‘If the price of rice jumps, Malaysians want to change their food, what will happen next? ‘
The United Nations (UN) issued a warning that rice would be the next ‘victim’ affected by rising global food prices.
The shift away from expensive sources such as wheat and grains since the ban on Indian wheat exports has paved the way for other alternatives namely rice.
However, with the increase in demand for Asian staple foods while production is slow, it is only a matter of time before rice prices soar.
According to the UN food price index, international rice prices are seen soaring for 5 consecutive months and approaching a 12-month high.
This is due to the increase in the cost of fertilizer and energy (agriculture) since last year, coupled with the crisis of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which hampered production until the outbreak of supply problems.
As a result, some experts stated that the price of rice needs to be monitored even though production is still high at the moment.
Commenting on the chief economist of Japan's Nomura bank, Sonal Varma, the rise in wheat prices that led to the substitution of rice needs to be monitored so as not to trigger a continuous chain of food inflation.
He also stressed that protectionist measures such as the export ban would only worsen the situation as the current rice inventory was still sufficient and the harvest was expected to improve in the summer.
In addition, major rice producing countries such as Thailand and Vietnam are also seen working on rice production and price plans with experts.
It is worth noting that the main rice producing countries are China and India, where the drought situation in India has been the cause of global food supply problems a string of problems of paralysis of Ukrainian wheat production.
