Rice NEWS HEADLINES

Azerbaijanis eat more rice

Thailand Halts Buying Crops as Junta
Seeks Sales
Thailand approves $11 billion measures to
lift economic growth
MOAC to assist 260,000 rice farmers to
cope with oncoming drought
Plan to shift farmers from rice opposed
Taiwan Restaurant Chain Importing U.S.
Rice
Application Deadline for Rice Leadership
Program Nears
Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported
Govt gives cash boost to farmers
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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
2
nd
October, 2014
News Detail.
Azerbaijanis eat more rice

1 OCTOBER 2014, 13:00 (GMT+05:00)
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijanis are fond of their traditional
foods, which
are served at
most
gatherings.
One of these
foods is the
delicious spicy Pilaf. Pilaf is the most
common dish at Azerbaijani weddings and
other great ceremonies. Known in
Azerbaijani as Ash and Plov, the dish is
believed to come to Azerbaijan from Iran
and India. Today, Azerbaijani cuisine has
dozens of types of pilafs.Rice in Azerbaijani
Pilaf is never sticky. The pilaf is usually
served in a special plate with the
accompanying sauces and stews in separate
bowls.
The latest statistics show that rice eating has
increased 40 percent in Azerbaijan, which is
over 28,400 tons per year. Annual rate of
rice eating per capita is 7.4 kg in the
country.Rice is a very healthy product,
which is able to provide fast and instant
energy. It stabilizes blood sugar levels and
provides an essential source of vitamin B1.It
can also boost skin health, increase the
metabolism, help digestion, reduce high
blood pressure, help weight loss efforts,
improve immune system and provide
protection against some disease.
These features have made it a fundamental
food in many cultural cuisines around the
world.This important cereal crop feeds more
than half of the world's population. It is easy
to cook. It is tasty and affordable in
price.The Chairman of the Sustainable
Development Research Center, Nariman
Agayev says the rise in rice eating in
Azerbaijan is connected with increase of
population's income, and the more accurate
calculation of this product's
consumption.Most of the rice is imported to
the country from abroad.
Azerbaijan mostly imports rice from India,
Pakistan, and Thailand, as the country's
climate makes it possible to produce rise
only in two southern regions of Lankaran
and Astara.Local production meets the
demand for rice only at 17 percent, and there
is no huge capacity in production of this
valuable crop in the country. However, the
production of rice has increased in 36
percent in recent years.There is an increase
in reaping of rice not cleaned from husk in
Azerbaijan. In 2013, the figure reached
49,000 tons. The areas under this rice are
also expanding.

Thailand Halts Buying Crops
as Junta Seeks Sales
By Supunnabul Suwannakij October 02,
2014
Harvested rice collects in a catch bin from a
combine during harvest in a field in Bang
Pla Maa, Suphan Buri province, Thailand.
Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg

