28th july (tuesday),2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com www.ricepluss.com

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July 28, 2015 Vol 5 ,Issue VII



Rice Federation to Get $450,000 From Ministry

BY KANG SOTHEAR | JULY 28, 2015

The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) signed a memorandum of understanding with the

Ministry of Commerce on Thursday to receive $450,000 in financial support from the

government to increase Cambodia’s rice exports, according to a federation official.Hun Lak, vice

president of the CRF, which aims to link farmers, millers and exporters, said the Finance

Ministry would assist the federation through the Commerce Ministry with a one-time capital

infusion.

―This is a seed capital…to support those who are involved in the rice sector,‖ he said.―The

capital will be used for…market development such as participating in overseas exhibitions,

joining government-to-government discussions and human resources development.‖Mr. Lak

added that the funds would be sent to the CRF after the ministry receives a comprehensive plan

for its use.Commerce Ministry officials could not be reached for comment.The government had

set a goal to export 1 million tons of milled rice this year, but has admitted that it is likely to fall

well short of that figure, and now plans to export about 600,000 tons of rice this year.

[email protected] https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/rice-federation-to-get-450000-from-ministry-89665/

Scientists Create New Rice Variety Submitted by Diana Bretting on Tue, 07/28/2015 - 11:25

Nowadays getting permission to grow

rice is equal to an uphill battle, but

scientists have recently created a new

variety by transferring a barley gene

into a rice planet. One of the major

advantages of this genetically modified

variety is it produces considerably less

methane gas.The research on the rice

variety was published in the journal

Nature. As per some scientists,

reducing methane emissions that occur in flooded rice paddies as methane-producing bacteria

thriving on the carbohydrates secreted by rice roots in the oxygen-free soils is a big concern.Rice

paddies are one of the largest sources of atmospheric methane, the second most important

greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Methane is thought to be responsible for one-fifth of the

global warming effect.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/author/kang-sothear/

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/rice-federation-to-get-450000-from-ministry-89665/



But the transfer of barley gene into a rice planet during this study resulted in rice with smaller

root systems and starchier grain, and the methane produced was 10% of the methane produced in

growing conventional rice.Lead author of the Journal report is Chuanxin Sun, a plant biologist at

the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said it was thought that such a research might

come from another major rice producing area, but it has occurred in China.Researchers for the

study conducted field trials in China for three years. This newly developed rice variety can boost

food sustainability without adding to global warming.Some experts are considering the findings

of the study as an important breakthrough in the field of genetically modified foods.

http://perfscience.com/content/2142317-scientists-create-new-rice-variety#sthash.Y3KgtArN.dpuf

Genetically modified rice makes more food, less greenhouse

gas A 50 percent boost in rice, with methane dropping by 90 percent.

by Scott K. Johnson - Jul 28, 2015 8:33am PDT

Feng Wang

When it comes to major anthropogenic sources of methane (an important greenhouse gas),

livestock and leaky natural gas wells and pipelines might come to mind. However, rice

cultivation is also among the largest sources. Microbes in wetlands, where water saturation leads

to low-oxygen conditions, produce most of the world’s methane, and rice paddies are essentially

http://arstechnica.com/author/scott-johnson/

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/07/measuring-the-heck-out-of-shale-gas-leakage-in-texas/



human-controlled wetlands.Down in the warm muck of a rice paddy, the roots of the rice plant

release some organic compounds, and they eventually die off and decay themselves, providing

the food that microbes turn into methane. Researchers are working on ways to limit that methane

production, but this will always be a secondary concern for farmers. Yields rule the day,

especially as demand is growing. But a 2002 study hinted at a win-win: increase above-ground

growth at the expense of below-ground growth, and yield goes up while methane production

goes down.

A great idea, but how to make it happen? A group of researchers led by Swedish University of

Agricultural Sciences researchers Jun Su, Changquan Hu, and Xia Yan have used a gene from

barley to create a genetically modified rice plant that does just that.The barley gene causes the

plant to put more energy into above-ground growth, including the seeds. Having inserted the

gene into a couple rice cultivars, the researchers planted trials in several areas of China with

varying climates to see the results. Compared to a common cultivar grown as a baseline, the

genetically modified plants produced substantially less methane—90 to 99 percent less,

depending on the growth stage.

To see what was happening, the researchers tracked the growth of the rice, as well as the

activity of genes in various parts of the plants. The genetically modified plants had stronger

flower clusters that produced more seeds, meaning a greater yield of rice per plant—close to 50

more percent by weight. And the starch content of those grains of rice was about 10 percent

higher. In total, above-ground weight increased by about 30 percent, while below-ground weight

decreased by 35 percent.Meanwhile, the abundance of methane-producing microbes living on the

plants’ roots decreased by half or more, apparently starved of food.

