Oct 19 (NHK) - Prices of newly harvested Japanese rice have risen for the second consecutive year amid higher costs for fertilizers and fuel.
The agriculture ministry conducted a survey during the September harvest season. It found that the average wholesale price of new rice was 15,291 yen, or about 102 dollars, for a 60-kilogram sack. That is up nearly 10 percent in yen terms from a year earlier.
A recovery in the restaurant industry and rising prices of fertilizers and fuel are the main factors behind the increase.
The Koshihikari variety from the Uonuma region of Niigata Prefecture fetched the highest price of about 140 dollars, per sack.