Australia’s most populous state is looking to open up its rice export market by allowing producers to negotiate directly with international buyers.
Traditionally, the rice growers in the fertile Northern Rivers region were required to send their produce to SunRice, a multinational and one of the world’s largest rice food companies.
Aside from the hassle of transporting the rice 800 kilometres south to where SunRice is based, existing arrangements also prevent growers from entering their own agreements.
The New South Wales (NSW) government will introduce a bill to Parliament in May, calling for the development of a new rice export marketing and trade arrangement for the Northern Rivers. The government will also push to improve the rice industry in southern NSW.
Currently, Australia’s largest rice export markets include Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and other Pacific nations.
“The NSW government is committed to creating new business opportunities for the state’s agricultural sector and we are taking action to do that for the rice industry by listening to their needs, cutting red tape, and assisting growers to expand their export potential,” NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said.
NSW’s rice industry has an estimated farm gate value of $219 million in 2022-23 with an average value of $186 million over the previous decade.
NSW’s southern rice-growing region, located within the irrigations of Coleambally, Murray, and Murrumbidgee, shares about 97 percent to 99 percent of the state’s overall rice output.
Meanwhile, the northern region, with irrigation fields on Richmond Valley and Tweed Valley in Northern Rivers, is a prospect for rice production.
The ongoing initiatives have been developed as a response to a report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) recommending the repeal of the Rice Marketing Act of 1983 on June 30, 2027, and abolishing the Rice Marketing Board (RMB) and its licensing requirements.
The government previously denied both recommendations, as it acknowledged the role of stakeholder support in retaining rice vesting arrangements in NSW.
Instead, the government pushed for the five-year extension of rice vesting arrangements.
Meanwhile, SunRice said it was considering the bill.
“The SunRice board is considering each of the NSW government’s responses to the ABARES Report in detail and awaits the issue of the draft legislation to further consider the NSW government position,” the company said in an ASX disclosure.
Previously, SunRice said that the existing arrangements helped the industry build positions and strong market demand for branded and other rice products in about 50 markets.
