April 7 2015
Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com
Volume 5, Issue I Daily Exclusive
ORYZA Rice Newsletter
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com
Asia Rice Quotes Unchanged Today Apr 06, 2015 Asia rice sellers kept their quotes mostly unchanged today. 5% Broken Rice Thailand 5% rice is indicated at around $385 - $395 per ton, about a $25 per ton premium on Vietnam 5% rice shown at around $360 - $370 per ton. India 5% rice is indicated at around $375 - $385 per ton, about a $25 per ton premium on Pakistan 5% rice shown at around $350 - $360 per ton. 25% Broken Rice Thailand 25% rice is shown at around $355 - $365 per ton, about a $15 per ton premium on Vietnam 25% rice shown at around $340- $350 per ton. India 25% rice is indicated at around $340 - $350, about a $15 per ton premium on Pakistan 25% rice shown at around $325 - $335 per ton. Parboiled Rice Thailand parboiled rice is indicated at around $385 - $395 per ton. India parboiled rice is indicated at around $370 - $380 per ton, about a $15 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 $5 per ton discount to Pakistan broken sortexed rice shown at around $280 - $290 per ton.
Farmers in Indian State Punjab Urged to Cut Down Basmati Rice Acreage in 2015 2
Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com Apr 06, 2015
Agricultural officials in the Indian state of Punjab have recommended to the rice farmers to cut the basmati rice acreage this year as falling basmati rice prices have left many millers and traders in the state insolvent, according to local sources.Based on above-normal returns received from basmati output in 2013, many farmers switched to basmati production from the regular nonbasmati variety in 2014. Slow start of monsoon season in June 2014 also prompted the state's Agriculture Department to encourage farmers to opt for high-yielding and less water-consuming basmati instead of non-basmati paddy. Accordingly, India's basmati rice acreage in the 2014 kharif rice season (June - December) increased about 40% to around 3.5 million hectares from around 2.5 million hectares last year. The Indian Agriculture Ministry estimates 2014-15 basmati rice output at around 8.5 million tons, up about 40% from around 6.25 million tons produced last year. As part of efforts to increase basmati rice trading, the government also announced a waiver of 4% tax (2% market fee and 2% rural development fund) on the purchase of basmati. Due to this 3
Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com move, the state government reportedly suffered a loss of over Rs.550 crore (around $88.4 million). On the other hand, the market committees which purchased huge quantities of basmati paddy are struggling to sell the same. However, prices of basmati rice declined by about 46% to around Rs.2,400 per quintal (around $386 per ton) this year from around $4,500 per quintal (around $724) per ton due to declining export demand, especially from Iran. Consequently, these committees have incurred losses between Rs.20 - Rs.40 crore (around $3.2 - 6.4 million), due to lack of sales, according to local sources. The committees are also not in a position to pay farmers and millers for the paddy they purchased five months ago. Therefore, they are urging the government to cut down basmati rice acreage and production this year. Some market agents have even advised the farmers not to basmati rice in the 2015 kharif season. Punjab is the most important rice producing state in India and accounts for about 11% of total rice production in India. Punjab produced around 11.374 million tons of rice in FY 2012-13 (October – September), up about 8% from around 10.54 million tons produced in FY 2011-12, according to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics under the Agriculture Ministry.
Global Rice Quotes April 6th, 2015 Long grain white rice - high quality Thailand 100% B grade 395-405 ↔ Vietnam 5% broken 360-370 ↔ India 5% broken 375-385 ↔ Pakistan 5% broken 350-360 ↔ Myanmar 5% broken 410-420 ↔ Cambodia 5% broken 435-445 ↔ U.S. 4% broken 480-490 ↔ Uruguay 5% broken 575-585 ↔ Argentina 5% broken 565-575 ↔ Long grain white rice - low quality Thailand 25% broken 355-365 ↔ Vietnam 25% broken 340-350 ↔ Pakistan 25% broken 325-335 ↔ Cambodia 25% broken 410-420 ↔ India 25% broken 340-350 ↔ U.S. 15% broken 470-480 ↔ Long grain parboiled rice Thailand parboiled 100% stxd 385-395 Pakistan parboiled 5% broken stxd 385-395
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com ↔
India parboiled 5% broken stxd 370-380 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% 890-900 ↔ Vietnam Jasmine 460-470 ↔ India basmati 2% broken NQ ↔ Pakistan basmati 2% broken NQ ↔ Cambodia Phka Mails 810-820 ↔ Brokens Thailand A1 Super 320-330 ↔ Vietnam 100% broken 310-320 ↔ Pakistan 100% broken stxd 280-290 ↔ Cambodia A1 Super 340-350 ↔ India 100% broken stxd 275-285 ↔ Egypt medium grain brokens NQ ↔ U.S. pet food 370-380 ↔ Brazil half grain NQ ↔
All prices USD per ton, FOB vessel, oryza.com
Cambodia Exports 149,464 Tons of Rice in January - March 2015; Up 77% from Last Year Apr 06, 2015
Cambodia exported around 149,464 tons of rice in the first three months of 2015, up about 77% from around 84,331 tons exported during the same period in 2014, according to data from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice export Formality (SOWS-REF). Cambodia exported 387,061 tons of rice in 2014. In March 2015, Cambodia exported around 75,867 tons of rice, up about 101% from about 37,676 tons of rice exported in February 2015 and up about 112% from about 35,758 tons of rice exported in March 2014. Cambodia exported about 40,178 tons of long-grain white rice, about 25,320 tons of jasmine rice, about 6,347 tons of fragrant rice and about 4,022 tons of long-grain parboiled rice in March 2015.
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China was the major export destination for Cambodian rice so far this year followed by France, Poland, Malaysia and Netherland. Cambodia rice exports to China have increased sharply in March due to the relaxation of import restrictions by the Chinese government. China imported about 36,081 tons of Cambodian rice (about 48% of the total rice export of Cambodia) in March 2015. In August 2014, Cambodia signed a 12-month agreement with China to export 100,000 tons of rice. As of March 2015, Cambodia had already exported about 80,000 tons of this quota and the export deal is expected to complete in April or May 2015, according to the president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).
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China Procures 28.07 Million Tons of 2014-15 Middle to Late-Season Rice as of March 31, 2015; Up 4.6% from Last Year Apr 06, 2015
The government of China has procured about 28.07 million tons of 2014-15 middle to lateseason rice for reserves as of March 31, 2015, up about 4.6% from around 26.84 million tons procured last year, according to Reuters. The government purchases of middle to late-season rice reached a record high this year, according to state grain buying agency Sinograin. The agency noted that reserves are aimed at safeguarding farmers' benefit.
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com Sinograin has reportedly auctioned around 44.6 million tons of middle to late-season rice since the beginning of last year in major production regions to make room for new grains and also increased storage capacity by about 3.8 million tons to accommodate increased stocks.
