Poor agricultural administration in a rich country with 5000 tons of raw milk surplus (Akiko Azumi)-Individual-Yahoo! News

The Prime Minister made an unusual call at a press conference

"Drink one more glass of milk than usual during the year-end and New Year holidays. We ask for the cooperation of the public, such as using dairy products in cooking."

At the press conference held at the Prime Minister's Office on December 21, when the 207th extraordinary session of the Diet closed, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an unusual call. Due to the decrease in demand due to the new coronavirus infection, the consumption of milk has decreased. It is estimated that 5,000 tons of raw milk will be left over by the end of the year. Equivalent to 5 million milk cartons.

　The reason for the surplus is the novel coronavirus infection. This was because the school was closed and school lunches were suspended, and the demand for milk fell sharply due to refraining from eating out.

"We ministers and vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries, will work to expand consumption by entertaining customers with milk."

At the press conference on December 17th when Harajiro Kaneko, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries announced the "NEW (Milk) Plus One Project", he drank a glass of milk with two vice ministers from Hokkaido ( There is also a theory that the contents of the cup was not milk but yogurt to drink because Minister Kaneko did not accept milk.) At the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, Governor Yuriko Koike put her hands on her hips and drank milk, holding a pack of "Tokyo Milk" and firmly appealing "local production for local consumption".

Hokkaido bears the brunt

"Raw milk produced in the suburbs of large cities is mainly used for drinking. Hokkaido, which produces the most amount of milk, is used for processing such as cheese and butter. There are many things.”

　Kaori Ishikawa, a member of the House of Representatives (Constitutional Democratic Party) from Hokkaido's 11th district, spoke about the local predicament. The 11 wards include Obihiro City, which has a thriving livestock industry, and the Tokachi region produces as much as 15% of the raw milk.

"Because of the large amount of production, Hokkaido tends to be a valve for production adjustment. Surplus raw milk is processed into powdered skim milk for long-term storage, but the inventory has increased too much, and the processing cannot keep up. There is no situation.” (Rep. Ishikawa)

　Hokkaido's raw milk production will reach a record high of 4.28 million tons (estimated) in 2021. Production has increased rapidly since the end of the Heisei era, so the amount of surplus has increased accordingly. Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki, together with Hokuren's Vice Chairman Hirotoshi Nishikawa, drank milk and called for a "milk challenge" to encourage increased consumption.

"For the first time in 16 years, we are in a situation where a large amount of raw milk may be discarded." (Governor Suzuki)

Production adjustments made in 2006

　Governor Suzuki said "the situation for the first time in 16 years" was the large surplus of raw milk that occurred in 2006. At this time, Hokkaido discarded 900 tons of raw milk. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has reduced its production target for fiscal 2006 by 3% from the previous year, and some dairy cows are now edible.

　The backlash was the butter shortage that occurred in 2008. In 2006, Australia experienced a severe drought, resulting in poor feed for dairy cattle. On the other hand, the demand for dairy products expanded in Russia and China, and the international shortage of supply also affected Japan. However, due to production adjustments in 2006 and 2007, it was not possible to increase milk production immediately. This is because dairy cows take about three years to produce milk.

"That's not all. Excess skim milk powder is feed for pigs and cows, but the price difference must be borne by Hokuren and producers. Then, the construction cost of the livestock barn we invested in The redemption plan will collapse as well." (Rep. Ishikawa)

Response is too slow

Rep. Ishikawa is furious that the government's response was slow in the first place. "Japanese powdered milk is very popular in China and Southeast Asia. Regarding powdered skim milk, there is a precedent of providing 100 tons of powdered milk overseas in the 1970s, so it should be included in food aid," he said. On December 21, he tweeted as follows.

　In fact, since April 2006, when there was a large surplus of raw milk in the House of Councillors, the Agricultural and Fisheries Committee has placed milk in pitchers along with water. The contents are not special, but the general ones sold at supermarkets.

　The House of Representatives also tried to put milk in the committee room, but the opinion of the lawmakers who wanted to put their own local milk could not be realized. There are strong interests everywhere.

Will the government's measures survive for the time being? As a countermeasure against inventory of powdered skim milk, the government supported efforts by producer groups and dairy manufacturers, and decided to process 25,000 tons of feed.

　As a producer, this is a relief, but this is not a fundamental solution. In fact, the problem of raw milk production adjustment has occurred many times in the past.

At the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on December 13, Rep. Ishikawa appealed as follows.

"The government has pushed for a large scale, and motivated people have invested a large amount and worked hard.I can't believe that those people will be the ones who will bear the burden.Thinking about raw milk distribution at the national level. Shouldn't we go?"

　This applies not only to raw milk, but also to various fields of food-related agriculture. The food problem has now extended to environmental issues and security issues, and has become a highly political issue. By all means, I would like Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's "Digital Garden City Concept" to sublimate them.