Resumen
-
Este artículo plantea una descripción cuantitativa de la región de cara al mundo en los tres principales variables: producción, consumo y comercio; analiza el grado de apoyo que países desarrollados brindan a su sector arrocero y hace un recuento de los principales compromisos adquiridos por los países centroamericanos en la suscripción de acuerdos de libre comercio.
- Rice is a staple food for the Central American population and for more than one half of the world's population. Many people consider rice to be the most important crop given the wide expanses used for rice cultivation and the huge number of people who depend on this activity. More than 40 per cent of the world population depends on rice for 80 per cent of their diet, and rice accounts for 20 per cent of per capita caloric consumption worldwide. In view of the importance of this grain in terms of food security for the Central region, this article describes the region in quantitative terms, as compared with the rest of the world, using the three main variables –production, consumption and trade. It analyzes the extent of the support provided by the developed countries to the rice sector and lists the commitments assumed by the Central American countries in free trade agreements they have signed It is our hope that this article will provide food for thought for those in the public and private sector who are involved in rice production and other related activities and that this will in turn provide a more solid basis for discussion of the subject of the opening-up of trade.