ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates national rice policies of Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States and their effect on trade in rice among these countries. It examines some statistics on rice are presented to draw attention to its quantitative magnitude in production, consumption, and trade in the last ten or so years. The chapter discusses domestic rice policies pursued in the Pacific Basin area countries and their effect on international trade, prices of rice, and world price stability. The higher domestic prices not only transfer wealth away from consumers but induce efficiency losses because the marginal social benefit of food in these countries exceeds the marginal social cost. The consumers in developing countries are natural allies of the producers in developed countries in the maintenance of agricultural protection. Many government policies that have been justified on grounds of self-sufficiency and food security are costly for developing countries to undertake.
