this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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The Indian rice export ban, the war in Ukraine and El Niño are combining to create a "doom loop" for the world's poorest people, as staple food prices soar.

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[–] Anissem@lemmy.ml 165 points 1 year ago (39 children)
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[–] o_oli@lemmy.world 143 points 1 year ago (1 children)

More very real effects of global warming that will be ignored or blamed on other things no doubt.

Global warming will fuck us indirectly before the weather on a Sunday afternoon is actually the problem, many seem to miss that.

[–] Green_Bay_Guy@lemmy.ml 35 points 1 year ago

In Vietnam we're losing crop because of saltwater backflow on the Mekong. Dams have been built in several places upstream and all the reservoirs are being filled.

[–] flyingsquirrel@lemmy.ca 91 points 1 year ago (38 children)

Mainwhile, Russia is actively engaged in the destruction of Ukraine wheat export terminals, and India remains silent.

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 78 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


The cost of rice — a staple food for nearly half the world's population — and other essentials, like wheat, corn and vegetable oils, are rising as geopolitical forces, extreme weather and a dawning El Niño disrupt global trade.

In its most recent rice outlook, the USDA said India was expected to ship a record 23.0 million tonnes in 2024, exceeding the combined shipments of the next two largest exporters — Thailand and Vietnam.

The Indian government runs the world's largest food distribution program, catering to about 800 million people, according to McDonald Pelz business manager Sumit Gupta.

The Indian government has a policy of maintaining reserves of key commodities, and as it assessed the risk of El Niño, and the rapid pace of rice exports this year, it brought the trade to a close on July 20.

"This sharp increase in exports can be ascribed to high international prices due to [the] geo-political scenario, El Niño sentiments and extreme climatic conditions in other rice-producing countries," the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in its statement declaring the ban.

At a conference in St Petersburg recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged 25,000-50,000 tons of free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea in the coming months.


I'm a bot and I'm open source!

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[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago

At the same time as Ukrainian wheat issues with the blockade could be a really big issue.

[–] TIEPilot@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

When staple foods (rice/wheat/beans/corn) inflate in price the poor starve.

[–] Nijuu@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Is 70% correct?. I thought Thailand and Vietnam were just as big of producers? (we get more rice from thailand/vietnam/cambodia/+ grow our own locally here in australia). I never buy basmati.....

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[–] ahriboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Why can't South Asian diaspora just buy Thai jasmine rice instead?

[–] woooferine@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Hong Kong here. We have rice almost everyday and apparently, we don't import them from India. Yet the "Rice Association" said that due to the India ban, the price of rice in Hong Kong will likely to rise by 10% in October.

The nations used to import from India are buying from everyone else, and that drives up the prices.

Edit: typo

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[–] Parsnip8904@beehaw.org 17 points 1 year ago

Because they're really different. People who don't eat rice as a staple aren't aware how much varieties there are and how different they taste. There are three specific varieties used just in my own house for lunch, breakfast dishes and dinner respectively.

Japanese or Thai rice are totally different in taste, consistency and texture.

It would be like trying to bake using whole wheat flour instead of refined flour.

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