A Commodity Chain Analysis of Rice - Essay Example

Name Instructor’s Name Affiliation A Commodity Chain Analysis of Rice In the United States, rice has a high consumption rate by the population due to its ease of availability in the market. The production of rice is a very crucial aspect to the market and the United States economy. This is very evident in the country’s crop farms row, the farms of rice are to date the most intensive in terms of capital and have the most high overall national land rental average rate. Apart from basic consumption by people, rice also has other functions which may include: Ripening fruits faster, keeps salt separated, making rice milk just to name a few. My goal is to focus on areas where rice is grown, types of rice, how it’s harvested and processed how it’s transported from the manufacturer to the consumer and some of the companies that deal with rice processing. I will also talk about one international rice processing company which is Tilda Rice. Where does rice come from? Most of the rice comes from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas states. The Southern States of Louisiana is where rice was first introduced and planted followed by East Texas in the mid - 19th century while it was established in Arkansas in the year 1904 and in California in the year 1912 and then in the Mississippi Delta in 1942. California produces rice in large amounts and has acquired its position being the second with Arkansas being the leading rice producing state. There are many types of rice but in the United States, twenty rice varieties are commercially produced in the six states although some special rice varieties examples being the Jasmine rice and the aromatic Basmati rice variety are imported from countries like Thailand, Pakistan and India to meet the demand of rice intake by the ethnic community population. The world market now expects a reliable supply of the highest rice quality from the United States rice farmers thus there has been successful rice farming since it’s no longer dependent on heavy seasonal rainfall instead there is the use of machinery that enables uniform flooding and controlled draining in the fields. What are the types of rice grown? There are the very earliest rice types which were planted in Carolina and include the African Oryza glaberrima, the Asian Oryza sativa, Carolina White and Carolina Gold. The Carolina Gold is now cultivated in the Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana states due to the decline of rice growing in Carolina. In California, the production is predominated by the japonica varieties which have a short and medium grain. Also there are the Calrose varieties which are developed for the local climate and the Carlose varieties make up a total of 85% in the state’s crop. The rice grown can be broadly classified as: The Long Grain Rice, The Medium Grain Rice and The Short Grain Rice. How is rice Harvested and processed? After maturity, rice is harvested and the milling process is done by the American mills. Before milling, rice is subjected to a thorough process of cleaning so as to remove foreign materials and the stalks. During the milling the harvested rice passes through the shelling machines to remove the hulls. After this process brown rice is yielded. The brown rice has brawn layers surrounding the kernel. Although the brown rice can be used as it is, it is further milled by rubbing the grains together under high pressure and as a result white kernels of rice are produced. Use of laser sorters helps in identifying the broken, immature and discolored kernels and separates them from the whole kernels of rice during processing thus ensuring smooth appearance and consistent size. What are the Economic and Political conditions of the areas where rice is processed? Rice farming has great impact in the economy and political status of the regions where it is practiced and as a result I have decided to focus on two states out of the six where rice is grown. The two states are Texas and Louisiana. The economic conditions are well advanced since there is export of rice which accounts for 10% of all exports hence meaning there is increased capital thus better economic conditions. In the rice growing states there is increased jobs thus building the economy. But this increase in job opportunities may have negative impacts in that the farmers may be exploited by the employers and their salaries may be delayed thus terming the farmers as slaves indirectly. Although currently there is trouble in Texas and Louisiana due to decline in the rice industry. “Certainly these are not the best of times for agriculture, particularly for Louisiana rice farmers.”( Clarence Berken). On the political side, as a cultural activity there is usually a Rice Festival held yearly in the Louisiana state on the third weekend of the month of October. This celebrations are the most attended and they celebrate rice as a staple food. In the United States, the domestic utilization of rice in food use is 58% while 16% is in food and beer manufacturing whereas 10% is used as pet food. How does rice get from the producers to the consumers? The milled rice is then packed in bags and then transported either by ship, railway or truck. The packed rice must be prevented from moisture since it may lead to mold, spoilage and self-heating due to increased respiratory activity. The bagged rice must be stowed and secured in such a manner that it cannot slip or shift during transport. During transport rice requires particular temperature, humidity and ventilation conditions. The most appropriate temperature during transportation is 5-25 degrees. Rice is very sensitive to transportation due to its sensitivity to moisture in that when the intrinsic moisture content is too high there is a risk of mould formation, mustiness and fermentation and also self -heating and agglomeration. The dull looking rice batches are as a result of drying or self-heating. During loading the rice cargo it should be prevented from damping in case it rains. Proper ventilation should be kept in place during transportation. Transporting rice is expensive due to the special conditions required by the rice during transportation hence the imported rice will cost more than the locally produced rice in order to cater for the cost expenses. In my analysis I will focus on the major international rice company whose brand name is: The Tilda Rice. How does Tilda Rice ltd function? Tilda rice is a brand name which has been in place from 1970. It is a successful international food selling company. It’s located on the banks of the river Thames. The headquarters are located in Rainham, England. It has a technologically advanced mill that produces the best basmati rice internationally. It was the first rice company to introduce the Basmati rice to the western countries. The company- Tilda has secured distribution in major supermarkets hence bringing the basmati rice close to consumers at a very reasonable price thus a high consumption rate of Basmati rice in place of the ordinary long grain rice. Tilda rice has made deliveries to oversea markets example France, Germany, the Middle East and on top of all the United States of America. In the USA Tilda rice was recently bought by the Hain Celestial Group. In the beginning of the new millennium, Tilda rice brought in the “ready- to – heat” Steamed Basmati rice in microwave safe pouches. It has led to increased interest of consumers hence increased sales in the market. What are the environmental impacts of rice farming and its production? The rice farming has great impact to the environment through the standing of water during the rice growing thus provide a habitat for growth of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are a great hazard to the population through spread of malaria by the female anopheles mosquitoes. During production in the factories, there is a challenge when it comes to the disposal of the waste and also through air pollution. The waste is greatly directed to the rivers hence creating a hazardous environment for the aquatic organisms. There is also air population which is dangerous for the people living in that environment and also may lead to the destruction of the ozone layer hence may lead to higher chances of global warming. There is poor disposal of husks which are extracted from the rice, this leads to environmental pollution. The dust from the brawn layer of the rice causes environmental distress to the farmers living near the milling industries. There is difficulty in inhalation and most farmers develop respiratory problems. What are the management practices of rice farming? In some rice growing states example Louisiana, drought is affecting the rice farming due to decrease in water availability for growing rice. Advantage of rice farming is that it can be switched on and off depending on the availability of water. Water is very valuable to growers and the environment. The management practices include: growing rice on very heavy clay soils to avoid seepage hence saving water, through adoption of more efficient seeding and water techniques, through improvement of the efficiency of irrigation layout by the recycling ability of all water that is not used up by the crop and gaining the access to the continually improving varieties of rice that require less water per unit kilogram of the rice produced. Also in rice farming there is the use of organic manure which through my scientific research I have found to contain very many nutrients that benefits both the rice and the soil. This will in turn increase the yield per area. In cases where manure lacks, fertilizers can also be used in place of organic manure thus serving the same purpose though fertilizers are inorganic substances and may have environmental hazards and also pose danger to the farmers using the fertilizers. Works cited. 1 US Rice Producer’s Association USRPA retrieved 23 June 2013. 2 Luisiana State University Ag Center The history of US Rice Production- part 1. 29 November 2012. 3 Knapp Seaman Ashahel (1900) Rice Culture in the United States (public domain ed.) U.S. Department of Agriculture pp 6. 4 U.S. Rice Production Riceland.com. Retrieved 25 June 2013. 5 U.S. Rice Statistics August 2006 United States Department of Agriculture release no.0306.06. 6 Versicherungswirtschaft Gesamtverband der Deutschen e.v (GDV) Transport Information Service Berlin 2002-2006. 7 Jing Ma, Rongchao Ma, Weixiong Wu, Xiolong Lei, Wen Gou. Advances in Industrialized Rice Production Research page 2 8 Lu Clara Supply Chain Management from factory to supermarket shelves 23 July2014. 9 USDA Economic Research Service, Trade retrieved 25 June 2013. 10 California Rice Commission Medium Grain Varieties archived from the original on 8 May 2006 retrieved 25 June 2013. Read More

