Resources – Interviews

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Video

Guest: Luiz Yurgel; Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Credentials: Degree in Civil Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Title: Director at Josapar

Brief Overview of Interview:

  • Believes in the quality of Brazil Long Grain
  • Working hard to make his rice acceptable to the US Market
  • Critical of the quality of US hybrid rice to meet Brazil rice demand

Guest: Ricardo Hahn; Montevideo, Uruguay

Credentials: Universidad de la República in Uruguay; Masters Degree in Agronomy, Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas

Title: Director of Molson Investments

Brief Overview of Interview:

  • Insightful on the workings of the Americas, European, African, Middle Eastern and Asian rice market
  • International trader having bought and sold rice across the globe

Guest: Robert Trahan; Crowley, Louisiana USA

Credentials: BS in accounting, Louisiana University, CPA.

Title: Director of Sales and Business Development at Falcon Rice Mill, Inc.

Brief Overview of Interview:

  • Believes in US jasmine as strong growth market to compete with Asian imports.
  • Strong advocate of domestic rice sales in the US
  • Learned the rice business from his father and his brother
  • He has come a long way from being a caddy at Milo Hamilton’s golf course in Austin!

Guest: Shahid Hussain Tarer ; Lahore, Pakistan

Credentials: Educated in London, expert rice miller.

Title: Managing Director at Galaxy Rice Mill (Pvt) Ltd

Brief Overview of Interview:

  • Believes in the export potential of aromatic rices to the US
  • Talks frankly about the current shortcomings of the Pakistani rice business

Audio

Guest: Kaizar Colombowala; Died May 2022 in Houston, Texas

Voice only interview was conducted in July 2021 in Houston

Credentials: University of California, Berkeley, BS Chemical Engineering 1969

Title: Food Engineering Consultant

Brief Overview of Interview:

  • Broad knowledge of rice production processes
  • Consulted with LT Foods, India’s largest Basmati exporter, to build up their rice processing facilities in Houston, Amsterdam, and New Delhi, India
  • Mentor: A Life-long rice mentor to Milo Hamilton, who like Kaizar, worked for Uncle Ben’s for over two decades. Mentored many, many others in the rice business both at Mars, Incorporated and LT Foods.

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