Posted on 03/28/2008 4:33:34 AM PDT by fishhound
Rice prices jumped 30 per cent to an all-time high on Thursday, raising fears of fresh outbreaks of social unrest across Asia where the grain is a staple food for more than 2.5bn people.
The increase came after Egypt, a leading exporter, imposed a formal ban on selling rice abroad to keep local prices down, and the Philippines announced plans for a major purchase of the grain in the international market to boost supplies. Global rice stocks are at their lowest since 1976. On Friday the Indian government imposed further restrictions on the exports of rice to combat rising local inflation, with traders warning that the new regime would de facto stop all India’s non-basmati rice sales.
The measures include raising the minimum price for selling abroad non-basmati rice by 53 per cent to $1,000 a tonne. Exports of premium basmati rice are likely to continue, although volumes could also suffer as the government also increased the minimum export price and scrapped export tax incentives.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
Let’s see, I buy a bag of rice about once every three years.
This will put more pressure on other grain prices.If the US should put an export block on wheat like some people are asking,the result would be chaos in Asia food markets.
Carolyn
I eat rice at least 3 times a week. Very good stuff. Morning breakfast with butter and sugar, evening with chicken and apricot sauce. Hmmm!!!!!
Little things like keeping their populations from rioting will always come first.
The price of rice is affected by the scarcity of the other grains which is affected by America converting grainfields from from production for the table to production for the gas tank. Add in a bad harvest or two and we have a serious problem.
Maybe they can start using rice for ethanol to solve the problem.
Worked so well for corn, etc.
Maybe they can start eating switch grass instead.
We eat a lot of it, too. At least 3-4 times a week. I buy it in either large, 20# I think, bags or multiples at a time of the smaller bags. And the dogs eat a rice formula dog food— they go thru 40# of dog food in about a week & a half.
http://www.aragriculture.org/agfoodpolicy/radio/may2007/044_05222007_audio.htm
http://oryza.com/World-Rice-Trade/global-rice-trade.html
If I’m getting these conversions right (cwt to tons), world rice production is about 421 million tons, of which the US produces 9 million tons.
Last summer rice prices were in the $300 per ton range.
If today’s prices are nearing $1,000 per ton, there should be a bunch of happy US farmers!
And maybe we’ll see a lot more rice planted this year?
Sounds like an economic opportunity to me...
American scientists have engineered a rice plant with a stronger stalk capable of holding a higher percentage of rice grains out of the water in the rice patties. This results in a much higher yield per plant.
Of course the nations whose people depend on rice for survival have been very reluctant to use the new plant because of the lies told by western limosine liberals who oppose “genetically modified plants”.
In this age, mass starvations are caused by left wing policies and not by acts of nature.
A comedian once said that you can tell what part of the country someone is from by the starch they eat. In the Midwest, it’s potatoes, in the Southwest, it’s corn. On the East coast, it’s pasta, and in the Deep South, it’s rice.
Let’s start funding research on the catastrophic consequences of overreaction to fictitious Global Warming Propaganda.
Seriously.
Food or fuel? And the deciding factor is...?
(Geez, I can’t get to the food riots because I can’t afford the $8.00 a gallon ethanol for my motor bike.)
I have no idea what you are talking about.
However, I do like...
Gumbo with white rice
Yellow rice
Brown rice
Red beans and rice
Black beans and rice
Dirty rice
Jumbalaya with white rice
Corn beef hash and rice
Etouffee with white rice
Spanish rice
Shrimp creole with white rice
About 4-5 times a week.
Other than that, I hardly touch the stuff.
I like to eat chili over rice. Mmmm.
But color me shocked at the EU!
I believe the major rejections of GM crops came about because the producing countries were exporting to the EU, which will not, or at least did not,accept genetically modified food.
White four is still about .50/pound in 5# bags. About 3 weeks ago I saw 25# bags of white flour at Sam’s Club for $7.25. Rice lasts a long time here, but I do glance at the price when I am shopping and IIRC, within the past couple of weeks, 2 lb bags of domestic white rice at Walmart were also about .55/pound. The imported basmati from Nepal/Bhutan/Tibet was about $.75/pound last time I purchased and I still have over 12# on hand. You can find 5# and 8# bags of dried pasta for even less, about .35—.40/pound, depending on type. The weak dollar increases the price of imported grains, of course.
It doesn’t help that the Asian economies are resorting to price/export controls. That always causes shortages and hoarding and is only a political expedient. The global cold weather hurt all grain crops.
A lot of people are panicking, IMO. If we have a global obesity epidemic as we are told, then here is chance for everyone to lose a bit of weight. If stocks are short and demand is up, enterprising producers somewhere will plant more and some capitalistic nations will use it to generate income.
Wonder if Zatarain's is publicly traded?
We had better get used to top ramen and hot dogs.
