The Great Asian Rice Crisis of 2008

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[@JonOsterman59]

Biggest hit is when you said 15 years ago... then I realized 2008 is indeed 15 years ago. Feels old, man

[@baronvonjo1929]

For real. I'm crusty.

[@sushiwushi5335]

I was 8, was nice ate rice sht was overpriced

[@Xeonerable]

Aging millennial unhappy with that fact, also reporting in o7

[@bayuyanda8833]

here in indonesia, you can eat pizza, burger, or all different type of food and it will considered as snack. Eat it with rice, that what we will call it a proper luch/dinner

[@julskechap]

Same here. Its not a meal if its not with rice 😂

[@ibnu7942]

hey, another poor southeast asian country citizen

[@Patriarchy_69]

Same mindset in India. 😊

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

Same here in the philippines.

[@hikashia.halfiah3582]

it's increasingly untrue though. More and more people are accepting that rice is not the only staple food on the planet.

[@jackniessen]

‘Thailand, the Saudi Arabia of Rice’ is not something I thought I would hear

[@Bell_plejdo568p]

Ppl always say thing but saudí doenst have the highest oil reserves it’s venzula and th e biggest producer is America

[@kayakMike1000]

While everyone was panic buying toilet paper, the smart people installed bidets.

[@aryaman05]

...and the even smarter ones, simply re-commission 'bidet' they've carrying since birth !😊 Add water, done. Maybe rubber gloves for the slightly more discerning ones !

[@MeNoWorryYouNoWorry]

Meamwhile us Filipinos and fellow southeast Asians have been using a dipper

[@MrGreghome]

I use both. Need to dry my ass since I don't have a hair dryer in the toilet.

[@ebx100]

I think that might be a safety issue.@@MrGreghome

[@RoseNZieg]

why spent hundreds on a bidet when leaves are free?

[@stefanschneider3681]

You just can’t overrate the amount of research that goes into such a video, and how well the sources are documented. And on top of that, how well it is put together into a fluent story that is well narrated too. Top notch 👏👏👏👍! And the little grains of sarcasm (toilet paper hoarding 😂!) make them simply perfect for me! Never thought I would stay glued to a screen on a story that has absolutely nothing to do with my daily life here in Switzerland 🇨🇭 …

[@JoshDillon]

Love your topics and neutral manner. I learn a lot from you and don't feel manipulated. Keep it up.

[@EngineeredFemale]

[Casually drops 10$] lol jokes aside, yes I agree with you. His videos are actually informative and I end up feeling a bit more smarter after watching his video.

[@موسى_7]

I love how quiet,free of music, and relaxing your videos are. Very relaxing for my ears. This is an issue for me today because I have a flu or a cold. Noise and music makes headaches. Your video is like an ethics lectureat a mosque.

[@housemana]

damn must suck to be so weak

[@josephyoung6749]

These kinds of videos, but more science and math videos do wonders for my insomnia

[@Retrofire-47]

@@josephyoung6749 How so? fellow insomniac here

[@TioDeive]

@Moses_VII also the absence of flashy lights and no shaking of images at all just make it even more enjoyable.

[@RT-qd8yl]

I loved the way he said "feed chickens and piggies"

[@ricardokowalski1579]

What has to be understood is that the amount of rice *traded* is minuscule compared to what is harvested and *consumed locally* Top rice *producers* in million of tons China 149 India 129 Bangladesh 35 Indonesia 34 Vietnam 27 Thailand 20 Top three rice *exporting* countries in millions of tons India 21 Thailand 8 Vietnam 7 So prices move sharply, not because of large scale crop failings, but because it is a very tight international market.

[@jont2576]

Wow I wonder why don't more countries grow rice and export it to china,the demand must be massive there.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@jont2576 low value commodity, low barrier to entry Hard to compete on a race to the bottom on price. 😁

[@jont2576]

Low value?I think it's way more expensive than pasta or noodles.... And china is rich now,people can afford to spend way more on groceries. Considering china used to be an "exporter" in the 70s.....and an importer shows,they have far more disposable income, larger caloric intakes....less hunger

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@jont2576 If you want to sell to China, it makes FAR more sense to sell them meat products or fruit than rice. Both of whose consumption goes up much more as people get richer, and both of which command much higher prices than rice.

[@Zahrul3]

Each country (or even regions in a country) demand extremely specific varieties of rice tailored to cultural and culinary demands of each country! The rice that Indonesia grows won't sell very well in China and vice versa.

[@freddthurman3935]

I can still remember long queues in rice stalls around the same year in the Philippines when I was a kid. I didn't know there was a rice crisis in 2008.

