Will there be a shortage of rice in Brazil? Government and sector assess impacts of rains in RS | Rice

Rice gained prominence in Brazil at the end of the 19th century with the popularization of the famous dish “rice and beans”, now guaranteed to be present on the table of a quarter of the country’s population. With more than half of national production concentrated in Rio Grande do Sul, a state facing a climate catastrophe, a question arises: will there be a shortage of rice in 2024?

According to the most recent survey of agricultural production carried out by the National Supply Company (Conab), in the 2023/24 harvest, 10.6 million tons of rice will be produced in Brazil, harvested from an area of ​​1.544 million hectares.

The volume is obtained from two types of crops: rainfed, which favor drought-resistant varieties that require little water and will total 800.9 thousand tons in the 2023/24 cycle, and irrigated, which require a large amount of water and in this harvest will yield 9.76 million tons.

Total production will be 5.3% higher than last harvest. In this scenario, the state of Rio Grande do Sul accounts for more than 70% of the national total, with a harvest estimated at 7.4 million tons. Next, Santa Catarina should harvest 1.13 million tons, Tocantins: 560 thousand tons, Mato Grosso: 335 thousand tons, Maranhão: 186 and Paraná: 123 thousand tons.

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Although Rio Grande do Sul has been suffering major agricultural losses since the end of April due to heavy rains that caused historic flooding in several regions, the president of the Federation of Rice Growers of Rio Grande do Sul (Federarroz), Alexandre Velhoguarantees that there will be no shortage of rice on the Brazilian market.

In the last cycle, the State harvested 6.9 million tons and the initial expectation for 2023/24 was 7.4 million tons. Across the country, production is expected to reach 10.6 million tons, 5.3% more than in 2022/23.

“I bring an official word from the entity that represents the rice sector. There is 17% of the State left to harvest. The problem is that the most delayed area is in the central region of the State, which suffered the most from the rains,” he says.

“Even if we have difficulty harvesting this balance, Rio Grande do Sul is certainly capable of serving the country. I reaffirm that we have no problems with domestic supply and there is no need to import”, he says.

Also this Tuesday (7/5), President Lula and Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro stated that the government is studying the possibility of importing 1.5 million tons of cereal from Paraguay.

“If this is the case, for us to balance production, we will import rice and beans, so that we can put a price on the worker’s table that is compatible with what they earn”, assured the president in an interview with journalists from Brazilian radio stations broadcast on TV Brasil.

Velho states that at this moment there is an obvious logistical problem in transporting production. But the difficulty is greater on the State’s internal roads than on the routes that lead to large centers. “BR-101 allows rice from Rio Grande do Sul to reach the centers of Brazil.”

The president of Federarroz points out that, at the moment, it is necessary to “let the waters recede to reach the properties and help the producers. Only after that, in the regions where the harvest did not occur, will we be able to assess the losses.”