NEWS
JAPAN GOVERNMENT WILL RELEASE STOCKPILED RICE TO SAKE AND SHOCHU MAKERS
By Susan Lewis
10-7-2025
Source: Unsplash
Japan’s Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi has said that the government will release its stockpiled rice for use in processed foods and beverages such as miso, rice crackers, sake and shochu distilled spirits, starting in 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.
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.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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