Savory Meals of Rice and Meat Headline Eid al-Adha Celebrations

AMMAN, JORDAN – USA Rice recently teamed up with Sunbird, a local U.S. rice brand in Jordan, with a promotion to boost U.S. rice sales that rolled out on billboard and LED screens in the country’s two largest urban centers, Amman and Irbid.  

The new campaign is the first conducted in cooperation with a local brand since the start of the 2023 Gaza crisis.  It started just before Eid al-Adha, the second of the two main Islamic holidays after Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan.
 
“Eid al-Adha commemorates the story in the Quran of God appearing to Abraham in a dream and commanding him to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience,” said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa.  “The holiday, which started on Sunday this year, is determined by the lunar calendar.  During the Eid holidays, families and friends gather and share meals, many of which include rice.”

The campaign is expected to reach more than 3 million Jordanians, and is designed to help locally available U.S. rice brands regain market share in the Middle East.

U.S. rice sales to Jordan totaled 46,100 MT in 2023 with a value of $52.8 million.  That number is expected to increase this year due to better availability of California Calrose rice, the main U.S. variety consumed here and appreciated for its taste and suitability for local cuisine.