As the official told of IRNA news agency, the Iranian farmers produced 2.6 million tons of rice during the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20) and I.R. Iran is ranked as the 28th rice production country in the world in terms of total grain production and cultivation area (Based on the FAO statitics), according to Director-General of the Agriculture Ministry’s Grains and Essential Goods Department, Faramak Aziz-Karimisaid.
He also said: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Annual reports indicated that about 510 million tons of white rice in 167 acreage Millions of hectares are produced. According to this statistics, approximately 90% of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in Asia.
Director-General of the Agriculture Ministry’s Grains and Essential Goods Department, Faramak Aziz-Karimisaid.: China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are the largest producers of rice in the world. According to world trade statistics, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States are the top five rice exporters in the world rice trade market.
Aziz Karimi stated: According to the available statistics, Iran produced 2.6 million tons of rice during the past Iranian calendar year of 1399.
He pointed out that the most rice growing area at coutry scale are: 32% Mazandaran province, 26% Guilan, 18% Khuzestan, 15% Golestan and 8% to other provinces of the country.
He also said: The main rice growing area (total paddy fields) are: Guilan with 220 thousand hectares, Mazandaran with 214 thousand hectares, Golestan with 100 thousand hectares, Khuzestan with 180 thousand hectares.
The Statistical Center of Iran estimates that Iranians consume approximately 35 kilograms of rice per person each year. That would mean a domestic demand of nearly three million tons for a country of 83 million people. Therefore, the country self-sufficiency for white rice is about 85%.
Aziz Karimi pointed out that due to problems in the foreign rice market, the price of Iranian rice has also fluctuated.