Rice: Portugal is the fourth largest producer and largest consumer in Europe

Portugal ranks fourth in the European Union (EU) as a rice producer, behind Italy, Spain and Greece, and is the European country with the highest per capita consumption of this cereal, around 18 kg/year, four times higher than the European average . These are the conclusions of the document “Agricultural Campaign 2023” developed by COTArroz – Rice Skills Center. In 2023, in Portugal, around 171,000 tons of paddy rice were produced, which corresponds to an increase of around 10% compared to the previous campaign. “The increase in production is mainly related to the increase in sown area and the slight increase in crop productivity”, explains the report. “In this context, in 2010, Carolino rice had a market share of 38.3%, needle rice 49.4%, steamed rice 7.9% and basmati 2.6%. Currently, with regard to the quantity of rice consumed in the national market, needle rice has the largest market share with 50.4%, followed by carolina rice with 18.1%, basmati rice with 13 .4%, and steamed ...