[@TheVanillatech]

What? How could you NOT know about the world famous rice crisis of 2008? What did they teach you in school? FRENCH????

[@ntabile]

@TheVanillatech Maybe we were focusing on the inside the country news rather than worldwide?

[@freddthurman3935]

@@TheVanillatech we never really discuss issues like this in schools. For example, the 2008 recession isn't a widely known event here. Only few people are aware that the Great Recession happened

[@sn1tchseek3r45]

Because we've been in a perpetual economic crisis 😂. It's hard to notice a recession when things are as bad as ever

[@josephyoung6749]

if we're only 3 bowls of rice away from a crisis, then I'd say humanity is definitely on it's last helping@@sn1tchseek3r45

[@godfreypoon5148]

Summary: The rice price was not nice, so they rolled the dice and sold it thrice. Supply became a rare vice, nations striving to suffice, governments working to break the ice, averting disaster with effort precise. Also, there were lice and mice, but not in the rice.

[@subnormality5854]

Could have been written by Kipling

[@lashlarue7924]

This comment hath both sugar and spice! 😉👍

[@nunyabiznes33]

"My Mill Grinds, Pepper And Spice. Your Mill Grinds, Rats And Mice..."

[@VaishnavENK]

WE GETTING OUT OF MASS STARVATION WITH THIS ONE 🔥🌾🌾🍙

[@Samir12357]

Wow.. It was piece was written nice..

[@smugshrug]

Found your channel recently. Appreciate the stoic and professional approach to all the topics you cover. Keep it up.

[@aziris7257]

I live in Malaysia and I remember this. We weren't directly affected or rather not as much. I do remember however, that the minister back then told us to reduce rice consumption and eat potato instead. Like dude, potatoes were more expensive than rice!

[@Apache1970]

"If you can't afford bread then eat cake" , a quote from French revolution.

[@vericulum6810]

vegetables are unresonabely expensive in Malasia well i guess they don't grow well in that climat but still...

[@bayuyanda8833]

Di indonesia di suruh makan jagung sama ubi.

[@eingrobernerzustand3741]

Huh It's kinda hard for me to imagine rice being cheaper than potatoes Since rice is not grown locally, you are looking at selling between 18 and 25 kilos of potatoes to be able to afford a kilo of rice.

[@ПолорЄлеон]

Lenin didn't say the quote about three rice bowls, Zhou Enlai supposedly did. The origin is disputed, but I can't imagine why would it be Lenin, considering that rice is not and was never a staple grain in russia, wheat is.

[@deepseer]

If Zhou Enlai did ever said it, it must have lost large part of the meaning in the translation. The Chinese way to say "every society is 3 rice bowls away from chaos" would be "for a society, the distance of stability and chaos is only 3 bowls of rice".

[@SianaGearz]

Lenin is usually quoted saying "meals" rather than "bowls of rice". However there is no evidence he actually said that. It's a quote one may encounter in English speaking circles, but i had never heard of it in a Russian language context, although i have experienced the last days of Soviet Union from within. It also rings untrue, since Soviet Union used famines to enslave and control people, didn't care about a little mutiny, chaos did not totally ensue. In all odds, you lot invented the quote.

[@Coillcara]

The origin of the phrase : Writing for Cosmopolitan in 1906, the American lawyer, journalist and short-story writer, Alfred Henry Lewis observed: “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.”

[@casualmarshmallow]

@@Coillcara I thought Asianometry was making a joke based loosely on this quote.

[@SianaGearz]

@@baronvonslambert Of course a degree of incompetence is responsible for famine. And yet there's another layer - the state CHOOSES who suffers from it and how. And also global food shortage is not really a thing, there's always food SOMEWHERE, and we can transport it, rail and sea trade was already quite capable of dealing with this. Also... corruption and laziness? Corruption yes, its corrosive effects go deeper than you can even imagine, but trying to explain anything, anything at all with laziness is just... lazy.

[@rairaur2234]

This is my most favourite 'so specific it's hard to recommend to a friend' channel out there. Cheers.

