Supermarkets offering foreign-grown rice as Japan faces record prices
Japan's supermarket operators have been strengthening sales of cheaper, foreign-grown rice, offering another choice to consumers hit by rising prices and concerns about shortages of the country's staple food.
Aeon Co. will start selling California-sourced rice on June 6 at its stores, mainly in urban areas, at 2,894 yen ($20) for 4 kilograms. Converted to the more common Japanese sales unit of 5 kilograms, it is 3,618 yen, some 15 percent cheaper than the average price calculated by the farm ministry of Japanese-grown rice at supermarkets nationwide in early May.
The company already launched a blend of U.S.- and domestically-grown rice in April. Rival food retailers Ito-Yokado Co. and Seiyu Co. have also sold rice from California and Taiwan, respectively, and seen solid demand.
Aeon said the decision to sell California's Calrose rice reflects consumer interest, saying they can no longer purchase rice as before due to higher prices.
"The price (of the new product) is affordable. By offering customers the freedom of choice, we hope that overall rice consumption will increase," Aeon Executive Vice President Mitsuko Tsuchiya told a recent press conference.
Japan imports rice either through the government, which is obliged to purchase a certain amount from other countries under World Trade Organization arrangements, or private companies, which pay a tariff to the government. Aeon plans to acquire the rice via private import and sell some 14,000 tons over a three-month period.
Less sticky and with a more neutral taste than Japanese rice, the medium Calrose variety grown in California is suited for use in risottos, pilaf, stews and soup, Aeon said.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass called the sale of the U.S.-grown rice by Aeon "historic" for American farmers, given Japan is a "country that takes its rice very seriously, and it's probably the most discerning consumer when it comes to food quality."
"Aeon has certainly gone big in its commitment to American rice and American farmers, and at a time when food prices are a concern for all Japanese, this launch couldn't come at a better time for consumers," Glass said.
The average price of rice sold at Japanese supermarkets from May 5 to May 11 was a record 4,268 yen per 5 kg, up from 4,214 yen between late April and early May, when it dropped for the first time in 18 weeks. The level remains around two times higher than the previous year, partly due to a poor harvest in the summer of 2023.
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