Measurements of gene expression confirmed that the barley gene was busy in the seeds and

stems of the modified plants. The gene boosted the conversion of sugars to starch, maintaining a

greedy demand for sugars in those parts that left less for the roots.In an article accompanying the

paper in Nature, Netherlands Institute of Microbial Ecology researcherPaul Bodelier celebrated

the study but cautioned that further trials will be necessary to make sure this crop would be ready

for long-term, widespread use. Since the microbial community around the plant’s roots changes,

there could potentially be knock-on effects that reduce the plant’s disease resistance or require

greater fertilizer use, for example.

Barring major trade-offs, a variety of rice that produces more food while releasing less methane

into the atmosphere would obviously be a boon

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/07/genetically-modified-rice-makes-more-food-less-greenhouse-gas/

http://www.pnas.org/content/99/19/12021.short

http://www.slu.se/en/departments/plant-biology-forest-genetics/research/groups/chuanxin-sun/

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14633

https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/employees/paul-bodelier



Irish researchers discover simple solution to worrying levels of

arsenic in our rice

Rab Kassie Sheeran

PUBLISHED28/07/2015 | 19:02

"Rice is by far our dominant source of inorganic

arsenic," says a professor at Queen’s University

Belfast.Too much arsenic is associated with a

range of health problems including, at worst,

bladder and lung cancer. Rice is the only major

crop grown under flooded conditions. It is this

flooding that releases inorganic arsenic, normally

locked up in soil minerals, which is then

absorbed by the plant.Washing and boiling rice in

a pan will not remove the toxin; this only re-

infuses it after the water has evaporated.Research

done at Queen’s concluded that by cooking rice in the filter of a coffee percolator could reduce

the arsenic content greatly. Scientists reported that it took 20 minutes to cook white rice and 40

minutes to cook brown rice by this method.Researchers at Queen’s are currently developing rice

percolator cookers more suited to preparing rice.The UK’s Food Standards Agency states

children under 4 and half years old shouldn’t be fed rice milk as an alternative.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-researchers-discover-simple-solution-to-worrying-levels-of-

arsenic-in-our-rice-31411167.html

Nigeria spends $2.4bn on rice importation in 3 years –

Emefiele July 28, 2015Premium Times

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday said the Federal

Government spent $2.41 billion on rice importation between January 2012 and May 2015.Mr.

Emefiele made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting with officials of Paddy Rice Producing

states and Rice Value chain investors in Abuja.He said the bank’s decision to ban foreign

exchange for importation of rice; fish and other items would not be reversed.

He said the apex bank has no plans to reverse the ban, adding that the reason for inclusion of rice

in the exclusion list was not far-fetched.He said, ―Figures available with the CBN show that from

the period January 2012 to May 2015, the country had spent over 2.41bn dollars on importation

of this commodity.―Unfortunately, this trend has resulted in huge unsold stock of paddy rice

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/187406-nigeria-spends-2-4bn-on-rice-importation-in-3-years-emefiele.html

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/187406-nigeria-spends-2-4bn-on-rice-importation-in-3-years-emefiele.html



cultivated by our farmers and low operating capacities of many integrated rice mills in

Nigeria.‖Mr. Emefiele said the CBN, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development, would come up with a comprehensive financing model to support rice millers and

other investors in the sector.He said the bank decided to intervene in the sector through funding

and other packages because the country would not achieve its true potentials if it imported

everything it could produce locally.

He said, ―the bank will make funds more accessible to farmers through some of its funding

programme such as the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme and the N220bn Micro Small

and Medium Enterprises Development fund.―The funds will be made available to rice farmers

through the Microfinance Banks at an interest rate of nine per cent and any bank that charges

interest above that rate should be reported to the CBN―We appeal to the state governments to

provide lands for the farmers on a large scale and we will work with them to clear some of these

impediments.

―We are at a stage where we must feed ourselves and all hands are on deck to ensure this work,‖

he said.The CBN boss said that those that defaulted in the payment of customs duty after

bringing in excess quotas of rice into the country at concessionary rates would be penalised.He

said the CBN would take up the issue to the highest level in government to ensure that the money

was paid.―By exceeding their import quota, these importers have flooded the market with rice

that is sold below what is produced locally thus, making consumers ignore the locally produced

ones.―We are going to enforce it and we will go to the highest level to enforce this to ensure that

they pay and I appeal to them to go and pay,’’ he added.

The governor also assured rice producers that the bank would work closely with the Nigerian

Customs Service to address the issue of smuggling.Also speaking, Governor Atiku Bagudu of

Kebbi promised that everything would be done to support the CBN intervention.Mr. Bagudu

spoke on behalf of the 10 major paddy rice producing states, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa,

Sokoto, Ebonyi, Taraba, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Niger.He said the states had enough capacity to

produce rice that would help the country attain self sufficiency as well as for export purpose.

He also assured producers that they would expand infrastructure, as well as provide the right

atmosphere for people to invest in rice farming.Sonny Echow, Permanent Secretary, Federal

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the ministry was making plans to intervene

in rice production in the coming season.―We are proposing to the CBN to help us set up a fund

for rice millers for our rice farmers.



