“Across south and south-east Asia, unpredictable weather is threatening supplies of rice, a staple food for more than half the world’s population. In July, India, the world’s largest rice exporter, imposed an export ban on non-basmati white rice after crops were damaged by heavy rains,” explains The Guardian (UK) in a story on global rice supplies.
“Rice is unlike many other commodities because only a small portion of what’s grown globally – about 11% – is traded, says Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC. When a very major rice exporter such as India is taken out of the market, then there aren’t a lot of suppliers elsewhere to fill the gap, he added.
“The real question will be whether or not [the monsoons in India] end early and I think that’s always the one of the signs that people will look for as El Niño strengthens,” said Glauber.
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