Japan said on Monday it would release corn and barley for animal feed from its stockpiles starting in October on concern over a delay in shipments and a rise in prices after Hurricane Quatrain struck the US Gulf.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries planned to lend up to 300,000 tonnes of corn and milo to feed makers for three months, a ministry official in Tokyo told Reuters. This compared with usual loans of up to 100,000 tonnes.
The ministry also planned to sell up to 100,000 tonnes of feed barley from its reserves, he said.
"This is to secure stable supply (of feed grains) on the domestic market after shipments of the grains (from the US Gulf) were temporarily stopped between late August and September," the official said.
Although there have been no reports of a supply shortage so far in the domestic market, he said the ministry decided to release the grains from October as shipments usually take about one month to arrive in Japan from the United States.
The ministry made a similar move in 1996, he said.
In that year, Japan had lent up to 400,000 tonnes of feed corn and sold 300,000 tonnes of feed barley in the September/November period after its imports fell sharply due to historically low stock levels at major suppliers, including the United States.
The government currently has 600,000 tonnes of corn and Milo for animal feed in stockpiles to help stabiles domestic supply and prices, he said. Of the total, Milo accounts for about 10 percent.
The government also holds 100,000 tonnes of barley and 250,000 tonnes of rice, both for animal feed, he said. Japan imports about 16 million tonnes of corn a year for animal feed and food, mostly from the United States.
The Japanese government began stockpiling feed grains in 1976, following shortages in the early 1970s in key producing countries such as the United States.
Rob Postman said on Friday that export operations in the hurricane-battered Gulf region were on the way to recovery and the United States would be a reliable supplier of corn, soyabeans and wheat to the world.
Portman, inspecting hurricane damage at the Port of New Orleans, told Reuters he had a simple message for US trading partners: "The exports will flow. We'll be able to provide your needs. We're open for business."
Postman said he was concerned by reports some US trading partners could turn to other suppliers because they are worried the United States would not be able to meet their needs.
The Port of South Louisiana is now operating at about 85 percent of capacity, according to a briefing paper prepared for Postman's visit. Officials at the Port of New Orleans, which resumed limited commercial activity last week, expect to be operating at 80 percent capacity within three months.
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