―We will be making that recommendation to the CBN to facilitate a long term fund,‖ he

said.Earlier, the millers stressed the need to address some of the bottlenecks affecting the

increase in rice production in the country.They also listed some areas where they needed

intervention to include: Investment in research, irrigation facility and stable rice policy, as well

as the need to tackle issue of smuggling.Others included bigger fields, funding, access to land,

establishment of more rice mills and increase in capacity of existing mills in the country among

others.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/187406-nigeria-spends-2-4bn-on-rice-importation-in-

3-years-emefiele.html

Rice Producers Group urges conclusion to

negotiations with China

The group, representing rice farmers in all six rice states covering close to 90 percent of the

U.S. rice crop, offered guidance to U.S. negotiators to help them finalize a deal that would be

acceptable and manageable to the U.S. industry.

By USA Rice Federation

Posted Jul. 28, 2015 at 9:25 AM

DALLAS, TEXAS —

At a meeting earlier this month the USA Rice Producers' Group unanimously passed a motion

urging the conclusion of negotiations between the United States and China to establish a

phytosanitary agreement that would pave the way for U.S. rice to be exported to China.The

group, representing rice farmers in all six rice states covering close to 90 percent of the U.S. rice

crop, offered guidance to U.S. negotiators to help them finalize a deal that would be acceptable

and manageable to the U.S. industry.

The negotiations, between USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and

their Chinese counterparts (AQSIQ), have dragged on for years and hit snags recently when the

Chinese made demands the U.S. industry felt were not based on sound science."The Chinese are

demanding our industry set traps for insects that do not exist in the United States, and that we set

a totally unreasonable number of traps per square foot of storage space," said John Owen, a

Louisiana rice farmer and chairman of the USA Rice Producers' Group.The USA Rice Millers'

Association, whose members would be responsible for the trapping, agreed with the

producers."We're not opposed to trapping, but, any agreement needs to meet reasonable

standards that are consistent with international trade agreement precedents and be based on



quantifiable, scientific data consistent with previous USDA/APHIS procedures," said Chris

Crutchfield, a California miller and chairman of the USA Rice Millers' Association.

Chinese negotiators are also demanding very specific package labeling that is both

unprecedented and many felt unfeasible."The labeling requirements are not appropriate for

inclusion in a phytosanitary protocol at all," said Dick Ottis, chairman of the USA Rice

Merchants' Association.The three organizations came together under the industry's national

organization, USA Rice, to adopt the joint resolution.Dow Brantley, an Arkansas rice farmer and

chairman of USA Rice, was pleased with the industry's unity and strong statement that both

supports, and guides, U.S. negotiators."There's no question we'd like to participate in the Chinese

market, but these ever-evolving demands being made by the Chinese government were making it

ever-less likely we were going to actually gain access to the market," Brantley said. "We

appreciate the efforts of the U.S. negotiators on our behalf, and are happy to provide input as a

united industry.

"Brantley said the market has great potential for the U.S. industry, and that his group has been

working for years to establish trade relationships and line up customers for the day the

phytosanitary deal is complete. However, he says if the final deal is based on unreasonable,

unscientific demands that can never be truly satisfied, there's little point to agreeing."The notion

that you can agree to something with the Chinese government now and fix it later is very naïve,"

he said. "Once the ink dries on that deal, the Chinese are going to hold us to it, so it needs to be

a deal we all can live with today and that actually allows us to start sending our rice over there."

http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/article/20150728/NEWS/150729646

Customs seal 4 major rice importing firms over N23.6 bn debt By NAN on July 28, 2015

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday sealed the warehouses and business premises of

four major rice importing firms over N23.6 billion unpaid rice duty and levies.The Public

Relations Officer of NCS, Mr Wale Adeniyi, told a news conference in Lagos that the service

would also not allow discharge of the companies’ imports in any of the nation’s ports.The

companies are Olam (Amuwo, Lagos), Stallion/Popular Foods/Masco Agro (Iganmu, Lagos)

Ebony Agro (Wuse, Abuja) and Conti Agro (Victoria Island, Lagos).Adeniyi said that altogether

the companies had imported a combined excess of 750,253, 03 tonnes of rice, for which the

service expected payment of extant duty and levies.



The customs spokesman said

the service had written the

affected companies severally

to notify them of their duty

liability at normal rate if they

exceeded their

quotas.―Similarly, we

published many notices in

national newspapers, including

where affected importers were

mentioned with outstanding

payments,’’ Adeniyi said.He

explained that the importers

were the beneficiaries of 2014 Rice Import Quota Policy, which specified a preferential duty rate

of 10 per cent and levy of 20 per cent for their imports.

―The importers and their sister or associated companies have been blocked from the Nigeria

Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS), thus denying them access to make

declarations.―All these will be done preparatory to instituting full legal proceeding to compel

them (importers) to pay what they owe Nigeria, when the courts are back from recess,’’ the

customs spokesman said.Adeniyi said the service had issued several ultimatum to the companies

to pay the outstanding charges against them, adding that ―today, we are no longer issuing

ultimatum’’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Rice Import Quota Policy was meant to fill

a national sufficiency gap which needed to be met in line with quotas allotted to the

beneficiaries. NAN also reports that the beneficiaries were rice millers who have invested in the

sector and created employment in the value chain.The policy states that the quantity imported in

excess of approved quotas will be subjected to the extant rate of 10 per cent duty and 60 per cent

levy.

