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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, October 9, 2014

Interview with Representatives of Major Chinese Rice Import Company Visiting U.S. Rice Industry      

Chinese delegation comparing U.S. rice products 
Surveying just some of the offerings 

RICE COUNTRY, USA - As USA Rice Daily reported yesterday, all week the U.S. rice  industry has been hosting a group of Chinese rice import leaders through the south and California. The representatives were kind enough to submit to our questions while they were traveling between locations. Following is the discussion between Mr. William Li, a representative of the Dragon Ocean Hing Group, Mr. Rui Li, CEO of Shenzhen Yinto (the Terminal Sales Company), and Ms. Qi Wu, sales officer for Shenzhen Hong Tai Xiang as they share their thoughts on the trip, the rice industry here, and the rice market back home

USA Rice Daily (USARD): What is the favorite way for Chinese consumers to eat or prepare rice? Is there a preferred variety?

 

William Li (WL): "The favorite way is plain, steamed rice. There are local and regional rice favorites. There is usually a preference for the rice grown in the closest proximity to towns or cities. There are so many varieties grown in China, so it is not possible to name a particular variety as the most preferred."

USARD: What did the delegation want to accomplish with this visit to the United States?

 

WL: "We came to see what types of rice and what varieties are grown in the United States that might work in the China market. To do that, we needed to evaluate the quality, taste and appearance of U.S. rice. We wanted to meet with exporters and learn what could be supplied, and if U.S. rice can be processed and packaged to Chinese standards.

The company wants to position U.S. rice as a high-quality rice bagged in five and ten kilogram bags for distribution in high-end supermarkets, in hypermarkets, and on-line."

 

USARD: What does U.S. rice need to do to attract Chinese consumers?   

 

Chinese consumers examining rice bags
They know what they're looking for

 

WL:  "To compete in the high quality 
segment, U.S. rice should be very white rather than milky in appearance; have very little chalk; the broken percentage should be low, and the grains uniform in size which indicates it has not been blended. This appearance is important, because if the rice isn't good looking to the consumer, they won't try it. And, of course, the taste has to be good.

 

 

Ideally, we'd like container loads of rice packed at origin which will suggest to the consumer that it has not been blended."

 

USARD: Did anything surprise you about the U.S. rice industry?

 

WL: "We were already aware of the large scale of rice farming and milling in the U.S., but it is still surprising when seen in person. Rice used in processed foods is more widespread in the U.S. than I realized."

 

Mr. Rui Li: "I was surprised to learn of some convenience products containing rice in the U.S. We don't have much of that in Asia. I am also interested in wild rice, which we are not too knowledgeable about yet, but it is interesting."

USARD: What do you think is the most important thing for the U.S. rice industry to know about the Chinese rice market? 

 

WL: "When you want your rice to compete in the high-quality end of the China market, the specifications will be more stringent than a lot of your existing markets. As a country, we import a lot of Asian rice that is not that tasty by itself and we blend it with domestic rice for food service use and less expensive bagged rice. The price of your rice will make your rice uncompetitive in that low end market segment."

USARD: Do you think the United States will be allowed to export rice to China soon? 

 

WL: "We don't profess to have any more knowledge than you do about the timing of the protocol agreement, although we are encouraged by the number of times that draft agreements have circulated between the two countries in the last two years."

USARD: What was your overall feeling about the U.S. rice industry after the trip?

 

Ms. Qi Wu: "The industry people we met were friendly, helpful and the exporters seemed able to process and pack U.S. rice in the manner we think will work for our company's purposes in China."

 

WL: "The delegation collected samples at every stop to take back to China to evaluate the cooking and taste characteristics. We consider the trip to be very successful. There were more exporters interested in meeting with us than time allowed."

 

Contact: Bill Farmer (832) 302-6710

Annual U.S.-Korea Rice Technical Meeting Concludes

 

USA Rice Delegation
Technical review team

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Representatives from the U.S. rice industry and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) completed their meeting in Seoul yesterday.

 

In addition to discussing technical issues with the Korean government, the USA Rice team met with the USDA/FAS office to discuss the Korean market and separately with a group of Korean rice wholesalers. The U.S. delegation also met with USA Rice contractors to review and discuss this year's promotions, including online direct marketing, food service trade shows, and demonstrations.

 

Korea currently imports a minimum of 50,076 metric tons (mt) of U.S. rice under the country's obligations under the World Trade Organization.  Total imports of U.S. rice each year generally exceed this amount, and sales in 2013 were 159,378 MT.

 

Contact: Bob Cummings (703) 236-1473

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported    

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net sales of 120,600 MT for 2014/2015 were up 80 percent from the previous week and up noticeably from the prior 4-week average, according to today's Export Sales Highlights report. Increases were reported for unknown destinations (40,900 MT), Venezuela (30,000 MT), Mexico (19,800 MT), Haiti (11,000 MT), and South Korea (10,000 MT).

Exports of 43,500 MT were up 48 percent from the previous week and 32 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico (34,000 MT), South Korea (3,000 MT), Canada (2,100 MT), Colombia (1,100 MT), and Jordan (1,100 MT).

This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period September 26-October 2.
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for October 9.


Month
Price
Net Change
November 2014$12.595
- $0.030
January 2015$12.745
- $0.030
March 2015$12.985
- $0.020
May 2015$13.190
- $0.015
July 2015$13.370
- $0.015
September 2015$12.760
- $0.015
November 2015$12.735
- $0.015


In the News 

Around the Country

California drought: Big water cuts by many Northern Californians - SF Gate

State water data released this week show that Californians cut water use by 11.5 percent in August compared with the same month last year - the largest reduction reported this year.

 

Mary Landrieu replaces campaign manager - Politico

Sullivan is out, Berni is in as Senator Landrieu wants to avoid a runoff.

 

Around the World

China to Battle GMO Crop Fear From Field to Dinner Table - Bloomberg

China, the world's most-populous country and the biggest consumer of rice, soybeans and wheat, has begun a campaign to push genetically modified organisms as it seeks to expand food supplies.

 

Drought fears overseas spur rice orders from Thailand - The Nation

Thailand claims they are filling orders from nations afraid of drought conditions.

 

Food Outlook - Biannual Report on Global Food Markets, October 2014 - FAO Press Release

While rice outputs could decline slightly this year, stockpiles remain "huge" and are sufficient to cover over one-third of projected consumption during the 2015-16 period.

 

Fun and Interesting

How Do You Make Totally Legit Fried Rice? - Huffington Post

A burning consumer cooking question answered...


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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

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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.