Retail prices of cabbage in Japan averaged ¥553 per kilogram last week, 3.37 times the usual level, as harvest volume decreased following unfavorable weather conditions, according to an agriculture ministry survey.

The survey results, announced Tuesday, were based on data collected for three days through Thursday. Japan had high temperatures in the summer, long rains and a lack of sunshine in autumn, and low temperatures and little rain last month.

"Cabbage prices are expected to remain high for a while," a ministry official said.

The impact of surging cabbage prices is spreading.

Salad Club, which sells packaged salads, reduced the amount of cabbage in its products as a temporary measure starting Friday.

The amount of shredded cabbage sold in a plastic bag, whose reference retail price is ¥108, has been reduced from 120 grams per bag to 100 grams, due to procurement difficulties and possible problems with supplies resulting from growing demand for precut vegetables.

"I've heard that cabbage prices in the market are still high, so (their retail prices) won't come down easily," said Yozo Niizuma, head of Sanyo, a Tokyo supermarket.

Higher cabbage prices are also affecting dinner menus.

According to cooking recipe website operator Cookpad, searches for "cabbage" in combination with "hot pot" have decreased, while searches for hakusai, or Chinese cabbage, have surged.

There is a surge in searches for recipes using bean sprouts, pea sprouts and mushrooms, whose prices are stable as they are mainly produced in factories, according to Cookpad.