Rice

Asia's staple grain, mostly eaten where it is grown, so a thin world market swings sharply when big exporters restrict sales.

Grains · No. 87

• Not on a critical list
• HHI 1,520 · moderately concentrated

Asia eats most of the rice it grows, so little is traded that one decision in Delhi can move world prices.

Chart: Illustration: Rice

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Most rice grows in flooded paddies across monsoon Asia, where the tropics allow two or three crops a year. World output was 820 Mt of paddy in 2024.

Three things to know

1. India supplied 33.6% of world rice export value in 2024, more than Thailand and Pakistan combined.
2. Japanese rice brokers traded futures as early as 1697, believed to be the world's first futures exchange.
3. Flooded paddies make rice a climate heavyweight, at about 1,100 Mt CO2e a year, mostly methane.

The journey

1. 1 Paddy fieldGrown in flooded fields, often twice yearly
2. 2 DryingHarvested paddy dried to store safely
3. 3 HullingHusk removed to give brown rice
4. 4 PolishingMilled white and graded by broken share
5. 5 ExportBagged or bulk shipments
6. 6 KitchenRetail and food service

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