The European Commission will reinstate duties on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar after a surge in cheap imports that hurt European producers, the EU's executive arm said Wednesday. Starting Friday, it will apply a duty of 175 euros per tonne of Indica rice in the first year, reducing it to 150 euros per tonne in the second year and 125 euros per tonne in the third year. "An investigation has confirmed a significant increase of imports of Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar into the European Union that has caused economic damage to European producers," the Commission said.

"The European Commission has therefore decided today to re-introduce import duties that will be steadily reduced over a period of three years," it said in a statement.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019