Agricultural market: American rice dominates the Japanese market

Japanese retailers are turning to California-grown Calrose rice to replace Japanese rice, which is now expensive and scarce.

Rice at a warehouse in Saitama, Japan (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)

Supermarket chain Aeon held a tasting of Calrose rice at the US Embassy in Tokyo and announced it will sell the rice from June 6.

US Ambassador to Japan, Mr. George Glass, commented that this is a historic turning point when Japan's largest supermarket chain sells American Calrose rice nationwide.

A 4kg bag of Calrose rice costs 2,894 yen ($19.80), about 15% cheaper than Japanese rice. The average price of a 5kg bag of Japanese rice in the week ending April 28 was 4,214 yen.

Calrose rice is a long grain rice, not as sticky as Japanese rice, suitable for dishes like fried rice or risotto.

Aeon Vice President Mitsuko Tsuchiya said Aeon wants to diversify choices for customers, but still values ​​domestic rice to ensure food security.

Last month, Aeon sold a blend of Japanese and American rice under the World Trade Organization’s “minimum access” agreement, which allows Japan to import some foreign rice duty-free. However, Calrose rice will be imported outside the agreement, and Aeon will be charged 341 yen per kilogram.

The trend of using foreign rice is growing. Retail chain Ito Yokado sold California-grown rice at some stores from February to April.

A staff member at a rice shop in Tokyo said that Calrose rice has a certain stickiness, not much different from Japanese rice if cooked properly. According to this staff member, many people still do not understand the true taste of Calrose rice, but in fact many Japanese restaurants use it.

Japanese rice prices have risen sharply since last year, forcing the government to auction off its reserves. However, rice prices are still double those of the previous year./.

According to VNA

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