World's poor pay price as crop research is cut

[belfastuniguy 18]

Actually, some suppliers are reporting cutomers doubling their orders, just to be sure that they at least would get some rices. Also, rice is many places the sole ingredient in much of their diet, and though you might be able to pay double for the little rice you use, many Asian and African families will have problems to pay double for their food.quote>

Hence rationing from some suppliers.

Yes I can afford to pay extra for my basmati rice but I understand the issue with poorer nations and as such they require more food aid and/or assiatance with obtaining rice stocks. For many in the developed countries rice is not a life saver but for some it is and those people need to be helped by governments and the UN

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Gridlock

In the commodities market if corn prices rise  wheat ,rice prices rise also .

We are aware the cost of corn has risen due to  present world speculation regarding future oil supplies and price increases . quote>

The news tonight said it's not just speculation in the commodities market.  They basically blamed bio-fuel, ethanol in particular.

Corn is going towards bio-fuel, which means there is less corn for people, and animals to eat, so the price rises.  which raises the price of beef and chicken because the price of their feed has gone up. 

Meanwhile, farmers are growing more corn and less wheat, which is reducing the supply of wheat.  which makes wheat prices go up, raising the price of bread and other wheat products.

Google "biofuel disaster" and pick a website.

[Callbat 8]

Who's brilliant idea was it to use food supplies for petrol...

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: Gridlock

In the commodities market if corn prices rise  wheat ,rice prices rise also .

We are aware the cost of corn has risen due to  present world speculation regarding future oil supplies and price increases . quote>

The news tonight said it's not just speculation in the commodities market.  They basically blamed bio-fuel, ethanol in particular.

Corn is going towards bio-fuel, which means there is less corn for people, and animals to eat, so the price rises.  which raises the price of beef and chicken because the price of their feed has gone up. 

Meanwhile, farmers are growing more corn and less wheat, which is reducing the supply of wheat.  which makes wheat prices go up, raising the price of bread and other wheat products.

Google "biofuel disaster" and pick a website.

quote>

 

The words "I told you so" come to mind.

mabey not me, but im sure this senario was predicted by someone, probably several someones.

But ethanol production was eaiser to get ramped up then the other fuel alternatives.

And a lot of people are making money from Ethanol so its not going to stop.

Even though it hasnt lowered the gas prices and has uped consumption due to

reduced milage creating a  even faster price spiral.

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

confirm: the rise that is facing high prices...is the long-grain ones...not the white-sticky Japanese ones! Yippee! I'm so happy, I will make mochi, fried-rice, and udon all day long!

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: yoshikoroyimara confirm: the rise that is facing high prices...is the long-grain ones...not the white-sticky Japanese ones! Yippee! I'm so happy, I will make mochi, fried-rice, and udon all day long!quote>

 

actualy its all forms, just not as noticable on the one's that were more exepensive anyway, like the jasmins and sushi rices.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Another result of  ethanol production.

Pilgrim's Pride posts loss, blames rising feed costs

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcoSu1qDo6DuUV3Rl8WaCywEGICQD90FNNPG0

Tell me agian how ethanol is going to save us all?

[raja_indy14 8]

As far as i can tell, all it does is reduce carbon emissions from vehicles by around 10%-15% depending on the concentrations used in the gasoline. i think currently it may be less then that, but as more ethanol is produced and cars are made to handle a higher ethanol mix its expected to reduce emissions by something like 20%.

Seems like a very minimal emission reduction benefit in exchange for dramatically rising food prices...

Some poor weather (winter storms in south china for instance), rising costs of corn thanks to ethanol production, the growing middle class in countries like china and india (demanding more and better food) and you start getting higher food prices. This triggers speculative buying and hoarding (I read that in the Phillipines non-licensed warehouses filled to the brim with hoarded rice have been raided by authorities) triggering further price rises, increasing sensationalism, and panic buying - leading to still higher prices...

