SindArroz-SC requests incentives for rice exports.

Brazil has lost access to the annual tariff-preferential quota of 6.667 tons of rice stipulated in the Mercosur-European Union agreement, after the limit was exhausted by Argentina and Uruguay, reducing the space for Brazilian rice in the European market. For the Santa Catarina Rice Industry Union (SindArroz-SC), the measure represents the loss of an opportunity to expand exports from Santa Catarina to a market that better rewards quality products, in addition to compromising the competitiveness of Santa Catarina rice and restricting the diversification of export destinations.

Given this scenario, and considering that rice produced in Brazil is of high quality due to certification and continuous control by bodies such as the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), SindArroz-SC advocates for the opening of new markets and the implementation of export incentive programs as measures to move stored product, strengthen foreign sales, and alleviate the effects of the economic crisis that has affected the sector since the 2024 harvest.

According to data from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, in April 2026, Brazil exported almost 79 tons of rice, which, according to the president of SindArroz-SC, Walmir Rampinelli, is below what is needed to sell the surplus of the cereal and balance prices in the domestic market. He stated that at least 1,5 million tons need to be exported to achieve this balance. "Even though world rice production has increased, there will always be room for Brazilian rice due to its high quality and the rigorous inspection methods adopted by national agencies," he explains.

Challenges and the search for solutions

Among the challenges highlighted by SindArroz-SC regarding exports is the Treaty of Asunción, formalized in 1991 by Mercosur, which allows for the import of rice with tariff exemptions. From the Union's perspective, the agreement needs to be reviewed, since at the time Paraguay was not a rice-producing country, and today it is consolidating itself as one.

“Paraguay is undoubtedly one of our biggest competitors, mainly because their tax burden and production costs are much lower than ours. This factor allows producers to sell sacks of rice at a more attractive price, and this encourages purchasing countries to replace the Brazilian rice matrix with that of Paraguay,” explains Rampinelli.

Furthermore, the country's internal operations use the Real as currency, while imports and exports are conducted in dollars, making exchange rate volatility yet another challenge. In this context, SindArroz-SC argues that federal export incentive programs would be the main structural alternative to channel surplus rice production and recover domestic prices, especially after the loss of export quotas under the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.

 "The Federal Government can contribute to strengthening rice exports by opening new markets, strengthening actions to expand and better distribute quotas in trade agreements, reducing logistics and port costs, and simplifying export processes," the president added.