World Grain - February 2015 - 74

RICE NEWS ROUNDUP

African countries focus on boosting rice production
KAMPALA, UGANDA - Several ministers of agriculture from Africa were to meet in Kampala, Uganda in early February to discuss
rice research and development, production and policy. The meeting,
known as "the 30th Extra-Ordinary Session of the AfricaRice Council of Ministers," was to appoint a new director general for AfricaRice Center.
"It will be very important for the continent because AfricaRice
is a pan-African intergovernmental research that oversees research
and development of rice, which is now a priority crop," said Jimmy
search Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge. He is on the national organizing committee.
There over 25 member states of the AfricaRice Council. Currently,
Adam Traore from Mali is the interim director-general, while Uganda's minister of Agriculture, Tress Bucyanayandi, is the chair of the
Council of Ministers.
Sierra Leonean, Harold Roy-Macaulay, was nominated by the
board of trustees for the position of director general. The board nomi-

nated him at its meeting held in Cotonou, Benin, in September 2014.
ciency in rice production, rice demand exceeds production in Africa.
Large quantities are imported to meet demand at a huge cost.
"Africa consumes a total of 11.6 million tonnes of milled rice per
year, of which 3.3 million tonnes are imported. As many as 21 of the
39 rice producing countries in Africa import between 50% and 99%
of their rice requirements," according to the International Rice Commission (IRC).
The distribution of rice imports on a regional basis appears
skewed. North and Central Africa regions set the lower limits at 1.7%
and upper limits at 71.7%, respectively.
of several major constraints in the rice industry which require urgent redress to stem the trend of over-reliance on imports and to
satisfy the increasing demand for rice in areas where the potential
of local production resources is exploited at very low levels," the
IRC said.

Thai rice exports to dominate
BANGKOK, THAILAND - Thailand is again expected to dominate global rice exports, with shipments estimated at 10.11 million
tonnes this year.
The Commerce Ministry said Thailand exported 10.8 million
tonnes of rice last year, a rise of 63.6% from 2013. Export value rose
by 22% to $5.37 billion from $4.42 billion in 2013.
Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya attributed the surge mainly to the joint effort by the private and public sectors to rev up selling
annual produce and the government's rice stocks.
Global rice production will fall slightly by 0.3% this year to
475 million tonnes due to lower production anticipated in India,
Japan, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, the ministry said.
The world's rice consumption, meanwhile, is estimated at 483

million tonnes, about 7.7 million tonnes higher than global output.
Global rice trade is expected to hit 41.9 million tonnes this
year, up slightly from 41.88 million tonnes last year. Strong
import demand is anticipated, particularly for China (4 million
tonnes), Nigeria (3.5 million tonnes), Iran and the Philippines (1.7
million tonnes each).
land's rice production from the main crop of 2014-15 at 27.1 million tonnes, a slight increase of 0.06% from the previous season.
Overall, rice planting in the season was on the decline following the state's policy to discourage farmers from growing
several crops a year for fear of water shortages, especially in
irrigated areas.

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