[@nHans]

It's funny that you call rice an _"inferior good-the richer you are, the less of it you eat."_ My observation has been different-at least in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka where I've lived. Here, the poor and lower middle-class people traditionally eat other food grains: finger millet _(ragi),_ sorghum _(jowar),_ and pearl millet _(bajra)._ But when they become upwardly mobile, they switch to polished white rice. And that has been disastrous for India. Paddy-rice crop-requires a lot of water compared to the other grains. Even 3 times as much. Paddy fields literally need to be flooded ankle-high while it's growing. It grows naturally only in places with abundant water that flood seasonally-lake and river banks, river deltas, rain catchment areas. But due to its prestige value, farmers have started growing it in more arid areas. Thereby displacing traditional crops, which are hardier and grow with far less water. Consequently, large amounts of water are being diverted from other places that also need water-creating scarcities elsewhere. It also requires large amounts of electricity or diesel for the irrigation pumps-which the well-meaning government supplies for free or at heavily-subsidized rates to the farmers. Leave alone the international markets. Even within India, we face wild price swings, panic buying and hoarding. That's because rice is _not_ traded on NCDEX, India's commodities market. You can only buy it in the spot market for immediate physical delivery. Other crops-including basmati rice-are traded on NCDEX. This allows futures, options, and other ways to plan and manage costs. More importantly, when farmers are deciding what to plant for the next sowing season, they get visibility into future prices, and hence, potential profits. But not with paddy. They only have historical and recent market data to guide them. So when they see that rice is currently commanding a high price in the spot market, they all plant paddy. Which, naturally, leads to a future glut, falling prices, and losses. Then, next season, they all avoid paddy-and guess what happens next. So how are the farmers faring? Well, the profits-if any-all go to middlemen, because of very poor infrastructure. But the losses-which can happen either due to a glut, or when crops fail-always accrue to the farmers. Crop failure is common, because paddy is very sensitive to weather conditions. Regardless, farmers then commit suicide-because they're unable to repay the usurious loans they took from loan sharks to buy seeds. That's right, most farmers can't access legitimate agriculture loans. Nor afford crop insurance. (Unfortunately, this is not limited to paddy farmers. All farmers-except the richest-suffer in these ways.) Politics aside, polished white rice isn't all that healthy either. It has a high glycemic index and is a known risk factor for type-2 diabetes. The first thing doctors tell diabetic and pre-diabetic patients is to lay off sugar and white rice. Sugar's easy to avoid, since there are many artificial sweeteners. But people who're used to eating white rice are unable to switch to other grains, including brown rice. It also has less fiber, protein, minerals, and other nutrients compared to the other grains. Hence my humble request: Instead of importing rice from India, please switch to any of the other healthier, more sustainably-grown grains, including ones that I've mentioned earlier. I myself would be very happy if rice production were banned in all but naturally-irrigated, water-rich portions of India, and those farmlands returned to the cultivation of traditional, healthier, hardier, water-saving crops.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

"But when they become upwardly mobile, they switch to polished white rice" - nah, they switch to more rotis, bread, fruit and meat. Especially outside of the south. And meat is even worse for the environment and even less sustainable than rice btw. "But due to its prestige value, farmers have started growing it in more arid areas." - I'd say govt. subsidies, which you mention later, are a far bigger factor in that than any concern about prestige.

[@MeiinUK]

It's quite bad when there are actual bad crop. This is why those small suppliers might work out when there are like shall cooperatives to cushion the actual fluctuations....

[@KingdomOfDimensions]

​@@ArawnOfAnnwnYeah but where do the subsidies come from? They come from India's huge agriculture lobby, or w/e the equivalent is called there. They would only bother subsidizing rice to the point that it is grown in suboptimal locations, at great cost, over better alternatives, if the market for rice was lucrative. That means high demand, and probably luxury. So you can blame subsidies as an abuse of government money but they're still a reaction to the market.

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

The Philippines is the same in a way. If you are poor you mostly eat either other grains like corn or rootcrops like sweet potatoes. If your richer you can exchange it with white rice.

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

​@@ArawnOfAnnwnwhite rice WITH meat, both not just one. It's rare to just eat meat without rice in most Asian cultures.

[@lc9245]

The upcoming El Nino might have disastrous effect on agricultural production in Asia. Previous droughts had forced China and other Mekong nations to withhold water on their dams. The first to fall this time would be the river delta nations which had suffered reduced soil nutrition due to lack of sediments, which also caused erosion and saltwater intrusion. The river delta had traditionally been the most productive land, the destruction of such area might bring about food crisis and then political instability as we have seen countless times before. Hopefully the weather would not be so extreme, or if it is, nations in the region would be prepared for the worst case scenario. The thing we want the least is another protracted conflict in the region.

[@m2heavyindustries378]

Sure bud, which tinfoil hat do you have on today? What a dumb take

[@drjustin84]

15:25 “The Saudi Arabia of Rice”🤣😭😭😭😭

[@dantebeernal1559]

Babe wake up new Asianometryposting just dropped

[@incription]

Babe? (furiously shakes body pillow)

[@publicspeaker4009]

I had a stroke reading this 🫨

[@hathoi5112]

@@incription😊😊

[@Nick-gj6je]

If only 🤤

[@matthoward1482]

Cliche, wake up babe just dropped asianometry

[@DezzaTribe]

“The rice must flow. He who controls the rice, controls the universe!”

