Dec 09, 2014
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Today's general session opened with a briefing by USA Rice Federation Vice President of Marketing and Communications Michael Klein on consumer group research conducted earlier this year and how USA Rice is putting that research to work by translating what people told us into effective messaging.
Mario Solorzano, president of the Central American Rice Federation (FECARROZ), and a guest panel of FECARROZ representatives talked about the U.S. rice market in Central America. FECARROZ members include El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They reminded the audience of the importance of the Central American market for U.S. rice exports and their collective concern about the quality of U.S. rice being shipped into their region due to poor quality and discrepancies in product analysis.
USA Rice COO Bob Cummings followed with a discussion on the outlook for trade issues and implications for the U.S. rice industry. U.S. government support for rice has reduced significantly over the last ten years while the level of global government support, particularly in China, India, Thailand, and Viet Nam, has increased sometimes as much as 100 percent. Cummings also noted that the International Trade Commission (ITC) is conducting a study of factors influencing the global competitiveness of U.S. rice, and announced that the 2014 Colombia TRQ will contribute $8 million to rice research to be shared between the six rice-producing states.
United States Trade Representative Chief Agriculture Negotiator Darci L. Vetter was introduced and briefed attendees on the Obama administration's current work on TPP, T-TIP, and fast track authority. Vetter also thanked the USA Rice Federation for their continued cooperation and advice as the U.S. government works to increase market access for U.S. rice.
Contact:
Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444