| Regional Affairs
India to resume buying rice from Myanmar: traders Shanghai Daily 8th Sep 2014
India will resume buying rice from Myanmar after suspension for three years, offering to import 500, 000 tons of rice from the Southeast Asian country, said a Myanmar rice traders organization Monday. Prices for the rice deal are under negotiation, said the Myanmar Rice Federation, adding that India's offer to import Myanmar rice will create competitive prices in the domestic market. According to the Central Statistical Organization, Myanmar exported 1.2 million tons of rice in the fiscal year 2013-14, down 14.2 percent from 1.4 million tons in 2012-13. The rice export earning during 2013-14 was registered as 460 million U.S. dollars, reducing by 15.4 percent from 544 million U. S. dollars in 2012-13.
ASEAN
AEC: How the Philippines fares against Asean agri-food players The Inquirer 8th Sep 2014
A country’s global competitiveness is reflected in the list of companies in the global stage. Among these are: ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Dreyfus (the ABCD) for commodities; and Pepsico, Coca Cola, Mondelez and Mars (USA), Nestle (Switzerland), JBS (Brazil), Danone (France) for food processing. The top global retailers are: Walmart, Costco (USA), Carrefour (France), Tesco (UK), Aldi and Metro (Germany) to name a few. These companies built their nations, grew their exports and employed millions. Let us journey to Southeast Asia. Asean countries exported some $152 billion worth of agri-food products to the world, and imported around $100 billion, giving a surplus of over $50 billion a year. Vegetable oils and rubber products comprised over half of exports, followed by fish and preparations, rice and coffee. Asean companies are playing major roles in exports. Below are the billion-dollar companies based on their 2013 revenues unless otherwise specified. The list may omit unlisted companies.
Malaysia
Addressing palm oil concerns The Star 8th Sep 2014
A conference reveals that Malaysia is constantly seeking to improve the sustainability of its palm oil industry. It is the world’s most consumed and used vegetable oil, yet it has come under more intense scrutiny and has been criticised more than any other type of oils and fats. What is it about palm oil that draws such flak? At the 4th International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference held recently in Kota Kinabalu, participants and speakers attempted to sort through the sometimes emotional reactions this agricultural product elicits with an exchange of differences and misgivings, shared perspectives and clarifications. In his opening address at the conference, Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said that Malaysia is at the forefront of sustainable palm oil production. Malaysia has attempted to address repeated criticisms – particularly from international NGOs – about everything from environmental degradation to labour issues in the palm oil industry by rallying local growers to comply with international standards such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil and International Sustainability & Carbon Certification.
Govt move not enough to curb rising CPO inventory The Star 5th Sep 2014
The move taken by the government to cope with rising crude palm oil (CPO) inventory and falling prices is not sufficient to boost the commodity's prices significantly higher, said Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB). It said CPO prices would have to stay sufficiently low in order for biodiesel, which is the main catalyst to CPO demand, to be economically viable. "The expected record soybean and corn crops in the US will curb soybean oil prices from rebounding extensively, hence capping the near-term upside potential of CPO prices," it said. The government has decided to exempt CPO from export taxes for September and October with possible extension until the end of the year, in an attempt to cope with rising inventory and falling prices.
Palm Oil Stockpiles Seen Jumping Most in Two Years in Malaysia Bloomberg 5th Sep 2014
Palm oil inventories in Malaysia, the top supplier after Indonesia, probably increased in August by the most in almost two years as production climbed and exports declined. Reserves jumped 16 percent to 1.95 million metric tons from 1.68 million tons in July, according to the median of six estimates from planters. Exports in September and October will not attract a levy. The tariff exemption will increase sales by 600,000 tons and help contain reserves at 1.6 million tons by year-end.
Singaporeans going bananas over fruit from Malaysia The Star 3rd Sep 2014
Consumers in Singapore are snapping up more fruit from Malaysia, buying 6 per cent more every year for the last three years. Last year, about 144,600 tonnes of fruit were imported from across the Causeway, accounting for 35 per cent of total fruit imports that year, figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) show. This made Malaysia the top source of fruit for Singapore. Other main sources include China, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States. Singapore brings in about 50 types of fruit from Malaysia; the top five, in order of popularity, are watermelon, papaya, durian, banana and pineapple, AVA said. Fans of Malaysian fruit say they tend to be fresher and taste better. Fruit stall manager Woo Jin Shun, 50, said: "Our customers like Malaysian fruit because they are fresher. They also say they can taste a difference in the texture, especially the durians." About 60 per cent of the fruit at the Geylang stall, Wonderful Durian, where Woo works, is from Malaysia. It takes between three and eight hours for the fruit to get to Singapore from Malaysia, he said, depending on traffic conditions and how fast the suppliers can turn around orders.
Myanmar
Myanmar to export 400 000 tonnes of parboiled rice a year Eleven 7th Sep 2014
Myanmar is now exporting parboiled rice to both the EU and Russia. About 3,000 tonnes of parboiled rice has been exported to countries in Europe in an effort to promote its parboiled exports, Thaung Win, joint-secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation, said. “We are exporting it to EU countries – Poland and Germany – in addition to Russia,” Thaung Win said. “But the exports are not too much. The monthly export of parboiled rice to Russia is 1,500 tonnes. Last year, Myanmar exported about 18,000 tonnes of rice to Russia. We are making an effort to meet last year’s standards.” Currently, 80 per cent of Myanmar’s rice exports go to China. But the EU has given GSP rights – a generalised system of preferences – to Myanmar so rice exports can be sent to its market.
