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USA Rice Federation is the global advocate of all segments of the U.S. rice industry with a mission to promote and protect the interests of producers, millers, merchants and allied businesses.
Thursday, September 18, 2014

Korea Announcement of New Rice Tariff Jumps the Gun    

 
Korea's Minister of Agriculture 
Lee Dong-phil 
ARLINGTON, VA -- Korea's Minister of Agriculture reportedly announced Thursday that his country would impose a tariff of approximately 513 percent on imports of rice above a set quota beginning in 2015.  The announcement is in connection with Korea's decision earlier this year to move away from a system of rigid import quotas to a tariff-based system.

 

"Korea is an important market for U.S. rice, and today's announcement of an extremely high duty without apparent consultation with members of the World Trade Organization is disappointing," said Robert Cummings, USA Rice Federation COO.  "The WTO has guidelines for countries moving to a tariff-based import system for rice, and final tariff levels are subject to acceptance by WTO members.  Japan held consultations with the United States and other affected WTO members before Japan formally notified a final tariff level to the WTO in the late 1990's when the country moved to rice tariffication.  We would expect the Korean government to do the same."

 

Korea was granted 'special treatment for rice under the WTO's Uruguay Round Agreement of 1994 which allowed the Korean government to set an absolute import limit on rice imports in exchange for agreeing to import a set annual quota from WTO members.  WTO members extended special treatment for an additional 10 years in 2004.  Korea announced earlier this year that it would move to tariffication, and USA Rice has been in close contact with U.S. negotiators to ensure that tariffication at a minimum preserves current market access for U.S. rice.  

 

The 2004 agreement extending special treatment required Korea to import an annually increasing amount of rice, reaching 408,700 metric tons in 2014.  A portion of that quota was divided into country specific quotas (CSQ) among Australia, China, Thailand, and the United States.  The U.S. CSQ is 50,076 metric tons (MT).

 

The 2004 agreement also requires that a certain percentage of Korea's imports (30 percent in 2014) be made available to the "table rice" or consumer market.  The United States has developed a market in Korea, and has found consumer acceptance in the all-important table rice market.  U.S. exports were just under 159,000 MT in 2013, and averaged 131,000 MT in 2011-2013.

 

Contact:  Michael Klein (703) 236-1458

Rice Month in Louisiana:  Eight Tons of Rice Donated to Area Food Bank    

 
In good hands  
BATON ROUGE, LA -- Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Dr. Mike Strain, rice industry leaders, and representatives of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank (GBRFB) gathered at the Capitol Park Museum in view of the state capitol yesterday to proclaim September as Louisiana Rice Month.

 

Dr. Strain also presented Governor Bobby Jindal's official proclamation declaring September as Louisiana Hunger Action Month. Joining the ceremony was Louisiana Representative Jack Montoucet of Crowley.

 

Louisiana Rice Promotion Board Chairman Kevin Berken was on hand to make the industry's annual rice donation to the GBRFB.

 

"The rice industry has a strong record of support for the needy," said Berken.  "This year's donation of more than 16,000 pounds will provide nearly 200,000 servings of rice to our neighbors in need."

 

Louisiana Rice Mill and Falcon Rice Mill of Crowley, Planters Rice Mill of Abbeville, and Farmers Rice Mill of Lake Charles provided rice for the donation.

 

The GBRFB is a regional food bank that provides food to more than 130 charitable agencies operating food pantries, group homes, shelters, meal sites and special agencies in 11 parishes.  In 2013, the GBRFB provided more than 9.6 million meals to those in need.

 

Contact:  Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported    

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 30,700 MT for 2014/2015 were down 4 percent from the previous week and 37 percent from the prior four-week average, according to today's Export Sales Highlights report.  Increases were reported for Mexico (7,900 MT), Honduras (6,700 MT), unknown destinations (4,700 MT), South Korea (3,000 MT), and Haiti (2,600 MT). 

Exports of 13,500 MT were down 31 percent from the previous week and 52 percent from the prior four-week average.  The primary destinations were to Mexico (3,600 MT), Jordan (3,000 MT), Canada (3,000 MT), Saudi Arabia (1,400 MT), and Taiwan (500 MT). 

This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period September 5-11.
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for September 18.


Month
Price
Net Change
November 2014$12.620
+ $0.110   
January 2015$12.810
+ $0.105
March 2015$12.995
+ $0.090
May 2015$13.195
+ $0.120
July 2015$13.375
+ $0.120
September 2015$12.960
+ $0.120
November 2015$12.960
+ $0.120


In the News 

Around Washington

EPA Administrator Pushes for Water Rule Washington Post

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday she's not backing down on her agency's efforts to implement a new rule that would assert regulatory authority over many of the nation's streams and wetlands despite criticisms that it amounts to a federal water grab.

 

 

Around the Country

Farm Groups Stick with Senate Republicans Despite Farm Bill Opposition  

National Journal

GOP farm bill opposition just hasn't picked up much traction with local advocacy groups, highlighting a simple fact: Farmers are not a single-issue constituency even though the farm bill plays an outsize role in agriculture policy and politics-and on top of that, totally separate from farm policy, they just lean Republican as a group.

 

 

Trade and Tariffs

South Korea Plans Tariff of Over 500% on Rice Imports Wall Street Journal

South Korea plans to impose a tariff of up to 513% on rice imports to help protect its farmers, months before the country opens up its rice market to foreign competition.

 

 

Science and Technology

The Next Green Revolution National Geographic

Genetic modification gets the public attention-and the controversy-but plant breeders today have numerous tools for creating crops with new traits. The goal: continually increasing yields in an increasingly challenging climate.

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Mission Statement
USA Rice Federation is the global advocate for all segments of the U.S. rice industry with a mission to promote and protect the interests of producers, millers, merchants and allied businesses.
About Us
Editor: Michael Klein,
(703) 236-1458,
[email protected]

Fax (703) 236-2301

2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 610
Arlington, VA 22201

This report is time-sensitive, based on information available at press time. Content is derived from facts and sources believed to be reliable. Reprinting and/or distribution may be done with permission of the USA Rice Federation

Copyright � 2014. Please direct comments or questions to the editor or contact name listed for each story.