World Grain -- May 2011 - 88

RICE QUARTERLY

News Roundup
India continues export ban on non-basmati rice
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted in a March report that India is unlikely to lift a ban on exports of wheat and non-basmati rice in the wake of high food inﬂation and food security concerns. India suspended wheat exports in early 2007 and non-basmati rice in 2008 due to high inﬂation in the country. “The government of India may continue to ban exports of wheat and non-basmati rice due to ongoing food price inﬂation and food security concerns,” the report said. Pegging India’s wheat output at 83 million tonnes in the 2011-12 marketing year (April-March), the USDA said, “Despite forecasted record production, strong government procurement and abnormally high stocks, the government is unlikely to lift the ban on wheat exports due to continued food inﬂation concerns.” According to the USDA, with the expected continuation of the export ban, overseas sales of wheat from India in the 2011-12 marketing year would be 300,000 tonnes and mostly conﬁned to neighboring countries like Nepal on humanitarian grounds. Similarly, rice exports from the country are pegged at 2.5 million tonnes for the current year, which includes basmati rice, premium non-basmati and some concessional exports to neighboring countries on humanitarian grounds, it said. The USDA has forecast rice output from India at 94.5 million tonnes, as compared to 89 million tonnes last year. Wheat output last year was 80.8 million tonnes. India’s domestic wheat and rice demand is estimated at 84.5 million tonnes and 96 million tonnes, respectively, for 2011-12 marketing year. India’s wheat ending stocks are seen more than double the government’s desired stocks of 7 million tonnes on March-end of 2011, while rice ending stocks on Oct. 1, 2011 are expected to be three times higher than the desired stock of 7.2 million tonnes, it said. Presently, the government’s rice procurement is under way and will continue through September 2011. Wheat purchases would start from next month and total purchases are likely to be higher than 25.5 million tonnes on record output and good MSP, the USDA added. On domestic prices of these two staples, the USDA said local prices of rice and wheat are expected to remain steady this year on sufﬁcient domestic supplies and expected continuation of the export ban.

Rice

New rice mill planned for Louisiana
MER ROUGE, LOUISIANA, U.S. — Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana announced that Kennedy Rice Mill, a subsidiary of Kennedy Rice Dryers, LLC, will build a new rice mill in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., that is expected to process 30% to 40% of the Northeast Louisiana rice crop. Approximately 95% of Kennedy Rice Mill’s sales will ship to out-of-state destinations. “This new mill will create 22 new direct jobs and include a capital investment of $10 million,” Jindal said. “It will run two shifts, with the possibility of the company adding a third shift, which would increase the job total to around 30 new direct jobs. Construction on the mill will begin and end this year.” Elton Kennedy, founder and president of Kennedy Rice Dryers, said the mill “will play an important role in producing and maintaining products that meet and exceed the safe quality foods standards
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produced by the Food Marketing Institute. We will use the latest Satake milling equipment and will include some of the most advanced technology in the industry. This addition will enable us to better serve our farmers and existing customers throughout the U.S. and reach out to new customers.” To secure the project, the Louisiana Economic Development Department offered Kennedy Rice Dryers an incentive package that includes customized workforce solutions from Louisiana FastStart, a 5% to 6% rebate on new payroll expenses and certain sales taxes from the Quality Jobs program, property tax abatement for materials used in new manufacturing from the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, and performance-based ﬁnancial assistance of approximately $300,000 for infrastructure improvements from the Economic Development Loan Opportunity Program.
May 2011 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain -- May 2011

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