as a result nothing traded. There were rumors, however, of a mill paying as much as $15.80 per cwt (about $348 per ton) for prompt delivery earlier this week, although most analysts believe that a majority of buyers are unwilling to pay that high of a price at the moment.

In the meantime, yesterday the USDA estimated that as of August 12, 83% of the U.S. rice crop has headed, compared to 79% last week, 66% this week last year, and a 70% average for the prior 5 years. As of now, the USDA estimates that 9% of the U.S. rice crop has been harvest, compared to 7% last week, 10% this week last year, and a 7% average for the prior 5 years. Currently, the USDA projects that 73% of the U.S. rice crop is in good to excellent condition, compared to 69% last week and 66% this week last year. As of now, 90% of the rice crop in California is in good to excellent condition, compared to 65% in Arkansas.

Going forward, many expect that old crop offers will start to decline as the farmers look to make room for new crop although most believe that farmers will hold on to their new crop tight as many are expecting above average yields on their corn and beans leaving them flush with cash.

Source: Oryza/14August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: In Defense of Rice Scheme, Thai Officials Say Scheme Helps Other Rice Exporters

In Defense of Rice Scheme, Thai Officials Say Scheme Helps Other Rice Exporters

Thailand’s Permanent Secretary to the Commerce Ministry says representatives from the USDA plan to visit Thailand to inspect whether the rice mortgage scheme violates any World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on export subsidies, adding that such fears are unfounded.

The Commerce Ministry official said that the rice mortgage program boosts farmer income and does not lower rice prices, and thus does not give Thailand an advantage on international export markets. And, the money spent under the program cannot be called export subsidies as the money remains within the country, he added.

The official said, "No damage is incurred in the international market. The money spent on the rice pledging scheme circulates within the country…I wonder on what grounds the US is accusing us. I am ready to clarify.”

Rather than being harmed, the Commerce Secretary pointed out that the U.S. and other rice exporting countries benefit from the Thai scheme.

"A subsidy means dumping prices and hurting the competition of rivals but in this sense [Thailand's subsidy] is designed to support [farm] income and help boost domestic and export prices.” Adding “Other rice exporting nations such as the U.S. will also benefit from rising prices.”

He also noted that the subsidies of $5 billion per year that the U.S. pays its farmers and several other policies have distorted the rice market. The U.S. $158 million food aid program in Africa had hurt Thai rice exports, he alleged.

Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy has denied any U.S. plan to send USDA officials to Thailand to inspect the rice mortgage program, adding, "We have no formal position on the new Thai rice scheme, just as we have no formal position on the one before it," said embassy spokesman.

Source: Oryza/10August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam Plans New Model for Rice Reserve Program

Vietnam Plans New Model for Rice Reserve Program

Following Vietnam’s Agriculture Ministry’s allegations that farmers are unable to benefit from the rice reserve purchase program, the Deputy Agriculture Minister has asked his ministry and the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) to find out ways to ensure profits for rice farmers.

The Vietnamese government introduced the rice reserve purchase program to help stabilize prices during the harvest season when rice prices usually dropped sharply due to anticipation of increased supplies and a shortage of storage space.

Recently, the government ordered the VFA to buy half a million to one million tonnes of rice for the reserve with the help of private companies which received interest-free loans for buying rice from farmers. The move was aimed to ensure that farmers get at least 30% profits.

The VFA claims that the participating companies have completed their purchases and rice farmers have been paid high prices. However, the Agriculture Ministry contends that farmers could not get good prices for their crop because most of them had already sold their paddy to traders (at lower prices) before the program began.

In response, the Deputy Agriculture minister has asked the ministry and VFA to develop models under the rice reserve purchase program that will ensure that farmers get at least 30% profits.

Allowing farmers to store paddy in their houses and at cooperative storage facilities with interest-free bank loans for those storing more than 5 tons of paddy are among the suggestions. Food companies that agree to buy paddy directly from farmers will also be eligible for such loans.

Source: Oryza/9August2012

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សេចក្តីជូនដំណឹងស្តីពីការប្រលងចូលក្របខណ្ឌក្រសួងកសិកម្ម រុក្ខាប្រមាញ់ និងនេសាទ

សេចក្តីជូនដំណឹងស្តីពីការប្រលងចូលក្របខណ្ឌក្រសួងកសិកម្ម រុក្ខាប្រមាញ់ និងនេសាទ

ក្រសួងកសិកម្ម រុក្ខាប្រមាញ់ និង​នេសាទ សូម​ជូនដំណឹង​ជា​សាធារណៈ​ដល់​សិស្ស និង​និស្សិត​ទាំង​ពីរភេទ ឱ្យបាន​ជ្រាបថា ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ២០១២នេះ ក្រសួង​ត្រូវការ​ប្រឡងប្រជែង​ជ្រើសរើស​អ្នកបច្ចេកទេស​ចំនួន១៦០នាក់ សម្រាប់​បម្រើការ​ងារ​នៅ​អង្គភាព​ថ្នាក់កណ្តាល និង​មន្ទីរ​កសិកម្ម​ខេត្ត។ សម្រាប់​ព័ត៌មាន លំអិត​សូម​ធ្វើការ​ទំនាក់​ទំ​នាង​ដោយផ្ទាល់​ជាមួយ​នាយកដ្ឋាន បុគ្គលិក និង​អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​ធនធានមនុស្ស នៃ​ក្រសួងកសិកម្ម រុក្ខាប្រមាញ់ និង​នេសាទ។

....

សំគាល់៖

​កាលបរិច្ឆេទ ឈប់ទទួលពាក្យសុំចុះឈ្មោះប្រឡង ចាប់ពីផ្សាយដំណឹង រហូតដល់ ថ្ងៃទី ២៤ ខែ សីហា ឆ្នាំ ២០១២!!!

ប្រភព៖  ឯកសារភ្ជាប់របស់ក្រសូងកសិកម្ម រុក្ខា ប្រមាញ់ និង​នេសាទ

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam Considers Biannual Rice Purchase Targets to Stabilize Prices

Vietnam Considers Biannual Rice Purchase Targets to Stabilize Prices

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is considering setting biannual rice purchase targets for rice companies to stabilize prices and help farmers get better returns for their crop.

Rice prices in Vietnam usually plunge during the harvest season. While Vietnam’s rice exports have increased significantly in the last three months, prices have remained low, plunging almost 15% in July from average prices of around $463 per ton in June, mainly due to the onset of the new harvest season.

MARD held a meeting with industry experts last week to discuss changes in rules and regulations about the rice purchase process. The Deputy Minister said that the existing rules have to be modified because the government has little control over the rice companies which rarely bought rice directly from farmers. The MARD suggests that rice purchasing targets should be set and support be extended to farmers and rice buying companies during harvest periods to boost prices and profits.

According to the new rules proposed by MARD, one million tons of the winter-spring rice crop would be bought every year in February and March and held in temporary reserve. The ministry also recommends buying 1-1.5 million tons of the summer-autumn rice crop between July and September and stored for sales later. The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) will sell the rice to food companies, while the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam will provide the necessary capital for the rice buying programs, said MARD.

It's not yet clear if the rice will be bought at a set minimum price.

Last month the Vietnam Prime Minister asked the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) to encourage rice companies to buy half a million tons of rice between July 10 and August 10 to help boost prices but so far only about 250,000 tons had been bought.

Vietnam’s total rice exports from January to July 2012 have reached around 4.18 million tons, up about 10% from the 3.78 million tons exported in the same period last year. Vietnam is targeting exports of 2.1 million tons in the third quarter to help the nation meet its 2012 target of exporting 6.5 to 7 million tons of rice.

