Volume 18, Issue 28
July 24, 2021
In This Issue:
  • Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Concerns Mexico & U.S. Rice Industries
  • US Rice Producers Association Selects New Leadership
  • Rice Market Update
  • Washington DC Update
  • Whitley Named Administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service
Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Concerns Mexico & U.S. Rice Industries
While the United States pulled out of the “Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPATPP) agreement negotiations at the beginning of the Trump Administration, Mexico and a number of other countries did not. Among the eleven countries that signed the agreement in March of 2018, making it effective on December 30, 2018, are Vietnam and Mexico, along with Canada, Peru and Chile in the Western Hemisphere.

The bottom line effect on rice means that Vietnam, well-known for low prices and non-compliance with WTO regulations, will have duty-free access to Mexico, the most important long-grain market for U.S. rice farmers, after only a 10-year phase-in period.

This week, Pedro Schettino, owner of Schettino Hermanos rice company and a major buyer of U.S. rice, visited Louisiana where he met with Governor John Bel Edwards and South Louisiana rice farmers.

“Everyone in Mexico and the United States, both rice farmers and mills must realize the devastating effect this will have on the rice industries of the two countries,” informed Mr. Schettino, adding “we must find new approaches to maintaining our unique rice trade relationships.”

After a visit with the Louisiana Governor and Mark Pousson of the Louisiana Independent Rice Producers Association (LIRPA), Mr. Schettino visited the South Louisiana Rail Facility in Lacassine and area rice farms where he met with numerous farmers and Dwight Roberts of the US Rice Producers Association (USRPA).

“I applaud Mr. Schettino’s visit and initiative regarding TPP and calling attention to what should be a very serious concern to all long-grain rice farmers and mills in both countries. His efforts on behalf of all Mexican rice farmers and millers is commendable”, says Roberts.

“Research efforts by the USA Rice Federation clearly indicate a range of trade-distorting practices that exceed WTO obligations, so it's imperative that meaningful actions are taken,” Roberts added.

Pedro Schettino also visited Supreme Rice Mill during his visit to Louisiana which was hosted and coordinated by both LIRPA and the USRPA.
From left, Pedro Schettino Jr. and Pedro Schettino Sr. enjoy a visit to the office of Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, accompanied by Mark Pousson of LIRPA.
The new rubber boots came in handy while walking through a number of rice paddies with Dwight Roberts.
The Schettinos enjoy a visit to the South Louisiana Rail Facility in Lacassine.
From left are Mark Pousson, Jason Benoit, Pedro Schettino Sr & Jr at the Benoit rice farm.
Mr. Schettino also visited Supreme Rice Mill in Crowley, LA, here pictured with Ana Lefort who manages rice sales for the company.
US Rice Producers Association Selects New Leadership
Welcomes New CEO, Marcela Garcia

At a recent meeting in The Woodlands, the Board of Directors of the US Rice Producers Association (USRPA) selected Marcela Garcia to serve as the new President & CEO, replacing Dwight Roberts who is stepping down effective August 1, 2021. For the past 5 years, Garcia has held the position of Chief Operating Officer and the Director of the highly successful Rice Market & Technology Convention for 10 years.

Marcela Garcia, President & CEO of US Rice Producers Association
A graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Spanish, Garcia is originally from South Texas where her family is involved in cattle and farming. “Several years ago, Marcela assumed a number of leadership roles for the USRPA, and her extensive knowledge and rice trade relationships throughout the Western Hemisphere will serve our rice farmers extremely well,” said out-going CEO, Dwight Roberts, while adding, “we have young, talented rice farmers coming onto our board of directors with our new generation of staff talent, USRPA is ready to lean into the future.” After 23 years at the helm of the USRPA, Dwight Roberts will serve in an advisory role for the organization, beginning August 1st.

