Spot light Rice

World Rice Trade

Export
According to the USDA, Thailand is projected to remain the world's top rice exporter for the year 2001, with approximately 6.7 million metric tons. Following closely behind is Vietnam at 4 million metric tons, while the United States is ranked third with 2.65 million metric tons. Pakistan is quickly gaining more exports share, with 2.25 million metric tons projected for the end of 2001. China and India, on the other hand, have slowed down their pace with 1.8 and 0.8 million metric tons.

In 2002, Thailand will continue to stay on top at a predicted 6.7 million metric tons. Following closely behind is still Vietnam at 4.3 million metric tons. The United States remain unchanged at 2.65 million metric tons. Pakistan and India will likely reduce their exports volume to 2 and 1 million metric tons, respectively, while China's estimate is expected to increase to 2 million metric tons. The total world export volume will decline slightly from 22.255 to 22.139 million metric tons from 2001 to 2002, a significant decline from 1999 at 25.062 million metric tons.

Trend in World Rice Export (1998 - 2002)

Units Thousand metric tons

Source: USDA, Foreight Agricultural Service (FAS), Aug 2001.

Import

Currently, Indonesia is the world's number 1 rice importer, with approximately 1.3 million metric tons. In the year 2002, Indonesia is projected to increase rice import to 1.6 million metric tons. This increase, however, is still a significant reduction from the 3.9 million metric tons that Indonesia had imported in 1999. Trailing behind are Iran, Nigeria, and Iraq with 1 million metric tons each in 2001. In 2202, Nigeria's imports is projected to decline to 0.9 million, while Iran's estimate is up to 1.25 million metric tons. The trend toward rice imports is spiraling downward, despite the slight increases in some countries.

Trend in World Rice Import (1998 - 2002)

Units in Thousand metric tons