Barley down in Jaipur as new crop arrival gains pace.

Prices of barley fell in Jaipur due to higher arrivals and a lacklustre demand from stockists and feed sector. New crop arrivals of barley were estimated at 90,000 bags (1 bag = 85 kg) compared with 75,000 bags previous close. The most-active May contract of mustard seed on the NCDEX was down 0.8%.

Customs restricts exit of rice from free trade zones Abuja (Nigeria).

According to Nigeria Customs Service, it has restricted the exit of rice from Free Trade Zone in the country to ensure total compliance to the ban on the importation of rice. Due to the high level of security along the border lines, some Nigerians were taking advantage of the status of the Free Trade Zone to smuggle rice into the country.

Rice prices rise on flash floods in Sylhet (Bangladesh).

Rice prices edged up as large millers are cashing in on crop losses, caused by the recent flash floods in the greater Sylhet region, amid depleting stocks from previous harvests and low imports. In Dhaka, retail prices of coarse rice such as the swarna variety ise to a new level of Tk 40-42/kg, up 6.49% from Tk 37-40 a week ago. Prices of the medium and fine categories of the staple also went up between 1.96 percent and 4.65 percent in the last one week. The flood has affected 1.40 lakh hectares of paddy in the fields. Speculation over delayed harvest for the bad weather is another reason for the recent price spiral as farmers, small and medium millers and wholesalers do not have paddy stocks. Govt can reduce the import duty on rice to encourage imports and increase the supply in the market. Rice imports by private traders slumped 65 percent to 76,600 tonnes in July-March of the current fiscal year from the same time last year, after the government hiked the duty from 20% to 28% to ensure that growers get fair prices for their produce.

National Food Authority in Philippine pegs deficit in govt rice stocks at 490,800 MT.

National Food Authority has appealed to the NFA Council to allow the importation of rice, as the deficit in its buffer stock stands at 9.8 million bags, equivalent to 490,800 metric tons (MT). NFA to maintain a buffer rice stock good to last for 15 days at any given time and for 30 days at the onset of the calamity-prone lean months, based on the daily consumption requirement of 32,150 MT. NFA needs an additional 490,800 MT of rice to meet the mandated volumes for food security. This additional stock to come from local produce, cannot compete with the private traders who are offering prices much higher than the government’s P17-per-kilogram support price.

Ukraine boosted grain exports by 9%.

Ukraine exported roughly 33.1 MMT of grains in the 2016/17 season by March 28, 2017, or 9% more than a year ago (30.3 MMT). The exports included 14.5 MMT of wheat (12.8 MMT in MY 2015/16), 13.6 MMT of corn (13.3 MMT) and about 4.78 MMT of barley (4 MMT). And 271.6 KMT of flour was shipped abroad in the period under review up 18% from the same time in 2015/16 (230.1 KMT).

Food regulator says ITC, HUL, others to start fortifying wheat flour.

Major wheat flour producers like ITC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, General Mills India Pvt Ltd, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Cargill India Pvt Ltd will start fortifying their wheat flour with iron, folic acid and vitamin B-12, said FSSAI. The fortified wheat flour will be available in different regions by July or August. The regulator has been pushing for fortification of all food products to enrich their nutritional quality, so as to deal with micronutrient deficiencies that are rampant in India.

Spot wheat down as supplies rise in Madhya Pradesh.

Prices of wheat fell in the benchmark market of Indore. Madhya Pradesh as harvesting is at its peak in the state, with high supplies of the grain in markets Arrivals in Madhya Pradesh were higher today at 300,000-400,000 bags (1bag=100kg), up from 100,000 bags the previous day. Around 20,000 bags of wheat arrived in Delhi markets. The May wheat contract on the NCDEX fell marginally down 0.1% from the previous close. On the CBOT, wheat futures fell nearly 1% on subdued demand.

Govt procures 5,243 tonne wheat in Uttar Pradesh, up three-fold on year.

Government has procured 5,243 tonne of wheat in Uttar Pradesh in the current marketing year so far, nearly three times the year-ago procurement of 1,759 tonne. State government has set a target of procuring 8 million tonne wheat, way above the central govt target of 3 million tonne for Uttar Pradesh. To enable efficient procurement and eliminate the role of middlemen, the new govt in Uttar Pradesh has made Aadhar cards compulsory for farmers coming to sell their crops. The government has also offered an incentive of 10 rupees per 100 kg for loading and transportation of the crop. Overall, 2.4 million tonne of wheat has been procured in the country so far, slightly lower than 2.6 million tonne a year ago. Procurement is highest in Madhya Pradesh where the govt has bought 1.8 million tonne wheat so far. In Punjab, the government has bought 37,505 tonne, and in Haryana, it has purchased 534,279 tonne of wheat.

NCDEX coriander at 3% lower limit as supply seen up.

Futures contracts of coriander hit the 3% lower circuit on the NCDEX because arrivals in Rajasthan markets are seen increasing. Arrivals are seen rising as harvesting of the new crop is in progress in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Weak demand from the local consumers also led to decline in coriander prices. On the NCDEX, the most active May contract was down 3%. Arrivals in Baran were pegged at 60,000 bags (1bag=40kg), up 18,000 bags from previous close.

Indian private traders import 44 lakh tonnes wheat in Apr-Feb FY17.

Private traders have imported 44.10 lakh tonnes of wheat from April 2016 to February 2017, said govt. Govt had wheat stock of 94.29 lakh tonnes at the beginning of March as against the buffer norm of 64.60 lakh tonnes as on April 1. The wheat stock is likely to improve in the coming months when Rabi crop arrives in markets.