India is self dependent in production of rice
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Rice is grown in many regions across India. For about 65% of the people living in India, rice is a staple food for them. Rice is essential to life in India. It is a part of nearly every meal, and it is grown on a majority of the rural farms.
Rice is one of the important cereal food crop of India. Rice contributes about 43% of total food grain production and 46% of total cereal production in the country. It continues to play vital role in the national exports. The percentage share of rice in total national export was 4.5% during 1998-99. The percentage share of agriculture export in total national export was 18.25, whereas the percentage share of rice export in total agriculture export was 24.62 during 1998-99. Thus, rice export contributes nearly 25% of total agriculture export from the country.
Some important facts about rice in Indian Scenario are as:
• Agriculture is the main source of income for families in India. Farms cover over half the land and almost three-quarters of that land is used to grow the two major grains: rice and wheat.
• India is the second leading producer of rice in the entire world, preceded only by China.
• India’s annual rice production is around 85-90 million tons. Annual consumption is around 85 million tons.
• In India, Rice is cultivated in both seasons – Winter and Summer.
• West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Karnataka and Haryana are the major producing states. More than 50% of total production comes from the first four states.
• Food Corporation of India purchases around 20 to 25% of the total rice production in the country both under levy from the rice mills and directly in the form of paddy from the farmers at Minimum Support Prices announced by the Govt.
• More than 4000 varieties of rice are grown in India.
• India is the world’s largest exporter of Basmati rice to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East Countries, Europe, and the United States.
• India has the potential to export one million tons of Basmati rice.
• Major destinations for Indian non-basmati, white/parboiled rice are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and other African countries.
Types and Forms of Rice:
Worldwide, there are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice. Often times, rice is categorized by its size as being either short grain, medium grain or long grain. Short grain, which has the highest starch content, makes the stickiest rice, while long grain is lighter and tends to remain separate when cooked. The qualities of medium grain fall between the other two types. Another way that rice is classified is according to the degree of milling that it undergoes. This is what makes a brown rice different than white rice. Thus, the primary differences in different varieties of rice are their cooking characteristics, shapes and even colors and in some cases, a subtle flavor difference. The influx of convenience foods has brought consumers rice in bags, packets and cartons. Rice can be purchased cooked or uncooked, packed, dehydrated and also frozen. To meet the many special requirements of packaged foods, rice undergoes varying degrees of processing, including regular-milled, parboiled, precooked, and brown.
Export of Rice from India:
Worldwide, India stands first in rice area and second in rice production, after China. It contributes 21.5 percent of global rice production. Within the country, rice occupies one-quarter of the total cropped area, contributes about 40 to 43 percent of total food grain production and continues to play a vital role in the national food and livelihood security system. However, India did not become a major rice exporting country for a long time. Its share in world rice trade, mainly in the form of small-volume exports of highly prized basmati rice, was insignificant (5 percent). It was not until the mid-1980s that the quantum of export started to grow, from 110 000 tonnes in 1978/79 to 890 613 tonnes in 1994/95 and to a record 5.5 million tonnes in 1995/96, second only to Thailand (at 5.9 million tonnes).
Among the exporting countries, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Pakistan are the major countries exporting rice in sizeable quantity.
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Source by Parkash Trading