THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

While consumers have suffered from shortages of rice on store shelves across the nation, exports of the Japanese staple food have been booming. 

Producers shipped a record amount of rice overseas between January and July.

However, some argue that the growing volume of rice reserved for the rest of the world should have gone to shoppers in Japan. 

But utilizing the harvest to be otherwise delivered to the global market for addressing the domestic shortfall appears to be unrealistic under the current subsidy framework.

RICE EXPORTER SEES RISING DEMAND

Hyakusho Ichiba, a trading house in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, that exports rice, is enjoying strong sales abroad.

“Our export volume has been up 50-fold in the past eight years, now that we have buyers in 30 or so countries,” said Aritomo Hasegawa, 39, president of Hyakusho Ichiba. “There is still a lot of demand.”

Hyakusho Ichiba embarked on international shipping in 2016. It found hope in overseas expansion, taking into account the gradually shrinking demand and slumping rice prices in the domestic market.

The rice exporter has since been building sales channels by sending farmers to local supermarkets for tasting events, where the producers’ particularity and cooking methods to enhance the crop’s flavor can be showcased.

Buoyed by the increasing numbers of visitors to the Asian state and Japanese-style restaurants abroad, Hyakusho Ichiba expects to meet its export goal for 2025 of 3,000 tons as early as this year. It is looking to double the volume to 6,000 tons by 2027.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries show that rice exports swelled from 4,516 tons in 2014 to 37,186 tons in 2023, marking an eight-fold increase over the course of nine years.

The figure for the January-July period this year hit a record high of 24,469 tons, up 23 percent from the same window of the previous year.

Rice from Japan is sent primarily to Hong Kong, the United States and Singapore.

JAPANESE FOOD SURGING IN POPULARITY

A driving force behind the brisk exports is the worldwide Japanese food boom.

An increasing number of people are dining out much more frequently following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The yen’s depreciation is making prices on the menus of Japanese restaurants look increasingly affordable for foodies outside the nation.

Consequently, the number of Japanese eateries overseas climbed 20 percent over two years to 187,000 in 2023.

Sushiro, Japan’s top conveyor-belt sushi chain, operated a total of 168 outlets in seven countries and regions as of the end of August. The number rose more than 100 over the last three years.

Most of the Sushiro stores utilize rice grown in Japan.

“Utilizing high-quality domestically cultured rice, we are able to serve Japan’s delicious sushi even in local areas, just as we do in our homeland,” said a representative of Sushiro’s operator, Food & Life Companies Ltd.

The rice ball restaurant chain Omusubi Gonbei started operations in the United States in 2013. It has a total of four stores in two countries at present.

As the traditional fast food from Japan is reasonably priced and easy to take out, Omusubi Gonbei sells up to several thousand rice balls each day.

Onigiri at Omusubi Gonbei are available for $1 (144 yen) to $3 per piece in North America. This far lower price than sandwiches offers a competitive advantage to the chain.

“Along with their affordable prices, the healthy and satisfying qualities of brown rice balls and other onigiri are key factors contributing to the widespread acceptance of our offerings among consumers,” said a Omusubi Gonbei representative. 

But consumers in Japan wonder if it is possible to redirect rice for export to the domestic market to alleviate the ongoing meager distribution.

The recent imbalance between supply and demand has been brought about because the poor quality of rice in the harvest last year, caused by high temperatures and drought, resulted in decreased distribution.

ONLY A FRACTION DESTINED FOR EXPORT

Additionally, consumers in Japan bought up and hoarded rice due to the Nankai Trough megaquake advisory issued in August, which warned of the potential of a devastating earthquake.

The answer to the redirect question is, however, no.

Rice meant for international shipping is tied to subsidies at the planting stage, rendering it impossible for farmers to sell their harvested produce through any means other than export.

The central government instituted a specialized subsidy system for rice to be delivered to outside Japan, when its agricultural output adjustment policy to prevent excessive rice production was abolished in 2018.

Owners of rice paddies for export purposes currently receive 40,000 yen per 1,000 square meters. Circulating rice assigned to international sales within the domestic market would mean that the producers would be forced to return the subsidy.

Apart from the subsidy problem, the food law stipulates that vendors and shippers of rice should not divert their produce to other purposes, once it is allocated for a certain objective.

Much more important is that exported rice accounts for a tiny fraction of the crop’s total production.

Only 50,000 tons, or less than 1 percent of the overall output, is prepared exclusively for export, while staple rice harvests amount to 6.61 million tons nationwide.

For that reason, it remains unclear whether diverting rice meant for export to domestic consumers, if possible, could effectively ease supply shortages.

(This article was written by Nobufumi Yamada and Yosuke Watanabe.)

Published Date: October 24, 2024