Only 7% of Auctioned Rice Reaches Japan Consumers; Distributors Blame Delays on Transportation, Processing

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:06 JST, May 21, 2025

Only about 7% of the government’s stockpiled rice that was auctioned off in March had been made available for retail sales to customers as of April 27, the agriculture ministry has announced.

About 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice was auctioned in March. However, just 10.5%, or 22,379 tons, had been delivered to supermarkets and other retailers, restaurants and cooked meal services, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Tuesday.

When limited to retail sales to consumers, the figure stood at just 7.1%, or 14,998 tons.

In the previous survey of rice distribution as of April 13, only 1.4% of the rice had been delivered to retailers. The April 27 figure represents an increase of nearly 6 percentage points, but sufficient quantities are still not reaching the shelves of supermarkets and other retail outlets.

The ministry conducted two auctions in March. As of April 27, a total of 208,380 tons, or 98.2% of the auctioned rice, had been delivered to rice distributors such as the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh). Of this amount, 54,645 tons, or 25.8%, was sold to wholesalers.

Zen-Noh and other distributors have attributed delays to administrative procedures such as arranging for transportation by truck, as well as the time required for wholesalers to mill and package the rice. The ministry has been hurriedly working to smooth distribution through such measures as urging Zen-Noh to expedite coordination with its business partners to expand supply.

The ministry said Tuesday that the average trading price in April between distributors and wholesalers for all brands of rice harvested in 2024 was a tax-included ¥27,102 for 60 kilograms of unpolished rice.

Representing an increase of ¥1,226, or 5%, from March, this is a new record high and the first rise in two months.