Rice Soars and More Black Sea Grain Threats: Supply Lines

From a rice rally that could hit the poorest hardest and more worries about crucial Black Sea grain supplies, here’s a snapshot of key food stories from around the world:

Pricey Rice

Extreme weather and food protectionism are combining to make rice — vital to the diets of billions in Asia and Africa — much more expensive. Prices jumped to a 15-year high this week as dryness threatens the Thai crop at a time when India has curbed exports to protect local supplies.

That’s bad news for some of the world’s most disadvantaged. The staple makes up as much as 60% of all calorie ...