Japan sells 141,796 tons of reserve rice in auction

The agriculture ministry said Friday that it has selected successful bidders for 141,796 tons of government-stockpiled rice in the initial round of an auction aimed at curbing recent increases in rice prices.

The weighted average of the auctioned rice prices came to ¥21,217 per 60 kilograms. The rice is expected to hit store shelves as early as late this month.

“If such a large amount is released onto the market, the supply-demand balance will naturally improve to a certain extent, and I expect that consumers will approve the result,” agriculture minister Taku Eto told a news conference, expressing confidence that rice prices will fall.

Meanwhile, industry watchers expect further rises ahead, saying that some wholesalers are offering about ¥30,000 per 60 kg to procure rice to be produced in 2025.

For the auction’s initial round, held from Monday to Wednesday, the ministry put up about 150,000 tons of the 210,000 tons of reserve rice it plans to release in an effort to address supply shortfalls. Seven bidders participated, with the rate of successful bids reaching 94.2%.

Eto said that his ministry is preparing to carry out the next round for the remaining 70,000 tons within this month. He will also consider releasing additional reserve rice.

Meanwhile, the government will postpone procedures, scheduled for early April, to buy about 200,000 tons of 2025 rice to build its stockpiles.

Rice buyers have been racing to secure supplies since an extreme shortage last summer. Retail prices of rice in Tokyo’s 23 special wards stood at record levels of around ¥4,300 per 5 kg last month.

The ministry decided to sell stockpiled rice on the condition that it will buy back the same amount within a year, suspecting that the price increases were caused by distribution bottlenecks.

Sources said that participants in the first round included the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, and the Fukui prefectural agricultural cooperative.

The rice bought at the auction will be sold to retailers through wholesalers before reaching consumers.

This article has been republished from The Japan Times.