Rice Climbing in Widest Discount to Wheat Since 2008
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Rice, this year’s worst-performing grain, is set to rally as consumers and investors seek alternatives to wheat after heat waves, wildfires and floods ruined crops across the Northern Hemisphere.
The staple food for half the world tumbled 22 percent this year in Chicago trading while wheat as much as doubled since June. The last time the discount was this wide was in February 2008, two months before rice reached a record in a global food crisis that sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt. Drought in Thailand and flooding in Pakistan, representing a combined 43 percent of global exports, are also threatening supply.