Rice Exports by Country

May 18, 2018 by

Vietnamese rice field

Vietnamese rice field

Rice exports by country totaled US$20.7 billion in 2017, down by an average -19.3% for all exporting countries from 2013 when overall rice shipments were valued at $25.7 billion. Year over year, the value of global rice exports dipped by a modest -0.3% from the $20.8 billion worth of exported rice in 2016.

From a continental perspective, three-quarters (75%) of global rice exports originated from Asian countries with shipments amounting to $15.6 billion.

North American exporters supplied 8.8% of global rice exports, followed by Europe at 8.6% then Latin America (excluding Mexico) plus the Caribbean at 6.1%. Smaller percentages came from Oceania (mostly Australia) at 0.8% and Africa at 0.5%.

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 2017:

  1. India: US$5.5 billion (26.3% of total rice exports)
  2. Thailand: $5.2 billion (24.9%)
  3. United States: $1.8 billion (8.5%)
  4. Pakistan: $1.7 billion (8.4%)
  5. Vietnam: $1.6 billion (7.5%)
  6. Italy: $597.5 million (2.9%)
  7. China: $596.8 million (2.9%)
  8. Uruguay: $474.3 million (2.3%)
  9. Cambodia: $333.1 million (1.6%)
  10. Myanmar (Burma): $320.6 million (1.5%)
  11. Brazil: $244.6 million (1.2%)
  12. Belgium: $243.1 million (1.2%)
  13. Netherlands: $214.1 million (1%)
  14. Paraguay: $194.2 million (0.9%)
  15. Argentina: $179.6 million (0.9%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 92% of all rice exports in 2017 (by value).

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing rice exporters since 2013 were: China (up 43.2%), Cambodia (up 32.5%), Netherlands (up 21.8%) and Paraguay (up 17.4%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported rice sales were led by: Vietnam (down -47.0%), Brazil (down -38.9%), Argentina (down -38.3%), India (down -33.2%) and Myanmar (down -25.3%).

Advantages

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for rice during 2017. 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.

  1. India: US$5.5 billion (net export surplus down -33.2% since 2013)
  2. Thailand: $5.1 billion (up 16.8%)
  3. Pakistan: $1.7 billion (down -16.4%)
  4. Vietnam: $1.5 billion (down -47.2%)
  5. United States: $1 billion (down -24.6%)
  6. Uruguay: $471.8 million (down -6.6%)
  7. Italy: $432.0 million (down -19.3%)
  8. Cambodia: $329 million (up 34.1%)
  9. Myanmar (Burma): $316.8 million (down -26.1%)
  10. Paraguay: $193.1 million (up 17.5%)
  11. Argentina: $174.7 million (down -39.1%)
  12. Guyana: $131.9 million (down -44.8%)
  13. Spain: $79.9 million (down -28.5%)
  14. Greece: $61.1 million (up 56.9%)
  15. Australia: $31.8 million (down -85.1%)

India has the highest surplus in the international trade of rice. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms India’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

Opportunities

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for rice during 2017. 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.

  1. China: -US$1.2 billion (net export deficit up 93.8% since 2013)
  2. Benin: -$1.1 billion (up 84.4%)
  3. Saudi Arabia: -$1 billion (down -26.7%)
  4. Iran: -$853.2 million (down -63%)
  5. Bangladesh: -$726.9 million (up 1,788%)
  6. Iraq: -$512.1 million (down -5.8%)
  7. United Kingdom: -$481.2 million (down -1.7%)
  8. United Arab Emirates: -$455.6 million (down -15.5%)
  9. South Africa: -$447.5 million (down -24.4%)
  10. Côte d’Ivoire: -$423.4 million (down -7.7%)
  11. France: -$419.7 million (down -3.2%)
  12. Senegal: -$382.6 million (down -9.9%)
  13. Mexico: -$356.2 million (down -17.9%)
  14. Malaysia: -$342.7 million (down -31%)
  15. Japan: -$319.3 million (down -32.7%)

China induced Pakistan’s highest deficit in the international trade of rice. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights China’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

You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.

