The price of the global Japonica market’s benchmark, US #1, 4% broken white rice, is reaching highs not seen in ten years at quite an unfortunate time. Freight from California remains incredibly difficult to source, especially at an affordable rate for buyers. Meanwhile, other Japonica origins, such as Australia and China continue to steadily chip away at market share amid pressure to export their increasingly robust stockpiles. In this Commodities Focus podcast, S&P Global Platts agriculture and freight editors discuss California’s situation and what it means for the global Japonica rice trade going into 2022.