Rice prices have reached their highest levels in almost 15 years amid mounting concerns over global supplies after top exporter India curbed shipments.
Also adverse weather conditions in Southeast Asia could further impact crop production.
According to data by the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the price of Thai white 5% broken rice, an Asian benchmark, has jumped to $648 a ton, its highest level since October 2008.
The spike comes after the world’s leading rice exporter, India, announced restrictions on shipments of non-basmati white rice in late July, 2023.
The Indian government explained the move as an attempt to calm domestic rice prices, which had risen more than 30% since October 2022.
However, the ban has triggered concerns of further inflation on global food markets as rice is vital to the diets of billions of people in Asia and Africa.
The latest threat to rice supplies comes from Thailand, the world’s second-biggest shipper, where authorities have been encouraging farmers to switch to crops that need less water as the country braces for drier conditions with the onset of El Nino.
The cyclical climate pattern tends to bring reduced rainfall to Southeast Asia and other areas, with negative impact on crops.
A previous El Nino during the 2015/16 crop year reduced Thailand’s rice acreage and cut year-over-year rice output by 16%, data shows.
Total rainfall this year in the country’s rice-growing regions is running 23% below last year’s levels, although it is still close to the 10-year average, according to the Gro database.
In the first seven months of this year, Thailand shipped 4.8 million metric tons of the crop, with monthly exports of 700,000 to 800,000 tons, according to Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
He reported that last year’s rice exports were 7.71 million tons. The world market is very turbulent because of speculation in every market, affecting countries that do not have stocks in hand, Laothamatas told a press briefing last week, as quoted by Reuters.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said India’s recent move to halt the export of non-basmati white rice is likely to exacerbate volatility in food prices globally and has encouraged India to remove the restrictions.
India is the world’s largest rice exporter, accounting for over 40% of global shipments.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
But any “world” shortages or prices on anything, is still conflating everybody with terrorism, well poisoning and deliberate starvation tactics by Jews from New York and England through NATO. Anybody who SEPARATES from the influence of that, should be able to grow all the crops they need any day of the week. The ONLY THING STOPPING THAT, is being forced to invest resources in MILITARY DEFENSE FIRST, from assault by NATO and the Jews, before anybody can do simple things that humans do like farming. We have to put a stop to that PERMANENTLY! Its a DELIBERATELY STAGED CRIME AGAINST… Read more »
Hyper… inflation coming to the Nazi supporting states in the West…one grain of rice… for millions of worthless….dollars..
Stop the export altogether. Let the West starve grains and rice due to their arrogance and sanctions on pretty much the rest of the world.
Cargil, Con Agra, ADM and just a few others in some cases with the help of some now troubled formerly massive Swiss banking entities do manipulate the hunger and health of billions of people worldwide, when you realize that they have used greed based structures and management to ensure their own supply chain for their own insider trading based commodity and futures based system, its purpose and intent being twisted and perverted to benefit corrupt administration addicted to greedy enrichment on the blood and sweat of those who struggle to survive betrayed by those whose rank and position is shrouded… Read more »