DJ Philippines To Sign 1M Ton Rice Deal With Vietnam Wed/2008

MANILA (Dow Jones)--The Philippines is set to sign an agreement with Vietnam Wednesday that will guarantee the supply of 1 million metric tons of rice, said Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.
The volume does not include imports that have already been contracted by the National Food Authority with Vietnamese suppliers, Yap said.
A memorandum of agreement will be signed Wednesday to finalize the deal.

The NFA has so far contracted 1.2 million tons of rice, mostly from Vietnam, to beef up local supplies amid surging prices and tightening inventories in the global market.

(27/3/2008)

DJ Turkey To Import 100,000 Tons Of Rice By July, 2009 - IHA

ISTANBUL (Dow Jones)--The Turkish government has mandated the state grain board, or TMO, to import 100,000 metric tons of rice duty free by the end of July, 2009, the official gazette showed Thursday, the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA, reported. 
 
The government had also mandated TMO to import 700,000 tons of wheat and 300,000 metric tons of corn by the end of May, 2009. 
 Turkey's grain production is traditionally enough for domestic needs but last year, drought hit the crops and TMO started issuing international purchase
tenders.

Dow Jones Newswires

Bangladesh to face negative impact of India's rice export ban

Traders in Bangladesh said Thursday rice export ban by India will have an adverse impact on the country.

India imposed a restriction on rice export this week saying demand for rice in the domestic market prompted the government to impose the restriction for the time being.

Bangladesh Rice Mill Owners Association General Secretary Abdul Alim Bhuiyan told Xinhua that a large portion of Bangladesh's requirement comes from neighboring India. "If they stop export, certainly it will have adverse effect on Bangladesh market," he said.

Alim said 30 percent of imported rice comes from India as the import cost from that country is comparatively lower than that of others. "So, Bangladesh market will suffer a shock from the export ban by New Delhi causing more sufferings to poor people of the country," he added.

Bangladesh imported from India over half a million tons of rice in 2005-06 fiscal (July 2005 to June 2006), and 256,000 tons till February of the current fiscal (July 2006-June 2007). The government recently announced it will import 250,000 tons of rice soon to face the shortage caused by devastating flood the country suffered this year.

(23/10/2007) Source:Xinhua

ADB says Asia rice stock still enough to meet demand

SINGAPORE: The Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday that rice stocks in Asia had hit their lowest level in several decades but were still strong enough to meet demand. "We believe the situation in Asia is one marked by very high food prices and not supply shortages," ADB Managing Director General Rajat Nag told reporters. In Asia, the surge in prices of rice, a staple in most nations, has governments worried about the prospect of hoarding and social unrest. Big exporters have started to cut back on sales to ring-fence supplies, while governments are struggling to deal with the situation and many are stepping up food subsidies

(22 /4/2008) -  REUTERS

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladesh rice traders said on Thursday they had started importing 180,000 tonnes of white rice from neighbouring Myanmar.

Some 30,000 tonnes of rice has already been shipped to Chittagong port and the rest will reach the country by early March, they said.

"The prices for the intended rice are between $360 and $390 a tonne, and we think it is cheaper compared to other spots for rice," Omar Azam, general secretary of the Chittagong-based Bangladesh Rice Traders and Importers Association told Reuters.

The Bangladeshi government and private traders started importing rice after crop losses caused by flooding last year.

Food ministry officials have said they would import one million tonnes of rice. They said a contract for about 500,000 tonnes had been awarded and rice had started to reach Bangladesh ports.

The food and disaster management ministry is also negotiating to import some 500,000 tonnes of rice from India under state to state deals.

Cyclone Sidr, which struck Bangladesh's coastline on Nov. 15 last year and two spells of flooding in July-September, destroyed nearly 2.0 million tonnes of rice in the fields, according to official estimates.

(22-2-2008)