Overview

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Rice, the primary staple for more than half the world's population, is produced worldwide, with about 90 percent grown in Asia. The United States is a major exporter, with the global market accounting for 40–45 percent of the annual sales volume of U.S.-produced rice. Four U.S. regions produce virtually all of the country's rice crop, the Grand Prairie, Mississippi Delta, Gulf Coast, and Sacramento Valley of California, with the South growing mostly long-grain rice and California producing almost exclusively medium- and short-grain rice.

Periodic, Scheduled Outputs 

USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) provides a range of data products and reports on oil crops markets, including domestic and international supply, demand, trade, and prices. Periodic, scheduled, outputs include:

  • Rice Outlook, a monthly report that presents supply and use projections for U.S. and global rice markets based on the most current World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.
  • WASDE at a Glance, a monthly interactive visualization that provides key data and highlights from USDA's World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates on field crops as well as livestock and dairy.  
  • Rice Yearbook Tables, an annual data set that provides statistics on U.S. and global rice production, supply, disappearance, and trade. The tables also include State acreage, yield, and production data; U.S. and world price series; and U.S. farm program statistics.
  • Commodity Costs and Returns, a data product that provides annual estimates of production costs and returns for major field crops, including rice.
  • USDA's Agricultural Baseline Projections, an annual report published in February that offers 10-year projections for the farm sector from USDA's annual long-term analysis. The associated Baseline Database covers projections for the four major feed grains (i.e., corn, sorghum, barley, and oats) in addition to the other major feed crops and livestock.

Recent ERS Reports Relating to Rice 

In addition to the periodic Outlook reports and data products, USDA, ERS publishes reports covering issues important to the rice market in the United States and around the world. Recent USDA, ERS reports relating to rice include the following:

U.S. Rice Production in the New Millennium: Changes in Structure, Practices, and Costs discusses changes in rice growing farms between 2000 to 2013 in terms of operation size and the ways in which rice is produced. 

Rice in Asia’s Feed Markets. In this report, researchers use ERS's baseline model to simulate the impacts on global rice and feed grain markets if China, the world's largest rice producer and consumer, were to release rice for feed use, as happened in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand to reduce high levels of government stocks.

The Rice Market in South Korea. This report reviews key aspects of Korea’s rice market and discusses the outlook for U.S. rice exports to Korea.

Haiti's U.S. Rice Imports. The report provides an overview of Haiti’s rice imports from the United States, and discusses the outlook for these imports in light of changes in market forces.   An Amber Waves article based on this report is available here: Rice Imports Help Alleviate Haiti's Food Needs.

Southeast Asia's Rice Surplus. This report examines why Southeast Asia’s rice surplus exists and why it likely will continue.