The world’s top exporters of rice by total weight are India, Thailand, Pakistan, United States of America, mainland China, and Myanmar sometimes called Burma. Combined, those 6 leading rice suppliers by volume sold 38.9 million tons of rice during 2021 or over four-fifths (81.2%) of global shipments by weight.
One of the issues that this analysis focuses on is whether higher volumes of rice exports correspond with lower average unit prices due to economies of scale.
Top Rice Export Countries by Shipment Weight
The top 50 exporters of rice as measured by tonnage are listed below. Based on that weight metric, these key suppliers of rice on international markets accounted for 99.8% of the world’s rice exports in 2021.
| Rice Exporter | Tons | 2020-1 | 2017-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 21,279,907 | +45.6% | +75.6% |
| 2 | Thailand | 6,075,759 | +6.8% | -47.8% |
| 3 | Pakistan | 3,985,944 | 0% | +9% |
| 4 | United States | 3,385,399 | +2.8% | -11.7% |
| 5 | China | 2,447,886 | +6.2% | +104.5% |
| 6 | Myanmar | 1,685,340 | -13.6% | -49.7% |
| 7 | Brazil | 854,416 | -39% | +36.9% |
| 8 | Uruguay | 770,670 | -25.7% | -26% |
| 9 | Italy | 715,106 | -7% | -4.7% |
| 10 | Paraguay | 692,395 | -23.3% | +20.9% |
| 11 | Cambodia | 636,175 | -2.8% | +7.1% |
| 12 | Tanzania | 622,442 | +77.9% | +50712% |
| 13 | Trinidad & Tobago | 561,395 | +12.1% | -58.6% |
| 14 | Guyana | 449,918 | -28% | +158.3% |
| 15 | Belgium | 446,784 | +8.9% | +51.6% |
| 16 | Argentina | 391,712 | +18.9% | -5.4% |
| 17 | UAE | 284,698 | +34.1% | -2.4% |
| 18 | Netherlands | 242,178 | +4.9% | +44.4% |
| 19 | Türkiye | 241,431 | +3.1% | +334.2% |
| 20 | Taiwan | 193,277 | -14.1% | +872.8% |
| 21 | Burkina Faso | 179,690 | -87.2% | +6701% |
| 22 | Singapore | 152,243 | +51.6% | +123.4% |
| 23 | Greece | 138,724 | +1.4% | -20.4% |
| 24 | Russia | 132,017 | -8.9% | -28% |
| 25 | South Africa | 122,036 | +0.3% | +10.5% |
| 26 | Kazakhstan | 121,757 | +18.3% | +23.5% |
| 27 | Malaysia | 96,684 | +65.8% | +6450% |
| 28 | Senegal | 96,399 | +60% | +14.5% |
| 29 | Portugal | 94,920 | +11.1% | +18.1% |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 86,476 | -19.2% | +37.7% |
| 31 | Australia | 85,437 | +92.9% | -56.4% |
| 32 | Suriname | 67,597 | +14% | -12.5% |
| 33 | Laos | 51,228 | -0.3% | -3.2% |
| 34 | France | 46,596 | -3.3% | -16.7% |
| 35 | Japan | 43,119 | +5.3% | +21.4% |
| 36 | Germany | 42,438 | -43.4% | -68.8% |
| 37 | Poland | 38,442 | -5.8% | +18% |
| 38 | South Korea | 34,694 | -37.1% | +1154% |
| 39 | Lebanon | 32,284 | +43% | +295.3% |
| 40 | Czech Republic | 23,264 | +3.3% | -1.8% |
| 41 | Ecuador | 21,839 | -50.4% | +4786% |
| 42 | Romania | 20,871 | -21% | +125.8% |
| 43 | Costa Rica | 19,527 | +15.6% | +90.3% |
| 44 | Canada | 17,571 | +13.6% | +138.3% |
| 45 | Hong Kong | 10,873 | -7.7% | -28.6% |
| 46 | Ukraine | 10,018 | +98.2% | +711.2% |
| 47 | Bangladesh | 9,697 | +18.6% | +38.7% |
| 48 | Samoa | 8,695 | -66.7% | +207.4% |
| 49 | Lithuania | 8,316 | -36.1% | +70.2% |
| 50 | Sri Lanka | 6,886 | -26.5% | +38.6% |
The fastest-growing exporters of rice from 2020 to 2021 are Ukraine (up 98.2%), Australia (up 92.9%), Tanzania (up 77.9%), Malaysia (up 65.8%), Senegal (up 60%), Singapore (up 51.6%), India (up 45.6%) and Lebanon (up 43%).