RankExporter2017 Rice Exports% World Total
1.IndiaUS$5.5 billion26.3%
2.Thailand$5.2 billion24.9%
3.United States$1.8 billion8.5%
4.Pakistan$1.7 billion8.4%
5.Vietnam$1.6 billion7.5%
6.Italy$597.5 million2.9%
7.China$596.8 million2.9%
8.Uruguay$474.3 million2.3%
9.Cambodia$333.1 million1.6%
10.Myanmar (Burma)$320.6 million1.5%
11.Brazil$244.6 million1.2%
12.Belgium$243.1 million1.2%
13.Netherlands$214.1 million1%
14.Paraguay$194.2 million0.9%
15.Argentina$179.6 million0.9%
16.Australia$175.7 million0.8%
17.Spain$173.8 million0.8%
18.United Arab Emirates$138 million0.7%
19.Guyana$132.3 million0.6%
20.Germany$107.9 million0.5%
21.Greece$79.4 million0.4%
22.Russia$77.8 million0.4%
23.South Africa$65.8 million0.3%
24.United Kingdom$65.4 million0.3%
25.France$54.3 million0.3%
26.Mexico$51.9 million0.3%
27.Portugal$44.2 million0.2%
28.Turkey$39.8 million0.2%
29.Japan$38.8 million0.2%
30.Laos$36.6 million0.2%
31.Singapore$35.2 million0.2%
32.Poland$32.5 million0.2%
33.Suriname$30.4 million0.1%
34.Uganda$27 million0.1%
35.Bulgaria$24.9 million0.1%
36.Kazakhstan$21.8 million0.1%
37.Czech Republic$19.8 million0.1%
38.Taiwan$16.6 million0.1%
39.Saudi Arabia$14.7 million0.1%
40.Hong Kong$13.5 million0.1%
41.Tanzania$12.2 million0.1%
42.Denmark$10.4 million0.1%
43.Romania$9.3 million0.04%
44.Canada$8.5 million0.04%
45.Slovenia$7.7 million0.04%
46.Bangladesh$7.4 million0.04%
47.Austria$6.2 million0.03%
48.South Korea$5.6 million0.03%
49.Sri Lanka$5.1 million0.02%
50.Switzerland$4.7 million0.02%
51.Tajikistan$4.1 million0.02%
52.Sweden$4 million0.02%
53.Lithuania$3.8 million0.02%
54.Indonesia$3.3 million0.02%
55.Hungary$3.2 million0.02%
56.Macedonia$3.1 million0.01%
57.Costa Rica$3 million0.01%
58.Nicaragua$2.6 million0.01%
59.Honduras$2.5 million0.01%
60.Jordan$2.1 million0.01%
61.Oman$2 million0.01%
62.Chile$1.9 million0.01%
63.Cameroon$1.6 million0.01%
64.Colombia$1.6 million0.01%
65.Zambia$1.5 million0.01%
66.Namibia$1.5 million0.01%
67.Latvia$1.4 million0.01%
68.Slovakia$1.3 million0.01%
69.Kuwait$1.1 million0.01%
70.El Salvador$1.1 million0.01%
71.Botswana$1.1 million0.01%
72.Macao$905,0000.004%
73.Malaysia$869,0000.004%
74.Philippines$768,0000.004%
75.Iran$752,0000.004%
76.Ireland$610,0000.003%
77.Ukraine$587,0000.003%
78.Guatemala$500,0000.002%
79.Lebanon$375,0000.002%
80.Ecuador$350,0000.002%
81.Haiti$338,0000.002%
82.Panama$330,0000.002%
83.Norway$328,0000.002%
84.Estonia$315,0000.002%
85.Israel$233,0000.001%
86.Serbia$230,0000.001%
87.Burkina Faso$227,0000.001%
88.Mauritius$225,0000.001%
89.Cyprus$193,0000.001%
90.Togo$190,0000.001%
91.Luxembourg$189,0000.001%
92.Finland$186,0000.001%
93.Mongolia$183,0000.001%
94.Madagascar$152,0000.001%
95.Malawi$150,0000.001%
96.Dominican Republic$144,0000.001%
97.Syrian Arab Republic$141,0000.001%
98.Grenada$138,0000.001%
99.Trinidad/Tobago$137,0000.001%
100.Kyrgyzstan$127,0000.001%
101.Bolivia$115,0000.001%
102.Côte d'Ivoire$100,0000.0005%
103.St Vincent/Grenadines$92,0000.0004%
104.New Zealand$89,0000.0004%
105.Croatia$88,0000.0004%
106.Bosnia/Herzegovina$78,0000.0004%
107.Georgia$69,0000.0003%
108.Swaziland$64,0000.0003%
109.Montserrat$63,0000.0003%
110.Peru$61,0000.0003%
111.Belize$44,0000.0002%
112.Fiji$37,0000.0002%
113.Uzbekistan$36,0000.0002%
114.Iraq$35,0000.0002%
115.Lesotho$32,0000.0002%
116.Algeria$31,0000.0001%
117.Samoa$26,0000.0001%
118.Morocco$25,0000.0001%
119.Gabon$23,0000.0001%
120.Jamaica$20,0000.0001%
121.Benin$16,0000.0001%
122.Cabo Verde$14,0000.0001%
123.US Minor Outlying Is$13,0000.0001%
124.Belarus$11,0000.0001%
125.Barbados$9,0000.00004%
126.Qatar$9,0000.00004%
127.Bhutan$7,0000.00003%
128.Iceland$6,0000.00003%
129.Mozambique$6,0000.00003%
130.Nepal$6,0000.00003%
131.Timor-Leste$4,0000.00002%
132.Kenya$4,0000.00002%
133.Azerbaijan$4,0000.00002%
134.Malta$3,0000.00001%
135.Senegal$3,0000.00001%
136.Curaçao$2,0000.00001%
137.Andorra$2,0000.00001%
138.British Virgin Is$1,0000.000005%
139.Aruba$1,0000.000005%
140.North Korea$1,0000.000005%

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 May 16, 2018

Cereal Secrets, OXFAM Research Reports (August 2014), pp 9-10. Accessed on May 16, 2018

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 16, 2018

The World Factbook, Field Listing: Agriculture – Products, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on May 16, 2018

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on May 16, 2018








Filed Under: Food, Processed