Japan to cut rice prices by selling directly to retailers
Japan 's new farm minister said on Monday that the country's embattled government would release reserve rice directly to large retailers in an attempt to bring down prices for consumers after the recent spike.
The cost of the staple has soared in recent months, creating a major headache for Japan's unpopular leadership ahead of upper house elections due in July.
Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the strategy in recent months of auctioning rice from the government's strategic reserve had failed to reduce prices in stores.
Officials have therefore 'decided to sell it in voluntary contracts' to 'large retailers, who treat 10,000 tonnes of rice annually', Koizumi, the son of former premier Junichiro Koizumi, said.
Japan's new Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits the rice section at a supermarket in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: Kyodo
This rice will hit shelves 'in early June at the earliest' and the volume of rice the government will release this time – 300,000 tonnes – will be expanded if demand is strong, he added.
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