LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – The IFE International Food and Drink Event has a legacy of more than 40 years connecting senior buyers and suppliers and remains the largest and most successful product sourcing platform across the retail, wholesale, distribution, import & export, and foodservice sectors in the UK. Last week, for the first time, the event featured a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service-endorsed U.S. pavilion, where USA Rice exhibited.
“We used this opportunity to showcase all different types of U.S. rice at a dedicated USA Rice booth,” said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, who staffed the exhibit. “We conducted meetings with our existing trade contacts here and had the opportunity to educate interested visitors on the availability of all types of U.S.-grown rice for the different UK target groups, highlighting the high quality, safety, and sustainable production techniques our industry follows.”
Over the three days of the show, IFE welcomed 30,000 key industry professionals to sample the latest products, develop their knowledge on the trends affecting the food and drink sector, and network face-to-face with more than 1,500 exhibitors, including three USA Rice member companies that had representatives on hand.
Somogyi explained that the United Kingdom is a diverse rice market, with many different ethnic groups using different types of rice as a main ingredient in their cuisine. Total rice imports to the UK average between 650,000 -750,000 MT annually, and while about half of the rice market is dominated by India and Pakistan mainly through Basmati rice sales, however she added there is an opportunity for growth for a number of U.S. rice types here.
U.S. rice sales amounted to 29,500 MT in 2021 with a value of $17 million representing brown, milled, and parboiled long grain rice used in the Chinese ethnic, Afro-Caribbean, and mainstream retail market, as well as medium and short grain rice sold mostly to the Japanese and Korean market segment.
“It was a great experience to be in the UK at this event when the announcement on the removal of the 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. milled and broken rice was made (see USA Rice Daily, March 23, 2022),” said Mark Holt, Chair of USA Rice’s Europe, Africa, Middle East Promotion and Trade Policy Subcommittees and vice president of sales for Riceland Foods who attended the tradeshow. “We are very happy about the improved market access to the UK and look forward to continue expanding U.S. rice presence in the market with our local partners.”