GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA -- Over the past year, USA Rice has registered the “Authentic American Rice” seal in several Latin American countries in order to bring awareness of U.S.-origin rice at points of sale. Grupo Albay, a Guatemalan importer, is using the “Authentic American Rice” seal on their El Caballito and Tierra Noble rice packaging, making the origin clearly identifiable to consumers.
In January, the El Caballito brand stocked the shelves of Guatemalan supermarkets with 100,000 units after Albay General Manager Byron Herrera, who participated in the September 2019 reverse trade mission organized by USA Rice (
USA Rice Daily, October 7, 2019), confirmed his interest in guaranteeing consumers not only the origin, but also the quality of the imported rice.
“In 2020, general sales of Albay rice brands increased 11 percent over 2019 due to extraordinary demand in Guatemalan households caused by the pandemic,” said Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice director of international promotion. “And, in the first two months of 2021, sales of El Caballito branded with the 'Arroz Americano Authentico' seal have doubled compared to the same period of the previous year. Those are impressive results.”
USA Rice is engaging with more Central American importers, encouraging them to join this initiative to place the “Authentic American Rice” seal on their packaging to demonstrate the commitment to excellent quality rice to consumers.
“USA Rice recently kicked off the 2021 “Piensa en Arroz (Think Rice)” campaign focused on increasing per capita rice consumption in Guatemala and supporting importers of U.S. rice through promotions at points of sale, public relations, and digital engagement,” said Grigsby. “The campaign provides consumers with information on the nutritional benefits of rice consumption, shares innovative recipe ideas, and highlights the economic value of this mighty grain.”
Rice is considered the third most important food in the basic diet of Guatemalans, after corn and beans. Local production is not sufficient to meet demand; in 2020, production was 26,000 MT – less than 25 percent of annual consumption. Therefore Guatemala must import a significant amount of rice, and the majority comes from the United States. Under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) Guatemala has a duty-free quota of 111,600 MT of U.S. rice for 2021 (93,600 tons of rough/paddy and 18,000 tons of milled).