Maclean et al. - 2002 - Rice almanac source book for the most important e

Rice in Latin America and
the Caribbean
Rice is a staple food crop in Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC). The region’s
per capita annual consumption increased
from about 9 kg of milled rice in 1924-28 to
about 30 kg in 1993-95. Rice consumption is
concentrated in the tropical countries of the
region, which have a total population of 320
million. About 40% live below the FAO poverty
line. Tropical Latin Americans consume an
average of 37 kg of milled rice yearly—equal to
about 1.3 cups of cooked rice daily. After sugar,
rice is their single most important source of daily
calories, supplying 11.5% of daily caloric intake.
In Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Guyana, and the
Dominican Republic, rice provides 25% more
calories than any other crop.
Rice is also a leading source of protein for
the poorest 20% of the tropical population,
supplying more per capita than beans, beef, or
milk. Rice is income elastic in the region:
consumers tend to increase consumption as their
incomes rise.
From 1967 to 1995, increasingly efficient
production, triggered by the adoption of modern
semidwarf varieties that were more inputsensitive,
caused the real price of rice to decline
by 50%. Massive resulting social benefits went to
the urban poor. Rice is particularly important
from the standpoints of growth and equity. Rice is
preferred by the poor because it is cheap,
nutritious, appealing, easy to prepare, and easy to
store and transport.
Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean
is extensive: 31% of the total population is poor
and 21% is desperately poor. Most of the poor
live in urban areas. Poor urban dwellers spend
about 15% of their income on white rice—their
cheapest source of energy, carbohydrates, and
protein. Their well-being is therefore affected by
the amount, quality, security of supply, and price
of the rice they eat.
Pushed by large debt burdens, fiscal and
trade imbalances, and high inflation rates during
the 1970s and 1980s, most of the region’s
countries have developed self-sufficiency policies
for rice production to maintain low and stable
prices for urban consumers.
Source of agricultural development
Traditionally, rice was a leading pioneer crop for
area expansion and colonization until the 1980s
when the trend in agriculture reverted to more
intensive practices as a result of more open trade
practices and the need to increase efficiency and
competitiveness. During 1990-2000, rice
production in LAC expanded annually at 3.0%
fueled by a 3.8% annual growth in yield while
cultivated area contracted annually at 0.8%. Most
of the decline in area occurred in upland rice.
Irrigated rice area continued a steady increase.
Higher yields were the result of the shift to
irrigation as well as the continuous release of
improved varieties.
Such growth in production has provided
many opportunities for reactivating local rural
economies. Moreover, local feed and food
agroindustries used nearly 4 million t of rice byproducts
per year by in the mid-1990s.
Urbanization and economic liberalization are
forcing the integration of regional rice markets
and agribusiness. Demand is increasingly high for
healthy, diversified, rice-based convenience
foods. Most countries do not rely on rice imports
to meet domestic needs.
76 Rice almanac