News from USA Rice Daily

Tulane Opens $1 Million "Nitrogen Reduction Challenge"

Probably reduced nitrogen in that Green Wave



NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Tulane University has announced the next phase of the "Tulane

Nitrogen Reduction Challenge," an international competition that will award $1 million to the

entrepreneur, researcher, or inventor with the best plan to reduce the amount of nutrients entering

the world's lakes, rivers, and oceans through storm water runoff and ultimately reduce the

hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hypoxia is oxygen-deprived water that causes massive fish kills and annual "dead zones" in

waters throughout the world. The goal of the prize is to help identify and nurture the most

innovative and adaptable technologies that will lead to positive environmental outcomes.

Individuals and others with nitrogen-reducing ideas should register for the Challenge by visiting

http://tulane.edu/tulaneprize/waterprize/ no later than September 15, and submit a one page

proposal. Those submitting the most viable proposals will be invited to create a 20-page

technical explanation, including descriptions of their team, resources, and capacity for

implementation.

An advisory committee of scientists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, farmers, and other

national experts will select five finalists from these entries. These finalists will test their

proposals on working farms during the 2016 growing season.



Contact: Robbie Kroger (228) 396-0486

ME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures

CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for July 28

Month Price Net Change

September 2015 $10.980 + $0.020

November 2015 $11.245 + $0.020

January 2016 $11.515 + $0.020

March 2016 $11.715 + $0.020

May 2016 $11.900 + $0.020

July 2016 $11.900 + $0.020

September 2016 $11.910 + $0.020

APEDA India News

International Benchmark Price

Price on: 27-07-2015

Product Benchmark Indicators Name Price

Garlic

1 Chinese first grade granules, CFR NW Europe (USD/t) 2100

2 Chinese Grade A dehydrated flakes, CFR NW Europe (USD/t) 2000

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001XOP30v9b921FWXITh1Bmh462T2d9NBYfOysteLonzs6xXqdcip3cQPORkPyBqGxI-BbnrO_AWb_mAvVvvKP9wV4PpEK1eSP3TLtGIIWep7w_m2FpNoijaJOyS3YQ6y8RWnkPoJENNi8QxtY6OTAkFSGGbdQTwKwJxPKFaOrxchmXIjvgNed4uogmzmmfcxbHUYiO1g0YfLMbNlCdbY9Du9xawOfW54gZn_WoB7NoCZhbbjM9EJRwLIznaRw2YCa2_oqKYwzKJsMrXXZzKSGzIJf-8MTO1x-mlYPDf5i0ihefhCXmsbjBrgsb_OwMFD5rMaKrRamTD4YxGK8irsIh998bpZNsNIxPuGsI_dWx4kQDFK7d9CjhpY3Kgd5Ywv2tykn6Pb8oDzsvMW8l2w57lFaoe2pTQdxdwgYprJxAKpmxUa7dw5LEhPgQA1zBCRuTsKvpfW8PWlBuZYMB1aQUQXL2uglWz8rY&c=stXUA8LCAxxd7ZPIpVozELxizX3kDdlkMw3nOtbPk9E4-G0GsxYReQ==&ch=YXgkF18IgN_J8Xt2tBonDIlOONDydzL9fEViOT4Iyrv3e031tGZ70A==



3 Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t) 1800

Ginger

1 Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t) 4600

2 Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t) 5100

3 Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t) 3000

Guar Gum Powder

1 Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t) 4470

2 Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t) 1890

3 Indian 200 mesh 5000 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t) 2990

Source:agra-net For more info

Market Watch

Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 27-07-2015

Domestic Prices Unit Price : Rs per Qty

Product Market Center Variety Min Price Max Price

Rice

1 Jhagadiya (Gujarat) Other 1990 3100

2 Cachar (Assam) Other 2000 2500

3 Bonai (Orissa) Other 2200 2400

Wheat

1 Amod (Gujarat) Other 1600 1800

2 Bonai (Orissa) Other 1450 1600

3 Bolpur (West Bengal) Other 1390 1490

Mousambi

1 Aroor (Kerala) Other 3200 3400



2 Sirhind (Punjab) Other 2000 3500

3 Mechua (West Bengal) Other 2100 2600

Brinjal

1 Bargarh (Orissa) Other 1200 1400

2 Aroor (Kerala) Other 2800 3000

3 Sirhind (Punjab) Other 1300 1500

Source:agra-net For more info

Egg Rs per 100 No

Price on 27-07-2015

Product Market Center Price

1 Pune 345

2 Nagapur 332

3 Namakkal 330

Source: e2necc.com

Other International Prices Unit Price : US$ per package

Price on 24-07-2015

Product Market Center Origin Variety Low High

Onions Dry Package: 50 lb sacks

1 Atlanta Colorado Yellow 25 26

2 Chicago California Yellow 20 22

3 Detroit Mexico Yellow 23 23.50

Carrots Package: 20 1-lb film bags

1 Atlanta California Baby Peeled 18 20.50

2 Chicago California Baby Peeled 17 17

http://e2necc.com/



3 Dallas Arizona Baby Peeled 18 18

Apples Package: cartons tray pack

1 Atlanta Virginia Red Delicious 19 19

2 Baltimore Washington Red Delicious 22 24

3 Dallas Washington Red Delicious 18 19.75

Source:USDA

Forecasting the Weather From a Bowl of Rice Jul 28, 2015

Saori Kako at Panasonic’s rice-cooker factory in Kobe, Japan.

