Crude

Concerning Cambodian rice news, what surprises most is the source, the Khmer Times. However the news it reveals is less prone to surprise. 

First of all the Khmer Times (Feb. 27) reports :

'The price of Cambodian rice abroad has been on the rise since the beginning of February due to higher demand in China and the European Union, a representative of a local rice export company told Khmer Times'.

Basically it's following overall price increases on the globe. 

Then the news that the Cambodian government wants to assure it's customers. The Khmer Times (Feb. 15): 

'The Ministry of Commerce launched a new agency whose aim is to inspect the production and supply chain of rice branded as ‘made in Cambodia’ to guarantee its origin and provide assurance to foreign buyers.
With Cambodian rice having won multiple international awards for its quality, the move seeks to prevent the sale of foreign rice falsely claiming to hail from the kingdom.
The initiative is precautionary as, according to a ministry official, very few cases of ‘fake’ Cambodian rice have been reported to date'.

Finally, more interesting, an article from the Khmer Times (Feb. 23) concerning contract farming:

'Contract farming schemes in the kingdom work best under the centralised and the multipartite models, a study released yesterday by The NGO Forum on Cambodia revealed.
...
The study looks at contract farming schemes implemented by a group of agribusiness companies, including Amru Rice, Angkor Kasekam Roongroung, Confirel, Golden Rice, Lors Thmey, Cedac, East-West Seed, Entree Baitang, Mong Reththy and Natural Garden.
Researchers interviewed 70 small landholder farmers engaged in six different contract farming programmes, including contracting farming through agricultural communities and semi-formal contract rice farming.
Findings showed that “Contract farming can benefit both small landholder farmers and agribusiness companies the most when programmes are properly designed for a long-term relationship.
”It also concluded that even poorer, marginal farmers can take advantage of contract farming opportunities and that governmental policies that impact access to seeds and land rights are not sufficient to meet the needs of both small landholder farmers and agribusiness companies.
The study recommends the donor community to do more to encourage long-term, mutually beneficial contract farming programmes and to promote other engagement modalities between small landholder farmer and agribusiness companies'.

Lightheaded

Looking over the border the Bangkok Post (Feb. 9) also reflects on the nation's rice market conditions:

'Paddy prices for hom mali fragrant jasmine rice have surged to a five-year high, boosted by rising global demand.
According to Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, purchase demand has led to a surge in paddy prices, particularly for hom mali paddy, whose price stands at 17,000-18,000 baht a tonne, the highest in five years and up from 9,500-11,600 baht a year ago.
"The ministry is upbeat that paddy prices will rise further, especially for hom mali rice, which is in high demand among rice exporters because of limited supply and depleted state stocks," Mr Mr Sontirat said. "The prospects of Thai white rice are likewise positive, thanks to higher purchase demand from foreign buyers and depleted state stocks."
He said overall rice exports look promising after Thailand shipped 1.2 million tonnes of milled rice worth US$578 million or an average $474.91 a tonne in January. Shipment volume rose by 16.5% from 1.03 million tones in the same month in 2017. The Commerce Ministry forecasts rice exports to stay at 9.5 million tonnes of milled rice this year, easing from a record high of 11.6 million tonnes in 2017'. 

The rise though of the local currency vis-à-vis the dollar may make Thai rice less competitive.

The Nation (Feb. 21) shows a vdo of what should have been an auspicious occasion: 

Accompanying text:

'The rice saplings that were thrown to mark an auspicious start to the government’s Thai Niyom scheme – which aims to diagnose people’s problems at a local level – were supposed to land in a rice field.
Instead, they accidentally landed on Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s head, prompting a lighter atmosphere amid the stress that has been building up on the government around the scheme, which some see as a political move by Prayut ahead of the election'.

In reality it's actually seen as another sign that the junta's time may well be up ... 

Power

A chapter for snippets. 

Away from the rice, the Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 31) reports on promised developments for the cashew sector:

'Cambodia and Vietnam signed an agreement earlier this month to greatly expand Cambodia’s cashew exports by 2028, but the proposed export level would require several hundred thousand hectares of additional land and there is no concrete plan yet to meet the target.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Vietnamese Cashew Association (Vinacas) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase Cambodia’s cashew exports to 1 million tonnes by 2028, up from the about 73,000 tonnes exported last year. Vinacas also gave the ministry a $66,000 grant to support the same target in December'.

