USA – Mississippi rice crop posting strong yields
Source: Delta Farm Press10/08/2012 – The bright spot for Mississippi’s smaller-than-normal rice crop is that it is looking good at harvest, thanks to an early start and a favorable growing season.
Thailand – Disastrous intervention puts Thai rice exporters in peril
Source: Reuters09/08/2012 – Millions of tonnes of rice that no one wants; huge losses for the state budget; farmers more interested in quantity than quality; exporters throwing in the towel. Thailand’s world-beating rice industry is in a sorry state.
Myanmar – Myanmar seeks to rejoin top rice exporters
Source: Chicago Tribune08/08/2012 – As Myanmar emerges from decades of isolation and oppression, it hopes to reclaim its nearly forgotten status as the world’s biggest rice exporter. That’s a tall order, but industry and government officials have begun drafting plans to revitalize the industry after years of neglect and military mismanagement.
Bangladesh – Bangladesh extends ban on most rice exports
Source: Reuters09/08/2012 – Bangladesh has extended a ban on the export of most varieties of rice until next June, the commerce secretary said on Thursday, backtracking on a plan to end the restriction.
The stream, August 8: Rice a bright spot for global food
Source: Circle of Blue08/08/2012 – Global rice production is expected to break records, putting downward pressure on rice prices at the same time droughts cause corn and soybean prices to skyrocket, Bloomberg News reported, citing the United States Department of Agriculture. Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, is also amassing its biggest stockpile of the grain…
Thailand – Rice associations, farmers call for urgent review of pledging policy
Source: The Nation07/08/2012 – Farmers and trade bodies have called on the government to review urgently its rice-pledging policy on the grounds that it is distorting prices, benefiting the rich as well as foreign investors, damaging the Kingdom’s competitiveness and discouraging the long-term development of Thai rice.
Myanmar – Taiwan rice farmers set for export boom
Source: Asia Times07/08/2012 – The door to both the mainland Chinese and Japanese market have been cracked open recently for Taiwan’s rice farmers. In Japan, fears over radiation contamination are making the infamously picky Japanese consumers desire foreign grain, while across the Taiwan Strait in mainland China, Taiwanese rice is starting to conquer the supermarket shelves…
FAO cuts global rice output forecast for 2012
Source: Reuters06/08/2012 – The United Nations’ food agency cut its 2012 global rice production forecast but said supply would still outstrip demand and that there was no increased risk of a food crisis as long as countries do not resort to export bans.
Thailand – Rice policies misguised
Source: Bangkok Post06/08/2012 – The government’s rice pledging programme not only runs the risk of throwing the country’s public finances into havoc but also threatens Thailand’s global position as a leading agricultural exporter, says Ennoo Suesuwan, a director of the Thai Rice Foundation.
Pakistan – REAP rejects allegation of stagnant rice exports
Source: The Express Tribune05/08/2012 – The total rice export has increased from $462 million in 2000-01 to $2.091 billion in 2010-11 registering an increase of 353% or an average increase of 35% per annum, a remarkable growth by any standards, said a spokesperson of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP).