Food & Society Memo Global Food Crisis Special Feature: Asia Limits Rice Exports As Prices, Supply and Uncertainty Rise

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo Editor's Note: Asia accounts for about 76% of the 30 million tons of rice exported annually. The price of rice is soaring globally, in part because many exporting countries like those in Asia have dramatically reduced exports of the food staple do to fears of shortages at home.

Asia is divided into two nation camps so to speak in terms of rice production: The "rice haves," those Asian nations that are able to produce enough rice to meet domestic consumption, and the "rice have-nots," which are the countries in Asia that can't produce enough rice for their people and therefore must import varying amounts of the food staple.

Christian Science Monitor correspondent David Montero provides a look at domestic rice production in Asia and those Asian "rice have" nations and those countries in Asia that can't produce enough rice to meet domestic consumption needs and thus must rely on imports.

Read Mr. Montero's report and analysis here.

The Christian Science Monitor also has a number of related stories and Podcasts about the global food crisis linked on the article here which offer additional knowledge and insight about the pressing issue.