A: Hey there! Heard anything interesting lately?

B: Nah, just the usual stuff. What's up with you?

A: Well, our Agriculture Minister announced something cool! They're gonna sell rice from the national stockpile to make miso paste, snacks, and other food items!

B: Really? That sounds interesting! But why is that important?

A: Seems like some producers are worried about getting enough materials because rice prices are high. Some farmers might switch to growing rice for eating instead.

B: Wow, that could cause problems, I guess... So, how does the government decide who gets this rice?

A: Koizumi said they'll sell it through non-bid contracts. Last year, they sold 10,000 tons for processing purposes. They haven't decided how much to sell this year yet; they're waiting on the harvest yield estimate.

B: That's good to know. I wonder if this will help stabilize rice prices a bit?

A: Yeah, that seems to be their hope! Koizumi said he wants business operators to feel secure about continuing their work with this move.
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Japan's Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro announced on Friday that the government will sell rice from its stockpiles from August for use in the production of miso soybean paste, snacks and other food items.



Producers are voicing concerns about securing enough materials as rice prices remain high. Some farmers cultivating rice for processing purposes are switching to growing rice to be eaten.



Koizumi told reporters that stockpiled rice for processing will be sold through non-bid contracts.



Last year, the agriculture ministry sold 10,000 tons of rice from national reserves for processing. It is set to decide the amount for this year once the harvest yield is estimated.



Koizumi said the government hopes to sell stockpiled rice for processing so that business operators can feel secure about continuing their business.