| 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?
| They know what they're looking for
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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."
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