The Sake Wire Reports on Rising Rice Costs for Sake Brewers

The Sake Wire examines how rising rice costs affect Japan’s sake breweries, drawing on a 2026 study by Jun Sato of the University of Niigata Prefecture. In a survey of 115 breweries, the study found that raw rice prices rose by an average of 95.3% between 2023 and 2025.

About 30% of the surveyed breweries had not fully passed those higher costs on to product prices. Weighted by production volume, the study estimates that breweries facing insufficient price pass-through account for roughly half of the sake on the market. Its simulation also highlights the difficulty of raising prices for lower-priced sake.

The study examines Japan’s domestic market; it does not establish a specific effect on export prices.

Read the original article on The Sake Wire. View the underlying study on J-STAGE.