The Spanish company will integrate the acquisition into Riviana; it also bought a plant in Saint Charles, Mo.

Dave Fusaro

Spain’s Ebro Foods SA bought U.S. specialty rice producer Best Rice for $47 million. The Spanish company, one of the world’s biggest marketers of rice products, didn’t provide any more detail in its third-quarter financial report.

Best Rice’s website (bestriceusa.com) says it is located in Little Rock, Ark., and was owned by Riceland Foods Inc. and Producers Rice Mill Inc. “Both organizations are farmer-owned cooperatives, headquartered in [Arkansas].” Best Rice apparently will be folded under Ebro’s Riviana subsidiary, which Ebro acquired in 2004 (and two years later it acquired the Minute Rice brand from Kraft Foods).

Ebro did include the news that it spent $17million to acquire a production plant in Saint Charles, Mo., which it plans to use for its Bertagni fresh pasta unit. Apparently Ebro will do some renovations and begin U.S. production of Bertagni products next year.

Published Date: November 4, 2026