U.S. URGES JAPAN TO OPEN FARM MARKET FURTHER
  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng
  has asked Japan to open its farm market further to help
  Washington cut its trade deficit and ease protectionist
  pressures, an Agriculture Ministry official told reporters.
      Hideo Maki, Director General of the ministry's Economic
  Affairs Bureau, quoted Lyng as telling Agriculture Minister
  Mutsuki Kato that the removal of import restrictions would help
  Japan as well as the United States.
      The meeting with Kato opened a 12-day visit to Japan by
  Lyng, who is here to dicuss farm trade.
      However, Maki quoted Kato as replying that Japan was
  already the world's largest grain importer.
      Kato added Japan is the largest customer for U.S. Grain and
  depended on domestic output for only 53 pct of its food
  requirements in 1985.
      Lyng said the U.S. Put high priority on talks on 12 farm
  products named in U.S. Complaints against Japan to the General
  Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) last year, as well as on
  beef, citrus products and rice.
      Kato said Japan will maintain its current level of
  self-sufficiency and will try not to produce surplus rice
  because potential production is higher than domestic demand.
      The world farm market suffers from surpluses because of
  rising production by exporting countries, he added.
      Lyng said the U.S. Has been trying to reduce farm product
  output with expensive programs, Maki said.
      Maki said the U.S. And Japan will hold detailed discussions
  on each trade item as well as a new round of GATT trade talks
  at a meeting on April 20, in which U.S. Trade Representative
  Clayton Yeutter will join.
  

