Rice

IMD’s Agrimet division has advised paddy growers in central Narmada region of Madhya Pradesh to transplant 20 to 21-day-old saplings to fields. Agrimet has also asked the farmers to monitor paddy against the attack of blast and brown spots on leaves and spray fungicide. Between Jun 1-Jul 19, Madhya Pradesh has received 334.3 mm of rainfall, 10% above the normal weighted average of 302.6 mm.

IMD’s Agrimet has warned that present weather conditions in Madhya Pradesh are highly favourable for incidence of blast disease in paddy. Blast and brown spot on the paddy leaves indicate attack of blast disease, which needs to be addressed at earliest to avoid any damage. Farmers have been advised to keep an eye and spray pesticides if the infestation is spotted after spells of rain. Sowing of paddy in Madhya Pradesh, one of the largest growers, was at 869,000 ha, up 35% on year.

Egypt expects to import between 500,000 and 700,000 tonnes of rice paddy over the next year, after slashing its own cultivation earlier this year.

A major rice importer in China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thailand. Under the agreement, a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of Thai Kor Khor 43 rice will be sold in China via both traditional and online platforms. The rice will be sold to the Chinese company at 12,000 THB per tonne. It is expected that up to 13,000 tonnes of Kor Khor 43 rice will have been harvested by the end of next month. The rice has a low sugar content compared to other rice strains and produces a pleasant scent when cooked.

Inidan farmers across the country sowed paddy across 11.68 mln ha this kharif season, down 8% on year. The area under paddy was also below the normal average area of 13.02 mln ha for the period. However, after a delayed start, the sowing of paddy picked up pace last week, with rainfall increasing over the country. Paddy acreage is up 73.53% from the previous week. Uttar Pradesh, which is the largest grower of paddy in the country, has recorded a fall of 11.7% on year in paddy area to 1.73 mln ha due to below-normal rains.

A Vietnamese company has won a bid to export 60,000 tonnes of Japonica brown rice to the Republic of Korea (RoK), defeating competition from rivals of China, Thailand and Australia. The deadline for delivery of 60,000 tons to South Korea’s port is September 15.

The country’s rice output this year could rise by 1.6 percent to a record high of nearly 13 million metric tons (MMT) on the back of favorable weather conditions and high farm-gate prices. Asia is expected to drive the global production expansion of 2018, harvesting a record 461.9 million tons, up 1.2 percent from 2017. Despite the record-high harvest, Manila’s rice imports this year would expand by half to 1.5 MMT, from 1 MMT a year ago, as the government seeks to beef up the National Food Authority’s (NFA) depleting stockpile and keep retail prices of the staple within affordable level.

Sale of rice reserve price of rice will be taken as s. 2500/- per quintal for auction up to 30th sept. 2018. From 1st October 2018, it will be taken as Rs. 2500/- per quintal or MSP derived price, whichever is higher. Quantum of 20 LMT of Grade ‘A’ rice has been kept for sale under OMSS during 2018-19.

The government had 23.3 mln tn rice in its stock as of Jul 1, the highest since 2013, when the inventory was 31.5 mln tn.

Based on the latest data provided by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the total rice stock inventory of the country was estimated at 2.36 million MT as of 01 June 2018. This was a drop of 8.24 percent from previous year’s level of 2.57 million MT and 18.85 percent below the previous month’s stocks level of 2.9 million MT.

The Philippines’ food security agency seek approval to import an extra 500,000 tonnes of rice this year to ensure healthy supply and stable prices in the local market. The cargoes should arrive in the country in December.

The decision to import rice aims at controlling the market and preventing the prices hike. On June 5, the government announced its plan to import rice (paddy, mulled and cargo rice), in a way to reduce the rice-cultivated areas due to the water shortage crisis the country is suffering from.