he international rice market is characterized by high volatility for a number of reasons. Rice is characterized by inelastic supply and demand throughout much of Asia where rice is the dominant food staple. Rice is also thinly-traded. Only 7% of rice production is traded as opposed to 10 percent for coarse grains and 16 percent for wheat (computed from FAFRI, 2010). Global rice exports are highly concentrated with the top five exporters accounting for 85% of global net trade.