Source: Oryza/7August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: India, Vietnam rice exports to surpass Thailand in 2012

India, Vietnam rice exports to surpass Thailand in 2012

PHUKET: A Thai trade researcher has concurred with a recent prediction by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that India and Vietnam will export more rice than Thailand this year.

Thanawan Phonwichai, the Director of the Business and Economics Forecasting Center at the Thai Chamber of Commerce University said that Thailand is expected to lose its crown as the world’s top rice exporter due to an increasingly competitive regional market.

"Consistent with the USDA’s prediction, India this year is producing a lot of rice at lower prices. This has caused Vietnam to lower its prices to be more competitive.

"At the same time Thailand has not lowered its prices due to its base costs being a lot higher. As a result, we expect that India will export 8 million tonnes this year, followed by Vietnam exporting about 7, and Thailand just 6.5 million tonnes," he said.

According to the USDA, the predicted figure will equate to a 39% annual decline in the Kingdom’s rice exports.

Mr Thanawan added that he expects Thailand to reclaim its top position in 2013, however, when his department predicts that Thailand will export 8mn tonnes, followed by Vietnam with 7mn tonnes and India at 6mn tonnes.

In a related article by The Nation, it was reported that Thailand only exported 4.7mn tonnes between October, last year and July, 2012, about half when compared to the same period a previous year, when nearly 9mn tonnes were exported.

Export value also declined from 160 billion baht in the previous year to about 100bn baht this year, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).

The TDRI attributed the fall mainly to the government’s rice-mortgage policy.

The rice-pledging policy had destroyed the competitiveness of Thai rice in the world market because the government’s mortgage prices were a lot higher, TDRI President Nipon Poapongsakorn said.

Mr Nipon pointed out that Thailand would suffer a loss of 87bn to 100bn baht immediately if the government decided to release 10.2 million tonnes of rice in its stocks, noting that the pledging price is high while the current market price is still low.

Thailand will end up losing US$75 to US$77 (2,364 to 2,427 baht) per ton if it sells at the current market price, and this would not include the cost of pledging – about 260bn baht.

"Thailand is losing huge amounts on subsidies that are helping, not just poor farmers but also landlords and rich farmers, because the government is accepting all the rice that is entered in the pledging scheme.

"More than 52% of the rice entered in the pledging scheme comes from rich farmers," Nipon explained.

He added that if the government changed its pledging measure to providing direct subsidies to a particular group of small farmers, then it would only spend about 30bn to 40bn baht a year.

According to TDRI, about 80% of Thai farmers are small, producing only about 10 tonnes of rice per harvest.

Source: PHUKET NEWS/7August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Asian Rice Quotes Mixed

Asian Rice Quotes Mixed

Thai rice sellers lower their quotes for 5% broken rice by about $5 per ton to about $560 - $570 per ton and increased their quotes for Parboiled rice by about $5 per ton to about $560 - $570 per ton. Viet rice sellers increased their quotes for 5% broken rice by about $5 per ton to about $410 - $420 per ton. Indian rice sellers increased their quotes for 25% and 100% broken rice by about $5 and $10 per ton respectively. Pak rice sellers kept their quotes unchanged.

Thai 5% rice is quoted about $560 - $570per ton, down about $5 per ton from Wednesday and about a $150 per ton premium over Viet 5% rice shown around $410 - $420 per ton, up about $5 per ton from yesterday. Indian 5% rice is quoted around $415 - $425 per ton, about a $30 per ton discount to Pak 5% rice shown around $445 - $455 per ton.

Thai 25% rice is quoted about $545 - $555 per ton, about a $170 per ton premium over Viet 25% rice indicated around $375 - $385 per ton. Indian 25% rice is quoted about $380 - $390 per ton, up about $5 per ton from Wednesday and, about a $15 per ton discount to Pak 25% rice shown around $395 - $405 per ton.

Thai parboiled rice is quoted about $560 - $570 per ton, up about $5 per ton from yesterday. Indian parboiled rice is quoted around $400 - $410 per ton, about a $70 per ton discount to Pak parboiled rice shown around $470 - $480 per ton.

Thai broken rice, A1 Super, is quoted about $505 - $515 per ton, about a $155 per ton premium over Viet broken rice shown around $350 - $360 per ton. Indian broken sortexed is quoted about $345 - $355 per ton, up about $10 per ton from Wednesday, and about a $10 per ton premium to Pak broken sortexed rice indicated around $335- $345 per ton.

Source: Oryza/3August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Rice price pledging scheme is a total disaster

Rice price pledging scheme is a total disaster

The rice pledging scheme alone, plagued with inefficiency and corruption, is likely to result in losses to the tune of Bt100 billion.

Niphon Wongtra-ngarn, a rice expert, has called for an inspection of the government's rice stocks, following reports that there could be 3 million tonnes in fake stock.

The government now has about 15 million tonnes in its stock, accumulated from the pledging programme. Of this, 3 million tonnes might not exist. Independent inspection is likely to face a roadblock. The Commerce Ministry is desperately trying to release the rice from the warehouses via government-to-government deals.

The Thailand Research Development Institute has called for the government to completely revised its farm price intervention policy, which harms the entire rice production and trading system of the country. Still, Kittiratt Na Ranong, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, has insisted that the government will continue to implement the rice pledging scheme, one of the Pheu Thai Party's massively expensive populist policies.

The Yingluck government has set aside Bt400 billion for the rice pledging scheme. It has spent Bt260 billion, over two harvests, to buy up paddy from farmers - with white rice at Bt15,000 per tonne and homali fragrant rice at Bt20,000 per tonne. Kittiratt said that by September the government is expected to use the remaining Bt170 billion in the budget to purchase more rice from farmers in order to fulfil its policy obligation.

The rice price pledging scheme is funded largely via borrowing. The FinanceMinistry has borrowed short-term money to the tune of around Bt260 billion to finance the scheme, operated by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

The whole Bt400 billion pledging scheme looks like a black hole. Nobody knows what is going on. The full extent of the losses will be learnt only when the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives announces the operational outcomes. The rice pledging and selling operation is not transparent.

The following is from the United States Department of Agriculture's latest report on the global rice trade, issued in July:

"Prices have not returned to their pre-2008 pattern when quotes from Thailand, India and Vietnam generally moved together, and the gaps between them were narrow. Since the 2008 spike, quotes have converged and diverged, with gaps between suppliers occasionally surpassing US$200 per tonne. This has been the case since May, when Thai quotes jumped while Vietnamese and Indian quotes fell. The paddy pledging scheme in Thailand is keeping prices artificially high, while in India, massive stocks are pushing prices down. Like most of the price movements since 2008, the current divergence is linked to policy rather than to changes in supply or demand."

According to the US Department of Agriculture, Thailand has lost its world's No 1 rice exporting country status. Normally, Thailand exported 9 to 10 million tonnes of rice a year. But in the 2011 and this year so far, Thailand has exported only 6.5 million tonnes due to the phigh prices set by the rice pleding scheme, compared to 7 million tonnes for Vietnam and 8 million tonnes for India. The more Thailand exports, the more losses it will incur because the pledged price is higher than that on the world market. From fears of food insecurity and food inflation due to drought and natural disaster over the past few years, the situation has turned in favour of the buyers' market. Countries like China and Indonesia offer better bargains when it comes to prices for their rice exports.

In the 2012-2013 season, the situation will gradually turn around for Thailand's rice exports, when the country will export 8 million tonnes, followed by Vietnam's 7 million tonnes and India's 6.5 million tonnes.

