Just because you are very far from Wall Street doesn't mean the pie is no longer situation in the sky. Just a day after Vietnam shocked this part of the world with record setting prices for kind-of-crappy rice, traders and analysts began spreading the word that rice prices are bound to come back down to earth once those damned little Philipinos have bought their share.
Rice futures don't care, however, and continue to rise based on fears that exporting countries may impose curbs to keep domestic supplies high and prices low. Governments all across South East Asia fear the popular backlash from high domestic rice rpices. China already has quotas in place, as do Egypt, Vietnam and India. Thailand could be next.
Some savvy investors say global food trends--corn being turned into fuel, for instance--are driving up demand for rice. As other grains and carb sources are chewed up by the green revolution, the world may increasingly turn to rice (already the most popular food on the planet). More corn in the gas tank means less rice in the curry.
Related: Sam's Club limiting sales of rice [Reuters]
--John Carney is eating all the rice he can.
Posted by guest, Apr 23, 2008 11:56AM
I loved posts when people have been putting back the sauce.