Ecuador will import rice to protect the country’s food sovereignty. This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Eduardo Izaguirre, this Friday, June 16, in Quito, without specifying how much rice will be imported or when.

“Today we are facing a scenario that we will solve by importing rice,” the official said during a press conference at the Carondelet Palace, where he discussed the prevention and preparedness plan together with Risk Management Secretary Cristian Torres and Defense Minister Luis Lara. El Niño phenomenon.

Rice industrialists assure that the high prices “come from the same field” and confirm that their stocks are practically at zero

According to Izaguirre, the country needs approximately 60,000 tons per month for domestic and industrial consumption.

The announcement of the Minister of Agriculture agrees with the recent statement of Juan Pablo Zúñiga, president of the Corporation of Rice Industrialists of Ecuador (Corpcom), who said that they do not rule out importing products from that sector in case of a shortage.

According to Izaguirre, for the import of rice they have options that offer quality grass and above all at zero customs duties. “We have to maintain the price of rice to effectively solve the demand problem,” he said.

The minimum support price for rice in effect in Ecuador is $32.50 per 220-pound bag of short grain and $34.50 per bag of long grain, however, the National Rice Corporation (Corpnoarroz) has recognized that in recent weeks producers receive up to 53 dollars per bag in piladoras.

The price has been in effect since April 2022, and this year the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) has not yet set a new value.

Izaguirre called on traders and the general public to condemn the unjustified increase in the price of a quintal of rice. “At this moment there is no reason for the price to be higher than normal in the country, we will be vigilant, all these decisions have already been made and we hope that this regulates the general situation”, he emphasized.

The support price for rice is only applied between producers and piladoras, now some get up to $53 per bag compared to the official $32.50

In recent days, accusations have been generated from the agricultural sector against rice industrialists as being responsible for the rise and alleged speculation on the price of rice, which has been dismissed. “The issue of high prices comes from the same field,” Zúñiga said.