CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA – This week, Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice senior director of international promotion for the Western Hemisphere, met with representatives from FECARROZ (the Central America Rice Federation) to provide an update on the U.S. rice crop, share the latest developments impacting the U.S. rice industry, and invite participation in the 2026 USA Rice Outlook Conference, scheduled for December 13-15 in Nashville, Tennessee. Grigsby and FECARROZ leaders where here among others rice industry professionals in Latin America for the Rice Market and Technology Convention (RMTC) being held this week.
“Central America continues to be a critical market for U.S. rice,” said Grigsby. “Even amid shifts in trade flows and reduced imports from some countries in the region, maintaining our strong partnerships and building on our long-standing trade relations is essential for the future growth of the U.S. rice industry.”
RMTC speakers highlighted several important themes affecting the global and regional rice markets. Colby Branch, Agricultural Attaché with the Foreign Agricultural Service posted in Colombia, provided an opening keynote address, emphasizing the importance of the U.S. rice industry and USDA’s continued support for industry engagement throughout the region.
Additional speakers included Ricardo Mendoza, executive director of the Mexican Rice Council, who discussed the increasingly complex dynamics of the Mexican rice market and the growing pressure from foreign competition threatening domestic market share; Eduardo Rojas, president of The National Rice Corporation (CONARROZ), National Association of Industrialists of the Rice Sector of Costa Rica (ANINSA), and FECARROZ, who presented marketing perspectives for Central America and Panama; and Sandra Avellaneda, Director of Camara Induarroz (Chamber of the Rice Industry of Colombia) who provided an overview of her country’s rice sector complete with the growing threats and opportunities for rice in Colombia.
The program concluded with remarks from Dr. Yamid Sanabria, celebrated rice breeder, graduate of Louisiana State University and leader of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR) who highlighted rice varieties and innovations aimed at meeting future production challenges.
“The conversations throughout the conference reinforced how interconnected our markets have become,” Grigsby said. “Opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and market development remain strong across the hemisphere, and events like this are essential for strengthening those relationships. There was a lot of enthusiasm for continuing these conversations at the upcoming Outlook Conference as well, we will be sending official invitations in the coming weeks.”
The convention provided an important platform for industry leaders throughout the Americas to exchange market intelligence, discuss production trends, and explore opportunities for continued cooperation across the rice sector.