According to Rice Exports, global “Rice exports by country totaled US$19.9 billion dollars in 2016 down by an average -16.7% for exporting countries from 2012 when overall rice shipments were valued at $23.9 billion. “From a continental perspective, Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar value worth of rice exports during 2016 with shipments amounting to $14.5 billion or two-thirds (66.4%) of all rice exports. North American exporters supplied 9.6% of global rice exports, followed by Europe at 8.4% then Latin America (excluding Mexico) and the Caribbean at 6.6%. Until President George Weah’s recent intervention to reduce the price of rice, rice price had increased year over year, while unemployment and poverty levels remain steady across the country. Just imagine the potential for wealth creation, given the soil and favorable weather conditions of Liberia and the rest of West Africa, if we were to invest in mechanized farming of rice.

Source: Front Page Africa May 15, 2018 17:32 UTC