Asian countries in the global rice market

Abstract

Rice is an important Asian commodity, a region with diverse production systems and consumption patterns. With an increasing population leading to an increase in demand, the main drivers which determine rice production need to be identified. The study thus attempts to identify and assess the key drivers of rice production and the future prospects in major rice producing countries within the region using simple and stepwise multiple linear regression. In most of the countries, rice production was found to be determined by indicators such as yield, country consumption and country population, each accounting for about 90 percent of variation in rice production. Among the mentioned indicators, country population should be given the most weight to as majority of rice is consumed by humans, thus validating the need to address the necessity to enhance rice production that commensurate with an increasing population.