M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Rice - statistics & facts
Rice is the world’s second most important cereal crop following only corn. Over 513 million metric tons of milled rice were produced in the last harvesting year worldwide. Traditionally, countries in Asia have the largest share in world rice production. According to the most recent official data, with a production volume of over 208 million metric tons in 2022, China was the world’s leading paddy rice producer, followed by India and Bangladesh.
U.S. market
The United States was also ranked among the leading global rice producers in that year. The nation's rice production value amounted to just over three billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Leading U.S. states in rice production were Arkansas, California, and Louisiana. The United States was also ranked among the leading five rice exporters worldwide, primarily shipping this commodity to Mexico, Haiti, and Japan.Global trade
The major rice exporting nations include India, Thailand, and Vietnam. India had the highest export volume of rice worldwide, at 16.5 million metric tons as of 2023/2024. Thailand was the second largest rice exporter, with about 8.2 million metric tons of rice worldwide in that year. The largest rice importers were the Philippines and China. The retail price of white rice has increased in recent years. The average price per pound of long grain white rice was 99 cents in the U.S. in 2023, almost double the price in 2004.Rice consumption
Total global consumption of milled rice amounted to approximately 520.4 million metric tons in 2022/2023. China consumed almost 150 million metric tons of milled rice per in 2023/24 and was by far the world’s leading rice consumer in that year. Following China, India is ranked second with 118 million metric tons of rice consumption in the same period.
