Wandile Sihlobo These are still early days for us to be certain about the 2026-27 global agricultural conditions. The season is starting in the Northern Hemisphere, and should start from October 2026 in the Southern Hemisphere. But it was encouraging to see that the International Grains Council (IGC) forecasts the 2026-17 global rice production at a record 548 million tonnes, up 1% from the previous season. They see ample harvests in India. Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. As a result of this increase in production, the stocks are up 2% year-on-year, estimated at 197 million tonnes. I generally pay close attention to these rice production issues because, in South Africa, while a net exporter of agricultural products, rice is one of the products we are not endowed with. We rely 100% on imports. We consume just over a million tonnes of rice annually. We can’t produce rice because of our relatively dry environment; we are generally a ...