The portion of Japan's food produced at home came to 39 percent in the year to March, falling below 40 percent for the first time in 13 years and one point down from the previous fiscal year, official data showed.

"Poor weather led to poor crops while the declining consumption of rice has failed to stop," said an official at the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The news came at a time of growing concern both in Japan and overseas about food from China following a string of high-profile scares.

Japan counts on China as its second largest foreign supplier of food after the United States.

Japan's food self-sufficiency was still above 70 percent in the early 1960s but has since steadily declined as the world's second largest economy shifts away from agriculture and as the diet becomes more Western.

The Japanese are increasingly turning away from rice, the longtime staple of their diet.

Annual rice consumption per head has been around post-World War II lows as different foods enter Japanese kitchens and working women opt for quicker-to-serve bread or pasta meals.

The last time Japan's food self-sufficiency fell below 40 percent was in 1993 when the rice crop was hit by a cool summer.