Oryza Afternoon Recap - Chicago Rough Rice Futures Weighed Down by Softer Grains Apr 06, 2015 Chicago rough rice futures for May delivery settled 4 cents per cwt (about $1 per ton) lower at $10.825 per cwt (about $239 per ton). The other grains finished the day lower as well; Soybeans closed about 0.8% lower at $9.7850 per bushel; wheat finished about 1.6% lower at $5.2775 per bushel, and corn finished the day about 0.4% lower at $3.8500 per bushel.U.S. stocks reversed to trade higher on Monday amid softer data that renewed hopes of an interest rate hike later rather than sooner. The major averages turned positive in early trade as the morning's service sector and manufacturing data continued to indicate moderate growth. Traders took the lack of significant growth as a sign of further dovish policy from the Federal Reserve. Investors also found encouragement from the U.S. dollar, which held steady while the euro traded near $1.10. The greenback is down nearly 2% for April after rapid advances earlier in the year. The Dow Jones industrial average traded about half a percent higher on Monday, holding in the black for the year. The blue chip index gained more than 150 points after falling triple digits in the open. Markets were closed on Friday and stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, following futures that plunged after the monthly employment report showed the addition of 126,000 jobs, far below the estimated 245,000 from a Reuters poll. The ISM nonmanufacturing Index was 56.5 in March, its lowest level in three months but in line with estimates. The Markit Purchasing Managers Index rose to 59.2 in March, the highest level since August. Pressure from the strong dollar weighed on corporate profits last quarter and is expected to continue to be a headwind. Alcoa reports quarterly results this Wednesday in the unofficial start to the earnings season. European markets were closed for both Good Friday and Easter Monday. Asian stocks outside Japan gained on hopes the weak jobs report would push out a rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 150 points or 0.84%, at 17,912. The S&P 500 8
Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com traded up 16 points, or 0.81%, at 2,083, with energy leading all 10 sectors higher. The Nasdaq traded up 31 points, or 0.65%, at 4,918. Gold is trading about 1.4% higher, crude oil is seen trading about 5.9% higher, and the U.S. dollar is seen trading about 0.1% higher at about 1:15pm Chicago time.Thursday, there were 560 contracts traded, down from 957 contracts traded on Wednesday. Open interest – the number of contracts outstanding – on Thursday increased by 112 contracts to 9,479.
Vietnam Exports About 904,954 Tons Rice in First Three Months of 2015 Apr 06, 2015
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com Vietnam exported about 904,954 tons of rice in first three months (January – March) of calendar year 2015, down about 26% from about 1.22 million tons of rice exported during same time last year, according to data from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA). Average rice export price so far in this year stands at about $422 per ton (FOB), down about 2.5% per ton from same time last year.
In March 2015, Vietnam rice export increased sharply from last month. Vietnam exported about 480,490 tons of rice in March 2015, up about 139% from about 200,814 tons rice exported in February 2015, but down about 18% from about 583,294 tons rice exported in March 2014. Average export prices in March 2015 stands at about $396.5 per ton, down about 10% from a year ago, and down about 13% per ton from a month ago.
USDA Post Estimates South Korea to Import 560,000 Tons of Rice in MY 2014-15; Up 79% from Last Year Apr 06, 2015
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com The USDA Post estimates South Korea to import around 560,000 tons of rice in MY 2014-15 (November - October), including 408,000 tons of rice imports under the WTO's Minimum Market Agreement (MMA) quota in the 2015 calendar year. The Post expects U.S. rice exports to stand at around 150,000 tons, including 34,000 tons contracted under the 2014 MMA and the remaining to be contracted under the 2015 MMA. South Korea plans to complete its 2015 rice imports under the 2015 Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) purchasing plan between January - October 2015 through public open tenders. The delivery is expected to be done by December 31, 2015. So far under the 2015 TRQ plan, South Korea imported around 112,897 tons of brown rice (around 101,607 tons, milled basis), or 26% of the total 2015 TRQ. 2015 TRQ imports include 27,000 of medium grain brown rice (around 24,300 tons, milled basis) from the U.S., 55,897 tons of short grain brown rice (about 50,307 tons, milled basis) from China and 30,000 tons of long grain brown rice (around 27,000 tons, milled basis) from Vietnam. Korea purchased a total of 408,700 tons of milled