28th april,2015 daily exclusive oryza rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com

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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice

Newsletter

Volume 5, Issue I

April 28, 2015


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Global Rice Quotes

April 28th, 2015

Long grain white rice - high quality

Thailand 100% B grade 395-405 ↔

Vietnam 5% broken 355-365 ↔

India 5% broken 365-375 ↓

Pakistan 5% broken 375-385 ↔

Myanmar 5% broken 410-420 ↔

Cambodia 5% broken 430-440 ↔

U.S. 4% broken 480-490 ↔

Uruguay 5% broken 565-575 ↔

Argentina 5% broken 555-565 ↔

Long grain white rice - low quality

Thailand 25% broken 355-365 ↔


Pakistan 25% broken 330-340 ↔

Cambodia 25% broken 410-420 ↔

India 25% broken 335-345 ↓

U.S. 15% broken 470-480 ↔

Long grain parboiled rice

Thailand parboiled 100% stxd 380-390 ↔


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Pakistan parboiled 5% broken stxd 385-395 ↔

India parboiled 5% broken stxd 360-370 ↓

U.S. parboiled 4% broken 555-565 ↔

Brazil parboiled 5% broken 570-580 ↔

Uruguay parboiled 5% broken NQ ↔

Long grain fragrant rice

Thailand Hommali 92% 895-905 ↔

Vietnam Jasmine 485-495 ↔

India basmati 2% broken NQ ↔

Pakistan basmati 2% broken NQ ↔

Cambodia Phka Mails 810-820 ↔

Brokens

Thailand A1 Super 320-330 ↔


Pakistan 100% broken stxd 285-295 ↔

Cambodia A1 Super 345-355 ↔

India 100% broken stxd 270-280 ↓

Egypt medium grain brokens NQ ↔

U.S. pet food 370-380 ↔

Brazil half grain NQ ↔

All prices USD per ton, FOB vessel, oryza.com


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EU-Funded ERMES Project Develops Apps

to Monitor Rice Crop Growth

Apr 27, 2015

The European Union's (EU) funded research project Ermes, which was started last year to

investigate and develop Earth Observation (EO), crop modelling and smart technologies,

completed its first year and its achievements during the year were reported in the first annual

meeting in March this year, according to local sources. The project mainly focuses on the three

rice-growing EU countries - Italy, Spain and Greece.The project developed a Smart App to help

farmers collect and store field-scale information regarding agricultural practices. These data

provide farmers wit real time information related to rice fields.


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Other major achievement of the Ermes project is the development of phenological maps to help

monitor rice crop growth. These maps can be derived from analysis of 250m spatial resolution

satellite images acquired during the rice growing season using an algorithm specifically

developed for rice crop growth monitoring. Results of the analysis are then aggregated on a

regular 2x2 km grid, and provide estimates of the average sowing, emergence and heading dates

of rice crops within each cell.

Rice maps provide information on the extent of the area covered by rice crop cultivations during the on-

going season (“early rice area map”, mid-July) and at the end of the season (“end of season rice area

map”, mid-October). The results of the data can used by local governments, regulatory agencies or

agribusiness companies

Oryza Overnight Recap – Chicago Rough

Rice Futures Look Poised to Test Resistance

at $10.000

Apr 27, 2015

Chicago rough rice futures for May delivery are currently seen 1 cent per cwt (about $0.22 per

ton) higher at $9.990 per cwt (about $220 per ton) during early floor trading in Chicago. The

other grains are seen trading with mixed results: soybeans are currently seen about 0.7% higher,

wheat is listed about 0.9% lower and corn is currently noted 0.4% lower.U.S. stocks traded

higher on Monday, extending gains from last week's rally to highs, as investors took a positive

view on earnings reports ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting this week. The S&P 500 and

Nasdaq closed at records on Friday. The S&P hit a new intraday high in early trade on Monday,

surpassing the 2,120.92 intraday level set last week. The Fed are meeting on Tuesday and

Wednesday this week, with the conclusion and post-meeting statement due Wednesday.

