May 3, 2013 The Honorable Margaret Hamburg, MD Commissioner of Food and Drugs U.S.

Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20993 Dear Commissioner Hamburg, The Arkansas Rice Producers Group is writing to express serious concerns for the safety of U.S. consumers following American Rice, Inc.s (ARI) recent decision to import long grain milled rice from Vietnam. As you know, Arkansas produces nearly 50 percent of the rice in the United States. Attached you will find a letter from the Arkansas Rice Producers Group addressed to ARI in response to their decision to import rice from Vietnam. Last year, the Government of Japan (GOJ) revised their quality and safety inspection program for imported rice, implementing new strict standards for the monitoring of harmful contaminants. This decision by Japan was largely due to excessive chemical residues found on imported rice from Vietnam. Consumer confidence for rice is high in the United States and Arkansas rice farmers want to ensure this does not erode in the future. We would appreciate detailed feedback on inspection processes and standards for imported rice that are used to protect the safety of American consumers. Arkansas rice farmers have watched as our friends and neighbors in the catfish industry have faced intense competition from Asian importers with little to no inspection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the product coming into this country. On behalf of the Arkansas Rice Producers Group, we appreciate your consideration of our concerns and look forward to working with you to ensure the safety of our nations food supply. Sincerely, Dow Brantley Chairman Arkansas Rice Producers Group Transmitted through email and U.S. mail David Gairhan Vice Chairman Arkansas Rice Producers Group

 April 2, 2013 Bastiaan de Zeeuw President & CEO Riviana Foods P.O. Box 2636 Houston, Texas 77252 Dear Mr. de Zeeuw, The Arkansas Rice Producers Group is composed entirely of rice farmers who work to ensure a forum for policy development on legislative and regulatory issues that affect rice farmers, and provides a national voice to address those issues. To that end, we are writing to express our concern with the recent decision of your company, American Rice, Inc. (ARI), to import long grain milled rice from Vietnam. Farmers from all corners of Arkansas are expressing their strong disappointment and dismay that your mill would purchase foreign rice when there is more than enough U.S. rice available to meet the needs of ARI. Your decision to bring in a variety of rice that directly competes with our domestic producers threatens the livelihood and well-being of all American rice farmers. Your website says that ARI is a leader in supplying USA origin rice to consumers worldwide. Importing rice from Vietnam directly undermines our collective goal to support a strong U.S. rice industry and be advocates for the use of U.S.-grown rice. On behalf of the largest rice-producing state in the United States, we appreciate your consideration of our concerns and urge you to take immediate action to protect U.S. rice farmers. Sincerely, Dow Brantley Chairman Arkansas Rice Producers Group cc: Antonio Hernndez Callejas Chief Executive Officer Ebro Puleva David Gairhan Vice Chairman Arkansas Rice Producers Group