If the policy does not work, the government should not continue to shoot itself - and the country - in the foot. The rice price pledging scheme must stop now before it creates even further damage and empties the government's coffers.

Source: TheNation/3August2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: U.S. Rice Exporters Concerned About Falling River Levels

U.S. Rice Exporters Concerned About Falling River Levels

The U.S. cash rice market was quiet today as buyer and seller ideas remain about $0.50-$1.00 per cwt apart (roughly $11-$22 per ton). As of today, old crop offers from farmers were still hard to come however small lots could be found around $15.15 per cwt delivered (about $334 per ton), while offers from resellers pulled back with the futures market, although both offers generated only marginal interest.

Old crop bids from mills and exporters could still be seen around $14.65 per cwt delivered (about $323 per ton) while new crop bids for September delivery could be found at similar levels, however there are no takers at this time.

In the meantime, the drought that has plagued much of the U.S. this summer and decimated crops is now having an impact on marine transport activity on the lower Mississippi River. Currently, receding water levels on the Mississippi River are creating a logistical nightmare for rice exporters as water levels at several barge loading facilities are too low to load barges to full capacity and in some cases even at all. However, it's expected that river levels will rise about 4 feet this week, which may ease concerns for a bit, although many expect that this will be short lived.

Going forward, some analysts expect that falling river levels will create a backup of incoming rice at receiving facilities after the rice harvest and that this could ultimately lead to a wider basis (the difference between the cash and futures price) as traders look for places to move their rice.

Source: Oryza/31July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Burma Traders Urge China to Reduce Import Tariffs on Rice Imports

Burma Traders Urge China to Reduce Import Tariffs on Rice Imports

Rice traders in Burma have urged China to roll-back the steep hike in rice import tariffs on Burmese rice, saying the move has hurt their profits while encouraging smuggling of rice across borders into China.

Local traders in Burma say that China has increased the rice import tariffs to 65% after the change in government in Burma. They add that China has also made it difficult for rice traders in China to avail loans to trade with Burma.

Meanwhile, smuggled Burmese rice into China is on the rise, reportedly at around 2,500 tons of rice every day. Traders involved in such illegal exports say that smuggling results in losses to Burmese rice traders because they have to sell their rice to Chinese farmers across the border at low prices. Burmese traders say that while the Burmese government has removed taxes on export of rice to promote exports, they are unable to benefit from the move.

Burma’s Minister for Commerce says that China has placed barriers on rice trade with Burma because Burma rice is considered low quality by World Trade Organization standards. “However, we will ask Chinese government representatives to reconsider this position and reduce export fees,” he said.

Source: Oryza/31July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Nepali gov't set to reopen rice exports

Nepali gov't set to reopen rice exports

KATHMANDU, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Nepali government is preparing to lift up the ban on exports of rice imposed since 2008 owing to low production, local media reported on Friday.

The Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) has said it will allow export of up to 100,000 tons of rice from the next fiscal year which begins from mid-July.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has said it will open up two customs points for rice exports. But it has yet to fix the exact quantity that would be allowed to be shipped out of the country.

"Although the MoAD has okayed exports of 100,000 tons of rice, we are planning to limit it to 50,000 tons for now," Lal Mani Joshi, secretary at the MoCS, was quoted by Republica daily as saying. "The decision has to be approved by the Prime Minister's Office."

At present, the government has decided to open only two border points, Tatopani and Rasuwa, for exports as these areas were hubs for illegal exports of rice. "We hope this step will control smuggling of rice," the official said, adding, "Opening up of customs points for legal exports will also ensure that farmers will get higher returns for their products."

According to MoAD statistics, the country enjoyed food surplus of 443,000 tons in the fiscal year 2010/11. It has forecast a food surplus of about 800,000 tons for this fiscal year, of which 300, 000 tons will comprise rice, the statistics show.

The preliminary estimation of crops production of MoAD shows that paddy production reached 9.45 million tons this fiscal year, up 9.8 percent compared to the last fiscal and 21.8 percent compared to the fiscal year 2009/10.

Despite surplus paddy production, the government is reluctant to open up exports of rice from other customs points citing unethical behavior of traders.

"There is a risk in opening rice exports from other customs points," an official at the MoAD said. "Bangladesh has a huge demand of rice of almost 1 million tons that might lead us to another trouble." The official's statement stems from the fear that Nepali traders re-export rice imported from India to Bangladesh.

Source: Xinhua/29June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Thailand Government Selling Rice in Secret Sales, Claim Reports

Thailand Government Selling Rice in Secret Sales, Claim Reports

Local sources in Thailand have accused the government of releasing about 3 million tons between January and June 2012 favoring some private exporters, while keeping the sale a secret as the prices were below the government purchase price.

Sources claimed that about 1.9 million tons of the secret sales were from old stocks, while about 1.1 million tons were released from the last harvest. They say that the average prices that buyers paid the government were around $500 per ton, basis milled.

The reports also say that only a few exporters, who are close to the government, were involved in the secret sale and the exporters were referred by the Prime Minister for possible rice trade in her talks with Indonesian and Malaysian importers. Some exports to Iraq have taken place at “very low prices” with the involvement of Department of Foreign Trade, said the sources.

However, the Commerce Minister refuted such claims, saying that the government has sold rice only in government-to-government deals, and some broken milled rice locally. He added that an investigation is underway to verify reports of the alleged secret sale.

Source: Oryza/25July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Thai rice exports decline in first half of 2012 due to unattractive prices

Thai rice exports decline in first half of 2012 due to unattractive prices

BANGKOK, 25 July 2012 – The Thai Rice Exporters Association has revealed that the quantity of rice exports in the first half of this year has reduced by nearly half compared to the same period last year.

Thai Rice Exporters Association Chairperson Kobsuk Iamsuree said that Thai exporters are suffering price competitions, as Thai rice price is higher than those of other countries.

Thailand has fallen from a world ranking as the number one rice exporter for several years. It is now the third in the ranking. The association said that from the beginning of the year until July 10th, India exported the highest volume of rice in the world at 3.61 million tons, followed by Vietnam at 3.52 million tons.

In the first half of this year, Thailand exported 3.45 million tons of rice, worth 71 billion baht, a sharp fall from the same period last year, when 108 billion baht worth of rice was exported. Major importers of Thai rice are South Africa, ASEAN, and the Middle East.

The association expects the country to export around 3.05 million tons of rice in the second half, which will make the overall rice export in 2012 to stay around 6.5 million tons, a 39% decrease. India and Vietnam are expected to export 8 and 7 million tons respectively this year.

With India having enough rice reserve to export all year round and weak rupee, Ms Kobsuk said Thai rice exporters will continue to suffer. She said the low price from India is pushing the world rice price down; Vietnam also reduced its price to even lower than the Indian price in February.

Thai Rice Exporters Association said it is willing to discuss with the government ways to help release accumulated rice in government stocks.

Source: Pattayamail/26July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: U.S. Rice Buyers Eye New Crop; 54% Headed; 69% Rated Good-to-Excellent

U.S. Rice Buyers Eye New Crop; 54% Headed; 69% Rated Good-to-Excellent

The U.S. cash rice market was mostly quiet today as buyer and seller old crop price ideas are roughly $0.50 per cwt apart (about $11 per ton). Offers from farmers could be found as low as $14.75 per cwt delivered (about $325 per ton), while offers from resellers decreased slightly although these lower levels were still unattractive to buyers.

