Current Global Rice Shortage Projected to Be the Worst in the Last 20 Years
Researchers have found that rice output is declining in countries like China, the United States, and the European Union, raising costs for more than 3.5 billion people worldwide, notably in the Asia-Pacific, where 90% of the world’s rice consumers come from.
According to reports, the world’s rice market will face a big deficit in 2023. Researchers stated that a shortfall of this size for one of the most widely grown grains would be harmful to major importers.
On April 4, Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research analysts released a report predicting that rice prices will remain around current highs until 2024.
Based on the reported analysis, the price of rice will only decrease to $14.50 per cwt in 2024 from an average of $17.30 per cwt through 2023. Cwt is a unit of measurement used for certain goods, including rice.
Charles Hart, one of the analysts of Fitch, stated that rice is a staple food found in numerous Asian markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Therefore, the price increment in rice plays a significant role in determining food security and price inflation, especially for the poorest households.
Researchers also predicted that there would be an 8.7 million tonnes global deficit in the year 2022 to 2023. As a result, this will be the biggest global rice shortage since the global rice markets produced a deficit of 18.6 million tonnes from 2003 to 2004.