Cassava is on the up. The Phnom Penh Post (Feb. 21): 

'The price of cassava jumped sharply this year as many farmers who were fed up with low profits for several years in a row changed crops, thus decreasing the market’s supply and raising the price.
Last year during cassava harvesting season – traditionally from December to April – the price for 1 kilogram of fresh cassava was about 108 riel, or $0.026, while this year it was up to 250 riel, according to Kim Hout, director of Battambang’s Provincial Commerce Department. The price of dried cassava was 715 riel per kilogram, up from 575 riel in 2017'.

The Bangkok Post (Feb. 25) on the kingdom's rubber throes: 

'Farmers have urged the government to help shore up the price of rubber by bartering with foreign countries for military equipment and vehicles'.

And an article by the Bangkok Post (Feb. 6) concerning how agricultural trade takes place in Thailand:

'Welcoming Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to her neighbourhood along the Chanthabun River yesterday, 58-year-old Siripataorn Thanaphurikiatkrai said she hopes the government will help lessen their dependence on merchants or middlemen who are predominantly foreigners, especially Chinese, and who usually have the power to set prices which sometimes are unfair to growers'. 

Blazed

Grain (Feb. 22) has an article on the golden rice developments which seem to be edging forward, a movement in which the hybrid rice industry draws hope that if regulated, then so will their products become acceptable.

'The recent release of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) approval report of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) application for a Golden Rice ‘safety stamp’ and trade liability clearance have garnered negative reactions and widespread critique.
Testbiotech, a non-profit organization founded as an Institute for the Independent Impact Assessment of Biotechnology in 2008 in Munich, Germany concluded that the “application does not show substantial benefits. Furthermore, the risk assessment as performed by FZANZ is not sufficient to demonstrate safety of food derived from GR2 (Golden Rice 2).” Aside from expounding on the questions of nutritional viability and genetic stability of Golden Rice, Testbiotech also criticized lack of toxicological studies, exclaiming that “…it is self evident that food products with no history of safe use must be subjected to highest standards of risk assessment before the most vunerable groups of the population are exposed to it…”
Civil society in Australia and New Zealand also challenged the soundness of FSANZ decision and appealed to review its approval'.

Continuing with big money issues, the Guardian (Feb. 27) reports on action in Sumatra concerning oil palm expansion:

'Dramatically carved into the landscape of a Sumatran oil palm plantation that borders one of the world’s most unique rainforests are three ominous letters: SOS.
The message stretches half a kilometre alongside a snaking river; a bird’s-eye view gives the eerie sense the land has been given voice, and is issuing a mayday.
“From the ground, you would not suspect anything more than just another palm oil plantation. The aerial view, however, reveals the SOS distress signal,” says the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic. For a week Zacharevic has been carefully plotting his concept out tree by tree – or oil palm by oil palm – all 1,100 that were cut down to etch out the message.
The work in Bukit Mas, Sumatra, is intended to convey a pressing distress signal, drawing attention to the ongoing destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests and the critically endangered species, such as the Sumatran orangutan, that reside within it.
...
This year the artist has collaborated with the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS), which, together with the cosmetics company Lush, raised the funds to buy the 50-hectare (124-acre) oil palm plantation with the intention of reforesting it entirely.
Before the oil palms are replaced with tens of thousands of native seedlings, Zacharevic was offered the chance to bring his idea to life.SOS’s director, Helen Buckland, was on site as the art project was under way and cheered as the oil palms were felled'.

Interesting to see, that despite all the negatives surrounding palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia, it's hard to convince policy makers that the route taken needs to take a different direction. 

It's very well illustrated in the documentary Green Gold, which I viewed recently. 

Europe's response to the oil crisis has been to advocate oil substitutes such that even these have become big business with the gross misconduct concerned with large players. 

Even on small scale this has it's imitators. 

Mongabay (Mar. 1) describes how on Borneo even local politicians are setting up companies for relatives awarding these with the necessary permits after which the companies are then sold to larger companies, all at the expense of local communities / environment.

