California Rice Growers Stand to Prosper from China Deal

For all of the angst concerning trade deficits with China, the United States — writes Thomas Lee on SFChronicle.com — has something China increasingly needs: rice.

That’s right: Our top economic rival needs America to help provide its national food staple.

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The Trump administration recently announced it struck a deal with China that for the first time will allow U.S. farmers to export rice to that country. The agreement is particularly important to California, the nation’s second-largest producer of rice, most of it grown in the Sacramento Valley.

“Looking forward, this opportunity is significant,” said Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission.

Until recently, China was a net exporter of rice, and it still sends some overseas. But imports now account for 3 percent of the 144 million metric tons consumed last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and have been growing.

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