New rice price drops for the first time in 6 years Demand for eating out decreases with the new corona October 16 18:20

The price of this year's new rice fell 4% in last month's survey compared to the same month last year.

This was the first drop in six years due to a decrease in demand for eating out due to the impact of the new coronavirus.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the price of new rice sold to wholesalers by agricultural cooperatives and others last month averaged 15,143 yen per 60 kg for all brands.



The price of the same month last year was 676 yen, which was 4% lower than the price, and it fell for the first time in 6 years.



Due to the influence of the new coronavirus, demand for rice for eating out has fallen and inventories have expanded, and the harvest of new rice has been favorable, and it is believed that the movement to refrain from buying has spread among wholesalers.

Next year's production outlook for record-breaking decline

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has summarized that the demand for rice for the year from July to June next year will increase from 7.09 million tons to 7.15 million tons.



Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, it is desirable that next year's rice production will be 6.79 million tons, which is at the same level as or even lower than the demand for the past year, which has dropped significantly.



This is a decrease of 560,000 tons compared to the forecast for this year's production, and it is the largest decrease ever since the country began to show production for main food from rice produced in 2004.



For this reason, the issue is how to promote the conversion of rice for feed and processing to other crops.