2026-09-12 10:22 UTC
…“Rice is the main source of calories for half the world’s population, and supplies 20% of the global diet. In Asia, most countries grow their own rice. Only 10% of rice that’s produced is traded internationally, unlike wheat.
So if a country which is normally an exporter has a crisis, it can really flatten the rice market very quickly. And we know that plantings in Asia are down already, in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.”
#climateDiary
Replies (1)
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@urlyman@mastodon.social 2026-09-12 10:35
…”What we’re looking at here is the collision of two systemic events. One is the El Niño, the second is the fertiliser. In 2009/10 we had simultaneous wheat crop failures in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. In Canada, they had too much rain and wheat yields were down. Spot prices for wheat tripled. In the Middle East, which is the largest wheat importer in the world, it simply became too expensive for people to eat. And the food crisis multiplied into the Arab Spring.” #climateDiary