Japan Govt Looks Into Disaster Impact On Prices
Date: 16-Nov-04
Country: JAPAN
Vegetable prices have soared in the past few weeks and economists have said this may dent consumer outlays, which account for more than half of the economy.
Daiichi Life Research Institute estimated in a report that higher vegetable costs could dent growth in October-December gross domestic product by 0.1-0.2 percentage point at a time when Japan's economic expansion is already slowing due to weaker exports.
The Cabinet Office's survey of 64 people in afflicted regions conducted from Nov. 2-12 found many citing a rise in vegetable prices, but the government will wait for a broader sample to make any assessment on prices, an official said.
"We are in the process of studying recent nationwide trends in vegetable and gasoline prices and we will decide whether any measures are needed based on those results," the Cabinet Office official told reporters.
Japan was hit by its deadliest earthquake in a decade last month, followed by a string of aftershocks. It has also been swept by a number of powerful typhoons this year, with one in late October having killed more than 90 people.
The Cabinet Office said that of its regular pool of 2,073 survey respondents, 40 had said they were affected by the typhoon in late October. Of those, 34 cited a rise in vegetable prices.
Of the 24 people surveyed saying they were affected by the strong earthquake in northern Japan, 17 cited a rise in vegetable prices.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries shows wholesale lettuce prices up four-fold in early November from a year earlier. ($1=105.64 yen)
