In recent years, rice has emerged as an agricultural commodity with a reputation for relatively stable prices, when prices of most other agricultural products have been anything but. The main reason for this is the peculiar makeup of the rice market and how the international trade of the product is dominated by one actor in particular – India. Although Indian rice comprises approximately 40% of the global rice trade, rice exports are still very much an afterthought in the Indian rice market. This is because only around 15% of Indian rice output is exported, with pricing trends in the country – and therefore the global rice market – defined by Indian government policy. The Food Corporation of India is responsible for procuring food, including rice, wheat and other agricultural products. It sets minimum support prices at which it will buy agricultural commodities from farmers. The prices are based on […]