Credit crunch may lead to another rice crisis

MANILA, Philippines (AP)


Farmers, however, suffered losses because they were left with a lower-priced crop produced with high-priced fuel and fertilizer, said the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute.

The ongoing credit crisis makes it hard to secure loans for purchasing seeds and fertilizer, and farmers may plant less or switch to less expensive staples, Samarendu Mohanty, head of social sciences at the rice institute, wrote in a quarterly report.

The Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer last year, has already lowered its 2009 rice production estimate by almost 4 percent because farmers were struggling to obtain loans, he said.

AP