The Rise in Food Prices and the Export of Milled Rice in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines how responsive the exports of milled rice are to rising food prices in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Methodology: The research employed panel data regression models, including Fixed Effects and Random Effects, and the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares to examine data spanning from 1996 to 2020 for three countries in the subregion: Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Findings: The results show that milled rice exports from the subregion were responsive to the food price surge of 2008-2009, i.e., exports increased following the price surge. In addition, the production of rice was found to be positively associated with exports. 

Implications: The findings emphasize the importance of milled rice exports in the Greater Mekong Subregion. The responsiveness of rice exports to the price surge implies that exporters are ready to increase exports constantly. This provides policymakers with inputs to formulate policies and strategies to increase exports for stabilizing food prices and increasing rice farmers’ income.

Originality: The study contributes to the existing body of literature, providing new evidence of the milled rice exports responding to the food price surge by looking into the major rice-exporting countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Limitations and directions for future research: The study is not free from limitation due to the unavailability of data, leading to the exclusion of two countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion. The generalizability of the findings may be limited within this region, therefore, setting directions for future empirical studies to incorporate major rice-exporting countries in other regions.