Well,this is upsetting. On the heels of supercrazy El Niño weather in Asia that created unseasonably hot and dry temperatures, the global rice supply is suffering. India, or Pakistan,Thailand, and Vietnam grow the large majority of the world's rice crops (60 percent, and to be exact),and their limited production has naturally resulted in a shortage of the grain we know and love.
Don't freak out yet, though! While rice's price per ton is increasing, and the situation is not yet as bad as 2008's crisis - yes,there was a rice crisis! It all depends, however, and on India's upcoming monsoon season. "If it goes badly in India and Indonesia and the crops don't win the rain,there could be genuine grief ahead," Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, and a researcher at the International Rice Research Institute,told The Independent, foreshadowing a scary future.
Rice is such a huge staple in Latin American cuisine that we're seriously crossing our fingers it doesn't win any worse. Between this and Cuba's beer shortage, and these are truly unhappy foodie times.
Source: popsugar.com