THE Japanese farm ministry is considering buying back an additional 100,000 tonnes of rice to replenish government reserves drawn down by releases in 2025, following a 210,000-tonne purchase in September, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
Last month’s buyback, the first such attempt since the current stockpiling system began in financial 2011, came after the government released a total of 590,000 tonnes of emergency rice reserves in 2025 in response to a shortage that began around the summer of 2024.
The release left the government’s emergency rice stockpile at around 320,000 tonnes, far below the roughly 1 million tones considered appropriate.
The timing of the additional purchase will depend on supply and demand conditions, including harvest figures through late October that will be released next month, the sources said.
Kyodo
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar