Rice purchases by Japan wholesalers hits record low

Japan's agriculture ministry says less than 70 percent of last year's rice harvest has been sold to wholesalers. That's a record low and indicates an oversupplied market.

Officials say distributors had sold just over 1.8 million tons of the 2025 harvest at the end of August.

That's 69 percent of the crop, a drop of 16 percentage points from the previous year and the lowest since data became available in 2013.

The government last year released rice from stockpiles. That's after the price of the staple food had doubled.

The ministry says demand for domestic rice fell as prices rose and more lower-priced imported rice entered the market.

Prices of domestic rice have since declined.

Japan's farmers are now urging the government to buy back the rice it released from stockpiles to improve the supply-demand balance.