I also have read that large amounts of food produced in the west are simply destroyed because it would be uneconomical to ship it across the world to other countries.

[Gridlock 9]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: Gridlock

In the commodities market if corn prices rise  wheat ,rice prices rise also .

We are aware the cost of corn has risen due to  present world speculation regarding future oil supplies and price increases . quote>

The news tonight said it's not just speculation in the commodities market.  They basically blamed bio-fuel, ethanol in particular.

Corn is going towards bio-fuel, which means there is less corn for people, and animals to eat, so the price rises.  which raises the price of beef and chicken because the price of their feed has gone up. 

Meanwhile, farmers are growing more corn and less wheat, which is reducing the supply of wheat.  which makes wheat prices go up, raising the price of bread and other wheat products.

Google "biofuel disaster" and pick a website.

quote>

 

The words "I told you so" come to mind.

mabey not me, but im sure this senario was predicted by someone, probably several someones.

But ethanol production was eaiser to get ramped up then the other fuel alternatives.

And a lot of people are making money from Ethanol so its not going to stop.

Even though it hasnt lowered the gas prices and has uped consumption due to

reduced milage creating a  even faster price spiral.

quote>

World oil supplies ,i believe will continue to dwindle ,possibly running out by 2040 , as early as 2023 should demand continue to increase at the same rate or raise slightly , the is much speculation on this ,many believe 90% of the worlds oil reserves have been discovered .

The USA again as i believe , imports 80% of its oil needs from foreign sources,(Iraq, is iraq and its natural resources now belong to the UN and the USA ?but even iraqs oil wont last for ever) ,i believe the US administration are looking for alternative fuels  they have very little chioce ethonal is a acceptable alternative , that can be made at home, i dont believe for one second that any decisions to use ethonol are linked to the issue of Global Climate destabalisation ,

 US oil production was higher in 1930 than it is today  . 1 barrel of oil is = to the labour of 12 men over 12 months , its the most efficient safest natural resource known to man . The fact that the US imports large quantaties of oil is one of the reasons for the nations growing trade deficit . I believe the US is desparate to ease its dependancy on oil for many reasons , dwindling world oil supplies , Poor relationships with the oil producing Nations ,and maybe to ease the deficit or dependancy , dont get me wrong guys in not dissing the US after the UK , i would want to live in the US.

The News may blame Bio Fuels , but one must ask themselves , why is the a  growing demand , for much more labour intensive fuels ,less efficient fuels  .

Directly indirectly i believe , that long term world oil speculation and plans for life after oil , have created the growing demand for bio fuels , the world cannot produce any more oil ,it already produces something like 85million barrels a day ,demand is 87million barrels a day, enough to make a ring of barrels around the globe . World oil production is actualy steadly decreasing and the history of US oil well production is an example of peak oil supply , which many including Boon Dickens believe the world as a whole as surpassed .

A growing demand for bio fuel , satisfied using land once farmed for food ,particularly grains like corn , have directly increased the cost of corn in the stock exchange,  now this commodity is in les

[un1 41]

Originally posted by: Gridlock

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Gridlock Please excuse gramma im an artisan not and english teacherquote>

It doesn't matter what you do for a living. You don't need to be an English teacher to know proper English. You are just as capable of typing things out correctly as anyone else. Don't make stupid excuses and expect people to overlook your sloppiness because of them.

quote>

Stop trolling Duke and go get a life ,you sad lil man .quote>

 

There could be newbies around here that think that you can do it they can do it. Be a good role model!!! Also you didn't do the quote properly... No worries I fixed it for you!

Anyways,

I came to an enrmus conclusion that starvation in Africa, prices of grain and obesity have something in common...

If more people eat more food like sugar cereal that will up the food prices meaning African's can't afford food. To sum it up, the more we eat (which causes obesity) the higher the food prices and ethonal prices and the more money African's or people in poverty have to spend on food...

[krbe 193]

The problem is that much of the food that are available for the poor is rice, and agriculture in Africa isn't necessarily aimed at food. Much of it goes to "luxury" products like cocoa or coffee. And it takes time to grow new crops.

