The Rice Advocate, Vol. 17, Issue 46

Volume 17, Issue 46

November 19, 2020

In This Issue:

Registration is Open for RMTC's 2nd Virtual Seminar: "What Can We Expect from Mercosur in 2021?"
First Sale of US Rice to China Sold Out in Weeks
Washington DC Update
USRPA is Back to In-Store Promotions in Mexico
ATO Monterey and USRPA Collaborate on Virtual Cooking Classes in Mexico

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Rice Market & Technology Convention

Presents:

"What Can We Expect from

the Mercosur Rice Market in 202?"

Reinerio Franco

Vice President

CONMASUR-Paraguay

Principal, Agriplus S.A.

Tiago Barata

Executive Director

Sindicato da Indústria do Arroz do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul - Sindarroz.

Consulting Member

Center of Rice Excellence

Yamila Saiz, President

CONMASUR-Argentina

Business Manager, Ibera Mercantil S.A.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (US CT)

CLICK TO REGISTER

First Sale of US Rice to China Sold Out in Weeks

The 20 tons of Calrose rice that arrived in China last month garnered positive feedback among consumers and importers.

The distributer, Sungiven Foods, sold the 5kg packages of U.S. rice under their private label, Sungiven US Calrose Rice, both online and in-stores. A social media page that was created to promote the rice includes a brief overview and history of the variety, including details about its growing environment.

Mr. Ray Zhang, Import Manager at Xiamen Mingsui Grains & Oils Trading Co. believes the majority of customers purchased the rice out of curiosity. He further commented, “We appreciate the support from the USRPA and their facilitating this business.”

The USRPA began working in China in the late 90s and then used the USDA-FAS’ Emerging Markets Program to launch the effort that established a phytosanitary protocol. USRPA continues a friendly relationship and open communication with buyers and looks forward to the next shipment.

Galen Franz, USRPA & Texas Rice Council Board member, is harvesting 2nd crop of Presidio, just north of Edna, Texas this week.

Rice Market Update at a Glance

Washington Update

On Wednesday, November 18^th, USDA officials reversed a portion of the rule that was released in August that would have required family members to start meeting management time requirements to qualify for commodity program payments. USDA noted the following:

“After publication of the rule, stakeholders notified FSA of concerns regarding potential non-intended, adverse effects to farming operations comprised solely of family members. In streamlining the definitions for consistency, these revised definitions were inadvertently made applicable to farming operations solely owned by family members. This was not the intent of this rule change, and as revised, the definitions were more restrictive than they needed to be in order to provide intended consistency in the rule. Those more restrictive definitions were not intended to apply to farm operations comprised or owned solely of family members. Therefore, this document restores § 400.601 and the previous the definitions of “active personal management” and “significant contribution” in § 1400.3 that were applicable prior to publication of the final rule on August 24, 2020. The more restrictive definitions described in § 1400.601 apply only to farming operations comprised of non-family members that are subject to a limit in the number of farm managers seeking to qualify for actively engaged in farming based on a contribution of active personal management alone.”

To examine the rule notice click here.

Of course, not all in agriculture agree with this common-sense rule correction. Policy Director Eric Deeble of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition issued the statement, “A 180-degree about-face on an already final rule reeks of an election campaign season payoff. The new rule will use taxpayer money to foster farm consolidation, putting family farmers and beginning farmers at a severe disadvantage. We trust that the incoming Biden Administration will revoke this parting gift and put the teeth back in the farm bill’s payment limit to ensure fairness and stop subsidizing economic concentration.” To read their entire statement click here.

USRPA Is Back to In-Store Promotions in Mexico

After a long hiatus of our in-store promotions in Mexico due to COVID-19, USRPA reactivated the campaign last month. For safety precautions, adjustments were made to our process and the booths.

Following the safety measures and adhering to social distancing guidelines, the promoters educate the shoppers on the benefits of incorporating American long-grain rice into their diets and sharing promotional items reinforcing its nutritional value.

The total sales of American long-grain rice during the in-store promotions from October 15 to 31 was 16,805 Kilos, or roughly 37,048 pounds.

The promotional campaign will continue through December 2020.

ATO Monterey and USRPA Collaborate on Virtual Cooking Classes in Mexico

The first Facebook lives cooking class featuring American long grain rice was broadcast on September 25th in a project led by the USRPA in collaboration with USDA through ATO Monterrey. Overall, eleven recipes were presented through the month of October.

Chef Valeria Ochoa taught viewers to prepare Yakimeshi, a traditional dish in Asian cuisine, easily adapted to use American long-grain rice. The live event was attended by 637 users with continuous interaction and questions with Chef Ochoa addressing as many as she could while reiterating the versatility and nutritional value of American long rice.

To this date, the recorded cooking class has more than 5,500 views on Facebook the CONSUME ARROZ USA profile with many followers proudly sharing photos of their own results.