Demand for rice increased significantly in many countries after the outbreak of coronavirus, which led to a sharp increase in prices, and in the meantime several countries suspended their exports.
As a result of the spread of coronavirus, people are still ready for shopping. Fearing food shortages or store closures, rice, pasta and flour quickly disappeared from store shelves.
Europe is also sensitive to the spring peak of the Asian epidemic, which has significantly reduced rice production. India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, China and the United States are currently the main exporters of rice.
In some Asian countries, rice is used to make wine and beer.
Rice is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in Asia, as many farmers and traders have been forced to stop producing or selling because of the epidemic. China has suspended rice exports due to rising food prices and low spring sowing. Here, food prices rose 21.9% in February. Thai and US rice prices rose last week to their highest level in 6 years, while in Vietnam it was above the 16-month average.
Thai reference prices for export rice were raised on Thursday from $ 470-495 per ton to $ 480-505. This is the highest price since August 2013. Prices in Vietnam rose to $ 410 per ton, the highest level since November 2018.
Bangkok rice traders believe rice prices will continue to rise. It is assumed that this trend will continue at least until the middle of the year, because so many countries are trying to replenish food supplies. However, both Asian and US countries will need rice to supply their population, and exports from these countries are not expected.
- According to official Cambodian data released on Monday, July 8, rice exports from Cambodia to the European Union sharply declined after tariffs were introduced in the first half of the year, but losses were offset by increased sales to China.
- Kien Giang is the province with the largest rice production area in the Mekong Delta region, with more than 290,000 ha, and is a coastal province, so if salt water is not properly controlled, it will cause great damage.
- A German-Vietnamese research team used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to show that rice and shrimp farming is alternately a viable, reversible option for rice growers affected by climate change in the Mekong coastal delta in Vietnam.
