From a continental perspective, three-quarters (75%) of global rice exports originated from Asian countries with shipments amounting to $16.4 billion. Exporters in Europe supplied 9.1% of global rice exports, trailed by North America at 8.7% then Latin America (6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Smaller percentages came from Oceania (0.6%) led by Australia and Africa (also 0.6%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for rice is 1006.
Rice Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2019.
- India: US$7.1 billion (32.5% of total rice exports)
- Thailand: $4.2 billion (19.2%)
- United States: $1.9 billion (8.6%)
- Vietnam: $1.4 billion (6.6%)
- Pakistan: $1.2 billion (5.6%)
- China: $1.1 billion (4.8%)
- Italy: $624.3 million (2.9%)
- Myanmar (Burma): $579 million (2.6%)
- Cambodia: $430.6 million (2%)
- Uruguay: $375.8 million (1.7%)
- Brazil: $367.6 million (1.7%)
- Netherlands: $307.4 million (1.4%)
- Belgium: $271.4 million (1.2%)
- Paraguay: $226.7 million (1%)
- Spain: $207 million (0.9%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 92.8% of global rice exports in 2019 by value.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing rice exporters since 2015 were: China (up 296%), Netherlands (up 75.7%), Paraguay (up 74.6%) and Cambodia (up 51.1%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported rice sales were led by: Vietnam (down -48.6%), Pakistan (down -36.9%), Thailand (down -7.7%), United States (down -6.3%) and Myanmar also called Burma (down -5.4%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for rice during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s rice exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- India: US$7.1 billion (net export surplus up 11.8% since 2015)
- Thailand: $4.2 billion (down -7.8%)
- Vietnam: $1.4 billion (down -49%)
- Pakistan: $1.2 billion (down -38.3%)
- United States: $790.7 million (down -34.7%)
- Myanmar (Burma): $576.2 million (down -5.6%)
- Italy: $449.5 million (down -1%)
- Cambodia: $428.2 million (up 56.3%)
- Uruguay: $373.7 million (down -0.9%)
- Paraguay: $226 million (up 75.6%)
- Argentina: $181.6 million (up 19.6%)
- Brazil: $122.8 million (down -36.2%)
- Guyana: $91.2 million (down -57%)
- Spain: $76.5 million (down -26.4%)
- Greece: $38.7 million (up 18.3%)
India generated the highest surplus in the international trade of rice. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms India’s strong competitive advantage for rice, a cereals product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for rice during 2019. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s rice import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Iran: -US$1.6 billion (net export deficit up 139.1% since 2015)
- Saudi Arabia: -$1.4 billion (down -5.3%)
- Philippines: -$1 billion (up 117.5%)
- Iraq: -$654.6 million (down -1%)
- Benin: -$570.5 million (up 24%)
- France: -$492 million (up 22.9%)
- United Kingdom: -$457.2 million (down -9.6%)
- Malaysia: -$441.9 million (down -12.4%)
- Japan: -$434.1 million (down -7.9%)
- Canada: -$397.2 million (up 20.3%)
- South Africa: -$384.8 million (up 5.2%)
- Yemen: -$346.8 million (up 10.8%)
- Mexico: -$332 million (up 3.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$321.1 million (down -34.2%)
- Germany: -$305.5 million (up 11.7%)
The Islamic Republic of Iran incurred the greatest amount of red ink trading rice on global markets during 2019. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Iran’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for rice-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
Rice Exporting Companies
Below are bulk rice-supplying conglomerates that dominate the worldwide grain trade (73% of the global market in 2003, according to OXFAM researchers). Shown within parenthesis is the country where the company is headquartered.
- Cargill (United States)
- Archer Daniels Midland (United States)
- Bunge (United States)
- Louis Dreyfus (France)
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are also examples of rice-trading companies located in the country shown within parentheses.
- AEDI’ S.R.L. (Italy)
- Nakornton Rice Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
- Navdurga Rice Mill (India)
- PAK Rice Village (Pakistan)
- Sichuan Deyi Green Foods Group Co., Ltd. (China)
- Sunrise Foodstuff Joint Stock Company (Vietnam)
- Trade BEVAR S.A. (Brazil)
Searchable List of Rice Exporting Countries in 2019
Below, you will find a searchable table listing the value of rice exported by individual countries during 2019. Also presented is the annual percentage change in export revenues for each exporting nation.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Exporter | 2019 Rice Exports | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | India | $7,112,146,000 | -3.4% |
| 2. | Thailand | $4,206,796,000 | -24.5% |
| 3. | United States | $1,877,045,000 | +11% |
| 4. | Vietnam | $1,443,940,000 | -44.9% |
| 5. | Pakistan | $1,215,461,000 | -39.7% |
| 6. | China | $1,058,981,000 | +19.3% |
| 7. | Italy | $624,262,000 | +0.3% |
| 8. | Myanmar (Burma) | $578,960,000 | -37.2% |
| 9. | Cambodia | $430,563,000 | +2.7% |
| 10. | Uruguay | $375,820,000 | -6.1% |
| 11. | Brazil | $367,586,000 | -21.4% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $307,440,000 | +7.5% |
| 13. | Belgium | $271,438,000 | -7.5% |
| 14. | Paraguay | $226,655,000 | +3.4% |
| 15. | Spain | $206,966,000 | +6% |
| 16. | Argentina | $185,454,000 | +7.1% |
| 17. | Australia | $139,795,000 | -40.9% |
| 18. | Guyana | $91,314,000 | -37.7% |
| 19. | United Arab Emirates | $78,764,000 | -71.7% |
| 20. | Russia | $78,075,000 | +13.6% |
| 21. | United Kingdom | $73,900,000 | +4.8% |
| 22. | Germany | $70,076,000 | -26.9% |
| 23. | South Africa | $65,026,000 | -10.9% |
| 24. | Greece | $61,484,000 | -2.8% |
| 25. | Portugal | $57,191,000 | +2.8% |
| 26. | Japan | $55,593,000 | +19% |
| 27. | Senegal | $50,822,000 | +13.6% |
| 28. | Taiwan | $49,785,000 | +53% |
| 29. | France | $48,290,000 | -3.3% |
| 30. | Poland | $44,136,000 | +21.9% |
| 31. | Laos | $40,435,000 | +28.9% |
| 32. | Bulgaria | $37,966,000 | +33.1% |
| 33. | Singapore | $35,622,000 | +50.4% |
| 34. | South Korea | $26,234,000 | -40.1% |
| 35. | Kazakhstan | $24,506,000 | -5.6% |
| 36. | Czech Republic | $22,493,000 | -0.3% |
| 37. | Peru | $20,990,000 | +5,121% |
| 38. | Romania | $20,082,000 | +32.1% |
| 39. | Ecuador | $18,195,000 | -1.5% |
| 40. | Hong Kong | $16,815,000 | -5.9% |
| 41. | Canada | $15,750,000 | -0.6% |
| 42. | Turkey | $13,137,000 | -58.4% |
| 43. | Suriname | $12,632,000 | -26.3% |
| 44. | Malaysia | $10,833,000 | +26.1% |
| 45. | Denmark | $10,598,000 | -7.9% |
| 46. | Slovenia | $9,678,000 | +5.2% |
| 47. | Bangladesh | $9,558,000 | -3.1% |
| 48. | Switzerland | $8,342,000 | +30.4% |
| 49. | Austria | $6,566,000 | +14.9% |
| 50. | Lithuania | $5,383,000 | +19.4% |
| 51. | Hungary | $4,703,000 | +11.1% |
| 52. | Mexico | $4,519,000 | -93.8% |
| 53. | Chile | $4,284,000 | -31.4% |
| 54. | Costa Rica | $3,804,000 | +60.9% |
| 55. | Sri Lanka | $3,448,000 | -34.8% |
| 56. | North Macedonia | $3,370,000 | -7.6% |
| 57. | Ukraine | $2,641,000 | +12.6% |
| 58. | Slovakia | $2,489,000 | -5.4% |
| 59. | Sweden | $2,393,000 | -25.3% |
| 60. | Latvia | $2,138,000 | +27.5% |
| 61. | El Salvador | $2,059,000 | +82.5% |
| 62. | Honduras | $2,019,000 | -11.5% |
| 63. | Nicaragua | $1,920,000 | -37.6% |
| 64. | Mozambique | $1,644,000 | -45.9% |
| 65. | Lebanon | $1,614,000 | -47.4% |
| 66. | Iran | $1,585,000 | -56.8% |
| 67. | Zambia | $1,341,000 | +12.3% |
| 68. | Togo | $1,294,000 | +2,488% |
| 69. | Mongolia | $1,171,000 | No 2018 data |
