Landrieu Urges State Department to Review Iraq’s Refusal to Buy U.S. Rice
Senator fights to protect Louisiana rice farmers
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WASHINGTON – On behalf of Louisiana’s 1,225 rice farm operators and rice mill workers, U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today called on the State Department and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Stuart Jones, to take a close look at why the Iraqi Grain Board (IGB) and the Iraqi Minister of Trade, Mallas al-Hussaini, refused to purchase American rice from the 2014 harvest. In previous years Iraq has been a steady customer of American rice, buying approximately 1.5 million metric tons a year. Read the full text of Sen. Landrieu’s letter to the State Department here. “For reasons unbeknownst to the rice farmers of our country, the IGB and Iraq’s Minister of Trade, Mallas al-Hussaini, have refused to buy any U.S. rice from this year’s harvest. This puts an undue burden on our hardworking farmers and mill workers in the United States. Rice farmers across the country rely on sound international partners and are becoming increasingly concerned that the IGB and Minister of Trade are is no longer entertaining bids from the United States for long grain rice,” Sen. Landrieu wrote. “Nearly one-half of the domestic U.S. rice crop is exported every year. Being such a large foreign market where the United States has had a long-time market presence, sustained loss of Iraqi demand will have negative consequences for rice producers and millers, especially in Louisiana. Now that the rice industry in the United States is coming off a bountiful 2014 harvest, I urge you to ask Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Minister of Trade al-Hussaini why they abruptly decided to stop buying American long grain rice when it is at a more competitive price than other countries.” Today, Sen. Landrieu also spoke to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones by phone to urge him to work to find a solution on behalf of American rice farmers. On the call, she asked Ambassador Jones to determine why the IGB and Iraqi Minister of Trade were not offering bids to our nation’s rice farmers. At the request of Sen. Landrieu, Ambassador Jones is looking into the matter. “This situation is very concerning to Louisiana’s rice farmers. That is why I spoke to Ambassador Jones today to ask that he work quickly with Iraqi officials to reach a quick and fair resolution to this problem,” Sen. Landrieu said. “At my request, Ambassador Jones committed to work to find a solution as soon as possible. Rice is critical to Louisiana’s economy, and our hard-working rice farmers and mill workers deserve to be treated fairly in the international marketplace.” Louisiana is the third largest rice producing state in the country. Of the $300 million of economic impact rice generates for Louisiana, almost half of that is exported to other countries every year. With 30 rice producing parishes, Louisiana accounts for 15% of the rice produced in the U.S.
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