According to Xinhua, Japanese media reported on May 10 that rice has unexpectedly become a popular gift for Japanese mothers on Mother's Day against the backdrop of record-high rice prices. Many consumers said that, compared with the common flowers and cakes, rice is practical and strong, and is a good choice for mothers.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries released the latest statistics show that the average price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice on the Japanese market was 4,233 yen (about RMB 211), a record high for 17 consecutive weeks. This price is more than double that of the same period last year, and is also the highest level since the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries began compiling this data.
As the price of rice continues to rise, more and more consumers are choosing rice as a Mother's Day gift. Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, a store selling rice as gifts, said that on the eve of Mother's Day this year, the number of customers who came to buy rice for their mothers surged, and sales were about twice as high as the same period last year.
Rice has also been listed as a "recommended gift for Mother's Day" in some shopping malls and on shopping websites, and sales have increased compared with previous years. A staff member at a shopping mall in Osaka said that giving rice on Mother's Day is a new trend this year, showing that consumers are beginning to value the practicality of gifts.
In the face of soaring rice prices, the Japanese government has auctioned off three batches of reserve rice since March, but the rising trend of rice prices has not yet been effectively curbed. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on August 8 that government departments should take countermeasures with "a sense of speed and a sense of crisis" so that the public can buy rice at affordable prices.
Since the summer of 2024, by the extreme high temperature to rice crop failure and other factors, Japan's rice prices continue to rise. In August last year, the Meteorological Agency issued a warning that a major Nankai megathrust earthquakes was more likely to occur, prompting the public to stock up on rice, and Japan was once in a "rice shortage". With the new rice on the market, "rice shortage" has eased, but the price of rice remains high.
Related News:
Watch This | Mother's Day special: Heartwarming animal parent-child moments
Comment