Thailands
junta is
changing tack
on
agricultural
policy, saying
it will eschew buying farm products directly
from growers as state purchases spur
overproduction, distort the market and create
stockpiles that are hard to sell.The
government will instead look at measures to
support earnings, based on incomes plus the
payment of a sum to ensure farmers are able
to make a living, Minister of Agriculture and
Cooperatives Petipong Puengbun Na
Ayudhya said in an interview.
Therell also be incentives for growers to
switch crops to curb oversupply, notably
rice to sugar, said Petipong. The country is
the second-largest rice exporter and the
biggest rubber shipper.The military seized
power in Southeast Asias second-largest
economy four months ago, toppling the
administration of Yingluck Shinawatra,
which spent about 900 billion baht ($28
billion) buying rice and rubber at above-
market rates.
The rice-buying program, which was
described by the Food & Agriculture
Organization as unsustainable, spurred the
buildup of record reserves. Petipong said
that one of his long-term tasks is to
restructure farm output, focusing on quality
over quantity. We dont want to use
taxpayers money to disrupt the free,
commercial system, said Petipong, a 67-
year-old former bureaucrat. Its easy to buy
stockpiles but difficult to sell them at the
right time and the right place. In the long
run, this isnt going to work.
Rural Voters
Benchmark Thai rice prices dropped in May
to the lowest level since at least 2008 amid
ample supplies, then rebounded 13 percent
as the military administration restricted
movement of reserves. Rubber in Tokyo and
Thailand extended losses today to the lowest
level in more than five years.Removing
distortion from the market is a good step,
Santitarn Sathirathai, an economist at Credit
Suisse Group AG, said by phone from
Singapore today.
It will allow rice prices, which have been
suppressed from oversupply, to improve,
while high costs of rice production will be
alleviated.Junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha,
whos taken the post of prime minister, has
said he was forced to take over to avoid
clashes between supporters of Yingluck and
opponents, whod accused her of corruption
and buying the support of rural voters.
Yingluck won a parliamentary majority in
2011 after pledging to buy rice directly from
farmers to lift incomes.
Thailand will spend 40 billion baht to boost
rice farmers incomes with a one-time
payment of 1,000 baht per rai (1,600 square
meters) of land to compensate them for low
prices this year, Deputy Prime Minister
Pridiyathorn Devakula said at a briefing
yesterday. The program is capped at 15 rai
per farmer.
State Spending
While agriculture accounts for about 8
percent of gross domestic product, rural
residents make up almost 87 percent of
Thailands 67 million population. Prayuth
has pledged to quicken state spending,
promote investment and create jobs to spur
growth. The economy expanded 0.9 percent
in the second quarter, rebounding from a
contraction in the first three months.Rice
production surged to a record under
Yinglucks administration as farmers were
paid to produce the crop, which they sold to
the state at guaranteed rates.
Ending stockpiles more than doubled to 12.8
million tons between 2011 and last year,
according to U.S. Department of Agriculture
data.The program was simply
unsustainable and hurting the finances of the
country, Concepcion Calpe, a senior
economist at the FAO, said in February. The
junta is auditing rice holdings to check
quantity and quality, while seeking overseas
sales amid concern that some of the reserves
may have spoiled.
Bad Rice
In the past three to four years, we have lots
of bad rice because of the policy of buying
every grain, said Petipong. Thailand needs
to produce quality products instead of
quantity products, and to lower production
costs, he said.The changes may help
Thailand to regain its position as the largest
rice exporter, according to Credit Suisses
Santitarn. India surpassed Thailand as the
biggest shipper in 2012 and maintained that
ranking last year.
The government has put on hold the planned
sale of 200,000 tons of rubber from state
stockpiles to ensure the raw material is sold
at a reasonable price, said Petipong. Rubber
farmers had threatened to protest this month
against falling prices.If there is any help for
small farmers, it will have to go directly to
them, said Petipong. We need to help the
poorest of the poor. We have to think very
carefully about how to do this without
distorting the whole system.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at
ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this
story: James Poole at
jpoole4@bloomberg.net Jake Lloyd-Smith,
Tony Jordan

Thailand approves $11 billion
measures to lift economic
growth
BY PRACHA HARIRAKSAPITAK AND
PAIRAT TEMPHAIROJANA
BANGKOK Wed Oct 1, 2014 7:05am EDT