Bids from mills and exporters were steady today around $14.50 per cwt delivered (about $320 per ton) although there were no sellers near this level. As for new crop prices, farmers continue to ask for $15.55 per cwt fob farm (about $342 per ton) however it was reported that a small lot traded today as low as $15.15 per cwt (about $334 per ton) for January through March delivery.

Today the USDA estimated that as of July 22, 54% of the U.S. rice crop has headed, compared to 39% last week, 30% this week last year, and a 30% average for the prior 5 years. Currently, the USDA estimates that 69% of the U.S. rice crop is in good-to-excellent condition, compared to 70% last week and 63% this week last year. As of now, 86% of the rice crop in Mississippi is in good-to-excellent condition, compared to 61% in Arkansas.

Going forward, some analysts believe that the increasing price of corn and soybeans will lead to greater demand for U.S. rice, however, at the moment; most buyers remain reluctant to pay higher prices citing concerns about the strength of the global economy and the potential for a better than expected U.S. rice crop.

Source: Oryza/23July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodia's export growth falls

Cambodia's export growth falls

Increased labour strife in the garment sector and slumping Western economies contributed to a slow-down in Cambodia’s exports during the first six months of the year, with total growth dropping by about 74 per cent year on year.

Exports rose, to US$2.5 billion, up 12 per cent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The figure is disappointing compared to about 45 per cent growth during the first half of 2011.

The value of agricultural exports dropped by about 10 per cent during the period.

Garment shipments, which accounted for about 84 per cent of the exports, faltered between January and June as slow growth in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe had dried up demand.

Domestically, garment industry insiders have said worker strikes over wage increases not only affected production, but discouraged investment in the sector that has long championed gross domestic product growth.

“If the strikes continue, the owners will definitely move from Cambodia. Now they are starting to look at Myanmar. They have stopped considering Cambodia as a place to put their investment and they want to see Myanmar," Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, told the Post.

The warning is a change in tune from only a few months earlier. At the ASEAN-EU Business Summit in April, Van Sou Ieng claimed a new garment or shoe factory opened in Cambodia about every 10 days.

Year-on-year growth for garment exports during the first half of the year slumped by about 90 per cent, data showed, deflating hopes that the sector could maintain its healthy recovery from the global financial crisis.

Value increased by 8 per cent during the same period in 2011, which saw a 77 per cent jump.

The problem with exports reached beyond garments. Agricultural shipments were worth $187.3 million during the first half of the year. That's 10 per cent below last year's output.

Efforts to sell Cambodia's milled rice abroad have floundered as other major exporters flooded the market with the grain and prices have fallen substantially.

The high cost of milling rice in Cambodia, coupled with increasing logistics prices, have rendered the product uncompetitive.

“We see this year that India has supplied around 5 million tonnes of milled rice since late 2011. That has caused [our exports] to slow down,” Lim Bun Heng, president of Loran Import-Export Co, said.

Slower growth in Cambodia is tied directly to demand from Europe, said Hiroshi Suzuki, chief executive and economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia.

Although the 12 per cent increase in export value this year was acceptable, outlook for the rest of the year was gloomier.

“I am afraid that this could seriously affect Cambodian exports in the second half of this year,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/23July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam cuts 2012 rice export forecast

Vietnam cuts 2012 rice export forecast

Vietnam's 2012 rice exports will decline by a quarter from last year to 5.4 million tonnes, the Agriculture Ministry said, basing its forecast on lower first-quarter sales, but added that final volumes could be higher thanks to regional buying demand. The amount was lower than last month's full-year export forecast of 6.1 million tonnes, which in turn was nearly 14 percent less than last year's record exports of 7.2 million tonnes.

Rice exports in the first quarter of the year fell 32 percent to 1.31 million tonnes compared to the same period in 2011, the ministry cited customs data as showing. Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat, however, had said on March 15 that Vietnam aimed to match last year's shipments.

A rise of recent import orders from China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia would help increase Vietnam's rice export volume in coming months, the ministry said in its monthly report on Thursday. Vietnam's rice exports to China could climb six-fold this year to 2 million tonnes, a Vietnamese industry official was quoted by state media in late March as saying. In a particular deal, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation has bought 22,000 tonnes of Vietnamese 5 percent broken rice from a European trading firm and has sent a ship to take the grain, traders said.

Source: Brecorder/4May2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Delta needs rice drying rooms

Delta needs rice drying rooms

HCM CITY — Farmers in the Mekong Delta region should use rice drying-rooms to reduce production costs and improve quality of rice exports, experts have recommended.

Ho Minh Khai, director of Co Do Agriculture One Member Ltd Company and Co Do Farm in Can Tho City's Co Do District, said his company had built 63 rice drying rooms with a capacity of 12-15 tonnes, at a total cost of VND12 billion (US$576,000).

He said the rice drying-rooms could dry and preserve about 750-800 tonnes of rice per day, which can meet the demand of all rice-cultivation areas in the district, as well as other districts in Kien Giang and Hau Giang provinces.

Co Do Farm cultivates two rice crops a year: winter-spring and summer-autumn. It covers an area of 5,600ha, with an annual output of 60,000 tonnes, of which high-quality rice accounts for 75 per cent.

According to Khai, rice that is dried by being put on asphalt grounds under the sun is not of high quality and usually does not meet standards for export.

The use of drying rooms can improve preservation of the rice and its quality.

To ensure rice output, the company plans to buy all wet rice from farmers for drying and storing to prepare for export.

Ngo Sy Tien, deputy director of Song Hau Farm in Co Do District's Thoi Hung Village, said the farm had built more than 20 drying rooms with a capacity of 10-25 tonnes, meeting the demand of drying rice for farmers in the village.

The traditional way of drying rice outside on the ground consumes more money and human resources.

In addition, after harvesting, farmers are unable to dry a large volume of rice under the sun in a short period of time, which can affect the quality of rice.

Tien said that a drying room with a capacity of 10-25 tonne costs about VND200 million ($9,600), but farmers can recover the capital after three years of operation.

The cost for drying one tonne of rice is VND120,000, around VND30,000 cheaper than drying under the sun, according to Tien.

Duong Xuan Qua, director of Nam Nha company that produces drying rooms in An Giang Province's Long Xuyen City, said a drying-room includes a burning-oven system, and fans and conveyor belts to transfer rice into and out of the drying room.

Huynh Hiep Thanh, director of the An Giang Agricultural Extension Centre, said An Giang Province has the highest number of rice-drying rooms in the Delta region.

Every year, it dries about 1.3 million tonnes of rice, accounting for 70-80 per cent of rice in the province.

Rice in the Delta accounts for 53 per cent of the country's total rice output and 96 per cent of exports.

Yet only 40 per cent of the region's rice output is done through these machines, according to Le Van Banh, head of the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute.

Banh said the rice post-harvest technology was still poor, with a loss-proportion of 13 per cent, especially during the drying process.

If the drying process does not meet standards, farmers can incur a loss of 2 million tonnes of rice every year.

The current number of rice drying rooms meets only 40 per cent of demand in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region, which targets doubling the number to ensure a sufficient volume of exports. — VNS

Source: VNS/21July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: PM looks to counter OPEC, push rice-exporting power

PM looks to counter OPEC, push rice-exporting power

Cambodia will push to finalise a rice-exporting bloc with four other regional countries by the end of the year in a bid to become the world’s “food basket”, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The group of countries including Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar – and known as the Association of Milled Rice Exporting Countries – would also look to become a counterbalance to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The concept of the association had been put forward by Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thailand’s ousted Prime Minister Thakshin Shinawatra about five years ago.

“The five countries will be the world’s food supplier – what we could call the food basket of the world,” said Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh. “We would be able to supply the whole world. We would not increase prices but try to find a way to facilitate trade with [other countries].”

Hun Sen has theorised that the rice-exporting power of such a bloc could become a bargaining chip in negotiations with OPEC, according to the minister.

“When we form the association, we would have enough power to negotiate with OPEC, as they normally increase the price of gasoline. That’s the main point the PM has been considering for a long time: to make the balance between the price of gas and food. I do believe that we can make it materialise this year,” Cham Prasidh said.

The exchange of information on supply and price setting between the participating countries would be an asset to Cambodia, said Yang Saing Koma, director of Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC).

“It should have a common benefit to each country,” he said, adding that information on how the bloc would technically work was unavailable.

In 2011, Cambodia produced about 7.77 million tonnes of rice paddy, a surplus of 4.34 million tones, equal to about 2.78 million tonnes of milled rice. But the country exported only 73,000 tonnes of milled rice.

A shortage of electricity and milling facilities has hindered Cambodia’s attempts to become a major rice-exporting country. High logistics costs coupled with low regional rice prices have rendered Cambodian rice uncompetitive on the global market this year.

Kim Savuth, chairman of a newly established Federation of Cambodian Association of Milled Rice Exporters, agreed that the bloc would aid Cambodia’s export industry.

“As far as I know, the deal will be signed by the end of the year. We’re also a milled-rice exporting country. So we can get more information about the market and the price and we can share with each other,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/19July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodia will not export rice to Philippines

Cambodia will not export rice to Philippines

After the Philippines government issued their own policy regarding milled rice exports the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia has expressed its disinterest in exporting milled rice to its neighbour, Cambodia’s Commerce Minister said yesterday.

Local rice millers will not be encouraged to make any efforts to export milled rice to the Philippines, said Cham Prasidh, the Minister of Commerce for Cambodia.

“We have no interest in the Philippines market any more as their government has issued a new policy that by 2013 the country should be able meet its own supply requirements for milled rice and may even export some starting next year. We do not need to rely on the Philippines — there are other markets”, he said during a meeting at the National Assembly yesterday.

At the same time, Cham Prasidh urged members of the Federation of Cambodian Associations of Rice Exporters to look other markets in the region.

“Now, we will look at Indonesia even though they are producing a lot of milled rice. There could still be a shortage. I plan on signing a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian trade minister next month during the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting.”

The deal will be for 100,000 tonnes of milled rice, according to Chairman of the Federation of Cambodian Associations of Rice Exporters Kim Savuth, who agreed with Cham Psaidh’s claims and said the Philippines market is a bit difficult for private rice milling companies to work in.

“Of course, I think it is good idea because we should not waste time and we won’t have to now that their government has announced that they can produce enough milled rice to meet their own demand by 2013,” he said.

He said he had conducted an export feasibility study on the market since 2000 and that Cambodia was close to exporting milled rice to the Philippines though for it to happen a bilateral agreement needed to be made between the two governments.

“We were very close to exporting to the Philippines over the last few years but after we saw the conditions for payment, which were quite late, we decided to look for other markets to enter,” he said.

Kim Savuth said that Indonesia, Malaysia and China, among others in the region, have a lot of potential with Cambodia’s white rice, while the European and Russian markets are still good places for fragrant rice exports.

Cambodia’s total exports of milled rice dropped about 35 per cent for the first half of 2012 to 78,000 tonnes compared to 120,000 tonnes for the same period in 2011– a decrease of 40,000 tonnes, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture supplied yesterday.

Source: Phnompenhpost/18July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: $20 million rice mill for Oddong

$20 million rice mill for Oddong

When London-based real estate investor Sanjay Dhir heard about Cambodia from his Indian partner Manoj Varma, he took a trip here in October 2010 and stopped by the roadside to meet the operators of a portable rice mill.

He knew then that Cambodia was ready for new rice mills. After working with his partners for the last year and a half, Long Grain Co Ltd announced the deal last week for a $20 million investment in a new rice mill in the Oddong district, about 40 kilometres from Phnom Penh.

“When you have been through many crises in various countries, trends and fashion changes, you learn one thing: people have got to eat,” Dhir said. “On the remaining two and a half hour journey after talking to the owners of the portable rice mill I was trying to understand more about the country, the rice, how many mills and very quickly realised there was a huge opportunity for many, many more rice mills,” he said.

According to the same principles that he and his partner Manoj Varma use when investing in real estate developments in India through a company called Fusion Real Estate Investments of Mauritius, the key is finding good local partners to work with.

In this case, they found Sean Ngu, CEO of EMAXX Telecom, who is one of several shareholders in Long Grain Fusion, the Singapore company that owns the Cambodian company Long Grain Co Ltd. Dhir serves as the Chairman of Long Grain Fusion: the majority shareholder is his own family.

In the $20 million phase one of the project, Japanese rice milling equipment under the brand name Satake will arrive in October, following completion of the building at the end of September for a projected start of operations on January 25 next year, on Dhir’s 40th birthday.

“There’s been an awful lot to do, identifying the site, filling the site, raising it by two metres, and working with a good builder for excavation and foundations,” Dhir said.

With regard to the January opening of the plant, Dhir says the paddy can be acquired and stored prior to milling....Read more at Phnompenhpost

Source: Phnompenhpost/17July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam's rice exports declining in 1st six months of 2012

Vietnam's rice exports declining in 1st six months of 2012

HANOI, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported more than 2.7 million tons of rice worth 1.33 billion U.S. dollars as of June 20, a decrease of 20 percent in volume and 23 percent in value compared with the same period last year.

Pham Van Bay, vice chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, released the figures at a meeting on rice consumption in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

The meeting, held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, discussed measures on rice purchase in the southern Mekong River delta during the summer-autumn crop season this year, of which the ministry suggested a plan to purchase one million tons of rice for reserve.

Enterprises, which purchase rice for reserve from late July to the end of September this year will be given loans with a preferential interest rate from the government, according to the ministry.

Vietnam is facing difficulties in exporting rice due to tough competition from foreign rice exporters, including India, Pakistan, Thailand and Myanmar. The country has set a target to export 6.5 million to 7 million tons of rice this year.

Source: Xinhua/2012-06-21

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnamese rice prices move higher on intervention, Thai prices slip

Vietnamese rice prices move higher on intervention, Thai prices slip

Vietnamese rice prices edged higher this week, despite a rise in supply, supported by a government stockpiling plan, while Thai rice prices slipped because of thin demand, traders said on Wednesday.

Vietnamese exporters started buying summer-autumn paddy this week under an industry stockpiling scheme, but the export market remained largely lifeless, traders said.

Traders said export prices could rise next month if new demand emerges from key buyers such as the Philippines and Indonesia, but so far Vietnam has failed to fend off competition from cheaper grain from Myanmar and India, where offer prices have ranged from $350 to $430 per tonne.

"Prices have started edging up in the past few days, which has also caused a slight change in export prices," said a trader in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 25 percent broken rice was quoted at $375-$380 per tonne, free on board Saigon Port, up from $370-$375 per tonne last week. The 5 percent broken grain was unchanged at $410-$415 per tonne.

Prices for a kilogram of summer-autumn paddy, used mostly for processing lower quality grades including 15 and 25 percent broken rice, gained 100-150 dong, or about 1 US cent, in the Mekong Delta area.

Vietnam's government has allowed rice exporters to use interest-free loans to buy 500,000 tonnes of milled rice, or 1 million tonnes of paddy, until August 10 and to keep the stock until October 10 to help boost domestic prices during the harvest peak this month.

