August 4, 2009

Ecuador's first shipment of rice and corn to Venezuela likely will arrive between Aug. 12 and 13, an Ecuadorean official said Monday (August 3).

Some 30,000 tonnes of rice and 20,000 tonnes of corn will be exported to Venezuela at that time, said Roberto Barriga, general manager at Ecuador's Banco Nacional del Fomento.

The state-run bank, a credit facility for small agricultural producers, is coordinating the logistics of the deal.

The shipment is part of a bilateral agreement between the two Andean countries. Some 100,000 tonnes of rice and 100,000 tonnes of corn are slated for delivery to Venezuela from Ecuador, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Small farmers and small farmer associations in the provinces of Guayas and Los Rios on the Ecuadorean coast will supply the rice and corn.

Prices were negotiated directly with producers. According to a local trade association of rice producers, prices of unhulled rice hovered around US$350 per tonne last week, while prices for a tonne of corn hovered around US$277. Ecuador hasn't disclosed the prices for the Venezuelan transaction.

Banco de Fomento's Barriga also wouldn't rule out rice and corn exports to other neighbouring countries.