According to the liquidator of the National Storage Unit (UNA), the only reserves there were were 55,000 quintals of rice that disappeared.
Producers from the coast sell rice at a fair in Quito, in February 2022.
Ecuador does not have strategic reserves of rice, corn or soybeans, this on the eve of an El Niño phenomenon, which threatens to destroy the crops of these and other foods.
The liquidator of the National Storage Unit (UNA), Luis Hernández, confirmed to PRIMICIAS that the only food inventory that the public company had was 55,055 quintals of pounded rice, which disappeared from its assets.
“When UNA’s liquidation period began, the only strategic food reserve was those quintals of rice. There was no more”, adds Hernández.
Amid concerns about the rice supply for the coming months and import announcements from the Ministry of Agriculture, UNA’s strategic rice reserve has yet to appear.
The 55,055 quintals of rice, valued at USD 1.8 million , had been in the custody of the private company Carozeli since 2019.
But, at the time of closing the UNA balance sheets to begin the liquidation process, the liquidator verified the lack of these quintals of rice.
Only in October 2022, after a lawsuit before the Prosecutor’s Office, was it possible to verify the lack of the asset in the Carozeli warehouses , in Daule, Guayas province.
At the moment, the destination of this rice is in the preliminary investigation stage at the Prosecutor’s Office. Carozeli’s legal representative has not commented.
In storage silos, UNA has 82 units, with a capacity for 50,000 tons of food reserves such as rice, corn and soybeans.
The silos are located in the cantons of Daule, Babahoyo, Ventanas and Tosagua. They are all empty. Including 16 from Tosagua, which have not been used for 20 years.
Other silos have been auctioned off, in the middle of the UNA liquidation process, like the 16 that were in Quevedo.
What’s left for UNA?
According to a document accessed by PRIMICIAS, the only inventory that UNA had left in May 2022, in the second stage of liquidation, were agricultural inputs, such as urea, fertilizers and potassium muriate, valued at USD 390,156.
Of that inventory, there are currently 700 50-kilogram bags of an organic fertilizer, called Unabono, valued at USD 4,606.
The rest of the agricultural products were sold to farmers. These inputs had an inventory value of USD 385,550.
The assets of the public company UNA are valued at USD 65.1 million and the liabilities at USD 13.5 million, according to data from the Empresa Coordinadora de Empresas Públicas (EMCO).
UNA has debts with five creditors for USD 5.8 million, the highest being with the Chinese oil company Petrochina International, for USD 3.9 million, according to information accessed by PRIMICIAS.
In addition, UNA has accounts receivable with seven companies in the amount of USD 11.7 million.
The highest amount is owed by Carozeli herself, who stored the rice that does not appear. This company alone owes UNA USD 4.3 million.
To proceed with the transfer of assets to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the liquidator must deliver the final liquidation report to EMCO.
Although, for now, there is no specific date on the final liquidation of UNA.
