Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
Amidst the rice shortage in Japan, consumers are turning to California rice, known as Calrose rice, as a cheaper alternative . Calrose rice is a medium-grain variety that is relatively similar in taste to Japanese rice and cheaper than the short-grain Japanese cultivar . With the price of domestic rice increasing by 14% year on year.
Amid an ongoing shortage of Japanese rice, which has caused prices to surge, consumers are turning to cheaper California rice, with retailers reporting a sharp rise in sales.
Known as Calrose rice, it is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, with a relatively similar taste to Japanese rice compared to Thai rice. With the price of domestic rice harvested last year being 14% higher year on year in June, Calrose is seen as a cheaper alternative.
Nippon Brice, a nationwide seller of rice and grains in Fukuoka Prefecture that has been selling Calrose rice for a decade, said demand for Calrose rice has been especially robust this year.
“Sales of Calrose have grown tenfold from last year,” said a spokesperson for Nippon Brice.
According to the agriculture ministry’s most recent data, the trading price for rice harvested last year and then sold to wholesalers by the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Group) and others in June was ¥15,865 per 60-kilogram batch on average for all brands, up 14% from the same period last year.
Rice Meister Kojimachi, a store in Tokyo that primarily supplies retailers and restaurants, also started selling Calrose in July when its stock of Japanese rice appeared to be falling short.
“There is a wide range of customers who want Calrose because of how cheap it is,” said Shuzo Fukushi, 75, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi.
Bags of Calrose and Japanese rice blended together are selling well because of the price hike and shortage of Japanese rice, he said. At his store, Calrose rice is priced at ¥360 per kg — half the price of the Japanese rice he sells.
Increased consumption by inbound tourists and panic-buying triggered by the Meteorological Agency’s megaquake advisory on Aug. 8 are among several factors that have exacerbated the slight rice shortage Japan experiences every summer before the annual fall harvest replenishes stores.
Supermarkets across the country are putting up notices apologizing for being out of stock or capping customers’ rice purchases to one bag each.
The agriculture ministry, however, is optimistic that the situation will improve.
“I went to the supermarket yesterday and the clerk said that it is scheduled to come in on Wednesday. Considering this, I believe that this rice shortage situation will be resolved sooner or later,” said farm minister Tetsushi Sakamoto during a news conference on Tuesday.
Sakamoto said that production of this year’s crop is expected to increase from last year but acknowledged reports that advance payments from the JA Group to farmers are 20% to 40% higher than last year’s, which is likely to be reflected in this year’s price tag.
The agriculture ministry imported 31,102 metric tons of Calrose rice from the U.S. in 2023. Rice imports for staple food in Japan are capped at 100,000 tons a year to protect domestic farmers.
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Source Link : https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/06/japan/society/california-rice/