[@ntabile]

I remember the Philippines as a rice exporter, but became an importer for numerous reasons: 1. Profit from rice production is very low. Thus, rice lands were turned into other profitable options 2. Adoption of newer technology to have higher rice yield is slow. And atbp.

[@alice_agogo]

False. PH 🇵🇭 only imported 10% of its rice needs in 2008.

[@alice_agogo]

And we had better yield per acre compared to Thailand and Vietnam in the 2000s.

[@ntabile]

@miaya3898 Yeah, granted, we have better yield, but how about the volume of rice we produce?

[@alice_agogo]

@@ntabile not enough to feed our volume of people, obviously

[@dosgos]

There is some very tasty, high-quality Japanese rice. I can understand why the Japanese would not buy US rice, despite the low pricing.

[@crash.override]

Growing rice on farmland that previously used Arsenic-based pesticides...such foolishness from our 🇺🇲 farmers & regulators!

[@rainboworiental9521]

I guess partly because influencial Japan Agricultural Cooperatives. They brutally protect expensive japanese farming industry from outside world. Though Japanese enjoys one of most expensive fruits and foods

[@mariocole8104]

I always wonder if there is a big taste difference with dry vs wet rice varieties. Its hard for me to notice but generally it does seem like rice in Japan is better than CA.

[@mariocole8104]

@@rainboworiental9521One of the takeaways from this video is that those with domestic production did well whereas the others were at the mercy of the free market.

[@dosgos]

@@rainboworiental9521 I suppose one could argue the pros and cons of food industrialization vs. localization. IME, daily Japanese fruit & vegetable pricing is not so much higher than domestic US and European pricing. Japanese quality and tastiness generally is superb and there is a focus on "in-season" foods for freshness. In our local Japanese supermarkets, we see a reasonable amount of premium fruits & vegetables. In-season, we see top-tier apples from Washington, incredible oranges from Florida, incredible grapes from France... IME, western supermarkets tend to have cheaper fruits and vegetables year-round. But taste is a crap shoot, even in premium supermarkets. Food looks great but bland tasting. That said, some US and European "farmer's markets" can offer superb selection at higher prices that are closer to what the Japanese offer. To your point, there are some Japanese specialty rices and fruits that cost a small fortune. For example, I've purchased fresh rice that maybe cost nearly $1 per serving, but it was tasty. Short-grain rice is difficult to cook correctly, so a high-quality rice cooker makes a difference.

[@fiji9258]

my fav yt channel atm, keep up the great work

[@johnl.7754]

Heard that the flooding in northern China this month will contribute to rice shortages as well

[@dyingearth]

Not directly. Rice isn't grown north of Yangtze River. But the flooding in Northern China will significantly destroy the wheat crop there. This will have a knock on effect on food in China.

[@TheVanillatech]

@@dyingearth So you're saying now is the time to buy frozen concentrated orange juice?

[@shidashide493]

​@@dyingearth Not actually.Northern China also plant rice.

[@andrewcannon587]

@@dyingearth high wheat price will make people to change their diet to cheaper grain, like rice.

[@effexon]

@@andrewcannon587lol wut? traditionally wheat has been dirt cheap and equally low caloric value but rice has been a bit more expensive yet very dense in nutrient,caloric value.

[@johnl.7754]

Read a couple years ago that thailand rice production might decline from lack of workers (population aging and moving to cities) wonder if rice production has become less manual and more mechanical.

[@drbachimanchi]

I am Indian from South..we are stopping producing rice in millions of hectares because of poor returns.yes world is screwed.

[@sumeettanwar1608]

Hope people in punjab also follow this before they use up all the ground water. But i have low hope because of msp is higher than it should be for rice in punjab. We are exporting much needed fresh water in form of rice like idiots.

[@ArupRatanMitra]

​@@sumeettanwar1608Punjab is a wheat culture and should grow only and only wheat, parts of UP, WB and Bihar are probably the only places capable of sustainable rice farming

[@m2heavyindustries378]

lol who cares it's indian rice, might as well buy plastic

[@7.62musang]

And the Philippines keep announcing how much rice they are going to import which is a real smoothbrain move, and always puts a smile on the face of rice cartels😅

[@charlesvaughan3517]

DANG I could've been a Rice Pirate☠️. Sailing into India on my ship named the Jasmine Mistress 🛥. On a moonless night load up on illegal rice and running an Indian 👨‍✈️Navy blockade and selling it in the Philippines for them BANDS💸💸💸

[@hiimryan2388]

I laugh wayyyyy too hard

[@boromeysreang8903]

Been listening to your channel since the early day. This is the first time I heard you mention about Cambodia. Hopefully, one day you make a video related to Cambodia 😊

[@type45tomcat21]

Thank you for making this video……I lived in Hong Kong and this make me remember what happened those days. Hong Kong is almost entirely relay on Thailand for rice supplies, also we have a strict regulation on rice imports and reserve requirement since WWII, so there’s no shortage but the price still kept rising, the government tried to introduce Chinese suppliers into the market to reduce the price but doesn’t help much.

