TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Japan's average rice price has fallen for a fifth straight week, with the agriculture ministry attributing the decline to wholesalers' attempts to reduce their inventories, local media reported on Monday.
In the week until March 15, the average price of rice sold at around 1,000 supermarkets across Japan fell to 3,980 yen (about 25 U.S. dollars) per 5 kilograms, marking the fifth straight weekly decline, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing ministry data.
The price fell below 4,000 yen for the first time since last August, when a large volume of less expensive government stockpile rice circulated on the market, the report said.
Many people in the rice industry expect prices to keep falling, it added. ■
