The price of rice reaches its lowest level in 14 years and worries producers

With planting advancing over 18% of the area planned for the 2025/26 crop in Rio Grande do Sul, the main producing state in the country, the price of husked rice reached its lowest level in 14 years. According to data from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), the sack is being traded at R$ 59.17, the lowest value since September 2011, a drop of 50.3% in just one year. In an interview with Rural News, from Rural Channel, Evandro Oliveira, a consultant for Safras & Mercado, explained that the sector is facing a liquidity and profitability crisis caused by the excess supply. “After rice surpassed R$ 120 per sack, right after the pandemic, there were incentives and expansion of areas in various regions of the country. This resulted in a national production exceeding 12.3 million tons. Now, the challenge is to find demand for this entire volume,” he stated. The specialist highlights that the outflow of production is one of the main bottlenecks. Domestic demand ...