The number of Japanese tourists purchasing rice from South Korea is on the rise amid a spike in rice prices in Japan.

Although travelers must obtain a quarantine certificate from South Korea when bringing rice to Japan, 119 certificates were issued last month, 20 times more than a year ago, according to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.  

The average price of rice in Japan has recently exceeded 42-thousand won per five kilograms, doubling from a year earlier due mainly to a supply shortage.

The average price in Japan is nearly 20-thousand won higher compared to that in South Korea.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, which started exporting rice to Japan for the first time, said two tons shipped on April 8 were sold out in two weeks.

It plans to export an additional ten tons at the beginning of next month.