New agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki on Thursday indicated a potential shift in the policy of increasing rice production advocated by the administration of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Suzuki said in an interview with media organizations that farmers are ¡°very perplexed¡± about the current policy and are ¡°worried that there will be too much rice next year and that rice prices will collapse.¡±
His remarks suggest that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office Tuesday, may review the current measures implemented to curb rice prices following a supply shortage and price spike last summer.
Suzuki emphasized the need to avoid a situation in which supply exceeds demand, calling for ¡°demand-based production.¡±
¡°It¡¯s difficult to suddenly boost demand next year, so production is unlikely to rise significantly either,¡± he said.
Still, he expressed the view that output is expected to increase ¡°in the medium to long term¡± through expanded exports.
Also in the interview, Suzuki said that rice prices ¡°are determined by the market and that the government is not involved.¡±
Ishiba, Takaichi¡¯s predecessor, has said that the average retail price of rice per 5 kilograms should be between ?3,000 ($20) and ?4,000. Shinjiro Koizumi, Suzuki¡¯s predecessor, has said that rice is too expensive at present.
Suzuki announced that a task force Koizumi established to oversee the release of the government¡¯s rice stockpile through discretionary contracts will be dissolved by the end of this year, when the release program ends.
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