The federal government expects a drop of around 20% in the price of rice in the coming weeks. This Thursday (14), the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) had an emergency meeting with ministers to address the rise in food prices between the end of 2023 and the beginning of this year – which has affected the government’s popularity, according to internal surveys.
Between November 2023 and January this year, the food and beverage group was the one that weighed the most, when calculating inflation, on Brazilians’ pockets. Climatic issues, such as high temperatures and greater rainfall in different regions of the country, influenced food production and, consequently, prices.
The Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira (PT), stated that it was a seasonal increase. “It is the president’s concern that food reaches the Brazilian people’s tables cheaply. All the evidence is that it has already gone down. There was a decrease in producer prices and there will be an even greater decrease in producer prices,” he said.
Exclusive Offer for New Customers
XP NFL Jacket
Secure your jacket in 3 steps and experience the excitement of American football
According to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro (PSD), the government expects that the price reduction will be passed on to consumers in the same way by wholesale companies, which distribute to consumers. In the case of rice, this should happen at the turn of March to April, as stocks are replenished at lower prices.
“Rio Grande do Sul produces practically 85% of the rice consumed in Brazil and we had floods in the state, exactly in the producing areas, which caused some instability. The fact is that we have a harvest of around 10% in Rio Grande do Sul and prices for producers have already dropped from R$120 to around R$100 per bag. What we hope is that this price drop will be transferred, wholesalers will also lower the price on the supermarket shelf, which is where people buy,” he said.
Read too:
Continues after advertising
Harvest Plan
The ministers also discussed with President Lula the changes that will be made in the next Harvest Plan to encourage food production and reduce prices, especially for rice, beans, corn, wheat and cassava.
According to Fávaro, there was a drop in bean production of around 3.5%, but that should be recovered with the third planting cycle, which is happening now. Wheat is also a concern because there is an increase in the production of barley replacing wheat, mainly in Paraná, with the installation of large brewing industries.
“Diversification is good, but we will take measures to encourage the production of rice, beans, wheat, corn and cassava,” he said.
Fávaro cited the deconcentration of producing regions as an example. “The increase in the area planted, in the second harvest, of rice in Mato Grosso, in the Center-West is something very significant, something around 20%”, he observed. “Brazil is almost self-sufficient [na produção de arroz], but this is concentrated in the south of the country. So, when we encourage second-crop planting in the Center-West, in Matopiba [região produtora entre os estados do Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí e Bahia]we are encouraging rice to be close to these consumer centers”, explained Fávaro.
Credit facilitation measures, formation of public stocks and minimum price policy must also be part of the framework for reducing food prices, as well as increasing producers’ income. The minister explained that the objective is to mainly stimulate family farming, with the fundamental role of the National Supply Company (Conab).
“If, with these structuring measures, prices do not fall, we can take other government measures that will be studied by the economic team”, concluded Fávaro.
In addition to Teixeira and Fávaro, the ministers of the Civil House, Rui Costa (PT), and of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), participated in the meeting, as well as the president of Conab, Edegar Pretto.
(With Agência Brasil)