Takashi Mochizuki/The Wall Street Journal

Saori Kako, a rice-cooker developer

at Panasonic 6752.TO -1.05% Corp.,

knows the taste, texture and appearance

of rice so well she can tell what the

weather is like just by looking at a

steaming bowlful.―When rice comes out

fluffy, I know it’s sunny,‖ she said,

revealing one of her weather

indicators.Ms. Kako has been eating at

least seven bowls of rice a day since she

joined the Osaka-based company in

1992 in the quest for the perfect

combination of flavor and feel.She is one of Panasonic’s ―rice ladies‖–tasters of rice who have

dedicated themselves to developing a deep knowledge of Japan’s many rice varieties and the

subtle effects of cooking methods on texture and flavor. Most of Japan’s appliance makers have

rice-tasting staff.

Their expertise is needed to develop the sophisticated functionality of the latest rice cookers

that are becoming increasingly popular not just among Japanese consumers but also among

visitors to Japan.The pickup in demand for Japanese rice cookers is particularly strong in Asia,

helped by a much weaker yen, a burgeoning number of foreign tourists to Japan and word-of-

http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=6752.TO

http://blogs.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=6752.TO?mod=inlineTicker

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-fancy-rice-cookers-score-abroad-1438024891

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-fancy-rice-cookers-score-abroad-1438024891



mouth recommendation. Japanese appliance makers are responding to this demand by ratcheting

up their efforts to cater for specific consumer needs.At Panasonic, for example, rice cookers for

Chinese customers have a porridge setting and a quick-cooking mode to better serve local

cooking habits, while those aimed at Southeast Asian buyers are more focused on basics to keep

prices down.

Tech-minded Japanese consumers are offered cookers they can operate with their

smartphones.Japan’s farming ministry says the nation has several hundred kinds of rice, many of

them with fancy names such as ―Love at First Sight‖ or ―Seven Stars.‖ They all have different

characteristics from size and flavor to moisture retention. Change the soil or the location and the

taste will change again, experts say.To help nurture experts who can distinguish between the

many varieties, a Japanese rice industry association runs a qualification system that has certified

3,000 people as rice masters.

Of these, 400 have the highest, five-star master rating.In more practical terms, Ms. Kako’s job is

to find the best cooking method for each of variety of rice by adjusting the heating time,

temperature and steaming duration.Panasonic’s rice cookers for Japanese consumers come with a

―takiwake‖ function enabling users to adjust steaming patterns to best fit the rice being cooked,

using software that Ms. Kako has developed.While she can figure out the optimal cooking

method for each type of rice, she says her knack of predicting the weather from a mouthful of

rice is more of a mystery. She even clambered up a mountain once to test whether atmospheric

pressure was the key factor. It wasn’t, she said.―I still don’t know exactly how I can do that,‖

Ms. Kako said.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/07/28/forecasting-the-weather-from-a-bowl-of-

rice/?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+

13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Sunrice eyes Iran after Middle East sales surge Date July 28, 2015

Sunrice chief executive Rob Gordon see opportunities in the Middle East, including Iran. Photo: Louie

Douvis

The newly minted US-Iran nuclear deal will deliver an "avalanche of trade" for Western

businesses, predicts the boss of Australian agricultural giant Sunrice.Sunrice's sales to the

Middle East have already surged 41 per cent to $141 million in the past 12 months, and chief

executive Rob Gordon expects more growth to come as sales extend to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and

even strife-torn Syria."The branded rice market across the Middle East in 2012 was worth $4

billion. And in 2017 we anticipate it will be worth $8 billion," Mr Gordon said.



Consumer support includes a Sunrice recipe website in Arabic. Photo: Supplied

"We were obviously unable to supply that market fully when we were in the midst of our

drought. But since we have had Australian rice to sell again we have re-established ourselves as

the market leader."

Sunrice, Australia's last grain export monopoly, has almost doubled its market share in Saudi

Arabia and Jordan to 60 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.Mr Gordon said the company had

also sold rice "pretty much throughout" the Syrian civil war and has begun investigating

Iran, which struck a deal with the US and five

other world powers last month to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of trade

sanctions.



