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Japan rice glut emerges after emergency stockpiles spur surplus

Farmers in the Tokyo region say record rainfall and higher production costs are driving some growers to expect losses as rice prices swing from shortages to a glut.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

Japan has shifted from flooding its rice market with emergency stockpiles to address soaring staple prices, to facing a surplus that is pushing the other way for farmers, according to SCMP Economy.

Hiroshi Asano, a 59-year-old rice farmer in Chiba with about 38 hectares of fields near Tokyo, expects to make a loss this year and said he is hearing that some smaller-scale farmers plan to give up.

The outlet attributed the strain on growers to a combination of extreme weather, including record rainfall in the past few weeks, rising machinery costs, and lower prices for their products.

Asano described how he expanded his operations by taking over his wife’s family fields and additional abandoned land, while also saying the conditions are especially difficult in an already shrinking farming sector.

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