World Consumption

World rice consumption in 1999/2000 - 2002/2003 (milled basis)

Country	1999/2000	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003
China	133,763	134,356	134,595	134,800
India	82,670	75,851	82,251	84,000
Indonesia	35,400	35,877	36,358	36,790
Bangladesh	23,766	25,790	26,250	26,250
Vietnam	16,771	17,275	17,400	17,700
Thailand	9,300	9,400	9,500	9,600
Burma	9,330	9,350	9,400	9,475
Philippines	8,400	8,750	8,900	9,105
Japan	9,450	9,000	9,000	9,000
Brazil	7,956	7,956	7,958	8,000
Korea, South	4,986	5,000	5,100	5,100
United States	3,846	3,676	3,889	3,969
Egypt	2,856	3,015	3,150	3,275
Iran	3,019	3,050	3,075	3,100
EU	2,190	2,207	2,215	2,190
Korea, North	2,000	1,837	1,500	1,950
Taiwan	1,315	1,265	1,150	1,150
South Africa	531	525	550	600
Others	40,788	42,168	41,696	42,607
WORLD TOTAL	398,337	396,348	403,937	408,661

Units in thousand metric tons
Source: USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Aug 2002

The world rice consumption has increased for the last three years. This upward trend is predicted to continue in 2001/02, when the world will consume up to 405.856 million metric tons of rice. This increase is significant, comparing to a mere 388.792 million metric tons in 1998/99. China, the world's most populous country, consumes the most rice. In general, rice consumption has increased in every country from year to year. Thailand consumes 9.9 million metric tons in 2000/01 and is predicted to increase the consumption to approximately 10 million metric tons in 2001/02. In conjuction with the world's rising consumption level, the world's rice production will also expand in order to meet this higher demand.