Brazil’s rice imports grew 32% YoY in first quarter of 2020

In the first quarter of 2020, Brazilian imports of paddy rice totaled 256,300 tons, a 32.3% year-on-year increase. Foreign sales of the national product fell 38.2% in the same period, to 237,700 tons.

As a result, the sector’s trade balance accumulated a deficit of 18,500 tons in the first quarter. In the first quarter of 2019, there was a surplus of 190,800 tons. “As in February 2020, the final stocks for the 2018/19 season reached one of the lowest volumes in history.  There is no surplus available for export,” explained the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), in a note.

The institution recalls that with domestic demand falling by 1.66% per year in the last decade, Brazilian rice producers have sought to sell part of the harvest to the international market, with export volumes ranging between 894,000 tons and 2.1 million tons in the last ten years. Planting, on the other hand, fell 43% in the country since 2004, with a reduction of 21.3% in total supply, according to the National Supply Company (Conab).

Source: Globo Rural

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