This is presented as though it is somehow good news, but what this means is that agribusiness has bought up land in India for the export market. Financial speculators have artificially pushed up the price of grain 40%
above the average cost in the past 10 years. Although the global prices for rice fell when India relaxed its rule prohibiting export of non-basmati rice.
As we have posted earlier, the biodiversity of rice is dramatically reduced by growing for export. Sri Lanka has gone from having more than 110varieties of rice to a mere 6 or 7 constituting more than 90% of their crop due to export.
The manner in which the IMF and World Bank have manipulated the economies of countries they are "helping" has caused the poorest nations to pay the most for food. Listen here: UN's Dawe Says Poor Nations Spend Most on Food
India to Dethrone Thailand, Vietnam as Top Rice Exporter
By Pratik Parija and Prabhudatta Mishra - May 9, 2012 12:07 PM GMT+0200
India, the largest rice grower after China, is poised to rival Vietnam as the world's biggest shipper, ending Thailand's 30-year reign, afterfavorable weather and higher government prices boosted the harvest to a
record.
Exports may climb to 7 million metric tons in the year ending Aug. 31, said Samarendu Mohanty, a senior economist at the International Rice Research Institute. That's more than double the 2.8 million tons shipped in
2010-2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vietnam will export 7 million tons and Thailand 6.5 million tons, USDA data show.
Rice, the staple for half the world, has slumped 18 percent since reaching the highest price since 2008 in September after India ended a three-year ban on exports of non-basmati varieties. Prices will probably stay under pressure in coming months as global production outpaces demand for an eighth year. That may extend a decline in global food costs, which fell for the first time this year in April, United Nations data show. Thailand was the top shipper last year with 10.6 million tons.
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