What Green Gold perfectly portrays, is how when the bigger companies smell money to be made, there's precious little that can stand between them and their profits. Energycollective (Nov. 20):

'Ghizzardi recounts the case of UPM, the Finnish paper company that discovered biofuels on a hunt for new products to make up for falling paper sales. It started making biodiesel from crude tall oil (CTO), a by-product of pulping pine trees. The result? A furious chemicals sector coming out with guns blazing to protect what it regards as one of its own raw materials'.

Profit seeking behemoths are dictating our future rather than ourselves.

Drenching

A short article to set us off. Previously highlighted here, it appears the EU are abating there strictness. Phnom Penh Post (May 31):

'Producers of white rice will have until September to meet the revised threshold level of 0.01 milligrams of Tricyclazole residue per kilo of rice, far below the current limit of 1 milligram per kilo, it said.

The previous deadline for white rice exports was June, while the December deadline for jasmine rice exports remains unchanged'.

It coincides with a recent article in Le Monde (May 29), which highlights how another chemical, atrazine, forbidden in the EU since 2004, still sees substantial production in the same EU with exports heading for countries with less scruples / less legislation. It cites the Swiss organisation Public Eye which in a recent report highlighted exports from Switzerland, France and Italy. On Switzerland: 

'Switzerland is exporting atrazine and paraquat to developing countries. The use of these herbicides, made by the Swiss-based Syngenta, has been banned in Switzerland due to their extreme toxicity'.

And though we're drifting off-topic, I would add the following article on banana growing in Laos. Often quoted, Reuters decided to make a write up. Excerptions of which are from VOA (May 11):

'Experts say the Chinese have brought jobs and higher wages to northern Laos, but have also drenched plantations with pesticides and other chemicals.

...

Under the "Belt and Road" plan, China has sought to persuade neighbors to open their markets to Chinese investors. For villagers like Kongkaew, that meant a trade-off.

"Chinese investment has given us a better quality of life. We eat better, we live better," Kongkaew said.

But neither he nor his neighbors will work on the plantations, or venture near them during spraying. They have stopped fishing in the nearby river, fearing it is polluted by chemical run-off from the nearby banana plantation.

...

Several Chinese plantation owners and managers expressed frustration at the government ban, which forbids them from growing bananas after their leases expire.

They said the use of chemicals was necessary, and disagreed that workers were falling ill because of them.

"If you want to farm, you have to use fertilizers and pesticides," said Wu Yaqiang, a site manager at a plantation owned by Jiangong Agriculture, one of the largest Chinese banana growers in Laos.

...

Hmong and Khmu workers douse the growing plants with pesticides and kill weeds with herbicides such as paraquat. Paraquat is banned by the European Union and other countries including Laos, and it has been phased out in China.

The bananas are also dunked in fungicides to preserve them for their journey to China'.

It just shows hoe the lack of a conscience is the underlying business rule with the large-scale agrochemical industry.

Stealth

With a slight upswing in the rice market, it comes as no surprise that the Phnom Penh Post (May 18) reports that big brother may well be interested in a bigger part of Cambodia's rice pie:

'China has agreed to increase its import quota for Cambodian rice to 300,000 tonnes by next year, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday following his return from Beijing where he attended the Belt and Road initiative summit'.

However the Khmer Times (Jun. 2) reports on the downsides on neighbouring actions:

'Cambodian rice millers and exporters are strongly concerned that Thailand’s plan to release 4.32 million tonnes of state rice stocks by September, driven by a sharp surge in global rice demand, could depress prices of the vital grain on commodity markets. “When Thailand sells such a large part of its stockpile on the open market it will have a knock-on effect on prices and in turn also affect the price of Cambodian milled rice exports,” Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, told Khmer Times'.

The same source (Khmer Times, Jun. 5) also delves the depths of the marketing strategy of Cambodia's rice future:

'Government task forces will meet this week to finalise a single brand under which Cambodian rice will be exported.

...

Hean Vanhan, director-general of the general directorate of agriculture, said registration of a single rice brand was the duty of the commerce ministry. Agriculture officials said Cambodia had more than 10 varieties of fragrant rice, and should not single out one as a single brand.

