Only 1.4% of Japanese government-stockpiled rice sold through auctions in March has reached retailers, an agriculture ministry survey showed Wednesday.

The auctioned rice totaled 212,132 tons, but only 3,018 tons had been distributed to retailers as of April 13, according to the survey.

From March 31 to April 13, the government transferred 133,808 tons of the auctioned rice to buyers, and 2,592 tons went to retailers. As of March 30, 426 tons had been handed over to retailers.

The amount of stockpiled rice collected by the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, and others by April 13 was 137,879 tons. Of this, only 20,073 tons has been sold to wholesalers.

Wholesalers have not been able to handle the sudden increase in distribution volume, contributing to the problem.

"It took longer than expected to adjust," a ministry official said.

Zen-Noh won about 94% of the total volume in the two rounds of auctions and received requests from wholesalers to ship 55,101 tons by April.

"The requested (rice) is being shipped as scheduled," a Zen-Noh official said.

The ministry said that rice harvested in 2024 and collected by major buyers came to 2.25 million tons at the end of March, down 265,000 tons from a year before. The year-on-year decrease widened from 254,000 tons at the end of February.

Meanwhile, the ministry also said Wednesday a total of 100,164 tons of the stockpiled rice was sold in a third auction at an average price of ¥20,302 ($141) per 60 kilograms, down ¥420 from the second auction.

Although it has been more than a month since the government began releasing its stockpiled rice, retail prices have remained high due to sluggish distribution. According to the ministry, the average price of rice at supermarkets nationwide in the week through April 20 was ¥4,220 per 5 kilograms, logging the 16th consecutive weekly increase.