However, traders said the purchase volume was quite small compared with the 8.9 million tonnes of paddy expected from the Delta's harvest.

Rice prices in Thailand slipped as local millers offered to sell at slightly lower prices to encourage exporters to start buying again.

Millers offered to sell at 17,400 baht ($550) per tonne for premium grade white rice, down from last week's 18,000 baht.

Some millers, who have rice but can no longer sell it on to the government because the government intervention scheme has expired for now, needed to offload at cheaper prices to improve their liquidity. As a result, export-grade 100 percent B grade Thai white rice eased to $590 per tonne, down from last week's $600 per tonne, exporters said.

"That didn't really help as exporters have no orders. So no one wants to buy at this point," said a Bangkok-based trader.

However, traders said Thai rice prices were unlikely to fall sharply over the next few weeks even though the government intervention scheme expired at the end of June as the scheme is almost certain to be renewed, probably from August.

"The government has drained all of the grain into its stocks and left nothing for us to sell. There is no trade in Thai rice. Prices are just pegged at high levels, with no trade," said Charoen Laothamatas at rice exporter Uthai Produce Co Ltd.

Last week the Thai government said it had sold 240,000 tonnes of rice from its stocks to Ivory Coast. However, traders noted that it represented only 3 percent of record high stocks of about 8 million tonnes of milled rice, so the deal had a limited impact on Thai prices.

Source: Brecorder/15July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodian rice to be DNA tested

Cambodia Rice News: Cambodian rice to be DNA tested

Thailand may not export certain varieties of Cambodian-grown, but Thai-milled, rice internationally due to fears of intellectual property violations.

Cambodian Malis rice is very similar to jasmine rice, and Thailand has expressed concerns that it may infringe on the Thai-owned jasmine rice variety.

The Ministry of Agriculture has been advocating that Cambodian farmers grow other Cambodian rice varieties to avoid such problems in the future.

The export of up to one million tonnes of Malis rice would not be a problem, but exports that would compete with Thai rice exports ran the danger of being sued, Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun said.

The DNA of Malis rice would be tested in the future, he said.

The ministry has asked farmers to produce Phkar Romdoul, Phkar Romieut and Phkar Romdeng rice to avoid the problem.

Source: Phnompenhpost/11July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Criticism for Cambodia’s tax revenue

Criticism for Cambodia’s tax revenue

Cambodia's tax revenue increased 16 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the corresponding period last year – a rise economists have attributed to improvements in the Kingdom’s economy.

Critics, however, say it amounts to little compared to the national gross domestic product (GDP).

Data from the Customs and Excise General Department shows total tax revenue collected was US$454 million during the first half of 2012, compared with $391 million in the corresponding period last year.

Son Chhay, a Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian, has criticised the tax-collection system, pointing to the high level of tax leakage and losses.

“We all know that our GDP rose to nearly $15 billion. If we compare that to our present tax collection, it is not equal to 11 per cent of the GDP,’’ he said. “The leakage is still huge – that’s why some high-ranking tax officials have become millionaires."

“They can simply use tax collection as a way to pad their own pockets. Although it rose year-on-year, it does not reflect the real payment or collection.”

Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodia Economic Association, said the rise in revenue had come from tax-collection reforms that had made the collection process more effective.

“I agree with raising our tax collection revenue, because it goes hand in hand with the improvement of Cambodia’s economy – especially the growth of imports,” Chan Sophal said.

He also said the increase in revenue was a result of the increased flow of investment and raw material imports into the Kingdom as Cambodian exports increased.

Hiroshi Suziki, CEO and chief economist of the Business Research Institute for Cambodia, said that so far, the government, especially the Ministry of Economy and Finance, had made big improvements in the efficiency of tax collection.

It had been able to tackle the issue because of the Public Financial Management Reform Program implemented in 2005 and supported by the World Bank.

Olaf Unterroberdoerster, a senior economist for the International Money Fund’s Asia and Pacific department, told The Phnom Penh Post in April that Cambodia had a very low level of tax revenue compared to GDP .

If it wanted to raise funds in a sustainable way for development, investment and education, “it will be necessary to raise the revenue performance of the government so that the expenditure can be financed,” he said.

Chan Sophal said that despite the increase in tax revenue, the government had to try to strengthen tax collection.

“It still has more room to raise revenue,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/12July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam's rice bowl under serious threat, says ADB advisor

Vietnam's rice bowl under serious threat, says ADB advisor

The delta that produces 85 per cent of Vietnam\'s rice exports is underthreatened by reduced flows of the Mekong River, a leading water expertfor the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned Monday.

'The rice bowl of South-East Asia is severely under threat because of irrigation practices and inadequate river flows in the delta,' said Arjun Thapan, a senior ADB advisor on infrastructure and water.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest rice exporter. The industry is threatened by salinisation of the delta due to excessive upstream use of the Mekong River, Thapan said.

'The Mekong no longer flushes the delta for most of the year, allowing saline intrusions from the sea to progress 100 kilometers inland,' Thapan told a seminar on water, food and energy developments in the Great Mekong Subregion - which includes southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The region has seen rapid growth in the past two decades but faces serious challenges from rising demand on its water resources, especially on Mekong that binds the six nations together.

There are scores of hydroelectric dams planned on the river, but so far none have been approved for fear of disruptions to fisheries and livelihoods.

'If all hydropower projects get constructed as planned, fish production is likely to drop 43 per cent across the sub-region,' Thapan said.

The bank's experts urged the Mekong basin countries to cooperate on a common development plan to allocate water resources for food production and energy generation in a sustainable manner.

'The management of the food-water-enegry nexus will be the most critical challenge of this decade,' ADB vice president Stephen Geoff said.

Chinhphu.gov

Source: Vietnam News/08-04-2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Asian Rice Quotes Mostly Higher

Asian Rice Quotes Mostly Higher

Viet rice sellers hiked their quotes across the board while Thai and Indian quote changes were mixed.

Thai 5% rice is quoted about $585 - $595 per ton, about a $180 per ton premium over Viet 5% rice quoted around $405 - $415 per ton, both up about $5 per ton today. Indian 5% rice is indicated around $410 - $420 per ton, about a $55 per ton discount to Pak 5% rice shown around $465 - $475 per ton.

Thai 25% rice is quoted around $565 - $575 per ton, about a $200 per ton premium over Viet 25% rice indicated around $365 - $375 per ton, up about $5 per ton today. Indian 25% rice is indicated around $375 - $385 per ton, about a $35 per ton discount to Pak 25% rice shown around $410 - $420 per ton.

Thai parboiled rice is quoted about $585 - $595 per ton. Indian parboiled rice is indicated around $395 - $405 per ton, up about $5 per ton and about an $80 per ton discount to Pak parboiled rice quoted around $475 - $485 per ton.

Thai broken rice, A1 Super, is quoted around $515 - $525 per ton, down about $10 per ton from yesterday and about a $180 per ton premium over Viet broken rice shown around $335 - $345 per ton. Indian broken sortexed rice is quoted about $330 - $340 per ton, down about $5 per ton from yesterday and about a $5 per ton discount to Pak broken sortexed rice indicated around $335- $345 per ton.

Source: Oryza/9July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodia's rice exports surge by 13 pct in first 4 months

Cambodia's rice exports surge by 13 pct in first 4 months

PHNOM PENH, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had exported 49,450 tons of milled rice in the first four months of this year, a 13 percent rise from 43,730 tons in the same period last year, showed a report from the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

The report said from January to April 2012, the country earned revenues of 35 million U.S. dollars from the rice exports, up 40 percent from 25 million U.S. dollars in the same period a year earlier.

