As a pressure measure for the government to decree a 1.9% increase in consumer value, in Costa Rica industrialists have decided to suspend from December 2 the receipt of national grain.
According to businessmen, the price increase is pending since June 2019 and they hope that with this pressure measure, the authorities will publish the decree, in which the value of the kilo is increased from $1.06 to $1.08 for the variety with 20% broken grain, also known as 80/20.
The government's decision to forbid the addition of other products as a perk included with sales of rice is another clear example of its efforts to protect an increasingly competitive sector.
The Solis administration has banned, by means of an amendment to the Regulation on the price of milled rice, the addition of other products as a perk included with sales of the grain, a practice known among retailers as "bandeo".
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.
Instead of liberalizing the price of grain from 2015, the government is considering implementing a gradual deregulation scheme.
In order for the local price of rice to approach the international price, the Costa Rican authorities will substitute, in the first weeks of next year, the decree liberalizing the price of rice and look for "... Another decree which contains a process that allows the price of rice to reach similar (international) levels . "
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.
In Costa Rica the possibility of increasing the tariff on imports of husked rice from 35% to 70% is being discussed.
Taken from Reportearroz.com:
ASIA
Thailand is in first place but India, despite the bad weather, is not being left for dead.
As part of Asian exports, India and Thailand are playing in first position. According to official data, Thailand will be the largest rice exporter after India having been in the lead for two years.
In Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis is urging the national population to consume nationally grown instead of imported rice, "even though it is more expensive."
Extracted from Reportearroz.com:
ASIA
India and Thailand, a tug of war for first place.
As part of Asian exports, India and Thailand are playing in first position. According to official data, Thailand will be the largest rice exporter after India held the lead for two years.
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