When the price of rice is on the rise, put it to auction.

Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

I'm Leanna Byrne. Good morning.

We begin in Japan, where soaring rice prices has prompted its government to take a rare step,

auctioning off its emergency reserves.

You see, rice prices have doubled over the past year,

driven by poor harvests, panic buying, and claims that some companies are stockpiling waiting for the

best time to sell. The BBC's Gene McKenzie reports. Japan stores about a million tons of rice

to be used in emergencies. The last two times it's dipped into its stockpile were

after natural disasters, including the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that damaged the Fukushima

nuclear power plant. But so concerned is the government by the spiraling cost of rice that it's

once again opening its vaults. By flooding the market, it hopes to stop companies

hoarding their stocks. 150,000 tonnes are expected to be sold off to wholesalers in the next few

days and should be in the shops by next month. Dean McKenzie there. So how much will the auction

help? The BBC's Mickey Bristow says it will ease pressures,

but that structural problems remain.

If you look across East Asia, big rice-growing countries and exporters like India and Thailand

have recorded record harvests last year.

So why is Japan suffering like this?

And that's partly because the Japanese government seeks to protect Japanese rice growers,

partly because of food security to ensure they've got enough rice for themselves,

and partly to support rural areas and farmers.

...