[ad_1]
Rice imports vary greatly from year to year, reaching their highest in 2022 (755,000 tons) and their lowest in 2019 (407,000 tons), followed by 2023 (424,000 tons). This information comes from the Madagascar Food and Nutrition Security Data Monitoring Report (December 2023), which is part of the STAT SANOI project, a regional program resulting from the partnership between the IOC and the European Union, which aims to reduce food and nutrition insecurity in Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros.
Between 2018 and 2023, imports accounted for an average of 12% of rice production, with the lowest value in 2023 (9.6%) and the highest value in 2022 (15.5%). Due to the significantly higher local rice production in 2023 than in previous years, rice imports decreased (44% compared to 2022). The national rice production in 2023 is expected to be 5.117 million tons. It is observed that rice production has increased year by year, with a cumulative increase of nearly 27% in the past 6 years.
In addition, retail prices of white rice have risen sharply between 2021 and 2023. In addition, regional differences are also very obvious. Prices are usually higher in the fourth and first quarters (the so-called green and yellow period), which in most regions is earlier than the “main rice harvest season”. Therefore, imports peak at the end of the year and the beginning of the year.
In 2021, the average price in all regions except Androy was below 2,500 Ar/kg, and in the Northwest it was even below 2,000 Ar/kg. In 2023, prices on the East Coast, as well as in the Far North (Antalaha) and South (Androy) will often exceed 2,500 Ar/kg, and even exceed 3,000 Ar/kg. Every day, ordinary citizens continue to observe a general increase in prices.
[ad_2]
Source link
