Return to rice reserves shows food can’t be commodified, despite free trade ideology

The rice price run-up in April 2008 and its steep fall this winter has prompted Vietnam and Thailand to re-establish a bi-national stockpile to cushion these spikes, regardless of their long-term trade commitments.

In his Policy Pennings column, agricultural economist Daryll E. Ray of the University of Tennessee writes: “Any agricultural trade policy that is to have any hope of long-term compliance … has to recognize that countries require a zone of comfort with regard to agricultural staples that is not required for consumer products like computers and automobiles.” Full story: Agricultural Policy Analysis Center of the University of Tennessee