Page 89 - Food Outlook

FOOD OUTLOOK NOVEMBER 2017
8
3
GRAINS
GRAINS: MAJOR POLICY DEVELOPMENTS MID-MAY TO MID-OCTOBER 2017*
COUNTRY Afghanistan
PRODUCT
DATE
POLICY
CATEGORY/ DESCRIPTION
Algeria
Government intervention
market
Argentina
Maize
Sep-17 Authorized a 1.7 percent increase in maize ethanol price for oil refiners blending it into gasoline. Maize-ethanol price was raised to ARS 13.6 (USD 0.78).
Australia Bangladesh
Wheat Grains
Food subsidy Production support
Jun-17 Announced CME Group launched the Australian wheat FOB (Platts) futures contract, to begin trading from 24 July 2017. Jun-17 Raised the food grains subsidy under its (2017/18) financial year budget by 15 percent, to BDT 45.45 billion (USD 57 million). Jun-17 Established the “Bangladesh wheat and maize research institute bill, 2017” in order to increase production of both crops
Brazil
Maize Maize
Production support Import tax
Aug-17 Launched the country’s first maize-based ethanol processing plant in Mato Grosso. The plant will produce about 240 million litres of ethanol from maize each year, along with 6 200 tonnes of maize oil and 60 000 megawatts of power.
Burundi
Maize Grains
Import tariff Value added tax
May-17 Removed import tariffs for maize and maize products, effective from 15 May.
May-17 Reduced the VAT on agricultural products including grains, from 13 to 11 percent as of 1 July.
China
MIR 162 maize and Dow Agrisciences Enlist maize, for animal feeding. Approvals are valid for three years.
Jun-17 Announced it will spend CNY 2.56 billion (USD 374.95 million) to subsidize farmers to rotate their maize plantings with other
Wheat Grains
Government procurement Import licences
INSTRUMENT
Jun-17 Announced the National Procurement Commission’s approval of imports of 138 tonnes of wheat from India.
Grains
Jul-17 of products. The list includes processed wheat and maize products such as bread, pizza and pasta. The measure aims at discouraging import of these products as domestic production can cover consumer demand.
Maize
Government intervention Government intervention Government intervention
market market market
Jun-17 Increased the price of maize-based ethanol for oil refiners to blend into gasoline to ARS 12.9 (USD 0.8) per litre, 0.7 percent up from previous month.
Maize
Oct-17 Increased the price of maize-based ethanol for oil refiners to blend into gasoline to ARS 13.623 (USD 0.8) per litre, 0.4 percent up from previous month.
Maize and wheat Wheat
Bilateral agreement Import policy
Sep-17
through research.
Announced importation of 200 000 tonnes of wheat from the Russian Federation under a Government- to- Government (G2G) arrangement, at USD 252 per tonne.
Approved a new rule on ethanol imports in order to protect domestic producers from the market. The new requirement is
Maize
May-17 in line with the existing rule applied to national ethanol producers with regard to minimum stocks needed to guarantee domestic supplies.
Wheat
Marketing measures
Sep-17
Maize Maize Maize
and wheat
Government market intervention
Jun-17 Removed restrictions on foreign investment in the processing of flour and deep processing of maize.
Wheat Maize
Bilateral agreement GMO policy
Jul-17 Jul-17
crops every other year as well as to leave some land fallow. This subsidy is 78 percent higher than in 2016.
Agreed to strengthen trade and cooperation in the area of agriculture with Kazakhstan. The agreement includes Kazakhstan’s commitment to supply 200 000 tonnes of wheat and 100 000 tonnes of oil crops to China; the construction of a wheat terminal at the Kazakh-Chinese border; and enhanced investment, technology transfer and innovation in agriculture production, wheat processing and food safety infrastructure.
Approved two new GMO maize varieties (insect-resistant and glyphosate-resistant) for imports during a three-year period, which brings the total number of China’s GMO approvals to 18 (including four maize crops).
GMO policy Production subsidies
Jun-17
Approved 16 genetically modified (GMO) crop varieties for import. Among the four maize varieties included are Sygenta’s
Jun-17
Issued 167 import licences for feed maize, barley and soybean meal. Feed maize import licenses were awarded for 2.1 million tonnes, and feed barley licenses for 462 076 tonnes. These measures were in response to shortages in the domestic market. Announced that commercial banks will suspend finances pending the imposition of import licenses for an extended list
Aug-17
Approved a 20 percent tax (above a 600 million litre Tariff Rate Quota) on ethanol imports from the United States to protect domestic producers.
Announced a BRL 100 million (USD 32 million) plan to support wheat and rice marketing. The price support mechanisms are activated when the prices of grains fall below a certain level (currently BRL 34.97 per 50 kg – USD 234 per tonne).