The cobwebs are officially cleared, and it would appear the new calendar year is developing an identity of its own. The 15% reduction in supply for this year’s crop is keeping upward pressure on paddy price, which is holding strong across all Southern states. Even milled rice, for the time being, is enjoying stable pricing with continued domestic business and strong purchases out of Haiti. This is a temporal sentiment though, as it is expected that without Iraq purchases for more rice in the coming months, demand could wane to a point that is injurious to mills.

Prices in Texas are in the $15-$15.10/cwt range, while they are holding firm at $13.90/cwt in Louisiana. Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri all remain in the $14.25/cwt range, with nothing in the short term looking to put downward pressure on pricing.

This year supply was down 15%, and given the fertilizer costs, it’s possible to see another reduction again next year. We expect this dynamic is factoring into the stable pricing the market is currently experiencing, as the threat of supply glut is not on the horizon. But to be ever cautious, that could change if Iraq makes their 2022 purchases from our cheaper Asian competitors.

Prices in Thailand actually increased slightly from last week this week, settling in at $417 pmt. Vietnam held steady at $400 pmt, and India steady at $355 pmt and Pakistan at $359pmt. Compare these prices to US Long Grain, which sit at $600 pmt, indicating that additional business from Iraq is not guaranteed, but a possibility.

Taking a look at global food stocks, it’s impossible to not see China standing front and center. With “only” 20% of the world’s population, it holds more than half of the world’s rice, wheat, and corn supplies. That’s a staggering amount, and something we have seen developing for years now ever since China became the world’s largest rice importer. The US rice market has been scrambling to gain access to the high-end Chinese market for years now, and it has been an arduous process. However, along the way China has been diligently working to diversify their food security supply chains, expressly into Africa on their “Belt and Road” initiatives. This may all look above board at first glance, but some have called out China for hoarding the global food supply, and therefore creating instabilities in poorer regions. Whatever the case may be, China’s historic rice purchases have become a normal factor in the market, but at some point in time, the question must be asked, when is enough, enough?

The Weekly USDA Export Sales report shows net sales of 42,700 MT for 2021/2022, up noticeably from the previous week, but down 14% from the prior 4-week average. Increases were primarily for Haiti (15,300 MT), Mexico (10,200 MT), Guatemala (8,600 MT), Canada (4,100 MT), and Saudi Arabia (1,600 MT). Exports of 22,600 MT were up 31% from the previous week, but down 37% from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Guatemala (15,400 MT), Canada (2,800 MT), Mexico (2,000 MT), Saudi Arabia (700 MT), and Honduras (400 MT).

On Thursday, the Ray Stoesser Memorial Scholarship Selection Committee notified this year’s recipients. Lance Nicholas, a high school senior from Brookshire, Texas, will receive the $5,000 scholarship along with the opportunity to participate in USRPA events and activities throughout the year. Nicholas plans to attend Texas Tech University in the fall.

With a strong inaugural applicant pool, USRPA sponsored second and third-place scholarships as well. Brooke Bradford, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas, will receive a $500 scholarship, and Cali Newdigger, a high school senior from Macksville, KS, will receive a $250 scholarship. The selection committee finished finalist interviews confident that the future of our industry is bright! Stay tuned for more information about these amazing students in upcoming issues of The Rice Advocate.

This year’s annual Western Rice Belt Production Conference was another great event despite virus concerns and a number of farmers staying in the field to work ground ahead of expected wet weather as planting season approaches. An impressive list of speakers included presentations from RiceTec, Horizon Ag, and Dynagro (Nutrien) on rice varieties’ performance, followed by Extension Agent, Corrie Bowen (Rice Dryer Data), Jarrod Hardke (University of Arkansas, Row Rice Production), Dr. Luis Ribera (Carbon Credit Economics), Stephanie Theriot (Texas Pesticide Regulations), Dennis Neumann (Ducks Unlimited), Dr. George Knapek (Texas A&M, Farm Policy Update) and the program ended with the ever-popular market outlook from Dr. Thomas Wynn of Coastal Rice Futures. Dr. Wynn is past chairman of the USRPA and currently serves on the board along with the Texas Rice Council. 

Equally important as the program was the networking to discuss the market with several major buyers of rough rice who attended the event while approximately 85,000 tons of unsold paddy rice remain in Texas. USRPA’s experience with rice mills in Mexico and Central America has provided important marketing support for farmers not only in Texas but throughout the United States. The USRPA & Texas Rice Council are an annual corporate sponsor of the Western Rice Belt.

The Texas Rice Council and USRPA were proud to sponsor and be a part of the Southeast Texas Rice Symposium, which took place on Thursday, January 20, in Winnie, Texas. Marcela Garcia, President & CEO welcomed farmers who braved the unusually low temperatures and gave an update on activities and programs that are maintaining and opening markets for Texas and U.S. grown rice. The agenda provided a well-rounded program including presentations by Corey Conner from Horizon Ag, Derrol Grymes from Ricetec, Dr. Ronnie Levy from LSU Ag Center, Dr. Luis Ribera, and Bob Whitney from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Center. Dr. Thomas Wynn closed out the program with a presentation titled Volatility of Input Costs.

