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The Ministry of Agriculture has taken unprecedented steps to alleviate the soaring rice prices that have plagued Japan since the summer 2024 rice shortage.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has taken extraordinary steps to alleviate high rice prices that have continued to increase since the domestic rice shortage in summer 2024.

FAS/Tokyo projects Japan’s forage demand to continue to be sluggish in MY2024/25 due to the slow recovery of cattle inventories. Even weaker demand for imported forage is anticipated as farmers shift to price-competitive domestic forage.

FAS/Tokyo estimates lower wheat and barley production in Marketing Year (MY)2024/25 from the previous year as unfavorable weather conditions and disease outbreak have reduced yields in main production regions.

Throughout summer 2024, Japan has been grappling with a table rice shortage resulting in empty supermarket as demand outpaced production for the last three years causing stocks to deplete to their lowest levels in over 20 years.

The 2023 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2023 calendar year.

FAS/Tokyo forecasts an increase in corn imports and consumption in MY2023/24 and MY2024/25 due to softening global prices and the rebound of the layer population following the recovery of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks.

The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA) entered Year 5 of the agreement implementation on April 1, 2023.

FAS/Tokyo estimates lower MY2023/24 rice production in Japan as extremely high temperatures and little rain are expected to lower yield and quality.

The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, which entered into force on January 1, 2020, improved market access for U.S. products through the creation of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for food wheat, wheat products, malt, processed cheese, whey, glucose and fructose, potato starch, corn starch, and inulin.

The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA) entered Year 5 of the agreement implementation on April 1, 2023.

The 2022 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2022 calendar year.