Brazil imports rice due to floods

Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he would enact a law allowing the country to import rice from neighboring Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, in order to reduce high prices of the commodity.

A cargo plane at Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 7. Photo: Reuters

The Brazilian government decided to import rice after prices rose sharply in recent days amid floods and heavy rains in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the country's rice bowl. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Rio Grande do Sul produces up to 70% of the country's rice output, with a record harvest of 7.6 million tons in 2022.

This year’s historic floods in Rio Grande do Sul have left at least 107 people dead, 130 missing and hundreds of thousands homeless. The Brazilian government has pledged about $10 billion to rebuild the flood-ravaged southern region.

VIET KHUE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/brazil-nhap-khau-gao-do-lu-lut-post739326.html