Japan is suffering from a rice shortage as quality issues stemming from a heat wave last year have led to a decline in distribution.
Some supermarkets have put restrictions on purchases of rice to prevent panic buying, and prices are shooting up due also to increased demand for dining out on the back of a tourism rebound.
This year's rice harvest is also feared to be impacted by the scorching heat, spurring concerns among producers and consumers.
"It is the first time rice has been so scarce since the 'rice riots of the Heisei era,'" said Hiromichi Akiba, president of midsize supermarket chain Akidai, referring to a rice shortage experienced in 1993 that was blamed on a cold summer and poor harvests. Akidai's main store in Tokyo's Nerima Ward recently limited rice purchases to one item per customer amid repeated price increases, leaving some customers worried.
"I eat rice every day. What should I do now?" a female customer in her 70s asked.
Despite 2023's harvest volume being on par with previous years, high temperatures have caused rice grains to develop a cloudy look or break into pieces, forcing distribution volume to fall. One major supermarket has canceled its special sales of rice since last month due to stock shortages, while another supermarket hiked rice prices this month by 10% to 20% from the previous month.
"Growing consumption of Japanese food amid a spike in inbound tourists is also a factor pushing up prices," an official from a major rice wholesaler said.
According to preliminary June rice producer price data released by the agriculture ministry on July 16, the price of brown rice per 60 kilograms grew 14% from the year before to ¥15,865, the highest in roughly 11 years.
Ito Seimaiten, a rice shop in Tokyo's Nakano Ward, is declining rice orders from new restaurants due to depleted inventory from rising procurement prices.
"The shortage is expected to be resolved next month as the distribution of new rice (harvested this year) begins in earnest, but procurement prices are unlikely to decline," shop owner Takeo Ito said.
Source: Japan Times
