China Receives First-Ever US Rice Shipment
By Todd Fitchette
Delta Farm Press
China imported its first-ever commercial container of rice from the United States, marking a positive move in agricultural trade negotiations between the two nations after more than a decade of political and regulatory efforts by the U.S. rice industry.
Bobby Hanks, chairman of the USA Rice Federation board, and a rice milling representative from Louisiana, says that while this is good news, the optimism is cautious because of previous trade issues between the two large trading partners. The shipment follows the U.S.-China Phase One Agreement from last January. This agreement included a promise by China to buy U.S. rice.