NEWS
JAPAN’S SAKE PRODUCTION IN DOUBT AS THE GOV’T BATTLES SEVERE RICE SHORTAGE
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
9-9-2024
Credit: Patrycja Jadach/Unsplash
When South Korean government calls on producers to make more rice wine to help alleviate the problem of an over supply of rice in the country, its neighbouring country Japan is mired in a severe shortage of the stable food leading to scenes of panic buy in supermarkets.
As of the end of June, private-sector rice inventories in the country stood at 1.56 million metric tons, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1999.
Retail price of rice has increased by up to 20 percent in August alone making it the highest in decades, according to National Supermarket Association of Japan.
In the face of unabating panic, Japan’s agriculture ministry held an emergency meeting with representatives from rice-related businesses last week in an attempt to gauge levels of current rice inventories and sales outlooks and to ensure smooth distribution of rice to consumers.
As rice inventories have fallen to historic low, coupled with the sharp rise in rice prices, some sake producers in Japan are preparing for productions to be severely disrupted for a couple of years.
“Given rice is the major ingredient in sake production, production costs will certainly increase with rice prices, retail prices of Japanese made sake bound to get higher in the near future,” said a Hong Kong based Japanese sake importer.
The Japanese government is banking on a good rice harvest this autumn to help alleviate the shortage.
Agriculture minister Tetsushi Sakamoto urged the public to remain calm and only buy what they need. “The rice crop is growing steadily, and we expect farmers in some regions to harvest about a week earlier than usual,” he stated. “The shortage will be resolved gradually.”
The causes for rice shortage in Japan is multi-faceted. One immediate cause is that the public rushed to stockpile rice after a warning was issued against a possible huge earthquake off Japan's Pacific coast.
The rice shortage has worsened due to hot weather and water shortages affecting rice crops, along with increased demand from record numbers of foreign tourists.
An ex-agriculture official, however, cited the government’s long-standing acreage reduction policy, which limits rice production to drive up prices, as the major cause for the shortage.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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