Introduction
More than half of the world’s population relies on rice as a staple food, making the rice market vast and continuously growing. If you want to start a rice milling business but don’t know where to begin, this article will guide you through the essential things you need to know.
Preliminary preparation
Before starting, you need to complete some initial preparations, including market research and securing funds.
First, conduct market research and analysis. Understand the types of rice in your target market and the supply and demand situation, and identify your competitors and how they operate. Create a detailed business plan. This will help you quickly clarify your goals, and learning from others’ operations can help you enter the industry more efficiently.
Next, you need to prepare enough funds to ensure your company can operate normally for at least one to two years. The essential costs of starting a rice milling business include expenses for the site, equipment, raw materials, and other potential operational costs.
If you lack sufficient funds but are determined to start this business, you can consider loans or bringing in partners to invest. However, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the market, profit estimates, and how to execute the project.
Once you have made proper plans and prepared your funds, you can move on to selecting a location, registering your company, purchasing equipment, and hiring staff.
Choose the right rice milling machine
Rice milling equipment is the main tool for starting your rice milling business. It directly determines the quality of your rice and, in turn, affects its price and your profit. So, how do you choose the right rice milling equipment?
Types of rice mill
Let’s first understand the machines you will use in a rice milling production line. They are, in order of function: cleaning sieve, paddy stoner, paddy husker, paddy separator, rice whitener, white rice grader, color sorter, rice polisher, and rice packing machine. Each machine has different capacity options, allowing you to configure production lines with various outputs. Additionally, the color sorter and rice polisher help produce whiter and more refined rice, but they are optional if not required.
The current rice market mainly includes polished rice, brown rice, regular rice, and parboiled rice.
Brown rice
Brown rice is hulled rice that has not been milled or polished. Some people believe that milling removes the rice’s germ and bran, where most of the grain’s nutrients are stored. Therefore, they prefer eating brown rice for its more balanced nutrition. If your production line focuses on producing brown rice, you do not need machines for milling and polishing.
Polished and regular rice
Polished rice is a high-quality rice produced through fine processing. It starts as brown rice, which is milled to remove the bran, and then graded to separate whole grains. After that, it goes through color sorting and polishing to remove discolored grains, resulting in rice with a cleaner appearance and better quality. Polished rice usually has a higher price. If you aim to produce polished rice, your production line will need all these machines. However, for regular rice production, polishing and color sorting machines are not necessary.
Parboiled rice
Lastly, parboiled rice is a natural and nutritious type of rice made through cleaning, soaking, steaming, and drying, followed by regular hulling and milling. It retains up to 87% of its nutrients and is priced 5%-10% higher than white rice. Parboiled rice is popular in regions such as Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central and South America, where it is known as healthy and eco-friendly rice. If you plan to produce parboiled rice, you will need to invest in a parboiled rice processing production line.
In summary, different rice products require different production lines. Based on the current market types of rice, you can determine the type of production line you need by understanding the market you want to target.
Automation degree
The level of automation in a production line affects both labor costs and the quality of the rice. If you choose a production line with low automation that requires extensive manual operation, you will need to spend on training operators or hiring experienced staff. Additionally, with more manual control, it becomes harder to maintain consistent rice quality.
Our production lines are fully automated, with each step seamlessly connected by elevators. This helps you save on labor costs and ensures stable rice quality. For our parboiled rice production line, processes like feeding, discharging, and temperature control in soaking and steaming tanks are all fully automated, requiring no manual intervention.
Certificates
When looking for suppliers to purchase machines, you need to check their certificates, as these ensure the quality of their products. For example, ISO certificates and CE certificates are important.
The ISO certificate is issued by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO9001 specifically certifies a company’s quality management system. The CE certificate indicates that the product meets the basic requirements of EU regulations, which is especially important for machinery.
Therefore, when buying rice milling machines, you can use these certificates to assess the supplier’s reliability and ensure the quality of the machines you purchase.
Parameter comparison
Each machine has its own technical parameters, including model, size, weight, power, output, voltage, and other necessary information. Even for the same model, different manufacturers may produce machines with slightly different parameters.
In this case, you can compare the parameters to distinguish between them. For example, if two production lines are both labeled with the same output range, such as 20-30 tons per day, you can compare the output of each machine step to determine which has a higher output, helping you make a decision.
Material of the machines
The materials used in the machines can affect production quality, machine price, and service life. For example, some rubber rollers in the hulling machines are made of rubber, which is wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and elastic. This results in a high hulling rate and low broken rice, making rubber roller hullers common on the market.
In addition, ANON’s dryers use advanced manganese-silicon materials, which are lighter, more flexible, and stronger. With the same size, our machines are lighter, helping to reduce transportation costs.
