Tokyo, Sep 20 : Demand for rice in Japan is estimated to rise slightly to 7.11 million tonnes in the year through June 2026, according to the country's agriculture ministry.

The 2025 staple rice production is expected to see a significant increase to 7.45 million tonnes, boosted by expanded planting in response to shortages, an estimate from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has shown.

Meanwhile, the private sector's rice inventory is forecast to reach nearly 2.3 million tonnes by the end of June next year, an unusually high level that could approach the record stockpile that was built up in 2015, Xinhua news agency reported.

For the key one-year estimate, the ministry's food council subgroup, which used to make staple rice demand projections in view of falling population and increased bread consumption, took into account for the first time increasing demand from foreign tourists and households.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is considering extending its rice import suspension by 15 to 30 days as farmgate prices of palay, or unhusked rice, improve, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said on Friday.

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos earlier imposed a 60-day ban from September to October to protect local farmers during the peak harvest season.

Laurel said the Department of Agriculture will recommend to Marcos by the end of September whether to prolong the moratorium. "Pending data validation, I am now inclined to recommend that he extend the ban for at least 15 to 30 days," he added.

According to preliminary data, wet palay prices rose from as low as 8-10 pesos (0.14-0.17 US dollars) per kilo before the ban to 17 pesos (0.29 dollars) in some parts of Mindanao, and 13-14 pesos (0.22-0.24 dollars) in major rice-growing provinces.

The cost of producing a kilo of palay is estimated at 12-14 pesos (0.21-0.24 dollars), Laurel said.

/IANS