Rice smuggling has increased in Asia over the last several months as the price of grains around the world increase.

From Forbes:

Smuggling is occurring across Asia due to price disparities between major grain-producing countries, where domestic prices are being kept artificially low, and the region’s major importers.

Indonesia, a major rice producer that curtailed exports last month, is stepping up border patrols to prevent smuggling to the neighboring Philippines, the world’s largest rice importer.

Pakistan has been trying to stem smuggling of rice and wheat into India and Afghanistan. Last month, an Afghan border policeman was reportedly killed in an exchange of fire with Pakistani troops who were trying to stop a caravan of flour smugglers.

In the case of China, the root cause of smuggling is obvious: Prevailing international rice prices are as much as four times higher than in China; the price of wheat, more than twice as high.

China accounts for nearly a third of total world rice output.