F&A Update: Thai Rice Production to Reduce Substantially

• The US-ASEAN Business Council is pleased to announce a Food & Agricultural Mini Mission to the Philippines on August 6, 2014. This one day event will take place in Fairmont Makati, Manila. Meetings with Francis Pangilinan, Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization and Secretary of Agriculture, Proceso Alcala are confirmed. For registration and more information, please contact the Council’s Food and Agricultural Manager, Sunita Kapoor at skapoor@usasean.org.

• The Thai Rice Packers Association predicted that rice production in Thailand will hit a five-year-low as drought hurts yield and farmers curb planting due to discontinuation of the subsidary program. Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was deposed by the current military junta past May, initiated this subsidy in 2011, spurring record output and reserves and ending the country's 30-year reign as the biggest exporter. The program basically ensured that farmers are paid a guaranteed above-market rate for their crop. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, Thai rice reserves increased from 5.62 million tonnes in 2011 to 12.8 million tonnes last year and exports fell from 10.6 million tonnes to 6.72 million tonnes in the same period. As of now, however, it is estimated that total output may drop to 30.5 million tonnes by 2015. A spokesperson of the Thai Rice Exporters Association said, "Even without impact from dry weather, we should see a production decline because farmers barely make a profit anymore from planting rice."

Trade Harmonisation Crucial to ASEAN’s Competitiveness FIA 16th Jul 2014
Many ASEAN countries have made great strides in global competitiveness rankings indicating sound economic ability and performance. This success, however, has not been uniform across the region. FIA spoke to Mr Pushpanathan Sundram, Principal Advisor of the ASEAN Food and Beverage Alliance (AFBA) and former Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community, about what ASEAN economies can do to boost their competitiveness both individually and as a region, and how the food industry can support ASEAN in its strive to become more competitive.

Growing into the mushroom market The Phnom Penh Post 16th Jul 2014
The early days were tough going for Kim Puthkiri and his mushrooms. In 2010, Puthkiri inherited a 5,000-square-metre mushroom farm on the outskirts of Phnom Penh from his brother, who had been trained in South Korea in the art of raising the broad-topped oyster variety, a popular Chinese soup ingredient. New to mushroom farming, Puthkiri wanted to diversify his produce, and raise the more dense straw mushroom, a bulbous fungus with greater appeal in Cambodian cuisine. “We successfully grew oyster mushrooms, but Cambodian people do not like to eat oyster mushrooms, they prefer straw mushrooms. So we started to grow straw mushrooms when we did not even have the technique,” he said.

Indonesia Plays Important Role in Tanzania Agriculture The Crop Site 24th Jul 2014
Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Mr Christopher Chiza in Inauguration of Big Result Now of the Vision 25 which held in Morogoro, Saturday 12 July said Indonesia plays an important role in Tanzania agriculture “Indonesia has an important role in developing agriculture in Tanzania by providing knowledge and training for our farmers,” said the minister. Indonesia has supported Tanzania agriculture through Farmers Agriculture Rural Training Centre (FARTC) established in Mkindo, Morogoro since 1996 where Indonesian agriculture experts provides training for Tanzanian farmers. However because of austerity measures the program was terminated in 2004. In 2007 Minister of Agriculture of Tanzania visited his counterpart in Indonesia, requesting the resuming of FARTC program. On March 2011, Indonesian Government reactivated FARTC.

Louis Dreyfus quits palm oil venture in Indonesia Reuters 24th Jul 2014
Global trader Louis Dreyfus Commodities has left a joint venture operating palm oil plantations in Indonesia after an investment review, the company said on Thursday. Its Louis Dreyfus Commodities Asia Pte unit quit the Green Eagle Plantations Pte Ltd (GEP) venture, which Louis Dreyfus formed in 2011 with Indonesian conglomerate Rajawali Corp. Louis Dreyfus said in 2012 the venture operated in four regions of Indonesia - West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Papua - overseeing 50,000 planted hectares, employing over 2,000 people and with 2011 production of nearly 100,000 tonnes of palm oil.

