Japan and China are negotiating terms and conditions for a rice deal and are reportedly very close to hammer out an agreement that would restore full-scale exports of Japanese rice to China.

Japanese rice exports to China were suspended in 2003 due to quarantine-related issues, but some shipments were temporarily resumed last year. With the reasons for the quarantine now largely resolved, rice exports are likely to be fully restored.

China's rice consumption is said to total 200 million MT annually, making it at least 20 times the size of the Japanese market.