The rice producers of the province of Seville estimate that the next campaign will be "similar" to that of last year, when a harvest close to 350,000 tons in the area was estimated. However, they warn of their concern about the volume of rice from the 2025 campaign that continues without commercial outlet, around 40% of the total harvested.
In statements to Europa Press, the managing director of the Federation of Rice Growers of Seville, Eduardo Vera, has expressed his satisfaction at being able to plant "100% of the land," 36,500 hectares specifically, due to "the increase in the irrigation allocation available," which this year has risen to 6,000 cubic meters per hectare.
However, Vera has expressed his concern about the stock from the previous harvest, as "there is no market to sell" due to the entry into the sector of "productions from Cambodia and Myanmar," which make "it impossible to recover the European market" after the rice production in Seville began to decline in 2021 due to water restrictions for irrigation.
"We have had very complicated years," commented the manager of the federation, who lamented that despite the recovery in the cultivated area in the last two years (65% in 2024 and 100% in 2025), European institutions "do not provide a solution to the destruction of the market that exists," something he attributed "exclusively to political issues."
In this regard, last April, the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation (CGH) confirmed to the irrigators an increase of 500 cubic meters per hectare in the water allocation after assuring that the basin was in a "good situation," with the reservoirs around 87% of their capacity and after periods of restrictions since 2019.
Thus, the federation already emphasized last year that it expected "a much better campaign" because the river was behaving very well and due to the proper management of water by the central irrigation boards.
The years of drought left the rice fields without planting in 2023
In context, the good forecasts came after a few years of limited production, as in 2022 only 30% was planted with 1,750 hm3 of water for irrigation, a situation that worsened the following year when the rice growers decided not to cultivate with 700 hm3 of available allocation.
Regarding the quality of the water, Vera has indicated that "the level of salinity is low" as the rivers have better conditions, since "there is more water in the reservoirs," which favors good crop development.
However, he has acknowledged that rice farmers are "very attentive" to the pudienta, "a bug that stings the rice when it is milky" and that can threaten "50% of the cultivated production," so they are "trying to avoid damage," as it is "a cyclical pest that affects every few years."
In this regard, he explained that they do not have "combative weapons" with which to face this problem, since "the authorized control techniques are very limited," as "certain chemical and phytosanitary products" cannot be used within the crops.
Furthermore, Vera has pointed out that the rice harvesting campaign, in its earliest varieties, will begin in mid-September, while the majority of the rice harvest will start in October, extending until the end of that month "if there are no complications with the weather."