Wholesaler rice prices in Japan see first drop in eight months

The average price of rice harvested in Japan in 2024 and sold to wholesalers in March fell month-on-month for the first time in eight months, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The average price for 60 kilograms of unmilled rice stood at ¥25,876, down 2% from the previous month but still up 68% from 2023 rice a year before. The figure is the average of prices of transactions between wholesalers and rice buyers dealing with farmers, such as the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.

It was rising until February due to competition among buyers rushing to secure supplies. Prices of government-stockpiled rice sold in March averaged ¥24,194, or ¥1,682 lower than the overall mean. The agriculture ministry published the transaction prices of stockpiled rice at different points in the distribution process, surveyed over two weeks from March 17, after the first round of bidding for government rice.



.