Why did the rice price go up so much?

Question

ckent answer is the most detailed, but it only pertains to China. It seems like rice from Thailand and Vietnam are going up as well. Is it all over asia? Is it just a bad crop year for rice in all countries?

Answer 1

Everything is going up. Wars are expensive, and the economy has to suffer for it.

Answer 2

The cost of food is rising along with the price of oil. Petroleum products are used in the growth, productions and transportation of food.

Corn production is up but is being diverted to ethanol production. More people switch to rice, increasing demand so prices go up.

When diesel fuel is $4.00 a gallon those costs are passed on to the consumer.

Answer 3

The most over populated nation and the most rapidly growing economic in Asia may face shortage of rice in the forthcoming months as the Chinese media reveals that south China are suffering from serious drought. The water levels on two major rivers in Jiangxi and Hunan, the two rice-growing provinces has dropped to historic lows leaving almost no water for agriculture. Rice is the basic edible crop for the most of Chinese and it needs a constant supply of water. Most of the popular river like Gan , Xiang and Yangtze (the China’s longest river) had seen their lowest water levels in history. Almost every year we hear the news of drought and floods in the country.

So for the Chinese authorities it would be hard to quench the thrust of urban as well as rural areas in China. It would be challenge for government personal to manage constant supply of water in the cities as there is severe water shortage. Let�s see how do they manage this current crisis?

On top of this shortage, stock traders artificially raise the prices further (supply and demandof stocks).

Answer 4

Speculators and hedge fund managers.