RICE prices in Japan have remained high despite hopes that they would normalize after the government announced plans two weeks ago that it would release its stockpiles to curb the surge.
On 14 February the government said it would release up to 210,000 tonnes of its stockpiled rice, to be handed over to wholesalers in mid-March after it has been bid for and expected to hit store shelves between late March and early April.
The farm ministry expected the announcement alone would lead to lower prices before the release of the stockpiled rice. But there has been no such effect, an executive at a major rice wholesaler said.
Wholesale prices of Koshihikari brown rice from Niigata Prefecture, for example, was between 48,300 yen ($320) and 48,500 yen per 60 kilogrammes as of 26 February, little changed from a month earlier, according to rice market research firm Beikoku Databank.
“Once the results (of the bidding) are revealed, it will have an effect on lowering prices,” an official at the research firm said.
The government is scheduled to release 150,000 tonnes of rice in the first stage, and could release an additional 60,000 tonnes if the need arises.
According to the consumer price data released last month, rice prices surged 27.7 per cent in 2024 from the previous year, the largest increase since 1975. In December alone, prices soared 64.5 per cent from a year earlier.
— Kyodo
#GlobalNewLightOfMyanmar