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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Rice E-Newsletter April 7, 2015 V o l u m e 5, Issue I

Govâ€™t requests to double rice exports to China Tue, 7 April 2015

Ananth Baliga

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The Ministry of Commerce is working with its Chinese counterparts to renew a rice trade agreement, which will likely expire this month, and has requested to double the existing 100,000-tonne quota of rice Cambodia is currently able to export to China, a ministry spokesman said yesterday.Minister Sun Chanthol, in a letter to the vice minister at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, has asked for the rise in rice export quota for the period of May 2015 to April2016. The letter comes off the back of the successful implementation of the current 12-month quota ahead of time. Cambodia had signed a one-year agreement last August to export 100,000 tonnes of rice to China. ―The letter seeks support to increase the quota to 200,000 tonnes between China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) and [Cambodia] state-owned Green Trade Company,‖ said Ken Ratha, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce.Ratha said the two governments have a close relationship and that the ministry will leverage the successful implementation of the current quota to have it raised. He added that extending the agreement is key to increasing and diversifying the Kingdom‘s rice export destinations.―I think it is important to open up the market and we will try to increase the volume of exports,‖ Ratha said. ―We will keep going with the relationship and another MoU with the Chinese.‖China, in the past, had expressed concerns over the quality and hygiene standards of Cambodian agricultural products, but Ratha said the ministry had received no complaints from the Chinese government and that the agreement has been a ―good achievement‖. Song Saran, CEO of AMRU Rice Co, said it was important to extend the agreement as China, along with Malaysia, are now Cambodia‘s biggest rice export destinations in Asia. But, he said Cambodia would need to up its procurement to meet the added demand, as well as maintain quality standards, ―Cambodia needs to find the good quality rice and supply China what China needs,‖ Saran said.He added that diversifying export destinations, are critical to ―transforming Cambodia‘s rice industry‖.―It is very, very important to renew the MoU with China, otherwise we will not reach the one million tonnes target,‖ he said.David Van, advisor to the Cambodia Rice Federation, told the Post on Sunday that the CRF has appealed to the minister of commerce to let them act as signatory during the next round of quota negotiations, instead of Green Trade, citing other food organisations that are in charge of similar arrangements. ―TREA in Thailand and Vinafood have both managed directly any quota with China and CRF is advocating for the same approach so that we could fairly and transparently reallocate any quota obtained among all CRF members accordingly,‖ said Van.Export figures released by the CRF last week, showed that China was the biggest importer of Cambodian rice, importing 36,081 tonnes of rice, followed by Malaysia and France. Thanks largely to the boost in shipments to China, the Kingdom increased its exports in March to 75,867 tonnes, doubling the 37,676 tonnes produced in February.

Rice 2.0? The search for a more sustainable staple food Winifred Bird Tuesday, April 7, 2015 - 1:00am

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This article originally was published by Yale Environment 360 and is reprinted here with permission.Ten thousand years ago, China‘s ancient inhabitants harvested the grains of wild rice, a perennial grass growing up to 15 feet tall in bogs and streams.The grains were small and red, maturing in waves and often shattering into the water. Their descendants transformed that grain into the high-yielding annual crop that today feeds half the world‘s population. When agronomist F.H. King toured China‘s meticulously maintained rice terraces in 1909, he called the men and women who tilled them ―farmers of 40 centuries.‖ To him, they seemed to have unlocked the secret to conserving soil and maintaining agricultural fertility indefinitely.Today, with the climate changing and far more land under intensive cultivation, rice farmers face a less certain future.In parts of Asia, melting glaciers threaten to dry up water supplies for irrigated paddies, while higher temperatures and unpredictable rainfall stress rain-fed fields. In uplands worldwide, where farmers grow rice on steep hillsides using slash-and-burn techniques, fallow periods are growing shorter and severe erosion is undermining both productivity and ecosystem health. Sustainable upland farming An international network of scientists is working toward a radical solution: perennial rice that yields grain for many years without replanting.By crossing domesticated rice with its wild predecessors, they hope to create deep-rooted varieties that hold soils in place, require less labor and survive extremes of temperature and water supply. Plant breeders have been trying to do the same for wheat, sorghum and other crops for decades.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine With rice, the vision finally is nearing reality. Chinese scientists are preparing to release a variety that they say performs well in lowland paddies and, with more breeding work, eventually could thrive on marginal land as well. ―This line of research foreshadows a more sustainable way of raising crops in the uplands,‖ said Casiana Vera Cruz, an expert on upland agriculture at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines.She said the research especially could affect women, because they are most often responsible for the hard work of hand-planting rice each spring on small mountain farms. The biggest strides are taking place in China, where geneticist Fengyi Hu and his colleagues at the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences are completing nearly a decade of trials on perennial rice varieties, including PR23 (PDF), a strain they claim yields harvests close to those from conventional rice for four years or more.One agricultural company in Yunnan will test PR23 and similar varieties on more than 1,500 acres this year, and researchers are trying out PR23 in Laos as well. If Yunnan‘s government approves the new rice for widespread release to farmers, it will be among the world‘s first perennial grains to be grown beyond experimental fields. Desmanthus4food via Wikipedia

