Rice Supply To Last Only
Two Months, Producers
Assure
The Corporación Arrocera
Nacional (Conarroz)
assures that once the
32.000 tonnes of rice
that was purchased in
the United States is
unloaded from the ships,
the rice supply in Costa
Rica is only for two
months, at which time
the country would go
into a crisis.
The 32.000 tonnes were
the first purchase made
by Conarroz of the a
total of 162.000 tonnes
that Connaroz was to
have purchased on
international markets to
for the year to properly
supply the national
market with the grain.
However, a dispute
between the rice
producers and the
government over the
wholesale price of rice
has complicated the
Connaroz purchase.
The government has set a
price of ¢17,981 colones
for a 73 kilo sac of
rice, while producers
want the price at least
¢4.000 colones higher
and have threatened not
to move ahead with the
plan announced earlier
this year to purchase
rice from world
producers to make up the
shortfall of production
at home.
According to Oscar
Campos, president of the
Asamblea Nacional de
Productores de Conarroz,
that has the
responsibility of
unloading the grain from
the ships in Limon,
assures that the grain
his group is unloading
will only last until the
end of July.
Campos added that the
Junta Directiva Nacional
de Conarroz and rice
producers are staying
firm on their position
in rejecting the
government's set price.
Rice is an important
part of the basic Costa
Rican rice and like many
other food products, its
price at the checkout
stand of the
supermarkets has
increased.
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