.jpg)
The focus for farmers is planting. Texas and Louisiana are underway, but fields in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri are being prepped. California is still waiting out the spring weather with another storm expected through the weekend. Texas has passed 30% planted. Prices for paddy have remained firm, even as the milling activity has quieted down a bit. Domestic business remains, but trouble in Haiti has the potential to snarl up the flow of exports in the coming weeks.
A recent GAIN report for Mexico offers hope for a return to historical norms in the Mexico-U.S. rice relationship. Mexico’s imports of U.S. rice increased from Oct-Dec 2023 by 406% compared to the previous year.
Recall that a significant market share was lost to Brazil post-COVID, where Oct-Dec 2022 recorded only 47,554 MT, compared to the new 240,576 MT. In the same period, imports of Brazilian rice decreased from 174,534 MT to 32,109 MT, or an 82% reduction.
