Japan retail rice prices fall for 3rd week in row
The average retail price of rice in Japan fell 48 yen from the previous week to 4,176 yen per 5 kilograms in the week through June 8, down for the third consecutive week, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
The result appears to reflect progress in distributing government-stockpiled rice released through auctions. Still, retail rice prices remained nearly twice as high as a year earlier, due to the slow distribution pace.
The average price was based on data from about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan.
In addition to the rice released through auctions, rice released under the government's discretionary contracts has made its way to retailers, priced at around 2,000 yen. This rice is believed to have partly contributed to the fall in the average price.
The government started releasing stockpiled rice under such contracts in late May, and the spread of this rice is likely to further lower the average rice price.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
