The shortage of rice last year drove Brazilian domestic prices to record levels. At the same time, national stocks fell to the lowest level which helped sustain high prices. With the arrival of a new harvest, prices have fallen much less than expected, as national buffer stocks are slowly recovering. The side effect was observed in exports of processed rice, which decreased by an average of 46% on YTD compared to the previous year. Some major Brazilian exporters lost ground in relevant export markets such as Venezuela, Cuba and the USA, with volume declining somewhere between 70%-100% in such countries.