LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – A delegation of Louisiana state representatives and state senators, led by Dr. Mike Strain, Louisiana commissioner of agriculture and forestry, visited here last week to learn more about the market and the opportunities it offers for U.S. agricultural exports. Rice featured prominently on the group’s agenda as one of the U.S. agricultural products that would benefit significantly from a U.S.–UK trade agreement aimed at leveling the playing field with competing origins.
The delegation’s program was coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in London and included a comprehensive briefing on the UK rice market, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for U.S. rice in retail and wholesale channels.
As part of the visit, the group met with the UK Rice Association to gain insights into market dynamics, followed by a visit to Wanis, a major Afro-Caribbean wholesaler that markets its own U.S. rice brand, Tropical Sun. Wanis is a long-term partner of USA Rice and has collaborated on numerous successful promotional activities in recent years (see
USA Rice Daily, May 16, 2025).
The United Kingdom is a major rice importer, sourcing approximately 700,000–750,000 metric tons (MT) annually, with the majority consisting of basmati rice. However, reflecting the country’s diverse ethnic population, the UK also imports significant volumes of long and medium grain. U.S. rice currently holds a 2–3 percent market share, constrained largely by the tariff-rate quota, which allows 12,949 MT of U.S. milled rice to enter the UK duty-free. Milled rice shipped outside the quota faces a tariff of £121/MT, while brown rice is subject to a tariff of £25/MT.
“USA Rice continues to advocate for duty-free access for all types and forms of U.S.-origin rice under the proposed U.S.–UK Prosperity Deal, announced earlier this year and currently under negotiation by the Trump Administration,” said Karah Janevicius, USA Rice director for international trade policy.