South Africa's Rice Imports Seen Flat in 2023-24

By George Mwangi

Special to Dow Jones Newswires

South Africa's rice imports are forecast to remain unchanged in the marketing year from May through April 2024, the U.S Department of Agriculture said late Monday.

South Africa will import about 1.1 million metric tons of rice in 2023-24, same as the current marketing year, the department said in its recent South Africa annual grain and feed report.

The stagnation is attributed to relatively higher global rice prices and high food-price inflation in the country, the department said.

South Africa's rice consumption is estimated to marginally increase to 970,000 tons in 2023-24 from 950,000 tons in the current year, it said.

South Africa is a water-scarce country, limiting rice production. It depends on duty-free imports to meet the local demand, according to the department.

Traditionally, Thailand and India supply more than 95% of the country's rice imports, the report said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-06-23 0859ET