Why is there a hike in rice prices?

Question

Please provide details for getting best answer. ;)

Answer 1

Everything is up...gas, food...it's just the world we live in is being greedy.

Answer 2

The problem with rice is that the countries that produce it are putting tighter limitations on export levels. This means that there is less rice available to import to other countries and thus the laws of supply and demand take over. As a product becomes harder to source it carries a higher price tag.

Answer 3

Because several countries have placed bans on rice exports (for example India) while others are cutting rice exports (for example Vitenam, the third biggest rice exporter, by 11% this year).  At the moment global food prices are on the rise as a result of these bans.   Rice is not the only type of food that is rising in price as a result of these bans and restrictions. Products such as wheat and corn are also experiencing a similar problem.  This has partly been attributed to the focus that Asian goverenments have placed on developing high-growth sectors such as manufacturing and meeting infrastructure requirements of rapidly growing urban populations, resulting in significant neglect for farming.  Couple this with natural adversities, what has happened with food prices since 2007 is of great concern.

It is believed that world rice production is expected to rise by approx 2% (12m tonnes) this year (UN World Food and Agriculture commision).  This will benefit Asian producers as well as Africa, Latin America and Europe.  Output in Australia (due to drought) and US (due to farmers switching to more profitable crops)is set to fall.  However increased production is not believed to be sufficient to meet population growth; rice production is still down on a per capita basis.

Many developing nations across the world are boosting farm imports and cutting import taxes across a range if food products

Answer 4

Because the Chinese are eating it all, greedy b******s

Answer 5

inflation dude

Answer 6

China will be the world Next SuperPower. That's why.

Answer 7

I am not sure if your question is related to a worldwide change in prices or a region specific price hike.

With regard to Asia, the main reason for hikes were due to the fact that:

There was a loss of crop due to unseasonal rains in some regions. Added to this, the harvested crop on the way to rice mills (where the grains get processed/polished) also got spoilt due to poor storage.

Rise in crude prices also had a domino affect. The fuel prices hike led to hike in transportation charges. And this of course is passed to the consumer.

And as others mentioned in their answers, the ban on rice exports did not help. Of course, the ban was to make sure that the rice prices did not rise higher in the domestic markets.

Hope this helps.