Indonesian palm oil exports may fall 9.5 pct in 2014 Reuters 22nd Jul 2014
Indonesia is expected to export between 19 million and 20 million tonnes of palm oil in 2014, according to a leading industry association, a decline of up to 9.5 percent from the 21 million tonnes the world's top producer shipped in 2013. "Exports of CPO (crude palm oil), palm kernel oil and its derivatives in the first half of 2014 were so disappointing," Fadhil Hasan, executive director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), told reporters late on Monday. Exports in the first half of 2014 amounted to 9.75 million tonnes, down from around 11 million tonnes in the first half of 2013, he said.

Indonesia sees 4.2 mln ton rice surplus this year Global Post 16th Jul 2014
Indonesian agriculture ministry forecast the country's rice outputs (hulled rice production) to be surplus by 4.2 million ton this year despite a decline in production of un-hulled rice, a senior official said here on Wednesday. This is the country's first of its three forecasts of rice production in a year, which expected the production of the un- hulled rice was estimated at 69.871 million ton in 2014, scaling down from 71.28 million ton in 2013, said Haryono, acting director general at the ministry. "With the forecast of outputs of 69.871 million ton un-hulled rice and the number of population 252.165 million people, based on calculation (we) are still surplus of 4.2 million ton," he said at his office.

Islamic body confirms Cadbury’s halal status The Sun Daily 23rd Jul 2014
The Cadbury Confectionery Malaysia Sdn Bhd factory has been given a clean bill after its premise was found to be in compliance with the guidelines stipulated by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), said Islamic Scholars and Preachers Union president (Murshid) Dr Zaharuddin Abd Rahman. The conclusion was made after he was invited to tour Cadbury's manufacturing plant at Persiaran Raja Muda, here, yesterday. Also invited to the tour were Johor State Islamic Council adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut and former Religious Official to the Terengganu Palace Mohd Shukri Ali. They were invited as part of Cadbury's commitment to its halal food processing. Earlier this year, two Cadbury chocolate samples, namely Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond, were detected to have | contained pig DNA (porcine) and subsequently the manufacturer recalled these items. However, tests carried out by a chemistry laboratory accredited by Jakim found no trace of porcine DNA in the chocolate samples.

Expanding protected forest area Daily Express 16th Jul 2014
The State Government [Sabah] is poised to expand the size of its "Totally Protected Areas" by 30 per cent within a decade to 2.1 million hectares from 1.35 million hectares in view of its commitment to forest conservation. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the Forestry Department is in the midst of identifying these areas, which will be gazetted as TPAs or Class 1 Forest Reserves and that the Government also aims to increase the size of such reserves by 1 million hectares this year. On rehabilitation of degraded forests, Musa said from 2013 about 504,287.60 hectares of forests had been restored by the Forestry Department, Yayasan Sabah, Long-Term Licensing Agreement holders, Sabah Forestry Development Authority (Safoda) and Sabah Rubber Industry Board (SRIB). They comprise 261,169.70 hectares of enrichment planting and silviculture, 239,169.70 hectares of forest farms and 77,108.10 hectares from rubber plantations planted by the SRIB. "The State Government via the Forestry Department through a collaboration with the Worldwide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) had also set 214,000 hectares of forest reserves under the Global Forest Trade Network (GFTN) initiative towards obtaining a full certification," he said. Meanwhile, 42,955 hectares of forest farms under private management like Sabah Softwoods Sdn Bhd and the Hijauan Bengkoka Plantations Sdn Bhd had also been certified.

Philippines to Import Another 500,000 Tons of Rice in 2014 through Open Tender Oryza 23rd Jul 2014
The Philippines National Food Authority (NFA) Council has approved import of another 500,000 tons of rice this year to replenish the country's rice stocks amid huge withdrawals due to losses brought about by Typhoon Glenda last week, according to local sources. Presidential Assistant for Food Security told local sources that the additional 500,000 tons of rice would be imported through an open tender, which would be held on August 12, 2014 and for delivery in the first half of September 2014. He noted that the government hiked its latest importation plan to 500,000 tons from 200,000 tons following devastation by Typhoon Glenda. The new imports would be over and above the initially planned 800,000 tons imports from Vietnam, which are likely to fully arrive by the end of August 2014.

