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World's top 20 rice producing nations
One of the reasons why food prices are increasing all across the world is the shortfall in agricultural output.
With wild fires destroying much of Russia's production, floods wreaking havoc in Australia and the United States unable to keep output up, prices are at an all-time high.
So, let us see which countries are producing how much when it comes to rice and paddy, based on Food and Agriculture Organisation data.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
India
Production (metric tonne): 1,337 million
World ranking: 2
From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is self-sufficient in grain production and also has a substantial reserve.
The progress made by agriculture in the last four decades has been one of the biggest success stories of free India.
Agriculture and allied activities constitute the single largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product, almost 33 per cent of it.
Agriculture is the means of livelihood of about two-thirds of the work force in the country.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
China
Production (metric tonne): 1,966 million
World ranking: 1
Rice production in China is an important part of the national economy.
China is the world's largest producer of rice, and the crop makes up a little less than half of the country's total grain output.
China accounts for 26 per cent of all world rice production.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Indonesia
Production (metric tonne): 643.989 million
World ranking: 3
In the 1970s, Indonesia was a major rice importer, but by 1985 self-sufficiency had been achieved after six years of annual growth rates in excess of seven per cent per year.
From 1968 to 1989, annual rice production had increased from 12 million to 29 million tonnes, and yields had increased from 2.14 tonnes of padi (wet rice growing) per hectare to 4.23 tonnes per hectare.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Bangladesh
Production (metric tonne): 477.240 million
World ranking: 4
The dominant food crop of Bangladesh is rice, accounting for about 75 per cent of agricultural land use (and 28 per cent of GDP).
Rice production increased every year in the 1980s (through 1987) except 1981, but the annual increases have generally been modest, barely keeping pace with the population.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Vietnam
Production (metric tonne): 388.955 million
World ranking: 5
Rice production in Vietnam in the Mekong and Red River deltas is important to the food supply in the country and national economy.
The Mekong Delta is the heart of the rice producing region of the country where water, boats, houses and markets coexist to produce a generous harvest of rice.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Myanmar
Production (metric tonne): 326.820 million
World ranking: 6
Rice is the most important agricultural commodity of Myanmar.
The crop is cultivated along the river valleys, coastal areas and in the Irrawaddy River delta.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Thailand
Production (metric tonne): 314.629 million
World ranking: 7
Thailand has a strong tradition of rice production. It has the fifth-largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world.
The most produced strain of rice in Thailand is jasmine rice, which is a higher quality type of rice.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
The Philippines
Production (metric tonne): 162.664 million
World ranking: 8
Rice is the most important food crop, a staple food in most of the country.
It is produced extensively in Luzon, the Western Visayas, Southern Mindanao and Central Mindanao.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Brazil
Production (metric tonne): 126.518 million
World ranking: 9
There are two main - and very different - areas of rice production in Brazil: the older, well-established irrigated areas of the south and the newer non-irrigated (ie "upland") areas of the center-west and northeast.
The main producing states that comprise Brazil's southern rice area are Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, which produce about 47 and eight per cent of the country's total rice production, respectively.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Japan
Production (metric tonne): 105.925 million
World ranking: 10
The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. The 4.63 million hectares under cultivation in 2008 has shrunk, with most farmers over 65.
However, the land is intensively cultivated. Paddy fields occupy much of the countryside, whether on the alluvial plains, the terraced slopes, or the swampland and coastal bays.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Pakistan
Production (metric tonne): 103.245 million
World ranking: 11
Most of these crops are grown in the fertile Sindh and Punjab region with millions of farmers relying on rice cultivation as their major source of employment.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
The United States
Production (metric tonne): 9.972 million
World ranking: 12
More than 100 varieties of rice are commercially produced primarily in six states (Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and California) in the US.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Cambodia
Production (metric tonne): 7.586 million
World ranking: 13
Cambodia has two rice crops each year, a monsoon-season crop (long-cycle) and a dry-season crop.
The major monsoon crop is planted in late May through July, when the first rains of the monsoon season begin to inundate and soften the land.
Rice shoots are transplanted from late June through September. The main harvest is usually gathered six months later, in December.
The dry-season crop is smaller, and it takes less time to grow (three months from planting to harvest).
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Egypt
Production (metric tonne): 7.500 million
World ranking: 14
Today, rice production takes place only in the Lower Valley of the Nile River.
Due to the intrusion of sea-water, about 25 to 30 per cent of the land in the lower Nile Valley is affected by different degrees of salinity.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
South Korea
Production (metric tonne): 7.023 million
World ranking: 15
Rice production in South Korea is important to the food supply in the country, with rice being a common part of the Korean diet.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Nepal
Production (metric tonne): 4.523 million
World ranking: 16
Rice is planted in almost all districts. The main rice-cropping season takes place during the rainy season. In some place a second rice crop is planted.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Madagascar
Production (metric tonne): 4.005 million
World ranking: 17
Madagascar routinely suffers from food shortages, a situation only exacerbated by the current spike in grain prices.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Sri Lanka
Production (metric tonne): 3.652 million
World ranking: 18
Rice is the staple food of the inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Paddy crops is cultivated as a wetland crop in all the districts.
The total land devoted for paddy is estimated to be about 708,000 hectares at present.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Nigeria
Production (metric tonne): 3.402 million
World ranking: 19
Rice is an increasingly important crop in Nigeria. It is relatively easy to produce and is grown for sale and for home consumption.
In some areas there is a long tradition of rice growing, but for many, rice has been considered a luxury food for special occasions only.
With the increased availability of rice, it has become part of the everyday diet of many in Nigeria.
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World's top 20 rice producing nations
Peru
Production (metric tonne): 2.989 million
World ranking: 20
In Peru, rice consumption is higher than in other countries in Latin America. It is estimated at about 50 kg of milled rice per person annually.