Sep 23, 2015
ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice was notified today that our Emerging Markets Program (EMP) proposal budgeted at $61,000 to bring Chinese officials to the U.S. has been approved for funding in FY 2015. The purpose of the visit, scheduled to take place soon after a phytosanitary protocol has been reached with the Chinese, is for the officials to survey a number of rice mills interested in exporting rice to China. This market survey is required by the protocol and envisioned as the last step before rice can be legally imported by buyers in China.
As USA Rice reported last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has said the phytosanitary agreement is still in an administrative review process in China.
“We are hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon,” said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. “This has not been an easy negotiation for APHIS because many of the Chinese demands are considered less than reasonable since they are not based on plant health issues. However, China is an important export market and we believe our patience during this process will pay off eventually.”