News in brief

Deal to allow rice exports to China

Trade officials have finalized a protocol to allow for the first-ever shipments of U.S.-grown rice to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a statement.

China is the world's biggest rice consumer, importer and producer. Arkansas is the nation's largest rice producer, with some 1.1 million acres planted this year.

Jarrod Hardke, a rice specialist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the deal is good news for Arkansas rice farmers. "This certainly opens the door for U.S. rice exports to China, but it doesn't mean the door automatically opens and we go in guns blazing and slinging rice," Hardke said.

Chinese inspectors will visit rice mills across the nation this year before the deal is completed.

"I have been in the majority of our [Arkansas] rice mills and facilities, and they do an excellent job," he said. "We have little reservation that we will do more than just pass inspection."

Andrew Grobmyer, executive vice president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, praised the agreement. "We are relieved to have reached this point," he said.

-- Stephen Steed

LR port in June sees 64,000 tons

The Port of Little Rock handled more than 64,000 tons of cargo in June, the Little Rock Port Authority said in a news release.

Logistics Services Inc., the company that loads and unloads the barges, handled 42 barges last month.

Twenty-five barges with more than 37,000 tons of cargo were handled on the main dock. The slackwater harbor dock handled 27,000 tons from 17 barges.

Nearly 60 percent of June's tonnage at the Little Rock port was bulk commodities that included potash and sand, the port said.

The same month a year ago, the port handled 66,000 tons. And in May, it handled 43,000 tons.

Total tonnage on the 448-mile McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System was 1,049,332 tons. The system runs between the Mississippi River and 15 miles east of Tulsa.

-- Noel Oman

Arkansas index up 0.47 to 344.77

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, was up 0.47 to 344.77 Thursday.

"The S&P Index rallied back after a morning sell-off to close relatively unchanged on the day," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

Total volume for the index was 18.4 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 07/21/2017

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