Seeds of fertile, rhizomatous plants developed from a cross between Oryza longistaminata and domestic rice by rice breeders at the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Hainan Province, PRC. Critics argue, however, that perennial grains such as PR23 never will be able to feed the world‘s growing population. Kenneth Cassman, an agronomist at the University of Nebraska whose work focuses on global food security, said devoting a greater share of the world‘s limited agricultural research funding to perennial rice research would be a mistake. ―The goal is not just to increase agricultural productivity, the goal is to lift people out of poverty and provide adequate nutrition and health,‖ said Cassman, who worked at IRRI in the mid-‗90s. ―And there‘s no way that lowyielding perennial grains grown on small, marginal farms can lift anyone out of poverty.‖Instead, he argues that farmers should grow drought-resistant trees or pasture — not grains — on steep hillsides to stabilize soils, and scientists should focus on improving annual grain yields in environments truly suited to them, such as flat fields with adequate water. Fighting poverty and malnutrition Nevertheless, those involved with the perennial rice research in China say it could have global environmental implications. Millions of farmers in Asia and Africa grow rice in marginal upland areas at the cost of massive soil loss (steep, unterraced rice fields in Laos, for instance, lose soil around 20 times faster than the average global rate at which new soil forms).The same is true for other crops on other continents. Half the world‘s population depends on marginal lands for food,

