Latest news with #rice
Japan Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
41% of Japanese rice farmers expect price drop in 2026
A survey released Friday suggested that 41.0% of large-scale rice farmers in Japan expect retail prices for rice harvested in 2026 to be lower than for rice harvested in 2025, while 22.9% foresee higher prices. Meanwhile, 72.3% expect prices for 2025 rice to be higher than for 2024 rice. The survey was conducted online by the Japan Agricultural Corporations Association from May 12 to 19 and received responses from 188 association members. At a news conference, the association's chairman, Kazushi Saito, expressed concern that prices for 2026 rice "may collapse, making management difficult (for rice farmers)," citing cheap imported rice and an increase in domestic production. For 2024 rice, 53.7% of respondents said current prices are excessively high. Regarding producer prices, 45.2%, the largest group, cited a price range of ¥20,001 to ¥25,000 per 60 kilograms. Compared to 2023 rice, 38.3%, the largest group, said prices are ¥5,001 to ¥10,000 higher, while 5.0% said prices are ¥15,001 to ¥20,000 higher. Asked about their concerns, many respondents pointed to high construction and machinery prices, labor shortages and a possible price slump due to overproduction. The survey comes as rice prices reach record highs in Japan, prompting the government to tap its stockpiles in a bid to bring cheaper rice to the market. On Saturday, some retailers began selling stockpiled rice to consumers for the first time.
NHK
19 hours ago
- Business
- NHK
Rice from Japan government stockpiles hits shelves
Rice from Japanese government stockpiles sold through special no-bid contracts has hit store shelves at some retailers, amid high prices. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado began selling the grain on Saturday at an outlet in Tokyo's Ota Ward. Employees stacked up 500 bags of rice in a dedicated section after a truck arrived on Saturday morning. A five-kilogram bag was priced at 2,160 yen including tax, or about 15 dollars. Purchases were limited to one per family. All the bags sold out about 30 minutes after the store opened at 10 a.m. A woman in her 30s who bought the rice said she had stood in line because she heard that rice was at half the current price. She hoped that prices of other types of rice will go down. Ito Yokado signed a contract to buy 5,000 kilograms harvested in 2022 through the no-bid program. President Yamamoto Tetsuya said the company applied for the purchase because it wanted to offer rice at a reasonable price. He said he had little idea about price trends for other types of rice, but wants to offer customers stockpiled rice as one of the options. Household goods maker Iris Ohyama also started selling government-stockpiled rice on Saturday at two outlets in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures. It signed a contract to purchase 10,000 tons. Major retailer Aeon is expected to sell the rice from Sunday. The government offered the sale of a total of 300,000 tons of rice -- 200,000 tons from the 2022 harvest and 100,000 tons from the 2021 harvest -- directly to retailers. Attention is focused on whether the widespread sale of the stockpiles will help bring down rice prices.
Japan Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japanese customers brave the rain to line up for cheap, stockpiled rice
Iris Ohyama began sales of government stockpiled rice at two of its home center locations in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures on Saturday morning, marking the first time such rice — procured through a discretionary government contract amid sky-high prices for the grain — has been sold at a brick-and-mortar store. Despite steady rain, lines formed early outside the Unidy Matsudo Tokiwadaira store in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, where numbered tickets were distributed from 8 a.m., with a limit of one bag per person. The queue snaked from the store entrance around the building and into the parking lot, with around 100 people in line from 6 a.m. Some customers toward the front of the line began lining up as early as 8 p.m. the previous evening, according to Mao Takaoka, a company spokesperson. Sales began an hour later, with 5-kilogram bags priced at ¥2,000 ($14) before tax, less than half the average price in recent weeks. All of the 65 bags prepared for the day sold out quickly, with many leaving empty-handed. 'We came early because it's hard to pass up rice at this price,' said one woman in her 60s, who was waiting near the end of the line with a neighbor after arriving before 6 a.m. 'Of course we're a little worried about how it'll taste, but the cheapness matters more than anything. If it doesn't taste good, we'll just mix it with ice or cook it with lots of other things. There's always a way,' she added. Iris Ohyama signed a deal through its group company on Tuesday to purchase 10,000 tons of stockpiled rice, which it will receive over the next two months and sell in stages, both online and in-store. | Jessica Speed A man in his 70s cited rising costs of living as his reason for lining up early. 'Everything is so expensive these days,' he said. 'Sure, rice and gas prices are coming down a little, but everything else — vegetables, milk, daily essentials — just keep going up.' 'If the government doesn't step in and do more for the people, a lot of us are going to be in real trouble.' He also noted the strain of waiting in the cold morning hours. 'Honestly, I'd be happy if they started handing out tickets even earlier. Most of us in line are older folks. We're the ones who line up for things like this,' he chuckled, rubbing his hands to stay warm. Another man in his 70s, who began lining up at 5 a.m. after waking at 3:30 a.m., said the effort was worth it. 'It feels like I really pulled it off!' he said with a grin, clutching his bag. 'I haven't carried something this heavy in a long time.' He said he wasn't concerned about the rice being from the 2022 harvest. 'I won't know how it tastes until I try it,' he said. 'If I cook it a little longer and add some sake and mirin, it'll probably be fine.' 'I'm planning to eat some tonight,' he added. 'I'm really looking forward to it.' The in-store launch was originally scheduled for June 2, but was moved up after milling operations finished ahead of schedule. 'We wanted to be first to market and get the product out to our customers,' Nobuo Tanaka, head of Iris Ohyama's general affairs department, told reporters Saturday. 'We were also first to sign a discretionary contract and begin milling.' Tanaka said the ¥2,000 price point was based on levels from about two years ago. 'This price has had a big impact, and drawn a lot of attention.' People line up for the chance to buy rice released from a government stockpile on Saturday in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. | Jessica Speed The early rollout follows strong online demand. The company's entire online preorder allotment sold out in about 45 minutes after starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to a report from NHK. The company began receiving deliveries that same day and immediately launched milling and packaging operations, with the first packages being shipped out on Friday, ahead of schedule. Iris Ohyama signed a deal through its group company on Tuesday to purchase 10,000 tons of stockpiled rice, which it will receive over the next two months and sell in stages, both online and in-store. The company also beat Ito Yokado by a narrow margin to be the first to provide rice to customers. Ito Yokado launched last-minute sales at its Omori branch in Tokyo's Ota Ward, with sales starting at 10 a.m. Separately, the agricultural ministry on Friday reopened applications for the discretionary sale of 80,000 tons of stockpiled rice from the 2021 harvest, targeting small-scale retailers such as independent grocers and supermarkets.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Government blames rice price surges on procurement route changes
Rice price surges in Japan since last summer were caused by wholesalers procuring rice through different routes than in previous years, a government white paper on agriculture said Friday. The paper, presented at the day's Cabinet meeting, described the situation since last summer's rice shortage. After the government issued in August last year information warning of a possible major earthquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast, people's purchases of rice at supermarkets increased about 1.5 times from a year before. This coincided with the time of year when distributors' rice stocks often decrease ahead of the release of newly harvested rice, causing rice scarcity at retailers and others. The amount of rice cropped in 2024 increased by 180,000 metric tons from the previous year, but the volume handled by major buyers was significantly lower, due in part to some rice producers boosting direct sales to consumers and sales to nonconventional buyers. The white paper concluded that rice prices at retailers soared because wholesalers had to buy rice at relatively high prices via different procurement routes to supplement shortfalls. It explained that the government has worked to ease the stagnation of the rice supply, including by holding multiple auctions for government-stockpiled rice since March this year. The government later switched the method of releasing its stockpiled rice from competitive bidding to no-bid contracts.
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan's smaller retailers start applying for stockpiled rice
Japan's agriculture ministry has begun accepting applications from small and mid-sized retailers to buy government-stockpiled rice. A total of 80,000 tons harvested in 2021 are up for sale through no-bid contracts. The ministry says 60,000 tons are available to the small and mid-sized retailers. The remainder will go to rice shops equipped with polishing facilities. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro has projected that with distribution cost included, the retail price before tax will be around 1,800 yen, or 12 dollars and 50 cents per five kilograms. That's less than half the current supermarket price. Recently, consumers have seen the price of Japan's staple grain hiked to over 4,000 yen. In the meantime, large retailers are beginning to receive their shipments. The operator of discount chain Don Quijote plans to start selling the rice in Tokyo from early June, and then expand the number of stores across the country. Aeon says it will start selling it at some of its stores from Sunday and Monday. The retail giant has bought 20,000 tons, the largest amount among retailers. A 5-kilogram bag will be priced at about 2,100 yen including tax. The bags are limited to one per family. Meanwhile, Japan's Transport Minister Nakano Hiromasa has said he will set up an office to support distribution of the rice. The office will support the drawing up of adjustments between the agriculture ministry and logistics operators that transport the rice. Nakano said he will cooperate closely with the agriculture ministry to prevent distribution bottlenecks.
