Full court press
Mar 25, 2019
ARLINGTON, VA -- Last week Iraq announced a global tender for 30,000 MT of rice. Rice industry champions in Congress are currently reaching out to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and the Iraqi Ambassador on behalf of the industry to encourage the purchase of U.S.-grown rice.
Last fall USA Rice, along with support from Members of Congress and the U.S. State Department, saw Iraq fulfill a global tender for 30,000 MT with U.S.-grown rice -- a great win for the U.S. rice industry.
"Iraq is a top-ten market for U.S. grown rice," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "With per capita rice consumption exceeding 90 pounds per year, it holds great potential as an expanding market."
In 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the U.S. and Iraq for them to make regular purchases of competitively priced, high-quality rice from U.S. suppliers. The MOU has resulted in purchases of more than 210,000 MT of rice through the end of 2018.