From Colombia, Argentina, Brazil or Uruguay. These are the countries from which the import of rice is expected, which was announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Eduardo Izaguirre as a measure to ensure the food sovereignty of the country.

A private company will be in charge of the import, which, together with other actors in the chain and competent authorities, is still calculating the amount imported, which will be announced this week, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG). ).

Ecuador will import rice to protect food sovereignty, announced the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Eduardo Izaguirre

The announcement of MAG caused divided opinions in the sector, from the industry sector they support the measure, because they state that there is a deficit of about 120,000 tons in the country according to what happened with the lost and unplanted areas. until winter in the first half of the year, i.e. about 40,000 hectares, while on the production side they are against imports, as they assure that from the end of July to December they plan to harvest more than 150,000 hectares of grass and that this supply is for local consumption.

The president of the Ecuadorian Corporation of Rice Industrialists (Corpcom), Juan Pablo Zúñiga, which represents the industrial sector, indicated that the announcement of the state portfolio was made after talks held over the past three weeks. “There was concern from the official sector, which led us to participate in the technical tables, where representatives of various producer associations were also present,” he said and clarified that not everyone was present at these tables. technical tables, industries, as well as manufacturers, but there were representatives.

As a result of these meetings, he indicated that they determined that “it will be necessary to import, because the figures on the issue of areas lost due to a severe winter were reviewed and what could happen later with the presence of the El Niño phenomenon.”

He pointed out that from the figures they could see in relation to the lost area compared to the end of the first half of the year, it would be close to two months of consumption, which means over 120,000 tons. “This is based on what has already happened with the lost areas and the areas that were not planted in the first half of the year, in total we think it is close to 40,000 hectares,” he said.

He also indicated that they had shown that they had “very low” inventories in much of the industry and would have stock only for a maximum of 30 or 45 days, so it is necessary to cover the deficit with imports.

On the part of the producers, they oppose imports and confirm that there is rice, they guarantee that the summer harvest is ensured and that they plant “almost 100% of the hectares on which they are sown” at the farmers’ own expense and risk, and if there is an influence of the El Niño phenomenon, it would be more or less 10 %. This was stated by the president of the National Corporation of Rice Producer Organizations (Corpnoarroz), Javier Ronquillo.

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

“We projected (projected) by December that about 150,000 to 180,000 hectares will be harvested, from the end of July,” he said.

According to Ronquillo, these data were presented at a meeting they held on Monday, June 19, with Undersecretary for Agricultural Production Javier Martínez in Guayaquil. “We explained to the undersecretary that production exists. We also explained to him that we are against imports. As farmers, as a rice corporation, we do not agree that some kind of import should be signed,” he said.

According to Zúñiga, it was first discussed to import from Colombia, however, they have to see if it is the best option from the point of view of price and quality and in case it is bought from that country “within the next eight days” or they will see the first import, because they have to reconsider the issue of logistics, whether it comes by land or sea.

Ronquillo, for his part, explained that when it comes to imports, they estimate that they will arrive in about two months, by which time the Ecuadorian rice is already being harvested.

As for the quantity that will be purchased from the international market and when that purchase will be made, Zúñiga said that this will be determined by the government body.

“We have already provided inputs from the lost area and based on internal consumption, let’s hope that there is already a definitive statement and (say) what will be the mechanism to import in a controlled and orderly manner.” As an industry, we are the ones who least want imports that are not in strictly necessary quantities, because we are not interested in imported stocks when we have a good product that is harvested here,” he explained.