Price of rice increases – Diario La Prensa Riobamba

2023-08-28 20:09:39

The price of rice is increasing, and this situation is causing concern in Riobamba because the price of rice, a staple in the Ecuadorian diet, has experienced a drastic increase in recent weeks.

Thus, consumers are faced with a major economic dilemma as the costs of this essential product continue to rise.
Thus, according to reports, factors such as inflation and shortages of supplies have combined to cause this already serious crisis.
Fountain. Marta G., one of the merchants who works in the San Alfonso market, mentioned that, despite the rise in the prices of various products, her customers have not stopped going to make their usual purchases, stressing that it is very important to have good dealings with customers.

One of the local restaurants buys two quintals of rice every week. In the first days of June the quintal cost him 38 dollars, while the next month it already rose to 57 dollars. A lunch costs $2.75 and they want to maintain that price, but they are concerned that rice will continue to rise in value or, even worse, stay in price, which would hurt value.

The Crnl. Vinicio Serrano, mayor, indicated that the price of rice doubled, due to heavy rains and the proximity of the winter season; however, producers and processors do not agree on the reasons for the increase. According to the official, the price per quintal has risen by around 10 to 15 dollars since the first days of June. Serrano noted that they carry out their checks in several distributors and verify, with the invoices, the purchase price of the product, with which the sellers can increase up to 5 dollars of profit in the product.

According to the National Corporation of Organizations of Rice Producers, the winter harvest left around 5.4 million quintals of milled rice, which will cover the demand for the next four months. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) announced that there are no reasons for an increase in the price of rice; however, uncertainty persists as to how long this serious situation will last, and what its long-term impact will be on the country’s economy.

Fact. Around 280,000 hectares of rice are planted annually. Of which sixty percent of the crops are in the province of Guayas.