Commentary: Rice export bans and price caps are a food crisis risk for Asia

Commentary: Rice export bans and price caps are a food crisis risk for Asia

RICE RISING Quick Need

Sadly, the lessons learned from the rice price spike between 2007 and 2008 — when the grain cost more than tripled and then quickly rose to above$ 2,000 per tonne( USD )— have not been taken into account. Then & nbsp, export restrictions, price caps, and hoarding created a difficult and tragic situation. Asia today runs the same risk of outcome.

Asian countries andnbsp clearly need to guard their vulnerable populations from sharp increases in food costs, but they also have more complex tools at their disposal than common export restrictions and one-size-fits-all price caps. Targeted assistance, such as through robust security safety nets, is more effective and much less expensive. In addition, & nbsp,

Current issues with The & nbsp highlight the need to support increased rice production. The good news is that Eastern governments have learned a number of lessons from the food crisis that lasted from 2007 to 2008, as well as from stepping up support for their producers. Since therefore, production has posted records nearly every year.

Yet in 2023, production and nbsp are predicted to reach an all-time high due to droughts linked to El Nino. The bad news is that demand is increasing even more quickly as a result of Asia and Africa’s declining severe poverty and booming people growth.

Institutions require production even more in order to keep up. Andnbsp, That’s challenging in a time of climate change when everyone is attempting to cut back on fertilizer and water usage.

One choice is to make additional investments in better grains, including physically modified ones. China has long opposed genetically modified organisms, but now it is opening the door, beginning with wheat.

To prevent crop losses after harvest, another option is to enhance & nbsp, farming infrastructure, including silos. Regional development banks could do much more to channel money in the latter & nbsp area. & nbsp,

Asia needs to adopt the curve and allow free markets to operate more than attempting to stretch the supply and demand diagrams. Magno has returned to & nbsp and is currently teaching a course on public economics. All we can hope for is that some officers and nbsp visit her course. & nbsp,