In Costa Rica, the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal of unconstitutionality against the prohibition imposed by the government on carrying out promotions in the rice retail trade.
The argument put forward by the magistrates when rejecting the appeal of unconstitutionality filed by Corporación de Supermercados Unidos (Walmart) was based on the fact that"...
The requirements for sanitation and traceability are preventing the livestock sector from taking advantage of quotas for meat exports duty free to Europe.
Although the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union established a quota of 4,800 tonnes per year of rice and a quota of 1,533 tonnes per year of meat, which could enter Europe without incurring tariffs, neither sector has been able to take advantage of them completely.
Between January 2015 and December 2016, the average price per kilo of rice imported by Central American countries fell from $0.46 to $0.35.
Figures from the information system on the the Rice Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Clic para interactuar con la gráfica"]
68% of rice sales in the market are managed by 3 large companies, and 12% of the profits generated by the premiums are concentrated in a single company.
A study by the Chamber of Commerce concluded that the fixing by decree of the price of rice not only did not result in improvements in productivity, but also revealed the way in which the amount of area sown is distributed as well as the profits of rice trading companies in the local market.
Imports of husked rice grew by almost 200% between the periods 2011-2012 and 2015-2016, and even when paying a tariff of more than 35%, imports easily compete with the subsidized local product.
The competitiveness of imported rice is such that"... it is estimated that for the current period (1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017), purchases will reach 54,000 tons.That is almost three months consumption, in that presentation alone."
Citing the old concepts of food sovereignty, protection is being given to the inefficient production of the few while the consumption capacity of the poorest is punished.
EDITORIAL
As expected, the government of Luis Guillermo Solís has decided to apply the safeguard measure requested by rice farmers, increasing the tax paid on imports of milled rice from 35% to 62%, which in practice only applies to rice bought in Argentina and Uruguay.
In Honduras the Rice Producers Association is negotiating with the government conditions for establishing a reference price and proposing fixing at $18.65 per hundredweight.
Taken from ReporteArroz.com:
New Tender by Iraq leaves Latin America in suspense .
The Iraqi state-owned grain company issued on Monday an international tender to buy at least 30,000 tons of rice, as stated by the Ministry of Commerce.
In Costa Rica a quota for 17,000 tons of rice imported from the US has been rejected, due to the alleged presence of pesticide residues.
Taken from Reportearroz.com:
Asia
Now official: Thailand is the largest exporter of rice
With more than 10 million tons of rice, Thailand was the largest rice exporter in 2014. After India held the lead for two years, Thailand this year will be the most important country in terms of rice exports.
The subsidy of $190 million paid by consumers "will not primarily go to producers but to large industrial companies which process domestic crops and who are, at the same time, importers."
In his blog on Elfinancierocr.com, Juan Carlos Hidalgo discusses the singular phenomenon that occurs in Costa Rica, where the rice policy initially intended to protect small rice producers, has become an unjust wealth transfer mechanism between sectors of society.
Calculations by associations of rice farmers in Panama indicate that the total hectares planted this year is less than 40,000, well below the 76,000 that was grown between 1999 and 2001.
Taken from Reportearroz.com:
ASIA
South Korea: Farmers protest against measures for market liberalization.
Thousands of farmers, both in agriculture and livestock sectors, took to the streets in Seoul to oppose the decisions made by the South Korean state to allow the entry of imports of rice from next year and establish an agreement with China, the FTA.
The Economy Ministry has rejected a request by producers to temporarily raise the tax on imported grain, but has not ruled out doing so from December 2014.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC):
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), through Resolution 051-2014-DM has decided, after a thorough technical analysis in which it was determined that there exists a causal relationship between an increase of the imports of husked rice contemplated and the threat of harm to the domestic industry, not to apply provisional safeguard measures on imports of the product concerned.
The US Department of Agriculture projects that global production from the 2014/15 harvest will be 475.5 million tons, 1.1 million tons less than the 2013/14 production.
Excerpted from Reportearroz.com:
International Panorama
The USDA has released the information on expectations for the global rice sector for the upcoming 2014-15 campaign. According to records from the USDA, global production of milled rice in 2014-15 will be 475.5 million tons, representing a figure lower than 2013-14, when the total reached 476.1 million tons. The main reason for the decrease is due to a reduction in yield per hectare.
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