May 10 08, MEXICO CITY - ... Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, has proposed a regional cartel modeled on OPEC. "We import expensive oil but sell rice very cheaply, and that's unfair to us," said Thai government spokesman Vichienchot Sukchokrat. But Robert Zeigler, who directs the International Rice Research Institute, calls the idea a fantasy, since oil is extracted by a few multinational companies and "rice is grown by millions of farmers on small plots.

Voice of America, May 9 08.  A variety of factors have come together to drive world food prices dramatically higher...  experts say the causes include the high cost of oil and a growing middle class in some big countries... "If you've been shopping for food lately, I don't have to tell you that prices are going through the roof." Robert Zeigler of the International Rice Research Institute is talking about rice, a basic staple food across Asia, of course.

ABC Radio Australia, May 8 08: The weekend cyclone in Burma and the rush to get food to survivors have thrown the spotlight back on the world food problem, especially the soaring price of rice in Asia.... Duncan Macintosh of IRRI says. "The realisation by the market and traders that a rice harvest is underway in many Asian countries... it's the first rice harvest of the year, so this takes [some] pressure off... and a general sense that there's not enough rice around."