[@tdb7992]

I wonder if many of the uncredited photos of food Mr Asianometry is using in this video, are photos he has taken himself of his dinner. It's fascinating getting to see what he eats!

[@100c0c]

He probably uses a service like Storyblocks

[@stefanschneider3681]

@@100c0cCome on, don’t spoil the fun 😉

[@izzieb]

Chances are he also uses creative commons licensed photos.

[@thelakeman2538]

Public domain and free licensed (eg-creative commons) photos exist.

[@Izquierda]

It feels strange to think of rice as poverty food. This may be too general a claim as there are many tiers of quality, and price. The cheapest lowest quality rice is probably not that tasty and is merely to meet the caloric requirements of life, but even some inexpensive rice can be quite good and it's hard to think of alternatives that would be as satisfying regardless of income level. At the top end you have Japanese short grain rice which is expensive for good reason, it's not just a gimmick or the result of market manipulation.

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

The alternatives are the various local forms of bread, along with increased consumption of fruits and meat, both of which are consumed much more as people get richer than grains. 'The poor eat grain, the rich eat steaks' is a pithy way of summing it up.

[@matthewmatthew638]

In terms of rice being a poverty food, it's more that there are significantly more replacements that can take up calories in place of rice as Asian countries have rapidly developed in the past decades..

[@dotz0cat]

These videos are really good for me. I like many others hold a us-centric world view. These videos remind me just how big the world is.

[@JustJamesDean]

Great video, I am so grateful. I didnt realise how thin the rice market is. Only 3 bowls away from WW3

[@abnerdoon4902]

Filipinos keep talking about how expensive rice is and then proceed to build subdivisions over rice fields.

[@nunyabiznes33]

*Cynthia Villar wants to know your location*

[@Omegaxero]

I love your videos. These are always so interesting. I hope you make it to 1M subs.

[@PeculiarNotions]

Great work. I love how much I learn from watching your videos.

[@gikigill788]

The basmati rice export means expensive rice is still available from India but cheaper varieties are banned. Wont make a difference in first world countries but poorer countries will either pay more or go without. I am in Australia and we use about 5kg basmati per month and price seems to be around $15-20/5kg depending on variety. There are cheaper basmati options for $10 though.

[@nneeerrrd]

Eat potatoes then. It's dirt cheap. You came to Australia but brought your native baggage? Why did you left your Homeland then? What is the point?

[@VMRDY]

@@nneeerrrdBy that logic, white Australians should’ve also dumped their native language and cuisine when they migrated to Australia. I wonder if you are as racist in real life because you wouldn’t be able to hide behind the shield of anonymity. Is it easy for you to tuck in your racist ego and pretend to be normal? 😂

[@LordTutTut]

​@@nneeerrrdI agree that potatoes are a great food option, but just because someone moved doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to maintain some culinary traditions.

[@ntabile]

@fffUUUUUU Potatoes is hard to grow in the Philippines, Sweet potato is okay. One thing that need to change with my countrymen is our mindset that we switch to potatoes and wheats as well. Our habit is that we eat rice 3 meals a day! It is a hard habit to break.

[@andersjjensen]

I'm a Dane... we use maybe 3kg of rice a year. It doesn't matter what it costs.

[@goneutt]

Norman Borlaug, the guy who innovated dwarf/tall hybrids in wheat complained about how much shot he got from the Indian government in the 1960s.

[@alice_agogo]

PH 🇵🇭 was the biggest importer of rice at this time. A Western financial institution, I forgot which (Goldman, IMF?etc.,) released a statement that blamed the importation of the country as the one that kept causing the high prices. What's funny is that PH 🇵🇭 only imported 10% of its rice needs. And I could be mistaken but I don't recall food riots here at that time. also Iran 🇭🇺 was the 2nd biggest importer then iirc.

[@rulu1828]

18:20 As a Japanese living a broad I can concur. Calrose is dirt cheap compared to rice in Japan, and taste quite well (a bit drier, but still sweet).

[@svanimation8969]

Have u ever tried original basmati rice ? 😋

[@hindugoat2302]

the cost of rise is about to rice

[@raskltube]

this was a really fascinating video. Could you please do a video covering the anti Chinese rioting in Indonesia?