“The CRF selected ‘Angkor Malis’ as the brand, but this is not right because there is already a rice seed called malis,” Mr Vanhan said.
“What the private sector wants to do is to steal foreign branding to make the rice similar to Thailand, since the Thai Hom Mali is already famous. “If we use ‘Angkor Malis,’ which is specific only to Cambodian premium rice ‘malis,’ it has a different taste to Cambodian fragrant rice such as phka romduol, phka chansensor and phka khnei.

“If customers buy Angkor Malis one day, it may have a different taste when they buy it in the future, even though it carries the same brand,” Mr Vanhan said.

He suggested that a non-specific ‘Angkor Rice,’ with the specific variety written underneath would help clear up the confusion and prevent people from thinking they were buying a specific rice variety when they might be buying a different premium rice'.

Thai-tening
Regionally it's the Thai who are mostly optimistic. From the Bangkok Post (May 30): 

'World rice prices are expected to rise by US$20 (682 baht) a tonne over the next three months, driven by a sharp surge in global rice demand, according to experts. Global rice supply is now quite tight, while Thailand's previously hefty state rice stocks have eased, releasing pressure on global rice prices, Jeremy Zwinger, chief executive of the Rice Trader, said at the "World Rice Trade Outlook" seminar of Thailand Rice Convention 2017, held in Bangkok yesterday. 

...

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporter Association, said lower-than-expected rice production in Vietnam accounts in part for the lower global supply, while Thailand's good-quality rice stocks are about to be depleted.

 

From Vietnam a similar sentiment, though more cautious. The VNexpress (May 12):

'China and several African countries have returned to Vietnam seeking fragrant and white rice, and the demand has helped stabilize export prices even though supply has risen at the end of a major harvest, traders said on Friday'.

The Vientiane Times (May 5) notes that the Lao dry season rice crop may well disappoint slightly.

'This dry season, the department set a target of 95,000 hectares but until now only about 90,000 hectares have been planted out.
Department officials said a large number of farmers were now growing other crops instead, which earned them more money and required less water. The lack of irrigation occurred because provinces did not have sufficient funds to pay for the repair of irrigation systems, according to the Department of Irrigation'.

Thailand is looking to getting rid of the last of it's inventory. The Bangkok Post (May 16):

'The government yesterday called the second auction for 1.82 million tonnes of state-held rice that is fit for human consumption.
...
The government is estimated to hold about 4.82 million tonnes of rice stocks, a sharp drop from the 18.7 million tonnes accumulated during 2011-14. 

... From Jan 1 to May 9, Thailand exported 4.1 million tonnes, up 9% from the same period last year, worth US$1.74 billion (60.1 billion baht), up 6% in value'.

An article from Vietnam.net (May 30) which looks at an interesting study:

'A study conducted by the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development shows there are nine million rice farming households nationwide, but around 300,000 of them account for the bulk of Vietnam’s rice export volume.

Meanwhile, the nation has over 300,000 rice milling facilities, but a majority of them are small. But in Thailand, there are a mere 1,000 rice milling plants. Besides, Vietnam has around 100 rice exporters, but a mere 22 of them focus on China, one of Vietnam’s largest rice buyers.

Industry experts said these two hindrances had led to the global market share of Vietnamese rice shrinking. Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show the country’s rice shipments last year dropped 27% in volume and 23% in value against 2015'.

Meanwhile, a new weapon in the armory of Italy's rice industry hoping to target cheaper rice imports from Cambodia, Burma and potentially Vietnam. From Lexology.com (May 31):

'The Italian government has submitted to Brussels the draft decrees for the introduction of an obligation to indicate the origin of certain the raw materials.16 For rice, the place of cultivation, processing and packaging must be indicated, while for wheat, the place of wheat cultivation and the sowing of the seeds must be indicated. 

...

To try and counter the imports producers have been calling for better labelling of foodstuffs containing rice so as to indicate to consumers the true origin of the raw materials.

The producers hope that consumers will tend to purchase products with Italian rice rather than imported rice'.

It seems more as a message for domestic markets.

