Facts about Rice

Rice is the world’s third most important cereal crop after corn and wheat, based on production volume. More than 460 million metric tons of husked rice was produced in the past two harvesting years worldwide. Traditionally, countries in Asia have the largest share in world rice production. With over 200 million metric tons, China is the world’s leading rice producer, while India is the country with the largest area where rice is harvested.

The United States produces more than eight million metric tons of paddy rice, which places it among the top 20 rice producers globally. Production value amounted to some 2.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. Leading U.S. states in rice production are Arkansas, California and Louisiana. The United States is among the top 5 rice exporters worldwide, primarily shipping this commodity to Mexico, Japan and Haiti.

Other major rice exporting nations include Vietnam and India, with around 7 million metric tons each. The largest rice importers are Nigeria and Indonesia. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the average rice price index remained relatively stable over the past few years. There are, however, differences between rice varieties.

Total global consumption of milled rice amounted to approximately 460 million metric tons in 2011/2012. China consumes around 144 million metric tons of milled rice per year, and is by far the world’s top rice consumer. In comparison, the U.S. consumes some 4 million metric tons. On average, every human around the world consumes almost 57 kilograms of rice annually.

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