The rice production and consumption pattern in the major rice producing and consuming countries are set to change drastically.

By 2015, the global rice-eating population is projected to consume over 50 million MT more than it did in 2005. Significant increases are expected in South and South- East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

World’s largest proportional increase in rice consumption in the next 10 years will be in Africa. The growth rate in the South and South East Asian countries will slow down. But rice production and consumption will fall in the East Asian countries, says a study by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila.