Rice Distribution Trends, September 2026
Overview
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries compiled reports from rice shippers, sellers, and organizations, then released preliminary figures on collection, contracts, sales, and private inventories for the 2026 crop as of the end of September, along with sales volumes and prices reported by rice retailers for September 2026. Collection volume and private inventories exceeded the same month a year earlier, while contracted and sold volumes were lower. Sales volumes and prices moved differently by customer group.
Key points
- At the end of September 2026, collection volume and private inventories were higher than a year earlier, while contracted and sold volumes were lower.
- In September 2026, sales volumes and prices moved differently for retail businesses and businesses in prepared meals, food service, and related sectors.
- The published materials were “Collection and Sales of the 2026 Rice Crop by Production Region (as of the end of September 2026),” “Private Rice Inventory Trends (as of the end of September 2026),” and “Trends in Sales Volumes and Prices at Rice Retail Businesses (September 2026).”
Overview
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries compiled reports from rice shippers, sellers, and organizations, and released preliminary figures on collection and sales by production region for the 2026 rice crop, private inventory trends, and sales volumes and prices at rice retail businesses. The collection and sales figures and inventories are as of the end of September 2026; the sales volume and price figures cover September 2026.
As background, the review of rice policy beginning with the 2018 crop sought to improve conditions for rice production aligned with demand, based on producers’ and collection businesses’ and organizations’ independent management decisions and sales strategies. As part of this effort, information on rice supply, demand, and prices, sales progress, and inventories has been provided since March 2014.
Details
In “Collection and Sales of the 2026 Rice Crop by Production Region (as of the end of September 2026),” nationwide collection by shippers was 989,000 tonnes of brown rice (up 41,000 tonnes year on year), contracted volume was 669,000 tonnes (down 573,000 tonnes), and sales volume was 74,000 tonnes (down 47,000 tonnes).
In “Private Rice Inventory Trends (as of the end of September 2026),” the nationwide total at the shipping and sales stages was 2.55 million tonnes of brown rice (up 580,000 tonnes year on year). This comprised 2.06 million tonnes at the shipping stage (up 610,000 tonnes) and 500,000 tonnes at the sales stage (down 30,000 tonnes).
“Trends in Sales Volumes and Prices at Rice Retail Businesses (September 2026)” indexes total volumes and prices for milled rice sold, including government reserve rice sold by the government. Sales volume was 98.4% of the level a year earlier: 104.4% for retail businesses and 91.4% for prepared meal, food service, and related businesses. Sales prices were 81.4% for retail businesses and 109.5% for prepared meal, food service, and related businesses, year on year.