Emergency rice to be released as animal feed

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The government plans to stop releasing rice from its emergency stocks to the market for human consumption, a practice that causes prices to fall by increasing supply, the farm ministry said.

Instead, emergency rice will be sold as livestock feed once it has been in storage for five years.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Monday it plans to request 52 billion yen for next fiscal year to cover future losses incurred by selling the rice as feed.

Current practice is for the government to sell emergency rice within three years of its purchase from farmers. Selling the rice for human consumption increases supply, bringing down prices and affecting farmers' profits.

The government's new plan is to buy 200,000 tons of rice from farmers every year to add to emergency stores, and sell it as feed five years later.

By not adding former emergency stores to the market for rice for human consumption, the government hopes to protect price levels.

To offset the cost of the new emergency rice stock system, several agricultural programs will be stopped, including the purchase of extra rice following bumper harvests, according to the ministry.

The change in policy would result in almost no additional financial burden for the government, according to the ministry.

In last year's House of Representatives election, the Democratic Party of Japan promised to reform the system of storing rice for emergencies.

The DPJ also promised to introduce an income compensation system for farmers in which the government would pay subsidies to farmers who participate in an acreage reduction program.