| 70. | Egypt | $1,030,000 | No 2018 data |
| 71. | Ireland | $959,000 | -27.1% |
| 72. | Indonesia | $858,000 | -42.3% |
| 73. | Burkina Faso | $697,000 | -46.5% |
| 74. | Philippines | $543,000 | +15.5% |
| 75. | Botswana | $518,000 | +35.6% |
| 76. | Estonia | $445,000 | +23.3% |
| 77. | Kyrgyzstan | $438,000 | +30.7% |
| 78. | Serbia | $431,000 | +12.2% |
| 79. | Benin | $422,000 | No 2018 data |
| 80. | Croatia | $392,000 | +86.7% |
| 81. | Norway | $344,000 | -33.1% |
| 82. | Guatemala | $334,000 | -46% |
| 83. | Georgia | $295,000 | -5.8% |
| 84. | Luxembourg | $260,000 | +23.8% |
| 85. | Morocco | $231,000 | -15.7% |
| 86. | British Virgin Is | $214,000 | +42.7% |
| 87. | Trinidad/Tobago | $206,000 | -17.9% |
| 88. | Israel | $200,000 | +0.5% |
| 89. | Nigeria | $193,000 | No 2018 data |
| 90. | Sudan | $174,000 | -89.4% |
| 91. | Ivory Coast | $168,000 | -96.7% |
| 92. | Malawi | $161,000 | +14.2% |
| 93. | Malta | $156,000 | +225% |
| 94. | Haiti | $155,000 | -0.6% |
| 95. | Finland | $139,000 | +3.7% |
| 96. | Tajikistan | $126,000 | +20% |
| 97. | Jordan | $124,000 | -94.1% |
| 98. | New Zealand | $116,000 | -0.9% |
| 99. | Cyprus | $95,000 | +13.1% |
| 100. | Uzbekistan | $89,000 | +3.5% |
| 101. | Panama | $86,000 | +177.4% |
| 102. | Iraq | $75,000 | +212.5% |
| 103. | Namibia | $71,000 | +345% |
| 104. | Brunei Darussalam | $53,000 | -97% |
| 105. | Belize | $46,000 | -41.8% |
| 106. | Oman | $46,000 | -98.7% |
| 107. | St Kitts/Nevis | $46,000 | No 2018 data |
| 108. | Bolivia | $45,000 | No 2018 data |
| 109. | Nepal | $41,000 | -65% |
| 110. | Afghanistan | $40,000 | -99.5% |
| 111. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $36,000 | -65.4% |
| 112. | Barbados | $36,000 | +30% |
| 113. | Fiji | $35,000 | -92.7% |
| 114. | Qatar | $32,000 | -87% |
| 115. | Tanzania | $27,000 | -99.8% |
| 116. | Ghana | $26,000 | +116.7% |
| 117. | Comoros | $26,000 | -74% |
| 118. | Bahrain | $26,000 | -95.8% |
| 119. | Saudi Arabia | $23,000 | -99.8% |
| 120. | St Vincent/Grenadines | $20,000 | -98.7% |
| 121. | Algeria | $16,000 | No 2018 data |
| 122. | Montenegro | $15,000 | +15% |
| 123. | Azerbaijan | $13,000 | +62.5% |
| 124. | Bhutan | $13,000 | +44.4% |
| 125. | Andorra | $12,000 | No 2018 data |
| 126. | Mauritius | $12,000 | +33.3% |
| 127. | Liberia | $11,000 | -96.6% |
| 128. | Maldives | $9,000 | No 2018 data |
| 129. | Lesotho | $8,000 | -63.6% |
| 130. | Belarus | $8,000 | -85.7% |
| 131. | Venezuela | $8,000 | -93.3% |
| 132. | Madagascar | $7,000 | -12.5% |
| 133. | Colombia | $5,000 | -99.7% |
| 134. | Syria | $5,000 | No 2018 data |
| 135. | Niger | $4,000 | -10% |
| 136. | Iceland | $3,000 | -72.7% |
| 137. | Congo | $3,000 | -98.3% |
| 138. | Burundi | $3,000 | No 2018 data |
| 139. | Angola | $2,000 | -99.3% |
| 140. | Bermuda | $2,000 | +10% |
| 141. | Kuwait | $2,000 | -99.8% |
| 142. | Curaçao | $2,000 | -77.8% |
| 143. | Timor-Leste | $2,000 | -98.2% |
| 144. | Aruba | $1,000 | No 2018 data |
See also Rice Imports by Country, Candy Sweets Exports by Country, Philippines Rice Imports by Country, Corn Exports by Country, Onions Exports by Country and Barley Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba’s supplier information for rice. Accessed on April 24, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Agriculture – Products. Accessed on April 24, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 24, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 24, 2020
OXFAM Research Reports, Cereal Secrets, pp 9-10. Accessed on April 24, 2020