Japan begins taking bids in second auction of stockpiled rice

By Jiji

The agriculture ministry on Wednesday began to accept bids in the second round of its auction for government-stockpiled rice.

The focus is on whether the release of reserve rice will help curb soaring rice prices. The government plans to consider a further release if necessary.

The ministry decided in February to release 210,000 metric tons of government-stockpiled rice, of which 140,000 metric tons were sold in the initial auction. The latest auction covers the remaining 70,000 metric tons.

The ministry will announce at a later date the average of successful bids and other results of the latest auction.

A total of 35 rice brands have been put out to tender, including Haenuki from Yamagata Prefecture, Tennotsubu from Fukushima Prefecture and Koshihikari from Niigata Prefecture. The auctioned rice is expected to be handed over to successful bidders from mid-April.

Aiming to eliminate the distribution bottlenecks that are believed to be the cause of price rises, the ministry decided to sell reserve rice to major buyers on the condition that it would buy back the same amount in the future. The release of the 140,000 metric tons of reserve rice sold in the first auction has already started.

However, the efforts have, so far, not proven effective in curbing rice price increases. In the week through March 16, the average retail price of rice at approximately 1,000 supermarkets nationwide rose 2.3% from the previous week to ¥4,172 ($27.7) per five kilograms, according to the ministry.

Agriculture minister Taku Eto said during a news conference on Tuesday, “We will discuss whether to carry out the third round of the auction after monitoring the release of rice subject to the second round.”

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the same day that the government will consider “powerful measures to tackle soaring prices” of rice and other items.

This article has been republished from The Japan Times.