News Japan sets goal to boost rice exports sevenfold by 2030

Sources familiar with the matter said the government will set a goal of increasing rice exports, including packaged precooked rice, to 350,000 tons by 2030. The goal would be more than seven times last year's figure of over 46,000 tons. The sources said the government will also set a target export value of 92.2 billion yen, or about 620 million dollars. That's nearly seven times last year's sum. To reach those goals, the government plans to work on integrating farmland to lower production costs and increase the planting of high-yield varieties. Tokyo also plans to expand production of organic rice, which is in high demand overseas.

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The draft of the basic plan, revised roughly every five years, highlighted the need to enhance productivity in addition to expanding exports, noting that geopolitical risks and a decline in domestic farmers have destabilized food production and supply in the country. The government aims to increase the total value of agricultural and food exports from 1.5 trillion yen in 2024 to 5 trillion yen in 2030, while boosting food-related spending by inbound tourists from 1.6 trillion yen to 4.5 trillion yen. For rice production, the plan presented to the Liberal Democratic Party gathering aims to increase the number of farmers managing fields of 15 hectares or larger and reduce production costs from 11,350 yen to 9,500 yen per 60 kilograms to compete with cheaper imports.

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