[Tuike]

Thailand denies planning to cut rice exports

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hailand, the world's largest rice exporter, has no plans to curb rice exports, a senior Commerce Ministry official said on Thursday, denying rumours it might impose restrictions to protect domestic supply.

[Ferretlover]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '
')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')At that time governments started a major effort to breed resistant wheat plants, led by Norman Borlaug of the Rockefeller Foundation. That was the misnamed Green Revolution. The result today is far fewer varieties of wheat that might resist such a new fungus outbreak.

[IslandCrow]

A good summary here: BBC report

One surprise in this for me was the graph of the top 10 countries receiving rice aid, with India very close to Bangladesh, however, it is the small countries such as Nepal and Burma who receive most (and far far more when considered as per capita). Maybe troubles will hit these smaller countries before the larger ones like Bangladesh.

Also I am not sure why India with a surplus production should receive rice aid.

[sjn]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '[')url=http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/engdahl/2008/0331.html]Ug99[/url]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n the 1950s, the last major outbreak destroyed 40% of the spring wheat crop in North America. At that time governments started a major effort to breed resistant wheat plants, led by Norman Borlaug of the Rockefeller Foundation. That was the misnamed Green Revolution. The result today is far fewer varieties of wheat that might resist such a new fungus outbreak.

[shortonoil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')The Great Depression," says the headline. "Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the U.S. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive - a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisis."

[Ayame]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')ood riots turn deadly in Haiti

At least four people were killed and 20 wounded when demonstrations against rising food prices turned into riots in southern Haiti, officials say.

Reports say scores of people went on the rampage in the town of Les Cayes, blocking roads, looting shops and shooting at UN peacekeepers.

The UN said its personnel had opened fire at some of the armed protesters.

For two days running, parts of Haiti have been erupting into violence triggered by the soaring cost of food.

The prices of rice, beans and fruit have gone up by 50% in the last year.

[Zardoz]

Another first:

Empty shelves at Food Bank

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')or the first time in its 25 year history, most of the shelves at the Food Bank's warehouse in New York are barren.

A sputtering economy and rising food prices have hiked demand for food aid while food donations have sharply dropped.

[shortonoil]

dohboi said:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') bet there is a lot of starvation from this going on already in China that we are not seeing. They want only happy images leading up to their first Olympics!

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'A')nother first:

Empty shelves at Food Bank

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')or the first time in its 25 year history, most of the shelves at the Food Bank's warehouse in New York are barren.

A sputtering economy and rising food prices have hiked demand for food aid while food donations have sharply dropped.

[funzone36]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'A')nother first:

Empty shelves at Food Bank

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')or the first time in its 25 year history, most of the shelves at the Food Bank's warehouse in New York are barren.

A sputtering economy and rising food prices have hiked demand for food aid while food donations have sharply dropped.

[GeoJAP]

Yesterday my girlfriend and I were in Costco in Austin. She is from Hong Kong, and I had tipped her off about the world's current rice situation. We got to the bulk rice section and she exclaimed, "Oh, they have the good Thai rice! And for a good price too." The 'Super Lucky Elephant' brand: $20/50lbs. We were standing there deciding how many bags we were going to buy when a Thai or Vietnamese man walks up, looks at the 30 or so bags remaining on the quarter-full pallet and gets on his cellphone. When a Costco employee walked buy, he told him, "I'll take the whole pallet." The employee came back with a manual forklift, and the man then asked, "How many pallets do you have in the back? I'll take them too." The employee exclaimed, "We've already sold three pallets of just this stuff this morning, I'll have to go see."

We talked to the guy for a minute. He is a restaurant owner here in Austin. He expected prices to go up by 50% shortly. Costco had ten pallets of that good Thai rice left, but I didn't catch how many he bought.

[mattduke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')The Department of Justice is preparing economic sabotage or plunder charges that carry a life sentence against traders found to be hoarding rice, the price of which has risen sharply amid a tight global supply," The Inquirer reports. "Although the country has yet to experience a shortage, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Thursday vowed to hale to court hoarders and other unscrupulous rice traders for acts 'inimical to the public interest.'"

[steam_cannon]

As shortage comes, do you think it will mean life in prison with no rice?



Sorry, bad sense of humor today... Good articles.

[3aidlillahi]

[http://youtube.com/watch?v=mnuDc6sFdqk&feature=related]Got Rice, Bitch?[/url]

[Ache]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... y/Business

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')We are limiting the sale of jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice to four bags per member visit," said company spokeswoman Kristy Reed. "We are working with our suppliers to address this matter to ensure we are in stock, and we are asking for our members' co-operation and patience. At this time, we are not restricting purchase amounts of flour or oil."

[mattduke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ice is being rationed in Britain as shopkeepers limit supplies to their customers to prevent hoarding. Restrictions on sales in Asian neighbourhoods are reported as emergency measures are taken by governments worldwide to combat the soaring cost of rice and prevent outbreaks of food rioting.

[dorlomin]

There is a very large amount of Asian restuarants in the UK for whom rice is a major part of the dish. Id guess that many of them are precausionary stocking up on what is a cheapish part of the dish.

Food prices are suddenly a big story here in the UK and Bristains Bangladeshi and Chinese populations will have living memories of very real famines.

Most likely there will be scare stories in the tabloids next week.

Youll know its serious if there are none. Then the government will be cracking down on them.....


Mind you we are not going to run out of potatos in a hurry, spuds and wheat are our main low cost high calorie staples. We have to import all our rice so that is just as vaulnrable to the world shortages as the rest of the world.

It is good though, this rice crisis, its reaffirms how fragile our agriculture is. It will be a distant warning to those who will hear that the system is so complex that it can 'bifurcate' at unexpected points.

[efarmer]

If you can make potato flakes and freeze dried slices and hash browns
you can surely make rice like kernals as well. Spud people in Idaho,
they are singing your song, grab your tubers and get ready to
rumble.

[vision-master]

Just picked up 8 lbs of Grandessa brown rice this morning.

[mattduke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')rime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung insisted supplies in Vietnam — the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand — were "completely adequate" for domestic consumption, state media quoted him as saying late Sunday. He warned that any organizations and individuals speculating in the commodity would be "severely punished."