Asia’s rice price rises to two-year highs

Rice prices in Asian trading today rose to their highest levels in more than two years, as importers trend to increase stocks for fear of crop damage due to the El Niño phenomenon in many producing countries.

Bloomberg reported that the price of Thai white rice, the benchmark price for the Asian market, has risen today by 5 per cent to rise over the past four months by nearly 15 per cent to $535 per ton, the highest level since early March 2021, according to data from the Thai Rice Exporters’ Association.

According to the World Climate Organization, the El Niño phenomenon began to form in the Pacific tropics for the first time in seven years, threatening droughts throughout South-East Asia. This comes three days after the world’s temperature reached a record high, raising fears of the pace of climate change.

While monsoon rains have boosted expectations for India’s top rice exporter, Thailand’s second-largest rice exporter has raised fears of a declining crop. The Thai government has already called on farmers to only grow rice once during the year, with projections of a drought in early 2024.

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