Japan Sees Another Wave of Rice Price Increases: Average Price for a 5kg Bag Exceeds 200 Yuan!

According to a CCTV News report on September 23, Japanese media reported on September 22 (local time) that statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries show that during the week of September 8 to 14, the average price for a 5kg bag of rice in the Japanese market was 4,275 yen (approximately 205.5 Chinese yuan), marking the third consecutive week of increase and approaching the record high of 4,285 yen per bag (approximately 206 Chinese yuan) set in May this year.

A total of 120,000 tons of reserve rice was released on June 11, including 20,000 tons remaining after the auction at the end of May and a newly released 100,000 tons, all produced in 2021. If all this rice is applied for by retailers, the Japanese government will release an additional 100,000 tons of reserve rice produced in 2020.

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stated that as of 5:00 PM on June 11, 98 retailers had applied to sell the government reserve rice. According to the conditions set by the Japanese government, applying retailers must complete the sale of the reserve rice before the end of August, when new rice enters the market in large quantities.

The Ministry estimates that the retail price of the 2021 reserve rice is about 1,800 yen per 5kg (approximately 89 Chinese yuan), while the 2020 reserve rice is about 1,700 yen per 5kg (approximately 84 Chinese yuan), both less than half of the market retail price.

Since the summer of 2024, due to factors such as extreme high temperatures causing poor rice harvests, rice prices in Japan have continued to rise. In August last year, meteorological authorities issued a warning about an increased possibility of a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough off the eastern Pacific coast of Japan, triggering a wave of rice hoarding among the public and leading to a temporary "rice shortage" in Japan. With the arrival of new rice on the market, the "rice shortage" has eased somewhat, but rice prices remain high.