The recent string of weak data and first-quarter growth expected at around 1% has convinced

many in the markets that the Fed will not raise interest rates until September at the earliest. In

economic news, U.S. services sector expansion eased slightly in April from a seven-month high

in March on a dip in new business growth, but the pace of hiring in the sector accelerated to its

highest since last June, an industry report showed on Monday. Financial firm Markit said its

"flash,'' or preliminary, reading of its Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector slipped

to 57.8 in April from a final reading of 59.2 in March, which had been the highest level since

August. The major economic report for the week is the initial read on first quarter GDP.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 85 points, or 0.47%, at 18,164. The S&P 500

opened up 6 points, or 0.29%, at 2,123, with energy the greatest of eight advancing sectors and

consumer staples and utilities the only laggards. The Nasdaq opened up 14 points, or 0.27%, at

5,105. Gold is currently trading about 2.1% higher, crude oil is seen trading about 0.6%

higher, and the U.S. dollar is currently trading slightly lower at 9:30am Chicago time.

China Tightens Control Over Unofficial Rice

Imports from Vietnam

Apr 27, 2015

The Chinese authorities have reportedly tightened control over unofficial rice imports from

Vietnam, according to local sources.Unofficial rice trade between the two countries via border

gates has been very rampant for many years and traders on both ends buy/sell rice very easily


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without the need for any agreements. However, the Chinese authorities have closed the border

gates.

Local sources say due to the Chinese authorities' actions, a number of trucks loaded with rice

have been queued up at the border gates waiting for the approval of the Chinese authorities.

Nearly 30,000 tons of rice is understood to be stuck at border gates and faces risk of decay as it

is exposed to all kinds of weather conditions, according to the Ban Quan border guard unit in

Lao Cai's Bao Thang district.

The Vietnamese district heads of concerned border gates are understood to have apprised about

the situation to the government. They are also negotiating with the Chinese authorities to open

gates in Lung Po, Ban Quan, Na Loc and other places and lift the blockade for Vietnamese rice

to enter China.Despite the government's discouraging cross-border exports, Vietnamese rice

exporters often prefer cross-border exports because of lesser quality checks at the borders.

Recently the government had also warned about the risks associated with such exports. The

Chinese importers prefer importing rice through borders rather than through official channels to

cut costs, according to a local trader. For instance, if they import rice through official channels,

they need to pay an extra amount of about $160 per ton, including a quota fee of $80 per ton,

VAT and import tax. That means, for Viet 5% rice, which costs $360 per ton will cost importers

about $520 per ton.According to the VFA, last year, while Vietnam exported about 6.3 million

tons of rice, nearly 2 million tons, or 30% of total rice exports, had been exported through

borders.

Government of Bangladesh May Impose

Duty on Rice Imports to Stabilize Domestic

Prices

Apr 27, 2015

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) of Bangladesh is likely to impose duty on rice imports

based on the recommendations of the Food Ministry to prevent prices from falling as well as to

ensure fair prices to farmers, according to local sources.The Food Ministry apprised the NBR

that the price of rice in the domestic market was declining for last couple of months due to

increasing imports from India. Absence of import duty on rice is being considered as one of the

reasons for an unusual surge in imports.It reportedly told the NBR that falling prices during the

ongoing Boro (January - May) harvest may deprive farmers of decent prices. Some farmers'


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associations are also demanding for immediate imposition of duty as boro harvesting would

reach its peaks shortly.

Officials at the NBR told local sources that the customs wing of the revenue board is likely to

seek the Finance Ministry's opinion regarding the same. They told that the board is preparing a

summary of the recommendations to be sent to the Finance Ministry. The board will also seek

the Finance Minsiter's permission to consult with the Food and Agriculture Ministries before

deciding the rate of duty, they added.The existing customs laws allow for imposition of

regulatory duty on rice imports only during the harvesting and procurement period. The officials

noted that accordingly, the NBR may impose duty on rice imports for a short period as a

temporary measure to stabilize prices in the local market. They added that the issue may be

settled before May 1, 2015.

Bangladesh's private sector imported about 1.29 million tons of rice in July 1, 2014 - April 21,

2015, nearly 3.5 times more than 374,560 tons of rice imported in the entire 2013-14 fiscal year

(July - June) and highest in the last four years since 2010-11, according to data from the Ministry

of Food. The Ministry shows that the government has so far not imported any rice in this fiscal

despite setting a target to import about 200,000 tons of rice in the fiscal year 2014-15 to

replenish falling stocks in the country.


