Rice sector with very high costs and falling prices is the current situation
With a 10% decrease in planting intentions for the 2025-2026 harvest, the national rice sector is going through moments of uncertainty and expectation.
Production costs remain extremely high, the exchange rate delay remains and prices are low.
Regarding the situation of water deficit and availability of water in dams, not all regions have the same problem.
“Here with the dry issue there are no major problems, except in some specific places. In the eastern area the situation is much more complex because the dams had not been filled” expressed Juan Miguel Silva.
“The India Muerta dam was missing 15%, the Corrales dam was missing 60% and Laguna Merín is low” described. “Since no significant rainfall has been recorded in Rocha and in the east of Treinta y Tres, irrigation pumping is complicated. The outlook is complex given there has been no significant rain” reported.
“In our area and in the north of the country, the situation is normal. The crops are progressing very well. Those that were planted early, some in the first days of the year will be flowering” He advanced while adding that there are 2 very different situations with farms that were planted early and others later. “There are no problems with water availability. There are no major inconveniences because it is always planted based on what water there is” explained the Vice President of the Rice Growers Association.
Last week, the final planting area was confirmed, which reached, in round numbers, 163,000 hectares. “This represents a decrease in area, in terms of planting intention, of 10%” revealed. “There was an intention to plant 178,000 hectares, but it was not achieved due to water availability. Due to lack of water, it was not planted” said.
VARIOUS FACTORS INFLUENCE
This significant decrease in the number of hectares planted is not only due to the lack of water for irrigation, but also to other factors. “There are several lines that intersect, like on a graph” expressed the Cerro Largo producer.
“It is a year with a falling price” He told EL PROFESIONAL Diario. “We don’t know if it will go down further, but this issue is not yet stabilized” he added.
“We have a low price and costs remain very high” he assured. “The risk component with low price and high costs in a year in which there is no certain outlook complicates. It is possible that the producer at some point risks 2% or 3% of his area, but in a year like this, by not having anything defined and concrete, and with at least one Weak Girl, he is causing them to take precautions and not plant everything they can. It is a year where nothing will be able to be risked” Juan Miguel Silva emphasized.
Production costs remain very high, almost the same as the previous harvest, especially in relation to the price of rice, which fell 40%. “If we want to add a little more seasoning, we are with a Dollar at 38 Pesos” he pointed out.
35% of the costs are in Uruguayan Pesos. “Today there was an announcement about the drop in Gasoil by 80 Cents, but the Dollar also fell more than 2 Pesos in the last 3 months, which makes things quite complicated” he warned.
EXPECTATION IN GOOD PERFORMANCES
“What we have left is the hope of obtaining good returns” said the Vice President of the ACA.
“Rice growers know what it’s like to go through difficult years, we have to be very careful not to do anything too much and get ahead of the situation” held. “We have to think very carefully about the summer, if we were able to advance some work we would have to take advantage of it to work more calmly, reducing costs. We have to take care of the water and try to be as demanding as possible, which is what we ask of the chain. Today it is the producer who provides the resource for all the costs in the industry that are discounted from the final price” he remarked.
“The industry has to be efficient because there is a lot of labor cost that is in Pesos which causes the industrial cost to increase. The Dollar has been falling and that goes against the price” reported Juan Miguel Silva.
“To the extent of our possibilities, we are moving everything that is Government, Industry and everything in general” he stated.
ADDRESS RURAL ROADS
“We are with the Municipality regarding the road issue that has been left behind” said. “Although we see specific works in some places, the Municipality dedicated itself to meeting some commitments in the town due to a resource issue, at least that is the explanation given by the Mayor. We see that they are working, but we believe that we must put a lot of effort into the rural roads in the months of January and February” he opined.
“We must prepare for the harvest, which will not be smaller because there are soybeans, there is rice, there is corn and other crops” he detailed. “Primary production is what sustains people and deserves working conditions” closed the Vice President of the Rice Growers Association.