Crop losses force gov’t to increase rice imports Business World 23rd Jul 2014
The Philippines will hold a tender next month to buy an extra 500,000 tons of rice to increase its thin stockpiles after a typhoon damaged crops last week, in a move that could underpin export prices in key producers such as Vietnam. The additional demand will bring the country’s total imports this year to nearly two million tons, the highest in four years, putting the Philippines on track to become one of world’s top three buyers of rice. “We have agreed that we will import an additional 500,000 metric tons of rice,” Francis N. Pangilinan, who took over as food security chief in May, told local radio. “There will be a tender and (the shipment) is expected to come in by end of August, first week of September.”

PH rice output seen hitting record high Inquirer 21st Jul 2014
Philippine rice output in the 2014-2015 marketing season that started this month is expected to reach yet another record volume, even as the global production growth forecast was trimmed due to the looming El Niño phenomenon. In its latest rice market report, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said it foresees production in the Philippines to expand by 1 percent to 19 million tons of paddy rice, equivalent to 12.4 million tons when milled. The FAO said this forecast was largely based on expectations of continued expansion of farm areas planted to rice, driven by high prices and helped by government support to the domestic sector. “The forecast remains tentative, however, as the season is still at early stages in the country, having also opened this year under the threat of possible El Niño-induced weather anomalies,” the FAO said. Following international market convention, the United Nations agency makes assessments and forecasts within a “season” that starts in July and ends in June the following year.

BSP: Consumer prices not seen to rise after ‘Glenda’ Inquirer.net 21st Jul 2014
Typhoon Glenda is not expected to cause consumer prices to shoot up, the central bank said, noting that early indications were that the damage was “substantially less” than expected in Metro Manila. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said forecasts still showed that inflation targets remained “safe as of now.” “From what we have seen and from what the NDRRMC (Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) has reported, it looks like the effect of Glenda was substantially less than stronger typhoons in recent years,” Tetangco told reporters at the weekend. “We will have to see the estimates when they become available and evaluate the impact,” he said.

Typhoon damage to agriculture hits $53.3 M Philippine Star 17th Jul 2014
The agriculture sector incurred losses amounting to P2.32 billion ($53.3 million) following the onslaught of typhoon Rammasun (local name: Glenda), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said today. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said farmers and fishermen in 15 provinces in central and northern Philippines were heavily affected by the typhoon. Alcala said the fisheries subsector suffered the biggest loss, with damages estimated at $810 million ($18.58 million). Typhoon Rammasun also destroyed P512.7 million ($11.76 million) worth of rice planted in 43,536 hectares and P391.65 million ($8.98 million) worth of corn planted in 22,627 hectares. Rice and corn are the country's two major crops. Other cash crops worth P481.15 million ($11.03 million) were also destroyed by strong winds and heavy rains. The DA's preliminary assessment showed that coconut trees planted in 4,000 hectares may have been damaged by the typhoon.

Fix food systems, feed the economy: experts Eco-Business 16th Jul 2014
Philippine and global leaders at the Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture in Manila called for drastic reforms of the entire food system to address food security and improve the livelihood of Asia’s largely rural population. While the Philippines achieved the second-highest GDP growth in the region last year after China, most Filipinos still do not have enough food for themselves or their families, said Secretary Francis Pangilinan, Presidential Adviser for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization on Monday.

Food security: 3 major private sector approaches devex 24th Jul 2014
Nutrition and hunger are complicated issues. As development practitioners from all sectors are learning, feeding and nourishing the 870 million undernourished people in the world needs strong leadership, partnerships, and the supply chains and distribution channels to ensure access. Furthermore, this is not only a developing-world issue; one-sixth of Americans do not have enough food to eat. Every city in the world needs to understand what populations are at risk of consistent hunger. No single organization or sector can solve this problem alone, but companies like DSM, Amway, Wal-Mart, Cargill, General Mills and Nestlé are providing great examples of leadership in the nutrition and food security space. But first, to understand how companies are working to solve these problems, we must fully understand what’s at stake.

