2023-08-31 19:51:00
New Delhi: India halted exports of non-Basmati white rice in late July to curb price hikes and ensure local availability. This has also led to an increase in the price of rice at the international level. Countries around the world are blocking the export of food products due to various reasons. Experts in this field have raised the fear that the world is heading towards starvation.
According to the World Bank’s Food Security Update in July this year, a total of 20 countries have imposed export restrictions on major food items. Countries like Afghanistan (wheat), Bangladesh (rice), Cameroon (vegetable oil and cereals), Russia and Uganda have already imposed export taxes on certain products like sunflower oil, wheat, barley, maize and rice. The indication is that the change in weather is reflected in the market. The crisis escalates as the war in Ukraine escalates.
Dozens of countries depend on rice from India. Especially countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. When India imposed a ban on rice exports, global markets panicked. Following the pressure, India allowed the export of basmati rice to Bhutan, Mauritius and Singapore.
But India’s explanation is that climate change, El Nino influence and drought in other rice producing countries are the reasons for the rise in rice prices.
A severe heat wave in 2022 has hit India’s wheat production. India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world. As the export from India was stopped, the global wheat price also increased.
This is the second year in a row that India has imposed restrictions on rice exports. Argentina, the world’s largest soy exporter and grain producer, is facing its worst drought in 60 years.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil exporter, suspended exports last year following rising prices fueled international competition for edible oils, particularly as supplies of sunflower oil from Ukraine were also disrupted by the war. Brazil, a major producer of soy oil, is also in the grip of drought.
Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population. The requirement is more than 50 crore metric tons every year. India accounts for 40 percent of global rice exports. Other major partners include Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and the US. are.
In terms of basmati rice, India accounted for 10 percent of the world market requirement. The crisis increased following India imposed restrictions.
Countries including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nepal and Bangladesh are Basmati rice fans. Cameroon and Madagascar were recently added to this list.
India had imposed an export duty on non-basmati white rice in September 2022 to ensure adequate domestic supply. But the exports did not decrease. Exports have increased by 25 percent from September to March compared to the previous year. Rice prices are now at their highest level since September 2011, according to FAO’s All Rice Price Index. The price of Thai white rice, which is considered the benchmark price of rice, increased by around 14 percent following India’s announcement.
After the 2020 covid, the prices of food products are increasing. The Department of Food and Agricultural Economics at the University of Bonn found that the prices of food items such as wheat, maize, rice and oil have increased to a large extent.
Global food prices hit an all-time high in March 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made matters worse.
Before the war, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 34 percent of global exports of wheat, 27 percent of barley, 17 percent of corn, and 55 percent of sunflower oil. North Africa and Central Asia received 50 percent of their grain supply from Russia and Ukraine.
Exports from Ukraine almost stopped following March 2022. Although it has resumed in July 2023, the country is still at war. It is reported that the countries of the world are starving. About 9.2 percent of the world’s population (78.3 million people) faced hunger in 2022. According to the State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World report, 7.9 percent of people faced hunger in 2019.
Wildfires in Canada and Europe, droughts in South America and East Africa, and floods in dry parts of China and California are all part of climate change. The backlash of this is reflected in the food market.
In 2022 Pakistan was devastated by floods and the countries of the world did not take it seriously. Agriculture in an area as large as the Czech Republic was destroyed. Argentina and Spain are in the grip of drought.
Australia, the world’s fourth-largest grain exporter, is reportedly expecting a 34 percent drop in wheat yields this year. Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Haiti, Chile and Bolivia will also experience lower yields this year due to adverse weather conditions.
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