The results of Nader, close -up auction in Japan, which ended this week, is about to release him. However, there were no dictations or cars on the auction block.
The government sells 165,000 tons of rice – equivalent to nearly two billion bowls – from emergency stocks to compensate for more than 200,000 tons, some Japanese media say “disappeared”.
But there is more for the story.
Japan does not have enough rice, a pillar of its diet. The lack of supermarkets in implementing the purchase limits, and the high prices have prompted restaurants to rise in daily food. Things have become so bad that, for the first time, the government is clicking on the emergency stock in an attempt to reduce prices.
“There is something that cannot be truly imagined, so we must restore the current abnormal to normal,” Taku Eto’o, Minister of Agriculture, told reporters last month, referring to the three -day crisis and auction that ended on Wednesday.
How did this happen?
Rais started in Japan last summer. Experts attributed this to the confluence of factors, including the standard summer heat in 2023, which harmed the harvest and natural warnings of disasters last August that caused panic.
Japan also strictly limited rice production in order to maintain high prices and support local rice farmers, which means that minor disorders in the supply chain can have significant significant effects.
The rice bag now costs 11 pounds now approximately 4000 yen ($ 27), that is, twice the price in the previous year. With the start of prices last year, the authorities warned against buying panic, saying that the harvest of Japan would renew the shares and reduce prices.
Only one of these predictions has become true. Although the harvest brought rice more than the previous year crops, the distributors in Japan had less for sale in 2024.
“Nobody knows,” said Shoji Hasano, a professor at Kyoto University Faculty.
But experts inside and outside the government believe they have a good idea.
Professor Hesano said it became difficult to track the distribution of rice in Japan because political changes gave farmers more ways to sell rice without passing through the main major distributors. This trend, in addition to the strict borders of rice production, means that even slight fluctuations in supply and demand can lead to the purchase and storage of speculation.
Massyuki Ogawa, assistant professor of agricultural economy at the University of Otusonomia, said that speculators are more likely to store rice because they believe that prices will continue to rise.
He said: “Some companies and individuals have started dealing with Rice as a money player.”
Will this auction help?
We will discover in the coming weeks and months.
The government’s decision to sell part of the strategic rice reserves was at a historic auction. In the past, the inventory is allocated to supply supply in the case of natural disasters or crop failure. This is the first time that it has been used to address distribution problems.
The government has put 231,000 tons for its release, to suit the national deficiency. This number represents more than five emergency stocks in Japan, which is stored in more than 300 sites.
The bids distributed over the first 165,000 tons at the auction, and the results – which will be announced on Friday – will appear – the number of tons that were sold. The government said it hoped that the rice will start flowing to wholesalers and supermarkets, and that the remaining 66,000 tons will be sold at a later time if necessary.
For the nation that works on rice – the average Japanese person consumes about 110 rice rice annually as of 2022, compared to 27 pounds annually for ordinary Americans – the uncertainty about rice supply is worrying.
“Rice is an integral part of the life of the Japanese people,” said Takao Isuka, 62, from his store in Tokyo. “I think that because of concerns about whether rice is available or not, the Japanese are concerned now.”
Mr. IIZUKA sells raw rice from the bag, cook in the form of rice balls with pickled peaches, salmon and other fillings. Last month, he was forced to raise the price of one dollar rice by about 20 percent to keep pace with the high prices of its main component.
Now it worries, for the first time in the three decades that worked in the store, about whether he will be able to get enough rice to continue during the next harvest. One of his suppliers told him that they were already running out of rice for this year.
“This is the first time that I feel this feeling of anxiety,” he said.