Among the following, which one is the largest exporter of rice in the world in the last five years?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) India
India has been the world's largest rice exporter every year since 2012, so it was the largest in the five years before the 2019 exam. China grows the most rice but is a minor exporter; Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) rank below India.
- ✓ (b) USDA's Economic Research Service records India as the largest global rice exporter since 2012, shipping more than the next three largest exporters combined in recent years.
- ✗ (d) Vietnam is among the next largest exporters, after Thailand, but behind India.
- ✗ (a) China is the largest rice producer, but most of its crop is eaten at home and it exports much less than India.
- ✗ (c) Myanmar (Burma) is a smaller exporter than India, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Remember · India has been the world's top rice exporter since 2012; then Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan. China is the top producer but not a leading exporter.
Sources
- USDA Economic Research Service: Rice Sector at a Glance, Global Rice Trade ↗ “Since 2012, India has been the largest global rice exporter, currently shipping more rice annually than the combined shipments of the next three largest exporters. … The next largest rice exporters are Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, the United States, China, Burma, and Cambodia”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·