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Port of Sacramento rebuilds bulk rice shipping business
By Jim Downing - jdowning@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D1
Profitability is likely several years away for the Port of Sacramento, but it appears poised to rebuild a business in bulk rice shipping.
Monday, workers finished pouring 25,000 tons of loose rice into the belly of a ship bound for Puerto Rico, the first such shipment from the port since December 2005.
Bulk rice was once one of the port's financial mainstays, with more than 235,000 tons shipped in 1998. The trade declined as the rice industry shifted more of its shipping to the Port of Oakland and a key buyer, Turkey, blocked U.S. shipments.
Tim Johnson, president of the California Rice Commission, said the port should regain at least some of its bulk rice business with Turkey in the coming year. The World Trade Organization recently ordered Turkey to allow U.S. rice, and the scarcity of the grain on global markets has made exports from California more attractive to foreign buyers.
The port grosses about $3 for each ton of bulk rice it ships.
In the fiscal year that ended Monday, the port estimates it lost $1.2 million on revenue of $4.1 million, according to budget documents.
While the renewed rice exports are promising, the port sees its best prospects for returning to profitability in two huge new terminals for handling cement and concrete. If those facilities operate near capacity – unlikely in the near future because of the weak economy – the port should be in the black, Port Manager Mike Luken said.
About the writer:
- Call The Bee's Jim Downing, (916) 321-1065.
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