JA Group Worried over Middle East Crisis Impact on Rice

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, or JA, group, voiced concerns Thursday about the possible impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the harvest of rice in Japan this autumn.

The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, or JA-Zenchu, said at a meeting of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party that the autumn harvest of rice and other crops may be impacted by fuel shortages if the crisis in the Middle East intensifies or is protracted.

The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, said that price hikes for some fertilizers would be unavoidable.

Zen-Noh said that it has secured fuel and fertilizer for spring agricultural work, but the supply of fuel from June onward is uncertain. There are growing concerns about whether it can secure the necessary fuel for rice harvesting and post-harvest drying.

Fertilizer price hikes in autumn are all but certain due to rising global prices of urea, a key ingredient in fertilizer. Agricultural materials made from naphtha, a petroleum product, are being impacted by soaring prices and supply constraints, resulting in higher prices for rice bags.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]