Anuário Brasileiro do Arroz 2011 - Unemat

Robispierre Giuliani
72
At
overtime
Ministry of Agriculture
delays effective date of the
IN6, which changes the rice
grading standards, and
extends the time for the
farmers to comply
Following a request by the growers, the
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply
(Mapa) maintained the 2010 rice grading standards.
Normative Instruction 11/2011 (or IN 11)
is nothing different from the IN 12/2010, with
its effectiveness extended until 1st March, 2012.
The decision brings temporary solace to the woes
of the growers, particularly in Rio Grande do Sul,
but still causes concern, since it only sets a new
time limit for Normative Instruction 6 to enter
into full force, and is much stricter with regard to
rice in the husk.
“We are requesting the government to resume
the grading standards set forth by Government
Act 269, issued in 1988, and reopen the debate
on the subject”, says Renato Rocha, president of
the Federation of the Ricegrowers’ Associations in
Rio Grande do Sul (Federarroz). The rice farmers
argue that the new standards harm the producers
all over Brazil, as they are creating very strict
rules that exceed the national production reality,
particularly because of external factors, like cli-