小泉こいずみ農相のうしょう 備蓄びちく米まい売り渡うりわたし 外食がいしょく 中食ちゅうじき 給食きゅうしょく事業じぎょう者しゃにも対象たいしょう拡大かくだいへ

On the evening of the 18th, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koizumi told reporters that he is considering expanding the scope of discretionary contracts for the sale of reserve rice, which are currently being accepted from retailers, to also include the food service industry, ready-made meal providers, and school lunch operators.

Minister Koizumi said, We will start accepting applications the day after tomorrow, Friday, and we want to do everything we can to ensure that the stockpiled rice under discretionary contracts is distributed as widely as possible throughout society.

An actual survey of each business operators rice polishing capacity: It is said that rice polishing is the key to ensuring that stockpiled rice procured through discretionary contracts is stably available on store shelves.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koizumi stated to reporters on the afternoon of the 18th that he intends to conduct a fact-finding survey of each business operator to determine their rice milling capacity.

The rice reserved under negotiated contracts is delivered to retailers contracted with the government in its brown rice state, but since many retailers do not have their own rice milling facilities, it is common for them to outsource the milling process to wholesalers.

However, some wholesalers do not have the capacity to mill the stockpiled rice, which has become an issue for stable distribution.

Regarding this, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koizumi told reporters on the afternoon of the 18th, We would like businesses above a certain scale that have rice milling capabilities to submit reports, including their rice milling performance from 2022 up to now, so that we can work to understand the overall situation.

Ive heard that it is scheduled to be announced tonight, he said, indicating that they plan to conduct a fact-finding survey for each business operator to determine their rice milling capacity.