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The government's procurement of Boro rice from May 1, 2015 is likely to provide a cushion to

farmers against falling prices. The government is planning to procure one million tons of 2015

Boro paddy and 100,000 tons of Boro rice between May 1, 2015 and August 31, 2015. It has

fixed the procurement price for paddy at Tk 22 per kilogram (around $283 per ton) and that for

rice at Tk 32 per kilogram (around $412 per ton).Bangladesh produced around 34.449 million

tons of rice, basis milled, in FY 2013-14 (July - June), up about 2.7% from around 33.833

million tons produced in FY 2012-13, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Oryza Afternoon Recap - Chicago Rough

Rice Futures Remain under Pressure as

Market Lacks Fundamental Support

Apr 27, 2015

Chicago rough rice futures for May delivery settled 12.5 cents per cwt (about $3 per ton) lower

at $9.855 per cwt (about $217 per ton). The other grains finished the day with mixed results;

Soybeans closed about 0.2% higher at $9.7300 per bushel; wheat finished about 3.1% lower at

$4.7325 per bushel, and corn finished the day about 1% lower at $3.6075 per bushel.U.S. stocks

reversed to trade mostly lower on Monday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 struggling to hold onto

Friday's record close as investors digested earnings and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve

meeting later in the week. The Nasdaq reversed to trade mildly lower around noon as biotech

stocks lagged. The Dow Jones industrial average attempted to hold gains but traded mostly lower

as UnitedHealth led laggards with a decline of about 2%.

Earlier, stocks extended gains from last week with the S&P hitting a new intraday high on

Monday, surpassing the 2,120.92 intraday level set last week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed

at records on Friday. n economic news, U.S. services sector expansion eased slightly in April

from a seven-month high in March on a dip in new business growth, but the pace of hiring in the

sector accelerated to its highest since last June, an industry report showed on Monday. The Dow

Jones Industrial Average traded down 10 points, or 0.06%, at 18,060. The S&P 500 traded down

5 points, or 0.21%, at 2,113, with materials leading five advancing sectors and health care the

greatest laggard. The Nasdaq traded down 23 points, or 0.44%, at 5,069. Gold is trading about

2.3% higher, crude oil is seen trading about 0.8% lower, and the U.S. dollar is seen trading about

0.2% lower at about 1:00pm Chicago time.Friday, there were 1,615 contracts traded, down from

1,920 contracts traded on Thursday. Open interest – the number of contracts outstanding – on

Friday increased by 27 contracts to 11,277.


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Oryza U.S. Rough Rice Recap - Prices Hold

as Domestic Buyers Support Market; Rice

Plantings 15% behind 5-Year Average

Apr 27, 2015

The U.S. cash market was mostly unchanged today as domestic buyers continue to support the

market despite weakness in the futures market.Analysts note that there was limited quantity of

paddy into mills around $10.00 per cwt (about $221 per ton) while trade activity on the river was

dormant.In the meantime, the USDA estimates that as of April 26th

, 39% of the US rice crop had

been planted which is 4% behind this time last year and 15% behind the previous 5-year average.

As of now, the USDA estimates that farmers have planted at 37% of their rice crop in Arkansas,

7% in California, 85% in Louisiana, 49% in Mississippi, 3% in Missouri, and 64% in Texas.The

USDA also estimates that 26% of the crop has emerged which was 2% ahead of this time last

year but 8% behind of the previous 5-year average. As of now, the USDA estimates that 20% of

the rice crop in Arkansas has emerged compared to , 1% in California, 71% in Louisiana, 30% in

Mississippi, 2% in Missouri, and 61% in Texas.

Pakistan Rice Sellers Increase Some of Their

Quotes Today; Other Asian Rice Quotes

Unchanged

Apr 27, 2015

Pakistan rice sellers increased quotes for 5% broken rice, for 100% broken rice and parboiled

rice by about $5 per ton each to around $375 - $385 per ton, around $285 - $290 per ton and

around $385 - $395 per ton respectively today. Other Asian rice sellers kept their quotes

unchanged from yesterday.

5% Broken Rice

Thailand 5% rice is indicated at around $380 - $390 per ton about a $25 per ton premium on

Vietnam 5% rice shown at around $355 - $365 per ton. India 5% rice is indicated at around $370

- $380 per ton, a 5% discount to Pakistan 5% rice shown at around $375 - $385 per ton.


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25% Broken Rice

Thailand 25% rice is shown at around $355 - $365 per ton, about a $25 per ton premium on

Vietnam 25% rice shown at around $330- $340 per ton. India 25% rice is indicated at around

$345 - $355, about a $15 per ton premium on Pakistan 25% rice shown at around $330 - $340

per ton.

