Japan's National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, has shipped just 32% of the stockpiled rice that it bought from the government in March.
Zen-Noh said Friday that as of a day earlier, it had completed shipments of 63,266 tons of the 199,270 tons of government-stockpiled rice that it bought through auctions in March.
The release of stockpiled rice was part of the government's efforts to lower surging rice prices.
The federation is currently shipping between 2,000 and 3,000 tons of rice per day. It is working to send out deliveries as quickly as possible, a Zen-Noh official said.
Zen-Noh had been asked by wholesalers as of Thursday to ship 140,363 tons, or 70% of the rice it bought in the auctions. It was asked to ship 55,112 tons in March and April, 70,596 tons in May, 13,854 tons in June and 802 tons in July.
The federation earlier this month said that it would promote early shipments after the agriculture ministry called on it to expand supply.
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