Japan Rice Prices: Updated June 9, 2025.

Over half of rice producing firms in Japan feel store rice prices 'too high'

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250607/p2g/00m/0na/029000c

Ideas

There might be something not right in the supply chain related to rice as Japan is known with a having multiples of layers in the supply chain which can increase the price for each chain member it goes to.

The price might start low with the rice producers but by the time it goes to the supermarket it might be very high even much higher than the rice producer price.

Yes, rice is a staple in Japan and is used it and with many different Japanese food dishes, but as anyone knows, if the price of a product begins to get too high consumers will cutback and or find substitutes.

There is always the possibility of Japanese consumers changing to foreign rice which is usually cheaper as it is not as popular and not in high demand which of course might mean a lower price product.

There is always the chance or possibility that some of the rice producers have formed some kind of cartel to keep the price high as they fear there might be another rice shortage like last summer.

The Japanese government needs to put price controls on the rice at supermarkets as a way to keep the prices down for the good of Japanese households.

And then, as needed, temporarily give subsidies to the supermarkets to make up for any losses that they might feel.

This strategy maybe should have been implemented from the very beginning, as again, the Japanese supply chains are structured in a way that the price goes up every time it goes through the supply chain system, as there are multiple layers in the supply chain.

The wholesalers and other middlemen in the Japanese rice market system only have themselves to blame as they are only looking out for themselves and not thinking about the good of Japanese society or Japanese households.

The head of the association of course is mainly only thinking about his association members and not really about all involved in the process and especially not about the low-income groups that might be the largest buyer of the rice.

And yes, the middlemen and wholesalers need to make a profit too, but again, there are just too many in the middlemen system which causes the price to be unnaturally too high.

It's important also to know what is the income level of those in the survey? If the respondents are from a high income group of course they might not think the price is too high or even consider the price appropriate but if they are from a low income group then of course they are going to think the price of rice is too high.

Maybe the Japanese middlemen system or wholesale system has worked efficiently for many years, but when the system has some hiccups likes last summer maybe its time to modify the system for the good of Japanese society and Japanese households, and the Japanese economy.

Of course the farm lobbying group is going to say its not too high, as again, he might be thinking only about his lobby group and not for the good of Japanese society or Japanese households.

That's the problem and challenge of a market system as sometimes different parts of a market system only think about their piece of the pie and don't see the big picture or everyone who is involved in the market.

And yes, to be fair, farm companies have the right to worry about the high price of purchasing facilities and machines for farming, and yes, its difficult to see the big picture when they only see their costs continuing to increase.

And yes, when the supply of a product is over-produced the price of a product can be much lower than when there is a shortage of a product.

So its quite possible some farmers might hold back how much they produced to look like there is a shortage to ensure that the price remains high, which what might have actually happened last summer in Japan. 

And yes, again, if the price of a product gets too high its only natural that some consumers are going to think twice about buying that product and or try to find substitutes for the product at a lower price.

And again, foreign rice might be a good substitute for the high priced Japanese rice as foreign price is not as popular or in high demand which means the price might be much lower.

Have a nice day!