SINGAPORE/MUMBAI/NAIROBI – Tightening global supplies of basic foodstuffs and disruptions to shipping caused by the coronavirus pandemic are driving up the cost of rice, the most important staple food for billions of people worldwide.
Rising food prices are a worrying trend in countries that depend on imports, while the cost of rice is politically sensitive in many parts of Asia and Africa. A spike in the price of the grain led to unrest in several countries during the world food crisis of 2008.
Benchmark rice prices jumped 20 percent-45 percent in key Asian producers last year, while demand for lower-quality rice as an alternative animal feed and soaring shipping costs are raising concerns that poorer nations that rely on imports may face shortfalls in supplies.
“There are no immediate supply issues in Africa, but if exports from Asia get curbed … it could lead to worries between June and October which is traditionally a lean (production) period for northern and western Africa,” said FAO rice economist Shirley Mustafa in Rome.
“Logistical bottlenecks could lead to food supplies getting squeezed and food inflation, potentially aggravating the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Sub-Saharan Africa is a major rice buyer, depending on imports for 40 percent of regional consumption, while in many parts of South and Southeast Asia – by far the top rice producer and exporter – rice is served at most meals.
The price rises come as measures to slow the coronavirus pandemic distorted global food supply lines in 2020, adding to concerns about food security.
At the same time strong demand from China sent global cereal prices to their highest in 6 years, according to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).