Branded player: Sunrice's sales to the Middle East have surged 41 per cent to $141 million in the

past year. Photo: Supplied

Mr Gordon said the agreement presented a significant opportunity for Western businesses,

considering Iran's population of almost 80 million."This deal on the nuclear issue I think is likely

to open up an avalanche of trade with Iran," he said. "We have done a few initial market

soundings."I'm not flagging that we have got firm plans. I'm just saying … that it's a potential

market for a lot of Western companies in the next year or two."Sunrice has increased its

exposure to the Middle East, where it has had a presence for more than 30 years, by spending

more on marketing its product as a brand rather than a commodity.This has meant sponsoring

cooking shows and television personalities, as well as launching a recipe website in Arabic.

Mr Gordon said becoming a branded player in the region rather than a commodity exporter set

Sunrice apart from its competitors in California and Egypt."They are not doing any work to

inform the consumer on how to use the product or to inspire creativity."What we are doing is

providing a total solution for the consumer, as opposed to the Californians, who are effectively

taking a commodity, sticking it in a bag, putting a brand on it and flogging it in the

supermarkets."We have done a lot of research in market to find out what motivates consumers in

the Middle East, and particularly the main grocery buyer. They love creativity and a lot of their

culture and family life revolves around meal times – celebrating being together and food being

part of that."Sunrice has launched an Indian-grown basmati rice in the region under its Sun

White brand, and is planning to introduce more products, including its rice chips.

"This is all part of our strategy of doing a lot of our thinking here and when we find a winner,

rolling it out quite rapidly through our distribution networks in the Middle East, through the

Pacific and … into Asia."Mr Gordon said the company's plan to list on the ASX would

accelerate its Middle East expansion.Sunrice is seeking feedback from its farmer shareholders to

craft its shift from the smaller National Stock Exchange to the ASX.It most likely will take a

form similar to Australia's biggest milk processor, Murray Goulburn, which listed a non-voting

unit trust this month to maintain 100 per cent farmer control.But Mr Gordon said the company

wasn't in a rush to list on the ASX, saying it had enough balance sheet firepower to fuel its

international growth plans."While we have got balance sheet capacity today because we have

paid down close to $100 million of debt in the last couple of years, if we start pulling off these

initiatives and accelerating them then we will need to get external sources of capital," he

said."And the best place to get that is the ASX."

http://www.smh.com.au/business/sunrice-eyes-iran-after-middle-east-sales-surge-20150728-gim256.html#ixzz3hH3uUcYx

High nighttime temperatures a concern for rice producers Jul 28, 2015Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press

―The overwhelming concern at this point has to do with the daytime and nighttime

temperatures,‖ Dr. Hardke said. ―We have had an unfortunate run of nighttime temperatures that

http://www.smh.com.au/business/sunrice-eyes-iran-after-middle-east-sales-surge-20150728-gim256.html#ixzz3hH3uUcYx

http://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-laws



are remaining at or above 75 degrees at night, and we know from a decade of research that that

can have a significant impact on grain quality, primarily related to chalkiness.‖

Delta Farm Press

The Arkansas rice crop is making

good progress, especially if you

consider what it endured at the

beginning of the 2015 season, says

Jarrod Hardke, Extension rice

specialist with the University of

Arkansas.But weather continues to

be a major factor, particularly the

high nighttime temperatures that

have been occurring in the state’s

rice-growing areas and much of the Mid-South Rice Belt. Dr. Hardke spoke on the current

agronomic outlook for the Arkansas rice crop during the University of Arkansas’ Food and

Agribusiness Webinar on July 22.―The overwhelming concern at this point has to do with the

daytime and nighttime temperatures,‖ Dr. Hardke said.

―We have had an unfortunate run of nighttime temperatures that are remaining at or above 75

degrees at night, and we know from a decade of research that that can have a significant impact

on grain quality, primarily related to chalkiness.‖Looking back at the two most recent

problematic years from the standpoint of grain quality – 2010 and 2011 – Arkansas’ nighttime

temperatures did not get below 75 degrees for a period of 25 to 30 days spanning across July and

early August. ―Those are the types of conditions we’re looking at for the moment, and we hope

we can get out of because we don’t want to have similar grain quality as in those years,‖ he said.

―In addition, we also had problems with bacterial panicle blight in those years, which we may be

at risk from especially for the part of our crop that was pushed into a later-planted

window.‖Some of Arkansas’ rice crop was not planted until June due to the incessant rains that

fell across the state in April and May. June plantings appear to increase the risk of bacterial

panicle blight.On a more positive note, he said some of the newer varieties being grown in the

state currently do not appear to be as susceptible to bacterial panicle blight as varieties that were

being grown in 2010 and 2011.



―In 60 percent of the acreage being grown in Arkansas this year, the cultivars would be rated

moderately susceptible or better to bacterial panicle blight,‖ he noted. ―When I say better, I mean

moderately susceptible to resistant. In 2010 and 2011, that number was only about as high as 40

percent.―So we’re in a little safer area than we were then if we do have some issues with it,‖ says

Hardke.Incidences of other traditional rice diseases – sheath blight and leaf blast – appear to

have gone down because of the higher temperatures. ―That is one bonus for this time of year,‖ he

said. ―But if I’m also talking about bacterial panicle blight, it doesn’t make people feel that much

better about things.‖Hardke says he feels comfortable with USDA’s projection of 1.39 million

planted acres for Arkansas’ 2015 rice crop.