Originally posted by: raja_indy14

I also have read that large amounts of food produced in the west are simply destroyed because it would be uneconomical to ship it across the world to other countries.quote>

Indeed, much is destroyed every day because of expiration dates too; and they're all way lower than they need be. Even tea has expiration dates, accurate to the day!

Then there is all those funny ways that contributes to mountains of butter and seas of milk. Even in these times of rising prices, farmers find a way to defend their national subsidies or the CAP.

[coolotter88 2]

the farmers are being paid to destroy food IIRC, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Farmers need to make a living too, you can't have dramatic drops in food prices, although with the rising food prices, I wouldn't mind if more food was released into circulation or something so food prices stay the same.

[Micah 16]

Are they starting to ration milk? All the food markets in my area (northern Houston) are only allowing people to get 2 jugs of milk. The prices for rice aren't that bad at all, in my area; however, they'll only allow you to get two bags.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Indeed, much is destroyed every day because of expiration dates too; and they're all way lower than they need be. Even tea has expiration dates, accurate to the day!

Then there is all those funny ways that contributes to mountains of butter and seas of milk. Even in these times of rising prices, farmers find a way to defend their national subsidies or the CAP.quote>

I detest the CAP with an absolute passion, I shall spare people my views regarding it.

Some food types are over produced and some should not even be produced at all in some places. European farmers for example grow sugar beet when there is no need for it, its a total waste of energy to grow and make refined sugar from and a waste of money.

To be honest, the vast majority of us here are hardly going to starve are we, food is getting more expensive, but the rises are somewhat modest and supermarket competition, especially here in the UK will stop any major price hikes.

The hardest hit will be the poorest nations and indeed they suffered a further setback after the Burmese cyclone, which destroyed their rice crop, Burma is a net exporter of rice and this will do nothing but harm the current situation yet further.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Rising prices mean that more producers will, uh, produce more of the stuff that costs more money because they can make more. The cost of growing rice hasn't increased, but the market price has increased. Rice growers can profit more, and thus more rice (or whatever) will be grown. Let the market do its job, people. You all need to sit down and take a week to go through ANYTHING written by Thomas Sowell or John Stossel. The government getting involved only screws things up even more, and in this case look directly at the ethanol boggle. This isn't a big deal, but there's no news like bad news so media outlets ramp up the hysteria with illogical and just plain wrong speculation that WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE if someone doesn't do something. This is seriously no big deal. People just need to get out of the way and let everyone do their jobs.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Rising prices mean that more producers will, uh, produce more of the stuff that costs more money because they can make more. The cost of growing rice hasn't increased, but the market price has increased. Rice growers can profit more, and thus more rice (or whatever) will be grownquote>

You've failed to see the problem here. Rice harvests in the countries that produce it have been bad for a couple of years and stocks are now running low. Recently newer crops have failed while consumption continues to increase which has led to further problems. Rice takes time to grow you can't just expect things to return to normal in a couple of weeks or months.

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: NMUSpidey Rising prices mean that more producers will, uh, produce more of the stuff that costs more money because they can make more. The cost of growing rice hasn't increased, but the market price has increased. Rice growers can profit more, and thus more rice (or whatever) will be grown. Let the market do its job, people. You all need to sit down and take a week to go through ANYTHING written by Thomas Sowell or John Stossel. The government getting involved only screws things up even more, and in this case look directly at the ethanol boggle. This isn't a big deal, but there's no news like bad news so media outlets ramp up the hysteria with illogical and just plain wrong speculation that WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE if someone doesn't do something. This is seriously no big deal. People just need to get out of the way and let everyone do their jobs.quote>

The market? Where? At the production stage there is no "market". Farmers in the US and Europe are telling us all the time that they need your tax money in order to survive. Even Sarkozy is embracing the CAP these days. Regimes in Asia have a lot to say about the use of farmland (expropriation for development, and the preservation for food purposes), as they have to balance the need for more land against the risk of domestic unrest because of prices (contrary to what we in the West are experiencing, many families food cost have risen almost 100% the last months—and that hurts in developing economies, when both the amount of costs and the costs themselves rise sharply at the same time. Even in countries where the market until now has determined land use, the government saw the need to stop the conversion of arable land to keep production at least at the same level as today.

