11 hours ago
Sales of brand-name rice take a hit at Japanese supermarkets
Efforts by the Japanese government to arrest climbing rice prices with releases of grains from national stockpiles have come as a welcome relief for consumers. But not everyone is happy.
With the latest release, a 5-kilogram bag of the government rice retails for about 2,000 yen, or 14 dollars. That compares with about 5,000 yen for branded alternatives of rice, which are famous for having specific qualities based on variety and region.
One supermarket in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, only carries the more expensive, branded rice. It says sales slumped by about 30 percent in May from the previous month.
The supermarket has been forced to cut prices by 10 percent in a bid to draw customers back.
Yagi Yoshiki, a branch manager of Super Marusan, said, "We can't just throw rice away, so we'll have to sell it at a discount -- even if that means losing money."
The manager said the drop in sales has also forced the store to cut back on orders for brand-name rice.
