全球頂3稻米專家之一指出, 自由貿易、飲食習慣改變, 加上快速都市化, 正導

致稻米產量與日俱減.

 

Free trade, changing diets, and rapid urbanization is leading to a decline in rice production,

one of the world’s leading experts on the crop said.

 

菲律賓國際稻米研究所(IRRI)前經濟學者何山指出, 隨著許多產米大國加入農業

生產自由貿易, 他們或許會發現愈來愈難讓生產者對種稻保持興趣.

 

“As prosperous rice-growing countries move toward free trade in agricultural production,

they may increasingly find it difficult to sustain producers interest in rice farming,” said

Mahabub Hossain, a former economist at the Philippines-based International Rice

Research Institute.

 

他指出, 由於亞洲與拉丁美洲中等與高所得國家快速都市化, 且國民平均所得增

加, 民眾飲食多元化, 中國、馬來西亞與泰國等稻米需求成長趨緩.

 

He said global rice demand growth has slowed as rapid urbanization and rising per capita

income in middle and high-income countries in Asia and Latin  America prompt people

to diversify their diets, while population control has reduced population growth rates in

rice-eating China, Malaysia and Thailand.

 

不過他說, 移民快速湧向都市地區, 導致西非、非洲撒哈拉沙漠以南與南美洲等

地居飲食改變, 『低收入戶因為貧窮改善, 而增加稻米消耗量』, 可以彌補少許.

 

However, he said this may be offset by “increased consumption due to poverty reduction

among low-in come households” in such areas as West Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and

South America, where rapid migration to urban areas has led to changes in diets.

 

(法新社,  聯合晚報2007.10.24)   ■