Parboiled Rice

Thailand parboiled rice is indicated at around $380 - $390 per ton. India parboiled rice is

indicated at around $365 - $375 per ton, about a $20 per ton discount to Pakistan parboiled rice

shown at around $385 - $395 per ton.

100% Broken Rice

Thailand broken rice, A1 Super, is indicated at around $320 - $330 per ton, about a $10 per ton

premium on Vietnam 100% broken rice shown at around $310 - $320 per ton. India's 100%

broken rice is shown at around $275 - $285 per ton, about a $10 per ton discount to Pakistan

broken sortexed rice shown at around $285 - $295 per ton.

Rice Farms Can Serve as Agritourism Sites!

Apr 27, 2015

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has planned to use rice farms as agritourism

sites as part of its Future Rice Program. In these sites, visitors and farmers can understand about

possible future rice farming scenarios and get to know about various technologies used in rice

cultivation, according to local sources.The PhilRice has selected a 5-hectare rice farm in Munoz,

Nueva Ecija as its first agritourism site. PhilRice's Future Rice Program Leader told local sources

that the farm selected uses clean and renewable energy, including solar-powered water pump and

biogas digester that provides alternative fuel from animal wastes. It also uses hybrid rice

varieties such as Mestiso 19 and 20, rare collection of traditional varieties, aromatic rice,

submergence tolerant varieties, farmers’ varieties called ‘double diamond,’ and Korean varieties,

he adds.

The PhilRice official also notes that the selected farm provides education, exposure, and

experience to rice farmers and extension workers through training, site visits, and agricultural

events. It also provides visitors with agricultural adventures such as rice planting and harvesting

as well as other recreational activities such as boating, fishing, and kayaking.


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Vietnam Plans to Build Thermal Power

Plants Using Rice Husk

Apr 27, 2015

Vietnam is planning to build 20 thermal power plants using rice husk as part of efforts to convert

rice wastes (such as rich husks, sawdust and bagasse) into sources of clean energy, according to

local sources.The government will build thermal power plants in Mekong River Delta (MRD)'s

five provinces - An Giang, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Dong Thap and Can Tho - with a total

capacity of 200 megawatts. These plants are expected to use 200 tons of rice husk everyday and

the waste generated by the plants will be used in the making of high-quality cement and

electrically insulated materials.The government has started the construction of the first thermal

rice husk-run power plant, costing about $31 million, on a 9-hectare land plot in Long My

District of the southern province of Hau Giang.


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Scientists have been for a long time stressing to build rice-husk power plants in MRD, which is

the largest rice growing region in the country and generates nearly 5 million tons of rice husk

annually, as huge quantities of rice husk are burnt or left into canals and rivers causing

environmental pollution.

They say if Vietnam uses its agricultural wastes effectively, it can save hugely on producing

fossil fuels, create several jobs for locals and ensure national power security.

Colombia's Rice Import Barriers Increase

Domestic Rice Prices and Inflation Rates,

Says Former Central Bank Official

Apr 27, 2015

Colombia's rice import barriers have been widening the price differential between local rice

prices and international rice prices, and consequently leading to high inflation levels and interest

rates in the country, Bloomberg quoted a former Central Bank Co-Director.Excessive

protectionism coupled with lower production forecasts last year due to unfavorable weather

conditions have pushed up the rice prices and currently inflation is at a six-year high, says the

official. He notes that the Central Bank is now forced to increase interest rates in order to check

inflation. Since rice contributes significantly to the inflation basket, correction of rice prices is

imperative to maintain economic growth, he adds.

Citing a 2013 study, the former Central Bank official says eliminating the gap between the local

prices and international prices would reduce poverty levels in the country. In March this year,

average price of white rice stood at around 2.78 million pesos (around $1,130) per ton in

Colombia compared to around $485 per ton in the U.S, according to data from of the National

Federation of Rice Growers (FedeArroz). Reducing this gap would address the issue of poverty

in the country, he said.However, the Head of the FedeArroz says governments of many rice

exporting countries such as the U.S., Vietnam and Thailand subsidize their rice growers and so

they can afford to price their rice competitively. He adds that subsidized imported rice would

affect the competitiveness of local Colombian farmers who do not have adequate support, so

protectionist policies are needed to sustain local rice production.

28th april,2015 daily exclusive oryza rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

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