2017 Volume 90 Issue 6 Pages 607-624
The issue of the imports of US-produced rice, which entered the limelight under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement in 2015, has been left up in the air by US President Trump’s decision to quit the TPP. However, rice exports remain a pressing need for the USA and are expected to be on the agenda of bilateral negotiations. This paper examines the current trends in the supply of and demand for rice and in rice-producing areas in the USA since the country started exporting rice under the GATT Uruguay Round agreement in 1995.
In regions in California that produce rice exported to Japan, the findings were that: 1) Through expansion of domestic and international markets, historically high levels of production and profitability are being maintained. 2) Further expansion of the land area used for rice cultivation would be difficult due to constraints on irrigation. 3) The bulk of rice produced is of the medium-grain variety, and even with the recent Japanese food boom the market for short-grain rice has not expanded. 4) Farmers are reluctant to cultivate Japanese varieties of short-grain rice such as Koshihikari because they give low yields and are difficult to cultivate. Hence, currently in the USA, there is little pressure to export rice, and it is unlikely that the production of short-grain rice suitable for the Japanese market will increase. Therefore, in future US-Japan bilateral negotiations, the expansion of rice import quotas is unnecessary. Maintaining the present rice trade framework will lead to the most favorable outcomes for the USA.
Geographical Review of Japa,. Ser. A, Chirigaku Hyoron
