Hokkaido's Rice Dashboard: Prices Tumble, Stockpiles Swell, and Watch Out for Bargain-Bin Scammers
Hokkaido's prefectural government has updated its rice supply-and-demand page, reporting falling prices, record private stockpiles, and warning shoppers about fake discount rice websites.
Key Points
- • Hokkaido warns of fraudulent websites selling rice at unnaturally low prices, including fake stockpile rice sales
- • Private rice stocks hit a record 2.55 million tons at end of September 2026, up 580,000 tons year-on-year
- • September 2026 average rice trading price fell 42% year-on-year to 21,293 yen per 60kg, though volume dropped 66%
- • Hokkaido-grown rice's in-prefecture consumption rate hit 90%, exceeding its 85% target for 14 straight years
The Hokkaido prefectural government has refreshed its online rice supply-and-demand information page, bundling price data, growth reports and a consumer warning into one tidy scroll [1]. Topping the list is a caution about fraudulent websites offering rice at suspiciously low prices, apparently cashing in on the recent price turmoil, including sites falsely claiming to sell government stockpile rice online [1]. Shoppers are urged to check the linked details before clicking "buy" [1].
On the numbers side, the page cites agriculture ministry data showing private rice stocks at the end of September 2026 reached 2.55 million tons, up 580,000 tons from a year earlier and the highest level on record [1]. Meanwhile, the average relative trading price for September 2026 rice fell to 21,293 yen per 60kg of brown rice, down 42 percent from a year earlier, though trading volume also dropped 66 percent [1].
The page also tracks the farm minister's press conference answers on topics such as stockpile rice buybacks, supply forecasts and falling rice prices, spanning several ministers through September and October 2026 [1]. Hokkaido's own 2026 crop is reported as growing slightly ahead of schedule, with harvesting also a touch early [1]. For context, 90 percent of Hokkaido-grown rice was consumed within the prefecture in the 2025 rice year, beating its 85 percent target for a 14th straight year [1].
Anyone buying rice online, especially anything claiming to be government stockpile stock, is advised to verify sellers through the official channels mentioned [1].
Source credit 出典：「お米の需給状況に係る情報」（北海道）（https://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/ns/nsk/199259.html）、CC BY 4.0（https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ja）を加工してJapan News (j.apan.news)が作成 This article is Japan News's own English summary of the Japanese original. It has been translated and edited by Japan News; it is not an official translation, and the Hokkaido Prefectural Government did not write or review it.
Sources
This article was written by AI from these Japanese-language reports. Check them before acting on anything here.
- [1] pref.hokkaido.lg.jp — original report (Japanese)
AI-written summary of Japanese reports; not human-reviewed; check the linked sources. How we write articles