'Japan to buy emergency butter imports'
Japan will import 5,000 tonnes of emergency butter supplies to ease shortages that have hit supermarkets and bakeries across the country.
By Agencies |
TOKYO: Japan will import 5,000 tonnes of emergency butter supplies to ease shortages that have hit supermarkets and bakeries across the country, an official said Thursday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is expected to import the butter for commercial use from Europe and countries including Australia and New Zealand, said an official at the ministry's dairy division.
"Domestic dairy companies continue to struggle to increase production and even if they do it is insufficient to cover demand," he said.
The foreign butter is expected to arrive in the autumn, just in time for the peak demand season, the official said.
Japan, which tightly protects its farmers, imports quantities of dairy products at low tariffs each year under a global trade agreement, which it has already done.
A government-backed body will directly purchase the additional butter from overseas at low tariffs. The government has already taken the unusual step of asking the nation's four main dairy product makers to prioritise butter production.
The international market for milk products has also tightened because of lower supply from drought-hit Australia and higher consumption in countries such as Russia and China whose economies are growing briskly.
Global prices of food staples such as rice, wheat and soybeans have soared in recent years amid rising demand in emerging markets and growing use of biofuels.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is expected to import the butter for commercial use from Europe and countries including Australia and New Zealand, said an official at the ministry's dairy division.
"Domestic dairy companies continue to struggle to increase production and even if they do it is insufficient to cover demand," he said.
The foreign butter is expected to arrive in the autumn, just in time for the peak demand season, the official said.
Japan, which tightly protects its farmers, imports quantities of dairy products at low tariffs each year under a global trade agreement, which it has already done.
A government-backed body will directly purchase the additional butter from overseas at low tariffs. The government has already taken the unusual step of asking the nation's four main dairy product makers to prioritise butter production.
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Farmers have also been asked to boost supplies of raw milk for butter making to ease a shortage that left gaps on supermarket shelves or forced shops to limit the amount of butter bought by each customer. Milk production in Japan fell more than expected last year as an unusually hot summer exhausted cows. The international market for milk products has also tightened because of lower supply from drought-hit Australia and higher consumption in countries such as Russia and China whose economies are growing briskly.
Global prices of food staples such as rice, wheat and soybeans have soared in recent years amid rising demand in emerging markets and growing use of biofuels.
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