TOKYO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Sales at major supermarkets across Japan in 2024 rose 2.7 percent year-on-year, driven by price increases for processed foods, rice, and vegetables, industry data showed Thursday.

According to the Japan Chain Stores Association, the total sales at approximately 9,400 major supermarkets nationwide reached over 13.03 trillion yen (about 83.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024.

Notably, sales of food products, which accounted for 70 percent of total sales, increased 4.4 percent year-over-year after continued price hikes for processed foods due to rising raw material costs, as well as higher retail prices for agricultural products like rice and vegetables.

Meanwhile, the average number of items purchased per customer has been declining since autumn 2023. The association attributes the trend to consumers' increasing focus on saving in response to successive food price hikes. Enditem

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