The nexus of agriculture and nutrition devex 23rd Jul 2014
There are no magic bullets in development, though there are often trends that are mistaken for them. In the end, the good ones are folded into evolving toolkits of smart policies, technologies, infrastructure and local services that together create sustainable economic growth and build resiliency. That said, the current donor focus on food security emphasizes nutrition in agricultural development programming, and the impact of this nexus is increasingly exciting. The baseline is criminal. Forty-five percent of child deaths under age 3 are caused by malnutrition, and cognitive impairment is the lasting legacy of its survivors. One in every five children in the world is stunted.

Thai rice yield to hit 5-year low Bangkok Post 23rd Jul 2014
Rice production in Thailand will probably shrink to a five-year low as drought hurts yields and farmers curb planting after the end of a subsidy programme, according to the Thai Rice Packers Association. Output in the largest shipper after India may drop 10% to about 34 million metric tonnes in 2014-2015, said Somkiat Makcayathorn, the group's president. That would be the lowest level since 2009-2010, when the Southeast Asian nation produced 32.4 million tonnes, according to data from the Office of Agricultural Economics, the Bangkok-based state forecaster. While a smaller harvest would curb farm incomes, a decline in supply may ease the challenge faced by the country's military junta as it seeks to sell off record stockpiles that built up under the now-defunct subsidy programme.

CPF plans aggressive Australia expansion The Nation 23rd Jul 2014
Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods is planning to roll out up to 500 quick-service Thai restaurants in Australia, a market it sees as ripe for a fast-food explosion, reports said Tuesday. The food arm of Thailand’s largest agriculture-based company also plans to expand into the booming ready-to-eat meals segment as its Australian investments grow to more than Aus$200 million (US$188 million) over the next five years. "The best-practice model for restaurants and franchises globally is in Australia," regional general manager Richard Lovell told The Australian newspaper ahead of opening the company’s first restaurant in the country, 1000Wat, in Melbourne. "Over the next four years our target is 300 to 500 stores with a modern Thai, fast-food, great value-for-money offering."

Thai firm dishes up a fast-food menu The Australian 22nd Jul 2014
THE $US11 billion ($11.72bn) food arm of Thailand’s largest agriculture-based company wants to establish up to 500 Thai restaurants across Australia and move further into the booming ready-to-eat meals segment as its Australian investments grow to more than $200 million over the next five years. Charoen Pokphand Foods chief operating officer Pisit Ohmpornnuwat will join Victorian Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh and Thailand’s ambassador to Australia Maris Sangiampongsa today in officially opening the company’s first Australian restaurant, 1000Wat, in Emporium Melbourne. The company’s regional general manager, Richard Lovell — who also will attend the opening — said the group wanted to expand 1000Wat to up to 500 outlets nationwide, including rolling out a franchise model in two years.

Inspectors reveal tainted rice Bangkok Post 23rd Jul 2014
A military team, led by deputy chief of the 111th infantry regiment Baromwit Varunprapa and a rice inspection team, yesterday inspected a warehouse in Chachoengsao’s Phanom Sarakham district and found some of the rice was badly damaged. The warehouse was storing a total of 88,005 rice sacks purchased under the Yingluck Shinawatra government rice-pledging scheme. Vasiva Sasisamit, Interior Ministry inspector-general and head of the inspection team, said samples of rice had been collected for testing prior to their visit. However, the inspection team was caught off guard when they saw the poor condition of rice being kept at the warehouse.

Thailand moves forward with organic agriculture Pattaya Mail 22nd Jul 2014
Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has joined with the private and public sectors, as well as NGOs and academic sector to push forward with projects to promote more organic farming in the country. BAAC President Luck Wajananawat, along with community leaders and intellectuals, as well as organizations that promote organic agriculture held a joint seminar to set the direction to drive the operations for organic agriculture.

