Overview
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported a tax-inclusive average of ¥4,416 for 5 kg of rice in the Dec. 29–Jan. 4 week, up ¥93 from the prior week based on about 1,000 supermarkets.
- The average moved above ¥4,400 for the first time and has stayed in the ¥4,000 range for 18 consecutive weeks, marking the first weekly rise in two weeks.
- By category, branded rice averaged ¥4,516, up ¥21 week over week, while blended and stockpile-containing rice rose ¥261 to ¥4,131.
- The share of blended and stockpile-containing rice fell to 26% of sales, down two points from the previous week.
- MAFF postponed publication of its separate roughly 6,000-store dataset to Jan. 13 due to year-end data gaps, noting smaller supermarkets typically show higher average prices than other formats.