Why the price of rice is more fluctuate than wheat

A Metropolis Opinion

My friend, when came back from America said to me, in America, it’s hard to find rice (cooked rice), although many Indonesian and Asian restaurant are available there. The price is too expensive.

Indonesian in news, many times the outspoken said in many places hunger is happened. Many hungers cases in Indonesia, although Indonesia is a rice balm.

Let us see why does fluctuation happened?

Rice is available in tropism countries. When rain (spring or rain season) comes all farmers in tropics countries start to plant and harvest together and in the same time. In economic perfective; when supply increases, the price of the goods (rice) will fall down. With a simple sentence; at this time, the price of rice falls otherwise when summer comes, farmers don’t plant. In economic word; when stock (supply) is higher than demand, the price will fall.

In summer time, Demand is unchanged but the supply (stock) can’t fulfill the demand so the price is rising. More deeply in spring the rice price is fall and when summer the price is rise. The fluctuation in spring and summer makes the supplier can determine the price based on their own. When summer comes, no one farmer in tropics countries plants and harvest, so the stock is limited. No backup because stock in others countries are low (supply is limited in summer)

How about wheat?

Wheat is available in sub tropics area. I will put America and Australia as an example.

When American farmers plant in the spring (rain season), Australian farmers are sleeping at home because of summer otherwise American farmers are sleeping when summer comes.

When American farmers harvest the wheat, over supply of wheat will export to Australia. The case is also happened when Australian farmers harvest. Let us see. To keep price doesn’t fluctuate; the over supply will be exported to another countries because other countries minus of stock. The price is kept well because stock (supply is constant). We know over supply cause the price down.

In my opinion; rice farmers in tropics countries can’t be rich farmers because when they increase their harvest, the price down. The over supply can not export to others countries because in the same time, all rice farmers are harvesting too. So how they keep the price?

The case isn’t happened to sub tropics countries. They can increase their supply because in the same time, Australia needs wheat as low of supply.