Thailand to be top rice exporter again after poor rains in India Financial Express 22nd Jul 2014
Thailand is set to reclaim its status as the world's top rice exporter as weak monsoon rains curb India's crop, helping the Southeast Asian country's new military government offload bulging stockpiles. Fewer Indian exports would allow Bangkok to win better prices for the grain that it has been selling at a huge discount, curbing losses on the stocks built up under a costly state intervention scheme. "It is a good opportunity for Thailand to manage its huge stocks at competitive prices," said Kiattisak Kallayasirivat, managing-director of Bangkok-based Novel Agritrading Co.

Thai government urged to drop libel case against British slavery researcher The Guardian 21st Jul 2014
An international workers' union has declared the Thai government to be "on trial" in an impending defamation case against a British human rights defender who exposed alleged modern-day slavery in its canned fruit and fishing industry. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has demanded that all charges against Andy Hall, 33, be dropped immediately, and described the trial – due in September – as "a national and international embarrassment". Thailand's Natural Fruit Company filed civil and criminal cases against Hall earlier this year after he exposed alleged labour and human rights abuses, including violence against employees, forced overtime, the use of underage labour and the confiscation of passports of Burmese migrant workers.

High quality rice seeds handed to farmers in Korat Pattaya Mail 21st Jul 2014
More than 300 tons of high quality rice have been handed to farmers in 20 districts of Nakhonratchasima Province, as part of the authorities’ campaign to return happiness to farmers by providing a means to boost their incomes. A ceremony has been organized yesterday by the Rice Department and related units with more than 1,000 farmers attending the event. Aside from giving away quality rice seeds, various activities were also held. There were rice and related products on sale at the event as well.

FAO Forecasts Vietnam 2014 Rice Exports at 7 Million Tons; Up 5% from Last Year Oryza 24th Jul 2014
The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has forecasted Vietnam's 2014 rice exports at around 7 million tons, up about 5% from around 6.65 million tons exported in 2013 due to an increase in production and higher export demand from Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, China and the Philippines. Vietnam exported around 3.3 million tons of rice during the first six months (January - June) of 2014, down about 6% from around 3.5 million tons exported during the same period in 2013, according to data from the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam.

Vietnam’s dairy farm wins first global quality certificate in Southeast Asia Far Eastern Agriculture 23rd Jul 2014
A Vietnamese dairy farm has won Southeast Asia’s first Global Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.) certificate for quality and safety. The Netherlands-based Control Union Certifications B.V., gave the certificate to the farm run by Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company, better known as Vinamilk, in the central province of Nghe An, Tuoi Tre News reported. Global G.A.P. is a farm management tool created to meet the needs of the domestic and international markets. It had taken the farm eight months to implement all necessary procedures for the certificate, the dairy company said.

No carcinogens found in snacks, fries: Health Ministry Vietnam News 18th Jul 2014
The Ministry of Health has announced that none of the six samples of fried potatoes and snacks, randomly selected for testing, contained acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The above-mentioned hazardous substances reportedly can cause cancer and health problems in humans. The results of the test, which was conducted by the National Institute for Food Quarantine, showed that the three randomly selected samples of KFC, Lotteria and BBQ fried potatoes and the three samples of snacks, sold at Nguyen Cao Market and in Ba Trieu and Lo Duc streets in Ha Noi, were safe.

Vietnam’s marine economy faces challenges VietnamNet 18th Jul 2014
Aside from large fishing vessels, marine economic development requires a lot of missions to be implemented synchronously. - The Saigon Times Daily had a talk with Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), on the issue

Vietnam dairy farm becomes 1st in SE Asia to earn Global G.A.P certificate Tuoi Tre News 21st Jul 2014
A dairy farm in central Vietnam has been awarded a Global Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P) certificate, the first in Southeast Asia and the third in Asia to receive the international honor. Richard De Boer, director of the Vietnam branch of the Netherlands-based Control Union Certifications B.V., granted the certificate to the farm run by Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Co, better known as Vinamilk, in the central province of Nghe An on Friday. It took the farm eight months to implement all necessary procedures for the certificate.