On Monday, the Costa Rican Rice Association (ASOARROZ) insisted on the damage that small farmers could suffer as a result of rice imports.
(Imports) have caused serious damage to national producers, which has caused the disappearance of more than 60% of Costa Rican rice farmers,”
said Luis Martínez, vice president of the group.
They stated that the Government has taken measures to stop the increase of these imports, but that these efforts have not been enough and have actually caused a deterioration of the sector.
The request made by the rice farmers to the Government is to implement actions to improve the credit and insurance systems.
The idea is that after this meeting the primary point of our struggle will be achieved, which is the total cessation of rice imports by third parties, which are not described in CONARROZ law,”
said Martínez.
The leader affirms that in the last 6 years, plantation areas have decreased from 82,000 hectares to 45,000 hectares.
Corporación Arrocera Nacional (CONARROZ), Asociación Nacional de Industriales del Sector Arrocero (ANINSA), ASOARROZ and Agriculture Ministers, Luis Felipe Arauz, and Economy Minister, Welmer Ramos, held a meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the issue.
On the other hand, companies like La Maquila Lama, importer and distributor of basic grains, rejected that pounded rice imports from third parties is the cause of the problems and rather assured that it was the same industry and CONARROZ who harmed the system, prompting a declaration of rice shortages by 2017.