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Kyodo News
a day ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 15:52 | All, Japan The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc. were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen ($15) including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, northeastern Japan, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co. and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. Related coverage: Japan consumer watchdog warns of rice scam websites as prices soar Japan eyes more rice exports as domestic consumption set to decline Japan opposition chief rebuked for calling gov't reserve rice "animal feed"
Japan Today
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves in Japan
Bags of reserve rice released from government stockpiles are seen on the shelves at an Ito-Yokado supermarket in Tokyo on Saturday. The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. © KYODO
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves
KYODO NEWS - 11 minutes ago - 14:33 | All, Japan The Japanese government's stockpiled rice released through direct contracts with retailers began hitting store shelves Saturday, with consumers flocking to the cheaper products. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and home appliance company Iris Ohyama Inc. were the first to start selling the rice at some of their shops, both setting a price tag of 2,160 yen ($15) including tax for a 5 kilogram-bag. At an Ito-Yokado store in Tokyo's Ota Ward, 500 bags of rice sold out in just 30 minutes since its opening at 10 a.m. Other Ito-Yokado stores will also start selling the rice on Sunday or later. At a home center operated by an Iris Ohyama group company in Sendai, northeastern Japan, some 250 people lined up before 8 a.m. in the rain to get numbered tickets to purchase the rice. "It's cheap, and that helps," Mitsuko Matsuura, 71, said, expressing her relief that she was able to purchase the rice. She also said its taste was "not so different" from newly harvested rice. An 82-year-old man was disappointed that he was not able to make a purchase. "We are a family of five, so it's quite tough. I would like to come again to buy (the rice)." In the latest effort to bring down the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began selling its stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers earlier this week. Subject to the direct contracts is 300,000 tons of rice from 2021 and 2022. Ito-Yokado secured 5,000 tons and Iris Ohyama 10,000 tons of the 2022 harvest. Supermarket giant Aeon Co. and discount store chain Don Quijote will also start selling the stockpiles they procured from Sunday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initially offered reserve rice through auctions. But it switched to selling it directly to retailers in the hope that doing so will be more effective in curbing rice prices. Related coverage: Japan consumer watchdog warns of rice scam websites as prices soar Japan eyes more rice exports as domestic consumption set to decline Japan opposition chief rebuked for calling gov't reserve rice "animal feed"
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Rice from Japan government stockpiles hits shelves
Rice from Japanese government stockpiles sold through special no-bid contracts has hit store shelves at some retailers, amid high prices. Major supermarket operator Ito-Yokado began selling the grain on Saturday at an outlet in Tokyo's Ota Ward. Employees stacked up 500 bags of rice in a dedicated section after a truck arrived on Saturday morning. A five-kilogram bag was priced at 2,160 yen including tax, or about 15 dollars. Purchases were limited to one per family. All the bags sold out about 30 minutes after the store opened at 10 a.m. A woman in her 30s who bought the rice said she had stood in line because she heard that rice was at half the current price. She hoped that prices of other types of rice will go down. Ito Yokado signed a contract to buy 5,000 kilograms harvested in 2022 through the no-bid program. President Yamamoto Tetsuya said the company applied for the purchase because it wanted to offer rice at a reasonable price. He said he had little idea about price trends for other types of rice, but wants to offer customers stockpiled rice as one of the options. Household goods maker Iris Ohyama also started selling government-stockpiled rice on Saturday at two outlets in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures. It signed a contract to purchase 10,000 tons. Major retailer Aeon is expected to sell the rice from Sunday. The government offered the sale of a total of 300,000 tons of rice -- 200,000 tons from the 2022 harvest and 100,000 tons from the 2021 harvest -- directly to retailers. Attention is focused on whether the widespread sale of the stockpiles will help bring down rice prices.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japanese customers brave the rain to line up for cheap, stockpiled rice
Iris Ohyama began sales of government stockpiled rice at two of its home center locations in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures on Saturday morning, marking the first time such rice — procured through a discretionary government contract amid sky-high prices for the grain — has been sold at a brick-and-mortar store. Despite steady rain, lines formed early outside the Unidy Matsudo Tokiwadaira store in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, where numbered tickets were distributed from 8 a.m., with a limit of one bag per person. The queue snaked from the store entrance around the building and into the parking lot, with around 100 people in line from 6 a.m. Some customers toward the front of the line began lining up as early as 8 p.m. the previous evening, according to Mao Takaoka, a company spokesperson. Sales began an hour later, with 5-kilogram bags priced at ¥2,000 ($14) before tax, less than half the average price in recent weeks. All of the 65 bags prepared for the day sold out quickly, with many leaving empty-handed. 'We came early because it's hard to pass up rice at this price,' said one woman in her 60s, who was waiting near the end of the line with a neighbor after arriving before 6 a.m. 'Of course we're a little worried about how it'll taste, but the cheapness matters more than anything. If it doesn't taste good, we'll just mix it with ice or cook it with lots of other things. There's always a way,' she added. Iris Ohyama signed a deal through its group company on Tuesday to purchase 10,000 tons of stockpiled rice, which it will receive over the next two months and sell in stages, both online and in-store. | Jessica Speed A man in his 70s cited rising costs of living as his reason for lining up early. 'Everything is so expensive these days,' he said. 'Sure, rice and gas prices are coming down a little, but everything else — vegetables, milk, daily essentials — just keep going up.' 'If the government doesn't step in and do more for the people, a lot of us are going to be in real trouble.' He also noted the strain of waiting in the cold morning hours. 'Honestly, I'd be happy if they started handing out tickets even earlier. Most of us in line are older folks. We're the ones who line up for things like this,' he chuckled, rubbing his hands to stay warm. Another man in his 70s, who began lining up at 5 a.m. after waking at 3:30 a.m., said the effort was worth it. 'It feels like I really pulled it off!' he said with a grin, clutching his bag. 'I haven't carried something this heavy in a long time.' He said he wasn't concerned about the rice being from the 2022 harvest. 'I won't know how it tastes until I try it,' he said. 'If I cook it a little longer and add some sake and mirin, it'll probably be fine.' 'I'm planning to eat some tonight,' he added. 'I'm really looking forward to it.' The in-store launch was originally scheduled for June 2, but was moved up after milling operations finished ahead of schedule. 'We wanted to be first to market and get the product out to our customers,' Nobuo Tanaka, head of Iris Ohyama's general affairs department, told reporters Saturday. 'We were also first to sign a discretionary contract and begin milling.' Tanaka said the ¥2,000 price point was based on levels from about two years ago. 'This price has had a big impact, and drawn a lot of attention.' People line up for the chance to buy rice released from a government stockpile on Saturday in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. | Jessica Speed The early rollout follows strong online demand. The company's entire online preorder allotment sold out in about 45 minutes after starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to a report from NHK. The company began receiving deliveries that same day and immediately launched milling and packaging operations, with the first packages being shipped out on Friday, ahead of schedule. Iris Ohyama signed a deal through its group company on Tuesday to purchase 10,000 tons of stockpiled rice, which it will receive over the next two months and sell in stages, both online and in-store. The company also beat Ito Yokado by a narrow margin to be the first to provide rice to customers. Ito Yokado launched last-minute sales at its Omori branch in Tokyo's Ota Ward, with sales starting at 10 a.m. Separately, the agricultural ministry on Friday reopened applications for the discretionary sale of 80,000 tons of stockpiled rice from the 2021 harvest, targeting small-scale retailers such as independent grocers and supermarkets.
