Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice...

A Filipino farmer plants rice in the town of Alubijid in Misamis Oriental province, located in southern Mindanao island on April 1, 2008. While the Philippines, a farming nation of 90 million, is among the world's largest importers of rice, rice importers have been left scrambling to sew up deals for themselves after Thai exporters began restricting exports amid fears they will not have enough for their domestic markets.

Filipino farmers harvest rice in the town of Alubijid in Misamis Oriental province, located in southern Mindanao island on April 1, 2008. While the Philippines, a farming nation of 90 million, is among the world's largest importers of rice, rice importers have been left scrambling to sew up deals for themselves after Thai exporters began restricting exports amid fears they will not have enough for their domestic markets.

Filipina housewife Gina Orna, carrying her five-month-old baby Marimar, buys rice from a government mobile store escorted by armed soldiers in Manila on April 7, 2008. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice, shipping an estimated 9.5 million tonnes overseas last year, but exporters are restricting exports amid fears they will not have enough for their domestic markets. That has left rice importers such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka scrambling to sew up deals to guarantee their own supplies.

Residents of Manila's poor community line up to buy packs of government rice while armed soldiers guard the rice distribution operation on April 7, 2008. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice, shipping an estimated 9.5 million tonnes overseas last year, but exporters are restricting exports amid fears they will not have enough for their domestic markets. That has left rice importers such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka scrambling to sew up deals to guarantee their own supplies.