A new U.S. rice deal with Iraq will boost Louisiana farmers as the milling season begins here for this year's ongoing harvest.
Fifth District Congressman Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, was among those who announced Iraq has agreed to buy 15,000 metric tons of American rice in its latest contract with America.
Abraham is Louisiana's only member of the House Agriculture Committee and lobbied for the deal in a letter to Ambassador Douglas Silliman."This is a tremendous win for American rice producers," Abraham said. "Anytime we can sell our commodities in large transactions like these, it elevates the entire industry.
"Louisiana is one of the top rice-producing states in the nation (along with Arkansas and California), and our growers will almost certainly benefit from this deal." Agriculture is a $13 billion industry in Louisiana.
Farmers here produced almost 3 billion pounds of rice across 390,000 acres last year.
Acadiana producer Richard Fontenot, who was named the 2016 Rice Farmer of the Year by the USA Rice Federation and Rice Farming, said expanding markets is critical to American agriculture's future success. Fontenot is also a vice president in the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
"This is great news for the industry," he told USA Today Network.
"We export a majority of Louisiana's rice, and these sales are crucial to our producers across the state." Fontenot said the southern Louisiana rice harvest is about 50 percent complete while the northern Louisiana harvest is just getting started.
"The field reports I've heard are rating this year's crop from average to above average," he said.
Acadiana and northeastern Louisiana are the major rice producing regions in the state. "Iraq is a tremendous market for rice, particularly for premium quality rice," said Scott Franklin of the Northeast Louisiana Rice Growers Association.
"The fact that we won this business at the first Iraqi tender offer of the 2018 crop season is very promising way to kick off the South Louisiana milling season with some much-needed business." The recent deal is the latest in a string of successes for American rice producers. Last November Iraq bought 90,000 metric tons of rice from the U.S. This is the third rice sale to Iraq in the last calendar year.
by Greg Hilburn
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