Thread: Jim Rogers: Boost Crop Production or ‘No Food at Any Price

Jim Rogers: Boost Crop Production or No Food at Any Price

Thursday, 30 Jun 2011 07:06 AM

The global agriculture supply situation has worsened and a failure to boost food production fast enough to meet demand may lead to shortages, said investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings.

“We’ve got to do something or we’re going to have no food at any price at times in the next few years,â€

Rice Supply Tightening in China May Boost Imports, Inflation

June 30, 2011, 5:40 AM EDT
By Bloomberg News

(Closes Zhengzhou rice futures in eighth paragraph.)

June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Rice supply in China, the world’s biggest grower and consumer, may decline after drought and floods damaged crops, potentially boosting inflation and increasing imports.

The early indica harvest may drop in some areas, said eight of 12 officials, traders and farmers surveyed by Bloomberg News in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, the top producers of the variety which represents 17 percent of annual output. The crop may increase or be about the same as last year, said four of those surveyed from June 21 to June 25. Output of this type already dropped last year to the lowest level since 2003, according to the statistics bureau.

Lower production may bolster rice futures in China that jumped 29 percent in the past year and increase imports that doubled in the first five months. Surging food costs because of drought and floods helped lift inflation to 5.5 percent last month, the fastest pace in almost three years. The rate may quicken to more than 6 percent in June, adding pressure on the central bank to increase interest rates, some economists said.

“Competition for the early rice harvest will be quite intense given expectations for low output, likely driving up prices,â€