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Marketing of organic products where farmers get a bigger share of the value chain. Clean and renewable energy systems that are appropriate for rural communities. These are just some of the concerns of small scale women and men farmers in Asia.

The Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) arranged a study tour for its Cambodian member Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) and Laos partner Social & Economic Developers Association (SEDA-Laos) last March 2, 2011 in the Philippines in order to share some of the best practices of local NGOs and POs on these two important subjects.

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Prices of agricultural and fish products are skyrocketing due to the unprecedented harsh weather that has rattled the country the last few months.

And with a strong demand for raw produce ahead of Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving… the average price of fresh food hit a six-year high in August.

According to Statistics Korea, seafood prices increased 10.5 percent year-on-year, fresh fruit by 17.2 and vegetables by 24.7 percent.

Overall, the price of fresh food surged by 20 percent on average compared to the same period last year.

Read the full story at Arirang

(Export limit policies for non-food agricultural products need to be rationalized to ensure a better deal for local producers. Policies allowing only certain regions of the country to export certain agricultural products should be supported by infrastructure and support services as well to meet the production targets. — Admin)

Farmers and activists demand the government revise the 2009 Trade Ministry Regulation limiting rattan exports, arguing it could destroy the domestic rattan industry.

“The regulation has limited the country’s rattan exports,” Julius Hoesan from the Indonesian Rattan Businessmen Association (APRI) said in a dialog here on Wednesday.

The regulation allows annual exports of up to 35,000 tons of semi-finished rattan.

Julius said Indonesia’s rattan consumption was only 40,000 tons per year while its potential production of natural rattan could reach 696,000 tons annually.

“What are we going to do with the rest of the rattan produced? It causes rattan prices to decline.”

Read the full story at The Jakarta Post

(Market information for Indonesian organic coffee. — Admin)

Indonesian Coffee is famous worldwide. Indonesia is currently the third largest producer of Coffee in the world following Brazil and Vietnam. The country also ranks fourth among green coffee exporters on the global market.

According to International Coffee Organization, in 2008 Indonesia produced 561,000 tones of green coffee accounting for approximately 9% of global output. Production is decreasing because of the slowing international demand. Indonesia’s domestic Coffee consumption reaches around 190,000 metric tons annually.

The planted area for Coffee is decreasing, especially in the Robusta growing regions. This is reportedly due to lower Coffee prices. Farmers are apparently shifting from Coffee to cocoa trees, which require less maintenance and have generally provided higher, more stable prices over the past five years. It’s been noted that more and more farmers in the Lampung area – traditionally a major Coffee production area – are converting from Coffee to cocoa production.

Read the full article at Market Publishers

Kaohsiung, June 10 (CNA) Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan is cooperating with an online shopping platform to help businesses promote local produce and food online, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu said Thursday.

The city government said 25 local businesses selling fruit, sweet and snacks have set up online shops with help from the Kaohsiung office of Japan’s biggest online shopping platform, Rakuten. The businesses also enjoy good deals from the Internet platform in terms of online shop fees, according to the officials.

Read the full story at Focus Taiwan

A lack of domestic processing plants is preventing Cambodian agriculture exports from directly reaching end-market buyers and allowing its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam to reap the economic benefits of the Kingdom’s harvests, a senior Ministry of Commerce official told delegates at a two-day government-backed trade-facilitation workshop that opened Tuesday.

A dearth of processing plants means that Cambodia’s agricultural industry is neither recognised nor rewarded adequately for its produce, MoC Secretary of State Mao Thora said.

He pointed to Cambodia’s cashew nut and cassava industries, which are struggling because processing is done in Vietnam and Thailand before they are sold on to the end-market buyer.

He said Vietnam exported 16,000 tonnes of Cambodian cashew nuts last year, becoming one of the world’s top cashew nut suppliers, while Cambodia was not ranked at all.

Similarly, Cambodian cassava was taken to plants in Thailand and Vietnam, which then sold the produce to China for more than double the buying price.

Read the full story

“IT smells like hell, but tastes like heaven.”

That’s one way the durian fruit has been curiously described by some. But think about it: Does hell have any smell? And for that matter, does heaven have any taste?

For first-timers, the stink usually overpowers the fruit’s heavenly taste, making it difficult for ordinary gastronomists to ingest.

The durian’s smell has been a major setback in marketing the fruit among Luzon and Visayas consumers. But those who have been to Davao and tasted the fruit have overcome the stink, they now love to eat the fruit and look forward to another delightful durian-eating experience.

There is an art to eating durian. It entails gradually tasting the fruit, getting used to the smell and, eventually, becoming fond of it.

Read the full story at Business Mirror

A centralised mercantile exchange, set to launch in July, will offer transparency and therefore equitable prices, says Shafeequr Rahman, CEO of the Cambodian Mercantile Exchange PLC

Many people do not understand how a commodities exchange works and what it does. Can you explain the exchange?
A commodities exchange is a central meeting place where buyers and sellers meet to do business.

The exchange provides an online trading facility where buying and selling takes place.

