Reserve maintenance cost per ton of rice \5, 900/t
5-3 Distribution cost
Rice will be carried in by fork-lifts. The following is a rough estimate of the cost to carry in rice from trucks to warehouses or to carry out rice from warehouses to trucks.
･Carrying in/out cost \1, 500/t
*Distribution cost per ton of rice \600/t
5-4 Annual rice reserve cost per ton
The above cost was converted into the cost for reserving I t of hulled rice for one year.
The construction cost was calculated in accordance with legal service life, which is 60 years for warehouses, 7 years for air conditioners, 60 years for the office and other facilities and 10 years for pallets (assumed equal toracks).
(1) Construction cost
Warehouses \3.34 bil./60 years/20,000 t
＝ \ 2,783/t/year
Air conditioners \900 mil./7 years/20,000 t
＝ \ 6,429/t/year
Pallets \600 mil./10 years/20,000 t = \ 3,000/t/year
Office, etc. \950 mil./60 years/100,000 t
＝ \ 158/t/year
(2) Maintenance cost
Electricity \ 4,410/t/year
Repair/administration \ 1, 260/t/year
Security guards \ 230/t/year
(3) Distribution cost
Carrying in/out cost \ 600/t/year
Total \18, 870/t/year
This is equivalent to \189/10 kg/year or to 3 to 4% of a current brand price.
6. Conclusion
In this study, the necessity of reserves was considered and technology and costs for a large-scale cold-temperature rice reserve base were examined, using Hokkaido as a model region.
The results are as follows:
(1) Cost can be reduced by making use of Hokkaido's cold climate.
(2) Under proper storage conditions, deterioration of quality can be reduced and taste of new rice can be maintained over a long time. Clean storage will also be possible.
(3) flexible manipulation of rice supply and demand will be possible.
7. Afterword
This study was conducted on the assumption that domestically- produced rice would be stored for 5 years, However, if low- priced rice, such as imported rice, is included or long- term storage of around 10 years is considered, the costs should be further reduced and there will be more options in policy- making, such as the use of reserved rice for relief supplies when the reserve has to be released.
Thus, implementation of a pilot project at the earliest opportunity is desired to use this large-scale cold-temperature reserve system for the establishment of the nation's rice reserve structure. This study was conducted by the Cold Region Port and Harbor Engineering Research Center, and the authors will be happy if it can facilitate understanding of the reserve issue.
In closing, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Hiroshi Teraoku of Ohbayashi Corporation and Mr. Yoshihiko Myogahara of Taisei Corporation for their generous assistance in this study.
References
1) Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: "Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries" f(1994), "Statistics of Crops" (1994), "Table of Food Supply and Demand."
2) Agriculture and Forestry Statistics Association: "Statistics Attached to Agricultural White Paper" (1994). "Agricultural White paper" (1994)
3) Hokkaido Prefectural Central Agricultural Experiment Station: "Test Regarding Long-Term Storage of Hokkaido Rice" (1989), "Development of Rice Storage and Distribution Tech- nologies for Maintenance of Good Taste" (1994)
4) Committee to increase Sales of Hokkaido Rice: "Test Regarding Long-Term Storage of Hokkaido Rice"
5) Chikyusha Co.; "Distribution and Management of Rice"
6) Japan Association of Refrigerated Warehouses: "Guidelines for Warehouse Management"
7) "FAO Production Yearbook and Seasonal General Reports"
8) Ryohei Kada: "Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture"
9) Cold Region Port and Harbor Engineering Research Center: "1994 Plan for a Food Reserve Base"
10) Fumin Association: "Agriculture and Economy" (Dec. 1994), "Agriculture and Economy" (special issue, 1994)
11) Japan Port and Harbor Association: "Port and Harbor" (July 1994)
