(Update) Japan Retail Rice Price Hits Record High Again

   Tokyo, May 19 (Jiji Press)--The average price of rice sold at some 1,000 supermarkets across Japan hit another record high in the week through May 11, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
   The average price per 5 kilograms increased by 54 yen from the previous week to 4,268 yen, the highest level on record dating back to March 2022. A week earlier, the average turned lower after a 17-week record-breaking streak.
   The average has been more than double year-before levels.
   The government had sold some 310,000 tons of stockpiled rice through auctions by April, but the distribution has been stagnant.
   The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, or Zen-Noh, which bought most of the auctioned rice, had completed shipments of some 80,000 tons to wholesalers as of Thursday, only 41 pct of the rice it bought in the auctions in March.

(2025/05/19-20:20)