Considering that the picturesque rice terraces are some of the classic images of the Philippines, you may think that the Philippines is one of the top producers of rice in the world. In fact, the truth is the opposite.
As mentioned in the first post of the Rice War series, the Philippines is the largest importer of rice in the world. In the map above, you can see that the Philippines imports about 1.9 million tons of rice per year. Compare this number with the meager 10 thousand tons of rice produced in the Philippines, and you'll find that there's a huge majority of the population subsiding on imported rice.
Link the demand with the exponentially high transportation costs, and the result is a severe food crisis in the Philippines.
This issue shows that major issues such as hunger, oil, transportation, import/export, etc. are all linked on a global scale. What affects us at home in the United States can be magnified exponentially in other nations.
The not-so-free rice game [Foreign Policy]
Rice War: Episode 3
The Philippines is actually a top importer of rice -- and one of the lowest producers
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Article by Kaywan Shiraz
May 18, 2008
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