LIMA, PERU – Last month USA Rice participated in the Americas Agricultural Cooperators Conference here in collaboration with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC). The two-day event covered the access, distribution, and benefits of soybeans, wheat, grains, and rice around the world.
Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice director of international promotion for the western hemisphere, gave a presentation on the advantages of U.S. origin rice to the hundreds of importers and end users of the featured commodities attending both online and in-person. Grigsby also reported on the conference on
Episode 56 of
The Rice Stuff podcast.
The event culminated with the development of an initiative to bolster the nutrition and food security of the region by promoting U.S. agricultural and food exports across Latin America. Under this agreement, these four leading U.S. agricultural and food trade associations will undertake joint activities in areas of mutual benefit, leveraging the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Market Development and Market Access Program by coordinating and/or combining resources. The initiative is expected to have a positive effect in the region amid the latest global economic events such as interruptions to supply chains, the negative impact of COVID-19, and a changing climate.
“As the world becomes increasingly more globalized, access to shelf-stable food is a top priority,” said Grigsby. “Our partnership with U.S. Soy, U.S. Wheat, and the U.S. Grains Council is one way to contribute to creating a more accessible global food infrastructure.”