―I had thought initially our medium grain acreage might be slightly higher than the 240,000 in

the June USDA Acreage Report, but that is, in fact, close to the numbers I have at this

time.‖Farmers still have a ―long way to go to make this crop,‖ said Hardke. ―We do have

problems with grass escapes that are being cleaned up and some that are beyond the point of

being cleaned up. My concern is that if we have fall weather with high winds and a lot of grass

escapes like these that they will start to lodge the rice.‖And growers are not likely to repeat the

record yields of the last three years, he said. ―I think we will probably be in the upper 150s

(bushels per acres) is where I feel comfortable at this point. That would be down from the 168-

bushel average of the last two years. 2015 has certainly been a much tougher year than the last

two, particularly in getting it planted this spring.‖

To hear Dr. Hardke’s comments, go

to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&feature=youtu.be&t=40m55s

http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/high-nighttime-temperatures-concern-rice-

producers?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+Decem

ber+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

USDA economist predicts improving stocks situation for rice Jul 27, 2015Forrest Laws | Delta Farm Press

But it’s the numbers in the ―background‖ that could be a sign of better times. Examples: total

supplies in the 2015-16 marketing year are expected to decline for a second consecutive year due

to a smaller carry-in from the 2014-15 year, and the markets are expected to see the largest

consumption and residual use on record (up 1 percent from 2014-15).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&feature=youtu.be&t=40m55s

http://deltafarmpress.com/author/forrest-laws



U.S. rice producers could be seeing a small beam of light at the end of the tunnel when it comes

to world rice supplies. But it may be too early to get your hopes up concerning the possibility of

higher rice prices.USDA is projecting record 2015-16 global rice production of 480.3 million

tons (milled basis), which would be up 1 percent above 2014-15, according to Nathan Childs,

senior agricultural economist with USDA’s Economic Research Service.But it’s the numbers in

the ―background‖ that could be a sign of better times.

Examples: total supplies in the 2015-16 marketing year are expected to decline for a second

consecutive year due to a smaller carry-in from the 2014-15 year, and the markets are expected

to see the largest consumption and residual use on record (up 1 percent from 2014-15).Dr. Childs

reported those numbers during the latest in the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s

Food & Agribusiness Webinar Series. To watch a video of Dr. Childs’ presentation, click

on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&t=2m24s.

U.S. rice producers are expected to harvest 152.5 million hundredweight of rice in 2015. That is

down 9.5 million cwt from earlier estimates and lower than 2014’s production, according to Dr.

Childs. But it is still 13.8 million cwt above the previous four-year average of 138.7 million

hundredweight.

http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/usda-economist-predicts-improving-stocks-situation-

rice?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+July+28%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+December+1

3%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Rice disease-resistance discovery closes the loop for scientific

integrity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYXvUl96IxQ&t=2m24s



By University of California, Davis July 28, 2015 | 12:35 pm EDT

Disease-resistant rice plants, depicted at left, recognize the newly identified RaxX protein in the

invading bacteria and can fend off the attack, while non-resistant rice plants cannot recognize the

disease-causing bacteria and fall victim to it.

Photo by Kelsey Wood/UC Davis graphic

When disease-resistant rice is invaded by disease-causing bacteria, a small protein produced by

the bacteria betrays the invader. Upon recognizing that protein, the rice plants sense that a

microbial attack is underway and are able to mount an immune response to fend off bacterial

infection, reports a research team led by the University of California, Davis.Identification of the

tiny protein, called RaxX, holds promise for developing more disease-resistant crop varieties and

therapeutic treatments for blocking microbial infections in both plants and animals, said the

researchers, who found particular satisfaction in this discovery, two years after retracting the

announcement of a similar find.

Results of the new study are reported July 24 in Science Advances, an open-access journal

published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The paper is available

online from the journal at http://bit.ly/1OmytAd.

Discovery unlocks clues to disease protection

In this new study, researchers discovered that the RaxX protein was present in at least eight

species of the disease-causing Xanthamonas bacteria that are known to attack rice — the staple

food for half of the world’s population — as well as maize, cassava, sugar cane, tomatoes,

peppers, wheat, alfalfa, onions, banana and citrus.

―Our research team is delighted to announce the discovery of the RaxX protein, a new class of

microbial signaling molecules," said Pamela Ronald, a professor of plant pathology, who

directed the study.

Ronald noted that her laboratory is currently investigating the role of RaxX during bacterial

infection of rice in the absence of the immune receptor.

The researchers have noticed that RaxX closely resembles a class of plant signaling factors that

promote growth and modulate the immune response. They suspect that the bacteria could be

mimicking these natural plant-signaling factors to inhibit the plant immune response and thereby

enhance the competitiveness of the bacteria.

