The Development of the Rice Oil Industry Is of Profound Significance and Great Value (Part 1)

Reason for watching: Rice bran (including the rice germ) is a byproduct of rice processing. It is not only rich in fats but also packed with a wide array of nutrients, making it a high-quality oilseed resource. Typically, rice bran contains 18% to 20% oil—on par with the oil content of Chinese soybeans. If 70% of China’s rice-processing-generated rice bran were utilized for oil extraction, and assuming an oil yield of 15% to 16%, the country could produce roughly 1.5 million metric tons of rice bran oil annually. Based on current domestic edible-oil consumption, this would boost self-sufficiency by 3.5 percentage points—equivalent to the oil output from more than 9 million metric tons of domestically produced soybeans—underscoring its status as an exceptionally valuable oilseed resource. So, what bottlenecks must be overcome to achieve green, high-quality development of the rice-bran-oil industry? Recently, Wang Ruiyuan, Honorary Chairman of the Oilseed Industry Branch of the China Association of Agricultural Industrialization Leading Enterprises, Chief Expert for Policy Consultation at the China Association for Science and Technology, and former President of Zhonggu Grain & Oil Group, offered his insights on this issue.

How do you interpret the importance of enhancing China’s self-sufficiency in edible oils for safeguarding national food security?

Wang Ruiyuan: Enhancing China’s self-sufficiency in edible oils is a crucial measure for safeguarding national food security. Thanks to the high priority accorded to this issue by the Party and the government, China’s grain and oil production has repeatedly reached new record highs. According to projections by the National Grain and Oil Information Center, in 2022 the total output of eight major oilseed crops—rapeseed, soybeans, peanuts, cottonseed, sunflower seeds, sesame, flaxseed, and camellia seed—reached 71.325 million tonnes, once again setting a new historical high. However, the pace of this growth still falls short of the demands driven by China’s economic development and the continuous improvement in people’s living standards, necessitating substantial imports of oilseeds and oil products to meet market supply. According to data provided by the National Grain and Oil Information Center, in 2022 China produced 13.503 million tonnes of edible oil from domestically sourced oilseeds (after deducting the portion of soybeans, peanuts, sesame, and sunflower seeds that are used directly); meanwhile, customs statistics show that China imported a total of 96.109 million tonnes of various vegetable oilseeds in 2022, and 8.017 million tonnes of various edible vegetable oils.

According to the annual oil and fat market analysis report provided by the National Grain and Oil Information Center, China’s total annual consumption of edible oils in the 2021/2022 marketing year amounted to 37.58 million tonnes—comprising both food consumption and industrial and other uses. Based on this figure, China’s self-sufficiency rate for edible oils in the 2021/2022 marketing year was only 35.9%, calculated as the ratio of domestic oilseed crushing output (13.503 million tonnes in 2022) to total annual edible oil consumption (37.58 million tonnes). It is thus evident that nearly two-thirds of China’s edible oil needs must be met through imports.

Given that edible vegetable oil is a vital component of national food security, the current high degree of external dependence poses a constant risk to the safety of China’s edible oil market. How to alleviate the shortage of domestic edible oil supplies and ensure the security of the national supply has become a matter of widespread concern. In the view of Honorary Chairman Wang Ruiyuan, the most pressing task at hand is to do everything possible to enhance China’s self-sufficiency in edible oil. An effective measure for achieving this goal at present is to continue vigorously developing oilseed production while simultaneously tapping into and making full use of new oilseed resources—particularly by fully leveraging existing oilseed resources that do not compete with grain crops for arable land. Among these, actively utilizing rice bran resources and vigorously developing the rice-oil industry is the most practical and feasible approach, as it can deliver immediate and tangible results in boosting China’s edible oil self-sufficiency.

Why is it necessary to advocate for and vigorously promote the high-quality development of rice oil in China?

Wang Ruiyuan: China boasts abundant rice-bran resources. As is well known, China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of rice. In China, rice, like wheat flour and cornmeal, is one of the country’s principal staple grains. Approximately 800 million people in China rely on rice as their primary food, with annual consumption of rice and rice-based products totaling about 130–140 million metric tons. It is thus evident that rice and rice-derived products represent the largest and most stable component of China’s grain consumption. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s total grain output in 2022 reached 686.53 million metric tons, of which paddy rice accounted for 208.49 million metric tons.

To meet the needs of rice processing, China is home to tens of thousands of rice-processing enterprises. According to the “2021 Statistical Data on the Grain Industry” released by the Grain Reserve Department of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, in 2020 there were as many as 9,867 large-scale rice-processing enterprises in China. Furthermore, statistics show that these large-scale enterprises produce between 13 million and 14 million metric tons of rice bran annually in the course of rice production—making rice bran a valuable oilseed resource for the country.

As a high-quality oilseed resource, in your view, what are the key value propositions of rice bran?

Wang Ruiyuan: Rice bran (including the rice germ) is a byproduct of rice milling. It is not only rich in fat but also packed with a wide array of nutrients (see Table 2), making it a high-quality oilseed resource. Typically, rice bran contains 18% to 20% oil—on par with the oil content of Chinese soybeans—thus rendering it an exceptionally valuable oilseed resource. If 70% of China’s rice-bran output from rice processing were utilized for oil extraction, and assuming an oil yield of 15% to 16%, China could produce approximately 1.5 million metric tons of rice bran oil annually. Based on current domestic edible-oil consumption, this would boost the self-sufficiency rate by 3.5 percentage points—equivalent to the oil yield from over 9 million metric tons of domestically produced soybeans. In essence, it amounts to “farming” without actually tilling the fields, a contribution we should therefore cherish all the more.