[@258Loures]

As coming from a country that rice is our basic food, when we see an increase of price, our menu start to suffer greatly.

[@simokoistinen276]

In English: the rice crisis In Finnish: riisikriisi

[@nunyabiznes33]

Just need milk and spices

[@AlexBiohazardous]

Just pledged my support on Patreon. Your videos are quite informative, but I recently noticed that you added a second commercial break. Seems a bit excessive.

[@linhdtu]

there is a big difference between long grain and short grain rice. no biggie if one doesn't eat rice daily. otherwise it is. short grain is very sticky. one can't wash it out of the rice. as a result all daily long grain eaters also consume short grain quite often but only as a dessert or specialty foods and in much smaller amount. the japanese people mainly eat short grain i believe. everyone else in Asia eats the long grain. i personally find short grain takes a long time to digest.

[@aravindpallippara1577]

We in southern India especially value a very very non sticky kind of stubby rice called Matta. Kongi/Porridge becomes especially good if it's not sticky.

[@VaishnavENK]

@@aravindpallippara1577 Don't the Tamils consume Ponni rice?

[@diebesgrab]

“rice is an inferior good” But rice is so tasty, though.

[@returo7297]

at least 3.5 billion people Rice is a food staple for more than 3.5 billion people around the world, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. not just 2B like in ur self claim vid . . ..

[@st3v4nt]

Should add the Europe expert controversial accusation that rice field create methane gas that causing global temperature rise, would love to hear Asian opinion on that...

[@terubokmasin3247]

Another great one. Ironically I am eating my bowl of rice as I watch this.

[@captainnemo8072]

I think the Indian government wants to discourage the over-cultivation of low-value rice meant for exports. Rice is a water-intensive crop and in a water-stressed country like India, exporting low-value non-basmati rice is like exporting the country's precious water for pennies. That water can be used more productively.

[@akshatprakash871]

Nope, it is not about water. It is about keeping prices low and buffer stock high. Before COVID, the FCI (the government entity that runs the PDS system) had huge stock of shitty rice under pressure from the socialists in India who are anal about food security. But ever since COVID, government has given huge stocks of free rice to the poor which has bought the food stocks lower than before (it is still adequate though). The government worries that if the farmers export, there will not be enough for the PDS system.

[@tsukareruru]

Most of india uses ground water which is being discourage to do so and better irrigation and rain water harvesting methods is encouraged. Most state gov and even central gov make massive dams and drip irrigation plants for Indian farmers to get first priority access to water. It's usually the urban areas that face water shortage issuses if there any, but most cities rely on local lakes. India is not a "water-stressed" country as long as they get a decent monsoon season. Every year the river and lakes get filled to max capacity every monsoon season. I don't get where this "water-stressed" idea comes from. Perhaps because of the population consumption, which mega projects are improving capacities. India is just as "water-stressed" as any other country in the world when there is droughts and no rains. Even California very recently faced a long prolonged drought, that made them "water-stressed" no? It's not like indian farmers are struggling much to get access to water. This is simply a move to maintain domestic prices and supply due to a bad crop cycle, nothing more to it. At all.

[@thelakeman2538]

No it's because they don't want rice prices increasing because that'd be inconvenient to them in a year with multiple upcoming state elections and the lok sabha elections less than a year away, with retail inflation already reaching 7.4% in July 2023 over just vegetable and pulses prices, they likely do not want to add rice to that list. Also amount of rice exported is tiny compared to what's consumed locally (through government procurement or private consumption), so if the aim is to cultivate less water intensive crops then that'd require long term policy incentivising farmers to do so and shifting the food habits of the general population instead of a short term ban on exports.

[@greatwolf5372]

​@@tsukareruruIndia is actually quite water stressed as is California. Look up water stress by country. Indians get unnecessarily defensive if anyone even slightly criticizes their country.

[@GyattGPT]

8 months later, prices have been creeping back up but hasn't really broken out of the resistance at ~600.

[@mceajc]

Again an excellent video, covering a topic I knew next to nothing about, and now feel I can express a confident opinion.

[@studytime2570]

Basic foods shouldnt be at the whims of free market. That should be the biggest lesson. Japan is right to protect their local rice producers. As did India.

[@dosgos]

How about a video exploring "rice cooker" technology and evolution?