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-
ocha waves after a handover ceremony for
the new Royal Thai Army Chief at the Thai
Army Headquarters in Bangkok September
30, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/ATHIT
PERAWONGMETHA
(Reuters) - Thailand's military government
approved plans for stimulus measures worth
a combined 364 billion baht ($11.2 billion)
on Wednesday in a bid to revive
an economy laid low by months of political
unrest. Southeast Asia's second-
largest economy suffered a virtual paralysis
in policy-making and uncertainty among
investors in the months leading up to a
military coup in May. Weak exports added
to Thailand's woes as its economy
contracted 0.1 percent in the first half of this
year.
Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn
Devakula said the measures announced
would help the economy return to its normal
growth of 4-5 percent next year."After the
termination of the marathon political protest
and the establishment of the
currentgovernment , there is a good chance
for the economy to set off for steady growth
again," he told reporters.Speaking after a
cabinet meeting on the first day of
Thailand's fiscal year, Pridiyathorn said the
economy would begin feeling the benefits in
the current quarter.
"Overall, the measures to stimulate the
whole economy will use a total of 324.5
billion baht ($10 billion)," he said, adding
that an additional 40 billion baht would be
spent on one-off payments to farmers to
support rice production."Current rice prices
are lower than costs, so the government
must help. But it will be for this year only,"
he said.
The other measures would target creating
jobs and income as well as repairing
schools, hospitals and irrigation systems,
Pridiyathorn said."This is high-powered
money that will boost income for people
with the least income," he said.The total
value of the measures given by Pridyathorn,
who is in charge of economic matters, was
around three times the size of a figure given
hours earlier by the prime minister.General
Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the military
coup, had said that his government had
approved measures worth over 100 billion
baht.
Prayuth, whose government is expected to
remain in power for at least a year before
new elections are called, has said populist
policies or costly projects that might burden
a future administration will be
avoided.Protests that had precipitated the
ousting of former Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra had focused on populist policies
her critics said were used to buy votes.
USING UNSPENT FUNDS
Pridiyathorn gave a breakdown of how the
government would budget for the 324.5
billion baht. He said 129.5 billion baht had
been added to the new 2015 budget, while
147 billion baht that remained unspent from
the fiscal year just ended would be used.
And some 48 billion baht of unused
government funds had been found, going
back as far as 2005, he added.How fast the
government could put the money into action
was crucial for the economy's recovery,
according to analysts."The subsidy for rice
farmers could shore up their consumption in
the near term.
On construction projects, the impact may
take time. Speeding up disbursements is key
for the government to tackle," Kampon
Adireksombat, economist with Tisco
Securities, said.Wednesday's cabinet
meeting was the third since the appointment
of a cabinet stacked with military figures
last month and the most significant to
date.The junta had already administered
what was effectively a swift cash injection
into the rural economy shortly after taking
power by paying billions of dollars owed to
rice farmers through a failed subsidy scheme
that was created by Yingluck's
government.The military government has
also extended tax breaks and subsidies for
some fuel and public transport.Last week,
the central bank cut its forecast for 2014
export growth to zero from 3 percent but
maintained that the economy can expand 1.5
percent this year.For 2015, it predicts
economic growth of 4.8 percent, down from
5.5 percent seen previously.
($1=32.4 baht)
(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta
Lefevre; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing
by Simon Cameron-Moore)
MOAC to assist 260,000 rice
farmers to cope with oncoming
drought
BANGKOK, 2 October 2014 (NNT) -
Permanent-Secretary for the Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC)
Chawalit Chukachorn has revealed that the
ministry has come up with measures to help
rice farmers deal with the oncoming drought
season. According to Mr. Chawalit, the
water levels in many reservoirs across the
nation have reached a critically low level.
Therefore, he has requested farmers living
near the Chao Phrayas riverbanks in 22
provinces to refrain from double crop
farming activities.
The ministry has also come up with
alternative ways to assist at least 260,000
local farmers by paying them 300 baht per
day to carry out canal dredging operations
for a period of four months. Each household
is expected to receive at least 24,000 baht
per month through this program. Dredging
up the canals would allow water to flow
from natural river sources to irrigate their
farms. It is estimated that the project would
require a budget of 2 billion baht. Mr.
Chawalit stated that he would on October
3rd request the Interior Ministry to avoid
declaring 22 provinces as drought disaster
zones.Meanwhile, distinguished scholar Mr.
Niphon Puapongsakorn said that the 300
baht wage per day policy would be an
important economic stimulus measure to
help out the farmers.
Plan to shift farmers from rice
opposed
Jitima Janphrom,
Saichon Srinuanjan,
Wattana Khamchu
The Nation October 2, 2014 1:00 am
Govt notes drought woes, low prices