The USRPA board also elected new officers for 2021-2023. Congratulations to Alex Clark from Poplar Bluff, Missouri for being elected as the new Chairman. East Texas rice farmer, Neal Stoesser from Dayton, Texas, will serve as Vice-Chairman and Dustin Watkins who farms near Welsh, Louisiana is the new Secretary-Treasurer. The board thanked Dr. Thomas Wynn from Egypt, Texas for his service to the association during the past two years which saw farmers dealing not only with weather extremes but a global pandemic as well.
The US Rice Producers Association, representing rice producers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas, is the only national rice producers’ organization comprised of producers, elected by producers, and representing producers in all six rice-producing states.
Alex Clark
USRPA Chairman
Neal Stoesser
USRPA Vice-Chair
Dustin Watkins
USRPA Secretary-Treasurer
Market Update: New Sales to Iraq Pending Confirmation
Price drops in Asia continue, and it’s almost confusing given that Thai prices are now right in line with India. Last week we discussed that despite the drop in Thai and Viet prices, Indian prices have remained resilient, and that trend continues. With all origins registering below $400 pmt this week, the question now is if Indian prices will drop further, or if $385 pmt will be the true bottom and an influx of purchases may push Thai and Viet prices back up. Though it hasn’t happened yet, the expectation is that Filipino interest will find its way to Thailand instead of Vietnam with prices being as low as they are. New supplies hitting the market provide grounds for this temporary depression, and it would make sense for the Filipino purchasers to take advantage of the moment.

Thailand may be the only option for the Philippines, as COVID resurgence in Vietnam has more than 3 million Vietnamese back to a shelter-in-place status as of July 19th. COVID-19 fears are again on full display on the world stage with the Olympics beginning this week. While the global supply chain and individuals are better prepared to deal with a second round of lockdowns, it does not bode well to efficiency and rising costs in an already sky-high logistics marketplace.

Last week we reported on two consecutive record crops from India and their record shipping numbers that have exceeded all expectations. The weak monsoon is likely to prevent a third year of records, as 28.4 million acres of rice have been planted this year, compared to last year’s number of 31.1 million acres; a decrease of nearly 10%. Monsoon rains were 46% below average as of July, and a total of 5% below-average rainfall as of June.

Turning to the Western Hemisphere, the protests in Cuba provide a glimmer of hope for the U.S. rice trade, as this enormous market only 90 miles off the coast has been a political conflagration for decades. However, the largest anti-communist protest by Cubans in over 30 years has put the Cuban-U.S. relationship on center stage. This creates an opportunity for the U.S. to step in, specifically with food aid, to assist this beleaguered and disenfranchised nation. The Biden administration has yet to make an official position statement on the issue, but opening up any trade with Cuba will be a huge win for the U.S. rice industry as Cubans possess a per capita rice consumption of nearly 150 lbs per year.

While a deal with Cuba is a hope for the future, a tangible deal was finally struck with Iraq this week—and a solid one at that. Two bulk vessels at 30,000 metric tons each were booked for milled U.S. long-grain rice. It has been a long time coming, and more than necessary for the milled rice market. The political problems in Haiti have stalled exports, and this new Iraqi business is the breath of fresh air the U.S. long-grain industry needed to thrive into harvest. This solidifies a change in the undertone of the market; the wet weather and poor growing conditions have provided some support for the shorter-than-expected crops, but exhausting 60,000 metric tons of supply to Iraq is the shot in the arm that was needed.
Washington DC Update
FY 2022 Appropriations Update
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2022 funding bill for the Departments of Commerce and Justice. Approval of the bill completes the House Appropriations Committees’ markup process for all FY 2022 appropriations bills.

Floor action has been scheduled for the first appropriations minibus containing Labor-HHS-Education, Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD and Financial Services measures. The House will begin consideration of the first minibus next week, with the hopes for also taking up other appropriations bills. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2022 Agriculture Appropriations Bill last month.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Richard Shelby recently announced an agreement to proceed with several appropriations bills, including agriculture. The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee has begun drafting the bill and has their markup tentatively scheduled for the week of August 2.



