SHIGA - Japan's rice market is facing a growing surplus as large volumes of last year's crop remain unsold just as another strong harvest begins reaching the market, forcing retailers to slash prices below cost and leaving farmers warning that losses could make it impossible to continue farming.
Agriculture Minister Suzuki announced on September 1 that the government will begin procedures this month to buy back rice from reserves that was released last year, after confirming that sufficient supplies will be available.
The move has raised hopes that government purchases could help ease the rice glut, but retailers and farmers already caught in sharp market swings say the damage is becoming serious.
At a rice retailer in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, large quantities of rice remain in storage even as the business prepares for the full-scale arrival of the new harvest.
Shop owner Toshiyuki Imai said the rice was purchased from farmers in the autumn of 2025 and would normally have been sold out by March.
Instead, more than seven tons of last year's crop remains in a warehouse that would usually be empty at this time of year and ready to receive newly harvested rice.
With sales sluggish and storage space needed for the new crop, Imai said he has been forced to make a painful decision and sell the older rice without regard to its original purchase price.
He said some varieties would have to be sold at surprisingly low prices simply to attract buyers because this year's new rice is cheaper.
Rice that sold for more than 4,000 yen per five kilograms last year is now being offered in some cases for less than 2,000 yen, far below what the retailer paid for it.
Customers have welcomed the lower prices. One shopper said rice had been a staple since childhood and called for prices to remain stable.
For the retailer, however, the discounts are resulting in serious losses.
The problem is also spreading to rice farmers as harvesting of the new crop advances across Shiga Prefecture.
Rice farmer Kazuhiro Yamamoto said favorable weather and adequate rainfall had produced another strong crop, with yields expected to exceed those of the previous year.
The abundant harvest, however, is pushing down prices for newly harvested rice.
Yamamoto said prices for some varieties have fallen to less than half their previous level, with amounts that had reached 29,000 yen per 60 kilograms dropping by more than 50%.
Advance payments known as provisional payments, which agricultural cooperatives and others pay farmers before final settlement, are expected to be roughly half the elevated levels of last year and fall below normal levels.
Yamamoto said losses would be unavoidable.
He said the cost of agricultural materials and fertilizer has risen sharply, while prices for much farm machinery have increased to nearly 1.5 times previous levels.
"At this level, it becomes completely impossible to continue farming," Yamamoto said. "In other words, you cannot make a living. There is virtually no income, so eventually you cannot live from it. It would be better to quit farming. There is no point in spending money just to continue farming."
Although Yamamoto hopes the government's repurchase of reserve rice will provide some relief, he expects its impact on the market to be limited.
He said that even if the government buys back reserve rice and adjusts supplies, declining rice consumption and this year's strong harvest could lead to an even larger buildup of privately held inventories.
Source: YOMIURI
