World Grain - August 2011 - 90

RICE QUARTERLY

News Roundup
India allows exports of non-basmati rice
NEW DELHI, INDIA — India’s government in July allowed exports of 1 million tonnes of non-basmati rice, lifting an over three-year-old ban in the wake of overﬂowing grain warehouses. The decision to this effect was taken by an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The ban on non-basmati rice was imposed in April 2008 because of high food inﬂation. Sources said exports of the staple rice have been allowed as the country’s grain warehouses are overﬂowing with the bumper crop. There is also an acute shortage of storage facilities. While food inﬂation still remains high at 7.61%, rice prices have remained stable. Currently, the government storage facilities are overﬂowing with over 65 million tonnes of foodgrains, while the storage capacity is only 62.23 million tonnes.

Rice

Africa’s rice stakeholders desire greater mechanization
COTONOU, AFRICA — Noting that lack of mechanization is seriously undermining the productivity and competitiveness of rice in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), representatives of rice stakeholders in the region met recently to develop a roadmap for sustainable mechanization of the rice sector. The stakeholders emphasized that small equipment, such as 2-wheel tractors, row seeders, mechanical threshers, small combine harvesters and small mills, need to be tested and, where possible, manufactured locally. National governments were urged to consult research organizations when importing machinery to ensure that in addition to being effective and durable, the technology is well-adapted to local ricegrowing conditions and can be serviced and repaired locally. “According to conservative estimates based on recent surveys in 18 countries in SSA, cutting by half the on-farm post-harvest losses through the use of improved technologies would lead to a savings of 900,000 tonnes of milled rice,” said Dr. Marco Wopereis, deputy director general for research, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), which hosted the meeting at its research station in St. Louis, Senegal. “The amount of rice saved is equivalent to nearly 17% of rice imports into the region and has a real value of $410 million in 2011. This can help lift about 2.8 million persons in rice farming households out of poverty,” Wopereis said. The meeting participants agreed that the key factors for a sustainable mechanization program include not only appropriate technologies but also sound business principles, local ownership, dealer support, government backing and local training in the use and maintenance of equipment. Key recommendations targeted to various stakeholders were made. These include the need to: • develop coherent strategies and policies to boost mechanization in rice-based systems; • reduce taxes and duties on imported machinery and raw materials; • provide access of local manufacturers and end-users to credit; • facilitate south-south cooperation and public-private sector collaboration in mechanization; • introduce and adapt promising prototypes in partnership with local manufacturers; and • build local capacity in the use, development and maintenance of equipment.

Indonesia’s 2011 rice imports to reach 1.5 to 2 million tonnes
JAKARTA, INDONESIA — The Indonesian government has disclosed that it would import 1.5 to 2 million tonnes of rice this year to meet domestic rice stocks. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Bayu Krisnamurthi said in July that the government’s rice reserves in the storage facilities of the Logistics Bureau amounted to only 1.6 million tonnes.
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Bayu said the government is still prioritizing domestic rice procurement to meet the national stock, but it appears it is still not enough to raise the supplies. He said by the end of this year the domestic rice stock will reach 1.5 million tonnes, and quoting the second prediction of the National Statistics Agency he added that this year’s price increased only by 2.4% below last year’s 5% to 6% target.
August 2011 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - August 2011

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