The extreme forms of liberalism and socialism work well in a controlled environment, where preferences change slowly, and the balance between supply and demand changes slowly. At the same time, both preferences, supply and demand and production must be able to change quickly to adapt to new conditions.

In reality, preferences don't change that quickly. Some have been able to switch from rice to pasta, but my guess is that that won't be as easily everywhere. The potato is a prime example of how hard it can be to convert a hungry population (that was a long time ago, you say? Don't think that we've come any longer today).

[raja_indy14 8]

Where i live a bag of thai rice that used to cost $9 is now $15, that increase occured over a monthly or, at most, bi-monthly interval.

@ MNU - I agree that allowing the market to fix itself would do a lot of good. However, governments are intensely involved in food production and fiddling around with prices and farmer subisides. Cheese in Canada costs three or four times as much as cheese in the US because of protectionism and dairy regulations. Even food aid, if kept up for too long or managed poorly, can be disastrous for third-world countries since it can depress food prices and make locally grown crops not only uncompetetive on the world market, but in the domestic market as well.

Also, history has shown that purely market driven forces are susceptible to hysteria and crashes. Panic buying and hoarding of rice will only serve to artificially increase food prices further. I agree that the system should be flexible enough to meet dramatic changes in supply and demand, and to react accordingly, but i also think it's neccessary for governments and regulators to keep price fluctuations and absolute prices from swinging too dramatically.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

Ok, so I will concede your point that pure liberalism is as much a pipe dream as pure socialism. The reality is that we're human and we all make mistakes and a perfect utopia is as of yet unattainable.

However, I still think it's better that the government steps back a little bit rather than meddling in a problem with political solutions. The only incentives politicians have is to earn votes and stay in power, and very few, if any of them have any real expertise in economics. To have a pretty face who gives good speeches giving you economic advice and making decisions when there are lives hanging in the balance is a bad idea. I still think that this is a minor issue blown out of all proportion by media outlets known for sensationalizing bad news.

I don't know enough about the Irish Potato Famine to comment on either its causes and effects nor its relativity to the current rice "shortage."

[belfastuniguy 18]

I don't know enough about the Irish Potato Famine to comment on either its causes and effects nor its relativity to the current rice "shortage."quote>

I do..

Completely different situation. People fail to understand that Ireland did have food, it however was exported to Great Britain and eaten in the wealthy areas around Dublin. There was never widespread famine for all people in Ireland. The poor suffered as that was the only thing they had to eat and the government did not help them.

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: NMUSpidey I don't know enough about the Irish Potato Famine to comment on either its causes and effects nor its relativity to the current rice "shortage."quote>

If Aontan has educated me correctly on that one, it was actually a policy of non-intervention by the government that helped fuel the domestic famine, as the Irish continued to export potatoes despite failing crops.

[krbe 193]

Originally posted by: IHT

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines: The brown plant hopper, an insect no bigger than a gnat, is multiplying by the billions and chewing through rice paddies in East Asia, threatening the diets of many poor people.

The damage to rice crops, occurring at a time of scarcity and high prices, could have been prevented. Researchers at the International Rice Research Institute here say that they know how to create rice varieties resistant to the insects but that budget cuts have prevented them from doing so.

This is a stark example of the many problems that are coming to light in the world's agricultural system. Experts say that during the food surpluses of recent decades, governments and development agencies lost focus on the importance of helping poor countries improve their agriculture.

World's poor pay price as crop research is cut, IHT 2008-05-17quote>

Idiots. Just like we did with energy back in the nineties?