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2025-07-30 16:27:31
[Unusual Changes in Japan's Rice Market: Imports Soar 40-fold, What's the Solution to the High Price Dilemma?] ⑴ Data from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, released on the evening of July 30th (Beijing time), showed a surge in rice imports by private companies in Japan in the first half of 2025. ⑵ Total imports in the first half of the year reached 40 times the total for the entire year of 2024, primarily driven by strong demand to replace expensive domestic rice. ⑶ Data shows that trading companies and wholesalers imported approximately 40,605 tons of staple rice, despite Japan's high tariffs. ⑷ Over 70% of this import volume came from the United States. ⑸ Japan imposes a tariff of 341 yen per kilogram on rice exceeding the 770,000-ton tariff-free quota under the WTO's "minimum market access" framework. ⑹ However, domestic rice prices have doubled since last year, making imported rice more affordable even with the tariffs, boosting demand. ⑺ Last year, only 1,008 tons of staple rice were imported through private channels. ⑻ Despite the significant import volume in the first half of the year, it remains a drop in the bucket compared to Japan's annual rice consumption of approximately 7 million tons. ⑼ Japanese rice prices are at a multi-decade high due to a 2023 extreme heat wave that damaged the harvest, leading to a supply shortage. ⑽ Although the government has been releasing emergency rice stocks since March, which has somewhat stabilized prices, private imports continue to soar. ⑾ The recent surge in imports is also related to Japan's agreement to increase imports of US rice as part of the tariff agreement. ⑿ Japan has stated that it will increase the proportion of US rice imports, but will limit it to a tariff-free framework and ensure that it does not enter the domestic staple food market.
