Japan battles to avoid food crisis

TOKYO, Mar 17 (Commodity Online): Yet another crisis looms over Japan as country's agriculture ministry issued a warning of an expected tightening of the food supply-demand balance in the country. The ministry said the country, badly hit by the devastating quake and tsunami may be significantly affected due to its low food self-sufficiency. The ministry added that if food imports become impossible, households will be unable to secure sufficient food, the report says, noting Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has fallen below 40 per cent on a calorie basis. I world grain stockpiles have now declined to levels seen in the early 1970s, a period when the idea of a food crisis became a pressing world issue, it said. Meanwhile, fuel shortages and disruptions to transportation networks have meant supplies sent by food companies have failed to be delivered to shelters in prefectures struck by last week's massive earthquake and tsunami. According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, a total of 1.24 million meals and 700,000 beverage bottles had been sent to five prefectures including Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.