Demand in Japan for rice grown for direct human consumption is expected to decrease to 6.81 million tons, down by 100,000 tons from 2022, marking the 10th consecutive year of decline, according to the agriculture ministry.
This figure is anticipated to be the lowest since the start of comparable data in 1996.
In light of the ongoing decline in demand for rice as a staple food, the ministry has been encouraging farmers to shift towards growing soybeans and wheat, as well as rice used for animal feed.
The ministry has also released a survey on rice acreage in 2023 by prefecture.
By the end of June, 24 out of the 47 prefectures had estimated a decrease in rice acreage of over 1% compared to the previous year, which is an increase of seven prefectures from the previous survey conducted in April.
Only Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures are expecting an increase in rice acreage, while the remaining 21 prefectures predict that their acreage will mostly remain unchanged.
In addition to a shrinking population, the decrease in the average amount of rice consumed per person in Japan has contributed to the further decline in demand.
Regarding the latest survey, the ministry stated that a demand-oriented adjustment to rice production and sales has started to take hold.
Meanwhile, rice inventories in the private sector as of the end of June decreased by 210,000 tons compared to the previous year, reaching 1.97 million tons. This reflects a recovery in rice demand in the restaurant industry following the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions.
This marks the first time in four years that inventories have fallen within the range of 1.8 million to 2 million tons, which are levels where rice prices stabilize.
The inventories are projected to reach 1.84 million tons by the end of June 2024.