A ship washed ashore in Kamaishi City, which has a major grain operation at its port.
The U.S. Grains Council said the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan Friday “may have caused significant damage to many of Japan’s agricultural facilities and production areas,” and “will likely impact grain trade.”
Although the group did not say so, that suggests Japan could become a larger buyer of U.S. grain and perhaps other products to make up for losses. But besides ravaging part of Japan’s agricultural sector, the quake and aftermath could also make it harder to deliver goods to northern Japan because of damage to seaports there.