Japan to provide rice aid to ease global food crisis

Mari Yamaguchi, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO - Japan will release some of its huge stockpile of rice to help ease the global food crisis, sending some 20,000 tonnes to five African countries in coming weeks, a government official said Thursday.

The rice, less than one per cent of Japan's 2.23 million surplus tonnes, is part of a $50 million emergency food aid plan to be endorsed by the Cabinet on Friday, said Shigeru Kondo, a Foreign Ministry aid official.

The total aid package - which includes grains, beans and other foods in addition to rice - will be disbursed in 12 countries, including Afghanistan, by international relief agencies such as the World Food Program.

Japan's decision to open up its rice warehouses comes as prices of the grain and other staples have jumped around the world, sparking violent protests in some countries.

"Rice prices are skyrocketing, even though prices of wheat and other crops have somewhat subsided," Kondo said. "Our aim is to make effective use of our resources for those who are in dire need of food relief."

The $50 million package is the first half of a $100 million relief plan Tokyo announced in April.

In addition to the aid package, Japan is considering a request by the Philippines to sell it some 200,000 tons of imported rice to ease rising global prices.

The stocks will mostly come from rice imported by Japan from the United States under international trade rules, so Tokyo needs to first iron out details with Washington as the exporter, said a second Foreign Ministry official on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer praised Japan's consideration of rice exports to the Philippines.

"The United States welcomes the news that Japan is considering extraordinary measures to respond to this uniquely critical situation," he said in a statement Friday.

Agricultural officials from Japan and the U.S. are meeting in Washington later this week "to address the impact of high rice prices on the global market," he added.

Japan's stockpile includes 1.52 million tonnes of imported rice from the U.S., Thailand and Vietnam in the compulsory "minimum access" annual purchase under the 1993 WTO agreement. The rest of the stockpile is domestic rice.

The rice is kept in warehouses under a government program to maintain high domestic prices to protect Japanese rice growers.

© The Canadian Press, 2008