Ecuador to resume overland rice exports to Colombia with 30,000-tonne agreement

Rumichaca route reopens for rice

Ecuador has concluded an agreement to export 30,000 metric tonnes of rice to Colombia, reopening a regional sales channel that was largely inactive for several months. Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment announced the operation on July 22, 2026, and initially said imports would begin through the Rumichaca border crossing on July 25.

Expreso reported that the agreement resulted from negotiations involving public authorities, exporters and commercial participants in both countries. The total placement period for the 30,000 tonnes has not been defined. A Colombian holiday is also expected to postpone the practical restart of shipments, according to El Universo, leaving exporters waiting for border operations to resume.

Road restrictions halted most shipments

Road access is critical to the trade. Juan Pablo Zúñiga, president of Ecuador’s Rice Industry Corporation, told EFE that between 90% and 95% of Ecuadorian rice exports to Colombia travel overland. He said shipments between late February and June were practically nonexistent after Colombia restricted the entry of Ecuadorian rice by road. Colombia retained the restriction for an additional 45 days after broader tariffs were removed, with that period ending on July 20 according to Zúñiga’s calculation.

The disruption developed during a bilateral trade dispute from February to June. KienyKe reported that Ecuador initially imposed tariffs of 30%, later raising them to 100%, while Colombia added retaliatory duties and closed its land border to several Ecuadorian products, including rice and bananas. The tariffs were removed in early June after intervention by the Andean Community, but the separate road restriction on rice remained temporarily in place.

Opposition from Colombian growers

The return of Ecuadorian supplies faces resistance from Colombia’s National Federation of Rice Growers, Fedearroz. The organization argues that imports depress domestic prices, reduce local farm profitability and compound problems associated with smuggling. It has requested a permanent 30% tariff on rice and stronger controls along land and maritime routes. The Ecuadorian government, by contrast, presents the 30,000-tonne transaction as a first step toward recovering export volumes achieved in earlier years.

The timing is sensitive for Colombian producers. Infobae reported that about 13,000 hectares of rice in Casanare and Arauca were flooded following heavy rains. A preliminary assessment based on satellite images and local rice committee reports identified a risk of partial or complete crop losses. Harvesting in the affected fields was expected to start in the first week of August, while excess water had already damaged crops at flowering and maturation stages.

Logistics and domestic support remain in focus

Flooding has also damaged or blocked important transport links, disrupting the movement of agricultural inputs, machinery and harvested grain. Fedearroz identified problems on the Pajarito route between Casanare and Boyacá, the connection to Arauca known as La Novia, and local access roads in Trinidad and San Luis de Palenque. The federation asked transport authorities to restore connectivity and called on milling companies to improve prices paid for the crop.

For Ecuadorian exporters, the Rumichaca reopening restores the dominant route into a major regional market, but the agreement does not yet establish how quickly the entire volume will be delivered. Ecuador’s ministry and the ProEcuador commercial office in Colombia plan further discussions with authorities, industry associations and importers to develop additional business. At home, El Universo reported that Ecuadorian rice growers are also seeking the resumption of direct government purchases for 20,000 tonnes from the summer harvest, showing that the export deal does not remove pressure to manage domestic supply.