Teruvia

sam2304 wrote:In Teruvia, the quantity of rice produced per year is currently just large enough to satisfy domestic demand. Teruvia's total rice acreage will not be expanded in the foreseeable future, nor will rice yields per acre increase appreciably. Teruvia's population, however, will be increasing significantly for years to come. Clearly, therefore, Teruvia will soon have to begin importing rice.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. No pronounced trend of decreasing per capita demand for rice is imminent in Teruvia.
B. Not all of the acreage in Teruvia currently planted with rice is well suited to the cultivation of rice.
C. None of the strains of rice grown in Teruvia are exceptionally high-yielding.
D. There are no populated regions in Teruvia in which the population will not increase.
E. There are no major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia.

[spoiler]What is wrong with E ? Can someone explain ?[/spoiler]

killer1387 wrote: E is irrelevant to this argument. Argument is talking of rice and making conclusion that import of rice will begin. To make the conclusion A stands the proper assumption as if demand goes down then conclusion goes apart. E is talking about crops other than rice and hence is of no affect for the conclusion made in the passage.

sam2304 wrote:

killer1387 wrote: E is irrelevant to this argument. Argument is talking of rice and making conclusion that import of rice will begin. To make the conclusion A stands the proper assumption as if demand goes down then conclusion goes apart. E is talking about crops other than rice and hence is of no affect for the conclusion made in the passage.

E. There are no major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia.

Negation of E => There are some other major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia. - If this is true and there are other MAJOR crops to rely on, then Teruvia doesn't need to import rice. Thus, the argument falls apart. Hope I am not making any mistake in this.