The rice has been exported mainly to European markets and the United States, and some to Asian countries including South Korea, China, and Japan.

Cambodia is an agrarian country with more than 80 percent of the population being farmers. The country produced some 8.25 million tons of paddy rice last year. With the amount, it's estimated that there is around 4 million tons of paddy rice left over for exports this year.

The Southeast Asian nation sets its goal to export at least 1 million tons of milled rice by 2015.

- English.news.cn/2012-06-13

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Rice exports decrease in first half

Rice exports decrease in first half

HCM CITY — Rice exports fell in both volume and value terms in the first half of this year, the Viet Nam Food Association has said.

Exporters shipped 3.4 million tonnes for a free-on-board (FOB) value of US$1.5 billion, a reduction of 15.1 per cent in value and 12.7 per cent in quantity.

Speaking at a meeting held in HCM City yesterday to review rice exports in the first half and draw up plans for the second, Pham Van Bay, the VFA's deputy chairman, said the average price was $458.9 per tonne, a year-on-year decrease of $13.03.

China was the largest buyer, followed by Africa and the Philippines, he said.

High-grade rice accounted for nearly half of the shipments – a 52.6 per cent increase – as Viet Nam took advantage of the higher prices of Thai rice to boost its own exports, he said.

India's resumption of export and the entry of Myanmar into the low-grade variety market shrunk the market share of Vietnamese low-grade rice, since they both offered low prices.

VFA chairman Truong Thanh Phong said since export of low-grade rice was set to become harder, authorities should persuade farmers to reduce cropping of these varieties.

Bay said both the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the US Department of Agriculture had forecast global output to outstrip demand this year.

"With the fierce competition that would bring, prices are unlikely to harden during the rest of the year," he said.

India would continue to sell at low prices to reduce its large stockpile, he said.

Because of its higher prices, Thailand had accumulated a large inventory, and there would be pressure on the country to liquidate it, he said.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, said if Thailand slashes prices to boost exports, it would be a big hurdle for Viet Nam's rice exports.

He urged the association to keep a close eye on global developments and its members informed.

He urged exporters to promote the Vietnamese rice brand in the global market.

Delegates at the meeting agreed that China would continue to be a key export market for the rest of this year, but warned that there would be payment risks attached to that market.

They hailed the setting up of a trade promotion centre in China, saying it would help resolve issues related to export.

South Korea and Japan were promising markets for Vietnamese rice, Le Tuan, director of the Vinh Long Import-Export Joint Stock Company, said.

But they set the quality bar very high, he said.

So, to find new markets for Vietnamese rice, enterprises should work with farmers to produce rice that meet the two nations requirements, he added.

Viet Nam targets exports of 2.3 million tonnes in the third quarter, including 800,000 tonnes this month.

— VNS/6July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Prices of rice dumplings remain despite rise in fuel costs

Prices of rice dumplings remain despite rise in fuel costs

SINGAPORE: It's good news for consumers in this year's Chinese rice dumpling season as the prices of the delicacy are staying the same at some shops.

Retailers Channel NewsAsia spoke to said fuel prices may have risen in recent months.

But the cost of ingredients have stayed the same.

Shop owners said they have been able to hold prices because of the highly competitive market.

A key challenge this year though, is finding the necessary temporary staff, to pump up production for the peak period.

Managing director of Eastern Rice Dumpling Lim Cheng Hwee said: "In the past, we pay about S$1,500, S$1,600 a month for a part-time (worker). But this time round, I even offered S$2,000 a month, after speaking they didn't turn up for the job, so it's quite a headache.

"We're even considering getting students, like junior college and university students as part timers, since the festival falls within their holiday period."

- CNA/ck:16June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Rice exports facing challenges

Rice exports facing challenges

Pou Puy, president of the Cambodian Rice Millers Association, said that the export of Cambodia’s white rice faces challenges in terms of both quantity and competitive pricing, as exports of milled rice dropped about 35 per cent for the first half of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

He said it is difficult to compete with Vietnam. “Our quantity cannot compete. It is a challenge we think will take a long time to beat.”

Lim Bun Heng, president of Cambodian Milled Rice Exporters, said that although Cambodia’s white rice exports dropped in the first half of the year, the export of fragrant milled rice rose over 50 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Milled rice exports decreased by around 40,000 tonnes for the first six months of this year which amounts to exports of about 78,000 tonnes, compared to 120,000 tonnes for the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Chan Sarun said in yesterday’s meeting that the drop in exporting milled rice to international markets may cause difficulties in meeting Prime Minister Hun Sen’s milled rice exports plan for 2012. “I am concerned about when we reach the end of the year as our export volume may be lower than expected.”

He added that Cambodia has a rice surplus of about 4.87 million tonnes this year, and the paddy rice surplus would reach 5 million tonnes next year, if there were no natural disasters. However most of the paddy rice would be absorbed by neighbouring countries’ markets.

Most big exporters experienced some obstacles in exporting milled rice from the Kingdom including the price of the rice compared to neighbouring countries, the ability to provide a product when supply is limited, and the lack of capital to purchase rice.

Source: Phnompenhpost/5July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Sihanoukville port sees steady growth

Sihanoukville port sees steady growth

Revenue at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port increased 13.6 per cent year on year between January and June, port officials confirmed yesterday.

As the state-owned enterprise gears up for listing on the Cambodia Securities Exchange, the neighbouring Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone will play an increasingly important role in boosting throughput, insiders said.

The port – Cambodia’s largest – brought in about US$14 million in revenues during the period, Chief Executive Officer Lou Kim Chhun said. Garment and rice exports accounted for the bulk of outgoing shipments.

“[Gross domestic product] is around 6 per cent. The port’s growth is linked closely to the growth of the whole country,” he said yesterday by phone.

Next to the port is the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, which officially launched in May.

The SEZ has 16 factories in operation and four more preparing to open, Michelle Zhang, a manager at the SEZ said in an email yesterday.

Like Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone, Sihanoukville’s is emerging as a hot spot for diversified exports.

Among garment factories – the country’s staple GDP generator – are two Japanese electronics companies and one Chinese-Cambodian bio-technology joint venture, Zhang said.

“It’s obvious that the more investors in the SEZ, the more this will contribute to growth at the port,” she said.

About 80 per cent of the SEZ’s exports leave the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, while nearly all materials used in SEZ factories enter through the port, Zhang added.

Source: Phnompenhpost/3July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: PhilRice Offers Rice Research Scholarship

PhilRice Offers Rice Research Scholarship

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is offering scholarships to scientists, researchers, and thesis students to carry out rice research under the Institute’s research fellowship program.

Grants for research and graduate research assistantship vary from P150,000 to P300,000 (about $3,600 to $7,200) and a monthly stipend of P30,000 to P50,000 (about $720 to $1,120). While the research fellowship will support researchers for six months to two years, graduate research assistantship will be supported for two semesters.

The executive director of the Philippines-based institute said that rice research will help students to grow while also contributing to the nation’s goals of achieving self-sufficiency in rice.

Deadlines and other details about the scholarships can be found at www.philrice.gov.ph.

Source: Oryza/2July2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Cambodia plans rice exports to Indonesia

Cambodia plans rice exports to Indonesia

Plans to export 100,000 tonnes of milled rice to the Indonesian state-owned firm Bulog have been announced in what industry leaders said would be a lucrative market for the Kingdom’s rice sector.

The Indonesian commerce minister and his Cambodian counterpart would sign a memorandum of understanding paving the way for state-owned-rice exporter Green Trade to export by August, Green Trade director Thon Virak said.

