The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries disclosed on the 28th that demand for domestically produced table rice for the year starting July 2025 will total just 6.83 million tonnes on a brown rice basis, marking a record low. The figure fell 80,000 to 210,000 tonnes short of the March outlook, as the ministry failed to factor in declining demand for domestic rice amid a rise in private imports. In the wake of the Reiwa rice shortage, the calculation method was revised to account for factors such as demand from foreign visitors, but the surge in imports caused the demand forecast to be overly optimistic. For the 2025 crop, production exceeded the inflated demand forecast due to soaring rice prices, resulting in a surplus. Private inventories at the end of last month swelled to a record 2.43 million tonnes, heightening concerns over falling prices.