Price of Rice on the Rise

There are many reasons for the price of rice going up. Of course all grain prices are linked to varying degrees so this is part of a wider problem in agricultural production. The most often quoted drivers of increasing prices are the rise of asia up the economic scale, leading to more meat consumption, and more grain required to feed the animals grown for food; the rise of bofuels, perticularly of corn ethanol in the US is also a significant factor.

Other factors such as soil degredation, decline of water qaulity and the effects of climate change on global agriculture through shifting weather patterns and drought, are all likely to add to these pressures in the medium to long term.

If you live in the US then you will be aware of the pressure being exerted on China to unpin its currency. One of the main reasons they dont do this is that they need to subsidise food for the hundereds of millions of extremely impoverished Chineese who are not currently bennefiting from national accension.

• Past article on climate change and rice.

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