Rice produced in the United States was 1.2 percent of world production in crop year 1977/78, but accounted for 30 percent of all rice in international trade in calendar year 1978. Sixty-one percent of U.S. rice disappearance in 1977/78 was accounted for by exports to over 100 countries; the remainder was consumed domestically for direct-food use, beer, and processed foods. Expansion of the U.S. rice industry will depend heavily on increasing exports. Beer processors will become an increasingly important outlet in the domestic market.