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine according to a 2010 paper in Science, and annual plowing often degrades these fields further. Meanwhile, population — and demand for grain — is growing rapidly. One widely promoted answer is called ecological intensification, in which sustainable farming techniques such as cover crops and polycultures are used to increase yields without expanding the area of land under cultivation or the environmental harm it causes.But proponents of perennial grains argue that agriculture needs a more fundamental fix — in essence, a shift away from humanity‘s 10,000-year-old habit of clearing the ground each year and starting anew. ―So many problems that we think of as being part of the package of agriculture — nutrient leakage, soil erosion, carbon loss, weed invasion — are actually attributes of this highly disturbed ecosystem,‖ said Timothy Crews, research director at the Land Institute in Kansas, founded in 1976 with the goal of developing grain fields that mimic prairies. ―They‘re very predictable in ecology. And yet, if you go out and you look at mature native [grassland] ecosystems, you do not have those problems.‖Developing perennial versions of rice and other grains is a difficult task, however. While domesticated annual grains pour 30 to 60 percent of their energy into producing seeds, perennial grasses divert much more toward building roots for long-term survival.To boost perennial yields, Crews explained, plant breeders must coax perennials to allocate a bigger slice of the energy pie to seed production. They also can take advantage of the fact that perennials tend to have a larger energy pie to start with: They generally start growing earlier than annuals each spring and photosynthesize sunlight for more days each year. Growing interest in perennial grains For years, Land Institute staff were among only a scattering of scientists pursuing the development of perennial grains. Recently, though, interest has grown significantly. In 2013 the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations held an expert workshop (PDF) on the topic, and is planning another this fall.The U.S. Agency for International Development is investing in perennial sorghum research, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a study on the risks and benefits of perennial wheat, sorghum and pigeon pea in five African nations. Still, progress is uneven due to differences in genetics, breeding techniques, growing conditions and research interest for various grains. Perennial wheat — a key crop at the Land Institute — remains decades from yield parity with annual wheat, according to Crews. Perennial maize research is even farther behind. Among major staples, only perennial rice is ―approaching reality,‖ according to the proceedings of the 2013 FAO meeting. The first reports of crosses between perennial and annual rice emerged in the 1980s. Inspired by these signs of success, IRRI established a breeding program in the mid-1990s aimed at helping poor subsistence farmers combat erosion on steep slopes.It was dropped in 2001 due to shifting research priorities, but by then, Dayun Tao, a geneticist at the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, had made the promising cross that eventually would lead to PR23. This was a significant achievement. Perennial and annual rice are closely related but distinct species, which makes crossing them difficult. Often, fertilization occurs but the embryo is not viable. Tao used what plant breeders call ―embryo rescue,‖ a procedure that Crews likens to placing a premature baby in an incubator. Once the plants got through that bottleneck, future generations were able to reproduce normally.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Perennial rice soon ready to leave experimental fields The next step for Tao and his colleagues, including Hu, was to improve the crosses and choose the best ones. With funding from China‘s National Science Foundation and, more recently, the Land Institute, they launched a series of field trials, using conventional growing practices in typical lowland fields.Hu said PR23 and several other varieties are now good enough to release to farmers in Yunnan, although he has not yet published any papers on their performance in peerreviewed journals. Perennial rice is by no means ready to withstand the rigors of poor soil, scant water and extreme temperatures in the uplands, however. One challenge will be bringing in genes that instruct the plant to become dormant and shut down leaf production during the dry season to conserve water; another is adapting plants to the acid soils common in upland areas. ―As we go to more and more extreme environments, we‘ll have to develop better and better materials with more traits to get them adapted,‖ said Len Wade, a perennial grain expert at Australia‘s Charles Sturt University who is advising Hu‘s team and coordinating the trials in Laos. ―So there‘s no one answer here. It takes a series of answers or a series of targets.‖ Yet those further improvements are key, because the very places that most desperately need an alternative to conventional rice also tend to have the toughest growing conditions. In the mountains of northern Laos, for instance, farmers typically burn patches of forest in March or April and scatter rice seed over the ashes.Before the plants have had a chance to grow strong roots, heavy rains wash away soil and leach nutrients. Yields fall, weeds invade and farmers move on after two to three years. ―Soil quality is decreasing very fast,‖ said Pheng Sengxua, a Lao agronomist involved in the trials, which for now are taking place only in more favorable southern areas where the terrain is flatter and soils better. ―The population has increased and the forest is being destroyed by upland farmers. The Lao government wants to decrease upland farming systems like slash and burn to reduce erosion and deforestation.‖ That has led to government interest in the new varieties from China, which promise benefits that go beyond grain, Wade said. A rice crop that stayed in the ground for years on end could conserve soil and provide hay, fodder and fuel during the dry season, making it a key element of a sustainable farming system in hilly areas. That vision — of a perennial rice tough enough to flourish in some of the world‘s most difficult growing conditions — is still a distant one. But within the next few years, Chinese farmers could have access to PR23, a variety unlike any other in the long history of rice farming. For the perennial grains research community, that alone would be a significant milestone.

Rice Prices Succumb To Heavy Asian Supplies World rice prices are plummeting amid high Thai government inventories and a smoothharvest in Vietnam, according to media reports. The export price of Thai long-grain ricecomes to around $420 a ton, down 5% from the recent February high and the lowest sincelast June. The Vietnamese harvest, which began in late February, has weighed on themarket. Thailand amassed much of its inventories under a government program that paid apremium for the rice. Stockpiles rose to around 20 million tons a year ago and are said tobe around 15 million tons even now. The government is trying to sell them off, but saleshave been sluggish. Thai export prices rose sharply last August, after exports were haltedfollowing May's military coup, but have trended lower since sales resumed. The FAO AllRice Price Index dropped

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine to around 219 points in March 2015. The index has been droppingover last few months- shedding 10% since September 2014.

