Japan Rice Surplus Sends Prices Falling, Farmers Face Fresh Strain

Japan’s rice crunch has flipped into excess supply and falling prices, bringing relief for shoppers while putting fresh pressure on growers already facing rising costs and difficult weather.

Relief for buyers, losses for growers

The shift is welcome news for shoppers, but it has created whiplash for farmers such as Hiroshi Asano, 59, who cultivates a relatively large 38 hectares (93 acres) of rice fields in Chiba, close to Tokyo.

Asano expects to make a loss this year, and he is worried that smaller-scale farmers would not be able to survive the pressure.

“I’ve been hearing about quite a few people who plan to give up this year,” Asano said, looking out across his windblown fields.

A shrinking sector under strain

Asano, a former trucker, turned to farming later in life after first taking over his wife’s family fields.

He later expanded to land abandoned by relatives and neighbours, building up a larger operation than many rice growers.

The pressure on farmers is not limited to lower prices for their products.

Extremes of weather, including record rainfall in the past few weeks, and rising machinery costs have added to the strain on many in the sector.

Those problems have become insurmountable for many farmers in an already shrinking sector, according to the source account.

For shoppers, the surplus means relief after the rice crisis, but for growers like Asano it has turned into a struggle to keep farming viable.

Source: South China Morning Post