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| Thailand is encouraging farmers to switch to crops that require less water. |
Billions of people in Asia and Africa are affected by soaring rice prices and they will continue to rise in the coming time, according to experts and international articles.
According to Thailand's Bangkok Post, rice contributes up to 60% of total calories for people in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, rising to 70% in countries like Bangladesh.
Mr. Joseph Glauber, a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington (USA), commented that higher rice prices will contribute to food inflation, especially for poor households in major rice consuming countries in Asia.
A professor of food security research at Harvard University (USA) predicts that rice prices could increase by $100/ton within 6-12 months.
Most of the world's rice is grown and consumed in Asia, where farmers are struggling with heat and drought.
Thailand, the world's second-largest rice exporter, is encouraging farmers to switch to crops that require less water, while farmers in Indonesia's top rice-producing regions are planting corn and cabbage in anticipation of drought.
Meanwhile, the biggest risk is whether El Nino and climate change will disrupt agricultural production and push up overall food inflation, said Chua Hak Bin, senior economist at Maybank Investment Banking Group in Singapore.
This could trigger more protectionist policies, including export controls, which could exacerbate global food shortages and price pressures, he said.
BUI THANH (According to VTV.vn)
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