Before the American embargo on exports to Cuba began in 1960, the U.S. sold more rice to the island nation than any other country. And if America opens up grain trading with the country once again, Louisiana is in prime position to take advantage and become a leading exporter to the country, says Kevin Berken, a Lake Arthur rice farmer and chairman of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board.
Cubans grow roughly 400,000 tons of rice a year, Berken says, and they import another 600,000 tons. Vietnam currently supplies most of the rice imported into Cuba, but Berken says it’s inferior in quality to Louisiana, which he speculates could result from the 45-day voyage required for Vietnamese ships to reach Cuba. He estimates American shipments of rice could arrive in two days from Louisiana.
“They could just about take all of Louisiana’s crop,” he says of the Cuban demand for rice.
While the U.S. has announced its intention to ease the trade embargo, there’s still a lot of work to be done before rice trade resumes. However, the USA Rice Federation announced last week that U.S. trade officials have revised the payment rules to make rice sales easier. In addition, the new rules will allow U.S. financial institutions to open accounts at Cuban banks to help facilitate transactions.
“Our commitment to the market and the Cuban people is genuine. We understand these are the first steps in the process, but we’re ready to engage with Congress both independently and through the U.S. Agriculture for Cuba Coalition to advocate for complete normalization of trade with Cuba,” USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward says in a press release issued last week.
The LSU AgCenter has the full story.
