Japan food industry eyes rice flour as wheat prices surge – The Mainichi

2 comments

1. Seen plenty of wheat grown in Hokkaido and Shikoku. Many rice farmers alternate between rice and wheat through the year. I think most of the wheat in Shikoku goes to udon and somen production.

   Edit – the article is kinda funny.

   – _”Rice consumption has gone down over the years as people are starting to prefer bread and noodles…”_

   – _”Even though the cost of wheat has risen, companies preferred using wheat flour because rice flour was still more expensive…”_

   Government response: Rather than subsidize the cost to locally produce wheat, let’s continue to aid rice farmers by subsidizing the cost of rice flour, in the hopes that people will use it as an alternative to wheat.

   I guess they know not to upset one of their biggest voting blocks.

2. My Japanese husband will be very unhappy to hear that. He hates bread made with rice flour. I bought a big loaf of it once at the supermarket several years ago because it was cheap and I still haven’t heard the end of that one.