SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US — A delegation led by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) toured the US rice supply chain as part of larger agriculture tour.
During the California segment of the trip, the group met with USA Rice members to visit a rice field, mill and the Port of Sacramento. They also visited with the Overseas Merchandise Inspection Company (OMIC) to better understand the inspection services inside the mill and at the port prior to a shipment being exported.
“We are always happy to host trade delegations to ensure a reliable and trusted relationship between the California rice industry and our international markets,” said Steven Michel, vice president of marketing with Farmers’ Rice Cooperative who was on site to answer any questions the delegation had about the FRC operation. “The deep partnership between our mill and OMIC is exemplified by the efficiency of our mill operations we have right here in Sacramento.”
US rice exports make up roughly half of Japan’s World Trade Organization (WTO) import commitment of 682,000 tonnes (milled basis) of rice. Japan’s rice commitments are imported under the Simultaneous-Buy-Sell (SBS) program and ordinary market access tenders on a marketing year basis.
Due to current supply conditions in Japan, MAFF tendered earlier this year than in previous years. On Sept. 6, MAFF held its first SBS tender for 25,000 tonnes of rice, of which the United States was awarded 17,262 tonnes.
“Japan is obviously an important market for California,” said Michael Rue, a California rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Asia Trade Policy Committee. “We always want to show our high-quality rice, but it’s also important we show the high-caliber handling from field to ship to support our competitiveness in the Japanese market.”
