It is not an alarm, but it is an alert to consumers and cooks specialized in rice, which in the Valencian Community number in dozens. The Valencian farmers’ association, AVA-ASAJA, predicts that the Valencian rice harvest will experience a decrease of 15% compared to the average of recent years. And in the case of the Bomba variety, the association predicts that the drop in harvested production will reach 50%. Such will be the fall, AVA-ASAJA predicts, that they expect there to be a “shortage” of this type of rice, popularly linked to the preparation of paellas.

The agricultural association points out as the main cause the lack of “effective solutions” to deal with diseases such as Pyricularia oryzae, to which this type of rice is especially sensitive. They also point to pests and even weeds, as they detail that by competing with crop plants they deprive it of light and nutrients.

Likewise, farmers point out that the combination of climatic adversities “such as the high number of tropical nights, excess humidity and torrential rains in September” have also negatively affected the Valencian crop.

The person in charge of the AVA-ASAJA rice sector, José Pascual Fortea, indicates that “the plants and ears of rice looked good, but despite this, as the harvest progressed we observed that in some fields the grain was not “It had just finished developing and there was more husk than usual.”

Enric Bellido, farmer and member of La Unió Llauradora i Ramadera, agrees with the forecast, explaining that in recent years production has been quite high. Now, however, farmers foresee a drop and, even without official figures, he estimates the drop in production between 10 and 20%. “We are having a decrease in production since we do not throw Tricyclazole,” he maintains. However, more optimistic, he explains that the Bomba variety is one of the least cultivated, “there are fewer and fewer Bomba rice fields being cultivated, so this drop in production is not going to kill us rice farmers.”

Farmers are finishing the mowing work these days in the Albufera de València natural park and their balance is uneven depending on varieties and areas. However, they highlight that “in general terms it is characterized by a decrease in production and stable prices at origin due to the low supply of rice in international markets.”

An effect is therefore expected on consumer prices, which have already experienced increases in the last year. The annual variation of the CPI for rice stood at 18% in September, one of the highest percentages in food products, according to the classification established by the INE.

The palm went to oil, with an increase of 67%, or sugar, which registered 40.5%. For now, Ava-Asaja notes stability in prices at origin for the majority of rice in Valencian rice fields and a drop in the indica variety due to the entry of high imports into the European Union.