Dried Grains and Rice Market Size, Share, Growth, and Industry Analysis, By Type (Rough (Unmilled Rice), Parboiled Rice, Brown Rice, Fully Milled (White) Rice, Dried Beans, Chickpeas, Others), By Application (Household, Retails, Catering, Food Industrial, Others), and Regional Forecast to 2032

Last Updated: 08 January 2025

DRIED GRAINS AND RICE MARKET OVERVIEW

The global dried grains and rice market size expanded rapidly XX in 2023 and is projected to grow substantially XX by 2032, exhibiting a prodigious CAGR XX during the forecast period.

Dried grains and rice are a part of a vast and common food group category that can be enjoyed as staple foods and rice varieties and dried legumes. These products are popular in the diets of people in many countries because they are packaged well, are easily processed and have health constructive values. The market is driven by the growth and rising consciousness of health conscious consumer who is willing to spend progressively more for better and cheaper food that is not deleterious to their health and the development in the agricultural techniques and innovations, pertaining to the rearing of animals for food production. Apart from the basic types of rice, primary ones including white rice, brown rice, parboiled rice, there are diversification to new grains such as quinoa and chickpeas. These grains are highly considered since they are relatively richer in protein and nutrients. Flows of dried grains and rice are affected by times of production, climatic factors, and altering policies of agriculture. Besides, sociocultural factors such as urbanization, shift consumer diets and population growth continue to influence the growth of the market. Due to the expanding market of eating healthy food products and an increasing position of plant-based and gluten-free food products around the globe, types of dried grains and rice and their productions are becoming diversified.

GLOBAL CRISES IMPACTING DRIED GRAINS AND RICE MARKETCOVID-19 IMPACT

Dried Grains and Rice Market Had a Negative Effect Due to Supply Chain Disruption During COVID-19 Pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with the market experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. The sudden market growth reflected by the rise in CAGR is attributable to the market’s growth and demand returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the dried grains and rice market share constraining the supply chain, logistics and labour force. production plants remained closed or operated under duress due to lockdowns or restrictions and transport disruption affected some venues of supply. These disruptions impacted on supply of essential goods and especially so in markets where most of the goods were imported. The same is true for the world economy which deteriorated over the time and played a role in depreciation of customers’ purchasing capacity along with changing customer buying trends. Nevertheless, the sector that was most impacted by reduced demand for rice and legumes was the foodservice organizations such as restaurants or catering services. Further, the pandemic provided scarcity for certain grains and so the prices have surged making it hard for consumers to fund their diet. Though there was a little bit maturity in the retail market due to purchasing of canned foods and other foods that do not go bad easily, the market was greatly affected by the issues of endangerment of food and shutting down of the international borders. However, these failures prevailed as new economies started emerging, but the long-term effects to the market, customers, and supply are evident as drivers to the market trends for the market.

LATEST TREND

"Increased Consumer Preference for Health-Conscious and Plant-Based Alternatives Drive Market Growth"

It was found that the overwhelming demand for dried grains and rice is the aspect of the product that has the most consumer awareness pertaining to health and using plant ingredients. With such health consciousness among the consumers, they are using brown rice, quinoa and chickpeas, which contain triple the fiber and protein and other necessary nutrients than the traditional white rice. This shift is especially driven by enhanced appreciation of the positive impacts of plant-based diets to human health. Enhanced consumer awareness on vegan food products, gluten-free products and low glycemic products has prompted many new product innovations in the market. To fill this need, manufacturers are producing whole grain, organic, and non-GMO dried rice and legumes with the awareness health-conscious consumers. Further, the improvement of the farming techniques and utilization of sustainable packaging materials is emerging steadily in relation to the growing popularity of the environmental management. It is for this reason that new and evolving consumers’ preferences for grains that are healthy and sourced from sustainable means are seen to influence the dried grains and rice market in the future with potential for brands.

DRIED GRAINS AND RICE MARKET SEGMENTATION

BY TYPE

Based on type, the global market can be categorized into Rough (Unmilled Rice), Parboiled Rice, Brown Rice, Fully Milled (White) Rice, Dried Beans, Chickpeas, Others

• Rough (Unmilled) Rice: It is the kind of rice that has not been developed and therefore still contains the husk. It is not ready for consumption without being milled to remove outer husk.
•  Parboiled Rice: This is a type of rice that is partially cooked with the husk it is less sticky as that which is purely white rice but has all the nutritional values of a white rice. It loses less of the rice’s vitamins and minerals.
•  Brown Rice: A kind of rice which is refined only up to the outer husk and which still retains the bran and the germ layers and, therefore has more fiber and nutrients than white rice.
•  Fully Milled (White) Rice: This rice is milled to the hull, which removes the bran and germ layers and produces a bright white grain, long shelf-life rice with less nutritional value.
•  Dried Beans: These include; Kidney beans, black beans and lentils all of which are protein and fiber foods that can be used in stews, soups and salads.
•  Chickpeas: A sort of pulse well-known in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, as a source of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
•  Others: This covers a wide range of nondominant minor rice’s and pulses including millet, sorghum and peas etc.

