As wheat prices soar, Japanese food industry pushes for rice flour

Wheat alternative: Rice noodle dishes at Tridor’s new restaurant in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. – The Yomiuri Shimbun

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing wheat prices to soar worldwide, the food industry is looking more at rice as a possible substitute for making flour. Unlike wheat, which has to be imported, rice is less susceptible to price fluctuations in Japan, and restaurant chains and food manufacturers are seeing the grain leading to new business opportunities.

Tridor Holdings Corp., the operator of the Marugame Seimen udon restaurant chain, on March 31 opened the first outlet in Japan of a restaurant chain that uses noodles made from Chinese rice, located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.