Japan’s Average Rice Price Falls for 9th Straight Week

Tokyo, April 17 (Jiji Press)–Prices of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan in the week through Sunday averaged 3,873 yen per 5 kilograms, down 60 yen from the prior week and falling for the ninth straight week, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The average price of brand rice, which accounted for 76 pct of total rice sales in the reporting week, fell 42 yen to 3,941 yen. The price of blended rice dropped 77 yen to 3,659 yen. In March, the average price for 60 kilograms of brown rice harvested in 2025, traded between wholesalers and rice buyers dealing with farmers, such as agricultural cooperatives, fell 1,711 yen from the previous month to 33,345 yen, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The drop was the steepest since the survey began in 2006. Still, the price was 29 pct higher than it was a year earlier. Prices declined for 44 of 89 rice brands surveyed. Contracted volume of 2025 rice among businesses totaled some 148,000 tons, the second-lowest figure on record for March. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]