Measuring

Organics in Cambodia are poised to be government ruled. The Cambodia Daily (Jun. 1):

'The Agriculture Ministry will soon adopt a national standard for organic vegetable production to create product consistency and a single yardstick for farmers to work toward, according to officials.

A logo that will mark the products as government-approved organics has been designed, and a draft law by which the produce quality will be measured is nearly complete, said Kean Sophea, deputy director of the ministry’s department of horticulture'.

How will this work in practice? I doubt that this label would result in better trust by consumers than any other current logo.

Having access to the world market doesn't necessarily mean a positive. Hard work still needs to be done. The Vientiane Times (May 22):

'Although Laos is enjoying Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) exemption from over 50 nations around the world, the country is still unable to fully benefit from the special treatment.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently described a number of challenges Laos is facing in order to fully benefit from trade privileges.

One of the most important points is that Lao businesses don’t fully understand the true benefits and the various procedures of the scheme.

In the meantime, product quality sometimes does not meet the standard requirements as specified by countries at the final destination. 

In addition, Lao businesses produce agricultural goods in small volumes as they are often family concerns and have not done any market research or studied the GSP'.  

More policy talk. The Phnom Penh Post (May 11):

'Cambodia's agricultural sector must improve post-harvest processing to increase the value of its products, while increased knowledge sharing could help farmers better understand the different value chains and identify opportunities, agricultural experts participating in the Grow Asia Forum said yesterday.

Panellists at the event, hosted by Grow Asia and held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Phnom Penh, also said improving farmers’ access to better seeds and inputs, as well as training, would help them to be more productive'.

More policy talk. I think. Phnom Penh Post (Jun. 2):

'Implementation of a previously announced three-year $20 million programme to increase local vegetable and fragrant rice production will begin next month to help boost domestic supply and reduce imports, an agriculture official said yesterday.

The goal of the project is to increase local production of vegetables by 160 tonnes per day and production of 500,000 tonnes of paddy rice a year, Kean Sophea, deputy director of the Department of Horticulture and Subsidiary Crops at the Agricultural Ministry, said'.

And then an article from the Phnom Penh Post (May 19) highlighting how agricultural policy can develop without government fiddling:

'The Kingdom’s leading palm oil producer has projected revenues of $20 million this year as it targets another record-setting year for crude palm oil exports.

“We plan to export over 30,000 metric tonnes of crude palm oil this year, with revenue of approximately $20 million,” Prachak Kongtanomtham, vice president of Mong Reththy Investment Cambodia Oil Palm Co Ltd (MRIC), said yesterday.

MRIC, a joint venture subsidiary of local agro-industrial conglomerate Mong Reththy Group and Thailand’s TCC Group, exported a record 21,450 metric tonnes of crude palm oil in 2016, generating over $13.3 million in revenue, according to Prachak. 

...

About 17,000 hectares of MRIC’s palm oil plantations are harvestable. Two other companies operate commercial palm oil plantations in Cambodia, though only one has matured to harvest.

Malaysian-owned Virtus Green Plantations (Cambodia) operates a palm oil plantation on a portion of its 6,700-hectare economic land concession in Kampot province. 

...

The Kingdom’s other major palm oil plantation is located in Ratanakkiri province, where subsidiaries of Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai have planted oil palms on 18,000 hectares. The first harvest is expected by next year'.

Sweetener
The  Bangkok Post (May 24) reports of how Thailand seeks to meet free trade requirements while at the same time manipulating the domestic market:

'Thailand, the world's second-largest sugar exporter, is introducing regulations to govern its sugar trading system for the 2017-18 crop, which commences in November, to bring the system in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
...
Brazil says Thailand's subsidies for sugar producers had dragged down global prices and allowed Thailand to win a larger market share at the expense of Brazilian producers, conduct that is not in line with international trade agreements.
...
Traders and industry officials said freeing up domestic retail sugar prices could lead to possible sugar shortages, particularly when global sugar prices rise. Traders said sugar production costs in Thailand should be slightly lower than for net sugar importing countries. This could encourage profiteers to smuggle sugar from Thailand to be resold in the neighbouring CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam), where sugar prices are around 40% higher than domestic retail prices'.

