TOKYO: Japan’s average supermarket rice prices fell for the third straight week through June 8, data showed on Monday, reflecting the release of cut-price grain from the government’s emergency stockpile.

Following a surge in the price of rice in Japan, a new farm minister last month ended a system of distributing emergency rice via auction and switched to discretionary contracts directly with retailers so that consumers would pay about 2,000 yen ($13.85) per 5 kg.

That rice first became available through some retailers on May 31, selling out quickly.

For the seven days to June 8, the average price of rice at supermarkets fell by 48 yen from the previous week to 4,176 yen, the farm ministry said. That is still nearly double prices the same time last year and above where Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said they should be.

Policymakers are particularly anxious about the high prices ahead of an upper house election in late July.

Rice prices leapt in part because of a poor-quality harvest due to extreme heat in 2023, which led to a shortage of rice in the market around the middle of last year.

The government said at the time there was no shortage and predicted that prices would stabilise as the new harvest became available. Instead, however, prices continued to rise.

Farm Minister KOIZUMI Shinjiro, who took his post last month, said the ministry would change the way it surveys rice production to better reflect reality and that the government had miscalculated because of an antiquated system.

“We will improve the accuracy of rice yield surveys by using the latest technology such as satellites and AI,” Koizumi told reporters.

Reuters