Japan advised to boost rice exports to 353,000 tons in 2030

By Jiji

Japan should aim to boost annual rice exports, including packaged rice and rice flour, to 353,000 tons in 2030, up eightfold from last year, a government panel has said.

The target is included in a draft five-year basic plan submitted to agriculture minister Taku Eto by the Council of Food, Agriculture and Rural Area Policies on Thursday. The advisory panel for the minister drew up the draft following last year’s revision of the basic law on food, agriculture and rural areas.

Domestic rice prices keep rising amid growing concern about supply shortages. Increasing rice production for exports would help expand supply flexibility as rice intended for foreign markets could be diverted for domestic consumption in case of a domestic rice shortage.

The basic plan, revised every five years, includes specific measures that will be taken under the government’s basic policy on agriculture, as well as food self-sufficiency and other targets.

In the draft, the government’s target for the calorie-based food self-sufficiency rate remains unchanged at 45% for fiscal 2030, up from 38% in fiscal 2023.

The draft introduced new targets related to efforts to exploit foreign demand further.

Specifically, the paper calls for boosting annual food-related spending by visitors from abroad to ¥4.5 trillion in 2023, against ¥1.6 trillion in 2023, and revenue from overseas operations of Japanese food and restaurant businesses to ¥3 trillion, against ¥1.6 trillion in 2022.

“The basic plan clearly shows the country’s agricultural policy,” Eto said after receiving the draft.

This article has been republished from The Japan Times.