Japan's Average Rice Price Hits New Record High

Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--Japan's average rice price hit a new record high since statistics began in March 2022, following a small decline, according to agriculture ministry data.

In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by 93 yen from the previous week to 4,416 yen per 5 kilograms, the data released by the ministry Friday showed.

The average price fell by 14 yen to 4,323 yen in the week ended Dec. 28 last year.

In the latest reporting week, the price of "brand rice," primarily newly harvested rice, grew by 21 yen to 4,516 yen. Brand rice accounted for 74 pct of total rice sales, up 2 percentage points.

The price of relatively cheap blended rice climbed by 261 yen, with the share of blended rice falling to 26 pct.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]