Rice farming has a great impact on the economy and political status of the regions where it is practiced and as a result, I have decided to focus on two states out of the six where rice is grown. The two states are Texas and Louisiana. The economic conditions are well advanced since there is the export of rice which accounts for 10% of all exports hence meaning there is increased capital thus better economic conditions.  In the rice-growing states, there are increased jobs thus building the economy.  But this increase in job opportunities may have negative impacts in that the farmers may be exploited by the employers and their salaries may be delayed thus terming the farmers as slaves indirectly. Although currently there is trouble in Texas and Louisiana due to a decline in the rice industry. “Certainly these are not the best of times for agriculture, particularly for Louisiana rice farmers.”( Clarence Berken). On the political side, as a cultural activity, there is usually a Rice Festival held yearly in the Louisiana state on the third weekend of October. These celebrations are the most attended and they celebrate rice as a staple food.  In the United States, the domestic utilization of rice in food use is 58% while 16% is in food and beer manufacturing whereas 10% is used as pet food.

The milled rice is then packed in bags and then transported either by ship, railway, or truck. The packed rice must be prevented from moisture since it may lead to mold, spoilage, and self-heating due to increased respiratory activity. The bagged rice must be stowed and secured in such a manner that it cannot slip or shift during transport. During transport, rice requires particular temperature, humidity, and ventilation conditions. The most appropriate temperature during the transportation is 5-25 degrees. Rice is very sensitive to transportation due to its sensitivity to moisture in that when the intrinsic moisture content is too high there is a risk of mold formation, mustiness and fermentation, and also self-heating and agglomeration. The dull-looking rice batches are a result of drying or self-heating. During loading the rice cargo it should be prevented from damping in case it rains. Proper ventilation should be kept in place during transportation. Transporting rice is expensive due to the special conditions required by the rice during transportation hence the imported rice will cost more than the locally produced rice to cater for the cost expenses. In my analysis, I will focus on the major international rice company whose brand name is:  The Tilda Rice.

Tilda rice is a brand name that has been in place since 1970. It is a successful international food selling company. It’s located on the banks of the River Thames. The headquarters are located in Rainham, England. It has a technologically advanced mill that produces the best basmati rice internationally.  It was the first rice company to introduce Basmati rice to western countries. The company- Tilda has secured distribution in major supermarkets hence bringing the basmati rice close to consumers at a very reasonable price thus a high consumption rate of Basmati rice in place of the ordinary long grain rice. Tilda rice has made deliveries to overseas markets example France, Germany, the Middle East, and on top of all the United States of America. In the USA Tilda rice was recently bought by the Hain Celestial Group. At the beginning of the new millennium, Tilda rice brought in the “ready–to–heat” Steamed Basmati rice in microwave-safe pouches. It has led to an increased interest of consumers hence increased sales in the market.

Rice farming has a great impact on the environment through the standing of water during the rice-growing thus provide habitat for the growth of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are a great hazard to the population through the spread of malaria by the female anopheles mosquitoes. During production in the factories, there is a challenge when it comes to the disposal of the waste and also through air pollution.

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