With floods in the State, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock says he will import 1 million tons of rice to avoid rising prices in the country
The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro, said this Tuesday (May 7, 2024) that the government does not think, “under no circumstances”in competing with rice producers in Rio Grande do Sul, which, according to him, holds 70% of Brazil’s rice production.
“One of the measures, which is already being prepared, is a provisional measure, authorizing Conab [Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento] making purchases of around 1 million tons. But [vou] to say, I made this very clear with the producers today, with the union and with the farmers’ mining: it is not competing. Conab will not import rice and sell it to wholesalers, who are buyers of farmers’ products”Fávaro told journalists.
In March, the minister had declared that the price of rice should fall by April. At the time, harvests were damaged due to flooding in Rio Grande do Sul. Now, prices are not expected to fall with the rains, which began on April 28th.
“At the end of the year, we had a rise in the price of rice due to the harvest period. The harvest has been going on, prices have already dropped, prices took a little longer to drop on the supermarket shelf because it is obvious, the wholesaler has to consume the stock he had purchased at a higher price until transforming it into a new price, in prices purchased now during the harvest”he stated.
In an interview with radio stations this Tuesday (May 7), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said that Brazil may need to import rice and beans to put “at the Brazilian table”. A product with a compatible price “with what he earns”.
Data from the CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities) indicate that the floods caused, from April 29, 2024 until Monday (May 6, 2024), more than R$967.2 million in financial losses. Of this amount, R$423.8 million is in agriculture.
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