Pno shortage of rice, a priori. World stocks, at the end of the 2023-2024 campaign, should peak at 198.5 million tonnes, a level never reached. Well-filled attics, thanks to an expected production increase to 523 million tonnes, according to estimates published in early July by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The French harvest? A straw, facing these grain carts. The harvesters which will come into action at the end of September should collect nearly 80,000 tonnes. A small volume of rice produced on a shrinking surface of 12,000 hectares. But this rare commodity is proud to display its IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) rosette, Camargue rice.
In the country of paella, the fields planted with grasses are more developed, but the drought hit this summer. Conversely, the rain favored the Italian grain. ” Europe should produce less than 3 million tons of rice in 2023, for a consumption close to 4 million tons », predicts Bertrand Mazel, president of the Syndicate of rice growers of France. Smiling rice farmers. And for good reason. The barometer of their market, located in Vercelli, Italy, is looking good. “The price has held steady since the start of the year at 600 euros per ton, against 400 euros eighteen months ago”says Mr. Mazel.
Beware of global food security
If the price of rice has jumped in Europe, it only reflects the warming of world markets. The surge in the price of wheat, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, affected rice by ricochet. Worried about their supplies, consumer countries have stockpiled. And while the price of wheat fell, that of rice did not follow. The price of grasses even reached its highest level since 2011 in July, according to the FAO.
It was enough for India, anxious to curb inflation in the run-up to a crucial electoral deadline, to prohibit exports of non-parboiled indica rice at the end of June, to raise the temperature on the markets.
In August, the world’s largest exporter of rice, with 40% of volumes, added another drop of oil to the speculative fire, by decreeing taxes and restrictions on other varieties of grasses. Even if Burma and Cambodia, with three harvests a year, open the floodgates, tensions are high. Watch out for global food security. Particularly in many African countries, where the highly prized broken rice is consumed at an average of 70 kg per year per capita. The price of rice is at risk…