PARIS, FRANCE – The USA Rice booth at SIAL Paris, the flagship event for the global food and beverage industry, opened here last Saturday, welcoming traders and food professionals from around the globe. SIAL Paris encompasses eleven halls covering ten sectors, with 8,000 exhibitors (and over 400,000 products) from 127 countries presenting more than 400,000 products to the 295,000 professionals in attendance.

USA Rice hosted a reception welcoming dozens of guests, including current and potential buyers from across the region, as well as USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service staff. Two USA Rice members-Jorge Rodriguez of ADM Rice and Derek Alarcon of Farmers Rice Cooperative and Chair of the Europe, Middle East and Africa Trade Policy Subcommittee-gave presentations highlighting the current U.S. rice supply situation for both long and medium grain rice. They also highlighted the U.S. rice industry’s enduring sustainability efforts, including the California Ricelands Salmon Project, in which rice farmers work with fish biologists to aid struggling salmon populations by developing strategies to raise juvenile fish in winter-flooded rice fields.

The presentations were met with interest and appreciation by attendees, who eagerly asked follow-up questions.

“Attending SIAL shows our commitment to the market and allows our industry to meet face to face with existing global partners and make new contacts,” Alarcon said. “The show provided a great platform to share our industry’s sustainability story, which is a competitive advantage for US Rice and very important to the importers and consumers who attend from all over the world.”   

USA Rice collected approximately 80 trade leads throughout the show to distribute amongst members with the hope of expanding exports throughout Europe and surrounding regions. 

Published Date: October 29, 2026