Over a 5-year timespan, the value of globally exported rice rose by 12.5% from the $26 billion worth of rice shipped during 2018.
The top 5 rice exporting countries (India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States of America) generated approaching three-quarters (72.8%) of the global value for rice exports during 2022.
From a continental perspective, over three-quarters (76.7%) of worldwide rice exports originated from Asian countries with shipments amounting to $22.4 billion during 2022. Exporters in Europe supplied 8.9% of the overall total, trailed by suppliers in Latin America (6.5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean ahead of North America at 7.6%.
Tinier percentages came from Africa (1.2%) and Oceania (0.8%) mostly Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for rice is 1006.
Rice Exports by Country
The 15 countries listed below exported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2022.
- India: US$10.8 billion (36.8% of total rice exports)
- Thailand: $4 billion (13.5%)
- Vietnam: $2.5 billion (8.6%)
- Pakistan: $2.4 billion (8%)
- United States: $1.7 billion (5.8%)
- China: $1 billion (3.5%)
- Italy: $804.7 million (2.7%)
- Myanmar: $786.8 million (2.7%)
- Brazil: $657.5 million (2.2%)
- Belgium: $515.6 million (1.8%)
- Uruguay: $498 million (1.7%)
- Cambodia: $416 million (1.4%)
- Netherlands: $385 million (1.3%)
- Paraguay: $293.4 million (1%)
- Spain: $238 million (0.8%)
By value, the above 15 countries were responsible for 92% of globally exported rice in 2022.
Among the above listed countries, the fastest-growing rice exporters since 2021 were Paraguay (up 91,003%), Brazil (up 83.1%), Uruguay (up 30.2%), Belgium (up 27%) and Spain (up 25.7%).
A pair of top suppliers posted declines in their exported rice sales namely Vietnam (down -16.1%) and the United States of America (down -11.6%).
Countries Generating Highest Surpluses Trading Rice
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for rice during 2022. 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$10.8 billion (net export surplus up 11.8% since 2021)
- Thailand: $4 billion (up 18.3%)
- Vietnam: $2.3 billion (up 1.1%)
- Pakistan: $2.3 billion (up 9.2%)
- Myanmar: $786.6 million (up 17.4%)
- Uruguay: $497.3 million (up 30.4%)
- Italy: $451.3 million (down -15.4%)
- Cambodia: $412.5 million (down -1.3%)
- Brazil: $307.4 million (up 626.7%)
- United States of America: $298.1 million (down -67.3%)
- Paraguay: $292.6 million (reversing a -$34,000 deficit)
- Guyana: $206.9 million (down -0.3%)
- Tanzania: $183.5 million (down -39.2%)
- Argentina: $145.4 million (down -24.8%)
- Greece: $54.1 million (down -3.4%)
In 2022, India continued to be the leading exporter generating the highest surplus in the international trade of rice. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms India’s strong competitive advantage in selling rice on global markets.
Countries Incurring Greatest Deficits Trading Rice
The following countries posted the biggest negative net exports for rice during 2022. 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.
- China: -US$1.6 billion (net export deficit up 38% since 2021)
- Philippines: -$1.3 billion (up 6.4%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$1.2 billion (up 10.5%)
- Iran: -$1.16 billion (up 59.1%)
- Iraq: -$1.11 billion (up 39.6%)
- Ivory Coast: -$793.9 million (up 10.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$667.2 million (up 95%)
- Benin: -$635.2 million (down -1.3%)
- Japan: -$613.1 million (up 34.1%)
- France: -$598.1 million (up 13.8%)
- Malaysia: -$564.4 million (up 5.2%)
- Niger: -$547.2 million (up 16.4%)
- United Kingdom: -$546.5 million (up 4.8%)
- Senegal: -$518 million (up 21.5%)
- Canada: -$470.7 million (up 32.8%)
Mainland China incurred the greatest amount of red ink from trading rice on global markets during 2022. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights both China’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for rice-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Major Rice Exporting Companies
Below are bulk rice-supplying conglomerates that dominate the worldwide grain trade (73% of the global market in 2003, according to OXFAM researchers). Shown within parenthesis is the country where the company is headquartered.
