The rice crisis

What's driving up the price of rice?

• Unsupported agricultural researchers. Government funding has been slashed for the scientists who come up with higher yield and more durable varieties of rice.
• Other uses of land. Farm land for rice is dwindling, competing with other uses such as urban developmentand more lucrative cash crops like wine and biofuels.
• Higher-cost farm supplies. Price for festilisers have risen dramatically, and the cost of urea, an organic festilizer important for use in farming has nearly doubled in the last four years.
• Environment factors. Pesticide-resistant pests and extreme weather, such as storms, droughts and floods, are constributing to the problem.
• Profiteering rice trader and millers. Traders in some countries manipulate small cash strapped farmers by offering high-interest loans, or supplies such as seeds and festilizer, against a set price for the harvested rice.
• Budget-strapped govermments. Government stockpile rice for ermergency uses, and as a way to intervene in the market to keep prices down.
• Hoarding retailers. Wholesalers, retailer, and exporters hoard stocks of rice at time of speculate on increasing price.
• Bigger demand. More people in more countries are consuming rice, including in africa, which now consumer one-third of the world's total trade in rice, and the prosperous middle east.

( Source : Reader's Digest August 2008 )