Our group departed for Phu Quoc Island in the middle of December. With the optimum time to visit between December and March each year, this period is only just around the corner and the excitement to book a new trip here will soon be high. This is also the dry season on Phu Quoc, when the weather is clear and ideal for sight-seeing and tourism. And indeed, as soon as I got off the plane, I sensed a totally differ-ent vibe from the city: the freshness and tranquillity of the sky here with every breeze. The wind from the ocean whips through the hair as if blowing away all the work tired-ness. Phu Quoc, the biggest island in Vietnam and located in Kien Giang province ranked among the top 25 finest islands in the world by the World’s Best Places survey in July. It is a site where nature bestows riches, with a diverse ecosystem: from ancient forests of melaleuca to coral reefs and seagrass beds. Visitors may not be able to comprehend and appreciate all of the natural beauty here if they … [Read more...] about Phu Quoc Island an orchestra of wonder
Pulse
Analysis: Global rice supplies at risk as harsh weather hits top exporters
SINGAPORE/MUMBAI -- Adverse weather across top rice suppliers in Asia, including the biggest exporter India, is threatening to reduce the output of the world's most important food staple and stoke food inflation that is already near record highs. Rice has bucked the trend of rising food prices amid bumper crops and large inventories at exporters over the past two years, even as COVID-19, supply disruptions and more recently the Russia-Ukraine conflict made other grains costlier. But inclement weather in exporting countries in Asia, which accounts for about 90% of the world's rice output, is likely to change the price trajectory, traders and analysts said. "There is an upside potential for rice prices with the possibility of production downgrades in key exporting countries," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. "An increase in rice prices would add to already major challenges for food affordability in parts of the developing world," Ziebell told … [Read more...] about Analysis: Global rice supplies at risk as harsh weather hits top exporters
