- Japan says it’s releasing 210,000 tons of rice to try to curb soaring prices.
- Prices have rocketed since last year, with the price of rice up 70.7% year-on-year in Tokyo.
- Japan’s government turns to its stockpiles in times of poor harvests or natural disasters.
A staple of the country’s cuisine, rice has seen soaring prices in Japan, prompting the government to step in with its own stockpiles in a bid to stabilize the market.
Taku Eto, Japan’s agriculture minister, announced at a press conference Friday that the government will release up to 210,000 tons of rice kept aside for emergencies.
The latest average retail price of an 11-pound bag of rice in Japan was 3,688 Japanese yen, about $24, The Guardian reported, citing a government survey, up from about $13 last year.
In comparison, the price in the US for the same quantity of rice is $11, according to the US Bureau of Labor.
Data released by the Japanese government at the end of January showed that the price of rice rose 70.7% year-on-year in Tokyo, the capital.
The first 150,000 tons of government rice will be auctioned to wholesalers next month, and is expected to reach retailers in late March or early April.
Eto said he hoped releasing rice from the stockpile would help “normalize” the market and distribution.
The price spike began last fall, when the price of newly harvested rice in Japan reached its highest level in 31 years.
Rising labor and fertilizer costs due to inflation, a summer heat wave, and increased demand from an unprecedented number of tourists helped drive the rise.
But Eto attributed the price hike to a distribution bottleneck, saying at the press conference that enough rice is being produced to meet demand.
US consumers are also struggling with soaring prices, notably of eggs. Egg prices in the US are at an all-time high, caused in large part by a bird flu crisis that has wiped out an estimated 7% of the national flock.
Some US grocery stores are cracking down on how many eggs a shopper can buy at one time, and the average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs in the US has hit an all-time high of $4.95.
Japan started stockpiling rice in 1995, after a major crop failure in the early 1990s. It generally only taps into its reserves in response to unusually poor harvests or natural disasters.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan’s governor, Kazuo Ueda, warned that food prices in the country could remain high.
He also said that the bank was “deeply aware” that this was negatively impacting people’s lives.
