Comparing rice samples
Jan 13, 2022
VERACRUZ, MEXICO -- Leadership from the USA Rice Council and USA Rice’s International Promotion Committee came here this week for the International Promotion Planning Conference, to develop a proposed budget for USA Rice’s 2022 international marketing activities.
Several staff members from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) also joined the discussion and praised USA Rice for their leadership in developing a comprehensive Unified Export Strategy (UES) for the rice industry and for the high caliber of program management and implementation resulting in market success stories that are important to the long-term viability of the FAS programs.
The group also spent time visiting the local trade, including the Mexican Rice Council, Promexa, and Schettino Hermanos, some of the largest importers and utilizers of U.S. rice.
The U.S. has a very strong logistics and freight advantage here, particularly given the current container shortages, but quality concerns were discussed during every meeting, and have led to importers looking to South American origins to meet their needs.
Pedro Schettino, whose mill is the largest importer of U.S. paddy rice in Mexico, discussed their concerns with U.S. rice quality, noting its chalkiness, brittleness, and inconsistent length. Samples of U.S. rice and several South American rices were displayed to show the differences between origins.
Additionally, Schettino, the Mexican Rice Council, and USA Rice heard a report from the Ansley group who conducted research into the impending threat from Vietnamese milled rice coming into Mexico, due to the duty phase out from the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). They forecasted that Vietnam could have a 5-25 percent market share in Mexico by 2030.
“Currently, Vietnam faces a 12 percent tariff in Mexico but by 2028, there will be no tariff for their rice,” said Jeff Rutledge, vice chair of the USA Rice Council. “While we don’t currently see a flood of imports coming in, we and the Mexican millers are concerned about how this could change the landscape for rice imports and particularly how U.S. rice could be affected in our top export market.”
In an effort to regain some of the lost market share in our top export market, USA Rice has created the Authentic American Rice campaign, a widespread, multi-faceted consumer campaign to raise awareness of U.S. origin rice. Both Promexa and Schettino expressed interest in partnering with USA Rice on this venture.
“USA Rice plans on devoting significant marketing funds to the Authentic American Rice campaign, to help raise awareness of U.S. rice and promote brands that are sourcing from the U.S.,” said Steve Vargas, chair of the USA Rice International Promotion Committee and chair of this week’s international promotion planning conference. “In addition to this, USA Rice will continue to link overseas U.S. rice importers with suppliers and breeders that are able to provide the varieties and quality of rice demanded by our overseas customers.”