Phnom Penh – With a record increase of 44% in the value of exports for 2015, Italian rice has officially made an impression in Asia. This according to Coldiretti, which dedicated to rice and its vital role in combating food insecurity the last Coldiretti farmers’ event at Expo. Italy – confirms Coldiretti – is a leading rice producer in Europe, with 227,329 hectares dedicated to the most consumed cereal in the world. This represents 55% of the EU total and the final products meets domestic demand, with a significant amount leftover to fuel exports. These increased in value by 5% in the first seven months of 2015, with the biggest variations occurring in Asia. “Weighing down the potential of Italian rice is the lack of transparency about the real origin of said rice, with the risk of it being counterfeit and passed off as Italian,” explained the president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo, also denouncing “the strong imbalance in production and sales’ for the Italian rice chain, determined by the reckless imports of milled rice from countries which operate under an EBA duty-free regime, particularly Cambodia and Myanmar.” (9Colonne)
