Rice industry statistics span farm acreage, harvested area, trade, farmer prices, and food-safety measurements. The figures below focus on U.S. USDA records using August–July marketing or crop years, plus FDA estimates and observations for rice and rice products; they are not global rice totals.
Key Rice Industry Statistics
These highlights cover the most useful rice industry figures across production, trade, prices, and safety:
- U.S. all-rice planted area was 3.150 million acres in the 2016/17 marketing year, covering the United States and all rice classes.
- U.S. all-rice planted area was 2.219 million acres in the 2022/23 marketing year, the lowest planted-area observation in the supplied 2016/17–2024/25 series.
- U.S. harvested area was 2.825 million acres in the 2023/24 marketing year, for all rice in the United States.
- Arkansas long-grain rice area planted was 1.410 million acres in the 2016 crop year, measured on the state’s August–July crop-year basis.
- Arkansas long-grain rice area planted was 1.180 million acres in the 2025 crop year, a USDA dataset observation rather than a forecast label.
- U.S. rice exports totaled 2,353.428 thousand metric tons in the 1977/78 crop year, on an August–July basis.
- U.S. regular-milled white-rice exports were 1,315.226 thousand metric tons in 1977/78, under USDA’s export classification.
- U.S. parboiled-rice exports were 627.073 thousand metric tons in 1978/79, also reported by USDA.
- The U.S. average farmer price for rough rice was $17.90 per hundredweight in August 2008, for all classes of rough rice.
- The U.S. average farmer price for rough rice was $19.20 per hundredweight in August 2022, which is a farm price rather than a retail price.
- FDA estimated mean inorganic arsenic at 92 ppb in white rice, based on sampled rice products in its assessment.
- FDA estimated mean inorganic arsenic at 154 ppb in brown rice, based on sampled rice products in its assessment.
- FDA’s predicted lifetime lung-and-bladder cancer risk was 39 cases per million people, for per-capita exposure to all rice grain and rice products in its revised March 2016 model.
- FDA’s estimated U.S. lifetime background risk for combined lung and bladder cancer was 90,000 cases per million, a comparison estimate rather than rice-attributable risk.
- Eliminating rice during ages 0–6 could potentially reduce modeled lifetime rice-arsenic cancer risk by approximately 23%, according to an FDA scenario estimate.
- Cooking rice with 6–10 parts water to 1 part rice can reduce inorganic arsenic by 40%–60%, depending on rice type, according to FDA guidance.
- Excess-water cooking can reduce folate, iron, niacin, and thiamine in enriched polished and parboiled rice by 50%–70%, according to FDA guidance.
Contents
- U.S. rice acreage and harvest trends
- Rice production data by area and class
- Rice supply, use, and stocks data
- U.S. rice trade and export mix
- Rice farmer price statistics
- Rice safety and cooking statistics
U.S. Rice Industry Acreage and Harvest Trends
USDA acreage records use marketing or crop years running August through July. Planted area describes land seeded to rice, while harvested area describes acreage actually harvested; neither measure is production weight.
| Marketing year | Planted area, million acres | Harvested area, million acres |
|---|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 3.150 | 3.097 |
| 2017/18 | 2.463 | 2.374 |
| 2018/19 | 2.945 | 2.909 |
| 2019/20 | 2.551 | 2.475 |
| 2020/21 | 3.033 | 2.978 |
| 2021/22 | 2.531 | 2.478 |
| 2022/23 | 2.219 | 2.167 |
| 2023/24 | 2.895 | 2.825 |
Source: U.S. supply, disappearance, and stocks. The table reports U.S. all-rice acreage, not global production or harvested output weight.
The series shows changing U.S. planted and harvested acreage rather than a uniform year-to-year path. The largest listed planted-area figure is 3.150 million acres in 2016/17, while the smallest is 2.219 million acres in 2022/23.
Arkansas provides a more specific state and class view. USDA reports long-grain rice planted area of 1.410 million acres in 2016, 955 thousand acres in 2019, 1.095 million acres in 2021, and 1.180 million acres in 2025.
Source: U.S. rice acreage, production, and yield. The Arkansas observations use crop years and long-grain rice, so they should not be treated as all-U.S. all-class acreage.
Rice Production Statistics by U.S. Area and Class
Production analysis needs the measure named in the table. The USDA all-rice records here quantify planted and harvested acreage, while the Arkansas records narrow the geography and rice class to long-grain rice.
- In 2016/17, the United States planted 3.150 million acres of all rice and harvested 3.097 million acres.
- In 2017/18, U.S. harvested area was 2.374 million acres for all rice.
- In 2018/19, U.S. harvested area was 2.909 million acres for all rice.
- In 2019/20, U.S. harvested area was 2.475 million acres for all rice.
- In 2020/21, U.S. harvested area was 2.978 million acres for all rice.
- In 2021/22, U.S. harvested area was 2.478 million acres for all rice.
- In 2022/23, U.S. harvested area was 2.167 million acres for all rice.
- In 2023/24, U.S. harvested area was 2.825 million acres for all rice.
Source: U.S. supply, disappearance, and stocks. These are acreage observations; the supplied facts do not provide a comparable production-weight series for each year.
The class-specific Arkansas series records 955 thousand acres in 2019, compared with 1.180 million acres in 2025. The 2025 entry is identified as a USDA dataset observation and is not labeled as a forecast.