[@nicolasmourgues6324]

Très bonne vidéo. Vous savez les média français ne nous presque pas parler de cette crise du riz Les média français n'arrêter pas de parler des banques mondiale. Mais grâce à votre chaîne j'ai appris beaucoup de choses sur la crise du riz

[@mhick3333]

Great presentation

[@ZeMarkKrazee]

Why are people trading Hectors for rice?! I didn’t even know people kept Hectors as currency! 😱

[@GhostOnTheHalfShell]

It’s an eye opener as a Yank to see how much food security is a topic of coverage in Asia. CNA Insights covers the topic wit some regularity. For a part of a world that remembers.

[@farmboy_bry]

I remember this event. We had to line up in schools to receive rice.

[@sapphiron21]

Watching this while eating my bowl of rice really make it hit different

[@jont2576]

I think China is smarter now, China has massive rice stockpiles which can last for years,and can help stabilise prices in times of crisis and sold to other countries at huge mark ups.

[@kavenxiong5521]

You could say it was a... c-rice-is.

[@Ryanrobi]

This dropped right as i fired up the rice cooker 😂

[@moah2012]

As a ghanaian i am ashamed you showed nigerian jollof rice. 😂

[@Chris-ut6eq]

The TP got me! Why would Canadians buy extra TP....do they use rice TP? Then the JK. LOLed for a good bit :)

[@cajachan3499]

Rice prices recently jumped up here in the Philippines. The timing of this is quite scary.

[@alice_agogo]

Fertilizers come from petroleum so the timing is logical.

[@ElCachorro97]

​@@alice_agogolast 2021 iyon. Hindi tumaas ang mga fertilizer. Bumaba man hindi lang kasing laki ng prepandemic. Nagaanounce na ang mga demonyo magkakashortages, buti laki ako sa bukid at bundok.

[@goeyboy]

It's the consequence of sacrificing the local rice industry for higher availability of cheaper imported rice. After the Rice Tariffication Law was passed, we went from 3000 operational mills to only 1000 left now. God knows how many Filipino rice farmers gave up on growing rice since then.

[@ahmadin5681]

'20:43 how? With income per capita over $5K and consider as upper middle income country by The World Bank

[@eyetuna8127]

14:12 Asianometry, that is a stupid take. It seems that you don't know anything about Asia while naming your channel Asianometry. Rice is very important here in the Philippines in all aspects of life, if you have made your research. Any form of shortage in rice supply will always be met with increase in hunger here and general dissatisfaction. There is very little to no alternative to rice here, much like what oil to a car is, rice is to the population. That was why the government back then decided to import at increasing prices, because it is really about feeding the people. No sane government would ever think twice on spending tax payers money when the alternative is making your people hungry. Besides, there wasn't even a food riot here in the Philippines in 2008. Also, you failed to mention that it was part of then on-going world food crisis in 2008. Prices of corn, sugar, wheat and other produce increased during that time.

[@katrinabryce]

I'm guessing the problems with wheat exports from Ukraine might be part of it? If you can't get hold of wheat, rice is a reasonable substitute. At my local supermarket, 1kg of pasta is £1.39, up from about £0.75, 1kg of rice is £1.25

[@second2none914]

Saying rice is for poor people is like saying wheat is for poor people. It is a massively stupid sentence. Different places in the world have different staple foods that is majority eaten by their poor population, historically rice in Europe has been the expensive option compared to wheat. Yams are dirt cheap in Nigeria but more expensive than potatoes in UK. A poor Irishman in the 1800s would never get his hands on rice because it is not a crop that has ever been grown locally. Poor people eat whatever is produced in the region. Rich people import. Go to a place where subsistence farmers grow avocado and that will be what the food poor people eat and imported rice the food of the rich. Or do you think avocados are magic fruit only accessible in western whole foods stores? This is basic economics you learn as a child import = expensive. How do you not know this?

[@ElCachorro97]

Great timing. The demons are now are announcing there will be rice crisis in the coming years in the Philippines.

[@mazimadu]

This is extremely interesting. For the past half decade, here in Nigeria, the administration of former president Mohamadu Buhari has been seemingly obsessed with rice production. They would drop massive campaigns in northern Nigeria to promote rice production, using the historical "rice pyramids" of the past as motivation. This was strange, because they also banned the import of rice from across the border, leading customs officers to hoard them in warehouses. This practice became problematic during the pandemic, when food imports were low, the government seeked to solve the problem by distributing the ceased rice, only to find out that it had long since spoiled. This didnt stop them from distributing the moldy rice.

[@henninghoefer]

You're talking multiple times about "real rice prices" (e.g. the chart at 3:52 is labeled as such) … is that some special term? What would unreal rice be?

[@brianquigley1940]

Fantastic research... kudos. However, I'm missing a "thesis"... what's the overall conclusion(s) of this research? how do apply this knowledge to the current/future situations?

