Fruit and vegetable prices across Japan have spiked after heavy snowfall in the Kanto region, according to media reports.
The Japan Times reported leak prices in Tokyo had risen to ¥562 (US$5.48) per kg on Sunday (23 February), a significant increase on the ¥323 (US$3.15) per kg they fetched earlier this month.
Japan’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry suggested prices of spinach and carrots are now up to 40 per cent above their five-year average.
“The deep snow, especially in Gunma and Saitama prefectures, has stopped shipments of lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers from those areas,” a spokesman for the Maruetsu supermarket chain told the Japan Times.
“They started rising more after the first snowfall on 8 February, and fruit and vegetable shipments have become scarce.”
Japan’s leading grape producing region, Yamanashi Prefecture, has also been affected by the cold snap.The Japan News reported agricultural facilities in the area covering 114.8ha had been destroyed or damaged as a result of snowfall, the majority of which were used for table grape production.
