Rice Flour Shortage

Rice Flour Shortage

May 2021; A leading ingredients expert warns that a global shortage of rice flour is likely to lead to price increases in many of our everyday food staples. Rice flour is mainly used as an ingredient in everyday food products, and for noodles. The severe shortage and soaring prices have been created by a ‘perfect storm’ of multiple factors.

Rice flour is one of the most important and commonly used ingredients featuring in baby food, desserts, soups, stews, coatings and batters; or as an important ingredient in gluten free products. Many of us eat rice flour every day without realising it.

Rice flour is usually derived from the broken rice grains that are fractured during the milling process. The broken grains are deemed inferior, and so, are separated from the whole grains and sold as ‘Broken Rice’. The quality, cleanliness, taste and texture are the same as wholegrain rice but ‘brokens’ are sold at a lower premium around the world.