Japan’s rice quality affected by weather and foreign tourists

If you’ve been to a supermarket recently, you may have noticed more empty shelves than usual. Japan is currently experiencing a rice shortage. Production in 2023 was about 6.61 million tons, the lowest in Japan’s history. The situation has become so serious that several stores, including the large supermarket chain Ito YokadoEach person is limited to one bag. The price has also increased. Kyodo Newsrice prices in July rose 18% from the same period last year. This is the largest increase in 20 years. So why is Japan’s rice supply so short now?

Causes of Japan’s Rice Shortage

One of the reasons for the rice shortage is a declining population, which has led to a drop in demand for rice of about 100,000 tons per year. Last summer’s heat wave was also a factor as it caused rice production to fall and rice grains to turn white. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Reported It is reported that the proportion of first-grade rice will drop to an all-time low of 59.6% in 2023. This has been exacerbated by a sharp increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan this year, which has led to an increase in demand from the food industry.

However, Kazuto Yamashita, a former official at Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, believes that the inbound tourism boom is not the main factor causing the rice shortage. Daily Newshe explain“Even if about 3 million tourists a month stay in Japan for a week and eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner like most Japanese do, this only accounts for about 0.5% of total consumption. In fact, not many tourists eat rice for all three meals, so their consumption must be lower.”

Japan’s policy of reducing cultivated land

Yamashita said the rice shortage is “because of a reduction in cultivated area due to the acreage reduction policy. With the acreage reduced, rice production is reduced to increase market prices, and the government provides subsidies to rice farmers who switch to other crops such as wheat or soybeans… Because consumption of bread, pasta and other alternative foods is increasing, if farmers produce the same amount of rice as before, there will be a surplus, causing rice prices to fall. To avoid this, production is reduced year by year.”

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries called on consumers to remain calm. It said new rice was being released to the market and the shortage would be resolved in the near future.

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