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Rice harvest kicks off in Riverina with better-than-expected yields THE WEEKLY TIMES APRIL 08, 2015 12:00AM

Head start: Jeremy Morton, in a field of koshihikari rice being harvested at his farm near Moulamein, in NSW. Picture: Andy Rogers

THIS year’s rice harvest results are better than expected for growers in the NSW Riverina. Harvest started in mid-March and according to SunRice about 20 per cent of expected production has been delivered so far.Michael Chalmers, harvesting at Wakool, east of Swan Hill, said he was about a quarter through his family‘s 1060ha rice crop and he was surprised at the yields.Mr Chalmers, who farms with his wife Felicia, parents, Rod and Linda, along with brother Peter said their opus rice was yielding an average of 11 tonnes/ha.A cold snap in the critical growth period of January had growers worried that yields would be reduced.―The yields have been generally www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine good … I‘ve been pleasantly surprised given we had real concerns in January,‖ Mr Chalmers said. ―We put extra water depth on our rice during the critical period, because it acts as a temperature buffer.‖Mr Chalmers said some areas of his koshihikari variety were disappointing and yielded about 7.5 tonnes/ha, which he attributed to lack of fertiliser in parts of this crop.BR & C Agent senior agronomist Scott Burger, who is based at Barham, in NSW, said yields in his district were about average, with the best about 11 tonnes/ha.

Rice harvest

Rice harvest is off and running in the NSW Riverina. Picture: Andy Rogers

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Rice harvest is off and running in the NSW Riverina. Picture: Andy Rogers

He said his own paddock of reiki rice averaged 10.5 tonnes/ha, while the koshihikari rice of his clients was yielding about 7.5 to eight tonnes/ha.Mr Burger said there had been a huge variability in opus rice this year, which was averaging about nine to 10 tonnes/ha, but yield monitors were reporting fluctuations between three and 14 tonnes/ha.At Moulamein, Jeremy Morton said his 22ha of koshihikari rice, a short grain Japanese-style rice, was achieving average yields of seven to eight tonnes/ha and didn‘t appear to be affected by January‘s cool temperatures. Mr Morton, who farms with his wife, Renee, and parents, Ian and Margaret, has reduced his rice plantings this year. Three years ago he grew 500ha, which then dropped to 200ha two years ago, then to 26ha last year.―I stopped growing rice on one farm because we had two years where we were really badly affected by ducks, because when the rice is young they eat the seedlings,‖ he said.He expected to increase rice plantings next year.SunRice said harvest should be completed by the end of this month.

Gov’t requests to double rice exports to China www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Ratha said the two governments have a close relationship and that the ministry will leverage the successful implementation of the current quota to have it raised. He added that extending the agreement is key to increasing and diversifying the Kingdom‘s rice export destinations.―I think it is important to open up the market and we will try to increase the volume of exports,‖ Ratha said.―We will keep going with the relationship and another MoU with the Chinese.‖China, in the past, had expressed concerns over the quality and hygiene standards of Cambodian agricultural products, but Ratha said the ministry had received no complaints from the Chinese government and that the agreement has been a―good achievement‖. Song Saran, CEO of AMRU Rice Co, said it was important to extend the agreement as China, along with Malaysia, are now Cambodia‘s biggest rice export destinations in Asia. But, he said Cambodia would need to up its procurement to meet the added demand, as well as maintain quality standards,―Cambodia needs to find the good quality rice and supply China what China needs,‖ Saran said.He added that diversifying export destinations, are critical to―transforming Cambodia‘s rice industry‖.―It is very, very important to renew the MoU with China, otherwise we will not reach the one million tonnes target,‖ he said.David Van, advisor to the Cambodia Rice Federation, told the Post on Sunday that the CRF has appealed to the minister of commerce to let them act as signatory during the next round of quota negotiations, instead of Green Trade, citing other food organisations that are in charge of similar arrangements. ―TREA in Thailand and Vinafood have both managed directly any quota with China and CRF is advocating for the same approach so that we could fairly and transparently reallocate any quota obtained among all CRF members accordingly,‖ said Van.Export figures released by the CRF last week, showed that China was the biggest importer of Cambodian rice, importing 36,081 tonnes of rice, followed by Malaysia and France. Thanks largely to the boost in shipments to China, the Kingdom increased its exports in March to 75,867 tonnes, doubling the 37,676 tonnes produced in February. PHNOMPENH POST

