The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has alerted that coming years will suffer from severe rice shortage despite recording bumper harvest this year. The non-profit agricultural research institute which operates from Philippines stated in its report that rice market was in for more shortages due to export ban by major rice producing nations.
It pointed out global rice production had increased by one percent from 432 million tons to 428 million tons in its quarterly publication “Rice Today”. The excess production was obtained by extending rice cultivation to an extra one million hectares adding up to the earlier 155.3 million hectares, and half of it was registered by India.
According to IRRI, global consumption is likely to increase by one percent by 2008 – 2009. Though global rice stocks witnessed substantial growth after hitting a low of 73 million tons in 2004-2005, and had reached a level of 78.5 million tons in the previous harvest, marginally higher yield would not suffice as per current projections.
Since last November to this May rice prices skyrocketed before settling at the current levels of $700 per ton. It is not far forgotten, during the price rise, it spurred widespread riots in many countries. It is also feared any agricultural disaster in rice producing nations could prompt another string of rice export bans which was clamped by many nations couple of months back.
The research institute also found rice consumption will remain strong as consumers could not substitute vegetables, fruits or livestock products as they belonged to the expensive domain. The finding further suggests there will not be any substantial addition to the present farming fields as water scarcity and competition for land from non-agricultural uses such as industrialization and urbanization.
IRRI appealed rice producing nations to lay emphasis on expanding their lands in rice cultivation, and to increase investment into the area of this acute global need. It has been extrapolated that the world would need an extra 59 million tons of milled rice by 2020 above the 2007 consumption of 422 million tons.
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