How Big is India’s Rice Industry?

More than half of the world’s population considers rice as their staple food. People across the globe eat rice in different ways and use this whole grain to make different dishes. To state a few examples, in Afghanistan, locals use rice to make ‘Kabuli Pulao’. Belgians use rice to prepare a dish called ‘Rijsttaart’, whereas the Chinese eat rice in the form of ‘Fried Rice’.Production-wise, rice is the third-most cultivated agricultural product after sugarcane and maize. More than 100 countries around the world cultivate rice. However, in terms of production and consumption, the rice industry is occupied by south-east Asian countries; these are India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Burma. Lets discuss what is so special about India’s Rice Industry.

India as a rice-producing country

India is the second-biggest producer of rice in the world, behind China. But since the last few years, India is continually outperforming China in rice exports. Here, mostly Indians from the eastern and southern regions cultivate rice. And this whole grain is one of the significant contributors to the country’s economy.

India’s rice export

In terms of export value, in the financial year 2018-19, India exported total rice worth Rs.540 billion. India exported a total of 12.5 million tonnes of rice, in terms of quantity, in the same year. India produced a record of 117.94 million tonnes of rice in the financial year 2019-20. Thus, rice production in India has increased by around 350% in the last 60 years.

Largest rice-producing state

The state of West Bengal stands first in terms of rice production in India. It accounts for about 14.68% of the total rice production in the country. In this ranking, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh follow West Bengal. Also, Uttar Pradesh has rice productivity of 2082Kg/Hectare and covers 11.16% of the total rice production in the country.

How did India transform into a rice-producing nation?

The success of Green Revolution witnessed a steady rise in Asia’s per capita rice consumption from 85Kg/year in the early 60’s to nearly 103Kg/year in the 21st century.

India became the largest exporter of rice post the withdrawal of ban on non-basmati rice export. Exports increased from 2.8 million MT in 2011 to 12 million MT in 2018. With this, Indian rice became very competitive in the global market. The low price caused importing regions like Africa to shift to Indian rice. Thus, India’s market share increased from 7.9% in 2011 to 24.4% in 2018.

Basmati Rice: The popular Indian favourite

Basmati rice is a particular variety of rice which is long and slender-grained rice and has a distinctive aroma. Only the Indian subcontinent cultivates Basmati rice, accounting for over 70% of the total Basmati rice produced in the entire world. However, Basmati rice accounts for less than 2% of the total Indian rice production. And India exports two-third of its Basmati rice production.

Basmati rice export

As per a survey report by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the total share of Basmati rice in the total quantity of rice exported by India hovers between 30-40%. In the year financial year 2018-19, India exported around 4.4 million metric tonnes of Basmati rice. Haryana is the largest producer of Basmati Rice in India. The state accounts for more than 60% of the total basmati rice production in the country.

Where does non-basmati rice stand in the rice industry?

Apart from Basmati, India is believed to produce more than 1000 different varieties of rice. These varieties of non-Basmati rice are about 50 per cent cheaper than the Basmati rice on an average. Hence, Indians consume non-Basmati rice as well as export it in even larger quantities.

Out of 115.63 million MT of Rice Production in 2018-19, India exported 75,99,522 MT of non-basmati Rice worth Rs. 21,185 crores. And the share of non-Basmati exports stood at 10.62 per cent of the total agriculture-related exports for the given financial year.

How prominent is the rice industry in the Indian agriculture sector?

Rice is one of the significant components of the agriculture sector in India. It’s the source of livelihood for a billion of rural Indians. Rice fields cover about 35 to 40 per cent of the total agricultural land in India and rice accounts for 42 per cent of the total food grains produced in the country.

About Krishna Mohan Foods Pvt. Ltd:

If anyone is looking to procure non-basmati rice in India, Krishna Mohan Foods is the place. Located in the heartland of Uttar Pradesh, Krishna Mohan Foods Pvt. Ltd. is a renowned name in the Indian rice industry. We offer high-quality non-basmati rice like Sharbati, IR-64, IR-8, RH-10 and Sona Masoori. Our focus has been on hygienic processing and safe packaging. Thus, we have become a leading manufacturer, exporter, and supplier of tasty, flavourful and fresh non-basmati rice in India.