Stockpiled Rice to Be Released, Govt Says; 1st Time to Release Rice Reserves for Market Stabilization

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:33 JST, February 14, 2025

The government has decided to release about 210,000 tons of stockpiled rice reserved for emergency use, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Taku Eto announced Friday. The amount and timing of the release of any remaining reserve rice will be determined later based on the stability of the rice market.

The farm ministry will first release 100,000 tons of rice produced in 2024 and 50,000 tons produced in 2023. It will solicit bids for the rice in March, with bidders being limited to such major entities as National Federation of Agricultre Cooperative Associations [Zen-Noh.]

The released rice will hit store shelves at the end of March or later. It is hoped that the release will stabilize the rice market and lead to a decrease in rice prices.

Previously, the ministry had only released its stockpile during limited emergencies, such as major crop failures or natural disasters. However, it revised its policy for the rice stockpile system at the end of January due to the price of rice having remained at a high level since last summer. The decision to release the rice follows a continual increase in the price of the product even as rice produced in 2024 enters the market.

It will be the first time the reserved stockpile has been released for the purpose of stabilizing the rice market.

“We definitely want to improve the current situation of rice distribution being stalled,” Eto said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting Friday.

A total of 6.79 million tons of rice was produced in 2024, 180,000 tons more than in 2023, according to the ministry. However, about 210,000 tons less than the previous year’s amount was collected by Zen-Noh and other entities last year as of the end of December. About 20% of the government’s stockpile of 1 million tons is being released.

According to the revised policy, the government will now be allowed to release its reserves when the rice market is unstable and the farm minister deems it necessary, provided the government purchases an equivalent amount of domestically produced rice of equal quality within one year.

Collectors handling more than 5,000 tons of rice a year will be allowed to participate in the bids for the released rice. The farm ministry will require the successful winners to report their sales biweekly.

The system to stockpile rice for emergency use was set up in 1995 after an extremely poor rice harvest in 1993. Reserved rice was released after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.