Rice in Short Supply: Disseminate Information in Manner That Does Not Cause Public Anxiety

Editorial

15:51 JST, August 23, 2024

Rice, the staple food of the Japanese people, continues to be in short supply and prices are rising. It is hoped that the government will make efforts to disseminate appropriate information so as not to cause anxiety among the public.

Rice for everyday consumption is in short supply at supermarkets and rice stores. There is a move spreading to restrict in-store purchases of rice, with a major supermarket limiting purchases to one item per family.

Private-sector inventories fell to 1.56 million tons at the end of June, the lowest level since 1999, when comparisons became available.

In response to the short supply, there have been noticeable price increases. There reportedly was an example of a 5-kilogram bag soaring to over ¥3,000, nearly double the normal price.

However, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, which is responsible for ensuring a stable supply of rice, said that the necessary private-sector inventories have been secured in Japan as a whole and that the supply and demand situation is not tight.

It has been pointed out that some wholesalers have been buying up rice to secure the necessary quantities for the food service and other industries, leading to higher rice prices.

It is not desirable for anxiety to spread unnecessarily among consumers. The government should provide detailed information to consumers and traders to avoid confusion.

There is a view that the supply shortage will ease once newly harvested rice is put on the market in earnest in the autumn and beyond. The situation is different from the 1993 “rice riot in the Heisei era,” when a bad harvest caused a rice shortage. It is hoped that consumers will not rush to stores to stock up rice but will instead act calmly.

There are three factors contributing to the short supply of rice and the price hikes.

The government estimated that domestic rice consumption will decrease by 100,000 tons each year due to the declining population, and it has continued to adjust production by providing subsidies to support the shift of production to rice used for animal feed, as well as other crops. For this reason, the 2023 harvest was the smallest ever at about 6.61 million tons.

In addition, the heat wave during summer last year caused an increase in small rice grains and the spread of chalky grains, or grains becoming milky white, in major rice-producing regions such as Hokuriku and Tohoku. As a result, the amount of the 2023 harvest for everyday consumption in the market decreased.

This was compounded by an increase in demand in the food service industry due to the full recovery in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.

It is important for the agricultural ministry to reassess the extent to which the effects of heat waves and the increasing demand from inbound tourists are likely to continue in the future, and to examine how production adjustments should be made.

An increase in rice prices to a certain level will increase farmers’ incomes, which will benefit their businesses. However, there is a concern that if rice prices soar as households are struggling with their budgets due to high prices, that could result in a decrease in demand and instead deliver a blow to farmers’ businesses.

Avoiding excessive price fluctuations and establishing a stable production base would benefit both consumers and producers.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 23, 2024)