The GOM removed the long-standing duty on grains from all origins back in 2008 as a way to reduce the price of basic commodities to its population.  With cheap prices and zero duty, Asian rice began to enter Mexico, and by 2013 and 2014 imports had skyrocketed, cutting into the traditional U.S. market for paddy and milled rice. 

 

The U.S. market share for milled rice, once more than 95 percent has fallen this year to 34 percent.  Vietnam and Thailand are the primary origins making inroads today.  Pakistan, once a player, can no longer export to Mexico due to phytosanitary issues.

 

"Local traders, packers, and millers we've spoken with believe the first few months of 2015 will present great opportunities for the sale of U.S. rice to Mexico, given our large high-quality crop and the new import duty on Asian origin rice," said Betsy Ward, USA Rice Federation's president and CEO.

 

Ward went on to point out that the competitive advantage could end up being short-lived if the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is signed in 2015.

 

"Mexico is anxious to conclude TPP talks, and as it looks now, Vietnamese rice would gain back some or all of its duty advantage under that agreement," she said.

 

USA Rice is monitoring this situation very closely and will keep members up to date on events as they transpire.

 

Contact:  Jim Guinn (703) 236-1474

 

Outlook Conference attendees received a copy of the newspaper in their welcome packets, and more than 23,000 copies were mailed to growers, landowners, and others affiliated with the rice industry.

 

The cover story for this first edition of The Whole Grain was an in-depth look at the Mexican market - the top destination for U.S.-grown rice.  Other stories included interviews with USA Rice Federation Chairman Dow Brantley, and president and CEO Betsy Ward; the recent rice export victory in Iraq; the ground-breaking stewardship partnership between USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited, an update on the regulatory landscape, and several articles on the group's domestic promotions work, including how nutrition policy has enhanced sales opportunities for rice.

 

Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of marketing and communications said, "Our goal in switching up the format of the annual report in favor of the tabloid is to provide more engaging content to our members, and to go deeper into important issues than we can here in the Daily.  We're looking forward to expanding our coverage, our circulation, and offering advertising opportunities in future issues."

 

To receive additional copies of the tabloid to distribute in your community, please contact Deborah Willenborg at (703) 236-1444.

 

Contact:  Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 86,800 MT for 2014/2015 were reported for Haiti (29,300 MT), Libya (28,800 MT), Japan (13,000 MT), Honduras (12,000 MT, including 8,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), and Guatemala (5,000 MT), according to today's Export Sales Highlights report.  Decreases were reported for unknown destinations (8,000 MT). 

Exports of 110,300 MT--a marketing-year high--were up 71 percent from the previous week and 43 percent from the prior four-week average.  The primary destinations were Libya (28,800 MT), Haiti (23,700 MT), Japan (21,600 MT), Colombia (13,300 MT), and Honduras (8,500 MT).

This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period November 28 -
December 4.