Year over year, globally imported rice flatlined via a 1.4% upturn from $26.1 billion in sales during 2020.
The top 5 countries for importing rice are mainland China, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, United States of America and Bangladesh. Combined, those 5 major rice buyers account for almost one quarter (23.3%) of worldwide demand for imported rice.
Applying a continental lens, Asian countries consumed the highest dollar worth of imported rice during 2021 with purchases valued at $12.1 billion or 45.7% of the global total. In second place were African importers at 25.3% while another 14.6% of worldwide rice imports were delivered to buyers in Europe.
Smaller percentages were bought by importers in North America (6.8%), Latin America (5.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceanian countries (1.6%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for rice is 1006.
Rice Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2021.
- China: US$1.9 billion (7.3% of total rice imports)
- Philippines: $1.2 billion (4.5%)
- Saudi Arabia: $1.1 billion (4.1%)
- United States: $1 billion (3.8%)
- Bangladesh: $939 million (3.5%)
- Iraq: $716.5 million (2.7%)
- Ethiopia: $686.5 million (2.6%)
- Iran: $667.5 million (2.5%)
- Benin: $640.9 million (2.4%)
- Malaysia: $575.6 million (2.2%)
- United Kingdom: $574.7 million (2.2%)
- France: $573.5 million (2.2%)
- Japan: $520.4 million (2%)
- Ivory Coast: $514.3 million (1.9%)
- South Africa: $504.5 million (1.9%)
The top 15 countries purchased 45.8% of all rice imported during 2021. Imported rice remain in demand from 217 importing geographies located around the globe. (See the searchable list further down this article).
Among the above 15 countries, the fastest-growing markets for rice were: Bangladesh (up 4,054% compared to 2020), Ethiopia (up 116.3%), Benin (up 63.2%), Philippines (up 38.9%) and mainland China (up 32.1%).
Year over year, the top buyer countries that experienced declines in their imported rice purchases were: Iran (down -28.4%), Saudi Arabia (down -22.6%), United States of America (down -20.7%), United Kingdom (down -8%) then South Africa (down -7.7%).
Rice Imports into China
Below are the top suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value garnered by each supplying country compared to 2020.
- Vietnam: US$492.1 million (up 8.9% from 2020)
- India: $350.8 million (up 23,810%)
- Pakistan: $335.2 million (up 78.9%)
- Thailand: $278.8 million (up 15.1%)
- Myanmar: $263.2 million (down -18.8%)
- Cambodia: $169.5 million (up 7%)
- Taiwan: $27.2 million (down -29.3%)
- Laos: $9.3 million (down -82.2%)
- Japan: $1.8 million (down -38.7%)
- Russia: $30,000 (down -55.2%)
- United States of America: $11,000 (down -64.5%)
- Italy: $4,000 (up 300%)
The listed countries shipped 100% of all Chinese rice imports for 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of rice to China since 2020 were: India (up 23,810%), Italy (up 300%), Pakistan (up 78.9%) and Thailand (up 15.1%).
Leading the year-over-year decliners were Laos (down -82.2%), United States of America (down -64.5%), Russia (down -55.2%) and Japan (down -38.7%).
Overall, the value of China’s rice imports went up by an average 32.1% from all supplying countries since 2020 when rice purchases were valued at $1.5 billion.
Rice Imports into the Philippines
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the Philippines imported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country compared to 2020.
- Vietnam: US$957.7 million (up 40.5% from 2020)
- Myanmar: $68.9 million (up 28.7%)
- Thailand: $57.8 million (up 101.8%)
- China: $51.8 million (up 26%)
- India: $44.9 million (down -8.4%)
- Pakistan: $10.3 million (up 208.5%)
- Singapore: $2.7 million (2020 data unavailable)
- Cambodia: $1.3 million (up 917.1%)
- Taiwan: $696,000 (up 109%)
- Malaysia: $608,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Indonesia: $120,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Canada: $22,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Spain: $8,000 (up 33.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.5% of rice imported by Philippines in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of rice to Philippines since 2020 were: Cambodia (up 917.1%), Pakistan (up 208.5%), Taiwan (up 109.0%) and Thailand (up 101.8%).
India was the lone top country to experience a decline in the value of rice supplied to Filipino importers thanks to its -8.4% reduction.
Overall, the value of Filipino rice imports increased by an average 38.9% from all supplying countries since 2020 when rice purchases were valued at $862 million.
Rice Imports into Saudi Arabia
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Saudi Arabia imported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country compared to 2020.
