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The sole rice mill in Jamaica completely replaced U.S. paddy rice with imports from Guyana in 2013 mainly due to higher prices of U.S. rice,Marcus Allen USC Jersey, according to the USDA.The USDA says that Jamaica did not import any paddy rice from the U.S. in 2013 for the first time in recent history. Traditionally, Jamaica’s rice imports consisted of 20% of the U.S. paddy rice,Ronnie Lott College Jersey, but the share of U.S. paddy rice in Jamaica’s rice imports has been declining in the last five years.According to the USDA,Bill Walton College Jersey, Jamaica’s total rice import market remains steady at about 90,000 tons. However,Brian Cushing USC Jersey, the U.S. paddy rice imports by Jamaica declined about 93 per cent from around 46,000 tons in 2008 to 3,Matt Barkley College Jersey,300 tons in 2012, and vanished in 2013.Meanwhile,Troy Polamalu College Jersey, Jamaica’s rice imports from Suriname have been increasing in the past five years. Suriname accounted for around 28 per cent of Jamaica’s total imports in 2011,Cheap Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys, according to the USDA. Trade sources say that the change in the pattern is due to the quality and pricing issues, according to the USDA.While Guyana paddy rice prices high, those are cheaper than U.S paddy rice prices. However, local sources say tariff on U.S. imports could be another reason. Since imports from both Guyana and Suriname receive preferential treatment under the common external tariff (CET) for the Community (CARICOM) countries and CET on rice for non-CARICOM countries is 25 per cent,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, paddy rice imports from the U.S.,Joe McKnight USC Jersey, which is not a member of CARICOM, becomes comparatively expensive.(oryza.com) |
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