WFP APPROVES ALL U.S. RICE EXPORTERS TO COMPETE FOR TENDERS FOR IRAQ;

Action follows USA Rice efforts to expedite approval process

Washington, December 19, 2003 — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s single largest food aid implementer, has announced that all U.S. rice exporters who have applied for registration with WFP have been approved. This allows these vendors to receive WFP tenders and compete for any of the possible rice tenders for Iraq.

The WFP’s announcement followed phone calls, a series of meetings, and several letters by the USA Rice Federation urging WFP to expedite the approval process. Most recently, Judith Lewis, director of the WFP in Washington, D.C., met with the Rice Millers’ Association’s board of directors at the USA Rice Outlook Conference and learned firsthand about rice industry concerns.

WFP will also ask for the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation-approved food aid vendors list so that every company registered with CCC for food aid tenders will also be registered with WFP.

“This is great news for the rice industry and all U.S. food aid exporters,” said USA Rice Federation Chairman Gary Sebree. “This action comes as a direct result of USA Rice efforts to include as many U.S. rice exporters as possible in WFP activities. The USA Rice Federation sincerely thanks Ms. Lewis and all her colleagues who have made these changes possible.”

The acceptance of U.S. rice exporters for WFP tenders comes at a key time for the rice industry. Iraq was once the number one market for U.S. rice. During the 1980s, U.S. rice sales to Iraq averaged 345,000 metric tons annually, with sales exceeding 500,000 metric tons in peak years. The U.S. rice industry lost the market in 1991 as a result of trade sanctions. In recent years, Iraq’s annual rice imports from other world suppliers have averaged a million metric tons. Rice remains the primary carbohydrate in the Iraqi diet. As one of the largest markets in the world for imported rice, re-opening Iraq could mean significant new demand for U.S. rice exports, particularly milled long grain.

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase industry profitability for all industry segments.

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