Government to release stockpiled rice for processed foods from August
The rice is planned to be sold to businesses under discretionary contracts. Details including the amount of rice to be released will be decided later.
The move comes after the government released its stockpiled rice to retailers and others to curb soaring prices of the staple food.
A recent survey showed that the 2025 acreage for staple food rice was the largest in five years as of the end of April.
As the 2025 rice crop for processed products is expected to decrease, people including those in the sake brewery industry have been calling for the release of government-stockpiled rice for them by around mid-September, when the brewing process starts.
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Businesses "need an outlook as soon as possible," Koizumi told reporters at the agriculture ministry.
The government will decide the amount of rice to be released after carefully examining the size of planting areas of rice for processed products.
It plans to use the portion of government-stockpiled rice that has been decided to be released to retailers under discretionary contracts but has remained unsold.
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