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Table of Facts: Rice (Oryza sativa)

Production
Area Under Cultivation - 154.1 million ha
Global Production - 600.6 million MT
Average Productivity - 3,897 kg/ha
Producer Price - $176 per MT
Producer Production Value - $105,970 million

International Trade
Share of World Production - 4%
Exports - 23.6 million MT
Average Price - $279 per MT
Value - $6,460 million

Principal Producing Countries/Blocs
(by weight)
China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand

Principal Exporting Countries/Blocs
Thailand, Vietnam, China, United States, Pakistan, India

Principal Importing Countries/Blocs
Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Brazil, Japan

Major Environmental Impacts

• Habitat conversion
• Soil erosion and degradation
• Agrochemical use
• Water use and pollution
• Production of greenhouse gases

Potential to Improve

• Good
• BMPs are known and cost-effective
• Rice is a food security issue, governments will help improve production
• Genetics (better understood for rice than for other crops) will lead to improved production and reduced impacts
• Plant breeding can reduce impacts

Source: FAO 2002. All data for 2000.