Global rice market at risk due to low production

Due to hostile weather and various natural disasters, rice production across Asia including India,

the world’s largest rice producer and exporter, has been low this year. As a result,

there is a fear of reduced supply and price increase in the global rice market in the coming days.

Rice is the staple food of a large part of the world’s population

And 90 percent of the world’s rice is produced in some Asian countries including India,

China, Vietnam, Bangladesh. Due to the corona epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war,

the price of various crops including wheat and corn has increased, but the rice market has remained stable so far.

• The main reason for this is the bumper crop of the last two years and the large stockpiles of rice in the rice producing countries.
• But if the production falls, there will be a crisis in the supply of rice like wheat and other crops this year.
• According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday,
• more natural disasters such as floods, storms and droughts have occurred in the world this year compared to previous years.
• India’s rice-growing regions have seen scant rainfall this year, while heatwaves and heavy rains have hit several provinces in China.
• In addition, due to floods and cyclones, rice cultivation has also been disrupted in Bangladesh and Vietnam
• Due to these reasons, the production of rice in the world’s 5 largest rice producing countries has decreased compared to previous years.

Fin Ziebel, an agricultural economist at the National Australia Bank, told Reuters,

“The rise in rice prices is directly linked to the decline in production in major exporting countries.

In many countries in the developing world, it has become difficult to keep food prices affordable.

If the price of rice increases, it will make the situation more difficult.

Economist Shirley Mustafa of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN’s food and agricultural security agency,

expressed fear of rising rice prices and said, “Even though overall food prices reached record levels at the beginning of this year,

rice is still readily available. However, there is uncertainty about how long this comfortable situation will last.

“We are now looking at the weather in some of the major rice producing countries including India,

China and Bangladesh. If the conditions do not improve in the next few weeks, the production may decrease.