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February 10, 2026
Meet the rice business whose clean green products are a hit with consumers at home and abroad
Riverina start-up Nice Rice has developed a premium range overseas supermarkets are eager to stock.
Until the early 2020s, NSW rice growers had few options other than selling their crops to SunRice, the multinational which had the lion’s share of the local market, and an effective monopoly over the export of rice produced in the state.
A clutch of far-sighted Riverina farmers were keen to see that change – and to up their earn by taking greater control of the paddy-to-plate production process.
After an early morning meeting in 2020 on the football oval at Jerilderie, a tiny rural town at the heart of the region, they resolved to work together to establish a rice production operation of their own.
Having seen panic buyers strip supermarket shelves of rice during the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, making a positive contribution to the nation’s food security was also a driver.
“We discussed what a path forward would look like, including what a sustainable rice food business needed to look like, to compete with the multinationals,” rice grower Mirza Kozarcanin recalls.
Turning vision into reality
The result was Nice Rice, a private business incorporated in late 2022 with 24 shareholders. After installing Kozarcanin in the CEO position, it began operating on a small scale; outsourcing its milling and packing functions to contract facilities in Queensland and Victoria.
With NAB’s support, the fledgling venture subsequently made a $10 million investment in a bespoke mill manufactured in Japan and acquired a warehouse and shed on the outskirts of Jerilderie. Largely solar powered, the facility has the capacity to process seven tons of rice per hour.
Mass production commenced in late 2024 and Nice Rice’s distinctively packaged jasmine, sushi, brown, medium and long grain rice lines can now be found on the shelves in Woolworths, Coles and IGA outlets around the country.
Exporting Australian rice to the world
Following the lifting of monopolistic export restrictions in 2025, the company has its sights firmly set on the export market where Kozarcanin sees boundless opportunities to sell to discerning customers seeking quality products with peerless provenance.
To that end, Nice Rice is conducting market research, engaging with Austrade and forging direct ties with importers and distributors.
While New Zealand is the initial focus, the company is open to doing business anywhere premium rice is enjoyed and good partnerships can be struck.
“We understand that export comes with its own challenges and we’re taking care to ensure the lines we ship offshore will be sustainable and profitable long term,” Kozarcanin says.
“We know there is demand for our product, brand and the sustainable approach we take to production across Europe, North America, the Middle East and large parts of South East Asia.”
Taking the next step with NAB
NAB Senior Agri-Business Manager Brad I’Anson says seeing multi-generational rice growers who are passionate about their product preparing to enter the export arena has been exciting and rewarding.
“Some of Nice Rice’s shareholders and directors have been NAB clients for two and three decades,” he says. “It’s been a privilege to support them as they’ve acquired the infrastructure and capability they needed to progress their vision of becoming a leading global supplier of clean, green Australian rice.”
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