By Onome Amuge
Global rice production has slumped to its largest deficit in two decades in 2023, at 8.7 million tonnes, according to the latest estimates of the “Fitch Solutions” global commodity agency.
China and India are rated the largest rice producers with a total production of 362.4 million tonnes, accounting for more than half of the world’s production.
Referencing a recent report by American network CNN, Fitch Solutions stated that the situation will not likely continue, expecting that the solution to the crisis will be in the hands of India, a key producer of the commodity.
“The agency’s report predicted a decrease in rice production and an increase in the prices of the staple food consumed by more than 3.5 billion people around the world, especially in the Asia and Pacific region, which consumes 90 per cent of the world’s rice,” said Fitch.
Meanwhile, the average price of rice has been $17.30 per 100 pounds so far, but is expected to decline to $14.50 in 2024.
Charles Hart, an agricultural commodities analyst at Fitch Solutions, told CNN Business that the price hike is due to the accumulation of pressure since Covid-19, as rice is a labour-intensive crop and quarantine restrictions have affected production.
Hart identified other pressures that also contributed to the price increase, such as the ban on exports in a number of countries, the “El Nino” weather phenomenon, in which rainfall decreases, causing a drought that is wider than the average, and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
