Rice sellers sigh: “This year’s harvested rice is too expensive to sell.” Supermarkets are left with mountains of stock, yet they can’t cut price

TL;DR Rice stores and supermarkets are left with mountain of stock of this year's rice because they are too expensive and customers aren't buying them. Not only on shelves but rice are piled in backyard of supermarkets.

Quality of polished rice like those sold at supermarkets begins to degrade after a month. Furthermore, even though this year's rice isn't selling well, price can't be dropped because the price the stores are buying from distributors aren't going down. Stores are reluctant to cut back of buying rice from distributors because of their long relationship.

Major distributors such as JA prepaid farmers this year at a very high price so they can't reduce the price.

Stores can only label the rice that was harvested this year and being sold at the stores as this year's rice. That is, they won't be able to label rice as new rice starting next January. As such, the price is forecasted to drop next January.