ERLY Industries reports second- quarter earnings.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 1995--ERLY Industries Inc. (NASDAQ/OTC:ERLY) Tuesday reported net income of $900,000, or 17 cents per fully diluted share of common stock, on sales of $112 million for its second quarter ended Sept. 30, 1995, compared with net income of $3.1 million, or 60 cents per fully diluted share of common stock, on sales of $112 million for the second quarter last year.

Stockholders' equity totaled $20.1 million at Sept. 30, 1995, an increase of $1 million for the quarter.

Douglas A. Murphy, president and chief operating officer, commented: ``ERLY experienced only modest earnings in the second quarter, due in part to higher interest expense at its subsidiary, American Rice Inc. (ARI), as the excess cash proceeds from ARI's $100 million mortgage-note offering of August 1995 had yet to be fully employed.

``ARI is carefully considering business expansion to profitably utilize these cash proceeds. Further, last year's second quarter reflected record profitability from ERLY's Fire-Trol subsidiary, while this year's second-quarter earnings, although quite successful, were significantly less.''

Continuing, Murphy was cautiously optimistic regarding the third quarter. ``In regards to ARI, Japan (the largest importer of U.S. rice in 1994) has commenced placing orders pursuant to its first- year commitment under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

``ARI medium grain sales to Japan from its Maxwell, Calif., facility began this month and are expected to favorably impact earnings in the third and fourth quarters. However, the current market demand for U.S. Southern long-grain rice is generally weak.

``Within the company's Chemonics International consulting subsidiary, several major contracts in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics have been initiated in the last 30 days that are expected to enhance earnings throughout the balance of this fiscal year.''

ERLY Industries is a food-processing company with its principal operations in the milling, marketing and sales of branded rice products, international consulting and the manufacture and sale of forest-fire-retardant chemicals. -0-

                ERLY INDUSTRIES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                     Summary of Financial Results
            (Dollars in thousands, except per-share data)

                             Quarter ended          Six months ended
                                Sept. 30,               Sept. 30,
                            1995        1994        1995        1994
Net sales:
 American Rice          $ 90,369    $ 78,314    $176,761    $184,020
 Consulting               14,939      15,952      35,437      27,815
 Fire-Trol                 6,333      17,600      12,332      21,293
                        $111,641    $111,866    $224,530    $233,128
Gross profit:
 American Rice          $  9,717    $  9,050    $ 19,254    $ 20,373
 Consulting                4,250       4,726      10,078       8,258
 Fire-Trol                 1,688       4,257       3,037       5,065
                        $ 15,655    $ 18,033    $ 32,369    $ 33,696
Income before minority
 interest               $     11    $  2,463    $  1,710    $  5,370
Minority interest            889         595       1,454          49
Net income              $    900    $  3,058    $  3,164    $  5,419
Net income per share
 of common and common-
 stock equivalents/a:
 Primary                18 cents    63 cents    61 cents    $   1.12
 Fully diluted          17 cents    60 cents    59 cents    $   1.06
Weighted average common
 and common-stock
 equivalents outstanding/a:
 Primary               5,056,000   4,843,000   5,174,000   4,843,000
 Fully diluted         5,363,000   5,150,000   5,481,000   5,150,000

/a  Retroactively adjusted to give effect to a 15 percent stock
dividend in September 1995.

CONTACT: ERLY Industries Inc., Los Angeles 

Gerald D. Murphy or Thomas A. Whitlock, 213/879-1480