Help save the future
of the Louisiana
rice industry

  I think most people would agree that farmers are eternal optimists, we have to be or I guess we would be labeled crazy. But even the most pessimistic optimist would have to believe that this New Year will definitely be better or at least less disastrous than the last. Although it will be difficult to get started, fields will be tilled, crawfish traps will be checked, calves will be born, seeds will be sown and eventually crops will be harvested.
  Anyone who attended the rice outlook conference in Austin would have to agree that despite the current economic situation in the rice market, there was definitely optimism in the air. The world stocks are down and consumption is up. This is great news for the US rice industry, but will the Louisiana rice industry benefit?
   For the rice industry to benefit, we have to be able to export rice efficiently and affordably. Louisiana being a coastal state should have an advantage when exporting rice. The port of Lake Charles is only a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico and connects the south Louisiana rice industry to the world. With the recent passing of the CAFTA treaty, the Cuban rice market becoming more accessible, and the Iraq market slowly coming back, sounds like our Louisiana rice industry should be in a perfect situation to increase exports.
   The Cuban market alone could keep the port and local mills busy. They currently use some 600,000 metric tons per year of which only 150,000 of that comes from the US. Their main source for rice is Vietnam, a country half way around the world. Vietnam has to ship in 15,000 - 30,000 ton ocean going vessels and the only port large enough to handle such large vessels is Havana. Someday, (Castro can’t live forever) Louisiana could capture the lion’s share of this market; we have the quality and a geographic advantage over any other rice growing area. We also can better serve them by delivering in much smaller vessels capable of utilizing smaller ports and inland waterways.
   The problem is the Port of Lake Charles over the years has been reducing warehouse space available to rice mills for bagged rice and expanding their space for wood products imported from Brazil. The 120,000 metric tons of warehouse space available for bagged rice two years ago has now dwindled down to 22,000. This is great for Brazil but I don’t think this is the reason the port was developed. Somehow I think it was commissioned for the economic development of Louisiana industries and not Brazil’s. Oh, by the way, Louisiana’s forestry products are our states most valuable agricultural crop. In 2004 the forestry industry contributed nearly $4 billion to our state’s economy.
   The port also has a viable bulk terminal. It is equipped with a state of the art bagging facility, a spiralveyor to load ships efficiently and a 30,000 ton bulk storage capacity to store grain. This too should be good news but it is often tied up with peas, beans, corn and Milo from the Midwest. This makes no sense, again, working against us instead of for economic development of one of our states long standing industries which has a huge economic impact on Louisiana.
   In an effort to make more efficient use of this facility, and increase rice exports from south Louisiana, officials with Louisiana Rice Mill offered the port a contract in response to the ports Requests for Proposal (RFP) with a guarantee in writing of more tonnage and revenue with rice from Louisiana than all the other commodities from all the other states combined. This not only guaranteed more income but reduced cost to the port with less cleaning up between shipments of different commodities and eliminates the problems associated with scheduling ships.
   However, at a recent Port of Lake Charles board meeting, this offer was rejected. They said for now they would continue to conduct business as usual. It’s important to note that countries like Iraq, Cuba and Haiti are buying mostly bulk milled rice. I hope officials at the port will soon come to realize the importance of the port to the Louisiana rice industry. An industry that in 2004 had nearly $324 million added value to our states economy, of not just farmers and rice mills but equipment dealers, seed chemical, fertilizer, fuel suppliers, bag manufacturers, trucking and many others who contribute to this already jeopardized industry.
   Anybody with a vested interest in the Louisiana rice industry should be concerned. We are in bad enough shape with high input costs and low prices. We need the cooperation of the Port of Lake Charles if we are to continue as an industry. Every organization local and state, every farmer small or large, every business involved should voice their concerns. Contact your local and state elected officials and ask them to get involved and help save the future of the Louisiana rice industry.

By Buck Leonards, Publisher
Louisiana Farm & Ranch