Search

In calendar year 1990 Mexico imported 7.0 million metric tons of grain and soybeans, 92.2 percent of that from the United States. This report is an effort to document the quality standards for Mexico and the United States and the quality of U.S. grain (corn, sorghum, wheat, and soybeans) exports to Mexico. The quality data is summarized from inspections of exports to Mexico made by the Federal Grain Inspection Service during the period October 1985 to February 1992.

With few exceptions and with varying degrees of comprehensiveness and success, all countries intervene in their rice markets. This intervention can create imbalances in world rice supply and demand, shift world rice trade patterns, and distort world rice prices. Available evidence suggests that the global competitiveness of the U.S. rice industry has been severely weakened by the protectionistic policies of its rice trading partners and competitors. An important part of U.S. strategic response to this problem has been to negotiate trade barrier reductions with other rice producing and consuming countries. Current attention is focused on the ongoing GATT discussions. Devising a succ·essful negotiating strategy requires answers to several crucial questions. What are the major trade distorting policies in world rice markets? What are the implications of those policies for U.S. access to foreign rice markets? What are the key rice issues for consideration in rice trade negotiations? This study addresses these and related questions.

Equations used to develop a world rice model are presented as background for other reports discussing the results of the model. The equations represent national and regional production and disappearance functions and price relationships within and between countries., Countries and Regions Used in World Rice Model: Africa, Other Net Importers; Australia; Bangladesh; Brazil; Burma; Canada; China and Others; Cuba; Egypt; European Community; European Net Importers; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Italy; Japan; Khmer Republic; Korea, Republic of; Malagasy Republic; Malaysia; Near East Short Grain; Nepal; Oceania; Pakistan; Philippines; Singapore; South Africa; Spain and Greece; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam, Republic of; United States Long-Medium Grain; United States Short Grain; USSR and Others; West Asia Long Grain; Western Hemisphere Exporters; Western Hemisphere, Other Importers.

Current rice agricultural policy, evolving out of several programs, provides price and income support through the 1981 crop year. As the time approaches for consideration to renew, amend, or replace that legislation, several policy issues important to the rice industry arise. This report reviews the historical and current rice policy and discusses those issues that have arisen.

A software package for analyzing international trade in rice on a continuing basis is explained. The report serves as background information for a world rice model developed to trace the impact that changes in world conditions and policies have on U.S. rice program costs and prices. Researchers can use the software package as a base for studying other commodities., This report is part of an informal effort between the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, University of Arkansas; Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University; and the Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sorghum has become a major feed grain crop in recent years, complementing the development of the feedlot industry in the Southwest where most U.S. sorghum is produced. About 72 percent of the crop is fed domestically; exports account for 26 percent. Seed, food, and industrial use totaled less than 1 percent of total demand in the past 10 years. The entire U.S, sorghum subsector, from producer to end-user, is described as are the factors affecting supply and demand: production costs, supply trends, production geography, stock levels, Government policy, market structure, prices, and world production and trade.