Lao People’s Democratic Republic: responding to rice price inflation

Josef Loening

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The objective of this study is to identify likely factors driving the 2010 rice price hike and suggest options to manage rice price volatility in the future. Regional trade is likely the main proximate cause for high glutinous rice prices. Trade with Vietnam was likely the main reason for short-term price fluctuations, while trade with Thailand affects medium- and long-term price trends. By contrast, traditional supply and demand factors explain only a small part of rice price inflation. There is, however a possibility that major supply shocks may be regional, which could affect Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam simultaneously. The effectiveness of government policy measures has been mixed. There is a need to closely coordinate rice production and trade policies in order to effectively manage price volatility. Future analysis should look at regional glutinous rice production trends and related trade flows.

Keywords: Food prices; rice prices; sticky rice; regional trade; economic policy; Lao PDR; Thailand; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 I32 O18 O53 Q11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-08-15
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-sea
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:33443

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