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APEDA NEWS: International Benchmark Price Price on: 07-04-2015 Product

Benchmark Indicators Name

Price

Chinese first grade granules, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2100

Chinese Grade A dehydrated flakes, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2000

Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

1800

Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

4600

Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

5100

Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

3000

Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

4170

Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

1590

Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps technical grade, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

3625

Garlic

Ginger

Guar Gum Powder

Source:agra-net

For more info

Market Watch Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 06-04-2015 Domestic Prices Product

Market Center

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Unit Price : Rs per Qty Variety

Page 11

Min Price

Max Price

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Jowar(Sorgham) 1

Amreli (Gujarat)

Other

1205

3515

Theni (Tamil Nadu)

Other

1280

1360

Pitlam (Telangana)

Local

1200

1300

Amirgadh (Gujarat)

Other

1430

Koraput (Assam )

Other

1310

1330

Deoli(Rajasthan)

Other

1350

1480

Harippad (Kerala)

Other

2500

Sirhind(Punjab)

Other

2000

3000

Nagpur(Maharashtra)

Other

1000

3100

Chala (Kerala)

Other

1700

1750

Banki (Orissa)

Other

2800

3000

Sirhind(Punjab)

Other

1000

1400

Maize

Pine Apple

Brinjal

Source:agra-net

For more info Rs per 100 No

Egg

Price on 06-04-2015 Product

Market Center

Price

Ahmedabad

272

Chittoor

278

Hyderabad

232

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Source: e2necc.com Unit Price : US$ per package

Other International Prices

Price on 06-04-2015 Product

Market Center

Origin

Variety

Low

High

Onions Dry

Package:50 lb sacks

Atlanta

Washington

Yellow

Baltimore

Mexico

Yellow

Detroit

Nevada

Yellow

15.50

Carrots

Package: 20 1-lb film bags

Atlanta

California

Baby Peeled

18.50

Chicago

California

Baby Peeled

17.50

Dallas

Arizona

Baby Peeled

17.75

Grapes

Package: 18 lb containers bagged

Atlanta

Chile

Red Globe

27.50

Baltimore

Peru

Red Globe

Chicago

Peru

Red Globe

18.50

Source:USDA

15-member Reap delegation leaves for Malaysia April 07, 2015 RECORDER REPORT

A 15-member trade delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) headed by it chairman Rafique Suleman proceeded to Malaysia and Phillippine. During the three days (April www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 6 to 8) visit to Malaysia, the delegation will have meetings with Minister of Agriculture & AgroBased Industry, government of Malaysia, officials of BERNAS, trade body of Malaysia, as well as officials of various chambers, such as Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce (ACCCIM), Kuala Lumpur Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce (KLSICCI), Jasmine Food Corporation and Syarikat Faiza. Reap will also hold a biryani festival during the visit to Malaysia. In the second phase, the delegation will visit Philippine from April 9 to 11 and will have meetings with the officials of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), National Food Authority (NFA) as well as officials of Philippines Chambers of Commerce & Industry (PCCI). Rafique Suleman has thanked Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), officials of Pakistani High Commission in Malaysia and Philippine for the excellent support and wonderful arrangements for the visit. He is hopeful that this visit will produce fruitful results for the betterment of rice exports from Pakistan and Pakistan will get a very handsome market share of both the countries. http://www.brecorder.com/agriculture-a-allied/183/1169784/

Iran Deal Roils Waters for Indian Commodity Exporters Posted Editors on April 7th, 2015

