TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio on Friday stressed the need to ensure stability in wheat prices as he plans to step up the fight against soaring energy and food prices.

“The stability of wheat prices is extremely important,” Kishida said at meeting of central and local government officials and business leaders.

 Kishida also said he will instruct officials at a meeting on Monday to consider additional measures to tackle higher prices, including ways to curb wheat prices.

 “I’ll give an instruction to take additional measures seamlessly focusing on energy and food, which make the bulk of price increases,” he said.

 The business leaders who attended Friday’s meeting included Yamazaki Baking Co. President Nobuhiro Iijima, who later told reporters that he asked the government for help to avoid a further increase in bread prices.

“We’ll have no choice but to consider raising prices for a third time if (wheat prices) increase by about 20 pct,” Iijima said.

At their Monday meeting, officials are expected to discuss ways to curb prices for imported wheat sold by the government to businesses and whether subsidies provided to refineries to reduce gasoline prices are extended once fiscal support ends.