Given current tight global rice stocks and high prices (see graph below), the question is how much wheat will be substituted for food or feed use. Rice prices have dropped since their peak early this year, but wheat is still 35 percent cheaper by weight than rice as a food grain. It is one reason why the uptake of wheat in East Asia has been growing at twice the rate of rice consumption. Technically, wheat imports are up 7 percent this year in South America but are down 8 percent into East Asia. Any increase in wheat for feed due to higher rice prices is likely limited. This is because rice is precious as a food crop and the amount used in the feed ration is limited. One study suggests that on average, 6 – 10 percent of global rice o...

TAGS – Wheat, Softs, Asia