Thursday, May 22, 2008
+hi shaoying here again. this is an article i have found on the straits times online. yay (:
Rising rice prices spark concerns across Asia
A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia.
MANILA - PHILIPPINE activists warn about possible riots. Aid agencies across Asia worry how they will feed the hungry. Governments dig deeper every day to fund subsidies.
A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple.
Part of a surge in global food costs, rice prices on world markets have jumped 50 per cent in the past two months and at least doubled since 2004. Experts blame rising fuel and fertiliser expenses as well as crops curtailed by disease, pests and climate change. There are concerns prices could rise a further 40 per cent in coming months.
The higher prices have already sparked protests in the Philippines, where a government official has asked the public to save leftover rice. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on rice exports on Wednesday to curb rising prices at home.
Vietnamese exporters and farmers are stockpiling rice in expectation of further price increases.
Ms Prestoline Suyat of the May One Labor Movement, a left-wing workers group, warned that 'hunger and poverty may eventually lead to riots'. The neediest are hit hardest.
Mr Rodolfo de Lima, a 42-year-old parking lot attendant in Manila, said 'my family will go hungry' if prices continue to rise.
'If your family misses a meal, you really don't know what you can do, but I won't do anything bad,' said Mr de Lima, whose right foot was amputated after he was shot during a 1985 gang war.
Others might not be so restrained, said Mr Domingo Casarte, 41, a street vendor.
'There are people who are hotheaded,' he said. 'When people get trapped, I can't say what they will do.'
The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts global rice stocks for 2007-08 at 72 million tonnes, the lowest since 1983-84 and about half of the peak in 2000-01.
The higher prices are stretching the budgets of aid agencies providing rice to North Korea and other countries, particularly with donations already falling.
Mr Jack Dunford, head of a consortium in Thailand helping more than 140,000 refugees from military-ruled Myanmar, said soaring rice prices and a slumping US dollar are forcing cuts in already meagre food aid.
'This rice price is just killing us,' he said. 'This is a very vulnerable group of people under threat.' China is among several countries in the region that subsidise rice prices, an increasingly expensive proposition.
Rice prices have almost doubled in Bangladesh in just a year, sparking resentment but no unrest yet. Repeated floods and a severe cyclone last year have cut production, forcing the government to increase imports.
In Vietnam, a major rice exporter, the crop has been hit by a virus called tungro and infestations of the brown planthopper insect.
Farmers there say they are not benefiting from the higher prices.
'The rice price has gone up 50 per cent over the past three months, but I'm not making any more money because I have to pay double for fertiliser, insecticides and labour costs,' said Mr Nguyen Thi Thu, 46, a farmer in Ha Tay province, just outside Hanoi.
Another farmer, Ms Cao Thi Thuy, 37, in Nam Dinh province, 120 kilometres south of Hanoi, said exporters have actually been paying less for rice over the last week.
'If the world prices are going up still, then Vietnamese rice-exporting companies are benefiting, not us,' she said. 'They tell us that now weather is better, and rice can grow more easily, so we should not expect higher prices.'
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, worried about anything that could spark a 'people power' revolt against her, is assuring the public that rice won't run out or skyrocket in price during the traditionally lean months of July to September.
This week, she arranged the purchase of up to 1.5 million tonnes from Vietnam. She also has ordered a crackdown on price manipulation, hoarding and profiteering on subsidised rice, and will hold a food summit April 4.
Things are so tight that Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has asked people not to throw away leftover rice and urged fast-food restaurants, which normally give customers a cup of rice with meals, to offer a half-cup option to cut waste.
The Philippines is facing 'a perfect storm', said Senator Mar Roxas, president of the Liberal Party. Problems coping with rising rice prices are compounded by higher oil prices and a US economic downturn, which could reduce the money sent home to families by Filipinos working in the United States. Such remittances underpin the economy.
Philippine farmers say the country, which has become the world's largest importer of rice after being an exporter in the early 1970s, has shot itself in the foot by developing some former rice paddies for housing and golf courses and planting more lucrative crops on others.
One Asian country, Japan, is encouraging cuts in rice production.
Rice prices there have been falling in recent months as people eat less rice and more bread. -- AP
Review: Due to the increase in demand for bio-fuels, many peasants have switched their crops into sugar canes in order to ear more profits. that leads to a new problem, a decrease in supply for rice. in addition, due to the rising cost in fuel and fertiliser, there is an increase in the cost of production. all these factors will result in a decrease in supply, which is illustrated by a leftward shift of the supply curve.
In addition, due to the rising population, especially in Asia, that led to an increase in demand for rice.
an increase in demand and a decrease in supply will cause the equilibrium price to rise. this changes reinforce each other, leading to a higher price. at the sam time,the increase in demand leads to a larger quantity, while decrease in supply leads to a smaller quantity. these changes do not reinforce each other, but work in opposite directions. the quantity exchanged is indeterminate.
in the past, whenever i see articles on rising food prices, i would ignore it, as it doesnt make sense to me. i am glad now i understand it yay :)
Shao Ying (22)
Output time: 8:42 PM
