The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the supply and demand of buckwheat, consider the procurement and sales patterns of millers who play important role in the distribution system, and identify the problems of buckwheat distribution. The total consumption of buckwheat in Japan is about 120,000 tons per year, with imported buckwheat accounting for 80 percent of domestic supply. But it is becoming difficult to import under stable conditions inexpensive buckwheat as before. Therefore, production of buckwheat in Japan has been increasing little by little since the second half of the 1970s. However, the unit crop of buckwheat is very low and unstable: therefore, wholesale prices of buckwheat are also very unstable. As for the buckwheat milling industry, while a large share is occupied by a small number of large-scale enterprises, many small-scale enterprises do exist. The market price of buckwheat is decided by the negotiated transaction of sender and miller. In that case, dealings between agricultural cooperatives in Hokkaido and large-scale millers in the rest of Japan yield a national index price. Although the price of buckwheat has been falling sharply recently, millers need to show trading conditions from a mid- and long-term viewpoint.
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