STOCKTON BAGS LARGE RICE CONTRACT
The California Central Valley bulk port of Stockton was picked by the Japanese Food Agency to handle 57,000 metric tons of bagged milled rice.
Connell Rice & Sugar Co., based in Berkley Heights, N.J., was awarded the rice supply contract by the Japanese government. Deliveries from the rice mills are expected to arrive in Stockton by early January.
The bagged rice will then be loaded onto five vessels during late January and early February with destinations to Japanese ports to be determined at a later date, the port said.
This handling contract is in addition to 24,000 metric tons of bagged rice currently being received as part of the Japanese Minimum Access business. Stockton will have two vessel calls in early January to load these shipments.
In the past year, Stockton has established itself as the lead outbound port for the California rice industry. In August, Stockton handled 80,000 metric tons of bagged rice to South Korea and Uzbekistan.