rice from the U.S., China, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam and India. The Post estimates Korea's 2015-16 rice imports at about 410,000 tons (milled, basis), including 408,700 tons under the WTO MMA allocations.The Post estimates South Korea to produce around 4.24 million tons of milled rice in MY 2014-15, slightly up from an estimated 4.23 million tons in MY 2013-14. It estimates South Korea's milled rice production to decline about 6% y/y to around 4 million tons in MY 2015-16 due to an expected 1.8% y/y decline in area planted to around 801,000 hectares. The USDA Post reports that the government provides two types of income support payments under the Rice Income Compensation Act (RICA) - an area payment, which is made on a 'per hectare' basis, and a deficiency payment, which is made when the market prices are lower than the target prices. In 2014, rice farmers received both area and deficiency payments. In 2014, the government made an area payment of about 900,000 won (around $856) per hectare. It allocate a total of about 192 billion won (around $182 million) towards the deficiency payment. The Post reports that the deficiency price is calculated as follows: [(Target Price in Won/kg - Average Harvest Price in W/kg) x 0.85] - Area Payment per HA /Average National Yield per Hectare It expects the country's MY 2014-15 consumption to increase slightly to around 4.448 million tons from an estimated 4.422 million tons in MY 2013-14. It expects consumption to decline to around 4.355 million tons in MY 2015-16.The country's ending stocks are estimated to increase to around 1.25 million tons in MY 2014-15, up about 40% from an estimated 899,000 tons in 2013-14 due to an increase in supply from production and imports and a decline in consumption. It estimates 201516 ending stocks at around 1.303 million tons.
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USDA Post Estimates Taiwan to Import 126,000 Tons of Rice in 2015, Down 6% from Last Year Apr 06, 2015
USDA Post estimates Taiwan to import about 126,000 tons of rice (milled basis), down about 6% from around 134,000 tons imported in 2014. The imports are as per the WTO accession agreement and account for approximately 10% of domestic rice consumption of about 1.28 million tons.The Post reports that Taiwan's tariff rate quota (TRQ) for rice is divided into two portions: 35% or about 44,000 tons is reserved for private sector imports and 65% or about 82,000 tons is reserved for public sector imports. All rice imports are made under the WTO Country Specific Quota (CSQ) allocations. In 2014, Taiwan imported 104,000 tons of milled rice with the U.S. accounting for 44% share, followed by Vietnam (28%), Thailand (16%), Australia (8%) and Myanmar (2%). According to the Post, in 2014, imports from the U.S. were slightly lower due to delayed U.S. rice CSQ tender schedule and contracts for later delivery. Taiwan fulfilled their Simultaneous Buy and Sell (SBS) tender commitments for 26,000 tons of U.S. rice. However, of the 38,634 tons imports (brown 12
Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com basis) under CSQ normal rice tender, only 20,100 tons were successfully awarded. The remaining 18,534 tons failed three U.S.-origin tender offers and was therefore opened for global contract. Taiwan exported about 19,000 tons of rice in 2014, of which 16,000 tons was dedicated to humanitarian food aid with the balance sold on a commercial basis. The Post expects Taiwan's exports to remain unchanged at 19,000 tons in 2015, with about 3,000 tons for commercial exports.The Post estimates Taiwan to produce around 1.2 million tons of rice, basis milled, in 2015, up about 9% from an estimated 1.1 million tons in 2014. It reports that Taiwan's rice production is minimally impacted by the ongoing drought and the existing stock will be suffice to meet the consumption demand and Taiwan will not need any supplementary imports.The Post estimates total rice consumption to remain are around 1.28 million tons, including 100,000 tons for feed use.
Senegal Plans to Limit Rice Imports at 500,000 Tons to Boost Domestic Production Apr 06, 2015
The government of Senegal is planning to limit annual rice imports at 500,000 tons as part of its efforts to boost domestic production and achieve rice self-sufficiency, Bloomberg quoted local sources as saying. The country's Commerce Minister reportedly about the plan to the local sources.Senegal is a net importer of rice and imports over one million tons of rice or about 80% of around 1.4 million tons of rice needed for its domestic consumption. The government has been keen on reducing dependence on imports by increasing rice production. In this direction, the President had recently launched an ambitious $148 million program to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by 2017. The Prime Minister also hinted at imposing taxes and duties on rice imports to protect local rice sector.
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com USDA estimates Senegal to produce about 289,000 tons of rice and import around 1.15 million tons in MY 2014-15 (October - September) to meet a consumption demand of around 1.45 million tons.
'Thai Rice: Thainess' Fair Generates $218,968 Trade, Says Agriculture Ministry Official Apr 06, 2015
The 'Thai Rice: Thainess' fair, organized by the government to promote Thai rice and provide trading opportunity for farmers has been a great success and has generated about 7 million baht (around $218,968) worth trade, local sources quoted an Agriculture Ministry official as saying.The fair, which ran for about one month had attracted around 46,000 visitors, and has served as a platform for trade negotiations between farmers and private companies. Rice strains
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com from about 20 farmers have been selected to be presented at the Makro Samsen shopping center between 6-30 April, 2015. The Permanent Secretary of Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, who presided over the closing ceremony of the fair, noted that the event had increased awareness on the importance and value of Thai rice as well as demonstrated the dedication of farmers among the public. Separately, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has planned a new scheme, which is aimed at improving the quality of Thai sticky rice. The Ministry has selected around 40 rice farmers from about 15 provinces in the Northeast, where sticky rice is mostly grown, and will encourage them to dedicate about 25% of their rice field to sticky rice. About 10,000 rai or 1,600 hectares of land is expected to be used for growing the crop initially. The results would be monitored over a period of three years and the results would be stored in a database, according to local sources.
Indian Commerce Ministry Officials Visit Iran; Revival of Basmati Rice Exports on Agenda Apr 06, 2015
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Daily Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter www.ricepluss.com India's Commerce Secretary and a high level delegation are visiting Iran this week to discuss ways to boost trade, including revival of rice trade, between the two nations, according to local sources. The Indian officials' visit to Iran is particularly significant as the Middle East nation had banned rice imports in November 2014 citing excess stocks from last year's imports and a bumper crop in 2014, a move which has significantly affected India's basmati rice exports. Iran is a major destination for India's basmati rice exports and accounts for nearly 40% of India's total basmati rice exports. Last month, some exporters expressed confidence that India’s basmati rice exports to Iran would resume from the beginning of new financial year (2015-16) in April 2015. The delegation will meet the Iranian Commerce Secretary and Trade Minister according to local sources. They are understood to particularly seek for the removal of ban on rice imports as well as focus on increasing project exports to Iran. India is a major importer of crude oil from Iran but its imports had declined significantly in March 2015 due to pressures from western nations. The delegation is also likely to discuss means to solve the oil import issue. India's new Foreign Trade Policy has reportedly retained the Rupee-Riyal payment mechanism, which was initiated a couple of years ago to facilitate trade between India and Iran.The bilateral trade between India and Iran increased by about 2% to around $15.27 billion in 2013-14 as against $14.94 billion in 2012-13.While Iran's basmati rice imports from India increased about 33% y/y to around 1.44 million tons in 2013-14, the Middle East nation's imports have declined in 2014-15 primarily due to its stance to revise the accepted level of arsenic content in basmati rice from 150 parts per billion (ppb) to 120 ppb in March 2014. Later in September 2014, Iran also increased import duty on basmati rice from 22% to 45% before banning rice imports in November 2014. India exported around 767,697 tons of basmati rice to Iran in the first ten months of FY 2014-15 (April - January), according the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). At this pace, rice market analysts expect India's basmati rice imports to Iran to decline by about 15-20% to around 1.15 - 1.2 million tons in 2014-15.India exported around 9.57 million tons of rice (including 2.92 million tons of basmati and 6.65 million tons of nonbasmati) in the first ten months of FY 2014-15 (April - March), up about 7% from around 8.96 million tons (including 3.09 million tons of basmati and 5.87 million tons of non-basmati) exported during the same period in FY 2013-14, according to provisional data released by the APEDA.
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