- Cargill (United States)
- Archer Daniels Midland (United States)
- Bunge (United States)
- Louis Dreyfus (France)
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following companies are also examples of rice-trading companies located in the country shown within parentheses.
- AEDI’ S.R.L. (Italy)
- Nakornton Rice Co., Ltd. (Thailand)
- Navdurga Rice Mill (India)
- PAK Rice Village (Pakistan)
- Sichuan Deyi Green Foods Group Co., Ltd. (China)
- Sunrise Foodstuff Joint Stock Company (Vietnam)
- Trade BEVAR S.A. (Brazil)
Searchable List of Rice Exporting Countries in 2022
Below, you will find a searchable table listing the value of rice exported by individual countries during 2022. Also presented is the annual percentage change in export revenues for each exporting nation.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Exporter | Rice Exports (US$) | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | India | $10,766,623,000 | +11.9% |
| 2. | Thailand | $3,959,331,000 | +18.1% |
| 3. | Vietnam | $2,522,259,000 | -16.1% |
| 4. | Pakistan | $2,352,983,000 | +9% |
| 5. | United States | $1,703,807,000 | -11.6% |
| 6. | China | $1,033,704,000 | -0.2% |
| 7. | Italy | $804,683,000 | +10.6% |
| 8. | Myanmar | $786,839,000 | +17.3% |
| 9. | Brazil | $657,488,000 | +83.1% |
| 10. | Belgium | $515,576,000 | +27% |
| 11. | Uruguay | $498,030,000 | +30.2% |
| 12. | Cambodia | $415,995,000 | -1.7% |
| 13. | Netherlands | $384,982,000 | +18.8% |
| 14. | Paraguay | $293,351,000 | +91003% |
| 15. | Spain | $238,012,000 | +25.7% |
| 16. | Australia | $218,824,000 | +133.6% |
| 17. | Guyana | $207,090,000 | -0.3% |
| 18. | Tanzania | $183,525,000 | -39.2% |
| 19. | Türkiye | $154,068,000 | +19.1% |
| 20. | Argentina | $146,421,000 | -24.8% |
| 21. | Bulgaria | $95,261,000 | +106.5% |
| 22. | South Africa | $94,968,000 | +15.5% |
| 23. | Portugal | $93,574,000 | +28.1% |
| 24. | Greece | $82,377,000 | +10.2% |
| 25. | Taiwan | $80,620,000 | -22.1% |
| 26. | Germany | $68,860,000 | -7.1% |
| 27. | Poland | $58,613,000 | +28.4% |
| 28. | France | $57,791,000 | +19.9% |
| 29. | Japan | $57,257,000 | -9.7% |
| 30. | United Kingdom | $56,736,000 | +28.9% |
| 31. | Singapore | $56,330,000 | -15.1% |
| 32. | United Arab Emirates | $55,488,000 | +1.5% |
| 33. | Kazakhstan | $52,946,000 | +36.9% |
| 34. | Malaysia | $44,881,000 | +14.8% |
| 35. | Senegal | $39,150,000 | -8.5% |
| 36. | Laos | $33,668,000 | -4.4% |
| 37. | Romania | $31,748,000 | +84.1% |
| 38. | Russia | $30,136,000 | -57.8% |
| 39. | Czech Republic | $29,710,000 | +12.7% |
| 40. | Canada | $28,905,000 | +26.7% |
| 41. | Ecuador | $28,103,000 | +151.1% |
| 42. | Suriname | $25,026,000 | -22.8% |
| 43. | South Korea | $18,784,000 | -16.7% |
| 44. | Lebanon | $16,280,000 | +0.7% |
| 45. | Ivory Coast | $16,064,000 | +14.7% |
| 46. | Peru | $13,411,000 | +1810% |
| 47. | Bangladesh | $11,943,000 | -24.3% |
| 48. | Denmark | $11,782,000 | +9% |
| 49. | Lithuania | $11,311,000 | +46.4% |
