MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil record rice exports and imports during October

During the rice commercial year (March-October), Brazil exported 1.54 million tons of the cereal, compared to 852,240 tons a year earlier

Data from SECEX (foreign trade secretariat) compiled by ABIARROZ (Brazilian rice industry association) shows that Brazilian rice exports (husk base) totalled 153,500 tons in October, a volume 84% higher than in the same month of 2019 (83,570 tons).

Broken rice represented 62% of shipments, and Senegal, Venezuela, Sierra Leone, the Netherlands, and Peru were the main destinations in October. Cereal imports totaled 147,970 tons, basically coming from Mercosur countries and Guyana and Suriname. 108,660 tons were imported in October 2019.

During the rice commercial year (March-October), Brazil exported 1.54 million tons of the cereal, compared to 852,240 tons a year earlier. Also according to ABIARROZ, rice exports (husk base) reached 1.69 million from January to October, compared to 1.08 million in the same period of 2019.

On September 9th, GECEX (the executive management committee of CAMEX, the foreign trade chamber) decided to suspend the import tax rate for paddy and rice processed until December 31 of this year in an attempt to contain the high price of the product.

The temporary reduction in the import tax on rice is restricted to a 400,000-ton quota applicable to products covered by codes 1006.10.92 (rice with non-parboiled husks) and 1006.30.21 (semi-milled or milled rice, not parboiled) of the Common Nomenclature Mercosur (NCM).