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2005 Crop of Rice Set to Be "Above Normal"
| The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAFF), on September 27, published an outline report on the 2005 rice crop situation as of September 15. The season's cropping was rated "above normal" with the national index at 102. This is because plant growth and grain ripening have been generally smooth except a damage done to Kyushu etc. by Taiphoon #14. Yield per 1/10 of a hectare is expected to be 536 kg (on husked basis), the third highest on record. |
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Crop indices by region are 109 for Hokkaido, 102 respectively for Kanto-Tozan, Kinki and Shikoku, 101 for the main rice regions of Tohoku and Hokuriku as well as for Chugoku, 100 for Tokai and 99 for Kyushu.
MAFF, on the same day, announced demand and supply forecast for 2005 crop of rice. The forecast harvest of 2005 rice is 9.11 million tons based on planted area of 1.7 million hectares (not including the area for green harvest for fodder) multiplied by the forecast yield of 536 kg. 130,000 tons are earmarked for processing into miso [soybean paste] etc. and that leaves 8.98 million tons for table rice, which is 450,000 tons more than forecast demand of 8.53 million tons.
While the supply of table rice for distribution surpasses demand, "supply and demand will, more or less, strike a balance," through purchasing operation for replenishing the government reserve stock, according to the Rice Policy Planning Division of MAFF.
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