Philippines
Manila to buy more Thai rice Bangkok Post 4th Sep 2014
The military regime has approved a three-year plan under a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sell 1 million tonnes of rice annually to the Philippines from 2014-16. The MoU will allow Thailand to be eligible to participate in bidding to sell rice to the Philippines, which also has similar arrangements with Vietnam and Cambodia under government-to-government (G2G). In the first seven months, Thailand sold 126,866 tonnes to the Philippines, a surge of 1,328% from 8,884 tonnes sold in the same period last year. The Thai government during that period had set rice mortgage prices higher than market prices, making Thai grains less competitive.
Singapore
Nestlé enters traditional trade channels in Singapore with DKSH Food Navigator Asia 4th Sep 2014
Nestlé has extended its partnership with expansion services firm DKSH to bring confectionery brands such as Kit Kat, Milo Confectionery and Uncle Toby’s to traditional trade channels in Singapore. DKSH already provides Nestlé sales and marketing support in Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand. Last year, DKSH announced a deal to provide marketing, sales, merchandising, distribution, logistics, and back office support to Lindt in the Singaporean market. DKSH also expanded market partnerships to other regional confectioners, such as with Chupa Chups maker in Burma and Hershey in Malaysia.
Singapore must join world’s fight against hunger The Malaysian Insider 4th Sep 2014
In an opinion editorial published in The Malaysian Insider, Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has urged Singapore to be part of the global effort to reduce and, ultimately, end hunger. Singapore is home to one of the world’s remarkable urban environments, an Asian hub of modernity. Being a relatively small island with a large population, Singapore relies mostly on food imports to meet the dietary needs of its population. While food is plentiful now, the Republic will need to be prepared for potential disruptions to its food supply. In 2008, global food prices rose and became more volatile, affecting food prices in many nations, such as Singapore. Singapore has made efforts in this direction, particularly in maximising productivity from limited land resources. This requires creativity and innovation. It has been approaching this challenge head on. Commercial indoor and rooftop vegetable farms are opening, while other urban and peri-urban agricultural schemes are taking shape.
Thailand
Labour-rights activist Andy Hall on trial in Thailand: ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ The Guardian 8th Sep 2014
British labour-rights activist Andy Hall is facing eight years in prison and a $13m (£8m) fine for defamation after writing a report alleging labour abuses in the Natural Fruit Company, a large Thai pineapple wholesaler that supplies the EU. He wrote that, among other things, the passports of migrant workers were confiscated and there was violence against employees. It is a case that human rights groups claim is a “complicit cover-up” by the government, an attempt to shoot the messenger rather than improve working conditions, and NGOs, industry experts and hundreds of thousands of people all over the world have signed petitions calling for Natural Fruit to drop its charges against him.
BAAC sets B15bn for rubber farmers Bangkok Post 4th Sep 2014
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will launch a 15 billion baht credit line to support the liquidity of farm institutions and rubber processing. The approval came following an order from the National Council for Peace and Order. There are 723 farm institutions nationwide that want to borrow from the BAAC. The bank will start lending to 24 high-potential cooperatives that have experience in collecting rubber and primary processing. The bank has about 360,000 rubber-farmer clients who borrowed about 40 billion baht. With the rubber prices plummeting, they have faced difficulties in repaying loans, so the BAAC has allowed them to readjust.
Ebola's Expanding Reach: Thai Rice Shipments Slowed By West Africa Outbreak International Business Times 3rd Sep 2014
The West African Ebola virus outbreak is rippling through the continent's import markets, and Thailand, one of the world's largest rice exporters, is feeling the pinch. The Thai rice industry has already been hurt by policies of the former government, deposed earlier this year by the military, and the Ebola epidemic is further stressing it. According to the Bangkok News, Thailand was already on track to set new records for exports to Africa, and while it will ship more this year than last, it's still unlikely to be able to meet demand. Shippers are unable to find crews willing to make the journey to African ports due to fears of contracting the virus. And as farmers are unable to get their harvests in because of the outbreak, Africa's import needs are likely to rise.Those problems are causing rising food prices that threaten weak economies.
Thai govt sells half of rubber stockpile Reuters 3rd Sep 2014
The Thai military government has sold half of the country's 200,000 tonne rubber stockpile to a Thai rubber exporter and aims to sell the rest by the end of September. The 100,000 tonnes of rubber was sold at 62.60 baht ($1.95) per kilogram, slightly above current market prices of around $1.80-$1.85 per kg. But the price was still far below the prevailing levels in 2012-13 when the government agreed to pay growers 10 percent above market rates for their rubber, or around 100 baht per kg, due to concerns about oversupply and weak demand from top consumer China.
Vietnam
Local agro authorities urge GMOs ban be removed Vietnam Net 4th Sep 2014
Vietnam’s agriculture sector management officials are claiming that the production of genetically-modified crops should be banned in the country. Farmers are now using some cross-bred strains produced by local firms that hold a monopoly on these strains. If GM strains are allowed to be produced in Vietnam, farmers will have more choice, and accordingly strain producers will have to engage in more fierce competition. Also, GM crops can resist wild grass and pests. They will help farmers save production and labour costs, as they are 20 per cent cheaper than locally-made products.
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