Rice stockpiles in Japan’s private sector fell to a record low of 1.56 million tons by the end of June, according to a preliminary report from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture
This marks the lowest level since records began in 1999, with a year-on-year drop of 410,000 tons reflecting last year’s slow rice production due to extreme heat, increased demand from foreign tourists, and rising consumption as rice prices grew slower than those of bread and noodles.
The latest figure, presented at the daily meeting of the Agriculture Minister’s advisory council, is 210,000 tons lower than the 1.77 million tons estimated in March. The 2023 rice harvest saw 61.8% of the crop classified as first-class, a decrease of about 18 percentage points from the previous year, leading to reduced market availability.
Meanwhile, rice demand increased by 110,000 tons to 7.02 million tons by June 2024, marking the first rise in a decade.