JAPAN GOVERNMENT PROMISES LOWER-PRICED STOCKPILED RICE SUPPLY FOR RURAL AREAS - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN GOVERNMENT PROMISES LOWER-PRICED STOCKPILED RICE SUPPLY FOR RURAL AREAS - TOKYO JAPAN   

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The government on Wednesday vowed to deliver lower-priced stockpiled rice it releases as a counter to surging prices more broadly and stably to consumers in rural areas, after it suspended taking orders from major retailers to make room for smaller ones.

About 70 major retailers made requests to buy reserve rice from the farm ministry, bringing the total to over 200,000 tons, or about two-thirds of the 300,000 tons up for sale, a day after the launch of a new release scheme on Monday.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries decided to stop taking orders Tuesday night, unveiling plans to allocate the rest, or 100,000 tons, to smaller supermarkets and rice shops. It is scheduled to start accepting requests possibly Friday, with transport costs to be shouldered by the government.

"We will continue with our efforts to make sure reserve rice will reach people living in rural areas as much as possible," Japan's new farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a parliamentary session in the House of Representatives, indicating that the government would impose a purchase limit for big retailers.

The ministry limits buyers to large retailers handling at least 10,000 tons of rice a year at present.

The government has been scrambling to ease the pain and frustration felt by households as retail rice prices have doubled from a year earlier.

After its releases of stockpiled rice through auctions earlier this year failed to rein in the price surge, the government switched to direct sales to retailers.

Major supermarket operators Aeon Co and Ito-Yokado Co as well as e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc. moved to buy reserve rice, according to the ministry. But many of them chose the newer rice on offer harvested in 2022, meaning that the reminder from 2021 will be offered to smaller shops.

"We hope that the ministry under the strong leadership of Minister Koizumi will strive to supply lower-priced rice in a stable manner," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference.

Koizumi was put in charge of the ministry and its rice policy by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba a week ago, after his predecessor resigned over his controversial remarks about receiving free rice from supporters.

Reserve rice from 2021 will likely be sold at around 1,800 yen per 5 kilograms, more than half the recent average retail price.

Japan had stockpiled 910,000 tons of rice before it released 312,000 tons in three tranches in auctions in March and April. About half of the remaining 600,000 tons is currently set for release.

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