Thon Virak also said he had received an MoU from the Philippine government yesterday, but declined to give further details.

“They have sent us a draft of the MoU and we have agreed in principle. We are waiting to set the exact date to sign the MoU,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/28June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: Rice millers to increase capital

Rice millers to increase capital

Cambodian rice millers will increase their capital to purchase unmilled rice this season as bankers agreed to provide more loans, insiders said on Monday.

Baitong will increase its capital to purchase up to 140,000 tonnes of fragrant unmilled rice, compared to last year’s 70,000 tonnes said Phou Puy, president of the Federation of Rice Millers Associations and the Baitong Rice Export Company.

Working capital would increase from US$28 million to $50 million this year as fragrant unmilled rice cost $450 per tonne, an increase from $400 per tonne he said.

Acleda Bank will increase loans for the agricultural sector to $200 million, with a total of $1.35 billion over the next year, an increase of $50 million from the year before, In Channy, CEO and president of Acleda Bank, said.

“We have increased loans for this sector because of the royal government’s policies and in order to support this sector,” he said.

“There is no lack of capital, but the most important thing is that rice millers have to have specific financial statements in order for the bank’s officials to grant loans.

“Outside markets are getting bigger and bigger and we have more partners and more orders. We know there are increases in demand, so we have to be prepared,” he said.

The Loran import-export company, which has rice milling operations in Battambang and Kandal provinces, has agreed to buy at least 120,000 tonnes of fragrant unmilled rice after last year when Loran was able to buy only 20,000 tonnes of unmilled rice for processing, President Lim Bunheng said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/28June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam Rice Exports Near 3 Million Ton Mark

Vietnam Rice Exports Near 3 Million Ton Mark

Vietnam’s rice exports from the beginning of this calendar year to June, 20, have reached 2.96 million tons, and are likely to cross the 3 million mark by the end of this month.

Vietnam’s rice exports this year are down compared to the record exports of last year, but exports in the last two months have helped stage a significant recovery. Vietnam exported about 1.1 million tons of rice in the three months from January to March 2012 while exports totaled about 1.46 million tons in the two months April and May.

Vietnam is targeting about 6-6.5 million tons of rice exports for the full year, while its target for the first six months of 2012 stands at about 3-3.2 million tons, a target it is likely to reach. The country had exported over 3.78 million tons in the first six months of 2011, and about 3.15 million tons over the same period in 2010.

Source: Oryza/25June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: World Rice News: Vietnam Government Urged to Allow Food Companies Buy, Store Rice

Vietnam Government Urged to Allow Food Companies Buy, Store Rice

Agriculture stakeholders in Vietnam have urged the government to allow food companies to buy and stockpile one million tons of rice from the summer-autumn crop to help farmers get better prices than the low prices prevailing now.

Some agriculture officials say that the government should offer interest-free loans to food companies to buy rice which will eventually arrest the price slide. Viet rice prices have fallen to a three-month low due to anticipation by buyers of a bumper new crop next month. Farmers have said that they lack storage space as last year’s paddy is still occupying their warehouses.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government has increased the minimum requirements for rice mills aiming at rice exports. According to rules, rice mills must set up laboratories in the coming months, have grinding and milling capacity of at least 10 tons per hour, and build sanitary facilities for workers.

Local sources said that the Agriculture Ministry wants to reduce the number of rice exporters by about 50% to around 100.

Source: Oryza/22June2012

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Cambodia Rice News: China stalls Cambodia’s first rice exports at border

China stalls Cambodia’s first rice exports at border

Cambodia had made its first direct shipment of rice to China, an official revealed yesterday, but the test run, which was hoped to open the vast Chinese rice market to local exporters, was largely unsuccessful.

Golden Rice Co Ltd shipped 48 tonnes of milled rice to China earlier this year in a test of potential rice trading between the two countries, Sok Hach, the president of the company, said during a discussion on Cambodia’s export sector yesterday.

But the shipment had failed to meet inspection standards after arriving in the southern Chinese port city of Shenzhen, he said.

“It’s not a problem with the quality of Cambodia’s rice. It’s a paperwork problem on the Chinese side,” Sok Hach said on the sidelines of the meeting, held at the ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Phnom Penh.

“There’s something missing between the political level and technical level for the shipment.”

Without politically circumnavigating strict regulations, Cambodian rice had little chance of landing in Chinese bowls, an expert with Cambodia’s Agricultural Development International told the Post last year.

Chinese companies signed several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Cambodian rice millers last year but the agreements were political, not technical, Sok Hach said.

In mid-2011, Cambodian rice millers Soma Group and TTY Group signed MoUs for 20,000 tonnes of milled rice apiece, but the rice has yet to leave Cambodian ports.

Angkor Rice signed a 1,000-tonne MoU with China National Cereal, Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation in August.

Breaking into the Chinese market for rice had proved more problematic than markets such as the European Union, Sok Hach said.

When the company made a similar trial run for rice exports to Europe two years earlier, no such regulatory problems occurred, he said.

EU demand largely fuelled the Kingdom’s exports last year.

Despite the setback, Sok Hach claimed Cambodia would begin direct shipments to China this year.

“Cambodian rice will flood the Chinese market,” he said.

Source: Phnompenhpost/3Apr2012

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Cambodia Rice News: FAO: World rice harvest forecast to rise in 2012

FAO: World rice harvest forecast to rise in 2012

Bangkok, Thailand, 04 May 2012 -- The world rice harvest for 2012 is expected to surpass the strong showing of 2011 as the erratic climate conditions caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon dissipate and farmers increase their plantings, according to an initial forecast by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in its Rice Market Monitor released on Friday.

Increased harvests FAO is predicting world paddy production of 732.3 million tonnes (488.2 million tonnes on a milled basis) for 2012, a 1.7 percent or 12.3 million tonne increase over its estimate for total production in 2011. Last year’s total was also revised slightly downward in the Rice Market Monitor.

Asia, where rice is the staple food, will be chiefly responsible for the advances in production. Large absolute gains in output are forecast for Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines and, especially, Thailand, which is recovering from last year’s disastrous floods. The outlook is also positive in Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, which have already harvested their main 2012 crops.

An increase in plantings by farmers will drive higher output, although more neutral climatic conditions associated with the end of La Nina will be required to support more bountiful harvests. Worldwide, farmers are expected to up areas under planting for paddy by 1.6 percent to a total of 165.1 million hectares.

Beyond Asia, harvests should rebound in Africa (led by Mali, Senegal and Nigeria), but fall in the European Union, the United States, and in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Rice trade Strong output in Asia, however, also means that the region that consumes the most rice will require fewer imports, and so FAO is forecasting that the global rice trade in 2012 will fall by 900 000 tonnes to 34.3 million tonnes, a decline of 2 percent over the record set in 2011. The decline takes into account an upward revision of 1.5 million tonnes over its initial prediction in January.

Imports are expected to rise, however, in China, Africa, the European Union, North America and Latin America.

Robust production coupled with weaker demand has created downward pressure on international prices, especially after India lifted its ban on regular rice exports.

With prices of competitors far lower, Thailand, is expected to see its sales falling sharply, even though the country is still forecast to retain its position as the leading rice exporter.

Countries such as Australia, Cambodia, India, Pakistan and Viet Nam should capture larger shares of the market as they offer more affordable rice prices.

FAO revised its estimate of world paddy output in 2011 downward by 1.4 million tonnes to a total of 720 million tonnes (480.1 million tonnes of milled rice). Nonetheless, the new figures still represent a 2.5 percent, or 17.7 million tonne, increase over world output for 2010.

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