Latest news with #KoizumiShinjiro
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan agriculture minister says transparency needed in rice trade
Japan's agriculture minister is reviewing the country's rice distribution system as part of efforts to try and reduce the surge in prices of the staple food. One retailer has said the supply chain is part of the problem because it is crowded with too many companies. President Yoshida Naoki of the Don Quijote outlets has made the argument in a letter to Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro. Yoshida says the national agricultural co-operatives, known as the JA Group, collect most of the crop and control the supply chain. He says the JA Group sells the rice to a limited number of wholesalers and it then goes through multiple tiers of other brokers that add a profit margin. He argues that this process cranks up the price by the time it reaches stores. "The rice supply and distribution system is far outdated," said Yoshida. "This needs to be recognized as the first step in addressing the problem." Koizumi told reporters on Sunday that Yoshida's views need to be considered to identify what has caused rice prices to double in the past year. "Rice distribution should become more transparent," he said. "That's one of the issues the government has to discuss." Koizumi says the ministry will review the supply chain system for further discussion by the government.
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan government stockpiled rice reaches consumers
The Japanese government's stockpiles of rice that are sold directly to retail firms are now on sale at retail outlets. Attention is focused on whether the widespread sale of the stockpiles will help bring down rice prices. Amid the soaring price of rice that has been hitting households, the Japanese government began releasing its stockpiles through direct contracts. A total of 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice harvested in 2021 and 2022 are on sale through no-bid contracts. 5-kilogram bags of rice on sale at around 2,000 yen, or about 14 dollars, were spotted at some stores on Sunday. A number of people are visiting supermarkets and other outlets to buy stockpiled rice. On Sunday, Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro says he thinks the release of stockpiled rice may help lower all rice prices to some extent. The agriculture ministry is also accepting applications from small and mid-sized retailers to buy government-stockpiled rice from Friday. A total of 80,000 tons harvested in 2021 are up for sale through no-bid contracts. The ministry says it has already received about 1,300 applications. It says it will temporarily stop accepting applications from rice retailers on Monday afternoon, saying applications might account for all the rice set to be released.
NHK
5 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan's smaller retailers start applying for stockpiled rice
Japan's agriculture ministry has begun accepting applications from small and mid-sized retailers to buy government-stockpiled rice. A total of 80,000 tons harvested in 2021 are up for sale through no-bid contracts. The ministry says 60,000 tons are available to the small and mid-sized retailers. The remainder will go to rice shops equipped with polishing facilities. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro has projected that with distribution cost included, the retail price before tax will be around 1,800 yen, or 12 dollars and 50 cents per five kilograms. That's less than half the current supermarket price. Recently, consumers have seen the price of Japan's staple grain hiked to over 4,000 yen. In the meantime, large retailers are beginning to receive their shipments. The operator of discount chain Don Quijote plans to start selling the rice in Tokyo from early June, and then expand the number of stores across the country. Aeon says it will start selling it at some of its stores from Sunday and Monday. The retail giant has bought 20,000 tons, the largest amount among retailers. A 5-kilogram bag will be priced at about 2,100 yen including tax. The bags are limited to one per family. Meanwhile, Japan's Transport Minister Nakano Hiromasa has said he will set up an office to support distribution of the rice. The office will support the drawing up of adjustments between the agriculture ministry and logistics operators that transport the rice. Nakano said he will cooperate closely with the agriculture ministry to prevent distribution bottlenecks.
NHK
6 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Government-stockpiled rice starts reaching retailers
Government-stockpiled rice sold through no-bid contracts has started to reach major retailers in Japan. The program will soon be opened to smaller sellers including local supermarkets and rice shops. On Thursday, a shipment of the grain arrived at a polishing plant in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi. The facility belongs to a retailer affiliated with household goods maker Iris Ohyama. The affiliate has signed a contract to buy 10,000 tons through the program. Iris Ohyama says it started accepting orders on its website at 1 PM on Thursday, but it sold out the amount allocated for the day in about 45 minutes. The firm says it will accept orders again on Friday, starting from 1 PM. The grain is expected to hit store shelves on Monday priced at 2,160 yen, including tax, or about 15 dollars, for a 5 kilogram bag. Internet retail giant Rakuten Group also started selling the released rice on Thursday through a dedicated webpage. The firm is allotting rice for sale by the day. The first batch sold out quickly. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro says that his ministry is working to set separate slots for local rice shops and smaller supermarkets. The ministry is aiming to sell the reserved rice to a wide variety of retailers so that the crop will reach a wider population.
NHK
27-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Japan's agriculture ministry halts applications to buy stockpiled rice
Japan's agriculture ministry has stopped accepting applications from retailers wanting to buy government-stockpiled rice. Dozens of requests had poured in. The ministry says it will sell a total of 300,000 tons of rice directly to retailers from the 2021 and 2022 harvest stockpiles. Prices will be set at roughly half the level of the average winning bids from recent auctions. The move follows a series of competitive auctions that failed to bring down the soaring prices of the staple crop. Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro told reporters on Tuesday that demand for the no-bid contracts is quite strong with about 70 retailers applying so far. He said the ministry is putting a temporary pause on new requests from major retailers as the applications made so far are expected to cover some 200,000 tons of rice from the 2022 harvest. Koizumi went on to say that the remaining rice from the 2021 harvest will be made available to smaller retailers, such as local supermarkets and rice shops, which were previously not eligible. He expressed hope to resume the application process as early as Friday. He said he estimates that a 5-kilogram bag of rice from the 2021 harvest will likely be priced at around 1,800 yen, or about 12.5 dollars. Major retailers that have already signed contracts are stepping up preparations to start selling rice from the government's stockpiles early next week. Household goods maker Iris Ohyama has announced that it applied to buy 10,000 tons of rice through one of its group companies and singed a contract on Tuesday. Other companies that say they have submitted applications include major retailers Aeon and Ito-Yokado, and the convenience store chain FamilyMart, as well as LY Corporation, which runs an online shopping platform.