OPPOSITION has begun to emerge against
a plan to encourage farmers to abandon rice
and grow different crops - in return for
financial compensation.The plan aims to
tackle problems arising from drought and
low rice prices.Water shortages have
frequently threatened paddy fields. For
example, rice farmers in at least one
province yesterday staged a rally in front of
a local irrigation office to demand that a
dam release water into their areas.
Northeastern Rice Farmers Association
president Panupong Pattarakhon-ngam
yesterday said he was aware of the drought
threat, but he could not agree with the
government plan."Such a plan doesn't tackle
the problems at their root. If drought poses a
threat, the government should provide
efficient irrigation," he said.
The Department of Agricultural Extension
has begun work on the scheme to encourage
farmers to switch to other types of produce
such as energy crops. In return, they would
be offered Bt5,000 compensation per rai in
the first year, Bt3,000 per rai in the second,
and Bt2,000 per rai in the third year.At
present, paddy fields cover about 70 million
rai (11.2 million hectares) of land in
Thailand.

Panupong described such a plan as a
populist scheme that would hurt rice farmers
in the long run."We grow rice not just for
sale. We grow it for our family's
consumption too," he said.He said the size
of paddy fields in Thailand had already been
shrinking naturally in response to demand-
and-supply mechanisms.On the rice price,
Panupong said the problem was now serious
because the government was still trying to
release a vast amount of rice from its
stockpiles.The rice-pledging scheme was
one of the previous government's populist
programmes.It ended with a huge stockpile
and financial losses because it offered rice
farmers too high a price, critics say.It still
owes money to some participating farmers.

Several of these farmers yesterday submitted
a petition to Prime Minister General Prayut
Chan-o-cha via the Office of the Permanent
Secretary of the PM's Office, calling for
faster payments to clear up the arrears.The
121 farmers from Nakhon Sawan and
Phichit provinces lamented they had been
waiting for payments amounting to Bt20
million from the scheme for nearly a
year.The farmers have threatened to stage a
protest if the payment does not arrive by
October 15.

Taiwan Restaurant Chain
Importing U.S. Rice Directly

KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN -- TaiShihFu, one of
the largest local restaurant chains here with 51
stores, began importing U.S. rice directly in
early 2014 for use in their popular meal
box."TaiShihFu's management reached out to
our promotions team about importing U.S. rice
directly," said Bill Farmer, the USA Rice
Federation's director of Asia Programs. "We
encouraged them to test additional U.S. rice
samples from the local market to evaluate
quality and texture, and we were pleased they
determined that use of U.S. rice could improve
the quality of their meal products."U.S. rice
makes the meal
Farmer said the promotions group helped
TaiShihFu navigate the tendering process and
the company began participating in SBS-USA
tender bidding in 2013. They were awarded 230
metric tons last year, and 300 metric tons so far
this year.TaiShihFu has announced plans for
significant expansion throughout Taiwan, which
should translate into growing use of U.S. rice
accordingly.
Contact: Jim Guinn (703) 236-1474
Application Deadline for Rice
Leadership Program Nears

STUTTGART,
AR -- The
deadline for
submitting
applications for
the Rice
Leadership
Development
program is
this Saturday, October 4. Rice producers
and other industry-related professionals are
encouraged to apply for the next class,
which will be announced in December at the
USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little
Rock, AR. For more information on the
program or an application form,
visit http://www.usarice.com.


