The Philippines remains the top importer of rice globally this year, a United States Department of Agriculture report said.

Based on the USDA’s Economic Research Service rice outlook on 17 January, the country is currently estimated to have imported 3.8 million metric tons of rice this year.

“The Philippines is projected to remain the number one global rice importer — taking a record 3.8 million tons — in 2024, followed by China, Indonesia, the European Union, Nigeria, and Iraq.”

The USDA cited the Philippines’ importation of rice as of 11 January as 56,090.63 MT, supplied mainly by Vietnam.

An increase in rice imports is expected in Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, South Korea, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yemen.

“On an annual basis, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, North Korea, Singapore, Tanzania, Togo, and Vietnam account for the bulk of the projected decline in global rice imports in 2024,” the report read.

Meanwhile, rice imports for this month are predicted to be lowered in China, Ethiopia, and Madagascar but increased in Algeria, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

The USDA forecasted that the global rice trade for this year is 52.2 million tons, which is 223,000 tons less than last year's trade.