being a filipino, i just thought it apt to write a few lines... here's my entry
Rice shortage in a Rice country?
Rice is no mere commodity in the Philippines - it is THE commodity. Although a rice producing country, Philippines has been encountering a rice shortage several years already; that importing rice from neighbouring third world countries has become the only option. With a demand of 33,000 tonnes a day, rice prices in the Philippines is on a record soar of around Php 35.00 per kilo.
Despite rising global prices, the government has bought about 1.2 million tonnes of rice out of the 1.8 million it says it will need to import to meet demand in 2008. The National Food Authority (NFA), the grain purchasing arm of the government that spends billions of pesos every year subsidising rice to the public, is now one of the biggest drags on public finances, with net liabilities in 2006 of nearly 43 billion pesos ($1 billion).
But the NFA has a very small impact. In local markets, traders often tell customers they are out of NFA rice, which is kept at 18.25 pesos a kilogram, forcing them to pay nearly 30 pesos per kg for other varieties. It is common to see long lines like these in markets selling NFA rice, especially in the rural areas of the Philippines. If in stock, most customers are forced to buy 1 kilo per day.
Filipinos survive on rice. Being a basic need, the absence of food (in this case, rice) can only lead to clenched fists and hunger fueled with anger. It is only a matter of time before another revolt is in the pipeline.
