Japan Govt Starts Receiving Bids for Stockpiled Rice
Japan’s agriculture ministry has begun auctioning stockpiled rice to address supply shortages and curb rising prices. In the first round, 150,000 tons of the planned 210,000-ton release will be sold. This marks the first stockpile release outside of poor harvests or disasters. The rice is expected to reach stores by late March.
Tokyo, March 10 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese agriculture ministry started receiving bids for stockpiled rice on Monday in an effort to curb soaring prices by addressing supply shortfalls.
In the initial round of the auction, the ministry will sell 150,000 tons of 210,000 tons of reserved rice it plans to release.
It is the first release of stockpiled rice to relieve distribution bottlenecks. Previously, the government had limited releases to cases of serious poor harvests and large-scale disasters.
Released rice is expected to hit store shelves as early as late March. The ministry will sell stockpiled rice to major buyers on the condition that it will buy back the rice within a year.
Rice prices have been soaring as major buyers such agricultural cooperatives are racing to secure supplies.
To read more about Rice News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Nippon.com