One thing about high prices for corn, is that it tends to make people switch to other inexpensive sources of carbohydrates
Ramen noodles is my family’s carb choice. They eat that stuff like it’s going out of style. Me, I can’t stand it.
With a serious worldwide wheat shortage all grains will be under tremendous pressure until this year's record-breaking bumper crop comes on line.
All that's happened is that last year was slightly cooler and dryer than normal. That's always bad for wheat production. If the lower relative humidity continues through this year in the Northern hemisphere we'll see an overabundance of rats and mice, followed with Black Death, and the total destruction of the global economy.
Could be grim.
With a serious worldwide wheat shortage all grains will be under tremendous pressure until this year's record-breaking bumper crop comes on line.
All that's happened is that last year was slightly cooler and dryer than normal. That's always bad for wheat production. If the lower relative humidity continues through this year in the Northern hemisphere we'll see an overabundance of rats and mice, followed with Black Death, and the total destruction of the global economy.
Could be grim.
No substitution occurred.
hey if us *real* beer drinkers have to put up with high hops prices, then it’s only fair you Bud and Coors drinkers have to pay up too :-P
Actually, we use rice in much of our food.
I believe that ramen is made from rice. (After all, it is a product that was introduced here from Indochina.) Many beers are made from rice, Bud, Coors, and some other designer/yuppie beers.
Rice goes into our bread, flour, cake mixes, baby foods, etc. We eat much more of it than people realize.
LOL!
Maybe we'll see the formation of a grain cartel like OPEC. Swap food for oil.
You’d think that Louisiana was the major rice exporting state but, it isn’t. It’s California.
It looks like Arkansas is going to lose a lot of their wheat crop now.
Even steak sauce is contaminated.
Did not realize that.
Wonder where it is wet enough for rice in California?
Thanks for the info.
Maybe here but, I've also considered that it was a play on the word export...maybe not grown in California?
That could be misleading like Florida is the #1 cattle exporting state. (Not beef, cattle.)
That will stop if they make “ricenol” for feul. But large swarths of populations would then expire.
Amazing. Rice can be 50% of the diet there
Rice is classically grown in the flat lowlands that mountain waters irrigate. This is born out in California. Here's the number one California organic rice grower. They also market non organic rice but none of that white rice crap. All un-hulled brown rice
This is what you use to make sushi.
Keep in mind that rice comes in short, medium and long grain lengths. It also comes in high, medium, and low gluten content. Long grain, high gluten rice is a new "frankenfood" product. Short grain, high gluten rice is an old staple.
California's short grain sticky rice commands a premium price throughout the sushi loving world.
By brand that's usually going to be Nishiki or Kokuo Rose.
I saw that story on the flooding there.Not good.We got about 3 inches of rain here in northern Ohio last night.That rain will set us back another week on getting started this spring.Plus it’s predicted to rain on 5 of the next 10 days here.
“I believe the major rejections of GM crops came about because the producing countries were exporting to the EU, which will not, or at least did not,accept genetically modified food.”
I got a copy of this book. I consider the GM stuff pretty scary. They made lettuce that burned pickers hands.
Acoording to the book the GM ideal was started by the heads of Monsanto as a way to corner the seed market. The research listed in the book, that is used to promote the GM, was shaky. According to the book there are intereactions with the food and the human digestion system that were not expected and aren’t really discussed as they promote GM products.
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfm
I am not convinced about the safety GM foods yet.
My 2 cents.
Yeah, and GM food will also deplete your natural essences.
All the blurbs on that site supporting the book are far left anti-human, anti-capitalism morons shilling for their own scams.
Lettuce that burned the pickers’ hands? Why didn’t the Farm Workers Union strike, sue and have their leftwing shills shout about this in all the media?
You, I and most of the world have been eating GM foods for decades. The populations are growing, heights have increased, longevity has increased and obesity is a world-wide cause celebre.
Our local organic coop, the largest in the country (Organic Valley) admitted they imported cattle feed supplements from China that contained melamine. There was one obscure article about it on one obscure organic farming blog. The person in charge of this stated that they would “just wait until this blew over.”
Please show me actual damages objectively documented from the ingestion of GM foods. This entire scare regime is just like Y2K, AGW,medication/hormone residue found in water supplies. A scintilla of reality blown into a firestorm of fear, aimed at increasing anxiety in people so that they do not notice that they are being controlled, deprived of liberty and economically raped by exhorbitant prices for food that is either no different nutritionally or less nutritious that that grown by commercial processes.
The entire organic, anti-GM, anti-BGH hoohaw is BS. They intend for all of us to “pay what food really costs”, yet they use illegal immigrant workers, treat all their workers poorly, use diesel and truck their goods from one end of the country to another.
