Japan to curb prices of stockpiled rice
The Japanese government plans to curb retail prices of stockpiled rice to some 2,000 yen per 5 kilograms, agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday.
The government plans to launch procedures on Monday to sell stockpiled rice under discretionary contracts. Since March, it has held auctions to sell such rice to those who place the highest bids.
Koizumi told reporters in Tokyo that under discretionary contracts, the government will release 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice and increase the amount if demand arises.
Rice sold under discretionary contracts is expected to reach consumers as early as June, he said.
The government aims to sell stockpiled rice at about 10,000 yen per 60 kilograms under discretionary contracts, compared with some 20,000 yen under auctions.
The average price of rice sold at supermarkets across the country has stayed above 4,000 yen per 5 kilograms since March, despite releases of stockpiled rice through auctions, according to the agriculture ministry.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has told parliament that his government would try to lower retail rice prices below 4,000 yen per 5 kilograms.
So far, only businesses with annual purchases of 5,000 tons or more of brown rice have been eligible to place bids for stockpiled rice. About 95 pct of the successful bids has been made by the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh.
The government thinks that the introduction of discretionary contracts will allow retailers such as supermarkets as well as online shopping site operators to buy stockpiled rice.
If rice prices fall in general following the release of stockpiled rice under discretionary contracts, farmers' incomes may drop. Still, Koizumi said that rice prices are "too high now." Stabilising prices is "to prevent consumers from leaving rice," he said.
A survey by the ministry indicates that the country's total rice planting area in 2025 is expected to rise by 75,000 hectares from the previous year to 1,334,000 hectares, the largest in five years. Rising prices are apparently encouraging rice farmers to produce more.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Photo by Reuters
