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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.
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Japan pauses stockpile sales as retailers snap up rice
The rush to snap up the reserves usually stored for natural disasters comes as the government tries to assuage the impact of inflation on households. PHOTO: AFP TOKYO – Japan paused its sale of rice reserves after seeing a fast response from retailers, in a positive sign for the government's efforts to temper soaring rice prices and ease consumers' cost-of-living concerns ahead of an election this summer. Major players including Rakuten Group and Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of popular discount store Don Quijote, were among the some 70 retailers to secure a portion of the 200,000 metric tons of the staple grain on sale on May 27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The rush to snap up the reserves usually stored for natural disasters comes as the government tries to assuage the impact of inflation on households, which have seen rice prices nearly double over the past year, ahead of an upper house election that could be punishing for Mr Shigeru Ishiba's minority government. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters late on May 27 that he was 'very grateful' for the response and the speed at which retailers bought up the rice, adding that he hoped the next round of sales could start on May 30. The government is set to unload a total of 300,000 tons of stockpiled rice with a fixed wholesale price of about 10,000 yen (S$89) per 60kg, instead of auctioning it as had been done in earlier reserve releases. Mr Koizumi has said that he hoped selling directly to retailers at a set price would halve the current rice price for consumers of more than 4,000 yen per 5kg to around 2,000 yen. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Nikkei Asia
26-05-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Rakuten to sell rice from Japan's reserves, teaming with Japan Post
TOKYO -- Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group will partner with Japan Post to sell rice from the national government's emergency reserves as soon as early June. Once Rakuten has a contract to buy stockpiled rice, the group will sell it through the Rakuten Ichiba online marketplace, with Japan Post among the companies handling delivery.
Malay Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Japan aims to slash reserve rice prices as costs spike from heat, tourism
TOKYO, May 26 — Japan aims to drastically cut stockpiled rice prices to ¥2,000 (RM59.05) per five kg and speed up getting rice onto shop shelves as consumers suffer from sky-high staple grain costs, the farm ministry said today. Surging rice prices — due in part to crop damage from extreme heat and increasing demand from tourism — are a serious concern for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government, with its public approval rating stuck around a record low ahead of an upper house election in July. The government will sell 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice via discretionary contracts to retailers, the farm ministry said, after new Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pledged last week to quickly move rice to store. To help bring down the prices, the government will also cover transportation costs so that stockpiled rice will be on retail shelves in early June at around ¥2,000 — which would be about half the average rice price at supermarkets. Japan will consider selling stockpiled rice beyond retailers depending on the situation. 'The price of rice has about doubled compared to last year. We felt continuing the same way as before would not meet the people's expectations,' Koizumi told his new team of farm ministry officials who handle the rice price issue. 'We will dispel the public concerns about rice prices with even greater speed and a greater sense of urgency,' he said. On Friday, Koizumi met with Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, who said the online retail giant was prepared to support the government's efforts. The government's stockpiling policy requires it to purchase the same amount released at a later date, but the nation decided not to buy back as the repurchase system could keep prices higher. In March, the government released stockpiled rice through two auctions for 210,000 metric tons to ease soaring rice prices. But only about seven per cent reached retailers as of late April because the distribution system was multi-layered and time-consuming. — Reuters
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Japan aims to slash stockpiled rice prices to 2,000 yen per 5kg, farm ministry says
TOKYO, May 26 (Reuters) - Japan aims to drastically cut stockpiled rice prices to 2,000 yen ($14) per 5 kg and speed up getting rice onto shop shelves as consumers suffer from sky-high staple grain costs, the farm ministry said on Monday. Surging rice prices, due in part to crop damage from extreme heat and increasing demand from tourism, are a serious concern for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government with its public approval rating stuck around a record low ahead of an upper house election in July. The government will sell 300,000 metric tons of stockpiled rice via discretionary contracts to retailers, the farm ministry said, after new Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pledged last week to quickly move rice to store. To help bring down the prices, the government will also cover transportation costs so that stockpiled rice will be on retail shelves in early June at around 2,000 yen, which would be about half the average rice price at supermarkets. Japan will consider selling stockpiled rice beyond retailers depending on the situation. On Friday, Koizumi met with Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, who said the online retail giant was prepared to support the government's efforts. The government's stockpiling policy requires it to purchase the same amount released at a later date, but the nation decided not to buy back as the repurchase system could keep prices higher. In March, the government released stockpiled rice through two auctions for 210,000 metric tons to ease soaring rice prices. But only about 7.0% reached retailers as of late April because the distribution system was multi-layered and time-consuming . ($1 = 142.3200 yen)