Rice Supply, Use, and Stocks Data
Supply-and-use tables organize the industry around production, stocks, disappearance, and prices, but the supplied quantified records for this section are acreage observations. That distinction matters because acreage is not equivalent to harvested output, consumption, or inventory.
The USDA table records these all-rice planted-area observations:
- 3.150 million acres in 2016/17.
- 2.463 million acres in 2017/18.
- 2.945 million acres in 2018/19.
- 2.551 million acres in 2019/20.
- 3.033 million acres in 2020/21.
- 2.531 million acres in 2021/22.
- 2.219 million acres in 2022/23.
- 2.919 million acres in 2024/25.
Source: U.S. supply, disappearance, and stocks. The 2024/25 value is the marketing-year record in the downloaded table, and the table uses an August–July marketing year.
Because the values above describe planted area, they cannot by themselves establish how much rice entered the food system, how much was exported, or how much remained in stocks. Readers comparing supply, use, and inventory should keep those measures separate from acreage.
U.S. Rice Trade Statistics and Export Mix
USDA export records use crop years from August through July and classify exports by rice type. The available trade observations are historical U.S. figures, not current global trade totals.
| Rice export type | 1977/78, thousand metric tons | 1978/79, thousand metric tons |
|---|---|---|
| Total rice exports | 2,353.428 | 2,504.008 |
| Regular-milled white rice | 1,315.226 | 1,416.623 |
| Brown rice | 264.464 | 313.741 |
| Parboiled rice | 502.536 | 627.073 |
| Broken rice | 87.106 | Not supplied |
| Rough rice | 184.096 | Not supplied |
Source: U.S. rice exports by type and top 10 U.S. rice export markets. “Not supplied” indicates that the provided facts do not include a 1978/79 value for that type.
Total exports were 2,353.428 thousand metric tons in 1977/78 and 2,504.008 thousand metric tons in 1978/79. Regular-milled white rice was reported at 1,315.226 thousand metric tons in 1977/78 and 1,416.623 thousand metric tons in 1978/79, while parboiled rice was 502.536 and 627.073 thousand metric tons, respectively.
The categories are USDA’s classifications. They should not be combined with the acreage measures above without a separately defined conversion or production dataset.
Rice Farmer Price Statistics in the United States
Farmer prices measure what producers receive, not what consumers pay at retail. USDA reports the following monthly U.S. average prices for all classes of rough rice in dollars per hundredweight.
| Month | Average farmer price, dollars per hundredweight |
|---|---|
| August 2006 | 8.89 |
| August 2007 | 10.10 |
| August 2008 | 17.90 |
| August 2009 | 14.90 |
| August 2010 | 11.70 |
| August 2011 | 13.60 |
| August 2012 | 14.80 |
| August 2022 | 19.20 |
Source: U.S. rough and milled rice prices, monthly and marketing year. These are monthly prices received by farmers for rough rice, not retail or consumer prices.
The supplied observations include $8.89 per hundredweight in August 2006, $17.90 in August 2008, and $19.20 in August 2022. The series also includes $14.90 in August 2009, $11.70 in August 2010, $13.60 in August 2011, and $14.80 in August 2012.
Rice Safety and Cooking Statistics
FDA’s rice safety figures combine laboratory observations, sampled-product means, and modeled risk estimates. They should not be read as a universal concentration for every product or as observed cancer incidence.
| Product or estimate | FDA figure | Definition and period |
|---|---|---|
| White rice | 92 ppb | Mean inorganic arsenic in sampled products; assessment using surveys through the 2014–2016 revision |
| Brown rice | 154 ppb | Mean inorganic arsenic in sampled products; assessment using surveys through the 2014–2016 revision |
| Dry infant brown-rice cereal | 119 ppb | Mean inorganic arsenic in sampled products |
| Dry infant white-rice cereal | 104 ppb | Mean inorganic arsenic in sampled products |
| Rice-grain survey range | 23–249 ppb | Inorganic arsenic across categories in the 2011–2013 FDA survey |
Sources: Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products Risk Assessment Report (Revised March 2016) and What You Can Do to Limit Exposure to Arsenic. FDA also reported that inorganic arsenic represented 12%–100% of total arsenic in individual rice samples, a sample-dependent speciation range.
FDA’s revised March 2016 risk assessment estimated 39 predicted lung-and-bladder cancer cases per million people from lifetime per-capita exposure to all rice grain and rice products, with a 90% confidence interval of 0–79. This is a model-based estimate, compared with an estimated U.S. lifetime background risk of 90,000 combined lung-and-bladder cancer cases per million; the latter is not rice-attributable risk.
The same FDA assessment estimated that eliminating rice during infancy could potentially reduce modeled lifetime rice-arsenic cancer risk by approximately 6%, while eliminating rice during ages 0–6 could potentially reduce it by approximately 23%. Both figures are scenario estimates, not results from an intervention trial.
FDA consumer guidance says cooking rice like pasta with 6–10 parts water to 1 part rice can reduce inorganic arsenic by 40%–60%, depending on rice type. The guidance also says this excess-water method can reduce folate, iron, niacin, and thiamine in enriched polished and parboiled rice by 50%–70%, so arsenic reduction and nutrient retention are competing considerations in the specified cooking method.
The concentration, risk, and cooking figures apply to their stated samples, models, and methods. They should not be generalized beyond the named rice products, populations, survey periods, or cooking conditions.