Markets, not governments, should rule international rice prices: TREA
The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz Rice exporters have won the contest against government intervention and populist policies in Thailand. No wonder, the country notched up two points to fetch the 26th rank in World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business (for the year ending May 31, 2014) despite the political turmoil it has seen in the last few years. Interestingly, in the “Trading Across Borders” sub-index, Thailand has dropped three places to 36. And the country’s rice support programme, which was discontinued earlier this year by the caretaker government, could be one of the reasons. The Thai government under Yingluck Shinawatra started the ambitious rice pledging program in 2011 as a part of its electoral promise. Against the ...
India forecast to retain top rice exporter position in 2014
The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz Recovery in monsoons in India is likely to help rice production remain at high levels this year, says FAO Despite poor rainfall, India is likely to remain the world’s largest rice exporter in 2014 for the third consecutive year, helped by large carryover stocks, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). FAO says that India’s total paddy production this year may decline to around 157.5 million tonnes (about 102.3 million tonnes, milled rice equivalent), which is down about 1% from last year’s record 159.4 million tonnes due to below-average monsoon rains over main rice producing regions. However, rice cultivation has improved after rainfall recovered since mid-July 2014. FAO adds that after the bumper ...
