Mexico to Eliminate Rice Import Duties Under TPP
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ARLINGTON, VA - Yesterday's release of the Trans Pacific Partnership text confirms what many have speculated - Mexico has agreed to eliminate all tariffs on rice imports from other TPP partners. The United States already enjoys duty-free access for rice into Mexico because of the North America Free Trade Agreement, so the largest beneficiary of this move is Vietnam. Mexico has agreed to eliminate all import duties on rice except for milled rice on the day the TPP agreement enters into force. Milled rice duties will decline from the current 20 percent by 2 percentage points each year for 10 years. This reduction will begin after entry into force which is unlikely to occur until 2017 at the earliest.
"We faced an uphill battle in Mexico because it was evident that Mexico's government intended to liberalize rice trade with its TPP partners," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings. "The major threat is in milled rice and USA Rice worked closely with the Mexican Rice Council to preserve the U.S. rice market in Mexico."
"Thank you to USA Rice for the support which it has given to us," said Ricardo Mendoza, Executive Director, Mexican Rice Council in an email to USA Rice confirming Mexico's new duty structure. "We will be following closely the approval process [in the TPP countries]." Mexico is the number one export market for U.S. rice. Paddy rice dominates U.S. exports and Mexico's imports. However, the share of milled rice imports is on the rise, including from the United States, and Vietnam is likely to be a key competitor for the United States going forward.
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In Arkansas and Mississippi, EQIP Aplenty
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ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice along with Ducks Unlimited and more than 40 other partners are celebrating their most recent milestone as part of the Sustaining the Future of Rice project and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), one of two programs utilized by the project, collected a total of 334 applications when the sign-up period closed last month in Arkansas and Mississippi.
The other conservation program used within the project is the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).
The project includes implementation of conservation practices on working ricelands in the six primary rice-growing states using a $10 million investment from the NRCS and $6.8 million in private funds.
USA Rice Vice President of Government Affairs Ben Mosely said, "These numbers have far exceeded our expectations and we're confident that with a deep pool of applicants in both states we'll be able to fund projects on the most environmentally sensitive rice-growing acres for the most effective results possible."
Applicants selected in this round of funding will be notified in early 2016 so they can begin implementing practices immediately.
The EQIP sign-up period for Louisiana and Missouri is open until Friday, November 20. Sign-up in California and Texas is anticipated to begin later this winter and CSP sign-ups in all six states will happen late in 2016.
Farmers in Louisiana and Missouri interested in learning more about EQIP and submitting an application should consult their local county or parish NRCS offices prior to the submission deadline.
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Healthy Rice Recipes Headline Supermarket Promotions
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 ARLINGTON, VA -- Supermarket dietitians in two stores, Weis and ShopRite, based National Rice Month (NRM) promotions on healthy recipes featuring U.S.-grown rice. Szechuan Beef Stir-Fried Rice was pictured on the cover of the Weis' Healthy Bites magazine with an accompanying article called "Ready, Set, Stir-Fry." The publication, which was circulated to more than 100,000 customers in all store locations during September, is archived digitally for online users and the article with the recipe was posted on Weis Markets' blog reaching an additional 93,000 readers.
ShopRite stores throughout New England participated in an "event in a box" promotion. Dietitians used USA Rice resources including the NRM logo, USA Rice recipe cards, and Think Rice messages to conduct in-store demonstrations. Customers sampled USA Rice's Tropical Wild Rice Salad during the demonstrations and took home recipe cards. ShopRite also used Facebook to further its reach promoting recipes to more than 235,000 additional shoppers.
"Once again our relationships with supermarket dietitians has paid off ten-fold," said Katie Maher, USA Rice director of domestic promotion. "We continue to be impressed with this partnership and the reach that dietitians have both in-store and online. Both chains reached more than 200,000 consumers and because the work was done through dietitians, it gave rice a healthy stamp of approval."
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| CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures | CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for November 6
| November 2015 | $12.185 |
- $0.005
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January 2016
| $12.440 |
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March 2016
| $12.705 |
- $0.010
| | May 2016 | $12.955 |
- $0.010
| | July 2016 | $13.190 |
- $0.015
| | September 2016 | $12.700 |
- $0.115
| November 2016
| $12.700
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- $0.115
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In the News
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Around the Country
Some of the world's largest agricultural companies are looking to combine with one another as three years of shriveling crop prices have pressured profits, in what would be the industry's first big shake-up in at least a decade.
All modifications will go into effect beginning next year, and current zone alignments will not be affected for the 2015-16 waterfowl season.
Science and Technology
Due to increasing water scarcity, there are concerns about the sustainability of rice production systems in parts of Asia, let alone the ability to increase production to feed growing populations.
Tariffs and Trade
For better, for worse, U.S. sales of agricultural products to Cuba are currently limited by credit and payment restrictions associated with the embargo. And this is one of the things that helps to explain why U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba have been declining.
Webinars
Milo Hamilton, president of Firstgrain, and Stuart Hoetger, economic consultant for the company, will be the presenters for a University of Arkansas Food and Agribusiness webinar at 2 p.m., Thursday (Nov. 12).
How can hybrid rice help meet the global demand for increased food production? That's the topic of the next installment of the University of Arkansas Food and Agribusiness Webinar Series at 10 a.m., Thursday (Nov. 12).
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| Mission Statement | | USA Rice 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
mklein@usarice.com
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 USA Rice.
Copyright © 2015. Please direct comments or questions to the editor or contact name listed for each story. |
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