In the long term, the researchers hope to use this information to develop new strategies to

prevent infection in various crops.

New findings have special significance

Publication of the new study is particularly poignant for Ronald and lead co-authors Rory Pruitt

and Benjamin Schwessinger, because it brings the research team full circle in correcting

unintentional errors that led the Ronald lab in 2009 to misidentify the protein now known to be

RaxX.

Pruitt and Schwessinger both worked on the new study as postdoctoral scholars in the Ronald

lab, and Schwessinger is now an independent research fellow at the Australian National

http://bit.ly/1OmytAd



University in Canberra, Australia.Ronald’s laboratory has been studying rice genetics and

disease resistance for more than two decades and in 1995 announced that a gene called Xa21

confers resistance to the bacterial blight pathogen. Bacterial blight, one of the worst bacterial

plant diseases in the world, has been found in virtually every crop species including rice.

The discovery of Xa21 was widely acclaimed by the scientific community and sparked further

research into other key parts of the disease-resistance puzzle. Researchers were confident that if

Xa21 produced a ―receptor‖ in the plant cell that was capable of recognizing and thwarting a

bacterial invasion, there must be a complementary protein in the bacteria that triggered that

immune response in the plant.

In 2009 the Ronald lab announced discovery of a bacterial protein called Ax21, which their

research indicated was the protein that triggers the immune response by the Xa21 plant receptor.

A second related study, based on identification of Ax21, was published in 2011.

Then in 2013, as researchers in the Ronald lab began repeating the earlier experiments in

preparation for a new study, they discovered that a bacterial strain had been mislabeled in the

previous work and that one of the tests used in the earlier study turned out to be quite variable.

These errors had led to the misidentification of Ax21 as the bacterial protein that sparks an

immune response by the Xa21 receptor in the plant cells.

After finding the errors, Ronald retracted two papers from her laboratory about this research,

published in 2009 and 2011 in the journals PLOS One and Science, respectively. She chronicled

the story of that process in an October 2013 Scientific American blog posting titled, ―Lab Life:

The Anatomy of a Retraction,‖ which can be found at http://bit.ly/1KdEDli.

In tandem with this week’s announcement of the RaxX protein, Ronald and her laboratory

colleagues have prepared a new posting for the Scientific American blog, which tells the story of

the new discovery and the closure it brings in setting the scientific record straight. It is scheduled

for posting on July 24, concurrent with publication of the new study in Science Advances.

Collaborators and funders

Collaborating with Ronald, Schwessinger and Pruitt on the new study were researchers from UC

Davis; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of Tübingen, Germany; University

of Texas at Austin; UC Irvine; and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.

Funding for the study was provided by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S.

Department of Energy, the European Molecular Biology Association, the Human Frontiers

Science Program, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India, the Welch

Foundation, and Monsanto’s Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program.

UC's Global Food Initiative

UC Davis is participating in UC’s Global Food Initiative launched by UC President Janet

Napolitano, harnessing the collective power of UC to help feed the world and steer it on the path

to sustainability

http://www.agprofessional.com/news/rice-disease-resistance-discovery-closes-loop-scientific-

integrity

GMO Rice Can Fight Global Warming

AUTHOR JOHN DOWMAN PUBLISHED JULY 28, 2015

Genetically formed rice that often borrows just one gene from just about may stunningly scale

down methane rays among the situation, simultaneously docile as much as 50 % more cereal

http://bit.ly/1KdEDli

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-launches-global-food-initiative

http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/author/john-dowman/

http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/date/2015/07/



grain for a world’s inhabitants, new research suggests. nfortunately, because this is genetically-

modified (GM) rice, the learned group expects an uphill battle getting permission for the

commercial farming of this new, ―greener‖ rice.Rice is considered very important to one’s table.

Methane is thought to be responsible for one-fifth of the global warming effect.It is also

agricultural commodity with third-highest worldwide production.

This new variety emitted less methane and grew starchier seeds compared to ordinary rice. As

per some scientists, reducing methane emissions that occur in flooded rice paddies as methane-

producing bacteria thriving on the carbohydrates secreted by rice roots in the oxygen-free soils is

a big concern. It made starched grain and a smaller root system than the unaltered variety.With

much of that population growth set to come in the 49 least developed countries-which the United

Nations estimates will double in size from approximately 900 million in 2013 to 1.8 billion in

2050-and more than half of the world’s current population depending on rice as a staple, there’s

no guessing at what most of those will be eating. Essentially, the new rice enhances productivity

per acre while reducing the carbon footprint at the same time.

Chuanxin Sun told Scientific American: ―This type of rice may be particularly useful in a

predicted climate with higher temperatures, which will accelerate methane emissions from

paddies, as methane emissions are temperature dependent‖.―The new rice sounds like a win-win

for good yields and reduced climate impact‖, Paul West, lead scientist for the Global Landscapes

Initiative at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. The study and research

on this rice was recently published in the journal, Nature.

http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/gmo-rice-can-fight-global-warming-5147/

28th july (tuesday),2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

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