U.S. rice imports expected to hit record high for third year in a row

U.S. rice imports are now expected to make up for 1 percent of the value of all agricultural imports.

According to a release from the USDA, In 2019/20 U.S. rice imports are projected to hit 32.5 million hundredweight, a 9 percent increase from a year earlier.

Imports now make up for 20 percent of the total domestic rice market.

The USDA says an increase in demand for jasmine rice from Thailand and basmati rice from India and Parkistan make up 70 percent of the imports because those varieties are not grown in the U.S.