California’s sluggish rice industry expects a lift...

California’s sluggish rice industry expects a lift from a new $30-million U.S. loan to the Philippines government under the “Food for Peace” program. The Rice Growers Assn. of California in West Sacramento will sell about 40,000 of the 90,000 metric tons to be exported under the federal program. Another 18,000 tons will be contributed by Pacific International Rice Mills of Woodland, Farmers’ Rice Cooperative in Sacramento, Comet Rice, a unit of Erly Industries, and California Pacific Rice. The California share represents about 7% of last fall’s harvest.