USDA FAS Associate Administrator Clay Hamilton
Dec 02, 2022
MADRID, SPAIN – USA Rice attended the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Trade Mission here this week, along with more than 80 other participants representing businesses, cooperator groups, and state departments of agriculture.
Clay Hamilton, associate administrator for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), led the mission.
The four-day schedule of activities provided valuable insight into the economic and commercial situation in Spain, details of the Spanish food and beverage market, and the procedures for importing food products into Spain and the EU as a whole. Presentations by local USDA FAS staff and Spanish ag groups covered opportunities for U.S. exporters and implications of the European Green Deal.
Many site tours were included in the itinerary. One such visit was to the National Center for Irrigation Technology where extensive research has been undertaken to modernize irrigation practices in the country. Spain is at the forefront of the EU’s climate fight though the ongoing drought in Europe has led to uncertainty about the long-term viability of the Spanish rice industry.
“Spain and Portugal face many of the same challenges as the U.S. when it comes to agriculture,” said Jesica Kincaid, USA Rice senior manager of international trade policy. “This USDA trade mission provided a platform to address how to overcome those challenges together while also increasing the volume and efficiency of U.S. exports to the Mediterranean region of Europe.”
Although Spain typically produces about 30 percent of rice grown in Europe, they also have an import market for certain types of U.S. rice, primarily milled medium grain or paddy rice that’s milled in-country. In a typical year, Spain imports between 1,000 – 2,000 metric tons of U.S. rice.