Posting the severest declines in tons of exported rice from year to year were Burkina Faso (down -87.2%), Samoa (down -66.7%), Ecuador (down -50.4%), Germany (down -43.4%), Brazil (down -39%) and South Korea (down -37.1%).
Searchable List of Average Unit Prices for Exported Rice
Overall, the world’s average unit price per ton of exported rice was US$493 for 2021.
The automated table below enables you to compare the average unit prices for exported rice for 50 of the world’s biggest exporters of rice by weight. Amounts shown are in US dollars.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns in the data table. The right-most columns highlight the change in unit price for each supplier’s globally exported rice in 2021 compared to 2020 or 5 years earlier in 2017. (A value of 0% in those column means data for that year was unavailable.)
| Rice Exporter | Avg Price | 2020-1 | 2017-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | $452 | -17.2% | -22.6% |
| 2 | Thailand | $552 | -14.8% | +24.6% |
| 3 | Pakistan | $542 | +2.8% | +13.4% |
| 4 | Vietnam | $413 | -16.7% | -8.8% |
| 5 | United States | $570 | 0% | +27.2% |
| 6 | China | $423 | +6.3% | -15.2% |
| 7 | Italy | $1,008 | +7.1% | +25.5% |
| 8 | Myanmar | $398 | +0.5% | +29.2% |
| 9 | Cambodia | $665 | -7.5% | +17.7% |
| 10 | Belgium | $908 | +4.2% | +1.7% |
| 11 | Uruguay | $502 | +11.1% | +10.3% |
| 12 | Brazil | $420 | +16.7% | +7.1% |
| 13 | Netherlands | $1,339 | +2.6% | +20.6% |
| 14 | Tanzania | $485 | +19.5% | +291.1% |
| 15 | Paraguay | $395 | +20.8% | +16.5% |
| 16 | Guyana | $462 | +11.9% | -57.1% |
| 17 | Argentina | $497 | +8.3% | +14.3% |
| 18 | Spain | $665 | -9.8% | +3.6% |
| 19 | UAE | $611 | -38.7% | -39.1% |
| 20 | Turkey | $536 | +3.3% | -25% |
| 21 | Taiwan | $536 | +5.5% | -35.5% |
| 22 | Australia | $1,096 | -9.1% | +22.7% |
| 23 | South Africa | $674 | +15.8% | +12.9% |
| 24 | Greece | $538 | +5.1% | +18% |
| 25 | Portugal | $762 | +8.7% | +37.1% |
| 26 | Russia | $541 | +16.8% | +27.6% |
| 27 | Germany | $1,585 | +40.6% | +103.5% |
| 28 | Singapore | $436 | -5.2% | -15.7% |
| 29 | Japan | $1,470 | +2.2% | +34.5% |
| 30 | France | $1,033 | +4.4% | +6.3% |
| 31 | Bulgaria | $547 | +15.2% | +31.5% |
| 32 | Poland | $1,187 | +1.8% | +18.8% |
| 33 | United Kingdom | $2,018 | +51.5% | +79.7% |
| 34 | Senegal | $444 | +9.4% | +18.1% |
| 35 | Kazakhstan | $343 | +28.5% | +55.2% |
| 36 | Malaysia | $404 | +1.8% | -31.8% |
| 37 | Suriname | $480 | +3.9% | +22.1% |
| 38 | Czech Republic | $1,144 | +9.6% | +37.2% |
| 39 | Canada | $1,298 | +8.7% | +12.8% |
| 40 | South Korea | $650 | +31% | -68.1% |
| 41 | Laos | $391 | -37.9% | -33.5% |
| 42 | Romania | $826 | +7.4% | -17.8% |
| 43 | Lebanon | $501 | -23.7% | -13.8% |
| 44 | Bangladesh | $1,441 | +23.1% | +25.5% |
| 45 | Hong Kong | $1,100 | -4.3% | +24.3% |
| 46 | Ecuador | $512 | -31.6% | -34.6% |
| 47 | Denmark | $1,380 | -2% | -10.6% |
| 48 | Lithuania | $929 | +14.4% | +19.7% |
| 49 | Hungary | $924 | 0% | 0% |
| 50 | Sri Lanka | $1,096 | +18.5% | +6.8% |
The lowest average unit prices for exported rice per ton were collected by Kazakhstan, Laos, Paraguay, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brazil. Other low-cost rice suppliers to global markets include mainland China, Singapore, Senegal and India.
