In a work tour in the province of Chiriquí, rice producers, members of the New Association of Producers of Chiriquí (Napach) and officials of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida), were able to verify that there is enough rice in the harvest to supply the national market and the uncertainty with the consumer is over, above all, with the first class rice, which had been scarce in recent months.
Gabriel Araúz, president of Napach, assured that, in the province of Chiriquí, considerable rice plantings are still taking place and since the first days of August, the harvests are taking place. He highlighted that the province is in its highest harvest stage.
On a tour of the Alanje district, a tour was made where it was possible to verify that the issue of national rice supply is a fact. There are rice that have been harvested for more than 20 days, said Araúz.
The producer described it as “a fallacy to say that there is a shortage, because there is still rice from last year, 600,000 quintals of mattress have already entered and national production has already contributed a significant amount.”
It must be demanded that it not happen, what is happening with the first-class rice, because there is already enough rice in the silos.
The president of the producers confirmed that there is a lot of positivity, because “it has been a good year, despite some vicissitudes. The yields were not similar to last year, they have been very good yields”, but in irrigated rice, he did predict that the same hectare as last year will not be reached, but they will be very close.
On behalf of Mida, Reinaldo Solís, National Director of Agriculture, emphasized the lack of first class rice in supermarkets. He said that “this is an Acodeco issue, but on behalf of the Ministry of Agricultural Development we are monitoring production; sowing and reaping”.
Solís highlighted that, “we have 57 thousand hectares planted at the national level, of which 2,250 have already been harvested at the level. We are at 65% of the 90 thousand hectares that have been projected for this year. It is coordinating well, Solís assured.
According to the official, this week some 3,500 hectares of planting are expected to increase, almost the same as the previous week, when 4,000 were planted. He acknowledged that there was a gap or delay, as a result of the closures, but the producers are already recovering.
The official concluded that “yes there is rice, the harvests are taking place, the rice is reaching the mills, so it already depends on the industry how it will distribute the production.”
