• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Nigeria, still the largest rice importing country in Africa

Nigeria, still the largest rice importing country in Africa

India is the largest exporter of rice in the world in 2018, exporting 12.5 million metric tons of rice, which accounted for almost 25.3 per cent of the total global rice exports of 49.5 million metric tons. India is also the leading exporter of the basmati rice in the global market. Between the period of 2017 and 2018, India exported 4.05 metric tons of basmati rice to the world worth of $4.2 billion. The major countries importing rice from India are Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iraq accounting for 9.3 per cent, 9.2 per cent and 7 per cent of the total rice export shares from India respectively.

Thailand and Vietnam had 0.98 per cent and 4.48 per cent increase respectively in the quantity of rice exported from 2017 to 10.3 million metric tons and 7 million metric tons respectively in 2018 while Pakistan had with 11.8 per cent increase to 4.25 million metric tons within the same period.

Although, the United States’ rice export was down  by 3.03 per cent in 2018, it jumped to the 5th position from the 6th position it was in 2017 to 3.2 million metric tons, while Myanmar dropped further by 9.09 per cent to 3 million metric tons as the 6th world exporter of rice in 2018. China, Cambodia and Brazil exported 1.9 million metric tons, 1.3 million metric tons and 850 thousand metric tons of rice respectively while Uruguay stood as the 10th rice exporting countries worldwide with 0.81 million metric tons within the same period.

The top five rice exporters in the world: India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the US alone represent 77 per cent of the overall world trade in rice in 2018.

Source: Statista, BRIU

China—the largest importer of Rice

China is the largest importer of rice again in 2018, importing 4.5 million metric tons with 18.18 per cent decrease in importation from 2017. Although China is the world’s largest rice producing country in the world, it still has to import rice due to the high consumption rate by her citizens. Vietnam, Thailand, and Pakistan are the major exporters to China with 45.8 per cent, 26.3 per cent, and 19.9 per cent shares out of the total rice imports in the country.

Philippines with 2.3 million metric tons overtook Nigeria as the 2nd largest rice importing country as the quantity it imported increased by 76.9 per cent from 1.3 million metric tons in 2017.

With rice importation amounting to 2.2 million metric tons, Nigeria is currently the 3rd largest importer of rice worldwide. The 15.38 per cent decrease in the importation of rice in Nigeria from 2017 to 2018 is an indication that local paddy production as well as milled is on the increase. Nonetheless, Nigeria remains the largest rice importing African country which is indicative of the necessity of the staple and the under-performance of the rice industry to meet the constant-growing population in the country.

Bangladesh as well as Cote d’Ivoire, another West African country, both remain as the 5th rice importing country as each imported 1.6 million metric tons albeit Cote d’Ivoire has 6.67 per cent increase from 2017. Senegal with 1.25 million metric tons is the 10th rice importing country in 2018.

Source: Statista, BRIU

World regional rice trade 2018

While countries in Africa, America, and the Middle East have shown considerable increase in rice milled production and consumption; among the major regions of the world, Asia remained the leading producers of rice with Southern Asia, Eastern Asian and South-Eastern Asian producing 157.39 million metric tons, 156.39 million metric tons and 122.30 million metric tons of rice respectively in 2018. Of the 3 Asian regions, only Eastern Asia experienced decline in production by 2.37 per cent from 160.2 million metric tons in 2017, whereas consumption increased by 0.63 per cent to 160.1 million metric tons in 2018.

In the same year, consumption was up in the Southern Asia by 0.97 per cent to 145.1 million metric tons but was down by 0.19 per cent to 103.4 million metric tons in the South-Eastern Asian. Also, total exports in these regions alone accumulated to 84.1 per cent of the total quantities of rice exported worldwide, albeit, Eastern Asian has relatively low percentage contribution of 3.84 per cent.

Source: IRRI,USDA, BRIU

Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern America performed well in milled rice production in 2018. Unlike Sub-Saharan Africa with 4.30 per cent, 3.80 per cent and 16.13 per cent increase in production, consumption and export quantities respectively, Southern America had production, consumption and export decline by 1.80 per cent, 0.66 per cent and 6.88 per cent respectively.

Regional exportation of rice was also on the increase in 2018 except in the Southern America where rice export declined by 7.02 per cent.

In other regions, Northern Africa took the lead in milled rice production, followed by Middle East and the European Union (28). The region with the least milled rice production quantity is Oceania with 580 thousand metric tons. High consumption of rice at 9.09 million metric tons and the Northern Africa and European Union (28) had a consumption quantity of 4.89 million metric tons and 3.70 million metric tons respectively in the same year.

Despite Oceania’s very low milled rice production quantity/capacity, the highest quantity of rice of about 330 thousand metric tons of exported rice was recorded in 2018 among other regions.