- India: US$833.2 million (down -24.5% from 2020)
- United States of America: $96.8 million (down -19.9%)
- Pakistan: $89.9 million (down -15.1%)
- Vietnam: $18 million (down -16%)
- Thailand: $16.5 million (down -32.5%)
- Australia: $12.1 million (up 149.9%)
- Bangladesh: $5.1 million (down -5.4%)
- Cambodia: $4.2 million (up 83.5%)
- Brazil: $3.5 million (down -36.3%)
- Italy: $1.9 million (down -3.2%)
- China: $1.6 million (down -6.8%)
- Portugal: $1.4 million (down -31.3%)
- Argentina: $1.3 million (up 103.1%)
- Egypt: $464,000 (down -3.5%)
- Spain: $369,000 (down -67.8%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 99.9% of all Saudi Arabian rice imports during 2021.
Among the above countries, the 3 fastest-growing suppliers of rice to Saudi Arabia since 2020 were: Australia (up 149.9%), Argentina (up 103.1%) and Cambodia (up 83.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their rice supplied to Saudi importers included: Spain (down -67.8%), Brazil (down -36.3%), Thailand (down -32.5%) and Portugal (down -31.3%).
Overall, the value of Saudi Arabia’s rice imports shrank by an average -22.6% from all supplying countries since 2020 when rice purchases were valued at $1.4 billion.
Rice Imports into the United States
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the United States of America imported the highest dollar value worth of rice during 2021. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country compared to 2020.
- Thailand: US$606.4 million (down -19.5% from 2020)
- India: $226.1 million (down -25.4%)
- Pakistan: $37.6 million (down -36.3%)
- China: $24.5 million (down -0.6%)
- Brazil: $20.1 million (down -51.8%)
- Argentina: $16.2 million (up 33.5%)
- Vietnam: $15.4 million (down -1.7%)
- Italy: $14.7 million (down -23.2%)
- Canada: $13.3 million (up 5.7%)
- Spain: $11.2 million (up 58.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $6.2 million (up 517.3%)
- Japan: $5.8 million (up 0.5%)
- Bangladesh: $3.1 million (down -12.1%)
- Mexico: $2.8 million (down -23.1%)
- Uruguay: $2.6 million (down -59%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.8% of American rice imports in 2021.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of rice to the United States since 2020 were: United Arab Emirates (up 517.3%), Spain (up 58.1%), Argentina (up 33.5%) and Canada (up 5.7%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their rice supplied to American importers included: Uruguay (down -59%), Brazil (down -51.8%), Pakistan (down -36.3%) and India (down -25.4%).
Overall, the value of rice imported by the United States of America fell by an average -20.7% from all supplying countries since 2020 when rice purchases were valued at $1.3 billion.
Searchable List of Rice Importing Countries in 2021
The 100 countries showcased in the automated database account for 96.4% of the global spending on imported rice during 2021.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
| Rank | Importer | Rice Imports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $1,927,891,000 | +32.1% |
| 2. | Philippines | $1,196,907,000 | +38.9% |
| 3. | Saudi Arabia | $1,087,307,000 | -22.6% |
| 4. | United States | $1,017,750,000 | -20.7% |
| 5. | Bangladesh | $938,966,000 | +4054% |
| 6. | Iraq | $716,541,000 | +3.4% |
| 7. | Ethiopia | $686,542,000 | +116.3% |
| 8. | Iran | $667,465,000 | -28.4% |
| 9. | Benin | $640,851,000 | +63.2% |
| 10. | Malaysia | $575,634,000 | -2.4% |
| 11. | United Kingdom | $574,711,000 | -8% |
| 12. | France | $573,516,000 | -3% |
| 13. | Japan | $520,431,000 | +3% |
| 14. | Ivory Coast | $514,313,000 | -6.5% |
| 15. | South Africa | $504,457,000 | -7.7% |
| 16. | Senegal | $469,255,000 | +9.6% |
| 17. | United Arab Emirates | $469,080,000 | -16.9% |
| 18. | Germany | $435,003,000 | -9% |
| 19. | Nepal | $429,922,000 | +21.4% |
| 20. | Belgium | $427,749,000 | +3.8% |
| 21. | South Korea | $402,573,000 | +7.2% |
| 22. | Mexico | $399,153,000 | -10.8% |
| 23. | Mozambique | $377,318,000 | +50.6% |
| 24. | Canada | $377,176,000 | -15% |
| 25. | Yemen | $358,591,000 | -9% |
