[Rice shortage？] In Aomori．．． “I was surprised there was so much，” said people from the Kanto region who bought it， and sales during the Obon period more than doubled from last year．
8/24 (Sat) 6:02 ATV Aomori TV Rice has disappeared from supermarkets, especially in major metropolitan areas, and there is now a rice shortage nationwide. As a result of this, sales outlets in Aomori Prefecture are beginning to be affected, with orders pouring in. ■Rice sales during the Obon period more than doubled last year due to a “rice shortage” Rice bags lined up, mainly containing prefecture-grown rice. This is Food and Beverage Service Eight, located at the Hasshoku Center in Hachinohe City. This store has seen an increase in people from the Kanto region purchasing rice, and sales during the Obon period have more than doubled compared to 2023. A visitor from Yokohama City said, “I’m jealous (that you have rice), it’s not even on the shelves at supermarkets (in Yokohama). It’s difficult. Really.” A person who came from Tokyo said, “My wife told me there was no rice in the city so if there was any, I should buy some, and there was, so I bought some. I was surprised that rice was readily available in Aomori.” The reason behind this is a nationwide rice shortage. At a direct-sales facility in neighboring Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, the amount of rice delivered began to decline from late May 2024, and finally no more deliveries were made during the Obon period. ■ Why is there a rice shortage? One of the factors is the extreme heat. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, private rice stocks will be 1.56 million tons as of the end of June 2024, the lowest since 1999, when comparable data became available. One of the factors cited is the impact of the extreme heat expected in 2023. Food and beverage store Service Eight manager Osawa Jiro “I’ve heard that the ratio of first-class rice we eat was low due to the extreme heat (last year), which is the reason for this year’s rice shortage.” This is the ratio of non-glutinous brown rice per head of rice produced last year. As of the end of October 2023, Aomori Prefecture’s rate was 68.0%, 23.7 points lower than the previous year. The national average was 61.3%, down 18.1 points from the previous year. As a result, the number of first-grade rice varieties is limited and retailers are receiving a flood of orders. More in the source.
>>1 I’m from Kanagawa Prefecture (living in the center of the prefecture), and they sell rice at drug stores in Yokohama but there’s practically no rice at supermarkets.
It’s not like you’re going to eat tens of kilos at once, so even though it’s expensive, if you just buy the amount you need, you’ll quickly return to normal, so isn’t it stupid to go on a business trip all the way to Aomori?
Around lunchtime in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, near the station, there was a large amount of new rice from Chiba for 2,980 yen/5kg in the basement of a department store. So I don’t think you have to worry about delivery. However, by the evening they were sold out. See you tomorrow, I guess. Well, it looks like there’s plenty of goods, so the fuss is over.
10:00 Tokyo Station 12:00 Arrive in Shizuoka 13:00 Enjoy a delicious tea lunch 14:00 Get this year’s new rice at the roadside station☆ 16:00 Leave Shizuoka 18:00 Arrive in Tokyo.
It’s strange that new rice from Chiba Prefecture is sold in Tokyo and Kanagawa, but for some reason it is not sold in supermarkets in Chiba Prefecture.
>>22 That means it’s only available in places that buy at a high price. There may be a preconceived notion that Chiba residents wouldn’t accept Chiba rice for more than 2000 yen.
Since rice prices will rise with the arrival of the new rice, they are manipulating retail prices at this time to create a shortage so that people will be more likely to accept the new price.
I think it’s probably only available in urban areas like Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, but it’s probably in short supply elsewhere, but you can find it if you go around.
Ishikawa Prefecture has it too. Isn’t it only cities on the Pacific coast like Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya that don’t have it? The mass media is stirring things up too much.
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