| 50. | Hong Kong | $10,928,000 | -8.7% |
| 51. | Egypt | $10,179,000 | +814.6% |
| 52. | North Macedonia | $9,393,000 | +80.6% |
| 53. | Costa Rica | $8,309,000 | +18.5% |
| 54. | Hungary | $7,754,000 | +1.6% |
| 55. | Austria | $6,880,000 | -0.7% |
| 56. | Sri Lanka | $6,050,000 | -19.9% |
| 57. | Pitcairn | $5,489,000 | +2197% |
| 58. | El Salvador | $5,068,000 | +80.6% |
| 59. | Equatorial Guinea | $4,783,000 | +1608% |
| 60. | Switzerland | $4,630,000 | -17.6% |
| 61. | Zambia | $3,770,000 | +1396% |
| 62. | Slovakia | $3,632,000 | -33.1% |
| 63. | Slovenia | $3,390,000 | +5.6% |
| 64. | Mexico | $3,245,000 | +39.2% |
| 65. | Latvia | $2,667,000 | +12% |
| 66. | Fiji | $2,606,000 | +72.8% |
| 67. | Iran | $2,436,000 | -12.2% |
| 68. | Honduras | $2,435,000 | +25.5% |
| 69. | Cameroon | $2,280,000 | -88.3% |
| 70. | Sweden | $2,043,000 | -38% |
| 71. | Indonesia | $1,957,000 | -24.9% |
| 72. | Nicaragua | $1,949,000 | -7.3% |
| 73. | Jordan | $1,854,000 | -13.3% |
| 74. | Colombia | $1,846,000 | +84.4% |
| 75. | Bahrain | $1,709,000 | +37.4% |
| 76. | Congo | $1,470,000 | +24400% |
| 77. | Mozambique | $1,438,000 | +40.4% |
| 78. | Uganda | $1,406,000 | -71.2% |
| 79. | Ireland | $1,286,000 | +101.6% |
| 80. | Philippines | $1,090,000 | +79.3% |
| 81. | Ukraine | $986,000 | -84.4% |
| 82. | Serbia | $718,000 | +15.2% |
| 83. | Finland | $705,000 | +305.2% |
| 84. | Estonia | $569,000 | -13.4% |
| 85. | Botswana | $551,000 | -10.4% |
| 86. | Kyrgyzstan | $548,000 | -1.6% |
| 87. | Guatemala | $509,000 | -8.5% |
| 88. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $508,000 | +50700% |
| 89. | Trinidad/Tobago | $507,000 | -15.5% |
| 90. | Dominican Republic | $500,000 | -11% |
| 91. | Panama | $402,000 | -13.2% |
| 92. | Iraq | $390,000 | +129.4% |
| 93. | Morocco | $369,000 | -84.9% |
| 94. | Norway | $367,000 | -19.2% |
| 95. | Chile | $358,000 | +121% |
| 96. | Malawi | $298,000 | -67.6% |
| 97. | Israel | $288,000 | +57.4% |
| 98. | US Minor Outlying Is | $287,000 | -89.5% |
| 99. | Qatar | $263,000 | -44.3% |
| 100. | Luxembourg | $253,000 | +27.8% |
Expanding the scope to the 100 rice exporters, the fastest-growing rice suppliers were Paraguay (up 91,003% from 2021), Democratic Republic of Congo (up 50,700%), Congo (up 24,400%), Pitcairn (up 2,197%), Peru (up 1,810%), Equatorial Guinea (up 1,608%), Zambia (up 1,396%) and Egypt (up 814.6%).
Related Read: Average Rice Prices Compared for Major Rice Export Countries
See also Rice Imports by Country, Best Tofu Exports by Sales, Average Unit Prices & Weight, Corn Exports by Country, Onions Exports by Country and Barley Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba’s supplier information for rice. Accessed on July 16, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Agriculture – Products. Accessed on July 16, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 16, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 16, 2023
OXFAM Research Reports, Cereal Secrets, pp 9-10. Accessed on July 16, 2023
