WASHINGTON, DC -- This morning, the World Market Price Subcommittee (WMP) met here with representatives from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to discuss a variety of issues in the global rice trade affecting the U.S. rice industry.
While reviewing recent reports of rice yield from NASS, Subcommittee members found projected yields from Texas to be too high and those from California to be far too low. Members also questioned FSA about the statistics of Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments for the 2014 crop. While payments under the new program were expected quickly and in-full this coming November, FSA agreed to clarify its timeline and report back to USA Rice. (
See USA Rice Chairman Dow Brantley’s comments on the topic.)
The Subcommittee discussed global policy issues including details of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Because the U.S. government has not yet released the official text of the deal, possible ramifications for the U.S. rice industry are speculative at this point. The Subcommittee was interested in what could be discovered about the deal between the U.S. and Japan, as well as what duties will continue to exist between Mexico and Vietnam, as both countries, one a critical destination for U.S. rice, the other a strong competitor, are also signatories to the TPP.
Chairman Keith Glover welcomed new participants onto the subcommittee for the 2015-17 term, and afterwards said, “The meeting today was productive and educational. We appreciate the participation of NASS, ERS, FSA, and FAS, and look forward to receiving clarification about the status of PLC payments from the 2014 crop.”
The next World Market Price meeting will take place in February 2016, following the close of the Government Affairs Conference (GAC).