Retail Sale of Stockpiled Rice: Issues in Distribution Must Be Resolved Urgently

Editorial

14:29 JST, June 4, 2025

Amid rising rice prices, rice offered at lower prices has already begun to appear on store shelves through discretionary contracts. The issues facing rice distribution must be solved as soon as possible in order to bring down the overall prices of rice.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, upon taking office on May 21, immediately switched the method of releasing government-stockpiled rice from auctions to discretionary contracts. Rice procured through discretionary contracts started being sold in supermarkets in Tokyo and its surrounding areas, as well as other locations, at the end of May, with some stores selling out. This can be considered to be a smooth start.

The average price for 5 kilograms of rice, including brand rice, has remained above ¥4,000, nearly double the previous year’s level.

The rice released this time was mainly harvested in 2022 and was sold at around ¥2,000 for 5 kilograms, as expected by the government. The sight of customers lining up at stores shows that expectations are high for it to provide some relief for household finances.

To lower the overall prices of rice, including brand rice, it is necessary to ensure the smooth sale of stockpiled rice to ease the tight supply and demand situation.

The government plans to release about 300,000 tons under discretionary contracts. If the current situation persists, requests to rice polishing plants will overwhelm their capacity, potentially disrupting distribution and sales. Securing truck drivers is also an issue amid severe labor shortages.

The government needs to strengthen its requests for cooperation from relevant industries.

It is also important to accelerate the sale of about 310,000 tons released through auctions in March and April prior to discretionary contracts. As of May 11, only slightly more than 10% of the March release was said to have reached retailers. This is insufficient to expect any effect on lowering rice prices.

Koizumi has indicated the government would consider buying back stockpiled rice that was released through auctions and rereleasing it through discretionary contracts. The agriculture ministry should identify the issues faced by the distribution system, which is complex because it involves multiple wholesale stages, and take swift action.

The government maintains a reserve of about 1 million tons of rice on a regular basis to prepare for unforeseen circumstances from the perspective of food security.

Following the latest release, the amount of stockpiled rice remaining has fallen to about 300,000 tons. Koizumi has emphasized his strong determination to lower rice prices and has stressed that the remaining stockpiled rice might also be released.

If the reserves fall to a level that raises concerns about food security, it may be unavoidable to consider utilizing imported rice as an emergency measure.

The ministry has so far explained that the cause of the price surge is bottlenecks in the rice distribution system. However, there are growing opinions claiming that production itself is insufficient. Without being bound by previous explanations, it may be necessary to reexamine the reasons for the price surge and whether production was insufficient.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 4, 2025)