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Rice represents 20 percent of the world's per capita caloric consumption. More than 50 percent of the world's population is dependent upon rice for 80 percent of its diet.
Rice is cultivated in more than 100 countries and on every continent except Antarctica - from sea level to an altitude of 3,000 meters. To keep pace with demand, technological advances in production are occurring rapidly. However, much of the world's rice crop is still dependent upon annual rainfall patterns, such as occur during the Asian monsoon season. Changes in world weather patterns can easily alter the delicate balance between world supply and demand, dramatically affecting world rice trade patterns and price levels.
World rice trade represents only about 5 percent of world consumption. However, this relatively small amount traded (worth roughly $5.0 billion annually) has a major impact on world economic and political policies.
Well over a hundred countries in the world import rice annually. Trade in rice is stratified according to rice types. More than three-fourths of the total rice traded in the world is long grain (Indica) rice. Most of the remainder is medium or short grain (Japonica) rice. About two-and-one-half-million tons of aromatic rice, and up to 100,000 tons of glutinous rice, are traded annually. For exporting nations, meeting market needs entails supplying the type, form, class and quality of rice that satisfy local taste preferences.
The United States is unique as a major exporter of all rice types. The U.S. rice industry is able to provide rice in whatever form desired (i.e. brown, milled, parboiled) and according to the shipment basis required (packaged, bagged, bulk, destination bagging, f.a.s., f.o.b., c.i.f., etc.). Quality standards for USA rice are closely adhered to and, in addition, are continually reviewed and updated. Thus the U.S. rice industry offers product diversity, availability, reliability, and service unsurpassed in the world. |
The properties of rice -- nutrition, neutral flavor, non-allergenic, digestibility and functionality (extrusion, puffing, crisping, freezing and thawing) -- make it a highly desirable ingredient in processed foods. While rice stands apart from most grains because it is generally consumed in its kernel form, its properties are ideal components in the manufacturing of cereals, snack foods, baby foods, frozen dinners, sauce thickeners and other products. Each part of the rice grain has many uses:
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- RICE BRAN - The outer layer on brown rice. Rice bran, which gives brown rice its color and nutty flavor, is an excellent source of thiamin, niacin, vitamin B-6, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and fiber. It is used as an ingredient in cereals and mixes, and in vitamin concentrates. Non-food grades of rice bran are used to feed livestock.
- RICE HULL - The outer covering of the rice kernel, sometimes called the husk. Though the hull is inedible, normally it is not discarded. Hulls are used as fuel in power plants and rice mills, as mulch, in abrasives and other products.
- RICE BRAN OIL - Rice bran oil is a high quality cooking oil, which has been extracted from rice bran. Studies show it is effective in reducing cholesterol in the blood.
- BREWERS RICE - The smallest size of broken rice fragments, generally less than 1/4 length of a whole kernel. It is used in the process of brewing beer and other fermented products.
- RICE FLOUR - Rice flours are extruded to produce rice pasta, chips and other snacks, as well as breakfast cereals. It is nonallergenic so it is particularly valuable as a wheat flour substitute to persons who are allergic to gluten and wheat flour products.
- ENRICHED RICE - Rice that has the nutrients replaced which were lost through the milling process.
- BROKEN KERNELS - Kernels of rice which are less than 3/4 length of the whole kernels. Used to make various products including rice flour and pet food
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| Cultivation of Rice |
Rice farming in America has become a precise science, a world of specialized equipment, lasers and computers. The modern process of rice cultivation includes:
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- Land planes and other specialized equipment to scrape and shift the soil to level the land, and prepare an ideal seed bed.
- Heavy equipment that makes light work of building even fields that gently slope, enabling uniform flooding and controlled draining.
- Laser guidance systems to aid in precision field leveling and help determine where water control levees will be placed.
Acres of seeds are quickly planted to an exact depth by grain drills, or cast over dry or flooded fields by airplane.
- Gravity guides fresh water, pumped from deep wells, nearby rivers, canals or reservoirs to provide a constant water depth on the field of 2 to 3 inches during the growing season.
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- Fertilizers and crop protectants are evenly applied from the air utilizing modern global positioning (GPS) technology to ensure a consistent and healthy crop.
Improved cultural practices to both enhance grain quality and uniformity, and to sustain and conserve the environment.
- When the rice is mature, the water is drained from the fields. Sophisticated combines cut the rice, separating the grain from the stalk, and funnel it into trucks for transporting to dryers. At large commercial installations or small drying facilities on the farm, forced warm, dry air gradually removes moisture from the grain to a level suitable for storage and ready for milling.
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