The price of rice in friendly supermarket has increase by around 10% recently, while export price of Thai rice has doubled based on last year’s price. The general mass feeling is to buy more rice, as the feeling is that rice price will only increase. No matter how much rice our minister shows us in the warehouse, we still continue to buy buy buy. 
But, what is actually driving up the rice prices? A very direct relationship can be seen using the supply and demand rule. The supply has decreased due to reasons, such as bad weather, and diversion of fields to grow more profitable corns instead of rice. (We have to really thank our big brother Uncle Sam, for their green policy of buying huge amount of corns to manufacture green fuel. This is where our food has disappeared to.) Demand, however, due to relatively constant population, will not decreased.
Now, our dear rice buyer, (that includes your mum, your dad, your grandfather, you grandmother), feeling that rice price will increase, or that there has been too much publicity, now happily remembers to buy a few more packets of rice back home. So, the demand increases further, and likewise, the price. Each and everyone buying rice above norm is an accomplice to the price increase. Yes, an accomplice.
What we can do instead, is to just eat some other food. There is wheat, corn, yellow noodles, bread, pasta. And there is no need to horde so much rice at home. The demand, will instead stabilize, and so will the price.
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