Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou and Agriculture Minister Fernando Mattos spoke to reporters after attending the ceremony Monday marking the launch of the 2023 rice harvest, which will be one of the few items with something to celebrate in a country hit by drought.
As Brazil continues to expand its agriculture frontiers and farming techniques, two cereals of which the country has been historically an importer are becoming increasingly self-sufficient. This is particularly true for wheat and rice, with most crops in the southern states of the country.
As India, the world leader in exports restricts rice shipments, Brazil signaled at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that together with Mercosur partners, it is ready to expand exports and help with global food security.
Brazilian rice exports (husk base) totaled 451.3 thousand tones during the first quarter, more than double the same period in 2021 when 207.7 thousand tons were shipped, reports the Brazilian Rice Industry Association (Abiarroz).
Brazilian oilseeds and grain exports are booming. China's purchases of soybeans more than doubled in the first two months of the year, while husk rice overseas sales during February jumped 65% compared to a year ago.
Guyana's exports for the year 2021 of approximately 434,535 tons of rice, paddy, and its by-products meant US $ 201 million in revenues, according to Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, after new export markets such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI) as well as Estonia and Slovenia were added to the list of buyers.
Brazil’s rice production is expected to shrink and the challenge will be to limit exports in order to supply domestic demand and contain domestic prices.
Brazil has negotiated the purchase of 225,000 tons of rice from the United States, India, and Guyana, which are expected in the country during the second half of October and November.
The United States reported last week the sale of 30,000 tons of rice to Brazil. This follows on the decision from the Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex) to slash tariffs on rice to zero, helping to reduce the price of the grain for consumers.
Black beans are up nearly 30%, beef about 40% – Brazilians are facing a skyrocketing rise in food prices, caused by record exports to China and strong domestic demand. This rebound, amid the economic and social crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, has led the president, Jair Bolsonaro, to ask the owners of supermarkets to show patriotism and keep their profit margin as low as possible.