This year, Chinese rice is in short supply and the authorities have to import it from India. This is the first time in nearly three decades that China has bought rice from India, and while the Indian government is happy about it, the Indian people are not. Currently, China relies on foreign imports for at least 70 percent of its food.
According to FX168, Indian food officials said on Tuesday (Dec. 1) that China has started to import rice from India for the first time in nearly 30 years due to the tightening of rice supplies in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam and the heavily discounted prices offered by the Indian government.
In the wake of this year’s devastating Xin Guan epidemic and floods, China’s rice production has been significantly reduced, with some mainland media estimating a 30 percent drop in production. But officials have not released specific figures. Mr. Mao, a Wuhan resident, said in an interview with the station on Friday that although he did not understand the trend of rice prices, but rice prices are sure: “Because I am not a cook, I have not noticed the shortage of food, but from my observation, the grain has risen, but not to the point of snapping up.”
The price of rice in the domestic market has quietly increased
In the past few years, there have been a number of changes in the price of sorghum and rice in the supermarket. The original two yuan a pound of sorghum, now sold to four or five yuan a pound. It’s hard to say what the price of rice is now, it’s not even known when it went up, it went up this year anyway. Last month, I bought rice from Yangshou in the northeast for 4.5 yuan a catty. It may be dangerous by next spring.”
China imports about 4 million tons of rice annually. Currently, the rice sold by India to China is offered at $30 per ton below even traditional Chinese suppliers such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan, from whom China purchased 100,000 tons of rice this time. The price is around $300 per ton.
China is highly dependent on imported grain
Mr. Tang, a grain trader in China, said that in the past 20 years, China’s demand for grain and foodstuffs has been huge, and part of it comes from outside the country: “Ten years ago, a director of the National Bureau of Statistics told me that China’s food imports, dependence on foreign food, and demand for primary and secondary food probably totaled between 60 and 65 percent. I think that now China’s dependence on foreign food, both primary and secondary, may exceed 70%. The rice problem is even more serious because most people now grow rice and there is no money to be made.”
India’s agricultural land and arable land occupy more than half of the country’s land area, which is 10.99% of the world’s arable land, and one-fourth of the world’s agricultural population, while India has maintained its position as the top rice exporter for eight years. However, due to the impact of the neo-crown epidemic, Indian farmers have difficulty bringing their crops to market, resulting in a pile of harvests that have been left to rot.
The people’s food is the sky, lack of food is more likely to unrest
Mr. Tang said that China has no choice but to turn to India to buy rice because some Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, have been reducing rice exports or raising the price of rice to prevent hunger. He said that food shortages are more likely to trigger social unrest than university graduates not being able to find jobs and workers losing their jobs: “China’s rice imports to India are also a desperate move because the Sino-Indian border conflict is ongoing, and in the next few years, China’s food import problem may be a big problem for the whole world. The number of Chinese food imports from Southeast Asia is bound to increase exponentially, which will have a huge impact on security and price stability in Southeast Asia, where food prices have risen as a result of China’s massive purchases.”
Shandong University’s financial scholar commander said in an interview with this station, the Chinese authorities not long ago declared the grain harvest is a foregone conclusion, but recently purchased Indian rice, indicating that the authorities lied: “China is forced to import rice from India on a large scale, visible China’s strategic materials reserve grain in an important member of the rice, the rice bowl in the hands of India as well as Southeast Asian countries. “
The Indian government’s low food exports have recently sparked strong discontent among Indian farmers. According to the Indian media, Indian farmers have recently taken to the streets to express their protest.
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