Since the middle of the year, the price of rice has increased and, although it has had a slight decline, it does not adjust to the price before June. This is attributed to the impact of winter in the countryside and alleged speculation, which is why the government announced the import of the product to guarantee the food sovereignty of the country.

The rice is imported from Uruguay and is currently in the mills, where it is reprocessed and adjusted to the quality standards that each brand in Ecuador manages. This product is expected to appear on the market in February, according to the president of the Corporation of Rice Industries of Ecuador (Corpcom), Juan Pablo Zúñiga.

Rice imported from Uruguay is in reserve and will be in supermarkets by January 2024, now the piladoras are processing the national harvest

Although the price of rice fell slightly during these months, it did not return to the level before June, when 5 kilograms sold for 5.50 to 7 dollars, depending on the brand and type of grain. The price is currently between $6.95 and $8.65.

In June, it traded between $8.69 and $8.83; in early August between $8.19 and $8.26; and in mid-August it was between $7.89 and $8.85.

Rice topped the list of products with the greatest impact on inflation, according to reports from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). In May, this product had inflation of 4.13%; in June 11.01%; and in July 17.19%, according to the entity’s technical bulletins.

It was on June 16 that the then Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Eduardo Izaguirre, announced the approval of rice imports, a measure that was adopted as a solution, but was rejected by producers.

The production sector opposes the import of rice announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Industrialists calculate volume per order

While on the industrial side, it is indicated that the import occurred precisely because of a significant drop in production in the first half of the year, which caused a shortage of stocks. “This year was atypical. After 25 years, the need for specific imports arose. Importing rice is not our business,” says Zúñiga.

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay were presented as market options for negotiations. Of those four countries, the first alternative was Colombia; However, it was later dropped due to rising costs in that country. It was finally finalized with Uruguay.

In July, Uruguay’s foreign ministry announced that Ecuador had improved tariff conditions to facilitate the arrival of “a total quota of 63,246 tons of grass, until December 31, 2023.”

Two months after that announcement, in September, almost 400 tons of the first contingent, or about 15,000 tons of rice, arrived in the port of Guayaquil, and in the middle of this month the arrival of the entire quantity was completed.

The first 400 tons of Uruguayan rice grain have arrived in Ecuador, a total of 15,000 will arrive in eight weeks

The industrialist explains that this is the first and only contingent; Subsequently, it will be seen whether it is necessary to carry out another import, and if necessary, it will be after carrying out assessments whether it is necessary or not, but for now there are no plans for another import.

This imported rice is not yet on the market, since from the beginning it was intended as a reserve due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which favored the domestic harvest. “Fortunately, we have not yet felt the effect of El Niño and it has allowed for normal production. It was always said that the priority was national production, and that was done. The imported rice will be like a reserve stock, it will be put on the market from February, everything will depend on how the issue of stock management will develop.”

Likewise, the president of Corpcom notes that Uruguayan rice will not be on the market directly with packaging from that country, as it will be processed again in mills.

In October, there was Uruguayan rice on the supermarket shelves, but it was not imported through the industry, but directly by Almacenes Tía. Blue Patna brand in 2 kg packs for $1.99 and 5 kg packs for $5.99.