Rice shortage could 'disappear,' ag leader says
By BRENDA SOMMER news@journal-spectator.com

Rumors of rice shortages in some parts of the country have little to nothing to do with this year's crop.

Bob Little, general manager of Rice Farmers Co-op, said he'd heard reports people were hoarding rice in California, but said he has no idea if it's a serious situation or not.

"There is a perceived shortage worldwide," he said. "The price of rice has increased, percentage wise. It's gone up quite a bit in the last three or four months. Will the price hold 'til harvest? I hope so."

He said there is a shortage of rice for the world, but if production and yields increase, "that shortage could disappear fairly quickly."

"There's so many variables. It's hard to get precise," Little said. "Some of the places in California (with shortages) are probably for aromatic rice or medium grains that we don't grow very much of in this area. Texas is such a small player. The U.S. is such a small player in the world market. We grow, like, 2 to 3 percent of the world's rice, and export the majority of what we grow. We can affect the domestic price, but not prices worldwide."

The existing shortage is due to reduced exports from major rice-growing countries, he said.

"In the large rice growing areas in the world - Vietnam, India, Thailand - if they start having problems, it can escalate pretty quick. Those countries are starting to hold back on their exports. They need rice for their people. In some areas, the shortage is because of less acres, in others, their yields have been bad."

But Americans, he said, should just keep on eating rice.

"At this time, we're not going to run out," he said. "It's going to be more expensive just because of supply and demand, but on the farmer end, it needs to be. Input costs have increased dramatically in the last two or three months. Fertilizer, fuel, everything has gone up tremendously, and if we don't have a good crop, even with the prices now, it could be devastating for the whole industry."

Little said this year, the county will see a slight increase in acres dedicated to rice, depending on what kind of irrigation the farmer uses.

"If they have canals, acreage will be up about 20 percent, but most guys have irrigation wells, and we may see them up 10 to 15 percent, but remember, it's a small number to begin with," he said. "If yields bounce back, with an increase in acreage, production could be up in the 20 to 25 percent range, but the numbers are so small. In 2006-07, the rice we dried was the least amount in 40 years or better."