Year over year, the greatest reductions in average unit prices collected for exported rice by ton were posted by international suppliers in the United Arab Emirates (down -38.7%), Laos (down -37.9%), Ecuador (down -31.6%), Lebanon (down -23.7%), India (down -17.2%), Vietnam (down -16.7%) then Thailand (down -14.8%).
Average Unit Prices for Top 10 Rice Exporters
Below are the 10 major exporters of rice by weight, showcasing each country’s corresponding average unit price per ton of globally exported rice in US dollars. These key suppliers sold 85.3% of overall rice exports by weight in 2021 and are listed in descending rank starting with the biggest rice exporters.
- India: US$452 in 2021 (down -17.2% from 2020)
- Thailand: $552 (down -14.8%)
- Vietnam: $413 (down -16.7%)
- Pakistan: $542 (up 2.8%)
- United States: $570 (no change)
- China: $423 (up 6.3%)
- Myanmar: $398 (up 0.5%)
- Brazil: $420 (up 16.7%)
- Uruguay: $502 (up 11.1%)
- Italy: $1,008 (up 7.1%)
Five among the top 10 rice suppliers by weight (United States of America, Thailand, Pakistan, Uruguay and Italy) charged comparatively higher average unit prices exceeding the global average of $493 per ton for all rice exporters.
That data suggests that economies of scale for the world’s 10 biggest exporters of rice may lead to the lowest average unit prices specific to rice exporting countries, but not necessarily.
Major Rice Importing Countries by Quantity
Turning our attention to countries that buy rice on international markets, the top 10 rice importers below accounted for three-fifths (61.2%) of globally imported rice during 2021.
- Trinidad & Tobago: 29.7 million tons (37.8% of global rice imports)
- China: 4.9 million tons (6.2%)
- Philippines: 3 million tons (3.8%)
- Bangladesh: 2.6 million tons (3.3%)
- Ivory Coast: 1.5 million tons (1.9%)
- Ethiopia: 1.4 million tons (1.8%)
- Benin: 1.399 million tons (1.8%)
- Nepal: 1.37 million tons (1.7%%)
- Iraq: 1.25 million tons (1.6%)
- Senegal: 1.18 million tons (1.5%)
Three among the 10 biggest importing countries by imported rice volume are highly populated Asian nations. Moreover, they are geographically located near some of the lowest-cost rice exporters on that same continent.
That trio of leading Asian rice buyers is comprised of the People’s Republic of China, Philippines and Bangladesh.
See also Rice Exports by Country (dollar value), Rice Imports by Country (dollar value), Crude Oil Exports by Country, Petroleum Gas Exports by Country and OPEC Countries Crude Oil Exports Sales Data
Research Sources:
Alibaba’s supplier information for rice. Accessed on November 22, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Agriculture – Products. Accessed on November 22, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 22, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 22, 2022
OXFAM Research Reports, Cereal Secrets, pp 9-10. Accessed on November 22, 2022
Wikipedia, Rice. Accessed on November 22, 2022
