Japan Farm Groups Sell 1.32 Million Tons of 2025 Rice as Inventories Jump 51%

1 articles · Updated · Japan Today · Jun 30

1.32 million tons of 2025-harvest rice had been sold by Japan's agricultural groups to wholesalers by end-May, down about 17% from a year earlier and the lowest on record.
Demand shifted toward cheaper government-released stockpiled rice and imported rice, weakening sales through the conventional channel, which handled just under half of the collected 2025 harvest.
Private-sector rice inventories climbed 51% to 2.23 million tons by end-May, near the 2014 record high and well above the ministry's appropriate 1.8 million-2.0 million ton range.
Retail prices have already fallen since the government began releasing stockpiled rice last year: a 5-kilogram bag averaged 3,590 yen in the week ended June 21, down from a 4,416 yen peak around New Year.
Further price declines are possible if wholesalers cut prices to clear stock, with the farm ministry having projected in March that private inventories would reach a record 2.34 million tons by end-June.