BY APPLICATION

Based on application, the global market can be categorized Household, Retails, Catering, Food Industrial, Others

• Household: Cereals and rice retained in bulk packs or smaller portions for home usage cooker and eater. These are sold in small portion, convenient for home use for many people in a family.
• Retail: Preliminary packaging containing large amounts of dried grains and rice usual for commercial and consumer use and mostly sold in supermarkets.
•  Catering: Loose grains and rice supplied to other food processors including restaurants and caterers serving large guest populations in large quantities.
• Food Industrial: For use in sufficiently manufacturing especially processed foods, snacks, and ready to eat meals, Grain and rice for home consumption and to the food manufacturing industry specifically for use as processing ingredients
•  Others: This category includes specialized or niche markets, such as grains used in animal feed or for other non-food purposes..

MARKET DYNAMICS

Market dynamics include driving and restraining factors, opportunities and challenges stating the market conditions. 

DRIVING FACTORS

"Growing Demand for Healthier and Sustainable Food Boost the Market"

Currently, due to growing awareness of healthy nutrition and the negative effects that a number of food components may have on consumers’ health, customers are in search of healthy, vegetarian and organic products. Cereals derived from scratch; brown rice, quinoa, and chickpeas are valued for their nutrient density contents for high fiber, protein and low glycemic property making them appropriate products in a healthy diet. Also, there is increase in demand for grains with sustainable production methods due to the consciousness for sustainability. This demand for healthy and sustainable foods leads to market evolution because manufacturers continue to launch new products that will feed into this segment, therefore stimulating dried grains and rice market growth.

"Rising Global Population and Urbanization Expand the Market"

The increased people’s demand and fast rate of urbanization all over the globe are some of the drivers for the dried grains and rice in the market. More people have to be fed and where these people live in the urban areas they will need grains and rice for convenience and shelf stability meaning more purchase of packaged grains and rice. Third, urbanization means that consumers have higher disposable abilities; they are able to buy a larger number and diverse kinds of food products including premium kinds of rice and unique sorts of grains. Since urban dwellers are in search of convenient, healthy, and relatively cheap foods they will consume staple products like dried grains and rice in large quantities.

RESTRAINING FACTOR

"Climate Change and Environmental Conditions Potentially Impede Market Growth"

Hedging climate change presents a major threat in the dried grains and rice market due to soil and climate impact that affects yield and makes harvests more volatile. Main shocks that distort crop production include drought, flooding, and storms that hinder crop growing and cause high prices to prevail. However, continued shifts in climate conditions also affect the planning and controlling methods of production by producers hence causing supply chain problems and market fluctuations. Some of these environmental factors affect availability while at the same time posing questions about sustainability of rice and grains farming, hence, the need to develop feedback methods to cater for these effects.

OPPORTUNITY

"Rise of Plant-Based and Gluten-Free Diets Create Opportunity for The Product in The Market"

The current trend to target different type of consumers such as the plant base and vegan consumers, and gluten-free consumers enhances the market for dried grains and rice. There is a rising trend in the market for those that want to shift away from the normal glutencontaining grains such as wheat and opt for rice and the legumes as plant protein sources. These innovations can be attributed to increased consumer consciousness about the health benefits of consuming gluten free and plant based foods that help in digestion, promotes weight loss and newer research that show that they may reduce the likelihood of getting chronic diseases in future. Using this opportunity, producers should invest into production of non-GMO, organic and gluten-free rice and grains to feed the market laden with health conscious customers.

CHALLENGE

"Supply Chain and Distribution Issues Could Be a Potential Challenge for Consumers"

The complexity that hinders the dried grains and rice market is the supply chain that is always blurred to distinguish with the international markets. Grains transport long distances faces risks such as fluctuations in political stability, transportation constraints and shifting in the economic progress. However, global factors such as the increasing cost of fuel, availability of labor dealers, and currency exchange rate instabilities cause pace fluctuations and shortage of supplies. These distribution challenges working in tangent with volatility of change in demand not only present a compromise to market stability, but also present significant risk. The capacity to accommodate these issues will forecast the manner organizations within the market adapt to changing international environment.

