At Landrieu’s urging, Iraq commits to buying U.S. Rice
Iraq’s Bid for U.S. Rice follows Landrieu’s efforts on behalf of Louisiana rice farmers
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WASHINGTON – Last week U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., 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. Following her efforts on behalf of Louisiana’s 1,225 rice farm operators and rice mill workers, Sen. Landrieu announced today that Iraq is expected to purchase 120,000 metric tons of rice from American farmers and more purchases are possible later this harvest year. In previous years Iraq has been a steady customer of American rice, buying approximately 1.5 million metric tons a year. “Last week, I heard the concerns of Louisiana rice farmers and pushed the State Department and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq to quickly address the issue. Our rice farmers are hardworking and just produced one of the best crops we’ve seen in years. They know how to produce some of the best long grain rice in the world, but without a fair international market, their livelihood is put at risk,” said Sen. Landrieu. “I’m proud to say our farmers have been chosen to continue providing their world-class rice at competitive prices. Today, Iraq purchased more than $75 million of rice from American farmers. After five months of Iraq passing on opportunities to purchase US rice, I hope today’s purchase signals a renewed commitment to our farmers. I appreciate the State Department and Ambassador Jones’ cooperation to assist me and Louisiana farmers.” The purchase comes after Sen. Landrieu wrote to the Secretary of State Department. Read her letter: here. Last week, 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. “This situation is very concerning to Louisiana’s rice farmers. That is why I spoke to Ambassador Jones 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 percent of the rice produced in the U.S.
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