コメ需要、初の７００万トン割れへ　２２年産、４万ヘクタールの転作必要―農水省

　農林水産省は１９日、コメの生産に関する最新の指針を公表した。来年作付けする２０２２年産の主食用米の需要は６９２万トンと、人口の減少を背景に初めて７００万トンを下回るとの見通しを示した。その上で、需要の減少に対応して作付け転換を進め、作付面積を２１年産に比べ約４万ヘクタール少ない約１２６万ヘクタールに削減する必要があると試算した。
　農水省は、需給の安定へ在庫の積み上がりを避けるため、コメ農家に大豆や飼料用トウモロコシなどへの転作を呼び掛ける方針。２１年度補正予算案と２２年度当初予算案で転作支援策を検討する。
　金子原二郎農水相は１９日の閣議後記者会見で、「麦や野菜など（主食用米に再転換しにくい）定着性の高い作物への計画的な転換を進め、より需要に応じた生産を推進していく」と述べた。（2021/11/19-12:42）

Demand for rice to be produced as a staple food in Japan in 2022 is forecast at 6.92 million tons, falling below 7 million tons for the first time ever, the agriculture ministry said Friday.
   The estimated drop is due to the country's declining population, the ministry said in its latest guidelines on rice production. It stressed the need to reduce rice fields by some 40,000 hectares from this year to about 1.26 million hectares by encouraging rice farmers to switch to other produce.
   Specifically, the ministry plans to call on farmers to convert their rice paddies to fields for soybeans and corn for animal feed in order to prevent a buildup in rice inventories and stabilize the supply-demand balance for rice.
   It will consider measures to support such conversion under the government's planned fiscal 2021 supplementary budget and its fiscal 2022 regular budget.
   With the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic not taken into consideration in the latest estimates, the level of demand for 2022 rice could change from the projected figure.