Also hoping to dampen the local market the Bangkok Post (May 27) reports how stricter food rules will ensure that the domestic consumption will sky-rocket:

'A new bill imposing a maximum of 10% sugar or sweetener content in food products is expected to be passed and come into effect within this year, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday'.

The article also quotes EU regulation of the same subject. Though I doubt whether or not the EU has legislation on the subject, it's  certainly  clear that the EU sugar industry is very much opposed to any levels. Kudos to the Thai on this subject, let's hope it's an effective policy.

Then what an opener market means. The Phnom Penh Post (May 23):

'Cambodia's biggest sugar mill has finished its two-month production run, producing half a million tonnes of refined white sugar, nearly five times what the company predicted at the beginning of the harvest season, a company representative said yesterday.

Kuy Yoeurn, an administrative manager for Rui Feng (Cambodia) International Co Ltd, said the second harvest season of its $360 million sugar plant in Preah Vihear province greatly exceeded the company’s expectations. He said the mill produced 500,000 tonnes of refined sugar from an undisclosed amount of raw sugarcane this season.

...

The Cambodian government granted Rui Feng Cambodia an 8,841-hectare economic land concession (ELC) in 2011. However, the Chinese-owned company and its four sister companies collectively hold five separate ELC licences covering 40,000 hectares.

Rui Feng has faced accusations of land-grabbing and using its partner firms to circumvent restrictions on the maximum legal size of land a company can hold as an ELC.

Nevertheless, Yoeurn said Rui Feng has requested that the Ministry of Agriculture provide the company with more land to expand its cultivation of sugarcane.

“We need to increase our sugarcane cultivation,” he said. “So far, we have already farmed all of our land and it is still not enough. The ministry should provide us with more land for cultivation.”

Safety first

Cambodia should go ahead and allow GMO to be grown. So captions the Khmer Times (Sep. 8). It is a strange and let's say awkward article. 
The article is authored by Gabrielle Ward and John Humphreys both of the Professional Research Institute for Management and Economics (PRIME). Apparently a newcomer on the scene, the institute announces itself as:

'The Professional Research Institute for Management and Economics (PRIME) is an independent teaching and research institute that operates in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and produces research reports, opinion polling, translation, commentary, events, and short courses on a range of topics'.

Their opinions that they want to share with us concerning GMO legislation in Cambodia:

'Unfortunately, despite growing food production, poverty and malnutrition persist among the rural population. One solution is the use of GMO crops, which have the potential to further boost food production. But, international pressure, scaremongering, and limited capital for investment, prevent the uptake of GMO crops in Cambodia. This holds back potential rice yields of farmers and the efficiency of production.

... 

The health and safety of GMOs has been extensively studied. In polls of scientists about the public safety of genetically modified foods, an overwhelming majority insist that GMOs are safe for human consumption. Most food consumed in OECD countries such as the United States and Australia is genetically modified.

...

There will inevitably remain a demand for non-GMO rice, especially for export, but that doesn’t justify the introduction of new regulation. The technology to increase production and lower food prices already exists, and it is incumbant on the Cambodian government to allow the industry to explore all new opportunities -- including GMO -- without the burden of government restrictions. Pandering to misguided and ill-informed anti-GMO protesters will hurt the Cambodian agriculture industry and punish the poorest 15 percent of Cambodia who continue to suffer from malnutrition'.   

Unfortunately the authors seem to be drawing lines between unrelated dots.
Introduction of GMO's has no impact (negative nor positive) on poverty and / or malnutrition among the rural poor. 
Rice yields can be easily boosted by higher prices, not by introducing GMO's.
Cambodia's rice industry is increasingly being dominated by being a niche player in rice with it's jasmine rice increasingly being sought after. 
Most food consumed has GMO's in OECD countries? Not so in Japan / Korea and Europe. 
Doing away with any regulation in the food industry is like opening up Pandora's box, once liberated there's no way of stepping back. 

Easy

No big export deals for Cambodia (Phnom Penh Post, Sep. 10) in the wanting, that's if the government can't make exports any cheaper ...:

'The Philippines’ National Food Authority (NFA) yesterday authorised the import of 750,000 tonnes of rice and has invited the governments of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to join the bidding process to fill the quota, according to a report from Reuters.