The Senate this week was focused on whether to change Senate Rules on filibuster in order to pass underlying voting legislation. Democrats fell far short of the 60 votes needed to push the voting bill over the Republican filibuster. The bill failed to advance 51-49 on a largely party-line vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., cast a procedural vote against so the voting bill could be considered later. The Senate Democrat internal fight over whether to change the filibuster rules to pass elections legislation was ended when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., remained steadfast in defending the filibuster, although both Manchin and Sinema say they support the underlying voting legislation. 

The farm bill was referenced by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a warning to reporters about the precedent that would be set by changing the rules now. "Five years from now, somebody's going to say, we did it five years ago for voting rights, why can't we do it for the farm bill or something like that? … This is going to destroy the only political institution we got in America that forces bipartisanship,” Grassley said.



This week USDA published the 2020 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Summary. The summary shows that more than 99 percent of the samples tested had pesticide residues below benchmark levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The findings illustrate that residues found in agricultural products sampled are at levels that do not pose risk to consumers’ health and are safe according to EPA and FDA.

The report for 2020, issued by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), marks the 30th year of PDP results. Over the 30 years, USDA has tested 126 commodities, including fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, poultry, grains, fish, rice, specialty products and water. PDP monitoring results for more than 310,000 samples through the years are available on the Pesticide Data Program website.

Each year USDA and EPA work together to identify foods to be tested by the PDP on a rotating basis. In 2020, tests were conducted on 9,600 samples from 18 commodities of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. AMS partners with cooperating state agencies to collect and analyze pesticide residue levels on the selected food commodities.

The 2020 data and summary can be found on the Pesticide Data Program page of the AMS website. Printed copies may be obtained by contacting the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Science and Technology Program, Monitoring Programs Division by e-mail at [email protected].

USDA Staff Appointments

Four senior staff positions at USDA have been filled by Secretary Vilsack, including deputy administrator for the Farm Service Agency, the chief of staff for the Farm Production and Conservation mission area, chief of staff for the Natural Resources and Environment. and director of nutrition security and health equity for the Food and Nutrition Service. 

Scott Marlow was named deputy administrator for farm programs in FSA. Tim Gannon was named chief of staff for Farm Production and Conservation. Andrea Delgado was named as chief of staff for the Natural Resources and Environment mission area, and Sara Bleich was named as director of nutrition security and health equity for the Food and Nutrition Service.

Marlow was CEO of Long Rows Consulting. He also provided training for farm services organizations, providing education on how to work with farmers in financial crisis and the mental health impacts of farm transitions. 

Gannon, a former Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, worked on the Biden-Harris campaign in Iowa as the coalitions adviser. Gannon previously worked at USDA during the Obama administration as the director of advance in the Office of the Secretary and was also the associate administrator in the Risk Management Agency.

Delgado served as the government affairs director at the United Farm Workers Foundation. Delgado has also worked at Earthjustice and was a policy fellow with the National Latino Coalition on Climate Change.

Bleich has been a senior adviser for COVID-19 in the Office of the Secretary Vilsack. Bleich was a professor of public health policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The United States is a major producer of rice in the world. Although the United States has produced high-quality rice for years, Chinese consumers do not know enough about it. In order to promote US rice， the press coverage campaign was conducted during September and October 2021, selecting 40 different media that covered news, food, lifestyle and other topics. The first round was conducted at the end of September 2021, before the National Day holiday, and the second round was launched after the holiday, in October. The articles introduce the promotion activity and US rice to readers. Since the articles were posted, click rates for the articles continue to increase, evidence that US rice is more and more appealing and popular to consumers pursuing a high-quality life. The enthusiasm of Chinese residents for this kind of promotion activity was strong. The media outreach was a great opportunity to showcase US rice and introduce recipes that could be prepared at home during the holiday and people’s daily life. While COVID-19 still exists and people cannot freely travel abroad, this promotion opportunity is one means of helping people become familiar with US rice.

The online media campaign was very successful for US rice promotion. While driving sales, the promotion also helped to expand awareness for US rice. The media outreach helped spread awareness and knowledge of US rice, and increase number of consumers. The total impressions from social media posts and media outreach was 21,543,500.

China is indeed a broad market for US rice. It has a large population with a large demand. With the development of the economy, people’s living standards have improved gradually. And more people are pursuing a high-quality life in many aspects, especially in terms of food. With modern and advanced technology, US rice is a high-quality product that is ideal for Chinese consumers. It is believed that through the promotional campaign, more Chinese consumers could access information about US rice and select the product to incorporate into their life. Through the expansive reach of media platforms, we can take advantage of their readership and influence, to enhance the reputation of US rice and attract more consumers.