The other revenue generating aspect of large scale organic farming are the membership dues, the inspection fees, certification fees, mandatory *organic* feed/fertilizer purchases from the inspection organizations which are subsidieries of the organic farming coops, and, in the case of organic milk at Organic Valley, a percentage charged the producer. That percentage is off the books in a slush fund. When a board member and egg producer blew the whistle on this slush fund several years ago, she was booted off the board. Her husband lost his job managing the egg division. The CEOs family immediately began a huge organic/free range egg production business. The only thing organic about it is the label on the feed bags. When the mill runs out of organic feed, they privately admit to just filling the bags with regular corn. The free range aspect is also bogus. They give the chickens the *choice* of leaving the cage to go into the denuded chicken yard. Chickens stay where there is food. When one brave editor of one local weekly began to publish these scandals, she received a call from the multi-millionaire CEO and was told to shut up or face legal charges.
In today’s economy, these same organic producers are the ones who block all energy extraction, all resource use that they do not control and gradual reduction of your use of your private property. After mandating that all coal generation be *clean* through the use of scrubbers, they are now, in my area, protesting that the resultant fly ash, which, due to the scrubbing, can no longer be recycled, must be sequestered in expensive landfills near their precious organic farms. Last week, they attended the permitting meeting for the mandated scrubbers to insist on a moritorium of scrubber installation until the fly ash could be disposed of or recycled “some other way.” They have no ideas how to do that, but NIMBY rules.
They are all hypocrites growing wealthy on promoting fear.
Please continue to panic, if you so choose.
/rant
Hey, thats an articulate post. I will get back to you. Thaanks. I am short on time but I appreciate that you posted it. The thing I got from the book was the science related stuff. The politics that you posted seems far more hideous.
Bookmark.
I would triple check all the *science stuff*. Just as w/Y2k and AGW, the anti-GM people disrtort. Also, you have to be very careful and check out all the affiliations of the *scientists* and institutions providing the *science stuff*. Many are funded by the far left. An example is the Environmental News Service, which was founded and is run by former Gore and Clinton staffers. There are numerous European institutions that are in the service of the Greens; these are actually the first folks who began to complain about endrocrine disruptors in soft plastics. If you don’t feel qualified to vet their sources/*proofs*, find someone who can. The various sceptic organizations are a good place to begin, IMO.
I found that in the book the first people who were supposed to make studies of the GM when it was first proposed in colleges were treated the same way that the scientists who are skeptical of Global warming were treated. They were made pariahs. I think global warming is BS. There is a clear example of a guy who wanted to do a study of GM potatoes in England when the issue was first brought up. But the guy was ostracised and stripped of his responsibilities. All the guy did was point out faults with the procedures of the study.
They croaked the guy.
Also, one thing the author says is that they(scientists) proceeded believing there was a more limited expression per gene but over time it was revealed that there was more genetic expression than they had known when they started. They thought they new all the variables resulting from changing sequences but they did not. Then they assumed that they knew the variables of what happened when the food was eaten. But they did not exactly. There were some plants designed with resistance ie to make thier own pesticides. They found that in the digestive system some of the pesticide created by the plant would re-synthesize. They found that it would happen after the stomach and in the intestines.(that got my attention because I always assumed that the acids in the stomach wipe out everything.) But this got squashed.
I found that in one study they used only people who had had some type colostomy bags (that is strange in itself) then they omited the fact that these people this limitation.
The other thing that got my attention was what was called “collateral damage”. In inserting snipets of gene into a sequence there are parts on either side (in the recieving sequence) that get damaged. These then will have thier own and in some cases new genetic expression.
I mostly just don’t like the idea that i see the same treatment of scientists who were skeptical of GM now being given to those who are skeptical of global warming.
I guess it is the denial of questioning forced on departments as money flows in to the schools.
They get paid to do the questioning but then they get the bums rush.
Also that the idea really did get going through one company Monsanto really made me wonder. Because all at once it was all over the world as a funding program.
The South African’s are oil indepent of the middle East as they make thier own feul from coal. Have been since apartied told the world to screw way back when they had power. Yet no one is funding departments to copy or better their processes.
I am no bleeding heart. As for the ads on the guys page i have had the book about 5 years and when I bought it there wasn’t any of those ads. I know he went through a lot of grief for writing the book. And he says that Monsanto sends lawyers to his book signings and they hand out protest papers wherever he speaks. As for the ads he probably said screw it and gets revenue for it. Even Drudge has screwball ads.
I like underdogs and the guy is no micheal more type jerk.
It is a challenging read...as genetics is boring. I hope i have explained myself. There was a genetic rice an Indian researcher made that made the rice a complete protien. And one rice or bean that provided vitamin D ie to stop blindness amomg the poor in growing children.(Ie no vitamin D pills necessary because it is built into it). Those are good things.
PS what the h is “an essence” that you had written? I have never hear that before.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread345113/pg1
Thats over the top.
One of a thousand ways liberals have hurt the people who live on this planet...
As in, it’s crap.
As in, it’s crap.
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