Infrastructure Update
The Senate failed to begin consideration on a bipartisan infrastructure bill on Wednesday. Sixty votes were needed to consider the legislation. Only 49 Senators voted yes on advancing the legislation on Wednesday. While there were several outstanding disagreements, one being the lack of legislative text, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had scheduled a cloture vote on the bill to begin the debate. Wednesday’s procedural vote was intended to bring the debate while the bipartisan infrastructure group continues negotiations.
Republicans opposed the vote because more time was needed to finalize details on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Majority Leader Schumer could bring up the bipartisan agreement for another vote when the agreement is final. The vote was also influenced by Senate Democrats' continuing effort to move ahead on a separate “human infrastructure” package expected to spend at least $3.5 trillion. The human infrastructure package is being developed without Republican support.

Whitley Named Administrator of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today named Daniel Whitley the new Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Whitley has served as the agency’s Acting Administrator since December 2020.

Whitley is no stranger to FAS stakeholders and the agricultural trade community, having served in various positions during a 20-year career with the agency. Most recently, he was responsible for leading the FAS trade policy and market analysis teams as Associate Administrator. Throughout his FAS career, Whitley held leadership positions including Deputy Administrator of the Office of Global Analysis and Director of the Office of Civil Rights. Whitley joined FAS after starting his career with USDA’s Economic Research Service, focusing on market access issues in the World Trade Organization.

“I am deeply humbled by this opportunity, but I think it is more a reflection of all your hard work during my time as Acting Administrator than any personal achievements,” Whitley noted in a message to FAS staff today. “I know that together, we will continue to meet future challenges from bringing staff back to the physical workplace and navigating the latest trade landscape to finding new ways to support farmers and ranchers and delivering on Administration priorities.”

Whitley holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics and is a graduate of Southern University and A&M College and Louisiana State University.

FAS links U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security through its Washington, D.C.-based staff and a global network of nearly 100 offices covering approximately 180 countries.
Farm Service Agency
Deadline Fast Approaching for Conservation Reserve Program General Signup
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is reminding producers and landowners that the signup deadline for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) current general signup is fast approaching. Eligible producers must submit their offers by July 23, 2021.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) made several changes to CRP to make it more appealing to all producers, including those who are historically underserved, beginning, and veterans. FSA added incentives to encourage producers to include climate-smart agricultural practices in their operations to increase natural resource and environmental benefits.

“Agricultural producers and private landowners should take advantage of the opportunities offered by the revamped CRP,” FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said. “Explore the increased payment rates and new incentives for climate-smart agricultural practices to see if elements of the revamped CRP fit your operation.”

Cornerstone
Trade Update

Food & Ag Regulatory
and Policy Roundup 
FAS New Delhi (Post) is raising the market year (MY) 2020/2021 rice export estimate to 19 MMT due to Indian rice’s competitive export prices.
Arkansas Rice Update 
The 18th Arkansas Rice Update of 2021 includes information on conditions, Rice Leadership Class, kernel smut and false smut, rice markets, and podcasts.
Upcoming Events
Aug. 5, 2021
RiceTec Arkansas Rice Field Day: Harrisburg, Arkansas, tours start at 4 p.m., followed by dinner and presentations.
Aug. 6, 2021
University of Arkansas Rice Field Day: Rice Research and Experiment Station, Stuttgart, Arkansas. Morning tours followed by lunch.
Aug. 12, 2021
University of Arkansas Rice College: Pine Tree Research Station near Colt, Arkansas. This training event, hosted every other year, will be at Pine Tree for the first time. This will be an all-day training event for rice growers, consultants and industry personnel. Pre-registration will be required, along with a fee of $100 per attendee. Additional details and registration information will be sent out as the event nears. Space will be limited, so be sure to register quickly
Aug. 19, 2021
Missouri Rice Research & Merchandising Council Rice Field Day: Eight miles west of Malden, Missouri, at the Missouri Rice Research Farm, 40130 Freddie Tanner Dr., Campbell, Missouri. Registration begins at 8 a.m., tours follow at 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided
Aug. 19, 2021
University of Arkansas Rohwer Field Day: Rohwer Research Station, Rohwer, Arkansas
Aug. 25, 2021
California Rice Experiment Station Field Day (tentative): Briggs, California
Oct. 7, 2021
University of Arkansas Virtual Rice and Soybean Field Day (tentative date)
Oct. 14 - 17, 2021
The 84th International Rice Festival: The rice festival will return to Crowley, Louisiana, after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.




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