By Biman Mukherji

A worker carries sacks of rice on his head at a Vichi Agro Products Pvt warehouse at a market in Mumbai, India, Dec. 13, 2014. Iran is a top buyer of basmati rice from India. DHIRAJ SINGH/BLOOMBERG NEWS The prospect of a phased-in lifting of Western sanctions against Iran raised by last week‘s preliminary nuclear agreement with Tehran has created uncertainty over the fate of an oil-for-goods barter agreement involving rice, soymeal and other products.Iran has been India‘s leading buyer of high-grade basmati rice and soymeal, which has partly been helped because of the barter deal. That deal evolved as a means for India to keep importing Iranian oil and pay for it in a way that would circumvent trade and financial restrictions on Tehran.―We will have to wait and see,‖ said Arun Kumar Sampath Kumar, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan. He said the situation could become learer after June 30 once the details of the nuclear deal between Iran and six Western powers are worked out. If sanctions were lifted on Iran, it is likely to become easier for the nation to conduct trade for crude based on dollar payments. However, any agreement with India will have to be negotiated separately, as New Delhi has been eager to conserve precious dollars.For the year ended March 31, India‘s rice exports dropped about 5% to 10 million metric tons, according to Rajan

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Sundaresan, executive director of All India Rice Exporters Association. He said lower purchases by Iran, which has raised quality objections, were a large contributor to the fall. . Source: Iran Deal Roils Waters for Indian Commodity Exporters

Pakistan, Sri Lanka to increase bilateral trade to 1 bln USD Source:Xinhua Published: 2015-4-6 22:21:00 Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Monday agreed to increase annual bilateral trade volume to over one billion US dollars from the present 460 million US dollars and to boost cooperation in various fields, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.Prime Minister Sharif and President Sirisena were speaking at a joint news conference after holding official talks in Islamabad and witnessing the signing of six agreements.The Sri Lankan President arrived in Islamabad on Sunday on his first state visit to Pakistan since he assumed office in January.Nawaz Sharif said the agreements are aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation in the fields of shipping, tourism, economic development, anti-narcotics, disaster management and sports. "These agreements will pave way for further expanding bilateral ties," the prime minister said.Cement, sugar, cotton and basmati rice are the main Pakistani exports to Sri Lanka while Sri Lanka exports spices, particularly black pepper, betel leaf, coconut and coconut byproducts, lentils and rubber to Pakistan.The prime minister said both countries have similar view on almost all regional and international issues."We also discussed cooperation in the field of defense besides other sectors,"Sharif said while speaking along with the Sri Lankan President.He said Pakistan intends to maintain good relations with all neighboring countries and give special priority to promote ties with Sri Lanka. In his remarks, Sri Lankan President said his country intends to further increase trade volume with Pakistan besides intensifying mutual cooperation for the benefit of people of both countries."We need to further enhance people to people contact and joint research activities in various fields with Pakistan," he said. He also invited Pakistan national carrier PIA to resume its flights for Colombo.The Sri Lankan President expressed profound gratitude to Pakistan for extending support to eliminate terrorism from his country.He invited Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Colombo for further cementing Pak-Sri Lanka relations. Posted in: Diplomatic Channel

USA Rice Uses Government Programs to Amplify Message, Expand Export Markets www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Ghana promote that U.S. rice WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Federal Register announced that the Commodity Credit Corporation is inviting proposals for the FY2016 Market Access (MAP), Foreign Market Development (FMD), and Emerging Market Programs. These cost-share programs help expand commercial export markets for American products and typically contribute a significant portion of the USA Rice Federation's international promotion budget.

"In the current fiscal year, USA Rice received $4.2 million in MAP and FMD funds that enable us to conduct important marketing and promotional work for all types and forms of U.S. rice in more than 30 countries," said USA Rice Vice President of International Promotion Jim Guinn. "We can clearly demonstrate our successful trade servicing and market promotion programs using the current funding, and will build on this as we submit a new application for FY2016." Each year's allocation is the result of a competitive review of past program performance and industry support for the promotion programs. Approximately 90 cooperator groups compete for MAP/FMD funds, with new cooperator groups being added each year.USA Rice's proposal, which is typically about 300 pages, is due by June 8, 2015. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to award funds in October 2015."With the support of these Foreign Ag Service (FAS) market development programs, U.S. agricultural exports last fiscal year reached a record $152.5 billion. Those exports supported more than one million high-quality, goodpaying U.S. jobs" said FAS Administrator Phil Karsting.

Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457 CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for April 7

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for April 7

Month

Price

Net Change

May 2015

$10.680

- $0.145

July 2015

$10.935

- $0.115

September 2015

$11.140

- $0.070

November 2015

$11.340

- $0.055

January 2016

$11.555

- $0.050

March 2016

$11.605

- $0.050

May 2016

$11.605

- $0.050

USA Rice Federation

New coconut rice cooking method claims to slash kilojoules by Cathy Johnson

Cooking white rice with coconut oil and then cooling it in the fridge has been found to drastically cut the kilojoules it contains and make your gut healthier, researchers told a recent US scientific meeting. ISTOCKPHOTO | ELENATHEWISE

A new rice cooking method, which could cut its kilojoules by as much as half, was one of the sexier topics presented at a recent meeting of chemistry experts.The paper combined the hot topics of carbohydrates (in this case, rice), coconut oil (touted by celebrities and others as a miracle fat that can do everything from control sugar cravings to boost your immunity),gut bacteria (the microbes in our intestines that are increasingly recognised as important in preventing disease) and weight loss. (It also touched on food poisoning and flatulence.) The new method involves adding a touch of coconut oil to rice (around a teaspoon for half a cup of rice), which you then cook as you normally would, before cooling in the refrigerator for about 12 hours.The cooking and cooling together increase the amount of a type of indigestible

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine starch in the rice known as resistant starch.Since the body can't break down and absorb the energy from resistant starch, you end up with low-cal rice. "If the best rice variety is processed, we might reduce the calories by as much as 50 to 60 per cent", predicts team leader Sudhair James, from the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka. A healthy gut reaction The researchers say people should be able to replicate the process at home, although the results might vary depending on the type of rice used. Reheating the rice doesn't mean you will lose the resistant starch (although you will need to take care to ensure you avoid food poisoning).Rice with more resistant starch is healthier because this type of starch nourishes good bacteria in the large intestine, keeping the gut healthy and reducing the risk of bowel cancer. But be warned, these bacteria have the perhaps unwelcome side effect of producing flatulence (farts).

Magic coconut oil? Coconut oil was chosen largely because it is cheap and widely available in Sri Lanka, James said.The oil enters the starch granules during cooking, changing their architecture so they are no longer affected by digestive enzymes, he says. But it's possible other oils may work just as well. They just haven't been tested yet.(For a summary of the limited scientific evidence available on coconut's health effects in the body, see resources put together by the NZ Heart Foundation (and supported by the Australian Heart Foundation) Coconut and the heart, Evidence paper: Coconut oil and the heart and Q&A: Coconut oil and the heart) Weight loss potential Nutritionist Catherine Saxelby describes the research as "interesting" although very preliminary.While the researchers say their work might ultimately result in a commercial product sold as precooked low-cal rice ready to be reheated, Saxelby questions whether this will have a major impact on weight loss."If you're eating rice twice a day every day and you need to lose a bit of weight, then it is probably of interest," she says. However for most of us, www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine white rice is not a major part of our daily food intake (and probably shouldn't be because it is lower in nutrients than alternatives like brown rice or quinoa, she says). In any case "it's still early days," she points out. "They've tested the rice, but they haven't actually tested it on humans".Indeed the researchers themselves say more work is needed to see if the changes they've seen have the expected effects on people's digestive systems.Saxelby acknowledges most Australians eat less than a third of the amount of resistant starch thought optimal for bowel health, but you can easily get more by eating legumes (beans), uncooked oats, barley and whole grains. Other ways to boost resistant starch In Australia some grains with a higher resistant starch have already been incorporated into breads and breakfast cereals sold in supermarkets for some years.But in these cases, the extra resistant starch in the grains is a result of selective breeding.The final products are marketed primarily for their health benefits and as easy ways to get children to eat more fibre without them really noticing.It's also long been known that cold cooked potato (as in a potato salad) has more resistant starch than hot cooked potatoes. The same phenomenon has been shown to occur in cold cooked pasta. A weapon to help fight obesity The researchers' claim their cooking method has potential to reduce obesity rates, especially in countries where rice is a staple.But Saxelby is sceptical, saying junk food and sedentary lifestyles are a bigger contributor to obesity than rice.She admits though that there may be some benefit for poorer communities where rice is a staple, and that rice with a higher resistant starch content could be helpful in reducing the risk of diabetes.Resistant starch reduces the rise in glucose after eating that has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes (and which is problematic for those who already have diabetes). Several studies had suggested eating a lot of white rice raises diabetes risk, she says. Food poisoning warning If you want to avoid food poisoning from eating pre-cooked rice, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:    

Cooked rice should be cooled quickly and not left at room temperature. It should not be kept for more than three days in the fridge. It needs to be reheated very thoroughly. Cooked rice should never be reheated more than once.

