The price of European rice has already reached its peak and may undergo a correction in the coming years if the war in Ukraine does not escalate, said the CEO of the National Rice Producers Association (ANIA).
“Our forecast is that we have peaked rice prices in Europe, which will tend to correct in the coming years, unless, of course, the war spreads to other countries,” Pedro Monteiro said in response to Luce.
This was also facilitated by the slowdown in inflation and the fall in energy prices.
In the same sense, the association hopes that herbal medicines and fertilizers will be able to reduce the maximum prices.
“Fortunately, we have water in the rivers (Mondego, Tejo/Sorraia and Sado) for the next campaigns thanks to the rains this winter, which will allow us to cover a normal 30,000 hectares,” he said.
The increase in the price of European rice has allowed production to have the necessary stock to continue production, the CEO of ANIA said, deeming it “extremely important”, saying it was indeed a matter of food sovereignty.
“We cannot be completely dependent on third countries, the EU [União Europeia] have to import almost 50% of their needs for use and consumption, and the same applies to Portugal,” he stressed.
In turn, in terms of production costs, the biggest impact was on Carolina rice in Portugal and on European rice, “which has been hit double by inflation and the war in Ukraine over high energy prices in this campaign that has ended. in September”.
As indicated, third countries did not suffer the same dual impact, having more stable prices.
“We believe that during the next campaign, product prices in Europe will tend to stabilize if the war does not go further,” he said.
Regarding the differences between different categories of rice, Pedro Monteiro explained that Carolina rice is produced in Portugal, while needle rice is imported mainly from Asia and South America.
“All rice companies (agricultural and industrial) are SMEs. [pequenas e médias empresas], while large companies and almost all multinational corporations have a large distribution, which implies a large difference in financial and negotiating capabilities. After all, the manufacturer and distribution companies have their own market strategy for each product, and there competition between the 10 industries that operate in the market determines the final price for consumption,” he said.
In February 2023, the market price of rice in Portugal for the Japanese category was 650 euros per ton, and in 2022 it was 330 euros.
The price of the indica category rose to 465 euros per ton compared to 340 euros recorded in the same period last year.
According to the association, 2,000 farmers work in the rice sector and the production area is approximately 26,876 hectares.
In 2022, exports amounted to 56,865 tons, compared to 33,183 tons in 2021 and 44,173 tons in 2020.
The main export destination was Jordan (38.6%) followed by Spain (23.2%).
In turn, between January and December 2022, imports amounted to 97,240 tons, compared with 74,840 tons in 2021, but below the 99,212 tons of rice imported in 2020.
Last year, the top country of origin was Spain (32%), followed by Guyana (28.6%).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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