The exchange itself does not buy or sell commodities or contracts; nor does it set or establish prices, but it makes sure that a fair trade happens between its member buyers and sellers.

Read the full story at The Phnom Penh Post

TAUCH Tepich Import Export signed an agreement this month to supply 10,000 tonnes of unprocessed paddy worth US$2.3 million to south Vietnam-based firm Tri Mai, said the president of the Cambodian company.

Tauch Tepich said Sunday that it would begin delivery this week.

According to the agreement, Tauch Tepich will supply 1,000 tonnes of paddy a month by water across the K’orm Samnor border crossing in Kandal province.

“We hope Cambodian farmers will get more market opportunities to sell their paddy under this agreement,” he said.

Agricultural analysts say the Kingdom should be taking advantage of rising processing power to add value to the sector rather than shipping raw materials to the likes of Vietnam – a major competitor in agricultural exports – where Cambodia-produced crops are usually processed and sold overseas.

“I think it is better if the company could export rice instead of paddy because it brings greater advantages for the economy,” said Yang Saing Koma, president of the Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture.

Read the full story at The Phnom Pneh Post

VietNamNet Bridge – Although Vietnam is one of the three largest rice exporters in the world, its rice prices are lower than Thailand’s. Experts say Vietnamese rice has no brand name and its quality is inconsistent.

In the domestic market, branded rice on supermarket shelves is 20 percent more expensive than that offered at street kiosks. To increase rice prices, experts say Vietnam needs to build a brand name for its rice in line with international standards.

Richard Moore, a well-known brand expert, says producers need to pour more investment into marketing, packaging and trading services if they want to increase their rice prices. He cites Thailand as a role model in building a brand name for its rice. It tops the list of global rice exporters and its prices are higher than Vietnam’s.

Read the full story at Viet Nam Net Bridge

HA NOI — Viet Nam earned US$178 million from tea exports last year, a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

This represents an increase of 27.34 percentage points in volume and 21.3 percentage points in value over 2008.

Nguyen Kim Phong, chairman of the Viet Nam Tea Association, said in December alone, Viet Nam exported 11,000 tonnes of tea, an increase of 1,000 tonnes over November.

According to Phong, changing consumer preferences has helped the tea industry overcome challenges posed by the global recession.

Read the full story at Viet Nam News

HAU GIANG — Vietnamese people often offer their ancestors pomelos that are placed on their family’s altar during Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays, which in turn will hopefully bring happiness and luck during the new year.

Vo Trung Thanh from Phu Huu Commune, Chau Thanh District, has recently achieved fame by successfully growing pomelos that are shaped like gourds.

When asked about the secret of raising such strange-shaped pomelos, Thanh says they are all Nam Roi pomelo, which are one of the most popular fruits in Viet Nam.

“I’ve just simply changed their normal shapes into gourds,” he says.

Read the full story at Viet Nam News

AFA attended the 3rd Summit in the Global Series on Sustainably Sourcing Agricultural Raw Materials organized by the London Business Conferences in IBIS Earls Court, London last November 30 to December 1, 2009. AFA was represented by PAKISAMA Vice President for Mindanao Michael Saguisihan who gave a presentation on the situation of coconut farmers in the Philippines, and AFA’s sustainable agriculture initiatives.

Click here for Mr. Saguisihan’s speech: http://asianfarmers.org/events/200911sustainablesourcing/michaelsaguisihanspeech.pdf

Click here for more information about the conference: http://www.sustainable-sourcing-agricultural-supply-chain.com/

The Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), a regional alliance of nine national farmers’ organizations, in eight countries in Asia, representing ten million farmers, held a consultation-workshop, entitled “Farmers’ Voices, Farmers’ Choices: AFA Regional Consultations on Food Sovereignty, Climate Change and Marketing”, last October 6-10, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.

This consultation was part of AFA’s continuing efforts to deepen the understanding of small scale men and women farmers on regional and global events, especially their implications on small scale men and women farmers. It was held parallel to the UN Intersessional Meeting on Climate Change, also held in Bangkok last September 27-October 9, 2009.

There were two main AFA events:

1) On October 6-8, AFA conducted a regional consultation on “Asian Women Farmers’ Reclaiming Space for Food Sovereignty Amidst Climate Change”. Women farmer leaders came together to understand the Asian and global dynamics of the climate change negotiations, to share their initiatives in ensuring food security and in responding to the effects of climate change.

2) On October 9-10, AFA conducted the “Regional Knowledge Sharing on AFA Members’ Marketing Initiatives: Basics in Engaging the Market”. This knowledge sharing gave the participants additional knowledge and insights on how to develop/improve their marketing strategies of identified focus crops. During the workshop, a framework for commodity based organizing was formulated to guide farmers’ groups in forming commodity-based groups.

The event was hosted by SorKorPor, with the support of Agriterra.

Click here for the overall program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ProgramDesignGenericV2.pdf

Click here for the women’s consultation workshop program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/WomenConsultationWorkshopV2.pdf

Click here for the marketing consultation workshop program: http://asianfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/MarketingConsultationWorkshopV2.pdf