The Economic Activity of Rice on a National and a Global Level

Introduction

This case study will cover the economic activity of rice on a national level and a global level.

Rice is a cereal grain which is grown manly for human consumption as a staple food. Being a staple food means that it is eaten routinely and in large amounts dominating people’s diets. Rice has a high nutritional value with 90% carbohydrates, 8% protein and 2% fat. Different types and varieties have different nutritional values however it is said that brown rice has the highest nutritional value. The total global consumption of rice is roughly around 477 million metric tons, with 480 million being produced. It is one of the most broadly grown crops in the world. Rice is imported and exported all over the world, India exports the most rice at $5.5 billion and the country that imports the most rice is China. SunRice is a $1.1 billion global food business and one of Australia’s leading food export brands.

Rice originates in tropical lowlands and requires a long, warm growing season, rice is traditionally grown in flooded fields this is not a necessity however constant soil moisture is needed in order for rice to grow. From this you can gather that you need soils to grow rice that will hold the water so therefore the most suitable soils are salty clay and salty clay loam. Rice is grown in many places around the world however the most suitable locations for rice is Asia as its hot, damp climate conditions make it perfect for growing rice.

Study Site

SunRice is a globally known rice corporation, supplying over 50 countries with high quality rice. There are three mills in NSW that SunRice own and use which are located at Leeton, Deniliquin and Coleambally. The Leeton base area is located at 37 Yanco Avenue, with the co-ordinates of 34.57ºS, 146.41ºE. Leeton is surrounded by a network of channels that are fed by the Murrumbidgee River and the Yanco Creek. The soil type is primarily Andosol and Sodosol which are made up of grey clay and self-mulching clays in the farming lands. The climate of Leeton is semi-arid with seasonal rainfall averaging 433 mL, the elevation is 120m above sea level.

The Nature of the Rice Industry

Political - On a global scale they are not limited with regulations on how much water can be used as the water comes from monsoon seasons and annual weather patterns.

1. 1. In areas of conservation
   2. Rice marketing board
   3. Quarantine laws for each country - Regulations control the use and management of water per season, per acre, for each property
   4. Water regulations restrict the amount of water that a farmer can use for rice production.
   5. The 1912 Irrigation Act is what this comes under
   6. The Leeton area must also follow the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Act 1910.

Technological - Some countries are not as technologically advanced

1. 1. • Standards and genetic breakthroughs made overseas may impact the variety of seed used here in Australia.
      • Harvesting and sowing is done by hand because of the monsoon rains in the Middle East and Asian pacific.
      • The new modern way to sow in monsoon areas is a bike/sled type sower. - Irrigation systems – computer aided designed.
      • Ricegrowers Australia (RGA) provide development of
      • Massive increase in plant breeding technologies. Specific genetics are put together to create the desirable traits and species better suited to specific areas.
      • Yanco Tocal DPI institution also works on genetically modifying rice varieties. The institute works to produce rice with desirable traits and carry out several trials to analyse their efficiency at a local scale.

Organisational - Sub companies

1. 1. • Trukai industries// papa new guinea 80% owened SunRice
      • Solrais// soloman islands fully own SunRice
      • Aquab processing companies 80% SunRice/middle east
      • Sunfoods – America – fully owned SunRice
      • Sub companies
      • CopRice – company under SunRice
      • Australian Grain Storage – fully owned SunRice – Riverina based
      • Riverina foods – fully owned/supports Victorian Fodo bank
      • Rice Research Australia- SunRice owns/works with rural industries
      • Ricegrowers Ltd. National work like CopRice.

Sociocultural - Is the staple food for many cultures

1. 1. • There is a higher demand for rice overseas than locally - Provides jobs, allows families to stay together in the area rather than have to move away for employment
      • Connotations associated with rice

Economic - Third world countries

1. 1. • Countries in disasters for nutrition for the injured</li
      • Impact of rice in a global scale
      • Staple food - Using transport companies to transport produce. Therefore creates jobs locally = globally
      • Storage Making ‘AGS’ to give jobs/making more companies = jobs
      • Higher global assistance.

Economic Dynamics of the Local Rice Industry

Since the beginning of the introduction of rice in 1924 to the Leeton area, rice has brought many economic opportunities to and for Australia’s wealth. The rice industry creates a large source of employment in the processing side of things as well as the growing. The rice industry is a commercial enterprise and it highly depends on economic factors. The production area of NSW is capital intensive utilizing high tech-machinery, compared to poorer rice producing areas, such as Asia. Rice growers in Australia purposefully plan cropping seasons allowing for diversified farming, crop rotations to receive higher yields

Australia’s rice is renowned for its high quality class value across the world and wanted by the more expensive international markets. The Australian rice markets are most efficient in today’s world due to operations without export or production subsides different from other competitive markets of the world. Australian rice feeds over 20million per day and its production is very important to agricultural activity in the world as more than half of the world’s population consume rice at least once a day. The rice from Australia provides both domestic market and sixty international locations such as the Middle East, Asia and North America. The rice from Australia is mostly exported and sold as a bulk commodity. The rest of the rice is value added and pre-packaged by SunRice for supermarkets.

External Influences on the Local Rice Industry

Rice production has an ability to influence the functions and needs from the environment and the environment has the ability to influence the rice grain farming production. The way that a rice paddock is managed is the promoter as to how the environment is impacted from the growth of rice. These impacts may be negative and include increased compaction and algal blooms, or positive and be the decreased plant use of moisture and nutrients due to genetics. The environment influences how the grain is produced and these include all aspects of the biophysical environment.

Modern farming enterprises – one undertaking that has been implemented is sustainable farming. A farmer will attempt to limit the environmental impacts that result from traditional farming techniques. Soil compaction occurs when heavy machinery travel over grounds or an area is being constantly put under pressure by cars or when work is carried out in wet conditions. Compaction decreases the porosity in the soil and decreases the aeration of the soil, which decreases the soils water holding capacity and the ability to retain moisture and nutrients. This decrease in fertility as a result of human actions places the rice industry at risk as plants need to fertile soils to grow in, which was spoken about in the introduction.

Genetically engineering plant is aimed to improve growth efficiency and to find plants that are better suited to certain climates. The newest rice variety to be released which claims to be ‘water-saving’ is Viand.

Sustainability of the Local Rice Industry

1. 1. • SunRice has its own sustainability projects in place such as, recycling waste
      • The Leeton area is feed by many irrigation channels which are filled from a range of dams that are incorporated in the Snowy Hydro Scheme that leads to the Murrumbidgee River
      • Today, Australian-grown rice requires 50% less water than the global average, positioning the industry as a world leader in productivity, efficiency and sustainability. This is a huge achievement and they are continuing to try lowering the water intake for these crops.

Recommendations

SunRice should continue to trial and experiment with water resilient varieties to lower the use of water.

Conclusion

In conclusion the Leeton rice industry (SunRice) contributes to the local and global economics of many countries. From the research that has been under taking it is clear that SunRice and the DPI are continuing to find more water efficient varieties and will continue to lower the use of water needed to grow rice.