Commodity Spotlight: Rice
Commodity spotlight is designed to provide background information about commodities like Rice, Maize, Sesame and Sorghum produced and consumed in West Africa.
Overview
Nearly 535 million metric tonnes of rice is produced globally per year. Out of over 80 countries that produce rice, China is the world’s leading paddy rice producer with a production volume of over 146 million metric tonnes, followed by India, 107 million metric tonnes; Vietnam, 28.4 million metric tonnes and Thailand, 20.4 million metric tonnes.
In Africa, Nigeria is the largest producer of rice producing 8 million million metric tonnes of rice annually out of the 14.6 million million metric tonnes produced in the whole of Africa.
Rice is one of the most popular products in Nigeria and it’s an inseparable part of the diet for almost every Nigeria which makes it a very profitable business to venture in.
Economics
Global purchases of imported rice totaled an estimated US$24.7 billion in 2018 with top 15 countries (topped by China with US$1.6 billion) purchasing 49.4% of all rice imported.
The overall value of rice imports for all buyer countries fell by an average -0.4% since 2014 when worldwide rice purchases were valued at $24.8 billion. Year after year, global rice imports appreciate by 4.8% from 2017 to 2018. Asian countries consumed the highest dollar worth of imported rice during 2018 with purchases valued at $11.7 billion or 47.2% of the global total. In second place were African importers at 25.5%. The fastest-growing market for rice since 2014 in Africa is Ivory Coast (up 57.5%). Other countries with significant growth across the globe include: Indonesia (up 167.2%), Philippines (up 65.1%) and Iraq (up 48.3%).
In 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1 billion on rice consumption with Thailand and India being the major exporter of rice to Nigeria. However, the importation of rice has met a huge decline due to the importation bill passed by the current administration.
Rice paddy production in Nigeria increased from 353,000 metric tonnes in 1968 to 9.86 million metric tonnes in 2017 growing at an average annual rate of 9.76% and continually increasing. This continual increase in production of rice has helped Nigeria to overtake Egypt as the largest producer of Rice in Africa producing 4 million metric tonnes annually. This can be said to be influenced by the heavy rainfall experienced in Nigeria.
Rice area and production
Rice can be grown anywhere, that is, in all the geographical zones of Nigeria depending on the variety with major cultivation areas including Sokoto, Ogun, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Niger, Kogi and the rest of the states in the country. The area of land used for rice cultivation is relatively minute, at about 2 million hectares when survey puts it that Nigeria has the potential of cultivating about 5 million hectares.
Rice grows best in lands that are fertile and are high in water retention capacity; lands that are swampy or contains organic matter like loamy soil. Swampy lands save you the capital and stress of irrigation. Although rice can be planted in both upland dry condition and lowland swamp and irrigated, but it has been shown that rice produces more on lowland swamp or irrigated soil.
The planting time for the forest area and the savannah area differs a little. In the forest area, rice is planted in mid-March to mid-April, after 3 good spots of rain. In the savannah area, rice is planted in mid-May to Mid-June. The cultivated rice plant is an annual grass that grows to about 1.2 metres (4 feet) in height. The leaves are long and flattened, and its panicle, or inflorescence, is made up of spikelets bearing flowers that produce the fruit, or grain. The seeds are sown in prepared beds, and are transplanted to a field or paddy when the seedlings are 25–50 days old. The harvested rice kernel is known as paddy or rice and is enclosed by the hull, or husk and depending on the variety, a rice crop usually reaches maturity at around 105–150 days after crop establishment.
Consumption and other uses
Rice can be consumed in various forms; it can be consumed as flour products such as rice flour. Rice flour is commonly used in countries where rice is the staple food to make other food products. In other countries, it can be used as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour.
Rice is also a major source of carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins which provides energy for the body. In most West African countries, it can be consumed as Fried rice and Jollof Rice. It can also be cooked and mashed into Tuwo Shinkafa (rice fufu) which is a popular meal by the Northerners.
Rice can be made into snacks such as Rice Krispies, fried stuffed rice balls, rice cakes and is also used to produce starch which can be used for industrial purposes. The starch serves as a stiffener for washed clothes.
