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24 - Modernization of the Global Rice Market
- Edited by Hal Hill, Australian National University, Canberra, Majah-Leah V. Ravago, Ateneo de Manila University, James A. Roumasset, University of Hawaii, Manoa
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- Book:
- Pro-poor Development Policies
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 09 January 2024
- Print publication:
- 10 June 2022, pp 697-726
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Summary
INTRODUCTION
Since 2012, India has been the top exporter of rice in the world market, taking over from Thailand and Vietnam. At the same time, China has become the number one importer of rice, overtaking the Philippines and Indonesia. Factors that have caused these changes will define the future environment for the rice market in the twenty-first century.
Rice and its products will continue to contribute significantly to the nutritional needs of a large proportion of the world population for decades to come. Rice will continue to generate employment for a significant number of workers around the world throughout its production, processing and marketing value chain. It will remain one of the most politically sensitive products for most governments.
The rice value chain has undergone a major transformation in the past decade, embracing automation and digital technology. New business models have emerged, reorganizing the industry in both domestic and international markets. The existing system and policy environment of the twentieth century may need to be adjusted to the requirements of the future. A market-based cooperative solution may be more effective and efficient in achieving rice security and environmental sustainability for each country and the global market.
The availability of staple foods such as rice is a global issue that needs a global solution. This modernized market is an opportunity to reduce the sensitivity of rice supply by strengthening the production and delivery system and by making separate arrangements for emergency situations.
The next section highlights some key changes in the rice market. Section 3 tackles the main drivers of these changes that will continue to shape the future of the rice market. Section 4 discusses possible reforms for the rice market in the twenty-first century. It attempts to broadly follow the nature-cause-and-consequence paradigm for policy analysis suggested by Roumasset (2015).
CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL RICE MARKET
Some changes in the structure of the global rice market have become more evident since the turn of the millennium. These changes may continue into the future and redefine the landscape of the global rice market.
ASEAN Economic Co-operation: Adjusting to the Crisis
- from THE REGION
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- By Suthad Setboonsarng, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
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- Book:
- Southeast Asian Affairs 1998
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 04 August 1998, pp 18-36
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Summary
In 1997, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) proudly looked back at its past thirty years of accomplishment in forging regional peace and security, vibrant economic growth, and higher levels of social welfare, a new issue — economic security — confronted the grouping's economies. Rapid growth of over 7 per cent per annum achieved during the past decade, which made ASEAN one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, came to a crashing end because of the financial crisis that hit the region in the second half of the year. ASEAN's economic growth in 1998 is predicted to be the lowest in the last three decades.
However, the factors that contributed to rapid economic expansion in ASEAN countries remain strong, and have the potential to return the region's economies back to a sustainable growth path. ASEAN continues to enjoy, for example, high levels of saving, a strong work ethic, low underlying inflation rates, and a dynamic and entrepreneurial private sector.
In previous instances of economic slow-downs in the 1980s and 1990s, each ASEAN country was able to come out relatively unscathed after the restructuring of their industrial sectors. Since then, the region's rapid economic growth, particularly in the real sector, has resulted in strong demand for capital to finance economic development. This led to large inflows of both long and short-term capital into the region. The development of strong financial institutions both at the regional level and for each ASEAN member country is of crucial importance in order to cope with such large inflows. The adjustment to the present crisis will therefore be different from previous ones. The crisis is a region-wide phenomenon and calls for a regional solution. It also involves private debts for which the role of the private sector would be crucial.
ASEAN Economies Up to the 1990s: An Overview
To understand the financial turmoil it is necessary to begin by looking at macroeconomic developments in the region up to the middle of 1997. The sound macroeconomic fundamentals of ASEAN countries defied any suspicion of the dramatic collapse of exchange rates that began in July 1997.