The gathering, which included representatives from farming communities, agricultural cooperatives, wholesale distributors, and food manufacturers, aimed to assess current rice stocks and sales projections to ensure uninterrupted distribution.
"If rice prices remain elevated, consumption would decline," said a wholesale representative at the meeting, highlighting the delicate balance between pricing and demand.
Ministry officials emphasized that overall rice supply remains adequate, despite private-sector inventories falling to 1.56 million metric tons at the end of June, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1999. The recent surge in consumer purchases followed warnings of a potential major earthquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast, exacerbating supply pressures in some regions.
