TOKYO: Japan’s agriculture ministry said Tuesday that it will additionally import 4,000 tons of butter as raw milk production is expected to decline after unstable weather conditions. It is the first time for the ministry to make additional imports of butter twice in a fiscal year since fiscal 2014, when the item was sold out at many supermarkets and other shops.
The ministry already decided to import an additional 6,000 tons of butter in May this year. With the two sets of additional imports, the country’s total butter imports is expected to reach 17,000 tons for the year through next March. The amount is considered enough to cover demand during the Christmas and Valentine Day periods.
Raw milk production is forecast to decrease as dairy cattle in the country’s main production area of Hokkaido became sick following power and water outages caused by strong typhoons that hit the northernmost prefecture. It is also feared that this summer’s extreme heat stressed dairy cows in western Japan and may affect raw milk output there. Domestic butter has been in short supply because a drop in the number of farmers pushed down raw milk production.
The government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council is discussing a review of the current system in which the country’s 10 designated organizations related to the Japanese agricultural cooperatives (JA) group exclusively collect and sell raw milk. Some people are calling for liberalizing the raw milk distribution system to resolve the chronic butter shortage.
