Lynne Kiesling
Is high, as are the prices of most commodities worldwide. Amid growing demand due to economic growth, and in the wake of recent poor yields, rice prices are rising. This NPR story from this morning did a good job of discussing the nuanced situation for rice farmers in Vietnam; they get higher prices per unit of output, but poor yields have meant less output, and then as consumers they also face higher food prices.
Lynne,
I'd expect, since the Chinese and India choose to limit their exports of rice, that the Vietnamese are getting rewarded by trading rice.
Maybe it's a tad early but is there any evidence that average worker bringing this commodity to market is enjoying a higher standard of living?