Japan's average retail rice price up for 2 weeks in row
The average price of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan from Aug. 11 to 17 rose 67 yen from the previous week to 3,804 yen per 5 kilograms, up for the second consecutive week, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
While sales dropped for cheap government-stockpiled rice offered under discretionary contracts, the average price of "brand rice," which has a single origin or variety, went up, likely pushing up the overall retail rice price.
The amount of stockpiled rice sold by retailers during the reporting week fell to 10,931 tons from the previous week's 11,820 tons.
Blended rice, including government-stockpiled rice, accounted for 42 pct of the total sales, down 6 percentage points from the previous week. The proportion has been on the decline since peaking at 58 per cent between the end of June and mid-July.
The ministry believes that the distribution of stockpiled rice has been decreasing recently, following the start of sales of rice harvested this year.
The average price of brand rice rose 29 yen to 4,268 yen.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