Contact: Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports
Reported
WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 66,800
MT for 2014/2015 were up 44 percent from the
previous week and 62 percent from the prior
four-week average, according to today's Export
Sales Highlights report.
Increases were reported for Haiti (23,800 MT),
unknown destinations (14,600 MT), Japan
(12,000 MT), the United Kingdom (3,300 MT),
and Honduras (3,000 MT). Exports of 29,400
MT were down 57 percent from the previous
week and 18 percent from the prior four-week
average. The primary destinations were to Haiti
(14,300 MT), Mexico (4,300 MT), Jordan (2,700
MT), Canada (2,500 MT), and South Korea
(2,000 MT).This summary is based on reports
from exporters from the period September 19-
25.
Govt gives cash boost to
farmers
B364bn stimulus wins approval from cabinet
Published: 2 Oct 2014 at 06.00
Newspaper section: News

Writer: Chatrudee Theparat & Patsara Jikkham
The cabinet has approved a cash injection of up
to 15,000 baht each for more than three million
rice farmers nationwide as part of its 364.5-
billion-baht stimulus package launched
yesterday.
The package approved by Gen Prayut Chan-o-
cha's cabinet is aimed at boosting the economy
over the next three months.The cash injection to
low-income rice farmers worth 40 billion baht is
crucial in helping stimulate the economy, said
Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula
who oversees economic affairs.

"This measure will really boost the economy
since we will directly pay cash into farmers'
deposit accounts," he said.Under the scheme to
be paid by Oct 20, some 1.8 million households,
each possessing no more than 15 rai of farmland,
will get the one-time aid for cultivation costs at a
rate of 1,000 baht a rai.Another 1.6 million
households, each of which owns more than 15
rai, will get 15,000 baht per household.A total
3.4 million households are eligible for the
aid.They have already registered and have
accounts with the Bank for Agriculture and
Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC)."This is not
a populist scheme. It simply helps stimulate the
economy and helps farmers cope with their
financial burden," MR Pridiyathorn said.

"We don't want to gain popularity among
farmers but we want to help those who really
need help," said the deputy prime minister.He
said the value of rice is currently low at around
8,000 baht per tonne and it tends to drop lower
once supplies from the new rice crop enter the
market in November.Prime Minister Prayut said
economic indicators had been less than ideal
over the past few months on the heels of the
sluggish world economy.The government was
trying its best to solve the country's problems
systematically, he added."We're tackling the
issues no government has ever dared touch. If
this backfires on us, so be it," he said.
"We have to keep in mind our problems are
deep-rooted and we're trying to address them
sustainably," he said.Other stimulus measures
include expediting payment of 129 billion baht
from the 2015 investment budget across all
ministries.Another 147 billion baht will be spent
on projects under the 2014 Budget which are
slated to be implemented in the last three months
of the present fiscal year.Another 23 billion baht
from the remaining Thai Khem Kaeng project
will be spent on repair work under the Education
and Public Health ministries as well as on
irrigation projects.

The spending will include construction and
repair work for 8,000 schools, thousands of
hospitals throughout the country, damaged roads
caused by the 2011 floods, and the dredging of
canals and waterways."This measure is aimed at
creating new jobs nationwide which will boost
people's purchasing power, particularly in rural
areas," he said.The government would also
accelerate the spending of money left over from
budgets since 2005 worth a total 24.9 billion
baht."These measures should be able to drive
Thailand's economic growth for the rest of this
year and into next year," MR Pridiyathorn
said.He projected next year's economic growth
will be at 4-5%.
The Thai economy has struggled over the past
few months, with exports dropping by 7.4% in
August, the largest decline in 32 months.
Inflation was at 1.75% in September, the lowest
level this year, mainly due to lower oil prices,
the Commerce Ministry reported yesterday.In
another development, the State Enterprises
Policy Commission, chaired by Gen Prayut,
resolved yesterday to have the second-phase
development of Suvarnabhumi airport be the
first state enterprise project to use the the
Construction Sector Transparency (CoST)
system.The system was jointly designed by the
United Kingdom and the World Bank to
promote transparency and accountability in the
construction sector.Kulit Sombatsiri, director-
general of the State Enterprise Policy Office,
said the commission assigned the agency to
apply for membership of CoST on Sept 22.The
board has agreed to use this system to promote
transparency in construction, procurement
projects and joint investments for large state
enterprises.
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