World's Food Supply Faces A Threat Due To The Lack Of Rain In India.

Rice could emerge as the next challenge for the global food supply as a shortage of rain in parts of India. India is the world's biggest exporter, which has caused the planting area to shrink to the smallest in about 3 years.

The threat to India's rice production comes when countries grapple with soaring food costs and rampant inflation. The total rice planted area has declined 13% this season due to a lack of rainfall in some areas, including West Bengal and UP, which account for a quarter of India's output.

Traders are worried that a drop in rice production will complicate India's inflation fight and trigger export restrictions.

Such a move will have far-reaching implications for the billions of people that depend on the staple. India accounts for 40% of the global rice trade, and the govt has already curbed wheat and sugar exports to safeguard food security and control local prices.

The jump in India's rice prices reflects concern about output. Prices of some varieties have soared over 10% in the past 2 weeks in major growing states such as Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh due to deficient rain and increased demand from Bangladesh, said Mukesh Jain, a director at Sponge Enterprises, a rice shipper.

He said that export prices may climb to $400 a tonne by September from as much as $365 now on a free-on-board basis.