Rice: ‘A cap on imports and extraordinary measures to tackle the crisis in the sector’
Among the requests made by the associations at the sectoral round table convened by MASAF were a special call for tenders for the procurement of Italian produce, measures relating to storage, and the relaunch of the reservoir plan to tackle the water crisis
A cap on non-EU imports and extraordinary measures, including a special fund to support agricultural businesses and domestic production in the face of the crisis that has been threatening Italian rice cultivation for several years now, putting at risk one of the flagship sectors of the ‘Made in Italy’ agri-food industry in Europe. These, in a nutshell, are the demands of the agricultural associations that emerged at the supply chain meeting convened today at the Ministry of Agriculture by Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
The 2025–2026 marketing year, which is not yet over, as Coldiretti pointed out, has seen over 190,000 tonnes of foreign rice arrive in Italia (+30%), with four out of every five imported packets coming from Asia, fuelling an oversupply that has caused the prices paid to Italian producers to plummet by over 50% just as the farming sectors are having to contend with heat and water shortages, with production losses that could exceed 30 per cent in some areas.
In light of these figures, the organisation has called on MASAF not only to introduce stricter controls on imports, including through the use of innovative tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, genomic mapping and isotopic mapping, a €12 million call for proposals to provide 100% Italian rice to families in need, and a fund dedicated to supply chain contracts within the Food Sovereignty Fund.
However, Coldiretti believes the ‘package’ should also include regional resources to support businesses; the application of the principle of reciprocity in trade agreements with non-EU countries; a national reservoir plan to tackle water emergencies; investment in research and Assisted Evolution Techniques (AET); and strengthened support for rice in the future CAP, rewarding farms that invest in quality, innovation and sustainability.
Another proposal from Confagricoltura concerns the establishment of the Italian Aromatic Rice Consortium. Then there is the issue of stock management, involving the introduction of financial instruments to improve farms’ liquidity by adding value to goods in storage, as is already the case in other sectors.
On the trade front, the CIA emphasised: ‘Rice must be genuinely recognised as a sensitive product and must not become a bargaining chip in international negotiations. The automatic safeguard clause mechanism due to come into effect in 2027 represents a step forward, but the thresholds set remain too high and risk limiting its effectiveness. For this reason, no new concessions on rice should be included in free trade agreements.”
