Japanese Farm Ministry Accelerates Rice Auctions Amid Rising Prices

In response to rising rice prices, Japan's agriculture ministry has decided to move up plans for a second auction of rice supplies from government reserves. Agriculture Minister Taku Eto announced this at a press conference held on March 4, stating that officials have been instructed to swiftly arrange the upcoming auction of 60,000 tons to help stabilize the market.

The ministry had previously disclosed its intention to release a total of 210,000 tons of rice from reserve stockpiles, aiming to alleviate a bottleneck in the distribution chain. The first round of 150,000 tons was auctioned, with the process initiated on March 3. Bidding for this round is scheduled to close on March 10, and the successful bidders are expected to be identified by March 12. Subsequently, this rice stock is set to arrive at retailers by late March.

Initially, ministry officials planned to assess the outcomes of the first auction round before proceeding to the remaining 60,000 tons. However, recent data from end-January has raised urgency regarding the situation, revealing that major distributors—including agricultural cooperative associations—held rice stockpiles totaling 2.21 million tons, a decline of 230,000 tons compared to the previous year. This gap widened from an earlier decline of 210,000 tons noted at the end of December. Such discrepancies serve as indicators of distribution inefficiencies that the ministry actively monitors.

Minister Eto has suggested the possibility of further increasing the total quantity of rice to be auctioned beyond the initial decision of 210,000 tons, which was based on figures from December. The urgency is underscored by the sharp rise in retail rice prices. Most notably, figures from the internal affairs ministry indicated that, in central Tokyo, the retail price for a 5-kilogram pack of the Koshihikari variety stood at 4,363 yen ($29) in February, marking an increase of 1,922 yen—or roughly 80 percent—from the previous year.