For more info on the potential for rice to cause food poisoning see: Will cooked rice give you food poisoning if it's not stored in the fridge?

The computer smaller than a grain of rice: Tiny PC could invisibly monitor you and your home Michigan Micro Mote is a complete computer system less that 5mm across www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Contains solar cells that power the battery with ambient light Can be equipped with cameras, temperature and pressure sensors

By MARK PRIGG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 20:39 GMT, 7 April 2015 | UPDATED: 20:52 GMT, 7 April 2015 It is the smallest computer in the world - and 150 of them can fit in a thimble.Called the Michigan Micro Mote, to tiny technology is a complete computer system.Its inventors say it can act as a smart sensor, and give everyday objects computing capabilities. +3 The Michigan Micro Mote is the smallest computer in the world, measuring less than 2mm across.

HOW IT WORKS The Michigan Micro Mote contains solar cells that power the battery with ambient light, including indoor rooms with no natural sunlight, allowing the computers to run perpetually.This line of 'smart dust' devices includes computers equipped with imagers (with motion detection), temperature sensors, and pressure sensors. By strobing light at a high frequency, the operator is able to send information to the computer. Once the Micro Mote processes the data, it is able to send the information to a central computer via conventional radio frequencies. The Michigan Micro Mote is the first complete, operational computer system measuring as small as two millimeters across. 'To be 'complete,' a computer system must have an input of data, the ability to process that data - meaning process and store it, make decisions about what to do next â€“ and ultimately, the ability to output the data.' Professor David Blaauw explained. 'The sensors are the input and the radios are the output. The other key to being a complete computer is the ability to supply its own power.' The Michigan Micro Mote contains solar cells that power the battery with ambient light, including indoor rooms with no natural sunlight, allowing the computers to run perpetually.This line of 'smart dust' devices includes computers equipped with imagers (with motion detection), temperature sensors, and pressure sensors. They are the culmination of work initiated by Blaauw and Sylvester on very low-power processing for millimeter-scale systems. A key breakthrough in the size/power matchup came with the Phoenix processor in 2008.The Phoenix processor is miniscule at 915 x 915Âľm2, and boasts ultra-low operating voltage and a unique standby mode

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine that results in an average power consumption of only 500pW. (Consider that 1pW is the average power consumption of a single human cell.) Blaauw explained why Phoenix's extreme energy efficiency is so important: 'As you shrink down in size, the percentage of the system tends to be dominated by the battery. 'It's actually not hard to make chips small, but it is hard to make them low power. 'We could have very small chips, but we'd still end up with really large batteries.'This line of 'smart dust' devices includes computers equipped with imagers (with motion detection), temperature sensors, and pressure sensors.ne key application for this line of smart sensors lies in personal security and information, its inventors say. The solar system allows the computer to work under indoor lights without ever having to be charged.'With a 1mm2 solar cell producing 20nW, the device can harvest enough energy under ambient light to run perpetually,' the team say.The device's standby power consumption is 2nA. That's about a million times less power than the average mobile phone consumes while on standby, or the comparative difference between the thickness of a sheet of paper and the length of a football field.There are currently three different systems in the M3 family, focusing on several different applications: sensing temperature, pressure, and taking images.'Down the road we want these sensors to be able to talk to one another,' says Blaauw, 'and we're currently working to extend their range to about 20m.' +3The working computer is smaller than a grain of rice programmed and charged via light and could be used for a variety of medical and industrial purposes.One key application for this line of smart sensors lies in personal security and information.Numerous specks of technology could be discretely placed to invisibly monitor a home, business, or personal device.'We found that a lot of people were very interested in these devices, and that's why we went with the modular or stacked approach.' Blaauw explained. 'It's the key aspect of our design. If you need a different sensing modality you take out one sensor and replace it with another - like mix and match tinker toys.'

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7th april,2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine