Haiti’s U.S. Rice Imports
Haiti is among the largest markets for U.S. Southern long-grain milled rice. It is also the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and is subject to chronic food insecu- rity. Haiti rst opened its market to rice imports in 1986 and again in 1995, reducing tariffs on rice imports to 3 percent. Haiti’s rice imports now account for 80 percent of consumption. Imports also allowed per capita food availability to rise by 11 percent between 1985 and 2011. Efforts are underway to improve agricultural performance, but even with signi cant productivity gains, Haiti is likely to continue to rely on imports of U.S. rice.