Price
Price is the key factor in deciding whether to buy or not. It is ideal to purchase the most cost-effective machine within your budget. When dealing with manufacturers offering very low prices, we must be cautious. Don’t blindly pursue low prices, as this may result in your production line breaking down in a short time, which can negatively affect your business.
Necessary knowledge of rice milling
If you want to start a rice milling business, you must have some necessary knowledge about rice milling to help you better carry out your work.
How to improve the output of the rice mill
How to increase the output of the production line is related to our rice yield rate, which is related to the condition of the rice itself, machine maintenance, and operation.
The Situation of the grain
First, the paddy quality plays a key role. The variety, impurity level, and moisture content of the rice will affect the milling yield. Rice varieties vary, and you can observe their characteristics, such as length, width, and color, to make judgments. Therefore, before processing, it’s important to classify the rice to ensure that the grains are more uniform, which is beneficial for milling. Rice can also be divided into early and late rice, with late rice generally being more resistant to pressure, resulting in fewer broken grains and higher milling yield during processing.
The second factor is the level of impurities in the rice. Too many impurities can burden the cleaning machine and, if not handled properly, may affect the entire production line. Therefore, it’s important to remove large impurities before processing.
Finally, the moisture content of the rice is crucial. The moisture content greatly impacts the breaking strength of the brown rice. The optimal moisture content is 14%, which is suitable for milling and processing. If the moisture content is too high, the rice will have lower pressure resistance, leading to higher broken grain rates. If the moisture content is too low, the rice will become brittle and more likely to crack, also resulting in an increased number of broken grains.
The maintenance of the machines
The next factor is the maintenance of the machines. The efficiency of the machines is directly related to regular equipment checks and maintenance. Lubricating the machine bearings helps reduce wear and tear. Inadequate cleaning of impurities can leave residues inside, which may affect the normal operation of the equipment and the milling results.
Operating factors
Finally, there are operational factors. Improper operation can damage your equipment or affect the milling results, which in turn impacts yield. For example, setting the pressure too high can affect the milling degree. High pressure may cause the milling machine to malfunction and result in significant rice loss. On the other hand, too low pressure may not guarantee proper milling. The milling time also affects the yield, so it is important to adjust it according to the quality of the rice.
Common problems and solutions
If the rice quality deteriorates, production efficiency drops or unusual noises occur in the milling line, it indicates that the machine may malfunction.
First, there is screen damage. If the screen on the cleaning sieve is damaged, it will lead to incomplete cleaning, and impurities in the rice will not be removed properly, affecting the rice quality and possibly the entire production line operation.
Second, there is roller failure. The quality of rice largely depends on the rollers, such as the rubber roller in the husker and the polishing roller in the rice mill, which are consumables. You need to replace them regularly. The gap between the rollers also affects the rice quality, and an improper gap can cause broken rice. You should adjust the gap to the proper setting.
Third, there is bearing failure. If the bearings are not lubricated for a long time, the temperature will rise during operation, potentially causing deformation and unusual noises. In this case, you can stop the machine, wait for it to cool, and add lubricant. If deformation occurs, replace the bearings in time.
Finally, there is speed impact. If the belt is misaligned or lacks tension, and the milling speed is insufficient, the rice mill line’s production rate will decrease. In this case, you should turn off the power, correct the belt, or replace it directly.
Conclusion
Rice milling is a promising and great business. We hope this article helps you start your rice milling business. ANON has a professional consulting team and reliable products to support and safeguard your business.
FAQ
1. What is the rice milling business?
The basic objective of a rice milling system is to remove the husk and the bran layers and produce an edible, white rice kernel that is sufficiently milled and free of impurities. Depending on the requirements of the customer, the rice should have a minimum number of broken kernels.
2 . How profitable is rice milling?
The rice mill industry offers a plethora of opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to enter the agricultural sector. With the growing demand for rice and the potential for export markets, venturing into this business can be highly profitable.
3. Who is the target market of the rice business?
The business aims to meet customer needs through competitive pricing, quality products, and excellent customer service. It plans to target local households, restaurants, hotels, and churches through physical and online storefronts as well as partnerships and referrals.
4 . What is the yield of rice milling?
Rice milling yield is the amount of polished white rice obtained from husked rough rice (yields of brown rice are higher). Rice milling rates for polished white rice vary by crop variety and quality but tend to average about 72% of rough rice weight in the United States.
5 . How much capital to start a rice business?
Thus, becoming a rice dealer or retailer can net you good profits because of its daily demand. With a low starting capital of about P80,000 to P120,000, it’s also an affordable business to start. To help you succeed in this business, here are five important tips you should follow.
