ID :
43219
Fri, 01/30/2009 - 05:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/43219
The shortlink copeid
Gov't-set prices of imported wheat to be cut in April+
TOKYO, Jan. 29 Kyodo - The farm ministry has decided to lower the prices of imported wheat sold to flour millers in April, reflecting falls in prices on the international market, with the cut likely to be set at around 10 percent, ministry sources said Thursday.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had wanted to
bring the cut forward to an earlier date, it eventually decided on April, as
outside experts at its advisory panel in charge of devising new rules on
revising government-set prices of imported wheat remained at odds over the
ministry's proposal, they said.
The proposal calls for increasing the flexibility of the current revision rules
by adjusting official wholesale prices three times a year instead of the
current twice, in tandem with the ups and downs in international prices.
The Japanese government, seeking to protect domestic wheat farmers, buys almost
all of the nation's wheat imports from designated importers before selling the
wheat to flour millers at higher prices.
The impact of the planned price cut on retail prices of bread, noodle and other
products using wheat is uncertain.
Many companies have been unable to pass on higher costs stemming from a series
of official wholesale price hikes the government has conducted so far to their
retail prices, some millers said.
But consumers have become more price conscious amid the economic slowdown,
putting pressure on makers to lower their prices, industry sources said.
Last October, the government decided to bring forward cutbacks in the prices of
imported wheat sold to flour millers as part of its economic stimulus package.
The ministry has since drawn up plans to increase the frequency of price
revisions to three times a year from the current twice. It presently revises
official prices in April and October.
But makers of wheat-based products and the restaurant industry have opposed the
proposal, citing technical difficulties in transferring changes in wholesale
prices to the prices they charge for their products so frequently.
==Kyodo
2009-01-29 22:00:38
Although the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries had wanted to
bring the cut forward to an earlier date, it eventually decided on April, as
outside experts at its advisory panel in charge of devising new rules on
revising government-set prices of imported wheat remained at odds over the
ministry's proposal, they said.
The proposal calls for increasing the flexibility of the current revision rules
by adjusting official wholesale prices three times a year instead of the
current twice, in tandem with the ups and downs in international prices.
The Japanese government, seeking to protect domestic wheat farmers, buys almost
all of the nation's wheat imports from designated importers before selling the
wheat to flour millers at higher prices.
The impact of the planned price cut on retail prices of bread, noodle and other
products using wheat is uncertain.
Many companies have been unable to pass on higher costs stemming from a series
of official wholesale price hikes the government has conducted so far to their
retail prices, some millers said.
But consumers have become more price conscious amid the economic slowdown,
putting pressure on makers to lower their prices, industry sources said.
Last October, the government decided to bring forward cutbacks in the prices of
imported wheat sold to flour millers as part of its economic stimulus package.
The ministry has since drawn up plans to increase the frequency of price
revisions to three times a year from the current twice. It presently revises
official prices in April and October.
But makers of wheat-based products and the restaurant industry have opposed the
proposal, citing technical difficulties in transferring changes in wholesale
prices to the prices they charge for their products so frequently.
==Kyodo
2009-01-29 22:00:38
