Houston, Texas
December 6, 2002

U S Rice Producers Association reports the good news is that both total and per capita U.S. rice consumption continues to rise but the bad news is that imports account for a growing share of the domestic consumption and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) imports are projected to continue increasing at a slightly faster pace than overall consumption. This is not the kind of news that rice farmers want to hear.

The consumption of rice has been on an increase in the United States since the late 1970s and for 2002/03 the per capita consumption is projected by the USDA to reach a record 26.3 pounds. That is an increase of 1/4 pound from the previous year and doubles the 1978/79 level. The USDA's long term forecast projects continued expansion over the next decade. The factors contributing to this expansion include a growing share of Asian and Hispanic Americans, a greater demand for ethnic foods, a variety of new rice products and some effective marketing tools. Long grain rice accounts for the largest percentage of U.S. consumption projected at a record 88.7 million cwt for 2002/03 while medium and short grain rice usage in the domestic market is estimated at 36.3 million cwt.

"While 26.3 pounds per capita consumption is admirable, a different picture is painted when you break this statistic down," according to Dwight Roberts, President & CEO of the US Rice Producers Association. According to the USDA the domestic consumption figure includes not only table rice but usage in processed foods, breakfast cereals, beer manufacturing, pet foods and foreign imported rice. During a recent meeting with the USDA, a senior economist stated that if you remove the tonnage
accounted for by pet food, the brewery industry and imported rice you have flat domestic table rice consumption. Added Roberts, "this makes the 26.3 pounds per capita figure a very misleading statistic for farmers and it indicates than your average American is not eating the amount of rice we thought."

For American rice farmers who contribute hard earned check-off dollars in promotional efforts, the importation of rice from the foreign marketplace is of serious concern. As indicated by the USDA, imports of approximately 13.2 million cwt in 2001/02 represented 11 percent of the domestic use, compared with less than 1 percent in 1980/81. As well these imports are projected to continue increasing at a pace faster than overall consumption.

"As I talk to rice farmers in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and California there is a consistent concern in regards to the effective use of check-off dollars that are designed to increase the consumption of American grown rice," stated Roberts. "The time has come for the rice industry to re-evaluate how check-off dollars are used in the domestic marketplace and we owe it to our farmers to make the necessary changes if we are going to participate in the expected expansion in domestic usage," finalized Roberts.

The U S Rice Producers Association, representing rice farmers in Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, California, and Louisiana, is the only organization solely representing the views of the U.S. rice farmers.