But having already lost out twice in the past 12 months, Heang Vutha, director general of Green Trade, said the new tender, which has set a closing date on bids of September 17, is too soon to expect costs to have come down to the point where Cambodia can compete.

...

However, Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice Company, said that Cambodia could still be competitive in the bidding process if the government was willing to share in some loses and offer incentives to private exporters, through tax cuts, low-interest loans, lower electricity fees or transportation cost reduction.

“It is a good opportunity for Cambodia to open the market there again, to show about our quality rice” he said'.

The Cambodian situation of growing many different rice varieties makes branding difficult, (Phnom Penh Post, Sep. 2): 

'The Agriculture Ministry and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) are at odds over the branding of Cambodia’s premium jasmine rice that would help differentiate it from similar varieties sold by Thailand.

The CRF is working on a new brand name that it hopes will help distinguish Cambodian rice in the international market.

The national rice body wants to bring all varieties of jasmine rice under an umbrella brand name that it plans to announce at the Cambodia Rice Forum in November.

“We have set up the market promotion executive committee for naming the quality rice as the trademark, because so far our rice is just known as fragrant rice, because we do not have a specific name,” the CRF’s acting secretary-general Moul Sarith said.

Sarith said that inconsistent labelling of Cambodian rice among exporters was diminishing the collective strength of the rice sector.

Cambodia’s jasmine rice can be grown from multiple varieties of seeds, including Phka Romdeng, Phka Romeat, and the Kingdom’s distinguished variety, Phka Rumduol – a long-grain, aromatic type of rice and named after Cambodia’s national flower.

Phka Rumduol rice variety has been awarded the world’s best rice at the last three annual World Rice Conferences.

But the Ministry of Agriculture has already zeroed in on “Cambodia Jasmine Phka Rumduol” as the sole brand name for Cambodian rice.

“I would like to urge all rice exporters to use this name from now on,” said Hean Vanhorn, deputy director general at the General Department for Agriculture at the ministry.

“I know some rice exporters do not dare to use this name, but we need to change that.”

However, selecting a brand name based only on one variety of fragrant rice would confuse buyers, said Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice and CRF member.

He added that when buyers would test the rice they would expect it to be Phka Rumduol, but in actuality it could be either of the other varieties used in Cambodian farming'.

The Khmer Times (Sep. 18) notes that exports of rice are up by just under 50% so far this year.

Phnom Penh Post (Sep. 4) notes that millers are asking for tax exemption:

'As Cambodia continues to struggle with its cost competitiveness in the rice sector, rice millers and exporters met with the General Department of Taxation on Wednesday asking for an exemption from paying the 10 per cent value added tax (VAT), saying that it will help ease prices in the sector'.

An article in the Phnom Penh Post (Sep. 12) discusses how the rise of Burma's economy may well spell problems for Cambodia as it seems Burma has more ability to offer lower prices for it's produce as well as better logistics.

Then in a more or less related issue, facing opposition from mostly Italian farmers, the EU's commissar for Trade defends the deals for zero duty from amongst others Cambodia and Burma (Oryza, Sep 1). 
And though the assurance went some way to addressing Italian concerns farmers groups still note that the exemption stimulates unfair competition and that the profits fall to multinationals rather than poorer farmers. But maybe it was intended to stimulate their economies ...?

With prices determining rural development outcome, the prices for export of rice are continuing their downwards trend (Oryza, Sep. 3) despite USDA predicting lower production and year on year amounts of rice stocks declining by more than 10% on an annual basis in their recent Rice Outlook.

Quandary

More rice news, this time from the wider region.

More needs for focusing on niche markets for rice as this article from Vietnamnet (Sep. 11) shows:

'For Vietnamese rice, the situation is not better. Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Institute for the Vietnam Economic Research and Policy (VERP), said the rice market of Vietnam is increasingly dependent on China.

Vietnam is losing its traditional markets. Meanwhile, Thailand is diversifying the market with quality products so it takes footsteps in every market, from picky ones like the US, Japan, Europe, and China to less choosy markets like Africa.

