In the first decade of the twenty-first century droughts began spreading across eastern Asia, specifically in South East Asia, and southern China. This harmed the agricultural output of these nations. South East Asia was hit even harder. The amount of rice grown each year declined. Eventually it was so low that the amount that grew each year was less then the amount consumed by the local populace. In countries throughout the region such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos all put a moratorium on the exportation of rice. Most of these nations had government held reserves of rice just for this kind of emergency. However, by the winter 2014 the rice reserves of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam were exhausted. This began would eventually be called the Great Famine in South East Asia. With the