Apparently all the talk about a rice crisis has produced one, at least locally. In the last week the already high pice of rice increased another 25%. 
Yesterday at the market the best rice was selling for $1.15/kilo, up from about $0.95 last week. The price of the government subsidized rice was selling for $0.41- 0.72/kilo. This government rice is a mix of various kinds of old stock, so the cheaper stuff is old and tends to be yellowed, broken, and dirty. It is also likely to have a high mold content. In the last few days there have been huge lines of people waiting to buy up to the daily limit of 2 kilos.
Yesterday at the market the best rice was selling for $1.15/kilo, up from about $0.95 last week. The price of the government subsidized rice was selling for $0.41- 0.72/kilo. This government rice is a mix of various kinds of old stock, so the cheaper stuff is old and tends to be yellowed, broken, and dirty. It is also likely to have a high mold content. In the last few days there have been huge lines of people waiting to buy up to the daily limit of 2 kilos. This is incredibly high for poorer families, especially when the minimum wage for a full time “official” laborer is $3.18 per day. That is, if he is a full time “official” worker working for a larger company. A great number of people earn less than that because they are considered “temporary” or they work on a comission or they work for a smaller business. This comes at a time when people are also scrambling for extra money to buy school supplies and uniforms. One 15 year old who was going to finally get the opportunity to start high school this year – most kids start at age 12 - was just told by her mom that she may have to get a job instead to try to help the family instead of going to school. Yes, legally 15 year olds can’t work. But the reality is that they can and do. They are hired for extremely low wages as house helpers, they help in home-based eateries, and in the back rooms of other small businesses.
It is not only rice. The price of gasoline has been going up and recently resulted in higher fares for public transportation. It also results in higher prices for everything else. Already the shops and markets seem a bit quieter as people are using more of their money for rice and transportation and less for other stuff.
Yesterday we found out in the news that the unusally high prices of rice are only in this region of the country. The city council had an emergency meeting and decided to che
ck out rumors of rice hoarding. Officials have reportedly begun checking out local rice sellers and large millers. It is a crime to hoard rice in this city. The city council has also asked that more government subsidized rice be allotted to this area. They also asked the public to leave the subsidized rice for the poor. (Yeah, like other people aren’t also feeling the pinch.) They also talked about trying to increase rice production in the area.
It is not only rice. The price of gasoline has been going up and recently resulted in higher fares for public transportation. It also results in higher prices for everything else. Already the shops and markets seem a bit quieter as people are using more of their money for rice and transportation and less for other stuff.
Yesterday we found out in the news that the unusally high prices of rice are only in this region of the country. The city council had an emergency meeting and decided to che
ck out rumors of rice hoarding. Officials have reportedly begun checking out local rice sellers and large millers. It is a crime to hoard rice in this city. The city council has also asked that more government subsidized rice be allotted to this area. They also asked the public to leave the subsidized rice for the poor. (Yeah, like other people aren’t also feeling the pinch.) They also talked about trying to increase rice production in the area.We shall see. If the price doesn’t come down soon we may end up with major problems here. The poor simply cannot afford it.
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