On May 27, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held the first “Information Exchange Meeting on Food Containers, Packaging, and Other Materials.” Although the participants were not disclosed, more than 200 industry associations representing food manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice businesses attended. Representatives from each industry expressed their views and explained current conditions regarding the supply-demand balance and procurement of materials.
The government side again explained that naphtha-derived chemical products can continue to be supplied beyond the end of the year. Taking the position that distribution bottlenecks had arisen amid procurement concerns, a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official said: “There had been a gap in understanding with the industry side regarding the naphtha supply situation, so we sought to resolve it by providing accurate information.” The government also explained that “at present, no disruption to the supply” of packaging printing inks and similar materials has occurred.
The “Response Team Office for Securing a Stable Food Supply amid the Middle East Situation,” established within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on April 10, has worked with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to stabilize the supply of fuel oil and other materials. The Agriculture Ministry said it would strengthen its rapid-response framework, as well as its systems for understanding and analyzing supply chains for individual product categories.
