Paddy rice and rice grown in swiddens (slash-and-burn agriculture) in hilly areas provides subsistence for the majority of the population. Maize is important for some upland groups. The rural population consumes most of the food it produces, but Laos is a net importer of food, primarily from Thailand. Market exchange for food occurs in occasional markets and small market towns for most rural people. These towns are also conduits for industrially produced commodities for households and farms. In more remote areas, industrially produced cloth and clothing gives way to home-produced clothes. Market gardening increases near large towns and cities.