Local rice growers hopeful on exports to China

In a solid year of rice production, half of the United States’ domestically grown crop is exported around the globe. But China isn’t among the countries importing it. However, on Friday, the two nations will come closer to terms of becoming rice traders as the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issues a preliminary report to China on the pests that potentially could get shipped with U.S. rice, says Jim Guinn, vice president of international promotion at USA Rice Federation. But that doesn’t mean Louisiana rice will go to Shanghai anytime soon. Guinn says the United States and China have been in negotiations for several years and that a timetable for when—if any—rice will be shipped to the Asian country is hard to determine. “Right now it is illegal to import rice to China,” Guinn says. However, Randy Jemison, director of Louisiana Field Services for the Rice Federation in Crowley, says local growers hope to eventually ship their long-grain rice to China, where a demand for international rice is strong. “Especially in the middle- and upper-income levels of China, there is a desire for higher-quality food,” Jemison says. “And we’ll sell rice wherever we can get the best deal.” A higher price paid for rice will raise prices both domestically and internationally, says Guinn. However, the uptick domestically could be marginally small, Guinn says. Louisiana ranks third in U.S. rice production, Guinn says, following California and Arkansas. Up to 3.5 million tons is exported each year. —Adam Pearson