| 26. | Netherlands | $356,470,000 | +11.6% |
| 27. | Guinea | $320,425,000 | +33.9% |
| 28. | Brazil | $316,794,000 | -15.9% |
| 29. | Cameroon | $304,202,000 | +33.2% |
| 30. | Vietnam | $292,890,000 | +129.9% |
| 31. | Kenya | $283,018,000 | +14.6% |
| 32. | Madagascar | $272,914,000 | +51% |
| 33. | Angola | $263,421,000 | -24.3% |
| 34. | Singapore | $255,642,000 | -14.6% |
| 35. | Hong Kong | $255,469,000 | -15.8% |
| 36. | Haiti | $246,430,000 | -16% |
| 37. | Venezuela | $231,278,000 | -7.2% |
| 38. | Italy | $193,834,000 | +3.7% |
| 39. | Somalia | $191,977,000 | -6.9% |
| 40. | Turkey | $190,128,000 | -34% |
| 41. | Indonesia | $183,802,000 | -5.9% |
| 42. | Spain | $181,955,000 | +32.7% |
| 43. | Australia | $181,832,000 | -30.9% |
| 44. | Djibouti | $173,563,000 | +42.2% |
| 45. | Jordan | $172,645,000 | -11.4% |
| 46. | Peru | $166,911,000 | -8% |
| 47. | Kuwait | $166,388,000 | -45.7% |
| 48. | Oman | $160,668,000 | -24.2% |
| 49. | Uganda | $156,242,000 | +47.5% |
| 50. | Ghana | $151,698,000 | -62% |
| 51. | Poland | $146,814,000 | +22.7% |
| 52. | Liberia | $132,332,000 | -4% |
| 53. | Kazakhstan | $131,389,000 | +2324% |
| 54. | Afghanistan | $126,488,000 | -21% |
| 55. | Niger | $122,613,000 | -68.8% |
| 56. | Papua New Guinea | $118,692,000 | +22.1% |
| 57. | Sierra Leone | $117,740,000 | -12% |
| 58. | Israel | $117,614,000 | +3.5% |
| 59. | Qatar | $107,864,000 | -36.6% |
| 60. | Sri Lanka | $99,372,000 | +850.9% |
| 61. | Switzerland | $98,506,000 | +4% |
| 62. | Russia | $98,413,000 | -3.9% |
| 63. | Portugal | $97,455,000 | -13.1% |
| 64. | Chile | $94,631,000 | -5.8% |
| 65. | Democra. Rep. Congo | $92,818,000 | +106.6% |
| 66. | Czech Republic | $84,427,000 | +6% |
| 67. | Sweden | $82,871,000 | -15.3% |
| 68. | Syrian Arab Republic | $77,782,000 | -8.7% |
| 69. | Cuba | $77,428,000 | +32% |
| 70. | Taiwan | $71,702,000 | +1.7% |
| 71. | Burkina Faso | $71,349,000 | -29.6% |
| 72. | Honduras | $66,715,000 | -1.7% |
| 73. | Nicaragua | $66,604,000 | +14.8% |
| 74. | Costa Rica | $65,798,000 | -25% |
| 75. | Gambia | $63,278,000 | +42.3% |
| 76. | Algeria | $62,360,000 | +0.6% |
| 77. | Mali | $60,872,000 | +134% |
| 78. | Rwanda | $59,370,000 | +62% |
| 79. | New Zealand | $57,540,000 | -9% |
| 80. | Egypt | $55,728,000 | +19.4% |
| 81. | Austria | $54,923,000 | -8.3% |
| 82. | Gabon | $52,393,000 | -35.5% |
| 83. | Guatemala | $49,396,000 | -29.3% |
| 84. | Denmark | $49,336,000 | +4.5% |
| 85. | Bahrain | $49,159,000 | -27.7% |
| 86. | Mauritius | $46,912,000 | -14.7% |
| 87. | Libya | $44,965,000 | +68.3% |
| 88. | Romania | $41,828,000 | -7.7% |
| 89. | Pakistan | $41,196,000 | +23.5% |
| 90. | Togo | $40,873,000 | -29.8% |
| 91. | Congo | $40,586,000 | +21% |
| 92. | Ukraine | $40,128,000 | -19.7% |
| 93. | Hungary | $38,858,000 | -4.2% |
| 94. | El Salvador | $38,335,000 | -14.3% |
| 95. | Timor-Leste | $36,436,000 | +34.5% |
| 96. | Norway | $35,451,000 | -13.7% |
| 97. | Lebanon | $35,356,000 | -53.6% |
| 98. | Guinea-Bissau | $35,298,000 | -32.4% |
| 99. | Botswana | $34,167,000 | +7.7% |
| 100. | Comoros | $34,060,000 | +15.7% |
Even after expanding the scope of our analysis to the top 100 rice importers, there were just 7 gainers from 2020 to 2021.
Increasing their spending on imported rice were Bangladesh (up 4,054%), Ethiopia (up 116.3%), Benin (up 63.2%), Philippines (up 38.9%), mainland China (up 32.1%), Iraq (up 3.4%) and Japan (up 3.3%).
Year over year, the severest declines in imported rice purchases belonged to Iran (down -28.4%), Saudi Arabia (down -22.6%), United States of America (down -20.7%) and the United Kingdom (down -8%).
See also Rice Exports by Country, China’s Rice Imports by Country, Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports, Average Rice Prices Compared for Major Rice Export Countries, Best Tofu Exports by Sales, Average Unit Prices & Weight
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on June 15, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 15, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 15, 2022
