Rice in the Shadow of Sky Scrapers

In many countries of East and Southeast Asia, rice plays a very significant role in society, typically accounting for the largest single share of food calories and food expenditure, playing an important role in the agrarian system and livelihoods of a majority of farmers, being a leading user of land and water resources, and featuring heavily in local cultures and traditions. As an illustration, the share of rice in total cereal production is very high in the region: around 43 percent in East Asia and 86 percent in Southeast Asia versus around 28 percent for the world. Moreover, the region is the world’s leading rice producer. Using FAO estimates for 2012, East and Southeast Asia accounted for about 60 percent of the world’s paddy rice production (with China alone accounting for around 28 percent). In the region, rice is also an important traded commodity, with the region featuring several of the world’s leading rice exporters (such as Viet Nam and Thailand) and importers (such as China, the Philippines and Indonesia). Overall, the region accounts for at least 44 percent of total world rice exports and at least 19 percent of total imports.