• Rice has been feeding mankind for more than 5,000 years.
• Rice helps feed two-thirds of the world’s population.
• Nearly Half of the world’s population eats rice as part of their staple diet and demand is expected to grow by 50% by 2030.
• The world rice production has increased more than four times from 150.821 million tons in 1960 to approximately 645 million tons with over 114 countries growing rice.
• Asian farmers produce about 90% of the total, with two countries, China & India, growing more than half the total crop.
• There are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice.
• However, only around 10% are grown commercially.
• Most of the world’s rice is consumed in the area in which it is grown, just 6% traded internationally.
• The average person in UK eats 10.3 kg of rice each year compared with 50-700 kg in some parts of Asia