BANGKOK/HANOI/TOKYO — Rice imports from Southeast Asia are ramping up in Japan, providing a more-affordable source of the staple grain as persistently tight domestic supply keeps prices high.
Vietnam’s Tan Long Group plans to bring over 20,000 metric tons of rice to Japan this year, more than quadruple last year’s total and equivalent to the annual consumption for around 400,000 people. While the company had mainly imported long-grain indica rice, it expanded into short-grain japonica rice, the type usually grown in Japan, last fall.
