Latest news with #emergencystockpile
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Japan to release 200,000 more tons of emergency rice to curb prices
TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) - Japan will release another 200,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile to tackle a doubling of prices since last year, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Tuesday. Of the new release, 100,000 tons of 2021 crop year rice will be sold first, to retailers of all sizes and local rice sellers with sufficient milling capacity, he said. The rest will follow from the 2020 crop year. Soaring rice prices have become a major concern for consumers and policymakers ahead of key elections in Tokyo and nationwide. Consumers have been forming long queues to buy the 5 kg bags of stockpiled rice priced at 2,000 yen ($13.82) since they began hitting store shelves in the past week and a half. "We want to continue responding without slowing down so that the stockpiled rice can reach consumers quickly and at a low cost," Koizumi said during a press conference. "We must never allow the virtuous cycle of prices and wages in the Japanese economy as a whole to break down. If the cause lies with rice, then I believe we must address such issues promptly." Japan has so far released about 600,000 tons of rice from its roughly 900,000-ton emergency stockpile since March. About half of that was sold directly to retailers just in the past two weeks under Koizumi's new distribution policy. Data on Monday showed average supermarket rice prices dropped for the second straight week, to 4,223 yen per 5 kg in the seven days to June 1, down 37 yen. Koizumi has signalled readiness to release the entire emergency rice stockpile and utilise imports if necessary to stabilise prices until the new harvest arrives in August. Further price trends and policy measures will be closely watched as Japan heads into the elections in the coming weeks.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Japan to release 200,000 more tons of emergency rice to curb prices
TOKYO :Japan will release another 200,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile to tackle a doubling of prices since last year, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Tuesday. Of the new release, 100,000 tons of 2021 crop year rice will be sold first, to retailers of all sizes and local rice sellers with sufficient milling capacity, he said. The rest will follow from the 2020 crop year. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Soaring rice prices have become a major concern for consumers and policymakers ahead of key elections in Tokyo and nationwide. Consumers have been forming long queues to buy the 5 kg bags of stockpiled rice priced at 2,000 yen ($13.82) since they began hitting store shelves in the past week and a half. KEY QUOTES "We want to continue responding without slowing down so that the stockpiled rice can reach consumers quickly and at a low cost," Koizumi said during a press conference. "We must never allow the virtuous cycle of prices and wages in the Japanese economy as a whole to break down. If the cause lies with rice, then I believe we must address such issues promptly." BY THE NUMBERS Japan has so far released about 600,000 tons of rice from its roughly 900,000-ton emergency stockpile since March. About half of that was sold directly to retailers just in the past two weeks under Koizumi's new distribution policy. Data on Monday showed average supermarket rice prices dropped for the second straight week, to 4,223 yen per 5 kg in the seven days to June 1, down 37 yen. WHAT'S NEXT Koizumi has signalled readiness to release the entire emergency rice stockpile and utilise imports if necessary to stabilise prices until the new harvest arrives in August. Further price trends and policy measures will be closely watched as Japan heads into the elections in the coming weeks.
CNA
16-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Japan to release more rice from stockpiles to tackle shortage and rein in prices
TOKYO :Japan said on Friday it would release another 300,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile through July and tweak its purchasing policy to counter a shortage and rein in sky-high prices. Retail prices for Japan's staple grain are about double what they were a year ago after extreme heat hit crops and a tourism boom added to demand. That has become a top concern for consumers and a headache for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of upper house elections in July. The 300,000 tons would come on top of 310,000 released from emergency stockpiles since March, which marked the first time stockpiles have been released to rein in prices. The government's stockpiling policy requires it to purchase the same amount released at a later date, and that timeframe has now been extended to five years from one year. In another change, the government will also designate a portion of the release to bypass wholesalers so that the rice can reach consumers more quickly. The stockpiled rice still needs to be milled and packaged after release, and only 2 per cent of 212,000 tons released through two auctions in March had reached retailers and restaurants by April 13, according to the farm ministry. For May through July, the government plans to conduct bids for 100,000 tons of stockpiled rice each month. High prices have seen more Japanese restaurants and consumers - famously finicky about the quality of rice - embracing foreign brands, which are now much cheaper than domestic varieties even with hefty import tariffs. Supermarket giant Aeon said this week it would start selling 100 per cent U.S.-produced Calrose rice from early June. It began offering a Calrose-Japanese rice blend last month. Japanese consumers are paying an average of 4,214 yen ($28) per 5 kg of rice, according to supermarket prices for the week to May 4. That's double year-ago levels but 19 yen less than the previous week, the first decline in 18 weeks.
