As Australia Dries, A
Global Shortage of Rice
The Deniliquin
mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough
grain to satisfy the daily needs of 20 million people. But six long years of
drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98 percent
and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.
The collapse of Australia's
rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice
prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world's
largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in
Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off violent protests in countries
including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast,
Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen..
FULL STORY at
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/17/business/17warm.php