foreign rice; imported rice
Refers to rice from abroad, often contrasted with 国産米 or domestic Japanese rice. 輸入米 is a more explicit modern term when the focus is on importation.
Foreign rice is sometimes cheaper than domestically produced rice.
This restaurant uses foreign rice depending on the dish.
The government imported foreign rice to make up for the shortfall.
The dealer was selling foreign rice mixed with domestic rice.
外米 is rice grown abroad, while 国産米 is rice grown domestically in Japan.
A Sino-Japanese compound of 外, meaning outside or foreign, and 米, meaning rice; the spelling directly reflects the meaning.