In the past four years, the number of farmers engaged in rice production increased from 743 to 1,200, drawn by a fixed price system which in 2011 was covered by a subsidy amounting to $104 million.

The recent judgment by the Administrative Court annulling a presidential decree and ordering an increase in the price of a 73 kilo bag of rice to almost $49, confirms the wisdom of farmers who switched to growing the grain, confident that the subsidy levels would continue at astonishing levels, despite protests from other countries, the opinion of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and consumers of a product based on the local food basket, who pay one of the highest prices in the world for rice.

An article in Elfinancierocr.com states that “Despite the problems faced by producers to sell rice in the domestic market, more and more farmers are planting the grain. From 2008 to 2012 the number doubled, going from 743 to 1,200. The mobilization of this activity is mainly due to the price having been set by decree, so from the beginning they are certain of how much they will be paid for the grain. ”

“The Board of Directors of the National Rice Corporation (CONARROZ) decided to decrease the planting area, but Mayi Antillon, Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, expressed her concern that the new price could be attractive and would motivate the planting of even more rice. In addition to this situation, in 2011 triple the amount was imported than in 2010, increasing supply in a market in which it is already difficult to place domestic grain.”

Source: El Financiero