In Niigata, a rice producing region, warehouses are strained due to excess rice; a complete turnaround from the ``Reiwa Rice Riots,'' and rice that has no place to go is piling up.

"The inventory at the end of May was about 1.5 times that of last year. This warehouse was also about half empty at this time last year." Mid-June, JA Echigo Chuetsu Nagaoka Farming Center (Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture). Koji Endo, Manager of the Agricultural Economics Division, told me this in front of a pile of rice bags. The cargo was loaded with staple food rice such as Koshihikari rice collected from farmers.

In a complete turn from the ``Reiwa Rice Riot'' that occurred in 2024, rice produced in 2025 that had no place to go is now piling up due to the release of stockpiled rice and a bumper crop of rice produced in 2025. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the private stock of staple rice at the end of April was 2.49 million tons. This was 810,000 tons more than the same month last year, the highest amount in 10 years. The rice surplus is directly hitting the rice fields.

JA Echigo Chuetsu ships the rice it collects to JA Zen-Noh Niigata and wholesalers inside and outside the prefecture. Although 80% of the stock is under contract, wholesalers also have stock and are unable to pick up the rice. Manager Endo says, ``The wholesaler's warehouse is probably fuller than ours.I think it's going to be tough.''

Wholesalers fearing losses

Wholesalers in the prefecture are all concerned about this situation. A wholesaler in Niigata city agreed to an anonymous interview. "This year will be a 'parent-unfilial market.' It's scary how much the losses will increase."

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