Japan prepares to put up rice stocks for the first time to curb prices

Japan’s government is preparing to put rice stocks on the market for the first time to counter the ongoing price hike, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the country’s Agriculture Minister Taku Eto.

“Agriculture Minister Taku Eto, at a press conference after a cabinet meeting, expressed his intention to prepare to release rice stocks to stabilize high rice prices. This will be the first time rice stocks will be used to alleviate the shortage of rice on the market,” Kyodo said in a statement.

“We have a duty to steadily supply food to consumers,” the agency quoted the minister as saying.
Prices of rice, a staple of Japanese people’s diets, soared about 60 percent from 2023 levels in 2024 amid crop failures and a string of natural disasters. The price hike was the sharpest since 1971, when statistics began to be kept in their current form.

The use of reserve rice, which the country stores by law, had previously been limited to cases of significant production cuts, Kyodo explained. However, against the backdrop of summer shortages and the continuing rise in prices for the commodity, the government has expressed its willingness to adjust this approach and create an opportunity to put rice reserves on the market with the condition that the realized volumes will be bought back in the future.

According to the Jiji news agency, a special council under the ministry will meet on January 31 to discuss possible timeframes and the amount of rice that can be put on the market.

Tags: rice, Japan