Rice is the world’s most common staple food. For more than half of mankind, in 118 countries, rice is the main component of their diet. Consumption per person is 235 grammes per day. This is an average of two meals or two full plates each day. Since the sixties global rice production has increased considerably. Many countries which used to produce limited quantities of rice have become self-sufficient, and have even at certain times exported their surplus. But in many regions where rice is grown people still do not have enough to eat. A report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) found that the world will be able produce enough food to meet global demands. This conclusion was reached by FAO experts whose analysis specifically does not allow for any production improvements from genetically engineered crops. FAO reveals that there is a ‘drastic deceleration’ in world demographic growth in prospect, and that although the annual rate of growth in global crop production is expected to reduce, the projected overall increment in world crop production to 2030 of 57 percent will exceed population growth.
The report also found that by 2030, crop production in developing countries is projected to be 70 percent higher than in the 1990s, and concludes that ‘for the world as a whole there is enough, or more than enough, food production potential to meet the growth of demand’. Again this underlines that hunger is not a matter of production, but of distribution.
There are at least 20 price steps in the rice chain. This chapter looks at the different steps in the value chain of rice. We are going to focus on the steps in the country of origin, Thailand, and on a special rice variety called Hom Mali. Other steps such as milling and packaging are also mentioned.
