Ron kozé from Nou Lé Local which worked the best, we must cite that of Soboriz, the local rice producer. Wearing the scarf and tricorn of the bandits, the general manager, Xavier Bocquillet, played the transparency card by describing the current Reunion rice market, company activity and answering questions from the public.
Réunion has belonged to the world of rice since the first half of the 18th century. La rizerie Soboriz, created in 1968, is in many ways the heir to this local rice adventure. This is why it is interesting to note the current market data for Reunion rice provided by Xavier Bocquillet. We consume 40,000 tonnes of rice per year, i.e. 50 kg per inhabitant. “The market is experiencing a slight decline of 2% per year”, said Xavier Bocquillet. However, this trend has the corollary, conversely, the continued increase in the consumption of basmati rice, which has accelerated sharply for three years (+ 15% per year !). The market is divided between fragrant rice (50 %) and basmati (40 %), the remaining 10% belonging to luxury rice and semi-luxury rice. Local market leader, Soboriz produces 16,000 tonnes of rice per year. Fragrant rice, which dominated ten years ago in this production is overtaken today by basmati. An indicator of changes in the standard of living.
The best rice in the world
Xavier Bocquillet described the company he took over this year : 40 employees, 30 million euros in turnover per year. Besides its main brand, Le Forban, Soboriz also produces and markets Le Capricorne rice. Added a trading activity outside of rice, like the preserves of Aucy and Connétable. Soboriz is known for the rigor of its compliance checks, quality and food safety of imported raw rice. “Basmati benefits from a protected geographical indication (IGP), a souligné Xavier Bocquillet. It is only produced in the northwest areas of India and northeast Pakistan.. Outside these areas, it's not real basmati. Our fragrant rice comes from, them, from Cambodia, like kamalis, the best variety of rice in the world. " Finally, responding to the question about price increases that have occurred in recent years, the general manager of Soboriz responded by displaying the composition of the price of rice. Everyone has seen that the explanation lies in the inflation of the cost of raw materials. (transport cost included), which alone represents 60% of the price of rice.
