NEWS

logo.gif (1594 bytes)

NEWS

Rice - Fact sheet - Basic facts and figures
April, 2000

Rice is the world's most consumed staple food grain. It is harvested on more than 153 million hectares (1999) in 89 countries around the world - or about 10% of the world's arable land. Total production in 1999 was an estimated 588.7 million tonnes of unmilled, rough rice.

Rice is predominately grown in the humid and sub-humid tropics of Asia, where rice cultivation is the primary human activity. Asia accounts for 90% of the world's harvested rice areas and 92% of total rice production.

Rice is one of the cheapest and most plentiful sources of food energy and protein. Of the 23 countries of the world which produce more than 1 million tonnes annually, almost half have a per capita income of less than $500. (These countries are classified as "less developed countries, or LDCs" by the World Bank.)

Rice is the staple food of the majority of Asian population, which has grown from about 1.7 billion in 1961 to about 3.5 billion in 1997. Rice ranked as the first major food consumed in Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The total population of these countries in 1997 was 2.94 billion.

In Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, rice accounts for 55 to 80% of total calories consumed.

Rice consumption is increasing by an average of 2% per year. However, in the humid and sub-humid rice growing regions of Asia, the population is projected to increase by 58% over the next 35 years. Recent projections indicate a world food rice need of about 758 million tonnes per year by 2025 - or 70% more rice than is consumed today.

Rice is primarily consumed where it is produced. International rice trade accounts for only about 4% of world production, and primarily in quality rices. Major rice exporters include Thailand (36% of world total), the United States (19%), Vietnam (10%) and Pakistan (7%). Because the world market is thin and volatile, most countries in Asia cannot depend on rice imports to meet the food needs of domestic populations. For example, if China wanted to meet just 10% of its domestic rice consumption needs through imports, world demand for rice would increase by 80%.

Achieving self-sufficiency in rice has been an important national policy goal in many rice producing nations in Asia, in an effort to stabilize prices and address food security needs. However, rice harvesting is particularly vulnerable to changes in natural environments. Variable natural conditions can cause year-to-year shortages and surpluses, and lead to price instability. 

Recent developments in rice production

Genetic improvements in rice and the development of modern rice varieties, along with improved cultivation practices, accounts for the impressive growth in production over the past 25 years. The first of the modern rices - IR8 - was released in 1966. Since then, a number of IR-parented varieties have been released by national rice programs. Farmers have enjoyed two to three times
higher yields from these varieties than from traditional cultivars.

Scientists have incorporated many yield-enhancing traits into modern rices, including greater pest resistance, shorter crop duration, and better quality grain. Improved varieties are today grown on more than 70% of the rice lands in Asia, and on 37% of the rice lands in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Average rice yields have increased by 72%, and total rice production has doubled, since 1966. During these same years, populations in rice-growing countries grew by 66%. It is estimated that 600 million more people are being fed today by the additional rice supplies made possible by the development of modern rice varieties. 

Rice characteristics and ecosystems 

Rice dwarfs have 20 to 25 stalks, but only 15 or so produce panicles, with about a hundred grains each; the rest of the stalks are sterile. New rice varieties are expected to have fewer stalks, but thicker, stronger ones, each bearing a panicle with twice as many grains.

The white rice kernel is about 80% starch. The rest is mostly water, with minute amounts of phosphorus, potassium, calcium and B vitamins. Brown rice is produced by leaving some of the external layers of bran on the kernel in the milling process.

The O. sativa rice species has been grown for more than 4,000 years. The predominant rice sub-species include Japonica (grown mostly in Japan, Korea and Northern China); Indica (grown mostly in the rest of Asia) and Javanica (found in Indonesia).

The cooking quality of rice is determined by the percentage of the starch component, known as amylose. If its low (10 to 18%), the rice will be soft and sticky, as preferred in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. If it's high (25 to 30%), the rice will be hard and fluffy, as preferred in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In between tends to be the preference in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines - as well as in the United States and Europe. 

Rice ecosystems are characterized by elevation, rainfall patterns, depth of flooding and drainage. There are four major ecosystems:

  • Upland - Rice is direct seeded in non-flooded, well-drained soil on level to steeply sloping fields. Yields tend to be low due to a lack of moisture and inadequate nutrition. Upland rice is grown on more than 19 million hectares worldwide, largely in Latin America and Africa.
  • Rainfed lowland - Rice is transplanted or direct seeded in puddled soil on level, slightly sloping or diked fields. The depth and duration of flooding is dependent on local rainfall. Yields depend on rainfall, cultivation practices and use of fertilizer. Rainfed lowland rice is grown on 37 million hectares worldwide, and is dominant in humid and subhumid tropics.
  • Flood-prone - Rice is directly seeded or transplanted in the rainy season on fields characterized by medium to heavy flooding from rivers and river mouth deltas. Soils may have high levels of toxicity or salination. The crop grows as floodwaters rise, with harvesting taking place after the waters recede. Flood-prone rice is grown on more than 10 million hectares, predominately in South and Southeast Asia.
  • Irrigated - Rice is transplanted or direct seeded in puddled soil on level fields with water control, in both dry and wet seasons in lowland areas; in the summer in higher elevations; and during the dry season in flood-prone areas. The crop is heavily fertilized. Irrigated rice is planted on more than 81 million hectares. Irrigated rice accounts for 55 % of all of the world's harvested rice areas, and 76% of global rice production. 

Sources: 

International Rice Research Institute: http://www.cgiar.org/irri/  

UN Food and Agriculture Organization - Agriculture Production Statistics (FAOSTAT): http://www.fao.org  

The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org . National Geographic Society, May 1994, pp. 48-79 

For more information on rice, visit these websites:

Riceweb http://www.riceweb.org/  

Riceworld http://www.riceworld.org/  

The RiceGenes database at Cornell University  http://ars-genome.cornell.edu/rice/  

Arkansas Global Rice Marketing Outlook 1999-2010  http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/ricersch/agrmout.html 

Company news release
N2623b  is next

.0

Copyright © 2000 SeedQuest - All rights reserved