In a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Italy’s rice area was forecast at 234,300 hectares, up from 227,329 hectares in the 2015-16 marketing year. The year-over-year gain reflects the higher profitability of the rice sector compared to that of corn and soybeans, the FAS said.
The Italian Rice Association has forecast area planted to round grain Japonica rice at 70,800 hectares in 2016-17, up 24% from 2015-16, while area planted to medium grain Japonica is forecast at 9,750 hectares, up 3% from a year ago. Meanwhile, area planted to long grain Japonica is expected to fall 4.5% to 120,150 hectares, while long grain Indica area is expected to decrease 4% to 33,600 hectares.