Making a bowl of curry rice at home now costs over ¥300, survey says

There’s no escaping price hikes, even for budget-friendly household favorites like curry rice.
The cost of making a bowl of curry rice at home hit a record ¥342 in July, up ¥44 from the same period last year, due to rising ingredient costs and energy bills, according to a survey by research firm Teikoku Databank.
The total cost of cooking curry rice topped ¥300 for the 12th straight month and is expected to exceed ¥350 per serving in August, the survey released on Tuesday showed.
Teikoku Databank’s curry rice price index, based on the total price of the dish, sets the 2020 average at 100. The index for July was 124.8, up 14.7% from the same month last year.
It was the first time since 2015 that the index increased more than 10% year-on-year, indicating how households are being hit by soaring prices. It was also the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year increase.
The rising price of rice drove up the total cost of making the dish, with one serving of rice hitting ¥101, up ¥14 from the same month last year, reaching the highest cost in the past decade.
The cost of meat and vegetables, which accounted for about 60% of the total price of making curry rice, stood at ¥211, up ¥28 from the same month last year.
Meanwhile, the price of curry roux and utility bills for using a rice cooker or gas stove saw no significant increases in the same period.
The agriculture ministry’s vegetable price trends for this month showed that potatoes and onions “remained above the average year.”
With rice prices expected to remain high, Teikoku Databank’s curry rice price index is forecast to continue posting a record high this month as well, the survey said.