[@Hugin-N-Munin]

Hey Asianometry, what's the Japanese woodblock print, with the rivers? Good video, though. This rice crisis apparently completely escaped my notice at the time, so it was interesting to learn about

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

I didn't know there was a rice crisis back in 2008.

[@mr.2minutes161]

15 YEARS AGO?!?!?!?! you sure its not like 6?

[@Stealth86651]

Diseases and weather-based crop disruptions will only get more severe and common as time goes on from what I understand. Lot of countries are going to be securing their national food production/reserves soon enough, probably will shake up the markets as some countries realize they can no longer export as much as they used to.

[@coastofkonkan]

Respect for great reporting. Mostly humans will get serious with food production once the hype of Technology gets over & even agriculture becomes computationally intensive. Norman Bourlaug & green revolution are equally important with wheat production

[@lyfthis8978]

Without the strains of wheat developed during that time, simple bread would be prohibitively expensive in Asia now.

[@nikhilPUD01]

I love you cover wife variety of topics I enjoy watching your videos 👌👍

[@ntabile]

Every society is 3 rice bowls away from chaos. -Lenin

[@TheVanillatech]

Every rice bowl is three Lenins away from society. -Chaos

[@AC-jk8wq]

Moscow must have used two rice bowls already…. 😀

[@nunyabiznes33]

​@@AC-jk8wqthey turned it into vodka

[@ntabile]

@@nunyabiznes33 Basi or rice wine?

[@jayearl3591]

Just in time. History is repeating as we speak

[@antennastoheaven]

And people tend to repeat meaningless quotes about RePeaTinG RhYmInG HiStORy.

[@jayearl3591]

@@antennastoheaven oh dear, you sound triggered, have you run out of rice pudding?

[@DStein22]

It still blows my mind that some people in the west cannot taste the difference between different rice.

[@davidwilkie9551]

The white rice - brown rice discussion is often fun, similar to oats, barley and various wheat varieties, hard, soft and red Durham etc. Farmers like to talk too. "Haven't met a Carbohydrate I couldn't love".

[@csours]

The real rice was the friends we made along the way

[@SG003]

This is crazy how SE and East Asia quarreling among themselves over rice. And also India saying O don't wanna sell anything and shut its shop abruptly

[@joshuavinicombe5774]

Question, Indian banned rice export, but I'd like to know why did India made the distinction of 'non basmati rice' ? Was the export of other types permitted but too small in volume to have consequence?

[@goneutt]

Also, look up Emperor Norton. He got trashed by overpaying for a rice import and went mad.

[@NickadeeSplit]

I an white guy from Seattle Washington living in Surin Thailand the rice bowl of Asia and we have so much rice that we farm every 6 months and hopefully if China has a super devastating rice crisis I can make some more money selling them my rice

[@chrisdt2297]

well, the flood hit hard on China's grain production up north, so there's the chance but large proportion of the grain destroyed was wheat thought

[@NickadeeSplit]

@@chrisdt2297 yes! Worst floods in 1 hundred sum odd years

[@biborkiraly394]

A tip from a fellow content writer - avoid phrases like “15 years ago”. Your videos will be watched 10 years from now, I have no doubt ;)

[@rottenmeat5934]

That calorie figure is a bit dubious, isn’t it? Aren’t there other ingredients that provide calories like, ya know, oil?

[@brothergrimaldus3836]

Honestly, from watching trends and my enjoyment of cooking. I think a lot more Asian countries are going to cheaper noodles rather than rice. It's less energy intensive to cook up some instant or even regular noodles, and you get the about the same chloric intake.

[@goneutt]

I’m also left thinking those hillsides full of trees could be planted with orchard crops. Perhaps even avocados.

[@parker4406]

Hey, do you take video recommendations?

[@Radio_FM_3123]

I found out last year that the less carbohydrate (sugar and rice...etc) you eat, the less hungry feeling you have. I already eat a lot less rice & bread than before. In fact, I eat less food than before.

[@SrijitSen1]

Seems like a classic stock market and futures games going on with rice. I think one with a calculated move aided with proper market knowledge can make huge profits from these kinds of bubbles.

[@studytime2570]

Thats why such basic foods shouldnt be at the whims of free market..

[@studytime2570]

I qas amazed on how there is a "futures market" even on rice.. Also evwry nation should ensure their citizens should be able consume sufficient foods and tgink of exports only after.

[@InfinityandEternity]

Remember this. Rice prices literally doubled in the UK combined with a recession.

[@evilmurlock]

2:30 New rice just droped!!!

[@notusneo]

Oh i remember this, in Indonesia the really poor people (which a lot) started eating leftover dried rice that isnt fit for human consumption since rice price is so high