Rice ups and downs

The agricultural industry can seem pretty strange at times. Take rice, for example. There were two very contrasting stories on this crop in the news today. On the one hand, it is making a comeback in Romania, fueled by cheap land, labour and water. But on the other, acreage is plummeting in Korea. That’s due to changes in local consumption patterns and the move towards cash crops like ginseng. Given high world prices, one would have thought that Asian entrepreneurs would be jumping at the chance to supply the European market. But of course, some Asian countries have put in place export bans.