DRIED GRAINS AND RICE MARKET REGIONAL INSIGHTS

• NORTH AMERICA

North America especially United States dried grains and rice market is fueled by factors such as the increase in uptake of convenience foods, healthy diet and increased consciousness on sustainability. The United States and Canada are the biggest importers of rice as most of its population involves in taking both conventional and niche rice market including Organic and gluten-free among others. Further, people’s shifting to plant based diets and consumption of organic foods means an increase in the demand for healthy grains like quinoa, brown rice or chickpeas. The market is also backed up by healthy retail trade and is available in most of the supermarkets and health food stores. Since people are now trying to reduce dependency on staple foods, North America is an important consumer of dried grains and rice.

• EUROPE

The market of dried grains and rice in Europe is growing rapidly due to people’s concern about food quality, sustainability, and healthy nutrition. In countries such as Germany, France and the UK, consumers are demanding higher value rice products especially organic and fairly traded. The European market also incorporates trends in the diet, for example adjustments to gluten-free and plant based diets therefore increasing the use of unconventional grains. There is also complimented with innovations in packaging and sustain abilities where brands are striving to minimize wastes and enhance the footprint of packaging in the market. EU is still the relevant region in the worldwide market demand is shifting towards environmentally friendly and healthy products.

• ASIA

There is strong dominance of dried grains and rice in Asia as rice is the major food commodity in Asia. Such countries as China, India and Japan for instance are some of the leading producers as well as consumers of rice with a taste for one brand or the other. Today there is fast growing urbanization in many Asian countries hence more consumers demand packaged and processed rice products. Moreover, new middle class population in Asia have put pressure of high quality rice and niche rice products. Further, awareness of healthy diets and trends that include gluten-free and plant-based diets, are defining consumers’ behavior in markets such as Japan and South Korea. Preliminary findings suggest that Asia, which is the world’s largest producer and consumer of rice has a significant impact on the dried grains and rice market.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

"Key Industry Players Shaping the Market Through Innovation and Market Expansion"

Some the key players in the dried grains and rice market include companies dealing in agriculture and food industries and multination day-aged food processing companies. Some of the major companies in this market include Nestlé SA, General Mills, ADM and Cargill that operate through their global value chain and offer a wide range of products that are rice/grains/legume related products. These companies are well-established markets and have dedicated efforts to expanding product variety, healthy, and sustainable products. Also, key market players involved with the industry include Ebro Foods as a prominent producer of rice and pasta and Olam Group, a large player in agricultural products. The main strategies realized by these players are linked to the constantly growing customer demand for organic, gluten-sensitive and non-GMO products, as well as the application of more efficient and environmentally friendly production technologies. Contract manufacturing and joint ventures are the other business approaches used in managing expansion of market base and supply chain operations.

List Of Top Dried Grains and Rice Market Companies

• REI Agro Ltd (India)
• KRBL Ltd (India)
• Lakshmi Group (India)
• Bunge Ltd. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

November 2024: Olam Group launched a new range of organic, non-GMO rice and legumes aimed at meeting the growing demand for health-conscious and sustainable products in Europe and North America. This product line is designed to appeal to the increasing number of consumers seeking plant-based and organic food options, focusing on eco-friendly production practices. Additionally, Ebro Foods expanded its rice milling operations in Asia to cater to the rising demand for premium rice varieties. This development is part of the company's broader strategy to strengthen its presence in emerging markets while focusing on quality and sustainability. These advancements reflect the industry's shift toward offering more diverse, high-quality, and environmentally responsible products in response to consumer preferences for healthy and sustainably sourced food.

REPORT COVERAGE

The dried grains and rice market is still expanding due to changes in consumers’ tastes, the importance of health, and conscious farming. Industry trends including plant based and gluten free diets, growing organic and non GMO market, and increasing specialty Rice market significantly influencing the present and future Industry market. However, despite the threats like disruption of supply chain, and adverse effects of climate change to the yield of crops the market is still alive. The continuous development in packaging, production, and distribution, and the introduction of new premium products are anticipated to supplement future market growth. Countries in Asia, North America as well as the Europe will remain market influencers since Asia remains the leading producer as well as consumer of rice. The scope of further development in the range of dried grains and rice will depend on the capacity of the industry to respond to the new tendencies in consumer preferences, technological innovations, and sustainable development requirements. In the world that tends to shift toward healthy and sustainable food sources, the dried grains and rice market is expected to show steady changes that will open new opportunities.