Brazil removes rice import tariffs due to floods

Brazil removed rice import tariffs to guarantee national supply amid recent flooding in southern Rio Grande do Sul state and domestic price increases.

The measure, revoking tariffs ranging from 9pc to 10.8pc, encompasses three types of rice, Brazil's foreign trade council Camex said. It is aimed at preventing price hikes in the domestic market as floods reaching Rio Grande do Sul since 29 April may have harmed national rice production.

The removal was requested by ministry of agriculture Mapa and national supply company Conab and will be in effect until the end of the year. The government may extend that period at a later date.

The decision follows Brazil's federal government provisional measure on 10 May that authorizes Conab to import up to 1mn metric tonnes of rice.

Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil's largest rice producer, responsible for 70pc of national production, but the current crop may be harmed by the historic rainfall in the state. The 2023-24 rice crop was 84pc harvested as of 12 May, just a 1 percentage point increase from 29 April.

The extreme weather caused a humanitarian crisis in the southern state and has left 157 people dead, 88 missing and over 581,000 people displaced, according to the state's civil defense.

By Maria Albuquerque