"The problems of the Vietnamese rice market are: difficulty seeking markets for high quality rice; unable to build rice brands for Vietnam; rice price in the domestic market dependent on export prices; and lack of cooperation among local rice traders and exporters,” Thanh said.

Professor Vo Tong Xuan, a senior expert in agriculture, said that while Vietnam’s rice exports fell in both volume and value, Cambodia's rice exports in the last eight months of 2015 increased by 50% compared to the same period of 2014. Cambodian rice is exported to picky markets like China, France and some European countries.

To promote its rice, Cambodia launched a large-scale marketing program. It participated in all international rice fairs held in Thailand while Vietnam was absent. They not only brought rice samples for customers to see and taste but also offered a price and signed contracts on the spot'.

Funny how they actually are envious of Cambodia. 

Continuing on this subject, Vietnamnet (Sep. 16) looks at the problems of it's domestic exporters and hopes to see a solution for this quandary:

'According to data from the World Food Organization (FAO) in 2015, the export prices of Pakistan’s Basmati rice and Thailand’s jasmine rice were above $1,000 per ton in 2012-2015.  At the same time, 5% broken rice of Vietnam has never reached the price of $500/ton'.

Solution:

'Therefore, the problem of building a Vietnamese rice brand is more urgent than ever'.

So more branding needs?

Ban
Meanwhile in Thailand ...

Desperate times require desperate measures? With lower than hoped for rains, Thailand has actually banned growing rice, so reports the Bangkok Post (Sep. 12).

'Ministries in charge of government projects must also be instructed to hire farmers so they have some income.

The ban means rice farmers would not be able to grow rice for most of the 2015 crop year.

This involves 870,000 rai that have not been farmed and the 15 million rai on which planting will be banned'.

The ban would come into place after November 1 so adds the Nation (Sep. 14), thus not affecting current plantings.

The practice (Nation, Sep. 17): 

'According to an informed source, the Agriculture Ministry was planning to ask the Cabinet to close down water gates and pump stations across the country to stop farmers from pumping water into their farms as soon as the dry season started on November 1'.

The above precedes to what Bangkok Post (Aug. 30) names a call to arms, but that seems to be farmers debt:

'Farmers’ debts have become so severe and chronic that every government in recent memory has been forced to make it a priority.

... farmers are often left not only at the mercy of the rain, or lack of it, but also at the whims of loan sharks.

...

Farmers might be happy to see a higher rice price, albeit unrealistically, but the scheme was a double-edged sword because it encouraged farmers to increase the quantity while placing a lower priority on the quality of their rice'.

Their answers: education, formation of cooperatives, creation of value addition and fairer input systems. Will it happen?

Sweet

A more scientific report on Indonesia's agriculture from the New Mandala website (Sep. 1). It notes that oil palm plantations are not really paying off in terms of rural development.

'Food policy is about much more than growing rice: it requires helping the poor access food'. the article looks in depth at how the policies encouraging large scale oil plantations are actually effecting poorer farmers negatively.
...

Plantations are yet to offer a pathway out of poverty on their own, and new programs need to help poor farmers upgrade into oil palm or other profitable crops.

...

Enabling vulnerable farmers stuck in rural poverty to use their own land more effectively continues to be critical.  Land may offer an essential safety net when no other is available – until effective social safety nets are rolled out and farmers can find well paid off farm work.

Food insecurity at the household level poses prickly land and livelihood dilemmas. Determined efforts to understand and to address such local dilemmas will provide hope to Indonesia’s rural poor'.

One reason why developing palm oil plantations is not paying off is the price of palm oil. These are in the doldrums. In Thailand (Bangkok Post, Sep. 15) notes that farmers want a fair price: one that meets their costs. The call came in response to the government lowering their intervention price as it was leading to an oversupply encouraging smuggling.

Other opportunities? One of those opportunities may well be sugar to China (Bangkok Post, Sep. 3), at least in the near future:

'Dry weather and a decline in sugarcane planting means China next season will produce its least amount of sweetener in a decade'.

And though prices are at a low at the moment the prospect is for more Thai sugar to hit the Chinese market at much better prices.