The constant rains in recent weeks affected the logistics of the rice that is in full harvest.
The excess of rains and the effects of the roads worry the rice sector which is waiting for one of the best harvests, after having gone through one of the worst droughts that hit it hard.
The president of the Rice Growers Association (ACA), Alfredo Lagocommented in Valor Agrícola that he was making flights over the fields to study their situation along with other directors of the union such as Héctor Da Fonseca and Hernán Zorrilla.
“Last Friday we made a flight in the eastern area to evaluate the situation together with other directors of the regional, and we estimated that some farms had a higher water level than desired,” said the president of the union, who explained that they flew over a third of the entire rice area at the national level, which is comprised of the seventh of Thirty-threea part of Rincón de Ramírez, Cebollatí, 18 de Julio and San Luis.
In that sense, Lago announced that the roads were very deteriorated, which could complicate the logistics of the sector in the middle of the harvest. “In terms of losses, the wind damage last Thursday at dawn was more complicated than the excess water itself, with an area overturned and rice that was shelled,” he explained.
Added to this is that since Friday of last week some rivers overflowed and increased the water level, which could increase the number of affected fields.
What is expected from the rice harvest this year?
Uruguay will export less tonnage rice during this year compared to what the 2023 figures were, since lower yields per hectare are expected during the next harvest due to direct impacts as a result of the El Niño climate phenomenon.
Despite the lower yields, rice producers expect turnover to increase compared to last year, due to the increase in international prices. This year the generated by placements of rice It could reach up to 600 million dollars, while in 2023 they will enter 550 million dollars.
Currently there are about 150,000 hectares planted in the Uruguayof which, as explained to the EFE Lago Agency, between 8,700 and 8,800 kilos of rice of each one. In 2023, each one had yielded about 9,500 kilos of riceuntil reaching nearly 1.5 million tons.
Although some producers have already begun harvesting, the vast majority are expected to do so from the second half of March. “We are now just a few weeks away from starting a harvest that, although smaller than last year, is still a very good productive level in historical comparison with ourselves,” as well as “in comparison with other countries in the world,” he said. Lake.
Source: Ambito
