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The Golkar Institute in Jakarta, Indonesia held a Presidential Lecture Series and invited former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be a guest speaker. In the event, Arroyo delivered a lecture that focused on food security.

The Philippines and Vietnam are in talks to sign a 5-year rice trade agreement amid rising global rice prices. According to the two countries, the rice trade will ensure food security for the Philippines.

The International Rice Research Institute is building a new facility called the Speed Breed Facility where new rice varieties can develop and grow faster than normal. The facility is scheduled to be completed in early 2024.

In an interview with a Food Safety professor, the risk of global rice supply shortage is inevitable. He cites climate change as the number one cause of the impending food shortage.

The President of the Philippines, who is also the chief of the Department of Agriculture, stated that his administration is currently working with its partners in the government and the private sector to bring down rice prices. He described rice supply to be the country’s “most critical problem”.

Rice is consumed by nearly 60% of the of the global population. According to a report, the increasing demand for rice will spur the growth of the global hybrid rice seeds market, projected to grow up to 5.43 billion USD in the year 2027.

Great Harvest Rice Mill Warehouse, San Pedro Warehouse, and FS Rice Mill Warehouse, all located in Bulacan, were shut down by the Bureau of Customs as they were found to be storing more than 200,000 sacks of imported rice from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

China is currently the world’s leading rice producer. However, due to heavy rain and flood risks, the soaked grains will reduce crop yields for the year. A report has revealed that this can cause global rice prices to soar even higher.

The recent update in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization All Rice Price Index showed that rice prices soared at their highest amount in almost 12 years. The agency said that the prices could rise further.

The effects of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain initiative, India’s prohibition of rice exports, and the El Niño phenomenon pose a threat to global rice production but according to the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines, supply and demand of rice is stable.