Japan will use some of its huge rice stockpile to help ease the global food crisis, with about 20,000 tons destined for five African nations in the coming weeks, a government official said Thursday.

The rice, less than 1 percent of Japan's 2.23 million surplus tons, is part of a $50 million emergency food aid plan to be endorsed by the Cabinet on Friday, said Shigeru Kondo, a Foreign Ministry aid official.

The total aid package — including grains, beans and other foods in addition to rice — will be disbursed in 12 countries, including Afghanistan. Prices of rice and other staples have jumped around the world, sparking violent protests in some countries.

Although rice has remained high in Asia, prices fell back about 20 percent in the U.S. last month.

The price of Thai 100 percent grade B white rice, a regional benchmark, has tripled this year, fetching $1,038 a ton Wednesday.

"Rice prices are rocketing, even though prices of wheat and other crops have subsided somewhat," Kondo said. The $50 million package is the first half of a $100 million (¥10.3 billion) relief plan Tokyo announced in April.

In addition to the aid, Japan is considering a request by the Philippines to sell it some 200,000 tons of imported rice to help it deal with rising prices.

The stocks will mostly come from rice Japan imported from the United States under international trade rules. This reportedly requires Tokyo to first iron out some details with Washington as the exporter, another Foreign Ministry official said earlier.

The world's biggest rice importer, the Philippines, also sought an agreement for more Thai rice Thursday, triggering regional concerns that its aggressive buying was driving up prices as Manila moved to shore up inventories.