Market Overview
Turkey has a population of 82 million, almost half of which is below the age of 30. Turkey’s urban areas and western provinces consume the most rice, while rural inhabitants consume substantial amounts of bulgur; the average per capita consumption of rice is 35 lbs annually. As the population continues to urbanize, the consumption of rice has steadily increased. About half of the rice needs are met through imports, with the U.S. supplying anywhere from 0-25%. In 2019, the U.S. exported $2.7 million of rice to Turkey.
USA Rice Activities
USA Rice conducts promotional activities with locally available U.S. rice brands including outdoor advertising, in-store promotions and branding, social media activities, radio and print advertising all communicating the high quality of U.S. rice and its suitability to the Turkish cuisine.
USA Rice also works with the California Wild Rice Advisory Board and Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council to promote the consumption of wild rice in conjunction with milled, white rice. Did you know that wild rice is not really rice, but the seed of an aquatic grass?