![]() ![]() The AP is solely responsible for all content.According to the General Department of Vietnamese Customs, in the first two months of 2022, Rice exports increased by 49.2% in volume and 31.1% in value over the period Year-on-Year, reaching 974.6 thousand tons, worth USD470 million. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. _Īssociated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. AP reporters Krutika Pathi in New Delhi Zane Irwin in Dakar, Senegal Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed. Ghosal reported from Hanoi, Vietnam, and Musambi from Nairobi, Kenya. “And no one wants to take the risk,” Laothamatas said. With prices fluctuating, exporters don’t know what prices to quote - because prices may spike again the next day. The Thai government expects to ship more rice than it did last year, with its exports in the first six months of the year 15% higher than the same period of 2022.īut the lack of clarity about what India will do next and concerns about the El Nino means Thai exporters are reluctant to take orders, mill operators are unwilling to sell and farmers have increased the prices of unmilled rice, said Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. The Agriculture Ministry says it’s working to increase how much land in the Mekong Delta is dedicated to growing rice by around 500 square kilometers - an area larger than 90,000 football fields.Īlready the Philippines is in talks with Vietnam to try to get the grain at lower prices, while Vietnam also looks to target the United Kingdom, which receives much of its rice from India.īut exporters like Charoen Laothamatas in neighboring Thailand are wary. With rice export prices at a 15-year high and expectations that annual production to be marginally higher than last year, the Southeast Asian nation is trying to keep domestic prices stable while boosting exports. Vietnam, another major rice exporter, is hoping to capitalize. “That’s not good for the export business because it takes years to develop these markets,” Gulati said. Repeated restrictions make India an unreliable exporter, he added. The restrictions will take offline nearly half the country’s usual rice exports this year, said Ashok Gulati of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relation. India’s rice restrictions also were motivated by erratic weather: An uneven monsoon along with a looming El Nino meant that the partial ban was needed to stop food prices from rising, Indian food policy expert Devinder Sharma said. has underscored the need to ensure adequate buffers. The archipelago nation is the second-largest importer of rice after China, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ![]() The Philippines was carefully managing water in anticipation of less rain amid the El Nino when Typhoon Doksuri battered its northern rice-producing region, damaging $32 million worth of rice crops - an estimated 22% of its annual production. Senegal will turn to other trading partners like Thailand or Cambodia for imports, though the West African country is not “far from being self-sufficient” on rice, with over half of its demand grown locally, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Mamadou Aïcha Ndiaye said.Īsian countries, where 90% of the world’s rice is grown and eaten, are struggling with production. Imported rice - 70% of which comes from India - has become prohibitively expensive in Senegal, so he’s eating homegrown rice that costs two-thirds as much. “I am just getting by - sometimes, I’ve trouble taking care of my kids,” he said. While nations with growing populations like Senegal have been trying to grow more of their own rice - many are struggling.Īmadou Khan, a 52-year-old unemployed father of five in Dakar, says his children eat rice with every meal except breakfast, which they often have to skip when he’s out of work. ![]() Rice consumption in Africa has been growing steadily, and most countries are heavily dependent on imports. Scientists expect the one underway to expand to supersized levels, and, in the past, they have resulted in extreme weather ranging from drought to flooding. Another threat is if extreme weather damages rice crops in other countries.Īn El Nino is a natural, temporary and occasional warming of part of the Pacific Ocean that shifts global weather patterns, and climate change is making them stronger. Already, the United Arab Emirates has suspended rice exports to maintain its domestic stocks. What could make the situation worse is if India’s ban on non-basmati rice creates a domino effect, with other countries following suit. ![]()
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